Excerpts adapted from the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series. Passages attributed to “Anonymous” are from unnamed Christian writers from the patristic era (2nd–8th century), preserved in a reliably ancient source.
Reading 1 (Acts 8:5-8, 14-17)
OVERVIEW: An outline of Acts is provided by Luke’s account of Jesus’ prophecy that the apostles would be his witnesses “in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” With Philip’s coming to Samaria, therefore, we reach the next stage in the fulfillment of that prophecy. The Fathers do not comment much on the power of Philip’s preaching and his miracles, but they are fascinated by the figure of Simon (CHRYSOSTOM). Justin’s account is a good summary of the early notion that Simon was the source of heresies. Either Simon’s faith and baptism were sincere and he later reverted to his evil ways, or he was an impostor from the beginning (BEDE). According to Augustine, the exhaustive alternatives are four: When one who is good baptizes one who is good, good comes from good. When one who is evil baptizes one who is evil, evil comes from evil. When one who is evil baptizes one who is good, good may come from evil. When one who is good baptizes one who is evil, evil may come from good.
8:6 The Multitudes Listened
THE CROWDS WERE ATTENTIVE. BEDE: The present chapter and the history of the Samaritan woman prove that these people’s souls were ready and willing to believe. COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 8.6.
8:9 A Man Named Simon
AN ACCOUNT OF SIMON. JUSTIN MARTYR: After Christ’s ascension into heaven, the devils put forward certain people who said that they themselves were gods; and they were not only not persecuted by you but even deemed worthy of honors. There was a Samaritan, Simon, a native of the village called Gitto, who in the reign of Claudius Caesar, and in your royal city of Rome, did mighty acts of magic, by virtue of the art of the devils operating in him. He was considered a god, and as a god he was honored by you with a statue, which statue was erected on the river Tiber, between the two bridges, and bore this inscription, in the language of Rome, “Simoni Deo Sancto,” “To Simon the holy god.” And almost all the Samaritans, and a few even of other nations, worship him and acknowledge him as the first god; and a woman, Helena, who went about with him at that time and had formerly been a prostitute, they say fathered this idea. FIRST APOLOGY 26.
8:13 Even Simon Believed
AS CHRIST CHOSE JUDAS. CHRYSOSTOM: How did he come to baptize also Simon? In the same way that Christ also chose Judas. And “seeing” the “signs” that Philip worked, since the others did not receive the signs, Simon dared not ask for it. How was it then that they did not put him to death, as they did Ananias and Sapphira? The ancient saying is that he who gathered sticks was put to death as a warning to others. No one else suffered this same fate. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 18.
FOUR TYPES OF BAPTISM. AUGUSTINE: The good baptized the evil, as Simon Magus was baptized by Philip, a holy man. These four types, therefore, my brothers, are well known. Look, I repeat them again. Hold fast to them, count them, pay attention to them. Beware those types which are evil; hold fast to those which are good. The good are born from the good when holy people are baptized by holy people; the evil from the evil when both they who baptize and they who are baptized live wickedly and impiously; the good from the evil when they who baptize are evil and they who are baptized are good; and the evil from the good when they who baptize are good and they who are baptized are evil. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 11.9.1-2.
STEALING BAPTISM. BEDE: It was either that he too was overcome by the power of the blessed Philip’s words so that he truly believed in the Lord, or, as is more believable, that he pretended that he believed until he could receive baptism. For he was so eager for praise that he wished to be believed to be the Christ, as histories tell, and he hoped to learn from him the arts by which he worked miracles. His followers were also taught to do this. “Trained in the evil arts of their founder to enter the church by any sort of deception,” they were accustomed to steal baptism. COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 8.13.
SIMON TRIES TO PURCHASE THE GIFT OF GOD
OVERVIEW: Two aspects in particular of this passage attract an abundance of patristic notice. First is the fact that Peter and John were sent to Samaria and that it was by the laying on of their hands that the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit. Only through the apostles can hands be laid so as to confer the Holy Spirit (BEDE). Conversion occurs within the one church to which alone it has been granted to give the grace of baptism and to loose sins (CYPRIAN). The new converts had not yet received the spirit of miracles (CHRYSOSTOM). The Spirit visibly shows himself in his gift of himself (AUGUSTINE). Saving baptism is not complete except when performed with the authority of the triune God (ORIGEN). The baptism by Philip did not need to be repeated (CYPRIAN). Their second focus was upon the person of Simon, his desire for power and his attempt to buy the apostolic power of conferring the Holy Spirit. Simon was washed in the font but not cleansed (ARATOR). Simon sought power, not grace (CYRIL). The simplicity of Peter is contrasted with the malice of Simon (CHRYSOSTOM), whose heart was not like the dove (BEDE). Peter interiorly perceived God’s unerring judgment (BEDE, following GREGORY THE GREAT). Note that though Peter condemned Simon, he did not exclude him from the hope of forgiveness (AMBROSE). But his subsequent career shows his destiny (EUSEBIUS). The power of the Spirit is not for sale (CYRIL OF JERUSALEM). Those who sell what they have received as a gift will be deprived of its grace (BASIL). It is not money that the Spirit seeks but a right heart (ARATOR), the very center of the person (CASSIODORUS). Faith is not acquired by compulsion but received as a gift. It was the power to work signs that the apostles received, not the power arbitrarily to give the Spirit to others. The episode provided a twofold sign—the giving to those whose hearts are ready and the not giving to those who are not (CHRYSOSTOM).
8:14 Peter and John Sent to the Samaritans
ONLY APOSTLES CAN CONFER THE HOLY SPIRIT. BEDE: Arator explains it beautifully, “Peter frequently made John his comrade because a virgin is pleasing to the church.” It must be noted that the Philip who preached the gospel to Samaria was one of the seven, for if he had been the apostle Philip, he would have been able to lay hands on them himself so that they might receive the Holy Spirit. “For this is reserved only to those of pontifical rank. When priests baptize, whether in a bishop’s presence or not, they are permitted to anoint those who are baptized with chrism, but because it was consecrated by a bishop, they are not allowed to make the sign of the cross on the forehead with this same oil. This is reserved to the bishops alone when they transmit the Spirit, the Paraclete,” to those who are baptized. COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 8.14.
