May 17 – Ascension of the Lord

OVERVIEW: In the early chapters of the book of Acts, Luke is intent on demonstrating how those who believe in Jesus form the new people of God. This first chapter is meant to be a preparation for Pentecost, the new formative experience that inaugurates the church. Luke first links the present narrative to his preceding volume (Acts 1:1 2) and then, in five steps, records Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:3 5), the discussion about the kingdom and the mission of the apostles (Acts 1:6 8), and Jesus’ departure and enthronement (Acts 1:9 11). He follows this with a description of the disciples obeying Jesus and waiting in prayer (Acts 1:12 14) and the reconstituting of the Twelve with the choice of Matthias (Acts 1:15 26). While the Fathers do not comment at length on the literary approach of Luke, they are sensitive to some of the special functions of this second treatise; for instance, that it narrates the fulfillment of what Christ both did and foretold. They also draw our attention to the rhythm of “doing and saying,” mentioned by Luke. They are alert to the significance of Luke’s remark that Jesus gave them proofs (tekmērioi) of his resurrected reality and are aware that this Lukan account mentions a forty day period between the resurrection and the ascension not spoken of elsewhere in the Gospels. Finally, they appreciate the fact that Luke mentions the Holy Spirit at the outset of his second book, thus preparing us to see his theology of the church. As Chrysostom observes, Acts tell us what the “other Paraclete” said and did.

1:1 All That Jesus Began to Do and Teach
THE ADVANTAGE OF READING THE SECOND BOOK. CHRYSOSTOM: To many people this book, both its content and its author, is so little known that they are not even aware it exists. I have therefore taken this narrative for my subject, both to initiate those who are ignorant and so that such a treasure shall not remain hidden out of sight. For indeed it will profit us no less than the Gospels themselves, so replete is it with Christian wisdom and sound doctrine, especially in what is said concerning the Holy Spirit. Let us then not pass by it hastily but examine it closely. For here we can see the predictions Christ utters in the Gospels actually come to pass. Truth shines brightly through the facts themselves, and a great change for the better takes place in the disciples now that the Spirit has come upon them. For the words which they heard Christ say—“Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these”—and the events which he foretold, that they shall be brought before rulers and kings and be scourged in their synagogues, that they shall suffer grievous things and overcome all, that the gospel shall be preached in all the world, all these came to pass in this book exactly as predicted, and many other things which he told them while he was with them. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.

LOVER OF GOD. BEDE: Theophilus means lover of God or beloved of God. Therefore, anyone who is a lover of God may believe that this work was written for him, because the physician Luke wrote it in order that the reader might find health for his soul. Note also that he says, “all that Jesus began to do and teach,” first “do” and then “teach,” because Jesus, establishing the pattern of a good teacher, taught nothing except those things which he did. COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.1.

TEACHING FIRST BY CONDUCT, THEN WORDS. CHRYSOSTOM: Consider how Christ validated his words through actions. “Learn from me,” he said, “for I am gentle and humble in heart.” He taught us to be poor and demonstrated this through action, for “the Son of man,” he says, “has no place to lay his head.” Again, he commanded us to love our enemies and taught this lesson on the cross, when he prayed for those who were crucifying him. He said, “If someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.” He gave not only his tunic but also his blood. He bid also the others to teach in this way. Therefore Paul also said, “as you have an example in us.” For nothing is more insipid than a teacher who shows his wisdom only in words, since he is then not a teacher but a hypocrite. For this reason, the apostles first taught by their conduct and then by their words. One may even say that they had no need of words, since their deeds spoke loudly. Even Christ’s passion may be called action, for in his passion Christ performed that great and wonderful act, by which he destroyed death and effected all else that he did for us. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.

THE REBUKE OF CONSCIENCE. JEROME: For teaching is put to the blush when a person’s conscience rebukes him; and it is in vain that his tongue preaches poverty or teaches almsgiving if he is rolling in the riches of Croesus and if, in spite of his threadbare cloak, he has silken robes at home to save from the moth. LETTER 127.4.

THE SENSE OF ALL. AUGUSTINE: This statement teaches us that, previous to this, Luke had written one of those four books of the gospel which are held in the loftiest authority in the church. At the same time, when he tells us that he had composed a treatise of all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which he commissioned the apostles, we are not to take this to mean that he actually has given us a full account in his Gospel of all that Jesus did and said when he lived with his apostles on earth. For that would be contrary to what John affirms when he says that there are also many other things which Jesus did, and if they should all be written down, the world itself could not contain the books. And besides, all agree that many things are narrated by the other Evangelists, which Luke himself does not mention in his history. The sense, therefore, is that he wrote a treatise of all these things to the extent that he made a selection out of the whole mass of materials for his narrative and introduced those facts which he judged fit and suitable to fulfill the duty laid upon him. HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS 4.8.9.

PRACTICE BEFORE YOU PREACH. JOHN CASSIAN: Take care then that you do not rush into teaching before doing, and so be reckoned among the number of those of whom the Lord speaks in the Gospel to the disciples, “So practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach but do not practice. They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.” CONFERENCE 14.9.

1:2 The Day Christ Was Taken Up
HIS COMMANDMENT. CHRYSOSTOM: What did he command? “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Great is the praise of the apostles, when they have been entrusted with such a charge, that is to say, the salvation of the world. Words full of the Spirit! This he hints at in the expression “through the Holy Spirit.” “The words I have spoken to you are spirit,” he said, inducing in the hearer a desire for learning the commandments and establishing the authority of the apostles, since it is the words of the Spirit they are to speak, and the commandments of Christ. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.

1:3 Appearing During Forty Days
EATING AN EVIDENCE OF HIS HUMANITY. ARATOR: Now, by manifest miracles during forty days in their sight, the Lord confirmed the faith of those whom he bade to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth in its wide boundary. The wonders of creation could not conceal God. What proof of his real humanity could the Risen One give so surely as the fact of eating? Human bodies show that they live by this means. About to go to heaven, he went forth to walk round the grove of olive because by its sacred bud it is a place of light and peace. He wished to return to heaven from that place, from which the divine fragrance makes agreeable a gleaming person with signed forehead. Since chrism, from the name of Christ, cleanses inwardly those anointed from above, he who will return as victor was raised to the starry firmament and had with him what he had taken on. ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.

HE APPEARED TO THE APOSTLES. CHRYSOSTOM: Why did he not appear to everyone, but only to the apostles? Because he would have seemed a mere apparition to most people, since they did not understand the secret of the mystery. For if even the disciples themselves were at first incredulous and troubled and needed the evidence of actual touch with the hand and of his eating with them, what would have happened to most people? For this reason, it is through the miracles done by the apostles that he renders the evidence of his resurrection unequivocal, so that not only the people of those times, but also all people thereafter, should be certain of the fact that he has risen. For the certainty of the former came from seeing the miracles, while that of everyone else was to be rooted in faith. For this reason, our discussion of the apostles also proceeds from here. For if he did not rise again but remains dead, how did the apostles perform miracles in his name? “They did not perform miracles,” some will say. How then was our religion authorized? For certainly they will not disagree with this and argue against what is obvious. Therefore, when they say that no miracles took place, they embarrass themselves more than anyone else. For this would be the greatest miracle of all, if without any miracles the whole world came running to be taken in the nets of twelve poor and illiterate men. For the fishermen prevailed not by wealth of money, nor by cunning of words, nor by any thing else of this kind. Therefore, the unbelievers, though unwilling, will agree that a divine power was present in these men, since no human strength could ever accomplish such great deeds. For this reason then he remained for forty days after the resurrection, giving evidence in this length of time of their seeing him in his own proper person, lest they believe what they saw was a phantom. Indeed, he was not content even with this but added also the evidence of eating at the table. This Luke reveals when he says, “while gathered with them.” The apostles themselves also always took this as proof of the resurrection, as when they say, “we who ate and drank with him.” HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.

