Commentaries on the Epistle to the

Colossians

<1+> IN THE EPISTLE OF B. PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS.

<2+> PROLOGUE

The Colossians endeavored to overthrow the pseudo-apostles, so that after the preaching of
Epaphras or Archippus they might ensnare the simplicity of their minds by philosophical
discussions: lest they spurn the principles of the elements by which human life is, as it were,
governed. On this account the Apostle exhorts these in his epistle, and warns them not to
think that there is any hope in anyone but Christ, and be deceived.

<2+> CHAPTER ONE

(Vers. 1, 2, 3.) Paul the apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy the brother, to
those who are in Colossians, holy and faithful brothers in Christ Jesus. Grace to you and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He writes the first chapter of the letter
to them in the usual manner, in which he continues to direct his letters to the holy and
faithful brothers, to whom he wishes the grace of God to remain through Christ. (Vers. 4, 5,
6.) We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying for you,
having heard your faith in Christ Jesus, and the love you have for all the saints because of
the hope that is laid up for you in heaven. which you have heard before in the word of the
truth of the Gospel, which has reached you, as well as the whole world. Because God was
worthy to believe his Son in these, he gives thanks to him in his prayers. Then because of
the charity which they had for the saints, they believed because for this hope is firm with
God, with which it is believed that those who believe and care for each other will be
rewarded, through Christ, whose name has reached all nations, that they may multiply in his
faith. (Vers. 7, 8.) And it is fruitful and growing, just as it is in you, since the day you heard
and knew the grace of God in truth, as you learned from Epaphras, our beloved colleague,
who is a faithful minister of Christ for you, who also made a mark your love for us in spirit.
He goes on to make us grow into the example of other nations and to bear vital fruit; that
from the fact that they perceived the grace of God, they might advance both in number and
in work, adding to their faith those who would become their brothers in Christ. For many
were attracted by the example of their good works, as Epaphras witnessed to them, who
ministered to them the grace of Christ in the place of the Apostles, which they immediately
imbibed as a spiritual drink in the charity of the Lord, which is not in the flesh, but in the
spirit. (Vers. 9, 10.) Therefore, since the day we heard, we do not stop praying and making
requests for you; that you may be filled with the acknowledgment of his will in all wisdom
and spiritual understanding in this, that you may walk worthy of him in all that pleases you
in every good work. The apostle hearing their devout and willing will concerning the faith of
Christ, prays for them; that, recognizing the will of God more readily, they might fulfill with
reasonable work the devotion which they had learned by hearing the faith of Christ, lest
such faithful dedication of mind and strength of faith, while doing something unwisely and
unskilfully, should lose the fruit of their labor. For this is gladly accepted, which is done with
a devout mind, and prudently. (Vers. 11, 12, 13.) Being fruitful and growing in the
knowledge of God, taking strength in all power according to the power of his glory in all
patience and long-suffering, with joy giving thanks to God and the Father, who called you to
be part of the lot of the saints in the light, who delivered us from the power of darkness, and
transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his charity. He wants their works to increase
with knowledge, so that they may not be ignorant of the hope of their faith. for then they are
firm and stable, if they notice what has been promised for faith, and what is the power of the
glory of the majesty of God in patience; that the human race may endure long waiting,
because its irreverence not only neglects the Creator, but persecutes those who love him;
but rejoicing in the promised life with thanksgivings to God, who has deigned to call and
lead the nations into the promise of the Jews, which is eternal light, that is, eternal life,
eternal truth. For having been freed from the condition of darkness, that is, rescued from
hell, in which we were held by the devil both from our own fault and from the offense of
Adam, who is the father of all sinners, we have been transferred by faith to the heavenly
kingdom of the Son of God. that God might show us with what love he loves us, when, having
raised us from the bottom of Tartarus, he brought us into the heavens with his true Son. For
now all believers, who are devoted with a fixed mind, coming out of the world, led by an
Angel at the right hand of the Father, are brought into the heavens, which was not permitted
before the conquered death. (Verse 14.) In whom we have redemption and the remission of
sins. God has transferred us into the kingdom of this Son of his, through whom he redeemed
us and delivered us; for the remission of sins makes them free, so that when they are freed
from their debts, they cannot be held liable. For without faith in Christ there is no exit from
hell; because bound by sins he cannot be forced to go out of the gates. Who is the invisible
image of God. The invisible image of God cannot be visible, otherwise it is not an image; for
what is invisible cannot be painted, nor can the visible see the invisible; for it is either a
body that is seen, or a figure, or some formless substance, which the line of the eyes bears,
yet the whole body is: but God, who is alien to all these, how can he have a visible image?
But therefore it is said thus, that such a Son may be understood as the Father is; so that
because it is of him, and nothing is distant from him in the divinity of nature, his image is
called his form; lest another God should be believed by the perfidious, although this is
contained in the very name; for that is why it is called the true Son of God, that it may be
believed to be of him. But because of bad understanding this was also added, so that it may
also be called his image; so that when he appears, though in human form, or certainly in fire,
as with Moses (Exodus 3:2), it is not understood that he is the Father, but the Son: and by
what is called his image, nothing is believed to be distant from him. Hence he says to Philip:
Philip, who sees me, sees the Father also. How do you say: Show us the Father? Do you not
believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me (John 14:9)? This is the unity and
substantiality of the Father and the Son, that they may be one to another; so that he who
sees the Son may also see the Father. Now let us see how the Son was seen; so that we may
therefore understand by what reason Philip, seeing the Son, also sees the Father. They
certainly saw the Son with the understanding of divine works, not with carnal eyes. What
the Son worked, he said was the Father's; to show the unity of power. He was seen in the
same way by Jacob; whence he received the name Israel, that is, man seeing God (Gen.
