Bible Verses and Early Church Commentary | Historical Christian Faith

[AD 406] Chromatius of Aquileia on Wisdom 1:1

The one who approaches the Lord with an insincere heart is rejected, while the Lord receives the one who approaches with a sincere heart and a well-disposed mind, according to the thought of Scripture, “Seek the Lord with sincerity of heart.” Therefore the one who believed by faith was received by the Lord into the boat, that is, into the church, where the chorus of the apostles is found. The scribe was not worthy to be received by the Lord; rather, he was rejected, since he showed that he had no faith. Blessed is the disciple who deserved to be received by the Lord, though the scribe was rejected!

Source: TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 41:5

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 1:1

Christ died for the ungodly and sinners so that we might be called to believe, not by merit but by grace, and thus by believing we might also establish merit. This is why sinners are commanded to believe, because by believing one purges himself from sins. Sinners, in fact, have no idea what they will see by living rightly. This is why—since they cannot see unless they live rightly, and they cannot live rightly unless they believe—it is obvious that they must begin by believing. In this way the commandments, by which those who believe separate themselves from the things of this world, purify their hearts—for only with a pure heart can one see God. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Also, in the words of the prophecy it is sung, “Seek him in sincerity of heart.”

Source: ON EIGHTY-THREE VARIED QUESTIONS 68:3

[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Wisdom 1:1

Those who do not believe in the equality of the Father and the Son completely reject the coming of the Son from God the Father. Coming to the one who loves them, the Father and the Son make a single dwelling with him. Now, there cannot be a single dwelling for them both, if they are loved in different ways. And if they are not equal, they will inevitably be loved in an unequal way. It is therefore not possible to prepare a single dwelling for them in a simple heart if they are not equal. Yet Scripture admonishes us to do so, saying, “Think of the Lord with uprightness, and seek him with simplicity of heart.” How can one seek God with simplicity of heart if he makes a distinction in his love for God the Father and God the Son? Or how can one have a simple love for God if he is convinced that there is a diversity in the Divinity? One loves with a simple heart that Divinity whose nature he believes to be simple. But if he adores the Divinity making distinctions, this is not simplicity but duplicity of heart. And this is not true faith but false.

Source: ON THE INCARNATION 10

[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Wisdom 1:1

“Think of the Lord with uprightness, and seek him with sincerity of heart.” Sincerity of heart is like a day not dimmed by fraud, not obscured by lies, not darkened by envy, not clouded by deception; it is a day illuminated by the light of truth, made resplendent by the dawning of the divine presence. As it is written, “He speaks with the sincere.” For God, to speak is to reveal to human minds, by the illumination of his presence, the mysteries of his will. This is why it is said that God speaks with the sincere, because, by the light of his inspiration, he enlightens with his heavenly mysteries the minds of those who are not darkened by even a shadow of duplicity.

Source: ON THE SEVEN PENITENTIAL PSALMS 5:4

[AD 844] Dhuoda of Septimania on Wisdom 1:1

“Love righteousness,” so as to show yourself just in your affairs. In fact, “the Lord is righteous, and he has loved righteousness,” and he always loves it; “his face has looked on uprightness.” In those days, he who said, “Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth,” both loved righteousness greatly and counseled that it be loved. And another said, “If you speak of righteousness, judge uprightly.” In fact, it is written, “With the judgment that you judge, you will be judged.”

Source: MANUAL 4:8

[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Wisdom 1:2

Even if one who is pure of heart and another stained with impurity are found in the same place, the fact that they are in the same place cannot harm the one or benefit the other. The one whose heart is pure will see God; the one whose heart is not in the same condition, however, will not be able to see what the other sees. In my view, the same can also be said of Christ when he was visible in the body. Not all those who laid eyes on him were able to see him.They saw the body of Christ, but they did not see Christ as Christ. His disciples, however, saw him and contemplated the greatness of his divinity. I think this is the reason why, when Philip asks him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us,” the Savior responds, “Have I been with you all this time and you do not know me? Philip, he who sees me sees the Father as well.” In fact, neither Pilate nor Judas the betrayer gazed on the Father, for while they were gazing at Jesus, neither Pilate nor Judas gazed on Christ as Christ. Nor did the crowd that pressed around him. Only those whom Jesus deemed worthy of beholding him actually saw him. We too, therefore, should work in such a way that God might appear to us in the present (as the sacred words of Scripture promised, “He lets those find him who do not test him, and he appears to those who believe in him”). And, in the life to come, he may not be hidden from us. Rather, may we see him “face to face.”

