{"author":null,"canonical_references":[],"database_sha256":"8cfbe7284c6936871d57c02dc6aa63ebbdfd4722422d539dd9f716e46e91112e","date_end":null,"date_start":null,"edition_year":null,"id":"sermonindex-ecf-5400","native_reference":{"book_number":550,"chapter_from":1,"chapter_to":1,"system":"MyBible module coordinates (mapping unverified)","verse_from":1,"verse_to":1},"public_import_allowed":false,"record_kind":"verse-keyed-module-record","review_required":["English edition and exact text","author/work attribution","dating","verse mapping and citation kind","reuse and attribution","split author quotations and deduplicate"],"review_status":"unreviewed","source_html":"<p><b>Apostolic Constitutions</b>: I have taught the churches of the believers to reverence one almighty, invisible, and incomprehensible God. And this teaching has been given me, not from men, nor through men, but through Jesus Christ,<br/><i>— CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES</i></p><p><b>Augustine of Hippo</b>: The one sent \"from men\" is a liar; the one sent \"through man\" tells the truth, as God too, who is truthful, may send truth through men. The one, therefore, who is sent not from men or through man but \"through God\" derives his truthfulness from the One who makes truthful even those sent through men.<br/><i>— EPISTLE TO THE Galatians 2</i></p><p><b>Cassiodorus</b>: When he calls himself an apostle not of human making but through Christ Jesus, he does away with those who had only human authority for styling themselves apostles. The churches at that time were being thrown into turmoil by false preachers. He greets these churches with all the brethren who are with him. In that greeting he also blesses them, so that their fitness to receive the word of the Lord may be established.<br/><i>— SUMMARY OF Galatians 1.1.1</i></p><p><b>Gaius Marius Victorinus</b>: His reason for saying \"through Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead\" is that what God does he does through Christ. And so that people would not say, \"How did you learn from Christ?\" since Paul had not previously been a follower of Christ and Christ was dead, he said that God raised Christ from the dead. By this he implies that it is Christ himself, who taught him, who has been raised from the dead—raised, that is, by the power of God the Father.<br/><i>— EPISTLE TO THE Galatians 1.1.1</i></p><p><b>Hippolytus of Rome</b>: And the expression, \"he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lion's whelp,\" refers to the three days' sleep (death, couching) of Christ; as also Isaiah says, \"How is faithful Sion become an harlot! it was full of judgment; in which righteousness lodged (couched); but now murderers.\" And David says to the same effect, \"I laid me down (couched) and slept; I awaked: for the Lord will sustain me;\" in which words he points to the fact of his sleep and rising again. And Jacob says, \"Who shall rouse him up?\" And that is just what David and Paul both refer to, as when Paul says, \"and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead.\"<br/><i>— Hippolytus Dogmatical and Historical Fragments</i></p><p><b>Ignatius of Antioch</b>: Having beheld your bishop, I know that he was not selected to undertake the ministry which pertains to the common [weal], either by himself or by men, or out of vainglory, but by the love of Jesus Christ, and of God the Father, who raised Him from the dead; at whose meekness I am struck with admiration, and who by His silence is able to accomplish more than they who talk a great deal. For he is in harmony with the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, even as the strings are with the harp, and is no less blameless than was Zacharias the priest. Wherefore my soul declares his mind towards God a happy one, knowing it to be virtuous and perfect, and that his stability as well as freedom from all anger is after the example of the infinite meekness of the living God.<br/><i>— Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians</i></p><p><b>Jerome</b>: Not in pride, as some suppose, but by necessity, he said that he was not an apostle from men or through man … so that by this he might confound those who were alleging that Paul was not one of the twelve apostles or ordained by his elders. This might also be taken as aimed obliquely at Peter and the others, because the gospel was committed to him not by the apostles but by the same Jesus Christ who had chosen those apostles.