1:9
"Making known to us the mystery of his will in all wisdom and insight." The Stoics believed that wisdom and insight were different, stating that "wisdom is knowledge of divine and human things; insight is only of mortal things." According to this division, we can accept wisdom of the invisible and visible things, and insight only of visible things. We ask, therefore, how God made the mystery of his will known to us in all wisdom and insight. First, it should be simply understood that the mystery of his will is our redemption through the blood of his Son and the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace that abound in us. That is, that we, believing in the Lord's passion (which is foolishness to unbelievers), possess wisdom and insight. Secondly, that he has made known to us through his scriptures all the mysteries: how he first devised and created the heavens, the earth, and all that is in them, how he ordered and distinguished them, so that man, created as a divine being, was filled with the world up to the time of Christ's passion, and how visible things can be understood as invisible. Finally, that even those things that are on the earth need wisdom and insight, for how many of us know what it is that causes birds to hang in the air, fish to swim in the sea, and what incites the frenzy of beasts? But the diligent reader immediately opposes us: if Paul knows in part, and prophesies in part, and now sees through a mirror in an enigma (1 Cor. 13), how was the mystery of God revealed to him or to the Ephesians in all wisdom and insight? We are therefore compelled by this necessity to change the order of reading, and to say: "According to the purpose of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, with which he has favored us in his beloved Son; in whom we have redemption through his blood, and the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, which abounds in us in all wisdom and insight," so that having made this distinction thus far, namely "in all wisdom and insight," they are joined to the preceding, and henceforth we infer: "making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose." However, in this continuing view, it can be said that they have been revealed to them in all wisdom and insight, not that they have learned the mystery in all wisdom and insight, but that God, in all his wisdom and insight, revealed the mystery to them according to what they could comprehend.
"According to his plan, which he proposed in him during the dispensation of the fullness of time." As previously stated, "according to the plan of his will"; now, "according to his own plan," with the will being subtracted. There, he placed a predestination, which is "the adoption of children through Jesus Christ": here, he places a proposition. Between predestination and proposition, those who are in the habit of discussing words assert that there is a difference, in that predestination foreshadows something long before in the mind of the one who plans what will happen, while a proposition, when the scheme is already close and the effect almost follows the thought. What he says, "proposed in him," refers to the mystery: for he had previously said, "to make known to us the mystery of his will," which mystery is the plan of the fullness of time, so that everything will be completed at the appointed time. Just as an heir, as long as he is a minor, even though the property belongs to him, is not yet entitled to the inheritance (Gal. 4): so also the mystery that was predestined by God for the adoption of his children could not be dispensed before the appropriate time arrived. On which, in the singular number, Paul says elsewhere: "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son" (Ibid., 4:4): who could not come before the mystery of the time was fulfilled.
1:10
"Recapitulate all things in Christ, both that are in heaven and that are on earth" (Al. adds "are"), in Him. In Latin manuscripts, "recapitulate" is written as "instaurate" (Al. "restore"). And I wonder why the translators used the Greek word since such licenses, dialectics, and philosophies as exist in Greek were adopted. For even orators, in epilogues or before ( "Al." among) epilogues, at the end of cases, for the memory of judges and those who heard the cases, usually make a "recapitulation," that is, an ἀνακεφαλαίωσις, so that what they had previously discussed at length, they could comprehend in a brief speech afterwards, and each person begins to remember what they heard. The sense of the current passage is this: Every dispensation, which began before the world and afterward in the world, of invisible as well as visible creatures, promised the coming of the Son of God. This is what Adam, who was ejected from paradise, was supposed to be recalled through the Savior (Gen. 3). This is what was signified in the building of the tower, where unity of languages was shattered (Gen. 11), and in the Acts of the Apostles, the gift of languages was anticipated (Act. 2). This is what Isaac carried his own cross as an image of the Lord (Gen. 3). This is what Samson, nourishing his holy hair, embraced the poor of Delilah and confessed all the secrets of his heart (Judges 16), and signified the mystery of the Savior and the Church from the Gentiles, truly poor and needy (John 19). Therefore, in the Lord's cross, and in His passion, all things were recapitulated, that is, all were counted in this ἀνακεφαλαιώσει. To make this clearer, let us take an example of daily customs. For instance: I spent twenty denarii, then five more, and thus another fifteen; and also thirty and three times ten, I gave at different times. If I want to add them all up, the sum of hundreds of numbers will accumulate for me, and I will have everything I described in one number. Thus, all the mysteries and dispensations of antiquity, not only those that have taken place on earth, but also those that have taken place in heaven, are fulfilled in Christ's passion. For since Christ has suffered, been buried, risen, and ascended to the Father as a victor once, I do not need an old number, for I hold everything in one. Carefully note that not only all the historical Scriptures that the Holy Spirit enumerates that have taken place on earth but also those hidden from us in the heavens are contained in Christ's recapitulated passion.
