82 WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [HOMILY VII. What he means is this. Although the love of Christ lies above the reach of all human knowledge, yet shall ye know it, if ye shall have Christ dwelling in you, yea, not only shall know from Him this, but shall even " be filled unto all the fulness of God ; " meaning by the "fulness of God," either the knowledge how God is worshipped in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, or else urging them thus to use every effort, in order to be filled with all virtue, of which God is full. Ver. 20. "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." That God hath done "abundantly above all that we ask or think, is evident from what the Apostle himself hath written. For I indeed, saith he, pray, but He of Himself, even without any prayer of mine, will do works greater than all we ask, not simply "greater," nor "abun dantly greater," but " exceeding abundantly." And this is evident from " the power, that worketh in us : " for neither did we ever ask these things, nor did we expect them. Ver. 21. "Unto Him be the glory," he con cludes, " in the Church and in Christ Jesus, unto all generations forever and ever. Amen." Well does he close the discourse with prayer and doxology ; for right were it that He, who hath bestowed upon us such vast gifts, should be glorified and blessed, so that this is even a proper part of our amazement at His mercies, to give glory for the things advanced to us at God s hands through Jesus Christ. " The glory in the Church." Well might he say this, forasmuch as the Church alone can last on to eternity. It seems necessary to state what are meant by "families." (narpiai) Here on earth, indeed there are " families " that is races sprung from one parent stock ; but in heaven how can this be, where none is born of another? Surely then, by " families," 1 he means either the assemblies to be a Catena which would naturally abridge the portions extract ed especially in a writer so given to amplifications as Chrysostom." We have in the main followed Field s text in spite of this prob ability, but in exceptional cases, like the present, wehave ventured to demur. G. A.] 1 This text has various interpretations. S. Athanasius uses it to imply that God, as Father of the Son, is the only true Father, and that all created paternity is a shadow of the true. Orat. in Arian. i. 23. S. Jerome says, " As He who alone is good, (Luke 18, IQ.) makes men good, and who is alone immortal, (i Tim. 6, 16. ) bestows immortality, and who alone is true (Rom. 3, 4.) im parts the name of truth ; so too the only Father, in that He isCrea tor of all, and the cause of substance to all, gives to the rest to be called Father." in loc. He considers that the Angels are said in the text to share His paternity, in a spiritual sense, as Christ says to the sick man, "Son," and to His disciples, " Little children. Theodoret seems to say the same, in loc. v. also Hooker, E. P. V. liv. 2, ["The reference must be to those larger classes and com munities into which, as we may also infer from other passages (i : 21 ; Col. i : 16) the celestial hosts appear to be divided ; and to the races and tribes ofmen every one of which owes the very title of TraTpid, by which it is defined to the great JTOTJJP of all the iraTptat both of angels and men." Ellicott. "The Apostle seems regarding God as the Father of us His adopted children in Christ,to go forth into the fact that He in this relation to us is the great and orders of heavenly beings ; as also we find it written in Scripture, "the family of Amat- tan:" (i Sam. x: 21. See Septuagint.) or else that it is from Him from whom earthly fathers have their name of father. However, he does not ask the whole of God, but demands of them also faith and love, and not simply love, but love "rooted and ground ed," so that neither any blasts can shake it, nor any thing else overturn it. He had said, that " tribulations " are "glory," and if mine are so to you, he would say, much more will your own be : so that to be afflicted is no token of men being forsaken, for He who hath wrought so great things for us, never would do this. Again, if in order to understand the love of God, it was necessary for Paul to "pray, and there was need of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who by following mere reasonings shall understand the nature of Christ ? And why is it a difficult thing to learn that God loveth us ? Beloved, it is extremely difficult. For some know not even this ; wherefore, they even say, numberless evils come to be in the world ; and others know not the extent of this love. Nor, indeed, is Paul seeking to know its extent, nor with any view to measure it ; for how could he ? but only to understand this, that it is transcen dent, and great. And this very thing, he says, he is able to show, even from the knowledge which hath been vouchsafed to us. However, what is higher than the being " strengthened with might," in order to have Christ within ? Vast are the things we ask, saith he, yet is He able to do above even them, so that not only doth He love us, but doth so in tensely. Be it our care therefore, beloved, to understand the love of God. A great thing in deed is this; nothing is so beneficial to us, nothing so deeply touches us : more availing this to convince our souls than the fear of hell itself. Whence then shall we understand it? Both from the sources now mentioned, and from the things which happen every day. For from what motive have these things been done for us? from what necessity on His part? None whatever. Over and over again he lays down love as the cause. But the highest degree of love is that where men receive a benefit, with out any prior service on their part to call for it. MORAL. And let us then be followers ofHim ; let us do good to our enemies, to them that hate us, let us draw near to those who turn their backs upon us. This renders us like unto God. "For if ye love them that love you," saith Christ, "what reward have ye?" "Do not even the Gentiles the same." (Matt, v: 46.) But what is a sure proof of love ? To love him original and prototype of the paternal relation, wherever found." Alford in Riddle in Pop. Com.G. A.]