Theodoret of Cyrus: Multiple Elders (but not Bishops) in One City

An overseer, you see, must be above reproach as God's manager (v.7). From this it is clear that they called the elders overseers: after saying, that you might appoint elders in every city, he went on, An overseer, you see, must be above approach. Now, it was the custom for there to be in each city a number, not of bishops, but of elders.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on Titus, Chapter 1, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 253 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Lordship Common to Father and Son

Paul, God's slave and apostle of Jesus Christ by faith of God's elect and knowledge of the truth in matters of religion, in hope of eternal life (vv.1-2). He calls himself a slave indiscriminately, sometimes Christ's, sometimes God's: he knew the lordship was held in common by both.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on Titus, Chapter 1, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 252 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Intercession of Paul and Timothy

He gave him this blessing, and made the customary addition, Grace be with us. Amen. He associated himself as well with the share in grace. May it also be our good fortune to attain it, thanks to the intercession of the writer and the recipient of the letter. And may we see them in their eternal tabernacles, not from a distance, as the rich man saw Lazarus, but as fellow dwellers, living under their leadership, thanks to the grace and lovingkindness of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and the all-holy Spirit belong glory and magnificence, now and always, for ages of ages. Amen.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 4, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 249 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Linus Head of Roman (not Catholic) Church

They say that Linus succeeded the mighty Peter and ruled the church of the Romans after him.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 4, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 249 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Jerome: Christ Underwent What We Deserve for Sin

"He was wounded for our iniquities," saying in the Psalm, "They pierced my hands and my feet," that by his wounds he might cure ours. And he was buried and made weak for our sins; that being made a curse for us, he might free us from the curse. "For cursed is the man that hangeth upon a tree;" wherefore "the chastisement of our peace" was also "upon him." For that which we ought to have borne for our sins, he underwent for us, reconciling by the blood of his cross the things that are in earth, and that are in heaven; "for he is our peace who hath made both one."

(As translated by William Beveridge, in An Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles, London: 1830, at p. 119)

Christ was wounded for our iniquities, that by his wound he might heal our wounds. He also was accursed for our sake, that he might deliver us from the curse. For "cursed is every one that hangeth on tree;" so that the discipline of our peace is upon him. For that which we ought to have suffered for our sins hath he suffered for us, pacifying through the blood of his cross both the things that are in earth and the things that are in heaven.

(As translated by Thomas Becon, in Prayers and other pieces of Thomas Becon, Cambridge:1844, p. 419)

[Christ] endured in our stead the penalty we ought to have suffered for our crimes.

(As translated by J.N.D. Kelly, in Early Christian Doctrines, p. 390)

Ille autem vulneratus est propter iniquitates nostras, dicens in psalmo: Foderunt manus meas et pedes [Ps. XXI, 18], ut suo vulnere vulnera nostra curaret, et attritus est, sive infirmatus propter scelera nostra, ut factus pro nobis maledictum, nos liberaret de maledicto. Maledictus enim omnis homo qui pendet in ligno [Deut. XXI, Galat. III]. Unde disciplina pacis nostrae super eum est. Quod enim nos pro nostris debebamus sceleribus sustinere, ille pro nobis passus est, pacificans per sanguinem crucis suae, sive quae in terra, sive quae in coelis sunt. Ipse est enim pax nostra, qui fecit utraque unum, et medium parietem maceriae, solvens inimicitiam in carne sua, et livore ejus sanati sumus [Ephes. II].

- Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah, Book XIV, at Isaiah 53:5-7, PL 24:507.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Wife Can Outdo Husband in Zeal

Greet Prisca [sic] and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus (v.19). Once again he gave pride of place to the wife over the husband: she was far and away the more zealous, and displayed greater enthusiasm for good causes.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 4, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 249 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Timothy to Bring Scripture Scrolls

When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus at Troas, and the books, especially the parchments (v.13). By parchments he referred to the scrolls, this being the way the Romans refer to the skins. In olden times they kept the divine Scriptures on scrolls, and this is the way the Jews keep them to the present day.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 4, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 248 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Long for the Second Coming by Obedience

Not only to me, but to all who have longed for his coming: it is always a time for longing; the one who follows his laws and lives by them longs for the Lord's coming, looking forward to the divine tribunal with sound hope. Now, far from bragging in saying this, he urges the disciple to persevere in the contents, as ageless crowns are available.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 4, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 247 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Root Out Hidden Problems First

Censure, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and instructions. The wise surgeons do this, too: they operate on the hidden problem first, and use the harsher remedies, and only then apply the milder ones. So censure is like the surgery, rebuke like the more concentrated remedies, and exhortation like the milder ones.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 4, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 246 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Scripture Must Be Universally Available