1:11
In which also we have been called by lot, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things according to the counsel of his will. The word of inheritance and lot, by which we have come into the part of Christ, shows that we have migrated from one power to another, and according to that which is written in Deuteronomy: 'When the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam' (Deut. 32:8), that we have been transferred from the dominion of angels to the part of the Lord. And they indeed held what belonged to others, either committed or usurped. But this one received his own and, ascending on high, he led captivity captive (Ps. 68:19), that is, he himself brought those who had been captured before into life in order to return them to the highest, and in a certain manner captive captivity was seized while, through a second captivity, those who had previously been taken captive were freed. It should be noted that both predestination and purpose, that is, "predestinatio" and "propositum," are put together in a way so that God works everything according to the counsel of his own will. Not that everything that happens in the world is done by God's will and counsel; otherwise, evil could be attributed to God. But that everything he does is done by his counsel and will, in a way that is both fully rational and by the power of the one who does it. We humans often want to do things by our own counsel, but the outcome does not always follow our will. But no one can resist Him, so that He may do everything that He wills. He wants all that is full of reason and counsel, that all may be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (I Tim. 2). But since no one is saved without his own will (for we are free-willed), He wants us to want what is good, so that when we want it, he himself may fulfill his own counsel in us.
1:12
So that we may be to the praise of his glory, we who previously hoped in Christ. If he had only said 'in Christ' and not added 'previously hoped' which in Greek is προηλπικότες, the sense would be more obvious, that those who have hoped in Christ are called according to his plan and predestined, and that he works all things according to the counsel of his will. Now the addition of the preposition brings us to the understanding we have previously discussed, explaining what is written: 'He blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.' This means that just as he has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places and chose us before the foundation of the world, so also we are said to have hoped in Christ before, from the time we were chosen and predestined, and blessed in the heavenly places. However, those who do not support this doctrine, that we hoped in Christ before we lived in this body, will transfer this understanding, saying: In the coming of the Lord and Savior, when every knee shall bow in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil 3), with all things subject to him, some by choice and others by necessity, those who previously hoped in him will be for the praise of his glory, and will be called ἀπηλπικότας, but those who found themselves believing out of necessity, hoping at a time when even the devil and his angels cannot deny that he reigns, will not be to the praise of his glory. And we can see that this is partly fulfilled now because the reward is different for those who follow God voluntarily and those who do so out of necessity. Nevertheless, whether by opportunity or by truth, as long as Christ is announced, as long as it is understood, hoped for, and previously hoped for, it is known that different rewards are received according to the diversity of hope.
