Chapter 1

Theophylact of Ohrid, Exposition of the Epistle to the Colossians

1 Theophylact of Ohrid, Exposition of the Epistle to the Colossians — Chapter One

¹ Argument of the Epistle to the Colossians. All the Epistles of Paul are holy, but most of all those sent while he was in chains, as though a champion in the very midst of slaughter and trophies were sending dispatches even as he set them up. And he himself knows that this is something great and a ground for honor. For writing to Philemon he says, whom I begot in my chains.[1] He said this so that we too might not chafe at hardships, but might even take pride in them. Now there are many such Epistles: the one to the Ephesians, the one to Philemon, the one to Timothy, the one to the Philippians, and this one to the Colossians as well, which was sent while he was in chains. And just as he wrote to the Romans and to the Hebrews though he had not seen them, so too he writes to these without having seen them. Among them were also Philemon and Archippus, who seems to me to have been entrusted with a certain Church. He writes to the Colossians upon such an occasion as this: a wicked teaching had established itself among them like a naturalized citizen, for they supposed that they were brought to God and the Father not through the Son but through angels, thinking it absurd to believe that the Son of God had appeared in the last times, seeing that in the Old Covenant all things came about through angels. They also kept many Jewish and Greek observances, watching days and seasons and foods. All these things, standing in need of correction, moved the Apostle to write this Epistle.

² Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God. At once, in the very opening, he secretly overthrows their teachings. For he is not an apostle of angels, but of Jesus Christ; and this is the will of God, that he be His apostle, and not of angels. If, then, I am an apostle by the will of God, it is plain that I proclaim things that are true. And what are these things? That we have been brought near by the Son; that we have been delivered from the Jewish and Greek observances. And note the word “through” laid down with reference to the Father.

³ And Timothy the brother. So then he too is an apostle; and it was fitting that this man should be made known to them as well.

⁴ To the holy and faithful in Christ who are in Colossae. Colossae is a city of Phrygia, now called Chonae; and this is clear from the fact that Laodicea is nearby. But from what source have you become holy? Was it not through the baptism into the death of Christ? From what source faithful? Is it not because you believe in Christ? Is it not because so many mysteries were entrusted to you by Christ? For we are called faithful not only because we have believed, but also because mysteries have been entrusted to us by God which not even the angels knew. From what source brothers? Was it then in your own works, or in your achievements? It is not so; rather, it is in Christ. How then do you ascribe your being brought near to angels?

⁵ Grace to you and peace from God our Father. He does not add the name of Christ here, though it was his custom to do so, lest right away in the preface he should openly clash with them and make them recoil from the rest of his discourse. But let those who belittle the Spirit say from what source God is our Father. Is it not through the Spirit? Who has graciously bestowed the great things that surpass the mind? Is it not the Spirit? How then do you belittle Him?

⁶ We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying for you. Jesus Christ is our Lord, not the servant angels. And not only by his thanksgiving, but also by his unceasing prayer for them, does he show his love, since even those whom he had not seen he held continually within himself.

⁷ Having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus. We give thanks, he says, because we have heard from Epaphroditus of your faith—not the faith in angels, but in Christ Jesus. And by this he forestalls them. And these names too, “Christ” and “Jesus,” are tokens of the benefaction. For He Himself was anointed on our behalf, and He Himself saved the people from their sins.[2]

⁸ And the love which you have toward all the saints. Not toward this one or that one, but toward all. Therefore toward us as well. And so you will also hear us gladly. By these words he makes them his own. And it seems to me that by “love” he means almsgiving and fellowship, as elsewhere too.

⁹ Because of the hope laid up for you in the heavens. You love the saints, he says, not for any human reason, but because you hope for the good things to come; or rather, We give thanks because you are about to inherit the incorruptible things. For they are not laid up on earth, that they should be corrupted, but in the heavens, so that they possess what is secure. Do not, therefore, be in doubt about your hope, for it is laid up in safety. And this is directed to those undergoing trials, that they should not seek their relief here, nor lose heart amid the trials, since they have a great recompense.

¹⁰ Of which you heard beforehand in the word of the truth of the Gospel. He did not say “of the preaching,” but “of the Gospel,” in order to remind them of the benefactions of God; for the Gospel concerns good things. And if it is a word of truth, there is no falsehood in it. How then do you make it false by not believing, as you were taught beforehand by it, that salvation is through Christ? And who was the one who preached there? Epaphras, as appears from what follows.

¹¹ Which is present among you, as also in all the world. He used the word present, as of some living thing. It did not, he says, come to you and then depart, but it is present and prevails among you. And by these words he gladdens them. And since the many are more firmly established when they have others as partners in their teachings, he says, And in all the world. For everywhere it is, everywhere it stands fast.

¹² And it is bearing fruit and growing. Bearing fruit through works, growing through the many who are continually being added to the faith. But it would not bear fruit unless it were firmly established. For the trees too, when they are made firm, then bear more fruit.

¹³ As also among you. He forestalls them, as above, with praises, so that they may not depart even if they wished to. For if the Gospel was thus proclaimed to all and to you, how is it that some now teach otherwise?

¹⁴ From the day you heard and came to know the grace of God in truth. The Gospel, he says, bears fruit and grows among you from the day you came to know the grace. How? Not in deceit and idle words, but in truth—that is, by signs and wondrous works.

¹⁵ As also you learned from Epaphras. You came to know the grace, he says, by the very works, just as Epaphras also taught you. For it was not that one thing happened and another was taught. For this man, as it seems, preached to the Colossians.

¹⁶ Our beloved fellow-servant. From this he shows the man’s trustworthiness. For I, Paul, would not have loved him had he not been a true herald, nor would I have called him a fellow-servant.

¹⁷ Who is faithful. That is, true.

¹⁸ A minister of Christ on your behalf. In your stead, he says, he ministered in matters pertaining to Christ. For his going to Paul at that time, and consoling him in his chains, and making known to him the affairs of the Colossians, was a ministry of Christ. But if Epaphras is a minister of Christ, how do you say that you were brought near through angels?

¹⁹ Who also made known to us your love in the Spirit. That is, the spiritual love which you have toward me. For this is secure, the love that is in the Spirit. But the rest—both the natural loves, such as of parents toward children and of children toward parents, and the loves of friends and companions—are all insecure.[3]

²⁰ For this reason we also, from the day we heard, do not cease praying for you. “For this reason”—what reason? Since, he says, we heard of your faith and your love, having become full of good hope concerning the things to come, we pray for you—not one day, nor two, but ever since we heard these things. And by this he shows his own love, while gently bringing a reproach upon them, seeing that, though helped by his prayers, they have not yet recovered themselves to perfection. And observe that there is need of many and continual prayers, and that Paul, though always praying and not yet having succeeded, nevertheless did not desist.

²¹ And asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will. By these words he shows them to be neither wholly imperfect nor wholly perfect. For he did not say, “that you may receive,” but “that you may be filled.” For you have it, but not the whole of it. And that you were brought near, you have known; but that it was through the Son, this is lacking—which I also pray may be fulfilled. For the will of God and His good pleasure is that the Son was given for us, and not the angels. Understand, then, “full knowledge” as the addition to knowledge.

²² In all spiritual understanding and wisdom. Since the philosophers were deceiving them, I wish, he says, that you learn the teaching in spiritual wisdom, not according to the wisdom of men, by which, being now led astray, you think that you know. But if, in order to learn His will, there is need of spiritual wisdom, what is one to say of those who boast that they know the essence of God from the wisdom that is outside?

²³ That you may walk worthily of the Lord. I pray, he says, that you may learn that you were saved through the Only-begotten, in order that you may walk—that is, that you may live according to virtue. For he who has come to understand the love of God for mankind, and that He gave over His Son for us, how would he not be eager to give himself over to the labors of virtue, and to take up his cross? For “to walk” pertains to one’s life and manner of living, as has been said. And everywhere he joins manner of life to faith. And to put it another way: We pray, he says, not only that you may learn, but that you may also display it in works. For he who knows without doing is destined to be punished. And see how he always calls the manner of life a “walking,” showing that just as walking is always necessary to us, so too is the best life.

²⁴ Unto all pleasing, in every good work. That you may so live, he says, as to please God in all things. And how will this come about? In no other way than in every good work. For where there is every good work, there is all pleasing of God. And observe how everywhere he adds “all”: in all wisdom; and in every good work; and unto all pleasing; and unto all patience—showing that they have it even now, yet not the whole of it. And so they need to take on what is perfect.

²⁵ Bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God. Just as, he says, you have come to know God more greatly than the ancients, so you ought also to grow in your life according to the measure of your knowledge. For he who has been counted worthy to know God, so as even to be a son of God, of how much virtue does he stand in need? Or else: You ought indeed to bear fruit in good deeds, but in such a way as also to have the knowledge of God as you ought, and not as you now suppose you have it. For what profit is there in life and manner of living, if you are ignorant of the Son of God? And observe how above he said there was need of knowledge in order to walk worthily of the Lord; now again he requires growth in good works, so that one may at the same time also know God. For each is constitutive of the other.

²⁶ Being strengthened with all power. We pray that you may be filled, being strengthened with all power. Unto what? Unto the trials and the persecutions, so that you may not grow weary nor despair.

²⁷ According to the might of His glory. That He may give you such power as befits Him to give, ineffable and boundless, that is; only insofar as it is possible for a man to receive it. And great is the consolation. For he did not say “power,” but “might,” which is greater—as though he were saying: Everywhere His glory prevails. Do not, therefore, you yourselves grow soft amid hardships; for you will be strengthened, as is fitting for those who serve a Master so mighty and glorious.

