COMMENTARY ON SAINT PAUL’S
FIRST LETTER TO THE THESSALONIANSby
Thomas Aquinastranslated by Michael Duffy, O.P.
Magi Books, Inc., Albany, N.Y., 1969
Html-formated by Joseph Kenny, O.P.
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE CHAPTER 1
1-1: 1 Thes 1:1-10CHAPTER 2
2-1: 1 Thes 2:1-12
2-2: 1 Thes 2:13-20CHAPTER 3
3-1: 1 Thes 3:1-13CHAPTER 4
4-1: 1 Thes 4:1-11
4-2: 1 Thes 4:12-17CHAPTER 5
5-1: 1 Thes 5:1-13
5-2: 1 Thes 5:14-28
Prooemium PROLOGUE
וַיִּרְבּוּ הַמַּיִם וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֶת־הַתֵּבָה וַתָּרָם מֵעַל הָאָרֶץ׃ Multiplicatae sunt aquae, et cetera. Gen. VII, 17. The waters increased, and bore up the ark and it rose above the earth (Gen. 7:17).
Haec verba competunt materiae huius epistolae. Ecclesia enim figuratur per arcam, sicut dicitur I Petr. III, 20, quia sicut in arca, caeteris pereuntibus, paucae animae salvatae sunt, ita in Ecclesia pauci, id est, soli electi salvabuntur. These words are appropriate to the contents of this letter. The Church is symbolized by the ark, as is stated in 1 Peter 3, for as in the ark a few souls were saved, the others perishing, so also in the Church a few, that is, only the elect, will be saved. Per aquas autem significantur tribulationes. Primo quia aquae impellunt irruendo, sicut tribulationes. Matth. VII, 25: venerunt flumina, et flaverunt venti, et irruerunt in domum illam. Sed impulsu fluminum Ecclesia non movetur. Unde subdit et non cecidit. The “waters” signify tribulations. First, because flooding waters strike like tribulations: “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house” (Matt. 7:25). Yet the Church is not shaken by the force of the floods; so Matthew adds, “but it did not fall. Secundo aqua extinguit ignem. Eccli. XXX: ignem ardentem extinguit aqua. Sic tribulationes extinguunt impetus concupiscentiarum, ne homines ad libitum eas sequantur, sed non extinguunt veram charitatem Ecclesiae. Cant. VIII, 7: aquae multae non poterunt extinguere charitatem, nec flumina obruent illam. Secondly, because water extinguishes fire: “Water extinguishes a blazing fire” (Sir. 3:30). Similarly, tribulations diminish the force of desires so that men do not follow them at will; but they do not diminish the true charity of the Church: “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it” (Cant. 8:7). Tertio aquae submergunt per inundationem. Thren. III, 54: inundaverunt aquae super caput meum. Sed Ecclesia non per has submergitur. Iona II, 6: circumdederunt me aquae usque ad animam meam, abyssus vallavit me, pelagus operuit caput meum, etc.; et post: rursum videbo templum sanctum tuum, et cetera. Thirdly, because waters inundate by flooding: “Water closed over my head” (Lam. 3:54). Yet the Church is not overcome by them: “The waters closed in over me, the deep was round about me; weeds were wrapped about my head” (Jon. 2.6). And just before this, “Yet would I again look upon your holy temple.” Non ergo deficit, sed sublevatur. Et primo per elevationem mentis ad Deum. Gregorius: mala quae nos hic premunt, ad Deum nos ire compellunt. Os. VI, 1: in tribulatione sua mane consurgent ad me. Secundo per spiritualem consolationem. Ps. XCIII, 19: secundum multitudinem dolorum in corde meo consolationes tuae laetificaverunt animam meam. II Cor. I, 5: sicut abundant passiones Christi in nobis, ita per Christum abundat consolatio nostra. Tertio per multiplicationem fidelium, quia tempore persecutionum Deus multiplicavit Ecclesiam. Ex. I, 12: quantoque magis opprimebant eos, tanto magis multiplicabantur et crescebant. Therefore, the Church is not destroyed but uplifted: first, by lifting the mind to God, as is clear from Gregory: “The evil things which bear down upon us here compel us to go to God.” “And in their distress they seek me” (Ho. 6: 1). Secondly, the Church is raised up through spiritual consolation: “When the cares of my heart are many, thy consolations cheer my soul (Ps. 94-19); “For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too” (2 Cor. 1:5). Thirdly, the Church is upraised by increasing the number of the faithful; for God has spread the Church in time of persecution: “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad” (Ex. 1: 12). Sic ergo convenit huic epistolae, quia isti multas tribulationes passi, steterunt fortes. Videamus ergo textum. It seems then that these words are appropriate to this letter because the Thessalonians stood firm after suffering many tribulations. Let us, therefore, look at the text.
1-1 Apostolus vult munire hic Ecclesiam contra tribulationes et primo contra tribulationes praesentes, et hoc in prima epistola. Secundo contra futuras, tempore Antichristi, et hoc in secunda. The Apostle wishes to strengthen the Church in the face of tribulations. First, in the face of present tribulations, and Paul does this in the first letter to the Thessalonians. Secondly, Paul warns against tribulations to come in the time of the Antichrist, and he does this in the second letter to the Thessalonians. Prima dividitur in salutationem et epistolarem narrationem, ibi gratias agimus. Item primo tangit personas salutantes; secundo Ecclesiam salutatam; tertio bona optata. Notandum est autem, quod quia ubi non delinquimus, omnes pares sumus, ideo quia istis bonis scribit, non facit mentionem de officio suo, sed solum de nomine humilitatis, quod est Paulus. Sap. VII, 11: et innumerabilis honestas per manus illius. Et adiungit duos, qui eis praedicaverunt cum eo, scilicet Silvanum, qui est Sylas, et Timotheum, quem circumcidit, ut dicitur Act. XVI, 3. The first letter is divided into the greeting and the message, which begins at the words, we give thanks to God always for you all. First, Paul mentions the people who send the greeting; secondly, the Church which is greeted; thirdly, his hope for blessings. It should be noted that since we are all equal if we do not fail in our duties, the Apostle, in writing to these good people, does not mention his title, but supplies only his humble name which is Paul. He also adds the names of two persons who preached to them with him: Silvanus, who is Sylas, and Timothy, whom he circumcised, as is mentioned in Acts 16. Salutat autem Ecclesiam, quae est congregatio fidelium. Et hoc in Deo patre et domino nostro Iesu Christo, id est, in fide Trinitatis, et divinitatis et humanitatis Christi, quia in horum cognitione erit nostra beatitudo. Tangit autem personam patris et filii incarnati, in quibus intelligitur spiritus sanctus, qui est nexus amborum. Paul greets the Church, which is the assembly of believers, in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, in the faith of the Trinity and of the divinity and humanity of Christ, because our beatitude will consist in knowing them. He mentions only the person of the Father and the incarnate Son, in which two is understood the Holy Spirit who is the bond between the Father and the Son. Bona optata sunt gratia, quae est principium omnium bonorum. I Cor. XV, 10: gratia Dei sum id quod sum. Et pax quae est finis, quia tunc est pax, quando appetitus totaliter pacatur. The blessings he asks are grace, which is the source of all good things: “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (I Cor. 15: 10); and peace, which is our end: for there is peace when desire is totally at rest. Deinde cum dicit gratias agimus, incipit epistolaris narratio, et primo commendat eos de praeterita perseverantia; secundo monet eos ad bene agendum in futurum, cap. IV, ibi de caetero. Item primo agit gratias universaliter de bonis eorum; secundo ea commemorat in speciali, ibi scientes, fratres, et cetera. Circa primum duo facit, quia primo ponit gratiarum actionem; secundo eius materiam, ibi memores. Item primo pro eis gratias agit; secundo pro eis orat, ibi memoriam vestri. Then when Paul says, we give thanks, he begins the letter’s message: first, he commends them for their past perseverance; secondly, he urges them to act well even in the future (4:1). In addition, Paul first gives thanks in general for their blessings; secondly, he remarks upon their blessings in particular matters (1:4). In treating the first point he does two things. First, he offers thanksgiving; secondly, he indicates the reason for the thanksgiving (1:3). Again, Paul first gives thanks for them; secondly, Paul prays for them (1:26). Quantum ergo ad primum dicit tria, quae debent esse in gratiarum actione. Primo quod sit ordinata, scilicet ad Deum. Ideo dicit gratias agimus Deo. Ps. LXXXIII, 12: gratiam et gloriam dabit dominus. Iac. I, 17: omne datum optimum et omne donum perfectum de sursum est descendens a patre luminum. Item assidua, quia semper. Item universalis, ibi pro omnibus vobis. Infra V, 18: in omnibus gratias agite. In treating the first point, Paul mentions three things that ought to be present in thanksgiving. First, thanksgiving should be directed to God: we give thanks to God. “He bestows favor and honor” (Ps. 84:11). “Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (Jas. 1: 17). Thanksgiving should be unceasing; so Paul says, always. It should also be universal, so Paul says, for you all; and later Paul adds, give thanks in all circumstances (5:18). Deinde orat pro eis, dicens memoriam vestri faciens, etc., quasi dicat: quandocumque oro, habeo vos in memoria. Rom. c. I, 9: sine intermissione memoriam vestri facio semper in orationibus meis. Then he prays for them saying: constantly mentioning you in our prayers; as if saying: Whenever I pray I am mindful of you: “Without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers” (Rom. 1: 9). Deinde cum dicit memores operis, ponit bona de quibus agit gratias, scilicet fidem, spem et charitatem. I Cor. XIII, 13: nunc autem manent fides, spes, charitas: tria haec, et cetera. Fidem praemittit, quia est substantia sperandarum rerum, et cetera. Accedentem enim ad Deum oportet credere, et cetera. Hebr. c. XI, 1 et 6. Haec autem non est sufficiens, nisi habeat operationem et laborem. Et ideo dicit operis fidei vestrae et laboris. Iac. II, 26: fides sine operibus mortua est. Item quia qui laborando propter Christum deficit, nihil valet. Lc. VIII, 13: ad tempus credunt, et in tempore tentationis recedunt. Ideo dicit operis et laboris. Quasi dicat: memores fidei vestrae operantis et laborantis. Then when he says, remembering... your work of faith, Paul mentions the blessings for which he offers thanks, that is, faith, hope, and charity: “So faith, hope, love abide, these three” (1 Cor. 13:13). First, he mentions faith because it is an essential condition for obtaining the things to be hoped for, a means of revelation not based on appearances: “For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Heb. 11:6). This, however, is not sufficient unless the person practices good works and makes an effort; so Paul says, your work of faith and labor. “Faith apart from works is dead” (Jas. 2:26). The person who gives up while laboring for Christ is worth nothing: “They believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away” (Lk. 8:13). Paul uses the words, work and labor, implying that he is mindful of their active and struggling faith. Item, charitatis, in cuius operibus abundabant. Infra IV, 9: charitatem fraternitatis, et cetera. Paul also gives thanks for the love in which they abounded. Later (4:9), he says: but concerning love of the brethren you have no need to have any one write to you. Item spei, quae facit patienter sustinere adversa. Rom. XII, 12: spe gaudentes, in tribulatione patientes. Et sustinentiae, quam spes facit. Iac. V, 11: patientiam Iob audistis, et cetera. Spei, inquam, domini nostri, id est, quam habemus de Christo, vel quam Christus dedit nobis. I Petr. I, 3: regeneravit nos in spem vivam, et cetera. Haec spes est ante Deum, non ante oculos hominum. Matth. VI, 1: attendite ne iustitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibus, et cetera. Hebr. VI, 19: quam sicut anchoram habemus animae tutam, et cetera. Spes enim in veteri testamento non induxit ad Deum. Then he gives thanks for their hope, which enables them to endure sufferings patiently: “Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation” (Rom. 12:12). In addition, Paul gives thanks for the steadfastness of their hope: “You have heard of the steadfastness of Job” (Jas. 5:11). Finally, Paul gives thanks for hope in our Lord, that is, the hope we have in Christ, or the hope Christ gave to us: “We have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (I Pet. 1:3). This hope is, before our God, not before the eyes of men; “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them” (Matt. 6:1). “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul” (Heb. 6:19). For hope in the old dispensation did not lead to God. Deinde cum dicit scientes, fratres, in speciali commemorat eorum bona, quos primo commendat, quod devote et prompte susceperunt praedicationem, non obstante tribulatione; secundo quod propter tribulationem ab ea non recesserunt, in II capite, ibi nam ipsi scitis. Iterum prima pars dividitur in duas, quia primo ostendit qualis fuit ista praedicatio; secundo qualiter ab eis recepta, ibi et vos imitatores. Circa primum tria facit, quia primo ostendit quid circa eos sciebat; secundo modum praedicationis suae, ibi quia Evangelium. Tertio quid ipsi sciebant de apostolo, ibi sicut scitis. Then when Paul says, For we know, brethren beloved by God, that he has chosen you, he recalls their blessings in particular matters. First, he congratulates them for having received the gospel devoutly and willingly in spite of tribulations; secondly, Paul congratulates them because they did not fan away from the gospel in time of trial (2:1). Again, the first part is divided into two. First, Paul points out the kind of preaching that had been given to them; secondly, he points out how this preaching was received by them (1:6). In treating the first point Paul does three things. First, he tells what he knew about them; secondly, he indicates the manner of his preaching (1:5); thirdly, he remarks upon what they knew about the Apostle (1:5). Dicit ergo o fratres dilecti a Deo. Non solum communiter, inquantum dat esse naturae, sed inquantum specialiter ad bona aeterna estis vocati. Mal. I, 2: Iacob dilexi, Esau autem odio habui, et cetera. Deut. XXXIII, 3: dilexit populos, et cetera. Electionem vestram. Quasi dicat: certitudinaliter cognosco vos esse electos, quia hanc electionem non meruistis, sed a Deo estis gratuite electi. Et hoc scio, quia Deus dedit mihi magnum argumentum in praedicatione, scilicet quod illi, quibus loquor, sunt a Deo electi, scilicet quando Deus dat eis gratiam fructuose audiendi verbum eis praedicatum, vel mihi gratiam copiose praedicandi eis. So Paul says, brethren, beloved by God, not only generally, insofar as God gives existence to all of nature, but specifically, insofar as you are each called to an eternal reward: “Yet I have loved Jacob” (Mal. 1:3). “All those consecrated to him were in his hand” (Deut. 33:3). He has chosen you, as if implying: I am certain that you are among the elect, although you did not merit this election; rather you are freely chosen by God. And I know this because God granted me abundant evidence of this in preaching, that is, that those to whom I preach are chosen by God, for God gives them the grace to listen profitably to the word preached to them; or else, God gives me the grace to preach rewardingly to them. Contra videtur esse quod dicitur Ezech. III, 26: et linguam tuam adhaerere faciam palato tuo, et cetera. Ideo primo commemorat quam virtuose eis praedicavit, secundo inducit eorum testimonium, ibi sicut scitis. Virtuose quidem, quia non fuit in sublimitate sermonis, sed in virtute. I Cor. II, v. 4: sermo meus et praedicatio mea non in persuasibilibus humanae sapientiae verbis, sed in ostensione spiritus et virtutis. I Cor. IV, v. 20: non enim in sermone est regnum Dei, sed in virtute. Vel potest referri ad confirmationem praedicationis, vel ad modum praedicandi. Si ad primum, sic confirmata fuit praedicatio mea vobis, non argumentis, sed virtute miraculorum. Unde dicitur Mc. ult.: domino cooperante et sermonem confirmante sequentibus signis. Item in datione spiritus sancti; unde dicit: et in spiritu sancto. Act. c. X, 44: adhuc loquente Petro verba haec, cecidit spiritus sanctus super omnes, qui audiebant verbum, et cetera. Hebr. II, 4: contestante Deo signis et portentis et variis virtutibus et spiritus sancti distributionibus. Et in plenitudine, et cetera. Et hoc addit, ne crederent se minus recepisse quam Iudaei; quasi dicat: spiritus sanctus non est personarum acceptor, sed in ea plenitudine fuit apud vos sicut apud Iudaeos. Act. II, 4: repleti sunt omnes spiritu sancto, et cetera. What is said in Ezekiel (3:26) would seem to contradict this: “And I will make your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be dumb. To counter this Paul first calls to mind how powerfully he preached to them; secondly, he calls upon their own witness with the words: you know... Powerfully, because he came not in loftiness of speech, but in power: “And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power” (1 Cor. 2:4). “For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20). Now this may have reference either to the authentication of his preaching or to the manner of his preaching. If it is the first alternative, then Paul’s preaching to them was authenticated not by arguments but by the power of signs, and so it is said in Mark (16:20): “The Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it”; and by the giving of the Holy Spirit; so Paul says, and in the Holy Spirit. “While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word” (Ac. 10:44). “While God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit” (Heb. 2:4). And with full conviction. Paul adds this so that they would not believe that they received less than the Jews, indicating that the Holy Spirit does not discriminate among persons; but that the preaching was in the same fulness among them as among the Jews: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ac. 2:4). Sed si ad secundum, sic in virtute, id est virtuosam vitam vobis ostendens. Act. I, 1: coepit dominus facere et docere. Et in spiritu sancto, scilicet suggerente. Matth. X, v. 20: non estis vos qui loquimini, et cetera. In plenitudine multa, scilicet quia instruxi vos de omnibus ad fidem necessariis. Inducit autem eorum testimonium ad hoc, cum dicit sicut vos scitis, etc., id est, qualia dona et virtutes ostendimus in vobis. II Cor. V, 11: spero autem in conscientiis vestris manifestos nos esse. But if it is the second alternative, then in power seems to mean “showing you a virtuous life.” “Jesus began to do and teach” (Ac. 1:1). And in the Holy Spirit who brings things to mind; “For it is not you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matt. 10:20). With full conviction, because I have instructed you in everything necessary for the faith. And he appeals to their testimony on this point when he says: You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake, that is, what kind of gifts and powers we have exhibited among you: “I hope it is known also to your conscience” (2 Cor. 5:11). Deinde cum dicit et vos imitatores, etc., ostendit quomodo praedicationem suam virtuose receperunt, nec propter tribulationes recesserunt. Et primo ostendit eorum virtutem in hoc, quod alios imitati sunt; secundo quod aliis se imitabiles praestiterunt, ibi ita ut facti sitis. Circa primum duo facit, quia primo ostendit quos sunt imitati; secundo in quibus sunt imitati, ibi: excipientes. Then when he says, and you became imitators of us, he shows how creditably they received his preaching and did not fall away in time of trial. First, Paul shows their excellence in that they have imitated others; secondly, because they made themselves an example to others (1:7). In treating the first point Paul does two things. First, he shows whom they have imitated; secondly, he shows in what things they have imitated them (1: 6). Circa primum dicit, quod imitati sunt eos quos debuerunt, scilicet praelatos. Et ideo dicit imitatores nostri facti, et cetera. Phil. III, v. 17: imitatores mei estote, fratres. Sed imitati sunt non eo in quo delinquimus sicut homines, sed in quo imitamur Christum. Unde et dicitur I Cor. IV, 16: imitatores mei estote, sicut et ego Christi, id est, in quo imitatus sum Christum, scilicet in patientia tribulationis. Matth. XVI, 24: si quis vult post me venire, abneget semetipsum, et tollat crucem suam, et sequatur me. I Petr. c. II, 21: Christus passus est pro nobis, vobis relinquens exemplum, ut sequamini vestigia eius. Et ideo dicit in tribulatione multa cum gaudio, id est, quamvis multa tribulatio immineret propter verbum, tamen illud accepistis cum gaudio. Iac. I, 2: omne gaudium existimate, fratres mei, cum in tentationes varias incideritis, et cetera. Act. V, 41: ibant apostoli gaudentes a conspectu Concilii, quoniam digni habiti sunt pro nomine Iesu contumeliam pati. Cum gaudio, inquam, spiritus sancti, non alio quocumque, qui est amor Dei, qui facit gaudium patientibus propter Christum, quia amant eum. Cant. VIII, 7: si dederit homo omnem substantiam domus suae pro dilectione, quasi nihil despiciet eam. In treating the first point, Paul says that they have imitated the ones they should, namely, their prelates; so he says: You became imitators of us, “Brethren, join in imitating me” (Phil. 3:17); that is, you imitated me not in my human failings but in those points in which I have imitated Christ by patience in the midst of suffering: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). “Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (I Pet. 2:21). Therefore, Paul says, in much affliction, with joy, that is, although a considerable amount of tribulation threatened you because of the gospel, nevertheless you have accepted that with joy: “Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (Jas. 1:2). “Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus” (Ac. 5:41). With joy, Paul says, inspired by the Holy Spirit who is the love of God, and who imbues joy in those who suffer for Christ because they love Him: “If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly scorned” (Cant. 8:7). Et sic estis imitatores nostri, quod scilicet aliis estis imitabiles. Unde dicit ita ut facti sitis, et cetera. Circa quod tria facit, quia primo ostendit eos esse imitabiles; secundo quomodo eorum fama divulgata est, ibi a vobis enim diffamatus; tertio quomodo ab omnibus laudabantur populis, ibi ipsi enim annuntiant. And you are our imitators to such an extent that you can be imitated by others; therefore he says: so that you become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. In making this point, Paul does three things. First, he shows that they can be imitated; secondly, he shows how their fame has spread (1:8); thirdly, Paul shows how they were praised by all peoples (1:9). Dicit ergo: ita perfecte nos imitati estis, ut sitis facti forma, id est, exemplum vitae, non solum in terra vestra, sed in aliis. Matth. V, 16: sic luceat lux vestra coram hominibus, ut videant opera vestra, et cetera. Sed credentibus forma facti estis quibus fides vestra innotuit. Ad quod bonitas vestra accessit. A vobis enim diffamatus est sermo domini, id est, praedicandi dominum, id est, vestra fama diffusa est, non tantum in Macedonia et Achaia, quae sunt vobis vicinae, sed fides vestra ad Deum perfecta, id est, quam Deus acceptat, et quae coniungit vos Deo, quae etiam est in omni loco divulgata. Rom. I, 8: fides vestra annuntiatur in universo mundo, et cetera. Et signum huius est, quia non est necesse, et cetera. Boni enim praedicatoris est bona aliorum in exemplum adducere. II Cor. IX, 2: vestra enim aemulatio provocavit plurimos. So Paul says: you have imitated us so perfectly that you became an example, that is, an example of life not only in your own surroundings, but in other places as well: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). You became an example to all believers to whom your faith has become known. Your goodness was added to this, for the word of the Lord sounded forth from you, that