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Severian of Gabala — commentary on Scripture

📅 September 1, 2026

1 Corinthians 1:20 — Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church

The wise man is the Greek, the scribe is the Jew.

1 Corinthians 2:9 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

One should not think that God has indiscriminately revealed the mystery to some and allowed the rest to perish in ignorance. Rather one should know and be persuaded that by the foreknowledge of his power God prepared the right thing for each person according to his deserts, for he foresees what each one will choose even before it happens.

1 Corinthians 2:11 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

God and the Holy Spirit are two persons, whereas a man and the spirit in him are not two persons but one man. What Paul means is that just as in the man there is a cohesion in knowing, so the knowledge of the Father and the Spirit is one. What the Spirit searches is therefore already known to him.

1 Corinthians 3:2 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

By "milk" Paul means moral teaching and miracles. Solid food, by contrast, is the proclamation of the doctrines of God.

1 Corinthians 4:18 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

It is clear from this that what was being said was that Paul and his companions were weak, while the Corinthians were strong.

1 Corinthians 4:19 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul promises to come, so that the Corinthians can prepare themselves for correction. On the one hand he was forced by his irritation to say "I shall come," but on the other hand he added "if the Lord wills," because of his sense of dependence on God.

1 Corinthians 4:21 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

By "rod" Paul meant the compelling power of the Spirit, which he had used against Elymas and which God had used against him..

1 Corinthians 5:5 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

When Paul says that this man must be delivered to Satan, he does not mean that he should be handed over to the power of the evil one. Rather, all the evils of this life, for example, diseases, sorrows, sufferings, and other circumstances, were attributed to Satan, and it is in this sense that Paul uses the term here. What he means is that this man should be exposed to the hardships of life.

1 Corinthians 6:2 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

The twelve apostles will judge the twelve tribes of Israel, if they have not believed and for that reason rejected Christ. The other saints, that is to say, the Gentiles, will judge those who have not abandoned idols and believed in the true God.

1 Corinthians 6:3 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul is not talking here about real angels but about the priests and teachers of the people who will be judged by the saints because of their false teaching about Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:4 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

The lowest person in the church is preferable in judgment to an unbeliever.

1 Corinthians 6:19 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

The fornicator is also guilty of impiety, for by doing harm to his body he has corrupted the temple of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 7:1 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

This is Paul's reply to those who had written to him about this subject. He forbade fornication because it was against the law, but he allowed marriage as being holy and an antidote to fornication. However, he praised chastity as more perfect still.

1 Corinthians 7:10 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul did not intend this to apply to those who abandon their spouses for the service of Christ.

1 Corinthians 7:13 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul did not mean that a woman should marry an unbeliever, only that she should stay with him if she is already married.

1 Corinthians 7:14 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

When the children are clean and holy, uncorrupted by unbelief, the faith of the parent has won.

1 Corinthians 7:19 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Circumcision means nothing by itself, but it was a command of God. On the other hand, uncircumcised is the way God made us, so there is no reward for that either.

1 Corinthians 7:20 — Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church

Paul says this because it makes no difference to God either way.

1 Corinthians 7:25 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

It is clear that Paul says this not because he has no command to teach about virginity but because God has not told him that these people should practice chastity themselves. That is why he writes to them giving his opinion and recommending chastity, without imposing it on them.

1 Corinthians 7:29 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

If married people are supposed to live as if they were single, how is it possible not to prefer virginity?

1 Corinthians 7:32 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Here Paul explains why virginity is preferable to marriage. It has nothing to do with the rightness or wrongness of sex. Rather it is a question of anxieties which prevent the mind from concentrating on the worship of God.

1 Corinthians 7:40 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

What Paul means is that she is blessed if she marries and has a husband to protect her, but she is more blessed if, for the sake of piety, she refuses marriage and devotes herself entirely to God.

1 Corinthians 8:6 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

The Father is one, just as the Son is one. If the Son is called Lord, that does not make the Father any less Lord, just as when it is said that God the Father is one, the Son is no less God.

1 Corinthians 10:13 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul did not pray that we should not be tempted, for a man who has not been tempted is untried, but that we should be able to bear our temptations as we ought.

1 Corinthians 10:14 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

You see that everything Paul has been saying up to now is to reinforce this single point.

1 Corinthians 10:25 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

The conscience referred to here is not the conscience of the one who knows that idols do not exist but the conscience of the one who sees somebody else buying food which has been sacrificed to idols and thinks that it is wrong for that reason.

1 Corinthians 10:31 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Do everything with care so that others may glorify God through you and not be scandalized.

1 Corinthians 11:3 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Since man did not make woman, the question here does not concern the origin of woman. Rather it concerns only [the relation of] submission. The nature of God and Christ is the same. Similarly the nature of man and woman is the same.

1 Corinthians 11:4 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

There is a difference between ancient and recent prophets, as follows. The ancients prophesied about the redemption of Israel, the calling of the Gentiles and the incarnation of Christ, whereas recent prophets prophesy about particular things or people, as Peter prophesied about Ananias, for example..