Having thus brought out the benefit of the divinely-inspired Scripture, he bids him make it available to everyone, and instills dead by his adjuration. I adjure you, therefore, in the presence of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is due to judge living and dead: in view of his coming and his kingdom, preach the word (vv.1-2). Fearful of rendering an account, the divine apostle never ceases to impress this on the disciple with his adjuration.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 4, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 246 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: What We Didn't Know, We Learned from Scripture

Then he brings out also the trustworthiness of the teacher, thus making the teaching more reliable: Knowing from whom you learned it. He reminds him also of his upbringing in piety. And the fact that from a child you have known the sacred writings, which are capable of instructing you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (v.15). And since he had borne further witness to the extent of the power in the sacred writings, he emphasizes as well the benefit stemming from them. All Scripture is divinely-inspired and of benefit (v.16). Making a distinction, he set the writings apart from the works of human wisdom, referring to the spiritual Scripture as divinely-inspired: the grace of the divine Spirit spoke through the inspired authors of [the] Old and New Testaments. It follows that the Holy Spirit is God if the Spirit's Scripture is, as the apostle says, divinely-inspired. He brings out also the kinds of benefit. For teaching: what we did not know we learned from there. For censure: it censures our lawless life. For correction: it urges the backsliders to return to the straight and narrow. For training in righteousness: it drills us in the forms of virtue. So that whoever belongs to God may be well-prepared, equipped for every good work (v.17). All these virtues bring perfection and relate us to the God of all.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 3, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 245-46 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Faith as Affection for the Lord

Having made these predictions, he proposes himself as a model for the disciple. You, on the contrary, have followed closely my instructions (v.10), that is, the truth in teaching. My way of life: the lifestyle in deeds. My purpose: you gained a precise knowledge of my aim as well. My faith: the degree of my affection for the Lord. My patience: how I put up with the failings of the brethren. My love: how much affection I bear to everyone. My endurance: how I bear nobly the assaults of the adversaries.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 3, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 245 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: False Teachers Normal and Paul's Sorcerers Source

In the same way that Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so too these people oppose the truth, being corrupt in mind and false as far as the faith is concerned (v.8). Weeds normally grow up with grain, he is saying: the preachers of the truth have always had their adversaries. What could be a more famous example of piety than Moses? Yet even he had those men who were sorcerers openly arrayed against the truth. The divine apostle, of course, got their names not from the divine Scripture but from the unwritten tradition of the Jews. It was likely that the grace of the Spirit also revealed them to him.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 3, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 244 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Augustine: Metaphor in Scripture

What is that which forbidding to eat blood says, “The life of all flesh is its blood” (Lev. xvii. 11). . . . It remains, therefore, that since that mediator, who in all those sacrifices offered for sins was prefigured, makes an atonement for our life; that may be called life which signifies life. A thing which is a sign is accustomed to be called by the name of the tiling which it signifies; as it is written, “The seven ears are seven years,” for he did not say they “signify seven years,” “and the seven kine are seven years,” and many things of this kind. Hence there is that which is said, “The rock was Christ.” For he did not say “the rock signified Christ,” but, as it were, was this very thing, though indeed it was not this in substance, but in signification. So also the blood, because on account of a certain vital substantiality it signifies the life, is in sacraments called the life. . . . Modes of speech also must be considered by that which contains being used for that which is contained, that since life is held in the body by blood, for if it is shed it departs, by it life may be more suitably signified, and blood takes its name. As the place in which the church is assembled is called a church (Eph. v. 27; 1 Cor. xi. 22). It is also written, “He sheddeth blood who withdraweth the hire of the labourer” (Eccles. xxxiv. 24 or 27). He called blood hire, since in it life is sustained, which is called by the name of blood.

(Translation by John Harrison as presented at pp. 14-15 of Letter to the Rev. E.B. Pusey on His Unfair Treatment of the Testimony of the Fathers – London 1877)

A thing which is a sign is accustomed to be called by the name of the thing which it signifies; as it is written, “The seven ears are seven years,” for he did not say they “signify seven years,” “and the seven kine are seven years,” and many things of this kind. Hence there is that which is said, “The rock was Christ,” but he did not say, “The rock signified Christ,” etc.

(Translation by William Lockett as presented at pp. 125-126 of The Church of Rome – London 1907)

A thing which is a sign is wont to be called by the name of the thing of which it is a sign: and so it is written, The seven ears are seven years; for it is not said, They signify seven years: and the seven kine are seven years; and there are many examples of the same kind … For it is not said, The rock signifies Christ, but words are used as if the rock was that which in substance it is not, but which it only signifies; and similarly blood, because (on account of a kind of vital substance in it) it is a sign of life, is, in sacramental language called life.

