Three Books of Commentaries on Ephesians

“Three Books of Commentaries on the Epistle to the Ephesians” are among the earliest New Testament commentaries of the saint. Hieronymus of Stridon. They were written around 386-387. at the request of Rev. Pavels and others Eustochium for the nuns of their monastery. Blzh. Jerome writes about the inspiration of Holy Scripture. The Bible was written “under the dictation of the Holy Spirit,” so in it “even individual words, syllables, features, and points are filled with meaning.” The essay raises questions of ecclesiology. According to blzh. Jerome, the Church is the body of Christ, the Head of which is Christ, and the various members are believers. The Church includes people, angels and all intelligent creatures. In matters of eschatology, Blessed. Jerome could not completely get rid of the influence of Origen's ideas (in particular, the interpretation that the behavior of the soul on Earth is predetermined by its pre-temporal existence). He writes that in this life God is only partially present in some people in the form of individual virtues, and at the end of time everyone will submit to God - some voluntarily, some against their will. He will fill everyone with His virtues, so that all people will have everything that the individual saints previously had. The interpretations present without any criticism the opinions of Origen, as Rufinus later pointed out in his Apology against Jerome. Responding to the accusation of Origenism, Blessed. Jerome explained that in exegetical works the opinions of various interpreters are usually given and the reader himself is given the right to make a choice between them (see: “Apology against the books of Rufinus, sent to Pammachius and Marcellus,” book 1, chapters 15-16, 21-29). *The title of the work in Latin is Commentarii in Epistolam ad Ephesios. Paul and Eustochius! If there is anything in this life that can restrain a wise man and encourage him to be indifferent amid the burdens and worries of this world, then this, as I believe, first of all (vel primum) is the knowledge and meditation of the Holy Scriptures. In fact, if we differ from other animals in the main way (vel maxime) in that we are rational animals and can speak; and all reason and the word are contained in the Divine books, through which we know God, and do not remain in the dark about the purpose (quare) of our creation [from God]: then it surprises me that there are people who, indulging in inactivity and sleep, just as they themselves do not want to know what is so beautiful, and others who indulge in such an activity consider it necessary to keep them from it. Although I could respond to such people with a more severe word and repeatedly reflect them either with a feeling of insult, or in agreement with my words; however, it is much better to read St. Scripture than to cleave to the multiplication and heaping of riches. I will say something for which I will receive the approval of even the most biased judge, namely, that I like my idleness, and that solitude seems more pleasant to me than any [human] glory. And just as I do not blame or condemn what they do, so they must make a concession to me in my foolishness. I am not very eloquent; but what do you care about that? Read more sophisticated! I'm not translating from Greek to Latin as I should! So, either read the Greeks, if you know their language, or, if you are only a Latin, then do not judge [strictly] a free offering, and, as the popular saying goes, “don’t look a free horse in the mouth.” Do I, grabbing you by the hand, drag you to court (in jus traho) because you do not write down [and perhaps do not read] my [writings]? Anyone less able [than me] will read; and if you, perhaps by chance, write down your reasoning, then Cicero will be surprised. Did Tertullian frighten the blessed martyr Cyprian so that he did not write, or Cyprian - Lactantius, or Lactantius - Hilaria. I am silent about other small [scribblers] who are making noise at the same time as me in their books. If you want to rise to greatness, you need to start small. The first chapter is like this only under the condition that there is a second and third after it. We ascend to the highest only after passing through the lowest. Therefore, I conjure both you, who are here, and Saint Marcella, the only example of widowhood, so that you do not freely hand over my creations to the slanderous and envious, and do not give the holy to dogs, and do not throw pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). Since they are unable to imitate what is good, they do the only thing possible for themselves, that is, they hate, and they believe that because they are educated and learned people, they belittle others. I implore you to respond to them [with advice]: so that they themselves take up the pen, string together, as they say, two or three words, so that they sweat a little, so that they try themselves and through their own labor learn to treat the working people condescendingly. After all, you know yourself that you encouraged me to do this work of interpretation, although I had no desire for it and refused it for a long time. And this is not because from my youth I stopped either reading or asking learned people about what I did not know, and like the majority I had only myself as a teacher. Yes, finally, and recently for this very reason I went to Alexandria to see Didymus and from him, through personal questioning, to learn the solution to my doubts regarding all the Scriptures. But it’s another thing to compose your own books, for example, on avarice, on faith, on virginity, on widows, and on every subject to the evidence of the Scriptures found here and there, to add secular eloquence and almost in general places to embellish pompous speech: and it’s a completely different thing to penetrate into the meaning of the speech of the prophet and apostle, to understand why they wrote like that, with what arguments they argued your idea, what was special about the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, Tyrians, Philistines, Egyptians and Assyrians in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament, for their part, the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Thessalonians, Jews, Colossians, and what kind of letter to the Ephesians do we now have in our hands? Indeed, it is necessary that, according to the places, times and people to whom they were written, they should have a difference in reasons, evidence and origin. And like blessed John in his Revelation, addressing the seven Churches, in each of them he either condemns the special vices inherent in them, or praises the virtues; Likewise, Saint Paul for each individual Church gives special healing according to the wounds inflicted, and does not want, like an inexperienced doctor, to treat the eyes of everyone with the same [and the same] lotion. And since, at your request, a few days ago we set forth regarding the letter to the Galatians what seemed necessary; then now it is necessary to move on to the Epistle to the Ephesians, which occupies a middle place among the Apostle, both in order and in meaning. But I say average not because, inferior in size to the larger ones, it is larger than the latter, but it stands in the middle, like the heart in a living being, so from this you will understand what difficulties and what deep questions it is surrounded by. He wrote to the Ephesians, admirers of Diana, but not the famous hunter armed with a bow, but that many-breasted [Diana] whom the Greeks call πολύμαστον, in order to give a false indication, even by the very image, that she is the nourisher of all living beings and animals. And he wrote to the main city of Asia, in which idolatry and that which always accompanies idolatry, that is, the art of witchcraft, were so strong that Demetrius said: And the church of the great goddess Diana will turn into nothing, and the greatness of her, whom all Asia and the whole world reveres, will be overthrown (Acts 19:27). Finally, the Apostle spent three years there, preaching the Gospel of God night and day, so that, having destroyed the main force (arce) of idolatry, he could easily overcome the churches of the smaller cities. This is exactly what Scripture says when Paul says, addressing the Ephesians: Therefore watch ye, remembering how for three years night and day I did not cease to convince each of you, and now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, who is able to create and give you a share in the inheritance among all the saints (Acts 20:31-32). For those who had been so long held back by the deception of demons needed the Apostle to entrust them to God - who knew that there were certain spiritual powers, and recognized in the entrails of animals and the flight of birds, and other fortune-telling, some semblance of a deity. Therefore, the Apostle says to them again: Therefore I adjure you on this day that I am clean from the blood of all. For I did not depart from declaring to you the whole will of God (Acts 20:26-27) and in another place [above]: Just as I did not omit anything that was profitable for you, to proclaim and teach publicly and in private (Acts 20:20). In the book of the prophet Ezekiel, he read that from the spy who did not predict the invasion of enemies to the people, the blood of his citizens was exacted from his hands, [therefore] he remembered [the Ephesians] that he had proclaimed to them the whole will of God and everything that was useful to them, in order to be free [from responsibility] for their blood. But so that you know that those who believed in Ephesus were previously, as it were, entangled in demonic miracles and the art of witchcraft, in the same Acts of the Apostles this is indicated and said: Very many of those who were engaged in fortune-telling, bringing books, burned them in the presence of everyone and added up their price, and fifty thousand silver was found (Acts 19:19) We have indicated all this in order to show why in this Primarily in the epistle, he brought together both the mysterious meaning and the mysterious sacred rites (sacramenta), unknown to centuries, and why he taught them about the holy and hostile forces [spirits], namely: who these demons are, what power they have, what they had before, and how they were defeated and overthrown after the coming of Christ. Of them he says: Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, powers, against the rulers of this darkness, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly [spaces] (Eph. 6:12). And in another place: And in Ephesus I will remain until Pentecost, for a great and convenient door has been opened to me; but there are many opponents (1 Cor. 16:8–9). And he stayed in Ephesus until Pentecost, until the time of joy and victory, when we do not bend our knees and bow to the ground, but, having risen together with the Lord, we rise to heavenly heights. And he stayed because a door was opened to him, and not a small one, but a large one, so that, having bound and defeated the strong man, he attacked his house, devastated, destroyed and took captives into captivity (Matthew 12:45) of the one who, having gathered great detachments of his companions, with all his might was at enmity against the Apostle and was defeated. And who the Ephesians were, this becomes especially clear from the following: How Saint John, having to expound the mystery of the eternal incarnation of the Lord, lay down on His chest and drew a stream of teaching from the purest source (John 13:23, 21:20); So these Ephesians threw themselves into the arms of Paul who was leaving them (Acts 20:37), with their kisses and embraces they showed that they, together with him, had the same treasury of knowledge and testified with tears that they loved their teacher. I also remind you in the preface that you know that Origen wrote three books on this epistle, which we also partly followed. Some small interpretations were also published by Apollinaris and Didymus; Although we learned something from these books, we added something, exactly what seemed necessary to us, or we subtracted it, but in such a way that the diligent reader will immediately recognize in this work what belongs to us and what belongs to others. Chapter I. – Verse 1 (first part): Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ according to the will of God (Eph.1:1). – If the preposition po indicates the participation of the one by whom the action is performed, then, in my opinion, the following meaning fits these words: No one comes to Me unless My Father draws him to Me (John 6:44). At the same time, what is said in the Gospel of John: All things happened through Him (John 1:3), that is, undoubtedly, through the Son, does not say unfavorably regarding our Lord Jesus Christ that He is less than [the Father], because it agrees with the will of the Father; just as now the words of the Apostle that he is an Apostle of Jesus Christ according to the will of His [the Father] do not say the same regarding the Father. But others understand this passage in such a way that Paul, in their opinion, is declared an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, Who is Christ; so that He, called Wisdom, and Word, and Power of God, and Truth, and Resurrection, and Life, is now called the Will [of God]. Others think that it makes no difference whether he said: by the will of God, or: from the will of God, because the Apostle uses these prepositions [per and ex) indifferently; therefore, if he said: from the will of God, then this means the same thing as: according to the will of God. All the saints who are in Ephesus (Eph.1:1) (second part). - Some, under the influence of excessive curiosity, based on what was said to Moses: Thus say to the children of Israel: Jehovah has sent me (Exod. 3:14), believe that both the saints and the believers in Ephesus were given the name [existence] in essence. So as saints are called from the Holy One, righteous from the Righteous, wise from the Wise; so from the Existing One they are called existing (qui sunt) according to the teaching of the same Apostle, God chose the non-existent in order to abolish the existing. Even the Scripture itself, which is brought into evidence, they expound in such a way that from what follows we understand the destruction of what was; The Apostle says: So that all flesh may not boast in the presence of God (1 Cor. 1:29); They say: “If someone, being perfected by God from what he was not into what he has become, does not give thanks to the Giver, but attributes what he has become to his merits and his virtue, then in this case he immediately ceases to be what he is and begins to not be what he was.” And some simply think that this is not written to those who are in Ephesus, but to those who were holy and faithful in Ephesus. And to those who believe in Christ Jesus (Eph.1:1) (third part). – Since an unfaithful wife is sanctified in a believing brother, and an unfaithful husband is sanctified in a faithful wife (1 Cor. 7:14), and in the church there are sacred vessels, and foolish animals are slain as a sacrifice to God (Num. 4:31); then here he also called believers those whom he had previously called saints, because faith comes from the decision of one’s own thought; and sanctification is obtained from the generosity of the sanctifier, sometimes, against our will. And the words: To those who are faithful in Christ Jesus are used most carefully for discernment. Indeed, there are many who are faithful; but not in Christ Jesus. If someone returns the wealth given to him for safekeeping, if someone does not refuse what was entrusted to him, he seems to represent a faithful friend; let him be ready to betray his soul rather than give up what was entrusted to him (faith - fidem), - which we know about some philosophers (even though they are not particularly proud of this: one Athenian, a woman of free life, did this) - such a person is true, true, but he is not faithful in Christ Jesus. Verse 2: Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:2). –Or both objects relate to One and the other, that is, both grace and peace, both to God the Father and to our Lord Jesus Christ; or each separately to each separately, so that grace refers to God the Father, and peace to Christ. If immediately following this follows: To the praise of the glory of His grace, in which He has glorified us in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6); so that the grace of the Father consists in the fact that He deigned to send us the Son for our salvation; and the peace of the Son is that through Him we were reconciled with the Father and, having destroyed the barrier, He destroyed enmity in His flesh and made both one. Verse 3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:3). - How God is good in essence and nature, and made us good in communion with Himself and says to Israel: Be holy, as I am holy (Lev.20:7); so by being blessed, He made us blessed. Indeed, the lawgiver bestows blessings and blessings from the Lord on the head of the righteous (Proverbs 10:6), and the name of blessing is given to Baruch, which means blessed. And He blesses us not with one blessing, but with all. This does not mean that we all receive all blessings, but that while some of us have some or many of all, we also have all of them individually. And he blessed not with earthly blessings, but with heavenly ones. Indeed, there are earthly blessings, for example, someone has children, abounds in wealth, enjoys honors and health. This earthly blessing descends even on foolish animals, for it is said regarding them: God blessed them and said: Grow and multiply (Gen. 1:22). But spiritual blessings are for those in heaven, because the earth does not accept spiritual blessings. But since those blessings that are promised in the book of Leviticus to those who keep the commandments of God (Lev. 26:1-12) - for example: to take interest from other nations, to have barns full of grain, to be blessed in the cities (Deut. 28:1-14), blessed in the fields and so on - [and these] blessings, as we see, were not fulfilled on the prophets who walked in sackcloth and goatskins, were in poverty, in oppression, hiding in desert mountains, in caves in clefts of rocks, hiding from the attacks of persecutors (Heb. 11:36-40): then everything must be accepted in the spirit, and the spiritual must be expected not in earthly places, but in heavenly ones. And the words of the Apostle: Because He blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven, they speak as if about something that happened in the past, and not promised for the future, that is, it is said: He blessed, and not: has to bless; Therefore, the question is: how did He bless us, still on earth, with a heavenly blessing? This must be represented, on the one hand, in such a way that our conversion is in heaven, and we are not of this world, but, having put aside the image of the earthly, we bear the image of what is above heaven, and we do not live in the flesh, but in the spirit, and we lay up treasure for ourselves in heaven, where we have our hearts, which is why we are called blessed by heavenly blessings. And, on the other hand, one can think that every spiritual blessing in Christ, although it occurs on earth, is nevertheless classified as heavenly. He says: He blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ in heaven, that is, with the word of God, wisdom, truth and other virtues. However, these words can be read in two ways: Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, so blessed is God, who is the creator of absolutely everything, and then - division. Then the thought is given: “Who is also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”; or so that the words God and Father generally refer to our Lord. “Blessed is the God of Him who accepted man, and the Father of Him who was with God in the beginning—God the Word.” This is not that the perceived person is one thing, and the Word that received him is another: but that the One and the Same is preached, by different actions, sometimes as humble, sometimes as high. Verse 4: Because He chose us in Him before the creation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him (Eph. 1:4). – “Before the creation of the world” in Greek is translated by the words πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου; but the word καταβολή does not mean that: creation. Therefore, due to the poverty of our language and the novelty of the subjects, and, as some say, because the Greek language is both richer and more expressive, we are forced not only to translate word for word - which is impossible - but to expound in some roundabout way the meaning contained in it (vim verbi). The word Καταβολή actually means such an action when someone is thrown from above and directed from a high place to a low one, or when some thing begins to exist. Therefore, about those who lay the initial foundation for the future building, it is said καταβεβληκέναι, i.e., that they cast the beginnings of the foundations from top to bottom. So, the Apostle Paul, wanting to show that God created everything out of nothing, used the word ==καταβολήν to express this in relation to Him, and not: dispensation (conditionem), not formation (creaturam) and finishing (facturam); so, not like Manichaeus and other heresies, which presuppose the existence of both a Creator and the substance for creation, he imagines that something preceded the existence of creatures, from which they were created, but says that everything was created from nothing. And the fact that we are chosen to be before Him, that is, before God, holy and blameless, as he testifies, before the foundation of the world, this refers to the foreknowledge of God, for Whom the whole future is already accomplished, and everything is already known before it happened. This is the same as Paul is predestined in his mother’s womb and the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5) is chosen, sanctified, strengthened while still in falsehood and sent as a type of Christ, as a prophet to the pagans. And the other [writer], striving to show God to be fair, i.e. that is, that He chooses everyone not because of His foreknowledge, but according to the merits of those chosen, He says that before [the creation of] visible creatures, that is, heaven, earth, seas and everything that is in them, there were others, invisible creatures, among which there were souls; these souls, for some reasons known only to God, were cast into this valley of tears, into the place of our sorrow and wandering; The saint, placed in this place, prayed to return to his former home, saying this: Woe to me that my dwelling continued! I dwelt among the inhabitants of Kidar: my soul was a stranger for a long time (Ps. 119:5). And elsewhere: Poor man I am! who will free me from the body of this death (Rom.7:24) and: It is better to return and be with Christ (Phil.1:23). And in another place: I sinned before I humbled myself (Ps. 119:67) and so on and so forth. So, they say, before souls were cast out into the world, and the world was created from souls with their inhabitants and was cast down into the lower regions, God chose Paul and those like him, who were holy and blameless. Someone is chosen only, after all, from among many; and election occurs where there are several more wicked. But as during the Babylonian captivity, when Nebuchadnezzar led the people into captivity, the prophets were sent: Ezekiel, Daniel, three youths, Haggai and Zechariah, not because they deserved captivity, but in order to be a consolation to the captives; so in the present overthrow (foundation) of the world, those who were chosen by God before the existence of the world were sent into the world to teach and enlighten the souls of sinners, so that after these preaching they would return to where they were overthrown. Lord, You were our refuge in generation and generation before the mountains were established and the earth and the whole world were created (Ps. 89:2-3), this means precisely that God was a refuge for His saints before the world was created and all birth began. And in his words: So that we may be holy and blameless before Him; the difference between the holy and the blameless is that the saint is at the same time blameless, and the blameless is not at the same time holy. In fact, children are blameless because they have not yet committed any sin with a damaged body; however, they are not yet saints, because holiness is acquired through the action of the will and labor (studio). And then the one who has not committed sins can be called blameless, and the saint [only] is the one who is filled with virtues, according to what is written in a certain psalm: He who lives blamelessly and does righteousness (Ps. 14:2). And in the book of Song of Songs it says: You are all beautiful, my neighbor, and there is no blemish in you (Song.4:7). The question is: how can anyone be holy and blameless before the face of God, when the prophet testifies, saying: No one living will be justified before You? In fact: either the Ephesians were holy and blameless before God, and then what is said above is false: No one living will be justified before You; or, if no one is justified before the face of God, then the above is false, that they are holy and blameless before God. This must be answered in two ways. After all, the Apostle Paul did not say that God chose us before the foundation of the world, when we were already holy and blameless, but said: He chose us so that we would be holy and blameless, that is, we, who were not holy and blameless before, became such after. This can also be said regarding sinners who have turned to a better state, and then the word will have force that everyone who lives will not be justified before You, that is, throughout his entire life, throughout the entire time in which he lived in this world. Indeed, such an understanding is also directed against those who claim that before the creation of the world souls were chosen for their holiness and for the fact that they had no sinful blemish. For, as we said above, Paul and those like him are not chosen because they were holy and blameless; on the contrary, they are chosen and predestined to be holy and blameless in later life through works. Finally, you need to pay attention to the fact that he did not say: No one living will be justified before You, but said: everyone who lives, that is, all will not be justified, but some will be justified. Verse 5: In love he predestined us to adoption as sons unto himself through Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:5). – You can read [this] in two ways: either by connecting the word love with previous words, or by relating it to subsequent ones. With the previous readings it will be like this: So that we may be holy and blameless before Him in love, and then the words follow: Destining us for adoption as sons of Himself through Jesus Christ. And in connection with the following it will read like this: In love destining us for adoption as sons of Himself through Jesus Christ. And the difference between the Greek words προορίσας and ὁρισθέντος is not clear in Latin speech. Indeed, the previous part of the speech refers to those who did not live before that time, and that [God] had a thought about those who existed after that even before they existed. And the subsequent speech speaks of the One who was not preceded by any thought, no will, but who always existed and never received a beginning for his being. Therefore, it is now correctly said about those who existed after προορισθέντες, since they did not exist before. But about the true Son, i.e. About our Lord Jesus Christ in another place it is written ὁρισθέντος, because He was always with the Father and the will of the Father for Him to be never preceded Him. From this it follows that there has always been a Father and always a Son, and that those who have equal co-eternity have one and the same nature. In addition, we must also add that, although God predestines us, or designates us to an inheritance as sons through Jesus Christ, we cannot first become sons unless we receive the faith and knowledge of His Son Jesus Christ. But in reality, He is the Son by nature, and we are by adoption. He was never not the Son [i.e. e. He is always the Son], but we were predestined before we were created, and received the Spirit of sonship when we believed in the Son of God. According to the will of His will, - The word εὐδοκίαν, rendered by the Latin translator with the word placitum (will), among the Greeks is composed of two simple words: from εὖ and δοκεῖν, i.e. good and judge, so we can convey it with the word beneplacitum (good decision), because not everything, whatever happens can be pleasing. Benevolence exists only where anything is approved, just as anything is right. But with this word, the Seventy Interpreters transferred from the Hebrew the word reson (רצון), inventing new words for new subjects. So, in this place, people who think that the souls [of people] before the foundation of the world, together with angels and other names of powers, circulated in the heavenly Jerusalem, find reason to object that it is not pleasing to God and cannot be presented to the praise of glory and grace, that in different parts of the world some should be born naked, ignorant (barbaros), slaves, weak, and others - rich, Roman citizens (romanos), free and healthy, noble and ignorant, if there were no reasons for that: which of the souls deserves and what is determined as its fate. And some think that they know, but in fact they do not know [the meaning of] the famous word written to the Romans: Has not the artist power from the same substance to prepare one vessel for honor, and another for dishonor? (Rom.9:21); they give this passage the same interpretation, so that, whether good or evil, hardworking or frivolous life is spent in vain in this world, if we do not believe that there is a judgment of God; so the difference between those born in this world rebels against the justice of God, unless this is determined by the previous merits of the souls. In fact, they say, if we understand it this way, then it is not to the praise of His glory and His grace that He chose some before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him and to have adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, while others He destined to live in the most extreme conditions and to punishment. Verse 6: To the praise of the glory of His grace, which He has bestowed upon us in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6). - What, they say, is the praise of the glory of God's grace in this, to give grace to some in Christ, and to prepare others for eternal torment: to love Jacob before he was born from the womb, and to hate Esau before he did something worthy of hatred, if this were not preceded by reasons that justify the judgment of God? So, every grace that we receive to the glory and praise of Him who justified [or: blessed] us is fulfilled in the Beloved, that is, in our Lord and Savior, because without wisdom, truth, justification, peace, redemption and other virtues, no good can be understood. And one should not think that in the Latin collections of St. books it is written: In His beloved Son, but [it is written] simply: In the beloved; and even if it were added: Beloved of God, or: Beloved of the Father, then the understanding would be simple and universally recognized, namely, that our Lord Jesus Christ is beloved of the Father. But we do not add anything great to the properties of the Son when we acknowledge that the Son is loved by the Father, like other [creatures]. In fact, to God [or: to Him, i.e. eum vm. Deum] says: You love everything and do not reject anything that you created and did not create anything with hatred (Wis.11:25). However (aut) if there were a contrast [such]: With which He has favored us in the Beloved before all, then all doubt would be eliminated, because we know that the patriarchs, and the prophets, and all holy men were beloved of God. And now, when he says unconditionally: in the Beloved, then, it seems to me, it is necessary to understand what is meant: by all. For if, as we said, Christ is wisdom, truth, peace, joy, self-control, etc., then these names [of virtues] are acceptable even to those who cannot imitate them, and no one will be such a conscious criminal as to say that he does not love wisdom and truth. Just as about the being of God, everyone has the generally accepted opinion that He is divine and inaccessible to the understanding of any mind, and everyone is mistaken, imagining Him this way and that; so also Christ, in view of the fact that His name is associated with the idea of ​​various virtues, to love everything, although many cannot confirm by their actions that they love. This, I think, is the Beloved about whom the prophet Isaiah says: I will sing to the Beloved the song of the Beloved about the vineyard (Is. 5:1) and: The vineyard was created for the Beloved, and in the twenty-eighth psalm: The Lord will wipe away the cedars of Lebanon, and crush them like the bulls of Lebanon, and the Beloved like the son of a unicorn (Ps. 28:5-6 ). Verse 7: In whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins (Eph. 1:7). - The one who is a captive and, falling into the power of enemies, has ceased to be free is redeemed; so we, as some say, are captives in this world and are held under the yoke of slavery to princes and powers, and do not free our hands that are bound in chains, and do not lift up our eyes, unless the Redeemer comes. But who is so great and of such qualities that he could redeem the whole world at his own price? Jesus Christ, the Son of God, gave his own Blood and gave us freedom, snatching us from the power of slavery. And indeed, if we believe the stories of the pagans that Codrus, Curtius and Decius Mur stopped the pestilence, famine and wars of [their] states by their own deaths, then how much more should we consider it possible regarding the Son of God that He cleansed with His Blood not only one city, but the whole world. But the Flesh and Blood of Christ is understood in two ways: or, of course, it is divine, about which He Himself said: My Flesh is truly food, and My Blood is truly drink (John 6:55) and: If you do not eat My Flesh and drink My Blood, you will not have eternal life (John 6:53-54); or, of course, the flesh that was crucified, and the blood shed by the blow of a warrior’s spear. According to this division, the difference of flesh and blood is accepted in His saints, so that one has to see the salvation of God, and the other is one who cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Consequently, after redemption by the Blood of Christ, we are presented in Scripture (scribimur) as having received the forgiveness of sins, because if we were not redeemed, it would be useless for us to receive the forgiveness of sins. And no sooner can we receive forgiveness of sins and cease to be slaves than after accepting the price of blood for us from the one who was once victorious. Verse 8: According to the riches of His grace, which [or: which] abounded [a] in us (Eph. 1:8). - Who understands the words: By grace you have been saved, not by works (Eph. 2:8-9) and the parable of the debtor of sixty and five hundred denarii according to the Gospel (Luke 7:41-43), i.e., that whoever receives more indulgence loves more; only he can really know that the grace of God abounded in us in its richness, and especially in the Church, which was gathered from the pagans, which was alien to the covenant and promises of Israel, and through whose crime we inherited salvation. Is not the greatness of grace revealed in Paul and in the other saints, about whom it is said: You do not know that we will judge angels? (1 Cor.6:3) and in another place: To whom the angels desire to come (1 Pet.1:12), and again: My Father, grant that, just as I and You are one, so they also may be one in us (John 17:21). He did not make this wealth of grace empty in Himself, as much as there is strength in human weakness, so that [we] could strive to work and fight and say with the Apostle: His grace was not unfruitful in me (1 Cor. 15:10). And in the one who, forgetting about the greatness of the good deed, rushes to the lower, the richness of God's grace and the breadth of wealth are reduced by [his] poverty. Verse 9: In all wisdom and understanding making known to us the mystery of His will (Eph. 1:9). - That wisdom and reason are different, the Stoics also think this, reasoning as follows: “Wisdom is the knowledge of divine and human things, and reason - only of mortals. According to this distinction, we can understand by wisdom the knowledge of the invisible and visible, and by reason - only the visible. So, the question is: how did God, in all wisdom and reason, make the secret of His will known to us. And, indeed, first we must simply understand that the mystery of His will is our redemption through the Blood of His Son and the remission of sins according to the riches of His grace, which became abundant in us, precisely because we, who believe in suffering (which is stupidity for unbelievers), become possessors of wisdom and understanding. Then, through His Scriptures He made known to us all the mysteries, namely: how He first created heaven and earth and arranged everything that was in them, put it in order and distributed it; how man was formed and how the world was filled until the time of Christ’s suffering; how the invisible is known through the visible. Finally, what exists on earth also needs wisdom and reason. Indeed, who is there among us who knows what keeps birds in the air, fish in rivers, moves human steps and excites the rage of animals? But the diligent reader will immediately object to us with the following: “If Paul knew in part, and prophesied in part, and now sees [like us] through a mirror in a riddle (1 Cor. 13:12), then how was the mystery of God revealed both to him and to the Ephesians in all wisdom and understanding?” Therefore, in view of this necessity, we are moved to change the order of reading and present it thus: According to the counsel of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He has graced us in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of His grace, which abounded among us in all wisdom and understanding, so that, stopping there a place in which exactly the words: In all wisdom and understanding are united with those superior, only then we will add: Making known to us the secret of His will according to His will. But even leaving the same indication that they see [only] in part and prophesy in part, it can be said that the mystery was revealed to them, but not in the sense that they in all wisdom and understanding comprehended the mystery, but that God in all His wisdom and understanding revealed the mystery to them, insofar as they could understand. According to His purpose, which He planned in Him at the end of the fullness of times (Eph. 1:9-10). – Above he said: According to the will of His will, and now: According to His will, that is, with the omission: will. There he used the word: προορισμόν, i.e. predestination to the adoption of sons through Jesus Christ, and here - the word πρόθεσιν, i.e. assumption. But those who are in the habit of arguing about the difference between words argue that there is such a difference between predestination and assumption that predestination about some thing prefigures in the thoughts of the one who determines much earlier what is going to be; A supposition occurs when the arrangement is already close and the action follows almost immediately after the thought. And his words: Presumed in Him should be attributed to the sacrament; Indeed, we saw above that He made known to us the sacrament of His will, this sacrament is the end of the fullness of time, that is, so that everything is fulfilled at the appointed time. For as an heir, while he is small, although all the goods belong to him, the inheritance should not yet belong to him (Gal. 4:1-2); so the sacrament, predestined by God for the adoption of His sons, could not have been established before, but as soon as the time appointed for it had arrived. Paul speaks of this and in another place in the singular: And when the fullness of times had come, God sent His Son (Gal. 4:4), who could not come before the mystery of the fullness of times was fulfilled. Verse 10: To put all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth, in Him (Eph. 1:10). - Instead of leading (recapitulare) in the Latin congregations of St. The book says: renew (instaurare, or restaurare). And I wonder why the translators did not use the Greek word itself, although the scholars (dialectica et philosophia) allowed themselves to do so, as is the case in the Greek language, because the writers of speeches in the afterwords or before the afterwords were in the habit of adding a reminder (recordationem, or rerapitulationem = heading, ἀνακεφαλαίωσιν) at the end of the presentation of the case for the memory of the judges and those who heard the cases, so that what they had previously spoken extensively, then they embraced in a short speech, and everyone began to remember what they had heard. So that's the point of this place. Every time destined for fulfillment before the beginning of the world or after, in the world, both in relation to invisible and visible creatures, prepared for the coming of the Son. So Adam, expelled from paradise, had to be returned back through the Savior (Gen. 3:24): thus, during the creation of the tower (during pandemonium), the unity of language ceased (Gen. 11:7), and in the book of the Acts of the Apostles the gifts of tongues were discovered; so Isaac, as a type of the Lord, himself bore his cross (Gen. 22:6). So Samson, growing his sacred hair, loved the embrace of poor Delilah and told her all the secrets of his heart (Judges 16:17), signifying the secret of the Savior and the truly poor and unfortunate Church of the Gentiles (John 19:16-17). So, in the cross of the Lord and in His suffering everything is crowned [finished], that is, everything is completely brought to this conclusion (ἀνακεφαλαιώσει). To make this more obvious, we will take some example from everyday life. For example, I lent twenty denarii, then five more, then fifteen more, and