ACC ~ 2 Corinthians 5 v6 - 10

OVERVIEW:

While we are in this body, we are pressured by events in the world. Once we have left the body we know that we will be with God (PELAGIUS, AMBROSIASTER). We cannot now see what we shall be like, but we discern it by faith alone (THEODORET OF CYR, AUGUSTINE, SEVERIAN OF GABALA). If we are going to rise with a body, it is clear that we shall not be judged without a body (CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, AMBROSIASTER, CHRYSOSTOM, AUGUSTINE, CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). All shall render a final account (ORIGEN, FULGENTIUS). Meanwhile, in this world we are wayfarers (ORIGEN, JEROME, CASSIODORUS).

5:6 | Always of Good Courage

ABSENT FROM THE LORD. AMBROSIASTER: God is still present, but because we cannot see him we are said to be absent from him as long as we are in the body. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

PILGRIMS AND WANDERERS. PELAGIUS: As long as we are in this present body, we are tossed about by events in this world and do not know how it will all end. But once we have left the body, we know that we are going to be with God, since we are freed from the uncertain and hostile cares of this world. Here we are pilgrims, and as wanderers we should not worry too much about the things of this world. Let us be content with what is necessary and concentrate all our desire and longing on getting to our Father’s home. COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 5.

FOREIGNERS FOR A BRIEF TIME. CASSIODORUS: We have been expelled in the person of Adam from our abode in paradise, and we have our lodging in this land because we do not possess the blessedness of that native land; so we are seen to be foreigners in this world. As Paul likewise says, “While we are in this body, we are absent from the Lord.” EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 118.54.

HASTENING HOME. JEROME: We who in this world “are exiled from the Lord” walk about on earth, it is true, but we are hastening on our way to heaven. For here we do not have a lasting place, but we are wayfarers and pilgrims, like all our fathers. HOMILY 63 ON PSALMS.

THE HOPE OF THE FUTURE. AUGUSTINE: Man indeed brought death to himself and to the Son of Man, but the Son of Man, by dying and rising again, brought life to man. … He wished to suffer this in the sight of his enemies, that they might think him, as it were, forsaken, and that the grace of the New Testament might be entrusted to us, to make us learn to seek another happiness, which we now possess by faith, but then we shall behold it. “For while we are in the body,” says the apostle, “we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith and not by sight.” Therefore, we now live in hope, but then we shall enjoy reality. LETTER 140, TO HONORATUS 9.

5:7 | Walking by Faith

WE WALK BY FAITH. SEVERIAN OF GABALA: 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. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

NOT BY SIGHT. THEODORET OF CYR: We cannot now see what we shall be like, but we discern it by faith alone. That is why after the death of the body we want to stand in the presence of God. COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 314.

THE EYE OF FAITH. AUGUSTINE: Therefore, amid the shadows of this life in which “we are absent from the Lord” as long as “we walk by faith and not by sight,” the Christian soul should consider itself desolate and should not cease from praying and from attending with the eye of faith to the word of the divine and sacred Scriptures. TO PROBA 130.

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH, GLORIFICATION BY SIGHT. FULGENTIUS: Nevertheless, when we hear at the same time of the justified and the glorified, let us not assign both the work of justification and glorification to the same moment in the present time. For the grace of justification is given in the present time, but the grace of glorification is saved as a future grace. The one is of faith, the other of sight. Paul says that now “we walk by faith, not by sight.” What the saints believe now, then they will see. TO MONIMUS 1. 11.5.

5:8 | At Home with the Lord

EAGER TO DEPART. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul has put the greatest thing of all last, for to be with Christ is greater than having an incorruptible body. By avoiding direct mention of painful things like death and the end, Paul has dealt with them in such a way as to make his hearers long for them by calling them “presence with God.” Similarly, he has passed over the sweet things of this life and expressed them in painful terms, calling them “absence from the Lord.” He did this in order that we should not fondly linger among what we now have but be prepared to depart for something much better. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 10.4.

THE COURAGE OF THE PILGRIM. ORIGEN: I pray that our souls may never be disquieted, and even more that in the presence of the tribunals and of the naked swords drawn against our necks they may be guarded by the peace of God, which passes all understanding, and may be quieted when they consider that those who are foreigners from the body are at home with the Lord of all. AN EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM 4.

5:9 | Our Aim Is to Please God

OUR AIM. AMBROSIASTER: We have to put our energy into good works in order to please God. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

DEPARTING OR STAYING. CHRYSOSTOM: Departing is not good in itself, but only if it is in God’s grace. Likewise, staying here is not the worst of evils, unless we are offending him. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 10.4.