(Translation by John MacNaught, M.A. as presented at p. 173 of Coena Domini – London, 1878)

The thing which signifieth is wont to be called by the name of that thing which it signifieth, as it is written, “The seven ears are seven years.” It saith not, They signify seven years. And, “Seven kine are seven years;” and many other like. And so said St Paul, that “the stone was Christ,” and not, that it signified Christ, but even as it had been he indeed, which nevertheless was not Christ by substance, but by signification” &c.

(Translation by Thomas Becon, S.T.P., as presented at p. 282 of the Catechism of Thomas Becon – Cambridge 1844)

De verbis: Anima omnis carnis sanguis eius est?

1. Quid est quod prohibens edendum sanguinem dicit: Anima omnis carnis, sanguis eius est? Quem totum locum sic explicat: Et homo, homo filiorum Israel, aut de proselytis qui appositi sunt in vobis, quicumque ederit omnem sanguinem; et statuam faciem meam super animam quae manducat sanguinem, et perdam illam de populo suo. Anima enim omnis carnis, sanguis eius est. Et ego dedi illum vobis exorare pro animabus vestris: sanguis enim eius pro anima exorabit. Propterea dixi filiis Israel: Omnis anima ex vobis non edet sanguinem; et proselytus qui appositus est in vobis, non edet sanguinem. Numquidnam si animam pecoris sanguinem dicimus, etiam anima hominis sanguis putanda est? Absit. Quomodo ergo non ait: Anima omnis carnis pecoris sanguis eius est; sed: Anima, inquit, omnis carnis sanguis eius est? In omni utique carne, etiam hominis caro deputatur. An quia vitale aliquid est in sanguine, quia per ipsum maxime in hac carne vivitur, qui in omnibus venis per corporis cuncta diffunditur, ipsam vitam corporis vocavit animam, non vitam quae migrat ex corpore, sed quae morte finitur? Qua locutione dicimus istam vitam temporalem esse, non aeternam; mortalem, non immortalem: cum sit immortalis animae natura, quae ablata est ab Angelis in sinu Abrahae; et cui dicitur: Hodie mecum eris in paradiso; et quae in tormentis ardebat inferni. Secundum istam ergo significationem, qua perhibetur anima etiam haec temporalis vita, dixit apostolus Paulus: Non enim facio animam meam pretiosam quam mihi; ubi se ostendere voluit et mori paratum pro Evangelio. Nam secundum significationem qua anima dicitur illa quae migrat ex corpore, magis eam pretiosam faciebat, cui tantum meritum conquirebat. Sunt et aliae huiusmodi locutiones. Vita itaque ista temporalis maxime sanguine continetur in corpore. Sed quid est quod ait: Dedi vobis eum ad altare Dei, exorare pro anima vestra; tamquam anima pro anima exoret? Numquid sanguis pro sanguine, quasi de nostro sanguine solliciti simus, cum pro anima nostra volumus exorari? Absurdum est hoc.

2. Sed multo est absurdius ut sanguis pecoris exoret pro anima hominis, quae mori non potest: cum manifeste Scriptura testetur in Epistola ad Hebraeos, illum sanguinem victimarum nihil profuisse ad exorandum Deum pro peccatis hominum; sed significasse aliquid quod prodesset. Impossibile est enim, inquit, sanguinem hircorum et taurorum auferre peccata. Restat itaque ut quoniam pro anima nostra exorat Mediator ille, qui omnibus illis sacrificiis quae pro peccatis offerebantur praefigurabatur, illud appelletur anima quod significat animam.

3. Solet autem res quae significat eius rei nomine quam significat nuncupari; sicut scriptum est: Septem spicae, septem anni sunt; non enim dixit, septem annos significant: et: Septem boves, septem anni sunt; et multa huiusmodi. Hinc est quod dictum est: Petra erat Christus: non enim dixit: Petra significat Christum, sed tamquam hoc esset, quod utique per substantiam non hoc erat, sed per significationem. Sic et sanguis quoniam propter vitalem quamdam corpulentiam animam significat, in sacramentis anima dictus est. Verum si quisquam putat animam pecoris esse sanguinem, non est in ista quaestione laborandum. Tantum ne anima hominis, quae carnem humanam vivificat, et est rationalis, sanguis putetur, valde cavendum est, et hic error modis omnibus refutandus. Quaerendae etiam locutiones, quibus per id quod continet, significetur id quod continetur, ut quoniam anima sanguine tenetur in corpore (nam si fuerit effusus abscedit), per ipsum aptius significata sit anima, et eius nomen sanguis acceperit. Sicut ecclesia dicitur locus quo Ecclesia congregatur. Nam Ecclesia homines sunt, de quibus dicitur: Ut exhiberet sibi gloriosam Ecclesiam. Hoc tamen vocari etiam ipsam domum orationum, idem apostolus testis est, ubi ait: Numquid domus non habetis ad manducandum et bibendum? an ecclesiam Dei contemnitis? Et hoc quotidianus loquendi usus obtinuit, ut in ecclesiam prodire, aut ad ecclesiam confugere non dicatur, nisi qui ad locum ipsum parietesque prodierit vel confugerit, quibus Ecclesiae congregatio continetur. Scriptum est etiam: Et effundens sanguinem, qui fraudat mercedem mercenarii. Mercedem sanguinem dixit, quoniam ea sustentatur vita, quae nomine sanguinis appellatur.

