Gaius Marius Victorinus

In his own words on Philippians

• Philippians 1:16

  Some preach Christ "from envy" because of their malice and contentiousness. What they feel is simply envy. They do not preach Christ in a holy and decent manner but merely in order to heap up grief upon me and increase my trial and sorrow. They want to flaunt their delight in my bondage.… Others preach not with the motive of adding further grief to my bonds but to claim the glory of preaching for themselves. Meanwhile the faithful preach Christ "through good will" in sincere belief, not out of envy but because what they believe is good. It is the gospel. So while some are preaching Christ in insolence, to bring punishment and tribulation on me, others are preaching from love. They remain dear to me. They do not insult me because I am in this state for the defense of the gospel.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 1.15-17

• Philippians 1:18

  The outcome is very welcome to me: They preach about Christ. They speak Christ's name. They confess that he is God and the Son of God, even if in a different spirit. For by this celebration, exertion and activity, Christ is proclaimed by all. So I too obtain my wish, which is that Christ should be proclaimed. And if that is so, they are wrong to imagine that they have cast me into grief.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 1.18

• Philippians 1:19

  It may seem that he had been rather rash and daring in his willing and joyful acceptance of the fact that Christ was being proclaimed in any fashion, even by the unscrupulous, even through insolence and envy. But in all this he was relying on the assurance and benevolence of God, confident of what will come to be by the grace of Christ through his Spirit.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 1.19-20

• Philippians 1:20

  "Christ is being magnified in my body, now as always, even when my body, subjected to all punishments, bears them all and preaches Christ unceasingly, not terrified by punishments and not giving way under all the tribulations." He explains the alternatives before him by adding: "Whether by life or by death: If I overcome my trials by endurance, Christ will be proclaimed. Or if I die under my punishments, he will be proclaimed all the more. All will recognize that I was not terrified by punishments or by death. In the gospel I will either live out my life beyond these punishments or bear these punishments right up to death. In any case I will have persevered in the preaching of the gospel."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 1.19-20

• Philippians 1:21

  It is not death itself that is gain, but to die in Christ. Life is Christ. The one who has hope in him is always alive, both now and forever.… Therefore they achieve nothing, whether they hand me over to death or to tortures in life. Neither alternative harms me. Life under torments is no punishment for me, since Christ is my life. And if they kill me, that too is no punishment for me, since Christ for me is life and to die is gain.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 1.21

• Philippians 1:22

  He said above "Christ is life for me," but it was not clear then what life he meant, whether in the flesh or life after death. So now he adds these words pointing directly to this life in the flesh: "If it is to be life in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me." "What is this fruit of my labor? My labor is the gospel I preach. Its fruit is to bring many to the hope of life and salvation as they in due course begin to have hope in Christ and put faith in the gospel."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 1.22

• Philippians 1:22

  I do not know which to choose. If I should die, death is gain and Christ is life for me, and I come to him indeed when I die here in the flesh. But if I should continue to live here in the flesh, the fruit of my labor will be to proclaim Christ and preach his gospel.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 1.22

• Philippians 1:25

  Truly like a father, like a servant of God, he has renounced that one of his two desires which was to be more profitable to himself alone, namely, that he should now depart and be with Christ.… He says "I shall remain," and he adds the stronger form "I shall continue." This means: "I shall stay until the completion, that is, the completion of your progress, so that you may obtain grace. Thus when you present your faith, you may receive grace from God."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 1.25

• Philippians 1:26

  This means: "Your glory will abound in me. For I will be present to see how your glory exults and abounds in Christ. I will see how you love Christ, how you serve Christ and how you rejoice in your service to Christ."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 1.26

• Philippians 1:27

  The summing up of one's whole life for a Christian is this, to conduct oneself according to Christ's gospel, to announce his grace steadily both to oneself and others, to have hope in him, to do all that one does according to his commands. For this is what it means to "conduct oneself in a manner that is worthy of Christ's gospel." A person can live honestly and uprightly, but this is not adequate to Paul's meaning. Rather we are to conduct ourselves according to Christ's gospel regardless of what happens and to do so in a worthy manner, living according to Christ's precepts and doing what Christ wants.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 1.27

• Philippians 1:27

  There is one Spirit that prevails when we believe the gospel wisely and live in accordance with it. This is why he calls them to "stand firm in one Spirit." The soul's task is to overcome contrary feelings in the body. Therefore he in effect is calling them to "stand in one Spirit and fight together with one soul with the faith of the gospel."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 1.27