Source: HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 3

[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Wisdom 1:3

In the book of Wisdom it is clear that what separates people from God is not the distance of place but evil thoughts and wicked actions. It says, “Perverse thoughts separate people from God; the excellence of virtue banishes fools, because wisdom will not enter a heart that does evil or dwell in a heart enslaved to sin. The Holy Spirit of instruction flees deceit and departs from foolish speech.” Who cannot see that this alludes to the Trinity of persons, each according to their properties? In fact, it is said that “perverse thoughts separate people from God,” using a name by which the person of God the Father can be recognized. Then it adds that “wisdom will not enter a heart that does evil”; by this name Christ is indicated, whom Paul calls “the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Then it says, “The Holy Spirit flees from deceit, and departs from foolish speech.” Moreover, in order that no one would think that an evil or godless person could distance himself, spatially, from this holy Trinity who is the one, true and good God, Scripture then says, “Wisdom is a spirit that is a friend of people; but he will not leave unpunished one who blasphemes, because God is witness of his inmost feelings and a true observer of his heart, and he hears the words of his mouth. In fact, the Spirit of the Lord fills the universe.”

Source: BOOK TO VICTOR AGAINST THE SERMON OF FASTIDIOSUS THE ARIAN 4

[AD 9999] Pseudo-Augustine on Wisdom 1:3

Certainly, every year we celebrate the day of the coming of the Holy Spirit. However, we must act in such a way as to invite him, with pure actions and feelings, so that he comes to us every day. We must be pure and clean in our senses and in our thoughts, and we must dedicate ourselves to watching over our speech and our hearts, so as to render ourselves always worthy of his visitations and his illumination and so that it may be evident that we are free from all impurity in our thoughts. He has said in fact that “perverse thoughts separate people from God.” Let us make every effort to be free from all backbiting and malice, because “wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul or dwell in a body enslaved to sin.” By their anger and pride, the hearts of the careless find themselves without the vigilance and protection of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, let us not sadden the Holy Spirit by these passions. Rather, let us invoke him, that with the grace of humility and the mildness of peace he would enter our hearts and that we would gladden him by our works and our initiatives. He himself has said, “With whom will I make my resting place? With the humble one, who has a contrite spirit and trembles at my word.”

Source: SERMON 182:6

[AD 384] Ambrosiaster on Wisdom 1:4

“The body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness.” The apostle declares that the bodies of those who have been abandoned by the Holy Spirit are dead because of sin, yet their experience of death does not touch him, that is, the Spirit. In fact, the Spirit of God does not know how to sin: he is given for justification and to justify by his help. Because he does not know how to sin, he is life, and he certainly cannot die, given that death is a result of sin. It is for this reason that the sinner harms himself, but not the Spirit whom he has received. The Spirit certainly cannot be affected—he whose purpose it is to justify. Thus, the sign of a person’s justification consists in this: that through the one who lives in him, the justified one shows himself to be a child of God. In fact “not in a false person or in a body enslaved to sin” can the Holy Spirit live, as Solomon says. Certainly, if one returns to a carnal life, abandoned by the Holy Spirit, he will die in his unrighteousness.

Source: ON THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS 8:10

[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Wisdom 1:4

The soul whose life is in God will find its pleasure in none of those things that are deceptively presented as something good. If that soul allows its heart to be defiled by one passion, at the same time it breaks the covenant of its spiritual marriage. And, as it says in Scripture, “Wisdom cannot enter the soul that does evil.” It may, in a word, be truly said that the good spouse cannot come to live with a soul that is irascible or full of malice or that harbors any other similar defect.