²⁸ Unto all endurance and patience. Being strengthened unto all endurance, which is toward those outside; and patience, which is toward one another. For one is patient toward those whom it is possible to requite, but one endures those whom it is not possible to requite. For this reason, with regard to God, “endurance” is not spoken of, but “patience,” since He is able to crush yet forbears. And “unto all”—not now, but afterward no longer. If, then, we gather the discourse together, this is what he says: We pray that you may perfectly receive the knowledge of the teaching, not in worldly wisdom but in spiritual; and that you may have a virtuous life, so as to stand firm against the trials, having been strengthened, as is fitting to be strengthened by God, so as to show endurance toward those outside and patience toward the brethren.

²⁹ With joy giving thanks to the Father. Being about to bring a charge against them, as not holding rightly concerning the teaching, he first smooths his discourse, lest he should seem to be making the charge as an enemy. Having said beforehand, therefore, that “I pray for you that such and such good things may come to you” (which is by no means the part of an enemy), he now says, “And with joy I give thanks for the good things that already belong to you,” so that I bring my charge against you not out of enmity but out of love. And I would indeed wish to praise you throughout, but I am compelled by necessity to make the charge. So he does in the Epistle to the Corinthians as well. And gently he leads them into the discourse concerning the Son. For if I give thanks with joy, then great are the things that already belong to you. And these things the servant angels did not give, but the Master, the Son. But how did he say, “I give thanks with joy”? Because it is possible to give thanks even in grief; for instance, Job gave thanks, yet in anguish: The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. For let no one deprive him of his being stung; for thus he also takes away his praise, if he endured as one without feeling. Rather, he was stung, yet he was not wounded.[4]

³⁰ Who has made you sufficient. So great, he says, are the things given, that He not only made you rich, but also gave you sufficiency and power for being shown worthy, having received them. I mean something like this: A king, having entrusted some lowly man with a prefecture, perhaps, gave him a dignity, yet did not make him sufficient for receiving the office worthily, that is, for administering it; whence often the honor made him ridiculous. But God both honored us and made us sufficient for receiving the honor. And it is a doubling of honor to make us fit also for the gift.

³¹ Unto the portion of the lot of the saints. That is, who has ranked you with the saints; and not so simply, but having granted that you should also enjoy the very same things, which he indicates by “portion.” For it is possible to be ranked in the same city, yet not to have the same portion; and again, to be in the same lot, yet not to have the same portion. For instance, we are all in the same lot of the Church, yet one has one portion and another has another. But here He counted us worthy both of the same lot and of the same portion. And everywhere he calls it a “lot,” that he may show that, just as the lot is not of human effort but rather seems a matter of chance, so too we are counted worthy of the kingdom not from our achievements, but the whole is of the divine gift. For this reason, When you have set everything aright, he says, say, We are unprofitable servants; for what we were obligated to do, we have done.[5]

³² In the light. Both in the age to come and in the present—that is, in knowledge. For even now He has given light, having revealed the mysteries to us, and in the age to come He will give it more clearly.

³³ Who rescued us from the authority of darkness. It is not only this that is great, that He counted us worthy of the kingdom, but also what manner of men we formerly were. For it is not the same thing to give something to the worthy and to the unworthy; which he also says in the Epistle to the Romans: For scarcely will anyone die for a righteous man.[6] Us, then, who were under the authority of darkness—that is, of error and of the tyranny of the devil. And he did not say “darkness” simply, but “authority.” For he had great authority over us and held us in his power. For it is a grievous thing even to be under the devil simply; but to be so with authority, this is more grievous still. And he did not say “He cast out,” but “He rescued,” showing that we were in wretched plight as captives.

³⁴ And transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. It is a great thing even to be delivered from darkness; but to be brought also into a kingdom is far greater. And not simply, but so as to reign together with the Son of His love—that is, with the Beloved—we who were enemies, who were darkened. Which he also says elsewhere: If we endure, we shall also reign together with Him.[7] And he did not say “He removed” (for then the whole would have belonged to the one who removed), but “He transferred,” so that something might belong to us as well. And by the word he also shows the ease of God’s power, as though one were to lead a soldier from one place to another.

³⁵ In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Lest, hearing that the Father rescued us, you should think that the Son displayed no good thing toward us, he goes on to say that the Son has given us the greater thing. For of our being transferred into the kingdom, He Himself is the cause, having graciously bestowed on us the redemption—that is, the forgiveness of sins. For if we had not been redeemed and forgiven these, we would not have been transferred into the kingdom. So He Himself prepared the way for the gift of the Father. And he did not say “redemption,” but “complete redemption”—that is, He redeemed us perfectly, so that we should no longer fall, nor become mortal, as liable to the sin of Adam. Since, then, the Son redeemed, He Himself also brought us near. How then do you speak of angels? And note “in whom” as said of the Son.

³⁶ Who is the image of the invisible God. Here he sets forth the honor of the nature and the greatness of the dignity of the Only-begotten. He is, he says, the image of God; therefore not differing in any way. For you have no measure of the greatness, that you might say by how much He is diminished. For if He were an image as a man is, you would have something to say, that the image does not attain to the prototype. But since He is an image as God and as Son of God, the image of the invisible God is one that differs in no way—invisible, that is. For with us, since human art produces the image, an art that often falls short, the image does not possess the quality of differing in no way; but where God is, there is nowhere any falling short, nowhere any error; and therefore the quality of differing in no way. But if the Son does not possess the quality of differing in no way with respect to the Invisible, what hinders the angels too from being images? For they too are invisible; yet nowhere is an angel called an image. And observe the precision of the divine Scripture: man it names an image of God and a son; but the angel, by no means. For there the loftiness of the angelic nature would quickly have cast its hearers into impiety, supposing the angel to be of the same dignity as God; whereas in the case of man, his lowliness and humility secures us, so that we should suspect nothing of the sort. Gather, then, that the Only-begotten, being both—both image and invisible—by being an image is distinguished from the angels, who are invisible yet not images; and by being invisible, from men, who are themselves called images yet are not invisible. He alone, therefore, is properly and without any difference an image. And if the Arians still object that the image is not of the same essence as the prototype, let them hear the Scripture saying that Seth is an image of Adam. Is he not, then, also of the same essence? For artificial images are not of the same essence; but natural ones are altogether of the same essence.

³⁷ Firstborn of all creation. Having said that He is the image of the invisible God, he then adds these words too. And here is the great contrivance of those who incline to Arianism. For since, they say, He is called “firstborn of all creation,” He is the first of created things. And yet he did not say “first-created,” but “firstborn.” Otherwise you will give Him brothers, and He will be first even of me, and of a frog, and of a stone, and of the most worthless things, and of the same essence as all these. For the firstborn is surely of the same essence as those of whom he is firstborn. But upon your own head be the blasphemy. For to think such things concerning the incomparable glory of the Creator is godless. And besides, “the firstborn” is not always spoken with reference to those that follow in Scripture, but absolutely thus, the one first born. So then the Theotokos Mary also bore Him as the firstborn according to the flesh, though He had no brothers at all following after Him; for He is Only-begotten from her too. So then He is also firstborn from the Father, not with reference to the rest of creation, but absolutely; for He is Only-begotten according to the generation on high as well. What, then, is it that Paul now says, taking his stand against the pressing matter and dismantling the supposition of the Colossians? Lest they should think that He is younger than the angels—seeing that of old men were brought near through those angels, but now He Himself is said to bring near—he wishes to show that the Son is before all creation. How, then? Through generation. So He is also prior to the angels, and so much so that He Himself even created them. So then, even if the angels rendered any ministry in the Old Covenant, it is His. Observe, then, the wisdom of the Apostle: Lest, hearing that He is before all creation, you should think Him without beginning, he teaches you that He has a Father and is begotten from Him. For since both He and all things are from God, he shows this very thing: that the one is one and the other is another; and that the one is Son, as from the Father, while the others are creatures, created through this very Son. And so he continues.

³⁸ Because in Him were created all things, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth. “In Him” is used in the sense of “through Him,” as he himself will show further on. And what was a matter of doubt, namely concerning the things in the heavens, this he has placed first. If, then, the angels were created through Him, how are they prior to Him?

³⁹ The visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or authorities. Leaving aside detailed discussion of the visible things, as not in doubt, he goes through in detail the things in doubt—the invisible, I mean. And he did not set forth all the orders above individually, inasmuch as he shows the lesser also from the greater. For surely the archangels and angels and our own souls are invisible as well; so that from those things, this is clear concerning these too.[8]

⁴⁰ All things were created through Him and unto Him. Behold, what he said above, “in Him,” this he now says, “through Him”; just as the evangelist John too: All things came into being through Him.[9] But in saying “all things,” he did not include the Spirit. For the Spirit is not of the “all things,” but is one absolutely, as there is one God and one Lord. All things, therefore, that have come into being were created through Him. Then, lest you should think Him to be a subordinate, He says, “And unto Him”—that is, all things hang upon Him. And not only did He Himself make them, but He Himself also holds them together, so that, if anything be torn away from His providence, it perishes. And he did not say “He holds together,” but the more subtle: “Unto Him they incline and hang”; and this alone, their inclining toward Him, is sufficient to hold them together and bind them fast. And this is no less than to have created them; rather, judged by our standards, it is even greater. For we too make a garment, perhaps, or a house; but we are not able to preserve it from corruption. He, however, both made it and preserves it.

⁴¹ And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Continually he turns the same things over, by the continuity of his words, as by certain repeated blows, tearing up by the roots the destructive teaching. And observe, he did not say that He “came to be” before all things, but “is,” which is most proper to God. But where is Paul of Samosata, who says that He began from Mary? And “in Him all things hold together,” as upon a foundation; thus He is also firstborn of creation, as a foundation. And this indicates not consubstantiality with the creatures, but that all things are borne in Him.

⁴² And He is the head of the body, the Church. Having spoken of the dignity of the Son, he now speaks also of His love for mankind. For He who is thus above all things, the Maker, the Sustainer, joined Himself to those below. And he did not say “of the fullness of the Church,” but “of the body,” in order to show the closeness of His intimacy with us, and that He took on flesh consubstantial with us, and not from heaven. For Paul took the Church to stand for the whole human race; as though he were saying that in the generation according to the flesh too He is first of men, as a head.

