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COLOSSIANS II. 6, 7.
"As therefore ye received Christ Jesus the
Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in
Him, and stablished in your faith, even as ye
were taught, abounding in thanksgiving."
AGAIN, he takes hold on them beforehand
with their own testimony, saying, "As
therefore ye received." We introduce no
strange addition, he saith, neither do ye.
"Walk ye in Him," for He is the Way that
leadeth to the Father: not in the Angels;
this way leadeth not thither. "Rooted," that
is, fixed; not one while going this way,
another that, but "rooted": now that which is
rooted, never can remove. Observe how
appropriate are the expressions he employs.
"And built up," that is, in thought
attaining unto Him. "And stablished" in
Him, that is, holding Him, built as on a
foundation. He shows that they had fallen
down, for the word "built" has this force.
For the faith is in truth a building; and needs
both a strong foundation, and secure
construction. For both if any one build not
upon a secure foundation it will shake; and even
though he do, if it be not firm, it will not
stand. "As ye were taught." Again, the
word "As." "Abounding," he saith, "in
thanksgiving"; for this is the part of
well-disposed persons, I say not simply to
give thanks, but with great abundance, more
than ye learned, if possible, with much
ambition.
Ver. 8. "Take heed lest there shall be any
one that maketh spoil of you."
Seest thou how he shows him to be a thief, and
an alien, and one that enters in softly? For
he has already represented him to be entering
in. "Beware." And he well said "maketh
spoil." As one digging away a mound from
underneath, may give no perceptible sign, yet
it gradually settles, so do you also beware;
for this is his main point, not even to let
himself be perceived. As if some one were
robbing every day, and he (the owner of the
house) were told, "Beware lest there be some
one"; and he shows the way--through this
way--as if we were to say, through this
chamber; so, "through philosophy," says he.
Then because the term "philosophy" has an
appearance of dignity, he added, "and vain
deceit." For there is also a good deceit;
such as many have been deceived by, which one
ought not even to call a deceit at all. Whereof
Jeremiah speaks; "O Lord, Thou hast
deceived me, and I was deceived" (Jer. xx.
7); for such as this one ought not to call a
deceit at all; for Jacob also deceived his
father, but that was not a deceit, but an
economy. "Through his philosophy," he
saith, "and vain deceit, after the tradition
of men, after the rudiments of the world, and
not after Christ." Now he sets about to
reprove their observance of particular days,
meaning by elements of the world the sun and
moon; as he also said in the Epistle to the
Galatians, "How turn ye back again to the
weak and beggarly elements?" (Gal. iv.
9.) And he said not observances of days, but
in general of the present world, to show its
worthlessness: for if the present world be
nothing, much more then its elements. Having
first shown how great benefits and kindnesses
they had received, he afterwards brings on his
accusation, thereby to show its greater
seriousness, and to convict his hearers. Thus
too the Prophets do. They always first point
out the benefits, and then they magnify their
accusation; as Esaias saith, "I have
begotten children, and exalted them, but they
have rejected me" (Isa. i. 2, Sept.);
and again, "O my people, what have I done
unto thee, or wherein have I grieved thee, or
wherein have I wearied thee"? (Mic. vi.
3) and David; as when he says, "I heard
thee in the secret place of the tempest" (Ps.
lxxxi. 7, Sept.); and again, "Open thy
mouth, and I will fill it." (Ps. lxxxi.
10.) And everywhere you will find it the
same.
That indeed were most one's duty, not to be
persuaded by them, even did they say aught to
the purpose; as it is, however, obligations
apart even, it would be our duty to shun those
things. "And not after Christ," he saith.
For were it in such sort a matter done by
halves, that ye were able to serve both the one
and the other not even so ought ye to do it; as
it is, however, he suffers you not to be
"after Christ." Those things withdraw you
from Him. Having first shaken to pieces the
Grecian observances, he next overthrows the
Jewish ones also. For both Greeks and Jews
practiced many observances, but the former from
philosophy, the latter from the Law. First
then, he makes at those against whom lay the
heavier accusation. How, "not after Christ
"?
Ver. 9, 10. "For in Him dwelleth all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily: and in Him
ye are made full, who is the head of all
principality and power."