4. Sed cum Dominus dicat: Nisi manducaveritis carnem meam, et biberitis meum sanguinem, non habebitis in vobis vitam; quid sibi vult quod a sanguine sacrificiorum, quae pro peccatis offerebantur, tantopere populus prohibetur, si illis sacrificiis unum hoc sacrificium significabatur, in quo vera fit remissio peccatorum: a cuius tamen sacrificii sanguine in alimentum sumendo, non solum nemo prohibetur, sed ad bibendum potius omnes exhortantur, qui volunt habere vitam? Quaerendum igitur quid significet, quod homo prohibetur in Lege sanguinem manducare, eumque Deo fundere iubetur. Nam de animae natura, cur per sanguinem significata sit, quantum in praesentia satis visum est, diximus.

- Augustine, Questions in Leviticus, Book III, Question 57, On the words: The life of all flesh is his blood (Section 3 is the focal point)

Augustine: None Perish for whom Christ Died

For if Christ died for those only who with clear intelligence can discern these things, our labour in the Church is almost spent in vain. But if, as is the fact, crowds of common people, possessing no great strength of intellect, run to the Physician in the exercise of faith, with the result of being healed by Christ and Him crucified, that "where sin has abounded, grace may much more abound," [Romans 5:20] it comes in wondrous ways to pass, through the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God and His unsearchable judgments, that, on the one hand, some who do discern between the material and the spiritual in their own nature, while pluming themselves on this attainment, and despising that foolishness of preaching by which those who believe are saved, wander far from the only path which leads to eternal life; and, on the other hand, because not one perishes for whom Christ died, [John 17:12] many glorying in the cross of Christ, and not withdrawing from that same path, attain, notwithstanding their ignorance of those things which some with most profound subtlety investigate, unto that eternity, truth, and love—that is, unto that enduring, clear, and full felicity—in which to those who abide, and see, and love, all things are plain.

Nam si propter eos solos Christus mortuus est, qui certa intellegentia possunt ista discernere, pene frustra in Ecclesia laboramus. Si autem, quod veritas habet, infirmi populi credentium ad medicum currunt, sanandi per Christum, et hunc crucifixum, ut ubi abundavit peccatum, superabundet gratia; miris fit modis per altitudinem divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei, et per inscrutabilia iudicia eius, ut et nonnulli a corporibus incorporea discernentes, cum sibi ex hoc magni videntur, et irrident stultitiam praedicationis, qua salvi fiunt credentes, ab unica via longe exerrent, quae ad vitam aeternam sola perducit: et multi in cruce Christi gloriantes, et ab eadem via non recedentes, etiamsi ista quae subtilissime disseruntur, ignorant, quia non perit unus pusillus mortuus est, ad eamdem perveniant aeternitatem, veritatem, caritatem, id est ad stabilem, certam, plenamque felicitatem, ubi manentibus, videntibus, amantibus sunt cuncta perspicua.

- Augustine, Letter 169 (to Evodius), (NPNF1, Volume 1, J. G. Cunningham translator), (English)(Latin)

Augustine: Reprobate not Purchased by Christ's Blood

The Jews made this inquiry of Christ, chiefly in order that, should He say, I am Christ, they might, in accordance with the only sense they attached to such a name, that He was of the seed of David, calumniate Him with aiming at the kingly power. There is more than this in His answer to them: they wished to calumniate Him with claiming to be the Son of David. He replied that He was the Son of God. And how? Listen: "Jesus answered them, I tell you, and you believe not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me: but you believe not; because you are not of my sheep." You have already learned above [in Lecture XLV.] who the sheep are: be ye sheep. They are sheep through believing, sheep in following the Shepherd, sheep in not despising their Redeemer, sheep in entering by the door, sheep in going out and finding pasture, sheep in the enjoyment of eternal life. What did He mean, then, in saying to them, "You are not of my sheep"? That He saw them predestined to everlasting destruction, not won to eternal life by the price of His own blood.