⁴³ Who is the beginning, firstborn from the dead. He is, he says, the beginning of the resurrection, having risen before all. And since He loosed the pangs of death, He is fittingly also called firstborn. He has, however, as a firstfruits, the rest also following after Him. For the firstfruits is a firstfruits of some things. And just as, when a single sheaf is offered as a firstfruits, the whole harvest is blessed, so through Him we were all sanctified and brought near, and, one body having risen, the whole nature has been counted worthy of resurrection.

⁴⁴ That in all things He Himself might have the preeminence. In all things—in the things contemplated concerning Him. For He was both begotten before all from the Father, and is first of all, as head of the Church; and He rose before all, graciously bestowing incorruption upon them, as a firstfruits. For even if others rose before Him, yet they died again; but He rose with the perfect resurrection. And observe: here He is firstborn as a firstfruits of the resurrection, because this is the regeneration; but there, He is not a firstfruits of creation, even though firstborn. For the manner of being is not the same; rather, the one was begotten, while the creation is this very thing, creation.

⁴⁵ Because in Him it was the good pleasure that all the fullness should dwell. The fullness of the Godhead—that is, whatever the Son and Word was—dwelt there, not some energy, but essence. And he is unable to state any other cause than the good pleasure and the will of God.

⁴⁶ And through Him to reconcile all things unto Himself. “Through Him,” that is: He Himself, having worked this salvation, secured it for us. And lest you should think that He took the rank of a servant, He says, “Unto Himself”—that is, He Himself reconciled men to Himself. And yet elsewhere he said that He reconciled them to God; so then the things of the Father are common to the Son as well. And he did not say “to reconcile,” but “to reconcile fully”—that is, to render back, as a debt long owed, and to make peace completely, so that we should no longer be at enmity with Him. For not only was the reconciliation rendered, but also the manner of the reconciliation, that is, the slaying of the Son, availed the very greatest things.

⁴⁷ Having made peace through the blood of His cross. The reconciling shows the enmity; the making of peace, the war. For we were both enemies of God and at war with Him. It is a great thing, then, to reconcile; but to do so also through Himself is greater; and still further, “through blood”; and still further, “through a cross,” that dishonorable death. For He did not reconcile by speaking words, as an ambassador, but by giving Himself over. And he did not say “of the cross” and stop there, but added “His,” lest you should think the cross was able to accomplish anything by itself. For the cross did not save simply, but because it was His cross.

⁴⁸ Whether the things upon the earth, or the things in the heavens. The things upon the earth, fittingly; for each man was at strife both with himself and with others, and we were enemies even of the very angelic life. But the things in the heavens, how? Earth had been severed from heaven, and the angels had been set at war against men, seeing their own Master insulted; for which reason they were even sent for vengeance, as in the case of David, as in the case of the Sodomites, as in the case of the valley of weeping. The Son, therefore, having led man up into the heavens, the enemy, the foe, made the angels also to appear on earth singing and accompanying each of the faithful. And it seems to me that Paul too was caught up for this reason, that he might be taught how men are in heaven, and that the Son was taken up there. Among earthly things, then, the peace is twofold, both toward the heavenly things and toward themselves; but among the heavenly things it is single. For with us, henceforth, they have made a truce, and they rejoice over the salvation of so many. How then do you say, O Colossians, that you are brought near through angels? For those angels are so far from bringing us near that they were even set at war against us; and if He had not reconciled us to them, we would not have been at peace.

⁴⁹ And you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind, in your evil works. He said above that we were under the authority of darkness; now he says that we were enemies in our mind—not saying the same thing, but, lest hearing those former words you should think there was compulsion, he adds these, in order to show that, even while we were unworthy of reconciliation, He counted us worthy of it. For he who suffers evil by compulsion is worthy of mercy; but he who suffers it willingly, of hatred. Us, then, he says—not unwilling, nor compelled, but willingly and of our own accord leaping away from Him, and being altogether unworthy—He reconciled fully. And he says these things, since he made mention of the things in the heavens, showing that the whole enmity has its beginning not from the things above, but from us. For those wished it, and so did God; but you did not will it. Therefore he did not say “being at enmity” simply, but “alienated”—that is, not even expected to return. For you were enemies in your mind—that is, in your purpose. And the dreadful thing did not stop there, but extended also to your evil works—that is, you were both enemies and did the deeds of enemies. And by all these things he shows that the angels were able neither to persuade us nor to deliver us from the devil, when we were enemies and the one who held us was not yet bound. But Christ both bound the strong one and persuaded us to depart from him.

⁵⁰ But now He has reconciled you in the body of His flesh through death. Again he sets forth the manner of the reconciliation, that it was also in the body. How? Was it then merely by being scourged, or struck? No; but also by dying the most shameful death.

⁵¹ To present you holy and blameless and without reproach before Him. Again he sets forth another benefaction, which he also said above, “Who has made you sufficient,” saying this same thing now too. For He did not only deliver us from sins, he says, but also graciously bestowed holiness—not the ordinary kind, but the kind that is before Him—and that which is blameless and without reproach, so that nothing should have been done by us even to the point of a bare condemnation.

⁵² If indeed you continue in the faith. Since he had ascribed the whole to the Son, as having set these things aright by His death, lest they should say, “Henceforth there is no need of our labors,” he says that there is need to continue in the faith. So do not be slothful, nor sink down.

⁵³ Grounded and steadfast, and not shifting away from the hope of the Gospel. Since it is possible to continue, yet to be shaken, he adds, “Grounded and steadfast”—that is, not being shaken; and not only this, but neither being shifted. I demand nothing burdensome of you, he says, but only that you not be shifted away from Christ. For He is the hope of the Gospel, and all who receive the Gospel ought to hope upon Him, as having made peace. So then he who ascribes the peace to angels has been shifted away from Christ. With regard to virtue, then, it is not possible not to be shaken even a little; but with regard to faith, it is possible. So he demands nothing burdensome.

⁵⁴ Of which you heard, which was proclaimed in all creation that is under heaven. He brings forward as witnesses first themselves, then the whole inhabited world. And he did not say “which is being proclaimed,” but “which was proclaimed”—that is, already believed. So then be ashamed both before yourselves and before all other men, if you believe otherwise.

⁵⁵ Of which I, Paul, became a minister. And this too contributes to the trustworthiness of the Gospel, that Paul himself is its herald. For great is his name, sung everywhere, and now embracing the whole inhabited world. And by calling himself a minister, he urges them the more to be persuaded. For I do not speak my own things, he says, but I minister to another, namely to God. So then you will be persuaded by Him.

⁵⁶ Now I rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf. This seems to be a non sequitur; but it follows very closely indeed. For since he said, “I became a minister of the Gospel,” from which he counts them worthy not to fall away, he shows that “It is so great a good that I even suffer for it; and not only do I suffer, but I also rejoice in the sufferings.” And he said that these sufferings were on their behalf, that “I might be able to benefit you.”

⁵⁷ And I fill up in my flesh what is lacking of the afflictions of Christ. The saying seems arrogant and presumptuous; but it is not, but rather it is full of much tender love toward Christ. For he wishes to persuade them that Christ even now still suffers on their behalf, and that “You are brought near not through us the apostles, but through Him, even though we are in the midst.” So then, what are you doing in leaping away from Him who, even after dying, is in peril for your sake? And what he says is this: If Christ still owed it to suffer for us, but departed and did not pay back the debt, I pay this back; just as, when the general is absent, the lieutenant fighting for the phalanx, having taken his stand in that one’s place, takes upon himself that one’s wounds. For this reason he said what is lacking, in order to show that he does not consider that he has yet suffered the whole. So greatly does He love us, that, the former sufferings not being enough, He suffers even after death in my body; for He was not content with His death, but does ten thousand other things besides. So Paul says these things not exalting himself, but wishing to show that Christ even now still cares for them.

⁵⁸ On behalf of His body, which is the Church. Just as he said, “Even if I too suffer, yet the sufferings are Christ’s,” he makes the saying trustworthy, and says that these things too come about on behalf of His body. Do not, therefore, think the saying boastful, but believe that He who did not disdain to join the Church to Himself even now still suffers on her behalf in my flesh. But if the Church is the body of Christ, and He is its head, how do you bring in angels in the midst and sever the unity?

⁵⁹ Of which I became a minister. He shows that he himself did nothing, seeing that he is a minister. But if I am a minister, how do you introduce angels as ministers?

⁶⁰ According to the stewardship of God which was given to me toward you, to fulfill the word of God. “The stewardship of God”—either he means this, that “Having been taken up, He left us to preach, that you might not despair as though forsaken.” Or he means that, “For this reason above all things He arranged that I should persecute the Church, that I might be a trustworthy herald.” Or that “He did not seek works, nor achievements, but faith and baptism. And this is the greatest stewardship. For who would have been saved, if works were sought?” Or, simply, “the stewardship of God which was given to me toward you”—that is, toward those of the Gentiles—he means the grace and the sufficiency which God gave him, so as to enlighten the Gentiles. For to persuade the darkened, the foolish, the disobedient to receive such great teachings is not of Paul’s power, but of the stewardship of God. And just as he showed that his own sufferings were Christ’s, so too he says that the fulfilling of the word among them belongs to God. And by saying “to fulfill,” he shows that they are deficient. And understand this too: it was a stewardship of God that the mystery should be spoken now, because you were becoming receptive. For God, doing all things by stewardship, did this also altogether by stewardship—that the mystery should now be revealed, when men were the more likely to receive it. So then those are foolish who are scandalized because the Son is said to have brought us near in the last times.

⁶¹ The mystery that has been hidden from the ages and from the generations. Having said of what things we were counted worthy, he shows yet another heightening: that not even before us did anyone learn these things. And he names it a mystery, which no one knew except God; and not simply “hidden,” but “hidden away.” And “from the ages,” this means “from the beginning,” as one might say.