1:13
In which you also, having heard the word of truth of the gospel of your salvation, in which also believing, you were signed with the Holy Spirit of promise. In whom: undoubtedly in Christ. Among others who have heard, you also, Ephesians, have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in which believing, you were signed with the Holy Spirit of promise. But the sentence does not seem to stand according to the order of the reading, nor is there anything following what is given first: "In which you also, having heard the word of truth" "of the gospel of your salvation," because immediately it is put second, "in which." And because this is superfluous, it can be removed from the text for the sake of clarity of reading. However, Paul allowed this because of his excessive love for Christ, so that he always named him whom he loved, even unnecessarily and excessively. This can be found without difficulty by any attentive reader in all of his letters. Therefore, now it is seen that the position of "in which" has disturbed the order of the sentence and left the previous proposition hanging. Nor is it a small praise for the Ephesians to hear the word of truth, not preaching. For there is a great distance between preaching and the word of truth, and in another letter it is written: "And my word and my preaching were not in the persuasive words of wisdom, but in the showing of the spirit and power" (1 Cor. 11:14). Let us therefore diligently seek where else it is written that someone has heard the word of truth, so that from the collection of these writings, Paul's meaning can be clearly revealed, and where the gospel has also been mentioned, either with an addition or absolutely. For example, with an addition, "my gospel" (Rom. 16:25) and "the gospel of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 2:11) and "the eternal gospel" (Apoc. 14, 6); or as it is now said to the Ephesians, "the gospel of your salvation". Absolutely, as when he speaks of Luke, "Whose praise in the gospel is through all the churches" (2 Cor. 8:18). And whoever hears the word of truth and believes in it is signed with the Holy Spirit of promise, for many have heard but have remained unbelievers and have not obtained the seal of the Holy Spirit. And to the prince of Tyre, it is said, "You are a seal of the likeness of God" (Ezec. 28:12). But the seal of God is this: as the first man was created in the image and likeness of God, so in the second regeneration, whoever has obtained the Holy Spirit will be signed by him and receive the likeness of the Creator. Furthermore, we must also inquire where else it is written, "the Holy Spirit of promise", or what it means. For I think that just as the Holy Spirit makes holy the one in whom it is infused, and the spirit of wisdom makes one wise, and the spirit of understanding makes one understanding, and the spirit of counsel makes one careful and prudent, and the spirit of fortitude makes one strong, and the spirit of knowledge makes one knowledgeable, and the spirit of piety makes one pious, and the spirit of fear makes one fearful and trembling in the fear of God; in the same way, the spirit of promise, or the spirit of God, makes the one in whom it resides a sponsor and a God. Conversely, an unclean spirit makes one unclean and a filthy inhabitant of a filthy house, and the spirit of fornication makes fornicators, of whom the prophet speaks: "They are seduced by the spirit of fornication" (Osee 4, 12), and an evil spirit makes people evil and perverse, and the possessed becomes a demon, and the quality of the liquid that is poured into a new vessel determines what flavor and odor it will hold for a long time.
1:14
Who is the pledge of our inheritance for the redemption of adoption, to the praise of His glory. The Latin interpreter has put 'arrhabone' for 'pledge.' However, 'arrhabo' does not mean the same thing as 'pledge.' For 'arrhabo' is a kind of testimony and obligation given for a future purchase. But 'pledge,' that is ἐνέχυρον, is put up as security for a loan, so that when the loan is paid back, the pledge is returned to the creditor. Similarly, where it says 'for the redemption of adoption,' there is no Greek word for 'adoption,' but there is 'possession,' which we can translate as 'acquisition' or 'possession,' although we have not expressed the full meaning of the word. For there are many words which cannot be translated from Greek into Latin, or from Hebrew to Greek, and vice versa. Whoever, therefore, receives not only the Holy Spirit but also the Spirit of promise, will also receive the pledge of the inheritance, which is eternal life. And just as the value and possession of a future purchase can be estimated from the amount of its down payment, for example, a villa worth a hundred solidi from a down payment of ten solidi, and possession worth a thousand solidi from a down payment of a hundred, so the size of the inheritance to come can be known from the variety of the pledge. Although someone may be holy and perfect and considered worthy of happiness by everyone's judgment, they have now received only the down payment of the future inheritance in the Spirit. But if the down payment is so great, how great will be the very possession itself? But just as the down payment that is given to us is not outside us but within us, so the inheritance itself, which is the kingdom of God within us, dwells within us internally. For what greater inheritance can there be than to contemplate and see with our senses the beauty of Wisdom, and of the Word, and of Truth, and of Light, and to look at the ineffable and magnificent nature of God and of all things that are created in the image of God? This Holy Spirit of promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance, is given to the saints now, so that they may be redeemed and united to God, to the praise of His glory. Not that God needs anyone's praise, but so that the praise of God may be of use to those who praise Him, and they may burst out with wonder and praise Him for His majesty and greatness in every work.