Source: ON VIRGINITY 16:1

[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Wisdom 1:4

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit come and go in their own, incomprehensible way. One cannot speak of a “change of locality” of the Father or of the Son or of the Holy Spirit. They come and go in such a way that, physically, they neither go to a place nor depart from it. Consequently, this coming of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit does not demonstrate the mobility of God but his piety. It is said in fact that the unique divinity of the Trinity, who fills all things and contains all things, comes to the one to whom he deigns to manifest himself, and he distances himself from the one to whom he hides the light of his love. But this does not mean a local absence, when he justly abandons one who is unworthy; nor does he make himself present in a place if he visits with his mercy one whom he has made worthy. Therefore, even though God says, “I fill heaven and earth,” of some it is said, “God is not with them.” And though the Father fills all things, the book of Wisdom says, “Perverse thoughts separate human beings from God.” And if it also says of the Son—that is, of the wisdom of God, “she reaches from end to end with power and orders all things well,” the same Wisdom says of itself, “The perverse will seek me, but they will not find me.” And again, “Wisdom does not enter a soul who does evil or dwell in a body enslaved to sin.” And of the Holy Spirit, of whom it is said that he is immense in every way, it is said, “The Holy Spirit flees from deceit and departs from foolish speech.”

Source: THREE BOOKS TO TRASAMUNDUS 2:11

[AD 406] Chromatius of Aquileia on Wisdom 1:5

The city from which the inhabitants went out, pleading with the Lord to leave them, represents the synagogue, which did not want to accept the Lord and Savior of the human race, even after it had seen his divine miracles. Therefore he returned to his own city—rejected by the synagogue, he has come to his church; it is this latter that in a true and proper sense merits the name of the city of Christ. Thus one understands why the Gadarenes pleaded with the Lord to leave their town. We must, however, be attentive, that none of us find ourselves in a similar situation; I am alluding to the danger that someone, because of an unbelieving heart, would impel the Lord and Savior of the world to leave his heart, because it is written that “the Holy Spirit, the teacher of discipline, flees from one who is false; he will not dwell in a body enslaved to sin.”

Source: TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 43:7

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 1:5

Nor can it be said that those who mingle with Christ’s sheep in a merely physical and hypocritical way are either in the church or belong to the communion of the Spirit. For the Holy Spirit, the master of discipline, hates those who are hypocritical. That is why all those baptized in schismatic or heretical congregations—they might better be called segregations—have not been regenerated by the Spirit. They are similar, so to speak, to Ishmael, who was born from Abraham according to the flesh, and not like Isaac who was born according to the Spirit in virtue of the promise.

Source: SERMON 71:19.32

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Wisdom 1:5

The first man, formed of mud and earth, had in his power the choice between good and evil47 and had under his control whether he inclined to the one or the other. He was snared by a grave deception and, fallen into disobedience, returned to the mother earth from which he was born;49 subject to corruption and death, he transmitted this punishment to all his descendents. Evil increased and multiplied among us, and our hearts fell ever lower; sin reigned, and thus, finally, human nature was deprived of the Holy Spirit that had lived in it. “The Holy Spirit of instruction flees from deceit,” as it is written, “and he does not dwell in a body enslaved to sin.” Because, therefore, the first Adam did not preserve the grace given to him by God, God the Father sent us the second Adam51 from heaven. He sent us his own Son, made in our likeness, who did not know change or alteration and did not know sin, so that, just as by the disobedience of the first we merited divine wrath, so by the obedience53 of the second we would escape the curse, and its evil would cease.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 2:1

[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Wisdom 1:5

Let no one hold that the three persons are separable, since he would not be able to find any one of the persons existing or acting before another or after another or without another. Just as by nature there can be no separability of action, in the same way there remains, by nature, an immutable unity of the will. We will now consider in what way both angels and human beings have been separated from God, in order to enable us to grasp without a shadow of doubt that the Trinity is inseparable. For holy Scripture says, in fact, that “perverse thoughts separate people from God,” and that “wisdom does not enter into a malignant spirit, nor does it dwell in a body given over to sin” and that “the Holy Spirit of discipline flees from deceit and distances himself from thoughts lacking in reason.” In effect, Isaiah also proves that iniquities dig a trench between God and humanity. The holy Trinity, therefore, is the same faithful God in whom no wickedness can exist: “The Son of God came to take away sins; there is no sin or iniquity in him.”