is, the Lord has been preached; in other words, your fame was diffused not only in Macedonia and Achaia, who are your neighbors, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, that is, a faith which God accepts, which joins you to God, and which is edifying everywhere: “Your faith is proclaimed in all the world” (Rom. 1:8). And proof exists for all this, so that we need not say anything. It is the practice of a good preacher to use as an example the blessings coming to others: “Your zeal has stirred up most of them” (2 Cor. 9:2). Deinde cum dicit ipsi enim, etc., ponit eorum laudem qua ab aliis laudabantur, quia de nobis annuntiant, et cetera. Prov. ult.: laudent illam in portis opera eius. Laudant autem in vobis meam praedicationem et vestram conversionem. Annuntiant ergo qualem introitum habuerimus ad vos, quia cum magna difficultate et in tribulationibus. Laudant etiam vestram conversionem. Then when Paul says: for they themselves report concerning us, he remarks on the praise which they had received from others, because, they themselves report concerning us what a welcome we had among you. A similar point is made in Prov. (31:31): “Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.” Those who commend you praise my preaching and your conversion. They themselves report concerning us what a welcome we had among you, since our entry was visited with great difficulty and genuine tribulations; but they also praise your conversion. Et ostendit quomodo, a quo, et ad quid conversi sunt. Quo ad primum dicit et quomodo conversi estis ad Deum, id est, quam faciliter, et perfecte. Ioel. II, 12: convertimini ad me in toto corde vestro, et cetera. Eccli. V, 8: ne tardes converti ad dominum, et ne differas de die in diem. Quo ad secundum dicit a simulacris. I Cor. XII, 2: scitis quoniam cum gentes essetis, ad simulacra muta prout ducebamini euntes. Quo ad tertium dicit servire Deo, scilicet servitute latriae, non creaturae, sed Deo. Contra quod dicitur Rom. I, 25: servierunt creaturae potius quam creatori, et cetera. Et dicit vivo, ut excludat idololatriae cultum, quia idololatrae colebant quosdam mortuos, quorum animas dixerunt deificatas, sicut Romulum et Herculem. Et ideo dicit vivo. Deut. XXXII, 40: vivo ego in aeternum. Item quia Platonici putabant quasdam substantias separatas deos esse participatione, dicitur vero, non participatione divinae naturae, sed quia servientes ei sunt remunerandi. Finally, Paul makes known how, from whom, and to what they have been converted. In regard to the first point Paul says: and how you turned to God, that is, how readily and completely. “Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12). “Do not delay to turn to the Lord, nor postpone it from day to day (Sir. 5:7). In regard to the second point, Paul says, from idols, as is mentioned in 1 Cor. (12:2): “You know that when you were heathens, you were led astray to dumb idols.” In regard to the third point he says, to serve a living and true God by the practice of adoration, not of creatures, but of God, which is in contrast with what is stated in Romans (1:25): “They worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.” And Paul says, living, in order to exclude the cult of idolatry, because the idolaters worshipped certain dead people whose souls they regarded as deified, such as Romulus and Hercules. And so Paul insists on living. “As I live forever” (Deut. 32:40). Also, since the Platonists considered some separate substances to be gods by participation, he says true, meaning, not by participation in the divine nature. Ideo, quia sic estis, restat ut remunerationem expectetis. Unde dicit et expectare filium eius, scilicet Dei, de caelis descendentem. Lc. XII, 36: et vos similes hominibus expectantibus dominum suum quando revertatur a nuptiis. Is. XXX, 18: beati omnes qui expectant eum. Illi autem sunt, qui sunt lumbis praecincti. Duo autem expectamus, scilicet resurrectionem, ut scilicet ei conformemur. Unde dicit quem suscitavit ex mortuis Iesum. Rom. c. VIII, 11: qui suscitavit Iesum Christum a mortuis, vivificabit et mortalia corpora vestra, et cetera. Phil. III, 21: reformabit corpus humilitatis nostrae configuratum corpori claritatis suae. Item liberari a poena futura, quae imminet reis. A causa autem poenae, scilicet a peccato, liberamur per Christum. Unde dicit qui eripuit nos, et cetera. Apoc. VI, 16: abscondite vos a facie sedentis super thronum et ab ira agni, et cetera. Ab hac ira nullus potest nos liberare nisi Christus. Matth. III, 7: quis demonstrabit vobis fugere a ventura ira? Since those who serve Him deserve a reward, and because this is the case with the Thessalonians, it remains for them to expect a reward; so Paul says to them, to wait for his Son, that is, God, descending from heaven. “Be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast” (Lk. 12:36). “Blessed are all those who wait for him” (Is. 30:18). These, however, are the men who girded their loins. We, however, are waiting for two things: first, for the resurrection, in order that we may clearly conform to Christ; hence Paul says: whom he raised from the dead. “He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies” (Rom. 8: 11). “Who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Phil. 3:21). Secondly, we are waiting to be freed from the punishment which awaits the guilty. For we shall be freed by Christ from sin, the cause of punishment. So Paul says: Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. “Hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev. 6:16). No one can free us from this wrath but Christ: “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matt. 3:7).
2-1 Supra commendavit eos, quod in tribulationibus verbum Dei receperunt, hic commendat eos, quod ab eo non recesserunt propter tribulationes. Et circa hoc tria facit, quia primo commemorat eorum tribulationes; secundo ostendit quale eis remedium adhibuit, in III capite, ibi propter quod; tertio propter quid quia nunc vivimus. Before, Paul commended the Thessalonians for having received God’s word amid tribulations; now he praises them because they did not fall away as a result of difficulties; in mentioning this he does three things. First, he recalls their troubles; secondly, Paul points out the kind of remedy he applied to them (3:1), thirdly, the reason for the praise is given (3:8). Quia vero supra dixit de eis nuntiari ab omnibus introitum apostoli ad eorum conversionem, ideo primo agit de introitu suo; secundo de eorum conversione, ibi ideo et nos gratias. Circa primum tria facit, quia primo commemorat suam constantiam, quam habuit antequam ad eos veniret; secundo sinceritatem doctrinae per quam eos convertit, ibi exhortatio enim nostra; tertio sinceritatem suae conversationis cum conversis, ibi vos enim. Iterum prima in duas, quia primo praemittit tribulationes, quas passus est antequam ad eos veniret; secundo quomodo fiduciam ex hoc non amisit, ibi fiduciam habuimus. Paul said before that everybody talks about them and about the role of the Apostle in their conversion. So Paul first treats of his visit; secondly, of their conversion (3:13). In treating the first point Paul does three things. First, he recalls the perseverance which he had maintained before he came to them; secondly, he recalls the sound character of the doctrine with which he converted them (2:3); thirdly, he recalls the genuine quality of his dialogue with the converts (2: 10). Again, Paul divides the first point into two parts. First, he mentions the hardships which he had endured before he came to them; secondly, how le did not lose his confidence as a result of these hardships (2:2). Dicit ergo: dico quod annuntiat introitum nostrum, quem et vos scitis, quoniam non fuit inanis, etc., id est levis, sed difficilis, quia per multas tribulationes. Vel non inanis, id est vacuus, sed plenus. Gen. c. I, 2: terra erat inanis et vacua, et cetera. Vel non inanis, id est mobilis, sed stabilis. Phil. c. II, 17: non in vanum cucurri, neque in vacuum laboravi. He remarks then: I say that other believers are telling of our visit to you, which you are familiar with, for it was not in vain, in the sense of not worry-free, but rather arduous in the face of many hardships. Or perhaps, not in vain, in the sense of not inconsequential but rather rewarding: “The earth was without form and void” (Gen. 1:2). Or not in vain, meaning not transitory but rather enduring. I did not run in vain or labor in vain” (Phil. 2:16). Sed ante sumus passi passiones corporales. Prov. XIX, 11: doctrina viri per patientiam noscitur. Ps. XCI, 15: bene patientes erunt, ut annuntient. Item spirituales, quia contumeliis ex hoc affecti in Philippis, ubi propter curationem pythonissae passus est tribulationes. Et haec civitas est Macedoniae. Nec tamen propter haec fiducia praedicandi est extincta. Is. XII, 2: ecce Deus salvator meus, fiducialiter agam, et non timebo. Et haec fiducia fuit praedicandi ad vos Evangelium Dei in multa sollicitudine de vestra conversione. Rom. XII, 8: qui praeest in sollicitudine. II Cor. XI, 28: praeter ea quae extrinsecus sunt, instantia mea quotidiana, sollicitudo omnium Ecclesiarum. But we had already suffered bodily trials: “Good sense makes a man slow to anger” (Prov. 19:11): “Vigorous and sturdy shall they be, declaring how just is the Lord” (Ps. 92:15). In addition to this, Paul suffered spiritual trials because of injuries in Philippi, where he endured insults because of the cure of the possessed woman. This city was in Macedonia. In spite of all this his confidence in his preaching was not diminished: “God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid” (Is. 12:2); rather it proved itself in preaching to you the gospel of God in the face of great opposition for your conversion: “He who presides, gives aid with zeal, with carefulness” (Rom. 12:8). “And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:28). Deinde cum dicit exhortatio, ostendit sinceritatem suae praedicationis. Et circa hoc duo facit, quia primo probat sinceritatem suae doctrinae; secundo quaedam quae dixerat, exponit, ibi non quasi hominibus. Circa primum duo facit, quia primo excludit corruptionem doctrinae; secundo ponit sinceritatem, ibi sed sicut probati. Then when he says: for our appeal does not spring from error, he shows the sound character of his preaching; and in showing this, Paul does two things. First, he exhibits the sound character of his doctrine; secondly, he explains certain matters he had remarked upon (2:4). In treating the first point, Paul does two things. First, he rules out the possibility of error in the doctrine; secondly, he imputes integrity to his doctrine (2:4). Doctrina autem corrumpitur vel propter rem quae docetur, vel propter intentionem docentis. Propter primum dupliciter corrumpitur doctrina, scilicet vel per errorem, sicut docens salutem esse per Christum cum legalibus. II Tim. III, 13: mali homines et seductores proficient in peius errantes, et in errorem alios mittentes. Ideo dicit exhortatio enim nostra non est, sicut aliquorum, de errore. Vel propter immunditiam, sicut dicentium vacandum esse voluptatibus, quae doctrina est a quodam Nicolao, qui permisit promiscua matrimonia, communicans alii suam uxorem; ideo dicit neque de immunditia. Ap. II, v. 20: permittis mulierem Iezabel, quae se dicit prophetam, docere et seducere servos meos fornicari, et manducare de idolotitis, et cetera. Iob VI, 30: non invenietis in lingua mea iniquitatem. A doctrine, however, may become corrupt either because of the matter taught or because of the teacher’s intention. In relation to the first point, a doctrine may be corrupted in two ways: through error, for example, to teach that salvation is through Christ according to the Law: “Evil men and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13). So Paul remarks, our appeal does not spring, like that of some, from error. Or the corruption may occur through adulteration, as is the case with those saying that one should indulge in pleasures. This teaching is derived from a certain Nicolaus who permitted promiscuous marriages and even gave his wife to others. So Paul adds, or uncleanness: “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practice immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols” (Rev. 2:20). “Is there any wrong on my tongue?” (Job 6:30). Item nec est exhortatio in dolo sicut quorumdam, qui licet verum dicant, habent tamen intentionem corruptam, quia non profectum auditorum neque Dei honorem, sed suum quaerunt honorem. Contra quod dicit neque in dolo. Ier. IX, 8: sagitta vulnerans lingua eorum, dolum locuta est, et cetera. Furthermore, his preaching is not with guile as it is with some who, though speaking the truth, nevertheless have a false intention; for they do not will the development of their listeners nor the honor of God, but they desire their own honor; and against this Paul says: nor with guile. “Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully” (Jer. 9:8). Sua ergo praedicatio non est corrupta, sed sincera. Sincerum autem aliquid est, quod servat suam naturam. Tunc autem est praedicatio sincera, quando quis docet eo tenore et fine quo Christus docuit. Et ideo dicit sed sicut probati, id est, eo modo et ea intentione qua Deus nos elegit et approbavit ad praedicandum Evangelium loquimur. Gal. II, 7: creditum est mihi Evangelium praeputii, sicut Petro circumcisionis. Act. IX, v. 15: vas electionis est mihi iste, ut portet nomen meum coram gentibus, et regibus, et filiis Israel. Thus his preaching is not tainted, but rather sound. But something is sound because it serves its nature. As a result, preaching is sound when someone teaches in that manner in which Christ taught; and so Paul says, but just as we have been approved, that is, in that manner and with that intention with which God chose and approved us for the preaching of the gospel, so we speak. “I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised” (Gal. 2:7). “For he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel” (Ac. 9:15). Deinde cum dicit non quasi hominibus, etc., ostendit quod sua praedicatio non est in dolo. Primo excludens illud per quod videretur esse dolosa; secundo manifestat per signum, ibi neque aliquando; tertio per causam, ibi neque in occasione. Then when Paul says, not to please men, he shows that his preaching is not meant to be deceptive. First, by ruling out the manner in which it might appear to be misleading; secondly, by making this point evident through a sign (2:5); thirdly, he shows the same thing by reason of a causal consideration (2:5b). Propter primum dicit: praedicatio mea non est quasi hominibus placens, scilicet finaliter. Ps. LII, 6: dissipata sunt ossa eorum, qui hominibus placent. Gal. I, 10: si hominibus placerem, Christi servus non essem. Aliquando tamen debent velle placere hominibus propter gloriam Dei, ut praedicatio magis fructificet, sicut dicitur I Cor. X, 33: ego per omnia omnibus placeo, et cetera. Sed Deo, et cetera. Prov. XVI, 2: omnes viae hominum patent oculis eius. Huius autem signum est, quia non adulati sumus loquentes eis placentia. Is. c. XXX, 10: loquimini nobis placentia, videte nobis errores, et cetera. Prov. XXIV, 28: non lactes quemquam labiis tuis, et cetera. In elaborating the first point Paul says: My preaching is not of such a nature that it is ultimately pleasing to men. [God has scattered the bones of those who please men” (Ps. 52:6).] “If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). Sometimes, however, Paul and his companions sought to please men for the sake of God’s glory, so that their preaching might be more fruitful, as is remarked in 1 Cor. (10:33): “Just as I try to please all men in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.” But to please God who tests our hearts: “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes” (Prov. 16:2). A sign of this, however, is that we did not employ flattery, that is, only speaking of pleasant things to them. “Do not deceive with your lips” (Prov. 24:28). “Prophesy not to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions” (Is. 30:10). Et idem ostendit per causam. Propter duo enim aliquis quaerit hominibus placere, scilicet vel propter beneficia, vel propter gloriam. Hoc autem hic excludit, et primo, primum, dicens neque fuimus, et cetera. Quia non solum adulationem devitamus, sed etiam omnem occasionem avaritiae. I Tim. VI, 5: existimantium quaestum esse pietatem. Ier. VI, 15: a minori quippe usque ad maiorem, omnes avaritiae student. Secundo, secundum, ibi neque quaerentes a vobis neque ab aliis gloriam de doctrina, cum haberemus unde possemus gloriari et accipere, imo oneri esse, quia debebant ei gloriam et sustentationem; unde dicit cum possemus. Et vocat onus, quia perverse eis praedicantes ultra modum haec ab eis quaerebant. Is. III, 14: vos enim depasti estis vineam meam, et cetera. And Paul makes the same point with a causal analysis. For someone wishes to please men for two reasons, that is, for the sake of advantages, or for the sake of glory; however, he excludes these from consideration here. He rules out the first possibility by saying: for we never used words of flattery: we avoided not only any flattery, but every occasion of greed as well: “There is great gain in godliness with contentment” (1 Tim. 6:6). “Every one is greedy for unjust gain” (Jer. 6:13). Then he rules out the other possibility when he says, nor did we seek glory from men, whether from you or from others, by reason of our teaching; although we might have been pampered, accepted favors and even been a burden to the Thessalonians, for they owed him attention and support. Thus Paul says, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. Paul terms it a demand because those preaching heretically to them sought to acquire favors from them beyond measure: “It is you who have devoured the vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses” (Is. 3:14). Deinde cum dicit sed facti sumus, etc., manifestat haec duo, et primo quod non quaerit humanam gloriam; secundo quod nec occasionem avaritiae, ibi memores enim estis. Circa primum duo facit; quia primo ostendit suam humilitatem; secundo sub similitudine ostendit suam sollicitudinem, ibi tamquam si nutrix. Then when Paul says, but we were gentle [as children] among you, he makes two points: first, that he is not desirous of human glory; secondly, that he does not wish to appear avaricious (2:9). In handling the first point Paul does two things. First, he gives evidence of his humility; secondly, he shows his concern by a simile (2:7). Ponit ergo primum, dicens quod facti sumus parvuli, etc., id est humiles. Eccli. XXXII, v. 1: rectorem te posuerunt? Noli extolli, sed esto in illis quasi unus ex ipsis. Quod ostendit in similitudine, dicens tamquam si nutrix, quae scilicet condescendit infanti balbutiendo ei loquens, ut puer loqui discat, et in gestibus ei etiam condescendit. I Cor. IX, 22: omnibus omnia factus sum. I Cor. III, 1: tamquam parvulis in Christo lac vobis potum dedi, non escam. Etiam animas. Io. X, 11: bonus pastor animam suam dat pro ovibus suis, et cetera. Quoniam charissimi, et cetera. II Cor. XII, 15: ego autem libentissime impendam et superimpendar ego ipse pro animabus vestris, et cetera. Paul makes the first point by saying that we were as children, that is, humble. “If they make you master of the feast, do not exalt yourself; be among them as one of them” (Sir. 32:1). Then he employs the simile saying, like a nurse taking care of her children, who bends down to an infant and speaks to the stammering child, so that the child may learn to speak; the nurse even makes use of gestures: “I have become all things to all men” (1 Cor. 9:22); “As babes in Christ, I fed you with milk, not solid food” (1 Cor. 3:1). So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn. 10: 11). Because you had become very dear to us. “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls” (2 Cor. 12:15). Deinde cum dicit memores enim estis, ostendit, secundum, quod supra dixerat, scilicet item neque per occasionem avaritiae, quia nihil a vobis sumpsimus, sed de labore, quia laboris, et cetera. Et aliqui laborant quidem, sed ex solatio, sed nos non, sed cum labore. Ideo dicit laboris nostri, non propter exercitationem corporis, sed cum fatigatione. Unde dicit et fatigationis. Aliqui etiam laborant de die, nos vero nocte et die. Per hoc enim voluit arcere pseudo, qui nimis accipiebant, et propter otiosos inter eos. I Cor. IV, 12: laboramus operantes manibus nostris, et cetera. Then when Paul says: for you remember our labor and toil, brethren, he proceeds in accordance with what he had said above, that is: we never used... a cloak for greed, for we have asked nothing of you, but an effort, for you remember our labor and toil. And some do indeed labor, but out of comfort seeking; but we do not labor in that manner, but rather with honest hard work. So Paul comments: our labor, not merely for the sake of discipline of the body, but with genuine toil. Therefore Paul adds, you remember our toil. Some people work during the day, but we in reality work night and day. By this remark Paul wishes to protect them from the misleading people who were over-receptive and also from the lethargic people among them: “And we labor, working with our own hands” (1 Cor. 4:12). Deinde cum dicit vos enim estis, ponit puritatem suae conversationis, et primo quomodo sancta, quo ad vitam; secundo quomodo sollicita, quo ad doctrinam, ibi qualiter unumquemque. Dicit ergo: scitis quam sancte, id est pure. Lev. XI, 44 et XIX, 2: sancti estote, quia ego sanctus sum. Iuste, quo ad proximum. Tit. II, 12: sobrie et iuste, et pie vivamus in hoc saeculo. Sine querela, vobis qui credidistis, id est ex quo credidistis nihil agentes, unde quis posset scandalizare unumquemque vestrum singulariter. Nota quod singularis praedicatio quandoque multum valet. Then when Paul says: you are witnesses, he remarks on the orthodoxy of his discourse. First, he speaks about the sanctifying influence it may have on a person’s life; secondly, he shows how full of concern his teaching was (2:11). So Paul remarks: you are witnesses... how holy, that is, how innocently, we conducted ourselves: “Be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44 and 19:2); and righteous toward our neighbor, as is made evident by “to live sober, upright and godly lives in this world (Tit. 2:12); and blameless was our behaviour to you believers, which means that you believed because we have done nothing that could have caused anyone to be scandalized. To you believers, individually. It should be noted that sometimes a singular predication has considerable import. Tamquam pater. I Cor. IV, 15: in Christo Iesu per Evangelium ego vos genui. Deprecantes. Philem. 8: multam fiduciam habens in Christo Iesu imperandi tibi quod ad rem pertinet, propter charitatem magis obsecro. Et consolantes per verba lenia. Contra quod dicitur Ezech. XXXIV, 4: cum austeritate imperabatis eis cum potentia. Is. LXI, 2: ut consolarer omnes lugentes, et ponerem consolationem lugentibus Sion. Like a father, “For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (1 Cor. 4:15); we exhorted each one of you. A similar example is found in Philemon (1:8): “Though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you.” And encouraged you, through soft spoken words: “To comfort all who mourn; to grant consolation to those who mourn in Sion(Is. 61:2). In contrast to this it is stated in Ezechiel (34-4) “With force and harshness you have ruled them.” Et quid praedicasti? Ut digne, id est, ut vestra conversatio esset talis, qualis decet ministros Christi. Col. I, 10: ambuletis digne Deo per omnia placentes. Deo, qui, et cetera. Sap. VI, 21: concupiscentia itaque sapientiae deducet ad regnum perpetuum. And what were you told? To lead a life worthy of God, that is, that your conduct should be such that it might reflect favorably on the ministers of Christ. “To lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him” (Col. 1:10). Who calls you into his own kingdom and glory, as is evident also in “Honor wisdom, that you may reign for ever” (Wis. 6:21).