32:28). Because of this, therefore, the image is called the invisible God; so that it may be
understood that he is the one who was seen by the understanding of God, but that the
Father never appeared in any way, as it is said in the Gospel: "No one has seen God at any
time" (John 1:18). (Verse 16.) The firstborn of all creation. Before all creation, the begotten
Son, not created, testifies; in order to separate his birth from the creation of the creature:
and in order to make this completely clear, he submitted: Because in him all things in
heaven and on earth were held together. visible and invisible, whether thrones, or
dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were established by him and in him. Not
only does it mean that Christ is magnificent and glorious; because before all things were
made, he was born: but he also says that all things were created in him, that is, so that the
power of all things may be believed to be in him, and therefore proceeded, while all things
are made through him: this is that he is the head of the whole creation. because they began
to be in order that they might be. Therefore, things that were made by him are said to be
made by him; because for this he was born, to make a creature: that is, to have made in him,
and through him. For his birth is not profitable to himself, but to us; because he did not need
to be born who was in these. How does he become the only Son of God the Father, how does
he himself know what is begotten by God the Father? For he was in God who proceeded
from God, so that God was one: and so it is that there is no diminution of the Father, nor
progress of the Son, while he is born. And in order to convey more openly what and how
great the power of the Son is, he shows what are through him, namely, thrones, dominions
and principalities, and powers. so that therefore it is believed that there is absolutely
nothing less in him than in the Father. (Verse 17.) And he is before all. He is here before all;
for he alone was born of God the Father, certainly of the inborn substance of God. But these
things were stopped by his power, which he has through generation from the Father; not
that they should have a communion of substance with him, but they began from nothing by
the beckoning of the Son of God the Father. And all things consist in him. They consist in
him, because without him they are nothing; for unless they are subject to this, they will be
led astray by error, as if they will be liable to destruction. (Verse 18.) And he is the head of
the body of the Church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; so that in all
things he may hold the primacy. Christ is the head of the church, if all, heavenly and earthly,
feel one; that they may be a Church, that is, of one faith: if from this they are cut off from the
head of the whole body, that is, separated from their Creator, they are blessed with a certain
madness and vanity. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; so that in all things he
may hold the primacy. Since all things are through him, through him once again a certain
negligent deed, which has been passed away, was to be reformed; that it would not have
belonged to his injury, if his work had been restored by another; that as he was born before
all, so again before all he would be the first from the resurrection of the dead, restored to his
former life; for before all things he was born of God, that he might create all things which
were not. And again he was born in the flesh of a virgin, that he might take away the sin
which had entered the world from the virgin Eve. He was therefore born, and rose again
from the dead, so that what he had done first, he might afterwards recreate again; because
through error they were as if dead, that he should always be first and chief in all life. (Verse
19.) Because in him it pleased the Father to dwell all fullness. Fullness is and remains in
him; because he is always able to do all things, so that nothing is excluded that cannot be
performed through him; that he might make, and reform, and raise up the fallen, and give
life to the dead. Whence he says: As the Father hath life in himself; so he also gave the Son to
have life in himself (John 5:26); and: As the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also the
Son gives life to whom He wills. For the Father does not judge anyone, but has given all
judgment to the Son (Ibid., 21, 22). What is so just, except that he should give judgment to
himself of those things which he has done through him, so that all the fullness of the divinity
may dwell in him through that which we have said that he has all power in himself: that is,
that God is perfect; for he who does not have all these things is not God. (Vers. 20.) And
through him to reconcile all things to himself, making peace through the blood of his cross,
whether things are in the heavens or things on earth. This is what he mentioned above,
because in order to restore through him all that he had done, they had already begun to
differ from each other with some error, and not even from the author (for there is still error
in the carnal heavens), he humbled him by incarnating him, so that he became man He
would show and teach how things in the firmament and on earth could be reconciled to the
Creator. That in order to bring it to perfection, he suffered himself to be killed for the sake of
men; so that those whom he had taught among the superiors, leaving hence, may not be
held by the second death; that his doctrine might have the fruit of the first instruction, and
that all things done through him might live in him as in the author, as Peter confesses in the
Acts of the Apostles (Acts 3:15). (Vers. 21, 22.) And you, who were once estranged and
enemies of his counsels in unrighteous works, but now reconciled in the body of his flesh
through death, must present yourselves holy and spotless and blameless in his sight. He
mentions what God's gift is to the nations, in order to show that they are debtors, and
indeed much, in the thanksgivings of God; who, being enemies of his counsels, by whom he
determined to visit the human race through his servant Moses, whose teaching and power
they did not receive, being devoted to their idols, nay, to iniquitous works; for they adored
their works which they had done: but the mercy and providence of God required them; that
they may obtain the grace of God gratuitously, returning to him with a clear conscience; so
that on the day of judgment, as long as nothing of the old error is found in them, they may
be incorporated with their Creator, who, in order to benefit the human race, became an
incarnate man, to conquer death in his flesh. (Vers. 23, 24.) If indeed you persevere,
grounded in faith, stable and immovable by the hope of the Gospel, which you have heard,
which was preached in all creation that is under heaven. Paul, whose minister I became,