Hoc pro magno Iudaei a Christo quaerebant, ut si diceret: Ego sum Christus, secundum quod illi solum sapiebant de semine David, calumniarentur quod sibi arrogaret regiam potestatem. Plus est quod eis respondit: illi de filio David volebant calumniari, ille Filium Dei se esse respondit. Et quomodo? Audite: Respondit eis Iesus: Loquor vobis, et non creditis; opera quae ego facio in nomine Patris mei, haec testimonium perhibent de me: sed vos non creditis, quia non estis ex ovibus meis. Iam supra didicistis quae sint oves: estote oves. Oves credendo sunt, oves pastorem sequendo sunt, oves redemptorem non contemnendo sunt, oves per ostium intrando sunt, oves exeundo et pascua inveniendo sunt, oves vita aeterna perfruendo sunt. Quomodo ergo istis dixit: Non estis ex ovibus meis? Quia videbat eos ad sempiternum interitum praedestinatos, non ad vitam aeternam sui sanguinis pretio comparatos.

- Augustine, Tractate 48 on John, Section 4, (NPNF1, Volume 7, John Gibb translator), (English)(Latin)

Augustine on 1 John 2:2 and "Whole World" - Part 2

See John himself observing humility. Assuredly he was a righteous and a great man, who from the Lord's bosom drank in the secrets of His mysteries; he, the man who by drinking from the Lord's bosom indited of His Godhead, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God:" he, being such a man as this, says not, You have an advocate with the Father; but, "If any man sin, an advocate," says he, "have we." He says not, you have; nor says, you have me; nor says, you have Christ Himself: but he puts Christ, not himself, and says, also, "We have," not, you have. He chose rather to put himself in the number of sinners that he might have Christ for his advocate, than to put himself in Christ's stead as advocate, and to be found among the proud that shall be condemned. Brethren, Jesus Christ the righteous, even Him have we for our advocate with the Father; "He," even He, "is the propitiation for our sins." This whoso has held fast, has made no heresy; this whoso has held fast, has made no schism. For whence came schisms? When men say, "we" are righteous, when men say, "we" sanctify the unclean, "we" justify the ungodly; "we" ask, "we" obtain. But what says John? "And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." But some man will say: then do the saints not ask for us? Then do bishops and rulers not ask for the people? Yea, but mark the Scriptures, and see that rulers also commend themselves to the prayers of the people. Thus the apostle says to the congregation, "Praying withal for us also." [Colossians 4:3] The apostle prays for the people, the people prays for the apostle. We pray for you, brethren: but do ye also pray for us. Let all the members pray one for another; let the Head intercede for all. Therefore it is no marvel that he here goes on and shuts the mouths of them that divide the Church of God. For he that has said, "We have Jesus Christ the righteous, and He is the propitiation for our sins:" having an eye to those who would divide themselves, and would say, "Lo, here is Christ, lo, there;" [Matthew 24:23] and would show Him in a part who bought the whole and possesses the whole, he immediately goes on to say, "Not our sins only, but also the sins of the whole world." What is this, brethren? Certainly "we have found it in the fields of the woods," we have found the Church in all nations. Behold, Christ "is the propitiation for our sins; not ours only, but also the sins of the whole world." Behold, you have the Church throughout the whole world; do not follow false justifiers who in truth are cutters off. Be in that mountain which has filled the whole earth: because "Christ is the propitiation for our sins; not only ours, but also the sins of the whole world," which He has bought with His blood.

Videte ipsum Ioannem servantem humilitatem. Certe vir iustus erat et magnus, qui de pectore Domini mysteriorum secreta bibebat; ille, ille qui bibendo de pectore Domini divinitatem ructavit: In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum: ille talis vir non dixit: Advocatum habetis apud Patrem; sed: Si quis peccaverit, advocatum, inquit, habemus. Non dixit, habetis; nec, me habetis, dixit; nec, ipsum Christum habetis, dixit: sed et Christum posuit, non se; et habemus dixit, non, habetis. Maluit se ponere in numero peccatorum, ut haberet advocatum Christum, quam ponere se pro Christo advocatum, et inveniri inter damnandos superbos. Fratres, Iesum Christum iustum, ipsum habemus advocatum ad Patrem; ipse propitiatio est peccatorum nostrorum. Hoc qui tenuit, haeresim non fecit; hoc qui tenuit, schisma non fecit. Unde enim facta sunt schismata? Cum dicunt homines: Nos iusti sumus; cum dicunt homines: Nos sanctificamus immundos, nos iustificamus impios, nos petimus, nos impetramus. Ioannes autem quid dixit? Et si quis peccaverit, advocatum habemus ad Patrem, Iesum Christum iustum. Sed dicet aliquis: Ergo sancti non petunt pro nobis? ergo episcopi et praepositi non petunt pro populo? Sed attendite Scripturas, et videte quia et praepositi commendant se populo. Nam Apostolus dicit plebi: Orantes simul et pro nobis. Orat Apostolus pro plebe, orat plebs pro Apostolo. Oramus pro vobis, fratres: sed et vos orate pro nobis. In vicem pro se omnia membra orent, caput pro omnibus interpellet. Propterea non mirum quia sequitur hic, et claudit ora dividentibus Ecclesiam Dei. Qui enim dixit: Iesum Christum habemus iustum, et ipse propitiatio est peccatorum nostrorum: propter illos qui se divisuri erant, et dicturi: Ecce hic est Christus, ecce illic; et vellent ostendere eum in parte qui emit totum, et possidet totum; continuo secutus est: Non tantum nostrorum, sed et totius mundi. Quid est hoc, fratres? Certe invenimus eam in campis saltuum, invenimus Ecclesiam in omnibus gentibus. Ecce Christus propitiatio est peccatorum nostrorum; non tantum nostrorum, sed et totius mundi. Ecce habes Ecclesiam per totum mundum; noli sequi falsos iustificatores, et veros praecisores. In illo monte esto qui implevit orbem terrarum: quia Christus propitiatio est peccatorum nostrorum; non tantum nostrorum, sed et totius mundi, quem suo sanguine comparavit.

