Gaius Marius Victorinus

In his own words on Ephesians

• Ephesians 1:1

  In other letters when he writes to a church and its people he does not add "to the saints and the faithful." But now, because he desires to keep them loyal to the holy Name, so that being sanctified they will not add anything superficially in excess of the Name, he calls them simply by this name: they are the faithful "in Christ."

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.1

• Ephesians 1:1

  When Jesus Christ elected Paul and made him an apostle, he elected him through the Spirit by the will of God or the power through whom God works his will. Let us therefore understand, as I often say, that the will of God is the very power, greatness and substance of the whole divine plenitude. Christ—that is, God's Word which was in Christ—is the will of God. Those who consider this more closely will find that God and his will are inseparable.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.1

• Ephesians 1:2

  Both grace and peace remove contention. They convey the will of God. Since therefore they were in the grip of error, grace was first sought on their behalf, in order that they should know God and fully obey God and Christ, putting all trust in Christ and nothing else.… Then he also adds "peace from God." The one who wills ungraciously creates severe discord.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.2

• Ephesians 1:5

  God in his love has predestined us to adoption through Christ. How could God possibly have Christ for his Son by adoption?… We speak of ourselves as heirs of God the Father and heirs through Christ, being sons through adoption. Christ is his Son, through whom it is brought about that we become sons and fellow heirs in Christ.

  AGAINST THE ARIANS 1.2

• Ephesians 1:6

  We, being such as we are, are surrounded and held fast by vice and libidinous sin. When we are set free by him, acquitted of sin and pardoned for our sins, we are also adopted as his sons. All this is therefore to the praise of his glory and grace—his glory because he can do so much, and his grace because he offers this to us freely.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.(4) 5-6

• Ephesians 1:8

  The riches of God are heaped upon us in that he makes us something better than we were at the beginning of our existence.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.8

• Ephesians 1:9

  The whole of this wisdom and prudence consists in knowing Christ and through Christ understanding and seeing God. For whatever remaining wisdom there is in the world and whatever other wisdom of this kind there may be outside it, all wisdom and prudence is nonetheless empty, worthless and wretched without Christ.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.8

• Ephesians 1:9

  Not only has God a will, but the intention of his will is expressed in Christ. Hence all things are done through him. There is nothing in the mystery that is not done through Jesus Christ.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.9

• Ephesians 1:10

  It is not all things indifferently that are restored but all things that are in Christ—both those that are in heaven and those that are on the earth but only those that are in Christ. Others are strange to him. Whatever things then are in Christ, it is these that are revitalized and rise again, whether in heaven or in earth. For he is salvation, he is renewal, he is eternity.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.10

• Ephesians 1:12

  First the believer is enabled to hope in Christ, that is, follow Christ and believe that all Christ's promises can be fulfilled. Only then will the consequence be that he will live for the praise of the glory of God.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.12

• Ephesians 1:15

  He now moves on to specific exhortations for the Ephesians, and at the same time he warns them not to entertain contrary ideas. He first expresses himself generously: "having heard," he says, "of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." For this is the sum of things, this is virtue, this is the mystery, that there should be faith in Christ Jesus. This faith also encourages one to love all the saints, all who have faith in Christ and have been sanctified through him. Thus one who is faithful in Christ loves the saints.… "Therefore I also, having heard of your faith, love you."

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.15

• Ephesians 1:16

  Every prayer that we offer up to God is made either in thanks for what we have received or in petition to receive something else. We are encouraged to pray both for ourselves and for those we love. So Paul says, "I make mention of you in my prayer." "Therefore my chief prayer is first on my account, then on yours."

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.16

• Ephesians 1:18

  Let us understand that we arrive at the full mystery of God by two routes: We ourselves by rational insight may come to understand and discern something of the knowledge of divine things. But when there is a certain divine self-disclosure God himself reveals his divinity to us. Some may directly perceive by this revelation something remarkable, majestic and close to truth.… But when we receive wisdom we apprehend what is divine both through our own rational insight and through God's own Spirit. When we come to know what is true in the way this text intends, both these ways of knowing correspond.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.17-18

• Ephesians 1:21

  All names are secondary inventions. They primarily point to that which is in the created order, whether it be angels, human beings or temporal powers. By contrast, only that is eternal in essence which has existence without dependency upon something else that exists, which lives by its own power. That which is eternal has no name in itself. Such "names" are added by us with our vocabulary and language. Christ receives these names from us (Son of God, divine, Spirit), yet he is still more than whatever these names convey.… Among names, the name that holds the chief place and that from which all names come is that which the Greeks call Being itself. But Christ is above this very being and is therefore above every name.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.20-23