• Philippians 1:28

  This work of fearlessness is part of his explanation of what it means to conduct oneself worthily according to Christ's gospel: Never be terrified, whether by adversaries or anything else.… For this very condition of being courageous tends toward our salvation. It deals a death blow to our adversaries. Yet this too is a work of God, lest we should think it part of our own work that our not being terrified should be a cause of our salvation. "For this too is of God," he says, "just as I have often told you that all things come about through the will, the mercy and the grace of God."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 1.28

• Philippians 1:29

  It was therefore within his purpose that he gave to us the gift of trusting in him. This was an incomparable gift. It is only by faith in him that we are blessed with so great a reward. We are to believe in such a way as to be ready to suffer for him.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 1.29

• Philippians 1:30

  This is our struggle. This is our contest, our contention and our goal. This it is that leads to the crown and the palm of victory: To do all things for him, to suffer all things for him and not to turn away. You, he says, are now "engaged in the same conflict which you saw and now hear to be mine." It is a conflict that implies chains, prison and all the deadly hazards that Paul has suffered. "So my sufferings," he says, "are confirmed in you by two things: what you hear and what you see."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 1.30

• Philippians 2:1

  When we are in the midst of ills and labor under the ills of the world, if we have mutual love for one another, God will be our "consolation in love." "If, therefore," he says, "there is this consolation in love, so that, because I love you, you console me in the midst of my ills, make my joy complete." … He has done well to put [the Spirit] third. For the first is to be called in Christ, the next to have love. But when both are true and they have already been called in Christ and enjoy the consolation of loving and being loved, without doubt the fellowship of the Spirit is there.… The church becomes one body when those who have been called are bound to one another in the love of Christ, when they are bound also in the Spirit and have the same "affection and sympathy." The affection corresponds to the calling in Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit, the sympathy to the consolation of love.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.1-4

• Philippians 2:2

  What does he mean by "the same love"? That you should have the same love for another that the other has for you, not a divided love but a love embedded in life in Christ. Then he adds "in full accord and of one mind." He seems to me to be underscoring what he has said above but in a reversed order. "In full accord" corresponds to "the same love. Of one mind" refers to the previous phrase: "being of the same mind." Yet there is something more nuanced in this pair than in the previous one. For "being of the same mind" and "of one mind" differ only slightly. Both pertain to knowledge. "Being of the same mind" suggests a knowledge that is not yet established, yet its capacity of knowing may be seen to be the same.… "Being of the same mind" seems to be still a continuing process. It is the way to life. But "having the same love" is the way of life to which that knowing leads.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.2-5

• Philippians 2:2

  Remember that God is one, his Son is one and his Holy Spirit is one, and all three are one. If so, then we too ought to be one in our thoughts, so as to "be of the same mind" with the one God. Then it follows that we are to "have the same love." To be of the same mind pertains to knowledge, while to have the same love pertains to discipline, to the conduct of life.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.2-5

• Philippians 2:3

  "Do nothing," he says, "through ambition." For many are either prone toward ambitiousness of their own accord or moved toward ambitiousness through others. All these kinds of ambition are to be banished. There is to be no inordinate ambition, whether voluntary or constrained, since both are vicious. Some rush into this ambition through speculation; others are naturally of such temper as to be ambitious. So he advises: "do nothing through ambition."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.2.5

• Philippians 2:4

  If we think only of ourselves, we may act for our own benefit and bother only with our own affairs, our hope, our own deliverance. But this is not enough. We are truly acting for ourselves if we also have a concern for others and strive to be of benefit to them. For since we are all one body, we look out for ourselves when we look out for others.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.2-5

• Philippians 2:5

  Above he has given two injunctions, first that they should delight in humility, then that they should think not only of their own affairs but of those of others. Then he says, "Have this mind among yourselves that was in Christ Jesus." Which of these two then do we take to have been manifested in Christ Jesus? One or the other or both? For the first, his humility, is manifest, since Christ humbled himself and assumed the character of a slave. But the second injunction could be here as well, since he bore this for others and thought of others rather than of himself.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.6-8

• Philippians 2:6

  God is the very principle of life. God is being itself. God contains life as a principle of life and so also understanding. But life and understanding are in a sense the form and image of what exists. What most truly exists is God. God is being itself, as many agree, and more so that which is above existence. The form of existence is motion, understanding and life.… Christ is said to be "the form of God" because Christ is life, consciousness and understanding.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.6-8

• Philippians 2:6

  It would be a kind of robbery if two things were not equal by nature but were forced to be made equal or made equal through some accident. It therefore shows great confidence and bespeaks the very nature of divinity when Paul says of Christ that he did not think it robbery to be equal with God yet did not consider this equality something he had to fortify.

