He had spoken vehemently, used sharpness. His excuse. 333 HOMILY XXX. 2 COR. xiii. 10. Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction. 1.2. He was sensible he had spoken more vehemently than his wont, and especially towards the end of the Epistle. For he said before, Now I Paul exhort you by the meekness and cap. 10, gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold towards you. But I beseech you that I may not be bold when I am present, with that confidence wherewith I think to be bold against some which think of us as though we walked according to the flesh; and, having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience when your ib. 6. obedience is fulfilled: and, I fear lest when I come, I shall c. 12, 20. not find you such as I would, and I shall be found unto you such as ye would not; and again, lest when I come my ib. 21. God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the lasciviousness and uncleanness which they have committed: and afterwards, I told you before and foretell you, as c. 13, if I were present the second time, and being absent now I write, that, if I come again, I will not spare; since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me. Since then he had said these things and more besides, terrifying, shaming, reproaching, lashing them, in excuse for all, he says, Therefore I 2. 3. XXX. 6 334 He bids, Rejoice,' for by repentance they might have joy. HOMIL write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness. For I am desirous the sharpness should lie in my letters, and not in my deeds. I wish my threats to be vehement, that they may continue threats, and never go forth into action. Again, even in this his apology he makes what he says more terrible, shewing that it is not himself who is to punish, but God; for he added, according to the power which the Lord hath given me; and again, to shew that he desires not to use his power to their punishment, he added, not to destruction, but to edification. And he hinted indeed this now, as I said, but he left it to them to draw the conclusion, that if they should continue unamended, even this again is edification, to punish those that are of such a mind. For so it is, and he knew it, and shewed it by his deeds. 1 Το λοι πὸν, R. Ver. 11. For the rest', brethren, rejoice, be perfect, be of T. Aoi- good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you. πὸν ' What means, for the rest, brethren, rejoice? Thou hast pained, terrified, thrown them into an agony, made them to tremble and fear, and how biddest thou them rejoice? Why, for this very reason I bid them rejoice. For,' he says, if what is your part follow upon mine, there will be nothing to prevent that joy. For all my part has been done; I have suffered long, I have delayed, I have forborne to cut off, I have besought, I have advised, I have alarmed, I have threatened, so as by every means to gather you in unto the fruit of repentance. And now, it behoveth that your part be done, and so your joy will be unfading.' Be perfect. What is, be perfect? Be complete, fill up what is deficient." Be comforted. For, since their trials were numerous, and their perils great, he says, ' be comforted, both by one another, and by us, and by your change unto the better. For if ye should have joy of conscience, and become complete, nothing is wanting unto your cheerfulness and comfort. For nothing doth so produce comfort as a pure conscience, yea, though innumerable temptations surround.' Be of one mind, live in peace. The request he made in the former Epistle also, at the opening. For it is possible to be of one mind, and yet not to live in peace, [for instance,] The kiss, fuel to love. The mouth, the porch of Christ's temple; 335 when people agree in doctrine, but in their dealings with each 2 COR. other are at variance. But Paul requires both. And the God of love and peace shall be with you. For truly he not only recommends and advises, but also prays. For either he prays for this, or else foretells what shall happen; or rather, both. For if ye do these things,' he says, for instance, if ye be of one mind, and live in peace, God also will be with you, for He is the God of love and of peace, and in these things He delighteth, He rejoiceth. Hence shall peace also be yours from His love; hence shall every evil be removed. This saved the world, this ended the long war, this blended together heaven and earth, this made men angels. This then let us also imitate, for love is the mother of countless good things. By this we were saved, by this all those unspeakable good things [are derived] to us.' [2.] Then to lead them on unto it, he says, Ver. 12. Greet one another with an holy kiss. XIII. 12. What is holy? not hollow', not treacherous, like the kiss úrovλo which Judas gave to Christ. For therefore is the kiss given, that it may be fuel unto love, that it may kindle the disposition, that we may so love each other, as brothers brothers, as children parents, as parents children; yea, rather eveu far more. For those things are a disposition implanted by nature, but these by spiritual grace. Thus are souls bound unto each other. And therefore, when we return after an absence, we kiss each other, our souls hastening unto mutual intercourse. For this is that member, which most of all declares to us the workings of the soul. But about this holy kiss somewhat (2.) else may yet be said. To what effect? We are the temple of Christ; we