<br/><i>— EPISTLE TO THE Galatians 1.1.1</i></p><p><b>Jerome</b>: (Chapter 1, Verse 1) Paul, an apostle not from men nor by man but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. He does not propose himself as an apostle arrogantly, as some think, but necessarily, neither from men nor by man. Instead, he does so through Jesus Christ and God the Father, in order to confound those who were belittling Paul outside of the twelve apostles and claiming that he suddenly emerged from somewhere or was ordained by the elders, with this authority. However, it can also be understood indirectly as being said to Peter and the others, that the Gospel was not handed down to him by the apostles, but by Jesus Christ himself, who had chosen those apostles. But all of this is prepared so that no one who disputes the burdens of the Law for the sake of the Gospel may be able to object: 'but Peter said this,' 'but the apostles decreed this,' 'but your predecessors determined something else.' Indeed, he makes this clearer in the following, now seemingly in hidden speech, by citing that nothing contributed by those who seem to be something is relevant to him, and that he himself resisted Peter to his face, saying that he was not compelled by any necessity to yield to the hypocrisy of the Jews. But if it seems rash to some that he spoke against the apostles, even though secretly, who had gone to Jerusalem in order to confer with them about the Gospel, lest perhaps he had run in vain or had run in vain, let us transfer that understanding there: Even to this day, the apostles are sent by the Jewish patriarchs, from whom I also believe that the Galatians, led astray, began to observe the Law, or certainly other Jews who believed in Christ had gone to Galatia, who asserted that Peter, too, was the leader of the apostles, and that James, the Lord's brother, observed the ceremonies of the Law. Therefore, in order to distinguish between those who are sent by men and those who are sent by Christ, he took the following beginning: Paul, an apostle, not from men, nor through man. But apostle, which properly is a Hebrew word, means one who is sent, which also signifies Silas (or Silai), to whom a name was given by being sent. The Hebrews say that among themselves there are certain prophets and holy men who are both prophets and apostles, and others who are only prophets. Finally, Moses, to whom it is said, 'And I will send you to Pharaoh' (Exod. III, 10, 11); and he responds, 'Provide someone else whom you will send.' And Isaiah, to whom God speaks, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people?' (Isai. VI, 8) ? There were also apostles and prophets. Therefore, we can understand that John the Baptist is also to be called a prophet and apostle, since the Scripture says, 'There was a man sent from God, whose name was John' (John I, 6). And in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb. III), Paul, according to his usual custom, did not put his own name or the title of Apostle before it, because he was going to speak about Christ: Therefore, having a high priest and an apostle of our confession, Jesus; it was not fitting that where Christ was to be called an apostle, Paul should also be called an apostle. There are, however, four kinds of apostles. One, which is neither from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father; another, which is indeed from God, but through man; a third, which is from man, not from God; and a fourth, which is neither from God, nor through man, nor from man, but from itself. The first category can include Isaiah, the other prophets, and the apostle Paul himself, who was sent not by humans or through a human, but by God the Father and Christ. In the second category is Jesus, the son of Nun, who was indeed appointed by God as an apostle, but through a human, Moses. The third category is when someone is ordained by the favor and zeal of the people. As we see now, many are being appointed to the priesthood not by the judgment of God, but by the favor of the redeemed crowd. The fourth [sign] is [the sign] of false prophets and false apostles, about whom the apostle [Paul] says: 'Such pseudo-apostles are workers of iniquity, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ, who say, \"Thus says the Lord,\" and the Lord did not send them' (2 Corinthians 11:13). But not such [was] the apostle Paul, who was sent not by men nor through man, but by God the Father through Jesus Christ. From this it is approved that the heresies of Ebion and Photinus should also be refuted, [namely] that our Lord Jesus Christ is God, since the apostle, being sent by Christ to preach the Gospel, denies that he was sent by man. In this place, other heresies arise, which claim that Christ's flesh is pretended and assert that Christ is God, not man. There is also a new heresy that declares a divided dispensation of Christ. Thus, among the shipwrecks of so many false teachings, if one confesses Christ as a man, the Ebionites and Photinus creep in; if one contends that he is God, the Manicheans and Marcion, authors of a new doctrine, bubble up. In the community, they hear that Christ is both God and man. Not that there is another God and another man, but rather the one who was always God deemed it worthy to become man for our salvation. It should also be known that in the Apostle of Marcion it is not written that Christ is explained by God the Father, but rather is raised up by himself, as it is written: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (John II, 19). And elsewhere: No one takes my soul from me; but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again (Ibid., X, 18).