CHAPTER 4
LECTURE 10
30 καὶ μὴ λυπεῖτε τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐν ᾧ ἐσφραγίσθητε εἰς ἡμέραν ἀπολυτρώσεως. 31 πᾶσα πικρία καὶ θυμὸς καὶ ὀργὴ καὶ κραυγὴ καὶ βλασφημία ἀρθήτω ἀφ' ὑμῶν σὺν πάσῃ κακίᾳ. 32 γίνεσθε [δὲ] εἰς ἀλλήλους χρηστοί, εὔσπλαγχνοι, χαριζόμενοι ἑαυτοῖς καθὼς καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐν Χριστῷ ἐχαρίσατο ὑμῖν.
30 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God; whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and anger and indignation and clamour and blasphemy be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God hath forgiven you in Christ.
Supra monuit apostolus abstinere a verbis malis et nocivis, hic monet abstinere a verbis et factis turbativis seu contristativis proximorum. Circa quod duo facit. Previously the Apostle warned the Ephesians to abstain from wicked and injurious words (4:29). Here he advises them against words or actions which would upset or sadden other men. Regarding this he does two things:
Primo prohibet quod pertinet ad vetustatem;
secundo persuadet quod pertinet ad novitatem, ibi estote autem invicem benigni , et cetera.
First, be prohibits what is old.
Secondly, he encourages what pertains to the new (4:32).
Prima iterum in duas, Again the first part has two subdivisions:
quia primo prohibet quod ad vetustatem pertinet in generali;
secundo in speciali, ibi omnis amaritudo , et cetera.
First, he forbids what is old in general.
Secondly, he gets down to specific vices (4:31)
Dicit ergo nolite contristare spiritum , et cetera. Contra: spiritus sanctus est Deus, in quo non cadit passio aliqua, nec tristitia. Respondeo. Spiritus sanctus dicitur contristari, quando contristatur ille, in quo est spiritus sanctus. Lc. X, 16: qui vos spernit, me spernit . Is. LXIII, 10: ipsi autem ad iracundiam provocaverunt eum, et afflixerunt spiritum sanctum eius, et conversus est eis in inimicum . There might be an objection to his saying grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Sprit is God in whom there can be no emotion or sorrow. I reply that the Holy Spirit is said to be grieved when that person is saddened in whom the Spirit dwells. “He that despiseth you, despiseth me” (Lk. 10:16). “But they provoked to wrath and afflicted the spirit of his Holy One: and he was turned to be their enemy” (Is. 63:10).
Vel dicendum est quod est metaphorica locutio. Sicut enim Deus dicitur irasci propter similitudinem effectus, ita etiam dicitur contristari; quia sicut quando aliquis contristatur recedit a contristante, ita spiritus sanctus a peccante. Et sic est sensus nolite contristare spiritum sanctum Dei , id est nolite eum fugare, vel expellere per peccatum. Sap. I, 5: spiritus sanctus enim disciplinae effugiet fictum, et auferet se a cogitationibus, quae sunt sine intellectu, et corripietur a superveniente iniquitate . Or, it could be called a metaphorical expression.
Igitur non est contristandus spiritus sanctus, et hoc propter beneficium signi salutaris. Ideo subiungit in quo signati estis , id est reformati estis, et ab aliis distincti. Qui autem habebit hoc signum secum, habebit vitam aeternam. Ideo ergo est custodiendus et nullo modo contristandus, quia sine eo non est vita aeterna. II Cor. I, 22: qui signavit nos Deus, et dedit nobis pignus spiritus . Et quando? In die redemptionis , id est Baptismi. Io. III, 5: nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et spiritu sancto , et cetera. Act. I, 5: vos autem baptizabimini spiritu sancto, non post multos hos dies . Dicit autem redemptionis , quia in Baptismo fit homo particeps redemptionis factae per Christum. Therefore, the Holy Spirit must not be saddened, and this on account of the blessing of his saving seal. Thus he adds whereby you are sealed, that is, you are reformed and set apart from others. Whoever possesses this seal shall enjoy eternal life. For this reason he must be held on to and in no way grieved since without him there is no life everlasting. “God also hath sealed us and given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Cor. 1:22). Men did this happen? In the day of redemption, that is, of baptism. “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:5). “You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence” (Ac. 1:5). He says redemption since in baptism a man becomes a sharer in the redemption accomplished by Christ.