THE FORTY DAYS. BEDE: Now this number designates this temporal earthly life, either on account of the four seasons of the year or on account of the four winds of the heavens. For after we have been buried in death with Christ through baptism, as though having passed over the path through the Red Sea, it is necessary for us, in this wilderness, to have the Lord’s guidance. May he lead us to the heavenly kingdom and repay us with the denarius of his image. In the presence of the Holy Spirit, may he bless us as by a true jubilee rest. COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.3.

CONTRARY TO JOHN? AUGUSTINE: It is not meant, however, that they had eaten and drunk with him daily throughout these forty days. For that would be contrary to John’s statement, who has interposed the space of eight days, during which he was not seen, and makes his third appearance take place by the sea of Tiberias. At the same time, even although he manifested himself to them with them every day after that period, that would not come into antagonism with anything in the narrative. And, perhaps, this expression, “for the space of forty days,” which is equivalent to four times ten and may thus sustain a mystical reference to the whole world or the whole temporal age, has been used just because those first ten days, within which the said eight fall, may not incongruously be reckoned, in accordance with the practice of the Scriptures, on the principle of dealing with the part in general terms as the whole. HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS 3.25.84.

1:4 Waiting for the Promise
AN ARMY EQUIPPED. CHRYSOSTOM: “He ordered them not to leave Jerusalem.” Why? Just as when soldiers are about to charge a multitude, no one thinks of letting them issue forth until they have armed themselves, or as horses are not allowed to start from the barriers until they have got their charioteer, likewise Christ did not allow them to appear in the field before the descent of the Spirit, so that they would not be easily defeated and taken captive by the many. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.

THE SPIRIT POURED OUT AFTER THE SON DEPARTED. CHRYSOSTOM: But why did the Holy Spirit not come to them while Christ was present, rather than immediately after his departure? Instead, although Christ ascended on the fortieth day, the Spirit came to them when the day of Pentecost had come. It was necessary for them to have a longing for the event, and so receive the grace. For this reason Christ himself departed, and then the Spirit came. For if he had been present, they would not have expected the Spirit so earnestly as they did. For this reason he did not come immediately after Christ’s ascension, but after eight or nine days. Our desire toward God is most awakened when we stand in need. For this reason, John sent his disciples to Christ at the time when they were to be most in need of Jesus, during his own imprisonment. Besides, it was necessary that our nature should be seen in heaven and that the reconciliation should be perfected, and then the Spirit should come and the joy be unalloyed. For, if Christ had then departed, when the Spirit had already come, and the Spirit remained, the consolation would not have been so great as it was. For indeed they clung to him and could not bear to part with him. To comfort them he said, “It is to your advantage that I go away.” For this reason he delayed also for the intervening days, that they, for a while disheartened and standing, as I said, in need of him, might then reap a full and unalloyed joy. For it cannot, it cannot be, that a person should enjoy the benefit of grace unless he is wary. Do you not see what Elijah says to his disciple? “If you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you,” that is, you will have what you ask for. Christ also said everywhere to those who came to him, “Do you believe?” For unless we are made fit for the gift, we do not feel its benefit very much. So it was also in the case of Paul: grace did not come to him immediately, but three days intervened, during which he was blind, being purified and prepared by fear. For just as the dyers first prepare the cloth that is to receive the dye with other ingredients to prevent the color from fading, likewise in this instance God first prepared the soul so that it was anxiously awaiting and then poured forth his grace. For this reason he did not immediately send the Spirit, but on the fiftieth day. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.

THE EFFECTS OF THE GIFT OF THE SPIRIT. HILARY OF POITIERS: He orders them to await the promise of the Father, which has been heard from his mouth. Certainly, the discourse even now is concerned with the promise of his Father. Consequently, the manifestation of the Spirit is through the effects which these powers produce. The gift of the Spirit is not hidden where there is the word of wisdom and where the words of life are heard. The effects of the powers produced by the Spirit are not fully manifest where there is the perception of the divine knowledge in order that we may not be like the animals, unaware of the author of our life through our ignorance of God, nor even through our faith in God in order that we may not be outside the gospel of God by not believing the gospel of God. The Spirit is not manifested only through the gift of healing in order that by the cure of infirmities we may render testimony to the grace of him who has granted these gifts; or through the performance of miracles in order that the power of God may be recognized in what we are doing; or through prophecy in order that through our knowledge of the doctrine it may be known that we have been taught by God; or through the distinguishing of spirits in order that we may perceive whether anyone speaks through a holy or an evil spirit; or through the various kinds of languages in order that the sermons in these languages may be offered as a sign of the Holy Spirit who has been given; or in the interpretation of the languages in order that the faith of the hearers might not be endangered through ignorance, since the interpreter of a language makes it intelligible for those who are not familiar with the language. Rather it is through all the diversities of these gifts that the effects of the Spirit are poured out for the profit of everyone. ON THE TRINITY 8.30.

1:5 Baptized with the Holy Spirit
THE MANIFOLD WORKINGS OF THE SPIRIT. CHRYSOSTOM: The Gospels, then, are a narrative of what Christ did and said, while the Acts are of what the other Paraclete said and did. Not that the Spirit did not do many things in the Gospels also, just as Christ here in Acts still works in people as he did in the Gospels, but then it was through the temple, while now it is through the apostles. Then the Spirit entered the virgin mother and fashioned the temple, now he enters into the souls of the apostles; then in the likeness of a dove, now in the likeness of fire. Why? There he showed the gentleness of the Lord, but here his also taking vengeance. He reminds them opportunely also of the judgment. For when the need was to forgive sin, there was need of much gentleness; but when we have obtained the gift, it is henceforth a time for judgment and examination. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.

THE HOLY SPIRIT PRESENT IN THE NAME OF CHRIST. BEDE: When the Lord said, “John indeed baptized with water,” he did not continue with “yet you shall baptize” but with “yet you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit,” because neither the apostles nor their followers, who still baptize in the church to this day, had the power to baptize except as John did, that is, with water. However, when the name of Christ is invoked, the interior power of the Holy Spirit is present, which, with the human administration of water, simultaneously purifies the souls and the bodies of those being baptized. This did not happen in the baptism of John—“for the Spirit had not yet been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.5.

PENETRATING GRACE. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM: This grace was not in part, but his power was in full perfection; for as he who plunges into the waters and is baptized is encompassed on all sides by the waters, so were they also baptized completely by the Holy Spirit. The water, however, flows round the outside only, but the Spirit baptizes also the soul within, and that completely. And why do you wonder at this? Take an example from matter, a simple and common example, but one that helps the ordinary person. If the fire passing in through the mass of the iron makes the whole of it fire, so that what was cold becomes burning and what was black is made bright, if fire which is a body thus penetrates and works without hindrance in iron which is also a body, why wonder that the Holy Spirit enters into the very inmost recesses of the soul? CATECHETICAL LECTURE 17.14.

