HOMILY XI. EPHES. CHAF. iv. 4—7. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as IV. 7. ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one is given grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ. The love Paul requires of us is no common love, but that which cements us together, and makes us cleave inseparably to one another, and effects as great and as perfect an union, as though it were between limb and limb. For this is that love which produces great and glorious fruits. Hence he saith, there is one body, one, both by sympathy, and by not being vexed at other's good, and by sharing their joy. And thus having expressed all these at once by this figure, he then beautifully adds, and one Spirit; shewing that from the one body, there will be one Spirit: or, that it is possible that there may be indeed one body, and yet not one Spirit; as, for instance, if any member of it should be a friend of heretics: or else he is, by this expression, shaming them into unanimity, saying as it were, Ye who have received one Spirit, and have been made to drink at one fountain, ought not to be divided in mind; or else by spirit here he means their zeal. Then in connection he adds, Even as ye have been called in one hope of your calling, that is, God hath called you all on the same terms. He hath bestowed nothing upon one more than upon another. To all He hath freely given immortality, to all eternal life, to all immortal glory, to all brotherhood, to all inheritance. He is the common Head of ch. 2, 6. all; He hath raised all up, and made them sit together with Him. Ye then who in the spiritual world have so great XI. We are all equal in Christ through faith and baptism. 221 equality of privileges, why are ye high-minded? Is it that HOMIL. one is wealthy and another strong? How ridiculous must this be? For tell me, if the emperor some day were to take ten persons, and to array them all in purple, and seat them on the royal throne, and to bestow upon all the same honour, would any one of these, think ye, venture to taunt another, as though he were himself more wealthy or more illustrious than he? Surely never. And I have not yet said all; for the difference is not so great as this. In Heaven then are we equal, and do we differ here below? There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism. Behold the hope of your calling. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all, one and the same. For can it be, that thou art called by the name of a greater, another, of a lesser God? That thou art saved by faith, and another by works? That thou hast received remission in baptism, whilst another has not? Away with such a thought. There is one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Who is above all, that is, above and over all; and through all, that is, providing for, ordering all; and in you all, that is, who dwelleth in you all. Now this they own to be an attribute of the Son; so that were it an argument of inferiority, it never would have been said of the Father. But unto every one of us is given grace. What then, he saith, and whence are those diverse spiritual gifts? For this subject was continually carrying away both the Ephesians themselves, and the Corinthians, and many others, some into vain arrogance, and others into despondency or envy. Hence he every where takes along with him this idea of the body. Hence it is that now also he has proposed it, inasmuch as he was about to make mention of these diversities of gifts. He enters indeed into the subject more fully in the Epistle to the Corinthians, because it was among them that this malady most especially reigned: here however he has only alluded to it. And mark what he says: he does not say, according to the faith of each, lest he should throw those who have no large attainments into despondency. But what saith he? According to the measure of the gift of Christ. The chief and principal IV. 10. 222 We are alike in grace, but differ in gifts. EPHES. points of all, he saith,-Baptism, the being saved by faith, the having God for our Father, our all partaking of the same Spirit, these are common to all. If then this or that man possesses any superiority in any spiritual gift, grieve not at it; since his toil also is greater. He that had received the five talents, had five required of him; whilst he that had received the two, brought only two, and yet received no less a reward than the other. And therefore the Apostle here also encourages the hearer on the same ground. 1 Cor. For the perfecting of the saints, he says, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Hence it is that even he himself saith, Woe is unto me, if 9, 16. I preach not the Gospel. For example: A man, suppose, has received the grace of Apostleship, but for this very reason, woe unto him, because he has received it: whereas thou art free from the danger. According to the measure. It means, What is meant by, according to the measure? 