Speaking to yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. Whoever abstains from the drunkenness of wine, in which there is luxury, and is filled with the spirit for this reason, can receive all things spiritually: psalms, hymns, and canticles. However, we learn fully in the Psalter what the difference is between a psalm, a hymn, and a canticle. Now, we must briefly speak of hymns, which proclaim the strength and majesty of God and always marvel at His benefits or deeds. All the Psalms contain this, to which "Alleluia" is either the prefix or the subject. However, the Psalms properly belong to the ethical realm, so that through the medium of the body, we know what we should do and what we should avoid. But whoever debates about higher things, and has explained the order and harmony of the world and all creatures with subtle reasoning, sings a spiritual canticle. Or indeed (so that we may speak more clearly for the simpler folk) the psalm refers to the body, while the canticle refers to the mind. Therefore, we ought to sing, make melody, and praise the Lord more with our hearts than with our voices. For this is what is said: "Singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord." Let the young hear this, let those whose duty it is to sing in the church hear this, that they should sing to God not with their voice but with their heart. They should not grind their throat and mouth with sweet medicine, as they do in the theater, so that theatrical melodies and songs are heard in the church, but with fear, in work, and in knowledge of the Scriptures. Even if someone is, as they say, "discordant," if he has good works, he is a sweet singer before God. Thus let the servant of Christ sing, so that it is not the voice of the singer, but the words that are pleasing which are read, so that the evil spirit that was in Saul (1 Samuel 16) may be cast out of those who possess it similarly, and not be brought into those who have made a stage of the house of God for the people.
5:20
"Always giving thanks for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ God and Father." Similar to what is written in the First Epistle to the Thessalonians: "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thess. 5:16, 17). This commandment can only be kept by the one who, through the providence of God, even knows that five sparrows, sold for two pennies, are governed, and that not one of them falls to the ground without the Father's will (Luke 12). And when he says, "giving thanks always and for everything," we should understand it in two ways: that we give thanks to God not only for what we think is good, but also for what restricts us and goes against our will, and that in the proclamation of God, our joyful minds should burst forth, saying: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised" (Job 1:21). This act of giving thanks is observed by wise men, both generally and specifically. Generally, let us give thanks to God for the sun rising for us, for the day passing, for the night changing into rest, for the darkness being tempered by the brightness of the moon, and for the times being changed and returning by the rising and setting of the stars; for the rains serving us, for the earth giving birth, and for the elements being at our disposal; for the many varieties of animals given to us for transportation, work, food, clothing, for example and for miracles; and finally, for being born, for existing, for governing the administration of this world, like a kind of steward for the most powerful Father, and for understanding that everything in the world, is created for our sake. Specifically, when we rejoice in the benefits that come to us from God. But this is also what the Gentile, Jew, tax collector and the heathen do. The distinctive virtue of Christians is to give thanks to the Creator, even in the midst of adversity. If a house collapses, if a loving wife and children are taken captive or intercepted, either by poison or by shipwreck, if we lose riches by proscription, if countless illnesses and the ever-awaited debilitation of gout afflict the miserable person's health. Those who appear holier than others tend to give thanks to God for having been saved from danger or misery. But according to the Apostle, this virtue is greatest when, even in the midst of danger and misery, we give thanks to God, and always say: Blessed is God, I know I can endure less than what I deserve, these things are small to me in view of my sins, nothing worthy is given to me. This is the spirit of Christians, lifting their crosses, following the Savior, whom neither blindness nor losses weaken. As Horace said in his lyrical poem:
If the world should break and fall, the ruins will strike him fearless. But he who, as we have said, gives thanks to God and the Father, let him do so through the mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus, because without Him we cannot approach the Father.
5:21
"Being subject to one another in the fear of Christ." Let the bishops hear this, let the presbyters hear it, let every order of teacher hear it: that they should be subject to their subjects and imitate the Apostle who said: "For whereas I was free to all, I made myself the servant of all, that I might gain the more" (1 Cor. 9:19). And in another place: "By charity of the spirit serve one another" (Galat. 5:13). Therefore, by this same charity, he also served all the Churches of the Gentiles. The Savior also took the form of a servant to serve his disciples, and washed their feet (John 13). There is a difference between the leaders of the Gentiles and of the Christians, for those dominate their subjects while we serve them, and we are greater in this if we are the least of all. But what is said "in the fear of Christ" must be taken to mean that this submission is not for the glory of man, but for the fear of Christ, as we fear offending Him. Others will interpret "being subject to one another in the fear of Christ" to mean that this general concept should be divided and shared in the rest of the words, "Wives, be subject to your husbands;" and "Children, obey your parents;" and "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not serving to the eye, as pleasing men, but in simplicity of heart fearing God" (Col. III, 20-22), so that not only wives to husbands, children to parents, and servants to masters, but also husbands to wives, fathers to children (not provoking them to anger), and masters to servants (remitting threats and offering what is necessary) should be subject to one another and do so out of the fear of Christ. Thus as he subjected himself to his servants, they too who are considered greater should subject themselves to their inferiors by rendering the duties that are commanded of them. Here the fear can be interpreted as εὐλαβεία, that is, "reverence," which is closer to charity. For it is not at all fitting for the Ephesians to act out of fear and not out of love for Christ.
