Commentary on Romans, Biblical exegesis 2 · Chapter 15 · Section 3 · Subsection 17 – Subsection 19
17. Quest. Of the Apostles prayer, v. 13. The God of hope fill you with all ioy and peace, &c.
The God of peace. 1. Origen noteth that the Apostle by occasion of the next words before, in him shall the Gentiles hope, saith here, the God of hope: if it had beene said before, in whome the Gentiles shall beleeue, he would hauehave said here, the God of faith, or beleefe: thus the Apostle doth inferre one thing out of an other, that the whole epistle may seeme to be linked together with a golden chaine: so before v. 4. hauing said, that by patience and consolation of the Scriptures we might hauehave hope, he addeth in the next verse, the God of patience and consolation giuegive you, that ye be like minded, &c. 2. He is called the God of hope, both obiective, because he is the onelyonly obiect of our hope, as 1. Tim. 6.17. rich men are charged not to put their trust in vncertaine riches, but in the living God; and effective, because God onelyonly is the author and worker of hope in vsus: 1. Pet. 1.4. which hath begotten vsus to a liuely hope, &c.
Fill you with all ioy, and peace. 1. Origen mooueth a question, how the Apostle should wish vntounto them all ioy, seeing he himselfe did know but in part, and prophesie in part: and he maketh this answer, that then a man is filled with all peace, si in plenitudine crediderit Trinitatis, when he beleeueth in the fulnesse of the Trinitie, beeing by faith in Christs blood, reconciled to God the father, and ioyned to the holy Ghost, beeing purged from his sinnes. 2. but by all ioy and peace, the Apostle meaneth rather, solid and perfect ioy, which alwaies remaineth: it can neuer be taken from them, it endureth all times: as the Apostle saith, Philip. 4.4. Reioyce alwaies in the Lord, and againe I say reioyce. 3. and here the Apostle aliudeth to that former saying, c. 14.17. The kingdome of God is not meate and drinke, but righteousnes, ioy, and peace: and so here he wisheth the same things, true ioy, which ariseth of a conscience iustified by faith, and peace both in their owne conscience, and with their brethren that there be no longer any variance or dissension among them: and then he addeth, in beleeuing: 1. whereby he signifieth the righteousnes of faith, which is the cause of the other two, ioy and peace. 2. some vnderstand it otherwise, gaudium de suscepta fide, ioy for the faith receiued, Tolet. 3. Haymo thus, vt credentes, &c. sius pacifici, that beleeuing in Christ, who hath reconciled vsus, ye may be at peace among your selues: but the first sense is the best: to shew that faith is vinculum concordiae, the bond of peace, Calvin. 4. so here he wisheth these three graces, ioy in our selues, peace toward our brethren, and faith toward God: with these three the minde is filled; gaudio concupiscibilis, pace irascibilis, fide rationalis, the concupiscible or desiring facultie of the minde with ioy, the irascible, angrie, or incensing facultie with peace, the reasonable with faith, Gorrhan.
That ye may abound in hope. 1. He simply doth not wish vntounto them hope, but to abound in hope: that like as if one abound in treasure, he may draw out thence for all occasions; so this abounding hope serueth for all necessitie. 2. some by this abounding in hope, vnderstand the hoping for of all things needefull both for the bodie and soule, as if a Christian doe want money wherewith to maintaine himselfe, iubetur sperare, he is bid to trust in God; and though he see nothing in himselfe but sinne, yet he is bid also to hope for saluation, Pellican, but it rather signifieth the certentie of hope, de vita aeterna habenda, of hauing, and enioying eternall life, gloss. ordin. 3. and this is put after ioy and peace in faith, because where the peace of conscience iustified by faith is not, there is no hope, but plaine desperation: for faith is the ground of things hoped for, Hebr. 11.1. and hope is put in the last place, because it is tanquam signaculum, as the seale of all other Christian vertues, which maketh sure our saluation, Par.
Through the power of the holy Ghost, &c. 1. Chrysostomes glosse is here to be taken heed of, that the Apostle saith not simply, by the holy Ghost, sed si simul, & quae nostra sunt attulerimus, but if we bring somewhat of our owne, as if we beleeue, and abound in good works, that we shall draw vntounto vsus the spirit: if we hauehave good workes, we shall, also hauehave the spirit, and if we hauehave the spirit, we shall also hauehave good works, that is, encrease, and goe forward in them: to this purpose Chrysostome: as though we could doe any good works at all without the spirit: as the Apostle saith, EueryEvery good giuing, &c. commeth downe from the father of lights, Iam. 1.17. 2. The vulgar Latine readeth, in the vertue of the holy Ghost: which the ordinarie glosse interpreteth, in fortitudine bona operationis, that ye abound in the strength of good works, which are wrought by the spirit. Lyranus vnderstandeth by abounding, cumulum meritorum, the heape of merits, which are principally the worke of the spirit. Tolet interpreteth this abounding in the vertue of the spirit, of encreasing in the graces and gifts of the spirit: but in the originall, though the words are foreign, in the vertue, yet there is no coniuuction, as the Latin readeth, in the hope, and in the vertue: but this, that ye abound in hope, in the vertue, &c. which is better interpreted by the vertue, or power of the holy Ghost, as the Syrian interpreter readeth it; so also Vatablus, giuing this annotation vponupon it; which hope concipitur in nobis per potentiam, &c. is conceiued in vsus by the power of the holy Ghost: so also Origen, if he which beleeueth, virtute, spiritus sancti munitur, be armed by the strength of the spirit, he is sure to hauehave the fulnesse of ioy and peace; likewise Haymo, though he read, in virtute, in vertue, as Origen doth, yet he interpreteth it per virtutem, by the vertue and power: the same sense followeth Chrysostome, erit bec ex spiritu sancto, this is of the spirit: and Theophylact, spes ista à spiritu sancto stabilitur, this hope is established by the spirit: thus also Beza, Martyr, Pareus, Osiander: some by this vertue of the spirit, vnderstand charitie, which is shedde abroad in our hearts by the spirit: but faith not charitie, is the meanes to worke this peace and ioy in vsus. 3. So eueryevery way here is fulnes; in the giver, the God of hope fill you; in the gift, with all ioy; in the ende, that you may abound; in the manner, by the power of the holy Ghost, Gorrh.