1 Corinthians 11:7 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

From this we learn that man is not the image of God because of his soul or because of his body. If that were the case, woman would be the image of God in exactly the same way as man, because she too has a soul and a body. What we are talking about here is not nature but a relationship. For just as God has nobody over him in all creation, so man has no one over him in the natural world. But a woman does—she has man over her.

1 Corinthians 11:19 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul is not talking here about doctrinal error but about moral failures.

1 Corinthians 12:2 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul shows that there is a very big difference between Christian prophecy and pagan soothsaying. Pagans do not address the unclean spirit but are possessed by it and say things which they do not understand. The soothsayer's soul is darkened, and he does not know what he is saying, whereas the prophet's soul is enlightened and reveals what the prophet has learned and understood.

1 Corinthians 12:3 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

When the demoniac Legion acknowledged Jesus as Lord, he did not do so in a believing sense, but he merely confessed his knowledge of the lordship and rule of Christ over all things.

1 Corinthians 12:8 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

The utterance of wisdom means understanding what God has said through the prophets and evangelists and communicating this to those who are listening. The utterance of knowledge is the revelation of things which have been forgotten, which someone learns for the first time and then shares with others.

1 Corinthians 12:14 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul says this in order not to overlook the humbler members of the church. For even if someone is lesser by nature, he still belongs to the body of the church.

1 Corinthians 12:27 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

We are not individual members who elect to join together to form a whole but rather organic members of a wider whole, which is the whole body.

1 Corinthians 13:1 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

The tongues of angels refer to the different languages spoken on earth since the destruction of the tower of Babel. As Moses says in Deuteronomy [32:8]: "God has set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of angels." It is therefore the task of each angel to defend the distinction of nations. The tongues of men on the other hand are languages which we learn; they do not come to us naturally.

1 Corinthians 13:3 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

The one who loves fulfills the law. The one who fulfills the law is well respected. The one who is well respected receives a spiritual gift.

1 Corinthians 13:8 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Love never fails, which means that it never falls into sin.

1 Corinthians 13:13 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Love is the greatest because it is the fulfilling of the law.

1 Corinthians 14:10 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

There is no language without meaning because all languages are human.

1 Corinthians 14:19 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul wants to speak with a clear mind and in a normal language.

1 Corinthians 14:22 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Tongues are a miracle in themselves. Prophecy, however, is a miracle in the substance of what it contains but not in the way in which it is uttered.

1 Corinthians 14:28 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

The person who speaks in the Holy Spirit speaks when he chooses to do so and then can be silent, like the prophets. But those who are possessed by an unclean spirit speak even when they do not want to. They say things that they do not understand.

1 Corinthians 15:13 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Christ died and rose again for nothing if we are not to rise again as well.

1 Corinthians 15:22 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Strictly speaking, not everyone has died. Enoch and Elijah, for example, never did. Some will be found alive at the second coming of the Savior.

1 Corinthians 15:50 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Heretics get really mixed up about this. Paul did not say that flesh and blood would not rise from the dead but that they cannot inherit the kingdom of God. What this means is that the earthly flesh and blood which we now have is perishable, but it will be clothed with immortality, and in that state we shall enter the kingdom.

1 Corinthians 15:52 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

In saying this Paul is showing that the heretics who say that there is a resurrection of the soul but not of the flesh are wrong. These people blaspheme concerning the divine dispensation, thinking that Christ did not really rise again in his flesh but only appeared to do so. But if it was not real flesh, what do words like "died," "was buried" and "rose again" mean? If all this did not really happen, does it mean that we shall not really die either?

1 Thessalonians 1:3 — Unknown work

And labor: Now faith raises us to labors, and love causes us to remain in those labors.

And enduring hope:

And he says "enduring", because persecution is not a one time thing, but it is continuous. All these things, he says, do from faith and hope, so that those circumstances will not only show their courage, but with assurance they might trust in their future rewards. For this reason God allows persecution to occur, in order that their zeal might be shown, and that their conviction might not be seen as coming from themselves, but from the power of God, which persuades the souls of believers so that they be prepared to face a myriad of dangers. But if the Gospel was not steadfast among them they then would not be able to endure.

1 Thessalonians 3:3 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul does not say that no one should occasionally grow weak with weariness but rather that no one should "stoop down" or bow to persecutors.

2 Corinthians 1:4 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul sets this down beforehand because he is about to say that the man who had been condemned because of his sin should be reconciled by God's comforting power.

2 Corinthians 1:6 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

If the apostles suffered, how much more are the others likely to suffer!

2 Corinthians 1:22 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Shepherds brand their sheep so as to distinguish the ones which belong to them from others. This is what Christ has done to us.

2 Corinthians 3:3 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul shows how much better the grace of the Spirit is than the law and how much higher the preaching of the apostles is than the dispensation of the prophets.

2 Corinthians 3:5 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

By "from us" Paul means "from one another."

2 Corinthians 3:12 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

What hope do we have? The hope that the grace of the Spirit will not be abolished like the law but that it will remain, even after the resurrection.