Source: LETTERS 14:14

[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Wisdom 1:5

The Spirit goes elsewhere when his grace distances itself from the proud and from those who are insincere. Thus it is written, “The Holy Spirit of instruction flees deceit.” Therefore Christ himself says in the Gospel, “The Spirit blows where he wills, and you hear his voice, but you do not know where he comes from or where he goes.” The Spirit comes and goes, because he abandons the reprobate, taking to himself the elect. And because God’s judgment is omnipotent and inscrutable, human beings do not know where they come from or where they go. Indeed, it is not possible to know whether someone will persevere to the end in the grace he has received. It is said therefore that the Spirit leaves one who has fallen and goes to one who will persevere, because, in this earthly life, he abandons some and takes others to himself, whom he does not abandon.

Source: SIX BOOKS ON 1 KINGS 5:460

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 1:6

Often, in fact, when the Scriptures speak about the mouth, they refer to the intimate recesses of the heart, where one approves and determines what will eventually be spoken with the mouth, when one speaks the truth. It follows, then, that anyone who approves a lie is in his heart a liar. A person might not lie in his heart, however, if in saying something that is not in his heart, he does so knowing that what he does is evil, but he does so to avoid a greater evil—at the same time disapproving of both evils. Those who hold this principle say that Scripture, as well, must be understood in this sense when it says, “He who pronounces the truth in his heart.” With the heart, in fact, one must always speak the truth—but not always with the lips; for example, if someone is forced, so as to avoid a greater evil, to say with his voice something contrary to what is in his mind.… A response in fact cannot be known when it remains hidden from others, who cannot listen to the voice of the heart unless the voice of the body makes it heard. But that voice of the heart does reach the ears of the Spirit of the Lord who, as Scripture says in the text cited, fills the whole earth. In that same portion of Scripture it also speaks about lips, the voice and language; but saying that these are known to the Lord means nothing other than what refers to the heart. Thus, when it is said that a sound “reaches our ears,” it means that it is no longer hidden even from human beings.

Source: On Lying 16:31

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Wisdom 1:7

As the Lord fills all things, so too we read of the Spirit, “For the Spirit of the Lord fills the whole world.” You see also that it was said of all those who were gathered with the apostles, “They were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” You see that the Holy Spirit gives both fullness and boldness. It is his work that the archangel announces, saying to Mary, “The Holy Spirit shall come on you.”

Source: On the Holy Spirit 1.7.81

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 1:7

The words “the Spirit hovered over the waters” do not require us, as some claim, to understand that spirit by which this corporal mass of the universe is animated, allowing bodily creatures to generate and preserve themselves, each according to their species. In fact, such a being would also be a creature. Also, regarding the text, “The Spirit of the Lord fills the universe,” there are those who understand by this that spirit which, as an invisible creature, encompasses and vivifies the entire visible creation with a universal breath. But even here I do not see what would prevent one from understanding the Holy Spirit, when God says in a prophet, “I fill the heavens and the earth.” God in fact does not fill heaven and earth without his Holy Spirit. What is strange, then, if it was said of his Holy Spirit, “he filled the universe”? Indeed, he fills in one way when he sanctifies, as was said of Stephen, “He was filled with the Holy Spirit,” and of many others. In another way he fills with sanctifying grace, as happens with some saints, and in yet another way he fills everything with his manifest and ordering presence. In conclusion, I do not know whether it can be proven with certainty from Scripture that, when speaking of the Spirit of God or of the Spirit of the Lord without any further qualification, it refers to something other than the Holy Spirit.