- Augustine, Homily 1 on 1 John, Section 8, (NPNF1, Volume 7, H. Browne translator) (English)(Latin)

Augustine on 1 John 2:2 and "Whole World"

In like manner it is said, on the one hand, "the whole world lies in wickedness," [1 John 5:19] because of the tares which are throughout the whole world; and, on the other hand, Christ "is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world," [1 John 2:2] because of the wheat which is throughout the whole world.

Itaque et totus mundus in maligno positus est, propter zizania quae sunt per totum mundum; et Christus propitiator est peccatorum nostrorum, non tantum nostrorum, sed et totius mundi, propter triticum quod est per totum mundum.

- Augustine, Letter 93 to Vincentius, Chapter 9, Section 32 (NPNF1, Vol. 1 - J.G. Cunningham translator)(English)(Latin)

Theodoret of Cyrus: Belief or Unbelief Does Not Affect God

If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful: he cannot deny himself (v.13): those with faith do not render him God, nor do those without faith remove the divine nature from him; rather, whether we believe or not, he is God. So it is we the believers who reap the benefit.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 2, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 241 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Works are Evidence of Faith

If we died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endured with him, we shall also reign with him (vv.11-12). The phrase, we died with him, he applied not only to those taken up for burial but also to the baptized: those who sincerely believe and give evidence of a life in keeping with their faith will share life with the Lord.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 2, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 241 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Timothy to Serve as a Model of Faith and Love

Be a model of the sound teachings you have heard from me in the faith and love which is in Christ Jesus (v.13). Imitate the painters, he is saying, and as they take note of originals, painting copies of them with precision, so too keep as a kind of original the teaching given by me about faith and love.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 1, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 239 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Salvation is the Outworking of God's Eternal Plan

Given to us in Christ Jesus before the eternal ages, but now revealed through the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ (vv.9-10): while the God of all determined these things even before the ages, he now pouts into effect what had been determined. In planning them he had Christ the Lord to concur with him, and in effecting them he had him as collaborator: through his coming he brought the work to completion.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 1, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 238 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Unconditional Election

Not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace: he called us, not having regard to our way of living, but solely on account of his lovingkindness.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 1, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 238 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Timothy Brought to Faith By His Mother

Having a recollection of the unalloyed faith in you (v.5): I rejoice in particular at the sincerity of your faith. Which dwelt first in your grandmother Louis and your mother Eunice. Blessed Luke also recalls his mother in the Acts: "A disciple named Timothy was there, son of a Jewish woman, who was a believer." While one faith was in the past, it was the other she accepted for herself: though she was a Jew; she came to faith in the Savior of all. By the favorable mention of his parents, of course, the divine apostle strengthens the faith in the disciple; nothing brings such benefit as an example from home. Since it happens that some people of pious parents do not imitate their piety, he was obliged to add, And I am sure it is in you as well.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 2 Timothy, Chapter 1, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 237 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Oral Tradition a Gnostic Claim

Give a wide berth to those hollow profanities and contradictions in what is falsely called knowledge; by professing it some have strayed from the faith (vv.20-21). Those who followed in the steps of Simon called themselves Gnostics; what the divine Scripture is silent on (they claim) God revealed to them, but they are full of impiety and licentiousness. He was right to call this knowledge what is falsely called knowledge: the darkness of ignorance is what they have, not the light of the knowledge of God.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 1 Timothy, Chapter 6, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 230 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Augustine: All in Adam Distinguished from All in Christ