<br/><i>— Commentary on Galatians</i></p><p><b>John Chrysostom</b>: The exordium is full of a vehement and lofty spirit, and not the exordium only, but also, so to speak, the whole Epistle. For always to address one's disciples with mildness, even when they need severity is not the part of a teacher but it would be the part of a corrupter and enemy. Wherefore our Lord too, though He generally spoke gently to His disciples, here and there uses sterner language, and at one time pronounces a blessing, at another a rebuke. Thus, having said to Peter, \"Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona,\" (Matt. xvi: 17.) and having promised to lay the foundation of the Church upon his confession, shortly afterwards He says, \"Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art a stumbling block unto Me.\" (Matt. xvi: 23.) Again, on another occasion, \"Are ye also even yet without understanding?\" (Matt. xv: 16.) And what awe He inspired them with appears from John's saying, that, when they beheld Him conversing with the Samaritan woman, though they reminded Him to take food, no one ventured to say, \"What seekest Thou, or why speakest thou with her?\" (John iv: 27.) Thus taught, and walking in the steps of his Master, Paul hath varied his discourse according to the need of his disciples, at one time using knife and cautery, at another, applying mild remedies. To the Corinthians he says, \"What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in a spirit of meekness?\" (I Cor. vi: 21.) but to the Galatians, \"O foolish Galatians.\" (Gal. iii: 1.) And not once only, but a second time, also he has employed this reproof, and towards the conclusion he says with a reproachful allusion to them, \"Let no man trouble me;\" (Gal. vi: 17.) but he soothes them again with the words, \"My little children, of whom I am again in travail:\" (Gal. iv: 19): and so in many other instances.<br/><i>— Homily on Galatians 1</i></p><p><b>John Chrysostom</b>: Now that this Epistle breathes an indignant spirit, is obvious to every one even on the first perusal; but I must explain the cause of his anger against the disciples. Slight and unimportant it could not be, or he would not have used such vehemence. For to be exasperated by common matters is the part of the little-minded, morose, and peevish; just as it is that of the more redolent and sluggish to lose heart in weighty ones. Such a one was not Paul, What then was the offence which roused him? it was grave and momentous, one which was estranging them all from Christ, as he himself says further on, \"Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing;\" (Gal. v: 2.) and again, \"Ye who would be justified by the Law, ye are fallen away from Grace.\" (Gal. v: 4.) What then is this? For it must be explained more clearly. Some of the Jews who believed, being held down by the preposessions of Judaism, and at the same time intoxicated by vain-glory, and desirous of obtaining for themselves the dignity of teachers, came to the Galatians, and taught them that the observance of circumcision, sabbaths, and new-moons, was necessary, and that Paul in abolishing these things was not to be borne. For, said they, Peter and James and John, the chiefs of the Apostles and the companions of Christ, forbade them not. Now in fact they did not forbid these things, but this was not by way of delivering positive doctrine, but in condescension to the weakness of the Jewish believers, which condescension Paul had no need of when preaching to the Gentiles; but when he was in Judaea, he employed it himself also. But these deceivers, by withholding the causes both of Paul's condescension and that of his brethren, misled the simpler ones, saying that he was not to be tolerated, for he appeared but yesterday, while Peter and his colleagues were from the first,-that he was a disciple of the Apostles, but they of Christ,-that he was single, but they were many, and pillars of the Church. They accused him too of acting a part; saying, that this very man who forbids circumcision observes the rite elsewhere, and preaches one way to you and another way to others.