who now rejoices in my sufferings for you, and supplies the remnants of the pressures of
Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the Church. He confesses that he exulted in the
tribulations which he suffered; because he sees his progress in the faith of believers. For
tribulation is not in vain, when he obtains for life the one for whom he suffers. What
sufferings he says were inflicted on Christ, whose teaching they certainly pursue; that he
may burden the unfaithful with the credulity of his impiety, and preach charity to the
faithful of God, whose Son is still suffering injuries for us. Now, therefore, he wants to be
understood for what reason he writes to them, when he says: If you nevertheless persevere,
grounded in faith; that they might know that Christ's passion would profit them then, if they
remained in the accepted faith. For this reason, the omnipotence of the greatness of Christ,
how great, and how infinite, he declared from the beginning, in order to teach that hope
should be placed in him alone; because all things are his, and because nothing can live
without him, neither in the heavens nor on the earth. For he is before all, and all things
consist in him, because in all he holds the primacy; so that if any one thinks that he must be
devoted to any of the elements, or angels, or Powers, let him know that he is mistaken. For
this is one Son of God, the head of all principality and principle, whose Gospel was preached
throughout the whole world, beginning with Moses, who said to the Jews: Because the Lord
your God will raise up for you a prophet from among your brothers, like me. You will hear
him; for whoever does not listen to that prophet will be exterminated from the people
(Deut. 18, 15, 16). Whence the Lord said to the Jews: Because Moses wrote about me (John
5:46). And so this one is to be heard and worshiped, and no one is to be esteemed before
him; because he who holds the head has the other part subject. For he who humbles himself
to his subjects is entirely in error; because not holding the head is a trunk, from which the
whole body is held together for life. (Vers. 25, 26.) Whose minister I became according to
the dispensation of God, which was given to me in you, to fulfill the word of God in a
mystery, which was hidden from ages of ages, and from generations. He speaks with
confidence that he has been made a minister of the Gospel among the nations by God
through Christ, so that the mystery begun by the Lord can be fulfilled by a suitable and
effective servant, which has been unknown for centuries. (Vers. 27, 28.) But now it has been
declared to his saints, to whom God willed to show what are the riches of the majesty of the
mystery of God in the nations, that Christ is in you the hope of glory, whom we announce.
He asserts that the mystery which has been hidden for ages has just been revealed, that is,
shown in the time of the apostles; because even Gentiles were to be admitted without
circumcision of the flesh to the faith of Christ, who was promised to the Jews. For before the
preaching of the faith, the Gentiles were commanded to be circumcised, if they wished to
come to the Law; It was thought unworthy of the Jews that Christ, in whom the Jews had
hoped, should also make the Gentiles partakers of his glory. (Verse 29.) Admonishing every
man, and teaching in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ: in whom
I labor, contending according to his operation, which works in me in virtue. This he says is
true wisdom, which is in Sunday discipline, when Christ is acknowledged. That the apostle
testifies that he himself acted with great care; that, educating every man in this wisdom, he
may present him fully to God in the understanding of Christ, that he may attain the mystery
of the birth from God, and of the birth from Mary, and of all his heavenly and earthly work.
Whose object he speaks of as having a struggle against the unfaithful, with the adjuncts of
the signs of the virtues: that by these defeats unbelief may be compressed. For he who dares
to contradict his words with a certain diabolical subtlety, corrected by shame, must
necessarily yield to virtue.

<2+> CHAPTER II.

(Vers. 1, 2, 3) For I want you to know how much concern I have for you, and for those who
are in Laodicea, and as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; that their hearts may
receive consolation, when they have been instructed in charity in all the riches of the
fullness of the understanding, to the recognition of the mystery of God in Christ, in whom
are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. he was, to whom he preached,
testifies; that they might know that they were loved by him with no less affection, because
he had not seen them, than he loved the others with whom he was; that he might encourage
their hearts in charity, and that they might become ready through the letter, and receive the
acknowledgment of the sacrament of God in Christ, noting that these are the riches of
wisdom and knowledge, if Christ is acknowledged in the fullness of his divinity to be
worshiped. Therefore all the mystery of the sacrament of God is in Christ. For this is one in
whom every creature, unless it hopes, will perish; so that the power of all may be in him, so
that he who knows this may be seen to have knowledge of all things, whatever they may be,
and no one else is required to be worshiped besides him; because the power of all powers is
in him; for from Him all things are. it must be he who is the head of all of them, whether of
the angels, or of the sun, or of the moon, or of the stars, or of other things, all knowledge of
knowledge is in their authority; so that he who recognizes this requires nothing more,
neither wisdom nor courage; because he recognized him in whom is perfect virtue and
perfect wisdom. For whatever he thought he would find elsewhere, he will find it fully and
abundantly in this. For what is wiser than Solomon? what is wiser than Daniel? to be the
author of wisdom. Finally, Nebuchadnezzar says to Daniel, marveling at his wisdom: "Truly
your God is the living God, and the revealer of mysteries" (Dan. 2:47). because they do not
read astrology in the Gospels, nor geometry in the Apostles, nor arithmetic nor music in the
prophets: these things are therefore despised by ours, because they do not pertain to
salvation, but rather send them into error, and turn them away from God; so that while they
study these reasonings and discussions, they do not take care of their own souls. because it
hinders the soul from taking care of itself. Not undeservedly, therefore, has he who
recognized Christ found a treasure of wisdom and knowledge; for he acknowledged that it
was useful to him. for the benefit of your faith in Christ. because the wise men of the world
manage to ensnare the minds of the simple by a certain art and by minute discussions; so
that by reason of worldly things they may distract them from the hope that is in Christ.