Source: ON VARIOUS QUESTIONS TO SIMPLICIANUS 2:1.5

[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Wisdom 1:7

The true faith asserts that the Holy Spirit also is creator, not created. Indeed, how can one deny that he is creator, about whom it has been proven that he established the array of the heavens? David says, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the Spirit of his mouth their entire array.” And elsewhere, “Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created.” The one who made humanity is in fact the creator of all. Blessed Job calls him “the divine Spirit who made me.” Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit created all things, in the same way he pervades all things, without limit. And one who pervades all things is true God by nature. It is written, “The Spirit of the Lord fills the world.” And even blessed David attests that the Spirit is everywhere, saying precisely of God, “Where will I go, far from your Spirit, and where will I flee from your face?” Then how can the Arians deny that the Holy Spirit is God, given that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, just as we are the temple of the Father and the Son? Indeed, the apostle says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. In fact, the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” In the same letter, the apostle asserts that we are the temple of God in such a way as to say that we are also the temple of the Holy Spirit. He says, “Do you not know that your members are the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God?” And precisely to show that the Holy Spirit is God, he adds, “Glorify and keep God in your hearts.”

Source: LETTERS 8:17.8

[AD 9999] Pseudo-Augustine on Wisdom 1:7

We will show that the Scriptures say that the Son is almighty like the Father, so that not only reason, but the divine witness as well, would persuade the shameless minds of heretics. The Father is called almighty, because the prophet says, “Thus says the almighty God.” The Son is called almighty when the apostle John says in Revelation, “From Jesus Christ our Lord, who is, who was and who is to come, the almighty.” The Holy Spirit is also called almighty: “The Spirit of the Lord fills the universe, and he who embraces all things, knows.” Is it possible that the one who encompasses everything not be almighty?

Source: SERMON ON THE CREED 4:8

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 1:8

Do not think, therefore, that God is in a particular place! He is with you, and he will be as you are. What does it mean, “He will be as you are”? He will be good if you are good, and he will seem bad to you if you are bad. If you are good, he will help you, but he will avenge himself if you are wicked. You have the judge within you. When you want to do evil, you withdraw from the town square to your house, where no enemy can see you. From the rooms of your house that are open and can be seen by others, you go into your own room. And even if in your room you fear indiscreet eyes, you hide in your heart, and there, within, you weave your plot. God is within you more deeply than your very heart. Wherever you flee to, he is there.

Source: EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 74:9

[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Wisdom 1:8

Divinely inspired, he speaks thus of the Holy Sprit: “Because the Spirit of the Lord fills the world, he embraces all things and knows what is said.” One understands, moreover, that here the Scripture refers to the voice of the heart, not of the body. That is, not to the voice of speech among living beings, but that of one’s most hidden thoughts, that resounding voice that only God hears, since he alone sees the one who ponders secretly. Thus he continues, “Therefore, no one who utters unrighteous things can remain hidden, nor will he be spared his chastening judgment.” To show further in what this wicked speech consists, so that it would be understood more as the expression of the conscience than of the tongue, the holy Scripture then explains, “There will be an inquiry into the reflections of the godless.” I have said this because it says of the Holy Spirit, “because he encompasses all things, he knows what is said.” Given that he encompasses all things, the Holy Spirit is not inferior to the Father or the Son. And because he has knowledge of hidden thoughts, he is recognized as the true God.

Source: LETTERS 14:4

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 1:9

Is God perhaps circumscribed by a place—he to whom every conscience is present, angelic and human, not only good but also evil? This distinction is truly important: whereas to good consciences he is present as Father, to bad consciences he is present as judge. In fact, it is written, “God judges the righteous and the ungodly.” It is also written, “The thoughts of the ungodly will be examined.” The Lord does not make himself heard to the ears of the body more strongly than he does in the secret of one’s thoughts, where he alone listens, where he alone is heard.

Source: SERMON 12:3.3

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 1:9

Perhaps the good that has come to us from the Lord’s passion should be attributed to the godless people who killed Christ? Absolutely not. They wanted to kill; God permitted it. They would have been guilty even if they had had only the intention. As for God, he would not have permitted the crime if it had not been just. Let us suppose that they had not been able to carry out their crime but had only wanted to: they would have been equally unjust, equally murderers. Who can doubt this? It is true that “the Lord scrutinizes the righteous and the godless,” and “he will inquire into the counsels of the ungodly.” God sees, therefore, what someone wants, and not only what he is able to do. It follows that, if the Jews had wanted to kill Christ but were unable to carry out their intention (and therefore actually would not have killed him), they would have still been guilty, while you would have been without the advantages of the passion of Christ. The godless therefore wanted to carry out actions worthy of condemnation and were allowed to do so in your favor. Desiring to do so is imputed to the unrighteousness of the godless, while being permitted to do so is attributed to the power of God. The godless therefore desired unjustly, whereas God permitted justly.