8:15 Receiving the Holy Spirit
THE PREROGATIVE OF THE APOSTLES. CHRYSOSTOM: Why were these not in receipt of the Holy Spirit? It may be that Philip kept this honor for the apostles, or that he did not have this gift or that he was one of the seven. The last is most likely. Thus, I take it, this Philip was one of the seven, the one after Stephen, while the Philip in the story of the eunuch was one of the apostles. Notice how the seven did not go forth. It was part of God’s plan of salvation for those to go forth and for these to be lacking because of the Holy Spirit. For it was the power to work signs that they received, not the power to give the Spirit to others. This was the prerogative of the apostles. And note how they sent not just anyone but the leaders, Peter and John. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 18.
8:16 The Samaritans Had Not Yet Received the Spirit
THE NEW CONVERTS DID NOT RECEIVE THE SPIRIT OF MIRACLES. CHRYSOSTOM: And great signs occurred. How was it then that they did not receive the Spirit? They had received the Spirit of remission of sins but not the Spirit of the signs. . . . “For it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. . . .” To show that this was the case and that it was the Spirit of signs that they had not received, notice how Simon, once he saw the result, came and asked for this. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 18.
THE SPIRIT MANIFESTS HIMSELF. AUGUSTINE: For the Holy Spirit was at that time given in such sort, that he even visibly showed himself to have been given. For those who received him spoke with the tongues of all nations, to signify that the church among the nations was to speak in the tongues of all. So then they received the Holy Ghost, and he appeared evidently to be in them. SERMON 49 (99).10.
THE TRIUNE BAPTISMAL FORMULA. ORIGEN: From all of which we learn that the person of the Holy Spirit is of so great authority and dignity that saving baptism is not complete except when performed with the authority of the whole most excellent Trinity, that is, by the naming of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 1.3.2.
8:17 The Apostles Laid Their Hands on Them
THE GIFT RECEIVED BY DEGREES. CHRYSOSTOM: See how many things are brought about by God’s providence through the death of Stephen and how by degrees these receive the gift. It was a twofold sign—both the giving to those and the not giving to this man. . . . This man should have asked to receive the Holy Spirit, but because this was of no concern to him, he asks, on the contrary, for the power to give it to others. But even those did not receive this power to give, and this man, who was only one of the disciples, wished to be more illustrious than Philip! HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 18.
THE SPIRIT AND THE LAYING ON OF HANDS. ORIGEN: This is why the passage fitly applies to the Holy Spirit, because he will dwell not in all people or in those who are flesh but in those whose “earth has been renewed.” Finally, it was for this reason that the Holy Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands after the grace and renewal of baptism. ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 1.3.7.
THE BAPTISM BY PHILIP NEED NOT BE REPEATED. CYPRIAN: The Samaritan believers had come to the true faith and had been baptized by Philip the deacon, whom these very apostles had sent, within the one church to which alone it has been granted to give the grace of baptism and to loose sins. Since they had already obtained the lawful baptism of the church, it would have been wrong to baptize them any more. Peter and John supplied only what they lacked. LETTER 73.9.
Psalm (66:1-7, 16, 20)
OVERVIEW: In order to understand the Word of God properly, it is necessary to understand the figures of speech and how they are used (AUGUSTINE). Just as God saved the Israelites by parting the Red Sea and destroying Pharaoh and his army, so he saves people who believe in Christ and destroys Satan (THEODORET). Temptations overwhelm and destroy some people, but they temper others spiritually to whom God grants deliverance (CYRIL OF JERUSALEM). God allows us to experience temptation but then delivers us from them (ATHANASIUS). Great care must be taken in keeping God’s laws, because if we fail to obey them, we not only lose a great reward but also incur punishment (BASIL). All vows made to God, even those made in times of duress, must be kept and kept in a timely manner (FULGENTIUS).
66:4-6 Understanding Language and Symbolism
FIGURES OF SPEECH. AUGUSTINE: Also in this place (which we have been quoting), the apostle to the Gentiles said that the wrath of God comes on the children of infidelity because of these evils. When, however, he says, “And you yourselves once walked in them when they were your life,” he shows well enough that they were not their life then. To them, indeed, they were dead, since their life was hidden with Christ in God. For the evils, in truth, were living in those who were not living in the evils, as I indicated a little while ago. Likewise, the vices, indeed, that were dwelling in the members of certain people were said to be their members, by a figure of speech in which the name of a place is given to the things contained within it, just as it is said that the whole forum speaks when what is meant is that the people who are in the forum are speaking. By this same figure of speech, there is sung in the psalm, “Let all the earth adore you,” that is, all people who are on the earth. ON CONTINENCE 14.30.
SALVATION THROUGH WATER. THEODORET OF CYR: Then Symmachus outlines what was done of old. “He turns the sea into dry land; they will cross the river on foot.” The tense has been changed here: he spoke of the past as future, whereas the others retained the tense, Symmachus saying, “He turned the sea into dry land, they crossed the river on foot.” This is the God, he is saying, who will grant us salvation as well, who of old divided sea and river, and bade our forebears cross without risk and accords the nations the crossing that they make when through the washing of regeneration they are reformed. In other words, just as at that time through the hand of the mighty Moses he divided the Red Sea at this point, . . . so now as well through the hand of the priests he renews the people who believe in Christ, while submerging in figure Pharaoh with his chariots—that is, the devil with his desires (the initiated know what I mean). COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 66.4.
66:10-12 Deliverance from Temptation
GRATEFUL FOR DELIVERANCE. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM: “And lead us not into temptation, O Lord.” Is it this then what the Lord teaches us to pray, that we may not to be tempted at all? How, then, is it said elsewhere, “an untempted person is a person unproved”; and again, “My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into various temptations”? But does perchance the entering into temptation mean being overwhelmed by the temptation? For temptation is like a winter torrent difficult to cross. Those, therefore, who are not overwhelmed in temptations, pass through, showing themselves excellent swimmers and not being swept away by them at all; while those who are not such, enter into them and are overwhelmed. As for example, Judas having entered into the temptation of the love of money, did not swim through it but was overwhelmed and was strangled both in body and spirit. Peter entered into the temptation of the denial; but having entered, he was not overwhelmed by it but courageously swam through it and was delivered from the temptation. Listen again, in another place, to a company of unscathed saints, giving thanks for deliverance from temptation: “You, O God, have proved us; you have tried us by fire like silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid afflictions on our loins. You have caused people to ride over our heads; we went through fire and water; and you brought us out into a place of rest.” You see them speaking boldly in regard to their having passed through and not been pierced. “But you brought us out into a place of rest”; now their coming into a place of rest is their being delivered from temptation. MYSTAGOGICAL LECTURES 23.17.