also gave thirty and three times ten. If I want to combine all this into one, then the entire amount [issued] has reached a hundred, and in one number I have everything that I described before. In the same way, all the sacraments and all the purposes of antiquity, i.e. not only what is destined for heaven, but also for earth is completed in the suffering of Christ. In fact, since Christ once suffered for me, was buried, rose again and went to the Father victorious; then I no longer need the former account, since I receive everything in one. Consider diligently that not only are all the accounts of the events of the Scriptures described by the Holy Spirit as having happened on earth; but even what is hidden from our eyes is found in heaven as if contained in the sufferings of Christ. Verse 11: In whom we are called into an inheritance by lot (sorte), predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11). – The words inheritance and lot, by which we entered into participation with Christ, show that we have passed from one power to another, and in accordance with what is written in Deuteronomy: When the Most High divided the nations, when he scattered the sons of Adam (Deut. 32:8), then we were transferred from the power of angels to part of the inheritance of God. And while they owned what was either entrusted to them or stolen by them; He received His own, and, ascending to the heights, He led [there] those who were in captivity (Ps. 67:19), that is, those who were captured to destruction, He took to life in order to lead to the heights, and in some way the captivity was taken into captivity, since through the second captivity, those previously taken captive are set free. You should also pay attention to the fact that here too προορισμός and πρόθεσις are compared together, that is, predestination and assumption, according to which God acts everything according to the advice of His will. This does not mean that everything that happens in the world is done according to the will and advice of God; in this case (alioquin) the commission of evil must also be attributed to God. This only means that everything He does is done by advice and by will; therefore, it is precisely this that is filled with the intelligence and power of the performer. We humans even want to do a lot on advice, but the action in no way follows our desire. And no one can resist Him, because He does whatever He wants. And He wants that which is full of understanding and counsel: He wants everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). But since no one is saved without his own will (for we have free will), He wants us to desire good, so that when we want, He also wants to fulfill His advice in us. Verse 12: So that we may be to the praise of His glory - [we] who first trusted in Christ (Eph. 1:12). - If he had only said [ or: before, that is, ante vm. tantum], they hoped in Christ, and did not preface the words hoped, which in Greek is expressed by the word προηλπικότες, then the meaning would be clearer, namely, that those who hoped in Christ were called by lot and were predetermined by the assumption of Him who acts according to the advice of His will. And now the addition of the preposition [before] prompts us to that understanding about which we previously discussed, explaining the words of Scripture: Who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly things in Christ, when He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him (Eph. 1: 3-4), that is, precisely to the understanding that just as He, before the foundation of the world, blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly things. chose us; so now, according to the word of the Apostle, we before, that is, from the time of our predestination, election and blessing in heaven, hoped in Christ. But another [interpreter], not holding to this teaching (dogma) that we were and hoped in Christ before we appeared in this body, changes this interpretation as follows: At the coming of the Lord Savior, when in His name every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:10-11), when all things will be subjected to Him, so that some will be subjected voluntarily, others by force of necessity, then those who before the manifestation of His greatness hoped in Him will be in praise of His glory and will be called ἀπηλπικότας [or: ==προηλπικότας]; but those who turn out to believe out of necessity at a time when neither the devil nor His angels can deny that He reigns are those who hope, but not to the praise of His glory. Indeed, we partially see the fulfillment of this even now, because there is one reward for those who voluntarily follow God, and another for those who follow God out of necessity. However, whether by chance or truly, Christ will be proclaimed, if only both the one who hopes and the one who hopes first know that, according to the difference of hope, they have a different reward. Verse 13: In whom you also, having heard the word of the truth of the gospel of your salvation, in whom you also believed, were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Eph. 1:13). - In Which, undoubtedly, means: in Christ. Among others who heard, you Ephesians also heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, believing which you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. But, apparently, [this] thought does not stand firmly due to the sequence of reading; and not to the previously posed words: In Whom (in quo) and you, having heard the word of truth of the gospel of your salvation, the following is added, because immediately after that and for the second time it is placed: in Whom (in quo), which, as superfluous, after being removed from the middle [of the text], can restore coherence to the reading. But the Apostle Paul allowed this because of his special love for Christ, so he mentioned it many times (superflue) and even in those words where there was no need for this (extraordinarie). A diligent reader in all his messages can discern this without us. Therefore, here, used for the second time: In Which, it seems to complicate thought and leave the previous assumption without connection. For the Ephesians it is no small praise that they heard not a confession, but the word of truth. Indeed, that there is a great difference between preaching the truth and the word, we read about this in another epistle: “And my word,” he says, “and my preaching, are not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in the demonstration of the spirit and power (1 Cor. 2:4). Let us look more carefully where it is written in another place that someone has heard the word of truth, so that from a comparison of these places one can clearly understand the meaning of the words of the Apostle Paul, and where the Gospel is also named either simply or with an addition. For example, with the addition: My gospel (Rom. 16:25). The gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 2:11) and: the everlasting gospel (Rev. 14:6) or what now says: the gospel of your salvation. A is simply [used] when it says about Luke: Whose praise is in the Gospel in all the churches (2 Cor. 8:18). But he who hears and believes the word of truth is sealed with the Holy Spirit of truth. For there are many who hear and remain in unbelief; they, of course, did not receive sealing from the Holy Spirit. And to the ruler of Tire it is said: You are the seal of the likeness of God (Ezek.28:12). And he is the seal of God in this sense: just as the first man was destined to be created in the image and likeness, so in the second rebirth, having received the Holy Spirit, he is sealed by Him and receives the image of the Creator. We must also ask about where in another place it is written: the Holy Spirit of promise, or what this means; I believe that the Holy Spirit makes holy the one on whom it is poured out, the Spirit of wisdom - wise, the Spirit of understanding - prudent, the Spirit of counsel - cautious and prudent, the Spirit of strength - strong, the Spirit of knowledge - knowledgeable, the Spirit of piety - pious, the Spirit of fear - timid and trembling with the fear of God; so also the Spirit of promise, or the spirit of God, makes the one in whom He dwells as if He were God and a surety [for himself]. On the contrary, just as the unclean spirit and abominable inhabitant prepares for itself an abominable dwelling and the spirit of fornication produces fornicators, about whom the prophet speaks: They are deceived by the spirit of fornication (Hos. 4:12), and the evil spirit makes people corrupt, the spirit of the devil - devils; Whatever the liquid poured into new vessels, these vessels retain the same smell and taste for a long time. Verse 14: Who is the earnest of our inheritance for the redemption of sonship, to the praise of His glory (Eph. 1:14). -The Latin translator instead of [Greek] ==ἀῤῥαβών put a pledge (pignus - pledge, sign, proof), but the words ἀῤῥαβών and pignus do not mean the same thing. Ἀῤῥαβών (deposit) is given as some kind of evidence and obligation for the purchase to be made; a pignus, in Greek ἐνέχυρον, [is] given in return for the money taken, so that when it is returned, the lender returns the due security to the one who returns the money. Then in the words: for the redemption of sonship in Greek there is not the word υἱοθεσία (adoption - adomptio), but there is περιποίησιν, which we can convey in words: acquisition or possession, and, however, we will not express the power of the word. This is because there are many words that cannot be transferred either from Greek to Latin, or from Hebrew to Greek and vice versa; neither from Latin into Greek, nor from Greek into Hebrew. So, the one who has received not only the Holy Spirit, but also the Holy Spirit of promise, at the same time receives the earnest of an inheritance: this inheritance is eternal life. So, the quality of the deposit indicates what type of purchase will be and what kind of acquisition (for example: for ten solidi - a building worth a hundred solidi [gold coins like chervonets], and for a hundred solidi - an estate worth a thousand solidi); So, by the difference of the deposit, the greatness of the resulting inheritance is recognized. But although someone will be holy and perfect and, by the judgment of all, will be considered worthy of blessedness, it is now still necessary that he receive the Holy Spirit as a deposit. And if such is the deposit, then what will the possession itself be? But just as the deposit given to us is not outside of us, but within us, so that inheritance, that is, the kingdom of God, which is within us, is found within us. And indeed, what heritage could be greater than contemplation and mental vision of the beauty of Wisdom and the Word, and Truth, and Light and reflection on the most ineffable and majestic nature of God, and on the essence of all that [or: which]: created in the likeness of God? But this Holy Spirit of promise, the earnest of our inheritance, is given to the saints that they may be redeemed and united to God to the praise of His glory. This does not mean that God needs anyone's praise, but that God's praise benefits those who praise Him, and when through individual deeds they recognize His greatness and glory, they irresistibly strive to praise Him with a feeling of amazement [before Him]. Verse 15ff: Therefore, hearing your faith in the Lord Jesus and in all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, making remembrance of you in my prayers, so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the enlightened eyes of your heart (Eph. 1:15-18). – Although the translation of this passage word for word may excuse the Apostle in the eyes of an attentive reader for the fact that the entire composition of the speech seems to suffer from prolixity and has errors against the rules, it must be shown that there is an error here in the Greek language as well. Therefore, we - mainly in response to the accusations of the Greeks against us - will try to set out the sequence of reading, according to the meaning, as follows: Hearing your faith in the Lord Jesus and in all His saints, and seeing the difference of your faith in the Lord and all His saints, I do not cease to give thanks and remember you in my prayers, so that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ will give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation. And further words: The enlightened eyes of your heart can be conveyed by rearranging them like this: Hearing your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in the knowledge of Him, the enlightened eyes of your heart, and [love] for all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you and make remembrance of you in my prayers, so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation for knowledge. Then: the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father of glory, must be understood in such a way that, just as our Lord Jesus Christ himself is the Word, Wisdom, Truth, Peace, Truth, Strength, so He is Glory, according to what is said elsewhere: The glory of God will appear (Lev. 9:23). And in almost the entire Old Testament it was written that the glory of God was visible above the ark of the covenant (Numbers 9:15–23); and the Psalmist sings: Arise, my glory, arise (Ps. 107:3). This Glory, illuminating the world with its radiance, created a church for itself from a girl’s womb. The Father of Glory becomes the God of this church. And where Christ is glory, there only He is called Father: where Jesus is, there His God is called without any addition. So, this God of the perceived man, the Father of Glory, Wisdom, Truth, will give to those who believe in His Son the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that they may be wise and with open face behold the glory of God. When this wisdom and this revelation make them wise, and impart to them hidden secrets, then immediately after this it follows that they receive the enlightened eyes of the heart. These words prove that according to the members of the outer man, the members of the inner man are also spoken of. Indeed, he clearly named the eyes of the heart, which we cannot think of without mind and feeling. The famous word of the Psalmist agrees with this place: Enlighten my eyes, lest I ever fall asleep in the sleep of death (Ps. 12:4) and in another place: Wise eyes are in his head (Eccl. 2:14); for if we take here the eyes of the body, then, of course, both the eyes of the wise and the foolish are on his head. So, the head of the wise is understood as meaning. And the words of the Apostle: In the knowledge of Him, - in Greek ἐπιγνώσει αὐτοῦ, - some understand as if between γνῶσιν and ἐπίγνωσιν, i.e. between notio and agnitio (knowledge and recognition) there is such a difference: the first refers to what we did not know before, and then began to know, and the second - to what we ceased to know, although we knew before, and then [again] remember it, and [thus] in our imagination a certain former life in heaven is presented, after having been thrown into these bodies and having forgotten God, we have now come to know Him through revelation, according to the well-known word [of the Psalmist]: All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord (Ps. 21:28), presenting and other similar things. Verse 18ff: So that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance among the saints, and how great is the might of His power, which He worked in Christ, raising Him from the dead (Eph. 1:18-20). - That person who, according to the words of the Apostle, will be given the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that he looks with open eyes of the heart, [he] will know what is intended for those who are called, and what should be expected for the saints of God, and what He has abundantly and generously to give to those who will hold His inheritance. For this knowledge in those who, in the likeness of Paul, are called believers, the greatness of the power of God is necessary, through which He acted in Christ Jesus, whom He raised from the dead. And the inheritance must be understood in two ways: either in the sense that the Firstborn of all creation is the inheritance of the soul of our Lord Jesus Christ and that man who is composed of body and soul, and we, together with the inheritance of the soul, inherit God’s Word; or in the sense that our inheritance in Christ is precisely the one Divinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so that, as inheritance is called, [inheritance] of houses and towns, passing to the heirs; so God Himself is the heritage of the believers and saints. In the Old Testament it is written: But you will not give the sons of Levi an inheritance (inheritance) among your brothers, because I am their inheritance (Num. 18:20) and in another place: The Lord is their inheritance (Deut. 18:2); and that saint who knows that without God he has nothing boldly says: The Lord is my inheritance (Ps. 72:26) and: You are part of my inheritance and my cup (Ps. 15:5). It is not insignificant for us to know the hope of calling and the riches of the glory of the Lord in the saints, because to know this we need the power that God demonstrated in the resurrection of His Son, whom He raised from the dead not just once, but forever, and made Him free among the dead, not confirmed by any infection of death. Every day Christ rises from the dead, every day He resurrects in the souls of those who repent, and this is not because even in the flesh He did not have the power to give His soul and receive it again (for no one can take it, but He Himself gives it), but because, according to the dispensation of the flesh and sonship, He, as man and the Son of God, appears to be resurrected from God. Verse 21: And appointing Him to sit at His right hand in the regions of the heavens, above all principality and authority and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come (Eph. 1:21). - He showed Divine power in human likeness, that is, not in the fact that a throne is provided, and God the Father sits on it and has the Son sitting with Him, but in the fact that we, judging and reigning, can only imagine under our images. This also includes what is written in the hundred and ninth psalm: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool (Ps. 109:1). Indeed, if, according to the custom of the King, the Son sits on the right hand of the Father, then, by virtue of the same custom, it is necessary that He be greater than the one who sits on the left side. And so that we know that this is understood differently than the literal meaning says, the proof of this is given by the same Psalm in the words: Thou art a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek: The Lord is at Thy right hand (Ps. 109:4-5). But how does the Father, for His part, appear to be at the right hand of the Son, when the Son sits at the right hand of the Father? Or how is it said that the earth is His footstool, and the sky is His throne, when, according to the words of the prophet Isaiah, the earth appears to be contained in His hand, and the sky is measured by the length of [His] span (Is. 40:12). Indeed, He cannot be inside what He holds, and hold in His hand what surrounds Him, as if sitting. Therefore, how approaching God or moving away from Him should be understood not in a spatial sense, but in relation to a person’s merits, because the saints are close to Him, and sinners, about whom the prophet says: Behold, those who move away from You will perish (Ps. 72:27), move away from all closeness with Him; so to be on His right or left hand should be understood in the sense that saints are on His right hand, and sinners are on His left; The Savior confirms this same thing in the Gospel when he says that the sheep are on the right hand, and the goats are on the left (Matthew 25:33). Moreover, the very word sit denotes the royal power with which God has shown favor to those over whom He has deigned to sit [as a Master], because He controls precisely them and has them [as if harnessed] in His chariot and, at His beck, directs their free necks, which previously leaned here and there. After this, the question arises: how can the following be understood: Above all authority and power and strength and dominion, and every name that is called, not only in this age, but also in the next. And indeed, the right and left sides and the seat have already been said. Now it is necessary to ask: where did the Apostle find these four names in Scripture, i.e., principality, power, strength and dominion, and from where he brought them into view (in medium). After all, one cannot think that he, taught in the divine Scripture, said something that is not found in the sacred scrolls. Therefore, I believe that he either borrowed (in medium protulisse) from the Jewish traditions what was hidden in them (secreta sunt), or, written in a literal sense [as an actual event], he, realizing that the law is spiritual, explained in a more sublime sense, and what is depicted in the books of Numbers and Kings about ancestors, leaders, commanders of units and centurions, he recognized as the image of other authorities and kingdoms: namely, that in the heavenly spaces there are principalities, there are powers, there are dominions and powers and other names of ministries, which neither we can name, nor Paul, I think, could count, being in a body that burdened [his spirit]. If there are principalities, authorities, powers and dominions, then it is necessary that they have subordinates, and those who fear them, and those who serve them, and those who are strengthened by their strength. These divisions of ministries will be not only in the present time, but also in the future age, so that according to personal (singulos) success, according to honors, according to ascent or descent, each one either increases or decreases, and is in subordination to one or another power, strength, superiority and dominion. We are small people, destined to crumble into dust and ashes, but if, with the consent of people, we rise to the level of kings, then we have such a great difference in our servants that we can more easily comprehend them in thought than count them. For example: The head of the civil part has (under the authority) judges, provinces and his degrees; then the army: how many commanders-in-chief, leaders, unit commanders and various detachments is it divided into? And we think that the Lord of lords and the King of kings is content with only simple service! Verses 22, 23: And He put all things under His feet, and made Him head over all things in the Church, which is His Body, the fullness of Him fulfilling all things in all (Eph. 1:22-23). – It seems that this is contradicted by what is written elsewhere: For we do not yet see that everything is subordinate to Him; and also that He must reign until He puts all enemies under His feet (1 Cor. 15:25). Indeed, if everything is not yet subject to Him, and He must reign until everything is subject to Him, then how did God put everything under His feet? And especially when in another place Paul himself testifies: When all things are put in subjection to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to Him who subjected all things to Him, so that God will be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28). From the comparison of these passages it follows (ergo): or that, according to the foreknowledge of the future, the Apostle speaks of it as having been accomplished, similar to what was stated above in words (qui ait): He blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; or, perhaps - if this should be attributed to the past - we should understand that even those who are not voluntarily subordinate to Him serve Him by virtue of their nature, for example, demons, Jews, pagans. Indeed, they do not serve Christ and are not subjugated under His feet, but since they were created for a good purpose (in bonam partem), they are subjected to His power against their will, although, by virtue of their free will, they oppose Him. The following also comes to this meaning: And He made Him the head over everything in the Church, which is His Body: because, just as the head has very many members under Him, many of which (nonnulla) are vicious and weak, so our Lord, being the Head of the Church, has as His members all those who unite in the Church - both saints and sinners. But the saints are subject to Him voluntarily, while sinners are subject to Him out of necessity; and at the same time it happens that even enemies are brought under His feet. For this reason, in his word everything seems to be a question, because the words: Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet (Ps. 109:1) and in another place: He must reign until He puts all enemies under His feet (1 Cor. 15:25) do not really need interpretation, because what is hostile to Him, when it is defeated, will submit under His feet and will come under the power of the Winner. So, one can answer that no one is without sin, and even the stars are not pure before the face of God, and all creation fears the coming of the Lord (Job 15:14-15): therefore, it is affirmed that the Cross of the Savior cleansed not only what was on earth, but also what was in heaven. And another interpreter relates the word everything not to the universe, but only to what is being discussed, in exactly the same way - as in the expression: “The whole city shouted,” it is not said that there was not a single one in the city who was silent, but that in view of the very large part [who shouted], part of the minority is also indicated. And Paul himself says: All seek their own, and not the things of God (Phil. 2:21) and: All have forsaken me. This does not mean that Timothy and the other disciples who were with him at the time of writing the epistle abandoned him, but that he was abandoned by the majority, that is, by all in the sense of the greater part. The word of the Psalm conveys a similar meaning to this: All turned away, [all] together were useless. There is no one who does good, not even one today (Ps. 13:3). In fact, if everyone has evaded, then the one who speaks has also evaded. And in another place: I said in my troubled soul; Every man is a lie (Ps. 116:2). But, after all, what he said is either true or false. If every man is a liar, then the one who speaks is also a liar, and thus his statement that every man is a liar is not true. Then, if his statement is true, then the word everyone should be understood in the sense above, that is, in the sense that most people do not tell the truth. And in another place the Apostle Paul writes: teaching all people, and again: convincing all people, he writes this way not because he taught all people (after all, how many people there are who even to this day have not heard either the teaching of the Apostle or his name), but because he taught and exhorted all those who are in the church and want to know what is God. What follows is: The Completeness of That. Who fulfills everything in everyone. This must also be understood, of course, like the well-known words: Then he will submit to Him who has subjected all things to Himself, so that God will be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28). Indeed, God now exists in individual people only partially: in one, as truth, in another, as purity, in a third, as abstinence; in one - as wisdom, in the other - as fortress; and it is even difficult for holy and perfect men to have all the virtues in equal measure. And when, at the end of what exists and at the end of the world, everything will be subjugated to Him, everything will be fulfilled in everyone, and everyone will have everything that individual people previously possessed. Moreover, his words: And He made Him the Head of the Church, which is His Body, over all things, the fulfillment of Him who fulfills all things in all can be understood not only in relation to the Church of men, but also of angels, and all powers, and rational creatures. Likewise, the words: Which is fulfilled by all in all, should in no way be understood as they sound; He did not say: “Who fulfills all things in all,” but said: “Who fulfills all things in all.” After all, one thing means to perform, and another means to be fulfilled, because in one case it denotes the actor, and in the second, the one being acted upon. Indeed, just as a general is completed when his troops multiply daily, new regions appear, and the population increases, so our Lord Jesus Christ Himself is fulfilled in everyone in the sense that everyone believes in Him, and daily come to faith in Him; however, in such a way that He is fulfilled by all in all, that is, that those who believe in Him are filled with all virtues and, according to the word of the Gospel, allow Him (faciant eum) to be perfected in age, wisdom and grace, not only with God, but also with people (Luke 2:52). Chapter II. – Verses 1-5: And you, since you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the age of this world, according to the will of the prince of the power of the air, the spirit, who now works in the sons of distrust: among them we all once moved according to the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature sons of sin, like the rest. And God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, although we were dead in our sins, made us alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:1-5). - Before discussing the meaning of individual expressions, it seems necessary to us to restore the order of reading [of this passage]: “And you, when you were dead in trespasses and sins, God made alive together with Christ, who is rich in mercy because of His abundant love with which he loved us; and when we were dead in trespasses, in which we once walked according to the time of this world, according to the will of the prince of the power of the air, [i.e. according to the will of] the spirit, which now operates in the sons of distrust, among whom we once moved according to the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature the sons of wrath, [we] He quickened with Christ,” so that, simply put (ἀπὸ καινοῦ), is meant as twice repeated: and He quickened us with Christ. A causal the union in the place where it says: God, who is rich in mercy, in our opinion, was added either by unlearned scribes (scriptoribus), or even by Paul himself, who was not skilled in the word, but not in the knowledge he abundantly acquired (2 Cor. 11:6). But it is clearly said that sin is the death of the soul, precisely in the words: And you, who were dead in your trespasses and sins, according to what is said in Prophet Ezekiel: The soul that sins will die (Ezek.18:4). And since crimes, - which in Greek are called παραπτώματα, - according to the word production of the same language, are in the proper sense the word of the Scriptures (although - delicta = crimes, misdeeds are more correctly conveyed by the word πλημμέλιαι = errors, errors); then the question is: what is the significance of [these actions], or in what way do they differ from sins, that is, what is the difference between crimes (misdemeanors - παραπτώματα and sins - ἁμαρτίας). After all, [some] say that misdeeds are, as it were, the beginning of sins, since the thought silently (tacita) creeps up on us, but with some visible opposition on our part does not yet push us into the abyss (destruction - ad ruinam). Therefore, in the eighteenth psalm (Ps. 19:13) it is written: Misdeeds, or παραπτώματα, who understands? because it is difficult to understand the roots, the source of sins, and sin occurs when something is expressed in action, reached the end. Let us also ask what it means: in which you once walked throughout the age of this world; Is there another age that does not belong to this world, but to other worlds, about which Clement writes in his message: The Ocean and the worlds that are beyond it; or is there only this world, which from the beginning of the time of the creation of Adam to the end of its time opens and passes?, or perhaps the world is another name for the prince of this air, who now acts in the sons of distrust. It is written in the Epistle to the Galatians: So that He might snatch us out of this ungodly world (Gal.1:4): also in this very epistle: Giving a ransom for the time, because the days are evil (Eph.5:16); also the days of Jacob are shown to be short-lived and very unfavorable (Gen.47:9); this is either because the time of this life, during which we are kept imprisoned in this age, is hard and filled with labors, or because Satan himself, as we said above, is called by the name of the world and this age. This is immediately stated in the following words: By the will of the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now operates in the sons of distrust. Indeed, under the spirit of power, the prince of the air, who is in this air, is of course the devil, who now works in the sons of distrust, because he cannot work in those who believe in the Lord. He speaks about this below: Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of this darkness, against the spirits of evil in the heavenly places. This does not mean that the devil and his companions are in this world, instilling sins in people, and can revolve in the sky from which they were cast out according to their merits; but the fact that the sky means this air above us, in accordance with the well-known word of the Savior: Look at the birds of the air (Matthew 6:26) and so on. After all, it is obvious that birds fly not through the sky, but through the air. The words follow: Among whom we all once revolved in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and thoughts. His words: among which should be attributed to offenses, because above he equally compared two concepts: And you, when you were dead in crimes and sins, and to sins he attributed the words: In which you once walked, and to crimes, apparently, nothing was attached that could complement the meaning, but now he says: In which crimes we all revolved, and added: we all, so that it did not seem that he was excluding himself out of conceit. But whoever says about himself that he has been spinning confesses to the misdeeds of the past, and not to the present. He says: We once turned, but not in one crime, but “in the transgressions of our flesh”: for the flesh expresses its desires contrary to the spirit, and the spirit contrary to the flesh (Gal. 5:17). They fulfilled not just the will of the flesh, but many wishes, and not only the wishes of the flesh, but also thoughts (mentis), instead of which in the Latin lists there is the word thoughts (cogitationum). And between the sin of the flesh and the sin of thought, in my opinion, there is such a difference: the sin of the flesh is shamelessness and intemperance, and the fact that its service is carried out in passionate movements. And crimes of thought refer to teachings contrary to the truth and to heretical corruption, so we can say that very many of the heretics (although this is rare) fulfill the desires of thought, and not the lusts of the flesh, and many, in contrast to those who belong to the Church, fulfill the lusts of the flesh, and not the mind; and there are very many who fulfill the lusts of both the flesh and the mind. But we said this not in the sense that heretics do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (because they have more carnal vices than ours), but so that, through the example presented, it would be easier to understand what we wanted to show. And they were, he says, by nature children of wrath, like others. Let the heretics, who maintain that there are different natures, answer: How was it that Paul, who was undoubtedly spiritual by nature, was a son of wrath, like the others who had hitherto been in error? And we affirm that initially, by nature, all people were sons of wrath, or due to the base and mortal body and the attachment of the human mind to evil (Gen. 8:21), which is why Solomon says that there is no righteous person on earth: who will do good and will not sin (Eccl. 7:20); or due to the fact that from the time we are able to have knowledge of God and reach maturity, we sin either in deed, or in word, or in thought. So we were sons of wrath, like the rest, and all the saints who were redeemed from wrath by the Blood of Christ. Indeed, if Paul, who lived blamelessly according to the requirements of the law (juxta Justitiam quae in leg 1 sit), says that he was by nature a child of wrath, then why are we afraid to testify that those who later became saints were also children of wrath. Regarding all of them, one can truly say: When the commandment came, sin was quickened, but they themselves were dead. And the “sons of wrath” must be understood as “the son of destruction,” “the son of iniquity,” “the son of death”; this is not in the sense that there is some kind of anger, destruction or lawlessness in their nature, which has children, but in the sense that they are called children of that quality (rei) that operates in individual people; Thus, “sons of Gehenna” are those who are to be burned by the fire of Gehenna. Another [interpreter] thinks that we are called sons of wrath in the same way as sons of the devil, because the devil is destruction, wrath, and death. Devoured by mighty death (Isa.52–70); and: The last [or: after all] the enemy will be abolished - death (1 Cor. 15:26): and in relation to the devil himself: Destruction was created (Ezek. 28) (according to LXX), it was created of its own will, and was not created from the beginning. Thus, just as he is called death, because through his envy death entered the earthly world, and through him those who formerly lived became dead, [it is called] destruction because he destroys those whom he deceived; This is how it is called anger because of the cruelty that it reveals in relation to people. There are those who in the well-known narrative of the book of Kings - when David numbered the people of Israel and, according to the word of Scripture, brought upon himself the wrath of the Lord: And the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel and He stirred up David, saying [in his face] (2 Sam. 24:1) and further, - under the wrath of the Lord they think to see the devil, although, according to the peculiarities of the Greek language, the writer does not speak in the feminine gender of the wrath of the Lord, speaking (λέγουσα), and in the masculine gender (λέγων); because the Lord sends His anger and His wrath through evil angels. So God, who is rich in mercy and rich in His love with which He loved the human race, and love not simple, but abundant, when we were dead in our sins, quickened us and not only quickened us (for this is not enough for His goodness and greatness), but quickened us with Jesus Christ, giving us to have the same life with Christ. But some, instead of our present interpretation of the words, translated: And they were the sons of wrath not: by nature, but: completely or: completely, because the word φύσει (by nature) has a double meaning. But although it does not sound like this, it must be understood as we have explained it. By grace you are saved. – The passions of the present are unworthy of the future glory that will be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18), therefore we are saved rather by grace than by our works. For we cannot repay God for what He has given us. Verse 6: And he made us sit together, and at the same time gave us to sit in the heavenly [mansions] in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6). – Above, he said that God raised Christ from the dead and gave Him to sit at His right hand in heaven, above all principality and power and strength and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age, but also in the future. And now he adds: Because He also stirred us up with Him and gave us to sit at His right hand in heaven. Thus the question is asked: “How did God, who saved us and awakened us, at the same time allow [us] to sit with Christ?” And if anyone intends to give a simpler answer to this, he will argue that [the Apostle], in view of the foreknowledge of God, spoke, as if already about what had happened, about what is about to happen; and that in Scripture the future is usually depicted through the past tense. So, for example, about the Cross of the Lord: They pierced My hands and My feet (Ps. 21:17), and in another place about His suffering: Like a sheep He was led to the slaughter (Is. 53:7), and also about suffering from scourging: By His stripes we were healed (Is. 53:5), and in another place (ibid.): For the iniquity of My people He was led to death ( Isa.53:8) (according to LXX). And so, since the future is always doubtful, so that the hope of people does not waver, is not shaky, as if what has already happened is said about what God knows how it will be (for for Him there is nothing doubtful): so that those who hear about this will consider what is to happen as if it had already happened, because, according to the teaching of the sages, what has happened can no longer be attributed to the number unfulfilled. And another interpreter, who understands the resurrection and the Kingdom of Christ in a spiritual sense, did not think to assert that the saints are already sitting and reigning with Christ, because, after all, just as a saint is not in the flesh, although he lives in the flesh, but turns into the heavenly, although he walks on earth and, ceasing to be flesh, is completely turned into spirit; so in heaven he sits with Christ, because the Kingdom of God is within us (Luke 17:21), and where our treasure is, there will our heart be also (Matt. 6:21); and, being firm and immovable, we sit with Christ, Wisdom, Righteousness, Truth. But we can also say that just as we have received only the pledge of the Holy Spirit, having not yet received His fullness, so we sit and reign with Christ, having not yet received a perfect presence in heaven. Verse 7: To show in the coming times the abundant riches of His grace in the goodness that is in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:7). - What is the greatness of the good deed and how varied the grace by which the Lord gave us, freed from the confusion of this world, to sit and reign with Christ, this is especially revealed from the fact that in future centuries He has to show His glory not to one, but to all rational