<br/><i>— Homily on Galatians 1</i></p><p><b>John Chrysostom</b>: How then does he himself say, \"Not from men, nor by man?\" Because it was not man that called or brought him over: this is why he says, \"Not from men. Neither by man,\" that is, that he was not sent by this man, but by the Spirit.<br/><i>— Homily on Acts 27</i></p><p><b>John Chrysostom</b>: Since Paul then saw the whole Galatian people in a state of excitement, a flame kindled against their Church, and the edifice shaken and tottering to its fall, filled with the mixed feelings of just anger and despondency, he writes the Epistle as an answer to these charges. This is his aim from the very commencement, for the underminers of his reputation had said, The others were disciples of Christ but this man of the Apostles. Wherefore he begins thus, \"Paul, an Apostle not from men, neither through man.\" For, these deceivers, as I was saying before, had said that this man was the last of all the Apostles and was taught by them, for Peter, James, and John, were both first called, and held a primacy among the disciples, and had also received their doctrines from Christ Himself; and that it was therefore fitting to obey them rather than this man; and that they forbad not circumcision nor the observance of the Law. By this and similar language and by depreciating Paul, and exalting the honor of the other Apostles, though not spoken for the sake of praising them, but of deceiving the Galatians, they induced them to adhere unseasonably to the Law. Hence the propriety of his commencement.<br/><i>— Homily on Galatians 1</i></p><p><b>John Chrysostom</b>: As they disparaged his doctrine, saying it came from men, while that of Peter came from Christ, he immediately addresses himself to this point, declaring himself an apostle \"not from men, neither through man.\" It was Ananias who baptized him, but it was not he who delivered him from the way of error and initiated him into the faith; but Christ Himself sent from on high that wondrous voice, whereby He inclosed him in his net. For Peter and his brother, and John and his brother, He called when walking by the seaside, but Paul after His ascension into heaven. And just as these did not require a second call, but straightway left their nets and all that they had, and followed Him, so this man at his first vocation pressed vigorously forward, waging, as soon as he was baptized, an implacable war with the Jews. In this respect he chiefly excelled the other Apostles, as he says, \"I labored more abundantly than they all;\" at present, however, he makes no such claim, but is content to be placed on a level with them. Indeed his great object was, not to establish any superiority for himself, but, to overthrow the foundation of their error.<br/><i>— Homily on Galatians 1</i></p><p><b>John Chrysostom</b>: The not being \"from men\" has reference to all alike for the Gospel's root and origin is divine, but the not being \"through man\" is peculiar to the Apostles; for He called them not by men's agency, but by His own.</p><p>But why does he not speak of his vocation rather than his apostolate, and say, \"Paul\" called \"not by man?\" Because here lay the whole question; for they said that the office of a teacher had been committed to him by men, namely by the Apostles, whom therefore it behooved him to obey. But that it was not entrusted to him by men, Luke declares in the words, \"As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul.\"<br/><i>— Homily on Galatians 1</i></p><p><b>John Chrysostom</b>: From this passage it is manifest that the power of the Son and Spirit is one, for being commissioned by the Spirit, he says that he was commissioned by Christ. This appears in another place, from his ascription of the things of God to the Spirit, in the words which he addresses to the elders at Miletus: \"Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in the which the Holy Ghost hath made you bishops.\" Yet in another Epistle he says, \"And God hath set some in the Church, first Apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers.\" Thus he ascribes indifferently the things of the Spirit to God, and the things of God to the Spirit. Here too he stops the mouths of heretics, by the words \"through Jesus Christ and God the Father;\" for, inasmuch as they said this term \"through\" was applied to the Son as importing inferiority, see what he does. He ascribes it to the Father, thus teaching us not to prescribe laws to the ineffable Nature, nor define the degrees of Godhead which belong to the Father and Son. For to the words \"through Jesus Christ\" he has added, \"and God the Father;\" for if at the mention of the Father alone he had introduced the phrase \"through whom,\" they might have argued sophistically that it was peculiarly applicable to the Father, in that the acts of the Son were to be referred to Him. But he leaves no opening for this cavil, by mentioning at once both the Son and the Father, and making his language apply to both. This he does, not as referring the acts of the Son to the Father, but to show that the expression implies no distinction of Essence.