[3.] Ver. 14. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,” and the Father, “and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.” After having united them to one other by the salutations and the kisses, he again closes his speech with prayer, with much carefulness uniting them unto God also. Where now are they who say that because the Holy Spirit is not inserted in the beginnings of the Epistles, He is not of the same substance? For, behold, he hath now enumerated Him with the Father and Son. And besides this, one may remark, that when writing to the Colossians and saying, “Grace to you, and peace from God our Father,” he was silent of the Son, and added not, as in all his Epistles, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Is then the Son not of the same substance either, because of this? Nay, these reasonings are of extreme folly. For this very thing especially shows Him to be of the same substance, that Paul useth the expression [or not] indifferently. And that what is here said is no conjecture, hear how he mentions Son and Spirit, and is quite silent of the Father. For, writing to the Corinthians, he says, “But ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor. vi. 11.) What then, tell me? were these not baptized into the Father? Then assuredly they were neither washed nor sanctified. But did they baptize them? doubtless then just as also they did baptize. How then did he not say, ‘Ye are washed in the name of the Father?’ Because it was indifferent in his view, at one time to make mention of this, at another of that Person; and you may observe this custom in many places of the Epistles. For writing to the Romans he says, “I beseech you therefore by the mercies of God,” (Rom. xii. 1.) although those mercies are of the Son; and, “I beseech you by the love of the Spirit,” (Rom. xv. 30.) although love is of the Father. Wherefore then mentioned he not the Son in “the mercies,” nor the Father in “the love?” Because as being things plain and admitted, he was silent about them. Moreover, he will be found again, to put the gifts also themselves transposedly. For having said here, “The grace of Christ, and the love of God and the Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost;” he in another place speaks of “the communion of the Son,” and of “the love of the Spirit.” For, “I beseech you,” he says, “by the love of the Spirit.” (Rom. xv. 30.) And in his Epistle to the Corinthians, “God is faithful, by Whom ye were called into the communion of His Son.” (1 Cor. i. 9.) Thus the things of the Trinity are undivided: and whereas the communion is of the Spirit, it hath been found of the Son; and whereas the grace is of the Son, it is also of the Father and of the Holy Spirit; for [we read], “Grace be to you from God the Father.” And in another place, having enumerated many forms of it, he added, “But all these worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally as He will.” (1 Cor. xii. 11.) And I say these things, not confounding the Persons, (away with the thought!) but knowing both the individuality and distinctness of These, and the Unity of the Substance.