Source: EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 61:22

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 1:9

So that human beings would not complain that they lacked something, what they were unable to read in their own hearts was written on tablets of stone. It is not true that they did not have a law written in their hearts. It is only that they refused to read it. What they should have read in their consciences was thus put before their eyes. People were urged to look into their hearts by the voice of God, coming, as it were, from without. As Scripture says, “He will inquire into the counsels of the godless.” Now, where there is an inquiry, there must also be law. But, because human beings, in their desire for exterior things, had become strangers even to themselves, they were also given a written law. Not because the law had not already been written on their hearts, but because you had fled from your heart, and he who is everywhere wanted to find you again and compel you to return to yourself. And what does the written law call out to those who have distanced themselves from the law impressed on their hearts? “Transgressors, return to your hearts.”

Source: EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 57:1

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Wisdom 1:10

There is truth in the saying of Wisdom: “The Spirit of the Lord fills the universe,” and “An attentive ear hears all things.” To those, then, who foolishly, even godlessly, think that their words remain hidden to the divine mind, the psalmist says somewhere, “Understand, you senseless among the people. Fools, when will you become wise? Does he who made the ear not hear?” How is it possible that he who gave hearing to his creatures would not hear everything? And from this you understand, yet again, that the Lord is God by nature. He was not unaware of what the Jews murmured secretly among the crowd. Rather, as befits God, he heard it, even though they did not speak openly of him, for fear of their leaders.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 4:5

[AD 449] Eucherius of Lyon on Wisdom 1:10

It is said that God has hearing, because he listens to everything and nothing remains hidden to him in silence. About this, it is written in the book of Wisdom, “Heaven’s ear listens to everything; even the whisper of murmurings are not hidden from him.”

Source: BOOK OF FORMULAS 1

[AD 384] Pseudo-Ambrose on Wisdom 1:11

It is not lawful to deceive anyone, either by clever reasoning or with simple words, because whoever lies in any way, sins. In fact, it is written, “A lying mouth destroys the soul.” And it adds, “The burning pool of fire and sulphur is reserved for all liars. This is the second death.”

Source: THE CONTEST BETWEEN VICES AND VIRTUE 19

[AD 406] Chromatius of Aquileia on Wisdom 1:11

The Lord demands that there be no difference between our oaths and our ordinary speech. If this were not so, then it could be admitted that there is a sort of deception in our oath. Likewise, there must be no lie whatsoever in our words, because both a deceiving oath and a lie fall under the condemnation of divine judgment. Scripture attests to this: “A lying mouth destroys the soul.” To speak the truth is already an oath, given that we read, “The truthful witness does not lie.” For this reason Scripture justly asserts that God often utters oaths. God is true, and he cannot lie. Everything he says can be considered an oath, given that everything God says is entirely true. It is true, of course, that sometimes Scripture says that God swears an oath. If he does so, however, it is because human beings are incredulous. He swears, then, because of the devious infidelity of the Jews, who believe that truth is found only in words given with an oath. It is for this reason alone that God at times wanted to swear an oath, so that those who did not believe God when he spoke would at least believe when he gave an oath.

Source: TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 24:2.3-4

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 1:11

“Do not fear those who kill the body, but do not have power to kill the soul.” Whoever wants to kill you can so do in the body but not in the soul. Your soul will not die, unless you yourself want to kill it. Another’s wickedness can kill your flesh, but the truth would preserve your soul in righteousness. If you abandon the truth, what other evil could your enemy do to you that would be greater than what you have done to yourself? Your enemy, if he wanted to harm you, could at most kill your flesh. You, however, by giving false testimony, kill the soul. Listen to Scripture: “A lying mouth destroys the soul.”