<br/><i>— Homily on Galatians 1</i></p><p><b>John Chrysostom</b>: \"Who raised Him from the dead.\"</p><p>Wherefore is it, O Paul, that, wishing to bring these Judaizers to the faith, you introduce none of those great and illustrious topics which occur in your Epistle to the Philippians, as, \"Who, being in the form of God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God,\" or which you afterwards declared in that to the Hebrews, \"the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of His substance;\" or again, what in the opening of his Gospel the son of thunder sounded forth, \"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God;\" or what Jesus Himself oftentimes declared to the Jews, \"that His power and authority was equal to the Father's?\" Do you omit all these, and make mention of the economy of His Incarnation only, bringing forward His cross and dying? \"Yes,\" would Paul answer. For had this discourse been addressed to those who had unworthy conceptions of Christ, it would have been well to mention those things; but, inasmuch as the disturbance comes from persons who fear to incur punishment should they abandon the Law, he therefore mentions that whereby all need of the Law is excluded, I mean the benefit conferred on all through the Cross and the Resurrection. To have said that \"in the beginning was the Word,\" and that \"He was in the form of God, and made Himself equal with God,\" and the like, would have declared the divinity of the Word, but would have contributed nothing to the matter in hand. Whereas it was highly pertinent thereto to add, \"Who raised Him from the dead,\" for our chiefest benefit was thus brought to remembrance, and men in general are less interested by discourses concerning the majesty of God, than by those which set forth the benefits which come to mankind. Wherefore, omitting the former topic, he discourses of the benefits which had been conferred on us.<br/><i>— Homily on Galatians 1</i></p><p><b>John Chrysostom</b>: But here the heretics insultingly exclaim, \"Lo, the Father raises the Son!\" For when once infected, they are wilfully deaf to all sublimer doctrines; and taking by itself and insisting on what is of a less exalted nature, and expressed in less exalted terms, either on account of the Son's humanity, or in honor of the Father, or for some other temporary purpose, they outrage, I will not say the Scripture, but themselves. I would fain ask such persons, why they say this? do they hope to prove the Son weak and powerless to raise one body? Nay, verily, faith in Him enabled the very shadows of those who believed in Him to effect the resurrection of the dead. Then believers in Him, though mortal, yet by the very shadows of their earthly bodies, and by the garments which had touched these bodies, could raise the dead, but He could not raise Himself? Is not this manifest madness, a great stretch of folly? Hast thou not heard His saying, \"Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up?\" and again, \"I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again?\" Wherefore then is the Father said to have raised Him up, as also to have done other things which the Son Himself did? It is in honor of the Father, and in compassion to the weakness of the hearers.<br/><i>— Homily on Galatians 1</i></p><p><b>John Damascene</b>: Those from among the Jews who had believed, being on the one hand possessed by the prejudice to Judaism and on the other hand, drunk with vainglory, wishing also to ascribe to themselves the authority of teachers, came to the nation of the Galatians and taught the necessity of being circumcised, of keeping Sabbaths and new moons and of being intolerant of Paul who abolishes these. They argued that those around Peter and James and John, who are the first of the Apostles, do not prohibit these things. Indeed Paul appeared yesterday and today, whereas those around Peter were first. He is the disciple of the Apostles, whereas they are disciples of Christ. He is alone, whereas they are many and pillars of the Church. Seeing, then, in front of him an entire nation and a fire to have been lit, starting from the Church of the Galatians, he writes this Letter to everybody offering a word of apology and right at the start he takes up what they were saying undermining his reputation — namely, that the others were disciples of Christ whereas he became the disciple of the Apostles.