  AGAINST THE ARIANS 1.23

• Philippians 2:6

  What does this mean—"being equal to God"? It means that he [the Son] is of the very same power and substance [as the Father]. … It is in this sense therefore that Christ was equal to God. Note that Paul did not say Christ was "similar to God," for that would imply that Christ possessed some accidental likeness to the substance of God but not that he was substantially equal. … Thus Christ is the form of God. The form of God is the substance of God. The form and image of God is the Word. The Word is forever with God. The Word is of one substance with the Father, with whom from the beginning it remains forever the Word.

  AGAINST THE ARIANS 1.21-22

• Philippians 2:7

  The Son was sent by the Father and fulfills the Father's will. The mystery stated here is that it was by his own will that he came and assumed the form and image of a slave.… The Father is in the Son and the Son in the Father.… So what the Father willed the Son also willed, and what the Son willed the Father willed.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.6-8

• Philippians 2:7

  It is not as though Paul was in the slightest uncertain about Christ's identity that he said Christ was "found in human likeness." He did not say "in human likeness" as though our Lord maybe was not truly a man but a phantom. Rather he was found in human likeness while still being God yet at the same time being truly a man in the flesh, with a physical human body that he had assumed.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.6-8

• Philippians 2:7

  We must understand this "emptying himself" to consist not in any loss or privation of his power but in the fact that he lowered himself to the basest level and condescended to the meanest tasks. By fulfilling these he momentarily emptied himself of his power. Assuming flesh and human form and likeness, he suffered, died and fulfilled all the things that belong to humanity.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.6-8

• Philippians 2:7

  How could he possibly have taken only human form and not human substance? For he put on the flesh and was in the flesh and suffered in the flesh. This is the mystery and the means of our salvation.… What therefore does it mean, "he emptied himself?" That the universal Logos was not universal in his actual being as the logos of the flesh and becoming flesh. Therefore he did not merely pretend to become a man but became a man.

  AGAINST THE ARIANS 1.22

• Philippians 2:9

  He received "the name that is above every name." He received this name because of his saving word, because of the mystery of his passion, where death was vanquished by the very death of Christ. Through this grace he received the name. It was at that point that the name rightly accrued to him. But the reality to which the name pointed was already given before. The Word, the very power of God, did not become real for the first time only when it entered flesh. Rather it possessed its reality as the power, wisdom, action and work of God from the outset, when it was called the Word and when it indeed was the Word. It is that same Word that has now put on flesh … that has received the title of Son, which title is above every name.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.9-11

• Philippians 2:12

  The fear is to be referred to the soul, the trembling to the body. But it is a great mystery, which we should lay to heart when we hear it, that by taking thought and showing concern for others we work out our own salvation all the more and furthermore that it is in our power to work out salvation for ourselves.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.12-13

• Philippians 2:16

  "I have glory through you because you possess the word of life"—that is, because you know Christ, who is the Word of life, "because what was made in Christ was life." Therefore Christ is the Word of life. From this we perceive how great is the profit and glory of those who correct the souls of others.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.16

• Philippians 2:18

  He means, "Being prepared to die for you, so long as I can serve you and strengthen your faith, I rejoice and am glad for all of you. So therefore you rejoice and be glad with me, so that we may show equal concern for one another and rejoice in each other in turn."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.17-18

• Philippians 2:19

  Because every act of ours must be referred to God so that it may be completed by God, he says, "I hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.19

• Philippians 2:21

  To the charge being given to Timothy as one "who is faithfully anxious on your behalf" he adds this explanation: The others "seek after their own interests"; that is, they are anxious to protect and keep what is theirs and in this are not Christians. For what is it to be a Christian? To seek rather in every companion and brother that which is Christ's.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.21

• Philippians 2:22

  He says "he served with me," not "he served me."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.22-24

• Philippians 2:25

  Although he has promised to send Timothy rapidly, nevertheless, because he still speaks of a certain delay, he now sends Epaphroditus.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.25