1:15-17
"Therefore, I also, upon hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and in all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being illuminated." Although a word-for-word translation may make the Apostle appear awkward to the reader, and full of faulty construction, yet in the original Greek the error lies more in the style than in the sense. Therefore we seek rather to vary the order of the words thus: "upon hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and in all His saints; seeing also the difference of your faith in the Lord and in His saints, I cease not to give thanks for you and to make mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation." That which follows, "the eyes of your understanding being illuminated," may thus be rendered by a figure of speech called hyperbaton: "Therefore, I also hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus, in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being illuminated, and in all His saints, do not cease, giving thanks for you and making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling," etc. Again, the expression "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory," is meant to imply that as our Lord Jesus Christ is Himself the Word, the Wisdom, the Truth, the Life, the Righteousness, and the Power, so He is also the Glory of God; thus it is said in Scripture: "And the glory of the Lord appeared" (Lev. 9:23); and in almost every passage of the Old Testament it is written that the glory of God was seen over the ark of the testimony (Num. 9); and the Psalmist also says: "Awake, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp" (Ps. 57:8). And when the Glory, by the brightness of its shining, had enlightened the world, it built for itself a temple, fashioned out of the virgin's womb. And in this temple the Father of Glory is the God worshipped. And where Christ is the Glory, there the Father is spoken of only as He is in Christ; where Jesus is, God, His Father, is named without any addition. Therefore this God, the Father of our Lord, Who is full of glory, wisdom, truth, gives to those who believe in His Son the spirit of wisdom and revelation, that they may be wise and may contemplate the glory of the Lord which is revealed to them. And this wisdom and revelation, when it has made them wise, and has revealed to them the mysteries which were hidden from them, will immediately cause the eyes of their understanding to be enlightened. These words, taken literally, show that the interior members of man are referred to, as well as the exterior. For he has clearly spoken of the eyes of the heart, which we cannot see or understand without the mind. And the expression of the Psalmist, "Enlighten my eyes, that I may never sleep the sleep of death" (Ps. 13:3), is in harmony with this idea. And elsewhere it is said: "For in much wisdom is much grief" (Eccl. 1:18) and "the eyes of a wise man are in his head" (Eccl. 2:14). For if we take the expression, "the eyes of his head," to refer simply to the eyes of the body, then surely the eyes of both the wise man and the fool are in his head. Therefore, the head is taken to mean the understanding, for by another name it is called the mind and the soul and the chief seat of the heart. And when the Apostle says, "in the knowledge of Him," some understand it to mean that there is a difference between γνῶσις and ἐπίγνωσις, that is, between "knowledge" and "full knowledge," the former being what we did not know before and the latter what we remember after having known it, and that we now believe in a former life in heavenly things, having been cast down into these bodies and having forgotten God the Father, but that now we know Him by revelation, in accordance with the following verse: "All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord" (Ps. 22:27), and similar passages.