2-2 Supra ostendit apostolus qualis fuit ad eos introitus suus, hic ostendit qualis fuit eorum conversio. Et circa hoc duo facit, quia primo ostendit, quod perfecte conversi sunt per fidem firmam; secundo quomodo fortiter perstiterunt in tribulationibus, ibi vos enim. In what has gone before the Apostle disclosed the character of his coming to them; here he indicates the character of their conversion. In treating this Paul makes two points. First, he shows that they have been perfectly converted as a result of their steadfast faith; secondly, he shows how courageously they persevered amidst tribulations (2:14). Paul first remarks upon their blessings, for which he offers thanks, and then he supplies a reason for this. Ponit ergo primo bona eorum pro quibus gratias agit, et reddit rationem. Dicit ergo ideo, quia sollicite vobis praedicavi, sicut pater filiis, ideo de bonis vestris gratias ago, sicut pater de bonis filiorum. III Io. II, v. 4: maiorem horum non habeo gratiam, quam ut audiam filios meos in veritate ambulare. Phil. IV, 6: cum gratiarum actione. Sed de quo? Quoniam cum accepissetis a nobis, et cetera. Gratias debet agere praedicator quando verbum eius in auditoribus proficit. Et dicit verba auditus Dei a nobis, id est, per nos. Ps. LXXXIV, 9: audiam quid loquatur in me dominus Deus. Rom. X, 17: fides enim ex auditu, auditus autem per verbum Christi. Accepistis illud, id est, firmiter in corde tenuistis, non ut verbum hominum, quia vana verba hominis. II Cor. XIII, 3: an experimentum quaeritis eius, qui in me loquitur Christus? II Petr. I, 21: non enim voluntate humana allata est aliquando prophetia, sed spiritu sancto inspirati locuti sunt sancti Dei homines. Et quare gratias agitis? Quia hoc ipsum quod credidistis, Deus in vobis operatus est. Phil. II, 12: Deus est qui operatur in vobis velle et perficere pro bona voluntate. Is. c. XXVI, 13: omnia opera nostra operatus es in nobis, domine. So Paul says, and, since I have carefully preached to you, as a father to his children, I therefore thank God as a father does for the welfare of his children: “No greater joy can I have than this, to bear that my children follow the truth” (3 Jn. 1:3). “With thanksgiving” (Phil. 4:6). But for what reason? For this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God. The preacher should give thanks when his preaching proves to be effective in the lives of his congregation. Paul tells them, you heard the word of God from us, that is, through us: “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak” (Ps. 85:8). “Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ (Rom. 10: 17). You accepted it, that is, you kept it firmly in your heart, not as the word of men; for the words of man are empty: “You desire proof that Christ is speaking in me” (2 Cor. 13:3). “No prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pet. 1:21). And why does he give thanks? Because the fact that you have believed, God has worked in you. “For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). “Thou hast wrought for us all our works” (Is. 26:12). Deinde cum dicit vos enim, ostendit quomodo fortiter perstiterunt in tribulationibus. Et circa hoc duo facit, quia primo ponit tribulationes eorum in quibus steterunt; secundo quod remedium proposuit adhibere, ibi nos autem. Item prima dividitur in duas, quia primo commendat eorum patientiam in adversis; secundo reprehendit eos, qui intulerunt adversa, ibi qui Christum. Then when be says, for you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus which are in Judea, he shows how courageously they persevered in the midst of tribulations; and in treating this he makes two points. First, he speaks of their trials, in which they stood firm; secondly, of the remedy he proposes to apply (2:17). Again, the first point is divided into two parts. First, Paul commends them for their patience in the face of difficulties; secondly, be reprehends those responsible for the difficulties (2:15). Dicit ergo: accepistis verbum non ut est hominum, sed sicut est vere verbum Dei, quia exposuistis vos pro illo usque ad mortem. Per hoc enim, quod homo moritur propter Christum, testificatur quod verba fidei sunt verba Dei. Et ideo martyres idem est quod testes. In Iudaea. Ibi enim fides Christi primo est annuntiata. Is. II, 3: de Sion exibit lex, et verbum domini de Ierusalem. Ibi etiam primo persecutio fidei facta fuit. Act. VIII, 1: facta est autem in illa die persecutio magna in Ecclesia, quae erat Ierosolymis, et cetera. Hebr. c. X, 32: rememoramini autem pristinos dies, in quibus illuminati magnum certamen sustinuistis passionum. Et isti similes passiones passi sunt. Et ideo dicit eadem passi a contribulibus vestris, id est, ab infidelibus Thessalonicensibus. Matth. X, 36: inimici hominis, et cetera. Consequently, Paul says: you received the word not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God, for you exposed yourselves for its sake even to death. The fact that a man dies for the sake of Christ is testimony to the fact that the words of the faith are the words of God; and, therefore, “martyrs” means the same as “witnesses.” In Judea, for it is there that the faith of Christ was first proclaimed: “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Is. 2:3). In addition, it was also there that the first persecution of the faith occurred, as is evident from Acts (8:1): “On that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem.” “But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings” (Heb. 10:32). The Thessalonians endured similar difficulties, so Paul remarks: for you suffered the same things from your own countrymen, that is, from the incredulous Thessalonians: “And a man’s foes will be those of his own household” (Matt. 10:36). Deinde cum dicit qui et dominum, vituperat Iudaeos, a quibus incepit persecutio. Et primo commemorat eorum culpam; secundo rationem culpae, ibi ut impleant. Circa primum tria facit: primo eorum culpam ponit in comparatione ad Dei ministros; secundo ad ipsum; tertio ad totum genus humanum. Then when Paul observes, who killed both the Lord Jesus, he rebukes the Jews who started the persecution. First, he recalls their sin, and then the reason for the sin (2:16). In regard to the first point Paul does three things: first, he treats their sin in relation to God’s ministers; secondly, with reference to God Himself; and thirdly as relating to the entire human race. Ministri Dei sunt praedicatores. Praedicatio autem principaliter est a Christo, figuraliter a prophetis, executive ab apostolis. Contra hos tres insurrexerunt Iudaei. The ministers of God are those who preach, namely, Christ, the prophets and the apostles. Preaching is performed by Christ as the one from whom the doctrine originates, by the prophets who prefigured this doctrine, and by the apostles who carry out the injunction to preach. Et primo dicit de Christo, ibi qui et dominum. Matth. XXI, 38: hic est haeres, venite, occidamus eum. Nec obstat si gentiles occiderunt eum, quia ipsi suis vocibus petierunt eum occidi a Pilato. Ier. XII, 8: facta est haereditas mea mihi, quasi leo in silva, dedit contra me vocem, et cetera. Secundo dicit de prophetis, ibi et prophetas. Act. VII, 52: quem prophetarum non sunt persecuti patres vestri? Et occiderunt eos, qui praenuntiabant de adventu iusti, cuius vos nunc proditores et homicidae fuistis. Tertio dicit de apostolis et nos, scilicet apostolos. Matth. X, 17: tradent vos in Conciliis, et cetera. Paul first makes reference to Christ when he says: who killed the Lord Jesus, as is clear from Matthew (21:38): “This is the heir; come, let us kill him.” That it was the Gentiles who killed him is not a valid objection, for the Jews with their own words asked Pilate to kill him: “My heritage has become to me like a lion in the forest, she has lifted up her voice against me” (Jer. 12:8). Paul then speaks of the prophets when he mentions: and the prophets. “Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered” (Ac. 7:52). Paul next speaks of the apostles when he comments: and drove us out, that is, the apostles. “Beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues” (Mt. 10: 17). Secundo ponit culpam in comparatione ad Deum, ibi Deo non placent, licet crederent in hoc se obsequium praestare Deo Io. XVI, 2. Sed quia zelum Dei habent non secundum scientiam, ideo Deo non placent, quia non faciunt recta fide, et sine fide impossibile est placere Deo, Hebr. XI, 6. Is. V, v. 25: iratus est furor domini in populo, et cetera. Secondly, Paul mentions the sin of the Jews in its relation to God, with the words: and displease God, although they may think that through this they do a service to God, as is evident in John 16. Actually, because they do not have zeal for God in accordance with knowledge, they are not pleasing to God, since they do not act in keeping with right faith and “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Heb. 11:6); “therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and smote them” (Is. 5:25). Tertio ostendit eorum culpam in comparatione ad totum genus humanum, cum dicit omnibus hominibus adversantur. Gen. c. XVI, 12: manus eius contra omnes, et cetera. Adversantur autem in hoc, quia prohibent et impediunt praedicationem gentilium et conversionem. Act. XI, 2 reprehenditur Petrus, quod ivit ad Cornelium. Item Lc. XV, v. 28 filius maior, scilicet populus Iudaeorum, turbatur, quia filius minor, id est, populus gentilium recipitur a patre. Is. XLV, 10: vae qui dicit patri: quid generas? Num. XI, 29: quis det ut omnis populus prophetet? Thirdly, Paul considers their sin in its relation to the whole human race, when he says: and oppose all men. “His hand against every man and every man’s hand against him” (Gen. 16:12). And they are antagonistic, because they prohibit and impede the preaching to the Gentiles, and also the conversion of the Gentiles. In Acts 10 and 11 Peter is criticized for having gone to Cornelius; also in Luke 15 the elder son, the Jewish people, is disturbed because the younger son, the Gentile people, is received by the father. “Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting”’ (Is. 45:10). “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets” (Num. 11-29). Ratio autem huius culpae est ex divina permissione, qua vult ut impleant peccata sua. Omnium enim quae fiunt, sive bona, sive mala, est quaedam certa mensura, quia nihil est infinitum. Et omnium istorum mensura est in praescientia. Bonorum quidem, in eius praeparatione. Eph. IV, 7: quia unicuique nostrum data est gratia secundum mensuram donationis Christi. Malorum vero, in permissione, quia si aliqui sunt mali, non tamen quantum volunt, sed quantum Deus permittit. Et ideo tamdiu vivunt, quamdiu perveniant ad hoc, quod Deus permittit. Matth. XXIII, 32: implete mensuram patrum vestrorum, et cetera. Et ideo dicit ut impleant, et cetera. Deus enim dedit Iudaeis post passionem Christi spatium poenitentiae per quadraginta annos, nec conversi sunt, sed addebant peccata peccatis. Et ideo Deus non plus permisit. Unde dicit hic pervenit ira Dei, et cetera. IV Reg. XXII, 13: ira Dei magna succensa est contra nos, quia non audierunt patres nostri verba libri huius, et cetera. Lc. XXI, 23: erit enim pressura magna super terram, et ira populo huic, et cetera. Et non credas quod haec ira sit per centum annos, sed usque in finem mundi, quando plenitudo gentium intraverit, et cetera. Lc. XIX, 44 et XXI, 6 et Matth. XXIV, 2: non relinquetur lapis super lapidem, qui non destruatur. The reason for this sin is found in the divine permission, by which God wills that they fill up the measure of their sins. Indeed, for all things which come about, either good or bad, there is a certain measure, because nothing is infinite; and the measure of all these things is in [God’s] foreknowledge. The measure of good things is what it prepares, for “grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Eph. 4:7); the measure of evil things, however, is what it permits, for if some are “evil, they are not as evil as they want, but as God permits. And, therefore, they live until they attain that which God permits: “Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers” (Matt. 23:32). So Paul says: so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. For after the suffering of Christ, God gave the Jews forty years to repent, but they were not converted; rather they multiplied their sins. God did not permit this to go on, so Paul states: but Gods wrath has come upon them until the end. “For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us (2 Kg 22:13). “For great distress shall be upon the earth and wrath upon this people” (Lk. 21:23). And you should not think that this wrath shall last for one hundred years only, but until the end of the world, when all the Gentiles will have embraced [the Christian religion], and then all of Israel shall be saved, as it appears from Rom. 10, Lk. 19:44, 21:6, and Matt. 24:2: “There will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down.” Deinde cum dicit nos autem, ostendit remedium, quod eis proposuit adhibere, scilicet quod personaliter iret ad eos. Et circa hoc duo facit, quia primo ponit propositum suae visitationis; secundo impedimentum, ibi sed impedivit; tertio causam quare volebat ire, ibi quae autem est. Then when Paul says, but since we were bereft of you, brethren, for a short time, he shows the remedy that he proposed to apply for them, namely, that he will personally go to them. In regard to this he makes three points: first, be discusses his proposed visit; secondly he treats the obstacle to his visit (2:18); thirdly, he gives the reason why he wanted to go (2:19). Dicit ergo nos autem, fratres, desolati a vobis, a quibus eramus separati, vel propter tribulationes vestras, ore, id est, carentes collocutione, et aspectu, id est, carentes visione: propter haec enim duo necessaria est amici praesentia, quia est consolativa; sed non corde, quia corde sumus praesentes. I Cor. V, 3: ego absens quidem corpore, praesens autem spiritu. Abundantius festinavimus faciem, et cetera. Ut sicut corde, sic et corpore praesens esset. Rom. XV, 23: cupiditatem habens veniendi ad vos ex multis iam praecedentibus annis, et cetera. Festinavimus, dicit pluraliter, quia scribit ex persona trium, scilicet sui, Silvani et Timothei. Ideo etiam voluimus venire ad vos, omnes forte semel, sed ego Paulus semel et iterum, id est, bis proposui, sed impedivit nos Satanas, id est, procuravit impedimenta, forte per aeris tempestates. Ap. VII, 1: isti sunt Angeli, qui tenent ventos. So Paul says: but since we were bereft of you, either on account of your tribulations, or because we were separated from you [ in conversation ], that is, missing the opportunity for conversation, and in person, that is, not being able to enjoy your company. Both of these things require the presence of a friend because it is consoling. But not in heart, for we are present in heart, as is evident from 1 Cor. (5:3): “For though absent in body I am present in spirit.” We endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, that we may be present also in body as we are in our heart; “I have longed for many years to come to you” (Rom. 15:23). When Paul says we, he intends a plural meaning, because he writes in the name of three persons, that is, in his own name, and that of Silvanus, and of Timothy. Therefore Paul says: we wanted to come to you, all of us perhaps once, but I Paul, again and again, that is twice, as I proposed; but Satan hindered us, that is, set up obstacles, perhaps through violent winds, as in: “Four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth” (Rev. 7:1). Deinde cum dicit quae est enim, ostendit causam propositi. Primo quantum ad futurum; secundo quantum ad praesens, ibi vos enim, et cetera. Dicit ergo: desidero videre vos, et gratias ago de bonis vestris, quae sunt spes nostra. Nam pro his speramus a Deo praemia, quando reddere venerit unicuique secundum opera sua. Maxima enim est retributio praedicatori ex his quos convertit. Aut gaudium, quia gaudium illorum est gaudium apostoli, sicut bonum eorum est bonum apostoli; bonum enim effectus reducitur in bonum causae. Aut corona gloriae, quia pro certaminibus eorum et iste, qui induxit ad certandum, coronatur. Dux enim, qui induxit milites ad pugnam coronabitur. Eccli. XXX, v. 2: qui docet filium, laudabitur in illo, et in medio domesticorum in illo gloriabitur, et cetera. Haec, inquam, spes, quae est? Nonne vos? Imo sic in futuro ante dominum nostrum Iesum Christum in adventu eius. Sed etiam in praesenti vos enim estis, apud omnes fideles, gloria nostra. I Cor. c. IX, 15: melius est mihi mori, quam ut gloriam meam quis evacuet. Et gaudium, quo laetor de bonis vestris in praesenti. Then when Paul says: for what is our hope, he gives the reason for his proposal. First, in regard to the future; secondly, in regard to the present (2:20). Paul says: I desire to see you and I give thanks for your blessings which are our hope; for it is on account of these blessings that we hope for rewards from God, when He shall come to render to every one according to his deeds. For the greatest reward of the preacher comes from those whom he has converted. Or joy, because their joy is the Apostle’s joy, just as their goodness is the Apostle’s goodness; for the goodness of the effect is accounted for by the goodness of the cause. Or crown of boasting, because as a result of their struggles he who encouraged them to struggle shall be decorated; for the commander who led the soldiers to combat is decorated: “He who disciplines his son will profit by him, and will boast of him among acquaintances” (Sir. 30:2). 1 ask what is this hope; is it not you? Yes, assuredly: in the future, that is, before our Lord Jesus at his coming; but also in the present, for you are, among all the faithful, our glory: I would rather die than have any one deprive me of my ground for boasting” (1 Cor. 9:15); and joy, for which reason Paul rejoices over their good fortune in the present.