GOD HELPS IN TIME OF DISTRESS. ATHANASIUS: And although the entrance is “straight and narrow,” once inside we see a vast and limitless space, greater than any other anywhere. We have been told of these things by eyewitnesses and heirs. They speak of their trials and distresses: “You have placed afflictions before us,” but then they add, “You brought us out into a spacious place”—and, “You gave us space in our distress.” FESTAL LETTERS 9.
66:13-14 Keeping Our Obligations to God
CONSEQUENCES OF BREAKING GOD’S LAW. BASIL THE GREAT: If you require evidence from the Old Testament also in order for me to convince you that the judgment of God occurs in this way as I have presented it, Moses says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength,” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” To this the Lord adds, “On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets.” The apostle also bears witness in the words: “Love, therefore, is the fulfilling of the law.” Moreover, they who do not observe these commands and do not perform the acts of justification that derive from them are liable to punishment, as Moses declares in the words “Cursed is every one who does not abide in all that is written in this book.” And David says, “If I have contemplated iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” In another place, also, he says, “There have they trembled for fear where there was no fear; for God has scattered the bones of those who attacked you.” There is need, then, of great diligence and of ceaseless care, lest, perhaps, in carrying out the commandment improperly as regards any of the details we have discussed, we may not only lose a reward so great and so blessed but also become the objects of threats so terrible. CONCERNING BAPTISM 2.8.
VOWS TO GOD MUST BE KEPT. FULGENTIUS OF RUSPE: Therefore, because we have been speaking of the nature of marriage as the Lord has given it, consequently, this must be examined with the greatest care, namely, what you devoutly willed beforehand (if there could have been anything). Because the use of things conceded by God is not forbidden to human beings, one should not conclude that therefore one need not render to God what he has vowed. It is written: “I will pay you my vows, those that my lips uttered.” And lest anyone seek to use tribulation as a reason for excusing himself, in order to gain the freedom to evade a promise or to think of himself as free from what he has vowed, by saying that he was forced to vow something not by his own will but because of tribulation, the blessed David teaches that everything that was legitimately promised, even in tribulation, must be given back to God, when he says to God, “I will pay you my vows, those that my lips uttered.” And he added immediately, “my mouth promised when I was in trouble.” But in Deuteronomy, it is also written, “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not postpone fulfilling it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you would incur guilt. But if you refrain from vowing, you will not incur guilt. Whatever your lips utter, you must diligently perform, just as you have freely vowed to the Lord your God with your own mouth.” And Solomon says, “When you make a vow to God, do not delay fulfilling it; . . . Fulfill what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not fulfill it.” LETTER 1.11.
Reading 2 (1 Peter 3:15-18)
OVERVIEW: The life of the church must be governed by mutual love, which will show itself in tenderness and kindness toward others, not least to those who try to do harm. The proper response to evil is to demonstrate the opposite, even if that means that we end up suffering unjustly. Do good in return for evil (Hilary of Arles). Bear insults (Andreas). Bless those who do you harm (Bede). Make a habit of viewing the present always in relation to the future (Clement of Alexandria, Hilary of Arles). Guard your tongue (Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria). God sees and hears everything (Clement of Alexandria, Andreas). No harm can come to the faithful (Hilary of Arles, Bede), who are blessed in suffering for righteousness’ sake (Chrysostom, Bede), who seek peace (Basil), and who pursue profitable thoughts (Chrysostom). They will never lose God (Augustine). Unite in harmony of heart and mind (Hilary of Arles, Bede). Every virtue is based on the law of love (Andreas, Oecumenius). God’s own holiness shines forth from our hearts (Andreas, Bede).
We must not be afraid of our enemies but always be ready to witness by our words and deeds that we have a living hope in Christ. Give clear reasons to those who ask what faith in Christ is all about (Cyril of Alexandria). Reason with meekness. For whoever says anything about God must do so as if God himself were present to hear him (Didymus). Give reasons so that another person may see how absurd it is to ask a reason for things which one cannot grasp until one believes (Augustine). Your conscience is the part of you that embraces what is good and rejects evil, like a doorkeeper—open to friends, closed to enemies (Hilary of Arles). Act in such a way that those who revile you because they cannot see your faith may see your good works (Bede). We may suffer unjustly for the specific purpose of being trained for what we are meant to be (Andreas, Oecumenius). Yet injustice is never of itself useful (Augustine). Christians who are faithful to their Lord will put their enemies to shame and thereby win a greater victory than any form of retaliation could hope to achieve.
3:15 Account for the Hope That Is in You
REVERENCE CHRIST AS LORD. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: This is just what the Lord’s Prayer says: “Hallowed be your name.” ADUMBRATIONS.
WITH GENTLENESS AND REVERENCE. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: We must be so well instructed in the knowledge of our faith that whenever anyone asks us about it we may be able to give them a proper answer and to do so with meekness and in the fear of God. For whoever says anything about God must do so as if God himself were present to hear him. CATENA.
BE PREPARED TO MAKE A DEFENSE. AUGUSTINE: The apostle tells us to be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks us for an explanation of our faith, because if an unbeliever asks me a reason for my faith and hope and I perceive that he cannot accept it unless he believes, I give him that very reason, so that he may see how absurd it is for him to ask a reason for things which he cannot grasp until he believes. LETTERS 120.
MAKING CLEAR ONE’S FAITH. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: The one who decides to do this is not doing anything new, nor is he making up some new explanation. Rather he is making clear to those who ask him what his faith in Christ is all about. LETTERS 40.8.