⁶² But now it has been made manifest to His saints. This is the stewardship, that it was now made manifest. And he did not say “came to be,” but “was made manifest.” Yet not even now to all, but to His saints. So then even now it is still hidden from the others. Let those men, therefore, not deceive you; for they do not know.

⁶³ To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles. Lest you should ask for what reason it was made manifest to the saints alone, and not to all, he added, “to whom He willed.” And His willing is not without reason. And indeed He could have said to the worthy, but He wishes them rather to be humble-minded, as accountable to grace, than to be high-minded, as having obtained it worthily. And adding weight to what had come to pass, he did not say simply “to make known the glory of the mystery,” but “the riches of the glory.” Which was especially made known among the Gentiles, as he says elsewhere: but the Gentiles glorified God for His mercy.[10] For it appears among others too, but not so much as among those more senseless than stones, who worship stones and creeping things. Just as, if one were to take a dog mangy and starving, not even able to move, and were to make it a man, and to seat it upon a royal throne, he would be more glorified than if he had displayed these things toward a moderately poor man, so too here. And well did he say “of this mystery.” For there are other mysteries too, but this is truly a mystery, which no one knew, that is beyond common custom and expectation—namely, that the Gentiles should be taken in.

⁶⁴ Which is Christ in us, the hope of glory. Interpreting what the “riches” is, and what the “mystery” is: Christ, he says, or rather the knowledge of Christ, which is in you. And he set this down with praises, in order the more to draw them. For if Christ is in you, how do you call angels your benefactors? And “the hope of glory,” because through Him we hope to obtain eternal glory; or because our hope, glorious and unashamed, is Christ.

⁶⁵ Whom we proclaim. We, not angels; how then do you have those as ministers? And he says “we proclaim” emphatically, bringing Him down from above, that is.

⁶⁶ Admonishing every man, and teaching every man. Not by command, nor with compulsion; for this too belongs to the divine goodness, not to bring near tyrannically, but with admonition and teaching. And you will understand admonition as pertaining to conduct, and teaching as pertaining to doctrines.

⁶⁷ In all wisdom. For to be able to teach such things requires all wisdom—both that from the Scriptures, and that from reasonings, and that from the Greeks themselves, as the Athenians from the altar.[11]

⁶⁸ That we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. What do you say? Every man? Yes, he says, this we are striving for. And if it does not come to pass, that is nothing to us. And “perfect”—not in the law, nor in angels, but in Christ Jesus, that is, in the knowledge of Christ. For that other is not perfect.

⁶⁹ Unto which I also labor, striving. He was not content with the word “labor,” but added “striving,” in order to show the wakefulness, the exactness of his regimen, and all the other things that belong to those who strive. If, then, I labor for your good things, how much more should you?

⁷⁰ According to His working, which works in me with power. Since he said, “I labor,” he shows that this too is divine. For He who makes me strong for this evidently wills this; just as also at the beginning he said, “An apostle by the will of God.” And by this he shows also that many contend against him. For then the power of God appears the more, when many are set in opposition.

2 Chapter Two

¹ For I want you to know what great striving I have on your behalf, and for those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh. About to enter upon the doctrine, he first displays much tender affection, so that he may become more readily received. For I am in anguish, he says, on your behalf. And he joins to them those in Laodicea, and others without distinction, so that they may not be troubled, supposing that this proceeds from their own weakness. But why are you in anguish? Is it because you condemn us? It is, he says, because you have not seen my face. And he added, In the flesh, showing marvelously that he saw them continually in the Spirit.

² That their hearts may be comforted, being knit together in love. Now at last he points toward the doctrine, and he neither accuses them nor altogether absolves them of the charge. Here, then, is the apodosis. I have a striving; to what end? That they may not hold differing opinions, but may be knit together and all united into one faith. How? Not with compulsion or force, but in love. And he said this inasmuch as heresies give birth also to schisms.

³ And unto all the riches of the full assurance of understanding. That is, That they may doubt about nothing, that their understanding may be fully and richly assured concerning all things—that is, the knowledge of the mystery. And he did not say, Unto the riches, simply, but, Unto all the riches. I know indeed, he says, that you have understanding of the mystery, but I seek in you the full assurance of this understanding, that it may be rich. Or else, With understanding I wish you to be fully assured, not mindlessly and irrationally.

⁴ Unto the knowledge of the mystery of God, even the Father, of Christ. And what is the mystery of God? That access comes to be through the Son, not through angels.

⁵ In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He alone knows all things; and if he alone is wise, then it was wisely that he came in the last times, and not long ago, and certain of the foolish vainly take offense at him in this. By saying, treasures, he shows their abundance; by, All, that he is ignorant of nothing; by, Hidden, that he alone knows, and that from him one must ask for wisdom and knowledge. And observe that, even if he seems to say something great, yet this too he said in condescension, for the sake of the simpler: namely, In whom are the treasures. For he is Wisdom itself and Knowledge itself.

⁶ And this I say, that no one may delude you with persuasive speech. I said this, he means—that Christ alone knows all things—so that no one may deceive you. For what does it matter if one speaks persuasively? He knows nothing, but the whole of it is delusion and sophistry.

⁷ For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the spirit. What would have followed was to say: For though I am absent in the flesh, yet in the spirit I behold the deceivers; but instead he turned the discourse into praise. And hear him.

⁸ Rejoicing and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. That is, your good order. For not only have you not fallen, but no one has even thrown your order into confusion, nor your steadfast faith. For just as in a battle line good order makes the phalanx steadfast, so also in the Church, when there is good order, love setting all things in their place and no schisms existing, then steadfastness too comes to be. But faith also is in itself a steadfastness, not allowing reasonings to creep in which, by producing doubt, shake one.

⁹ As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord. We bring in nothing strange, but what you received, that very thing we ask back again—the Lord Jesus Christ, not the angels.

¹⁰ In him walk. For he himself is the way that leads to the Father. Do not walk in the angels; for that way does not lead there.

¹¹ Rooted. That is, holding firm without shifting, and not at one time being in Christ and at another in angels. For that which is rooted could never be moved.

¹² And built up in him. He shows that they had fallen, so that they had need of being built up again—that is, of a second building—as upon Christ for a foundation.

¹³ And established in the faith. That is, firmly holding fast to Christ through faith, not through reasonings and persuasive arguments. For the building, even if it be upon a foundation, yet if it does not stand firm, is unsteady.

¹⁴ Even as you were taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Again he sets down, Even as, so that, if they should do anything otherwise, they may feel shame before themselves. Now the phrase, Even as you were taught, is like a kind of foundation; but the abounding, this is the building up. For one must not pass beyond the teachings laid down beforehand; one must, however, advance in them, and be zealous, and show forth something abundant in the faith, giving thanks to God that he counted us worthy of such grace, and not ascribing the advance to ourselves.

¹⁵ Beware lest there be anyone who carries you off as spoil. He is a thief, he creeps in secretly, he digs through the walls from beneath unnoticed, that he may carry off your mind as spoil. Beware, therefore.

¹⁶ Through philosophy and empty deceit. He shows also the way by which the thief comes—namely, that it is philosophy. But since the name of philosophy seems venerable, he added, And empty deceit. For there is also a good deceit, concerning which Jeremiah says, You deceived me, O Lord, and I was deceived.[12] Such also as Jacob seemed to use in deceiving Esau—which one ought not even to call deceit, but rather a dispensation.

¹⁷ According to the tradition of men. Do you see whence the deceit comes? That human reasonings transmit it. For this reason they are also called heresies, because they are the opinions of men. But the faith of Christians is not a human doctrine. Therefore it will not receive such a name.

¹⁸ According to the elements of the world. He now begins to refute the observance of days, calling sun and moon elements of the world, by which the days seem to be disposed in this way or that. And he did not say, Observances of days, but he makes mention of the whole world, so that he may show its worthlessness out of abundance. For if the whole world is nothing, much more are the elements nothing.

¹⁹ And not according to Christ. Above all, he says, even if it were possible by half measures to serve both Christ and the elements, not even so ought one to be persuaded by those teachers; but as it is, they wholly remove you from Christ. And these observances were not only Greek but also Jewish: the one set deriving from philosophy, the Jewish ones from the Law.

²⁰ For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. That is, whatever God the Word is, it dwells in him. And lest, hearing the word, He dwelt, you should suppose that he was merely energized, as the prophets were—for God dwelt in them, according to that saying, I will dwell in them and walk among them[13]—he added, Bodily; that is, it is not some energy, but substance, and as one embodied and being one hypostasis together with that which was assumed. Or else, in the manner of holy Cyril, as a soul dwells in a body; and it dwells in the body substantially and indivisibly and without confusion. But whereas the soul is separated from the body in death, God the Word was never separated from the flesh he assumed, but was present to it even in the tomb, keeping it incorrupt, and was present with the soul in Hades, preaching—that is, granting release to the captives; and there was altogether a union of both, of the soul and of the body, even when by his voluntary death they were parted.

²¹ And you are made full in him. Marvelous, what a thing he has said! You have nothing less than he, but you too are made full of the Godhead—yet in him, that is, through that which was assumed. For since our nature was united to God, we too in him became partakers of the divine nature. For everywhere Paul wishes to bring us near to Christ, as when he says, He raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ; and, If we endure, we shall also reign together with him; and he calls us joint-heirs.

²² Who is the head of all principality and authority. He sets him down as head not as one consubstantial with them, but, as above, as their cause. How then, having forsaken him, do you run to angels, of whom he is the head? For through all these things he digs through and dissolves the doctrine concerning the angels.

²³ In whom also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands. He brought forward the marvel of the benefit, that In Christ you were circumcised. For it is not a human hand that brings on this circumcision of the flesh, but the Spirit; and it circumcises not a part, but the whole man.