3-1 Commemoravit tribulationes quas passi erant, et remedium quod proposuit eis impendere, hic ostendit quomodo eis subvenisset visitando per Timotheum. Et primo agit de missione nuntii; secundo de relatione facta per eum, ibi nunc autem; tertio de effectu relationis in apostolo, ibi ideo consolati. Item prima in tres, quia primo praemittit causam quare misit eum; secundo qualem misit; tertio causam propter quam misit. Paul mentioned the trials they had endured and the relief he intended to supply for them. Here he recalls how he came to their assistance through the visit of Timothy. First, Paul deals with the task of his messenger; secondly, Paul talks about the contact established through Timothy (3:6); thirdly, Paul writes on the effect of this contact on the Apostle (3:7). Paul divides the first part into three parts. First, he mentions the reason why he sent him; secondly, he mentions the person whom he sent; thirdly, he speaks further about the reason for sending him. Dicit ergo propter quod, id est, quia impedivit nos Satanas, tamen vos estis gloria nostra; ideo non sustinentes pondus amoris inclinantis ad vos. Is. I, 14: facta sunt mihi molesta, et cetera. Gen. XLV, 1: non se poterat ultra cohibere. Placuit nobis, scilicet Paulo et Silvano, remanere Athenis solis et misimus Timotheum, quia erat apostolo convenientissimus. Phil. II, 20: neminem habeo tam unanimem, qui sincera affectione pro vobis sollicitus sit. I Cor. IV, 17: misi ad vos Timotheum, qui est filius meus charissimus et fidelis in domino. Fratrem, per charitatem adiuvantem. Prov. XVIII, 19: frater qui iuvatur a fratre, quasi civitas firma. Et ministrum. Ecclesiae dignitas est. II Cor. XI, 23: ministri Christi sunt, et ego, et cetera. Mittit autem ad confirmandos eos et referendum sibi. Paul comments: Therefore, although Satan hindered us, you are still our glory, consequently, when we could bear it no longer, that is, the influence of our love prompting us to go to you: “They have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them” (Is. 1:14), and “Joseph could not control himself” (Gen. 45:1), we were willing, Paul and Silvanus, to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, who was the one most in accord with the Apostle: “I have no one like him, who will be genuinely anxious for your welfare” (Phil. 2:20). “1 sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord” (1 Cor. 4:17). Our brother, sustained by charity. “A brother helped by a brother is like a strong city” (Prov. 18:19), and Gods servant, for he is an important person in the Church: “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one” (2 Cor. 11:23). Deinde cum dicit ad confirmandos, etc., ostendit quod mittitur ad confirmandum. Et primo facit hoc; secundo ponitur ratio confirmationis, ibi ipsi enim. Dicit ergo ad confirmandos vos et exhortandos, quia per exhortationes animus hominis confirmatur. Iob IV, 4: vacillantes confirmaverunt sermones tui. Lc. XXII, v. 32: et tu aliquando conversus confirma fratres tuos. Et indigetis exhortari pro fide vestra, ut nemo moveatur in his tribulationibus. Eccli. c. X, 4: si spiritus potestatem habentis ascenderit super te, locum tuum ne dimiseris. Est autem ratio duplex confirmans. Una ex ordinatione divina: ipsi enim scitis, etc., quasi dicat: ita voluit Deus, ut per tribulationes in caelum intraretis. Act. XIV, 22: per multas tribulationes oportet vos intrare in regnum Dei, et II Tim. III, 12: omnes qui pie volunt vivere in Christo Iesu, persecutionem patientur. Per hanc viam ivit Christus. Lc. ult.: oportebat Christum pati et resurgere, et sic intrare in gloriam suam. And so Paul sends Timothy to strengthen the Thessalonians and to report to Paul about them. When Paul says to establish you, he shows that Timothy is sent to strengthen them. So Paul first states this, and second the reason for the strengthening is stated (3:3). Paul says, to establish and to exhort you, for the soul of a man is strengthened through encouragement: “Your words have upheld him who was stumbling” (Job 4:4). When you have turned again, strengthen your brethren (Lk. 22:32). And you are in need of encouragement in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. “If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place” (Ec. 10:4). And there is a twofold consideration strengthening them. The first is related to a divine ordination: You yourselves know that this is to be our lot, almost as if implying that God ordained that you shall enter into heaven through tribulations: “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Ac. 14:22). “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tirn. 3:12). Christ Himself traveled this path as is shown in Luke (24:46): “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Alia ratio est ex parte praenuntiationis, quia praevisa minus feriunt. Unde dicit nam et cum apud, etc., id est, quia ego praedixi vobis tribulationes, quas estis passi in istis annis, misi ad cognoscendum, etc., qualiter scilicet essetis fortes in fide. Prov. XXVII, v. 23: diligenter agnosce vultum pecoris tui, et greges tuos considera. Is qui tentat, scilicet Diabolus. Matth. IV, 3: accedens tentator, Glossa: cuius officium est tentare. The other consideration strengthening them is a prediction concerning the future, for anticipated difficulties are less harmful. So Paul tells them: for when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, that is, Paul had warned them about the tribulations they would go through in their time. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent that I might know your faith, how firm you are in your faith: “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds” (Prov. 27:23); for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you, that is, the devil: “And the tempter came” (Matt. 4:3). There is a commentary which says: “Whose business it is to tempt.” Sed contra: tentant mundus et caro. Iac. c. I, 14: unusquisque tentatur a concupiscentia sua, et cetera. Item Gen. XXII, 1: tentavit Deus Abraham, et cetera. Respondeo. Tentare est experimentum de aliquo sumere. In hoc considerandum est ad quid velit sumere, et quomodo. Nam hoc est dupliciter: vel ut ipse cognoscat, vel ut alium cognoscere faciat. Primo modo Deus non tentat, ipse enim scit quid est in homine Io. II, 25. Secundo modo sic: Deus enim tentavit Abraham, scilicet ut alii scirent fidem eius. Sed primo modo tentare est dupliciter, scilicet ut promoveat ad bonum, sicut episcopus promovendos examinat; vel aliquis tentat ut decipiat, et hoc est Diaboli, quia scilicet inquirit conditionem hominum, ut secundum diversas conditiones ad diversa vitia ad quae proni sunt inducat. I Petr. V, 8: adversarius vester Diabolus, et cetera. Officium ergo eius est tentare ad decipiendum. Mundus autem et caro dicuntur tentare materialiter, quia per ea, ad quae ipsa inclinant, sumitur experimentum de homine, utrum firmus sit ad mandata Dei et dilectionem. Si enim vicerit concupiscentia, non perfecte diligit Deum. Et similiter quando res mundi vel terrent, vel afficiunt. But on the contrary, both the world and the flesh also tempt, as is seed in James (1: 14): “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” Also in Genesis (22: 1): “God tested Abraham.” It is necessary to point out that “to tempt” means to make a test of something. And in this matter the purpose must be considered for which one wants to test something, and in what manner one wants to test something. For this occurs in two ways: either so that the person testing may know about it, or so that he may make it known to another. God does not need to tempt in the first way, for He knows what is in man as is stated in John 2. Rather in the second way: for God tempted Abraham so that others might know of his faith. A temptation in the first manner may occur in two ways, that is, it leads towards some good, as when the bishop examines those to be promoted; or else, somebody tempts in order to deceive, and this is the work of the devil; for the devil tests the condition of men in order that he may lead them to the various sins to which they are prone in accordance with their various dispositions: “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour” (Pet. 5:8). Therefore, it is the devil’s business to tempt in order to deceive. The world and the flesh are said to tempt in a material way, for through them and the things to which they lead a knowledge is achieved about man as to whether he is really steadfast in God’s commandments and in the love of God. Because if concupiscence triumphs, the person does not love God in a perfect manner, nor does he love in a perfect manner when the concerns of the world either frighten him or exert an undue influence upon him. Et inanis, quia si tentationi non resistitis, labor vester esset inanis. Gal. IV, 11: timeo vos ne forte sine causa laboraverim in vobis. Ez. XVIII, 24: omnes iustitiae eius quas operatus est, non recordabuntur. Inanis autem dicitur, respectu mercedis aeternae; tamen bona ante peccatum commissa ad aliquid valent, quia post poenitentiam reviviscunt, et disponitur quis faciliter ad convertendum. And that our labor would be in vain, because if you do not resist temptation our labor would be in vain: I am afraid I have labored over you in vain” (Gal. 4:11). “None of the righteous deeds which he has done shall be remembered” (Ez. 18:24). The labor is regarded as “in vain” with respect to an eternal reward; nevertheless the good deeds performed prior to sin profit a person, for they shall live again after repentance, and also because they readily dispose one towards conversion. Deinde cum dicit nunc autem, etc., ostendit quomodo retulit Timotheus bona eorum pertinentia ad Deum et apostolum: ad Deum fidem et charitatem. Gal. VI, 15: in Christo Iesu, neque circumcisio aliquid valet, neque praeputium, sed nova creatura. Sed fidem, etiam ad apostolum; unde dicit et quia memoriam. Eccli. XLIX, 1: memoria Iosiae in compositione operis facta, opus pigmentarii, et cetera. Prov. X, 7: memoria iusti cum laudibus, et cetera. Desiderantes videre nos, sicut et nos quoque vos. Augustinus: durus est animus, qui dilectionem, et si non velit impendere, noluit rependere. Is. LI, 2: attendite ad Abraham patrem vestrum, et cetera. Then when Paul says: but now that Timothy has come to us from you, he comments that Timothy spoke of their good practices towards God and towards the Apostle: faith and love towards God: “For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation” (Gal. 6:15); faith also towards the Apostle, so Paul says: you always remember us kindly. “The memory of Josiah is like a blending of incense prepared by the art of the perfumer” (Sir. 49: 1). “The memory of the righteous is a blessing” (Prov. 10:7). And reported that you long to see us, as we long to see you. Augustine wrote: “Hardened is the soul that does not requite love, even if it does not wish to bestow it.” “Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you” (Is. 51:2). Deinde cum dicit ideo consolati, ponitur effectus relationis triplex, scilicet spiritualis consolationis, gratiarum actionis, ibi quam enim, et orationis multiplicatae, ibi nocte. Dicit ergo: quia talia audivimus de vobis, licet necessitates temporalium immineant et tribulationes corporales, tamen consolati sumus. Ps. XCIII, 19: secundum multitudinem dolorum meorum in corde meo consolationes tuae laetificaverunt animam meam, et cetera. II Cor. I, 3: benedictus Deus et pater domini nostri Iesu Christi, pater misericordiarum, et Deus totius consolationis, et cetera. Et hoc per fidem vestram, id est, audiens firmitatem fidei vestrae, quoniam vivimus, et cetera. Quasi dicat: tantum diligo statum vestrum, quod reputo me per ipsum vivere. Gen. c. XLV, 28: sufficit mihi si adhuc Ioseph filius meus vivit. Then when Paul says: we have been comforted about you, he speaks of the threefold effect of their relationship, namely, of spiritual consolation, of the spirit of thanksgiving, in the words: for what thanksgiving can we render to God for you, and of the resultant frequent prayer, in the words: praying night and day. And so Paul tells them: because we have heard such things about you, we are encouraged, although the demands of temporal concerns are pressing, as well as bodily trials. “When the cares of my heart are many, thy consolations cheer my sour (Ps. 94:19). “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3). And this occurred through your faith, that is, having heard about the reliable character of your faith. For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord, as if saying: I value your condition so highly that I think it sustains me: “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive” (Gen. 45:28). Deinde cum dicit quam enim, etc. ponitur secundus effectus relationis factae, scilicet gratiarum actio; quasi dicat: non sufficio, quod aliquam condignam gratiarum actionem agam Deo pro vobis. Mich. VI, 6: quid dignum offeram domino, et cetera. Ps. CXV, v. 12: quid retribuam domino pro omnibus, et cetera. Referendae sunt tamen gratiarum actiones in omni gaudio, quod omnino non est exterius, sed quo gaudemus propter vos, in conscientia, ante dominum, qui videt eam. Vel ante dominum, quia de proximo placet Deo. I Cor. XIII, 6: congaudet veritati, et cetera. Then when Paul says, for what thanksgiving can we render to God for you, the second effect of their existent relationship is treated, namely, the spirit of thanksgiving, as if implying: I am not worthy to supply fitting thanks to God for you: “With what shall I come before the Lord?” (Mic. 6:6). “What shall I render to the Lord for all his bounty to me? (Ps. 116:12). However, the prayers of thanksgiving are offered for all the joy; a joy which is not entirely visible, but which we feel for your sake in our conscience before our God who beholds this; or perhaps before God in that those close to God please God: “Love does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right” (1 Cor. 13:6). Deinde cum dicit nocte, etc., ponitur tertius effectus relationis, et primo proponit multiplicitatem orationis, secundo ostendit quid orando optet, ibi ipse autem, et cetera. Dicit ergo: gratias agimus de praeteritis, nec tamen deficimus quin oremus pro futuris, imo nocte ac die, id est, adversis et prosperis. Ps. LIV, 18: vespere et mane ac meridie narrabo, et cetera. Quae desunt, et cetera. Non quidem quae erant de necessitate fidei, sed aliqua secreta, quae necdum apostolus eis praedicavit in sua novitate. I Cor. III, 1: non potui loqui vobis quasi spiritualibus, sed quasi carnalibus, et cetera. Io. XVI, 12: multa habeo vobis loqui, quae non, et cetera. Then when Paul says, night and day, the third effect of their relationship is explained. First, he points out the frequency of his prayer; secondly, he shows what he desires while praying (3: 11). So Paul insists: We give thanks for things past; nevertheless we do not fail to pray also for future concerns, indeed, [we do so] night and day, that is, in adversity and prosperity. “Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and mom’ (Ps. 55:17). To supply what is lacking in your faith: not matters that pertain to the fundamentals of the faith, but some special teachings which the Apostle did not preach to them at their [spiritual] birth: “I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as men of the flesh” (1 Cor. 3:1). “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (Jn. 16:12). Deinde cum dicit ipse autem Deus, etc., demonstrat quid optet eis. Et circa hoc primo ostendit quid petat, ibi ad confirmanda. Petit autem duo: unum ex parte sua, ut posset ire ad eos. Unde dicit ipse Deus et pater noster, et cetera. Io. XX, 17: ascendo ad patrem meum et patrem vestrum, et cetera. Prov. XVI, 1: hominis est praeparare animum, et domini gubernare linguam. Aliud ex parte eorum. Unde dicit vos autem multiplicet, scilicet in fide. II Reg. XXIV, v. 3: adaugeat dominus populum suum centuplum, quam sunt, et cetera. Et ut augeantur merita. Unde dicit et abundare faciat charitatem vestram, quae semper in via crescere potest. Col. III, 14: super omnia charitatem habete, quod est vinculum perfectionis. Et primo, invicem; secundo, in omnes. Gal. VI, 10: operemur bonum ad omnes: maxime autem ad domesticos fidei. Et ponit exemplum de seipso, dicens quemadmodum, etc., quasi dicat: sicut et ego diligo vos. II Cor. VII, 3: in cordibus nostris estis ad commoriendum et ad convivendum. Then when Paul says: may our God... direct our way to you, he makes known what he desires for them; in regard to this he first shows what he is asking for (3:13). And Paul is asking for two things: One on his own behalf—that he may go to see them—and so he says: may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you. “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (Jn. 20:17). “The plans of the mind belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord” (Prov. 16:1). The other is for their welfare, so Paul asks: and may the Lord make you increase, that is, in faith: “May the Lord add to his people a hundred times as many as they are” (1 Chr. 21:3). And Paul prays also that their merits may increase; so he says, and abound in love, which can always increase in this life: “Above all these put on love, which binds everything together” (Col. 3:14). And, first, charity to one another, secondly, charity to all men. “Let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6: 10). And Paul gives an example of himself when he comments: as we do to you, as if to say: just as I also love you: “You are in our hearts, to die together and to live together” (2 Cor. 7:3). Sed ad quid petit? Ad confirmanda corda vestra sine querela, id est, ut nullus possit conqueri de vobis. Lc. I, 6: incedentes in omnibus mandatis et iustificationibus sine querela. Et sanctitate ante Deum, scilicet qui cor videt. Lc. I, 75: in sanctitate et iustitia coram ipso, et cetera. Et hoc apparet in adventu domini nostri Iesu Christi, ut vos inveniat sanctos; qui adventus erit cum omnibus sanctis eius, id est, sitis in conspectu eius, sicut sunt omnes sancti ante eum. But for what purpose does Paul pray? So that he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness, that is, that nobody can complain about you; “...righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Lk. 1:6). In holiness before our God who sees the heart: “In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life” (Lk. 1:75). And this shall be manifest at the coming of our Lord Jesus, that He may find you holy, who shall come with all his saints; that you might be in His presence, just as all the saints are before Him.
