Lecture 2 — Walk in Christ

^2:5^ For though I be absent in body, yet in spirit I am with you, rejoicing, and beholding your order and the steadfastness of your faith which is in Christ. [n. 86]

^2:6^ As therefore you have received Jesus Christ the Lord, walk in him: [n. 89]

^2:7^ Rooted and built up in him and confirmed in the faith, as also you have learned: abounding in him in thanksgiving.

^2:8^ Beware lest any man cheat you by philosophy and vain deceit: according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world and not according to Christ. [n. 90]

^2:9^ For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead corporeally. [n. 95]

^2:10^ And you are filled in him, who is the head of all principality and power. [n. 99]

86. Above, he warned them against falling away from the faith as a result of some deceptive language; here he gives the reason for this advice, which is based on the good things they have and should not destroy, but allow to grow.

First, he calls to mind the goods which they have;

and second, he shows how these should grow within them, at as therefore.

In regard to the first, he does two things.

First, he shows how he happens to know about the good things they have;

second, he mentions what these goods are, at rejoicing.

87. Paul says, for though I be absent in body. He is here saying, in effect, that although I have not preached to you, nor do I see with my own eyes what you have accomplished, yet I am with you in spirit through my love, rejoicing in your blessings: for though absent in body I am present in spirit (1 Cor 5:3); a wise son makes a glad father (Prov 10:1). And this because it was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit; and so he says, yet in spirit I am with you. Did I not go with you in spirit when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? (2 Kgs 5:26).

88. Rejoicing, I say, because I am beholding your** order**, that is, your well-ordered way of life: all things should be done decently and in order (1 Cor 14:40); the stars remaining in their order and courses fought against Sisera (Judg 5:20). And the steadfastness of your faith: God’s firm foundation stands (2 Tim 2:19). And this in Christ: that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, rooted and founded in love (Eph 3:17); in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord (Eph 2:21). The goodness of this temple consists in its firm foundation, which is faith, and in a proper superstructure; and that is why he mentioned these two.

89. Then, when he says, as therefore, he urges them to protect these goods: first, by advancing in them; second, by their perseverance; and third, by giving thanks.

So he says, as therefore you have received Jesus Christ our Lord, not in a distorted way, walk in him. Hold fast to what is good (Rom 12:9). Sometimes the Church is compared to a spiritual building: God’s temple is holy, and that temple you are (1 Cor 3:17). At other times it is compared to a tree, because it produces fruit. Now the foundation of a building is related to the building as the roots of a tree are related to the tree, because the foundation and roots are the source of strength; and this source is Christ. In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples (Isa 11:10); for no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Cor 3:11).

So Paul uses the expression,** rooted**, like good branches, and built up in him and confirmed, like good stones. And they will be like this if they persevere in the faith. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8); and the text continues: resist him, firm in your faith. They are to live in Christ just as also you have learned, that is, in the true faith: if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed (Gal 1:9). Abounding in him in thanksgiving, giving many thanks: giving thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess 5:18); having been saved by God out of grave dangers, we give him great thanks (2 Macc 1:11) .

90. Then, when he says, beware, he warns them not to be deceived by an empty wisdom.

First, we see his warning;

and second, the reason for it, at for in him.

In regard to the first, he first teaches them to avoid whatever can deceive them;

and second, the source of this deception, at according to the tradition.

91. A person can be deceived by worldly wisdom in two ways, that is, sometimes by the real principles of philosophy, and sometimes by fallacious arguments. And Paul teaches them to beware of both: beware lest any man cheat you by philosophy, that is, by philosophical teachings: your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray (Isa 47:10). For there are many who have turned from the faith after having been deceived by philosophy: man has become foolish in his knowledge (Jer 10:14).

As regards to the second way to be deceived he says, and vain deceit, which is based on the way words are used: let no one deceive you with empty words (Eph 5:6).

92. But how are they being deceived? One who deceives another must have something which seems reasonable, and something which is not really so. So first Paul shows the basis of this seeming reasonableness. It is based on two things, the first being the authority of the philosophers. And about this he says, according to the tradition of men, that is, according to what is handed down by some, basing themselves on their own judgment: the Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath (Ps 94:11).

The second source of an apparent reasonableness are the contrivances of reason, that is, when a person wishes to measure or judge about the things of faith according to the principles of things, and not by divine wisdom. And many are deceived in this way. And so Paul says, they should not be deceived by those judging according to the elements of the world and not according to Christ: they were unable from the good things that are seen to know him who exists (Wis 13:1).