1:18-20
"So that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead." He who has once been given the spirit of wisdom and revelation, according to the prayer of Paul, so that he may perceive with his heart's eyes what things are reserved for the called, and what are the things that the saints of God hope for, and what is the abundance that he will give to those who endure his inheritance. The greatness of God's power is necessary to know this, in those who, according to the likeness of Paul, are called believers, through which God worked in Christ Jesus, whom he raised from the dead. However, the inheritance must be understood in two ways: either as the firstborn of every creature, the inheritance of the soul of our Lord Jesus Christ and of him who has assumed the body and soul of man, and we inherit God the Word with the inheritance of the soul; or as our inheritance in Christ, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one divinity, so that just as the inheritance of houses and estates is called that which is possessed by heirs, so God himself may be the inheritance of believers and saints. In the Old Testament, it is written: "But you shall not give an inheritance to the children of Levi among their brethren: for I am their portion." (Num. 18:20); and elsewhere: "The Lord is their inheritance" (Deut. 18:2); and the holy one who knows he has nothing outside of God speaks boldly: "My portion is the Lord" (Ps. 72:26); and: "You are my portion and my cup" (Psalm. 15:5). It is not of small importance, therefore, that we know the hope of his calling and the riches of the glory of God's inheritance among the saints. For we need the same power to know these things, which God also used in raising his Son from the dead, who he raised not once, but constantly, and made him free from the defilement of death. Christ rises from the dead daily, and is resurrected in those who repent. Not that he did not also have the power to lay down his soul and take it up again according to the flesh (for no one takes it except he who lays it down of himself), but according to the dispensation of the flesh and Son of God, he is said to have been raised as both man and Son by God the Father.
1:21
And seating him at his right hand in the heavens, above every principality, and power, and virtue, and domination, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. He demonstrated the power of God through human likeness, not as if a throne were being placed and God the Father were sitting on it, with the Son sitting alongside him. Instead, it is so that we may understand and judge in a way that is different from ours. This is related to what is written in Psalm 109: 'The Lord said to my Lord: sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies thy footstool.' (Ps 109:1). For if the Son sits at the right hand of the Father in a manner of reign, it is necessary that he who sits on the left must be lower, according to the same similarity. So that we may know that it is to be understood differently than the letter sounds, the same Psalm teaches in the following verses, saying: 'Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek: the Lord at thy right hand.' For if the Son sits at the right hand of the Father, how then is the Father said to be at his right hand? Or how can earth be the footstool of Jesus and heaven his throne, when according to Isaiah, 'He measured the earth with his palm; he held the heavens in the hollow of his hand' (Isaiah 40:12)? For that which is contained in a thing cannot be within it at the same time; nor can one who is encircled by the Son who sits be enclosed in his hand. Therefore, to be near to God, or to be far away from him, is not to be understood according to spatial location but according to one's merits. The saints are near to God; sinners, about whom the prophet says: 'Lo, they that are far from thee shall perish' (Psalm 73:27), should be removed from his presence. Thus, to be at the right or left of God is to be understood in this way: the saints are at his right hand, and sinners at his left, as our Lord himself confirms in the Gospel, when he recounts that the sheep will be at his right hand and the goats at his left (Matthew 25). The very word 'to sit' signifies the power of the Kingdom by which God grants them a benefit over those whom he deems worthy of sitting; that is, he governs them, has them in his own chariot, and turns their restless and free necks according to his own will. After this, it is asked how what follows can be understood: 'above every principality, and power, and virtue, and domination, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.' As for the right and left sides and the sitting, we have already explained. Now we must search for where the Apostle finds these four names, "principalities," I speak of, and "powers, virtues," and "dominations," are written, and from where he brought them forth. For it is not right to think that he who was instructed by divine reading spoke something not found in the holy books. Therefore I suppose that he brought to light either the secret traditions of the Hebrews or those things that, as if written near history, he understood, when he knew the law to be spiritual, more sublime, and that what is related about kings and princes, leaders also, judges and centurions in Numbers and in the Books of Kings, he learned to be a representation of other princes and kingdoms: that is to say, that in the heavenly realms there are principalities, powers, dominions, and virtues, and other titles of ministries; which neither we nor Paul, I think, being weighted down by a heavy burden, are able to enumerate. But if there are principalities and powers, virtues and dominions, it is necessary for them to have subjects, and those who fear them, and those who serve them, and those who are strengthened by their power. These divisions of duties will exist not only in the present, but also in the future age: so through each progress, honor, ascent, and even descent, one may increase or decrease, and become subject to different powers, virtues, principalities, and dominions. We little humans, soon to be turned to ashes and dust, if we are lifted up by the agreement of people to be kings, have as many differences and multitudes of ministers as we can more easily feel than say: for instance, that the Prefect has his own judges, provinces, and order in the civil realm; again, militarily, the army is divided into so many counts, leaders, and tribunes, and do we think that God, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, is content with such a simple ministry?