Sequitur omnis amaritudo , et cetera. Ubi ostendit in speciali quae pertinent ad vetustatem. Quandoque enim homo contristat amicum suum ex ira, aliquando ex industria. Sed in ira est triplex gradus, quia aliquando retinetur et manet solum in corde, sicut qui tantum interius irascitur. Aliquando vero exprimitur in voce, sine tamen contumeliae prolatione, sicut qui dicit racha. Aliquando fit etiam addita contumeliae prolatione, sicut qui dicit fatue. Primo ergo ponit quod pertinet ad iram cordis;
secundo quod pertinet ad inordinatam prolationem;
tertio quod pertinet ad contumeliam. In what follows (v. 31) he discloses what specifically belongs to the old man. For at times a man will sadden his friend out of anger, at other times on set purpose. Anger, however, has three degrees. Sometimes it is constrained and remains within the heart, as when someone is only inwardly mad. On other occasions it is expressed verbally, although not in a contemptuous way, as when someone says “Raca” (cf. Mt. 5:22). At still another time contempt may be present in the verbal expression as in “You cursed fool!” Hence he first writes down what pertains to anger of the heart; second what is proper to its inordinate expression; and third what has reference to contempt.
In ira autem cordis ista se consequuntur. Primo, quod ira est effectus tristitiae, et haec in sacra Scriptura dicitur amaritudo. I Reg. c. I, 10: cum esset Anna amaro animo, et oraret Deum flens , et cetera. Et ideo dicit omnis amaritudo , etc., quae est per memoriam iniuriae praeteritae. Eccli. XXI, 15: non est sensus ubi abundat amaritudo . Secundo, quod statim appetit vindictam; ideo dicit et ira , quae est appetitus vindictae. Iac. I, 20: ira enim viri Dei iustitiam non operatur . Tertio, quod iratus indignum reputat, quod ei parcat, et indignum esse, quod sine punitione transeat; ideo sequitur et indignatio . In anger of the heart the following succeed one another. Firstly, anger is the result of sorrow,
Sed quantum ad inordinatam prolationem sic est clamor. Is. V, 7: expectavi ut faceret iudicium, et ecce iniquitas, et iustitiam, et ecce clamor . Ideo dicit et clamor . Similiter et blasphemia est vel contra Deum, vel contra sanctos. Lev. XXIV, 16: quicumque blasphemaverit nomen domini, morte moriatur . Ideo dicit et blasphemia . Et addit tollatur a vobis cum omni malitia , scilicet operis. I Petr. c. II, 2: deponentes omnem malitiam, et omnem dolum et simulationem . Noise has to do with the inordinate expression of anger. “And I looked that he should do judgment, and behold, iniquity: and do justice, and behold, a cry” (Is. 5:7). Hence he says and clamour . In a similar way, blasphemy is either against God or against his saints. Yet “he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let him die” (Lev. 24:16). Thus he says and blasphemy . And he adds that these be put away from you, with all malice of action. Reject “all malice and all guile and dissimulations” (1 Pet. 2:1).
Deinde cum dicit estote autem , etc., ponit pertinentia ad novitatem contrariam passionibus praemissis: contra amaritudinem, benignitatem. Unde dicit estote autem invicem benigni . Quia benignus est spiritus sapientiae , et cetera. Contra iram, misericordiam; unde dicit misericordes . Lc. VI, 36: estote ergo misericordes, sicut et pater vester misericors est . Contra indignationem, condonationem; unde dicit donantes invicem , et cetera. Col. III, 13: donantes vobismetipsis si quis adversus aliquem habet querelam, sicut et dominus donavit nobis, ita et vos . Rom. c. VIII, 32: qui etiam proprio filio suo non pepercit ; et paulo post sequitur: quomodo non etiam cum illo nobis omnia donavit? Next, when he says be ye kind one to another he determines what pertains to the new man which is contrary to the above mentioned passions. Opposed to bitterness is kindness; so he says be ye kind one to another since “the spirit of wisdom is benevolent” (Wis. 1:6). Mercy is contrary to anger, thus he mentions merciful: “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Lk. 6:36). Opposed to indignation is a pardoning attitude; whence he says forgiving one another even as God hath forgiven you in Christ . “Forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another. Even as he Lord hath forgiven you, so do you also” (Col. 3:13). “He that spared not even his own Son,” and shortly afterwards, “how hath he not alos, with him, given us all things?” (Rom. 8:32).