Source: EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 79:13

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 1:11

“I have the power to give my life and the power to take it up again.” In another passage of the Gospel it says that it is not only the Father who raises the Son but the Son also raises himself. “I will destroy this temple,” he says, “and in three days I will raise it up again.” And the Evangelist notes, “he spoke of the temple of his body.” In fact, he had to raise what had died; now, the Word is not dead, and neither is his soul. Could the Lord’s soul die, when not even your soul dies? How do I know, you ask, that my soul does not die? If you do not kill it, it will not die. In what sense, you ask, can I kill my soul? “A lying mouth destroys the soul,” to not speak of other sins. How can I be sure, you insist, that it does not die? Listen to the Lord, who gives this assurance to his servant: “You must not fear those who kill the body and, after that, can do nothing more.” And more exactly, what did he say? “Fear, rather, him who has the power to cause both body and soul to perish in Gehenna.” This proves that the soul both dies and does not die.

Source: TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 47:7-8

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Wisdom 1:13

God wants all to be saved. Thus Solomon says, “God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living.” He made the soul so that it would exist. He created human beings to be incorruptible, making them in his image. But they, straying from their natural duty, have become subject to death and are corrupted, because they were made from the earth. But, through trials, God compels them to penance, so that the evil that had appeared—wickedness—would be burned up, consumed and eliminated through penance, and the place in the soul that was dominated by the unrighteousness that had arisen would be opened to receive virtue and grace. Certainly the soul has a precious nature that, since it is made in the likeness of God, is capable of receiving every virtue.

Source: EXPOSITIONS ON THE PSALMS 1:48

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 1:13

Therefore death does not come from God. In fact, “God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living.” In fact, the supreme essence makes all that is to exist, and consequently he is called essence. Death forces what dies into non-being, to the degree that it dies. If in fact something that dies were to die completely, it would certainly arrive at nonexistence. But it dies only to the extent that it does not participate in the essence. In short, the less it exists, the more it dies. The body is less than any kind of life, because to the extent that it remains in its species, it does so thanks to life, whether this regards an animated being or the entire nature of the world. For this reason the body is more subject to death and closer to nonexistence. Thus the life that neglects God, delighting in the fruits of the body, tends toward nonexistence. And this is wickedness.

Source: OF TRUE RELIGION 11:22

[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Wisdom 1:14

“God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living. For he created all things that they might exist, and the generative forces of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them. And the dominion of Hades is not on earth.” Then, a little further on in the text, it says, “But by the envy of the devil death entered the world.” If therefore God made everything for us in the best possible way, it is we who have caused evil and sins.

Source: HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 2:1

[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Wisdom 1:14

Every human being is so corrupted by the voluntary sin of the first man that only God, if he wills, can heal a person’s will by his good will. In fact, it is written, “He created all things that they might exist, and the creative forces of the world he made wholesome.” Still, lest human beings would ever think the beginning of their healing derived from themselves, the divine word immediately adds, “And there is no purging medicine in them.” Therefore, though the devil had deprived the first man of faith, he nevertheless did not deprive God of the power to give again what he had first given. Nor could the devil corrupt human nature to such a degree that it could not receive once again what it had lost, thanks to the generosity of God. In fact, the Almighty, who was capable of forming human nature, can also reform and preserve it, healing its fragility through grace.

Source: LETTERS 17:23.45

[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Wisdom 1:15

I saw a godless person who said, “By the power of my own hand I have acted, and with my wisdom, for I am shrewd. I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and I have pillaged their treasures.” I saw him exalted. I went forward in my thoughts to the next life and considered the arrangements of Providence. I saw him no longer, nor did I find his place, even though I looked for it. Godlessness will come to an end and will be no more. It is not included in what is immortal, as is said of righteousness, “Righteousness is immortal.”

Source: ON THE PSALM 36:35-36

[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Wisdom 1:15

When I prospered, sowing in righteousness and reaping the fruits of righteousness, I was in such a state that I could never waver. If “whoever does the will of God remains forever” and his “righteousness is immortal,” I indeed said this when I received the fruits of righteousness and prospered. I spoke thus to my soul, just as with the word according to which “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ …” I confessed this with my soul and with my life when I prospered and bore fruits of virtue, because I will never waver, according to the word: “Whoever believes, and whoever lives and believes, will never die,” and “The righteousness of the Lord remains forever.”

Source: ON THE PSALM 29:7