• Ephesians 1:21

  Because he is the fount and the origin and the principle in everything that moves, Christ was therefore set "above all authority and above all power." Authority is one thing, power another. Authority is expressed in action. Power is expressed in the capacity to act. A potential act may exist not as present fact but as the present possibility of something. But since Christ is himself the origin of all and is in all that is possible, he is "above all power." Since he is the source of all acts and authority is expressed in actions, he is therefore said to be "above all authority."

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.20-23

• Ephesians 1:23

  All these statements about the magnificence and power of Christ have this purpose: To prove that nothing further is to be received, no other thought required to complete the revelation. The Ephesians are therefore in error if they add anything further and introduce anything from the teaching of the Jews or of the world.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.20-23

• Ephesians 1:23

  Christ is the fullness of the church. This entire fullness is in process of being filled up. At one stage everything which is being filled is made empty. So Christ was emptied or emptied himself. Having recovered all things again through the mystery of salvation and saved the full number of souls, Christ is filling all in all.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.20-23

• Ephesians 2:1

  Death is understood in two ways. The first is the familiar definition—when the soul is separated from the body at the end of life. The second is that, while abiding in that same body, the soul pursues the desires of the flesh and lives in sin.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2.1-2

• Ephesians 2:2

  Light and dark are two things, as are truth and falsehood, goodness and wickedness. But they are not to be imagined as equal, for it is not pious to compare anything to God, even by contraries. So we are to understand that there are two spirits, one of faith and one of disobedience. Satan and his devils have their substance from air, that is, from material reality. They derive their power in that same way, over those who think materially. The prince of that power which is in the air works through matter. He is therefore that spirit now at work through material means among the children of disobedience. He possesses their minds and has dominion over them. Therefore the one who lives "according to the course of this world lives according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit who is now at work in the children of disobedience."

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2.1-2

• Ephesians 2:6

  He did not make us deserving, since we did not receive these things by our own merit but by the grace and goodness of God.… But all this, as he often asserts and I insist, is in Christ. For in him is the whole mystery of the resurrection, both ours and of all others.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2.7

• Ephesians 2:9

  The fact that you Ephesians are saved is not something that comes from yourselves. It is the gift of God. It is not from your works, but it is God's grace as God's gift, not from anything you have deserved. Our works are one thing, what we deserve another. Hence he distinguishes the two phrases "not from yourselves" and "not from works." Remember that there are faithful works that ought to be displayed daily in services to the poor and other good deeds.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2.9

• Ephesians 2:10

  Does Paul mean "good works" in the future tense or those which we now perform? Taken either way they are good for us to walk in. They are witnesses to Christ's working in us.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2.10

• Ephesians 2:12

  The true way of Israel consists in living according to the Spirit, thinking according to the Spirit and being circumcised from unworthy desires.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2.12

• Ephesians 2:14

  Christ, he says, "is our peace." Elsewhere Paul calls him mediator. He interposed himself of his own accord between divided realms. Souls born of God's fountain of goodness were being detained in the world. There was a wall in their midst, a sort of fence, a partition made by the deceits of the flesh and worldly lusts. Christ by his own mystery, his cross, his passion and his way of life destroyed this wall. He overcame sin and taught that it could be overcome. He destroyed the lusts of the world and taught that they ought to be destroyed. He took away the wall in the midst. It was in his own flesh that he overcame the enmity. The work is not ours. We are not called to set ourselves free. Faith in Christ is our only salvation.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2.14-15

• Ephesians 2:15

  Their souls have thus been reconciled to the eternal and the spiritual, to all things above. The Savior, through the Spirit, indeed the Holy Spirit, descended into souls. He thereby joined what had been separated, spiritual things and souls, so as to make the souls themselves spiritual. He has established them in himself, as he says, "in a new person." What is this new person? The spiritual person, as distinguished from the old person, who was soul struggling against flesh.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2.14-15

• Ephesians 2:17

  He distinguishes "those who are far off" from "those who are near." This refers to the Gentiles and Jews. For the Jews are obviously close and the Gentiles far off. Yet the Savior himself has brought the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul here mentions first that Christ by his advent has truly preached peace also to those who are far off, that is, the Gentiles, as is shown by many evidences. For those who come to belief from Gentile backgrounds ironically have a greater claim to be called sons than those from Jewish backgrounds. And yet, so that it may not be denied to the latter, he adds "and those who are near."