Observe how in his accusing of the one he
thrusts through the other, by first giving the
solution, and then the objection. For such a
solution is not suspected, and the hearer
accepts it the rather, that the speaker is not
making it his aim. For in that case indeed he
would make a point of not coming off worsted,
but in this, not so. "For in Him
dwelleth," that is, for God dwelleth in
Him. But that thou mayest not think Him
enclosed, as in a body, he saith, "All the
fullness of the Godhead bodily: and ye are made
full in Him." Others say that he intends the
Church filled by His Godhead, as he elsewhere
saith, "of Him that filleth all in all"
(Eph. i. 23), and that the term
"bodily" is here, as the body in the head.
How is it then that he did not add, "which is
the Church"? Some again say it is with
reference to The Father, that he says that the
fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him, but
wrongly. First, because "to dwell," cannot
strictly be said of God: next, because the
"fullness" is not that which receives, for
"the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness
thereof" (Ps. xxiv. 1); and again the
Apostle, "until the fullness of the Gentiles
be come in." (Rom. xi. 25.) By
"fullness" is meant "the whole." Then the
word "bodily," what did it intend? "As in a
head." But why does he say the same thing over
again? "And ye are made full in Him." What
then does it mean? That ye have nothing less
than He. As it dwelt in Him, so also in
you. For Paul is ever straining to bring us
near to Christ; as when he says, "Hath
raised us up with Him, and made us to sit with
Him" (Eph. ii. 6): and, "If we
endure, we shall also reign with Him" (2
Tim. ii. 12): and, "How shall He not
also with Him freely give us all things"
(Rom. viii. 32): and calling us
"fellow-heirs." Then as for His dignity.
And He "is the head of all principality and
power." (Eph. iii. 6.) He that is above
all, The Cause, is He not Consubstantial?
Then he has added the benefit in a marvelous
way; and far more marvelous than in the Epistle
to the Romans. For there indeed he saith,
"circumcision of the heart in the spirit, not
in the letter" (Rom. ii. 29), but here,
in Christ.
Ver. 11. "In whom ye were also circumcised
with a circumcision not made with hands, in the
putting off of the body of the flesh in the
circumcision of Christ."
See how near he is come to the thing. He
saith, "In the putting" quite away, not
putting off merely. "The body of sins." He
means, "the old life." He is continually
adverting to this in different ways, as he said
above, "Who delivered us out of the power of
darkness, and reconciled us who were
alienated," that we should be "holy and
without blemish." (Col. i. 13, 21.)
No longer, he saith, is the circumcision with
the knife, but in Christ Himself; for no hand
imparts this circumcision, as is the case
there, but the Spirit. It circumciseth not a
part, but the whole man. It is the body both
in the one and the other case, but in the one it
is carnally, in the other it is spiritually
circumcised; but not as the Jews, for ye have
not put off flesh, but sins. When and where?
In Baptism. And what he calls circumcision,
he again calls burial. Observe how he again
passes on to the subject of righteous doings;
"of the sins," he saith, "of the flesh,"
the things they had done in the flesh. He
speaks of a greater thing than circumcision, for
they did not merely cast away that of which they
were circumcised, but they destroyed it, they
annihilated it.
Ver. 12. "Buried with him," he saith,
"in Baptism, wherein ye were also raised with
Him, through faith in the working of God, who
raised Him from the dead."
But it is not burial only: for behold what he
says, "Wherein ye were also raised with Him,
through faith in the working of God, who raised
Him from the dead." He hath well said, "of
faith," for it is all of faith. Ye believed
that God is able to raise, and so ye were
raised. Then note also His worthiness of
belief, "Who raised Him," he saith, "from
the dead."
He now shows the Resurrection. "And you who
sometime were dead through your trespasses and
the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, I say,
did He quicken together with Him." For ye
lay under judgment of death. But even though ye
died, it was a profitable death. Observe how
again he shows what they deserved in the words he
subjoins:
Ver. 13, 14, 15. "Having forgiven us
all our trespasses; having blotted out the bond
written in ordinances that was against us, which
was contrary to us: and he hath taken it out of
the way, nailing it to the Cross; having put
off from himself the principalities and the
powers, He made a show of them openly,
triumphing over them in it."