2 Corinthians 3:17 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

The person who has been blessed with the Spirit of the Lord has been set free from the condemnation of the law, for the spiritual gifts are given their power through the Spirit. Moreover, the gift is given freely to those who are ready to receive it.

2 Corinthians 3:18 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

We are being changed from knowledge of the law into the grace of the Spirit. And it must be remembered that from the glory of the Spirit working in us we come to the glory of our inheritance as sons. This is the work of the Spirit, for it must be held that here the word Lord refers to the Spirit and not to the Son of God.

2 Corinthians 4:3 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

It is veiled only to those who are unbelievers. It is not hidden from everyone, as the face of Moses was hidden from all Israel in the Old Testament..

2 Corinthians 5:3 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Everyone, righteous and unrighteous alike, will put on immortality. But if the latter are consigned to hell, that is the same thing as being found naked.

2 Corinthians 5:7 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

By faith we hope in God, for his form is not visible to us. But we believe that we shall dwell with him and that we shall see him as far as it is possible for a human being to see him. For Moses saw him when he was still in the body, and the angels see him in the way that is possible for them.

2 Corinthians 5:16 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

When Christ was a man, he lived in a human way, fulfilling the law. But when he died and rose again, immortal, he abolished the things of the law and took on the ways of heaven. Therefore those who have been baptized must also put the ways of the world to death and imitate the pure behavior of heaven.

2 Corinthians 5:21 — PAULINE COMMENTARY ON THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul shows here how much he grieved for those who obstinately kept the law. For by keeping the law, he says, we become sinners. Christ became sin in order to deliver us from the law. God says to us that we should accept this freedom by no longer remaining in bondage to the commands of the law.

2 Corinthians 12:7 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Many people think this was some kind of headache, but in reality Paul is referring to the persecutions which he suffered, because they came from diabolical powers.

2 Corinthians 12:9 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

God's power is made perfect in persecutions and sufferings.

2 Corinthians 13:4 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Earlier Paul said that Christ became sin and a curse for us, even though he knew no sin and was not a curse in himself. Likewise here he says that Christ was crucified in weakness, even though this weakness was not his own but rather something which he assumed on our behalf.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

That which restrains and prevents the coming of the lawless one is the Holy Spirit. Paul says this to show that the mystery of iniquity is already beginning in the heresies that have arisen since apostolic times. The Manichaeans say that the devil is the God of the law, and the Marcionites say that the father of Christ is not the God of the law.

2 Timothy 4:2 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

The opportune time for preaching and teaching is when the sinner needs the prophylaxis that will lead him to repentance. The sinner will be helped at exactly the right moment between the intention to sin and the commission of sin and will turn to penitence instead.

Colossians 1:5 — Unknown work

Paul shows them that the governance of angels does not fulfill the hope laid before us of the resurrection and the kingdom. These happen by the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. .

Colossians 1:6 — Unknown work

The gospel has come not only to the Colossians, but to the whole world, where it is powerful and grows by means of the preached word. .

Colossians 1:9 — Unknown work

It is God's will, that we acknowledge him and know that it is not possible to be saved by angels but only through Jesus Christ. How then can we know this? Through spiritual, not worldly, wisdom. .

Colossians 1:13 — Unknown work

Before the law and in the law the angels served God for our salvation, but God did not bring us to the kingdom through them. But now through our Lord, his only begotten Son, the kingdom is given to you. .

Colossians 1:15 — Unknown work

Paul wishes to say and show that Christ is before all. For if he is not before all, how could all things be created in him? In him, Paul says, all things were created, so that denying that our hope is in angels, we may put our hope in Christ. .

Colossians 1:18 — Unknown work

"Firstborn of all creation" applied to his status before the emergence of the created order, whereas "firstborn from the dead" refers to the fact that he was raised first of all the brothers who will share in salvation. .

Colossians 1:24 — Unknown work

I fulfill what is lacking in the tribulations of Christ through my suffering, which is on your behalf. How so? Because in order to preach to you, I have had to suffer. Since Christ is the head of the body, tribulation will be generated through the word of truth for those who are in the church. These are naturally called the sufferings of Christ. .

Colossians 2:9 — Unknown work

He calls the church that which is filled with the Father's divinity. The church is full by dwelling bodily in Christ, that is, as the body is completed in the head, he says that Christ is everywhere the head of the church. And you are fulfilled in him, fulfilled for his sake and through him. .

Colossians 2:11 — Unknown work

Through baptism comes the stripping away and circumcision of sins…. Those being baptized in the blood of Christ confess that they share in his death through baptism and that following this they enjoy the resurrection. Resurrection is used here in a twofold sense, the one spiritual and the other physical. All persons will rise through the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Those, however, who have not been baptized in Christ but have died without faith will share in the general resurrection. However, they will not enjoy the promise of redemption…. As many as were baptized into Christ, these have freely benefitted before the general resurrection from the spiritual resurrection, for they have already risen from the death of sins. Thus, Paul also says: "in whom you were raised," not "in whom you will be raised." .