Whence the apostle says that he is present there in spirit, so that, having reverence for him
before their eyes, they may abstain from such men. under his name, that he had not been
commanded, and that Naaman, coming down with a ready mind, had given him more than
had been demanded (4 Kings 5, 26); how much more the apostle could see in his spirit those
things which he said! For greater grace was in the apostles than in the prophets. so that,
knowing how to please God, they might become more steadfast in him, by which they might
learn the meaning of the progress of their faith, worthy of being effected for their benefit. by
faith, as you were also taught, walking in it with thanksgiving. This warns and exhorts that
their devotion should not be diminished, and that they should depart from the faith which
they had obtained and overthrown by false fables, and receive Christ otherwise than they
had learned. For many corrupters of the faith went about to seducing the simple,
proclaiming Christ deceitfully and with pretense, whom he advises to avoid with great
caution; that they may be stable and firm upon the foundation of the Trinity, abundant in
the hope of future thanksgiving upon the mercy of God. because in him dwells all the
fullness of the divinity bodily. He speaks of earthly philosophy, by which those who desire
to be judged in the world are wont to be seduced. sometimes about measures, and not even
about numbers, sometimes about the qualities and quantities of the elements. for he is
detained by probable causes and fictitious things, esteeming nothing so true as that which is
seen and understood in the elements. They mislead some who think that the spiritual
reason is to be despised and laughed at by the despair of the future, assigning all the power
of the stars to the carnal reason; lest it should be believed that heavy things could be lifted
up into heaven, or that light things could come to earth, or that something corporeal could
be generated without the admixture of things, contrary to the power and providence of God.
and in the new books made by the Lord, or by the apostles, which carnal treatment forbids
to be believed. He therefore calls this tradition or philosophy fallacious and empty; because
it is not ordered by the power of God, but by the weakness of human reasoning, which
restricts the power of God within its knowledge, lest it be believed to do otherwise than the
carnal reason contains itself; because with each element of the divinity they depute
diversity for culture, so as to oblige the minds of the uninitiated; that they should not extend
themselves to the true God. because it is a cultivator of the world, not of God, who is one:
nor to Christ, but abstracts from Christ, in whom is the perfection of divinity. so that since
he is the head, and the creature is his body, whatever is thought to be possible in the
heavenly creature, all this is believed to be fully in Christ; that no one should think that
anyone should be worshiped by another. because all have members from him, just as from
the head: but he is always full. because he who is in Christ is filled with an abundance of
divinity which the elements do not have. for it was unworthy and incongruous, that the
invisible should dwell in visible substance, and the incorporeal in those things which are
sensible. Let their worshipers therefore hear and come, and believe in Christ; that they may
become greater than those whom they now worship. of God, who raised him from the dead.
These are circumcised in Christ, who, cut off from the culture of the whole human tradition,
join Christ, circumcised in heart and not in the flesh, that is, serving in the spirit, not in the
flesh; that they may be converted from the earthly to the heavenly, from the human to the
divine, from error to the truth, united to their head and author through charity. for the old
man is put away and the new is taken up: he dies to sins, that he may live in righteousness:
he renounces the elements, that he may be associated with Christ, holding as a pledge the
future resurrection, the example of the Savior who rose from the dead. He urges the culture
of the elements to turn away from God, wanting to make men partakers of his apostasy.
under the name of another he tries to fulfill his will. , which was contrary to us: and he took
it from the midst, and affixed it to the cross, and taking off the principalities and powers,
displayed them in authority, triumphing over them in him. to be condemned for their vices,
they refused to receive it; then, because of the impiety of their sins, they were unworthy of
life; and therefore he distinguished these from the Jews, as if they had been enemies of the
one God. But the Jews, living in the confession of the one God, when Christ came, learned the
mystery of God, which they awaited for their justification: that they might receive what had
been stolen from them, because it is impossible to be without sin Whence he brings in the
cause of the Gentiles and the Jews, saying: Giving us all our trespasses; to put after the
special and the general; because he has given all sins to all. be about his obedience, from
which they were delivered from different punishments of death. How, then, did he grant us
all our transgressions? He blotted out, he says, the writing, which was against us. when he
took it from the midst. And so he took it from the midst, when he nailed it, he said, to the
cross. And to nail it to the cross, he said, this was to rob principalities and powers publicly,
and to triumph over them in Christ. They must be elucidated. This is the protection of God,
which the apostle explains by the significance of different causes. that he might not only
forgive us our own offences, but also take away that sin which was from Adam's
transgression (which he called the signature in the decrees) which did not allow us to rise
from the dead; for if he had not taken this also from the midst, those who had received the
renunciation, going out from here, would have been held there by the underworld.
Furthermore, for this reason all offenses were granted, so that they might rise from the
dead. would have been possible if sin had not been nailed to the cross. For while the Savior,
by not sinning, overcomes the sin that held man in subjection, moreover, the innocent is
killed by it: thus he crucified sin. so he who is slain makes those by whom he is slain guilty.
But let us understand the sin of princes and powers, by whose desire the first Adam sinned.
