CHAPTER 3
LECTURE 1
1 For this cause, I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, for you Gentiles.
2 If yet you have; heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me towards you;
3 How that, according to revelation, the mystery has been made known to me, as I have written above in a few words;
4 * As you reading may understand my prudence in the mystery of Christ,
5 Which in other generations was not known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit:
6 That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body, and co-partners of his promise in Christ Jesus, by the gospel.
The Apostle has previously recounted the many blessings of God granted to the human race and the Apostles themselves * here he turns to God’s special blessings bestowed on himself.
First he sets forth his thought in a general way.
Secondly, he explains each part of it in detail (3:3).
Concerning the first he does two things:
First, he describes his condition in respect to patience and the sufferings he endures.
Secondly, in reference to the gifts of grace God has given him (3:2).
He remarks: I have said that “you also are built together into an habitation of God” (Eph. 2:22); For this cause , of your edification and conversion to Christ, I, Paul, am a prisoner at Rome; my greatness is in being an Apostle of Jesus Christ and a teacher of faith and truth to the nations. He wrote this letter from Rome where he was kept under custody. I labor even into bands, as an evildoer” (2 Tim. 2:9); I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord...” (Eph. 4:1). Certainly this indicates his suffering and pain amid the prison’s squalor.
Since it is not punishment that makes the martyr, but the reason [why he suffers], he inserts the cause of his tribulations. There are two causes in behalf of which someone can pursue martyrdom. One, if he should suffer for faith in Christ, or for any other virtue. “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a railer, or a coveter of other men’s things. But, if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed” (1 Pet. 4:15-16). With respect to this he affirms that he is a prisoner of Jesus Christ. The other is if one suffers for the utility * of the Church, in regard to which he says for you Gentiles, that is, I long so much for conversion, and thus preach the word of salvation to you, that I have been thrown into prison. “We are in tribulation for your exhortation and salvation” (2 Cor. 1:6*). I now rejoice in my sufferings for you” (Col. 1:24).
Then he makes known the gift of grace given him, as though he said: I assert that I am a prisoner for you Gentiles, if yet you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me towards you. This may be understood in two ways. In one, the dispensation is taken in a passive sense. Here, if you have heard of the dispensation of the grace means, if you have understood that this gift of being an apostle among the nations was dispensed to me. For, as is mentioned below: “To everyone of us is given grace, according to the measure of the giving of Christ... he gave some apostles, and some prophets...” (Eph. 4:7, 11). Whence the Lord Christ has given to me, that I should bear fruit of grace among you, and this has fallen to my lot by God’s grace. “I am made a minister of the Gospel” (Col. 1:23). I say the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me towards you , that is, I have been entrusted with dispensing those [graces].
In a second way, dispensation is taken actively so that the sense of if you have heard of the dispensation of the grace is, if you have understood what has been granted to me: that I might dispense gifts of grace through communicating the sacraments to you . * “Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor. 4:1).
Subsequently, when he says how that, according to revelation ... he makes known the several aspects of his condition in detail. In reference to which he does two things:
First, he treats of what pertains to the dignity * of his office, namely, the dispensation of grace.
Secondly, what pertains to his experience of patience, namely, tribulations (3:13).
The first part contains two sections:
First, he discusses the dispensation of grace regarding the knowledge of various mysteries.
Secondly, regarding how these [mysteries] are carried into effect (3:7).
Once more the first section has two divisions:
First, he sets down the knowledge of the mysteries of Christ that was granted to him.
Secondly, he explains what that mystery is (3:6).
He makes three points in regard to his knowledge:
First, it is certain (3:3a).
Secondly, it is full (3:3b-4).
Thirdly, it is eminent (3:5).
Certain it is indeed, for he did not acquire it through human effort or human thought, which can err: “The thoughts of mortal men are timid, and our counsels uncertain” (Wis.9:14*). Instead it is through the divine law which is most certain. Hence he says according to revelation the mystery has been made known to me . “For neither did I receive it of man; nor did I learn it but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1: 12). “We all, beholding the glory of the Lord with open face, are transformed into the same image (2 Cor. 3:18).
Moreover, it is a full [knowledge] since it is revealed perfectly to me, and I entrust it to your judgment. I write of it in few words, in which you can recognize that I enjoy a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of faith. And in regard to this he says as I have written above in a few words clearly, that as you are reading, you may understand. “Thy lips... are as a dropping honeycomb” (Cant. 4:11). Lips are small; and those of a doctor are as “a dropping honeycomb” when he conveys many and profound thoughts in a few short words. Nevertheless, note that Augustine remarks * how a doctor should aim at being understood. As long as he strives for this his words are not superfluous, but if he remains on a point after he is understood he wastes his words. He adds my prudence * since “the knowledge of the holy is prudence” (Prov. 9:10). This is not worldly but divine and heavenly, for which reason he states in the mystery of Christ.