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2. 7

• Ephesians 2:18

  Both Jews and Gentiles "have access to the Father" through Christ himself. But how? "In one Spirit." For the Spirit, who is one with Christ, enters into us when we believe in Christ. We then feel God's presence, know God and worship God. Thus we come to the Father in that same Spirit through Christ. No one, whether Jew or Gentile, comes to the Father except through Christ.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2.18

• Ephesians 2:19

  What are we to understand by "fellow citizens with the saints?" It implies a distinction between citizens and saints. But if this is so, who are the saints and who are the citizens? Saints refers to the apostles, prophets and all who formerly experienced God or spoke divinely through the Spirit dwelling within them. They in some way beheld God's presence, as did Abraham, either through the flesh, through the Spirit or through both flesh and Spirit, as with all the apostles. Those who have later believed in Christ without any such special means are "fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household."

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2.19

• Ephesians 2:20

  Jesus Christ and his teachings are the foundation for the apostles. The edifice built on this foundation consists in life and character and one's conduct and discipline. The primary foundation is for life; the rest of the edifice is for its adornment and edification. The primary foundation, I say, is to believe in Christ, hope in him and trust in God. This foundation is the teaching of the apostles, which is also heard in the word of the prophets. Note the order of this distinction, first apostles and then prophets. The apostles beheld [God incarnate]; the prophets received the Spirit. These are the saints mentioned above: those who saw and those who were inhabited by the Spirit. Hence the teachings of the apostles and prophets are indeed the teachings of Christ, which proclaim the foundation of all eternal hope.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2.20

• Ephesians 2:21

  All souls made spiritual through Christ are joined and built up into a holy temple, where God dwells. As Christ is in all and God in Christ, all are a temple of God through Christ.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2.21-22

• Ephesians 2:21

  He called this stone a cornerstone not merely because it is at the corner but because it is the first and most important stone. From it begins the foundation of the corner which joins and couples two things to make them one. Souls above already with Christ are united together with those that live in holiness and receive Christ in a mystery that is present. Souls below that are Christ's, including those of the Gentiles, are also joined by that cornerstone, Jesus Christ.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2.20

• Ephesians 2:22

  As he does so often, he brings the argument back to individuals, that is, to the Ephesians. They themselves have been built into that same temple cornerstone. Here he cleverly adjusts his language to form an exhortation. They have not yet fully entered into this unity but are still being built up. There is a deficiency, and therefore he warns and exhorts them.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.2.21-22

• Ephesians 3:1

  It remains, after he has stated the truth that all their hope is in Christ and thus they are all being built up together in the Spirit to be the dwelling place of God—it remains, I say, that he should teach them who he himself is and whether he himself is contributing to building them up together through the gospel and can give a reason for his own authority so that they may believe him.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.1-2

• Ephesians 3:3

  Paul indicates that this mystery was made known to him through revelation. From this passage it is evident that a Christian, and a very excellent Christian at that, can be brought into being solely by grace.… Nevertheless, the power of God dispenses grace in many ways. Others come to faith by teaching, wherein by a legitimate training process and through the commandments of the Savior a person is reborn through the Spirit and water, so as to receive the spirit of Christ, in a teaching process that is mediated from human beings and through human beings. But what happened to Paul came to him by the grace of God through revelation. Although he, in my judgment, was the only one who received this particular revelation, God is able to reveal himself in this form or in other ways to others.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.1-2

• Ephesians 3:5

  He teaches that there is a perfect harmony—a complete unity and identity—between the revelations given to him and those given to the apostles. His purpose is to avoid discord and any appearance of having received by revelation something that was not given to the apostles by the living Christ.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.5

• Ephesians 3:7

  Everywhere Paul reminds us that we receive God's gifts not by our own merit but by grace. Grace belongs to the giver, not to the recipient. And by adding "according to the working of his power," he also ascribes this to God, so that "if I do any work, it is God's power. For it is not my power that works in me but God's."