for this is their death, because those defeated by the Savior, while they are despoiled of the
souls which they held in captivity, are put to death. , they killed. which is to be openly
triumphed by God in Christ. For he is triumphed who is openly conquered, and his spoils are
made public; for he is shown to all prostrate who insulted others. because they assert that it
is not contrary to all; because they say that some are happy from this, others unhappy. For
he says that this decree was contrary to all; for the sentence was contrary to all men. all the
hope of life is in Christ, and trust, he commanded us that we should not submit to any
superstition or law. We should not make noise, or whisper anything that does not belong to
the faith of Christ, and despise him; For some of the Jews are wont to judge the faithful, that
they eat of the foods which were forbidden by Moses, since God hath made all things clean:
but the unworthy Jews, judged unworthy to eat of these things, are forbidden by the better
ones. because we do not observe the beginnings of the months, which are called neomenias:
and especially because we do not keep the Sabbath days, so that leisure and feasting may be
crossed with luxury: which belongs more to offense than to grace. All things are the body of
Christ, because they are terms of the elements by effects. This is whence he says in the
Gospel: For the Lord is the Son of man even on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8); for by him all
things, which indeed were thus given by Moses, as if they were a shadow, or a figure of
things to come, so that the figure would cease to be in apparent truth. so also these things
were to be observed before the coming of the Lord in their own time, but now they lack
authority. How much more should servants, when their master is present, be seen in
obedience! that head, from which every body, supported and coordinated by means of
frameworks and conjunctions, grows into the increase of God. so that the souls of the
captives of these cultures may be held bound under the firmament, lest they reach above
the firmament to the higher heavens to worship the God of all. This is done by the enemy, so
that he may always detain the souls humbled upon the earth, where he knows that he will
always be cast down from the heavens by the just judgment of God, feigning religion , since
it is the greatest sacrilege. For those who see the motion of the stars, whom he calls angels,
are puffed up, not by divine authority, but by human superstition, which leads to nothing
but harm: refusing to keep the faith of Christ, who is the creator and Lord of all. they have
wherefore they are also called his body, if they nevertheless recognize him. For those
converted to him are rebuilt, united in his faith by supplying the Gospel to all as members of
the body in the charity of Christ, so that they may increase to God. his, while they deny that
they are his, they make cremation to God. because they are acquired from the lost. This of
the pagans: again of the Jews he says that they too serve under the elements, not the
elements. Everyone who is baptized in Christ dies to the world; for he renounces all the
errors of superstition, that he may worship the faith of Christ alone. whom he had assumed
to be gods. And so it happens that through the enmity of abdication, man and the culture of
the elements are said to be dead to each other. for everything that is seen is assigned to the
flesh. This is where John the Apostle came from: "Do not love the world, nor the things that
are in the world" (1 John 2:15); that is, let us love neither the elements with which the
world is compact, nor the errors which human tradition has found: but only Christ, who
died for us; that he might associate us with his body from those who were lost. Those, then,
who were buried in Christ, died to the elements, so that they could care nothing of these
things; for they have learned to hold on to the things above, which can give eternal life. For
these do not give the present either, and prevent the future from being apprehended. ; he
will remain within the circles of the world, a stranger to God; because being clothed in the
old man, he will not be able to pass the carnal. the hope of the worldly; because it is empty,
let them not worship, let them not assent, let them not think that what they promise is
corruption. because the precepts and doctrines are not of God, but of men, in whom there is
vain hope; so that by forbidding them from the faith of one God, they may induce the
superstition of many gods. , because they apply the name of religion to human tradition, so
that it may be called religion, when it is sacrilege; because that which is against the author
has been invented by a blasphemous mind. and humble human minds on earth, so that they
do not raise themselves to the heavenly; : but as if the first part of the body were cut off,
giving all of themselves to the world to fill the sense of the flesh. for it seems to have a
reason for wisdom, next to the flesh, because all corporeal birth is from the elements.
because these alone, they say, were permitted to be used as guides, and on this account they
neglect the author.
<2+> CHAPTER III.

(Verse 1.) For if you have risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is
seated at the right hand of God. He asserts that these have risen with Christ in baptism, who
think of the superheavens, where Christ's seat is, where God the Father has given his right
hand to his Son, that he may rule and judge; for the judge is not to sit on the left. However,
the resurrection has two forms, so that first the soul rises from the earth to the heavens,
then, after receiving the body, it rises again in the rapture to meet Christ. (Verse 2.) Mind
the things that are above, not the things that are on the earth. We are exhorted to seek the
upper heavens, which are the eternal abodes; For whoever occupies himself with these
superstitions will suffer an obstacle; for he will not be able to transcend these things, to
which he bowed, as masters. (Verse 3.) For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ
in God. To the sense of the world Christ seems dead, and his disciples, when it is agreed that
he lives with all these. Therefore the life of Christ and his people in God is hidden from the
carnal and the worldly, outside the world, in his heavenly kingdom, in which they live.
(Verse 4.) When Christ appears in your life, then you also will appear with him in glory. Our
life is Christ; because we read in the Acts of the Apostles that this is the author of life, who is
not believed by the unfaithful to be a judge (Acts 3:15). But when he comes in heavenly
power, and is seen to be that which was not at all believed, then those who believed in him
will also appear with him. and he will be revealed to all unfaithfulness, because he lives with
his own in glory. This consolation begets the confidence of hope; that we may be sure of the
future life, putting all things aside, let us follow Christ. (Verse 5.) Mortify your members
which are on the earth, fornication, impurity, lust, evil concupiscence, and covetousness,
which is idolatry. Since in the Epistle to the Romans he signifies that all sins are the body
together (Rom. 6:6), therefore now, describing the individual offenses, he calls them
members; so that after having accepted and kept the evangelical account of the Saviour's
fullness, they should strive for a good life, abstaining from all immorality and evil desire, by
which they may not lose the fruit of the divine skill. For it is a great obstacle to know the
nature of the truth, and not a great deal to confirm it by facts. This is where the Lord says
among other things: But he who knows the will of his master, and does not obey him, will be
beaten by many (Luke 12:47). But he compared avarice with idolatry, so that it showed
nothing more wicked. Under one name he designated two worst and most impious classes,
which he advises to be avoided by all means; For the first and most serious crime is idolatry.