SANCTIFY THE LORD IN YOUR HEARTS. ANDREAS: Just as magnifying God cannot add anything to his greatness and glorifying him does not make him any more glorious, so sanctifying the Lord does not mean that there is any addition to his existing holiness. Rather we are called to sanctify him in our hearts, and if we form a clear understanding of his holiness, then we do not sanctify him on one occasion only, but rather by doing this we have a better understanding of what his holiness is and something of it is implanted in our hearts. Likewise someone who magnifies God receives a share of his greatness, and someone who glorifies him is glorified in turn. It is a prophetic voice which says that there should be no fear in you which might prevent you from confessing Christ in your hearts. You should sanctify him there also. For this confession is sanctification both for the soul and for the body. Some people wonder why the Savior said: “Do not worry about what you will say,” but here the apostle writes: “Be ready to give an explanation.” However, there is no contradiction. Jesus was speaking about bearing witness, whereas Peter is talking about teaching others the faith. CATENA.
GOD’S HOLINESS SHINES FORTH. BEDE: What does it mean to sanctify God in your heart if not to love that holiness of his which is beyond understanding, in the innermost depths of your heart? Think what strength to overcome all enemies God gives to those from whose hearts his holiness shines forth. ON 1 PETER.
3:16 Keep Your Conscience Clear
CONSCIENCE DEFINED. HILARY OF ARLES: Do not get angry or threaten anyone. Your conscience is the part of you which embraces what is good and which rejects evil. It is like the doorkeeper of a house which is open to friends and closed to enemies. INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.
PUT TO SHAME THOSE WHO REVILE YOU. BEDE: Act in such a way that those who revile you because they cannot see your faith and your hope for a heavenly reward may see your good works and be put to shame by them, because they cannot deny that what you are doing is good. For it is quite certain, my brothers, that those who despise your good behavior will be put to shame when the last judgment comes and they see you crowned along with Christ, while they are condemned along with the devil. ON 1 PETER.
3:17 Suffer for Doing Right, Not Wrong
WHETHER INJUSTICE IS SOMETIMES USEFUL. AUGUSTINE: Everyone who lies acts unjustly, and if lying ever seems to be useful to someone, it may be that injustice sometimes seems useful to him. But in fact injustice is never useful, and lying always does harm. ON CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 1.40.
UNJUST SUFFERING IS STILL MEANINGFUL. ANDREAS: Once again, Peter exhorts us not to grieve over unjust suffering, if that is God’s will for us. He teaches us that we suffer for the specific purpose of being trained for what we are meant to be according to the mercy of God. CATENA.
UNJUST SUFFERING HAS UNEXPECTED BENEFITS. OECUMENIUS: There are two benefits to be gained from unjust suffering. First, the righteous person who suffers grows in righteousness as a result of his patience. Second, the sinner who is spared in this way may be converted by seeing someone else suffer on his behalf. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.
3:18 Christ Died for Sins Once for All
FOR OUR SINS. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: This is said in relation to our faith. In other words, Christ is brought to life in our spirits. ADUMBRATIONS.
PUT TO DEATH IN THE FLESH BUT MADE ALIVE IN THE SPIRIT. ANDREAS: Again Peter expounds Christ’s death and resurrection. Notice how he proclaims the mystery to us. For by saying that he died in the flesh and that he was made alive again in the Spirit, what he is really saying is that he died for the sake of our flesh, which is under the power of corruption, but that he rose again as God, for the word spirit means “God” in this instance. CATENA.
THE RIGHTEOUS FOR THE UNRIGHTEOUS. OECUMENIUS: The righteous person suffers for the salvation of others, just as Christ did. This is why Peter mentions our Lord’s example, since Christ did not die for his own sins but for ours. This is the point he makes by adding “the righteous for the unrighteous.” For as the prophet long ago foretold, Christ did not sin at all. Furthermore, in order to emphasize the effectiveness and completeness of Christ’s sacrifice, Peter adds the key word once. So great was his passion that however often human beings may sin, that one act of suffering is sufficient to take away all our transgressions. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.
Gospel (John 14:15-21)
OVERVIEW: When we love Jesus, we submit to his will and obey his commandments (CHRYSOSTOM). This obedience, which is an expression of love, paints a portrait of love in our lives that displays the beauty of what God has created (CYRIL). There is no love without the Spirit, however, but the disciples evidenced their love for Jesus and so they must have had the Spirit, although not yet in the fuller way he promised here (AUGUSTINE). Christ continues to petition the Father for the Spirit to dwell not only in the disciples’ hearts but also in ours today (BEDE). In promising them the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, Christ calmed the troubled hearts of the disciples, who were wondering what they would do without him (CHRYSOSTOM). He refers to the Spirit as another Comforter (GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS), so that no one confuses the Spirit with the Son (AMBROSE), who is also called Comforter, or Paraclete (AUGUSTINE). But he also establishes the Spirit’s divinity (AUGUSTINE) so that believers know the works of the Spirit are just as efficacious as the Son’s works (LEO). The Holy Spirit comforts in a different way than the Son; he is more of a consoler than a mediator, although we should infer no difference of nature (DIDYMUS). The Holy Spirit as advocate or comforter lightens the load of the afflicted (THEODORE).
The Spirit, as the consubstantial third person of the Trinity (AUGUSTINE) completes the work of the Father and the Son (ATHANASIUS). Since the Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth, it cannot tolerate lies (HERMAS). Truth is a characteristic of the Godhead as the Spirit reveals the truth of the one who sent him (BASIL). The world cannot receive this kind of truth since it is caught up in its love of the things of this world (BEDE). But those who have the Spirit have a unique perspective of his actions in the world that goes beyond the things of this world (APOLLINARIS). The Spirit is seen in the different gifts of the Spirit that Christians have (GREGORY THE GREAT), which vary according to the measure of the Spirit that is present in us, who must be present in us for us to be able to love or obey the commandments (AUGUSTINE).
14:15 If You Love Me, You Will Keep My Commandments
TO LOVE IS TO SUBMIT TO CHRIST. CHRYSOSTOM: At all times it is works and actions that we need, not a mere show of words. It is easy for anyone to say or promise something, but it is not so easy to act on that word or promise. . . . “If you love me,” Christ said, “keep my commandments.” . . . I have commanded you to love one another and to do to one another as I have done to you. To love me is to obey these commands and to submit to me, your beloved. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 75.1.