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.7-8

• Ephesians 3:8

  Was work given before grace? Or did grace come before any works? That which is working is God's power. So grace had already been given. When it is said that Paul was made a minister according to the gift of God, we understand that the gift of being a minister was given before his working to make him a minister, and his being a minister is the gift and grace of God.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.7-8

• Ephesians 3:9

  When he speaks of making "all men see the plan," this includes both Israel and the Gentiles. Paul had doubtless received the gospel for the Gentiles. But the Jews too can see the plan if they follow and obey.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.9

• Ephesians 3:9

  Christ is the only begotten Son of God, and through him all the rest are created. Through him the works of God are created, as God works in and through him. All ages of time are subsequent to Christ, being made by Christ.… Therefore, even though God is acknowledged as the Creator, God is nonetheless Creator through Christ. The term Creator therefore does not pertain simply to God as such but pertains to Christ and through Christ to God. Christ who was eternally begotten created all things in time. God worked and created all things through Christ.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.9

• Ephesians 3:10

  His expression through the church means through all the members of God and through every soul that has put on his mysteries and has hope in him. From this we understand what has been given to humanity. The powers and principalities in heaven are learning the wisdom of God through a human mediator.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.10

• Ephesians 3:10

  Paul briefly touches on all the parts of the mystery that we have spoken of above when he speaks of the "manifold wisdom of God," whether this be that he sent his Son or that such great majesty assumed the form of a slave or that greater gifts were given. The promises are so great: the forgiveness of sins, the promise of heaven, eternal life, glorification and our inheritance together with the same Christ in his resurrection after death and even his death itself. This is what makes up the manifold wisdom of God.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.10

• Ephesians 3:11

  From this we see what it means to say that the mystery was concealed in God, for he adds "according to the purpose of the ages." This means that, after certain ages had reached their destined end, the mystery was to appear through the presence of the Lord in whom it had been concealed. For it was proper for it to be revealed through the One in whom it was concealed.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.11

• Ephesians 3:13

  When some hear that Paul suffers tribulations, they may grow faint in faith. To prevent this he argues, in effect: "I pray on account of what has been revealed to me that you should not grow faint through my tribulations. These tribulations I am suffering are not due to anything I have caused but rather because you are either weak in faith or now wavering, or because you are making some unnecessary additions to the faith. That is the reason I endure these trials. I am now hoping to recall you to true discipline and observance so that you will not depart from Christ, having your hope in Christ alone. For this is your glory."

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.13

• Ephesians 3:14

  All good working and doing occur through Christ. The spirit of Christ is that of a serving ministry. He is himself the ministry of God toward us. God does everything through him. Therefore he says, "I bend my knees to the Father."

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.14

• Ephesians 3:14

  By kneeling we demonstrate the full form of prayer and petition. So we bend our knees. We ought not merely to incline our minds to prayer but also our bodies. We do well to lower our bodies lest we create an impression of elevation or an appearance of pride.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.14

• Ephesians 3:16

  What are these "riches of the glory of God?" They are "being strengthened with might through his Spirit," so that they may be strong against the sinful nature, the desires of the flesh and the dreadful powers of this world. This strengthening happens through the Spirit of God. But how are persons strengthened and made firm through the Spirit of God? By "Christ's dwelling in the inner man," he says. For when Christ begins to dwell in the inner citadel of the soul, persons are made strong by might through the Spirit. In this way everything of a hostile nature is evicted.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.16-17

• Ephesians 3:18

  God is through all and in all, and is all things and the source of all, through whom all things come and over all. In this aspect the task of understanding is to note and know what "the breadth, the length, the height and the depth" of divine grace. How all these exist together or may be understood to exist in God and according to these aspects requires another, higher comprehension.… Hence he prays finally that the Ephesians may understand them all together. And so that they will not despair through their inability to comprehend them together, he adds: "so that you may be able to comprehend with all the saints." Therefore the saints comprehend these things together and can expound them.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.18-19

• Ephesians 3:18

  Since he has taught that three things tend toward maturity in Christ—faith, understanding and love—he here brings them all into a brief compass. He is now praying that God will bestow all these gifts upon the Ephesians. Note the sequence he has followed: He spoke first of faith, "that you may have Christ dwelling in the inner man in your hearts through faith." Now he speaks of understanding by saying "so that you may comprehend with all the saints the breadth, length and depth." Again he adds with regard to love, "to know the love that surpasses knowledge."