creatures [standing] above us and will reveal His wealth: because we, who were once under the power of the law of hell, - as a result of our vices and sins, so that we were subject both to the works of the flesh and to the punishments [for them], - now we will sit with Christ and reign with Him. And we will not sit in some low place, but above all principality, power, strength and dominion, and every name that is named under heaven, not only in this age, but also in the future. For if Christ, raised from the dead, sits at the right hand of God in heaven, above all principality and power and strength and dominion, etc., and if we sit and reign with Christ; then it is necessary to think that we too will sit above what He sits above. But perhaps (qui) the diligent reader will examine the question and say: "So, what? Is man higher than the angels and all the authorities in heaven?" And since it is dangerous to give an affirmative answer to this, let him attribute principalities, and powers, and powers, and dominions, and every name that is named under heaven, not only in this age, but also in the future (especially since everything will be subdued under the feet of Christ), not to the good, but to the hostile side, namely: let him say that these powers are the traitor angels, and the prince of this world, and Lucifer who rises in the morning; Above them, the saints ultimately have to sit with Christ, also giving their blessings to those who are now unbridled and abusing their freedom, wander here and there and are cast into the abyss of sins. When they have such sitting [sessores - horsemen] above them, they will begin to be governed according to their will. But another [interpreter] of the words of the Apostle: To show in future ages the abundant riches of His grace in goodness over us in Christ Jesus refers to the understanding that we are saved not by our merit, but by His grace, and the proof of His great goodness is that He died more for sinners than for the righteous (For who would dare to die for a good person?) and has to give us that which no eye has seen, no ear has not seen. heard, and what did not enter into the heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9). All this, in part, has already been given in Christ Jesus, because without Christ no one can be called good. Verses 8, 9: For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves: for [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph. 2:8-9). “Because,” he says, God has to show in goodness, in the ages that are to come, the riches of His grace, that you are saved by grace through faith, and not through works. And this very faith is not from you, but from Him who called you. And this [is said] so that a hidden thought does not creep up on us: “If we are saved not through our works, then we are undoubtedly saved through faith, and, therefore, on the other hand, it belongs to us that we are saved. That’s why he added and said that even faith itself is not a consequence of our will, but of a divine gift. But this does not mean that free will is denied to a person and that, according to the word The Apostle, in the Epistle to the Romans, - [this matter] belongs not to the current or willing, but to the merciful God (Rom. 9:16), but the fact that free will itself has its source in God, and everything relates to His goodness, since He allowed us to desire even good. And all this so that no one can boast that he was saved by himself and not by God. Verse 10: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared, that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10). - He added the reason why we are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from us, but by gift from God; he says: For we are His creation, that is, what we live, breathe, think and can believe belongs to Him, because He is our creator. And carefully note that the Apostle did not say: We are His image (figuratio) and formation like a cast (plasmatio), but: We are His creation. Indeed, the formation of the cast represents the origin from the liquid earth: and the creation represents the beginning in the image and likeness of God. This is also indicated in the one hundred and eighteenth Psalm through a comparison of various actions: Thy hands created and formed me (Ps. 119:73). The first place belongs to creation, and then education [is already accomplished]. And since the name of creation and dispensation is always connected with great actions, for example: “that city was founded” or: “this world was created in the beginning,” and since each of the saints, according to the diversity of teaching and virtues in himself, is the whole world; therefore, even now we are called created in Christ and we were created for good works, either those that we ourselves have done, or have to do, or in other creatures to which our conversion should relate, so that we may walk in what God has prepared, giving us great hope, as long as we walk in what God has wonderfully prepared. And since we have approached the concept (nomen) of creation, and since Wisdom in the Proverbs of Solomon says that She was created at the beginning of the ways of God (Proverbs 8:22); then many, in order not to be forced to call Christ a creature, deny the entire mystery of Christ, so that they say that this wisdom does not indicate Christ, but the wisdom of the world. We freely declare that there is no danger of calling Him a creature, Whom, with full confidence in the fulfillment of our hope, we confess to be both a worm, and a man, and crucified, and a curse, and especially [freely] because in the two preceding verses this Wisdom promises to say what will be (sunt) after the lapse of centuries (Prov. 8:20-21); but since Christ created the ages, and what is said subsequently is what He has already promised to say in the future; then this subsequent should no longer refer to the nature of the Divinity, but to the incarnation, especially since in the Hebrew lists there are not the words: The Lord created Me as the beginning of His ways, but the words: The Lord has Me. But there is a great difference between possession and creation, because he who is in possession, of course, exists and reacts, and has the properties to be in power. A created connection of speech shows that in this place, instead of Creator in Min’s text, there should be the word creatus. there is one who did not exist before he began to exist, or [something] is transferred to another from one who was before, as for example, and we are now called created by Jesus Christ - namely: we are not created in the sense that we did not exist before, but were created in good works [for good works]. Therefore, David, in the fiftieth Psalm, prayerfully cries out: Create in me a pure heart, O God (Ps. 50:12). But there is no doubt that even before sin he had a pure heart, when God says about him: I have found David the son of Jehovah after My own heart (Acts 13:22). But just as in this place creation is used in the sense of restoration, so in Christ creation and creation (foundation) can be understood in accordance with individual acts and success [in them], that is, so that Christ is created, born and established in believers daily, because, according to various merits, they are called “mountains” and “valleys”, “hills” and "plains". Verses 11, 12: Remember, therefore, that since you, who were once pagans in the flesh, called the foreskin from that which is called circumcision in the flesh by the hand, were at that time without Christ, alienated from fellowship with Israel and strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world (Eph. 2:11-12). - By calling the Ephesians pagans in the flesh, he shows that they were not pagans in spirit, like the Jews; on the contrary, they were pagans in spirit, but Israelites in the flesh. So, Jews and Gentiles are divided into four categories. Some were circumcised both in the flesh and in the spirit, as were: Moses, Aaron, the Apostles and Nathanael, the secret Judaism, whom the Lord, beholding, says: This is truly an Israelite, in whom there is no guile (John 1:47). Others are those who were not circumcised either in the flesh or in the spirit, such as: Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh, and now a great many Roman and barbarian peoples who do not believe in God. The third are those who are circumcised only in the flesh, but have an uncircumcised spirit, to whom the prophet says: Be circumcised before your God, but do not circumcise [only] your foreskin (Jer. 4:4); and in another place: All the Gentiles are not circumcised in the flesh, and the house of Israel is not circumcised in heart (Jer. 9:26). The latter are those about whom we are now speaking: That you were once pagans in the flesh, who were called the foreskin from that which is called circumcision in the flesh, done by hand. Such is now the entire multitude of believers and the entire world filled with pagans. So, to distinguish them from the pagans in spirit from the Jews, the Ephesians are called pagans in the flesh, because in the spirit they were Israelites; after all, in another place Scripture mentions carnal Israel, saying this: You see Israel in the flesh (1 Cor. 10:18), because in spirit he was not Israel; but the Apostle skillfully moderated his words like this: Which were called outer garments, “they were called,” he says, “from that which was called circumcision made by hand,” and not: “were.” Not because he was circumcised, but because he adopted this name for himself, so that in reality he was circumcision done by hand, and not circumcision according to the Spirit. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that we, without Christ who were once alienated, according to him, from the treatment of Israel and in alienation from the promises and Covenant of God, since we have now accepted His promise and Testament, are called those who already have treatment with Israel; thus, all the requirements of the law were fulfilled in us, for the law is spiritual, and we are mainly circumcised and keep the sabbath in the spirit, making spiritual sacrifices, since their church and altar were destroyed; We offer tithes of our fruits to God, we slay the Immaculate Lamb and, having girded our loins, eat the Passover fully prepared [for the journey]. For just as circumcision in the flesh is called done by the hand, so in contrast to it another circumcision is presented, which, as we said, is not done by the hand, but by the Spirit. And his words: Having no hope and without God in the world, do not mean that the Ephesians, before they believed in Christ, did not have many gods whom they worshiped, but that if anyone exists without the true God, he does not have any god. And it is significantly added: without God in the world, because they had a god, whom God knew in advance they would have; and in the face of the Foresight they were not without God; but in the world they were without God. Verse 13 (and beginning 14): But now in Christ Jesus you, who once were far off, have become near in the blood of Christ, for He is our peace (Eph. 2:13–14). - God is everywhere and everywhere completely, therefore who can move away from Him in Whom everything is? And He Himself says through the prophet: I am a God who draws near and not from afar (Jer. 23:23). And the Psalmist testifies: If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I descend to hell, You are with me (Ps. 139:8). Thus, although all things are in Him, it is said that He is far from the wicked, in accordance with the words of Scripture: God is far from the wicked (Proverbs 15:29). He from whom the wicked are removed is close to the saints. Finally, although He was far from the Ephesians, He became close to them in the Blood of Jesus; but with even greater care we must pay attention to the fact that without the Blood of the Lord Jesus no one will approach God, for He Himself is our peace, as He says: My peace I give to you, My peace I leave with you (John 14:27). For just as wisdom makes wise men, and righteousness makes righteous, and sanctification makes saints, and life makes us living, so peace itself makes us reconciled, so that we say: With those who hate the world I was at peace (Ps. 119:6-7). And if Christ is the peace of believers, then, consequently, whoever lives without peace does not have Christ. Verses 14-18: Who made both one and the other, and, breaking down the middle barrier of the wall and eliminating hostility in His flesh, and the law of commandments by teachings (dogmatibus), so that in Himself the two would form into one new man, giving (faciens) peace, so as to reconcile both in one body to God through the cross, putting to death the hostility therein, and coming to preach peace to you who were in distant, and peace to those who are near, for through Him we both have access to the Father in one spirit (Eph. 2:14-18). – The middle barrier and wall is the one that separated one and the other people. Regarding her, the book of Genesis says about the birth of twins by a midwife: Why was the barrier destroyed for your sake (Gen. 38:29). So, after the Savior in His flesh removed the wisdom of the flesh, which is hostile to God (Rom. 8:7), and replaced the commandments of the Law with the teachings of the Gospel, in order to create one Christian people out of Judaism and paganism, preaching peace and harmony to us who were far away, and to those remnants of the Jews who from the people of Israel believed through the preaching of the apostles; then through Him we came to God and knew that we have one in the spirit of the Father, and what He says in the Gospel was fulfilled: And there will be one flock and one shepherd (John 10:16), and again: And I have other sheep, which are not from this sheepfold, indicating by this that we must be gathered from the nations of the pagans. And the enmity, which was destroyed in the Flesh of the Savior, was killed through the cross, for it is written: To reconcile both to God in one body, through the cross, killing the enmity therein (Eph. 2:16). Not as it is in the Latin copies (codicibus): in Itself, because due to the double meaning of the Greek pronoun ἐν αὐτῷ it can be understood both in the meaning: in Itself, and: on it, i.e. on the cross, because in Greek cross (σταυρός) is masculine. And the law of commandments was abolished by the teachings (dogmatibus) after circumcision, and sabbathkeeping, which was left to the people of God, and Passover, and Pentecost, so that they would not be found to be meaningless in the eyes of God, were understood differently from how they were understood, and after, leaving behind the killing letter, we began to follow the life-giving spirit. And His words: Coming to preach peace to you who are far off, that is, the Gentiles, and to those who are near, that is, the Jews, these words, in my opinion, he borrowed from Isaiah, changing the words (aliis verbis) and using the thought of Scripture as his own. In fact, it is written by this prophet: I saw his ways and healed him, and comforted him, and gave him true consolation: peace be upon those who were far off and those who were near (Is. 57:18-19). And this is actually expressed according to the popular translation (Vulgatam). However, whoever reads the famous words of the Apostle relating to Jesus Christ: Having made peace by the blood of His cross to those who were on earth and to those who were in heaven, and other things said in the same place, he will not think that we, who are called Israel in the spirit, were far away, and the Jews, who are called Israel only in the flesh, were close. He applies a full explanation of this passage to the angels and heavenly powers, and to the souls of men, because Christ with His Blood united earthly and heavenly things, which were previously in separation, and, like the good Shepherd, He carried the suffering sheep to the mountains and gave him the opportunity to be with others, and added the drachma to others who were in a healthy state (Luke 15:3-9), and turned the commandments of the law into those teachings (dogmata), the shadow and image of which Moses contemplated from the images in the tabernacle (Ex. 20). And at the same time it happened that the Cross of the Lord was for the benefit not only of the earth, but also of heaven, not only of people, but also of the angels; and all creation was cleansed by the blood of its Lord. And his words: In order to create two in Himself into one new man, which, apparently, are more consistent with the above meaning about Jews and Gentiles, he adapted to his understanding as follows: he says that man, created in the image and likeness of God, after reconciliation, will again take on the same image that the angels now have, but man has lost. And the new man, he says, is the one who is renewed daily and has to dwell in the new world, when there will be a new heaven and a new earth (Is. 65:17), and will drink a new cup in the Kingdom of Jesus (Mk. 16), and sing a new song (Is. 42:10) and (Ps. 96:1), and will enjoy reading the Old and New Testaments. Also, what is written in another place: Behold, I am doing a new thing, which will now be born (Is. 43:19), gives such a meaning that the beginning of renewal is attributed to the present age. However, he does not consider it possible for perfect and complete novelty to be realized in this century. And just as now we see as if in a mirror and mysteriously, but then we will see face to face (1 Cor. 13:12), so the restoration of the new man can then be completely and completely completed when the heavenly and earthly are united, and when we approach the Father with one accord, with one feeling and one mind. I do not know what it is in another epistle (if anyone accepts it) Paul shows some prudent readers, saying this: All these, receiving the testimony of faith, did not receive the promises, since God had predestined (provided for) something better concerning us, so that they would not without us receive perfection (Heb. 11:40). Therefore, the whole creation groans with us - groaning in this [bodily] bush, and sympathizes with us, conceived in the womb under the pressure of the fear of God, sympathizing and awaiting the revelation of the sons of God - in order to be freed from the vanity of slavery to which it is now subject, and so that there is one flock and one Shepherd, and so that the prayer of the Lord is fulfilled, who proclaims: Thy will be done as in heaven, so it is on earth (Matthew 6:10). Verses 19-22: So you are no longer foreigners and sojourners, but fellow citizens [fellow housemates] of the saints and near (household) of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself serving as the last cornerstone, in which the whole building, well built, grows in the Lord into a holy church, in which you also are united into a building for a dwelling place for God in the spirit ( Eph.2:19–22). - To what he previously said: Strangers from covenants and promises, he now answers: So you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but to what he previously expressed with the words: Alienated from communion with Israel, now he says: You are fellow citizens of the saints and close to God. This passage is most important against those who seek to maintain the doctrine of two natures. For how did strangers become cohabitants of the saints, and how did those who were once alienated from communion with Israel become close to God, if nature cannot change either for the worse or for the better? And the following words: Created on the basis of the Apostles and Prophets are more consistent with the first than with the second interpretation, in which we said above that before the coming of Christ Israel was near, and the pagans were far away. We can use this testimony both against Marcion and against the rest of the ancient heretics who preach that the God of the Law is one, and the God of the Gospel is another. Indeed, if they are no longer foreigners, no longer strangers, but fellow citizens of the saints and close to God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ Himself as the last cornerstone, on which the whole harmoniously erected building grows into a holy church in the Lord, on which the Ephesians are built together as a habitation of God in the spirit: then one is the God of one building and church, which built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Therefore, if all the harmoniously erected building in the Lord grows into a holy church, then with all our might we need to strive to be those stones about which it is written: Holy stones move quickly on the surface of the earth (Zechariah 9:16). And when we become living stones, hewn on all sides, light, carefully smoothed, without any roughness, then we will be converted into the task of the church and will be a dwelling place for God. And the covenant of the ark, the guardian of the law of God and the Cherubim, will be built in us, that is, the multitude of knowledge, and the inner part of our heart will be called by a new name: we will be called dabir (דביר), which we can call the oracle, or the answer and, to be more precise and closer to the letter, λαλητήριον, i.e. that is, the place where they speak, so that together with the Apostle we exclaim: Or are you looking for evidence of that Christ who speaks in me (2 Cor. 13:3). But every building erected on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets can signify not only us, but also the heavenly powers, so that they are all equally the dwelling place of God in the spirit; for, they say, it would be incongruous for a building built and built from people to grow in the Lord into a holy church and be the habitation of God in the spirit, and the angels and some blessed powers that serve God in heaven would be removed from such happiness. The last cornerstone, which supports both peoples or, according to another interpretation, connects earthly and heavenly, is Christ our Lord, Who was cut off from the mountain not by hands, and about Whom the psalmist testifies in these words: The stone that the builders rejected, this stone became the head of the corner. This was from the Lord (Ps. 117:22), because he was rejected by the Pharisees, who, apparently, had knowledge of the Law, built the church of God on the commandments of the Law, and he was accepted from God as a cornerstone, so that in the middle he would have two fences, and so that through Him both people would have access to God. This cornerstone is a stone of stumbling and a stone of offense to unbelievers; whoever falls on it will be broken; and whomever he falls upon, he will break (Luke 20:17–18). Through your prayers, Paul and Eustochius, we are proceeding to the second book [of commentaries on the epistle] to the Ephesians, intending to send a new minor work to Rome. This is not because it is worthy of being read by the venerable assembly (senatus) of scientists and inscribed in the ancient book depositories, but because Saint Marcella in her letters urgently asked for this to be fulfilled. I, remembering every day about her occupations, natural talents and work, each time I accuse myself of inactivity, because I, being in the solitude of the monastery and seeing before me those mangers in which the shepherds hastened to worship the Child lying in them (Luke 2:15-16), cannot do what a noble wife does in the noise of family life, having in her hands the management of the house, to the detriment of her affairs. Therefore, both her and you, and if, by chance, there is any other reader, I beg you to generally remember that I am presenting to you my word, not negatively thought out and not finished; but to explain the mysteries of the Scriptures, I use almost common speech and sometimes run through up to a thousand verses a day, so that the begun interpretation of the Apostle, namely through the prayers of Paul himself, whose messages we are trying to interpret, is completed. Chapter III, - Verses 1-4: For this cause I, Paul, am a prisoner of Jesus Christ for your Gentiles' sake; however, if only you have heard about the dispensation of grace that was given to me in you - for by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I briefly described before - then, by reading, you can understand my understanding of the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3: 1-4). - As for the sequence of speech and the construction of expression, we, having carefully examined, could not find anything in order to restore it in relation to the initial words: For the sake of this work, I am Paul - a prisoner of Jesus Christ for your Gentiles. And indeed, he did not say that for the sake of this matter I, Paul, did this or that, or taught this or that, but, leaving [the reader] to imply the thought, he moves on to another subject. Perhaps we, knowing what he himself admits, saying: Although unskilled in speech, yet not in knowledge (2 Cor. 11:6), should we not rather look for order in his thoughts than in his words. This order can be restored [it seems] like this. I, Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ and a prisoner for you, who come from the Gentiles, for this purpose (the cause) learned the mystery, so that I could pass it on to you, as I told you in this same letter a little earlier. But you must hear the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given to me in you, who are of the Gentiles, for whose sake I [became] a prisoner of Jesus Christ. And that Paul was a prisoner of Jesus Christ for the Gentiles, this can be proven by his martyrdom, because, thrown into chains in Rome, he sent this epistle at the time when the epistles were written to Philemon, and to the Colossians, and to the Philippians, as we have shown it elsewhere. Or, as this is read in very many places, this body is called the bonds of the soul, in which the soul is kept, as it were, prisoner; Therefore we say that Paul was subjected to bodily bonds for this reason, and was not released and was not with Christ, so that his preaching among the pagans might be perfect. And although some give this place a different meaning, namely: Paul from his mother’s womb was destined and sanctified to preach to the pagans even before his birth, and then he was subjected to the bonds of the flesh; but I think the expression is spoiled in this place. Instead of saying: “Because of this work, I, Paul, am a prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, I came to know the mystery, as I wrote to you a little before; therefore, by reading, you can understand,” he says: “I, Paul, am a prisoner by revelation; the mystery has become known to me,” and so on. But if anyone can prove, based on the connection between speech and word-expressions, that the Apostle was impeccable in speech and did not make mistakes in the area of ​​grammar, then he should be listened to with attention. And every time we [notice] incorrect turns of speech or what is noted above, we do not reproach the Apostle, as ill-wishers do, but agree with him, because he, a Jew of Jews, without the brilliance of eloquence, without the art of combining words and the beauty of expression, would never have been able to convert the whole world to faith in Christ, if he had not preached His gospel by the power of God, but in the wisdom of the word. For he himself addresses the Corinthians like this: And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come to you with great wisdom and speech, declaring to you the testimony of God (1 Cor. 2:1) And again: Neither my word nor my preaching was in persuasive words of wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and power, so that your faith might not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God (1 Cor. 2:4-5). And so the one who makes mistakes in speech and cannot arrange the words and conclude the thought, [he] boldly assimilates wisdom to himself and says: Because by revelation the sacrament became known to me, as I wrote a little earlier. For in fact, whoever looks closely at the above part of the message will see the sacraments revealed to him, some small part of which he outlined in his word, not so much exposing everything he knew, but rather showing in a small way what he was silent about. Therefore, he says, by reading, you can understand my thought or wisdom in the sacrament of Christ. This is what we showed in the preface: none of the letters of Paul has so many mysteries, is not shrouded in such a hidden meaning, which, as the Apostle boasts, he knows and which in short words he shows us so that we re-read with greater attention what is written. Verses 5-7: And which was not known to other generations, even to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow partakers in the body, partakers of the promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I also have become a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God, which was given to me according to the working of His power (Eph. 3:5-7). – In our opinion, it is necessary to more fully consider how the mystery of Christ, which the Apostle partially explored above, was known to other generations: did Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other prophets know it, or not? Scripture indicates that they predicted the coming of Christ and the calling of the pagans. Indeed, Abraham saw His day and rejoiced (John 8:56) and it is said to him: In your seed all nations will be blessed (Gen. 22:18). And Jacob speaks prophetically about the One who is to be born of the seed of Judah: He will be the expectation of the nations (Gen. 49:10). Likewise, Moses thought that the reproach of Christ was greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt (Heb. 11:26). And Isaiah says: Behold, a virgin will conceive and give birth (Is. 7:14) and in another place: There will be a branch of Jesse, which will arise to reign over the nations; the nations will hope for Him (Is. 11:10). And in order not to lengthen the proof too much, it is enough to say a little from the Psalms: And all the tribes (familiae) of the family of nations will worship before Him (Ps. 21:28), and the words: All nations will serve Him (Ps. 71:11). And even more clearly about the people of Israel and about the Lord Savior: Visit this vineyard and perfect the one that Your right hand has planted and on the Son whom You have strengthened for Yourself (Ps. 79:15-16). And the completion of His incarnation is shown in the following words: Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand and upon the son of the man whom You have strengthened for Yourself (Ps. 79:18). So, one must understand either with Montanus that the patriarchs and prophets spoke in admiration, and did not know what they were saying, or, if such an opinion is impious (because the spirit of the prophets was subordinate to the prophets), they undoubtedly understood what they were saying. And if they understood, then how does Paul now claim that other generations did not know what was revealed to the Apostles of Christ? So, or is it necessary to answer in such a way that the Apostle carefully and significantly testifies that the sacrament was unknown to the sons of men, but not to the sons of God, to whom it is said: I said: you are gods, and all the sons of the Most High (Ps. 82:6). Precisely because those who received the Spirit of adoption, among whom were patriarchs and prophets, knew the mystery of God. Or, if this is not accepted and seems too forced and strained, then our speech will go like this: The Apostle definitely did not say at all that the sacrament of the Lord was completely unknown to other generations, but said that the ancient patriarchs and prophets did not know it as it was revealed to His saints and Apostles. Therefore, the prophet John is called the greatest of all the prophets (Luke 7:28): he personally contemplated the One whom the prophets predicted and pointed to Him with his finger with the words: Behold the Lamb of God, behold the One who took away the sins of the world (John 1:29). According to this meaning, the following words should be interpreted: Many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, but did not see, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear (Luke 10:24). Of course, they wanted to see and hear what they knew was going to happen. Indeed, if they did not know what was to come, then how could they desire what they did not know? In the books of the Kings we read that the Lord promises Solomon in a dream and says: Because you asked this very thing (verbum) from Me, and did not ask for many days, and did not demand either riches or the lives of your enemies, but asked in order to understand and listen to just judgment, behold, I have fulfilled your request (verbum) and given you a prudent and wise heart, which you did not have before, and after you there will not rise one like you ( 1 Kings 3:11–12), And how do some think that a mystery was revealed to the Apostles of Christ that was unknown to Solomon, when the divine voice promised Solomon to be wiser than all the apostles and then the patriarchs? He speaks about himself with complete confidence: God taught me wisdom, and I knew the mind of the saints (Wisdom 7:21). David also boasts of his knowledge of the hidden secret, saying: You have revealed to me the unknown and secret things of Your wisdom (Ps. 50:8). And to the one who applauded himself for his wisdom, God says through the prophet: Are you wiser than Daniel? (Ezek.28:3). So, either we must adhere to the meaning that we previously established, i.e., that the patriarchs and prophets did not know the secret of Christ as it is now revealed to the Apostles, because it is one thing to hold something in your hands, and another thing to foresee something in the spirit. Or it should be said that just as faces are not like faces, and hearts are not like hearts, so, according to the word of the Apostle, there are different gifts, and one has prophecy, another - kinds of languages, a third - gifts of healing, another - helping others and governing them; This one is wise, and this one is faithful, this one has the ability to explain secrets, and this one is content with simple faith (1 Cor. 12:7-11). Because not everyone, like Solomon, spoke in the same way about the nature of animals, birds and plants, to reason from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grew through the fence. For his part, Solomon, perhaps, was not as perspicacious as Moses regarding all types of sacrifices and worship of God, moreover, the Lord did not talk with him face to face, and just as he did not have, he did not understand the beautiful structure of the vessels, a sample of which the Lord showed him on the mountain (1 Kings 4:33); compare (Ex.33:11, 25:9). And how should one believe that the patriarchs and prophets had something that the apostles did not have; so, on the contrary, out of need, according to the time and type of preaching of the Gospel, the apostles had the more well-known sacrament of Christ; the holy men of antiquity also knew him, but not in the same way as the Apostles, who had the duty to preach. But what is this sacrament that has not been revealed to other races as it is now? Of course, this is what follows: the Gentiles are fellow heirs in the body, partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which Paul became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God, which was given to him according to the working of His power. I know that the addition of the union with (co-heirs, etc.) in Latin makes the speech ugly. But since this is in the Greek language, and individual words, syllables, lines and points in the Holy Scriptures are full of meaning, then we agree to be reproached for word production and word combination rather than for damaging the meaning. So, the Gentiles are joint heirs with Israel, or, which seems better to us, with Christ, since our inheritance is God. This is written elsewhere: Heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). This does not mean that any inheritance is divided between us, but that the Lord Himself is our inheritance and heritage, because it is said: The Lord is your inheritance (Deut. 18:2), and in another place: The Lord is my portion and inheritance (Ps. 15:5). And partners in the body means that just as there are many members in one body, for example: eyes, hands, feet, ears, belly and knees, and since they are in one body, they have their own differences and mutually rejoice or mourn for each other; so also those who have believed in Christ, although they have different graces, are nevertheless gathered in one body of the Church. And in the two words mentioned above, i.e. the words co-heirs and partners in the body, there is already a reason to think that in one body there is something different. And from his addition: and they are partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus, every thought of difference is destroyed, because where there is participation, everything is completely common. And his addition is beautiful: Through the gospel, of which I also became a minister by the gift of grace, which was given to me according to the working of His power, to show that this is a work of grace, and not of his merit. After all, he knew that he was a persecutor and devastated the Church of Christ. Such humility completely excludes the sin of exaltation, of which some accuse him because he says that a mystery was revealed to him, which was unknown to the prophets and patriarchs, but the disciple of humility never expressed himself arrogantly, saying that the gospel of which he was a minister was not a matter of his merit, but of the grace of God. Those who believe that the prophets did not understand their speeches and spoke as if in a frenzy, along with the present testimony to confirm their teaching, also use that which is found in many copies of the Epistle to the Romans, namely: And to him who is able to strengthen you through my gospel and the preaching of Christ Jesus by the revelation of the mystery, hidden from time immemorial, but now revealed through the writings of the prophets and through the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 14:24–26). To such it is necessary to answer briefly that in past times the mystery of Christ was kept silent, not for those to whom its fulfillment was promised, but for all the peoples to whom it was subsequently revealed. In the same way, it should be noted that the mystery of our faith could only be revealed through the prophetic Scriptures and the coming of Christ. So, those who do not understand the prophets and do not want to know them, but who claim that they are content only with the Gospel, let them know that they do not know the mystery of Christ, which for centuries was known to the pagans. Verses 8, 9: To me, the least of all saints, was given this grace - to preach among the pagans the unsearchable riches of Christ and to enlighten everyone about the structure of the mystery hidden from eternity in God, who created absolutely everything (Eph. 3:8-9). – I do not think that the Apostle Paul was not in agreement with his secret thoughts when he says that he is truly the least of all saints, for example. those who were in Ephesus, in Corinth, and Thessalonica, or those who were believers throughout the world; although to call oneself the least of all saints is proof of humility; but, at the same time, he is guilty of some untruth when, having one thing in his soul, he pronounces another with his lips. So, we need to find proof that he was in fact the least of all saints, and nevertheless did not fall from the Apostolic dignity. The Lord says to His disciples: Whoever wants to be greatest among you must be least, and whoever wants to be first must be last (Matthew 20:26-27). This is what Paul fulfilled in practice: I think that God has made us last, as if appointed to death (1 Cor. 4:9); Therefore, Paul was weaker than everyone, and therefore more than everyone who wanted to be weak for Christ’s sake. He says: I labored more than all of them, but not I, but the grace of God, which is with me (1 Cor. 15:10). Because of his humility, although he was the least of all, grace was given to him among the pagans to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ and to teach the fulfillment of what was hidden from eternity in God who created everything. But if the riches of Christ are unsearchable, then how are they preached to the people? If the sacrament has been hidden in God from eternity, then in what way is it transmitted to the nations through Paul? But the words: unsearchable and hidden must be understood in two ways. Riches previously unsearchable are now revealed after the suffering of the Lord; or in such a sense that what was unsearchable by nature became known as a result of revelation from God, because it is another thing to comprehend the secret through one’s own curiosity, which after discovery ceases to be unsearchable; and another thing is not to understand with your understanding, but to know by the grace of God that which, although you know and also show to others, remains, however, unsearchable, since previously the hidden was shown to you only to the extent of accessibility to your strength. The riches of Christ are unsearchable; The Psalmist also testifies to this, addressing Christ Himself like this: How infinite is the abundance of Your goodness, which You have reserved for those who fear You (Ps. 30:20). This wealth of His goodness from all past centuries was hidden in God, Who is the Creator of everything. Where are Marcion and Valentinus, and all the heretics who claim that there is one Creator of the world, that is, of visible things, and another of invisible things? They call this last one good, but what they call the one who is always unknown, I don’t know; and only the One who is the Father of Christ is called good. And so God is proclaimed the Creator of all things, in whom the mystery of Christ was hidden from all previous centuries; and this shows that the God of the Old and New Testaments is one and the same. But the mystery, hidden from centuries, can be understood in another way, that is, the centuries themselves, namely, all the spiritual and rational ones who lived during them did not know about it; after all, the word century is often understood to mean people who lived during the century. This is exactly what Paul says in the Epistle to the Galatians: To snatch us out of this unrighteous