Colossians 2:14 — Unknown work

When the law was given as a curse on transgressors, all the people of Israel stood crying aloud. For there was deposited with what was said a bond that bound them, as they received these things. This "bond" was the binding character of the law, which Christ transcended in his teachings, when he decreed against the observances of the law…. Retroactively he abolished the punishments of the law against sinners through the forgiveness of sins and repentance for salvation. .

Colossians 2:15 — Unknown work

Through the exposing and putting off of the flesh Christ subdued the opposing powers…. For until his cross and death it was not clearly known that Christ was their Lord, that he was both God and Son of God. This was because he exercised his wonderworking powers in a way that was hidden in his body. This is why Satan made an attempt on him, wishing to learn if he was truly the one proclaimed by the prophets. This was with the intention that if it was so, Satan might hinder the outworking of salvation [i.e., the "economy"]. But the evil one accomplished nothing, nor was he able to learn anything; for a while the Christ escaped his notice. But when Christ was beaten and died and was buried and rose, God's plan of salvation was completed, his being unnoticed was over, his divinity became visible and was seen in his head and body. .

Colossians 2:16 — Unknown work

Paul teaches that the law is abolished, Christ having passed over the "bond" against us. He teaches that the evil one has fallen, Christ having exposed and made a parade of the evil powers. Thus, we are no longer to obey what has been abolished, and we are to reject Jews who would urge us to keep the law…. This law was the mere shadow of Christ, lacking the substance. Further, we are not to obey Greeks who would encourage us to worship angels or worldly elements. .

Colossians 2:18 — Unknown work

What is selfabasement? Saying that we are selfabased [can only mean] that God is great and far above any service we can render to him. Since, then, we cannot get near him, it is through his angels that propitiation comes and we may draw near him. For this reason he spoke earlier of one "who is the head of every power and principality." And now he says, "Why do you come to elements and angels, having renounced their head, who is Christ?" Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

Colossians 2:19 — Unknown work

The purpose and view of the epistle is here, as Paul mentions, to respond to the emphasis on angels urged by some. Christ is the head of all, just as the soul is the head of the body. Christ is head of all the cosmic elements. It makes no sense to be in submission to anything else. .

Colossians 2:20 — Unknown work

These prohibitions about eating and drinking that you hear from the Greeks are based on their mistaken conviction that you should not partake of anything living. But all this has been given for consumption and nourishment. So, don't pay attention to what has been given in accordance with their teaching. .

Colossians 3:3 — Unknown work

Our life is hidden until the blessing of eternal life shall be revealed to all, when the glory of Christ shall appear in his second coming. .

Colossians 3:14 — Unknown work

When love does not lead, there is no completion of what is lacking; but, where love is present we abstain from doing evil to one another. Indeed we put our minds in the service of doing good, when we love one another. .

Genesis 2:15 — ON THE CREATION OF THE WORLD 5.5

Tilling the earth, keeping the commandments of God and fidelity to those commandments was the "labor" of God.… Just as believing in Christ is a "work," so also was Adam's faithful keeping of God's command. If he touched the tree, he would die, but if he did not, he would live. "Work" was keeping the spiritual words.… The text says "work" and "protect it." From what? There were no thieves, travelers or people with bad intentions. "Protect it" from what? From himself. Do not lose it by transgressing the command. Instead, he would preserve the commandment and in so doing preserve himself in paradise.

Genesis 2:16-17 — ON THE CREATION OF THE WORLD 6.1

The Tree of Life stood in the middle of paradise like a trophy. The Tree of Knowledge stood as a contest. If you keep the commandment of this tree, you will receive a prize. So consider this marvelous thought: Every tree in paradise was in bloom, and fruit was in abundance everywhere. Only in the center are the duo of competition and struggle.

Genesis 2:19-20 — ON THE CREATION OF THE WORLD 6:1

While Adam had been given the whole earth, he had been given paradise for his home. He could leave and go out of paradise, but there was not a habitable place for humans beyond its borders—only for senseless animals, four-footed animals, wild monsters and crawling bugs. His "basilica" and "palace" was located in paradise. Because of this, God brought the living creatures to Adam; they had been separated from him. For slaves do not always stand in their master's presence; they are present only when needed. The living creatures were named and immediately sent away. Adam, however, remained in paradise.

Genesis 2:21 — ON THE CREATION OF THE WORLD 5.8

Did Adam not suffer pain? Did he not experience agony? A single hair is plucked from the body and we feel pain. Even if one is deeply asleep, he will awake from the pain. Here, however, many hairs are plucked out, even a rib torn out, and the sleeper does not awake? God did not remove the rib violently, which would awaken Adam. He did not wrench it out. Instead Scripture, desiring to reveal the quickness of God's technique, says "he took a rib out of him and he did not awake."