4-1 Supra commendavit apostolus fideles de constantia in tribulationibus et aliis bonis, hic in futurum monet ad bene agendum. Et primo proponit generalem admonitionem; secundo specificat, ibi ut abstineatis. Circa primum duo facit, quia primo proponit intentum, secundo rationem monitionis assignat, ibi ut abundetis, et cetera. Dicit ergo: audivi bona vestra praeterita, sed in futurum rogamus, et cetera. Inducit autem eos primo ex parte sua. Et ideo dicit rogamus. Ps. CXXI, 6: rogate quae ad pacem sunt, et cetera. Item ex parte Christi, et sic dicit obsecramus, et cetera. Obsecrat autem, quia erant perfecti. I Tim. V, 1: seniorem te ne increpaveris, sed obsecra ut patrem. Earlier, the Apostle Paul commended the faithful for their loyalty in the face of trials and for other good practices; here Paul cautions them to act well in the future. First, Paul presents a general warning; secondly, Paul makes it more specific (4:3). In regard to the first point, Paul does two things. First he presents what he is intent upon; secondly, he indicates a reason for the warning (4:1b). So Paul says: I heard about your good practices of the past, but in the future we will continue to exhort you. So Paul prevails upon them, first, on his own behalf when he remarks, we beseech you, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Ps. 122:6). In addition, Paul prevails upon them on behalf of Christ, and so he says, and we exhort you in the Lord Jesus. And he exhorts them, because they are holy: “Do not rebuke an older man but exhort him as you would a father” (1 Tim. 5: 1). Sed quid rogat? Ut quemadmodum, et cetera. Docuerat eos apostolus quomodo oporteret eos ambulare in via communi iustitiae, quae est per mandata. Unde dicit: accepistis, et cetera. Ps. CXVIII, 32: viam mandatorum tuorum, et cetera. Item quomodo placerent Deo in via consiliorum. Sap. IV, 10: placens Deo factus est dilectus. Vel quomodo ambuletis, scilicet per rectam operationem. Io. XII, 35: ambulate dum lucem habetis. Quomodo placeatis, scilicet per rectam intentionem. Sic et ambuletis, id est, ut servetis primam doctrinam non recedendo ab ea. Gal. I, 8: sed licet nos aut Angelus de caelo evangelizet vobis praeter quam quod evangelizavimus vobis, anathema sit. But what does Paul ask? That as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, you do so more and more. The Apostle had taught them how they should conduct themselves in the practice of common justice, which is by keeping the precepts; that is why he says: you learned from us how you ought to live. “I will ran in the way of thy commandments” (Ps. 119:32). Paul had also taught them how they might be pleasing to God in the practice of the counsels: “There was one who pleased God and was loved by him” (Wis. 4: 10); or how you ought to live, that is, by virtuous actions. “Walk while you have the light” (Jn. 12:35); and to please God through the forming of good intentions. just as you are doing, that is, that they might remain steadfast in the original teaching, without falling away from it: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8). Ratio monitionis accipitur primo ex fructu servatae monitionis; secundo ex ipsa monitione, ibi scitis enim quae, et cetera. Dicit ergo: licet sitis boni, tamen per exercitium mandatorum et consiliorum abundabitis et proficietis. II Cor. IX, 8: potens est Deus omnem gratiam abundare facere in vobis. Est enim charitas tam magna, quod semper restat quo proficiendum sit. Item quae ex monitione accepistis, honesta sunt et utilia. Ps. XVIII, 8: lex domini immaculata, et cetera. Prov. VI, 23: mandatum lucerna est, et lex lux et via vitae. Ideo dicit quae praecepta, id est, qualia. Et hoc per dominum Iesum accepta ab eo. I Cor. c. XI, 23: ego enim accepi a domino quod et tradidi vobis, et cetera. Hebr. II, 3: quae cum initium accepisset enarrari per dominum ab his, qui audierunt, et cetera. Et haec sunt ista. Haec est voluntas Dei sanctificatio vestra, quasi dicat: omnia praecepta Dei sunt ad hoc quod sitis sancti. Sanctitas enim dicit munditiam et firmitatem. Et omnia Dei praecepta inducunt ad ista, ut quis mundus sit a malo, et firmus in bono. Rom. XII, 2: probetis quae sit voluntas Dei, scilicet explicata per praecepta. The reason for the warning is based on the benefit to be derived from heeding the warning; secondly, from the warning itself (4:2). Paul remarks: although you are good, nevertheless you shall grow markedly and improve through the repeated practice of the precepts and counsels. “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance” (2 Cor. 9:8). For charity is so encompassing that there will always be something left through which one might improve himself. Also, if difficulties are removed because of the warning, it is both proper and useful. “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul” (Ps. 19:7). “For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life” (Prov. 6:23). Paul then says: what instructions, that is, what kind of commandments, and he tells us that they are through the Lord Jesus, in that they are given through Him: “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you” (1 Cor. 11:23). “It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him” (Heb. 2:3). The precepts are as follows: this is the will of God, your sanctification, as if saying: All the commandments of God are for the purpose of making you holy; for sanctity means purity and constancy, and all of God’s precepts lead thereto, so that a person may be cleansed from evil and constant in good: “That you may prove what is the will of God” (Rom. 12:2) which is made known through the precepts. Deinde cum dicit ut abstineatis, monet in speciali. Et primo corrigit eos de quibusdam inordinationibus inter eos; secundo promovet ad observantiam bonorum, V cap., ibi de temporibus. Tres autem inordinationes erant inter eos, scilicet carnalium vitiorum quantum ad quosdam, item curiositatis, item tristitiae de mortuis, et ideo de istis agit. Secunda, ibi de charitate autem. Tertia, ibi nolumus vos. Then when Paul says: that you abstain, he warns them in particular; and, first, he corrects them in regard to certain inordinate practices prevalent among them; secondly, he urges them to maintain their virtuous actions (5:1). There were three inordinate practices prevalent among them, namely, carnal vices among a certain number of them, curiosity, and an inordinate grief for the dead. For these reasons Paul speaks about these matters. About the second inordinate practice Paul remarks in (4:9); the third inordinate practice he treats in (4:13). Circa primum duo facit, quia primo monet abstinere ab immoderato appetitu carnalium; secundo ponit rationem, ibi quoniam vindex. Iterum prima in duas, quia primo prohibet luxuriam; secundo avaritiam. Et coniungit haec semper: quia utrumque est circa obiectum corporale, licet hoc compleatur in delectatione spirituali. In treating the first inordinate practice he does two things. First, he instructs them to refrain from the inordinate desire for carnal things; secondly, he provides a reason for this (4:6). And so he divides the first point into two. First, he forbids lust; secondly, he forbids greed. He always associates these two, for each one has reference to a corporeal object, although the latter culminates in spiritual delight. Item, primo docet cavere luxuriam quantum ad non suam, secundo quantum ad uxorem propriam, ibi ut sciat. Dicit ergo ut abstineatis a fornicatione. Voluntas enim Dei est abstinere a fornicatione, ergo est peccatum mortale, quia est contra praeceptum et voluntatem Dei. Tob. IV, 13: attende tibi ab omni fornicatione. Sed et respectu uxoris abstineatis honeste, ut sciat unusquisque vas suum, id est, uxorem, possidere in sanctificatione, cessando ad tempus, et in honore, non in passione, ut scilicet passio praecedat; sicut et gentes, quia hoc est gentilium quaerere delectationes praesentes, non autem futurae vitae. In sanctificatione et honore, quia hic est debitus usus matrimonii, quia est ad bonum prolis, vel ad reddendum debitum, et sic potest esse sine peccato; sed aliquando est veniale peccatum, si non efferatur concupiscentia ultra limites matrimonii, scilicet quando licet concupiscentiam habeat, non tamen uteretur ea nisi esset uxor sua. Sed quando est extra limites matrimonii, sequitur mortale, et hoc quando si non esset sua uxor, adhuc uteretur ea, et libentius cum alia. Hebr. ult., 4: sit honorabile connubium, et thorus immaculatus. Fornicatores autem et adulteros iudicabit Deus. I Petr. III, 7: viri similiter cohabitantes secundum scientiam quasi infirmiori vasculo muliebri impartientes honorem, tamquam cohaeredibus gratiae et vitae, ut non impediantur orationes vestrae. Paul first teaches them to beware of lust in regard to a woman who is not their wife; secondly, in regard to one’s own wife (4:4). Therefore Paul insists, that you abstain from immorality, for it is God’s will to abstain from immorality. Therefore, it is a mortal sin, for it is contrary to the commandment and the will of God. “Beware, my son, of all immorality” (Tob. 4:12). But also with regard to your wife, deny yourself honorably; that each one of you know how to take [ his vessel ], that is his wife, in holiness, denying yourself pleasure for a time, and in honor, not in the passion of lust, that is, do not let passion be the stimulus; like heathen, for it is characteristic of heathens to desire immediate pleasures instead of those of the future life. In holiness and honor, because this is the proper use of marriage, since it is for the good of the offspring or for fulfilling an obligation; and so marriage may be without sin. But sometimes a venial sin is involved, if concupiscence is not exercised beyond the limits of marriage, that is, when, although having concupiscence, a person does not indulge it except with his own wife. But when this takes place outside the bonds of marriage, the action becomes a mortal sin; and this happens when he would perform the action, even if she were not his wife, and more willingly with another woman. “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for God will judge the immoral and adulterous” (Heb. 13:4). “Likewise you husbands, live considerately with your wives, bestowing honor on the woman as the weaker sex, since you are joint heirs of the grace of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered” (I Pet. 3:7). Deinde cum dicit et ne quis, prohibet avaritiam. Unde dicit et ne quis supergrediatur, id est, violentiam inferat auferendo aliena per potentiam. Iac. II, 6: nonne divites per potentiam vos opprimunt? Neque circumveniat per dolum. Ier. V, 27: sicut decipula plena avibus, sic domus eorum plenae dolo. Then when Paul says, that no man transgress, he forbids greed, and insists that no man transgress, that is, no one should exert violence by taking another’s property through brute strength. “Is it not the rich who oppress you?” (Jas. 2:6). And wrong his brother through fraud. “Like a basket full of birds, their houses are full of treachery” (Jer. 5:27). Deinde cum dicit quoniam vindex, etc., ponitur ratio monitionis, quam primo assignat ex divina ultione; secundo ostendit hanc ultionem esse iustam, ibi non enim vocavit. Dicit ergo: abstineamus ab his, quia dominus est vindex. Gal. V, 21: praedico vobis sicut praedixi, quoniam qui talia agunt, regnum Dei non consequentur. Nam certe iuste ulciscitur, cuius una est ratio ex Deo vocante, secunda ex contrarietate doni. Si dominus vocat te ad unum, et tu agis contrarium, dignus es poena. Et ideo dicit non enim vocavit, et cetera. Eph. I, 4: elegit nos in ipso ante mundi constitutionem, ut simus sancti et immaculati in conspectu eius in charitate. Rom. VIII, 30: quos vocavit, hos et iustificavit, et cetera. Ideo dicit itaque, etc.; quasi dicat: haec est una ratio specialis quam dixi. Alia est ratio, quia contrariantur haec vitia spiritui, qui datus est nobis. Unde qui haec agit, iniuriam facit spiritui sancto. Ideo dicit qui etiam, et cetera. Hebr. X, 28: irritam quis faciens legem Moysi sine ulla miseratione duobus, vel tribus testibus moritur, quanto magis putatis deteriora mereri supplicia, qui filium Dei conculcaverit et sanguinem testamenti pollutum duxerit in quo sanctificatus est, et spiritui gratiae contumeliam fecerit? When Paul says: because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, the reason for the warning is mentioned. First, Paul attributes it to the divine vengeance; secondly, he shows that this vengeance is justifiable (4:7). Paul exhorts them to refrain from these things, for the Lord is an avenger. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:21). For God certainly takes vengeance justly. One reason for this is that God has called us, and a second reason is that such actions are contrary to God’s gifts to us. If the Lord calls you to one thing and you do something contrary, then punishment is due. So Paul points out that God has not called us for uncleanness. “As he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Eph. 1:4). “Those whom he predestined he also called” (Rom. 8:30). And so Paul concludes: therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, as if saying: This is the one special reason that I mentioned. The other reason is that these vices are opposed to the Spirit who was given to us. And he who does these things offends the Holy Spirit; so Paul says, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. “A man who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy at the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God, and profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace?” (Heb. 10:28). Deinde cum dicit de charitate autem, etc., retrahit ab otiositate. Sciendum est autem, quod sicut dicit Hieronymus in epistola ad Galatas, Thessalonicenses erant liberales, et erat consuetudo apud eos divites dare multum; et ideo pauperes otiose inhaerebant beneficio eorum, non curantes labores, sed discurrere per domos. Et ideo primo commendat liberalitatem dantium; secundo otium accipientium dissuadet, ibi et operam detis. Dicit ergo primo, quod non indigent moneri ad charitatem; secundo monet quod in ea proficiant, ibi rogamus autem. Dicit ergo de charitate autem fraternitatis, id est, quod diligatis fratres, non est necesse scribere vobis. Rom. XII, 10: charitate fraternitatis invicem diligentes. Hebr. ult.: charitas fraternitatis maneat in vobis. Et ratio est quia ipsi didicistis a Deo, scilicet praeceptum in lege. Lev. XIX, 18: diliges amicum tuum sicut teipsum. Item in Evangelio. Io. XIII, 34: mandatum novum do vobis, ut diligatis invicem, et cetera. Vel didicistis interiori disciplina. Io. VI, 45: omnis qui audivit a patre et didicit, venit ad me, et cetera. Et hoc addiscit per spiritum sanctum. Then when Paul remarks: But concerning love of the brethren you have no need to have any one write to you, he discourages them from remaining idle. It should be realized, as Jerome says in the letter to the Galatians, that the Thessalonians were generous, and that it was the custom among the rich to give away a great deal; as a result the poor idly depended on their benefits without looking for work, but rather wasted time in their homes. And so Paul first commends the generosity of the donors, but he is then critical of the idleness of the recipients of the welfare (4: 11). And first then, Paul adds that they do not need to be reminded of the need for charity, but secondly he also advises that they make progress in it (4:10). Paul observes, but concerning love of the brethren, that is, in regard to your love for your brothers, you have no need to have any one write to you. “Love one another with brotherly affection” (Rom. 12: 10). “Let brotherly love continue” (Heb. 13: 1). And the reason for this is that, you yourselves have been taught by God, that is, through the precept in the Law: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Lev. 19:18). Also, it is clear from the gospel of St. John (13:34) “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you.” Or, you yourselves have been taught this by an interior teaching, as is found in John (6:45): “Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.” And this lesson is gained through the help of the Holy Spirit. Deinde cum dicit rogamus autem, hortatur eos ad proficiendum in charitate, dicens: et quia habetis charitatem ad omnes, ideo rogamus ut proficiatis. Et licet alii abutantur, vos tamen insistatis. Prov. XV, 5: in abundanti iustitia virtus maxima est. When Paul says: but we exhort you, brethren, to do so more and more, he is urging them to make progress in charity. He seemingly insists that since you have charity towards all men, we urge you to make progress in it. And though others may ridicule you, nevertheless devote yourself to charity: “In the house of the righteous there is much treasure” (Prov. 15:6). Deinde cum dicit et operam detis, arguit otiosos, et primo eorum inquietudinem; secundo ostendit quomodo eam reprimant; tertio quare. Dicit ergo: operam detis, ut quieti sitis. Prov. VII, 10: garrula et vaga, quietis impatiens, nec valens pedibus suis in domo consistere, et cetera. II Thess. III, 7: non inquieti fuimus inter vos, neque gratis panem manducavimus ab aliquo, sed in labore et fatigatione nocte et die operantes, et cetera. Otium reprimentes exercendo negotia. Unde dicit et ut vestrum negotium agatis. Prov. XXIV, 27: diligenter exerce agrum, ut postea aedifices domum tuam. Paul next says: aspire to live quietly. He is correcting the idle. First, he criticises their idleness; secondly, he indicates how they ought to curtail it; and finally, he provides a reason why they ought to curtail it. He says therefore, aspire to live quietly. “...loud and wayward, her feet do not stay at home” (Prov. 7: 11). “We were not idle when we were with you, we did not eat any one’s bread without paying, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you- (2 Thess. 3:7). Paul desires that they combat idleness by performing daily tasks; hence he remarks: to mind your own affairs. “Prepare your work outside, get everything ready for you in the field; and after that build your house” (Prov. 24:27). Dicit autem vestrum, sed numquid non alienum negotium est agendum? Et videtur quod sic. Rom. ult.: assistatis ei in quocumque negotio. Respondeo. Dicendum est, quod omnia possunt inordinate fieri, si fiant praeter ordinem rationis, tunc scilicet quando aliquis se improbe gerit, et ordinate, scilicet quando servatur ordo rationis, et in necessitate, et hoc est commendabile. Paul specifies your own affairs. Does this mean that they should take no part in other’s affairs? If so, he would be opposing what is clear in Romans (16:2) “Help her in whatever she may require from you.” I elaborate by pointing out that things occur in a disorderly manner if they are not governed within the limits of reason, for example, when somebody drives himself excessively; they occur in an orderly manner if the dictates of reason are observed in regulating them. The latter is commendable. Et operemini manibus vestris, id est, operando manibus vestris. Eccli. XXXIII, 29: multa mala docuit otiositas, et cetera. Ez. XVI, 49: haec fuit iniquitas Sodomae sororis tuae, superbia, saturitas panis, et abundantia, et otium ipsius et filiarum eius, et manum egeno et pauperi non porrigebant, et cetera. Et hoc est in praecepto omnibus illis, qui non habent alia unde licite vivere possunt; quia de praecepto naturae est, quod homo corpus sustentet, II Thess. III, 10: qui non vult operari, nec manducet. Huius est duplex ratio. Prima propter exemplum aliorum. Unde dicit ut et honeste, et cetera. Infideles enim videntes conversationem vestram sic otiosam, detestantur vos. I Tim. III, 7: oportet autem illum testimonium habere bonum ab his qui foris sunt, et cetera. Secunda ratio, ut non desideretis ea quae sunt aliorum; unde dicitur et nullius aliquid desideretis. Prov. XXI, 25: desideria occidunt pigrum. Eph. IV, 28: qui furabatur, iam non furetur, et cetera. Et ideo haec inquietudo si reprimatur, est in bonum exemplum, et in repressionem desiderii. To work with your hands. “Idleness teaches much evil” (Sir. 33:27). “This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, surfeit of good, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy” (Ez. 16:49). And this is a precept for all those who have no other means of getting the things which enable them to live properly; for it is a law of nature that man care for his body. “If any one will not work, let him not eat” (2 Thess. 3: 10). Now, there are two reasons for this. The first one comes from the duty to set an example for others; so Paul says: so that you may command the respect of outsiders. For the unbelievers see your idle life and they detest you. “He must be well thought of by outsiders, or he may fall into reproach and the snare of the devil” (1 Tim. 3:7). The second reason comes from the fact that you should not covet those things that belong to others, and so it is said, and be dependent on nobody. “The desire of the sluggard kills him” (Prov. 21:25). “Let the thief no longer steal but rather let him labor” (Eph. 4:28). And therefore, if this idleness is overcome, it will result both in good example and in the repression of desire.