1:22-23
"And He subjected all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all the Church, which is His body: the fullness of Him who fills all things in all." This seems to be contradictory to what is written elsewhere: "For we do not yet see all things subjected to Him." But also this: "For He must reign, until He has put all enemies under His feet" (1 Cor. 15:25). For if all things are not yet subject to Him, and He must reign until all things are subject to Him, how is it that God has already subjected all things under His feet? Especially since in another place Paul himself testifies: "But when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all" (1 Cor. 15:28). Therefore, either he mentions what is to come as if it were already done, according to the sense we explained above, where he says: "Blessed us in every spiritual blessing in heaven in Christ." Or certainly if it is to be understood as past, we must take it that even those things which are not subject to His will serve Him by the condition of their nature. For example, demons, Jews and Gentiles. For they do not serve Christ, nor are they subject to His feet, yet because they were created by Him, they are subject to His power against their will, even though they resist Him by their free will. In this sense, it also fits that which follows: "And gave Him to be head over all the Church, which is His body." For just as the head has many members subject to it, some of which are faulty and weak, so too our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the head of the Church, has all members of the Church subject to Him, both the saints by their will and the sinners by necessity. And so it happens that even enemies are subject to His feet. Therefore, when he says "all things," it seems to raise a question. For that which was said: "Sit at my right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool" (Ps. 109:1). And elsewhere: "For He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet" (1 Cor. 15:25): it does not greatly concern the interpreter that those things which are enemies, when they have been overcome, are subjected to His feet, and pass into the power of the Victorious One. But why all things, that is, the angels, thrones, dominions, powers, and other virtues, which have never been against God, should be subjected to His feet, seems obscure. Therefore, it can be answered that without sin no one is clean, and even the stars are not clean before God, and every creature fears the coming of the Creator (Job 15). Hence it is said that the cross of the Savior purged not only those things that are on earth, but also those that are in heaven. Another, "all things," does not refer to the universality, but only to those things about which there was dispute, or in this way, all the city cried out, not that there was anyone silent in the city, but even the smaller things are called by the name of the greater. And Paul the Apostle himself says: "All seek their own, not those things that are of Christ" (Philippians 2:21): and "All have left me." Not that Timothy and the other disciples, who were with him at the time when the Epistles were written, abandoned him; but rather, because he was deserted by many, he complains of being deserted by all, that is, by the greatest part. Something similar to this is also found in the psalm: "All have turned away, all have become corrupt" (Ps. 13:3). For if everyone has turned away, then the speaker himself must have turned away. And elsewhere it is written: "I said in my haste, all men are liars" (Ps. 115:2). Either what he said is true or false. If all men are liars, then the one who speaks is also a liar. But if the one who speaks is a liar, then what he is saying is not true: not all men are liars. Furthermore, if the statement is true, it must be understood in the way we have already said, that the majority of men lie. The apostle also writes elsewhere: "Teaching every man" (Coloss. 3:16). And again, "admonishing every man": not that he has taught all men, for how many are there who have never heard the doctrine of the apostles, nor even their name to this day? But rather, he instructs and reminds all those who are in the Church and who desire to know the things of God. It continues: "And He Himself fills all things in all." This should be understood in the same way as this passage: "Then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all" (1 Cor. 15:28). For now God is present in each part of the creation, in one place as justice, in another as chastity, in another as temperance, in another as wisdom, in another as fortitude. And even in holy and perfect men it is difficult to find all these virtues together. But in the end, when all things have come to their completion and the world has ended, all things will be subject to Him, and all things will be filled with Him, so that, being full of all virtues, they will possess all things which, before, individuals possessed singly. Moreover, when it is said, "And He Himself is the head of the body, the Church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He may have the pre-eminence," not only men are included, but also angels and all the powers and rational creatures. And again, this phrase "who fills all things in all" is not to be taken in the sense it seems to have, for it does not say "who fills all things," but rather "who fills all things in all." For the meaning of "to fill" is different from that of "to be filled"; the former is an action of the agent, the latter of the patient. Therefore, just as an emperor is said to be filled, when his army increases every day, and new provinces are added, and the people multiply; so our Lord Jesus Christ is said to be filled in all, because those who believe in Him are filled with all virtues, and according to the Gospel make progress in age, wisdom, and grace, not only before God, but also before men (Luke 2).