Genesis 3:1 — ON THE CREATION OF THE WORLD 6.2

Do not think of the snake the way he currently is, since we now run from him and are disgusted by him. It was not this way in the beginning; the snake was a friend of humanity, even the closest of servants. What, then, made him our enemy? The declaration of God: "You are more cursed than all the cattle, and more than every wild animal. I will place hostility between you and the woman." This hostility destroyed the friendship. I say "friendship," but I do not mean an intellectual relationship, it was instead one which mindless creatures are capable of having. The snake used to serve humans in the same way the dog displaces friendship—not with word but by body language. Since it was a creature who held such great closeness to humanity, the snake was a convenient tool for the devil.…So the devil spoke through the snake in order to deceive Adam. Please hear me in love and do not receive my words carelessly. My question is not easy to take. Many scoff, "how did the snake speak, with a human's voice or with a snake's hiss?" or "how did Eve understand him?" Before the fall, Adam was filled with wisdom, discernment and prophecy.… When the devil noticed the snake's intelligence and Adam's high opinion of it (Adam considered the snake very wise), the devil spoke through the snake so that Adam would think that the snake, being intelligent, was able to imitate even human speech.

Genesis 19:1 — CATENA ON GENESIS 3.1112

Scripture seems to have made no mention at all of angels before the flood. Only now [does it mention angels], as though seeing fit to have instructed people abundantly, by the length of the time past, to regard as God and Lord of the universe only that one Being who had made the created universe and supplied human beings, beginning with Adam, with the appropriate knowledge. [This knowledge was supplied] by his providence and through a variety of visions, guiding its transmission from the first people to those who followed in order.

Hebrews 1:1 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 1.1-2

"In many ways," that is, according to the differences of the times in which the promises concerning us were imparted, such as at the creation of Adam, at the time of Cain, in the days of Noah, at the time of Abraham, at the time before the law, at the time after the law. For many are the manners of God's administration on our behalf. And "in a variety of ways," because one commandment was given to Adam, another to Noah, yet another to Abraham, and another through Moses, and yet different ones through the prophets.

Hebrews 1:2 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 1.1-2

"He spoke to us in his Son," instead of "by the Son." For he did not speak in him as an instrument but rather through him as one indwelling the flesh.… For when he had said, "He has spoken to us in his Son whom he appointed as an heir"—not "created as an heir"—he applied the word to his existence before the ages. And he does this intelligently, now leading us up into theology, now bringing us down into the incarnation.

Hebrews 1:3 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 1.3

Seeking to present more clearly that the Word was begotten of the essence of the Father, he makes mention of the "radiance." For the radiance is from the essence of that of which it is an efflux of light, and it is continuously conceived both from it and never apart from that of which it is the radiance. But since "radiance" implies a lesser nature than that of which it is the radiance and existence not in the same nature, he uses a different word and states that Christ is "the exact image of his nature." The first phrase ("radiance of his glory") demonstrates that Christ cannot be separated from the essence as God; the second phrase ("exact image of his nature") proves that he is not without God's nature. For just as John, calling Christ "the Word," adds, "he was with God and was God," so also Paul, having said "radiance," added, "and the exact image of his nature."

Hebrews 1:7-8 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 1.7-8

For just as in the matter of "radiance" and "exact image of his nature" he imitated John, calling him "the Word" and saying that he was God, so also here he imitated John. Just as John said, "This one was in the beginning, all things were created through him," so also does Paul, although he says, "these things were not" instead of saying, "This one was." "To the angels is said, 'who makes them'; but to the Son, 'your throne.' " This proves the point: That which was made was not in existence previously, but he who has an eternal throne always was with his Father.

Hebrews 1:11-12 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 1.12-14

He does not say that a change of nature took place, but by way of comparison, that he permits these things to be destroyed and they do perish in contrast to the eternity of the Son. For also the Lord, when predicting his second coming, says "the stars will fall" and there will no longer be sun or moon or heavens. And one must demonstrate in addition that he revealed through the statement "but you are the same" Christ's eternal existence and the immutability of his nature.

Hebrews 1:13 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 1.12-14

"But to what angel has he ever said?" Leaving aside all the rest of creation he speaks about that which is higher than the rest of creation, namely, the angels. For if the Son differed from the angels in that they were created but he was not, how much more does he differ from all invisible things?

Hebrews 1:14 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 1.12-14

Through the phrase "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve" he shows that the Son is not a servant, but a fellow worker with God.

Hebrews 2:9 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 2.5-9

He calls it the age to come. Then he adds at last, "we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see Jesus made lower than the angels." Then he applies to Jesus the question, "What is man that you are mindful of him?" For the things common to humanity belong to him. But as the Son himself says, "Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings I will establish praise for the sake of your enemies" and "I will see the heavens, the works of your fingers." No one would say that the man God remembered had made "the praise established from the mouth of babes and infants for the sake of your enemies" and "I will see the heavens, the works of your fingers." This one remembered humanity and lowered himself a little lower than the angels. But who is the "man"? Jesus. Because of the suffering of his death, "he was made a little lower than the angels."

Hebrews 3:13 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 3.13

He introduces the present age as one day.

Hebrews 4:12-13 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 4.12

He says, "division of soul and spirit." The soul has a special feeling for the body, but the grace of the Holy Spirit draws against the body to the heavenly things.