For what is so pernicious and so fatal as to give the name of honor to the trees and stones or
other metals to the injury of God the Creator; when they themselves do not suffer the
servant to be called by the name of the master, whom, of course, not by nature, but by a
certain condition subjects him to servitude? On the other hand, there is another crime of
avarice, not disparity, but different in name. Whence he says to Timothy: For the root of all
evils is covetousness (1 Tim. 6:10); for he is capable of all wrongdoings, that he may satisfy
the desire of his greed, which is impossible, by always drinking and always thirsting. Not
undeservedly, then, does he show both evils under one name; for they are accomplished
almost by one work: for as idolatry strives to take away the glory from one God, lest that
which is peculiar to him alone should have the name of divinity worthy of himself alone. so
also the avarice of God extends itself, so that, if it is possible, one and only one usurps his
creation for himself, which God has made common to all. Hence God says through the
prophet; The gold is mine, and the silver is mine (Agai. 2:9). Both, therefore, are hostile to
God; for both deny to God the things which are his. (Verse 6.) Because of which the wrath of
God came. He says that God's judgment will come because of the evils mentioned; that
vengeance may be taken against those who, in contempt of God and his Law, preferred to
follow the prohibitions. (Verse 7.) In whom you also walked at one time, when you lived in
them. He is not silent as to how much benefit the grace of God through Jesus Christ has
provided for them; that they may congratulate themselves that they have escaped the wrath
which will suddenly come upon the infidels of the whole earth, and that they may prepare
themselves so as to be able to obey the commandments of him from whom they have been
delivered by the second death. (Vers. 8-11.) Now, however, you also put away everything,
anger and indignation of the soul, malice, blasphemy. Let no evil speech proceed out of your
mouth. Do not lie to each other. Put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new, who
is renewed in recognition according to the image of him who created him; where there is no
Greek and Jew, circumcision and foreskin, Barbarian and Scythian, slave and free: but Christ
is all and in all. Now he forbids from these, which seem lesser sins; Lest, perhaps, because
the things that are more serious above have been commanded to be put to death, these
things should be admitted, or as if they were not dangerous, and should not be shunned; ,
which was once hidden, but has just been made manifest by the new law to those who
believe; that they may become like the image of him who created them. This image is to be
understood in the conversation of a good life, as he says to the Corinthians in the first letter:
As we have borne the image of him who is of the earth; so let us also bear the image of him
who is from heaven (1 Cor. 15:49). He is therefore the creator of man, whose image he
commands us to bear in holiness and good works, which come down from the recognition of
the Son of God. For no one can have a good and clean life, unless he has someone to show it
to, from whom he expects, if not a reward, at least praise. But with God both praise and
reward are hoped for; because the justice of God does not allow him who has overcome the
vices of the flesh to be crowned at all. In this acknowledgment, therefore, no one is received
as unworthy, as if he did not deserve to come to the faith of Christ; for all who approach
become one, erased what they were, and written what they began to be; so that because
they are of one faith, they are of one faith and merit, so that those whom faith unites cannot
be distinguished, because they are different in nature and race or condition. For Christ is all
things and in all these; for since all are his members, Christ is all; so that while their one
confession is of his hope in all, Christ: and so all are his body, so that their profession and
nature agree. However, this image, which he says was created by the recognition of the
Savior, is another image, and another image to which the first man was made. For this image
is also in a woman, when she acknowledges him who created her, and obeying his will she
abstains from a life of shame and perverted action; but that image is in the man alone, as he
says in the first letter to the Corinthians: A man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he
is the image and glory of God (1 Cor. 11:7). And if the woman did not cover her head, she
would be the image of God. But it was incongruous, that things subject to man should be
said to be the image of God; for he also says in Genesis: And God made man, in the image of
God he made him (Genesis 1:27); so that as God is one, man was made one from him: so that
as from one God were all things, so from one man was every race on the face of the whole
earth. One, therefore, made one, which had the image of his unity. And she herself in man
and woman in the similitude of the mystery of the Father and the Son; Nevertheless, he
separated the barbarian from the Scythian, as the slave from the free certainly not in Christ,
in whom all are one; but in the ferocity of manners and the inhumanity of the race. For he
wanted these barbarians to be understood as worse, before they believed, when the books
of the Greeks foretold their justice, which they followed, guided by nature; so much so that
the sin of theft is considered great among them, which, he says, the Greeks, when they
searched out the paths of justice with great energy and learning, they applauded that these
naturally grasped them. But as everything degenerates, afterwards they began to be more
blameworthy than they had been praiseworthy before. For after their women began to use
the law of men, whom they assert were originally called Amazons, they subjugated the
whole of Asia contrary to nature; so it happened that even men were made rabid after the
manner of dogs, huge, wild, uncultivated, more than barbarians, so much changed as to be
imbued with human flesh to eat. What wonder, since the Romans themselves were far
different than they are now? For the use of wine for the sake of their chastity was unknown
to women, as it is now of water; for the authority of discipline prevailed to such an extent
that he did not make the subject a vessel as he wished. (Vers. 12, 13.) Therefore, as God's
chosen ones, holy and beloved, put on the bowels of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness of
understanding, long-suffering, showing patience to one another, and giving to one another,
if one has a complaint against another; As Christ also gave you, so do you. That they may
have profit, he exhorts them to do these things, which place merit with God. But fear causes
one to abstain from sins; for he is afraid lest, doing evil, he should be subject to
punishments. Now these things which he now advises to be done, pertain to the progress of
the meritorious; for they are of the will, not of necessity. He, therefore, who abstains from
what is unlawful, has praise; but he who abstains from what is lawful, has both praise and