4-2 Supra induxit ad continentiam a cupiditatibus, et compescuit ab otiositate, hic compescit ab inordinata tristitia. Primo praemittens monitionem, secundo assignat rationem, ibi si enim credimus. Prohibentur ergo, ne scilicet inordinate tristentur, unde dicit sicut et caeteri. Videtur autem apostolus bene concedere tristari pro mortuis, aliquid tamen prohibere, ne scilicet inordinate tristentur, unde dicit sicut et caeteri. Quod enim aliquis tristetur, scilicet de mortuis, habet pietatem. Primo propter defectum corporis deficientis. Debemus enim eos diligere, et corpus propter animam. Eccli. XLI, v. 1: o mors, quam amara est memoria tua homini pacem habenti, et cetera. Secundo propter discessum et separationem, quae dolorosa est amicis. I Reg. XV, 32: siccine separat amara mors? Tertio quia per mortem fit commemoratio peccati. Rom. VI, 23: stipendia peccati mors. Quarto quia fit commemoratio mortis nostrae. Eccle. VII, 3: in illa enim finis cunctorum admonetur hominum, et vivens cogitat quid futurum sit, et cetera. Sic ergo tristandum, sed moderate. Unde Eccli. XXII, 11: modicum plora supra mortuum, quoniam requievit, et cetera. Et ideo dicit sicut et caeteri qui spem non habent, scilicet quia isti credunt huiusmodi defectus perpetuos, sed nos non. Phil. III, 20-21: salvatorem expectamus dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, qui reformabit corpus humilitatis nostrae, configuratum corpori claritatis suae. Unde signanter dicit de dormientibus. Io. XI, v. 11: Lazarus amicus noster dormit. In what went before Paul aimed at bringing them to the practice of continence in place of their concupiscence, and at curtailing their idleness. Now he urges them to lessen their inordinate sorrow. First, he provides a warning; secondly, he assigns a reason for the warning (4:13b). Therefore, he forbids them to indulge in inordinate sorrow when he tells them, you may not grieve. It seems, though, that the Apostle views sorrow for the dead benignly. Nevertheless, he cautions them not to grieve overmuch, as others. Someone who grieves for the dead does possess compassion. A person grieves first because of the dissolution of the frail body; for we ought to take care of the body for the sake of the soul. “O death, how bitter is the reminder of you to one who lives at peace among his possessions” (Sir. 41:1). Secondly, a person grieves because of the separation and departure which is so painful to friends. “Surely the bitterness of death is past” (1 Sam. 15:32). Thirdly, we mourn because death reminds us of our own sin. “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Fourthly, because death reminds us of our own death. “For this is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to heart (Ec. 7:2). So moderate sorrow is permitted. “Weep less bitterly for the dead, for he has attained rest” (Sir. 22:11). Therefore, he says, as others do who have no hope, that is, because these people believe that these negative aspects of death are eternal; but we do not believe so. “Our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Phil. 3:20). So he says clearly, concerning those who are asleep. “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep” (Jn. 11:11). Dormiens enim tria facit. Cubat in spe surgendi. Ps. X: numquid qui dormit non adiiciet ut resurgat? Sic et qui moritur in fide. Item in dormiente anima vigilat. Cant. c. V, 2: ego dormio, et cor meum vigilat, et cetera. Item postea homo resurget magis refectus et vegetus. Sic sancti resurgent incorruptibiles, I Cor. XV, 52. A person who decides to go to sleep does three things. First, he lies down with the hope of eventually getting up: “Shall he that sleeps not rise again from where he lies” (Ps. 40:9). A person who passes away abiding in the faith feels the same way. Secondly, the soul in a sleeping person remains vigilant. I slept, but my heart was awake” (Cant. 5:2). Thirdly, after sleep a man gets up much more refreshed and restored. In this same manner the saints will rise incorruptibly, as we read in 1 Cor. 15. Deinde cum dicit si enim credimus, ponitur ratio monitionis. Et primo astruit resurrectionem; secundo excludit dilationis suspicionem, ibi hoc enim vobis; tertio ponit resurrectionis ordinem, ibi quoniam ipse dominus. Sciendum est autem quod apostolus I Cor. XV, 12 ex resurrectione Christi astruit nostram, quia illa est causa nostrae, unde arguit per locum a causa. Et resurrectio Christi non est causa solum, sed etiam exemplar: quia verbum caro factum suscitat corpora, verbum vero simpliciter animas. Etenim eo quod Christus accepit carnem, et in ea resurrexit, est exemplar nostrae resurrectionis. Then when Paul says, for since we believe, he provides a reason for the warning he had given. First, he establishes the resurrection; secondly, he rules out the faint suspicion of a delay (4:15); thirdly, be outlines the order of resurrection (4:16). It should be realized that the Apostle constructs the case for our resurrection on the basis of the resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15), for Christ’s resurrection is the cause of our resurrection. So Paul makes his point here by a causal analysis. Christ’s resurrection is not only the cause but also the pattern of our resurrection. The Word made flesh revives our bodies, while the Word as such revives our souls. Christ is the pattern of our resurrection in that Christ assumed flesh, and also rose embodied in flesh. Nec solum hoc est, sed et causa efficiens: quia quae humanitate Christi gesta sunt, non solum sunt gesta secundum virtutem humanitatis, sed virtute divinitatis sibi unitae. Unde sicut tactus suus curabat leprosum inquantum instrumentum divinitatis, sic resurrectio Christi causa est nostrae resurrectionis non inquantum corporis, sed inquantum resurrectio corporis uniti verbo vitae. Et ideo apostolus, hoc firmiter supponens, sic arguit: si enim credimus, firmiter, quod Christus resurrexit, ita et eos qui dormierunt, et cetera. Illi dormierunt per Iesum, qui facti sunt conformes morti eius per Baptismum. Vel per Iesum, quos secum adducet, scilicet cum ipso Christo. Zac. XIV, 5: et veniet dominus Deus meus omnesque sancti eius cum eo, et cetera. Is. III, 14: dominus ad iudicium veniet cum senibus populi sui et principibus eius. Nor is Christ only the pattern; He is also the efficient cause of our resurrection, for the things done by Christ’s humanity were done not only by the power of His human nature, but also by virtue of His divinity united in Him. just as His touch cured the leper as an instrument of His divinity, so also Christ’s resurrection is the cause of our resurrection, not merely because it was a body that arose, but a body united to the Word of life. So the Apostle, firmly presupposing this, declares, for since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep [ those who have fallen asleep through Jesus ]. Those have slept through Jesus who were conformed to His death through baptism; or he says through Jesus, because God will bring them with Him, that is, with Christ Himself. “The Lord your God will come, and all the holy ones with him” (Zech. 14:5). “The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people” (Is. 3:14). Deinde cum dicit hoc enim, excludit dilationem resurrectionis; quasi dicat: scimus quod resurgent et venient cum Christo, ideo non debemus tantum dolere. Non enim illi, qui invenientur vivi, prius consequentur resurrectionis gloriam, quam mortui. Et ideo hoc enim vobis dicimus, non ex coniectura hominis, sed in verbo domini, cuius verba non deficient, quia nos qui vivimus, id est, illi, qui sunt vivi, non prius sortientur consolationem ex adventu Christi, quam mortui. Et ideo dicit nos qui vivimus. Then when he says, for this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, he rules out a delay in regard to the resurrection, as if saying: We know that they shall rise and shall come with Christ; therefore, we ought not to grieve so much. For those who shall be found alive will not achieve the glory of resurrection before those who are dead. And for this reason he says: for this we declare to you, not as the conjecture of a man, but by the word of the Lord, whose words do not fail. That we who are alive, that is, those who are living, shall not receive the consolation accompanying the coming of Christ before the dead. As a result Paul says, we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. Ex quo videtur non intelligentibus, quod apostolus hic dicat, quod adhuc apostolo vivente hoc fieret, et hoc etiam Thessalonicensibus videbatur. Et ideo scribit eis aliam epistolam, in qua dicit, II Thess. II, 2: non moveamini a vestro sensu, et cetera. It would seem to those who do not fully understand what the Apostle is saying here that all this shall come about while the Apostle is still alive; it seemed this way to the Thessalonians. Because of this misunderstanding he wrote them a second letter in which he says: “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ... we beg you, brethren, not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or by word, or by letter purporting to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come” (2 Th. 2:2). Sed non loquitur ex persona sua, et tunc existentium, sed eorum qui tunc vivi reperientur. Qui residui sumus, id est, erunt residui post persecutionem Antichristi. Non praeveniemus eos, id est, non prius recipient consolationem. I Cor. XV, 52: in momento enim, in ictu oculi, in novissima tuba, et cetera. But he is not talking at present about himself and his contemporaries, but about those who shall be found alive at the time of Christ’s coming. We who are left, that is, those who shall be left after the persecution of the Antichrist, shall not precede those, that is, those who are living shall not receive their consolation first. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet” (1 Cor. 15:52). Deinde cum dicit quoniam ipse, etc., ostendit ordinem resurrectionis et modum. Primo proponit resurrectionis causam; secundo eius ordinem et modum, ibi et mortui; tertio concludit eorum consolationem, ibi itaque consolamini invicem. Then when he says, for the Lord himself will descend from heaven, he shows the order and manner of the resurrection. First, he discusses the cause of the resurrection; secondly, he presents its order and manner (4:16); thirdly, he ends with a consideration of their mutual consolation (4:18). Primum ostendit dicens ipse dominus. Ubi notandum est, quod, sicut dictum est, causa communis resurrectionis est resurrectio Christi. Sed si dicas, quod iam fuit, quare ergo non sequitur effectus eius? Respondeo. Dicendum est, quod est causa resurrectionis nostrae secundum quod operatur in virtute divina. Deus autem operatur per ordinem suae sapientiae. Tunc ergo erit nostra resurrectio, quando hoc disposuit ordo divinae sapientiae. He proves his first point by saying, the Lord himself. It should be noted here, as was already mentioned before, that the cause of the general resurrection is Christ’s resurrection. But if you should say: since it has already occurred (that is the resurrection of Christ), why does not its effect follow? I would reply to this by saying that it is the cause of our resurrection according to the activity of the divine power. God, however, acts according to the order of His wisdom. Therefore, our resurrection will occur when the order of divine wisdom shall determine it. Ut ostendat quod Christus sit causa, ostendit quod ad praesentiam Christi omnes mortui resurgent. Ad resurrectionem autem communem faciendam triplex causa concurrit. Una principalis, scilicet virtus divinitatis; secunda instrumentalis, scilicet virtus humanitatis Christi; tertia quasi ministerialis, scilicet virtus Angelorum, qui habebunt aliquem effectum in resurrectione. Augustinus enim probat, quod ea quae fiunt nunc per creaturas corporales, fiunt a Deo eis mediantibus; in resurrectione vero aliqua per eos sunt agenda, sicut collectio pulveris; sed reintegratio corporum, et unio animae ad corpus, erit immediate per Christum. In order to prove that Christ is the cause of the resurrection, he shows that all the dead shall rise in the presence of Christ. Three causes cooperate in the accomplishment of the general resurrection: the principal cause is the divine power; the second cause is instrumental, that is, the power of the humanity of Christ. The third cause might be termed a ministering cause in that the power of the angels will have some effect in the resurrection. For Augustine shows that the things that occur now by virtue of corporeal creatures actually occur through God, by their mediation. In the resurrection, some things shall be done through the angels, such as the collection of the dust. But the restoration of the bodies and the soul's reunion with the body will be accomplished immediately through Christ. Has ergo tres causas ponit. Primo humanitatem Christi gloriosam, dicens ipse dominus, et cetera. Act. I, 11: quemadmodum vidistis eum ascendentem in caelum, ita veniet. In iussu. In primo adventu venit ut obediens. Phil. II, 8: factus est obediens usque ad mortem. Et hoc, quia ille fuit adventus humilitatis, sed iste erit gloriae. Lc. XXI, 27: venit cum potestate magna et maiestate. Paul then presents these three causes. First, he sets forth the glorious humanity of Christ when he says, the Lord himself. “Jesus... will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Ac. 1:11). With a cry of command. In the first coming, he came as obedient. “He became obedient unto death” (Phil. 2:8). And that happened because it was the coming of humility; but this one will be the coming of glory. “Coming with power and great glory” (Lk. 21:27). Secundo virtutem Angelorum, cum dicit in voce Archangeli. Non quod operetur in voce eius, sed ministerio eius. Et dicit Archangeli, quia omnes Angeli sub uno Archangelo ministrant Ecclesiae. Apoc. XII, 7: hic est Michael princeps Ecclesiae. Vel in voce Archangeli, id est, Christi principis Angelorum. Is. c. IX: magni consilii Angelus. Et in voce eius corporali, vel spirituali erit resurrectio. Io. V, 28: audient vocem filii Dei, scilicet: surgite, mortui, et venite ad iudicium, et illi voci corporali obedient. Secondly, he presents the power of the angels when he says, with the archangel’s call, not that anything is done by his voice, but rather by his ministry. He says, archangel’s for all angels minister to the Church under one archangel. “This is Michael, the prince of the Church” (Rev. 12). [There is no accepted text that has this reading for a verse in the 12th chapter of the Revelation.] Or perhaps, with the archangel’s call, that is, Christ’s, Who is Prince of the angels. “Wonderful Counselor” (Is. 9:6). And the resurrection shall be through Christ’s voice, corporeal or spiritual. “(They) shall hear the voice of the son of God” (Jn. 5:28); in other words, the dead shall rise and come to judgment, and they shall obey the bodily voice. Tertio virtutem divinitatis, cum dicit in tuba Dei. Haec est virtus divina, quia dicitur vox Archangeli, inquantum fiet ministerio Archangelorum, et tuba Dei, inquantum virtute divina fiet. Et dicitur tuba propter eius sonoritatem, quae provenit a Deo suscitans mortuos. Item tuba congruit ad officia, cuius usus fuit multiplex in veteri testamento, ut ad bellum: et tunc pugnabit pro eo orbis terrarum, Sap. V, 21. Item fiebat usus eius ad solemnitates, sic ista ad caelestem Ierusalem. Item ad movendum castra, et tunc sancti movebunt castra. Unde si sit vox corporalis, dicitur tuba propter has rationes; vel non erit vox corporalis, sed virtus divina Christi praesens et manifesta toti mundo. Thirdly, he considers the divine power when he says, with the sound of the trumpet of God. This is the divine power which is referred to as the voice of the archangel insofar as it will act through the ministry of the archangel. It is called the trumpet of God since the resurrection does come about by divine power. It is called a trumpet because of its resonance, which is derived from God who raises the dead. In addition, the trumpet, which had many uses in the Old Testament, brings people together for war: “And creation will fight alongside him” (Wis. 5:20). The trumpet was also used for celebrations, as it will be employed in the heavenly Jerusalem. In addition, the trumpet was used for deploying the armies; in this way holy men assisted in the movement of troops. And so if it is a sound that you can hear, it is called a trumpet; but if it is not a sound, then it is the divine power of Christ present and manifest to the whole world. Deinde cum dicit et mortui, ponitur ordo resurrectionis, et circa hoc tria facit, quia primo ponit resurrectionem mortuorum; secundo occursum vivorum, ibi deinde; tertio beatitudinem sanctorum utrorumque, ibi et sic semper. Then when Paul says, and the dead in Christ will rise first, he mentions the order that the resurrection will follow. In doing so he makes three points. First, he treats the resurrection of the dead; secondly, he considers the meeting of the living with Christ (4:17); finally, he refers to the happiness of the saints with Christ (4:17b). Occasione horum verborum crediderunt aliqui quod futuri in fine numquam morerentur, ut dicit Hieronymus in epistola, propter hoc quod dicit deinde nos, etc.: alias enim frustra distingueret viventes a morientibus. Sed contra I Cor. XV, 51: omnes quidem resurgemus. Item: sicut in Adam omnes moriuntur, etc., ut habetur Rom. V, 12 ergo mors ad omnes pertransit. Because of these words some people believed that the last people alive would never die, as Jerome mentions in his letter. For Paul has said, then we who are alive... shall be caught up together. It might seem that there would be no other reason for distinguishing the living from the dead. But on the contrary: [“We shall all indeed rise”] (1 Cor. 15:51). “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22). “So death spread to all men” (Rom. 5:12). Dicendum est ergo, quod aliqui invenientur vivi in tempore illo, quo Christus veniet ad iudicium; sed in illo momento temporis morientur et statim resurgent. Et ideo propter modicam interpolationem reputantur viventes. Sed tunc est quaestio, quia dicitur hic et mortui, qui in Christo sunt, resurgent primi, et deinde nos, et cetera. Ergo prius resurgent mortui, quam vivi occurrant Christo, et in hoc occursu morientur. Ergo prius aliqui resurgent et sic non erit omnium resurrectio simul, quod est contra illud I Cor. XV, 52: in momento, in ictu oculi, in novissima tuba, et cetera. And so I say that some shall be alive at the time when Christ shall come for judgment, but in that moment they shall die and immediately afterwards they will rise. Because of the minimal time involved they are regarded as living. But then another problem presents itself because it is said: and the dead in Christ will rise first and then we who are alive. So it seems that the dead will rise before the living will meet Christ, and that the living will die when they meet Him. So it appears that some will rise ahead of these others, and that there will not be a resurrection of everyone at the same time. This is contrary, however, to what is found in 1 Cor. (15:22): “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” Respondeo. Dicendum est, quod duplex est hic opinio: quidam enim dicunt quod resurrectio non erit simul, sed primo mortui venient cum Christo. Et tunc, in adventu Christi, vivi rapientur in nubibus, et in illo raptu morientur et resurgent. Et ideo quod dicitur esse in momento, intelligitur, quia in modico tempore fiet. Et si dicatur, quod erit in instanti, tunc non est hoc referendum ad totam resurrectionem omnium, sed ad resurrectionem singularium, quia singulus resurget in instanti. Alii vero dicunt quod omnes simul et in instanti resurgent. Quod ergo dicit: resurgent primi, denotat ordinem dignitatis, non temporis. Sed videtur hoc difficile, quia de vivis multi erunt probati in persecutione Antichristi, qui dignitate praecellent multos prius defunctos. I wish to point out that there are two opinions on this matter. For some say that the resurrection will not take place at the same time for everybody, but that first the dead will come with Christ, and during the time that Christ is coming the living will be taken up into the clouds and they will die and rise while they are being taken up. So that what is said to happen in a moment may be understood as occurring in a brief amount of time. And if you insist that it will happen in an instant, then it should not be applied to the total resurrection of all, but rather to the resurrection of individuals, for every individual will rise in an instant. But there are others, who maintain that everyone will rise at the same time and in an instant. They feel that where Paul says will rise first, he denotes the order of dignity, not the order of time. This does seem difficult to maintain for many still alive will suffer in the persecution of the Antichrist and be more distinguished than those who had died before. Et ideo videtur aliter esse dicendum, quod omnes morientur et omnes resurgent, et quod simul. Nec apostolus dicit hic quod illi prius resurgent, quam isti, sed quod illi prius resurgent, quam isti occurrant. Apostolus enim non ponit ordinem resurrectionis ad resurrectionem, sed ordinem ad raptum, vel ad occurrentiam. Nam primo veniente domino morientur qui invenientur vivi, et tunc statim cum illis, qui prius mortui fuerant resurgentes rapientur in nubibus, etc., ut apostolus hic dicit. And so it seems necessary to answer the question in a different way, saying that all will die and all will rise at the same time. For the Apostle does not say that the dead will rise first and then the living, but that the dead will rise before the living will meet Christ. Therefore be is not speaking about the resurrection in terms of the order in which they shall rise, but of the order in which they will be taken up to meet Christ. For when the Lord does come, first those who are found alive will die and then, immediately together with those who had died before, they will rise up and be taken up into the clouds to meet Christ, as Paul clearly says. Est autem haec inter bonos et malos differentia, quia mali remanebunt in terra, quam dilexerunt, boni rapientur ad Christum, quem quaesierunt. Matth. XXIV, 28: ubi fuerit corpus, ibi congregabuntur et aquilae. In resurrectione etiam sancti conformabuntur Christo, non solum quantum ad gloriam corporis, Phil. III, sed etiam quantum ad situm, quia Christus erit in nube. Act. I, 9: et nubes suscepit eum; et: quemadmodum vidistis eum, et cetera. Sic et sancti a nubibus rapientur. But there is a difference between the good and the evil people, because the evil people will remain on the earth that they loved, while the good people will be taken up to the Christ whom they had sought. “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together” (Matt. 24:28). In the time of the resurrection the saints will be conformed to Christ, not only with regard to the glory of the body (Phil. 3), but also with respect to place, for Christ will be in a cloud. “A cloud took him out of their sight” (Ac. 1:9), and “Jesus will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Ac. 1:11). And so the saints too will be taken up into the clouds. Et quare hoc? Ad ostendendum eorum deiformitatem. In veteri enim testamento gloria domini apparuit per modum nubis. III Reg. VIII, 10: dominus venit in nebula. Hae nubes erunt praeparatae virtute divina ad ostensionem gloriae sanctorum. Vel ipsa fulgentia corpora gloriosorum videbuntur malis quaedam nubes, qui erunt in terra. Matth. c. XXV, 6: ecce sponsus venit, exite obviam ei. The reason for this is to show their likeness to God. For in the Old Testament the glory of the Lord appeared in the form of a cloud. [The Lord said that he would dwell in a “cloud”] (1 Kg. 8:12). These clouds will be prepared by divine power in order to show the glory of the saints. Or, the resplendent bodies of the glorified will appear as clouds to the evil people who will remain on earth. “Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him” (Matt. 25:6). Deinde cum dicit et sic semper, ostendit beatitudinem sanctorum, quia semper erunt cum domino, eo fruentes. Io. XIV, v. 3: iterum veniam et accipiam vos ad meipsum, ut ubi ego sum, et vos sitis. Hoc sancti desiderant. Phil. I, 23: desiderium habens dissolvi et esse cum Christo. Then when Paul says, and so we shall always be with the Lord, he shows the beatitude of the saints, for they shall always be with the Lord and derive constant enjoyment from Him. “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (Jn. 14:3). The saints desire this: “My desire is to depart and be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23). Deinde cum dicit itaque, etc., concludit consolationem habendam esse de mortuis, dicens: ex quo sancti resurgunt, et nullum detrimentum consequuntur, ergo de mortuis consolamini. Is. XL, 1: consolamini, consolamini, popule meus, dicit dominus Deus vester. Then when he says, therefore comfort one another with these words, Paul concludes that they should comfort one another about the dead. He feels that since the saints will rise without suffering any loss, the Thessalonians should comfort one another about the dead. “Comfort, comfort my people, says’ your God” (Is. 40:1).