²⁴ In the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ. There a member was stripped away through circumcision, the fleshly covering being removed; but here our body strips off the sins which we accomplish through the flesh. And such a circumcision the Law does not perform, but Christ circumcises it in baptism, stripping us of the old life that is given to sin and is wholly fleshly.

²⁵ Buried with him in baptism. What he called circumcision, this he now calls a tomb, presenting something greater than circumcision. For what was circumcised was not cast aside, but it perished and was destroyed. He, therefore, who is baptized is buried together with Christ, through the three immersions figuring the three-day burial of the Lord, and dying as far as concerns the old and sinful man.

²⁶ In whom also you were raised together through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. Baptism is not only a tomb, but also a resurrection. How? Through faith. For having believed that God is able to raise, and having as a proof of this that he also raised Christ from the dead, we were thus raised in two ways: both in that, hoping for resurrection, we already seem to have attained it, even though it is yet to come; and in that we have spiritually cast off the deadness of the works of sin—which is the very thing he goes on to emphasize.

²⁷ And you, being dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made alive together with him. Christ indeed, he says, having undergone bodily death, was made alive by the Father—not as though he himself were unable to give life to himself, but inasmuch as all things are referred to the Father. For that he himself raised himself is shown when he says, In three days I will raise up the temple; and again, He presented, it says, himself alive after his suffering[14]. But you, having undergone the death of sins, and being uncircumcised—that is, bearing a fleshly mind that was excessive and superfluous, which was deadening you—were made alive together with Christ. For as he rose in body, so you in spirit; yet we shall assuredly rise also in body. And in another way too the all-great John (Chrysostom) intimates how the deadness ought to be understood. For on account of the trespasses, he says, you lay under the sentence of death.

²⁸ Having forgiven us all our trespasses. Which produced the deadness. And observe of what we were worthy, and how he set us free.

²⁹ Having blotted out the handwriting that was against us in its decrees, which was contrary to us. Since he had said that He forgave us, lest you should suppose that he allowed them to remain and to be visible, he says: No, not so, but he blotted them out—that is, he scored them through. And let us understand the handwriting to be either the confession which the people, as it were in their own hand, made to Moses, saying, All that God has spoken we will do and we will hearken; or the covenant which God made with Adam, saying, In the day that you eat, you shall die[15]. For the devil held this fast, as a handwriting, and it stood against us, not allowing us to lift up our heads; for it had justice on its side. This Christ blotted out by the decrees—that is, by faith; for not by works, but by the decrees of faith was it dissolved.

³⁰ And he has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. He did not merely score these things through, but also took them out of the way—that is, he made them no longer even visible; and he neither gave them to us nor kept them himself, but having pierced it through upon the cross, he tore it apart, which is the act of one who forgives with joy. For we were all liable to sin and to punishment; but he, the sinless one, being punished in our stead, dissolved upon the cross both the sin and the punishment; there, then, he also rent the handwriting asunder.

³¹ Having stripped off the principalities and the authorities. He means the diabolical powers, since human nature had put them on; or since he himself, having become man, had this very fact of being man as a kind of handle—he stripped off the handle, that is, he was found ungraspable by the principalities and the authorities. For though he assumed the sinful nature, yet he did so without sin. And you may learn what is meant in this way: The devil held human nature in his power through these two things, pleasure and pain. The Lord, then, having assumed our nature for this very reason, that he might wrestle on our behalf against his principalities and authorities—I forbear to say that even straightway from the beginning, in the assumption of his holy flesh, he shattered these, being conceived without pleasure and born without pain; but moreover, even after he was born and grown to manhood, he was tempted first by the enticements of pleasure on the mountain—I mean gluttony, love of riches, and vainglory—the enemy assailing him in person, and he conquered on our behalf. Then the tempter strove, by the contrivances of pain, to turn him aside into hating his neighbors, plotting against him through the Pharisees and Scribes, and even through those whom he himself had benefited; yet he was not able to accomplish this. Last of all, he fastened him also to the cross, bringing on his mightiest contrivance. But the Lord so far did not yield to what that one wished, that he even prayed on behalf of those who crucified him. Thus, then, upon the cross he most perfectly stripped off the principalities and the authorities, procuring for us this stripping off—for us who had put them on—inasmuch as he had shared in our nature.

³² He made a public spectacle of them openly. That is, he made them to be put to shame. For never was the devil so put to shame. For expecting to hold him, he lost also the others whom he had. And, Openly, stands for, publicly, in the sight of all. For the devil would have done anything, had he been able, to persuade men that he had not died. For this is his great defeat and undoing: that a sinless man was brought under death. Therefore he stirred up here countless heresies, introducing the notion that the death came about in mere appearance. For this reason the Lord both died openly and yet did not rise openly: because of the resurrection the later time too would be a witness, but of the death, had not the time then been the witness, no other could have come to be.

³³ Triumphing over them in it. That is, showing the demons defeated in the cross. For a triumph is so called when one, returning from a victory over enemies, celebrates a public procession, displaying to all the defeated as captives. Having therefore set up the trophy in the cross, the Lord triumphed over the demons as in a public theater of Greeks, Romans, and Jews. If, then, it was not angels who died for us, but Christ, how do you say that access was granted through them?

³⁴ Let no one therefore judge you in food, or in drink, or in respect of a feast, or of a new moon, or of Sabbaths. Up to now he spoke enigmatically, Let there not be anyone who carries you off as spoil; but now more plainly, once he had first recounted the benefits. For if you have obtained such things, he says, why do you make yourselves accountable to little matters? Do not, then, allow anyone to condemn you as not keeping the Jewish observances in foods and drinks. And by this he ostensibly praises them, as setting aside the Jewish practices. And he said, In respect of a feast, because they did not venture to keep the whole of it. For even if they kept the Sabbath, yet not strictly, inasmuch as they were Christianizing. He shows, then, that the observance is vain if the whole is not kept; and that thereby the whole is already being dissolved. For if it were good, it would be observed in its entirety.

³⁵ Which are a shadow of things to come. By things to come he means the things of the New Covenant. For they were to come, with respect to the Old Covenant then present, when its proper time was at hand.

³⁶ But the body is Christ’s. Let no one defraud you of your prize. Some place a full stop at, Christ’s, so that the meaning is: The things of the Old Covenant are a shadow, but the body—that is, the truth—is Christ’s. So why must one cling to the shadow, when the body is present? Others, however, join it to what follows, so that we understand thus: But the body is Christ’s; but, that is to say, let no one defraud you of your prize—that is, cheat you. For to defraud of the prize is when one person conquers, but another receives the prize. You too, then, have conquered the devil, and are above him; why do you again subject yourselves to sin by keeping the Law, which cannot justify? And otherwise: It is Christ who has conquered the one who held us fast, and not the Law; and the prize must rest with him, the conqueror, and with you, who are the body of Christ. How then do you overlook this being given to the Law? For it is plain that, if we still Judaize, we have the Law as master, and seem to be saved by it. But if the Law is a shadow, and the things of Christ are body, we should first have been accustomed to the shadow. Fittingly, then, was he made flesh in the last times, in order to bring us near.

³⁷ Delighting in humility and worship of angels, intruding into things which he has not seen. When he had filled them with indignation by showing that they were being defrauded of their prize and insulted, then he sets forth the heretical doctrine, and says that they wish to defraud us by a seeming humility. For they said that It is unworthy of the majesty of the Only-begotten that the Only-begotten should bring you to the Father, and a thing too great for human littleness. Whence it is more reasonable, they say, to hold that the angels rendered service to your access. And from this they introduced the worship of angels, and persuaded the simpler sort to attend to these, as having saved us. And though they had never seen angels, they nonetheless made such firm assertions about them as though they had seen them.

³⁸ Vainly puffed up by the mind of his flesh. In vain, he says, is he puffed up over the doctrine by a fleshly understanding, not a spiritual one. For how is it not the mark of a fleshly and gross mind to set aside the things spoken by Christ? Thus God loved the world, so that he gave his Son for the sake of men; and again, For their sake I sanctify myself; and, I lay down my life for the sheep; and, Other sheep I have, and these too I must bring; and countless other such sayings. How then did he say above, In humility? It is a seeming humility, and not a true one. In another way: They are puffed up as dogmatists, taking their stand and refusing to be taught the truth; and they commend their own doctrine through humility—not the humility which they themselves possess, but as saying that It is a thing too great for men, that the Only-begotten should be slain on our behalf.

³⁹ And not holding fast the Head, from whom all the body, supplied and knit together through the joints and ligaments, increases with the increase of God. He does not hold fast, he says—the one who teaches these things—the Head, that is, the Son. For he himself is the head of the angels, as their Maker and Creator; but he is also the head of the whole Church, and in this respect indeed, yet also inasmuch as we are his body and members, he having shared the same things with us. From him, therefore, the whole body of the Church has both its mere being and its well-being. If anyone falls away from him, he straightway perishes. For just as the perceptive spirit is distributed from the brain into the whole body through the nerves, and from the head proceeds all perception and all motion, so also the body of the Church is supplied from Christ—that is, receives life and spiritual increase. And when does it have this? When it is knit together, that is, has conjunction with him. For the Holy Spirit gives the supply of increase through the joints and ligaments; so that if the body were without ligaments and unjoined to the Head, and is not knit together with it—that is, is not joined fast—then neither would the supply of the Spirit come to be, nor the increase of God, that is, of the best manner of life lived according to God.

⁴⁰ If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you submit to decrees? Through baptism, he says, having died together with Christ, you were put to death with respect to all your former life, so that you no longer even serve the elements to which you were formerly subject. How then now again, as though living in your former life, are you subject to these things? For you are taught that this day is auspicious, that one ill-omened—which are Greek observances. And observe how gently he mocks them, by saying, You submit to decrees. For you sit, he says, like newly-instructed children, being dictated to and given laws as to what you must do.

