Bede : Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, etc. Thus, He grants this grace to the humble, so that the more they are humbled for His sake at the time of the struggle, the more gloriously they may be exalted by Him at the time of recompense. But humility can be understood in many ways in this context, that is, both the humility where someone, beginning the path of virtues, is healthily worn down to wash away the sins they have committed, and the humility that is shown voluntarily, out of devotion of mind, to God or to neighbors in peace regarding surrounding matters, and also the humility where, under the attacks of persecution storms, the undefeated soul is armed with the virtue of patience. To every kind of humility devout to God, that reward succeeds, so that those who humble themselves during their pilgrimage will be exalted during His visitation. — Commentary on the Catholic Epistles Caesarius of Arles : Since no one is without sin, no one should be without penance, for by this very fact a man becomes guilty if he presumes that he is innocent. A man may be guilty of lesser sin, but no one is without guilt. — SERMONS 144.4 John Chrysostom : Peter says that this will happen in due time, because he is teaching them that they will have to wait until the next life for this exaltation. — CATENA Oecumenius : It is added, "In time." For it refers to the exaltation in the future age, which is the only true exaltation, as unchangeable and everlasting, since the present exaltation is neither secure nor firm, but rather contributes to a perpetual humiliation, so that it may be humbled more quickly than it was exalted. Furthermore, the Lord Himself is suitable to reconcile humiliation with exaltation. For He says: "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Matt. 18:4) And: "Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be the last of all." (Matt. 20:27) And speaking at that time, he indicated, as we said, that in the future, the exaltation promised would arise from humiliation. For there will be a time of unchangeable things in the future and in the incorruptible age. For the incorruptible has nothing mortal or perishable. — Commentary on 1 Peter