Since you do not wish to understand the “many” he said later as meaning the “all” he said first, you declare he said “many” to keep us from thinking he meant “all”. You could do likewise about the seed of Abraham to whom all nations were promised, and say not all nations were promised him, because we read in another passage: “I have made thee a father of many nations.” Sound thinking shows that Scripture speaks in this way because there can be an “all” which are not “many,” as we speak of all the Gospels, yet they are only four in number. There can also be “many” which are not “all,” as we say many believe in Christ, yet not all believe; the Apostle says: “All men have not faith.” In the words, “In your seed all nations will be blessed” and “I have made thee a father of many nations,” it is clear that the same nations that are all are also many, and the same that are many are all. Similarly, when it is said that through one, sin passed unto all, and later, that through the disobedience of one, many were constituted sinners, those who are many are also all. In like manner, when it is said: “By the justice of the one the result is unto justification of life to all men,” and again: “By the obedience of the one many will be constituted just,” none is excepted; we must understand that those who are many are all not because all men are justified in Christ, but because all who are justified can be justified in no other way than in Christ. We can also say that all enter a certain house through one door, not because all men enter that house, but because no one enters except through that door. All, then, are unto death through Adam; all unto life through Christ. “As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made to live.” That is to say, from the first origin of the human race, none is unto death except through Adam, and through Adam none is unto anything but death; and none is unto life except through Christ, and through Christ none is unto anything but life.

Cum vero Multos, quod dixit postea, non vis intellegi omnes, quod prius dixerat; ideo existimans "dictum fuisse multos, ne omnes intellegerentur": poteris hoc dicere et de semine Abrahae, cui promissae sunt omnes gentes , non omnes gentes ei fuisse promissas; quia dictum est alio loco: Patrem multarum gentium posui te. Est autem sanus intellectus, ideo sie locutam Scripturam, quia possunt esse aliqua omnia, quae non sunt multa; sicut omnia dicimus Evangelia, et tamen brevi numero, id est, quaternario continentur. Et rursus possunt aliqua esse multa, non tamen omnia; sicut multos dicimus credere in Christum, nec tamen omnes credunt. Non enim omnium est fides, ait Apostolus. Quod autem dictum est: In semine tuo benedicentur omnes gentes, et: Patrem multarum gentium posuit te, easdem omnes, multas; et easdem multas, omnes esse monstratum est. Ita etiam cum dictum est: Per unum in omnes transisse peccatum; et postea: Per unius inobedientiam peccatores constitutos multos; ipsi sunt multi, qui et omnes. Similiter cum dictum est: Per unius iustificationem in omnes homines, ad iustificationem vitae; et rursus dictum est: Per unius obedientiam iusti constituentur multi, non aliquibus exceptis, sed eosdem multos, omnes oportet intellegi; non quia omnes homines iustificantur in Christo, sed quia omnes qui iustificantur, non aliter possunt iustificari quam in Christo. Sicut possumus dicere, in aliquam domum per unam ianuam intrare omnes; non quia omnes homines intrant in eamdem domum, sed quia nemo intrat nisi per illam. Omnes ergo ad mortem per Adam, omnes ad vitam per Christum. Quia sicut in Adam omnes moriuntur, ita et in Christo omnes vivificabuntur; id est, ex prima origine generis humani nemo ad mortem nisi per Adam, et nemo per Adam nisi ad mortem; et nemo ad vitam nisi per Christum, et nemo per Christum nisi ad vitam.

- Augustine, Against Julian, Book VI, Chapter 24, Section 80, The Fathers Of The Church: A New Translation, Volume 35, "Saint Augustine Against Julian" (1957), pp. 391-92, Matthew A. Schumacher, C.S.C., translator (Latin)

Theodoret of Cyrus: All Means All - An Arian Argument

Now, since those holding the view of Arius give a wrong meaning to the phrase, "All things were made through him," and stubbornly insist that the Spirit is included in the "all things," let them listen to the apostle saying, who gives life to all things, and tell us how they take all things here. Will the species of brute beasts attain resurrection, and in addition to brute beasts inanimate things - I mean seeds, rocks, wood, and things like them? Obviously they would not say so. So the divine apostle left us to take all things in a religious sense; and the Gospel verse is also to be taken in similar fashion.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 1 Timothy, Chapter 6, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 229 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Paul Quoted Luke as Scripture

Let the elders who have presided well be accorded double honor, especially those engaged in preaching and teaching (v.17): so praiseworthy is the profession of teaching. He used the phrase double honor to mean greater honor. He confirms the idea with scriptural testimony: Scripture says, remember, You shall not muzzle an ox that is treading the grain, and Laborers deserve their pay (v.18). He quoted one from the Old Testament, one from the New.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 1 Timothy, Chapter 5, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 225-26 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Remarriage of Widows and Value of Chores