It is also eminent since it was revealed to the Apostles alone. Hence he adds which in other generations was not known . For although the mysteries of Christ were revealed to the prophets and patriarchs, they were more clearly revealed to the Apostles. To the prophets and patriarchs they were revealed in vague generality; but they were shown in their singular and determinate circumstances to the Apostles. *
Other generations admits of a twofold explanation. In one, by generations the times of the generations are understood, as in Psalm 144 (13): “Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.” Then the meaning is which in other generations, that is, times, [the mystery] was not known to the sons of men, to no rational creature, neither to men nor to angels. * “Thou has hid these things from the wise and the prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones” (Mt. 11:25). As it is now revealed to his holy Apostles and prophets in the Spirit , to them, namely, who interpret the Scriptures and explain the Law in the spirit of the New Testament. “To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to the rest in parables” (Lk. 8:10). “And turning to his disciples he said: Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see. For I say to you that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see and have not seen them” (Lk. 10:23-24).
Another interpretation takes generations in the sense of human generations, as in Matthew 23 (36): “All these things shall come upon this generation.” Then the meaning is which in other generations was not known to those men, that is, who were born in the preceding generations. The rest [is interpreted] as above. “Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” (Is. 53:1).
But certainly this sacrament of faith * was revealed to some of the Old Testament fathers, as is implied in John 8 (56): “Abraham, your father, rejoiced that he might see my day; he saw it and was glad.” And [it was also revealed] to the prophets, according to Joel 2 (28): “And it shall come to pass after this, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” But it was revealed to them in certain generalities, whereas [it was disclosed] to the Apostles clearly and completely. Three reasons account for this. First, because the Apostles received the revelation immediately from the Son of God: “The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (Jn. 1:18). The prophets and fathers of the Old Testament, on the other hand, were taught by angels, or through some similar imagery: “And one of the seraphims flew to me: and in his hand was a live coal which he had taken with the tongs off the altar” (Is. 6:6). Hence, the Apostles received it more clearly. Secondly, they did not see in symbols and riddles as the prophets did, but were given a plain view of the Lord’s glory: “Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see” (Lk. 10:23). Thirdly, since the Apostles were meant to carry into effect and communicate this sacrament, it was necessary for them to be more instructed in it than others. “Others have labored; and you have entered into their labors” (Jn. 4:38).
Consequently, when he states that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, he makes known what the sacrament is. In reference to it, it should be recognized that the Jews enjoyed three prerogatives with respect to the Gentiles. They had the promised inheritance: “For not through the law was the promise to Abraham or to his seed, that he should be heir of the world; but through the justice of faith” (Rom. 4:13); “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance” (Ps. 15:5). Another was their special election, they were set apart from the Gentiles: “The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be his peculiar people of all peoples that are upon the earth” (Deut. 7:6). “We are his people and the sheep of his pasture” (Ps. 99:3); “One is my dove: my perfect one is but one” (Cant. 6:8). Finally, they had the promise of a Christ: “In thee shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:3).
These three the Gentiles did not enjoy: “You were at that time without Christ, being aliens to Israel’s way of life” (Eph. 2:12 ‘). By faith, however, they have received them. First, they share in the inheritance; concerning this he says fellow heirs with the Jews in the heavenly inheritance. “And I say to you that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 8:11). Second, [they are admitted] to the chosen community of believers; thus he states of the same body, that is, in one body. “And other sheep I have that are not of this fold,” namely, the Gentiles, “them also I must bring. And they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd” (Jn. 10:16). Third, [they are admitted] to a participation in the promised grace; he says they are co-partners of his promise , the promises made to Abraham. “For I say that Christ Jesus was minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers; but that the Gentiles are to glorify God for his mercy” (Rom. 15:8-9).
The Gentiles have acquired all this, not through Moses, but in Christ. “For the Law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (Jn. 1:17), “by whom he hath given us most great and precious promises” (2 Pet. 1:4). Moreover, these did not come through fulfilling the law, whose burden “neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear” (Ac. 15: 10), but by the gospel through which all men are saved. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first and to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). “Now I make known unto you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received and wherein you stand. By which also you are saved” (1 Cor. 15:1-2).