OVERVIEW: This passage contains three points: the discussion of the “times and seasons” of the final restoration, the gift of the Holy Spirit with its consequent power to witness and the account of Jesus’ ascension. The Fathers examine the foolishness of calculating the time of events still to come. They also, like Luke, understand the importance of the Holy Spirit’s role in empowering the apostles and the whole church to witness. They do not seem, however, to be sensitive to the manner in which Luke announces the structure of his work with the statement that the witnessing of the apostles will reach “Judea” (Acts 1 7), “Samaria” (Acts 8 12) and the “end of the earth” (Acts 13 28). The teaching that Jesus, in his transformed humanity, is present with the Father is frequently found in the New Testament. Luke 24:51 and perhaps John 20:17 imply that the ascension took place on Easter day, while the passage in 1 Corinthians 15:3 8 requires a period of time between the resurrection and the ascension. Only Luke, however, specifies the date of the ascension as occurring forty days after the resurrection. The Fathers concentrate more on the fact of the transformed humanity of Christ and his return in that humanity “in the same way” as he went to heaven than on this dilemma, though, as we have seen above, Augustine did note it and applied another method to solve it.

1:6 7 The Time of Restoration
THE FATHER’S AUTHORITY. CHRYSOSTOM: Without saying anything to him of the Holy Spirit, they put this question, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” They did not ask when, but whether it would be at this time, so eager were they to learn the day. But it seems to me they had no clear notion of the nature of that kingdom, for the Spirit had not yet instructed them. . . . For their affections were still formed by sensible objects. They had not yet become better than they were before. Thus from now on they had higher conceptions concerning Christ. Therefore, since their minds were elevated, he also speaks to them on a higher level. For he no longer tells them, “Not even the Son knows the day,” but says, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.” . . . Just as when we see a child crying and stubbornly wishing to take something from us that is not indispensable for him, we hide the thing, show him our empty hands and say, “See, we do not have it.” Likewise Christ acted also towards the apostles. And when the child, even after we have shown him our empty hands, continues to cry, knowing he has been deceived, we leave him with the excuse, “Someone is calling me,” and, in our desire to divert him from his first choice, we give him something else, which we tell him is wonderful, and then we hasten away. This is what Christ also did. The disciples asked to have something, and he said he did not have it. And on the first occasion he frightened them. When they asked a second time, again he said he did not have it, except now he did not frighten them, but, after showing his empty hands, he gave them a plausible reason, that “the Father has set it by his own authority.” HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 2.

RESPECT FOR THE DISCIPLES. CHRYSOSTOM: And this he says, because he was very careful to honor them and to conceal nothing from them. Therefore he refers it to his Father, both to make the matter awesome and to dispel further inquiry on what was said. If this were not the reason, but he is ignorant, when will he know? Will he only know at the same time we do? Who would say this? He knows the Father clearly, just as the Father knows the Son. Is he then ignorant of the day? Furthermore, “the Spirit searches everything, even the depth of God.” But are we to say that he does not even know the time of the judgment? But he knows how he must judge, and he understands the secrets of each. Was he to be ignorant of this, which is much more general? And, if “all things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being,” how was he ignorant of the day? For he who made the ages clearly made the times also, and if the times, then also the day. How, then, is he ignorant of what he made? HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 77.1.

IT IS NOT FOR YOU TO KNOW. BEDE: He was telling them that the time of that kingdom is secret, that it is accessible only to the Father’s knowledge. And, when he said, “It is not for you to know,” he showed them that he himself also knew (since all things are his which are the Father’s), but that it would not be expedient for them, as mortals, to know. Thus, being always uncertain about the coming of the Judge, they should live every day as if the next day they were to be judged. COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.7.

KEEPING WATCH. EPHREM THE SYRIAN: “It is not for you to know times or seasons.” He has hidden that from us so that we might keep watch and that each of us might think that this coming would take place during our life. For, if the time of his coming were to be revealed, his coming would be in vain, and it would not have been desired by the nations and the ages in which it was to take place. He has indeed said that he will come, but he did not define when, and thus all generations and ages thirst for him. COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON.

WHY THE SON KNOWS. HILARY OF POITIERS: The Son is not lacking in the knowledge of anything that the Father knows, and the Son is not ignorant, because the Father alone knows, since the Father and the Son remain in the unity of the nature. What the Son, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden, does not know is in harmony with the divine plan for maintaining silence. The Lord bore testimony to this when he replied to the apostles who had questioned him about the times, “It is not for you to know the times or dates which the Father has fixed by his own authority.” The knowledge is denied them. Not only is it denied, but they are forbidden to be anxious about the knowledge, since it is not for them to know these times. Naturally, after the resurrection, they now interrogate him about the times, since they had been informed previously when they broached the question, that not even the Son knows, and they could not believe that the Son did not know in the literal meaning of the term, because they again question him as one who does not know. Since they are aware that the mystery of not knowing is according to the divine plan for maintaining silence, they conclude that now, after the resurrection, the time for speaking has at length arrived, and they bring forth their questions. And the Son does not tell them that he does not know but that it is not for them to know, because the Father has settled this matter by his own authority. Consequently, if the apostles realize that this statement, that the Son does not know, is in keeping with the plan of salvation and is not a weakness, shall we assert that the Son, therefore, does not know the day because he is not God? God the Father has determined it by his own authority, therefore, in order that it may not come to the knowledge of our human comprehension, and the Son, when previously interrogated, had said that he did not know and now he does not make the same reply that he does not know, but that it is not for them to know, and that the Father, however, has decided upon these times not in his knowledge but in his authority. Since the day and moment are included in the idea of time, it is impossible to believe that the day and moment for restoring the kingdom of Israel is unknown to him who is to restore it. But, to lead us to the knowledge of his birth through the Father’s unique power, he answered that it was known to him and, while revealing that the right to acquire this knowledge had not been conferred on them, he declared that this knowledge itself is dependent upon the mystery of the Father’s authority. ON THE TRINITY 9.75.

THE UNITY OF THE GODHEAD. AMBROSE: But neither is the Father deceived nor does the Son deceive. It is the custom of the holy Scriptures to speak thus, as the examples I have already given, and many others testify, so that God feigns not to know what he does know. In this then a unity of Godhead and a unity of character is proved to exist in the Father and in the Son; seeing that, as God the Father hides what is known to him, so also the Son, who is the image of God in this respect, hides what is known to him. ON THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 5.17.218.

KNOWLEDGE OF THE KINGDOM. BASIL THE GREAT: That is to say, the knowledge of such a kingdom is not for them that are bound in flesh and blood. This contemplation the Father has put away in his own power, meaning by “power” those that are authorized, and by “his own” those who are not held down by the ignorance of things below. LETTER 8.7.

THE TRINITY POSSESSES UNFAILING KNOWLEDGE. CASSIODORUS: People did not realize what they should not know, and the Son of God was not in any sense unaware of this through weakness of the flesh. But if we were to suspect that the divine Majesty cloaked ignorance (a thing it would be irreverent to say), then that ignorance would be found stronger than the divine nature, and could to speak foolishness bring down the providence by which all things were created. But since we are taught that this is quite ridiculous, we must believe that the whole Trinity, whose nature is one and allpowerful, has always an unfailing knowledge of all things. EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 9.39.