Hebrews 6:1-2 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 6.1-2

The beginning of Christ was from within Judaism—for he lived as a Jew according to the law. He says because of this, "Leaving this behind, let us be borne to that maturity," knowing that the one about to be a high priest apart from the law must be a priest "according to the order of Melchizedek.""Dead works and faith in God, ritual washing." For Christians the earthly things are dead. Therefore he says that it is out of place that they neglect the way of life based on faith and the mortification of all things and return to ablutions according to the law. When the Lord came, he preached repentance, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of God has drawn near," but it was "a repentance from dead works." … This, then, is what he says: it is not necessary to run back to the law, leaving behind the repentance from dead works and faith in God and baptism25—which he named in the plural because of the multitude of those deemed worthy. And he spoke of baptisms and the teaching and the laying on of hands through which are the elections, and the hope of the resurrection and the rest. And he has prepared this beforehand, since the priests in the law uphold the law with a vengeance, but Melchizedek was outside the law. Not coming from the levitical priesthood, he followed "the order of Melchizedek." He says that it was not necessary to leave behind the priest in the order of Melchizedek to pursue those who are priests under the law, so that the things written in the law might stand. But he called those things in the law a "foundation," since it has become a preamble of godliness for men.

Hebrews 6:6 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 6.6

The apostles raised the dead. And this was the power of the resurrection. He said, "hold him up to contempt," because if baptism is a mystery, it suffices once and for all. And if the matter happens a second time, it is an act of despising and ridicule.

Hebrews 6:17 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 6.17

When he said above, "the full assurance of the hope," he made clear that God furnished to Abraham "full assurance," not that which belonged to his conduct through works but that which belonged to him through God's redemptive plan.

Hebrews 7:1 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 7.1-2

It is for a reason that we are reminded how Melchizedek met with Abraham after his victory over the Assyrians and gave him one-tenth of all the spoils. This indicates that Melchizedek, the priest, was a forefather of the tribe of the Levites. However, the priesthood without the law is greater than that under the law.

Hebrews 7:3 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 7.3

Without father, without mother, without genealogy, according to the Scripture. Later, among the Levites it is always clear who were the parents of a priest. They also had allotted times and periods of service, and the total length of their service and of their life is known. All these data exist for each priest under the law, even if not for every year. However, it is said that Melchizedek is without father, without mother, without genealogy, having no beginning and no end of life according to the word of Scripture. He does not belong to a priestly family; we do not know when he started his priesthood or what kind of a priest he was, or whether he was a priest all his life. We do not know any information that is available for those priests under the law. It is said that, likened to the Son of God, he continues his priesthood forever. And how does Melchizedek remain a priest? Here is a solution to that question. As Moses sometimes signifies the law, so Melchizedek, a human being, signifies the priesthood. Now, if he is likened [to the Son of God] through the priesthood in Christ, he remains forever, not as a mortal man but as a pattern of the priesthood.

Hebrews 9:11 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 9.11

The tent built under Moses was to signify servitude [to the law]. Therefore, the more perfect tent is the dwelling of grace, the body of Christ whose head is Christ himself.

Hebrews 11:20 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 11.2

"By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau." First he gave it to Jacob, then to Esau, not according to the sequence of their birth but according to the order of spiritual blessing.

Hebrews 11:38 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 11.38

"Of whom the world was not worthy." … He does not say this about everyone but about the latter ones whom he sees as martyrs, witnesses of faith. He reminds us that these put foreign armies to flight and through their service to their people received grace.

Hebrews 12:1 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 12.1

Let us lay aside every weight. "Weight" is a sin of the enjoyment of the flesh, a form in which the "sin which clings so closely" is born. It clings closely to us as it surrounds us with pleasure and subdues us to its own will.

Hebrews 12:27 — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 12.27

That is why Paul says elsewhere, "For the form of this world is passing away." So that the temporary may pass away and the eternal may come.

James 2:25 — CATENA

Listen to the testimony of Scripture. In the midst of prostitution there was a pearl, in the mire there was burnished gold, in the mud there was a flower blooming with godliness. A godly soul was concealed in a land of impiety.

James 4:5 — CATENA

What this means is that the Spirit in us tends toward fellowship with God. He turns us away from the love of the world and gives us ever more grace.

John 13:4 — HOMILY ON THE WASHING OF THE FEET

The whole visible world proclaims the goodness of God, but nothing proclaims it so clearly as his coming among us, by which he whose state was divine assumed the condition of a slave. This was not a lowering of his dignity, but rather a manifestation of his love for us. The awesome mystery that takes place today brings us to the consequence of his action. For what is it that takes place today? The Savior washes the feet of his disciples.… Although he took upon himself everything pertaining to our condition as slaves, he took a slave's position in a way specially suited to our own arrangements when he rose from the table.He who feeds everything beneath the heavens was reclining among the apostles, the master among slaves, the fountain of wisdom among the ignorant, the Word among those untrained in the use of words, the source of wisdom among the unlettered. He who nourishes all was reclining and eating with his disciples. He who sustains the whole world was himself receiving sustenance. Moreover, he was not satisfied with the great favor he showed his servants by sharing a meal with them. Peter, Matthew and Philip, men of the earth, reclined with him, while Michael, Gabriel and the whole army of angels stood by. Oh, the wonder of it! The angels stood by in dread, while the disciples reclined with him with the utmost familiarity! And even this marvel did not content him. "He rose from the table," as Scripture says. He who is "clothed in light as in a robe" was clad in a cloak. He who wraps the heavens in clouds wrapped round himself a towel. He who pours the water into the rivers and pools tipped some water into a basin. And he before whom every knee bends in heaven and on earth and under the earth knelt to wash the feet of his disciples.