reward. (Vers. 14, 15.) Above all these things, have charity, which is the bond of unity: and
the peace of God will rejoice in your hearts, in which you have been called in one body: and
be grateful. But since charity is the greatest of all, he exhorts us to study this more. For then
all that he commanded above to be observed, will be able to be brought to the effect of
rewards, if, guided by charity, they walk the path of the law; for he who does something out
of love works with his whole mind. There is no hypocrisy and pretense in charity;
Wherefore also John the Apostle says: Fear is not in love. For he who fears is not perfect: for
perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18); hence the Lord prefers to be loved than to be
feared. For this is the love that embraces unity, this is what makes all one body, this is what
has true peace, which it guards with a pure heart. For one can be called peace and not have
charity; for charity always has peace with it. (Verse 16.) Let the word of Christ dwell in you
abundantly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing yourselves in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing in your hearts in thanksgiving to the Lord. He advises us always to
meditate on these things, which sound like Christ: to keep these things in our hearts, which
always give thanks to God the Father; that the singing voice may serve him, the psalm
praises him, the hymn exalts him. And let it be known to him alone, who sees through the
hidden things of the mind, from whom the reward is also hoped for. He commanded them to
be sung in their hearts; lest it should become popular with men, and lose its fruit. (Verse
17.) And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God and the Father through him. Because above in the heart he
commanded that God should be praised and thanks should be given to him; now, both in
word and in deed, the name of the Lord Jesus is encouraged to be praised and exalted in our
whole conversation; so that when our words are free from criticism, and our works are
good, the Lord Jesus is magnified, whose disciples are irreproachable by his teaching. For
then we give true thanks to God through him, if we keep the manner of his precepts. (Verse
18.) Wives, be in subjection to men, as you ought, in the Lord. Thus he commanded that
women should be subject to men, as God commanded, saying, among other things, to the
woman: And your conversion to your husband, and he shall rule over you (Gen. 3:16); that
by the very rite and discipline she should fear her husband, as if she were the master from
whom he began to be. (Verse 19.) Husbands, love your wives, and do not be enamored of
them. He softens the rigor of the male law, so that no one should be too much under the
dominion of his wife by the power with which he prevails: but he must look back to his
affections, because the woman is his flesh; lest by humiliating her he should aggravate her
and think contrary things. (Verse 20.) Children, obey your parents in all things; for this
pleases God. God cannot be pleased with anything other than what is just and pious. For
then children can have the propitiation of God, if they render due honor to their parents,
being easy in respect to their obedience, difficult in contempt, knowing that children should
never provide against their parents. (Verse 21.) Fathers, do not provoke your children to
anger, lest they become small-minded. He commands that fathers should be modest to their
children, lest, constrained by them, they transgress against them, and offend God, which
they do not want. For anger is an inconsiderate thing, so much so that sometimes he who is
angry does not even spare himself. For fathers must be remembered because they
themselves were sons; but sons must be considered because they will be fathers. that both
the children and the fathers should be subject to the equally balanced counsel of both
parties. (Verse 22.) Servants, obey your carnal masters in all things, not serving to the eye,
as pleasing men, but fearing the Lord in simplicity of heart. Because God cannot be served in
any other way than with a pure heart; for he sees into the hidden things of hearts: so also he
commands that men should be served. For he who serves with the eye does something else
in secret: but he who serves from the heart is such outside as he is inside. If, therefore, he is
faithful in this obedience, he will merit the Lord; because he himself said: He who is faithful
in the least is also faithful in the great (Luke 16:10). For if he who at present vindicates has
not been faithful to him, who will be able to show his faith to him, whom he hears and
judges after death? Therefore, in the case of a carnal master, he just wants to be a servant
and obedient; that he may be both faithful and obedient in the things of God. For if he be
worthy at present, where he knows that there are none but corruptible rewards; how much
more inclined will he be in the devotion of God, whom he knows will give immortal rewards
to the faithful! (Vers. 23, 24, 25.) Whatever you do, work from the heart, as for the Lord and
not for men: be sure that you will receive from the Lord the retribution of the inheritance of
the Lord Christ, whom you serve. For he who acts unjustly bears what he has acted unjustly:
and there is no acceptance of persons with God. To make them willing in obedience and
faith, he promises them that they will receive the reward of good works from God in the
kingdom of Christ. That it may be approved and accepted, so he wants them to obey as the
Lord, from whom they expect a reward. But if the servant has acted unjustly, he offends not
only man, but also God, whom he has despised in admitting the carnal fraud of his master.
But if he has done well, he will not be the servant of man with God, as if he were despised:
but he will be rewarded, as if he were free among men, but the servant of Christ, which is
the name of dignity.

<2+> CHAPTER IV.

(Verse 1.) Lords, give what is just and fair to your servants, knowing that you also have a
Lord in heaven. Lest the temporal lords be exalted in pride, presuming to rule, he softens
and restrains their minds, so that, using the consideration of the human race, they may
realize that the author God did not create slaves and free people, but all the innocent. But
this has come about through the injustice of the world, so that while one invades the other's
territory, then he leads innocent captives; whence they were said by the ancients to have
been taken captive by hand. This case and condition appears even now, some are redeemed,
others remain slaves. But with God this servant is considered who has sinned (John 8:34).
Finally, because of sin, the servant of Ham heard: Cursed is the son of Chanaam, he will be
the servant of servants to his brothers (Gen. 9:25). To which opinion the ancients agreed, so
that they determined that all prudent men were free, but all fools were slaves; because a
prudent man abstains from sins, so that he who follows the right path may be sincere; but
the servant who, through the imprudence of folly, subjects himself to sin. Hence also Ham,
because of his foolishness, who foolishly dried up his father's nakedness, was called a slave.