5:22-23
Women should 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. This addition, "should be subject," which is in the Latin copies, is not found in Greek manuscripts, since it refers to what was said earlier and is understood as: "Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ," so it is understood that "wives should be subject to their husbands as to the Lord." However, this is better understood in Greek than in Latin. Therefore, just as the Church is subject to Christ, so let the wife be subject to her husband. For just as Christ has authority and submission, so the husband and wife are bound by the same order. But we must see that just as there is a holy union in Christ and in the Church, so let there be a holy bond between man and woman. Now, just as not every congregation of heretics can be called the Church of Christ, nor is Christ their head, so not every marriage which is not joined to her husband according to the precepts of Christ can be rightly called marriage, but rather adultery. Otherwise, the wife is subject to her husband as to her lord, because her conversion is towards him, and he shall have dominion over her (Gen. 3). For even Sarah called Abraham lord (Gen. 18). This voluntary servitude, the more willingly it is taken on, the more it becomes co-equal. In fact, their obedience brings their ruler into greater servitude. Some interpret this passage according to anagoge, saying that the wife should be understood in the body and the husband in the soul. And just as the Church is subject to Christ, so the bodies should be subject to sense and be brought together into one spirit if they are united to the Lord. "For he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17).
He Himself is the Savior of the body. Since the nature of the Church is closer and more related to the substance of Christ, therefore, I consider it named the body of Christ: of which body Christ Jesus is the Savior, that is, the Word, wisdom, and other virtues in which the Son of God is understood. Search diligently in the divine volumes where you can find the term "flesh" used for the Church. For now, the Church is not called flesh but rather the body of Christ. It is evident that whatever is flesh, is consequently also a body, but not everything that is a body is necessarily flesh.
5:24
"But as the Church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject to their husbands in all things." The Church of Christ is glorious, having no spot or wrinkle or anything like that. Therefore, whoever is a sinner and stained with any kind of filth cannot be called a member of the Church of Christ, nor can they be said to be subject to Christ. However, it is possible that just as the Church, which once had a wrinkle and a spot, was later restored to its youthfulness and purity, so too a sinner can approach the physician (for it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick) and be healed of their wounds, and become a member of the Church which is the body of Christ. Speaking elegantly and cautiously to the Ephesians, it is said, "As the Church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject to their husbands." For if a wife must submit to her husband as the Church submits to Christ, then there will be a sacred union between the husband and the wife, which will never serve the passions of the flesh. But if someone opposes this by citing what is written to the Corinthians, "The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband," let them realize that there is a great difference between the Corinthians and the Ephesians. What is written to the Corinthians is like writing to infants who had dissensions and schisms among them, and there was even sexual immorality among them that was not even practiced among the Gentiles. Therefore, they were allowed to return to their own spouses after prayer, so as not to be tempted by Satan, even though in the following verses, Paul says that he forgives them not according to their will, but by the grace of God. But the Ephesians, among whom he spent three years and opened up all the mysteries of Christ, were taught differently, and each one has the free will to follow either the Corinthians or the Ephesians, and to be saved either by Corinthian servitude or Ephesian liberty. "Woe to those who are pregnant and nursing babies in those days," says the Savior, referring specifically to the works of marriage and family on the day of judgment. Therefore, let us strive to imitate the Ephesians more than the Corinthians, and not be caught up in buying and selling, marrying and being given in marriage, but let us keep our lamps lit with our loins girded.