age (Gal. 1:4), and in another place it says: To show during the times that are about to come (Eph. 2:7), instead of all those who will live in the following ages. Verses 10, 11: So that now he might make known to the authorities and principalities in heaven the manifold wisdom of God, according to an eternal purpose, which he demonstrated (quam fecit) in Christ Jesus our Lord (Eph 3:10-11). – By the gift of God’s grace, which was given to the Apostle to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ and teach among the nations about a mystery that was unknown for centuries. For this reason, this very sacrament was revealed to him, so that not only the peoples, but also the authorities and powers, would know through the Church the manifold wisdom of God, which was once intended, according to the assumption of ancient centuries, and is now fulfilled in Christ. But if the manifold wisdom of God, now revealed through the Church, was known to the authorities and principalities in heaven, by which we must understand the holy servants of God (although some here mean the prince of the air and his angels), then how much more was it unknown to the patriarchs and prophets, about whom we said above that they, to some extent, knew the mystery of Christ, but did not know it like the apostles! So, the wisdom of God, which is called by the Greek word πολυποίκιλος and, so to speak, is manifold, is now revealed through the Church of God to the principalities and powers. From ancient times, God in His thoughts destined it to be, and now, by what we see, we recognize that it is perfect. So, the Cross of Christ was useful not only to us, but also to the angels and all heavenly powers and revealed a mystery that they did not know. In the end they are amazed at the Lord returning to heaven with the body, and they say: Who is this who ascends from Edom; His garments are red from Bozrah; so [or: this] majestic in shining clothes (Is. 63:1); and elsewhere: Who is this king of glory? The Lord of hosts is the king of glory (Ps. 23:10). So, let us not think that in the Church there is only simple faith, but the many-part and varied wisdom of God is marked not only by difference, but also by great diversity. As you look at the cradle of Christ, look also at the sky. You contemplate the Child crying in the manger, but also listen to the angels singing praises. Herod initiates persecution, but the wise men perform worship (Matthew 2:11–13); The Pharisees are ignorant, but the star shows [Him]. He receives baptism from a slave; but at the same time the voice of God is heard from above (Matthew 3:13–17); plunges into the waters; but a dove descends from heaven, namely the Spirit in the form of a dove (Matthew 3:16). He goes into suffering and is afraid of suffering, wanting His cup to pass away, but he accuses Peter of being afraid of the cup [of suffering]. What is wiser than this supposed foolishness, clearer than this variety, more mysterious than this wisdom, which He showed in Christ Jesus our Lord? Although, according to the thoughts of very many interpreters, based on the sequence and connection of speech, [this place] can be understood in relation to the creation of the Church and to the assumption (πρόθεσις), which in Latin we expressed with the word neuter definition, yet the wisdom that was in Christ is indicated here primarily before other things, because the foolish things of God are more wise than men (1 Cor. 1:25). Therefore, if, according to the mysterious meaning, there was wisdom in Christ (Eccl. 24)?, then in vain the Arians boast that this testimony is in their favor in the sense that Wisdom was created at the beginning of the ways of God, and was born, and received a beginning (fundatam), but, of course, according to their thoughts, It was created, and could not be born. And if she is born, then how is it said that she was created and received a beginning? Verse 12: In whom we have confidence of access [to God] through faith in Him beyond doubt (Eph. 3:12). – Nothing can give us confidence and purity of conscience, about which it is said: If conscience does not reproach us, then we have complete trust in God (1 John 3:21), except the Word, Wisdom, Truth and Righteousness, which is all understood in the meaning of Christ. Consequently, just as all this gives us confidence in God, it also gives us access to Him, so that our mind approaches Him and contemplates Him more diligently and perceives for itself something from His majesty and, as if from the rays of the sun, receives for itself some warmth and radiance of light, and says: Above us was the sign of the light of Your Face, O Lord (Ps. 4:7). So, it is great not only that we have confidence, but we also have it with firmness of conviction. Not only do we have access [to Him], but to make this access more certain, we have it with firm confidence; and the beginning and source of this faith and access [to God] is faith in Christ. So, he who does everything rationally and in order, believes both in the Word and Reason, i.e. in Christ; whoever can acquire wisdom believes in Christ as Wisdom; whoever understands the truth believes in Christ as Truth; whoever lives righteously believes in Him as the Truth. And there is no need to say more, since it often seemed necessary to me to talk about Christ in this way. Verse 13: Therefore I ask you, do not faint because of my sufferings for you, in which is your glory (Eph. 3:13). - In the place where the Latin translator now expressed the thought: do not weaken, due to the double meaning of the Greek speech, it can be read: So that I do not weaken; so the meaning will be this: Therefore I ask that I not weaken in my sufferings for you, and so on. So, this is what the Apostle asks from the Lord - and he asks a lot - so as not to weaken in the oppressions that he had to endure. Indeed, he saw that he preached the Gospel from Jerusalem to Illyricum, went to Rome, went, or, disposed to go, to Spain (Rom. 15:24). According to his teachings, the whole world was taken away from the dominion of the prince [of the world]; Idolatry ceased and the churches abandoned by the worshipers were filled with abomination and uncleanness. For this reason, the entire army of demons, the entire crowd of hostile forces, took up arms against him in order to force him, through torment and oppression, to stop preaching the Gospel, and, due to some fatigue, to indulge in peace. So, this is what he says: I ask that you not weaken in my suffering for you, for everything that I endure, that I experience, that forces me, is a matter for the sake of your salvation, since I want to preach the Gospel: these trials of mine serve you with glory. Then he said, as unskilled in the word, when he adds the singular glory to the plural of the word suffering, saying: In my trials for you, in which is your glory, instead of: Which trials are your glory, so that someone does not accidentally, through a rearrangement of words, come to the idea that this expression should refer either to confidence, or to access [to God], or to faith, and does not say that in this we receive confidence, access [to God] and faith: this confidence, access [to God] and faith are your glory. But the above understanding must be followed. However, according to what the Latin translator expressed, these words: Therefore I ask that you do not become weak because of my trials for you, in which your glory can be interpreted in the sense that he asks for the Ephesians, so that they do not become weary, weaken because of the sufferings of the Apostle; indeed, after all, what follows is more consistent with such an understanding: Therefore I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that He would give you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with strength, because they really had the necessary strength so as not to be defeated due to temptations. Perhaps someone will say: “If the Ephesians were subjected to oppression, then, of course, the Apostle could earnestly pray for them, so that they would not weaken and become weary; but in the present case, it is ridiculous, when Paul is subjected to trials, that he asks for the Ephesians, so that they will not weaken because of his afflictions. But to resolve this small question, let them take this example: You did not despise or reject your trials in my flesh (Gal. 4:13-14), if only this saying shows that in Paul's flesh a trial appeared for others. Let us pay attention to people all over the world (however, why should I talk about everyone at all: we will talk about those who are considered believers in Christ!) and we will see that they are tempted mainly by the question: why do holy men and those who serve God experience many misfortunes, and vice versa: criminals, wicked people and murderers prosper, are in power, are rich and powerful. Expressing the words of such in his face, David says: How good is the God of Israel with a right heart, but my feet almost waver, my steps almost become confused, because I was jealous against the unrighteous, seeing the peaceful life of sinners (Ps. 73:1-3), etc. To this he adds: I said: “I justified my heart without reason and washed my hands in innocence and was scourged all the day long” (Ps. 73:13-14). So, it is not surprising that when Paul was oppressed in Ephesus and Asia, the Ephesians were tempted and needed the necessary help, his words of comfort, so as not to give in to weakness due to his oppressions. And that the Apostle endured much in Ephesus and in Asia is also recorded in the Acts of the Apostles; but we learn even more about this from the letters of Paul himself, in which he says: If by human (decision) I fought against the beasts in Ephesus, what good is it to me if the dead are not raised? (1 Cor. 15:32). And in the second letter to the Corinthians: I do not want you, brethren, to remain ignorant of our tribulation that was in Asia, because we were burdened beyond measure and beyond our strength, so that we even despaired of living; but they themselves had a death sentence in themselves, so as not to rely on themselves, but on God, who raises the dead, who freed us from so many mortal dangers and is freeing us; but we hope that he still has to free (2 Cor. 1:8-10). How much was he oppressed by the severity of the disasters when he says: Who freed us from so many and such great dangers? So, he, in fairness, asks that the faith of the Ephesians not fail in view of the oppression and oppression that he endured because he preached the Gospel to the Ephesians. These oppressions for non-believers seem like punishments, for believers they are glory and victory, because to win means not to yield to opponents in difficult circumstances. Verses 14, 15: Therefore I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom in heaven and on earth every family receives its name (Eph. 3:14-15). – Just as in our above words it is shown that, in the image of the bodily eyes, there are spiritual eyes, so now we must pay attention to the fact that the knees of the outer man are one, and the knees of the inner man are different. Indeed, when Isaiah says: Strengthen your hanging hands and trembling knees (Is. 35:3), and the Apostle himself in another place: That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth (Phil. 2:10), this does not refer to bodily knees, but to the submission of the spirit, to the obedience of the heart and to the humility of the soul, which bows to the earth, as he himself sings. Psalmist: My soul is attached to the earth (Ps. 119:25); in fact, how can a spiritual and incorporeal being, the soul, cling to the earth? On the other hand, let every knee on earth bow in the name of Jesus; but can we affirm that the angels and other powers residing in the heavenly abodes have a bodily form, so that they too would bow the knee in His name, or that souls in hell, freed from the bonds of the body, would bow the knee, which they do not have? Thus, just as one who submitted to the Savior is called one who bowed the knee to Him, so a slave of sin, and having a spirit of slavery in fear, is written as one who bowed the knee to sin. I have left, says the Lord, seven thousand men who did not bow the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18), that is, to idol and sin. He who commits fornication and runs through unclean houses bows his knee to lust. He who is angry honors anger with kneeling. He who is devoted to mammon, and whose belly is his god, bows his knees to avarice and luxury. And why do I need to list individual cases? We bow our knees to the devil as many times as we sin. But while we present this in a spiritual sense, we do not abandon at the same time the custom of praying in accordance with the literal meaning of these words, which is why (qua) we humbly beg God with kneeling, and, falling to the ground, we receive from Him more than we ask. Indeed, we read that Paul prayed in this way on the shore and commanded kneeling in prayer. But just as he teaches simple people, so (on the contrary) we know that true kneeling lies in the spirit, because many, bowing the physical knee, did not bend the knees of the soul; and vice versa: many, praying to God with an unbent body, became much more depressed. What follows: To the Father, from Whom every fatherland in heaven and on earth receives its name; there is no addition here, as in the Latin collections of St. books: to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but it should be read simply: to the Father, so that the name of God the Father is learned not by our Lord Jesus Christ, but by all rational creatures. So, we must ask: How did every fatherland receive a name from God the Father on earth and in heaven? And before anything is decided, it should be noted that he did not say: From whom in heaven and on earth every fatherland was born, or: created, but said: From whom in heaven and on earth every fatherland receives its name. After all, it is another thing to deserve the name of the fatherland, and another thing to have a lot by nature. The word fatherland, which in Greek is expressed by the word πατριά, and in Hebrew mesphafh (משפחה), i.e. kinship, or family, we read in the book of Numbers: Make an account of the entire assembly of Israel by generation and nation, by house of family, by the number of their names, and then, a little later: These are the chosen ones of the society, the leaders of the tribes by to their families, the leaders of Israel (Num. 1:2, 16); and again, about the tribe of Levi: And the Lord said to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai: Count the sons of Levi according to the houses of their kindred, according to their people, according to their families, count them every male child from one month old and upward (Numbers 3:15). This is what is said about the people of Israel and about the priestly tribe of Levi. However, going through the places in myself in which I would read the word “fatherland” in relation to other nations, I now find nothing else other than the testimony of the twenty-first Psalm, in which it is written: And all the families of the nations will worship before Him (Ps. 21:28) and the twenty-eighth: Offer (sacrifice) to the Lord, families of nations, offer (sacrifice) rams (Ps. 28:1). Thus, as God imparts the name of His being and His essence even to other things (elementis), so that they too are called what they are not by nature (for there was a time when everything did not yet exist, and if He wills, it will be that everything will turn into nothing again), but what they are called as given by the grace of God; so He gave the name of the fatherland to everyone from Himself. To make this clearer, I will present evidence from Holy Scripture. In the book of Exodus, the Lord says: I am who I am and also: So say to the children of Israel: I am sent by you to you (Exodus 3:14). But is there only He alone, and there is nothing else (non erant). Of course, there were Angels, heaven, earth or seas, and Moses himself, who spoke with the Lord, Israel, and the Egyptians, to whom and against whom he was sent as a leader and fighter. And how does God assimilate only to Himself a name common to all essence? The reason for this, as we said, is that everything else for its existence received a Divine gift. And God is always existing and has no other source, and for Himself is the beginning and cause of His essence, and cannot be presented as having any other basis for His being. For in fire there is one thing, that which is hot, and another, that which is hot. Fire without heat cannot be imagined. And everything else that gets hot from the fire borrows the heat from it, and if the fire gradually weakens, then, with a decrease in the heat, it returns to its natural state and is no longer called hot. Accordingly, in the Gospel, to that person who considers the Savior not the Son of God, but as if a good teacher, it is said: Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone (Luke 18:19). And although we call the earth good (Luke 8:8), and man (Matthew 12:35), and the good shepherd (John 10:11); but no one is good by nature except God. The rest, in order to be called good, inherits goodness from Him. Thus, just as the Good One alone makes good, and the Immortal One alone bestows immortality, and the True One alone communicates the name of truth; so the Father alone, as the Creator of everything and the Cause of the essence of everything, gives to the rest what they are called fathers. Let us turn from the earthly to the contemplation of the heavenly. Adam, whom God formed first and for whom he was Creator and Father, of course knows that he owes to God the Father that which constitutes his essence (quod substitit). Then, those born from Adam see their father in the one from whom they came. Therefore, in the Gospel of Luke, when David and Abraham are presented sequentially (paulatim) in reverse order from Christ in the genealogy, in the end the Scripture says: Son of Seth, Son of Adam, Son of God (Luke 3:38), to show that the name of the fatherland on earth originally came from God. The question arises, for what reason does every fatherland in heaven receive its name from Him? Just as we, who do not descend from the family of Abraham, are called the sons of Abraham, and call the patriarchs and prophets (unless sins separate us from them) our fathers; Thus, in my opinion, both angels and other (heavenly) powers have a kind of rulers, whom they gladly call fathers. In fact, the Archangel (leader of the Angels) and Dominion, and the Beginning, and the Power can be called so only as the leader of the Angels, and only if they have lower [forces] subordinate to them. So, we can also say that since God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the Father in essence, then He is the only begotten by nature, and not by adoption, and other created beings earned the name of the fatherland by adoption. But the same thing that we say about the Father and the Son, as we know, is also said about the Holy Spirit; for our Savior also recognized Himself as the Father, saying: Son, your sins are forgiven (Mark 2:5) and: Daughter, your faith has saved you (Matthew 9:22), and: My children, a little while longer I will be with you (John 13:33), and through the Holy Spirit even the righteous become sons by adoption. Valentin thinks that the generation and combination of his “ages” receive especially strong proof from this very place, not at all understanding that, as we said above, both in heaven and on earth the fatherland does not exist in the likeness of the Father, but is only called. Verses 16-19: To give you, according to the riches of His glory through His Spirit, to be strengthened with power for the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, and you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and also to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God ( Eph.16–19). “Therefore,” he says, I bow my knees before the Father, in whose likeness every fatherland is named in heaven and earth, asking and conjuring Him, so that He would give you the power of His glory, that is, the power to receive the lot of His Majesty, and strengthen and confirm you through the Holy Spirit, because without the Holy Spirit there is no strength. “To strengthen and establish according to the inner man,” because we are not looking for bodily strength, but for the strength of the spirit, and we want to strengthen not the outer, but the inner man, so that after Christ lives in the inner man, He dwells in the most important inner part of man, i.e. in your hearts, not scattering throughout all its members, but living in its rational side, and making Yourself a dwelling and seat in it. And all this happens through faith, when we believe in Him. That is why the Apostle says: Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. This abiding, which arises through faith, has its roots and its foundation in love, so that everything grows and is built on love, because we are God’s growth, God’s creation (1 Cor. 3:6-9). But since we are rooted and grounded in love (Eph. 3:18), then with the full confidence of our minds we know that Christ dwells in the inner man; Then we will begin, together with other saints, to strive to comprehend with a receptive mind what breadth, length, depth, height are, and not only this, but we will also desire to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that when all this is completely reasonable and harmonious in us, we will be filled in everything with the fullness of God. First, we will pay attention to the meaning of breadth and length, depth and height in the bodily sense, so that through this we will be able to move on to the spiritual. For example, let the breadth of this heaven and earth, that is, the whole world, be from east to west, and the longitude - from south to north, the depth - in the abysses and hell, and the height - rising above the heavenly. But some, based on the words of Ecclesiastes, argue that the sky is round and moves like a ball (Eccl. 1:6). But a spherical thing has neither latitude, nor longitude, nor depth, nor height, but is identical in all its parts (coaequalis), then necessity forces us to understand by height angels and higher powers, by depth - hell and what is below it; and under longitude and width - the average, located between the highest and the lowest. And since it follows from this that one is close either to the higher or to the lower, then those who begin to be directed towards the best and heavenly and rise to the high are called longitude; and that which is very close to the lower part and inclines towards vices is given the name of breadth: For broad and broad is the way that leads to death (Matthew 7:13). All this can be understood completely in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, because, ascending on high, He led captivity into captivity (Ps. 67:19) and descended into the lowest parts of the earth. And after the height and depth, the preaching of the Cross spread throughout the entire earth. And thus, it covers both height and depth, and latitude, and longitude. And it is not surprising if the Cross of Christ controls everything without exception, because even the one who was crucified with Christ has the same power. Indeed, let him first know breadth, starting from the lowest and learning the less; and then longitude, that is, those who are placed on earth and rush to the sublime and highest; after this - depth, that is, the opposite and hostile forces that are at war against us in this world; and finally - height, because we will only be able to ascend to the highest when, having knowledge of them, we force them to be under our feet. And we must not think that this is the end of our work, so that, having been founded and rooted in love, we, together with all the saints, will (possimus) understand what there is breadth and length, and height, and depth, unless we with all diligence desire to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that we will know not only the simple, but the surpassing love of Christ. But the end is not achieved by only having the knowledge of the surpassing love of Christ, unless we add something else, that is, by following the love that surpasses knowledge. Therefore, it should be noted that Christ has a great and surpassing love for knowledge, that is, those who desire to know themselves, who meditate in His law day and night, who turn words into deeds and do in practice (manu) what they think. But whoever is such that he is worthy to have, through his knowledge, the surpassing love of Christ, should not think about anything other than knowledge. And thus he will be filled with all the fullness of God, not only in the present age, but also in the future; so that he who now begins to be complete in diligence through reading will then be more completely filled with God, who, fulfilling Himself, is the fullness of all. Verses 20, 21: But to him who is able to do all things more abundantly than we ask or understand, according to the power that is at work in us, to him be true glory (ipse gloria) in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations of the ages. Amen ( Eph. 3:20–21 ). - To the above: Therefore, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every fatherland in heaven and on earth receives its name, so that He would give you, according to His riches, strength to be strengthened, etc., now adds: And to Him who can do everything more abundantly than we sleep or understand, in order to show that he, indeed, out of human weakness, urgently asked for what seemed useful to them; however, as far as the truth is concerned, God can give more than they ask for and He exceeds our hopes in actions, because we do not know what we should pray for and often ask for what is against us, thinking that it is useful to us. In fact, how much more beneficial is it for a fornicator to be sick and suffer from weakness than to make the church of Christ members of a harlot? So God is able to give not only more than we ask, but also more than we understand. Sometimes it happens that we cannot express our feelings in sounds, and words do not explain our thoughts, and we silently and inexplicably ask for, as the Apostle himself says, we do not know what we cannot express. So, He gives us more than we ask or mean, according to the power that acts in us; so that now, not according to our merits, but above our desires, He gives us something that we did not have the courage to ask and did not think that we deserved, even if we asked; so in the rest, He gives us that which neither thought can grasp nor tongue can utter. So, let there be glory to God himself, first of all, in the Church, which is pure, since it has neither vice nor defilement, and which can therefore appropriate the glory of God because it is the body of Christ; and then - in Christ Jesus, because in the body of the assumed man, to whom all the members of believers belong, dwells bodily all the fullness of the Godhead. And this glory concerns (extenditur) not only the present times and ends in future centuries; but it remains, grows, multiplies to all generations and forever and ever, unspeakably forever. Chapter IV. – Verse 1: Therefore I charge you, a prisoner in the Lord, that you walk worthily in the calling with which you were called (Eph. 4:1). – He could write like this while in the bonds of Christ and in prison for testimony. But it is better if we say that O prisoner of the Lord [or with the addition. ours] in the love of Christ. A witness to this is Clement, who writes to the Corinthians: “Who can depict the bonds of God’s love” (1 Cor. 13)? And in the first book of Samuel we read: After these words it came to pass that the soul of Jonathan became attached to David (1 Samuel 18:1). And the prophet speaks of the apostles: They will follow you with hands bound in iron (Ps. 106); those who truly love Christ will follow [Him], bound by the bonds of love. There is another explanation, which should be accepted or should not, it depends on the will of the reader. This body is called the bond of the soul, and since Paul accepted this body for the service of the Gospel, he is consequently called a prisoner of Christ. Likewise, the prophet Jeremiah in the second order of verses (secundo alphabeto) of the book of Lamentations testifies that this body is called bonds, and those who are imprisoned in this body are called prisoners, in these words: To humble under His feet all the prisoners of the earth (Pl. 3:34). We read the same thing in another place from the person of Jesus Christ, Who says: To those who were in chains: “Come out,” and to those who are in darkness: “Open yourselves” (Is. 49:9). It can also be shown from the prophet that the bonds of this sin and the darkness of ignorance are dispelled by the coming and preaching of Jesus Christ. But the meaning shown above also applies, i.e., that bonds are the body, and real earthly life is darkness, in which there are rulers of darkness and shady mountains, over which we are forbidden to stumble. And in his words: In order for you to walk worthily in the calling by which you were called, those who walk worthily must recognize the one who speaks through him who says: I am the way (John 14:6) and (Isaiah 30:20-21) and does not turn aside to the right or to the left, turning away his foot from every evil way (Prov. 4:27), and is fulfilled in it: By God are the ways directed person (Ps. 37:23). Verse 2 (beginning): With all humility and strength with patience (Eph.4:2). - He who knows that he is earth and ashes, and, after a short time, must crumble into dust, will never ascend with pride; and whoever, imagining the eternity of God, will think about the short and almost end of human life, he will be humble and meek, for the corruptible body burdens the soul and this earthly tabernacle oppresses the quickly running mind (Wis. 9:15); Therefore, let us say with all humility: Lord, my heart is not lifted up, and my eyes are not exalted (Ps. 131:1). But all humility is revealed not so much in words as in the mind, so that conscience knows that we are humble and we should never think that we know or understand anything, or mean anything (esse). And meekness is such that it is not indignant by any passion, and, especially, is not interrupted by anger and rage. Whoever has one will inherit the bliss promised by the word of God - namely: he will possess the earth, i.e. He will command his body and rule over it, subject to [him], and his first inheritance will be to live in the flesh uncarnally. Some, frowning their brows, knitting their eyebrows and weighing every word, dispute the meaning of teachers and judges. And this is not because they themselves know something worthy of being proud of, but because they see some simple brothers who do not know something in comparison with themselves. Recalling mutual forbearance in love (Eph.4:2). – If anyone understands what it means: Showing mutual condescension in love, he will not think that such a command applies to holy men, but specifically to those who are instructed in the rudiments of virtues. In fact, the saints will not have anything in which they can show mutual condescension, but only those who, as people, are still overcome by a certain passion. And it is not surprising if the Ephesians hear this, since among the multitude of believers there were still some who should have mutually shown leniency to each other. This same thing, in my opinion, means what is written to the Galatians: Bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2). Thus, we can interpret both passages in another way, saying this: bearing each other’s burdens and mutual condescension in love is accomplished by those who are rich and alleviate the lack of the poor. If someone gives help to a sick brother, he condescends to him in love. If someone, while leading a blessed life of celibacy, helps another who has a wife and children and can barely support himself, and if he comforts such as he can, he will be praised as bearing the weight of another. There is someone who cannot help when he sees his mother or widow or sister wasting away from poverty; If anyone extends a hand to one, he will support him in love. Whether we follow the first or second interpretation, [we must know that] he who does not have love does not comfort either a sinner or a brother in need, and despises the words of the Apostle who says: But we, who are stronger, ought to bear the infirmities of the weaker, and not please ourselves (Rom. 15:1). Verses 3, 4: Taking care to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling (Eph.4:3-4). – It is correctly said to the Ephesians, who have already followed the unity of the Holy Spirit: Taking care to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace; after all, he receives instructions to take care of the preservation of something who has something; and whoever has nothing is ordered to take care that he has. This passage is especially powerful against heretics who, having broken or destroyed the bonds of the world, imagine that they preserve the unity of the spirit, although the unity of the spirit is preserved in the union of the world. Indeed, when we do not say the same thing, and another says: I am Pavlov, I am Apollosov, I am Cephas (1 Cor. 1:12), then we divide the unity of the spirit and tear it apart. But perhaps someone will now raise the objection: “How is grace varied and its gifts varied, when the unity of the spirit must be preserved?” True, there are diversified gifts, but in the same Spirit, and diversified ministries, but the same Lord, and diversified actions, but one and the same God, who works all in all (1 Cor. 12:4-6). And his words: One body, one spirit are understood either simply in the sense of the body of Christ, which is the Church, or in the sense of the body that He deigned to receive from the Virgin, so that some would not think that He was incarnated as many times as He appeared in the Old Testament. And one Holy Spirit is precisely the dispenser and sanctifier of all. Or perhaps by one body they mean life and deeds, which in Greek are called πρακτικὸς βίος, and by one spirit they mean knowledge and contemplation, which in the proper sense is concentrated in the heart and is called by them θεορία. So, when someone is a member of the Church and is not separated from its one spirit, then he will be in one hope of calling. The question is: how can there be one hope of calling when the Father has many mansions? To this we will say that one hope of calling is the Kingdom of Heaven, as it were, one house of the Father, and in one house are different abodes, for one glory is to the sun, another to the moon, and another to the stars (1 Cor. 15:41). One can indicate in an even more subtle sense that at the end of things everything must be restored to its previous state, when we all form one body and are transformed into a perfect man and the Savior’s prayer for us is fulfilled: Father, grant that just as I and You are one, so these also in us may be one (John 17:21). I am not unaware that in the words I have stated: Taking care to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace by very many, it is not the Holy Spirit, but the disposition of mind and feeling, according to which all believers had one soul and one heart (Acts 4:32). Likewise, the Apostle instructs the virgin to be holy in body and spirit (1 Cor. 7:34), that is, in the deeds of the body and the mood of the mind. But a general explanation can also be involved in a particular (specialis) interpretation, i.e. That is, so that she preserves the unity of the spirit in the union of peace, which is not carried away by every wind of doctrine, and like a fool does not change like the month (Eccl. 27)?, serving now the devil, now God. But let her have one body for good deeds and always present her flesh to the church of God. And one spirit: always feeling the same thing in the same hope of calling, so that, never wavering regarding the promises, with a firm thought believing in the resurrection and restoration of all. Verses 5, 6: One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all (Eph. 4:5-6). – Just as faith is something different compared to baptism, God and the Lord, so baptism, the Lord and God are something different compared to the three taken separately, which are called simultaneously (pariter). I say this with Sabellius in mind, who believes that God the Father is the same as the Son, and confuses persons when he recognizes the same Divinity in both. Here [here] in the clearest way they are called one God the Father and one Lord the Son. This is written even more fully in the letter to the Corinthians: But we have one God the Father, from whom are all things, and one our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through Him (1 Cor. 8:6). For just as from God the Father the Son does not deprive the meaning of Lord, although only He Himself is called Lord, so the Father does not deprive the Son of the meaning of God, when only the Father is called God. And in another place we read: And know that the Lord Himself is God (Ps. 99:3), and in another place: The Lord thy God is one God (Deut. 6:4). In fact, if, as the Arians think, only God the Father is God, then with the same consistency [one can conclude that] only Jesus Christ is Lord, and [that] neither the Father is Lord, nor the Son is God. But, God forbid, to think that there is no deity in dominion, or that there is no domination in deity. There is one Lord and one God, because the dominion of the Father and the Son is one Godhead. Therefore, faith is called one, since we believe equally in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit; and Baptism is one, because we are equally baptized into the Father and into the Son and into the Holy Spirit. We are immersed three times so that one sacrament of the Holy Trinity may appear. At the same time, we are not baptized into the names of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, but into one name, which is understood as God. And I wonder by what consistency of thought Arius, Macedonius and Eunomius, in the same name, in the same action, in the same sacrament, suspect a difference of nature (disagreement is consonant in wickedness), and having the same dirty source [in the teaching] about the creation of the Son and the Holy Spirit, produced different streams of heresy? One baptism. These words have force both against Valentine, who strives to prove that there are two baptisms, and against all heretics, so that they know that they do not have baptism, but that the Church of Christ alone is the source of life. One baptism can also be called because, although we are immersed three times, due to the sacrament of the Trinity, this is still counted as one baptism. Also, the same baptism is in water, in spirit and in fire, and that about which the Lord says: I have to be baptized with baptism (Luke 12:50) and: By My baptism you will be baptized (Mark 10:39). And the difference in prepositions by which it is said: One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all, and in all, indicates a different understanding. For God the Father is above all, because He is the source of everything. Through all there is the Son, because He penetrates everything (transcurrit) and passes through everything. There is the Holy Spirit in everything, because without Him there is nothing. But one should not think that one God is the Father of everything in general, so that the name of the Father can be acquired even by irrational animals. But, as for ten people: for five sons and five slaves, although we equally call Him [for all ten (horum decem)] one Lord and one Father, yet He is not the Father for all and not the Master for all; so in His words: One God and Father of all, you need to understand that for some He is the Father, and for others He is God. Zeno and his Stoics have the same doctrine about creatures and God. Following him, Virgil says (Aeneid. VI): “For God walks throughout all the lands and spaces of the sea,” etc., and also: “From the beginning, the spirit nourishes and supports the sky and the earth, and the damp plains of the sea, and the luminous circle of the moon, and the huge stars, and the mind, spread over the members, moves the entire community, mixes with the large body.” Some of what is written by the Apostle: Above all, through all and in all they think to refer to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit so that above all there is the Father - the Creator of all things through all, the Son, because through the Son all things were created, and in all the Holy Spirit, for He is given to believers, and we are the temple of the Holy Spirit: both the Father and the Son dwell in us. Verse 7: And each of us has been given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift (Eph.4:7). – Although God the Father is above all, through all and in all, grace is given to everyone in moderation. This does not mean that God gives grace and the Spirit in a limited way (ad mensuram), because His greatness has no limit, but it means that He pours in moisture according to the vessels, giving as much of the gift as the one to whom it is given can accept. Indeed, God does not give the Spirit in a limited way, or what is poured out equally everywhere cannot have limitations. To make this clearer, let us take an example, although not perfect and giving an incomplete similarity, nevertheless one through which one can understand what is being said. The sea, of course, is huge, and its volume is known only to God. Therefore, if someone wants to transfer it to many people according to the ability for them to bear it, it is necessary that he gives each a measure, and thus the parts of what is generally (solidum) immeasurable receive a [known] measure. So the Holy Spirit is, indeed, immeasurable and does not lie within any boundaries; however, He is given to everyone as much as possible. And it is necessary to note that this same grace that is now given is given to us according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Verse 8: Therefore he says: He went up on high, and took captivity captive, and gave gifts among men (Eph. 4:8). - Since He said above: And each of us was given grace according to the bestowal of Christ, in order to confirm these very gifts, which a little later he listed, saying: And he himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as shepherds and teachers, and the fact that this was given by the Savior, he took as proof from the sixty-seventh Psalm, so that we would know that the same thing was distributed to people. the spoils which Christ deserved as a conqueror. For, ascending on high, He took captivity captive. We who now believe in Christ, gathered from the pagans, although we were the creation of God, were captured by the devil and given over to his companions. So our Lord Jesus Christ came, bringing with Him, according to the words of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 9 and Ezekiel 12), vessels of victory and, covering His head so that His enemies would not recognize Him, preached permission to those who were in captivity and who were kept in bonds and freed us from the bonds and chains of the enemy, like that Gospel woman, about whom He Himself says: And this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had already bound him eighteen years ago; was it not necessary to be released from these bonds on the Sabbath day (Luke 13:16). And those who were freed, and through a new captivity, torn from their previous captivity, He took with Him to heaven, and thus, to whom, as a victor, he snatched from the hands of his enemies, he gave various grace-filled gifts. And the Apostle used here an exquisite expression: he gave gifts in people, although in the Psalter it is written that he received gifts in people (Ps. 67:19). But it says accepted because it has not yet happened, but is promised as the future. And here, when the Apostle writes: because He has already given, and that Churches have already been founded all over the world, it is written that He gave and did not receive. Some explain this passage in such a way that our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven in order to send Angels and other forces from there to protect His Churches. And since this earthly place is unworthy of being a place of residence for higher powers, they are, in a way, as if in captivity. For for this purpose (they say) He ascended on high, so that, having taken captivity captive, He might give gifts to people. But the Apostle says all this in order to, having said above: Showing mutual condescension in love, taking care to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, to teach that with the various gifts of grace, the Church is in agreement and does not give rise to schisms and disagreements due to the fact that each of us receives gifts according to the gift of Christ. Not the same [gifts], but, however, all are called into one body and into one spirit, that is, as there is one Lord and one faith, and one Baptism, and one God the Father, so we are one and the same, since we preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Verse 9: And what is this, that He ascended, but that He also descended [first] into the lower parts of the earth (Eph. 4:9). - He of whom it is now said that He ascended, ascended because He had previously descended. For this means: And that He ascended, what is this, if not that He also descended [down]. So, it is necessary to examine in relation to what is written elsewhere: No one ascended into heaven, only the Son of Man who came down from heaven (John 3:13) [namely]: how did he who descended first ascend. For when he said this, he showed that after descending from heaven, He once ascended into heaven. In the same way, we must judge how this ascent and descent should be understood: along the body in a spatial sense (localiter), or above the body, that is, spiritually, or in both ways? And by the lower parts of the earth we mean hell, into which our Lord and Savior descended in order to victoriously take with Him to heaven the souls of the saints who were imprisoned there. Therefore, even after His resurrection, many bodies of saints were visible in the holy city (Matthew 27:51-53). And that hell is in the lower parts of the earth, the Psalmist also testifies to this, saying: The earth opened and devoured Dathan, and spread out over the assembly of Abiron (Ps. 105:17), and this is more fully explained in the book of Numbers (Num. 16). Also in another place we read: Let death come on them and let them go down alive to hell (Ps. 54:16). Verse 10: He who descended is also the one who entered above all the heavens, to fulfill all things (Eph. 4:10). - Whether physically passing through all the heavens and all the heights, and the celestial circles, called balls by philosophers, and ascending, He stood at the top of the arch, or, let’s use the word itself, in the middle of the arc (apside); or, of course, we must believe that He stood above heaven, that is, invisible, despising and putting aside everything corporeal, and contemplating the eternal. So, the Son of God descended into the lower regions of the earth and ascended into all heaven to fulfill not only the Law and the Prophets, but also some hidden purposes that only He and the Father knew; after all, we cannot know how the Blood of Christ was useful to both the Angels and those who were in hell, and, however, we cannot help but know that it brought benefit. He descended into hell and ascended into heaven to fulfill those who were in those regions, as far as they could perceive it. From this you need to know that before Christ descended and ascended, everything was empty and needed His fullness. This place is especially important against Ebion and Photinus. For if He Himself, who first descended from heaven, is also ascending into heaven, then how is it that our Lord Jesus Christ is not before Mary, but after Mary. It also has force against those who, in a painful delusion, invent two sons. It is said very clearly that He is both ascending and descending. But by saying this, we do not directly give reason for the restoration of the ancient heresy, which affirms the dual economy of Christ, but in this way we confess one Son, both of God and of Man, so that we do not cut off one part of the economy of the received man, by whom we are saved, believing him only in part. Verses 11, 12: And He Himself gave some to be apostles, and some to be prophets, and some to be evangelists, and some to be shepherds and teachers, for training the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-12). – From this passage the unity of the Divinity of the Father and the Son is most clearly demonstrated. Indeed, what is now attributed to Christ as His giving is presented in the first letter to the Corinthians as the work of God the Father. For, says the Apostle, God appointed others in the Church, first as apostles, secondly as prophets, thirdly as teachers, then powers and gifts of healings, aid, administration, and kinds of languages ​​(1 Cor. 12:28). Not understanding this, Sabellius merged the Father and the Son into one, since he does not think that the same action belongs to different persons. And at the same time, it is necessary to note that here it is said that Christ gave the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers, and there it is said that God appointed them. So, the Father and the Son appointed, or gave first, Apostles, and secondly, prophets, not those who will predict the future, as we read in V. Covenant, but those who will reprove and judge the unfaithful and unskilled, for he describes such prophets in another epistle (2 Cor. 11:13-15); thirdly: evangelists, whose feet are beautiful for proclaiming peace (Rom. 10:15). But at the same time, one should not think that, just as among the first three ministries, according to him, there are some - apostles, others - prophets, and others - evangelists, so between shepherds and teachers God has placed different ministries. After all, he does not say: “And some are shepherds, and others are teachers,” but he says: And others are shepherds and teachers, so that the one who is a shepherd must also be a teacher; and so that in the Churches, if someone cannot teach the flock, let him not accept the ministry of a shepherd, even if he were a saint. Or else: so that one and the same head of the Church should be both a shepherd and a teacher: a shepherd for the sheep, and a teacher for people. For You, O Lord, will save people and cattle (Ps. 35:7). I think that to some extent (quemadmodum) in the Churches there is still today, as a prophet and evangelist, a shepherd and a teacher, so it is possible to discover even an Apostle, in whom there are signs and distinctive features (indicia) of apostleship, and, on the other hand, both inside and outside, both in the Church and among heretics, there are those who turn out to be false apostles, false prophets, false evangelists, false shepherds, false teachers. But regarding heresies, indeed, there is no doubt that, according to their false faith, they have everything that is false. And in the Churches, are there, apparently, no false shepherds who do not shepherd the sheep according to the rules of church life, but as mercenaries, do not think at all about saving the flock, since they do not convert the lost and do not look for the lost, but only receive milk and wool from the sheep, i.e. food and clothing? – And let us not think that the Apostle spoke inconsistently in this passage. But since he presupposed the idea that God is above all, in all and through all, and each of the saints is given grace according to the bestowal of Christ; then now he adds that in the Church some are appointed (distributos) as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as shepherds and teachers, who are necessary for the perfection of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ, because, since the Church is the body of the Lord, and since the Church is built from living stones; then those who are indicated above as being appointed in the Church have the task of organizing the Church of Christ, that is, His body, in accordance with the economy and the service entrusted to them. So, if someone does not build the Church of Christ and does not instruct the people subordinate to him (so that the Church of Christ is built from the subordinate people), he should not be called either an Apostle, or a prophet, or an evangelist, or a shepherd, or a teacher. Verses 13-15: Until we achieve everything in the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God into a man perfect to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. So let us no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried away by every wind of doctrine through human lies and deceit to deceive with error, but keeping the truth in love, so as to multiply all things in Him who is Christ the Head (Eph. 4:13-15). – We must ask: what kind of people is the Apostle talking about that they will achieve in the unity of faith: Are they all people, or all saints, or only all those who are receptive to reason? It seems to me that he speaks about all people, because there are many winds of teaching. And when waves are excited by their movement, people are carried hither and thither by wrong movements and various delusions. Therefore, we must work with all diligence in order to first of all strive towards the goal in the unity of faith, and then in the same unity to have the knowledge of the Son of God. When the possession of this is ensured, then, ceasing to be infants and receiving the measure of the inner man (which is the measure of fullness, the measure of Christ), we will receive as inheritance the name of a perfect man, but in such a way that the entire multitude of believers will reach the final age of the fullness of Christ and will no longer waver in the teachings, will not be carried away in the likeness of children by the dangerous stream of unbelief, until these trends blow from everywhere: from whether from heretics or from the wise men of this age in the form of various and contradictory teachings, they will not cause shipwreck, or will not threaten those who listen to them; while some, not wanting lies, nevertheless preach what is false; and others, with all their wit, inventing the machinations of error, hasten to deceive and defeat us. But when the saints have fully reached (occurrerint atque pervenerint) the measure of the above-mentioned man, then, knowing the love of Christ, they will multiply in Him all the received seeds of truth, having the Lord Jesus as the head of the Church. And since his words: So that we will no longer be wavering babies, etc. testify that he too was, as it were, a hesitant baby, then it is necessary to consider whether he did not say this out of humility, or, realizing that he sees only in part and understands in part, he understood how far he was from perfect knowledge and spoke out with the true expressions of his consciousness. Therefore, if anyone wants to see in these words an expression of his humility, let him use the following example: When I was a baby, I spoke like a baby, I thought like a baby, I knew like a baby; and when he became a man, he abandoned that which belongs to a child (1 Cor. 13:11). And another will respond to this that the Apostle has reached the age of a perfect man in comparison with others; but he is also called a child in relation to what is intended for the saints. Indeed, all the Apostles who believe in Christ are called babes by the prophet in the words: Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me (Is. 8:18). After this, it is necessary to consider more carefully that, perhaps, not out of humility, only the Apostle says that he is not only a baby, but also wavering, and carried away by every movement of teaching in different directions towards errors, according to human deception, according to deceit. And whoever thinks that he expressed this not out of humility, but out of awareness of shortcomings, says: The Apostle Paul was a man of a subtle and keen natural mind, who clearly indicated that he should answer the objections of the first of those who would begin to challenge him. Thus, he often saw that on both sides they were talking about opposing subjects and pointing out something so plausible that they could lead the listener into doubt; therefore, he, like a man in a mortal body, was indeed carried away by every wind of doctrine, but was not crushed against the rocks, and his ship was not filled with waves, because he stood at the stern, holding the rudder, and with the firmness of faith cut through the foamy waves of heresy. But, however, he looked at the winds raging from different sides, not without trepidation, not without fear, not calmly and peacefully, but with a caring ear he grasped and conquered the dangerous. However, victory was not guaranteed for him. Thus, when he saw that the words of opponents and the reasons with which they want to pervert the truth cannot be easily overcome; that their reasoning is full of all kinds of cunning, skillful word combinations, composed with devilish resourcefulness: then he hoped for God’s help, so that He would expel all doubtful thoughts from his mind, so that he would believe without any difficulty the undoubted and solid truth and increase it in the love of Christ, Whom he recognized as the head, both of his own and of the entire body of the Church. It should be known that in Greek this passage is clearer, while when translated into Latin word for word, the meaning associated with the (individual) words obscures what is said (by the Apostle). Verse 16: From whom the whole body, put together and united through every joint of mutual aid, according to the working of each individual member, causes the body to increase, so that it can be built in love (Eph. 4:16). – At the end of the existence of creatures (rerum), when we begin to contemplate God face to face and in measure reach the fullness of the stature of Christ (from the fullness of which we have received everything) (John 1:16), so that Christ will be in us not only in part, but completely completely, and we, having left the beginnings of childhood, will grow into that man about whom the prophet speaks: Behold the Man, His name is “East” (Zech. 6:12), and John the Baptist inspires: After me comes a Man, who was ahead of me, because he was before me (John 1:27); then, in the unification of one faith and one knowledge of the Son of God, whom we now, according to the diversity of our thoughts, know not by the same faith and not by the same knowledge, - the whole body, which was previously scattered and torn into different parts, will turn to its wholeness, to unification in such a way that one assistance and one and the same action, and the complete perfection of one age, will make it possible for uniform growth of the whole body and all members will receive an increase in their age as they grow. But this entire building, through which the body of the Church increases in parts, will be filled with mutual love. By the image of one rational animal we will understand all rational creatures, and what we said about its individual members and parts must apply to every rational creature. Let us think that this animal is so divided into members, veins and nerves that neither bone is attached to bone, nor vein is connected to vein. The eyes are located separately; the nostrils are located independently; the arms occupy different places, the legs are positioned differently; the members are arranged and scattered in the same way. Imagine that a certain doctor appeared with such knowledge that he could imitate Aesculapius, as they say about him in pagan fables, and resurrect Virbius in a new image and with a new name. He will need to restore each individual member in its place, fasten ligament to ligament and, after strengthening the individual members with some kind of gluing, reproduce the whole body (unum corpus). Until this time we imagined a likeness; and now another example will be taken for what we want to understand. Let the child grow and, with the imperceptible passage of time, reach maturity: the hand will have its own growth; the legs experience their enlargement; the stomach is filled unknown to us; Imperceptibly for the eyes, the shoulders expand, and in their own measure, all the members grow in parts, but in such a way that they seem to grow not for themselves, but for the body. Thus. similarly, at the restoration of all, when the true physician Jesus Christ comes for the purpose of healing the entire body of the Church, now torn and scattered, each, to the extent of faith and recognition of the Son of God (whom we call recognizing because he first knew, and then ceased to know) will again take his place and begin to be what he was before; but, however, in such a way that - not according to the teachings of other heretics - everyone will be placed at the same age, that is, everyone will be transformed into angels, but each member will be perfect according to the measure and service of its own; eg the apostate angel will begin to be what he was created to be; and the man expelled from paradise will again be restored as a cultivator of paradise. However, everything will be such that it will mutually unite with each other in love; and when a member rejoices with a member and rejoices in the prosperity of another, the body of Christ, the Church of the firstborn, will dwell in the heavenly Jerusalem, which is elsewhere called by the Apostle the mother of saints (Gal. 4:26). This seems darker to us because (as we said above) in Greek it is expressed in a figurative sense. And in any comparison, with a literal translation from one language to another, the meaning of speech and its essence (germina) are obscured, as if by thick branches of a rose hip. Verses 17-19: Therefore I say and charge by the Lord that you no longer do as the pagans do, in the vanity of their minds, in the darkening of their understanding, in alienation from the way of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts, who in despair gave themselves over to shamelessness in doing unclean things with greed (Eph. 4:17-19). - So, Ephesians, I say this to you and adjure you, so that, having reached the fullness of the age of Christ, you do not walk as the pagans walk, who, serving idols, abuse their feelings and thoughts for depraved deeds. Although they received soul and mind in order to know God, they have moved away from His path (we have not known another such path without Christ) and walk in the blindness of their hearts. And God grant that their sins seem sufficient to them, and that they, at least late, bring repentance and condemn the vices to which they were constantly drawn with passion: this would be a means for them to come to their senses after their error. And now, in despair, and mired in the abomination and abyss of evil, like unreasonable cattle, they indulged in shamelessness, doing whatever the body wants, the soul desires, and lust prompts; and since they did not miss anything that was unclean, they did it out of greed, never being satisfied with excesses and their lust had no limits. So, undoubtedly, in addition to the connection allowed for a man with a woman, they went further, men with men committing shameful deeds, and in themselves receiving satisfaction of their perverted feelings. The emptiness of the feeling, the darkness of the mind, rushes towards two sides: to the affairs of this age and to temporary wisdom, when it is we who either hold on to what belongs to this age and quickly passes, or does not turn our thoughts to what is useful. Don’t you think that someone, for example, who is tormented day and night in twisted thoughts, walks with an empty feeling and a darkened mind; who, being a careful student of nature, turns his eyes beyond the sky, and penetrates beyond the earth and into some boundless void of the abyss; who constructs iambic verse, and carefully in his soul distinguishes and compares the great confusion of poetic meters, and, finally (let's move on to another area), the one who seeks wealth by hook or by crook, flatters rulers, seizes other people's inheritance and collects property that he himself does not know when he will have to leave. His words: In despair regarding themselves, ἀπηλγηκότες ἑαυτούς in Greek have a completely different meaning than in Latin, for those who are in despair are called ἀπηλγηκότες, and these are those who do not mourn after sin, that is, without feeling their death, they rush down and rush to death, like wild animals that see deadly iron. Show me two people who have given themselves over to the same vice: one understands what he has done and is tormented by it, the other enjoys the crime and not only does not grieve, but even boasts and imagines that he has received some kind of palm and superiority in committing the shameful thing. Don't you think that he suffers, but this one hardly suffers? If possible, then we will express it literally and say ἀπηλγηκότες, that is, not suffering or: not having sorrow. For a certain philosopher also preached the absence of sorrow (ἀναλγησίαν). Those who recognize the existence of different natures, let them know that the pagans with darkened minds walked in the vanity of feeling, because they gave themselves up to ignorance and blindness. Only he is not called ignorant and blind who can know and see; and we do not say that a stone is blind, and a wild animal does not have knowledge, because it is not asked of it and it is not part of its nature that it should know, and the stone should see. If the nature of the pagans did not have the ability to know and contemplate the life of God, then this is because the carnal (choicorum) and the spiritual are not different in nature, but in will. Above we talked about doing all uncleanness with greed: but this does not refer to stinginess, as it simply seems, but to lust and luxury. We can confirm this meaning by evidence from another place. In the first letter to the Thessalonians it is written: For this is the will of God, [namely:] your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication, that each of you should be able (sciat) to control his own vessel in holiness and honor: not in carnal desires, like the pagans who do not know God, but that each one should not bypass or deceive his brother in the matter, because the Lord is the rewarder of all this, as We have told you before and testified; for God did not call you in uncleanness, but in sanctification (1 Thess. 4:3-7). Observe carefully that, calling us to purity and wanting us to be content only with [our] wives, he said: So that no one bypasses and deceives his brother in fact, that is, so that he does not try to defile another’s wife by leaving his own. Where you have: He did not deceive his brother in fact, in Greek it reads: αὐτοῦ. And πλεονεξία means greed; but we, preserving the power of the word when transmitting, cannot now translate this passage as follows: So that no one bypasses and greedily deceives his brother in practice. Indeed, what is the consistency, both in the passage that we have now presented as an example, and in the thought that we mainly try to expound in the letter to the Ephesians - namely, that between shamelessness and uncleanness, integrity and brotherly love, beyond expectation, the Apostle suddenly calls greed? Let it not seem painful to you that we lingered for a long time over dark places. After all, we were forced to declare at the beginning that among all the epistles of Paul, this epistle is mostly difficult to understand, both in expression and in meaning. Verse 20 and beginning 21: But you did not know Christ in this way, unless you heard about Him and learned from Him (Eph. 4:20). - If all those who apparently heard about Christ really heard about Him, then the Apostle would never have said to the Ephesians, - and especially to those to whom the sacraments of Christ were revealed, - If only you had heard about Him. But to know Christ is the same as to know the truth; and hearing about Him is the same as listening to wisdom, truth, strength, self-control, etc., what Christ is called. So, if anyone heard and knew Christ, he would not walk in the vanity of his feelings; such a one will not go in a darkened state of mind and will not be alienated from the life of God. He will even have knowledge, and after ignorance has been dispelled and light has penetrated into darkness, all blindness will be removed from the eyes of his heart. When he acquires this, he will no longer indulge in shamelessness and will not do unclean things with greed, going beyond the limits of what is permitted in marriage. But if someone is accidentally overcome by passion, he will suffer from his wound and experience torment of conscience, because he will lose his free (open) face and the purity of his immaculate thought. Let us therefore know Christ and listen to Him; if there is anyone who can say: Or are you looking for evidence of Him who speaks in me, Christ (2 Cor. 13:3); then we will resort to Him both day and night, we will cling to His lips and words: this is Christ speaking to you; these are the words of the Holy Spirit that He proclaims to us. For God placed in the Church first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers. But there is no need to despair that one day Christ Himself will speak in our thoughts and will teach us by Himself, and will not seek tools in the lips of others. Just let us not be enslaved to sin, and let not vices prevail in our body; then wisdom will enter into him. Verse 21 (end): For the truth is in Jesus (Eph.4:21). The name Jesus sometimes denotes the person who was received by God from the Virgin through the Word, as they say: His name will be called Jesus, for He will save the people from their sins (Luke 1:31), and in another place: Jesus was weary from the journey (John 4:6) and other places. And sometimes this name means God the Word: For we have one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things. So, if in any place Jesus says: I am the way and the truth (John 14:6), then he says this because He is the Son of God, and when Paul writes: Since the truth is in Jesus, it speaks of the church of the body in which God the Word dwells, For the Word was flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14); unless both are to be understood in relation to God the Word, because as life dwells in Him and He Himself is Life: For as the Father has life in Himself, so He gave also to the Son to have life in Himself (John 5:26); so truth is called the Son and is shown to dwell in Him. But we say this without separating Jesus from Christ, nor God the Word from the One Whom He accepted, and not saying that this second was a man, but according to the meaning of the actions or places of Him Whom we recognize as the only Son of God and Man, calling otherwise before the [womb] of the Virgin and after Her. It can be understood differently. Since the truth is in Jesus: there was truth in none of the patriarchs, prophets and apostles, only in Jesus alone. Indeed, some of them knew in part, and prophesied in part, and saw as if through a mirror in fortune telling (1 Cor. 13:12). In Jesus alone the Truth of God appeared, which openly declares: I am the truth (John 14:6) and which gives freedom to those who believe in It according to their faith. For whoever knows the truth is endowed with freedom from the truth. And Truth itself took on the form of a slave, humbled Itself, and was in obedience to the Father even to death (Phil. 2:6-8) for the purpose (propterea) of making the slave free, for where the Spirit is, there is freedom. If we want to recognize in Jesus the form of freeness and the essence (faciemque) of truth, then let us go up with Him to the mountain and look at Him Transfigured: there are His clothes, - i.e. The Scriptures that proclaim Him are changed; as well as Moses and Elijah, that is, the Law and the Prophets appear in the word (Matthew 17:1-6). Until the Lord changed the form of the servant and ascended the mountain, the law became unclean and the prophets were in humiliation. And when He ascended to the heights, He wanted to change His clothes, and then the meaning from slavish became clear and free. Then Moses and Elijah also change both their faces and their clothes. Verse 22: That you may put aside the old man of his former life, which is corrupted through deceitful desires (Eph. 4:22). – Since the thought apparently flows according to the order and according to the connection of speech, the reading should be as follows: But you have not come to know Christ (unless you have heard about Him and were taught in Him) so as to lay aside for you the old man of your former life, which is decaying as a result of deceptive desires, since the truth is in Jesus, so the meaning of the passage will be this: just as the truth is in Jesus, so will it be in you, who have come to know Christ and they heard Him, and were taught to put aside man’s old way of life, which was corrupted due to deceptive desires. And the old man is called the one who must be put aside, because it seems to me that he has become worn out in evil deeds. Indeed, he, always wandering in the first way of life and according to seductive desires, and exhausted in the works of corruption, is subject to corruption and falls. And since he constantly revolves in deceptive desires and never lags behind vice, he is not called decayed, but decaying, i.e. It means that every day, hour and moment it deteriorates, encounters obstacles and decays. But the word of God, which kills in order to give life to the dead, and so that he who is quickened would seek the Lord, whom he did not know before destruction, [this word] does not subject to corruption, but puts to death the old man: For I, He says, kill, and I give life (Deut. 32:33), and: When He destroyed them, then they sought Him (Ps. 77:34). But let us not think that what is said now: Who corrupts through deceitful desires, contradicts what is written elsewhere: And if our present man is corrupted, then the one who is within is renewed all the days (2 Cor. 4:16), because the corruption of the outer man is the renewal of the inner, and vice versa, the corruption of the inner man is the restoration of the outer. But someone might think that the Apostle Paul says simply: If someone corrupts the church of God, then God will corrupt him, for holy is the church of God, which is you. But perhaps there is something hidden there that has eluded us. If we are the church of God, according to what is written: For the church of God is holy, which you are (1 Cor. 3:17), then the one who defiles the church of God is one, and that which is defiled is another. We must ask: Who is he who defiles the church of God? If you find the enemies of Jerusalem destroying and desecrating the church built of stones, then you will also (pariter) see everyone who destroys and defiles the church of God, whom God will desecrate and destroy in vengeance for the destruction of His church. However, even a church (namely a living and sensual church), which has given itself over to the machinations of the destroyer, deserves punishment; since it is desecrated and destroyed, it has lost its incorruptibility. Verses 23, 24: But be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, which according to God was created in righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:23-24). – We are not renewed by the mind without the spirit, and not by the spirit without the mind, but we are renewed together in the spirit of our mind, so that just as we sing in the spirit, sing with the mind, pray with the spirit, pray with the mind, so we are renewed in the spirit of our mind, so that when the mind is pure and undefiled and free from every dirty spot, then the spirit is joined to it; then they will be so connected by a certain bond (glutino) of unity among themselves that it will no longer be called simply spirit, but the spirit of the mind. And when we are renewed by the spirit, which is the spirit of our mind; then let us put on the new man, who was created according to God. And in other words, in my opinion, this is the same as what is said elsewhere: You have put on Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14), for He is the new man with whom we must dress and put on. Indeed, what was not new in the man who was accepted as our Savior? Conception, birth, childhood, teaching, life, virtues, and, finally, the cross and suffering [of Him], who in them defeated the powers of the world and put hostile forces to shame, as well as the resurrection and ascension into heaven. So, He was truly created in righteousness and true holiness, because He - the true God - was the Son of the true God, and in Him truly all the faith and truth of God was completely fulfilled. So, whoever can imitate His life, and express in himself all the virtues, and will be meek and humble in heart, as He was meek and humble in heart, and lay down his life for his friends, as He laid down His life for His sheep: subject to scourging, he was silent; slandered, did not respond with curses, but with humility overcame pride: he is clothed in a new man and can say with the Apostle: It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20) and: Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ (1 Cor. 11:1); one can also take into account the words of John: Whoever says that he believes in Christ must also walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). And the words of the Apostle: Who was created according to God, in Latin do not have the same meaning as in Greek. In fact, with us creation (creatio) means either: work or: birth, and among the Greeks the name creation means the action of construction and creation; and what we call creation (conditio) among the Greeks is called creation (creatio). Therefore, the heresy that slanderes the birth of Christ takes its example from the words of Solomon: The Lord made me the beginning of His ways (Proverbs 8:22). So, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that creation and education (creation) are used only in relation to great deeds. For example, the world was created, the city was founded; but a house, even if it were great, is more correctly called built than created or created, for in relation to great deeds and works the word creation is used. From this it should be noted that this new man, who according to God was created in Christ, is a great work of God and rises above other creatures, for it is said that He was created as the world and the beginning of the ways of God, and was created at the beginning of all simple substances (elementorum). Verse 25: Therefore, putting aside lying, speak the truth every one of you with your neighbor, for we are members of one another (Eph. 4:25). – Not simply, as some believe, and not in a moral sense, the Apostle commands, leaving behind lies, to speak the truth with others. Otherwise, whoever is not a neighbor [to us] will have to listen to lies. True, it is expressed in a similar way in the Law: You shall not commit adultery with your neighbor’s wife (Ex. 20:17). If by neighbor we mean only a relative or a friend, then adultery with strangers is rightfully permitted. But he calls every person who is born from the same ancestor with us as neighbor. This is precisely shown in the parable that talks about a man walking from Jerusalem to Jericho and falling into the hands of robbers, and about a priest and a Levite passing by: he met the caring care of a Samaritan and was taken to the owner of the inn (Luke 10:29-37). And after this, the Lord claims that he was a neighbor who had mercy on him, and thus shows that all people are neighbors to everyone. And with this understanding, this passage truly teaches (aedificat) those who listen. However, the following words: Since we are members of one another, seem to denote a greater sacrament and speak of those who are close to us in faith and virtue. In fact, members of each other are only believers for believers, Christians for Christians and perfect for those who have completely completed (perfect) virtue. Therefore, Paul himself, as perfect, says in another letter: But we proclaim wisdom among those who are perfect (1 Cor. 2:6). So, he commands that everyone should speak something mysterious and hidden, and filled with divine truth, with his neighbor, and that day should proclaim the word to day, and night should impart knowledge to night (Ps. 19:3), that is, that something clear and bright should be shown to those who deserve to hear. You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). Then, covered with shadow and shrouded in mystery and every veil (nocte) of the holy, he communicated to those who themselves find themselves in the night, darkness and gloom, of which it is said: And darkness is under His feet (Ps. 17:10) [i.e. e.], undoubtedly God, because Moses on Mount Sinai entered into the storm and darkness, where God was (Exodus 19:16–20) and it is said about God himself: He made darkness a covering for Himself (Ps.17:12). So, let everyone speak the truth and the mysterious to his neighbor, and not give what is holy to dogs, and not cast pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6)); but let him only who has the oil of truth be brought into the upper room and into the storeroom of the Bridegroom. Then we will know that the words: speak the truth, each one with his neighbor, are borrowed from the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 8:16). Verse 26: Be angry and do not sin (Eph.4:26). – No one doubts that these words are borrowed from the fourth Psalm and, apparently, they are the opposite of what is said elsewhere: Now put aside all anger and indignation, and malice, and blasphemy, and shameless speech from your mouth (Col. 3:8). Although simply understanding this passage in the sense that the bridle of anger is being untied is dangerous. However, not only among us, but also among philosophers, the word anger is understood in a double meaning: firstly, when we, outraged by an insult, are moved by natural demands; secondly, when, after the attacks on us have ceased and the anger has subsided, the mind can reason, but nevertheless desires revenge on the one who is recognized as the offender. Therefore, I think that here we are talking about the first type of anger, and we, as people, are given a concession: to be indignant at the sight (ad faciem) of some unworthy action, but so that the peace of mind is disturbed only by some slight movement of the wind; that is, so that we do not easily succumb to the stormy waves of rage. Your writer Firmian wrote a book On the Wrath of God in a learned and at the same time eloquent language, which, in my opinion, is more than sufficient for understanding anger. Let not the sun go down on your anger (Eph.4:26). – If we understand simply that the sun, which is visible with bodily eyes, then we sin only when the anger continues even after the setting of the word. But we do not sin when, for example, being angry from the first hour to the eleventh, we do what indignation, rage, and anger tell us. It seems to me that there is nothing more incongruous than such an interpretation: as if someone cannot rage from sunrise to sunset in such great crimes that later throughout his entire life it is impossible to atone for them with tears. On the other hand: isn’t anger more prevalent during the day? at the same time, the night with the onset of sleep is a calming of rage and, even if we were angry then, we transfer our anger to the next day. Therefore, the true sun that sets on the evil prophets - as it is written: on your prophets the sun set at noon ( Am. 8:4-9 ) - will also set on all sinners, and His rising will not be favorable for them; and the Apostle teaches us not to do anything for which the sun is hidden for us, and the main side of our heart is shrouded in darkness. Some believe that this passage should be understood as simply as the passage from the fourth Psalm, from which it appears to be borrowed: Whatever you say in your hearts, in your beds, let it be your grief (Ps. 4:5), that is, whatever you sin in deed, in words, or in thoughts, you cleanse with repentance during the night; then the anger will not last and will not be carried over to the next day. Verse 27: And give no place to the devil (Eph.4:27). – Devil is a Greek word that in Latin means slanderer; in Hebrew it is called: Satan, i.e. adversary or: enemy and in the Apostle: Belial, i.e. without a yoke, because he threw off the service of God from his neck, which Aquila translated with the word: apostate. And at the same time, you should know that where in the Old Testament it is written: sons of infection, as in the words: Sons of Eli, sons of infection (1 Samuel 2:12), in the Hebrew scrolls instead of infection it is used: Belial, i.e. devil, although many people read incorrectly instead of Belial in the Apostle: Belial. So, he says, do not give room to the devil, who, like a roaring lion, seeks access to attack. Indeed, how the Father and the Son stand before the door of the heart and strike it in order to enter and have supper with the one who receives Them (Rev. 3:20); so the enemy is always ready to rush at us, and when we give [him] space, he enters. But usually, before entering, he throws some arrows, and makes his thoughts the forerunner of his coming. If we cultivate these thoughts in our hearts and allow them to grow, then when he sees in us an increased prey for himself, he decides to enter himself. Finally, he threw the first arrow into the heart of Judas Iscariot, so that he would betray the Savior; If this unfortunate man had not warmed the arrow he received, then Satan would never have entered it after dipping the bread in salt. At the same time, think carefully about the fact that Satan found a means (locum) to enter the heart of Judas, although he struck him even earlier, only at the Savior’s supper (John 13:26-27); this is because we, mainly, surrender to his power when we are not overcome by either the love of mankind, or the meekness, or the mercy of the one whom we unworthily hate. With these words of the Apostle: Do not give place to the devil, a passage from Ecclesiastes is compared: If the spirit of one who has power comes upon you, then do not give him your place (Eccl. 10:4). He, proud and arrogant, wants to ascend, wants to approach; but you do not give him space, even if he believes that you are oppressed and he is triumphant, because the power of the devil lies not in his arrogance and boasting, but in your desire. Verse 28: Let him who has stolen steal no more, but rather work more, working with his hands what is good, that he may have it to give to him who has need (Eph. 4:28). – Since those who revolve in the affairs of this life for the sake of food and obtaining the necessary things are forced to buy or sell and strive for profit from their business, it is difficult even for those who have freed themselves from other passions, namely adultery, fornication, idolatry, murder, not to succumb to the last vice. Therefore, the Apostle now exhorts the Ephesians so that, for the sake of profit, they do not fall into the crime of theft; By calling theft, he means everything that is damage to another. But it is fair that everyone, working with his own hands and acquiring the means of living through labor, should give to the poor. So, he who works only so that he himself does not need, and does not extend his hand to others (contrahi 2 manum), although he boasts, does not fulfill the commandments of the Apostle. But the words: Let him who stole steal no more can be understood more sublimely in accordance with what is written about false prophets who steal the word, every one from his neighbor (Jer. 23:30), and in the Gospel: All who came before Me were thieves and robbers (John 10:8), and to the Romans: You, who preach that you should not steal, steal ( Rom.2:21-23), - all this shows that we should not (prohibeamur) commit spiritual theft. In the same way, the following words: But it is better to let him work, doing with his own hands what is good, in fairness, cannot be attributed only to what is necessary for life, that is, it is impossible for anything transitory to be called good, and what belongs to the mammon of unrighteousness. Indeed, even if righteous labor accumulated riches acquired without cunning, it is enough for them if they are not called evil; but they do not deserve the name of good. So, the one who turns away from evil and does good does good, and works in the field of his soul, so that it is filled with spiritual bread, and he can serve the hungry and those living in need, delivering bread to his co-workers in a timely manner. But if there is one who does good, then, therefore, who steals, he steals words and teaching, living from theft, and sewing his headboard from theft, and here and there, collecting scraps for himself in the Scriptures in order to sew himself a torn tunic, which is below, and not above. But the tunic of the Church, that is, the body of Christ, is woven from above and has no seams in any part of it and cannot be torn even by pagans. Verse 29: Let no evil word come out of your mouth, but only good word for the timely development of grace to those who hear (Eph. 4:29). – A good word for timely edification, giving grace to those who listen, is one that teaches to follow virtue and avoid vices; and a bad word is one that calls for sins and even more induces those inclined [to them] to a complete fall. Instead of what we translated for timely creation, that is, what is expressed in Greek by the word τῆς χρείας, in the Latin collections of St. For the sake of euphony, the translator changed the books and used the expression: for the creation of faith. As soon as someone benefits from our words, and according to the appropriate place, time or person, edifies those who listen, then a good word comes from our lips. And when we speak either at the wrong time, or in the wrong place, or in a way that is not suitable for those listening, then every time an evil word comes from our lips to the frustration of those who listen. So, let us be mindful of what we say, because for every idle word we will give an account on the day of judgment (Matthew 12:36). And even if we did not offend anyone, if we do not edify, then we should have a reward for our evil word. Verse 30: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you are marked for the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30). – The sadness of the Holy Spirit must be understood in the same way as the wrath of God, and sleep, and other sufferings in the likeness of people. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit experiences sadness and the Divine feels some anxiety, but that we recognize in human expressions the movements of Divine feeling, because He is saddened when we sin and, as it were, mourns sinners. For the Savior, who was in the body, mourned Jerusalem (Luke 19:41), and in the person of the prophet, the whole human race, saying: Woe to me, O soul, because he who turns away [or: honors] from the earth is destroyed, and there is no one among men who guides: all are judged in blood (Micah 7:1-2). And listing in Ezekiel the deeds of the once holy city, he says: In all this you have saddened Me (Ezek. 20). And we are marked by the Holy Spirit of God in such a way that both our spirit and soul are sealed with the sign of God, and we receive the image and likeness in which we were created from the beginning. This sign of the Holy Spirit, according to the word of the Savior, is given from the sealing of God: For He, He says, was signified by God the Father (John 6:27). So, everyone who by his faith in God has shown that He is the true God is marked by the Father by the Holy Spirit. He is marked in order to preserve this seal and show it on the day of redemption, pure and undamaged, and uncorrupted in any part, and according to it to be numbered among those who are redeemed. Paul and Eustochius! In the preface to the first book of commentaries on the letter to the Ephesians, I said more than enough about the significance of the evidence in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, and little by little, where there was a reason for it, although briefly, I showed that the blessed Apostle did not write so mysteriously to any of the churches and did not reveal such secret sacred rites. And now, since I, supported by the prayers of you and Saint Marcella, dictate the third, i.e., the last book on the same epistle, it seems fair to me to show that the word production of the name itself corresponds to the meaning I stated above. The word Ephesus is translated into Latin by the word will, or: my counsel is in it, or also: my soul is in it. The desire, counsel and spirit of God is in the one who can say: For He Himself has given me the knowledge of all things (Eccl. 1:13) and (1 John 5), and although the unknown and secret of Divine wisdom was revealed to Him, yet the testimony of the speaker follows: I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after His own heart, who has fulfilled all My desires (Acts 13:22). The prophet Hosea also points to a man of this kind, saying: Who is wise and understands [or: understands and: recognizes] this, is understanding and recognizes it? ( Hos. 14:10 ). Then, so that you know that there is a great difference between a simply righteous man and a righteous sage, listen to what glory some of the dead will inherit in the resurrection: And many of those who sleep will rise from the dust of the earth: some to eternal life, and others to shame and everlasting confusion, and those of understanding will shine like the brightness of the firmament, and many of the righteous will be like stars forever (Dan. 12:2-3). The righteous, he says, will shine like stars forever, and the intelligent, that is, those who have knowledge of Scripture, like the radiance of the sky. This does not mean that a learned man should not also be a righteous man, but that a righteous man, if he is not taught, will be as far from the righteous and wise man as the brilliance of the stars is from the radiance of the firmament. Therefore, if someone is instructed only in thinking about the Law, but does not care about his life, he does not have the courage to say: I have learned from Your commandments, therefore I strive to fulfill all Your commandments (Ps. 119:10); he, like ringing brass and like a clanking cymbal and salt that has lost its strength, must be trodden down in the mud (1 Cor. 13:2, Mark 9:50) and (Luke 14:34). But if I am given a choice of both (leaving aside the one who has wisdom and righteousness), then I would prefer righteous simplicity to learned malice, because in the first case, although the glory of the stars is less, it is, however, essentially equal to the light, and in the second case, as knowledge is acquired, there is greater responsibility. The strong will suffer torment (Wis.6:6). Also; A slave who knows the will of his master and does not fulfill it will be subjected to many beatings (Luke 12:47). This is because, I say, I want to show why the name of the Ephesians means the spirit, counsel and will of God, precisely because they, having abandoned the wonders of magic, transferred their zeal for error to the knowledge of the truth. Paul worked so hard to save them that he wrote to the Corinthians: If, as a human being, I wrestled with wild beasts in Ephesus, what good is it to me if the dead do not rise? (1 Cor. 15:32). What kind of animals are these? These are precisely those about whom the Psalmist says in prayer: Do not deliver to the beasts the soul that trusts in You (Ps. 73:19). And in another place: Forbid the beasts in the reeds (Ps. 67:31). Indeed, our enemy, the devil, runs around like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). When he saw that the main city of Asia was kidnapped from his mouth to the side of the teachings of Paul, then, having gathered all the troops of his companions, he rushed to suppress it and, dishonestly ascending, wanted to build his nest over it like an eagle (Is. 14, Proverbs 4). Feeling this, and with all care preserving his heart (because who does not know his deceit), the Apostle, even after the victory, but not a bloodless victory, said: We do not want, brothers, to leave you in ignorance of our torments that we had in Asia, because we were burdened beyond measure, beyond strength, so that it even became unbearable for us to live (2 Cor. 1:8). And the fact that the message is sent through Tychicus is very consistent with the sacred and mysterious content of the same message (1 Thessalonians 4). This is preceded by an indication and table of contents of the ninth Psalm: About the secrets of the son, because the word Tychicus means silent, that is, not throwing pearls before swine and not giving holy things to dogs, but freely speaking to God: In my heart I have hidden Your words, so as not to sin before You (Ps. 119:11). Verse 31: Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and crying and slander be taken away from you along with all malice (Eph. 4:31). – Sadness is the opposite of pleasantness. Therefore, the bitter are simply called sweet, about which the prophet Jeremiah says this: And Your grief has come upon me (Jer. 15:17). And rage is the beginning of anger and indignation flaring up in the soul. Anger (the types of which are bitterness and rage), after quenching the rage, demands revenge and wants to offend the one whom it considers to have harmed it. Although this is also indicated in the face of God very often - as, for example: Lord, do not reprove me in Your wrath and do not correct me in Your anger (Ps. 6:2) - however, the disturbances of [His] spirit should not be compared with ours, because in Him everything is moderate and put in order, and the punishment by which sinners are corrected is called so according to our usage of words. But if we get angry, we become confused, and, carried away by rage, we cease to be ourselves. Therefore, all irritation and rage and anger must be removed from us. For to the well-known word of the Gospel: Anyone who is angry with his brother without reason will be responsible before the court (Matt. 5:22) in vain were added the words: without reason, because the Apostle says in the clearest way that we are not allowed to be angry even without reason: Let grief and rage and anger be removed from you. Also in the thirty-sixth Psalm, all disturbance of the soul in general is eliminated: Calm down from anger and leave rage (Ps. 37:8). In fact, if anger desires revenge, and all vengeance requires retribution of evil to the one who is our offender; and if a Christian should not repay evil for evil, but, on the contrary, overcome good with evil (1 Pet. 3:9) and (Rom. 12:19) and if the Lord says: “Vengeance is Mine, and I will repay” (Deut. 32:35): then everyone who is angry sins, for: The wrath of man does not bring the justification of God (James 1:20). After grief, rage and anger, it is quite right that screams and slander are also prohibited among us, because whoever ever succumbs to rage will, of necessity, burst out in a cry, and he, trembling with indignation, like a tree leaf, will rush back and forth and shout: “Oh, the untruth of the world! Oh, the unjust judgments of God!” and so on, which is usually said by those who, due to rage and indignation, have lost the prudence of their minds. Then, slander is not only open and born out of anger, but it also manifests itself without anger with a calm thought. So, for example, someone is indignant at the government of this world and says: “This should not be like this, but it should be like this,” or, for example, someone installed in the Church and believing in God wavers in a teaching that is not permissible not to know, namely: he judges the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit differently from what his true essence contains, or does not believe in the resurrection of the dead as Scripture teaches, or, being jealous someone else's wisdom, imagines that the one who actually has universal faith teaches incorrectly, and vice versa: he recognizes the heretic as truly universal in faith for the flattery he encounters on his part; or who calls sweet things bitter, and bitter things sweet. Therefore, we must read the Holy Scripture with all diligence, and we must meditate day and night in the law of the Lord, so that, as those recognized as true participants in the feast, we know which coin is real and which is counterfeit. Then we must put aside bitterness, rage, anger, crying and slander so that these are removed along with all malice. Malice must be understood either as something opposite to virtue, which we otherwise call vice, or as an evil mood or dissipation, revealed in stubbornness and guile. Chapter V. - Verse 1 [Chapter 4, Art. 31]: But be mutually gracious, merciful, granting (forgiving) to yourselves, as God also granted to you in Christ (Eph. 4:32). – We said above that the opposite of grief is sweetness, which the Apostle now calls χρηστότητα, that is, more correctly: pleasantness than favor, teaching us that, having condemned all grief, rage, anger, screaming, slander, violent movement and some hardness of face, we should be merciful and affectionate and attract people to be close to ourselves so that no one is afraid to approach us; this closeness is compared to mercy, but by yielding to others, we at the same time do not lose what we ourselves give, for what follows: giving to ourselves, since what is good for another serves more the one who gives than the one to whom it is given. He who shows mercy to the poor will be satisfied himself, and he who gives to them gives as a loan to God. However, it can also be understood that in that in which we are affectionate and merciful and, having abandoned the indignation that worries us, we have moved on to kindness and moderation, we ourselves will receive giving and a gift when we turn from evil to good and give ourselves the very thing that God the Father gave in Christ. Indeed, if, leaving behind vices, we follow the virtues - and all the virtues: wisdom, truth, truth, meekness, etc. relate to Christ; then having these virtues, we acquire them for ourselves through our own diligence and give ourselves the opportunity to have what God has given us in Christ Jesus. The other [interpreter] of the words: by giving to yourself, let him understand simply, so that, as it is said above: Be mutually affectionate, so now: by giving to yourself instead: by giving to yourself in return, so that just as God in Christ forgave us our sins, so we must forgive those who have sinned against us. And to prove that the remission of sins in the Holy. Scripture is called a gift, let him take that example from the Gospel of Luke, where it says that one person was owed: one five hundred denarii, and another fifty (Luke 7:41-43); He forgave both of them the debt, and in response to the Savior’s question, he answered that the one to whom more was given will have greater love for the trustor. And the Lord’s Prayer says: Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors (Matthew 6:12). And God has given us in Christ, not being outside, but dwelling in Him, for the Father is in the Son and the Son in the Father. But at the same time, He in Whom it is given is no less than He who gives in Him, because the Apostle also says: And if I have given you anything, it was on the behalf of Christ and God (2 Cor. 2:10). Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly beloved sons (Eph. 5:1). – Whoever understands how it is said: Be perfect, just as the Heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48), he will know how it is now said: Be imitators of God (Eph.5:1). And in his letter to the Corinthians he also says: Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). In fact, they could not be imitators of Christ directly, but it was already a lot for them if they could be imitators of His imitator. And to the Ephesians, as if to those whom he taught so many sacraments, he no longer says: “Be my imitators,” and does not say: “Imitators of Christ,” but: “Imitators of God.” This does not mean that being an imitator of Christ means less than being an imitator of God (for Christ is God), but that being an imitator of man is one thing, and being an imitator of God is another. For although we previously knew Christ according to the flesh, now we no longer know Him according to the flesh. And the Savior himself says, showing humiliation in the economy: What the Son sees the Father doing, He Himself also does (John 5:19). This does not mean that the Father created another heaven and another earth, and in their likeness Christ created another heaven and another earth, and other components (elementa); which means that the Son does the same thing that the Father does. And in what we can be equal to God, He testified to this above, saying: Granting to ourselves, as God gave to you in Christ, for I do not think that in the rest of what God does, man could imitate God; and, for example, just as God is merciful and sends rain on the evil and the good, etc., so we must pour out our kindness on all people. When we do this, we will be beloved children either of Paul himself, or, as I think better, of God. Verse 2: And walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself as an offering for us, a fragrant sacrifice to God (Eph. 5:2). – Whoever, for the sake of saving others, fights against sin even to the point of blood, walks in love, imitating Christ, Who loved us so much that He endured the cross for the salvation of all. For just as He gave Himself for us, so this one, who willingly dies for those for whom He can, imitates Him Who gave Himself as an offering and a fragrant sacrifice to the Father; he himself will be an offering and a fragrant sacrifice to God. Verses 3, 4: But fornication and all uncleanness or greed, even if it is not called among you, as is fitting for saints; also shameful and foolish words, and buffoonery that has no relation to the matter [not corresponding to your position], but thanksgiving (Eph. 5:3-4). - If there had not been one of the Cynic philosophers who taught that every tickling of the flesh and every discharge of semen, caused by any friction or touch on occasion, should not be avoided, and if the wise men of this age had not agreed with such a shameful and shameful teaching: then the holy Apostle in the Epistle to the Ephesians would never have associated with fornication of all uncleanness, and would not add greed (stinginess) to uncleanness, not that which prompts us to collect money, but that which we said above: Let him not bypass and with greed deceive his brother in business. This is precisely because the insatiable and unsatisfied person goes through all kinds of shameful deeds and debauchery. How fitting, he says, for saints. According to this teaching, one who, in addition to fornication, is also guilty of some kind of uncleanness and thirst for lust for pleasures that delight him cannot be called a saint. And if anyone believes that greed should be understood in the meaning that we have shown, then he must indicate the reasons why greed, beyond the usual, is supplied among fornication, uncleanness, shameful and stupid talk and buffoonery. Then, by stupid talk, in my opinion, we must understand not only the words of those who talk about something shameful in order to arouse laughter and, with feigned foolishness, mock those whom they want to please; but also the reasoning of those who are considered the sages of this age and, arguing about natural objects, claim that they have learned exactly the number of grains of sand on the seashore, drops of water in the Ocean, the vast expanses of heaven and the center of the earth. There are stupid conversations in the Church too. So, for example, if someone, misled by the incomprehensible words of the prophet Isaiah, believes that the sky is rounded like a vault, and that a throne is placed in heaven on which God sits and, like a ruler (imperatori 3) and a judge, is surrounded by standing angels who obey the words of the ruler and are sent to various ministries (Is. 6). But since stupid conversations are followed by buffoonery, they should be classified primarily as stupid and ignorant stories. The difference between stupid speeches and buffoonery is that stupid conversations do not contain anything wise and worthy of the human heart of a person. But buffoonery comes from rational thought and with the intention of seeking out some words, urban or rural, indecent or humorous; in another word it can be called laughter with the aim of causing laughter in those listening. But it should also be completely eliminated by holy men, for whom it is more fitting to cry, as we read in some Jewish Gospel, as if the words of the Lord to the disciples: And be joyful only when you see your brother in love. It seems that up to this point nothing superfluous or standing outside the connection of speech and the arrangement of words [in the message] was proposed. But in what follows and is at the end: But more than thanksgiving, perhaps someone will ask and say: "What do these words mean after the prohibition of adultery and uncleanness, and immoderation, and shameful deeds, and foolish speeches, and buffoonery. In fact, if he wanted to talk about any virtue, then he should have spoken first of all about truth, justice and love. But just as this is inconsistent, so too there would be inconsistency and with the same freedom speech would not have order. Therefore, it may be that in this place what is called is not the thanksgiving when we thank God, but the one by which we among people are called amiable, favorable, or [on the contrary] deceitful. Stupidity and buffoonery are not proper for a Christian; but it is fitting that his speech should be seasoned with some salt, so that he will have favor with his listeners. And since it was customary, except for some scholars among the Greeks, to use the word εὐχαριστία to designate only the sacrament of Communion, and not to be pleasant or amiable; then, I think, the Apostle, like a Jew of Jews, used a common word, and wanted to explain its meaning with the meaning of another word, and this is especially because among the Jews, favorable and thanksgiving are expressed in one word. Therefore, I believe that in Proverbs it is written like this: Γυνὴ εὐχάριστος ἐγείρει ἀνδρὶ δόξαν, that is, a grateful wife brings glory to her husband, instead of: favorable. We, it seems, would do violence to the words of Scripture by resolutely accepting the translation: grateful wife instead of: favorable, if other editions of St. books did not coincide with our opinion. In fact, Aquila and Theodotion and Symmachus used γυνὴ χάριτος, that is, favorable wife, and not εὐχάριστος, which refers to the actions of grace. Verse 5: But know this, that anyone who is a fornicator, or unclean, or greedy, because he serves idols, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Eph. 5:5). – It should be noted that, having prohibited six vices above: fornication, uncleanness, greed, shameful acts, stupid speech, buffoonery, now he indicated only three: fornication, uncleanness and greed; if anyone is guilty of them, then he cannot have an inheritance in the Kingdom of God and Christ. Indeed, if in the same way, the one who speaks foolish speeches and the buffoon were alien to the Kingdom of God, like those three whom he especially singled out, then the sentence would seem cruel and not corresponding to human weakness: since what is said in jest already serves to condemn us, because whoever does not sin in words is perfect (James 3:2). But even in saying this, we do not give space to stupid talk and buffoonery; nevertheless, although the Father has many mansions, i.e. e.: although someone is alien to fornication, uncleanness and luxury, however, if such a person also speaks stupid speeches and shows a tendency towards buffoonery, he will not retain the place that he had to own if he did not have these vices. But someone will answer: “So be it! Foolish speech and buffoonery are not associated with the same responsibility as fornication, uncleanness and greed, but shouldn’t shameful deeds also be mentioned along with these three? To this it must be said that under shameful deeds a hidden thought is shown here, when our mind is excited to lust and when an ardent soul is kindled by the irritations of the flesh and not is curbed neither by the fear of God nor by the remembrance of judgment. Finally, and above, the Apostle named three vices equally without mentioning shameful deeds: But fornication and all uncleanness and greed are not even mentioned among you; and then dishonor is indicated along with foolish speeches and buffoonery; But since in the above words: So that he does not bypass and greedily deceive his brother in practice (1 Thessalonians 4:6), we said that greed is put in place of fornication, we will ask what is now said in the words: or the greedy one who serves idols: is this in accordance with the above, or with the ordinary understanding. In very many places in the prophets we find that idolatry is called fornication: They will commit fornication, he says, in the footsteps of their idols (Hos. 4:12) and: They are deceived by the spirit of fornication. So, fornication can be understood even higher in the meaning of idolatry. But if by greedy we mean one who, collecting money, be that as it may, desires to have coins legally and illegally and enjoys a full wallet, then such an one is an idolater in the sense that he worships the very image of the coin and honors the hidden idols in them. Just as the belly is the god of gluttonous people, so, in fairness, money can be called the god of the greedy, especially when the Apostle elsewhere calls greed idolatry. At the same time, we must look at what he meant when he said: in the kingdom of Christ and God (Eph. 5:5). Is the kingdom of Christ one thing and the kingdom of God another? Or is the kingdom of the Father and the Son one and the same? But even if he said: in the Kingdom of the Son and the Father, then through the Son we come to the Father, and, although there is a difference in the Divine Persons, however, the majesty of those reigning is the same. But when he said: In the Kingdom of Christ and God, then we must understand God and Christ himself, because even when He transfers the Kingdom to God and the Father, not the Father will be in all, but God will be all in all. But where there is God, there must be understood both the Father and the Son. Finally, what we say about the Father and the Son, we must also keep in mind about the Holy Spirit. Verse 6: Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of them the wrath of God comes on the sons of unbelief (Eph. 5:6). – Words that deceive and are an obstacle are empty and meaningless. And those who edify those who hear are full of meaning, abundant and concise. So, due to the fact that there are very many who say that there will be no punishment for sins and there will be no external torment; in the sin itself and the consciousness of the offense will be instead of punishment, for the worm in their heart does not die and a fire will flare up in their soul like a fever, which torments the patient not in an external way, but punishes the body itself with torment without adding external torment. So, he called empty and meaningless words those persuasions and those deceptive tricks that, apparently, have some brilliance of eloquence and flatter sinners, but, inspiring them with confidence, they rather carry them away to eternal punishment. Indeed, God is not so angry at anything as at the exaltation of a sinner, when with cold pride he does not arrogantly bow down to tears and does not ask for mercy for sin, for for this the wrath of God comes on the sons of distrust, or those who are not persuadable, because the word ==ἀπείθει&#945 4 can be better understood as intransigence to conviction than in the opposite meaning trust; and they are called sons not inclined to conviction, or sons of distrust, in the same way as sons of destruction, and sons of fornication, and sons of death, and sons of hell, and so on, which can very easily be found in various places of the Scriptures. Verse 7: Therefore, do not become partners with them (Eph. 5:7). – An accomplice (particeps), or accomplice (comparticeps) of the sons of unbelief is one who is [guilty] of fornication and uncleanness and greed, for which the wrath of God comes on the sons of unbelief. And he becomes their accomplice because he takes part and has fellowship in evil deeds; and an accomplice is in relation to someone who is a participant with others, so this word also includes an accomplice. But an accomplice does not always contain an accomplice. Carefully distinguish between the words accomplice and accomplice, for, in my opinion, in the Holy Scriptures the word accomplice is always understood in a good sense, and an accomplice in a bad sense: Therefore, O God, Your God has anointed You with the oil of joy more than Your companions (Ps. 45:8) and in another place: For we have become partners with Christ, if only we hold firm to the end the principle of essence (substantiae) ( Heb. 3:14 ). Then I don’t remember reading anywhere, except in this place, the word accomplice; but it is obvious that here it is used not in a good sense, but in the opposite sense. Verse 8: For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord (Eph. 5:8). – If it is possible for darkness to turn into light, then there is no nature that perishes and cannot receive salvation, as some heretics believe. Therefore, let us ask those who invent this: “Are all the wicked darkness or not?” For some of them, although they are called darkness because of wickedness, but now, having turned to something better, they are called light in the Lord. But just as the righteous are the light of the world, so the wicked will accordingly be called darkness. And in fact, since the righteous are light, they will see light in the light, and since the unrighteous are darkness, they are a people sitting in darkness and seeing nothing. We see their separation and difference from each other by their fruits, because everyone who does evil hates the light and, not coming to the light, is gloomy and is the son of night and darkness. And whoever labors for the truth and comes to the light, that light is also the son of day and light (John 3:20–21). But the shining and the dark are recognized by the light or darkness of the heart. To this you will say: “Is it not said of the righteous: But now they are light in the Lord, to distinguish them from those who are light, but not light in the Lord?” But about the Ephesians, who reached a high degree (summam) of knowledge, it is quite rightly written that they are light in the Lord. However, it is not darkness itself that turns into light or light that changes into darkness; and these are those who deserve the name of virtue or vice from what they are; and if they turn from one to the other, then they will have as their destiny either the name of light or darkness, according to the qualities (ὁμωνύμως rebus) that they have. Walk as children of light. – If God is light and there is no darkness in Him, then the sons of light are the sons of God; also, if Christ is the true light, then His sons, to whom He says: My children, a little while longer I remain you (John 13:33), are sons of the true light. From this it follows (colligitur) that the sons of God the Father are the same as the sons of Jesus Christ. Verse 9: For the fruit of light appears in all goodness, justice and truth (Eph. 5:9). - We put forward this evidence against Marcion, who separates the God of truth from the good God, and says that the Creator is just, and the other - I don’t know which - whose son is the coming Christ - is only a good God. Indeed, the fruit of light appears not only in goodness, but also in righteousness and truth. So, where there is goodness, there is also justice, and where there is justice, therefore, there is truth. So, the good Father of Christ, as they themselves acknowledge, has truth and goodness. And where there is goodness and truth, He Himself, and not another, has, as the Apostle now teaches, justice. Let Marcion also understand that Christ Himself is called goodness, truth and justice. Goodness because He gives grace to believers not by works, but by mercy; and righteousness lies in the fact that he gives everyone what they deserve; finally, the truth is that only He knows the causes of all creations and things. Verse 10: Trying what is pleasing to God (Eph. 5:10). – Everything must be done with judgment, so that with caution and care we do only what we know is pleasing to God, like a prudent money changer who tests a coin not only by appearance (oculo), but also by weight and sound. But since in this place the order of thoughts seems to be disrupted and the whole passage seems to be overfilled (with words), then, as I think, the speech can be restored in this form: “So, do not be partakers of them, testing what is pleasing to God, for although you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, walking as sons of light, revealing the fruits of light in all goodness, righteousness and truth." Verse 11: And do not join in the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph. 5:11). - And in the letter to the Galatians, the Apostle presented the fruit in the spirit, and the work in the flesh, saying this: But the works of the flesh are clearly known, this is fornication, etc. (Gal.5:19); And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace (Gal.5:22) and so on. Then in the present place he called the works of darkness unfruitful; whoever makes them unites into one society. But reprove more. – Among other commands, to be able to reprove those who sin is a matter of the greatest freedom. But this can only be done by someone who does not deserve to hear: Hypocrite! First throw the speck out of your own eye, and then you can throw the plank out of your brother’s eye (Luke 6:42). Therefore, the prophets, not defiled by any abomination of sins and without a stained conscience, could expose others who fell into sins. Therefore, it should be noted that only one who does not expose himself can reprove. Verse 12: For it is shameful to speak of what they do in secret (Eph. 5:12). - It seems to me that there is no connection of speech here, so that what has been said now does not depend on what was said above, and it is impossible to know to whom it should be attributed, unless one points out the rearrangement of what was said above and connects these words with the sons of distrust, so that it can be explained in such a way that what is done in secret by the sons of distrust is shameful even to tell - namely: fornication, uncleanness and all greed. Verse 13: But whatever is revealed is made evident by the light, for whatever is revealed is light (Eph. 5:13). - “Everything”, there is no doubt that this is done in secret by the sons of distrust, for this, after exposure, is made obvious from the light. But the light exposes what was previously darkness, and after that became light in the Lord; so that through exposure it becomes better, and, in a changed form, appears publicly, and, as generally known (publicata), becomes light, for everything that is obvious is light. Verse 14: Therefore he says: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” [or: Christ will arise for you] (Eph. 5:14). – Since the deeds of darkness, exposed by the light, are brought to light, then after the change in what was exposed, it is said to the sleeping and dead people, because they did the deeds of darkness: Arise, O sleeper, and rise from the dead. Maybe someone will ask: “Who is saying this?” or: “Whose words did the Apostle use?” And the one who is content with a simple answer will say that he presented here what he read in the hidden prophets, as he did, which is clearly known from other places, and not because he approved of the hidden [scriptures], but because he used other verses of Aratus and Epimenides and Menander to prove the desired thought at a certain time. However, he did not testify by this that everything they wrote was sacred, although he claimed that something they said was true. And another, perhaps, will think that the Apostle presented here a kind of personification of the Holy Spirit, and will say that this is a conviction to repentance. And I, in my misery, after a thorough revision of all editions of the ancient Scriptures and even the Hebrew scrolls themselves, did not find this saying anywhere. Or maybe you should say that just as in ancient times the prophets said in the assembly: Thus says the Lord and: As the Lord says, so now the Apostle, filled with the Holy Spirit, suddenly took and expressed the words that Christ spoke in him: Thus says the Lord. In addition, it is necessary to judge how it is said to one and the same person, both as to a living person: Arise sleeping, and as to a dead person: And rise from the dead? This is because in man there is both a spirit, which, as we said, is always accepted in a good sense, and a soul, which, as we read, is taken into account by the infirmities and death of sinners; Thus, the real words: Arise, sleeper should be attributed to the spirit, and the following: Rise from the dead should be understood by the soul, for: The soul that sins will die (Ezek. 18:4). But we have definitely never read about the death of the spirit. So Christ, the true light, will rise above him who arose from sleep and rose from the dead. I heard someone disputing concerning this scripture; he, in order to amaze the audience according to the model of theatrical performances, threw off his veil in front of the people, which no one had seen before, and argued that these words of the Apostle refer to Adam, buried on the place of execution, where the Lord was nailed to the cross. It is called the place of the forehead because the head of the first person is hidden there. Thus, during the nailing of the Lord to the cross, He hung over Adam’s grave and the prophecy was fulfilled, saying: Arise, sleeping Adam, and rise from the dead, and not as we read: ἐπιφαύσει σοι Χριστός, that is, Christ will rise above you , but: ἐπιψαύσει, that is, Christ will touch you, this is because it is precisely by the touch of the blood itself and the hanging body that he will be revived and rise. And then in truth the image in which the dead Elisha raised the dead will be realized (2 Kings 13:20-21). I leave it to the free choice of the reader to decide whether this is true or not. There is no doubt that the people then liked this legend and was received with applause and dancing. I only know one thing, that such a meaning does not agree with either the interpretation of this place or the connection of speech. Verse 15: So you see how carefully you must walk: not as fools, but as wise (Eph. 5:15). - The Ephesians are rightly told that they, having a prepared mind to distinguish between good and evil, should walk with caution and try everything, holding fast to what they firmly recognized as good. But whoever sees how he should walk and how carefully he should climb a step so as not to stumble over a stone, and whoever says: Lord, Your word is a lamp to my feet (Ps. 119:105), he is, of course, wise; Indeed, I do not think that anyone unreasonable by nature, even if he wanted to walk carefully, could fulfill this commandment, because it was given to the wise, and not to the foolish. From this we must understand that the moral commandments (although they seem clear to many on the basis of what is said in the eighteenth Psalm: The commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes) (Ps. 18:9) require reasonable and prudent interpretation, for this clear commandment enlightens the eyes of those who, abandoning foolishness, will devote themselves to the diligent study of wisdom. Verse 16: Treasure the time, because the days are evil (Eph. 5:16). - He who is wise and therefore walks carefully values ​​his time. And he values ​​(or: buys) because the days are evil. When we spend time doing a good deed, we buy it and appropriate for ourselves what was sold through human villainy. But no one who seeks what is necessary in this life and thinks about wealth and worries, which in the Gospel are called thorns (Mark 4:7, 18-19) and (Luke 8:7, 14), can again buy himself time. But by redeeming the time that appears in evil days, we change it in some way: we turn evil days into good days, making them days not of the present, but of the future century. This passage can be explained in another way. O Ephesians, to you who have awakened from the sleep of this age, the Sun of righteousness has risen - Christ. Walk cautiously and prudently, and, casting off foolishness, hold to the wisdom by which you cannot change with the changes of time, but make the variety of times one time for yourself. And since many persecutions arise (for initially the Churches were subjected to upheavals almost daily), then you adhere to one trend and know that you must preserve it, so as not to change like a fool like the moon; but with firmness of mind, hold on to what you once started, namely, so that by the will of the judge you do not change if you see the judge of the persecutor; and vice versa, if another judge appears praising your teaching, you will confess yourselves to be Christians; but keep at all times what you have. To make this clearer, let us present some example from Holy Scripture. Joseph had one desire - to be pleasing to God. It did not change with any change of time: neither as a result of the envy of the brothers, nor under the weight of slavery, nor the temptations of youth, nor the admonitions of the mistress, nor the uncleanness of the prison, nor the nobility of power in Egypt; but he was always the same, and, as we said, by redeeming for himself the diversity of time, he turned evil days into good ones. The same must be thought about Job, because he, carried through various temptations, neither by riches, nor by disasters, nor by deprivation, nor by plagues, nor by the reproaches of friends, nor by loneliness, nor by the return, after this, of all good things, did not undergo change, for he redeemed his time and turned evil days into good ones. Verse 17: Therefore do not become foolish, but understand what is the will of God (Eph. 5:17). - Since the time is evil and, as we said above, must be redeemed, we must first seek wisdom, so that through it we may have the power to know what the will of God is. For we cannot walk carefully until we first understand the will of God. For in every matter, first of all, one must judge what is pleasing to God, and then, having a judgment, do what will be recognized as pleasing to Him. Verse 18: And do not get drunk with wine, in which there is intemperance, but be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). – Just as we cannot serve two masters: God and mammon (Matthew 6:24), so we cannot be filled with spirit and wine at the same time. For whoever is filled with the Spirit has prudence and meekness, modesty and purity; but he who is filled with wine has foolishness, wrath, insolence and lust. In fact, I think it is possible to describe this in one word - intemperance. If some had understood this, they would never have accused me of recklessness and heresy for saying in a book on the observance of virginity that young men should be denied wine, and that one should not throw oil on the fire and increase natural carnal ardor with a hotbed of lust. But under the name of wine, in which intemperance can be understood, the wine that is spoken of in the song of Moses: Their wine is the rage of dragons and the incurable rage of asps (Deut. 32:33), because everyone, intoxicated by the thoughts of this age, drinks and goes mad, vomits the wine and rushes into the abyss; and, as the fabulous story about the Lapiths and Centaurs says, they strive for mutual destruction. This wine is the opposite of that which the Lord promised to drink with us in His Kingdom (Mark 14:25). We have repeatedly noticed that the word spirit, without addition, is used in a good sense: it seems that this should be noticed in relation to the present place. Verse 19: Speaking to themselves in psalms and songs of praise and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord in their hearts (Eph. 5:19). – Whoever abstains from the intoxication of wine, which is intemperance, and instead is filled with the spirit, will accept everything in a spiritual sense: psalms, hymns of praise and songs. And what is the difference between a psalm, a song of praise and a song about this we learn very fully in the Psalter. And now it is necessary to say briefly that hymns of praise proclaim the strength and greatness of God and are always surprised at His actions or benefits. This is what all the psalms contain, which either begin or end with the exclamation: Hallelujah. But the psalms themselves concern moral action, so that through the medium of the body we learn what we should do and what we should avoid. But whoever talks about sublime things and, like a refined interpreter, explains the harmony in the world, the order and harmony of everything created, he sings a spiritual song. But, however (in order to express more clearly what we want to simpler people), the psalm refers to the body, and the song to the soul. So, we must sing and praise the Lord more with our spirit than with our voice. This is exactly what is said in the words: Singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. Let the young men listen to this, let those who serve in the church listen to this: one should sing to God not with the voice, but with the heart, and should not, following the example of the tragedians, lubricate the larynx with gentle medicines, so that theatrical vibrations of the voice and singing can be heard in churches, but sing with fear, with good deeds, with the knowledge of Holy Scripture. Although someone would turn out to be a bad singer (κακόφωνος), but if he has good deeds, then he is a sweet singer before God. If the servant of Christ sings, then it is not the voice of the singer who is pleasing, but the words that are spoken, so that the evil spirit that was in Saul is driven out of those who similarly submit to his authority and does not enter into those who make a public spectacle out of the house of God. Verse 20: Giving thanks always to God the Father in everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph.5:20). – Something similar to this is written in the first letter to the Thessalonians: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18). This commandment can only be fulfilled by one who knows that by the providence of God five sparrows are preserved, sold for two small coins, not one of which is caught in a snare without the will of the Father (Luke 12:6). And his words: Thanks always and for everything should be considered from two sides, namely: so that at all times and for everything that happens to us, we bring thanksgiving to God; so that not only for what we consider as good, but even for what oppresses us and happens against our will, a joyful thought breaks through in praise of God and we say: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I will go. As God pleased, so it was: blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21). This gratitude among prudent husbands is noticeable both in general and in particular. In general, this is when we thank God for the fact that the sun rises for us, the day flows, the night turns into rest, with the rising and setting of the stars there is a continuous change of time (year); because the rains serve us, the earth gives birth, the constituent parts of the world (elementa) obey; for the fact that such a variety of animals were given, both for transportation and for work, both for making clothing, both for imitation and for surprise; finally, for the fact that we were born, that we exist, that in the world we meet care for ourselves, as if in some house of the most powerful father of the family, and we realize that everything that exists in the world was created for our sake. And, in particular, when we give thanks to God for the blessings shown to us. But this is done by a foreigner, a Jew, a tax collector (publican), and a pagan. Only Christians have the virtue of giving thanks to the Creator even in what seems unfavorable to us, if, for example, a house is destroyed, if a beloved wife and children are captured or poisoned, or suffer death at sea; if we lose wealth as a result of the inventory, if our health breaks down from countless illnesses and the always possible weakness due to the unfortunate disease of the legs. Those who see themselves as more holy people usually send thanks to God for liberation from dangers and misfortunes. And according to the words of the Apostle: the greatest virtue is to send thanks to God in the most dangers and misfortunes and always say: “Blessed be God! I know that I endure less than I deserve: this is not enough compared to my sins; I am not rewarded according to my worth.” This is the spirit of a Christian; he, having taken up his cross, follows the Savior; neither deprivation nor suffering weakens him; he, as [Horace] Flaccus says, “the fearless one will be borne by the ruins, even if the broken world began to crumble.” And whoever, as we said above, gives thanks to God and the Father, let him give it through the Mediator between God and man, that is, Jesus Christ. Verse 21: Submitting mutually in the fear of Christ (Eph. 5:21). - Let the bishops listen to this, let the presbyters listen to this, let the entire rank of teachers listen to this - they are subordinate to their subordinates and let them imitate the Apostle, who says: For although I was free from everything, I made myself a slave for everyone, in order to win everyone (1 Cor. 9:19); and elsewhere: Through love serve one another (Gal. 5:13). Therefore, he himself serves all pagan churches with the same love. Likewise, the Savior took on the form of a servant, so that He ministered to His disciples and washed their feet (John 13:3–5). The difference between the superior of the pagans and the Christians is that the former dominate over the subordinates, and we serve them, and we are the higher, the less of all we seem. But his words: In the fear of Christ must be understood in such a way that submission itself should not be for the sake of human glory, but for the sake of the fear of Christ, since we are afraid of offending Him. However, someone else will explain the words: Subject to each other in the fear of Christ so that this general judgment seems to be divided into parts in further speech: Let wives obey their husbands, children, obey their parents and: Slaves, obey your carnal masters in fear and trembling. But, in our opinion, one must submit not only in such a way that the wife submits to her husband, children to the parents and slaves to the masters, but also so that husbands are mutually subordinate to their wives, according to the duties that are commanded, fathers to their children, so that they leave threats and provide them with what they need from what they have; and that this should be done in the fear of Christ, that is, that, as He was in obedience to His servants, so those who seem to be greater should be subject to their lesser ones in the service that is commanded to them. We can understand this fear in the meaning of εὐλαβεία, that is, timid respect, which is closer to love. For it was indecent for the Ephesians to do anything out of fear and not out of love. Verses 22, 23: Let wives be subject to their husbands, as to the Lord: for the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the Church (Eph. 5:22-23). – What was added in the Latin lists of let them be subordinated is not found in the Greek collections of St. books. Indeed, these words refer to the highest and mean: Mutually subordinate in the fear of Christ, so in general it follows that wives should also be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. But this is more understandable in Greek than in Latin. So, just as the Church is subject to Christ, so the wife should be subject to her husband; indeed, as Christ has primacy and ministry in the Church, so both husband and wife are subject to the same order. But we must see that just as the union in Christ and the Church is holy, so is the unity in husband and wife. But just as not every heretical gathering can be called the Church of Christ and have Christ as its head, so not every marriage union, not formed in subordination to one’s husband according to the commandments of Christ, can correctly be called marriage: rather, it is adultery. But otherwise, the wife submits to her husband as if she were a master, because she turns to him, and he will rule over her (Gen. 3:16). After all, Sarah also called Abraham lord (Gen. 18:12). The more this voluntary service is controlled by the will, the more it will be mutually proportionate [comes to equality], and, moreover, through pleasing it leads the ruler into slavery. Some, out of ignorance, interpret this passage in such a way that they claim that by wife they mean the body, and by husband the soul. And just as the Church is subject to Christ, so also the bodies must be subject to the mind, and governed by one Spirit, if they are connected with the Lord, for whoever cleaves to the Lord is one Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). He is the Savior of the body. – Since the nature of the Church is closer to the essence of Christ and, moreover, lower than Him, then, it seems to me, it is called the body of Christ. The Savior of this body is called Jesus Christ, that is, the Word, Wisdom and other virtues, by which we mean the Son of God. Look with greater care, if you can find it in the sacred retinues, for the use of the name “flesh” to designate the Church. Indeed, the Church is in no way called flesh, but the body of Christ. Then it is obvious that all flesh is necessarily a body, but not vice versa; where there is a body, there is flesh. Verse 24: But just as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives are subject to their husbands in everything (Eph. 5:24). – The Church of Christ is glorious, has no filth or lack, or anything like that. So, a sinner and defiled by some uncleanness cannot be called a son of the Church (de Ecclesia) and be considered obedient to Christ. But how is it possible that the Church, which previously had a filth or stain, was later brought to youthful innocence and purity; so let the sinner run to the Doctor (because it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick (Luke 5:31), and his wounds will be healed, and he will again belong to the Church, which is His body. He also quite elegantly and carefully says to the Ephesians: Just as the Church is subject to Christ, so are wives to their husbands. Indeed, if a wife should be so subject to her husband, as the Church is to Christ, then the union between husband and wife will be saints, and they will never be subject to the passions of the body. Therefore, if anyone contrasts with us what is written to the Corinthians, that is, that the husband should give his due to his wife, and the wife to her husband (1 Cor. 7:3), let him notice the great difference between the Corinthians and the Ephesians. The word was written first as to those who fed on milk and to infants, among whom disagreements and divisions arose, and adultery was heard, which did not even exist among the pagans; and therefore a concession is made to them, so that after prayer they return, and so that they do not remain in the power of Satan; however, even there he says that he forgives them for this not voluntarily, but out of condescension. But the Ephesians, with whom he spent three years and to whom he revealed all the holy things of Christ, are brought up differently, and therefore everyone has complete freedom of will: whether to follow the Corinthians or the Ephesians, and to be saved: whether through the slavery of the Corinthians or the freedom of the Ephesians. The Savior says: Woe to those who are giving birth or nursing on that day (Luke 21:23), that is, on the day of judgment, which in its true sense is the day of the wedding feast. Therefore, we must strive in every possible way to zealously imitate the Ephesians more than the Corinthians and not be taken by surprise, as during the flood: in buying, selling, or in marriages; but hold lighted lamps in your hands (Matthew 24:38, Luke 12:35). Verses 25–27: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of water in the word, and that he might present her to himself as a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:25–27). – Although husband and wife are held together by mutual love (like Gazdrubal’s wife, who, after capturing her husband, threw herself into the flames, and other women who did not want to survive the death of their husbands), a wise husband will never compare this love with the love of Christ and the Church. So, the love with which Isaac loved his wife Rebekah, which means patience, and from Mesopotamia, surrounded on all sides by the rivers of this age, brought her into the land of promise, so that she would comfort him after the death of his mother, should be understood as holy. And here, He tempered the bitterness of the cessation of the synagogue with an alliance with the Church. By saying this, we give rise to objections from heretics who think that all marriage unions should be completely rejected, and they especially take advantage of this passage. But they need to be briefly told that in this place the Apostle prohibits passion, impurity and intemperance between husband and wife, and not holy union. Otherwise, if he completely prohibited the marriage union, why would he say: “Their own wives,” when he could say: “Husbands, love women,” or: “wives,” for the word: “their own” actually refers to the marriage union, and further in the following words: Husbands should love their wives as their own bodies, and even more clearly: He who loves his wife loves himself, for no one ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and warms her, since according to the definition of the ancient law and its restoration in the Gospel, husband and wife become one flesh. Thus, as we said, in marriage a concession is made for the sake of procreation. And the pleasures received from the embraces of mistresses are condemned for spouses. When reading this, let every husband and every wife understand that after conception they should serve more prayer than marital cohabitation. And what is determined in animals and beasts by the very law of nature - so that those who give birth should not copulate until birth - is given to freedom in people, so that through abstinence from pleasure there will be a reward for them. But since in a figurative sense we said that husbands are souls, and wives are bodies, it must be said that the soul must love the flesh [or: body] as Christ does the Church, in order to give itself up for its salvation, and to sanctify it with the word of teaching, in order to imagine it as having no filth or any vice of the old man, especially when it knows that in the resurrection it must be saved and has the chance to see the salvation of God. Such a husband has Christ as his head, and when, humbled for the salvation of the flesh, he becomes one flesh with his wife, he will draw her to the spirit and, uniting with the Lord, will cease to be flesh. He also excellently, speaking about the marriage union, used the concepts of spot and blemish (wrinkle - ruga) to define the beauty of the Church, taking them from the example of women. In fact, just as women’s bodies often have dark spots, wrinkles gather and freckles are full of freckles, and this constitutes a subject of great concern for women, namely: it encourages them to destroy everything that seems dirty and present the body in its beauty to their spouses; Likewise, souls must be cleansed from all sinful impurity, so that the wrinkles of the old man are smoothed out by youth and renewed from day to day into a new man. Verse 28: So husbands should love their wives as their own bodies (Eph. 5:28). – And in the book of Genesis it is said on behalf of Adam: This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh (Gen. 2:23); and then the same thing is affirmed in the Gospel with the words of the Lord: He who created from the beginning created man and woman and said: For this reason a man will leave father and mother and cleave to his wife, and they will be two in one flesh (Mark 10:6-8). Thus, wives should be taken care of as if they were their own bodies, since husband and wife are one flesh. But no one loves his body dishonestly or himself because of carnal union (coitus), but warms and nourishes the body, as if the vessel of his soul, so that, breaking the vessel, does not spill or scatter what is contained in it. And in the literal sense, while the wife serves childbearing and children, she has the same relationship to her husband as the body to the soul. And if she prefers to work for Christ more than the world, then she will cease to be a wife and is called a husband, because we all want to achieve the degree of a perfect husband. Therefore, if we understand this in a figurative meaning, then we will love our body, and bodily sensations, of course, are lower in comparison with the soul, but such, with the help of which the soul receives an understanding of noble arts and exercise in virtues. Verse 29: He who loves his wife loves himself, for no one has ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and warms it (Eph. 5:29). - Understanding simply, here, after instruction in holy love between husband and wife, we receive the command to nourish and warm our wives, that is, to provide them with the means of life and clothing, and everything they need. But it may be objected to us that the Apostle’s thought is incorrect that no one has ever hated his own flesh, because people suffering from jaundice (morbo regio) or consumption (ptysi), or cancer, or a runny nose (distillationibus = discharge of cerebral secretions), prefer death to life and hate their bodies. So, the speech should be related more to a figurative understanding and say that let the soul love that flesh that has the ability to see the salvation of God, and nourish and warm it, instructing it in teaching, satisfying it with heavenly bread, watering it with the Blood of Christ, so that it, strengthened and pure, can freely follow its husband and not be burdened with any weakness or heaviness [or: any burden of weakness]. This fits perfectly with the likeness of Christ feeding and warming the Church, since He says to Jerusalem: How many times have I wanted to gather your sons, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing (Matthew 23:37). Souls also warm their bodies in order to clothe this corruptible with incorruptibility and, supported by wings, more easily lift it into the air. So, we, husbands, will warm our wives, and our souls, our bodies, so that wives, husbands, and bodies will turn into souls. And in no case should there be a difference between the sexes: but just as among the angels there is no husband and wife, so we, who are destined to be like the angels, will now begin to be what is promised to us in heaven. Verse 30: For we are His members, of His flesh and of His bones (Eph. 5:30). - Since we are members of the body of Christ, and Christ nourishes and warms the Church, then we also nourish and warm our flesh, which no one has ever hated. But we are members of the body of Christ, not by the nature of the eternal Divinity, but because He has deigned to assume humanity (hominem). Although the most perceived man has the nature of our bodies, he does not have our origin, for we are formed from human seed (coagulamur = coagulated, condensed), and He is born of the Holy Spirit. But we can say it another way: since the body of Christ represents the [body] of the Church, and the Church is made up of all believers, then Paul and the Ephesians are members of the body, that is, the Church of Christ. Verse 31: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother, and they will become two in one flesh (Eph. 5:31). We often notice that the Apostles and Evangelists did not use the same words when citing the evidence of the Old Testament, and we confirm this here too. In fact, this testimony in the book of Genesis is recorded as follows: For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and be attached to his wife, and they will become two in one flesh (Gen. 2:24). And in the present place, the Apostle, instead of the words ἕνεκεν τούτου, that is, therefore, used there, used ἀντὶ τούτου, which cannot be expressed in Latin in other words, then in further words he destroyed the pronouns: his, his, leaving only father and mother , and what is in the middle: and he will become attached to his wife, he completely missed, and only the words following them he connected with the above and put it like this: and there will be two in one flesh. We have noted all this for the purpose of not rushing to the absurdities and nonsense of the hidden books (apocrypha); but we must know that they have what is written in the Old Testament, only it is not stated in the same way by the Apostles, but only the meaning is borrowed, so that only careful researchers can find where what was borrowed is written. So, the Apostle took the example of Adam and Eve to convince the husband and wife to mutual love. So, just as a rib is taken from Adam and transformed into a wife, and the wife is again brought into unity of flesh with her husband - for whoever loves his wife loves himself; so we should love our wives. The same thing is explained figuratively in relation to Christ and the Church; so Adam represents Christ, and Eve represents the Church, for the last Adam was a life-giving spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). And how from Adam and his wife the whole human race is born; Thus, from Christ and the Church came the entire community of believers; it has become one body of the Church and is again placed in the side of Christ, and fills the place of the rib, and becomes one body of the husband, as the Lord Himself asks in the Gospel: Father, grant that these too may be one in Us, just as I and You are one (John 17:21). Let us now ask Marcion: on what basis (qua consequentia) does he decide to explain this passage borrowed from the Old Testament (Instrumento) in application to Christ and the Church, if, in his opinion, all Old Testament Scripture does not refer to Christ. Verse 32: This sacrament (sacramentum hoc = this holy thing) is great, I say, in Christ and in the Church (Eph. 5:32). - Not the whole, as many believe, the story of Adam and Eve, written in the book of Genesis, can easily be attributed to Christ and the Church, but only what is put in the present place, i.e.: For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and be attached to his wife, and there will be two in one flesh. Indeed, the first man and the first prophet Adam predicted this about Christ and about the Church, namely, that our Lord and Savior would leave His Father, God, and His mother, the heavenly Jerusalem, and would come to earth for the sake of His body, the Church, He created Her from His side, and for her sake the Word was flesh. And since not all sacraments (shrines) are equal to each other, but one is greater and another is less, the Apostle now says: This sacrament is great, and at the same time it indicates the humility of the one who says: But I say, in Christ and in the Church. Gregory of Nazianzus [Theologian], a very eloquent man and excellently instructed in the Scriptures, when he reasoned with me about this passage, he usually said: “Look how great the mysterious significance of this passage is, so that the Apostle, having explained it in relation to Christ and the Church, does not claim that he expressed himself in a way that corresponds to the dignity of this testimony; but he says in a certain way [as if]: “I know that "This place is filled with indescribable sacred things and needs a divine heart on the part of the interpreter. And I, out of cowardice, believe that it should be understood in relation to Christ and the Church. And not because there is anything greater than Christ and the Church; but because it is difficult to interpret everything that is said about Adam and Eve in relation to Christ and the Church." Verse 33: In every case, let each one of you love his wife as himself (Eph. 5:33). – Let everyone keep in mind that the Apostle commanded the same love of a husband for his wife as for his neighbor; in fact, it is written: Love your neighbor as yourself (Lev.19:18), and now it says: Let everyone love his wife as himself. So, let love for your neighbor and for your wife be the same. Therefore, if the neighbor, according to the interpretation of the Savior, appears in every person, then there will be no difference in love between a wife and any person; but to say so would be very unwise. Indeed, likeness is required in your neighbor, so that you love him as yourself and desire his salvation. And in relation to a wife, the adverb, just as it has the meaning not of likening, but of approval and approval with some force. That's why we talk about husbands; “He did as a man” and it is written about the Savior: We have seen His glory, like the glory of the Only Begotten (John 1:14). This does not mean that the Savior Himself had glory in comparison with another only-begotten: for He Himself is the only-begotten, and besides, if there were another only-begotten, then he could not be called the only-begotten. Therefore He does not need the example of another only begotten; but He has glory as the Only Begotten, that is, as it is fitting for Him to have glory. The beginning of the seventy-second Psalm also declares this - however, only among the Greeks: καρδίᾳ, which is translated among ours: How good is the God of Israel with a right heart (Ps. 52:1). Otherwise, among the Greeks ὡς, i.e.: just as it is used more to denote similarity than to confirm what is said, if you do not notice the statement, but as if an example [of similarity]. At the same time, you need to pay attention to the fact that the husband is ordered to love his wife, and the wife is ordered to fear her husband. Indeed, love is characteristic of a husband, and fear is characteristic of a wife. But for a true slave there is not only fear, but also trembling; why further it says: Servants, obey your carnal masters with fear and trembling (Eph. 6:5). And the wife should be afraid of her husband. – If, in relation to God, fear of punishment does not allow the fearful one to be perfect [in love]; then how much more imperfect should a wife be, fearing not only God, but also her husband. Therefore, we need to examine: should a wife and a wife’s fear be understood in a carnal sense? In reality, it often happens that wives turn out to be better than their husbands, and command them, and manage the house, and raise children, and maintain order in the family, while husbands lead a luxurious and dissolute lifestyle. I leave it to the free choice of the reader to decide: should such wives dominate or be feared? Therefore, if in a figurative sense, as we said above, the body is seen in the wife, and the soul in the husband, then there is nothing incongruous in fearing her, as the husband’s servant, placed at a lower level and with a weaker nature. Indeed, as Crispus says, we enjoy primarily the dominion of the spirit and the service of the body. And whoever follows the simple understanding of husband and wife will point to the double meaning of fear, and will say that one is the one about whom John speaks: He who fears has torment, and he who fears is not perfect (1 John 4:18). Therefore, slaves also have a spirit of slavery in fear, which is required of them by the Lord, who speaks to them: And if I am the Father, then where is My glory, and if I am the Master, then where is My fear (Mal. 1:6). And the other fear is the one that philosophers call εὐλάβεια, and among us, although not quite accordingly, can be conveyed by the word respectful fear. The Prophet also knows the fear of perfect people; if anyone tests him, he becomes perfect, as the thirty-third Psalm says: Those who fear Him have no poverty (Ps. 33:10). So, a wife can be commanded to have such fear that they fear, that is, have a respectful attitude towards their husband. Chapter VI. – Verse 1: Children! obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and your mother (this is the first commandment in the promise), so that it may go well with you and that you may live long on earth (Eph. 6:1-3). – This can be understood in two meanings: should children obey their parents in the Lord, or should children obey their parents in the Lord? But both must happen, that is, that we obey those parents who gave birth to us in the Lord - which were Paul and the other Apostles - and do what they command us, and also that we obey in the Lord those parents from whom we were born in the flesh, and do what is not contrary to the will of God. We will also put into difficulty the heretics who do not want to admit that the Old Testament comes from the good God, whose Son is Jesus Christ. For this reason, the Apostle of Christ, the Son of the good God, uses the Scriptures of the Creator and borrows the doctrine of the obedience of children from the Old Law. This testimony, taken from the Book of Exodus, is presented there in this form: Honor your father and your mother, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land which the Lord your God has given you (Ex. 20:12); from this place he now released his last words, and this is the fifth commandment of the ten-words. Therefore, one must ask why he says that this is the first commandment, when the first commandment is: Thou shalt have no other gods besides Me. As a result, some read this way: this is the first commandment in the promise, as if the first four commandments spoken before did not contain promises, and only in this one is the promise given: that it may be good for you and that you may live long on earth. But it seems to me that these interpreters did not carefully review [the commandments], because with the second commandment there is a promise connected, for it says: You shall not make for yourself an idol, nor any likeness that is above in heaven, or that is below on the earth, or that is in the waters under the earth; you shall not worship them, nor sacrifice to them. For I am the Lord your God, a jealous God, repaying for the sins of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation, those who hated Me, and I am merciful to the multitude who love Me and carefully keep My commandments. However, perhaps the Apostle said this because for the people coming out of Egypt, the ten-words was the first law, and each commandment of the ten-words should be called the first commandment in comparison with those that were later written in the Law. And whoever adheres to the above exposition, let him say that the commandment is given here separately: Honor your father and your mother, and after that the promise is placed in its place: that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God has given you. And in that commandment: Do not make for yourself an idol, nor any likeness, not separately, but in the same combination of words and speech, not so much a promise is given as a thought for the praise of God, who shows mercy to the multitude of those who love Him and keep His commandments. On the other hand, the one who seeks to prove that all the commandments of the decalogue represent the first commandment will prove that the promise of long life on earth applies not only to those who obey their parents, but also to numerous other commandments, and he will be forced to present all the commandments in which the reward is that those who fulfill them will live long on the earth that the Lord God has given them. And an interpreter who differs from him must demand proof that the listed commandments were written before this commandment. And if he cannot prove this, then his assertion that a promise is also attached to the other commandments will be in vain. After this, it must be shown that the promise to the sons of longevity on earth for honoring their father and mother should not be understood in the Jewish carnal meaning. In fact, it must be admitted that many who respected their parents soon died and, on the contrary, those who were disrespectful to their parents reached a very ripe old age. If the promises speak of longevity, and if life in the body is happiness, then let the Jews and those like the Jews answer what the well-known passage in the Psalms means: Woe to me, that my sojourn continued: I dwelt with the inhabitants of Kedar (Ps. 119:5) and in Solomon’s Ecclesiastes the following passage: I praised all the dead who once died rather than the living who live to this day time, but better than both is the one who has not yet been born and has not seen all the evil that has happened under the sun (Eccl. 4:2-3), and a little later: If a man gives birth to a hundred [children] and lives an even greater number of years, and his days are many, and his soul is satisfied with good things and there is no grave for him; I [still] said: Better than him, a miscarriage, who appeared in vanity, and his name was hidden in darkness, and he did not even see the sun (Eccl. 6:3) and so on. Indeed, if the dead are praised in comparison with the living and (according to some who think that souls before birth in bodies remain in heaven) if the unborn is better than both of them, and if all life is a test, and according to Job: Death for a husband is peace (Job.3:13) and also according to his words and the words of Jeremiah: Cursed is the day on which we are born (Jer.20:14): then how now It is promised to those who honor their father and mother that they will live long in the land that the Lord their God gave them. So, we must find the land that the Lord promised and gave to those who left the spiritual slavery of Egypt, who with all patience walked through the terrible deserts of this life and defeated many kings whom the Lord shook, and arrived in Judea, which flowed with honey and milk, and, having destroyed Jericho under the leadership of Joshua and devastated Ai, which means an abyss, entered Jerusalem, and a church was built for them under the authority of Solomon, the king of peace (Josh. 8:1-2 et seq.), and they received possession of the land, which was prepared for the meek: Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the land (Matt. 5:5), which in truth is the land of the living, as the Psalmist also says: I believe that I will see the good things of God in the land of the living (Ps. 26:13). He has long life and wisdom in his right hand, holding wealth and glory in his left. Verse 4: And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the doctrine and life of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). – Disobedience to parents is a sin on the part of children, and since parents can demand something corrupt, the Apostle added (that one must obey) in the Lord. And the sin of parents is to provoke small children and those who feed on milk to anger, or to command young men and those in more mature age to do what is difficult. Thus, just as a reward is indicated for the obedience and submission of children, so moderate dominion is commanded to parents, so that they call that they are at the head not of slaves, but of children. But the Apostle did not yet limit himself to this conclusion of the commandment, but in addition added: Educate them in the teaching and life of the Lord. We find this education in Greek better expressed through the word νουθεσία, that is, mainly exhortation and education more than severity. Let the bishops and presbyters read, who teach their children secular sciences, force them to read comedies and sing the shameful works of actors, while their education, perhaps, occurs at church expenses; and thus, whatever sin a maiden or a widow, or some poor man brought into the treasury [of the Church], exhausting all his wealth, - [then] in the form of a New Year's gift, or in the form of a basket on the days of Saturnalia, or in the form of Minerva's fee [fee for lessons], the teacher of grammar and eloquence applies to his household expenses, to the support of the [pagan] temple, or to dirty deeds in indecent houses. The priest Eli himself was a saint, but since he did not raise his children in all teaching and severity, he fell on his back and died (1 Samuel 4:18); he could not stretch forward and fell back, and, struck by the writhing of the spine, he looked like Lot's wife. And there is no doubt that he instructed his children, saying this: Why do you do such evil things as I hear about you from all the people. Do not do this, my children, for the report that I hear about you is not good (1 Samuel 2:23–24). About this kind of fathers, Isaiah exclaims with tears: And sons of foreigners were born to them (Is. 2:6). Therefore, if