He therefore shows to the masters that they are not truly masters, but as it were through an
image; for they are masters of bodies, not of minds. For God alone, lord and author of
invisible things, rules both bodies and souls; so that, considering these things, they may
demand just services from them: certainly such as they want to demand of themselves from
the common Lord. For when they do not, as they themselves deserve, serve God, whom they
do not deny to have all power, and whose daily gifts are presented to human uses through
the ministrations of creatures, they demand from their equals (not to say brothers) services
so heavy that they cannot be borne: not placing in in mind, because whether they like it or
not, they are slaves; and let them see whose merit (Vers. 2, 3, 4.) Constantly in prayer,
watching in it with thanksgiving: praying together and for us, that God may open for us the
door of the word to speak the mystery of Christ (because I am also bound) that I may
manifest it, as I ought to speak He already shows to the prudent the mystery of the Lord
Christ, and to those who are cautious in avoiding the vices of sinners, to insist on prayer;
that they may grow by merit, failing by the temptations of the adversary. Whom he
considers so worthy, that he judges that he can also help them by prayers to assert boldly
the Gospel, for which he had received the mission to manifest. (Vers. 5, 6.) Walk in wisdom
to those who are outside, redeeming the time. May your speech always be seasoned with
salt in grace; that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Because it is necessary
for us to walk among unbelievers, and to mingle conversations for the sake of worldly
conversation: this is what reminds us, that conversation itself should be with wisdom
because of the offense of the Gentiles. lest through us they should take occasion to
blaspheme, and be incited to persecute. For what need is there to speak with him, whom
you know to be intractable, and obstinate in mind, ready to insult him? For this reason he
advises, that at the proper time and place and time, teachers of modesty, the words of
religion should be preached; For the powerful of the world must be dealt with in a different
way, in a different way with the average, and in a different way with the lowly. Again, in
another way with the meek, in another way with the passionate, to whom we must yield,
this is the time to redeem. For when you yield to the insidious words of Dominic and the
boldness of the furious time, you profit by the insults of the fierce time. For if the head, that
is, the king, consents to the body, then there is freedom to speak the words of God with
meekness, that they may be provoked to good. However, those who are anxious and anxious
to always give in to insults; for you win while you yield. (Vers. 7, 8, 9.) Tychicus, my beloved
brother, and faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will make known to you all
that is about me: whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that he may know what is
about you, and that his hearts may be comforted yours, together with your dear and faithful
brother Onesimus, who is one of you, will make known to you all that is here. For this
purpose he says that he sent the brothers, that they might become known to each other
what was being done by one another. Although he says above that he was present with
them in spirit, and to see what they were doing, we still need internal messages. For a man
will become more anxious when he sees that he is coming to consider his conduct; for he
would be more afraid if he were to be seen in a mirror to see what he was doing. For when
God sees all things, and let us know that all things are known to him; but because we do not
see ourselves seen by him, we do the opposite. (Vers. 10, 11.) Aristarchus, the companion of
my captivity, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (from whom you received a command, that if
he comes to you, you should receive him) greet you, and Jesus, who is called Justus: they are
from the circumcision. These are my only helpers in the kingdom of God, who have been my
comfort. This Aristarchus seems to be of good conduct and merit, who is designated as a
sharer in devotion to Dominic and a partner in the labors of the Apostle. But as Mark
recommends, he is not silent as to what it is; so that when he learns from the relatives of the
laudable man Barnabas, he is considered honorable. He adds also Jesus, whom he calls to be
called by the name of Justus. To these alone he bears witness, because they were his helpers
from the point of circumcision, agreeing and sharing in his opinion; that those who are
already circumcised ought not to preach any further, therefore he says that they are his own
partakers in the kingdom of God. But to preach that one should be circumcised, and that the
Sabbaths and Sabbaths should be kept, is not spiritual, but earthly. (Verse 12.) Epaphras,
who is one of you, a servant of Christ, greets you. He makes the letter dearer to them, when
he bears witness to him who is one of them. Always anxious for you in prayers, that you
may stand perfect and abundantly fulfilled in all the will of God. He testifies that he wishes
them so much salvation; that he who is their citizen, and most dear to them in the feeling of
unanimity, may show that he is a partaker of his devotion to their advancement. (Verse 13.)
For I testify to him that he has much labor for you, and for those who are in Laodicea and
Hierapolis. In order to make them anxious for their own safety, he shows how great the
vigilance of others is for them; for a man becomes more anxious with shame, when he sees
another laboring in his cause. (Verse 14.) Lucas, the dearest physician, and Demas greet you.
Luke was truly dear to the Apostle; because, putting everything aside, he always followed
the Apostle: who is said to have written both the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. (Verse
15.) Salute those who are the brothers of Laodicea, and Nympha, and her domestic church.
Because he was concerned in a similar way for those who are in Laodicea, he reminds them
in their letter to greet them, considering the Nymph more dear, whose house he also greets.
for she seems to have been so devout, that every house of hers was entitled by the sign of
the cross. (Verse 16.) And when this letter has been read among you, cause it to be read in
the church of the Laodiceans, and you as ambassadors to that which is of the Laodiceans.
Because the Apostle's instructions are general, and letters written for the progress of all the
Churches; therefore also he commands the Laodiceans to read this epistle, that by it they
may learn what they ought to do: and the Colossians to read theirs, according to the sense
aforesaid. (Vers. 17.) And say to Archippus: See the service which you have received in the
Lord, that you may fulfill it. He should remind them through them themselves that he should
be concerned about their safety; and since the letter is written only for the sake of the
people, it is therefore not intended for their ruler, but for the Church. For after Epaphras,
who imbued them, here he took charge of their church. (Vers. 18.) My very greeting by the
hand of Paul. Be mindful of my bonds. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. In
order to confirm the letter, he says that he signed the letter with his own hand, reminding
them that they should bear in mind his issues, which he suffered for the salvation of nations:
and that they should prepare themselves so that he would not have to suffer painfully for
these injuries.