"Having forgiven us," he saith, "all our
trespasses," those which produced that
deadness. What then? Did He allow them to
remain? No, He even wiped them out; He did
not scratch them out merely; so that they could
not be seen. "In doctrines" [ordinances],
he saith. What doctrines? The Faith. It is
enough to believe. He hath not set works
against works, but works against faith. And
what next? Blotting out is an advance upon
remission; again he saith, "And hath taken it
out of the way." Nor yet even so did He
preserve it, but rent it even in sunder, "by
nailing it to His Cross." "Having put off
from himself the principalities and the powers,
He made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it." Nowhere has he spoken in so lofty
a strain.
Seest thou how great His earnestness that the
bond should be done away? To wit, we all were
under sin and punishment. He Himself, through
suffering punishment, did away with both the sin
and the punishment, and He was punished on the
Cross. To the Cross then He affixed it; as
having power, He tore it asunder. What bond?
He means either that which they said to Moses,
namely, "All that God hath said will we do,
and be obedient" (Ex. xxiv. 3), or, if
not that, this, that we owe to God obedience;
or if not this, he means that the devil held
possession of it, the bond which God made for
Adam, saying, "In the day thou eatest of the
tree, thou shalt die." (Gen. ii. 17.)
This bond then the devil held in his
possession. And Christ did not give it to us,
but Himself tore it in two, the action of one
who remits joyfully.
"Having put off from himself the principalities
and the powers." He means the diabolical
powers; because human nature had arrayed itself
in these, or because they had, as it were, a
hold, when He became Man He put away from
Himself that hold. What is the meaning of
"He made a show of them"? And well said he
so; never yet was the devil in so shameful a
plight. For whilst expecting to have Him, he
lost even those he had; and when That Body was
nailed to the Cross, the dead arose. There
death received his wound, having met his
death-stroke from a dead body. And as an
athlete, when he thinks he has hit his
adversary, himself is caught in a fatal grasp;
so truly doth Christ also show, that to die
with confidence is the devil's shame.
For he would have done everything to persuade
men that He did not die, had he had the power.
For seeing that of His Resurrection indeed all
succeeding time was proof demonstrative; whilst
of His death, no other time save that whereat
it happened could ever furnish proof; therefore
it was, that He died publicly in the sight of
all men, but He arose not publicly, knowing
that the after time would bear witness to the
truth. For, that whilst the world was looking
on, the serpent should be slain on high upon the
Cross, herein is the marvel. For what did not
the devil do, that He might die in secret?
Hear Pilate saying, "Take ye Him away, and
crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him"
(John xix. 6), and withstanding them in a
thousand ways. And again the Jews said unto
Him, "If Thou art the Son of God, come
down from the Cross." (Matt. xxvii.
40.) Then further, when He had received a
mortal wound, and He came not down, for this
reason He was also committed to burial; for it
was in His power to have risen immediately: but
He did not, that the fact might be believed.
And yet in cases of private death indeed, it is
possible to impute them to a swoon, but here,
it is not possible to do this either. For even
the soldiers brake not His legs, like those of
the others, that it might be made manifest that
He was dead. And those who buried The Body
are known; and therefore too the Jews
themselves seal the stone along with the
soldiers. For, what was most of all attended
to, was this very thing, that it should not be
in obscurity. And the witnesses to it are from
enemies, from the Jews. Hear them saying to
Pilate, "That deceiver said, while he was
vet alive, After three days I rise again.
Command therefore that the sep ulchre"
(Matt. xxvi. 63, 64) be guarded by the
soldiers. This was accordingly done,
themselves also sealing it. Hear them further
saying even afterwards to the Apostles, "Ye
intend to bring this Man's blood upon us."
(Acts v. 28.) He suffered not the very
fashion of His Cross to be put to shame. For
since the Angels have suffered nothing like it,
He therefore doth everything for this, showing
that His death achieved a mighty work. There
was, as it were, a single combat. Death
wounded Christ: but Christ, being wounded,
did afterwards kill death. He that seemed to be
immortal, was destroyed by a mortal body; and
this the whole world saw. And what is truly
wonderful is, that He committed not this thing
to another. But there was made again a second
bond of another kind than the former.