thus he commanded the Ephesians and many who, as is usually the case among the people, people occupied with the affairs of this life, that they should bring up their children in all the order and admonition of the Lord; then what should we think about the priests, about whose order of life he writes to Timothy: Having his sons [children] in subjection with all honor (1 Tim. 3:4). And he repeats the same thing with insistence: Having faithful children, not subject to accusations of debauchery or disobedience (Titus 1:6-7); and, adding a causal conjunction, he - as if the vices of children are imputed to the parents - says: For a bishop must be without crime, as a stewards of God (Titus 1:7). So, a bishop cannot be without guilt if his son is not obedient and is accused of intemperance. Verses 5-8: Servants, submit yourselves to your carnal masters with fear and trembling and in simplicity of your heart, as to Christ, serving not for show, as pleasing everyone, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the soul: faithfully serving as the Lord, and not men, knowing that everyone [for everything] that does good will receive reward from God, both slave and free ( Eph.6:5-8). – When the prophet speaks about Jerusalem: What are you like, who fears mortal man and the son of man (Isa. 51:12), and the Apostle Peter in his message: Do not be afraid of their fear, but sanctify Jesus Christ in your hearts (1 Pet. 3:14-15) and the Savior also confirms: Do not fear those who can kill the body and cannot do anything more: but fear him who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna (Matthew 10:28), and Solomon testifies to the same thing: Son, honor the Lord and you will be strong, and do not fear anyone else besides Him (Proverbs 7:1); then, in view of this, the Apostle seems to be preaching something opposite - that slaves should obey their carnal masters with fear and trembling, and that the wife should fear her husband. Moreover, whoever answers simply will say that these commandments are not established for perfect slaves and those who have learned the hidden wisdom, but for those who have only the rudiments of faith and need a lesser teaching (humilioribus doctrinis). And let another assert that he who does not have the spirit of slavery and fear is not subject to the sentence of obeying carnal masters with fear and trembling, saying the same about the wife, who is commanded to fear her husband; and the third, in this same place, as in relation to the wife, will think that the word fear is used in the sense of respectful fear; but he will be embarrassed by the fact that here trepidation is added to fear. In fact, it may be proper for a wife to have respectful fear, that is, for her to show respectful fear of her husband. But where there is awe, fear no longer gives the concept of respect, but of fear. Thus, in relation to slaves, it is necessary to add that after the fear of the Lord they also have trembling, and to distinguish them from the spiritual Master, here we speak about a carnal master, so that it is fitting for a slave who believes in God, but has not yet achieved the fullness of knowledge, to serve the carnal master with fear and trembling in the simplicity of his heart, and to serve him as faithfully as Christ. He must serve not for show, as those who want to please people do, but so that he turns necessity into the object of his desire and from his service makes himself a reward, especially if the master of the flesh does not order to do anything different from what is pleasing to the Lord of the spirit. After all, this is exactly what the words mean: serving not out of appearance [only] to please people, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God. But let the slave have this loyalty not under compulsion, but voluntarily and in spirit, thus working for his master as for Christ, from Whom he received a reward for faithful service no less than if he, as a free man, served voluntarily. At the same time, it should be noted that the Apostle made various additions to the obedience of slaves and sons; Indeed, regarding children, he says: Submit to your parents in the Lord, and to your slaves: Submit to your carnal masters with fear and trembling, so that just as there is a difference between the fear of a wife and a slave, so there is also a difference between the obedience of slaves and children. Commanding slaves to obey their masters, he adds: as to Christ and also: as servants of Christ, doing the will of God, this is so that the slave does not obey the carnal master, if he wants to command something contrary to the commandments of God. But just as he prescribed to the Corinthians, according to the time conditions, that because of faith in Christ there should be no divorce between husband and wife, if one of the two parties wanted to believe, so to the Ephesians and Colossians he now establishes conditionally less strict rules, because many, having the rudiments of faith, believed that the gentlemen of the pagans should have been despised, so that it would not seem that he was stirring up rumors against the masters, and, with on the other hand, he teaches; so that the servants do not obey the masters if the masters give orders to commit criminal and shameful things. Verse 9: And do the same for them as masters, forsaking threats, and knowing that in heaven there is a Lord, both yours and theirs, and with Him there is no partiality (Eph. 6:9). - What is this above commanded to slaves, so that it can be said that masters should do the same as slaves? I think that this is what he said: In simplicity of heart and: Doing the will of God and: From the soul and: With trust or favor towards slaves, because εὔνοια can mean both. After all, everyone [for everything] who does good will receive a reward from the Lord, whether he serves as a slave, as it is said, or is in free submission, as he should; so that the master should not be afraid and ready to strike, knowing that he also has a Master in heaven, who has no partiality and who alone judges the will [of man] and, according to it, prefers the best person to the worst, distinguishing between actions and not people. Verse 10: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the might of His might (Eph. 6:10). – I know that in Greek the word fortress is used instead of: strength, i.e. ἰσχύν, because they call strength ἀρετή; but such a replacement is common in our Scriptures, so we indifferently use these two words in the meaning: strength, especially in view of the fact that by strength we mean strength of spirit. However, among the philosophers too, strength is listed among the four forces: it is obvious that it relates not to the body, but to the spirit. So, his words: Be strong in the Lord and the might of His might in its fullness is understood in relation to Christ, so that those who believe in Him, let them be strengthened in all the powers that are understood in Him. And it is prudent, after the special commandments that must be observed by husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants, now he generally commands everyone to strengthen themselves in the Lord and in His power, to prepare themselves against the devil, about whom he writes in further words. Verse 11: Put on all the armor of God so that you can stand against the wiles of the devil (Eph. 6:11). - From what we read below, and from what is said in all the scriptures about the Lord Savior, it is very clearly shown that all the armor of God, in which we are commanded to put on, must be seen in the Savior, so that to say: Put on all the armor of God means the same as saying: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Indeed, if truth is a girdle, and truth is a breastplate, and if the Savior is both truth and righteousness; then it is beyond doubt for everyone that He is both the armor and the girdle. So, according to this, He will be the preparation of the Gospel of peace, and the shield of faith, and the spear of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, that is, the word of God, and the word living and real, and sharper than a two-edged sword. But what other weapons of God can we see, in which one who has to fight against all the tricks of the devil should be clothed, if not the power that is Christ? Whoever is thus clothed in Him, in accordance with everything that is meant by Him, will be able to repel all the wiles of the devil, and because he is girded with the truth, it will not be easy for him to be drawn into false teaching. And due to the fact that he is clothed in the armor of righteousness, he will not be pierced by the arrows of unrighteousness. Moreover, since he will be equipped with the most excellent armor in the preparation of the gospel of peace, as he who has finally prepared his works and has become a man of peace and does nothing to cause war or confusion; then he will not be condemned with those who are not prepared. Likewise, unbelief, hostile to faith, will have no power where there is a shield of faith. And the head, and the main part of the heart and soul, in which all feelings are combined, and which is covered with a helmet, will not be subject to blows. Finally, as a strong and warlike man, he will defeat all teachings contrary to the truth and subdue them, holding in his hands the spiritual sword, that is, the Word of God. So, the Apostle, wanting to show the many different inventions of the devil, with which he tries to capture us in situations in which we do not guard our hearts with full care, called them μεθοδείας, that is, ingenuity, resourcefulness (cunning). In fact, if we abstain from pleasures, then he will catch us in stinginess, as few guard against it. Therefore, if we abstain from avarice and pleasures, then he will seize us in an intemperate life and make it so that the womb becomes a god for you, and thus overcomes even what is apparently strong in us. And so, as a rule, wise army leaders besiege mainly weakly fortified places in cities, so that, by invading through them, it is easier to take those that are fortified; so the devil strives to invade through those that he sees open, or at least not tightly closed, and to reach the innermost stronghold of the heart and soul. And what need is there for me to talk about many of his intrigues, when other types of his resourcefulness are already known from these? The devil is a Greek name, and means: slanderer (accuser). And according to the property of Hebrew speech - for the tribe of Zebulun had some similarity in its name with this word - it means ==καταρύων, that is, flowing down, because little by little it moves from virtue to vice and is cast down from heaven to earth. Verse 12: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of this dark world, against the spiritual forces of lasciviousness in the heavenly [spaces] (Eph. 6:12). - I do not think that Paul in his letter to the Corinthians could say: Your struggle is not against flesh and blood, because to them he writes: Let only human temptation befall you. For God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted to beat more than you are able (1 Cor. 10:13). Indeed, I believe that the struggle against flesh and blood is that which is called the redemption of man, namely: when the flesh lusts contrary to the spirit and prompts us to do our own works, that is, fornication, uncleanness, intemperance, idolatry, enmity, strife, jealousy, sin, disputes, discord, divisions, intrigues, drunkenness, disorderly conduct, etc. ( Gal.5:19–21 ). Then it is not a human temptation or a struggle against flesh and blood, when either Satan himself is transformed into an Angel of light and tries to convince us to honor him as an Angel of light, or does something similar, using all sorts of efforts, false miracles and prophecies, and all unrighteous deception. In fact, when the enemy catches someone in order to deceive him and says in him: Thus says the Lord, he deceives him not as flesh and blood, or human temptation, but as the principle and power, and ruler of darkness (Eph. 4:12), and spiritual lasciviousness. Therefore, we will not give him a place, but even if the spirit of one who has power comes upon us, we will not give him a place, as it is written. But someone, perhaps, will say that the words of the Apostle: Our struggle is not directed against flesh and blood, but against rulers and authorities, etc. further, - (Eph. 6:12) are said so that we learn that those vices that we consider to be caused by the flesh do not come from flesh and blood, but are suggested to us by some obscene spirits. After all, in fact, there are demons who serve the passion of love, passionate songs, as the prophet suggests, saying: They are deceived by the spirit of adultery (Hos. 4:12). Moreover, they say that there are some barbaric names for them, as was recognized by those whom the common people call villains (sorcerers), there are spells, prayers and various colors, as well as various kinds of metals and dishes, in which summoned demons supposedly reside and, as they say, captivate unfortunate souls. And others of them cause anger, rage and war; while others dominate hostile actions and arouse hatred in people. Thus, in view of the fact that the Apostle wanted to teach us that these types of vices arise in us not from the physical nature, but as a result of the incitement of demons, he says: Our struggle is not directed against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers and rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of lasciviousness in the heavenly [spaces]. And therefore we have now presented examples of those unfortunates who submit to magical tricks and who are forbidden to do so, in order precisely to reflect the opinion of those who think that all evil deeds come from flesh and blood, and that demons have no power to excite us to sin. In our opinion, Jacob also had such a struggle, that is, not against flesh and blood, when he was left alone and a man came out to fight him, helping him and strengthening him against another who fought him until he sweated. And at the same time, pay attention to the fact that Jacob wrestled all night according to the customs of those who wrestle, so that those who think [so] do not seem very funny (Gen. 32:24-28). Indeed, what difference would it make if, as they say, Jacob were victorious or defeated? But according to the reasonable and appropriate struggle of the patriarch, one must believe that he had a struggle, which people have who can say: Our struggle is not directed against flesh and blood. There is no need for me to reveal the shrine of this place, since if I am alive, then in my place it will have to be discussed more fully. But we ask (Refer to the book: “Questiones Hebraicae in Genesin”): Where in the Old Testament did the Apostle Paul read this, or on what basis did he bring to the attention of everyone what is least written about. And we guess that the Apostle, in a more sublime sense, understood that in the books of the Law, Joshua [Joshua], Judges, Kings in Chronicles it is written about battles and individual struggles, for example, David and Goliath, and the sons of Israel, foreigners and other nations, and by carnal war he meant a spiritual war, fighting in which the participants were either defeated or won: and in the person of the rulers (Satrapas) of each country was an indication of higher powers, and in the rulers of each people he saw images of those who are now called by him the rulers of the world and darkness, and in the image of evil people he pointed to spiritual malice in the heavenly [spaces]. And it seems to us that the Apostle says the following, but in other words: “Ephesians!” what you read about the wars of Israel against other nations, for example, the Egyptians, the Edomites, the Ammonites and other nations, [then] if you want to know the truth, it seems to relate to flesh and blood, but all this concerns them in a figurative sense (1 Cor. 10). "But this is written for our sake, in which the boundaries of the ages touch, so that we must understand that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against some spiritual and invisible forces, against the rulers of this darkness, which surrounds this world, spreading error among unbelieving people and against the spirits of obscenity that live in the heavenly spaces. This does not mean that demons spend their lives in the heavens, but that the air above us received this name [i.e., heaven]. The Apostle says: In the same way that you also once walked in this age of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the spirit of the air, which is now working in the sons of distrust (Eph. 2:2). But the general opinion of all teachers is that this air separating heaven and earth, called empty, is filled with hostile forces. After this, we must judge: from whom did the rulers of the darkness of the world, and the spiritual beings of wickedness, receive authority and power to be such? And others may say that the devil, an apostate, entrusted various ministries to his companions, and that God was not the culprit of this distribution of ministries [to evil]. The diligent reader can contrast this with the well-known passage of Scripture: For there is no authority except from God (Rom. 13:1). Not if this is said about people, then it makes even more sense in relation to those who have a higher and more refined nature. And whoever thinks so is not at the same time subject to accusation of blasphemy, because everyone, of his own free will, received various services as his lot. And as in cities, those who have committed something criminal or shameful, as we see, are assigned to feeding wild animals, or mining marble, or cleaning up sewage in places where they accumulate, or leading gladiators [circus wrestlers], or shedding the blood of criminals; so the demons, by their free will, received as their inheritance the realm of either intrigues, or deception, or crimes, or treachery, and other vices, in order to be the rulers of darkness, since they did not want to be the rulers of light. Thus, these rulers of the world and darkness, when in the struggle against someone they present an obstacle to him and force him to fall, immediately bind him to their world and darkness, over which they rule. Therefore, we must work with greater strength, so that we, having once heard: I have chosen you out of this world, and you are no longer of this world; for if you were of the world, the world would love what belongs to it (John 15:19), not to return to the world and not to be subject to it, so that the world would be crucified to us and we to the world, and so that the Lord of light Jesus [Christ] would join us to His peace and give us to be under the authority of the Father, plucked from the power of the spiritual powers of wickedness, and from the region of heaven, which has to pass away and cannot be called a throne God's. Indeed, it would be impiety to believe that spiritual beings of evil in the heavenly [spaces] held that heaven about which God says: Heaven is my throne (Is. 66:1). So, whoever understands how much happens to us in this world in our presence or absence - because we cannot see it, or because of this corruptible and earthly body of ours, with which the soul is shrouded, or because the more subtle nature does not succumb to the fleshly eyes - he will see what that darkness is that is spoken of by the Apostle - namely: or all this earthly life is called darkness (because the light shines in the darkness and darkness did not cover him (John 1:5), or the fact that the earthly body - the body of death and our insignificance, darkens, covers and makes insensitive (obcaecat) the light of the soul and mind. Let us also know that, with the exception of this place, we do not find anywhere: neither in the Old nor in the New Testament, the words κοσμοκράτορας, that is, the rulers of the world; the Apostle Paul himself composed this word in order, out of necessity, turning to the Ephesians, to give a new name to new and invisible objects. In addition, regarding the word in the heavenly, since it seems to have a double meaning, it must be said that it can refer to everything [said], so that its meaning will be this: “Our struggle is not against the authorities in the heavenly [spaces] and the rulers of this darkness in the heavenly [spaces], and the spiritual [beings] of evil in the heavenly [spaces],” and not only: against the spirits of evil in the heavenly [spaces]. Especially if we understand (as already explained above) that the celestial spaces are called heaven when talking about birds, or there is a custom of saying that rain comes from the sky, not because it comes from there. After all, philosophers say that the clouds are no more than two thousand steps from the earth - clouds from which rain pours out, both small and large. In the same sense, it is conveyed that during the flow the rapids of the sky opened up. However, to the extent that someone is worse, he is closer to earthly places and has a coarser [fat] nature. And since the earth and the air around us have their own corporeality, some argue that souls freed from bodies - if in real life they are refined and compressed into a subtle body, so to speak, by the power of exercise and achievement in virtues, then they will not live in rough material spaces, but will be close to God, Who is incorporeal. But if they are like that, we can say about them: Sons of men! as long as they are heavy or fat at heart (Ps. 4:3), then, due to the severity of their fatness, they will be drawn into low places and burdened with physicality (pinguedine). After this, it is also necessary to judge whether on this earth and in the air there will be some rougher place, which is called hell by many, and in which those who are called base (inferi) will dwell. But in the present place it is untimely to speculate about who they are, or what means and difference they have with those who are called spiritual [beings] of evil in the heavenly [spaces]. Finally, we need to more clearly understand from the Apostle’s concept of the double conflict what the difference is between the struggle against flesh and blood, and the struggle against the rulers of this darkness and the spirits of evil in the heavenly spaces. Indeed, when he wants to show human temptations, that is, the struggle of flesh and blood, he says with disdain or contempt: Who will separate us from the love of God: sorrow or oppression, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword? According to what is written (Ps. 43:23): For your sake we are killed all day long, counted like sheep destined for the slaughter. But we prevailed in all this for the sake of Him who loved us (Rom. 8:35–37). And when he wants to place us in relation to hostile forces and rulers of darkness, and spiritual beings of evil in the heavenly spaces, he begins, as if, from another subject: I know that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor the present, nor the future, nor power, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Regarding this place, it was said, perhaps, in much more detail than the reader would like; but I ask that he be lenient in view of the difficulty of this place and the position of the Ephesians, who, after the tricks of magic, should have known by whom they were once held in deception. Verse 13: Therefore take upon you all the armor of God, so that [you] may be able to resist in the day of evil and to stand firm, having done everything (Eph. 6:13). - Under the evil day, he shows or the real day, about which he said above: Redeeming time, because the days are evil due to the hardships and labors of this life, for it was not without struggle and heaviness that we reached the victorious palm branch; or, perhaps, he also means the day of judgment, the day of the end of the world, when the devil, the enemy and the avenger, wants to keep us on his side, from which he who will pay attention to the poor and needy will be freed, because the Lord will free such a person on the evil day (Ps. 40:2). This is the day about which it is written elsewhere: Behold, the day of the wrath of the Lord is coming (Is. 13:9). And in another: For the day of the Lord will come, inevitable (insanabilis - incurable) [day] of wrath and wrath (Is. 13:9), and again: Woe to those who desire the day of the Lord! So why do you need the day of the Lord? And he is darkness, not light. [It] seems to be such that if a man avoids a meeting with a lion and runs into a bear, or enters his house and leans his hands against the wall, but a snake bites him. Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and, moreover, darkness having no light ( Am. 5:18–20 )? And how can a day that is shrouded in darkness and gloom not be evil? The prophet Joel also speaks about him in this way: Blow the trumpet in Zion; preach on My holy mountain, and all the inhabitants of the earth will be in confusion, for the day of the Lord is coming, for the day of darkness and storm, the day of fog and darkness is at hand (Joel 2:1-2). Zephaniah also speaks about this day like this. The great day of the Lord is near, close and very quickly [coming] The voice of the day of the Lord is overwhelming, strong and strong: the day of wrath is that day, the day of consolation and need (Zeph. 1:14-15) and so on. And then he adds: And I will make people sad - for they have sinned against the Lord (Zeph. 1:17). So, in order for anyone on that day to be able to resist the devil, for he is the accuser of our brethren, let him take the full armor of God (for this means πανοπλία, and not simply, as it is conveyed in Latin, weapons) and, having put on and girded himself with what will be discussed further, let him know that he can then stand firmly if he has done everything, so that, filled with all kinds of virtues, he can walk with a firm and even step and not move out of line and be one of those about whom the Lord says: There are some who stand here (Matt. 16:28) and in another place: For you stand in faith (2 Cor. 1:24), and the Psalmist says: He set my feet on a rock (Ps. 39:3). And some also present a third interpretation, saying that not every war against the devil ends in death; but when we depart from this world, then our struggle will be stronger in a more open way, that is, face to face; and according to this, they set out what we presented a little earlier: neither the present nor the future in the sense that the future struggle is the one that must come after this life. Also in well-known words: Therefore we strive, whether now or in the future, to be pleasing to Him (2 Cor. 5:9); they think that the present tense denotes this life, and the future - life after death. Also what is now said: And having done everything, they attribute standing to the same meaning, as if someone cannot do everything in real life, but does something only in part, namely, he sees in part, prophesies in part, and he will be able to stand completely only when he has done everything. Another interpreter explains this more simply, saying that the Ephesians are convinced and exhorted to do everything by which they could stand in faith and not fall in persecution before those who, as the Apostle foresaw by the prophetic spirit, would come upon them with trials and persecutions. And the name of the evil day, as we believe, is now taken, in fact, from the forty-eighth Psalm. Verse 14: Stand ye therefore, having girded your loins with the truth (Eph. 6:14). – The fact that all the powers (membra) of the soul are named according to the members of the body and the flesh in the Holy Scriptures leaves no doubt for anyone; one of them, in my opinion, is now called the loins, which we are commanded to gird with the truth. And in the Gospel of Luke it is also written: Let your loins be girded, and let your lamps burn in your hands (Luke 12:35). So, in view of the fact that the loins are often understood in the meaning of birth and seed, as, for example: From the fruit of your loins I will seat you on your throne (Ps. 131:11), and in another place: Levi was also in the loins of his father Abraham, when Melchizedek met him (Heb. 7:9-10), it seems to us that he girded his loins, who never gave owing to his wife and did not serve lust, but imitates the unborn God, not serving the cause of birth. I think that this also means that John had a leather belt over his loins (Matthew 3:4) and did not belong to the number of unclean ones, who, due to the shedding of semen, are removed outside the camp and cannot dwell with the ark of the Lord (Lev.15:16-18), nor to the number of those about whom it is written in the book of Numbers: Let his garments be unstitched (Numbers 8?). But whoever is girded with the truth for Christ, he lifts these garments on high and takes them off again, and covers the uncleanness of his bare sides, tightens them and encloses them with a spiritual belt, and he is ready for battle, and has bright deeds, which are called burning lamps. And putting on the armor of truth. - Just as one who is dressed in the armor of virtue, made up of rings interconnected with hooks, is not easily susceptible to wounds, especially in those places that contain life; so the one who is clothed in the armor of righteousness will not be struck in the liver like a deer and will not fall into lust and rage, but will be pure in heart, since the creator of this armor is God, who creates a complete armor for each of the saints and does not give him the opportunity to be defeated by a spear flying by day, and to be burned by flaming arrows. Verse 15: And having shod your feet for the preparation of the gospel of peace (Eph.6:15). - Look more carefully at the fact that by the name of feet he called a certain strength of the soul, because with our feet we enter the One who says: I am the way (John 14:6), and we must put them on in preparation for the gospel of peace. The prototype of these shoes was the famous shoes of the book of Exodus, which were commanded to have for those who ate the Passover and those who were about to set out on the journey, for it is said: You will all eat it in this form: your loins are girded, and your boots are on your feet, and your staffs are in your hands, and you will eat it with triumph, for this is the Passover of the Lord (Ex. 12:11). So, a sign of preparation is that they need to eat solemnly and with shod feet, so that, strengthened by the Easter brush, they can pass through the wide and terrible desert. So, whoever is still walking, let him put on his shoes, and whoever, having crossed the Jordan, has already entered the land of promise, let him bare his feet: Untie, he says, the shoes from your feet, because the place on which you stand is holy land (Ex. 3:5). If anyone is neither Joshua nor the Apostle, he shod his feet in readiness to preach the Gospel of peace; and whoever is an Apostle and can be counted among the twelve, let him take off his shoes on the way and not cover his feet to repel scorpions and snakes, but, as completely perfect, let him stand in the holy land and live in Christ and follow the Lamb wherever He steps. It is asked: Did he not now say: The gospel of peace as distinguished from any other gospel? Or maybe this is the property of the Gospel that it should be called the Gospel of Peace? Therefore, he who has peace has shoes for the gospel of Christ; and when he is shod, he will be ready; However, he who is ready should not consider himself perfect, for he is preparing himself in order to continue and, continuing, to come to the end. Verse 16: Above all else, taking up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish the fiery arrows of the deceitful one (Eph. 6:16). - He seemed to say: “In every action, carry the shield of faith, so that, under cover and protection, you can meet the flying arrows and, with the skill of warriors, deflect them here and there.” This is the faith regarding which Abraham, after many deeds and virtues, was barely worthy of what Scripture says about him: But Abraham believed in God, and this was counted to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6). But those arrows also deserve attention. the evil one, which he wants to throw into our hearts through wicked thoughts; he threw one of them into the heart of Judas, so that he betrayed the Savior. So, the enemy cannot begin to strike the soul if we hold the shield of faith: on it not only are the flying arrows broken, but the very fire of the arrows is extinguished, about which the prophet speaks with tears: They are all adulterers, their hearts are like a burning furnace (Hos. 7:1:6). Whoever holds this convex shield with a firm hand and, trusting in the Lord, knows that it is safe from flying arrows, he fearlessly says: I trust in the Lord; How do you say to my soul: “Remove to the mountain like a sparrow?” For sinners have strained their bows, prepared arrows on the strings, so that in the dark they can smite the upright in heart (Ps. 10:1-2). Thus he says: “Since I rely on God, for what reason do you give me advice so that I do not stand against the attack of the enemies and against the arrows that they have prepared against me on the bowstrings, wanting to strike not only me, but also all the upright in heart [or: right in the heart]. Here I stand on a rock and cannot move to the dark mountains, and all the reflected arrows turn towards those who direct them.” Verse 17: And take the helmet of salvation (Eph. 6:17). – With the help of this saving helmet, all feelings are kept intact in our head, and especially the eyes, about which Solomon speaks in the book of Ecclesiastes: The eyes of the wise are in his head (Eccl. 2:14). For he knew what the head of a husband was, and what these eyes were like that were placed in the head of a husband. For if the head of a man is Christ, and the eyes of a wise man are in his head, then it follows that every feeling, mind, thought, word, intention (if, however, we were wise) is in Christ, and in Christ, that means in the Word, light, truth, truth and in all good powers (virtutibus). Verses 18, 19: And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Praying in the spirit with every prayer and petition at all times, and watching in it with constancy and prayer for all the saints and for me (Eph. 6:17-19). – The Word of God flows from the Holy Spirit, but hostile things are spoken from the earth and originate from there. For he who is from the earth speaks from the earth, and he who comes from God is above all. And he testifies of what he saw and heard (John 3:31–32). Indeed, the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and penetrates even to the depths of the soul, bones and marrow. This spirit cuts and divides, prospering greatly through the prayer and petition of those who at all times pray to the Lord in spirit, as the Scripture says: I will pray with the spirit, I will also pray with the mind (1 Cor. 14:15). And succeeding in ensuring that through vigilance and urgent prayer the Apostle would be enriched in the word and teaching of the Divine, and all this wealth would be beneficial for the salvation of others, so that it would be useful even to those who pray for him. At the same time, one should also be surprised at the humility of the Apostle, who asks the Ephesians to pray for him: after all, he says: With all constancy and prayer for all the saints and for me, so that he separately mentions both the saints and himself. Verse 20: So that the word may be given to me with my open mouth and to confidently make known the mystery of the gospel, for the sake of which I am fulfilling my mission in chains; so that in it I would boldly speak what is due to me (Eph. 6:19–20). – His actual words: With my open lips and elsewhere: Corinthians! my mouth is open to you and: Opening my mouth, I taught my disciples, saying (Matt. 5:2), and: I opened my mouth and received the spirit (attraxi spiritum) (Ps. 119:131), and: I will open my mouth in parables (Ps. 77:2) and so on, things like this must be understood as if he said: “Let the treasures be opened and let the shrines hidden from centuries will crumble, so that the Holy Spirit may enter to reveal what is hidden, and what is the meaning of this testimony, i.e. words: So that the word given to me with my open mouth is exactly this, this is proven by the following words, He says: And confidently make known the mystery of the gospel, and not in parables and examples, as the prophets said, and as the Lord Himself, while still in the body, said: The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in parables, but will definitely proclaim to you about the Father (John 16:25). Such a confident word can only be uttered by the one whom does not trouble his heart: For if our heart does not hold us back, then we have confidence in God and will receive from Him whatever we ask (1 John 3:21-22). And therefore there is rarely one who will confidently make known the mystery of the gospel, because there is rarely one who has confidence in God, for: Who will boast that he has a blameless heart, or who will say that he is clean from sins (Prov. 20:9)? For this purpose, it is necessary to briefly explain what it means: For the sake of which I fulfill my mission in prison, in order to make known the sacrament of the gospel. And indeed, whoever understands this simply will say that he sent the real message from imprisonment and chains in Rome; and another will dispute that he expressed himself this way due to the insignificance of the body and these bonds that surround us, and we still do not know as much as we should know, but we see mysteriously, as if in a mirror; and in truth, the Apostle can only confidently reveal the secrets of the gospel when he throws off his bonds and comes out free from prison; unless, however, the one who has conversion in heaven should not be considered to have no fetters - although he is in fetters - and regarding whom it can be said: But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you (Rom. 8:9). Verse 21, 22: But so that you may know what is happening around me, what I am doing, my beloved brother Tychicus and a faithful servant in the Lord will tell you this: I have sent him to you precisely so that you will know what is happening around us and so that he will comfort your hearts (Eph. 21-22). – Understand [this place] in a double sense. Tychicus was sent either for the purpose of informing them that the bonds of the Apostle had become known to the entire Roman court, and that his bonds contributed to faith in the Gospel at that time; He also wrote to the Colossians this way: What is happening around me, my beloved brother Tychicus, a servant and fellow worker in the Lord, whom I have sent to you precisely so that you will know what is happening around us, will tell you what is happening around us, and he will comfort your hearts with Onesimus, the most beloved and faithful brother who is from among you: he will inform you about everything that is happening here (Col. 4: 7-9). Indeed, it was a great consolation to hear that in Rome, the lord of cities, and in the stronghold of Roman power, the Apostle Paul won a brilliant victory from prison and chains. Or, perhaps, Tychicus was sent in order to inform them about the life and relationships of the Apostle, which they did not know, and to convey, as it were, some living example to those who learned the actions and virtues of the Apostle and wanted to imitate him. For those who wanted to imitate him, it could have been a considerable consolation when they learned what the Apostle was doing. Verse 23: Peace to the brethren and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 6:23). – If there are any other gifts that are given from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, then among them peace occupies no less place, for it surpasses all feelings and protects the hearts and minds of the saints; This is a certain clarity of the peaceful soul and its calmness, removing it from all worries and turmoil. Similar to it is love with faith, which is also (et ipsam) given by God the Father and the Son, so that we love God with all our hearts, and our neighbors as ourselves, and pray for our enemies. Such peace and such love, which the Apostle prayerfully sends to believers, are enjoyed only by those who deserve to be called by the name of brothers. – After all, peace to the brothers and love with faith and peace. So, both the Father and the Son give love and faith, and let the heresy be silent, which does not want to admit that the Son can do the same as the Father. Verse 24: Grace be with all who love the Lord Jesus Christ blamelessly. Amen (Eph.6:24). Some have interpreted this passage in such a way that, in their opinion, our Lord Jesus Christ is loved by one who is alien to the works of corruption, meaning by them the works of corruption in marital cohabitation. Therefore, both custom and popular speech call the virgins virgins, as well as those who have not known women, and captives those who have tasted this type of pleasure. Here they also adapt the well-known testimony of the Apostle: If anyone corrupts the church of God, God will corrupt him (1 Cor. 3:17). But in this case, I don’t know if they will be able to explain the next word. Everyone has his own gift from God, one this way, and the other that way (1 Cor. 7:7). So, let's see: isn't it better to understand every sin by the depravity of the soul, and to call those who are free from sin blameless? Thus those who love our Lord Jesus Christ are in integrity until they are held by the bonds of sin, and when the grace of God is with them. At the same time, I believe that in order to distinguish those who love our Lord Jesus Christ not with integrity, it is now shown that those who love Him with integrity have grace. Indeed, how many love the Lord with a willingness to endure exile, torment, poverty and all kinds of dishonor for Him, and yet they yield to bodily suffering; but to such the Apostle does not send the prayerful blessing of grace, because the grace of the Lord comes to all who love the Lord in integrity. We are correcting a typo in the publication – leze. – Editorial of the ABC of Faith. Corrected by us from contahit in the publication. – Editorial of the ABC of Faith. Corrected by us from the imporatoris edition. – Editorial of the ABC of Faith. Corrected by us from the ἀπηθεία edition. – Editorial of the ABC of Faith.