PAINTING A PORTRAIT OF LOVE. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Having determined and expressly declared that the enjoyment of the heavenly blessings (supplied, that is, through him by the Father) is both due to those who love him and in very truth shall be theirs, he immediately goes on to describe the power of love. He provides excellent and irreproachable instruction to us for our profit with the intent that we should devote ourselves to its pursuit. For even if a person says that he loves God, he will not immediately merit credit for having true love of God, since the power of virtue does not stand on bare speech alone, nor piety on naked words. Rather, it is distinguished by performance of good deeds and an obedient disposition. Keeping the divine commandments is the best way to give living expression to our love toward God. It presents the picture of a life lived in all its fullness and truth. It is not a life sketched out in mere sounds that flow from the tongue. It gleams instead with the altogether radiant and brilliant colors that paint a portrait of good works. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 9.1.
THERE IS NO LOVE WITHOUT THE SPIRIT. AUGUSTINE: How, then, did the apostles love, but in the Holy Spirit? And yet they are commanded to love him and keep his commandments before they have received him and, in fact, in order to receive him. And yet, without having that Spirit, they certainly could not love him and keep his commandments. We are therefore to understand that he who loves already has the Holy Spirit, and by what he has he becomes worthy of a fuller possession, that by having more he may love more. The disciples, therefore, already had that Holy Spirit whom the Lord promised, for without him they could not call him Lord. But they had him not as yet in the way promised by the Lord. . . . He was yet to be given them in an ampler measure. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 74.1-2.
14:16 The Son Petitions the Father for Another Comforter
THE SON CONTINUES TO ASK FOR THE SPIRIT IN US. BEDE: If we too, dearly beloved, love Christ perfectly in such a way that we prove the genuineness of this love by our observance of his commandments, he will ask the Father on our behalf, and the Father will give us another Paraclete. He will ask the Father through his humanity and will give [us another Paraclete] with the Father through his divinity. We must not suppose that it was only before his passion that he was asking on behalf of the church and that now, after his ascension, he is not also asking, since the apostle speaks of him, “who is at the right hand of God who also intercedes for us.” HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.17.
CHRIST WILL NOT LEAVE THEM ALONE. CHRYSOSTOM: This promise shows once again Christ’s consideration. Because his disciples did not yet know who he was, it was likely that they would greatly miss his companionship, his teaching, his actual physical presence, and be completely disconsolate when he had gone. Therefore he said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor,” meaning another like himself. . . . They received the Spirit after Christ had purified them by his sacrifice. The Spirit did not come down on them while Christ was still with them because this sacrifice had not yet been offered. But when sin had been blotted out and the disciples, sent out to face danger, were preparing themselves for the battle, they needed the Holy Spirit’s coming to encourage them. If you ask why the Spirit did not come immediately after the resurrection, this was in order to increase their gratitude for receiving him by increasing their desire. They were troubled by nothing as long as Christ was with them, but when his departure had left them desolate and very much afraid, they would be most eager to receive the Spirit. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 75.1.
TWO DIFFERENT BUT EQUAL COMFORTERS. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS: The Spirit came after Christ so that we would not lack a Comforter. But he is called “another” Comforter so that you might acknowledge his co-equality. For this word another defines an alter ego, a name of equal lordship, not of inequality. We do not use the word another for different kinds of things but for those that are consubstantial. ON PENTECOST, ORATION 41.12.
DO NOT CONFUSE THE SON WITH THE SPIRIT. AMBROSE: It was good that he said “another” so that you might not think that the Son is the Spirit, for there is a unity of the name and no Sabellian confusion of the Son and of the Spirit. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 1.13.136.
THE SPIRIT AND JESUS ARE BOTH ADVOCATES. AUGUSTINE: But when Jesus says, “I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete,” he intimates that he himself is also a Paraclete. For Paraclete is in Latin called advocatus [advocate]. And it is said of Christ, “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 74.4.
THE COMFORTER IS GOD. AUGUSTINE: The apostle says that the Comforter—the title given to the third person of the Trinity—is God. In his epistle to the Corinthians he says, “God, who comforts those who are cast down, comforts us.” The Holy Spirit who comforts those who are cast down is therefore God. . . . Or if they rather take these words of the apostle as applying to the Father or the Son, let them no longer, then, separate the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son or make the Holy Spirit appear less than the Son, when it is his peculiar [office] to offer comfort. DISCOURSES AGAINST THE ARIANS 19.
NO DIFFERENCE IN NATURE. LEO THE GREAT: For the Only Begotten of God himself desired no difference to be felt between himself and the Holy Spirit in the faith of believers and in the efficacy of his works because there is no diversity in their nature. LETTER 16.4.
THE HOLY SPIRIT COMFORTS IN A DIFFERENT WAY. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: But the Holy Spirit was another Comforter differing not in nature but in operation. For whereas our Savior, in his office of mediator, and of messenger and as high priest, made supplication for our sins, the Holy Spirit is a Comforter in another sense, that is, as consoling our griefs. But do not infer from the different operations of the Son and the Spirit a difference of nature. For in other places we find the Holy Spirit performing the office of intercessor with the Father, as when “the Spirit himself intercedes for us.” . . . And the Savior . . . pours consolation into those hearts that need it, as in Maccabees, he strengthened those of the people who were brought low. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 27-28.
THE SPIRIT LIGHTENS THE LOAD OF THE AFFLICTED. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: I will confer the grace of the Holy Spirit, he says, so that you may always have it with you to teach you the truth. He speaks of another Advocate, as of another instructor, a comforter. This is a doctrine for those in dire straits because the Spirit, through its grace, will make the afflictions inflicted on them by people lighter. And, as a consolation, through its gifts, it will enable them to easily endure their afflictions. This is what actually happened. Indeed, the more his disciples feared death before, the more they rejoiced in tribulations after the descent of the Spirit. He calls it “Spirit of truth” since it teaches nothing but the truth, nor can it ever change to the contrary in order to teach anything different from the truth. He says “another” in relation to himself, for while he was among them, he certainly filled the same role for them. In addition they received from the Holy Spirit the confirmation of all those things that he had taught them when he was present. Thus our Lord said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you. And you will be my witness in Jerusalem, in all Judea and among the Samaritans, and all nations.” COMMENTARY ON JOHN 6.14.15-17.