kiss then the porch and entrance of the temple, when we kiss each other. See ye not how many kiss even the porch of this temple, some stooping down, others grasping it with their hand, and putting their hand to their mouth. And through these gates and doors Christ both hath entered into us, and doth enter, whensoever we communicate. Ye who partake of the mysteries, understand what I say. For it is in no common manner that our lips are honoured, when they receive the Lord's Body. It is for this reason chiefly that we here kiss. Let them give ear who speak filthy things, who utter railing, and let them shudder XXX. 336 Keep it undefiled. Each Person of the Trinity here named; awe. HOMIL. to think, what that mouth is they dishonour; let those give ear, who kiss obscenely. Hear what things God hath proclaimed by thy mouth, and keep it undefiled. He hath discoursed of the life to come, of the resurrection, of immortality, that death is not death, of those other innumerable mysteries. For he that is about to be initiated comes to the priest's mouth, as it were an oracle, to hear things full of For he lost his life even from his forefathers, and comes to seek it again, and to ask how he may haply find, and get it back again. Then God announceth to him how it may be found, and that mouth becomes more aweful than the very mercy-seat. For that mercy-seat never sent forth a voice like this, but spake much of lesser things, of wars and such peace as is here below: but this speaks all about heaven, and the life to come, and things new and that pass understanding. And having said, 1 καὶ Πάτρας T. Ver. 13. Salute one another with an holy kiss, he added, All the saints salute you. By this also giving them good hopes. He has added this, in the place of the kiss, knitting them together by the salutation, for the words also proceed from the same mouth from which the kiss. Seest thou how he brings them all together, both those who are widely separated in the body, and those who are near, these by the kiss, and those by the written message? [3.] Ver. 14. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the Father', and the communion of the Holy om. R. Ghost, be with you all. After having united them to one other by the salutations and the kisses, he again closes his speech with prayer, with much carefulness uniting them unto God also. Where now are they who say, that because the Holy Spirit is not inserted in the beginnings of the Epistles, He is not of the same substance? For, behold, he hath now enumerated Him with the Father and the Son. And besides this, one may remark, that when writing to the Colossians, and saying, Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, he was silent of the Son, and added not, as in all his Epistles, and from the Lord Jesus Christ". Is then the Son not of the same place the name of Christ.' Yet the Rec. Text has the words, Col. i. 2. See also Chrys. on Coloss. Oxford XIII. 13. 12, 1. 15, 30. Where not, silence proves nothing. Same gifts said of Each. 337 substance either, because of this? Nay, these reasonings are 2 Cor. of extreme folly. For this very thing especially shews Him to be of the same substance, that Paul useth the expression [or not] indifferently. And that what is here said is no conjecture, hear how he mentions Son and Spirit, and is quite silent of the Father. For, writing to the Corinthians, he says, But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are 1 Cor. justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of6, 11. our God. What then, tell me? were these not baptized into the Father? Then assuredly they were neither washed nor sanctified. But did they baptize them? doubtless then just as also they did baptize. How then did he not say, 'Ye are washed in the name of the Father? Because it was indifferent in his view, at one time to make mention of this, at another of that Person; and you may observe this custom in many places of the Epistles. For writing to the Romans he says, I beseech you therefore by the mercies of God, although Rom. those mercies are of the Son; and, I beseech you by the love of the Spirit, although love is of the Father. Wherefore then mentioned he not the Son in the mercies, nor the Father in the love? Because as being things plain and admitted, he was silent about them. Moreover, he will be found again, to put the gifts also themselves transposedly'. For having 'TIsaid here, The grace of Christ, and the love of God and the popws Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost; he in another place speaks of the communion of the Son, and of the love of the Spirit. For, I beseech you, he says, by the love of the Spirit. Rom. And in his Epistle to the Corinthians, God is faithful, by 1 Cor. Whom ye were called unto the communion of His Son. 1,9. Thus the things of the Trinity are undivided: and whereas the communion is of the Spirit, it hath been found of the Son; and whereas the grace is of the Son, it is also of the Father, and of the Holy Spirit; for [we read], Grace be to you from God the Father. And in another place, having enumerated many forms of it, he added, But all these worketh that 1 Cor. one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally 12, 11. as He will. And I say these things, not confounding the σuvaPersons, (away with the thought!) but knowing both the individuality and distinctness of These, and the Unity of the Substance. 2 3 15, 30. ididov kal dinρημένον Ꮓ |