So I prefer younger widows to marry, have children, run a household, give no grounds to the adversary for abuse (v.14). While the divine apostle says, I prefer, Novation says, I do not prefer. He also gives the reason for his preference: so that by being subject to their husbands and taken up with household chores they will be free from the harm which idleness begets.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 1 Timothy, Chapter 5, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 224 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Duties of Widows

If a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn their religious duty to their own household and make repayment to their forebears, this being acceptable in God's sight. The one who is really widowed and left on her own, on the other hand, has placed her hope in God and spends her time in prayer and supplication night and day (vv.4-5). Those with no source of comfort from any other quarter, he is saying, should enjoy the Church's attention; being freed from worries, they have one concern, devoting themselves constantly to the divine prayers. Those with children and grandchildren, however, should take an interest in them and make a return to them for the care they received from their own parents so as to discharge to them the debt owed to those parents, and receive in return care at their hands.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 1 Timothy, Chapter 5, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 224 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Grace Obtained Through the Effort of Hearing Scripture

Until I come, give attention to public reading, to exhortation, to instruction (v.13). We can learn from this that we ourselves can contribute our effort, and thus receive the grace of the Spirit: the teacher bade the thrice-blessed Timothy, spiritual though he was, to attend to public reading. Now, exhortation differs from instruction: instruction provides the person with a complete range of lessons, whereas exhortation either consoles the downhearted or transforms the wrathful with wise counsels.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 1 Timothy, Chapter 4, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 223 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Prizes for Godly Living

This is the reason we both labor and are reproached, because we have placed our hope in the living God, who is savior of all people, especially believers (v.10): why on earth have we undertaken such great labor as this and are the butt of reproaches on the part of everyone unless there is some reward for the labors? There is a reward, in fact: eternal God awards prizes to the athletes, and he is savior of all people, especially those who believe in him.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 1 Timothy, Chapter 4, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 222 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Marriage is for Enjoyment

Forbidding marriage, requiring abstinence from foods which God created for partaking with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth (v.3): they call marriage and most foods defiled so as to insult the creator of such things. He made them for enjoyment, of course, so that those who partake of them might use the occasion for thanksgiving and sing the praises of their source. The phrase forbidding marriage was well put: without vilifying celibacy and abstinence, he criticizes those who oblige people by law to adopt them.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 1 Timothy, Chapter 4, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, pp. 221-22 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Church is Communict of the Believers

So I am writing this, he says, to explain how those entrusted with the care of souls ought live (calling the community of the believers house and Church of God). He said they were pillar and foundation of the truth: fixed on the rock, they remain unmoved, proclaiming the truth of the teachings in deed as well.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 1 Timothy, Chapter 3, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 220 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Women Deacons

Women likewise (v.11), that is, women deacons. Serious, not slanderers, sober, faithful in everything. What he required of the men he requires similarly of the women as well: just as he said the deacons were to be serious, so too they must be serious; and as he bade the former not be double-tongued, so too he bade them not be slanderers; and as he required of the former not to indulge in wine to excess, so too he directed them to be sober.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 1 Timothy, Chapter 3, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 219-20 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Works Confirm Faith

Holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience (v.9), that is, confirming faith with deeds. He called good works a clear conscience, note: the one who performs them does not feel the prick of conscience.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 1 Timothy, Chapter 3, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 219 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.

Theodoret of Cyrus: Celibacy in the Eldership

A husband of one wife: The teaching broke new ground. Celibacy was something that Greeks did not practice or Jews permit, believing a large family a blessing. So since at that time it was not easy to find those practicing chastity, he bids them ordain married men with a respect for continence. On the other hand, some commentators strike me as having given a good interpretation of the phrase, a husband of one wife: in former times both Greeks and Jews were in the habit of living with two, three or more wives in conformity with marriage law, and even now, despite imperial laws forbidding a man to take two wives at the one time, some take concubines and mistresses. The commentators claimed, therefore, that the divine apostles means that the man living chastely with only one wife was worthy of ordination as overseer; he was not ruling out the second marriage, they claim, for the very reason that he had often given instructions for it to happen. He says, remember, "A wife is bound as long as her husband is alive; but if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord;" and again, "I am speaking to the unmarried and to widows," and treating each group alike, he applied one law. In actual fact, you see, where self-control is in force, marrying twice is not a matter of choice: if a person got rid of his former wife and took up with another, he would deserve blame and be liable to accusation; but if death ruptured the union with the first wife and natural inclination obliged him to be joined to a second wife, the second marriage happened not by choice but by force of circumstances. With this and similar considerations in mind, I accept the interpretation of those taking the text this way.

- Theodoret of Cyrus (around A.D. 393 to around A.D. 457), Commentary on 1 Timothy, Chapter 3, in Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Volume 2, p. 217-18 (2001), Robert C. Hill translator.