HOMILY XXIV.] HOMILIES ON EPHESIANS. 171 " With all prayer and supplication," saith he, " for all the saints, and for me," placing himself last. What doest thou, O blessed Paul, in thus placing thyself last ? Yea, saith he, " that utter ance may be given unto me, in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mys tery of the gospel, for which I am an ambas sador in chains." And where art thou an ambassador? "To mankind," saith he. Oh! amazing lovingkindness of God ! He sent from Heaven in His own Name ambassadors for peace, and lo, men took them, and bound them, and reverenced not so much as the law of nations, that an ambassador never suffers any hurt. " But, however, I am an ambassador in bonds. The chain lies like a bridle upon me, restraining my boldness, but your prayer shall open my mouth " in order that I may speak all things I was sent to speak. " But that ye also may know my affairs, how I do, Tychicus, the beloved brother, and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things." If " faithful," he will tell no false hood, he will in everything speak the truth : " whom I have sent unto you for this very pur pose, that ye might know our state, and that he may comfort your hearts." Amazing, transcend ent affection ! " that it may not be in the power," he means, " of them that would, to affright you." For it is probable that they were in tribulation ; for the expression, " may comfort your hearts," intimates as much ; that is, " may not suffer you to sink under it." Ver. 23. " Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." He invokes upon them, " peace and love with faith." He saith well : for he would not that they should have regard to love by itself, and mingle themselves with those of a different faith. Either he means this, or that above described, namely, that they should have faith also, so as to have a cheerful confidence of the good things to come. The " peace " which is towards God, and the "love." And if there be peace, there will also be love ; if love, there will be peace also. "With faith," because without faith, love amounts to nothing ; or rather love could not exist at all without it. Ver. 24. " Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in uncorruptness." Why does he separate the two here, placing " peace " by itself, and " grace " by itself? " In uncorruptness," he concludes. What is this, "in uncorruptness"? It either means, " in purity " ; or else, " for the sake of those things which are incorruptible," as, for example, not in riches, nor in glory, but in those treasures which are incorruptible. The " in " means, " through." "Through uncorruptness," that is, "through virtue." 1 Because all sin is corruption. And in the same way as we say a virgin is corrupted, so also do we speak of the soul. Hence Paul says, " Lest by any means your minds should be corrupted." (2 Cor. xi. 3.) And again elsewhere, he says, "In doctrine, showing uncorruptness." 2 For what, tell me, is corruption of the body? Is it not the dissolution of the whole frame, and of its union ? This then is what takes place also in the soul when sin enters. The beauty of the soul is temperance, and righteousness ; the health of the soul is courage, and prudence ; for the base man is hideous in our eyes, so is the covetous, so is the man who gives himself up to evil practices, and so the coward and un manly man is sick, and the foolish man is out of health. Now that sins work corruption, is evident from this, that they render men base, and weak, and cause them to be sick and dis eased. Nay, and when we say that a virgin is corrupted, we say so, strictly speaking, on this account also, not only because the body is de filed, but because of the transgression. For the mere act is natural ; and if in that consisted the "corruption," then were marriage corruption. Hence is it not the act that is corruption, but the sin, for it dishonors and puts her to shame. And again, what would be corruption in the case of a house? Its dissolution. And so, universally, corruption is a change which takes place for the worse, a change into another state, to the utter extinction of the former one. For hear what the Scripture saith, "All flesh had corrupted his way" (Gen. vi. 12); and again, "In intolerable corruption" 3 (Ex. xviii. 18) ; and again, "Men corrupted in mind." (2 Tim. iii. 8.) Our body is corrup tible, but our soul is incorruptible. Oh then, let us not make that corruptible also. This, the corruption of the body, was the work of former sin ; * but sin which is after the Laver, has the power also to render the soul corruptible, and to make it an easy prey to "the worm that dieth not." For never had that worm touched it, had it not found the soul corruptible. The worm touches not adamant, and even if he touches it, he can do it no harm. Oh then, corrupt not the soul ; for that which is corrupted is full of foul stench ; for hearken to the Prophet who saith, " My wounds stink and are corrupt because ofmy foolishness." (Ps. xxxviii. 5.) 1 [" iv here expresses the manner, and the expression means those who love our Lord in imperishableness, i.e. so that their love does not pass away. Comp. Tit. iii. 15." Meyer. G. A-l 2 [Tit. ii. 7, where <i</>0opia is used, which, according to Meyer, does mean uncorruptedness, while a^tfapo-ia in our passage means imperishableness. G. A.] 3 [<(>0opa icaTacJ>0ap>}<7n ai>uiro|uo T;T<[> forHebrew720 71 I. Rev. Ver., " Thou wilt surely wear away." G. A.] 4 [Comp. Rom. v. 12: "As through one man sin entered intA the world, and death by sin; and so death passed unto all men. -G. A.]