18. Quest. Why the Apostle doth thus insinuate himselfe, that he was perswaded of the Romanes, that they had such excellent gifts.
v. 14. I am perswaded. 1. Two reasons may be yeelded, why the Apostle giueth this singular commendation of the Romanes; one is, as Chrysostome saith, quia sermonem multis locis asperiorem fererat, &c. because he had in diuers places spoken sharply vntounto them, he now vseth this insinuation, to qualifie his former asperitie, least they might thinke, that he thought them all to be very rude and simple: an other is, as the ordinarie glosse supplieth out of Ambrose, per hanc laudem provocat ad meliora, by this praising of them, he prouoketh and stirreth them vp more vntounto goodnes. 2. he is perswaded himselfe, he saith not, audivi, I hauehave heard it of others, but he himselfe knew these things to be in them, by their fruits: there are two kinds of perswasion, one is an infallible perswasion, which the faithfull hauehave of themselues, the other is a probable perswasion, which they hauehave of others. 3. and he saith, I my selfe, as it were making them equall vntounto himselfe: that he had not all knowledge, but that they also therein abounded. 4. and thus the Apostle wisely as he beganne with their commendation, that their faith was published thoroughout the world, c. 1.8. so he endeth with the same: and so like a wise Orator, as he first insinuated himselfe into their affection, so he leaueth with their good will and liking.
2. The things, which he commendeth them for, are 1. goodnes, foreign, which the Latine translation readeth, dilection, louelove, as though he had read foreign, as Erasmus obserueth, but as Beza acknowledgeth, no such Greeke word is to be found: so they which follow the Latine interpreter, as Lyran. Gorrhan, Tolet, vnderstand it of goodnes, gentlenes, a good charitable opinion, which one hath of an other: but it rather signifieth as Chrysostome noteth, vniversalem virtutem, an vniuersall vertue, a generall goodnes, including the other also. 2. The next gift wherein they abounded, was all knowledge: which must be restrained to matters of faith, as Lyranus noteth: for other curious and vnnecessarie knowledge the Apostle would not commend them: this the Apostle addeth, because their good inclination in themselues was not sufficient, if they had not knowledge to vse it. 3. then followeth the third, that they were able one to admonish an other: he acknowledgeth them to be todidem Magistros, so many Masters, that had not need to be taught, but were able to instruct and admonish one an other: so these two things are required in him, that should admonish an other, knowledge, that he be not ignorant, what and whereof to admonish them, and goodnes, that he be not culpable in himselfe, in that, wherein he would admonish an other: for he that is the instructer of an other, must edifie him, verbo & exemplo, by the word of knowledge, and example of life.
Quest. 19. Whether Saint Paul doe truely giuegive this commendation vntounto the Romans.
This doubt is mooued, both because the Apostle in the former chapter had found fault with the Romans, that some of them were weake in faith, and iudged the rest in the eating of meates, and they which were stronger in iudgement despised them, which were weake: as also because none in this life can attaine vntounto such perfection, to be filled with all knowledge and goodnes, as he saith also of the Corinthians, that they were made rich in him in all kind of speach, and all kind of knowledge, 1. Cor. 1.5. seeing the Apostle confesseth of himselfe, 1. Cor. 13.9. We know in part, and prophecie in part.
Ans. 1. To the first part of this obiection, the answer is, that although there were some weake and ignorant among the Romans, and not sufficiently instructed concerning the vse of Christian libertie: yet there were others which indeed were well grounded in knowledge, and excelled in goodnesse, and of these the Apostle giueth this testimonie: as the ordinarie glosse well obserueth, in that the Apostle saith, that yee are able to admonish an other: where, admonet perfectiores de correctione minorum, he admonisheth those, which are perfect, of the correcting and instructing of the weaker sort. 2. To the second part Origen maketh this answer: that Saint Paul and others like vntounto him, ad comparationem caeterorum perfecti dicuntur, are said to be perfect in comparison of others: ad illam vero perfectionem, quae in coelestibus est ordinibus, &c. but in respect of that perfection, which is among the heauenly orders, no man can be said here to be perfect: So where Saint Paul saith, Phil. 3. 12. Not as though I were atteined vntounto it, or were alreadie perfect: ad illam apicem caelestis perfectionis, &c. he writeth thus looking vntounto that high point of celestiall perfection: but where afterward in the same place, vers. 15. he saith, let vsus therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded, ad humanae tantum perfectionis respicit gradum, he hath respect onelyonly to the degree of humane perfection.
Origen further doth illustrate this thing in this manner: sicut in puerilibus studijs, &c. like as in the learning of children, in respect of those which are newly entred, Magister ipse literarius appellatur perfectus, the Master that teacheth the letters, and to read, is called perfect; yet he is not so perfect, as he which teacheth grammer, nor the Grammarian so perfect as the Rhetorician, nor he as the Philosopher: so there are degrees of perfection in humane knowledge, yet there is no comparison to the celestiall.
And that the Apostle speaketh of such perfection of knowledge, as may be attained vntounto among men, not of an absolute perfection, is euident by his owne words, speaking of admonishing one an other: he meaneth then such a perfection, as yet hath need of mutuall admonition, Par. dub. 4.