266 WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [HOMILY II. has been given, he saith, is of this nature ; He hath not only given, but also made us strong to receive. Now by saying, " Who made us meet," he showed that the thing was one of great weight. For example, were some low person to have become a king, he hath it in his power to give a governorship to whom he will ; and this is the extent of his power, to give the dignity : he cannot also make the person fit for the office, and oftentimes the honor makes one so pre ferred even ridiculous. If however he have both conferred on one the dignity, and also made him fit for the honor, and equal to the administra tion, then indeed the thing is an honor. This then is what he also saith here ; that He hath not only given us the honor, but hath also made us strong enough to receive it. For the honor here is twofold, the giving, and the making fit for the gift. He said not, gave, simply ; but, " made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light," that is, who hath appointed us a place with the saints. But he did not say simply placed us, but hath given us to enjoy even the very same things, for " the portion " l is that which each one receives. For it is possible to be in the same city, and yet not enjoy the same things ; but to have the same " portion," and yet not enjoy the same, is impossible. It is possible to be in the same in heritance, and yet not to have the same portion ; for instance, all we (clergy) are in the inheri tance, 2 but we have not all the same portion.3 But here he doth not say this, but with the in heritance adds the portion also. But why doth he call it inheritance (or lot) ? To show that by his own achievements no one obtains the kingdom, but as a lot 4 is rather the result of good luck, 5 so in truth is it here also. For a life so good as to be counted worthy of the king dom doth no one show forth, but the whole is of His free gift. Therefore He saith, "When ye have done all, say, We are unprofitable ser vants, for we have done that which was our duty to do." (Luke xvii. 10.) "To be partakers ofthe inheritance of the saints in light," he means, both the future and the present light,6 that is, in knowledge. He seems to me to be speaking at once of both the present and the future. Then he shows of what things we have been counted worthy. For this is not the only mar- 1 ["To be partakers" is, literally, "for the portion." J. A. B.]2 K\rjpio. 3 fjifpi&a.. * \K\r)pos signifies " lot," " inheritance," &c. From the notion that Christian ministers were the Lord s heritage (like the tribe of Levi) came the application to them of the terms clerus, clerici, whence clergy, clerk, &c. J. A. B.] 5 The whole passage shows that he uses this word merely to im ply man s insufficiency, and not at all to introduce the notion of chance as opposed to Divine agency. He constantly uses the word at the eni of his Homilies, as well as afiioOfji/ai, "to be thought worthy," to show at once the necessity of good works, and our un- worthmess after all. 6 [This clause Field restores from several MSS. and the Catena. The substantial repetition of it just after is characteristic. J.A. B.] vel, that we are counted worthy of the kingdom ; but it should also be added who we are that are so counted ; for it is not unimportant. And he doth this in the Epistle to the Romans, saying, " For scarcely for a righteous " man will one die, but peradventure for the good man some one would even dare to die." (Rom. v. 7.) Ver. 13. " Who delivered us," he saith, "from the power of darkness." The whole is of Him, the giving both of these things and those ; for nowhere is any achieve ment of ours. " From the power of darkness," he saith, that is, of error, the dominion of the devil. He said not " darkness," but " power " ; for it had great power over us, and held us fast. For it is grievous indeed even to be under the devil at all, but to be so " with power," this is far more grievous. " And translated us," he saith, " into the kingdom of the Son of His love." Not then so as to deliver man from darkness only, did He show His love toward him. A great thing indeed is it to have deliv ered from darkness even ; but to have brought into a kingdom too, is a far greater. See then how manifold the gift, that he hath delivered us who lay in the pit ; in the second place, that He hath not only delivered us, but also hath translated us into a kingdom. " W 7 ho delivered us." He said not, hath sent us forth, but " de livered ": showing our great misery, and their 8 capture of us. Then to show also the ease with which the power of God works, he saith, " And translated us," just as if one were to lead over a soldier from one position to another. And he said not, " hath led over " ; nor yet " hath transposed," for so the whole would be of him who transposed, nothing of him who went over ; but he said, " translated " 9 ; so that it is both of us and ofHim. " Into the kingdom of the Son of His love." He said not simply, "the kingdom ofheaven, "butgaveagrandeur to his discourse by saying, "The kingdom of the Son," for no praise can be greater than this, as he saith elsewhere also : " If we endure, we shall also reign with Him." (2 Tim. ii. 12.) He hath counted us worthy of the same things with the Son ; and not only so, but what gives it greater force, with His Beloved Son.10 Those that were enemies, those that were in darkness, as it were on a sudden he had translated to where the Son is, to the same honor with Him. Nor was he con tent with only this, in order to show the great ness of the gift ; he was not content with saying, " kingdom," but he also added, " of the Son " ; nor yet with this, but he added also " beloved " ; 7 acjiV-or, 2 [4] MSS. and Sav. marg. St. Chrys. does not, how ever, read so on the passage. Horn. ix. on Ep. to Romans. 8 i.e. the devils . ai^fiaAcotriav. 9 /ueTeo-njtre. The word in Heb. xi. 3, is fieTfTeSr), which agrees with this criticism. 111 [" The Son of His love " really means greatly more than " His Beloved Son." See Lightfoot on Col. J. A. B.J