John 13:6 — HOMILY ON THE WASHING OF THE FEET

The Lord of all creation washed his disciples' feet! This was not an affront to his dignity but a demonstration of his boundless love for us. Yet however great his love was, Peter was well aware of his majesty. Always impetuous and quick to profess his faith, he was quick also to recognize the truth. The other disciples had let the Lord wash their feet, not with indifference but with fear and trembling. They dared not oppose the Master. Out of reverence, however, Peter would not permit it. He said, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet? You shall never wash my feet!"Peter was adamant. He had the right feelings, but not understanding the full meaning of the incarnation, he first refused in a spirit of faith and afterward gratefully obeyed. This is how religious people ought to behave. They should not be obdurate in their decisions but should surrender to the will of God. For although Peter reasoned in human fashion, he changed his mind out of love for God.

Romans 1:1 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul here preaches the divinity of Christ to a world which was ignorant of it. Many people saw the Lord, and others believed in him without seeing, but Paul was called from heaven: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" He was more highly favored than the other apostles, for the Lord called Peter and James and John and made them his disciples; he did not immediately make or call them apostles. But he made Paul an apostle as soon as he called him. Thus the gospel is preached according to the plan of God.

Romans 1:2 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul says "his prophets" because there are also prophets of idols, and by the word his he distinguishes one type of prophet from another and one gospel from another. For there are many gospels, but they are moral and temporary, whereas that of Christ proclaims in the holy Scriptures the enjoyment of eternal blessedness. These prophets are his because they are not of another god but of the Father of Christ.

Romans 1:7 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.136

Paul does not say "to the saints" lightly—for "many are called but few are chosen" and not all have remained in their calling—but so that he would not be throwing holy things to dogs. … According to the heretics, if Christ is the Lord and God is our Father, then the Father will be a servant of Christ, for as the son is, so is the father. But it is not like that at all. Paul said that God is our Father, in order to show his grace, and that Christ is Lord, in order that the Romans should not become proud and think that because they too were sons of God they could despise the glory of the Son or raise themselves up beyond what was natural. Paul called God "the Father" because he judges no one, but the Son he called "Lord," because he is the judge. He calls God "the Father" so as to point out his guardianship over us. He calls the Son "Lord" so that we might understand that we are called sons by the goodness of God but that Jesus is the true God by nature and our Lord.

Romans 1:13 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

There were many who sped to Rome for human reasons. Paul reveals his own chaste desire to go there and that his motive was a godly one. It appears that he longed after the Romans, perhaps because their faith had become an encouragement to all their subject peoples.

Romans 1:27 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul did not say this lightly, but because he had heard that there was a homosexual community at Rome.

Romans 1:32 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

When Paul talks about the "judgment of God" he means the just recompense which God gives to everyone according to their deserts. For men know by their natural reasoning that transgressors will be punished by God, but instead of ceasing from their wicked ways they are actually pleased with those who do such things!… Therefore God will judge those who do such things as absolutely and without question worthy of death.

Romans 2:5 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

When talking about the way they were "storing up" an accumulation of sins, Paul showed that there would also be a greater store of punishment, as a result of the patient endurance of the judge toward those who were suffering so incurably.

Romans 3:23 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul shows that nature has failed the Gentiles and that both nature and the law have failed the Jews, before going on to mention the grace of the gospel and saying: "What do we have by grace which is special and superior? Faith, made effective by the righteousness of Christ." … Paul does not say that all have broken the law but that all have sinned in a general sense. Now the one who is lacking something tries to make up his deficiency. The Jews had the law, but they were lacking the fullness of grace.

Romans 4:11 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Circumcision was given for these three reasons: First, to be a sign of faith; second, to mark out the race of Abraham, and third, to be a sign and symbol of good and wise behavior. It was not given in order to produce righteousness but as a sign and seal of the righteousness which was Abraham's by faith.

Romans 4:13 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul says that the righteous will inherit the world because the ungodly will be thrown out and handed over to punishment on the day of judgment, but the righteous will possess the universe which remains, and will have been renewed, and the good things of heaven and earth will be theirs.

Romans 5:19 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Notice that when Paul talks about sin and righteousness he uses the word many, for not everyone sinned before the coming of the law, nor has everyone who has received grace been justified—for "many are called, but few are chosen." But when he talks about the death and resurrection of the body, he uses the word all.

Romans 6:3 — Unknown work

Since we are baptized we confess that we have died to the world and have been buried to sin and the devil. .

Romans 6:4 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

"Newness of life" means that we have put off the old life of sin and that our rebirth promises a new way of life.

Romans 7:8 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

It is not reasonable to condemn completely someone who has sinned in ignorance. But when the law was given and revealed sin, it gave sin power. This was not a condemnation of the law but a punishment of the contempt shown by those who did not keep it. For if it is true that without the law sin lies dead, it is also true that sin is dead when the law is kept.