</p><p><b>John Damascene</b>: Why did he not start with what befits the Godhead of Christ, but with the very passion? He did so because they rebelled against him as those who would be punished if they deviated from the law; and so he mentions that thing through which every need of the law has been thrown out. I mean, of course, the cross and the resurrection, which provided the cause for the salvation of all.</p><p><b>Oecumenius</b>: Immediately the being of a disciple of men is destroyed. For he says, \"I am an apostle, not having been commissioned by men, nor through a man, but through Christ himself I came to this work.\"</p><p>\"but through Jesus Christ and God the Father.\" Notice here the preposition διὰ, that is, through, is applied to the Father and the Son, and the Son is named first.</p><p>\"who raised him.\" This has been said concerning the honor given to the Father, and because of the weakness of those who hear.</p><p>\"from the dead.\" At the opportune time he remembered the Lord's economy [οἰκονομίας] and death, so that, having reminded of the benefits of Christ, he might in that way persuade them no longer to cling to the law but to Christ.<br/><i>— Commentary on Galatians</i></p><p><b>Pamphilus of Caesarea</b>: We are clearly given to understand that Jesus Christ was not a [mere] man but was of divine nature.… Because he knew him to be of a more sublime nature, he therefore said that he was not appointed by a man.<br/><i>— APOLOGY FOR ORIGEN</i></p><p><b>Polycarp of Smyrna</b>: For I trust that ye are well versed in the Sacred Scriptures, and that nothing is hid from you; but to me this privilege is not yet granted. It is declared then in these Scriptures, \"Be ye angry, and sin not,\" and, \"Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.\" Happy is he who remembers this, which I believe to be the case with you. But may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ Himself, who is the Son of God, and our everlasting High Priest, build you up in faith and truth, and in all meekness, gentleness, patience, long-suffering, forbearance, and purity; and may He bestow on you a lot and portion among His saints, and on us with you, and on all that are under heaven, who shall believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, and in His Father, who \"raised Him from the dead.\" Pray for all the saints. Pray also for kings, and potentates, and princes, and for those that persecute and hate you, and for the enemies of the cross, that your fruit may be manifest to all, and that ye may be perfect in Him.<br/><i>— Epistle to the Philippians 12</i></p><p><b>Tertullian</b>: He professes himself to be \"an apostle\"-to use his own, words-\"not of men, nor by man, but by Jesus Christ.\" Of course, any one may make a profession concerning himself; but his profession is only rendered valid by the authority of a second person.<br/><i>— Against Marcion Book V</i></p><p><b>Tertullian</b>: Should you, however, disapprove of these types, the Acts of the Apostles, at all events, have handed down to me this career of Paul, which you must not refuse to accept. Thence I demonstrate that from a persecutor he became \"an apostle, not of men, neither by man; \" thence am I led to believe the Apostle himself; thence do I find reason for rejecting your defence of him, and for bearing fearlessly your taunt.<br/><i>— Against Marcion Book V</i></p><p><b>Tertullian</b>: To the Galatians he declares himself to be \"an apostle not of men, neither by man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father.\" You possess indeed all his writings, which testify plainly to the same effect, and set forth Two-God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father.<br/><i>— Against Praxeas</i></p><p><b>Theodoret of Cyrus</b>: So that no one might suppose the Son to be a mere ancillary to the Father, finding the word through in this passage, he immediately adds \"but through God the Father, who raised him from the dead.\" For he has applied the word through to both persons, teaching that this usage does not imply any difference of nature. And the phrase \"the one who raised him from the dead\" does not hint at any defect in the Son's divinity, for the suffering did not happen to the Godhead but illustrates the concord of the gospel, because it was not the Son alone who bestowed the mystery of the divine incarnation, but the Father himself is a sharer in this dispensation.<br/><i>— EPISTLE TO THE Galatians 1.1</i></p>","source_html_sha256":"a49e5bbb9cfcac864c575405bb315303868649ee8401f482ef4c41ccdea56818","source_module":"ECF","source_row_id":5400,"source_url":"https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/ecf/","text_sha256":"3c21de4a582641163345249b39a8675efd21855d528705d95fb0eff7def0d677","translator":null,"work":null}