5-1 Supra correxit in eis corrigenda, hic monet eos in futurum, et primo ponit monitionem; secundo orationem, ibi ipse autem Deus. Haec autem duo sunt nobis necessaria. Nam quia bona quae facimus sunt ex libero arbitrio, ideo indiget homo monitione, et quoniam sunt etiam ex gratia, ideo oratione. In what he had written before, Paul corrected them in matters which needed to be improved upon, and now he begins to instruct them concerning the future. He first gives them a warning and then provides a prayer with the words, may the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly. These two things are indeed necessary for us. For the good deeds that we do are the result of free will, and so a man could profit from a warning. And since these deeds are also the result of grace, man needs prayer as well. Circa primum duo facit, quia primo hortatur, ut praeparent se ad futurum iudicium; secundo ostendit praeparandi modum, ibi propter quod consolamini. Iterum prima in duas, quia primo ostendit qualis sit conditio futuri iudicii; secundo qualiter praeparent se ad illud, ibi igitur non dormiamus. Item prima in duas, quia primo praemittit conditionem futuri iudicii; secundo exponit, ibi cum enim. Item primo quietat eorum sollicitudinem circa scientiam futuri adventus; secundo ostendit quid circa illum sciant, ibi ipsi enim. Concerning the first point he does two things: Paul first urges the Thessalonians to prepare themselves for the coming judgment; secondly, he shows them how they should prepare themselves (5:11). In addition, he divides the first part into two: he points out a feature of the coming judgment and then he shows in what manner they ought to prepare themselves for the judgment (5:6). There is also a subdivision of the first section into two further parts that include this feature of the coming judgment and then an explanation (5:3). In the first part Paul puts to rest their concern for knowledge about the future coming, and then treats what they did know about it (5:2). Dicit ergo: necesse erat, quod scriberem de praemissis, quia indiguistis. Sed de temporibus, scilicet aestate, hyeme, vel potius, quae tempora futura sint, non erat necesse, quia quaedam de his sunt soli divinae scientiae reservata. Matth. XXIV, 36 et Mc. XIII, v. 32: de die illa, vel hora nemo scit, neque Angeli in caelo, neque filius, nisi pater, et cetera. Act. I, 7: non est vestrum nosse tempora, vel momenta, et cetera. Eccle. VII, 1: quid necesse est homini maiora se quaerere, cum ignoret quid conducat sibi in vita, numero dierum vitae suae? et cetera. Et ideo hoc non est necesse scribere, quia illud quod sciendum est vos scitis, quia scilicet dies domini sicut fur in nocte, et cetera. First then, Paul says it was necessary for me to write about the preceding matters because you needed to know about them. But as to the times, that is, of summer, winter, or rather of what the future times will be, it was not necessary to write. Because certain of these things are reserved for only the divine knowledge: “But of that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mk. 13:32). “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority” (Ac. 1:7). “The more words, the more vanity, and what is man the better? For who knows what is good for man while be lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? (Ec,. 6:11). And so it is not necessary to write about this, for you yourselves know what ought to be known, that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. Sunt autem omnes dies domini. Ps. CXVIII, v. 91: ordinatione tua perseverant dies. Sed iste specialiter est domini, quia facit in omnibus suam voluntatem, quae impletur in bonis, qui perducuntur ad finem praescitum a Deo, scilicet salutem. I Tim. II, 4: vult omnes homines salvos fieri, et cetera. In malis, quia punientur. Ps. LXXIV, 3: dum accepero tempus, ego iustitias iudicabo. In fact, all days depend on the Lord: “By thy appointment they stand this day” (Ps. 119:91). But this day especially belongs to the Lord, because His will is fulfilled in everyone: it is accomplished in the good people who are led to salvation as an end foreknown by God: “Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (I Tim. 2:4); and in the evil people that are punished: “At the set time which I appoint I will judge with equity” (Ps. 75:2). Iste veniet sicut fur, id est, ex impraemeditatione. Lc. XIII, 36: si sciret paterfamilias qua hora fur veniret, et cetera. II Petr. c. III, 10: adveniet dies domini sicut fur. Apoc. III, 3: veniam tibi tamquam fur. Quomodo autem dies dicitur venire in nocte? Sed sciendum quod utrumque est, quia in die venit propter manifestationem cordium I Cor. c. IV, 5: quoadusque veniat dominus, qui et illuminabit abscondita tenebrarum, et manifestabit consilia cordium, sed in nocte propter incertitudinem. Matth. XXV, 6: media nocte clamor factus est, ecce sponsus venit, et cetera. Incertum enim est qua hora erit. It will come like a thief, that is, unannounced: “If the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would have been awake” (Lk. 12:39). “The day of the Lord will come like a thief” (2 Pet. 3: 10). “1 will come like a thief” (Apoc. 3:3). But why is it said that the day shall come during the night? It should be understood that both are involved because He comes during the day for the uncovering of our hearts: “Before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart” (1 Cor. 4:5); but He comes at night because of the surprise element: “Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him” (Matt. 25:6). Actually, it is not certain at what hour it will occur. Deinde cum dicit cum enim dixerint, exponit quae dixerat, et primo quantum ad malos; secundo quantum ad bonos, ibi vos autem. Circa primum duo facit. Primo describit praesumptionem malorum; secundo periculum morae. Dicit ergo: veniet sicut fur, quia ex improviso. Cum enim dixerint pax, quantum ad praesentia, id est, dum tranquille vivunt, sic decipiuntur. Sap. XIV, 22: in magno viventes inscientiae bello, tot et tam magna mala pacem appellant. Et securitas, quantum ad futura. Lc. XII, 19: anima mea, multa habes bona reposita in annos plurimos, requiesce, comede, bibe, et epulare. Then when he says: When people say ‘There is peace and security,’ he explains the things he had mentioned. First he refers to the evil people; secondly, to the good people (5:4). In regard to the first division he does two things. He first describes the false confidence of the evil people and secondly he refers to the danger of a delay. So Paul says: the Lord will come like a thief, because He shall come unexpectedly: When people say ‘there is peace,’ they shall be deceived in regard to the present time when they are living tranquilly: “But they live in great strife due to ignorance, and they call such great evils peace” (Wis. 14:22). Security has reference to the future: “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry” (Lk. 12:19). Sed contra Lc. XXI, 26: arescentibus hominibus prae timore et expectatione, quae supervenient universo orbi, et cetera. Ergo nulla securitas. Solutio est duplex. Una quae est Augustini, quae talis est: in tempore illo aliqui erunt boni, et affligentur, lugebunt, et expectabunt; et de hoc dicitur Lc. XXI, 26: arescentibus ex carentia voluptatum, et abundantia malorum, etc., sed in malis erit pax et securitas. Alia datur solutio in Glossa. But in contrast: “Men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world” (Lk. 21:26). Thus there is no security to be had. There are two explanations for this. The one offered by Augustine is that at that time some shall be good, but they will be afflicted, they will mourn and they will wait expectantly; and this is referred to in the quotation as “fainting” because of the absence of pleasures and the multiplicity of evils. But there will be peace and security among the evil people. The other explanation is found in the Gloss. Deinde cum dicit tunc repentinus, describit periculum a quatuor. Primo quia subitum, ibi repentinus. Is. XXX, 13: subito dum non speratur, veniet contritio eius. Secundo quia mortiferum, ibi interitus. Iob XVIII, 14: calcet super eum quasi rex interitus, et cetera. Tertio afflictivum, ibi dolor. Ps. XLVII, 7: ibi dolores ut parturientis, et cetera. Quarto inevitabile, ibi et non effugient. Iob XI, 20: effugium peribit ab eis. Ab ira Dei nunc est effugere ad eius misericordiam, ibi vero non est tempus misericordiae, sed iustitiae. Then when he says, then sudden destruction will come upon them, he presents four aspects of the peril. First, that it will be unexpected, where he says: sudden, “like a break in a high wall,... whose crash comes suddenly, in an instant” (Is. 30:13). Secondly, he describes the peril as bringing death when he says destruction. [Destruction will tread upon him as a King” (Job 18:14)] Thirdly, he refers to the peril as distressing, and he uses the word travail: “Anguish as of a woman in travail” (Ps. 48:6). Fourthly, he presents the peril as inevitable when he comments: and there will be no escape. Now is the time to escape from the wrath of God to the mercy of God, for the end of the world will not be a time of mercy but of justice. Deinde cum dicit vos autem, exponit quae dixerat quo ad bonos, et duo facit, quia primo excipit bonos a consortio malorum; secundo rationem assignat, ibi omnes enim vos. Dicit ergo: non estis in tenebris, quia illuminati estis per Christum de illo die, ideo vobis non est improvisus. Io. VIII, 12: qui sequitur me, non ambulat in tenebris, sed habebit lumen vitae. Et huius ratio est, ibi: omnes enim vos filii lucis estis. Astruit enim quod sunt filii lucis et diei. Filii autem alicuius rei in Scriptura dicuntur aliqui propter abundantiam in re illa. Is. V, 1: in cornu filio olei, id est, habente multum oleum. Qui ergo participant multum de die et luce dicuntur eorum filii. Haec lux est fides Christi. Io. VIII, v. 12: ego sum lux mundi, et cetera. Io. XII, 36: credite in lucem, ut filii lucis sitis. Then Paul says, but you are not in darkness, brethren, and explains what he had mentioned in regard to the good people; and he does this by making two points: first, he excludes the good people from the company of the evil people and secondly, he provides a reason for this (5:5). And so he remarks, you are not in darkness, for you have been enlightened by Christ concerning that day; this is not an unexpected event for you. “He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12). And the reason for this is given at the words: for you are all sons of light. He also makes the point that they are the sons of the light and of the day. According to the Scriptures, someone is said to be the son of something because he abounds in that thing. “My beloved had a vineyard on a [hill, the son of oil, i.e., a] very fertile hill” (Is. 5:1), that is, it was land which was very rich. Those who participate to a great extent in the day and in the light are called their sons. And this light is the faith of Christ. “I am the light of the world” (Jn. 8:12), and again: “Believe in the light, that you may become sons of light!’ (Jn. 12:36). Item diei. Sicut enim ex luce fit dies, ita ex fide Christi fit dies, scilicet honestas bonorum operum. Rom. XIII, 12: nox praecessit, et cetera. Et ideo non sumus filii noctis, id est, infidelitatis, neque tenebrarum, id est, peccatorum. Rom. XIII, 12: abiiciamus ergo a nobis opera tenebrarum, et cetera. In addition he says, of the day, for just as out of the early light comes the fullness of the day, so out of the faith of Christ comes the day which is the brilliance of good actions. “The night is far gone, the day is at hand” (Rom. 13:12). And because of this, you are not sons of the night, that is, involved in infidelity; or of darkness, that is, of sins. “Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Rom. 13:12). Deinde cum dicit igitur non dormiamus, etc., ostendit qualiter se praeparent ad illum adventum, et primo qualiter per ultionem malorum, secundo per observantiam bonorum, ibi induti. Then when he says: so then, let us not sleep, he shows them how they should prepare themselves for that coming. First, they should prepare themselves for it by keeping away from anything evil; secondly, they should prepare themselves by regularly doing something virtuous (5:8). Circa primum duo facit, quia primo ponit monitionem, secundo eius rationem, ibi qui enim dormiunt. Dicit igitur: ex quo dies domini est sicut fur, Lc. XII, 39: si sciret paterfamilias qua hora fur veniret, vigilaret utique, ergo vos, quia scitis, vigiletis. Unde dicit igitur non dormiamus, somno peccati. Eph. V, 14: surge, qui dormis, et exurge a mortuis. Item nec pigritiae. Prov. VI, 9: usquequo, piger, dormis? et cetera. In making the first point he does two things. First, he provides a warning, and next he sets down the reason for the warning (5:7). Paul says, therefore, that for this reason the day of the Lord is like a thief: “If the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would have been awake” (Lk. 12:39). And so you know you ought to be vigilant. He adds: so then ‘ let us not sleep in the sleep of sin: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead” (Eph. 5:14). “How long will you he there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?” (Prov. 6:9). Sed vigilemus, per sollicitudinem. Matth. XXIV, 42: vigilate itaque, et cetera. Et ad hoc est necessarium, quod sobrii simus, ut et corpus et mens sint sobria, id est, non occupata voluptatibus, et curis mundi. Lc. XXI, 34: attendite vobis, ne forte graventur corda vestra crapula et ebrietate. I Petr. c. V, 8: sobrii estote, et vigilate. Ratio autem huius est ex temporis congruitate, quia qui dormiunt, vel ebrii sunt, aliquid faciunt in nocte. Sed nos non sumus in nocte. Ergo, et cetera. Dicit ergo qui enim dormiunt, nocte dormiunt, idest, tempus noctis deputant quieti, diem vero operationi. Ps. CIII, 22: ortus est sol, et congregati sunt, et in cubilibus suis collocabuntur. Et rursum ibi, 23: exibit homo ad opus suum, et ad operationem suam usque ad vesperam. But let us keep awake out of solicitude. “Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matt. 24:42). And to this end it is necessary that we be sober in order that both the body and the mind be sober, that is, free from the pleasures and cares of the world. “But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness” (Lk. 21:34). “Be sober, be watchful” (I Pet. 5:8). And the reason for this is the suitability of a certain time; those who sleep or get drunk do so at night. But the night is not for us: so then, let us not sleep, as others do. And so Paul says: for those who sleep, sleep at night, that is, at night they get some rest and during the day they are active. “When the sun I rises, they get them away and lie down in their dens” (Ps. 104:32). And again “Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until the evening” (Ps. 104:23). Item abstinent aliqui a vino in die propter negotia exercenda, sed de nocte tantum non curant. Iob XXIV, 15: oculus adulteri observat caliginem. Somnus ergo et ebrietas est nocti conveniens, eo quod nocte infidelitatis et tenebris peccatorum occupati, sunt ebrii, per amorem praesentium non habentes spem futurorum. Eph. IV, 19: desperantes tradiderunt se impudicitiae in operationem immunditiae omnis in avaritia, et cetera. Nos autem qui diei sumus, id est pertinentes ad diem honestatis et fidei, simus sobrii. Rom. XIII, 13: honeste ambulemus in die. There are also some who do not drink during the day because of the business which must be accomplished; but they are not so careful at night. “The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight- (Job 24:15). So sleep and drunkenness are suitable to nighttime, since drunkards are occupied with sin during the night of unbelief and the darkness of sin without having any regard for the future because of the love they have for present concerns. “They have become callous and have given themselves up to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of uncleanness” (Eph. 4:19). But, since we belong to the day, that is, belong to the daytime of honesty and faith, let us be sober. “Let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day” (Rom. 13:13). Deinde cum dicit induti, etc., ostendit quomodo se praeparent per bona; et primo ponit monitionem generalem; secundo specialem, ibi propter quod. Item prima in duas, quia primo ponit ipsam monitionem; secundo rationem eius, ibi quoniam non posuit. Sunt autem in homine duo principalia membra, quae consueverunt in bellis protegi, scilicet cor, quod est principium vitae, et caput, scilicet principium motus exterioris, a quo sunt sensus, et aliquo modo nervi. Et protegitur cor lorica, caput galea. Spiritualis vita in nobis est Christus, per quem anima vivit, et dominus in nobis per fidem habitat. Eph. III, 17: habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris. Habitat etiam per charitatem, I Io. IV, 16: qui manet in charitate, in Deo manet, et Deus in eo, quae informat fidem. Et ideo debemus habere fidem et charitatem. Unde dicit loricam fidei et charitatis, quia protegit vitalia, et galeam, spem salutis, quae est principium motus spiritualis, quod est ex intentione finis, quem speramus assequi. Then when Paul says: Let us put on the breastplate of faith, he shows how they should prepare themselves through good actions. First, he sets down a general admonition, and then he issues a special admonition (5:11). He divides the first point into two aspects; he first sets down the admonition itself and then he gives a reason for it (5:9). There are in man two important parts of the body which were protected in wars-the heart, which is the source of life, and the head, which governs the body’s movements and is the seat of the senses and the center of the nervous system. The heart is protected by a breastplate and the head by a helmet. The life of the spirit in us is Christ, through whom the soul lives and the Lord dwells in us: “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love...” (Eph. 3:17). “He who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn. 4:16). Love gives life to faith. So we must have faith and love, and so Paul calls for the breastplate of faith and love, because it protects the vital parts of the body, and for a helmet the hope of salvation, for salvation is a spiritual motive force because it is the goal which we hope to attain. Deinde cum dicit quoniam non posuit nos, ostendit rationem quomodo in nobis operatur. Et primo ex praeordinatione divina, secundo ex gratia Christi, tertio ostendit modum consequendae salutis. Dicit ergo quoniam non posuit, id est, non ordinavit. Io. XV, 16: posui vos, scilicet sanctos, ut eatis, et cetera. Deus in iram, id est, ad hoc, ut consequamur eius iram. Sap. I, 13: Deus mortem non fecit. Ezech. XVIII, 23: numquid voluntatis meae est mors impii? Dicit dominus Deus, et cetera. Sed in acquisitionem, id est, ut acquiramus salutem. Matth. XI, 12: regnum caelorum vim patitur, et violenti rapiunt illud. I Petr. II, 9: vos estis genus electum, regale sacerdotium, et cetera. Et hoc per gratiam Christi, ideo dicit per dominum nostrum, et cetera. Act. IV, 12: non est aliud nomen sub caelo datum hominibus, in quo oporteat nos salvos fieri. Then when he says, for God has not destined us for wrath, he shows the manner in which God works in us; this is first shown to be out of divine preordination and then as derived from the grace of Christ. Finally, Paul treats the manner in which salvation is to be achieved. He begins with the words, God has not destined us, that is, God has not appointed us: “(I) appointed you that you should go and bear fruit” (Jn. 15:16); for wrath, that is, that we should deserve His wrath: “God did not make death” (Wis. 1:13). “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? (Ez. 18:23). But to obtain salvation, that is, that we might acquire salvation, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force” (Matt. 11: 12). “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people” (1 Pet. 2:9). And this is achieved through Christ’s grace; hence he says, through our Lord Jesus Christ. “For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Ac. 4:12). Qui mortuus est pro nobis, id est, salvavit nos, moriendo pro nobis. I Petr. III, 18: mortuus est iustus pro iniustis, ut offeret nos Deo mortificatos quidem carne, vivificatos autem spiritu. Et modus perveniendi est quia Christus docuit nos operando salutem nostram, et hoc moriendo et resurgendo. Rom. IV, 25: traditus est propter delicta nostra, et resurrexit propter iustificationem nostram. Et ideo dicit sive vigilemus, sive dormiamus, simul cum illo vivamus. Rom. XIV, 8: sive vivimus, sive morimur, domini sumus. Who died for us, that is, He redeemed us by dying for us. “The righteous (died) for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Pet. 3:18). And the manner of attaining salvation is also through Him, for Christ taught us this while working for our salvation, which He achieved by dying and rising again. “Who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). And so Paul says: so that whether we wake or sleep, we might live with him. “Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s (Rom. 14: 8). Deinde cum dicit propter quod, docet nos quomodo praeparemus nos quantum ad speciales conditiones personarum. Et circa hoc tria facit, quia primo ostendit quomodo se debeant habere ad aequales; secundo quomodo subditi se habeant ad praelatum, ibi rogamus autem; tertio quomodo praelati ad subditos, ibi rogamus autem. Then when he says, therefore encourage one another, he teaches us how we should behave toward special classes of people. And in this regard he makes three points; first, he shows how they should behave towards their equals; secondly, how they should be subject to their bishop (5:12). And finally, he shows how the bishops should behave toward their flock (5:14). Debemus autem aequalibus consolationem in adversis; unde dicit consolamini invicem. Item aedificationem in exemplis; unde dicit et aedificate, et cetera. Rom. XIV, 19: quae aedificationis sunt invicem custodiamus. To our equals we owe consolation in times of difficulty, and so he says, encourage one another. In addition, they should inspire them through example, and so be says, and build one another up. “Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Rom. 14:19). Subditi autem ad praelatos, primo debent beneficiorum recognitionem, secundo charitatem, tertio pacem. Unde ut noveritis, id est, ut recognoscatis beneficia eorum. Hebr. ult.: mementote praepositorum vestrorum, et cetera. Noveritis, inquam, primo, ex parte eorum, quia maximum laborem ferunt pro vobis. Unde dicit eos qui laborant inter vos, pro bono vestro. II Tim. II, 3: labora sicut bonus miles Christi, et cetera. Secundo ex parte Dei. Et ideo est habenda reverentia ad eos sicut ad Deum. Unde dicit et praesunt vobis in domino, id est, vice domini. II Cor. II, 10: ego si quid donavi vobis in persona Christi. Tertio ex parte vestra, quia sunt vobis utiles. Unde dicit: et monent vos, ut habeatis, et cetera. Ideo, secundo, debetis eis charitatem abundantius, idest prae aliis. Those who are subject to bishops owe them, first, the acknowledgement of blessings; secondly, charity; and thirdly, peace. Respect those who labor among you, that is, acknowledge their work: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God” (Heb. 13:7). And I say that you shall respect them first on their own behalf, because of the great labours they have borne for you. And so be makes mention of those who labour among you for your good. “Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:3). Secondly, you shall respect them on behalf of God, and because of this reverence is due to them as it is due to God. And so Paul remarks: and are over you in the Lord, that is, in the place of God. “If I have forgiven anything, it has been for your sake in the presence of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:10). Thirdly, you shall respect them on your own behalf, because they are useful to you; hence he says: and they admonish you. Furthermore, you owe them charity; hence, esteem them very highly in love, that is, before others. Tertio pacem propter opus illorum. Sed contra hoc quidam agunt. Amos V, 10: odio habuerunt in porta corripientem et cetera. Eccli. XIX, v. 5: qui odit correctionem, minuetur vita. Sed vos habete pacem propter opus correctionis, quod proprie spectat ad eorum officium. Ps. CXIX, 7: dum loquebar illis, impugnabant me gratis. Finally, because of their work, be at peace [with them]. Yet some act against this. “They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth” (Am. 5: 10). “One who rejoices in wickedness will be condemned” (Sir. 19:5). Nevertheless, you should be at peace with them because of their work of correction, for this work properly belongs to their office. I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war” (Ps. 120:7).