14:17 The Spirit of Truth
THE SPIRIT OF THE TRINITY. AUGUSTINE: We have here, at all events, the Holy Spirit in the Trinity whom the catholic faith acknowledges to be consubstantial and coeternal with the Father and the Son. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 74.1.
THE SPIRIT COMPLETES THE TRINITY. ATHANASIUS: The Lord called the Spirit “Spirit of truth” and “Paraclete,” showing that the Triad is complete in him. In him the Word makes glorious the creation and, by bestowing on it divine life and sonship, draws it to the Father. But that which joins creation to the Word cannot belong to the creatures. And that which bestows sonship upon the creation could not be alien from the Son. For we should have otherwise to seek another spirit, so that by him this Spirit might be joined to the Word. But that would be absurd. The Spirit, therefore, does not belong to things originated. He pertains to the Godhead of the Father, and in him the Word makes things originated divine. But he in whom creation is made divine cannot be outside the Godhead of the Father. LETTER TO SERAPION 1.25.
THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH CANNOT ABIDE LIES. HERMAS: Again [the Shepherd] said to me, “Love the truth, and let nothing but truth proceed from your mouth, so that the spirit that God has placed in your flesh may be found truthful before all. And the Lord who dwells in you will be glorified, because the Lord is truthful in every word, and in him is no falsehood. They therefore who lie deny the Lord and rob him, not giving back to him the deposit that they have received. For they received from him a spirit free from falsehood. If they give him back this spirit untruthful, they pollute the commandment of the Lord and become robbers.” SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 2.3.
THE SPIRIT REVEALS THE TRUTH OF THE GODHEAD. BASIL THE GREAT: Only the Spirit can adequately glorify the Lord. “He will glorify me,” not as a creature, but as the Spirit of truth, since he himself is truth shining brightly. He is the Spirit of wisdom, revealing Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, in his own greatness. As the Paraclete he reflects the goodness of the Paraclete (the Father) who sent him, and his own dignity reveals the majesty of him from whom he proceeded. . . . If we are illumined by divine power and fix our eyes on the beauty of the image of the invisible God, and [if we] through the image are led up to the indescribable beauty of its source, it is because we have been inseparably joined to the Spirit of knowledge. He gives those who love the vision of truth the power that enables them to see the image. And this power is himself. He does not reveal it to them from outside sources but leads them to knowledge personally: “No one knows the Father except the Son,” and “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” Notice that it does not say through the Spirit but in the Spirit. It also says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth,” and “in your light do we see light,” through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, “the true light that enlightens every one who comes into the world.” He reveals the glory of the Only Begotten in himself, and he gives true worshipers the knowledge of God in himself. The way to divine knowledge ascends from one Spirit through the one Son to the one Father. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 18.46-47.
THE WORLD IS AN IMPEDIMENT TO THE SPIRIT’S INDWELLING. BEDE: He calls “the world” the inhabitants of this world who are given over to love of it. In contrast, the saints are on fire with a desire for heavenly things. . . . And so, anyone who is searching for consolation outwardly in the things of the world is not capable of being reformed inwardly by the favor of divine consolation. Whoever yearns after lowly delight cannot receive the Spirit of truth. The Spirit of truth flees from a heart it discerns is subject to vanity and restores by the light of his coming only those it beholds carrying out the commandments of truth out of love. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.17.
SEEING WHAT OTHERS CANNOT. APOLLINARIS OF LAODICEA: Thus, his coming would not be perceived by those who think only about visible matters . . . since whatever they do not see with their eyes they cannot know or even imagine to exist, whereas those who can partake of the Spirit are able to perceive him when he comes. They have a better perception of spiritual things because they are partakers of the Spirit and thus distinguish themselves from the world since they are filled with the Spirit. Through their participation with the divine [Spirit], they have a unique understanding of his art and the divine power behind it, just as someone who has wisdom or a certain art understands in himself what he has, even if it remains unknown to his neighbors. FRAGMENTS ON JOHN 104.
DIFFERENT GIFTS AND POSSESSIONS OF THE SPIRIT. GREGORY THE GREAT: But if the Holy Spirit abides in the disciples, how is it a special mark of the Mediator that [the Spirit] abides in him. . . . We shall better understand if we distinguish between the different gifts of the Spirit. . . . In respect of those gifts without which we cannot attain to salvation, the Holy Spirit ever abides in all the elect. But in respect of those that do not relate to our own salvation but to procuring that of others, [the Spirit] does not always abide in them. . . . For he sometimes withdraws his miraculous gifts so that his grace may be possessed with humility. . . . Christ . . . has him without measure and always. MORALS ON THE BOOK OF JOB 2.56.90-91.
WE CANNOT LOVE OR OBEY WITHOUT THE SPIRIT. AUGUSTINE: The apostle says, “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given to us.” How then does the Lord say here, “If you love me, keep my commandments, and [then] I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter”? Notice he says this about the Holy Spirit. But without the Spirit we can neither love God nor keep his commandments. How can we love so that we will receive him when, without him, we cannot love at all? How can we keep the commandments so that we will receive him when, without him, we have no power to keep them? Or is it the case that the love by which we love Christ has a prior place in us so that by loving Christ in this way and keeping his commandments we become worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit so that the love of God the Father (not of Christ, which we already had) may be shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given to us? That kind of thinking is all wrong. For whoever believes he loves the Son without loving the Father loves some figment of his own imagination, not the Son. . . .
We should therefore understand that whoever loves already has the Holy Spirit, and by having him he becomes worthy of having even more of him. And the more he has the Spirit the more he loves. The disciples already had the Holy Spirit whom the Lord promised. . . . But they did not yet have him in the way the Lord promised. And so they had him and did not have him inasmuch as they did not have to the extent that they would later. They had him in a more limited sense. He was later to be given to them more fully. They had him in a hidden way, but he was yet to be given to them more openly. . . . Let us admit then that without the Holy Spirit we can neither love Christ nor keep his commandments. [But it is also true that] the less experience we have of the Spirit’s presence, the less we can do, while the fuller our experience of the Spirit is, the greater is our ability. And so this is no empty promise of Jesus here—either to the one who does not have the Holy Spirit or to the one who has him. For the promise is made to the one who does not have the Spirit so that he may have him, and it is made to the one who does have the Spirit so that he may have him more abundantly. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 74.1-2.