1:8 Worldwide Witnesses
IN THE RESURRECTION AND THE ASCENSION. CHRYSOSTOM: He had said earlier, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans.” What he did not say then, he added here, “and to the ends of the earth.” Having said this, which was more fearful than all the rest, he held his peace. “When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.” Do you see that they preached and fulfilled the gospel? For great was the gift he had bestowed upon them. In the very place, he says, where you are afraid, that is, in Jerusalem, preach there. And afterwards he added, “and to the ends of the earth.” Then again the proof of his words, “as they were watching, he was lifted up.” Not “as they were watching,” he rose from the dead, but “as they were watching, he was lifted up,” since the sight of their eyes was in no way all sufficient then. For they saw in the resurrection the end but not the beginning, and they saw in the ascension the beginning but not the end. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 2.

GIFTS ARE FROM THE TRINITY. CHRYSOSTOM: And they did become witnesses by their miracles. This is so, for the grace of the Spirit is ineffable, and innumerable are his gifts. Moreover, this took place that you might learn that the gifts and the power of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit are one. What appears to be proper to the Father also belongs in reality to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. “How is it, then,” you will say, “that no one comes to the Son ‘unless the Father draw him’?” But this is shown to be true of the Son also, for he said, “I am the way; no one comes to the Father but through me.” And notice that the same thing is true of the Spirit also. For “No one can say, ‘Jesus Christ is Lord,’ except in the Holy Spirit.” And again, we are told that apostles have been given to the church, at one time by the Father, at another by the Son, and at another by the Holy Spirit, so we see that the varieties of gifts belong to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 86.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS DIVINE. AMBROSE: And so, when the Lord appointed his servants the apostles, that we might recognize that the creature was one thing and the grace of the Spirit another, he appointed them to different places, because all could not be everywhere at once. But he gave the Holy Spirit to all, to shed upon the apostles though separated the gift of indivisible grace. The persons, then, were different, but the accomplishment of the working was in all one, because the Holy Spirit is one of whom it is said, “You shall receive power, even the Holy Spirit coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The Holy Spirit, then, is uncircumscribed and infinite, who infused himself into the minds of the disciples throughout the separate divisions of distant regions and the remote bounds of the whole world whom nothing is able to escape or to deceive. And therefore holy David says, “Where shall I go from your Spirit, or where shall I flee from your face?” Of what angel does the Scripture say this, of what dominion, of what power, of what angel do we find the power diffused over many? For angels were sent to few, but the Holy Spirit was poured upon whole peoples. Who, then, can doubt that that is divine which is shed upon many at once and is not seen; but that that is corporeal which is seen and held by individuals? ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 1.7.81 82.

1:9 Christ Was Lifted Up
THE ELEMENTS SERVE HIM. ARATOR: let us commend the manner of his rule through the powers that are subject to him: born of a virgin mother, rising again by treading upon death, seeking the scepter of heaven. He announces such deeds by these angelic servants. Nor do the elements cease to serve their thunderer. In his honor as he is coming, a star does service as a soldier, going before the magi. A cloud waits upon him in obedience as he goes. ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.

THE CLOUD A SYMBOL OF HEAVEN. CHRYSOSTOM: Why “a cloud took him”? This is another indication that he ascended to heaven. Not fire, as in the case of Elijah, nor a fiery chariot, but “a cloud took him.” This was a symbol of heaven, according to the words of the prophet, “who makes the clouds his chariot,” meaning the Father himself. Because of this he says, “on a cloud,” implying, “in the symbol of the divine power,” for no other power could dwell upon a cloud. Listen again to what another prophet says: “The Lord is riding upon a swift cloud.” HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 2.

THE OBEDIENCE OF CREATION. BEDE: Everywhere creation offers obedient service to its Creator. The stars indicated his birth; clouds overshadowed him in his suffering, received him in his ascension, and they will accompany him when he returns for the judgment. COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.9B.

FLESH CAN RISE. PSEUDOJUSTIN: And when they were by every kind of proof persuaded that it was himself resurrected, and in the body, they asked him to eat with them, that they might thus still more accurately ascertain that he had truly risen bodily; and he did eat honeycomb and fish. And when he had thus shown them that there is truly a resurrection of the flesh, he also wished to show them that it is not impossible for flesh to ascend into heaven (as he had said that our dwelling place is in heaven), so “he was taken up into heaven while they beheld,” just as he was in the flesh. If, therefore, after all that has been said, any one demand demonstration of the resurrection, he is in no respect different from the Sadducees, since the resurrection of the flesh is the power of God, and, being above all reasoning, is established by faith and seen in works. FRAGMENTS OF THE LOST WORK OF JUSTIN ON THE RESURRECTION 9.

1:11 Taken to Heaven
THE REASONS FOR THE ANGELS’ APPEARANCE. BEDE: The angels appeared to the disciples for two reasons, namely, to console them in their sorrow at his ascension by reminding them of his return and to show that he had truly gone to heaven, not merely apparently so, as in the case of Elijah. COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.11A.

HE WILL COME IN THE BODY. CHRYSOSTOM: Now, as they watched, their conceptions were elevated. He gave them not merely a subtle hint of the nature of his second coming. For this phrase “thus he will come” means with the body. This is what they desired to hear. And concerning the judgment he said again that he will come in this same way upon a cloud. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 2.

COMING IN GLORY. BEDE: He will come to judge in the same form and substance of a body in which he had come to be judged by Pilate. To him God truly gave, and did not take away, an immortal nature. His eternal and divine glory, which once was manifested to three of his disciples on a mountain, will be seen by all the saints with the accomplishment of the judgment, when the wicked person will be removed so that he may not see the glory of God. COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.11B.

A TRANSFORMED BODY. AUGUSTINE: How did they see him go? In the flesh which they touched, which they felt, the scars of which they even probed by touching; in that body in which he went in and out with them for forty days, manifesting himself to them in truth, not in any falsity; not as an apparition, not as a shadow, not as a spirit, but as he himself said, not deceiving, “Handle and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see me to have.” Now, indeed, that body is worthy of a heavenly dwelling place, not subject to death, not changeable through ages. For as he had grown to that age from infancy, so he does not decline to old age from the age which was young adulthood. He remains as he ascended. He is going to come to those to whom, before he comes, he wanted his word to be preached. So, therefore, he will come in a human form. The ungodly, too, will see this. Those placed to the right will see it too; those separated to the left will see it too, as it was written, “They shall see him whom they have pierced.” If they will see him whom they have pierced, they will see the same body which they thrust through with a spear; the Word is not struck by a spear. Therefore, the ungodly will be able to see this very one whom they were also able to wound. They will not see the God lying hidden in the body; after the judgment he will be seen by those who will be on the right. This, therefore, is why he said, “The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son,” because the Son will come, clearly visible, to the judgment, appearing in human body to human beings, saying to those on the right, “Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom”; saying to those on the left, “Go into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels.” TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 21.13.2 4.

CHRIST STILL HAS FLESH. CHRYSOSTOM: In us “after the flesh” implies our being in sins; “not after the flesh” implies not being in sins. In Christ, however, “after the flesh” implies his being subject to the affections of nature, such as thirst, hunger, weariness, sleep. (For “he committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” Therefore he also said, “Which of you convicts me of sin?” and again, “The ruler of this world is coming, and he has no power over me.”) For him the phrase “not after the flesh,” then, means being freed from even these things, not being without flesh. For indeed with the flesh he comes to judge the world, with a flesh that is impassible and unmixed. We too will advance toward this, when our body conforms “to the body of his glory.” HOMILIES ON 2 CORINTHIANS 11.3.