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.18-19

• Ephesians 3:19

  The one who knows the love that "passes all understanding" will better express the full measure of love for Christ. Paul prays that they may first know [the love of Christ] rather than do something. Doing comes from this knowing.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.18-19

• Ephesians 3:20

  He says in effect: "I pray that you will do these things and understand these things. If, however, anyone is able to do more and more abundantly and go beyond these things—that is, beyond what I ask or understand—praise be to him. Yet whoever does more abundantly will receive this ability through the same power that works within us all, namely, through the power of God and Christ our Lord."

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.20-21

• Ephesians 4:2

  He speaks of several forms of forbearance, each of which prevents them from being carried away or proud. Lowliness is first, then meekness. Lowliness consists in having a humble mind. Meekness is a curb on pride and cruelty. Patience consists in bearing any adverse circumstance that may befall them. With lowliness and meekness they learn not to be afraid to suffer. With patience they learn how to respond if they must suffer.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.4.2-4

• Ephesians 4:7

  In counseling humility, meekness, etc., he sets forth the reason why each person is called to patience and forbearance. Grace has been given to each of us according to the measure in which Christ grants it. Since therefore different people have different gifts, there is no cause for envy or refusal. One should not grieve over what another has, nor should any refuse to give what grace he has received. If therefore Christ grants according to the measure of the grace given to each, we should all embrace one another in love, bearing everything with forbearance and patience, with meekness and humility.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.4.7

• Ephesians 4:10

  Nothing in the cosmos is left untouched by Christ. He indeed descended to the lower parts of the earth and ascended above all the heavens. What heavens? Some say three, some more … but what does it matter? Christ, who ascended, ascended above all the heavens, however many. For eternity is now presently reigning in heaven and incorruptible life. All things there live by the Spirit. This reordering did not occur, however, until the descent of Christ. Once the mystery [of the cross] had been accomplished, all these received salvation after the passion and ascent of Christ and have been perfected. For this is what he means by "so that he might fulfill all," that is, make them perfect and full, with nothing lacking.… Surely this could not be understood to infer that he fulfilled his mission on earth but set nothing right in the heavens and perfected nothing there.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.4.10

• Ephesians 4:11

  There are five ways of speaking about the Scriptures: speaking in tongues, speaking in revelation, speaking in knowledge, speaking in prophecy, speaking in teaching.… But there is another thing apart from these. It is being an evangelist. This means to relate what Christ did and announce that Christ himself is to be worshiped.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.4.11-12

• Ephesians 4:11

  The name prophets is given to those who, having received the Spirit of God, spoke beforehand of Christ and his advent. These were the prophets who "were until Christ." But after he arrived, was there no reason for any further prophecy? What prophets does Paul speak of here? It is obviously those who being full of the Spirit spoke of God after his coming, continuing to expound the divine teaching.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.4.11

• Ephesians 4:20

  To believe in Christ is to obtain immortality and receive eternal life. For he himself is life. He himself is light. He himself is eternity. He himself is the one who overcomes death. He has by overcoming death overcome us too through the fulfilled mystery of salvation.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.4.20-21

• Ephesians 4:24

  He is calling us to live as one whose thoughts come from the Spirit, who is himself once again becoming the spiritual man created by God. We are to live in the likeness of God, just as God intended when he said: "Let us make humanity in our own image and likeness." Admittedly God has no face or physical aspect. God is Spirit. So we too have been created according to God, to think according to the Spirit and thus to allow nothing to drag us down to worldly and unworthy thoughts.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.4.23-24

• Ephesians 4:27

  The devil can do nothing to us unless we ourselves willingly allow him to do so. This is true in all our acts. Thus we are masters of our own will; otherwise we would deserve no good return for our good acts and no punishment for our bad acts. The devil's opportunity arises from our own vice.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.4.27

• Ephesians 4:28

  Sin does not consist in simply committing sin but persisting in it. If so, there is always a place for repentance. There is a place for correction. So the apostle says: "let the one who has stolen not steal again." This should be applied not only to stealing but also to all sin. Anyone who has sinned in any way is now called not to sin again.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.4.28

• Ephesians 4:31

  He adds five terms briefly at the end—bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander. Then at the very end he has added the summarizing phrase with all malice. Bitterness consists in envying and speaking ill of others and similar actions. Wrath consists in the lust for vengeance and punishment. Anger is the impulse of a mind boiling over and upheaving beyond what is reasonable. Clamor is a kind of insane, uncontrolled utterance. And blasphemy is wicked thought or speech that attacks God and is primarily directed against God.

  EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.4.31