OVERVIEW: Jesus is like a father to orphans (AUGUSTINE), not wanting to leave them alone but providing them the Spirit’s presence until he comes back (CHRYSOSTOM) in order to fortify them (CYRIL). But since the world cannot see the Spirit, it does not receive him (GREGORY THE GREAT), demonstrating the feeble nature of a world that does not understand spiritual things (BASIL). Those who have kept inviolate the Spirit entrusted to them will behold the divine beauty of Christ without obstruction (CYRIL). But first Christ must be raised from the dead, and then his disciples and we too shall be raised (AUGUSTINE). The disciples can know they will see Jesus again after the resurrection (THEODORE).
Christ speaks of the indwelling of himself in the Father and of us in him. He was in the Father through the nature of his deity. We dwell in him through his birth in the body of which we partake in the mystery of the sacrament (HILARY). The union he speaks of is not simply one of mutual love but is a participation in the divine nature, which he himself enables through his incarnation (CYRIL). This union is an intimate connection accomplished through the power of the Spirit (THEODORE). The believer unites in himself three persons—himself; Christ, who dwells in him; and God, who dwells in Christ (APHRAHAT). The apostles knew that Christ was in the Father, and they have united Christ and the Father to us through their writings (BEDE).
Those who leave behind the world (MARK THE HERMIT) and live righteously demonstrate that they are the ones who love Jesus and thus are loved by him and the Father (CYRIL). At the future judgment, they will be granted a vision of Jesus (THEODORE) as they see the king in all his beauty (BEDE). Jesus reveals himself to those who love him (AUGUSTINE). Such obedient love keeps our self-will in check (GREGORY THE GREAT) so that God dwells in us once we have cleaned the house of our heart from the filth of sin (ORIGEN, GREGORY THE GREAT, CYRIL). The Spirit of God and of Christ dwells in us as one, although they remain separate under the mysterious appearance of a joint indwelling (HILARY). God dwells in heaven as the first of his works and in us as the last of his works (AMBROSE) in which he is pleased to dwell (AUGUSTINE). The Son is the Father’s Word (GREGORY THE GREAT), and those who reject the word of the Son reject the word of the Father (GAUDENTIUS).
14:18 Christ Is Not Deserting the Disciples
JESUS SPEAKS LIKE A FATHER TO ORPHANS. AUGUSTINE: After the promise of the Holy Spirit, in case anyone should think that the Lord was to give the Spirit, as it were, in place of himself (implying that he himself would not be with them in the same way), he added the words, “I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.” Orphani [Greek] are pupilli [orphans] in Latin. . . . Accordingly, although it was not the Son of God that adopted sons to his Father or willed that we should have by grace that same Father who is his Father by nature, yet in a sense it is paternal feelings toward us that [the Son] himself displays. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 75.1.
THE SPIRIT’S PRESENCE UNTIL CHRIST COMES. CHRYSOSTOM: Earlier he had said, “Where I go you shall come” and “In my Father’s house there are many mansions.” But since this was a long time off, he gives them the Spirit in the intervening time. They did not know what that [Spirit] was, however, and so they derived little comfort from what he said. . . . And so he promises them what they required most: his own presence. He says, “I will come to you.” But he intimates at the same time that they are not to look for the same kind of presence all over again. “Yet a little while, and the world sees me no more,” as if he said, I will come to you but not to live with you every day as I did before. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 75.2.
FORTIFICATION OF THE SPIRIT. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: It is impossible for one’s soul to accomplish anything good, or to have power over its own passions or to escape the great subtlety of the devil’s snare if the soul is not fortified by the grace of the Holy Spirit and has Christ himself within it. . . . Christ promises nothing less than that he will be present and will help those who believe on him through the Spirit, even though he ascends into the heavens after his resurrection from the dead. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 9.1.
14:19 The World Could Not See, but You Will
CONSTRICTING THE HEART WITH WORLDLY THINGS. GREGORY THE GREAT: This other Consoler of humanity, who himself is invisible, inflames each person that he has filled so that he too longs after invisible things. And because worldly hearts are only focused on what is seen, they do not receive him because their minds are not elevated to what is unseen. As secular minds broaden their horizons by focusing on the outward things [of this world], they constrict the ability of the arteries of the heart to admit the Spirit. MORALS ON THE BOOK OF JOB 5.28.50.
THE FEEBLE NATURE OF THE WORLD. BASIL THE GREAT: [Jesus] applied the word world to those who, being bound by this material and carnal life and beholding the truth by material sight alone, were ordained through their unbelief in the resurrection to see our Lord no more with the eyes of the heart. . . . For the carnal person who has never trained his mind for contemplation but rather keeps it buried deep in the lust of the flesh, as in mud, is powerless to look up to the spiritual light of the truth. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 22.53.
BEHOLDING CHRIST’S BEAUTY. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Those who love evil in the world will go down to Hades and be banished from the presence of Christ. However, the lovers of virtue who have kept inviolate the earnest of the Spirit will be with him and dwell with him. And being with him surely they shall also behold his divine beauty without any hindrance. For he says, “the Lord shall be your eternal light and God shall be your glory.” COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 9.1.
FIRST JESUS’ RESURRECTION, THEN OURS. AUGUSTINE: But why does he speak of life as present to him and future to them? Because his resurrection preceded, and theirs was to follow. His resurrection was about to take place so soon that he speaks of it as present, theirs being deferred till the end of the world. He does not say “you live” but “you shall live.” . . . Because he lives, therefore we shall live: “As by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.” TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 75.3.
THE DISCIPLES WILL SEE JESUS AGAIN. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: The world, that is, all the other people, sees me for a short time only, but you will see me again after my resurrection so that this vision of yours may testify that I am living again. And you will not only see me living, but the same thing will happen to you. When you also resurrect at the right time after your death, you will live and will participate in a second life. He does not say, “because I live” casually, that is, you will see me because I live. But he means You will witness the fact that I am alive, and by seeing it you will know that I resurrected from the dead and live and that I did not remain subject to death, as many believe. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 6.14.18-19.