CHRIST’S HUMAN NATURE IS LIMITED. THEODORET OF CYR: Now they saw his nature as limited. For I have heard the words of the Lord, “You shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven,” and I acknowledge that what is seen by human eyes is limited, for the unlimited nature is invisible. Furthermore to sit upon a throne of glory and to set the lambs upon the right and the kids upon the left indicates limitation. DIALOGUE 2.

OVERVIEW: The forty seventh psalm presents us with a hymn of victory (THEODORET). In contrast to the devil, Christ is welcomed by the nations with a joyful reception (ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER) because of the joy of the redeemed (CHRYSOSTOM). The Lord is exalted, even in the lowliness of the cross (CHRYSOSTOM). He is unlike any other (CHRYSOSTOM, DIODORE). He has subdued peoples of the earth to his will by means of his incarnation (ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER) and the gospel message spread abroad by his apostles (CHRYSOSTOM). He has gathered believers from among the Jews (CHRYSOSTOM, THEODORET) as well as from the Gentiles. And let him possess my soul as well (ORIGEN). The Lord ascended joyfully into heaven (BEDE). The one who was once jeered now receives praises from all (AUGUSTINE). Let us, then, rise in our understanding (EVAGRIUS) and sing with understanding (AUGUSTINE, CAESARIUS, NICETAS) to the one confessed as king of all (DIODORE). Christ takes his throne in our minds (EVAGRIUS) and hearts (AUGUSTINE). He reigns over people of all nationalities (THEODORET) in all walks of life (CHRYSOSTOM).

Superscription: To the Choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah
A HYMN OF VICTORY. THEODORET OF CYR: This psalm foretells the salvation of all the nations and predicts victory over enemies. It also gave a glimpse of the apostolic choir urging all the nations to hymn singing. Now, clapping is typical of victory, and shouting is the sound of victors. So the meaning of this psalm concurs with the previous one: that one foretold the victory indicated after turmoil and disturbances, and this one likewise recommends those who gained the victory to offer the hymn to the provider of the victory. He is revealed to you all, he says, as king most high and fearsome. While in ancient times this was known to Jews alone, in the present time it has been made clear also to the whole human race. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 47.1.

47:1 Clapping Hands
A JOYFUL RECEPTION. ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER: Just as there is wailing by all the nations in the coming of the devil as we have heard the voice calling from heaven, “woe to land and sea, for the devil has been cast on you,” so in the coming of our Jesus, there is joy: “all nations, clap your hands.” COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 47.

JOY OF THE REDEEMED. CHRYSOSTOM: With hands that were previously defiled, accursed, daily stained with blood in the impure sacrifices in which you took the lives of your children, performed shameful rites and went beyond the limits of nature itself, with these hands now clap. “Shout to God in a voice of happiness.” With that tongue by which you tasted accursed things, by which you uttered blasphemous words, with that tongue shout a victory ode. . . . You have mounted above heavens and the heavens of heavens and have taken your place at the royal throne itself. Accordingly, “Shout to God,” that is, offer thanksgiving to him, the victory to him, the trophy to him. The conflict is not human or the battle physical, nor is the contest over any earthly concern but over the heavens and those in the heavens. He personally conducted this war and gave us a share in the victory. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 47.1 2.

47:2 The Lord, a Great King
EXALTED IN LOWLINESS. CHRYSOSTOM: When you hear that your Lord was impaled, that he was hanged on the cross, that he was buried, that he descended to the lower parts of the earth, do not be discouraged or troubled: he is most high, and by nature most high. What is most high by nature would never change its exaltation, nor would it become lowly; rather, even in his lowliness his exaltation remains and is revealed. For even in his dying he then most of all demonstrated his power over death. “The light shines in the darkness,” Scripture says, “and the darkness did not overcome it.” That was the way his elevation appeared in his lowliness. . . . At that time the sun diverted its rays, rocks were split, the veil torn, the earth disturbed, Judas expired, Pilate and his wife scared, the judge himself on the defensive. So when you hear that he was bound and scourged, do not be disturbed; rather, see him giving evidence of his might even in bondage. He said, “Whom do you seek?” and hurled them on their back. Do you see how he is fearsome, working such marvels by voice and nod alone? COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 47.2.

UNLIKE ANY OTHER. CHRYSOSTOM: This is really a great king, one who rids the world of error, and in a short space of time installs truth and abolishes the devil’s tyranny, who was a great king even before there were subjects, having the might of his rule not in slaves, nor in pomp and circumstance but in nature itself. . . . This is a great king, the one whose dignity is not from without, who depends on no one for his kingship, who does all he wishes. . . . He chose his subjects in such a way as to persuade them to surrender their spirit rather than disregard what was commanded. Whereas the king enjoys the esteem of his subjects themselves, he by contrast provides the subjects with esteem; thus one is only a name, the other is reality. A great king is the one who made the whole world heaven, caused savages to have sound values and persuaded them to imitate angels. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 47.3.

LORD OF ALL. DIODORE OF TARSUS: He became manifest in the events themselves, by which he routed those harassing the godly and proved superior to their scheme, fearsome to the enemy and, in short, king like no other on earth, since he is also Lord of all. COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 47.

47:3 Peoples and Nations Subdued
THROUGH INCARNATION. ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER: When did he subject people under our feet? When he chose his inheritance for us from the person of Mary, whom the Holy Spirit chose. Then, he ascended with a shout and voice of trumpet. . . . Glory to God on high, angels tell the shepherds. Behold, the Lord rules over every nation. The Lord sits on his holy seat. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 47.

HE WORKED THROUGH THE APOSTLES. CHRYSOSTOM: What a marvel! He convinced those who crucified him to bow down in worship; those who mocked and blasphemed, those addicted to idol worship he taught to let their souls yield to his will. This transformation, you see, was not of the apostles’ doing but done by him who led the way before them and moved their spirit. I mean, how could a fisherman or a builder have so changed the world had not the words of this person cleared all these obstacles? Sorcerers and tyrants and demagogues and philosophers and all their opponents they scared away like grains of dust and dissipated like smoke. In this way they spread the light of truth, employing not weapons or abundance of wealth but simple speech or, rather, the speech was not simple but more potent than any action. So how? They called on the name of the crucified, and death skulked away, demons were put to flight, diseases were cured, bodily disfigurement righted, wickedness dispelled, dangers dissipated and the elements transformed. . . . He it was who removed the obstacles as he went before them; he himself smoothed out problems and made difficult things easy. And yet everything was beset by conflicts, everything with snares and hazards, no foothold or places to stand firm, all havens obstructed, every house shut, the ears of all stopped. Nevertheless, as soon as they entered and spoke, all strongholds of the enemy fell, with the result that they even surrendered their souls and then withstood countless dangers for the sake of what they had been told. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 47.3 4.