5-2 Supra ostendit quomodo subditi debent se habere ad praelatos, hic ostendit e converso. Et circa hoc duo facit, quia primo docet quomodo praelati ad sacerdotes subditos se debeant habere; secundo generaliter quomodo se debeant habere ad omnes, ibi videte ne quis. Sciendum est autem, quod cura praelatorum ad duo debet tendere, scilicet ad retrahendum alios a peccatis, et ad custodiendum seipsos. Earlier be showed them bow they ought to remain subject to their bishops. Here he makes the same point from another point of view. And concerning this he does two things. He first teaches how bishops should act toward their priests, and secondly he teaches them in general how they ought to behave towards everyone (5:15). It should be understood that the concern of bishops should be directed toward two things, that is, to prevent others from sinning and to safeguard themselves in this respect. Quantum ad primum, tria apostolus dicit. Tripliciter enim subditi possunt pati defectum. Primo in actu, secundo in voluntate, tertio in virtute. In treating the first point, Paul does three things; because there are three ways in which persons subject to authority may fail: first, in action; secondly, in the will; thirdly, in virtue. In actu autem, quando prorumpunt in actum peccati, et tunc sunt corrigendi. Et quamvis de omni peccato, specialiter tamen corrigendi sunt de peccato inquietudinis. Et ideo dicit corripite inquietos. II Thess. III, 7: non inquieti fuimus inter vos. Eccli. XIX, 17: corripe proximum antequam commineris, et da locum timori. They fail in action when they give themselves over to the act of sinning; and then they ought to be corrected. And, although they ought to be corrected concerning every sin, they should be corrected especially with respect to the sin of idleness, and so Paul remarks: admonish the idle. “We were not idle when we were with you” (2 Thess. 3:7). “Question your neighbor before you threaten him” (Sir. 19:17). In voluntate vero, quando non aggreditur magna, quia deiicitur propter adversa et peccata praecedentia. Unde dicit consolamini pusillanimes. Pusillanimis est non habens animum ad magna, timens ne deficiat. Is. XXXV, v. 4: dicite pusillanimis: confortamini et nolite timere. Iob IV, 4: vacillantes confirmaverunt manus tuae, et cetera. Their will may be at fault if no great tasks are undertaken because they are despondent as a result of their adversities and their earlier sins. Consequently Paul says, encourage the fainthearted. A person is considered fainthearted if he has no courage for great things because he is afraid of failing. “Say to those who are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not!” (Is. 35:4). “Your words have upheld him who was stumbling” (Job 4:4). In virtute autem, quando vel ex infirmitate peccant, vel debilitantur in bono actu, et isti sunt fovendi. Unde dicit suscipite, scilicet in visceribus charitatis fovendo, infirmos, quorum est virtus debilis, vel ad resistendum malis, vel ad faciendum bona. Rom. XV, 1: debemus nos firmiores, imbecillitates infirmorum sustinere. They fail in virtue, whenever they sin because of weakness or are halfhearted in a good act; and these people need to be encouraged. So Paul remarks, help, that is, befriend in all charity, the weak, for their power is weak for resisting evil or for doing charitable works. “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak” (Rom. 15:1). Praelatus autem debet se custodire a defectu cuiuscumque modi, et maxime ab impatientia quia ipse portat totum pondus multitudinis. Num. XI, 14: non possum solus sustinere omnem hanc multitudinem, quia gravis est mihi, et cetera. Et ideo dicit patientes estote ad omnes. Prov. XIX, 11: doctrina viri per patientiam noscitur. Ps. XCI, 15: bene patientes erunt, ut annuntient. A bishop ought to guard himself against a fault of any kind, and mainly against impatience, for he is bearing the fall burden of the group. “I am not able to carry all this people alone, the burden is too heavy for me” (Num. 11: 14). Hence he says, be patient with them all. “Good sense makes a man slow to anger” (Prov. 19:11). Deinde cum dicit videte ne quis, ostendit generaliter quomodo se habeant ad omnes. Et circa hoc duo facit, quia primo ostendit qualiter omnes in quibusdam debeant se habere; secundo quid in omnibus, ibi omnia autem. Circa primum tria facit, quia primo ostendit quomodo se debeant habere ad proximum; secundo quomodo se habeant in his quae ad Deum sunt, ibi semper gaudete; tertio quomodo se habeant ad eius dona, ibi spiritum nolite. Then, when Paul says: see that none of you repays evil for evil, he shows them in general how they ought to behave towards everyone. And concerning this, he does two things: first, he shows how everyone should behave in certain matters; secondly, he shows how they should behave in all things (5:21). In regards to the first, he makes three points: first, he shows how they ought to behave towards their fellow men; secondly, how to behave in matters that pertain to God (5:16); thirdly, how to conduct themselves with respect to His gifts (5:19). Quantum ad proximum debent se habere, ut non inferant ei mala, et ut studeant ei benefacere. Unde dicit: dixi supra in speciali, sed nunc in generali dico ne quis malum, et cetera. Ps.: si reddidi retribuentibus mihi mala. They should not be mean to their fellow men but should try to be kind to them. Paul says that earlier I spoke in particular, but now I say this in general: see that none of you repays evil for evil. “If I have requited my friend with evil let the enemy pursue me...” (Ps. 7:4). Sed contra: multoties vindicta petitur coram iudice. Respondeo. Sicut actus moralis sumitur secundum intentionem finis, sic ad duo potest esse intentio vel ad malum illius, ita quod quiescat ibi, et hoc est illicitum, quia ex livore vindictae; vel ad bonum correctionis seu iustitiae et conservationis reipublicae, et sic non reddit malum pro malo, sed bonum, scilicet eius correctionem. On the other hand, repayment is frequently sought before a judge. I wish to point out that the moral act is specified by the intended end. The intention, however, can be of two kinds, that is, either the mere misfortune of someone may be desired, and this is illicit because of the evil character of revenge: or the act may be aimed at the good of correction or of that of justice and the protection of the public interest. And, in this case, it does not render evil for evil but rather good, which is the corrective for evil. Quantum ad secundum dicit sed semper quod bonum est, et cetera. Et dicit sectamini, et non faciatis: quia tu ex te debes sumere occasionem benefaciendi ad proximum tuum, et non expectare quod ipse det tibi occasionem benefaciendi sibi. Unde Ps. XXXIII, 15: inquire pacem, et persequere eam. Rom. XII, 21: noli vinci a malo, ut scilicet sis tractus ab eo ad malefaciendum, sed vince in bono malum, retrahendo eum ad bonum. Gal. ult.: dum tempus habemus, operemur bonum ad omnes. Concerning the second point, Paul says, always seek to do good. And he says seek and not “do,” for it is you who must seek opportunity for doing good to your neighbor without waiting for him to supply you with an opportunity for doing good to him. “Seek peace, and pursue it” (Ps. 34:14). “Do not be overcome by evil” (that is, so that you be attracted by it for doing wrong) “but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all men” (Gal. 6:10). Deinde cum dicit semper gaudete, ostendit quomodo se debeant habere quoad Deum, ad quem tria oportet habere. Primo gaudere de ipso; unde dicit semper gaudete, scilicet de Deo, quia quicquid malum proveniat est incomparabile bono, quod est Deus. Et ideo nullum malum illud interrumpat; unde dicit semper gaudete. Secundo, orate pro beneficiis suscipiendis, ibi sine intermissione orate. Lc. c. XVIII, 1: oportet semper orare, et numquam deficere. Then when Paul says: rejoice always, he shows how they ought to behave towards God; and he mentions three things. First, to rejoice in Him; and so Paul says, rejoice always, that is, in God; for whatever evil might occur, it is incomparable to the goodness which is God. Hence, no evil ought to interrupt it, and so Paul insists: rejoice always. Secondly, to pray for the blessings they want to receive. Paul urges, pray constantly. “They ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Lk. 18: 1). Sed quomodo potest hoc esse? Respondeo. Dicendum est, quod hoc potest esse tripliciter. Primo quod ille semper orat, qui statutas horas non intermittit. Simile habetur II Reg. c. IX, 7: tu comedes panem in mensa mea semper. Secundo sic: semper, id est, continue orate, sed tunc oratio sumitur pro effectu orationis. Est enim oratio interpretatio seu explicatio desiderii, quia quando desidero aliquid, tunc illud orando peto. Unde et oratio est petitio decentium a Deo, et ideo desiderium habet vim orationis. Ps. IX, 38: desiderium pauperum exaudivit dominus. Omnia ergo quae facimus, ex desiderio proveniunt. Ergo oratio in bonis quae facimus, manet in virtute, quia bona quae facimus, ex desiderio bono proveniunt. Glossa: non cessat orare, qui non cessat benefacere. Tertio quo ad causam orationis, scilicet faciendo eleemosynam. In vitis patrum: ille semper orat, qui eleemosynas dat, quia qui eleemosynam accepit, orat pro te, etiam te dormiente. How is this possible? It may happen in three ways. First, that person who does not neglect the appointed hours for prayer, prays always. “You shall eat at my table always” (2 Sam. 9:7). Secondly, “Pray constantly” means to pray continuously. But then prayer is considered under the aspect of the effect of the prayer. For prayer is the unfolding or expression of desire; for when I desire something, then I ask for it by praying. So prayer is the petition of suitable things from God; and so desire has the power of prayer. “O Lord, thou wilt hear the desire of the meek” (Ps. 10: 17). Therefore, whatever we do is the result of a desire; so prayer always remains in force in the good things we do; for the good things we do flow forth from the desire of the good. There is a commentary on this verse pointing out: “He does not cease praying, who does not cease doing good.” A third way by which it is possible to pray without ceasing is through the giving of alms which may be a sort of cause of continual prayer. In the lives of the Fathers we read: “He who gives alms is the one who always prays, for the person who receives alms prays for you even when you are asleep.” Item tertio, orare pro beneficiis suscipiendis et gratias agere pro susceptis, ideo dicit in omnibus, scilicet bonis et adversis, gratias agite. Rom. VIII, 28: diligentibus Deum omnia cooperantur in bonum. Col. II, 7: abundantes in illo in gratiarum actione. Phil. IV, 6: cum gratiarum actione. Haec est enim voluntas, et cetera. I Tim. II, 4: qui vult omnes homines salvos fieri, et ad agnitionem veritatis venire. The third thing he mentions is to offer thanks for those blessings already received, hence Paul says: in all circumstances, that is, in good times and in bad times, give thanks. “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him” (Rom. 6:28). “Abounding in thanksgiving” (Col. 2:7). “With thanksgiving” (Phil. 4.6). For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. “Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). Deinde cum dicit spiritum nolite, etc., ostendit quomodo se habeant ad dona Dei. Et primo quod ea non impediant; secundo quod ea non contemnant, ibi prophetias. Spiritus autem sanctus est persona divina incorruptibilis et aeterna, unde in sua substantia extingui non potest. Sed tamen dicitur quis extinguere spiritum, uno modo, fervorem eius extinguendo, vel in se, vel in alio. Rom. XII, 11: spiritu ferventes. Cum enim aliquis aliquid boni ex fervore spiritus sancti vult facere, vel etiam cum aliquis bonus motus surgit, et ipse impedit, extinguit spiritum sanctum. Act. VII, 51: vos semper spiritui sancto restitistis. Then when he says, do not quench the Spirit, he shows them how they are to regard the gifts of God. First, Paul shows that they must not curtail them; secondly, that they must not have a disdain for the gifts of God (5:20). The Holy Spirit is a divine, incorruptible and eternal person; and so He cannot be extinguished in His own substance. Nevertheless someone is said to quench the Spirit, in one way, by extinguishing the ardor for the Spirit either in himself or in somebody else. “Be aglow with the Spirit” (Rom. 12:11). For when somebody wishes to do something generous as a result of the impulse of the Holy Spirit, or even when some generous inclination arises, and the person impedes it, he extinguishes the Holy Spirit. “You always resist the Holy Spirit” (Ac. 7:51). Alio modo, mortaliter peccando. Spiritus enim sanctus in se semper vivit, sed in nobis vivit quando facit nos in se vivere; sed quando quis peccat mortaliter, non vivit in ipso spiritus sanctus. Sap. I, 5: spiritus enim sanctus disciplinae effugiet fictum, et cetera. In another way one may extinguish the Holy Spirit by mortal sin. For the Holy Spirit always abides in Himself; but He abides in us when He makes us abide in Him. But when somebody commits a mortal sin, the Holy Spirit does not abide in him. “For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit, and will rise and depart from foolish thoughts, and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness” (Wis. 1:5). Tertio modo, occultando, quasi dicat: si donum spiritus sancti habetis, utimini eo ad utilitatem proximorum. Eccli. XX, 32: sapientia abscondita et thesaurus invisus, quae utilitas in utrisque? Matth. V, 15: nemo accendit lucernam, et ponit eam sub modio, et cetera. A third way in which one may extinguish the Spirit is by concealing Him; this is meant to imply that if you have the gift of the Spirit, make use of it for the benefit of your neighbors. “Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure, what advantage is there in either of them? (Sir. 20:30). “Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house” (Matt. 5:15). Prophetias nolite spernere. Aliqui enim apud istos spiritu prophetiae erant pollentes, qui ab istis reputabantur insani. I Cor. XIV, 1: aemulamini spiritualia, magis autem ut prophetetis. Vel prophetias, id est, divinam doctrinam. Exponentes enim divinam doctrinam dicuntur prophetae; quasi dicat: non spernatis verba Dei et praedicationes. Hier. XX, 8: factus est sermo domini in opprobrium et in derisum tota die. Do not despise prophesying. For some among these people were gifted with prophecies but were considered insane by them. “Earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” (1 Cor. 14:1). Or else prophesying may be understood as divine doctrine; for those who explain divine doctrine are called prophets. In this case, do not despise the words of God and preachers. “For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long” (Jer. 20:8). Deinde cum dicit omnia autem probate, ostendit qualiter se habeant ad omnia, et unum est, quod in omnibus utantur discretione. Rom. XII, 1: rationabile obsequium vestrum. Then when he says, but test everything, he shows how they ought to behave towards everything; and one piece of advice is that they should make use of discretion in all matters. “Your spiritual worship” [“Your reasonable service”] (Rom. 12:1). In this matter there should be a careful examination the election of the good, and the rejection of the evil. In hac materia debet esse diligens examinatio, boni electio, mali abiectio. Quantum ad primum dicit prophetias nolite spernere, tamen, omnia probate, scilicet quae sunt dubia. Manifesta enim examinatione non indigent. I Io. IV, 1: omni spiritui nolite credere. Iob XII, 8: nonne auris verba diiudicat? Quantum ad secundum dicit quod bonum est tenete. Gal. IV, 18: bonum autem aemulamini in bono semper. Quantum ad tertium dicit ab omni specie mala abstinete vos. Is. VII, 15: ut sciat reprobare malum et eligere bonum. Et dicit, specie, quia etiam quae habent similitudinem malitiae vitare debemus, quae scilicet non possemus servare coram hominibus absque scandalo eorum. In treating the first point Paul says, do not despise prophesying, nevertheless, test everything, that is, those which are dubious; for matters that are evident do not require examination. “Do not believe every spirit” (1 Jn. 4: 1). “Does not the ear try words?” (Job 12:11). Concerning the second, he says, hold fast what is good. “For a good purpose it is always good to be made much of” (Gal. 4:18). In regard to the third point, Paul says of evil: abstain from every form of evil. “He knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good” (Is. 7:15). And he says, every form because we are obliged to avoid even those actions which only have the appearance of evil, that is, which we cannot perform in the sight of men without causing scandal. Deinde cum dicit ipse autem, subdit orationem, et circa hoc tria facit, quia primo orat pro eis; secundo dat spem de exauditione; tertio dat speciales monitiones. Dicit ergo: ita moneo, sed nihil valet, nisi Deus gratiam det. Unde ipse Deus pacis sanctificet vos. Lev. XXI, 8: ego dominus, qui sanctifico vos, et cetera. Per omnia, id est, ut sitis totaliter sancti. Et hoc ut integer, et cetera. Then, when Paul says: may the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly, he interjects a prayer; and he does three things. First, he prays on their behalf; secondly, he indicates that his prayer will be heard; and finally he issues special admonitions. Paul says, I have given my advice; but remember that nothing will. come of it unless God gives you grace. Therefore, may the God of peace himself sanctify you. “I am the Lord who sanctify you” (Lev. 22:32). Wholly, that you may be totally holy, and this in order that your spirit and soul and body be kept sound. Occasione enim verborum istorum dixerunt quidam quod in homine aliud est spiritus, et aliud anima, ponentes duas in homine animas, unam quae animat, aliam quae ratiocinatur. Et haec sunt reprobata in ecclesiasticis dogmatibus. Unde sciendum quod haec non differunt secundum essentiam, sed secundum potentiam. In anima enim nostra sunt quaedam vires, quae sunt actus corporalium organorum, sicut sunt potentiae sensitivae partis. Aliae sunt, quae non sunt actus talium organorum, sed sunt abstractae ab eis, sicut sunt potentiae intellectivae partis. Et hae dicuntur spiritus, quasi immateriales et separatae aliquo modo a corpore, inquantum non sunt actus corporis, et dicuntur etiam mens. Eph. IV, 23: renovamini spiritu mentis vestrae. Inquantum autem animat, dicitur anima, quia hoc est ei proprium. Et loquitur hic Paulus proprie. On account of these words, certain people maintained that the spirit in man is one element and the soul another, thus positing two souls in man, that is, one which animates the body and another which carries on the function of reasoning. These opinions are rejected in the Church’s teaching. For it should be realized that these two elements [which are really one] do not differ essentially, but only by reason of the powers present in them. There are certain powers in our soul which are linked to bodily organs, such as the powers of the sensitive part of the soul. And there are other powers which are not linked to bodily organs, but function apart from the body, insofar as they are the powers of the intellectual part of the soul. The latter powers are regarded as spiritual powers in that they are immaterial and separated in some manner from the body in that they are not functions of the body but are referred to as the mind. “Be renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Eph. 4:23). Yet it is called the soul insofar as it animates the body, for this is proper to it. Paul speaks here in a specific sense. Nam ad peccandum tria concurrunt: ratio, sensualitas et executio corporis. Optat ergo, quod in nullo horum sit peccatum. Non in ratione; unde dicit ut spiritus, id est, mens vestra, servetur integer. In omni enim peccato ratio corrumpitur, secundum quod omnis malus est ignorans. Item nec in sensualitate, unde dicit anima. Item nec in corpore; et ideo dicit et corpus. Hoc autem fit sic, quando servatur immune a peccato. Now there are three elements involved in sin: reason, the sensitive appetite, and the actual actions of the body. Paul is anxious that all three of these areas be free of sin. Since he wants reason to be free of sin, he says: may your spirit, that is, your mind, be kept sound. For in every sin, reason is corrupted in the sense that every bad person is in some way ignorant. There should be no sin in the sensitive appetite either, and Paul refers to this when he says: and soul. Nor should there be sin in the body, and so Paul adds: and body. This, however, is achieved when the body is preserved immune from sin. Et dicit sine querela, non sine peccato, quod est solius Christi; sed esse sine querela est etiam aliorum, qui etsi venialia, non tamen committunt gravia, et quibus proximus scandalizatur. Lc. I, 6: incedentes in omnibus mandatis et iustificationibus domini sine querela. Et addit in adventu, etc., scilicet perdurando usque in finem vitae. Vel integer spiritus refertur ad donum spiritus sancti, quasi dicat: donum spiritus sancti, quod habetis, sit integrum. Paul also says: and blameless, instead of “not without sin” which may be attributed only to Christ; but to be “blameless” may also be said of those who, although they may commit venial sins, nevertheless have not committed grave sins by which their fellow men may be scandalized. “Walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Lk. 1:6). And Paul adds, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, that is, persevering until the end of life. Or, perhaps the word spirit may refer to the gift of the Holy Spirit, as if implying: may the gift of the Holy Spirit which you have be unimpaired. Deinde cum dicit fidelis, etc., dat spem exauditionis; quasi dicat: ut ego spero, sic fiet, quia et ipse qui vocavit faciet, id est, complebit. Ps. CXLIV, 13: fidelis dominus in omnibus verbis suis, et cetera. Rom. c. VIII, 30: quos vocavit, hos et iustificavit, et cetera. Then when Paul says: He who calls you is faithful, he expresses the hope that his prayer will be heard, as if saying: it will come about as I hope, for He who calls you will do it, that is, He will accomplish it. “The Lord is faithful in all his words” (Ps. 145:13). “And those whom he called he also justified” (Rom. 8:30). Ultimo subiungit familiares monitiones, scilicet orationem, ibi orate; item mutuam pacem, ibi salutate omnes fratres in osculo sancto, non proditorio, sicut Iudas Matth. XXVI, 49 nec libidinoso, ut libidinosa mulier Prov. VII, 10. Finally, Paul adds certain familiar admonitions as when he urges prayer: pray; and mutual peace: greet all the brethren with a holy kiss, not a treacherous kiss as that of Judas (Matt. 26), nor a passionate kiss like that of the lustful woman in Proverbs (7:13). Ut legatur, et cetera. Timebat enim ne praelati propter aliqua quae erant hic, eam occultarent. Prov. XI, 26: qui abscondit frumenta, maledicetur in populis, et cetera. I adjure you by the Lord that this letter be read to all the brethren. Paul feared that those in charge of the assembly might suppress it because of some of the things contained in it. “The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it” (Prov. 11:26). Ultimo concludit epistolam in salutatione. Finally, he concludes the letter with a salutation.