5:25-27
"Men, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present the Church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, but that she might be holy and without blemish." Although husband and wife are bound to one another by love (such as that wife of Hasdrubal is mentioned, who, with her husband captured, threw herself into the fire of her homeland, and others who refused to survive after their husbands died), yet a wise man will never compare that love to the love of Christ and the Church. Therefore, this love should be understood as holy, with which Isaac loved his wife "Rebecca" (Gen. 24), which means "patience," and brought her from the land of Mesopotamia, which is surrounded on all sides by waves of this world, to the land of promise, to console her for the death of her mother. For he tempered the decay of the Synagogue with the joining of the Church. Those who say these things give an occasion to heretics who believe that all marriages must be rejected, especially when they use this testimony. To such people we must briefly reply that the Apostle forbids passion, impurity, and lust between husband and wife, but not holy matrimony. Otherwise, if he prohibited marriage altogether, what need was there to say, "love your wives," when he could have said, "men, love women or wives?" For "yours" properly refers to marriage. And again, in the following passages: "and husbands must 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 cherishes it," because according to the edict of the Old Law and the restoration of the Gospel, husband and wife become one flesh. Therefore, as we have said, the production of children is allowed in marriage. But the pleasures that are obtained from the embraces of harlots are condemned in a wife. Let every man who reads this, and let his wife understand, that after conception they must be devoted more to prayer than to marital relations. And what is naturally prescribed in animals and beasts, that pregnant ones should not mate until parturition, let them know has been left to their own discretion as a means of abstaining from pleasures. But since we spoke according to the figure of speech that men are souls, and wives are bodies, so may the soul love the body (or "flesh"), as Christ loves the Church, that He may offer it to Himself as a sacrifice for His salvation and sanctify it by the word of doctrine, that He may present it to Himself a church without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing of age: especially since He knows that it will be saved in resurrection, and will see the salvation of God. Such a man shall have Christ, and when, for the sake of the salvation of his body, he humbles himself with his wife and becomes one flesh, he draws her to the spirit, and being united to the Lord, he ceases to be flesh. Moreover, he beautifully drew an example for the adornment of the Church with respect to women from the blemishes or wrinkles, because he was speaking of marriage. For just as in the bodies of women there are moles, wrinkles or freckles, so it is the effort of women to remove what appears to disfigure them and to present to their husbands the beauty of their bodies. Thus, the souls must be purified from all the filth of sins, so that the wrinkles of the old self may be stretched out by the youth of the new man from day to day.
5:28
"So, too, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies." And in Genesis, speaking through the person of Adam, it is written: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" (Gen. 2:23). And this same sentiment is confirmed by the Lord in the Gospel, where he said: "But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh" (Mark 10:6-8). Since husband and wife are one flesh, husbands should care for their wives as they do for their own bodies. For no one hates his own body or treats it contemptuously; instead, he nourishes and nurtures it, as one would care for the vessel of his soul, so that it does not break and spew its contents forth. Nor should we forget, in a literal sense, that while a woman is in childbirth, she is different from her husband, just as the body is different from the soul. But if she chooses to serve Christ more than the world, she will cease to be a woman and will be called a man, because we all desire to become the perfect man. Now, if we refer these things to the allegorical sense, we will love our own bodies and the sensations they provide, even though they are of a lower order than the soul. It is through these sensations that we may pass into the discipline of good arts and virtues of the mind.
5:29
Whoever loves his wife, loves himself: for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the Church. As far as simple understanding is concerned, we are now commanded to nourish and cherish our spouses with holy love, so that we may provide them with food, clothing, and everything necessary. But it may be objected to us that it is not a true statement of the Apostle's words that "no one ever hated his own flesh," as those suffering from royal disease, consumption, cancer, and other diseases, may prefer death to life and hate their own bodies. And so let us rather refer to a figurative understanding and say that the soul should love, nourish, and cherish that flesh that is going to witness the salvation of God, instructing and feeding it with discipline, nourishing it with heavenly bread, and irrigating it with the blood of Christ, so that when refreshed and shining, it may be able to follow the man freely, without any weakness or burden. Beautifully, in the likeness of Christ who nourishes and cherishes the Church, and says to Jerusalem, "How often I have desired to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing?" thus our souls also nourish our bodies, so that the corruptible may put on incorruption, and being suspended in the air with the lightness of wings, may be more easily lifted up. Let us therefore cherish both our wives and our own bodies, so that wives also may be cherished in their husbands, and bodies may be prepared for our souls. And let there be no difference between the sexes, but as there is neither male nor female among the angels, so too may we, who are destined to be like angels, begin to be what has been promised to us in heaven.
5:30
Since we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones. For we are members of the body of Christ, and Christ feeds and supports the Church. Therefore, we also nourish and support our own flesh, which no one has ever hated. But we are members of the body of Christ, not according to the nature of eternal divinity, but according to what he deigned to assume as a human being. Although the man himself who was assumed has the nature of our bodies, he does not have our origin. For we are formed from human seed, but he was born of the Holy Spirit. However, it can also be said another way: Since the body of Christ is the Church, and the Church is gathered from all believers, Paul and the Ephesians are members of the body, that is, the Church of Christ.