• Philippians 2:25

  He commends the character of Epaphroditus by calling him "my brother and fellow soldier." He is a brother in the law and a fellow soldier in the camp and in the work of the gospel. And he is called "your apostle." Note that he calls Epaphroditus an apostle. Everyone who is sent on account of the gospel can rightly be called an apostle.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.25

• Philippians 2:27

  Note what benefits we experience from the Lord even in this life. Hence we ought not hurry to death. For even if this world is a hotbed of sin and therefore to be shunned, yet the desire to live in the world comes from your nature and is not sin. Life ought to be desired. So it is right to say "God had mercy on him."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.27

• Philippians 2:27

  Many are preserved and pitied by God because something is done through them which belongs to the ministry of salvation. At the same time we also should pray for those who are ill, lest we be saddened by the loss of those whose help we need in the performance, imparting and proclamation of divine grace.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.27

• Philippians 2:28

  Why does Paul add the phrase "and I may be less anxious?" Because he has already said that Epaphroditus had ministered to his needs. He did not want it to appear as though he was sad to be sending him. Since Epaphroditus desired to be with them and since they are going to be glad if they see him, Paul could then be "less anxious."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.28

• Philippians 3:2

  Divine Scripture speaks of dogs which are of use and are defenders of the church, as David teaches in Psalm 68, saying that these dogs are sated with the blood of enemies in the temple of God. And here he speaks of the opposite kind of dogs, who are obviously the Jews, because they are "workers" and "evil workers." For works are the sole exercise of their lives, without any knowledge of God, and from their works they hope for salvation.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 3.1-3

• Philippians 3:11

  It is because Paul is still persevering in the fellowship of suffering, which is very similar to death itself, that he says "that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." There can be no doubt of his attaining to the resurrection. But what is this attaining to the resurrection of the dead? It is the perfect and full life of every individual which is elicited from the fellowship of Christ's sufferings by every means, which will appear clearly at that end time when the resurrection from the dead occurs, that is, when the dead come back to life.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 3.12

• Philippians 3:11

  We who believe in Christ endure sufferings with him and indeed all sufferings, even as far as the cross and death. From the knowledge of all these and from the sharing in suffering comes resurrection. And thus, as we are sharers in his death and his burden, we are enabled to share his resurrection.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 3.10-11

• Philippians 3:12

  Christ by his sufferings has set free all who follow him. He embraces everyone, but especially those who follow. The one who wants to follow and embrace Christ is bound to follow Christ in all his sufferings. Only in this way may he embrace Christ as Christ embraces him. For if Christ set everyone free by his sufferings, he embraces everyone in his sufferings.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 3.12

• Philippians 3:13

  If they compared themselves with Paul, the Philippians would understand how far they were from the blessings of freedom. How frequently had he shared in so many of Christ's sufferings: He had been beaten, imprisoned, thrown to wild beasts and burdened with other evils. Nonetheless even he did not think that he had already taken hold of Christ, as long as he was alive.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 3.13

• Philippians 3:14

  Here then are two precepts for the one who is going to live the rest of life walking in the Christian way. First, the one who is still living under divine governance, however well and rightly he has acted in the past, should not think about all the actions he has already done as though he deserved to obtain something by them. Rather he should cast them into oblivion, always seeking the new tasks that remain. Second, he should nonetheless keep living under the divine rule, continually "pressing on" toward these things and observing the rule of Christ, even to death.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 3.13-14

• Philippians 3:15

  Assuming that this statement is complete and self-contained and need not be linked to his subsequent words, I think it must be understood as follows: "If there is anything in what I have said that you construe or understand in a different way, I allow your understanding to develop." Remember that he is speaking of the perfect, for so he says so: "we who are perfect." … "In due time 'God will reveal this to you,' since both what you understand and what I have said are fitting."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 3.15

• Philippians 3:18

  There are two types of misunderstanding of Christ, or rather one class of two descriptions, who are enemies of Christ. For some in their carnal thoughts deride the cross of Christ, thinking of Christ merely as a man raised onto a cross.… These pay attention to nothing but the flesh. To them "their god is a belly" and their "glory is in filthiness." These are the ones who "think earthly thoughts" and whose end is death. On the other hand, there are those who think of Christ only as a spirit. They do not think of him as incarnate or crucified. They too are enemies to the cross of Christ, having death as their end.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 3.19

• Philippians 3:18

  An exhortation is stronger when it is accompanied by what is fearful in its alternative.… Paul expresses heartfelt affection when he describes the evils suffered by those who live otherwise, saying, "I say it with tears."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 3.19