47:4 A Heritage Chosen
BELIEVING JEWS. CHRYSOSTOM: Someone may be bewildered and uncertain, and say, “So how is it that the Jews do not believe today?” . . . Listen to what follows; he added, “the beauty of Jacob, which he loved.” Here in fact he seems to me to be referring to the believers, as Paul indicated in saying, “It is not, however, as though the word of God had failed: not all of Israel belong to Israel; . . . it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise who are counted as descendants.” Now, the believers are rightly spoken of as the people’s beauty; what could be more appealing, after all, than those who have come to faith? COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 47.5.

THE BEAUTY OF JACOB. THEODORET OF CYR: The God of all, who subjected kings to us and gave us control of all the nations, and in addition to that entrusts the beauty and excellence of Jacob to us not all the Jewish people, who are named for Jacob, in fact, but “the beauty of Jacob,” the excellence and the elite of Jacob, those adorned with faith, who accepted the message without delay, who submitted to the sweet yoke of the Savior. These, you see, he both “chose” and “loved,” and to them he entrusted the apostolic governance. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 47.2.

MY SOUL. ORIGEN: But what does it profit me, if the seed of Abraham, “which is Christ,” should possess “the cities of his enemies for an inheritance” and should not possess my city? If in my city, that is, in my soul, which is “the city of the great king,” neither his laws nor his ordinances should be observed? What does it profit me that he has subjected the whole world and possesses the cities of his enemies if he should not also conquer his enemies in me, if he should not destroy “the law that is in my members fighting against the law of my mind and that leads me captive in the law of sin”? So, therefore, let each one of us do what is necessary that Christ may also conquer the enemies in his soul and in his body, and, subjecting and triumphing over them, may possess the city even of his soul. HOMILIES ON GENESIS 9.3.

47:5 God Has Come Up
A JOYOUS ASCENSION. BEDE: He ascended with a shout of jubilation, since he sought heaven as the disciples rejoiced in the glory of his being lifted up. He ascended with the sound of the trumpet, since he went up to the throne of his heavenly kingdom as the angels heralded his return to judge the living and the dead. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.15.

47:6 Sing Praises to God
THE ONE THEY ONCE JEERED. AUGUSTINE: Those who were estranged from God jeered at Christ in his manhood, but you “sing psalms to him as our God,” for he is not only man; he is God. He is man from the seed of David, but as God he is David’s Lord. He took flesh from the Jews, “to whom belong the patriarchs, and from whom Christ was born according to the flesh,” as the apostle reminds us. So Christ is truly sprung from the Jews, but only according to the flesh; for who is this Christ, who took fleshly nature from the Jews? “He is sovereign over all, God, blessed forever.” He was God before being made flesh: God in the flesh, God with flesh. Not only was he God before he took flesh: he was God before the earth, from which flesh was made, and not only God before the earth where flesh was made, but God before the sky, which was made earlier, and God before the first day was created, and God before all the angels came to be. Christ is God, because “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; he was God. Everything was made through him; no part of created being was made without him.” He through whom all things were made exists before all things. “Sing psalms to him as our God,” then, “sing him psalms.” EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 47.8.

47:7 Sing with a Psalm
RISE WITH UNDERSTANDING. EVAGRIUS OF PONTUS: Pray as is fitting and without trouble, practice psalmody with understanding and harmony, and you will be like a young eagle soaring in the heights. CHAPTERS ON PRAYER 82.

SING WITH UNDERSTANDING. AUGUSTINE: You were called from Gentile races to be Christians, and those Gentile pagans used to worship gods made by human hands and sing psalms to them, but not with understanding. If they had been singing with understanding, they would not have worshiped stones. When a human person endowed with reason sang to a stone devoid of reason, was that singing with understanding? It is different for us, brothers and sisters: we do not see with our eyes what we are worshiping, yet we have been put right in the matter of worship. Not seeing God with our eyes, we have a far higher notion of him. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 47.9.

SING TO FRUSTRATE SATAN. CAESARIUS OF ARLES: Let us, too, lift up our voices by singing or praying in church, so that our adversary, the devil, may depart in confusion at the holy sound. If not in deed, then surely in thought or word the devil usually creeps up to those who are silent or speak of idle, useless matters. When they are singing or praying he can in no way take advantage by his cunning of those whom he sees engaged mentally or vocally in God’s praises. SERMON 80.2.

SING IN HARMONY. NICETAS OF REMESIANA: We must sing with our intelligences; not only with the spirit (in the sense of sound of our voice) but also with our mind. We must think about what we are singing, lest we lose by distracting talk and extraneous thoughts the fruit of our effort. The sound and melody of our singing must be suitably religious. It must not be melodramatic but a revelation of the true Christianity within. It must have nothing theatrical about it but should move us to sorrow for our sins. Of course, you must all sing in harmony, without discordant notes. One of you should not linger unreasonably on the notes while his neighbor is going too fast; nor should one of you sing too low while another is raising his voice. Each one should be asked to contribute his part in humility to the volume of the choir as a whole. No one should sing unbecomingly louder or slower than the rest, as though for vain ostentation or out of human respect. The whole service must be carried out in the presence of God, not with a view to pleasing people. LITURGICAL SINGING 13.

CONFESSED AS KING OF ALL. DIODORE OF TARSUS: Since he had said “king,” he went on to say, not only ours but of “all the earth”: the one responsible for some people conquering and others being conquered, as he wishes, no matter from what quarter they mount their charge, how could he not be confessed as king of all? The phrase “sing with understanding” means with a sense of what has been done and keeping in mind the achievements. COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 47.

47:8 God Sits on His Holy Throne
THE THRONE OF CHRIST. EVAGRIUS OF PONTUS: The throne of God is Christ. The throne of Christ is the reasonable nature. NOTES ON THE PSALMS 46[47].9.

PREPARE HIS THRONE IN YOUR HEART. AUGUSTINE: What is this holy throne? The heavens perhaps? . . . Yes, but do you want to be his throne too? Do not think such a thing beyond you; if you prepare a place for him in your heart, he comes and is pleased to set his throne there. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 47.10.

47:9 Shields of the Earth
ALL PEOPLES. THEODORET OF CYR: The promises to the patriarch Abraham, he is saying, took effect. Now the Lord of all promised to bless all the nations in his progeny. Accordingly, both these nations and their rulers abandoned their ancestral gods and are assembled with the God of Abraham, and they call this God theirs. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 47.5.

ALL WALKS OF LIFE. CHRYSOSTOM: Here he shows the extent of the gospel’s influence, reaching not only simple people but even the very wearers of the crown and those seated on a royal throne. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 47.6.

OVERVIEW: The cross ironically reveals God’s incomparable power (CHRYSOSTOM, THEODORET). The human nature God assumed in the incarnation is honored by the one who assumes it, so that all humanity is exalted in the exaltation of Christ (THEODORET). Nothing remains for God to do (HILARY OF POITIERS). Sitting at the right hand of God is a metaphor for Christ’s lordship (JEROME), which is alltranscending (CHRYSOSTOM), revealed in both its potentiality and its actuality (MARIUS VICTORINUS), just as he is revealed in Scripture (JEROME). Christ is the lord of all lordships (ORIGEN), transcending all that is (MARIUS VICTORINUS), possessing the whole substance of the Godhead (ORIGEN). All has been subjected to him as Creator from the foundation of time (AMBROSIASTER). This subjection, being allencompassing (CHRYSOSTOM), is already a fact in nature, though some wills yet remain to be subdued. The church is his body even if all do not yet obey willingly (JEROME). The risen Christ is the soul of the church (ORIGEN). The church is to Christ as body to head (CHRYSOSTOM). His exaltation is the converse of his selfemptying on the cross (MARIUS VICTORINUS). It will be consummated only at the end of time (THEODORET).