Now the higher a cause is, the more superior is its effect. And so those who wish to investigate certain effects in terms of causes that are inferior are deceived. For example, if one were to consider the movement of water in terms of the power of water, he would not be able to know the cause of the tides of the sea; to do this he would have to consider water in terms of the power of the moon. Thus, those people are even more deceived who consider the proper effects of God in terms of the elements of the world. And this is the reason for the seeming plausibility of what they say.

93. But are not the traditions and reasonings of men always to be spurned?

I respond: no, but only when natural reasoning proceeds according to them, and not according to Christ. As it says below: **and not holding the head, from which the whole body, by joints and bands, being supplied with nourishment and compacted, grows into the increase of God **(Col 2:19).

94. Or, we could say that** according to the elements of the universe** means, by measuring the truth of faith according to the truth of creatures. Or perhaps Paul said this referring to the idolaters who were worshiping idols and saying that Jupiter was the heavens. Or, Paul was referring to the Jewish people, and then the text is understood this way: by philosophy, by the reasoning of those who were trying to convince them to observe the ceremonies of the law, and these, according to the elements of the world, that is, according to the bodily observances: we were slaves to the elements of the world (Gal 4:3). But our first explanation is better.

95. Then when he says,** for in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead corporeally**, he gives the reason for what he has just stated, saying that whatever is not according to Christ should be rejected. But is Christ so good that all things should be rejected for him? He answers that he is, and shows it in three ways:

first, by considering his divinity;

second, by his relationship to those who believe, at and you are filled;

and third, by his relationship to the angels, at who is the head.

96. So he says: whatever is contrary to Christ must be rejected, because he is God. Thus we must prefer him to everything else, for in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead corporeally. Now God is in all things. He is in some things because they participate in a likeness to his goodness, as a stone and things like that. Such things are not God, but they have in themselves something of God; not his substance, but a likeness of his goodness. Consequently, the fullness of divinity does not dwell in them, because he is not there according to his substance.

Again, he is in holy minds by an activity, minds which attain God by love and knowledge; and thus God is in them by grace, not bodily, but according to the effect of grace. And he is not there in his fullness, but only by some limited effects.

But God is present in Christ bodily; and this is explained in three ways.

97. A body is distinguished from its shadow: which are a shadow of things to come: but the body is of Christ (Col 2:17). And so God can indwell in two ways, either as a shadow or bodily, that is, really. The first way is the way he dwelt in the old law, but in Christ he dwells bodily, that is, really and truly.

This passage is explained in a second way by saying that God dwells in the other saints only with respect to their souls, and not in their bodies: for I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh (Rom 7:18). But the divinity dwells in Christ bodily, because the indwelling of God in the saints is by an activity, that is, by love and knowledge, which are actions of a rational mind alone, but God dwells in Christ by assuming a man into the unity of his person. And thus whatever relates to this man is indwelt by God; and thus his flesh and mind are indwelt because both are united to the Word: and the Word became flesh (John 1:14).

The third explanation of this passage is as follows: God is in things in three ways. One way is common, that is, by his power, presence and essence. He is present in another way in the saints, that is, by grace. The third way is found only in Christ, and he is present here by union. Now a body has three dimensions, and the fullness of the divinity superabounds in Christ in these ways. And so the deity is said to be in him bodily. The fullness of the divinity is in Christ, as it were, by length, because it extends to all things; it is in him by breadth, that is, in its charity, and it is in him in its depth, that is, in its incomprehensibility.

98. Nestorius was mistaken on this point: he said that this union was brought about entirely by an indwelling, the Word dwelling in the flesh. But the Apostle does not agree with this, for he says in Philippians: he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant (Phil 2:7). Now when one dwells in a man he does not empty himself; one empties oneself by becoming man. And so Paul continues, being born in the likeness of man. And so Christ is indwelt, but not in the sense that the one indwelling and the one dwelt in are distinct, but in the sense that Christ is both man and God, in whom dwells the fullness of the deity.

99. Then when he says, and you are filled in him, he shows the same thing by relating Christ to others. He is saying, in effect: you have received all things: from his fullness have we all received (John 1:16).

We should note that the Platonists teach that all divine gifts come to men by the mediation of the separated substances; and this is true even according to Dionysius. But this is something special, that we receive divine gifts immediately from him who is the fullness of the angels: the only Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known (John 1:18); it was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him (Heb 2:3).

100. And so Paul continues, who is the head of all principality and power, insofar as he is their king and Lord, not by a likeness of nature, because that is the way he is the head of man. And Paul mentions those orders which seem to have a certain preeminence.