Augustine of Hippo : 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 Clement of Alexandria : And he anointed not him that was comely in person, but him that was comely in soul. If, then, the Lord counts the natural beauty of the body inferior to that of the soul, what thinks He of spurious beauty, rejecting utterly as He does all falsehood? "For we walk by faith, not by sight." Very clearly the Lord accordingly teaches by Abraham, that he who follows God must despise country, and relations, and possessions, and all wealth, by making him a stranger. And therefore also He called him His friend who had despised the substance which he had possessed at home. — The Instructor Book 3 Fulgentius of Ruspe : 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 John Chrysostom : "That whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord (for we walk by faith, not by sight); we are of good courage, I say, and are willing to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord." That which is greater than all he has put last, for to be with Christ is better, than receiving an incorruptible [body.] But what he means is this: 'He quencheth not our life that warreth against and killeth us; be not afraid; be of good courage even when hewn in pieces. For not only doth he set thee free from corruption and a burden, but he also sendeth thee quickly to the Lord.' Wherefore neither did he say, "whilst we 'are' in the body:" as of those who are in a foreign and strange land. "Knowing therefore that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: we are of good courage, I say, and willing to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord." Seest thou how keeping back what was painful, the names of death and the end, he has employed instead of them such as excite great longing, calling them presence with God; and passing over those things which are accounted to be sweet, the things of life, he hath expressed them by painful names, calling the life here an absence from the Lord? Now this he did, both that no one might fondly linger amongst present things, but rather be aweary of them; and that none when about to die might be disquieted, but might even rejoice as departing unto greater goods. Then that none might say on hearing that we are absent from the Lord, 'Why speakest thou thus? Are we then estranged from Him whilst we are here?' he in anticipation corrected such a thought, saying, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." Even here indeed we know Him, but not so clearly. As he says also elsewhere, "in a mirror," and "darkly." "We are of good courage, I say, and willing." Wonderful! to what hath he brought round the discourse? To an extreme desire of death, having shown the grievous to be pleasurable, and the pleasurable grievous. For by the term, "we are willing" he means, 'we are desirous.' Of what are we desirous? Of being "absent from the body, and at home with the Lord." And thus he does perpetually, (as I showed also before) turning round the objection of his opponents unto the very contrary. — Homily 10 on 2 Corinthians Methodius of Olympus : For the "house in heaven," with which we desire to be "clothed," is immortality; with which, when we are clothed, every weakness and mortality will be entirely "swallowed up" in it, being consumed by endless life. "For we walk by faith, not by sight;" that is, for we still go forward by faith, viewing the things which are beyond with a darkened understanding, and not clearly, so that we may see these things, and enjoy them, and be in them. — Methodius From the Discourse on the Resurrection 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 Theodoret of Cyrus : 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