14:20 Mutual Indwelling of Father, Son and You
DIFFERENT HUMAN AND DIVINE INDWELLINGS. HILARY OF POITIERS: If he wished to indicate a mere unity of will, why did he set forth a kind of gradation and sequence in the completion of the unity, unless it were that, since he was in the Father through the nature of deity and we on the contrary are in him through his birth in the body, he would have us believe that he is in us through the mystery of the sacraments? And thus there might be taught a perfect unity through a mediator while, we abiding in him, he abode in the Father and as abiding in the Father abode also in us. In this way we might arrive at unity with the Father, since in him who dwells naturally in the Father by birth, we also dwell naturally while he himself abides naturally in us also. ON THE TRINITY 8.15.
A UNION OF DIVINE PARTICIPATION. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: If it is merely because he loves and is loved that the Son is in God the Father, and if by the same law we are in the Son and he in us, and no different bond of union is discernible—whether we consider that which binds the Son to the Father or us to him and him to us—then in what sense, or on what principle, I ask you, does Jesus say that “in that day” we shall know the mystery of this? . . .
“For in that day you shall know,” he says, “that I am in the Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” For I myself live, he says, for I am life by nature and have shown the temple of my own body alive. But when you yourselves (albeit you are of a corruptible nature) also behold yourselves living in a similar way as I do, then indeed you shall know very clearly that I, being life by nature, knitted you through myself into God the Father, who is also himself life by nature, making you partakers as it were and sharers in his incorruption. For I am in the Father naturally, being the fruit of his essence and its real offspring, subsisting in it, having shone forth from it. I am life of life, and you are in me and I in you, forasmuch as I appeared as a man myself and made you partakers of the divine nature by having my Spirit dwell in you. For Christ is in us through the Spirit, converting that which has a natural tendency to corruption into incorruption and transferring it from the condition of dying to that which is otherwise. And so Paul also says that “he who raised Jesus Christ from the dead shall enliven also your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwells in you.” For albeit the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, yet he comes through the Son and is his own. For all things are through the Son from the Father. The divine psalmist will testify that it was through the Spirit that we were recreated for eternal life when he cries as one speaking to the God of all . . . , “You shall take away their breath and they shall fail and shall turn again to their dust. You shall send forth your Spirit, and they shall be made, and you shall renew the face of the earth. Do you hear how the transgression that was in Adam and the “turning away” from the divine commandments, troubled the nature of humanity and made it return to its own earth? But when God sent forth his Spirit and made us partakers of his own nature and through him renewed the face of the earth, we were transfigured to “newness of life,” casting off the corruption that comes with sin and once more grasping eternal life through the grace and love toward the human race that our Lord Jesus Christ has. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 9.1.
IMPLICATIONS OF UNITY WITH FATHER AND SON. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Then, he says, from these facts only you will learn that what I said to you was true about which you now have your doubts. I said, “I am in my Father” concerning the equality of nature and the inseparable connection when I will appear so. And I said “you are in me” concerning your faith and love for me when you will be made a participant with me in charity and also in the gift of the Spirit. “And I in you” is said with reference to what the close connection will cause when, after being regenerated by the power of the Spirit, you are with me in the body and I am with you in the head. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 6.14.20.
BECOMING ONE OF THREE PERSONS. APHRAHAT: When someone sweeps clean their soul in the name of Christ, Christ dwells in them and God dwells in Christ. From that time onward, that person becomes one of three persons—himself; Christ, who dwells in him; and God, who dwells in Christ. DEMONSTRATION 4.11.
14:21 Love and Keeping the Commandments
LOVE OF GOD LEAVES LOVE OF THE WORLD BEHIND. MARK THE HERMIT: Do you see how [Jesus] has hidden his manifestation in the commandments? Of all the commandments, therefore, the most comprehensive is to love God and our neighbor. This love is made firm through abstaining from material things and through stillness of thoughts. Knowing this, the Lord enjoins us “not to be anxious about tomorrow,” and rightly so. For if someone has not freed himself from material things and from concern about them, how can he be freed from evil thoughts? And if he is beset by evil thoughts, how can he see the reality of the sin concealed behind them? This sin wraps the soul in darkness and obscurity and increases its hold on us through our evil thoughts and actions. The devil initiates the whole process by testing a person with a provocation that the person is not compelled to accept. But the one urged on by self-indulgence and self-esteem begins to entertain this provocation with enjoyment. Even if their discrimination tells them to reject it, yet in practice they take pleasure in it and accept it. If someone has not perceived this general process of sinning, when will he pray about it and be cleansed from it? And if he has not been cleansed, how will he find purity of nature? And if he has not found this, how will he behold the inner dwelling place of Christ? For we are a dwelling place of God, according to the words of prophet, evangelist and apostle. NO RIGHTEOUSNESS BY WORKS 223-24.
NOT ALL WILL RECEIVE AN ETERNAL REWARD. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Jesus has added the qualification “he who loves me,” clearly showing that none other than those who have chosen to live most righteously will be allowed to choose such an incomparable grace, for they are the ones who love him. While it is true that Christ raises the bodies of all—for there will be a resurrection of the evil and the good alike—a new life of glory and happiness will not be given to all without distinction. For it is clear that some only rise again to punishment and will have a life worse than any death, while others . . . will live a desirable and holy life in Christ. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 10.
A VISION OF THE SON FOR THE FAITHFUL. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Whoever loves me and keeps my commandments will enjoy my love and that of the Father and will obtain in addition a vision of who I really am. They will not be disadvantaged by the fact that they did not see me in body. Indeed, they will also enjoy that vision at the appropriate time as well when they see me coming down from heaven. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 6.14.21.
THE KING IN ALL HIS BEAUTY. BEDE: Even now the Son loves those who love him and the Father. But he loves them now so that they may live properly as a result of their faith, which works through love. Then (in the future), he will love them as well, but in such a way that they may come to the vision of the truth of which they only had a taste through faith. When he adds, “I will show myself to him,” he will indeed show himself to all human beings but will show his very own being only to the elect. At the judgment even the damned will see Christ, but only the just will see the king in all his beauty. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.17.
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