5:10 | The Judgment Seat of Christ

WHAT ONE HAS DONE IN THE BODY. AMBROSIASTER: If we are going to receive what we have done in the body, it is clear that we shall not be judged without a body, good or bad. Paul does not say “in the flesh,” because the deeds of the flesh always deserve punishment, but “in the body,” because sometimes the body acts spiritually and sometimes it acts carnally. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE JUDGMENT SEAT. CHRYSOSTOM: Having alarmed and shaken his hearers by mentioning the judgment seat, Paul softens what he says by mentioning the possibility of receiving good rewards, as well as bad. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 10.5.

WE MUST ALL APPEAR. AUGUSTINE: Christ judges all things because when he is with God he is above all. ON TRUE RELIGION 58.

THE SOUL DID NOT EXIST BEFORE THE BODY. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: From this we learn that the soul was not punished for sins committed before it acquired a body. In fact, the soul did not exist before the body. LETTER 81.4.

ALL MUST APPEAR BEFORE CHRIST. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Those who drag in a doctrine of moral indifference do violence to some few passages of Scripture, thinking that they support their own love of pleasure; in particular, the passage “Sin shall have no authority over you; for you are not subject to sin but to grace.” But there are other such passages, which there is no good reason to record for these purposes, as I am not equipping a pirate ship! Let me quickly cut through their attempt. The admirable apostle in person will refute their charge in the words with which he continues the previous quotation: “Well then! Shall we sin because we are no longer under law but under grace? God forbid!” With these inspired prophetic words, at a single stroke he undoes the sophistical skill at the service of pleasure. So they have not understood, it seems, that “we must all appear before Christ’s tribunal, where each must receive what is due to him for his physical conduct, good or bad,” that is, where a person may receive recompense for what he has done by means of his body. STROMATEIS 3.8.61.

WE MUST GIVE ACCOUNT. FULGENTIUS: Human beings … because they have been made rational will render an account to God for themselves and for all the things which they have received for use in this present life and, according to the nature of their works, will receive either punishment or glory. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or bad.” … Therefore, eternal life will be given in the future only to the one to whom forgiveness of sins has been given in this world. Only he will receive forgiveness of sins here who renounces his sins and hastens to the highest and true God with true conversion of heart. For that [judgment] will not be a time of forgiveness but of retribution. There mercy will not justify the sinner, but justice will distinguish the just and the sinner. ON THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS 2.6.1.

THE MARK OF A LAZY SOUL. ORIGEN: Why do we ourselves not believe that we all will stand “before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may obtain the things proper to the body according to what he has done, whether good or evil”? If we would believe these things entirely, there would be applied to us what was written, “Redemption of a man’s soul is his wealth.” But how can we either know or believe or understand these things when we indeed do not come together to hear them? For who of you, when the Scriptures are read, really pays attention? God through the prophet threatens indeed in great anger, “I will send famine upon the earth; not a famine of bread or the thirst of water but a famine of hearing the word of God.” But now God has not sent “a famine” upon his church nor “a thirst to hear the word of God.” For we have “living bread which came down from heaven.” We have “living water springing up into eternal life.” Why in this time of fruitfulness do we destroy ourselves by famine and thirst? It is the mark of a lazy and lingering soul to suffer want in all this abundance. HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 9.5.

SEEING THINGS FROM GOD’S POINT OF VIEW

OVERVIEW: We shall live because Christ died for us (AUGUSTINE, CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). For our sake he rose again (CHRYSOSTOM). The apostles were not obliged to be silent about the gifts they received from Christ (AMBROSIASTER), which they keep in perpetual remembrance (BASIL). Even if Paul seems to be beside himself, the love of God is in control (DIDYMUS THE BLIND). Even if people think he is mad, everything he does is for the glory of God (CHRYSOSTOM).

5:11 | Known to God

KNOWN ALSO TO THE CORINTHIANS’ CONSCIENCE. CHRYSOSTOM: It is because he knows the judgment which is to come that Paul does everything he can to avoid giving offense in his ministry to the Corinthians. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 11.1.

5:12 | Cause for Pride

PERSONAL PRIDE. AMBROSIASTER: Paul is saying this because of some people who used to take a personal pride in making it known that they had been taught by men who had always been with the Lord. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

NOT PRAISING HIMSELF. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul is concerned to avoid giving the impression that he is praising himself. Nothing would be more offensive to his hearers than that. Since he was forced to defend himself, he insists that he is doing it for their sakes, not for his own glory. His main purpose was to stop those who were abusing their position and thereby harming the church. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 11.1.