1:19 The Immeasurable Greatness of His Power
THE WORKING OF HIS GREAT MIGHT. CHRYSOSTOM: When the prophets had achieved nothing, nor angels nor archangels, nor the whole creation visible and invisible . . . he decided to appear himself in the flesh to show that this was a matter that required divine power. HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 3.1.20 23.

THE IMMEASURABLE GREATNESS OF HIS POWER. THEODORET: Since he was speaking within the limits of human language and was unable to hymn the Lord as he wished and show the greatness of his gifts, the holy apostle brings together many things under one name, striving to reveal these as much as language permits. The name “Father of glory” embraces the hope of our calling and the riches of the glory of our inheritance, the exceeding greatness of his power and the good pleasure of his will, and all that goes with it. But “the immeasurable greatness of his power” ironically now comes to mind as he thinks of the dishonor of the cross and considers how much was achieved through it. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.19.

1:20a Redemption Accomplished in Christ
THIS REDEMPTION IS ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED, EVEN IF STILL IN REFERENCE TO THE FUTURE. HILARY OF POITIERS: The language of the apostle, acknowledging the power of God, refers to future things as though they have already happened. For the things which are to be performed already subsist in their fullness in Christ, in whom is all fullness. Whatever is future is so by God’s provident ordering, not as if it might exist on its own. ON THE TRINITY 11.31.

HUMAN NATURE HONORED. THEODORET: It is clear that he says all this of Christ in his humanity. This is what inspires wonder. For it would hardly be remarkable to say that God sits by God if fellowship in power is a corollary of their identity of nature as Father and Son. But that the human nature assumed from us should partake of the same honor as the one who assumed him, so that no difference in worship is apparent, so that the invisible Godhead is worshiped through the visible human nature this exceeds all wonder! The holy apostle is overwhelmed. He first sings of the exceeding greatness of his power. Then he speaks of the working of his mighty strength. Then he looks for whatever he can say that might point to the extraordinary nature of his exaltation. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.20.

1:20b Sitting at God’s Right Hand
UNDERSTANDING ESCHATOLOGICAL METAPHORS. JEROME: He demonstrates the power of God through a human image. It is not that a material throne is set up and God the Father is physically seated on it and has the Son seated above with him. Rather he communicates with this metaphor because we could not understand his role as incomparable governor and judge except in our own terms. . . . Being on the right or left of God is to be understood as meaning that saints are on his right but sinners on his left. The very word sits denotes the power of kingship, through which God confers benefits on those above whom he is seated. He has reined them in and has them in his service, guiding those who had previously strayed. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.21.

1:21a Above Rule, Authority, Power and Dominion
WHETHER OTHER POWERS EXIST BESIDES GOD. ORIGEN: Under one Lord there may be many subordinate powers and lordships, who may themselves delegate a portion of their own power, some operating in this age and some in that which is to come. But none of these has an authority equal to the Son’s. All authorities must be subject to his authority. All subordinate powers are rightly exercised under that of Christ, since God’s power is superior to every other power. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.

ABOVE ALL AUTHORITY, ABOVE ALL POWER. MARIUS VICTORINUS: Because he is the fount and the origin and the principle in everything that moves, Christ was therefore set “above all authority and above all power.” Authority is one thing, power another. Authority is expressed in action. Power is expressed in the capacity to act. A potential act may exist not as present fact but as the present possibility of something. But since Christ is himself the origin of all and is in all that is possible, he is “above all power.” Since he is the source of all acts and authority is expressed in actions, he is therefore said to be “above all authority. “ EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.20 23.

FAR ABOVE EVERY SOVEREIGNTY. CHRYSOSTOM: He says not merely “above” but “far above.” For God is higher than the powers on high. So he led him up there, the very one who shared our lowly humanity. He led him from the lowest depth to the highest sovereignty, beyond which there is no higher honor. “Above every sovereignty,” he says: not merely compared with this or that. . . . What gnats are compared with humans, so is the whole creation compared with God. HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 3.1.20 23.

THE SYMBOLS OF POWER IN THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL. JEROME: Now we must ask where the apostle found these four names principalities, powers, forces and dominions? From what sources did he bring them into the open? It would be dishonorable to imagine that Paul, who had been schooled in godly literature, might be quoting this from pagan sources. I therefore suggest that he has brought into the open some of the Hebrew traditions which are secret. Or better, it might have been that once he understood that the law is spiritual, he grasped a higher meaning in those things that are written in the guise of history. He could have known, for example, that there was a symbol of other powers and authorities in what is said in the books of Numbers and Kings about kings, princes, captains and leaders of tribes and ages. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.21.

1:21b Above Every Name That Is Named
ABOVE EVERY NAME. ORIGEN: The One who is above all by definition has no one above him. He is not temporally following after the Father but eternally from the Father. This same thing is said of the Holy Spirit, according to the Wisdom of God, when it says “the Spirit of God has filled the world.” If therefore the Son of God is said to be above all and the Holy Spirit is said to contain all, while God the Father is the one far above all names, it is plainly demonstrated that the nature and substance of the Trinity is one, which is above all. COMMENTARY ON ROMANS 7.13.

THAT NAME FROM WHICH ALL NAMING COMES. MARIUS VICTORINUS: All names are secondary inventions. They primarily point to that which is in the created order, whether it be angels, human beings or temporal powers. By contrast, only that is eternal in essence which has existence without dependency upon something else that exists, which lives by its own power. That which is eternal has no name in itself. Such “names” are added by us with our vocabulary and language. Christ receives these names from us (Son of God, divine, Spirit), yet he is still more than whatever these names convey. . . . Among names, the name that holds the chief place and that from which all names come is that which the Greeks call Being itself. But Christ is above this very being and is therefore above every name. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.20 23.

1:22a Putting All Things Under His Feet
UNDER HIS FEET. CHRYSOSTOM: God set him above so as to be honored before the rest, not merely to distinguish him but to make all things his servants. Truly this is an awesome reality that the whole power of creation should finally bow before a man in whom God the Word dwells. For it is possible for someone to be on high without subjects but held in peculiar honor. Here, however, it is not so, but “he has put all under his feet.” And he has not only subjected them but imposed the most extreme subjection, below which there is no other. For this reason he says “under his feet.” OMILY ON EPHESIANS 3.1.20 23.

HE RECEIVED THIS AUTHORITY BEFORE ALL THINGS. AMBROSIASTER: He says that the Father has subjected all creation to the Son, so that he may be the head and Lord of all on account of being the one through whom he made all things. He “made all things subject to him” when he generated him before all things, that through him all that had not been might come into being. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.23.

1:22b The Head Over All Things
WHETHER THIS HAS ALREADY OCCURRED. JEROME: By his foreknowledge he is celebrating what is to come as though it were done already, as I explained above when he says “he has blessed us.” . . . Either this interpretation, or a better one might be: If we are to take account of what has gone before, we should take this to mean that even those things whose will is not subject to him serve him because of their natural condition. So demons, Gentiles and Jews all serve him. Even if they do not freely serve Christ nor are they put under his feet, yet, because they have been created by him for good, they are unwillingly subject to his power, even if they strive against him with the volition of their free judgment. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.22 23.