2:1-5
"And you, when you were dead in your sins and offenses, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now operates on the children of unbelief, among whom we all conversed in times past in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his exceeding charity wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ." Before we delve into the meaning of each word, it seems that the order of the passage should be as follows: "And you, when you were dead in your sins and offenses, he hath quickened you together in Christ, who is rich in mercy for his exceeding charity wherewith he loved us." And when we were dead in sins, in which we once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now operates on the children of unbelief, among whom we all conversed in times past in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, he hath quickened us together in Christ. The conjunction "but" in the place where it says "But God who is rich in mercy" seems to have either been added by uneducated writers and gradually become a mistake, or been unnecessarily used by Paul himself who was inexperienced in speech rather than knowledge (2 Cor. 11). Clearly, the death of the soul is said to be sin, as it is written, "And you, when you were dead in your sins and offenses," as also in Ezekiel where it is written, "The soul that sins shall die" (Eze. 58:4). And because "sins" which are called παραπτώματα in Greek, properly translated as offenses (although delicta is a more accurate translation), are a word used in the Scriptures, we inquire as to what they signify and how they differ from sins, that is, what is the difference between παραπτώματα and ἁμαρτίας. For they say that παραπτώματα, as if the beginnings of sins, occur when silent thoughts sneak in and, partly holding us back ("Al." restraining us), still have not yet impelled us to downfall. Therefore, in the 18th Psalm (verse 13) it is written: "Delicta," that is παραπτώματα, "who can understand it?" because, of course, it is difficult to understand the roots and beginnings of sins. Indeed, it is a sin when something accomplished by action reaches its conclusion. We also ask what is meant by "in which at some time you walked according to the course of this world," whether it is another world that does not belong to this world, but to other worlds, of which Clement also writes in his letter: "Ocean," "and the worlds that are beyond it"? Is it one world that from the beginning of the time when Adam was created until its end is rolled up and passed away, or is certainly the world called by another name, the prince of the air, who now operates in the children of disobedience? It is written to the Galatians: "Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world" (Galatians 1:4). And in this same letter: "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Below, v. 16). And the days of Jacob are called few and wicked (Genesis 47), either because the time of this life by which we are closed in the world is heavy and laborious, or because Satan of this world, as we have said above, is called the course of the world. Immediately afterwards, he writes: "According to the prince," he says, "of the power of the air, of the spirit who now operates in the children of disobedience." For the prince of the air and the spirit of power, which is in this air, is understood as the devil, who now operates in the children of disobedience. For he cannot work in those who believe in the Lord. About this he also says later: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). Not that the devil and his satellites, who wander through this world, can exist in heaven, from which they fell because of their merits; but heaven is called this air that is above us, according to the words of the Savior: "Consider the birds of the air" (Matthew 6:26), and so on. For it is clear that birds do not fly through heaven, but through the air. It follows: "In which we all once conversed among the desires of our flesh, doing the wills of our flesh and of our thoughts." Which means, it refers to sins. For indeed, because he placed two things together: "And you, when you were dead in your trespasses and sins," and had referred to sins saying: "in which you once walked," but nothing analogous had seemed to follow for transgressions that could give meaning. Now he says: "in which transgressions we all too have lived," so that he would not seem to be exempting himself from sin through pride in what he had said earlier, "and in your sins in which you once walked." Whoever says that he has lived in it, confesses about past transgressions, not the present ones. "For we once lived," he says, "not in a single desire, but