• Philippians 3:21

  When we rise and are changed and are made spiritual in soul, body and spirit (for all these three make up one man and are one spirit), the body in which we have been humbled will be raised. It will be of the same and an equal form to the body of Christ's own glory. So too we shall be spirits as he himself is a spirit.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 3.21

• Philippians 3:21

  In this place of worship dwells the mystery of the resurrection. For what was fulfilled in Christ in the flesh was this: that he should save souls and also cause immortality to be given to the flesh through resurrection. This he accomplished by the power of his cross.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 3.21

• Philippians 4:1

  Love, the sum of every virtue for the Christian, does not fittingly come to pass if the faithful do not stand united as one, thinking in harmony. This is what Paul means here by "Stand firm in the Lord, my beloved." We may understand that he wants them to be united in understanding from the fact that he calls them [literally] "most beloved brethren." Mutual love is the result of thinking in unison and standing together in Christ. When all have equal faith in Christ all of us stand together in him.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 4.1

• Philippians 4:2

  He asks that these women should seek a common understanding in the Lord. Out of their belief in Christ, they should think and understand what the gospel says about Christ. But he says "I ask," implying that this will be to their benefit. "I do not command or order; I ask."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 4.2

• Philippians 4:3

  I have said above that he promised that Epaphroditus would come to Philippi, and then I showed that Paul sent him when he said "and so I sent him in haste." Therefore this is now, so to speak, added so that he may give him a command in the letter, praying and beseeching him to tell those women, Euodia and Syntyche, to have a common understanding in the Lord.… And that Epaphroditus is the one to whom he gives this command to help the aforesaid women to reach a common understanding can be perceived from the fact that he says, "I pray and beseech you, brother and yokefellow," whereas above he said, "I thought Epaphroditus needful, my brother and fellow soldier."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 4.3

• Philippians 4:4

  This means that the consequence of having unity in understanding and faith is that they rejoice in the Lord and are always dear to one another. "Rejoice," he says "in the Lord"—this is too little: "again I say rejoice." For when you are joined in heart you rejoice in the Lord, and when you rejoice in the Lord you are joined in heart and stand together in the Lord.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 4.4-5

• Philippians 4:5

  Forbearance is individual patience that observes due measure without straining beyond its station. When we live among strangers and live in a way commensurate with our lowliness, God will lift us up. So it is here; we do well to recognize our lowliness. "Therefore let your moderation," he says, "be known to all." Why does he tell us this? So that we may make a pleasing show here? No, but so that when Christ comes he may raise up our lowliness and exalt our moderation.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 4.4-5

• Philippians 4:6

  "Do not be anxious about anything." This means: Do not be concerned for yourselves. Do not give unnecessary thought to or be anxious about the world or worldly things. For all that is needful for you in this life God provides. And it will be even better in that life which is eternal.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 4.6

• Philippians 4:7

  When the peace of God has come upon us, we shall understand God. There will be no discord, no disagreement, no quarrelsome arguments, nothing subject to question. This is hardly the case in worldly life. But it shall be so when we have the peace of God, wherein all understanding shall be ours. For peace is the state of being already at rest, already secure.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 4.7

• Philippians 4:8

  In saying "if there be any excellence, any praise," he takes good note of the nature of things. For all things happen by the grace of God, who governs and rules through the Spirit that he sends into us. We count on nothing of our own, but on grace alone. This is why he speaks conditionally: "if any excellence," for the virtues being nurtured in us are not from us but from God's grace. So not even the praise is ours. Therefore he also says "if there is anything worthy of praise."

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 4.8-9

• Philippians 4:8

  "Whatever is true"—What are these true things? They are set out in the gospel: Jesus Christ is the Son of God and all that goes with that good news. When your thoughts are true, it follows that they will be honorable. What is true is not corrupted, which means that it is honorable. What is not corrupted is true. Then what is true and honorable will also be just, for it is made just or justified. And what is made just is pure since it receives sanctification from God. All that is just, honorable, true and pure is lovable and also gracious. For who does not love these saintly virtues? Who does not speak and think well of them?… Of this list some items pertain to true virtue in itself, while the later ones pertain to the fruit of virtue. To virtue it belongs to love truth, honor, justice and purity. To the fruit of virtue belongs that which is lovely and gracious.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 4.8-9

• Philippians 4:9

  "These things," he says, "do." And above he says "think about" these things. He adds do to show that these things are not only good to think about but to bring into action.

  EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 4.8-9