Beware then lest we be condemned by this, after
saying, I renounce Satan, and array myself
with Thee, O Christ. Rather however this
should not be called "a bond," but a
covenant. For that is "a bond," whereby one
is held accountable for debts: but this is a
covenant. It hath no penalty, nor saith it,
If this be done or if this be not done: what
Moses said when he sprinkled the blood of the
covenant, by this God also promised everlasting
life. All this is a covenant. There, it was
slave with master, here it is friend with
friend: there, it is said, "In the day that
thou eatest thereof thou shalt die" (Gen.
ii. 17); an immediate threatening; but here
is nothing of the kind. God arrives, and here
is nakedness, and there was nakedness; there,
however, one that had sinned was made naked,
because he sinned, but here, one is made
naked, that he may be set free. Then, man put
off the glory which he had; now, he puts off
the old man; and before going up (to the
contest), puts him off as easily, as it were
his garments. He is anointed, as wrestlers
about to enter the lists. For he is born at
once; and as that first man was, not by little
and little, but immediately. (He is
anointed,) not as the priests of old time, on
the head alone, but rather in more abundant
measure. For he indeed was anointed on the
head, the right ear, the hand (Lev. viii.
23, 24); to excite him to obedience, and
to good works; but this one, all over. For he
cometh not to be instructed merely; but to
wrestle, and to be exercised; he is advanced to
another creation. For when one confesses (his
belief) in the life everlasting, he has
confessed a second creation. He took dust from
the earth, and formed man (Gen. ii. 7):
but now, dust no longer, but the Holy
Spirit; with This he is formed, with this
harmonized, even as Himself was in the womb of
the Virgin. He said not in Paradise, but
"in Heaven." For deem not that, because the
subject is earth, it is done on earth; he is
removed thither, to Heaven, there these things
are transacted, in the midst of Angels: God
taketh up thy soul above, above He harmonizeth
it anew, He placeth thee near to the Kingly
Throne. He is formed in the water, he
receiveth spirit instead of a soul. And after
he is formed, He bringeth to him, not beasts,
but demons, and their prince, and saith,
"Tread upon serpents and scorpions." (Luke
x. 19.) He saith not, "Let Us make man
in our image, and after our likeness" (Gen.
i. 26), but what? "He giveth them to
become the sons of God; but of God," he
saith, "they were born." (John i. 12,
13.) Then that thou give no ear to the
serpent, straightway he teaches thee to say,
"I renounce thee," that is, "whatsoever
thou sayest, I will not hear thee." Then,
that he destroy thee not by means of others, it
is said, "and thy pomp, and thy service, and
thy angels." He hath set him no more to keep
Paradise, but to have his citizenship in
heaven. For straightway when he cometh up he
pronounceth these words, "Our Father, Which
art in Heaven, . . . Thy will be done, as
in Heaven, so on earth." The plain falleth
not on thy sight, thou seest not tree, nor
fountain, but straightway thou takest into thee
the Lord Himself, thou art mingled with His
Body, thou art intermixed with that Body that
lieth above, whither the devil cannot approach.
No woman is there, for him to approach, and
deceive as the weaker; for it is said, "There
is neither female, nor male." (Gal. iii.
28.) If thou go not down to him, he will
not have power to come up where thou art; for
thou art in Heaven, and Heaven is
unapproachable by the devil. It hath no tree
with knowledge of good and evil, but the Tree
of Life only. No more shall woman be formed
from thy side, but we all are one from the side
of Christ. For if they who have been anointed
of men take no harm by serpents, neither wilt
thou take any harm at all, so long as thou art
anointed; that thou mayst be able to grasp the
Serpent and choke him, "to tread upon serpents
and scorpions." (Luke x. 19.) But as
the gifts are great, so is the punishment great
also. It is not possible for him that hath
fallen from Para dise, to dwell "in front of
Paradise" (Gen. iii. 24), nor to
reascend thither from whence we have fallen.
But what after this? Hell, and the worm
undying. But far be it that any of us should
become amenable to this punishment! but living
virtuously, let us earnestly strive to do
throughout His will. Let us become
well-pleasing to God, that we may be able both
to escape the punishment, and to obtain the good
things eternal, of which may we all be counted
worthy, through the grace and love toward man,
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