5:13 | For God and for Others

IF WE ARE BESIDE OURSELVES. AMBROSIASTER: What Paul has said is sane from his hearers’ point of view, as long as it is understood in the sense in which it was uttered, but if it is thought to have been spoken out of boastfulness, it is insane. For all pride is a kind of insanity. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

FOR THE GLORY OF GOD. CHRYSOSTOM: What Paul means is that even if people think he is mad, everything he does is for the glory of God. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 11.2.

5:14 | Christ’s Love Controls Us

NO NEED TO BE SILENT ABOUT GIFTS FROM CHRIST. AMBROSIASTER: Because of the love of Christ the apostles were not silent about the gifts they received from him. Those who love him are surrounded by such gifts. They were not boasting about them but inviting their hearers to become Christ’s disciples. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE LOVE OF CHRIST. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: Paul explains that although he is beside himself, the love of God controls him. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

ONE DEATH WORTH THE LIFE OF ALL. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: But how is it that “one died for all,” one who is worth all others, if the suffering is considered simply that of some man? If he suffered according to his human nature, since he made the sufferings of his body his own. … The death of him alone according to the flesh is known to be worth the life of all, not the death of one who is as we are, even though he became like to us, but we say that he, being God by nature, became flesh and was made man according to the confession of the Fathers. LETTER 50.

FREEDOM FROM DEATH TO SERVE FOR LIFE. AUGUSTINE: Paul said: “Therefore all died; and Christ died for all, in order that they who are alive may live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again.” All people, consequently, without a single exception, were dead through sin, original sin or original with personal sin superadded, either by ignorance of or conscious refusal to do what is right. And for all these dead souls one living man died—a man utterly free from sin—with the intention that those who come alive by forgiveness of their sins live no longer for themselves but for him who died for all on account of our sins and rose again for our justification. CITY OF GOD 20.6.

DEATH TO SIN. AUGUSTINE: As the apostle says, and as we have often repeated: “Since one died for all, therefore all died, and he died for all in order that they who are alive may live no longer for themselves but for him who died for them and rose again.” The living are those for whom he who was living died in order that they might live; more plainly, they are freed from the chains of death, they for whom the one free among the dead died. Or, still more plainly: they have been freed from sin, for whom he who was never in sin died. Although he died once, he dies for each at that time when each, whatever his age, is baptized in his death; that is, the death of him who was without sin benefits each man at the time when, having been baptized in his death, he who was dead in sin shall also die to sin. AGAINST JULIAN 6.15.48.

THE LOVE OF THE APOSTLE’S HEART. CHRYSOSTOM: All this, in fact, blessed Paul had in mind, that fervent lover of Christ, who like a winged bird traversed the whole world. … See his uprightness, see the extraordinary degree of his virtue, see his fervent love. “The love of Christ,” he says, “constrains us,” that is, urges, impels, coerces us. Then, wishing to explain what had been said by him, he says, “convinced of this, that if one person [died] indeed for all, then all have died, he did die for all so that the living might live no longer for themselves but for the one who died and rose for them.” Do you see how appropriate it was for him to say, “The love of Christ constrains us”? He is saying, you see, if he died for the sake of us all, he died for the purpose that we the living might live no longer for ourselves but for him who died and rose for us. Accordingly, let us heed the apostolic exhortation, not living for ourselves but for him who died and rose for us. HOMILIES ON GENESIS 34.15.

5:15 | Living for Christ

CHRIST DIED FOR ALL. CHRYSOSTOM: What Paul says here appears to be one thing, but if you look carefully you will see that it is two. First, we live because of Christ. Second, Christ died for us. Either of these would be enough by itself to put us in his debt, but taken together, our liability is overwhelming. Indeed, we could even say that there are three things here, because it was for our sake that he rose again and took the first fruits of the resurrection up to heaven with him. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 11.2.

THE MARK OF THE CHRISTIAN. BASIL: What is the mark of those who eat the bread and drink the cup of Christ? That they keep in perpetual remembrance him who died for us and rose again. What is the mark of those who keep such remembrance? That they live not for themselves but for him who died for them and rose again. What is the mark of a Christian? That his justice abound in all things more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, according to the rule of the doctrine which has been handed down in the Lord’s gospel. What is the mark of the Christian? That they love one another as Christ has loved us. What is the mark of the Christian? To set the Lord always in his sight. What is the mark of the Christian? To watch daily and hourly and stand prepared in that state of perfection which is pleasing to God, knowing that at what hour he thinks not, the Lord will come. THE MORALS 22.