⁴¹ Touch not, neither taste, nor handle; which things are all unto corruption in the using. And another observance of theirs, that of foods, which is Jewish rather—just as that of days was Greek. And, restraining the conceit of the dogmatists, he says that these are no great things, but they end in corruption for those who use them. For being decomposed in the belly, they flow off through the privy. They neither profit, then, in themselves, nor do harm.

⁴² According to the commandments and teachings of men. These are not divine teachings, but commandments of men. What then? Is the Law not a teaching of God? There was a time when it had its season, but now it is not, as no longer having a season. Or else, because the elders among the Jews falsified it, handing down traditions outside the Law, as the Lord also says in the Gospels. Or else he is intimating the practices of the Greeks.

⁴³ Which things indeed have a show of wisdom in self-imposed worship, and humility, and unsparing treatment of the body, not in any honor unto the satisfying of the flesh. They have a show of wisdom, not its power, nor its truth. For the one who teaches these things seems to be devout and moderate, and to despise the body, through abstaining from foods. And yet God honored the body, and gave foods, so that the flesh, being filled by them, may hold together and master the voluntary passions; but these men do not treat the body with honor, depriving it, and taking away its rightful due, and not permitting it to exercise rightful mastery.

3 Chapter Three

¹ If then you have been raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; set your mind on the things above, not on the things upon the earth. Having said that you died together with Christ—through baptism, that is—and having given us to understand, by what is left unspoken, that you have also been raised together with Him (for baptism, just as it figures death through the immersion, so it figures life and resurrection through the emergence), he now introduces the point that, if you have been raised together with Christ, you ought henceforth to be above, where He also is, where there is no scrupulous observance of days; and to set your mind on the heavenly things, since these matters—the questions about foods and days—are earthly and bodily, having nothing exalted and spiritual in them, for they are the commandments of earthly men. Yet he was not content to say merely “above,” nor “where Christ is,” but he added, “seated at the right hand of God,” so that he might draw our mind still farther away from the earth.

² For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. From both sides he prepares them not to seek the things here below—both from the deadening and from the life. For you have died, he says, to the things below; therefore you ought not to seek these things. And again, your life is above; so set your mind also on the things above. For he is eager to show that they are seated on high and live another life, the life in God, the life that does not appear. Christ does not appear; in the same way neither does your life appear. Why then do you seek the things that are seen? He lays all this down as a foundation beforehand so that he may immediately pass into the moral discourse. For it is his custom, while constructing one argument, to leap over into another; as also in the Epistle to the Corinthians, while discoursing about those who take their portion ahead of others at the suppers, he suddenly fell into the tradition concerning the mysteries.

³ When Christ, who is your life, shall be made manifest, then you also shall be made manifest with Him in glory. At the second coming Christ is made manifest, and is shown to all to be God, coming in glory with the angels. For now He is so hidden that He is even slandered. Then, therefore, you also shall be made manifest—not simply, but “in glory.” So seek that day, not this one; hasten to live with a view to that day. For then your true life is made manifest; since the present life is death, because it too is held together by corruption, by flux and reflux. Do not seek honors and glories here. For there is your glory. The pearl is hidden so long as it is in the oyster; but when that shell is broken open, then it shines in glory. So too we, so long as we are in this corruptible body, ought to live as those who are hidden, not seeking glory; but when this corruptible thing is dissolved, then comes our glory, if we are shown worthy of it through our deeds.

⁴ Therefore put to death your members that are upon the earth. He did not say “cast away,” but “put to death,” so that they may not rise again. By “members upon the earth” he perhaps means the bodily members themselves; which, when they do not work the heavenly things, are said to be upon the earth, but when the heavenly things are worked through them, are no longer upon the earth. For instance, when we do not see with evil intent, when we do not listen wrongly, we are not upon the earth. But perhaps by “members upon the earth” he also means the sins accomplished upon the earth through the members of the body—sins which both remain upon the earth and are corrupted here; since the members of the body, even if they are from the earth, nevertheless do not remain upon the earth and undergo corruption, but are made incorruptible when they rise. But how is it that, having said above that you were buried together with Christ, that you put off the body of the sins of the flesh, he now again says, “Put to death”? Because the former deadening was the gift of baptism, paying off the sin that had previously come to be in us; whereas the deadening now enjoined belongs to our own moral choice, doing away with the sins committed after baptism, or rather not permitting them to come back to life at all, through the putting to death of the mind of the flesh. It is as though someone, having reforged and made bright again a statue that had grown grimy, counsels its owner to be diligent to remove the rust—not the rust that has been wholly scoured off, but that which comes upon it afterward.

⁵ Fornication. Behold, he has interpreted what the members are. And he mentions this one first, because this passion especially holds sway.

⁶ Uncleanness, passion. He passed over naming individually the things that are not even good to name; and through “uncleanness” and “passion” he indicated all the kinds of shameful unions. For in truth the raging frenzy of the body is a passion, and like a fever, or a wound, or some other disease.

⁷ Evil desire. Behold, again he has stated the whole thing generally, for every desire is evil. Yet there is also a good desire, the desire for God and the things of God, according to which Daniel was a man of desires.[16]

⁸ And covetousness, which is idolatry. The firstborn son of evil desire is covetousness; which he named idolatry, as serving gold and silver. For the idols of the nations too are silver and gold.

⁹ On account of which the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Both the wrath to come, and the wrath in the present age, frequently overtake such people. And he calls them “sons of disobedience,” depriving them of pardon, and showing that they are in these passions not out of ignorance but out of disobedience, which they have so practiced that they have even made themselves its adopted sons, and are recognized and characterized by it.

¹⁰ In which you also once walked, when you lived in them. The statement carries praise with it, as of those who do not now live in these things, but there was a time—for they were pagans.

¹¹ But now do you also put away all these things. How then, having said above “when you lived” and made it plain that they do not now live in them, does he again say, “Put away all these things”? For how could they put away what they do not have? It is possible, then, to say that the very phrase “when you lived” works together with him toward the things now being said; for it is as though he is hinting at this: that “of old, indeed, sin ruled over you, and held your life fast, and tyrannized—before baptism, that is—and freedom from the passions was difficult; but now, since the sin in you has been put to death through baptism, it is easy to put away the passions, like a garment. And you have no excuse to plead that you live under the tyrant and under the passions; for you have been put to death to them.”

¹² Anger, wrath, malice. By “malice” he means the holding of grudges, which some have also named bitterness—when a person keeps the malice within himself in order to repay.

¹³ Blasphemy. Thus he speaks of reviling.

¹⁴ Shameful speech out of your mouth. He spoke emphatically the phrase “out of your mouth”—that is, the mouth that is sanctified through communion in the Lord’s body. For it is absurd that your mouth, which receives Christ, should be defiled through blasphemy and shameful speech.

¹⁵ Do not lie to one another. Having put on Christ, who said, “I am the truth,” how do you now clothe yourselves in another form, that of falsehood? For it is evident that you stripped off that stamp which marked you out from the truth.

¹⁶ Having stripped off the old man with his deeds. Why ever does he call the corrupt life “members” and “body” and “man,” and again the virtuous life by the same names? In order to show that moral choice is more authoritative than substance, and that we are named rather from moral choice, not from substance. For Scripture too names some people horses, and dogs, and foxes—those who through their moral choice have become like such animals. And it is moral choice, not substance, that leads us into hell and into the kingdom. By “the old man,” then, he means the corrupt moral choice. Therefore he added, “with his deeds”—that is, moral choice together with its works. And he named it “old,” wishing to show its shamefulness, its ill-favored aspect, and its feebleness. And observe how he enumerated the members of the old man: the mind, through falsehood; the heart, through wrath; the mouth, through both falsehood and blasphemy; the eyes, through fornication, along with the hidden members; the liver, through evil desire; the hands, through covetousness.

¹⁷ And having put on the new man, who is being renewed unto knowledge. The new man is the moral choice that is according to God, which does not grow old but is ever in its prime toward the knowledge of God and of divine things, ever and ever shown to be younger, and growing stronger the more knowledge it receives and the greater the things of which it is deemed worthy.

¹⁸ According to the image of Him who created him. That is, of Christ. Since Christ too did not come to old age, but was so beautiful as cannot even be told: Beautiful in comeliness beyond the sons of men.[17] For He committed no sin, which is what ages and corrupts. We too, then, who were created by Him according to His image, ought to scrape off the corruption and aging that come from sins. And understand by “creation” both that of baptism and that of the best manner of life.

¹⁹ Where there is neither Greek nor Jew. That is, neither proselyte nor Jew by ancestral descent.

²⁰ Circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Behold yet another commendation of the new man according to Christ: that in him no difference of nation, of rank, or of ancestry is observed, but Christ is his distinguishing mark. For in all who have been formed in the virtuous life, Christ is all things—that is, both lineage and rank. Or also in another sense: that you all became one Christ, being His body.

²¹ Put on, then, as elect of God, holy and beloved. He always shows the ease of virtue; for, like a garment, we are able to take this on as well. But also that we must have it continually, and use it as an adornment; for whoever does not have it is unseemly and unadorned. And the exhortation comes with praise, and that in the highest degree. For they became holy, but not elect, nor beloved; whereas you are all these things.

²² Bowels of compassion. He did not say, “Put on mercy,” but “bowels of compassion”—at once so as not to disparage those who are worthy of compassion, and at the same time to show that we must be moved toward them out of inward disposition, and not as brothers toward brothers, but as fathers toward children. For do not say to me, “He sinned.” For it is on this very account that I require of you the bowels of compassion.

²³ Kindness, humility, gentleness, longsuffering. For the one who has put on bowels of compassion, these too necessarily follow. For what father is not kind toward his son, is not humble-minded—not contending, but yielding all things to him? Who is not longsuffering? And learn the excellent order. Kindness gives birth to humility; for he who is kindly disposed is also humble-minded. From humility comes gentleness; for he who is arrogant is also prone to wrath. From gentleness comes longsuffering, which is greatness of soul.