'not according to our merit,' for then would no one have received what he has received: but of the free gift we have all received. And why then one more, and another less? There is nothing to cause this, he would say, but the matter itself is indifferent; for every one contributes towards the edifying. And by this too he shews, that it is not of his own intrinsic merit that one has received more and another less, but that it is for the sake of others, as God Him1 Cor. self hath measured it; since he saith also elsewhere, But 12, 18. now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him. And he mentions not the proportion, lest he should deject or dispirit the hearers. Ver. 8. Wherefore he saith, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. As though he had said, Why art thou high-minded? The Ps. 68, whole is of God. The Prophet saith in the Psalm, Thou 18.Sept. Comp. hast received gifts among men, whereas the Apostle saith, John 3, He gave gifts unto men. 35; 13, 3; 16, 15. The one is the same as the other. Of this kind also is the expression, Ver. 9, 10. Now that He ascended, what is it, but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He Christ's greatness not impaired by His humiliation. 223 that descended, is the same also that ascended up far above HOMIL. all Heavens, that He might fill all things. XI. John 3, 1.3; 16, 28. 8. When thou hearest these words, think not of a mere departure; for what Paul establishes in the Epistle to the Comp. Philippians, that very argument is he also insisting upon 13; 13, here. In the same way as he there, exhorting them concerning lowliness, brings forward Christ as an example, so does he here also, saying, He descended into the lower parts of the earth. For were not this so, this expression which he uses, He became obedient unto death, were superfluous; Phil. 2, whereas from His ascending, he implies His descent, and by the lower parts of the earth, he means' death,' according to the notions of men; as Jacob also said, Then shall ye bring Gen. 42, down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. And again as it is in the Psalm, Lest I be like unto them that go down into Ps. 143, the pit. Why does he descant upon this region here? And of7 what captivity does he speak? Of that of the devil; for He took the tyrant captive, the devil, I mean, and death, and the curse, and sin. Behold His spoils and His trophies. Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended? This strikes at Paul of Samosata and his school". He that descended, is the same also that ascended up far above all Heavens, that He might fill all things. He descended, saith he, into the lower parts of the earth, beyond which there are none other: and He ascended up far above all things, to that place, beyond which there is none other. This is to shew His divine energy, and supreme dominion. For indeed even of old had all things been filled. Ver. 11, 12. And He Himself gave some, Apostles; and some, Prophets; and some, Evangelists; and some, Pastors and Teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. 38. 9. What he saith elsewhere, Wherefore also God hath highly Phil. 2, exalted Him, that saith he also here. He that descended, is the same also that ascended. It did Him no injury that He a Paul was Bishop of Antioch A.D. 260-269, when he was deposed for heresy. Very different accounts are given of his particular doctrines; S. Athanasius may be securely followed, however, who says, that he denied the doctrine of our Lord's pre-existence, Orat. i. 25. 38. ii. 13. iii. 51. De decret. IV. 16. 226 As life goes from brain through nerves on continuous members, EPHES. that they had of old been in this case, and he reckons himself moreover as a subject for correction, and corrects himself. For this cause, he would say, are there so many workmen, that the building may not be shaken, may not be carried about, that the stones may be firmly fixed. For this is the character of children, to be tossed to and fro, to be carried about and shaken. That we be no longer, saith he, children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. And carried about, saith he, with every wind. He carries out the figure of speech, to point out in how great peril doubting souls are. With every wind, saith he, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. The word xußsía sleight means the art of gamesters. Such are the crafty, whenever they lay hold on the simpler sort. For they also change and shift about every thing. He here glances also at human life. κυβου Tai Ver. 15.16. But speaking the truth, saith he, in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ, from whom, (that is, from Christ,) the whole body fitly framed together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. He expresses himself with great obscurity, from his desire to utter every thing at once. What he means, however, is this. In the same way as the spirit, or vital principle, which descends from the brain, communicates the sensitive faculty which is conveyed through the nerves, not simply, and in the same measure to all the members, but according to the proportion of each member, to that which is capable of receiving more, more, to that which is capable of less, less, (for this is the root or source, viz. the spirit;) so also is Christ. For the souls of men being dependent upon Him as members, His provident care, and supply of the spiritual gifts according to a due proportion in the measure of every single member, effects their increase. But what is the meaning of this, by the supply of the touch? that is to say, by baqus, joint, Eng. Tr. Theodoret too in loc. interprets touch, and considers that it stands for all the senses. S. Austin translates tactus in Psalm x. 7. de Civ. D. xxii. 18. but in the received meaning. |