Romans 7:24 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Having considered the struggle which was taking place in the body against the soul and how man was imprisoned by this, Paul now seeks a way to escape and tries to rescue man, so that the body of death may be transformed into a body of life.… For Paul wants his body to be a body of life and not a body of death or of sin.

Romans 8:9 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

By "Spirit of God" Paul here refers to the spiritual gifts of the New Testament.

Romans 8:29 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul says "the image of the Son" meaning the Holy Spirit, because just as the Son is the immutable image of the Father, so the Spirit is of the Son. For those who have been made worthy by the Holy Spirit live according to the Spirit and are conformed to the Spirit, who is the image of the Son.

Romans 8:34 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

The context shows that there is one person who intercedes and another who receives the plea. Nor is it improper for the Son to ask and for the Father to grant the request, for thus the complementary relationship between the two persons is maintained.… This text teaches us that there is a distinction between the Father and the Son which must not be confused.

Romans 10:4 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

This does not mean that Christ is a part of the law but rather that he is the beginning of a new life. The law has come to an end; it has ceased.

S3Y 1:25 — SERMON ON THE THREE YOUNG MEN

God commands the fire to consume the Chaldeans, so they would not believe that the fire's energy had been weakened by the miracle and deny its truth. For this reason those who were inside remained unhurt, while outside the fire attacked the Chaldeans, to firmly convince the onlookers that, in regard to the saints, the fire was not ignorant of its own nature but rather honored piety. Thus also the lions did with Daniel.

S3Y 1:35 — ON THE PRODIGAL SON

Consider the godless person, how he stumbles over the same things by which the faithful are justified. He sees the moon and worships it. He sees the stars and venerates them. He sees the sea and calls it divine. Those who entered the furnace in Babylon after their salvific and laudable confession praised God through his works in a hymn, saying, "Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord." Having said this, they could have ended the hymn. God does not pay attention to the length of the hymn but to the intention of those who sing. By saying "all you works," everything was in fact included, and there was no need to add anything else. But since they were not proclaiming this to themselves but praising God, and with the hymn they also taught the Chaldeans who were present, the hymn necessarily runs through the entire creation. Thus the Chaldeans, who were lost in error, would learn who it was that was sung to and who it was that sang.

S3Y 1:42-43 — SERMON ON THE THREE YOUNG MEN

Frequently there are droughts and violent and unexpected winds. Those who listen to lies and entertain vain thoughts are in the habit of ascribing everything out of the ordinary to matter and to something perverse, without knowing that nothing escapes the Lord or happens to no purpose but that God arranges all of this for the people's instruction and to drive away godlessness. The proper functioning of creatures would seem to proclaim the Creator, whereas disorder contradicts the worship of creatures. If the rain or the winds were something divine or sacred, they would not violate order, given that what is divine is not susceptible to disorder. This is why they say, "All rain and dew and all spirits, bless the Lord." In fact, even the rain and the wind were worshiped, the one as the giver of food and the other as the cultivator of the fruits of earth. They also worshiped the earth, and its fruits were assigned to various demons, saying that vines were the gift of Dionysius, the olive of Athena, and so on.

S3Y 1:49-52 — SERMON ON THE THREE YOUNG MEN

But perhaps the mountains and hills were excluded? Not at all. But since the wicked rites of demons were performed on the hills and idols were worshiped there, it says, "Mountains and hills, bless the Lord." Mentioning the hills, they also recall springs and rivers, because these also were divinized. In fact, springs were called nymphs and the sea Poseidon, together with the sirens and the nereids. Of the fact that the rivers were worshiped we have proof in our own day in Egypt, where they sacrificed at the swelling of the Nile, not marveling at God through nature but worshiping the water itself as God. This is why rivers, springs and the sea are included in the hymn.

S3Y 1:55-56 — SERMON ON THE THREE YOUNG MEN

Then they also add the birds of the air and the animals. Not even these escaped divinization: in fact, they adored the eagle and the raven, and the Egyptians honored wild beasts and domestic animals as though they were gods. And the error had such power that cities were named after animals: among them one finds cities with the names of Dogs, of Sheep, of Wolves and of Lions.

Titus 1:15 — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

God has made all things pure. If anything is unclean, the use to which it is put makes it so.

WIS 7:22 — ON THE VERSE 'PUT YOUR HAND' 4

The image has come into the world and investigates nature. He looks for plants and finds them—investigating their roots, he understands. He becomes an artisan and the inventor of all things. But so that he does not think to have found these things by himself and not thanks to the power of him who gave this capacity to his nature, by a single discourse it is indicated that God is the teacher of all of these things to our nature. Blessed Solomon came, saying, "He has given me an unerring knowledge of all that exists, to understand the structure of the world and the power of the elements, the beginning, the end and the middle of times, the cycle of the years and the position of the stars, the nature of animals and the instincts of wild beasts, the various plants and the properties of roots. All that is hidden and all that is clear, I know." And how did the image know this? "Wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me."