ALL THINGS. JEROME: Why “all things”? Why is it said that angels, thrones, dominions, powers and the other forces that were never opposed to God should be “put under his feet”? It seems obscure. But it could be said in reply that none is without sin. The “stars themselves are not clean in God’s sight,” and every creature dreads the advent of the Lord. . . . But another explanation refers the word all not to everything but only to those things that are in dispute. It is as if one says “all the citizens cried out,” not meaning that there was no one in the city who was silent but that what is said of the majority covers the minority also. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.22 23.

1:22c 23a The Church Is His Body
HOW THE CHURCH IS CHRIST’S BODY. JEROME: In the same way as a hand has many members subject to it, of which some are diseased and weak, so too our Lord Jesus Christ, being the head of the church, has as his members the whole congregation of the church, the saints and also the sinners. But the saints are in voluntary subjection to him, while the sinners are under compulsion. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.22 23.

WHETHER CHRIST IS THE SOUL OF THE CHURCH. ORIGEN: The church is called the body of Christ. We inquire whether as the body is distinguished from the head so we should think of [the church] here as an organ of its Head. Or should we rather think of the head as an aspect of the body of a person, so the whole church of Christ is Christ’s body in that he ensouls it with his Godhead and fills it with his Spirit. Or perhaps it should be interpreted in another way. But even if the second is true, the more human part of it is by itself a subservient aspect of the whole body, while the divinity that gives life to the whole church is, as it were, the divine power that enlivens it. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.

THE LIFTING UP OF THE CHURCH. CHRYSOSTOM: Oh, how high he has raised the church! For, as if he were lifting it by some stage machine, he has led it up to a great height and installed it on that throne. For where the head is, there is the body also. HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 3.1.20 23.

1:23b The Fullness of Him Who Fills
HOW CHRIST FILLS THE CHURCH. MARIUS VICTORINUS: Christ is the fullness of the church. This entire fullness is in process of being filled up. At one stage everything which is being filled is made empty. So Christ was emptied or emptied himself. Having recovered all things again through the mystery of salvation and saved the full number of souls, Christ is filling all in all. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.20 23.

NOTHING FURTHER IS TO BE ADDED OR RECEIVED. MARIUS VICTORINUS: All these statements about the magnificence and power of Christ have this purpose: To prove that nothing further is to be received, no other thought required to complete the revelation. The Ephesians are therefore in error if they add anything further and introduce anything from the teaching of the Jews or of the world. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.20 23.

THE CHURCH IS CALLED THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST. CHRYSOSTOM: The fullness of the head is the body and that of the body is the head. Observe how skillfully Paul writes and how he spares no word to express the glory of God. The “fullness” of the head, he says, is fulfilled through the body. The body consists of all its members. He shows Christ using each member individually, not merely all in common. For if we were not many one a hand, one a foot, one another member the body would not be full. Through all members, therefore, his body is made full. Then the head is fulfilled, then the body becomes perfect, when we are all combined and gathered into one. HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 3.1.20 23.

WHEN WILL GOD BE ALL IN ALL. THEODORET: By the church he means the whole community of the faithful. This he calls the body of Christ and the fullness of the Father. This body he has filled with all gifts. He “lives in it and goes about in it,” as the voice of prophecy says. But this will be more strictly so in the future life. . . . In the present life God is in all, since his nature is uncircumscribed; but he is not “all in all,” since some are impious and some lawless. Yet he lives in those who fear him and who put hope in his mercy. In the next life at any rate, when mortality has ceased and immortality is conferred and sin has no place any longer, he will be all in all. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.23.

OVERVIEW: Having put into their hands a summary of Christian teaching, which is expressed in the form of baptism, the risen Lord commanded the disciples to go forth into the whole world. With Jesus’ resurrection his own proper glory is again restored, following his humiliation. Jesus reminded his disciples of the consummation of all things, so that they would not look at the present dangers only but also at the good things to come that last forever. He promised to be not only with these disciples but also with all who would subsequently believe after them (CHRYSOSTOM).

28:16 17 The Disciples See Jesus in Galilee
BUT SOME DOUBTED. CHRYSOSTOM: This seems to me to be the last appearance in Galilee, when he sent them out to baptize. And if “some doubted,” herein again admire the Evangelists’ truthfulness. Even up to the last day, they were determined not to conceal even their own shortcomings. Nevertheless even these are assured by what they see. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 90.2.

28:18 20 I Am with You Always
THE GREAT COMMISSION. JEROME: “Jesus approached them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.’ ” This authority was given to one who had just been crucified, buried in a tomb, laid dead and afterwards had arisen. Authority was given to him in both heaven and earth so that he who once reigned in heaven might also reign on earth through the faith of his believers.

“ ‘Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’ ” First they teach all nations; then they baptize those they have taught with water, for the body is not able to receive the sacrament of baptism before the soul has received the truth of the faith. They were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit so that the three who are one in divinity might also be one in giving themselves. The name of the Trinity is the name of the one God.

“ ‘Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.’ ” What a marvelous sequence this is. He commanded the apostles first to teach all nations and then to baptize them in the sacrament of faith and then, after faith and baptism, to teach them to observe all that he had commanded. Lest we think these commandments of little consequence or few in number, he added “all that I have commanded you,” so that those who were to believe and be baptized in the Trinity would observe everything they had been taught. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 4.28.18 20.

GO, MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS. CHRYSOSTOM: What does he finally say to them when he sees them? “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” He is still speaking to them according to his humanity, for they had not yet received the Spirit which was able to raise them to higher things. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” He gives them one charge with a view toward teaching and another charge concerning his commandments. He makes no mention of the future of the Jews. He does not scold Peter for his denial or any one of the others for their flight. Having put into their hands a summary of Christian teaching, which is expressed in the form of baptism, he commands them to go out into the whole world. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 90.2.

AS IF TO ONE BODY. CHRYSOSTOM: After that, because he had enjoined on them great things, to raise their courage he reassures them that he will be with them always, “even to the end of the world.” Now do you see the relation of his glory to his previous condescension? His own proper power is again restored. What he had said previously was spoken during the time of his humiliation.

He promised to be not only with these disciples but also with all who would subsequently believe after them. Jesus speaks to all believers as if to one body. Do not speak to me, he says, of the difficulties you will face, for “I am with you,” as the one who makes all things easy. Remember that this is also said repeatedly to the prophets in the Old Testament. Recall Jeremiah objecting that he is too young and Moses and Ezekiel shrinking from the prophet’s office. “I am with you” is spoken to all these people. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 90.2.

TO THE CLOSE OF THE AGE. CHRYSOSTOM: Observe the excellence of those who were sent out into the whole world. Others who were called found ways of excusing themselves. But these did not beg off.

Jesus reminds his disciples of the consummation of all things. He seeks to draw them further on, that they may not look at the present dangers only but also at the good things to come that last forever. He is in effect saying, “These difficult things that you will undergo are soon to be finished with this present life. For this world will come to an end. But the good things you are to enjoy are immortal, as I have often told you before.” Having invigorated and roused their minds by the remembrance of that coming day, he sent them out. Those who live faithfully, with good works, should strangely desire that day even as those who lack good works should fear it. So let us not fear and shudder. Let us repent while there is opportunity. Let us rise out of our sins. We can by grace, if we are willing. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 90.2.