²⁴ Bearing with one another and forgiving each other, if anyone has a complaint against another. That is, supporting one another—you him, and he you—and not bitterly scrutinizing one another’s faults, but accounting them small and worthy of being overlooked. And observe how he too made light of them, by saying “complaint.”

²⁵ Just as Christ also forgave you, so you also. What he always does, he exhorts them from Christ, bringing Him forward as an example. But above he made one another’s faults seem small, calling them a mere “complaint”; while by bringing Christ forward he persuades us that, even if the sins are great, even if we are benefactors of those who harm us, even if we are great and they small, we should nevertheless forgive everything—and not only this, but even die on their behalf, and do good to them after death, just as Christ also did good to us even after death. For the word “just as” requires all these things.

²⁶ And above all these things, love. Since it is possible even for one who forgives to do this not out of pure love but in outward show and hypocrisy, he points out the way by which we are able to attain to forgiving truly. For it is possible to appear gentle and humble-minded, and yet not to love. Therefore he says, “Above all these things put on love.”

²⁷ Which is the bond of perfection. All those things, he says, this love binds tightly together when it is present; but when it is absent, they fall apart and are exposed as being hypocrisy and nothing. For just as in the case of a house, if there are no joinings—the fastenings commonly so called—and in the case of the body, if there are no ligaments, there is no benefit from the rest; so too love holds together all the things that make for perfection, and without it no one is perfect, but even if he seems to have everything, he is imperfect.

²⁸ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts. We have often been wronged by someone; two impulses contend within us, the one moving us toward vengeance, the other toward longsuffering. If the peace of God takes its stand in us, like some just arbiter—that is, a judge and steward of the contest—and gives the prize of victory to the one bidding us be longsuffering, the adversary will cease. Let this peace, then, rule in you—not wrath, not contentiousness, not human peace; for that peace comes from taking vengeance, from retaliating; but rather the peace of God, the firm, the indissoluble peace, the peace that comes about for no worldly good, just as God’s peace toward us did not come about on account of anything, but simply out of love for mankind and love He dissolved the enmity against us. But how is it that, having mentioned love, he again begins and discourses about peace? For the exhortation appears superfluous, if indeed peace is contained within love. It is possible, then, to say that, since a friend often brings charges even against a friend, and out of much love contentions and insults and quarrels are stirred up, he says: No, that is not what I want; rather, together with love have also the peace of God, which orders and judges all things.

²⁹ To which also you were called in one body. That is, Christ, calling us to peace, made us one body, becoming Himself the head. For why else are we one body, except that, being members of one another, we may keep this peace and not be torn apart? Or: that “you were called with a view to peace”—that is, you were deemed worthy of countless good things through peace. For if we had not been at peace with God, we would not have been called by Him to be His servants and to share in His good things.

³⁰ And be thankful. This is what it is to be thankful: to treat one’s fellow servants in the same way as God treats us. For the one who confesses thanks to God, as having been forgiven by Him, will not take vengeance on the one who wronged him; whereas the one who takes vengeance does not remember the good he himself received—like that man who, having been forgiven the ten thousand talents, did not forgive the hundred denarii.[18] Let us therefore give thanks, whatever we may suffer, and from whomever, and we shall receive the crown of martyrdom.

³¹ Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. He shows us the way by which we shall be thankful. For if the Word of Christ dwells in us—that is, the teaching, the doctrines, the exhortations, through which He teaches us to despise the present life and the good things here—we shall yield to none of the hardships, but, bearing all things steadfastly, we shall give thanks for whatever befalls us. And he did not say simply, “Let it be in you,” but “Let it dwell,” and “richly.” For if we are rich in the knowledge of the Scriptures, we shall bear all misfortunes easily, just as the man rich in money is able to bear a loss.

³² In all wisdom. That is, in all virtue. For he calls virtue “wisdom,” just as David calls sin “folly”: The fool said in his heart;[19] and, My wounds stank and festered because of my folly.[20]

³³ Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs. Since reading involves toil and much that is burdensome, he led them not to histories but to psalms, so that you may at once both delight the soul by singing and steal away the toil. And after the psalms he set the hymns, as a more perfect thing. For singing psalms belongs to men, but singing hymns belongs to the angels.

³⁴ Singing with grace. Meaning, with grace and spiritual delight. For just as human songs seem to have a grace, though not a spiritual one, so the divine songs have a spiritual grace. Or because they also had their singing from a gift of grace.

³⁵ In your heart to the Lord. Not simply with the mouth, but “in the heart,” which is, with attentiveness. For this is to sing to God, while the other is to sing to the air. And in another sense, “in the heart” means, not for display. For even if you are in the marketplace, you can sing within yourself with no one hearing.

³⁶ And whatever you do in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Whether you eat, whether you drink, whether you travel abroad, do all in the name of God—that is, calling Him as your helper, first praying to Him, and so laying hold of your works. The name of God casts out demons, and will it not make your affairs go smoothly for you? Or he means this: that you should name the Lord Jesus; do not bring in the angels.

³⁷ Giving thanks to God and the Father through Him. If you call upon the Son, through Him you call upon the Father. If you give thanks to the Son, through Him you give thanks to the Father. Or: that just as the Son brought us ourselves to the Father, so too He Himself brings our thanksgiving to the Father, being for us the mediator of all good things.

³⁸ Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Why ever does he enjoin these things not in all the Epistles, but in this one, and in that to the Ephesians, and in those to Timothy and Titus? Either because it was likely that in these cities there were such dissensions; or because the Church was firmly established here, and the other matters had been set right among them, and it remains for him to discourse about these. But for the others, since loftier doctrines were lacking, it was more necessary to write on their account, and to neglect such practical injunctions. And there is much resemblance in these matters too between this Epistle and that to the Ephesians. And what is the meaning of “in the Lord”? It stands for, “Be subject for the Lord’s sake.” For I do not require only the subjection that comes from nature (for this he indicates by the phrase “as is fitting,” that is, as is proper), but especially the subjection that is for God’s sake.

³⁹ Husbands, love your wives, and do not be bitter toward them. Observe how he exhorts what is suitable to each kind: to wives, subjection; to husbands, love. For the love of the one ruled toward the ruler is not so much required as the love of the ruler toward the one ruled. From being loved, the wife too becomes affectionate; from being served, the husband becomes reasonable. And since it is possible even for one who loves to grow bitter (for these quarrels with beloved persons are especially bitter), on this account he says, “Do not be bitter.” For in truth it comes from much bitterness, this rising up in faction against one’s own member.[21]

⁴⁰ Children, obey your parents in all things. For this is well-pleasing in the Lord. Again the phrase “in the Lord.” For he wishes us to do these things not from nature alone, but also because it seems good to God, so that we may have a reward as well, as doing them for God’s sake. And, discoursing with the children of godly fathers, he said in all things, since godless fathers ought not to be obeyed in all things. For surely when they force us into impiety, we are not to comply.

⁴¹ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, lest they become disheartened. That is, do not bitterly scrutinize everything they do; but there are things you should be willing to overlook, lest you make them more contentious and cast them into discouragement. And observe his wisdom—how he bent the parents and softened their inward feelings by saying, “lest they become disheartened.” For fathers have every concern that their children not be disheartened.

⁴² Slaves, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh. Immediately the very name of “slave” is a ground for obeying; but lest the slave be pained, he added, “masters according to the flesh.” For the better part of you, the soul, he says, has been set free. The slavery is temporary; rather, then, subject your soul, so that the slavery may be voluntary.

⁴³ Not in eye-service, as men-pleasers. Make the slavery that comes from law, he says, come rather from the fear of Christ. For when you do what is required while your master is not watching, it is plain that you do it for the sake of the eye of God; but if it is only when your master is watching, then you are a man-pleaser; and being such, you will harm yourself. For the Lord has scattered the bones of the men-pleasers.[22]

⁴⁴ But in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord. For this is to fear the Lord: when, with no one watching, we do nothing evil; and this too is singleness of heart, the not looking to men. So then, the man-pleaser is not single-hearted.

⁴⁵ And whatever you do, work it from the soul, as to the Lord, and not to men. He wishes them to be rid not only of hypocrisy but also of idleness. Rather, he makes them free instead of slaves, when they have no need of their masters’ oversight. For the phrase “from the soul” means this: to act with goodwill, not under the constraint of slavery, but with freedom and moral choice.

⁴⁶ Knowing that from the Lord you shall receive the recompense of the inheritance. For masters often do not make their slaves heirs, even if they serve them well ten thousand times over; but the Lord will give you the recompense of the inheritance in the heavens, if you keep goodwill toward your masters.

⁴⁷ For you serve the Lord Christ. Him who legislated order and subjection. And that you serve Christ is plain from the fact that He is the one who renders you your wages.

⁴⁸ But the one who does wrong shall be requited for the wrong he did, and there is no partiality. The slave who wrongs his master—by serving carelessly, or by pilfering his master’s goods—shall have his recompense from God. For God is not a respecter of persons, that He should pity the slave as the weaker party; He who through the law also commanded not to pity a poor man in judgment.[23] Or in another way: Let the Christian slave who wrongs a pagan master not suppose that he will escape condemnation. For Christ is not a respecter of persons, that He should forgive him, as a Christian, the sin against his pagan master. And though the saying “there is no partiality” seems to be addressed to the slaves, nevertheless let the masters too receive it as fitting them as well.

4 Chapter Four

¹ Masters, render to your servants what is just and equal. What is the just? It is to recompense them for their labors, to furnish them with all things in abundance, and not to leave them in need of others. For just because you have heard that they receive their reward from God, do not on that account deprive them of what is owed to them from you.

² Knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. Just as they have you, so you also have a Master. With whatever measure, then, you measure to your servants, your own Master will measure to you as well. Or else the meaning is: You too, together with them, have a Master, so that you should treat them as fellow servants. For here he has made the servitude common to both.

³ Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving. The devil knows how great a good prayer is, and for this reason he causes us to spring away from it. Therefore Paul says: Continue steadfastly. But since one who perseveres often falls into sloth and slackness, he says: Watching; that is, being sober, ever wakeful toward the work of prayer; and moreover with thanksgiving, that is, making this prayer with thanksgiving. For this is the true prayer, the one that holds thanksgiving for all things, both those we know and those we do not know, for the good we have received or the afflictions we have endured, and for the common benefits.

⁴ Praying at the same time also for us. Behold his humility, that Paul should have need of their prayer.

⁵ That God may open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ (for which I am also in bonds), that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. That is, that He may grant me boldness, not in order that I may be freed from my bonds, but that I may speak the mystery of Christ as I ought to speak it; that is, not with timidity, but with full boldness. But how is it that, while in bonds, he exhorts others and asks them to obtain for him what he already had? Not only out of humility, but also to display the power of brotherly prayer. For he stood in need of help from on high as well, which the prayer of the brethren would supply to him in greater measure; and at the same time he was drawing them on to pray. For if they prayed for him, how much more for themselves?

⁶ Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside. For the Lord too said: Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be therefore wise as serpents, and innocent as doves. And so this man now says the same thing: Be on your guard, giving those outside no handle against you in matters where they do you no harm, and not giving them offense unseasonably. For they are outside, that is, not of our household, nor of the same fold; but even though they dwell in the same world, they are outside, since they are far removed both from the Church and from the kingdom. Therefore we must deal with them prudently. For by wisdom he here means prudence. Toward those of our own household there is no need of such great caution. And he comforts them by calling the Greeks “those outside.”

⁷ Redeeming the time. He says this not because he wishes us to be devious or hypocrites, but he means this: The present time is not yours, it belongs to them. You are able, however, to make it your own in another way, if you walk with prudence, if you do not take up unseasonable quarrels, but render them the honor that is fitting, whenever you suffer no harm to your soul. Hear this same man speaking to Agrippa: I count myself happy that I am about to make my defense before you. In this way let us also make those outside into insiders, drawing them to the preaching through our gentleness.

⁸ Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt. Let your speech, he says, have its pleasantness; only let it not fall away into indifference and slackness, but let it also have an astringency; for this is what the salt signifies. Be neither charming beyond measure, nor again austere; just as with food: if it is unsalted, it is unpalatable; if it is too salty, it is altogether unacceptable to the taste; and either way it is inedible. Do you not see how Daniel waited upon an impious man? Do you not see how the three young men showed nothing rash or burdensome, but manliness and boldness? For to be rash is not a mark of boldness, but of vainglory.

⁹ To know how you ought to answer each one. The rich man one way, and the poor man another. For the soul of the former, being weak, needs much condescension; but that of the poor man is sturdier, and therefore can bear it, even if you deal with him more weightily. When there is no necessity, do not call the Greek defiled, and do not be insolent. But even if you are brought before a ruler, render the honors that are fitting; yet if you are questioned about the doctrine, declare it to be defiled and impious. Paul addressed the Athenians with words of commendation; but Elymas he reviled; for he deserved it.

¹⁰ All that concerns me Tychicus will make known to you. This too is from wisdom, that he does not put everything in his letters, but only what is necessary and pressing. First, so as not to lengthen them; then, so that the one who is sent may also have something to relate, and may thereby be held in greater honor. Third, he shows how he is disposed toward him; for he would not have entrusted such matters to him otherwise. Then, there were things that ought not to be disclosed by letter.

¹¹ The beloved brother, and faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord. If beloved, he knows all things; if faithful, he will not lie; if a fellow servant, he has shared in the trials.

¹² Whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that he might know your circumstances, and comfort your hearts. Here he shows his love for them, since it was for this reason that he sent him: that he might learn their affairs, not that he might report his own to them, but that he might comfort them. And he shows that they were in trials and in need of comfort.

¹³ With Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. This is the Onesimus who was the servant of Philemon. And how astonishing, to what a great dignity he ascended, so as even to be a brother of Paul! And Paul is not ashamed to be the brother of a servant. And it is a commendation of their city, the phrase “who is one of you,” so that they too might take pride in having brought forth such a man.

¹⁴ They will make known to you all things that are here. That is, my bonds and the other things that detain me. For if it were not for these, I would have come to you.

¹⁵ Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you. This is the man who was brought up from Jerusalem with him. And Paul said something greater than the prophets: for whereas they called themselves strangers and sojourners, this man called himself even a captive. And indeed, like a captive, he was led and carried about; or rather, even worse. For captives are cared for by those who have taken them, as their own possessions; but this man everyone led and carried about as a hated enemy. This too is a comfort to those people, since their teacher was in such conditions.

¹⁶ And Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. Him too he commends from his kinship; for Barnabas was a great man.

¹⁷ Concerning whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, receive him. Perhaps they received the instructions concerning Barnabas, namely to receive him with honor. But you may also punctuate at the words “you received instructions”; and then, beginning afresh, read: “If he comes to you, O Colossians, receive him with honor.”

¹⁸ And Jesus, who is called Justus. Perhaps this man was a Corinthian.

¹⁹ These who are of the circumcision: these alone are fellow workers for the kingdom of God. Having stated the particular commendation of each, he now sets down the common one. For it seemed a great thing to be of the Jews. But since he had made mention of captivity, lest he cast down the soul of the hearer, he then rouses it again by saying: They work together with me in the things that lead into the kingdom. So that, sharing in the captivity, they will also share in the kingdom. But the blessed John (Chrysostom) read the passage thus, as he faintly noted: “These who are of the circumcision, these alone.” For the greater number were of the Gentiles.

²⁰ Who have been a comfort to me. He shows both that he himself was in great afflictions, and that these men were great in some way, since they became a comfort to Paul. And observe how the one who comforts a man in bonds is proclaimed his partner in the kingdom. So then, we must take care of those who are ill-treated for Christ’s sake.

²¹ Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, greets you. Both at the beginning of the Epistle and now he commends him, so that they may love him in return as one who loves them, and may listen to him gladly in whatever he teaches. For the teacher’s being held in reverence is a benefit to the disciples, who are persuaded by him in whatever he says. And it is a great commendation of him, to be a servant of Christ. It is therefore your glory that, being such a man, he came from among you.

²² Always striving on your behalf in his prayers. Not simply praying, but agonizing and trembling on your behalf, and not now only, but always.

²³ That you may stand perfect. He gently pricks them, as being imperfect. For they were altogether limping with respect to the doctrine concerning the teaching about the angels. But since it is possible to be perfect and yet not to stand firm—just as when someone knows all things, but does not stand securely—therefore he says: That you may stand perfect, that is, both in doctrine and in life.

²⁴ And fully assured in all the will of God. That is, that you may do no other will than that of God; for this is to be fulfilled and to be made perfect. And through these words he shows that they had a part of it, but fell short in the rest.

²⁵ For I bear him witness that he has great zeal for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis. Both expressions are intensive: both “zeal” and “great.” And he commends him also to the Laodiceans and to the people of Hierapolis; for when the Epistle was read, they too would surely hear about this.

²⁶ Luke, the beloved physician, greets you. This Luke is the evangelist, whose great commendation it is to be beloved of Paul. He set him down later not in order to diminish him, but in order to exalt Epaphras before his fellow citizens. And it is likely that there were others called by this name as well.

²⁷ And Demas. For he had not yet, as it seems, forsaken the teacher.

²⁸ Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea. Observe how he cements and joins them to one another.

²⁹ And Nymphas, and the Church that is in his house. This man was great, because he kept his whole household faithful, so that it could even be called a Church. For this reason Paul also bestows a favor on him, addressing him individually. And he does this also in order to stir up the others to the same zeal, so that, if they too should wish to be honored, they might imitate Nymphas.[24]

³⁰ And when this Epistle has been read among you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you also read the one from Laodicea. It seems to me that there were certain things written in this letter which those people too needed to hear; and again in that one, things which these people had to learn. For the benefit is greater when, while others are being rebuked, still others recognize their own sins. But which was the letter from Laodicea? The first to Timothy; for this was written from Laodicea. But some say it was the one that the Laodiceans wrote to Paul. Yet I do not know what need they would have had of that one for their improvement.

³¹ Say to Archippus. Why does he not write to him directly? Perhaps because he needed only a simple reminder, not many words.

³² Take heed to the ministry which you received in the Lord, that you fulfill it. This phrase, everywhere it occurs, is a word that strikes fear. “Take heed lest anyone make spoil of you.” “Take heed lest this liberty of yours.” So also here: Take heed how you fulfill the work which you received in the Lord, that is, through the Lord; for it is He who gave it to you, not I. And what was the work? To watch over the Colossians. And by saying “in the Lord,” he accomplishes two things: he makes Archippus more diligent in carrying it out, as being the Master’s work; and he subordinates the Colossians to him, as to one entrusted with them by God. For it is altogether for this reason that he writes to them, “Say to Archippus”: so that when Archippus rebukes them, they may have no ground to blame him as harsh, since they know that this is Paul’s injunction, and that their own mouth spoke to Archippus what Paul disclosed to him. Therefore, in order to silence them, Paul did this skillfully, since otherwise it would be improper for disciples to discourse about their teacher.

³³ Remember my bonds. This means: Make remembrance of me, the one in bonds, the condemned one. And it is the greatest comfort to them in every affliction, to remember Paul in bonds.

³⁴ Grace be with you. Amen. When this grace is present, even if you have afflictions, even if you have bonds, nothing will prevail against you; since this too is of grace, namely, to be bound. For they returned, he says, from the prison, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to be dishonored for the name of Christ. Do you see that to be insulted is to be counted worthy? And truly this is a great dignity. May it be granted, then, even to us who are unworthy, to be counted worthy of the divine grace in our afflictions; so that, while this grace bears up our weakness, these afflictions may turn to our benefit, squeezing out the great thickness of our sins, to the glory of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to whom be glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.