in multiple desires of our flesh. For the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh" (Gal. 5:17). Making not one desire of the flesh, but many; not only desires of the flesh, but also of the mind, for which it is known in the Latin codices, "thoughts." But I think that there is a difference between the sin of the flesh and that of the mind: the sin of the flesh is immodesty and lust and the things that serve it in lustful desires. But the transgression of the mind relates to dogmas contrary to truth and heretical wickedness, so that we might say that most heretics (even though this is rare) make the desires of the mind, and not those of the flesh; and many act in opposition to ecclesiastics, making the desires of the flesh, and not of the mind, and there are many who make the desires of both flesh and mind at the same time. But we said this not because heretics do not make desires of the flesh (indeed many vices of the body are present among them as well as among us), but so that with an example given, what we wanted to say can be understood more easily. "And we were," he says, "by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind." Let the heretics who claim that there are different natures respond, in what way Paul, who is undoubtedly of a spiritual nature, was by nature a child of wrath, like the others who are still in error. But we say that all men are first by nature children of wrath, either because of the body of humiliation and the body of death, or because the minds of men are inclined toward evil from their youth (Gen. 8), from the time when we can have knowledge of God and come to puberty, all of us either by deed, word, or thought, sin. Therefore, we were by nature children of wrath, like the others, and all the Saints who were redeemed by the blood of Christ. Behold Paul, who lived a blameless life in accordance with the righteousness that was in the Law, says that he was naturally a son of wrath. Why should we fear when even the ancient holy men testify that they were also sons of wrath? Concerning all of whom it is truly said: "But when the commandment came, sin became alive and they themselves died." The son of wrath is to be accepted as meaning the son of perdition, the son of iniquity, and the son of death. Not that any anger, death, iniquity or perdition subsists in its own nature, having sons; but that they are called its sons on account of its operations in individuals: just as those who are to be consumed by the fires of hell are called sons of gehenna. Some think that those called sons of wrath are also sons of the devil. For the devil is perdition, and anger, and death. "Powerful death has devoured" (Isaiah 52), and "the last enemy to be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:26), and of the devil himself: "You have been made perdition" (Ezekiel 28). He was made so by his own will, not thus created from the beginning. How then is death called so, because through the envy of the devil death entered into the world (Wisdom 2), and through him are those who were previously living dead, and perdition destroys whatever it deceives. So anger is also called thus because of the cruelty it shows towards man. Some believe that in the Books of Kings, when David numbered the people of Israel, provoking the anger of the Lord against himself, and the Scripture says, "And the anger of God was set on fire against Israel, and he stirred up David saying" (2 Samuel 24:1), that it signifies the devil's anger: for according to the propriety of the Greek language, it did not say "the anger of God saying," which is λέγουσα in the feminine gender, but "the anger of God saying," which is λέγων in the masculine gender; for indeed the Lord sends his anger and fury through most wicked angels. Therefore God, who is rich in mercy and rich because of his love for mankind, and not a simple love, but rather much love, when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive, and not only made us alive (for this was not enough for his goodness and greatness), but he made us alive with Christ Jesus, granting us to have the same life as Christ. Some, because of what we have just explained, have translated "And we were by nature children of wrath" to mean "truly by nature," or "altogether by nature," because the word φύσει is ambiguous. But even though it sounds like this, it should be explained according to the things we have said.
"You have been saved by grace. For the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Rom. 8). Therefore, we are saved more by grace than by works; for we are not able to repay the Lord for all that He has given us."
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