5:31
"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." We have frequently noted that the apostles and evangelists did not use the same words as contained in the examples of the Old Testament in their own writings. We prove this here as well: for this testimony was thus written in Genesis: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh" (Gen. 2:24). Now, because of what is there, "for this reason," the apostle used instead, ἀντὶ τούτου, which cannot be expressed in Latin by other words: then, for "his father and his mother," he removed the pronouns and put only "father" and "mother." And what is said in the middle, "and shall cleave to his wife," he omitted entirely, and only joined the statement that followed it to the previous one, and put, "and they shall become one flesh." However, we have now observed all of this in order that even in other places, wherever testimonies are used by the apostles from the prophets and the Old Testament that are not contained in our manuscripts, we do not immediately run to the absurdities and delusions of the apocrypha, but rather know that these writings are indeed in the Old Testament, but not edited by the apostles in the same way and with a more applied sense: nor are they easily found unless studied, where they are written. Therefore, regarding the exhortation of mutual affection between husband and wife, Adam and Eve set the example. Just as the rib was taken from Adam and built into his spouse, so also the wife is again brought back into one flesh with her husband, for he who loves his wife, loves himself. In the same way, let us love our wives. However, this is interpreted allegorically in Christ and in the Church, so that Adam prefigured Christ and Eve prefigured the Church. Thus, the last Adam became a life-giving spirit (1 Corinthians 15). And just as the entire human race is born from Adam and his wife, so also is the whole multitude of believers generated from Christ and the Church. This makes one body of the Church, which is once again placed on the side of Christ, filling the place of the rib, and becoming one body of the man Himself, as the Lord requested in the Gospel: "Father, grant that they may be one, just as you and I are one" (John 17:21). Let us ask Marcion what conclusion can be drawn from this section of the old Testament, which according to him, does not pertain to Christ at all.
5:32
This is a great mystery, but I say it is about Christ and the Church." Not all of the history written about Adam and Eve in Genesis can easily be referred to Christ and the Church, as many believe, but only what is presented in this passage: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." For the first man and prophet, Adam, prophesied about Christ and the Church, that our Lord and Savior would leave His Father, God, and His heavenly mother, Jerusalem, and come down to earth for His body, the Church, and be formed from His own side for her, and that the Word would be made flesh for her. And because not all sacraments are equal, some being greater than others, he says, "This is a great mystery," and in saying, "I say it is about Christ and the Church," he shows his humility. Gregory of Nazianzus, a very eloquent man and highly learned in Scripture, used to say to me about this passage: "See how great this chapter's sacrament is, that when the Apostle interprets it in Christ and in the Church, he does not assert it as the dignity of the testimony demands, but in a manner of speaking, says, 'I know that this place is full of ineffable sacraments and needs the divine heart of an interpreter.' For my own humble understanding, I think he means it is about Christ and the Church in the meantime, not that anything is greater than Christ and the Church, but that it is difficult to interpret all that is said about Adam and Eve in reference to Christ and the Church.
5:33
Nevertheless, each of you also should love his wife as he loves himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Some people might think that the love which the Apostle Paul orders to be observed between the husband and wife is the same as that which is commanded regarding one's neighbor, since it is written, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18), and now it is being said, "Each one of you should love his wife as he loves himself." Therefore, the same love will exist between neighbors and husbands and wives. But if, according to the interpretation of the Savior, every person is a neighbor to everyone else, then no difference in love will exist between a wife and any other person, which is a very absurd thing to say. For in the case of one's neighbor, the comparison is made so that one might love him as oneself, and desire his salvation. But in the case of a wife, the adverb "as" does not indicate similarity, but approval and confirmation, and bears a certain weight. Just as we say of a man, "He acted like a man," and it is written of the Savior, "We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father" (John 1:14). Not that the Savior had glory for comparison with that of another only son; for He Himself is the Only Son. And if He were also another's only son, He could not be called the Only Son. Hence, He did not need an example of another only son, but like an Only Son (that is, because it became Him), He possessed glory. The same sentiment is expressed in the beginning of the seventy-second Psalm, according to the Greeks, as follows: "How good is God to Israel, to those who are upright in heart," which has been translated by us as: "How good is God to Israel, to those who are pure in heart!" However, according to the Greeks, "ὡς," that is "as," seems to signify a similitude rather than the firmness of the words, if you do not listen to it as confirmation, but as if it were an example. Also, it should be noted that a man is commanded to love his wife, but a woman to fear her husband. Love is fitting for a man, but fear for a woman, while a servant is joined not only in fear but also in trembling. Hence, in the following verses, it says: "Servants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling."