Augustine of Hippo — Commentary on Scripture

God can work in our acts without our help. But when we will the deed, he cooperates with us.

ON GRACE AND FREE WILL 32

There were in the times of the apostles some who were preaching truth but not in truth, that is, not in a true spirit. Of these the apostle says that their proclamation was not pure but was preached “through envy and rivalry.” Even though they were tolerated who proclaimed the truth without purity of mind, they were not praised, as if to assume that they were preaching with a pure mind. So Paul says of them that, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. Yet he certainly does not imply that Christ may now be denied in order to be later proclaimed.

Against Lying 16

Philippians 2:6

God who is eternally wise has with him his eternal Wisdom [the Son]. He is not in any way unequal to the Father. He is not in any respect inferior. For the apostle too says “who, when he was in the form of God, thought it no robbery to be equal with God.”

On Faith and the Creed 5

Philippians 2:6

They that have done well will go to live with the angels of God; they that have done evil, to be tormented with the devil and his angels. And the form of a servant will pass away. For to this end He had manifested Himself, that He might execute judgment. After the judgment, He shall go hence, will lead with Him the body of which He is the head, and deliver up the kingdom of God. Then will openly be seen that form of God which could not be seen by the wicked, to whose vision the form of a servant must be shown. He says also in another place on this wise: "These shall go away into everlasting burning" (speaking of certain on the left), "but the just into life eternal;" of which life He says in another place: "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." Then will He be there manifested, "who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." Then He will manifest Himself, as He has promised to manifest Himself to them that love Him.

Tractates on John 19

Philippians 2:6

These things are said partly on account of the economy by which the Son assumed humanity … partly because the Son owes to the Father his existence and also owes to the Father indeed his equality or parity with the Father. The Father, however, owes to no one his being, whatever he is.

On Faith and the Creed 18

Philippians 2:6

Wherein lies the Son’s equality? If you say in greatness, there is no equality of greatness in one who is less eternal. And so with other things. Is he perhaps equal in might but not equal in wisdom? Yet how can there be equality of might in one who is inferior in wisdom? Or is he equal in wisdom but not equal in might? But how can there be equality of virtue in one who is inferior in power? Instead Scripture declares more simply “he thought it not robbery to be equal.” Therefore every adversary of truth who is at all subject to apostolic authority must admit that the Son is in some one respect at least the equal of God. Let him choose whichever quality he might wish, but from that it will appear that he is equal in all that is attributed to divinity.

ON THE TRINITY 6.5

Philippians 2:7

He “emptied himself,” not because as eternal Wisdom he underwent change. For as eternal Wisdom he is absolutely changeless. Rather without changing he chose to become known to humanity in such a humble form.

On Faith and the Creed 18

Philippians 2:7

The Son humbled himself, taking the form of a slave. But meanwhile he remained above any slavery because he had no stain of sin.

ON THE GRACE OF CHRIST 33

Philippians 2:7

The Lord Jesus Christ came in flesh and, having “accepted the form of a slave, became obedient even to death on the cross.” He has no other purpose than that by this dispensation of his most merciful grace he might give life to those who have become, as it were, members of his body. He is their head in order to obtain for them the kingdom of heaven. This he did to save and set free. He redeemed and enlightened those who had formerly been consigned to the death of sin. They had been languishing in slavery, captivity and darkness under the power of the devil, the prince of sinners.

ON WHAT IS DUE TO SINNERS 1.39

Philippians 2:7

He is said to have “emptied himself” in no other way than by taking the form of a servant, not by losing the form of God. For that nature by which he is equal to the Father in the form of God remained immutable while he took our mutable nature, through which he was born of the Virgin.

CONTRA FAUSTUM 3.6

Philippians 2:7

He did not take on his humanity in the simple way that a person puts on clothes, as something exterior to him. Rather he took on human form in a manner inexpressibly more excellent and more intimate than that. The apostle has made it sufficiently clear what he meant “He was made to appear in human likeness.” He was not exhaustively reduced to being a man. He rather assumed the true human estate when he put on the man.

ON DIVERSE QUESTIONS 73

Philippians 2:8

He humbled himself, being made obedient even unto death, even death on a cross, so that none of us, though being able to face death without fear, might shrink from any kind of death that human beings regard as a great disgrace.

On Faith and the Creed 11

Philippians 2:13

It is certain that when we do a deed the deed is ours; but he is the one who makes us do the deed by giving us strength fully sufficient to carry out our will.

ON GRACE AND FREE WILL 32

Philippians 2:13

It is not in God’s power that anyone should be forced against his will to do evil or good but that he should go to the bad, according to his own deserts, when God abandons him. For a person is not good if he does not will it, but the grace of God assists him even in willing. It is not without cause that it is written, “God is the one who works in you to will and do, of his own good will.”

ON TWO LETTERS OF PELAGIUS 1.36

Philippians 2:13

We should not suppose, because he said, “For it is God that works in you both the willing and the doing,” that he has taken away free will. For if that were so he would not have said above “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” For when he bids them work, it is agreed that they have free will. But they are to work with fear and trembling so that they will not, by attributing the good working to themselves, be elated by the good works as though they were their own.

ON GRACE AND FREE WILL 21

Philippians 2:13

It is not that the will or the deed is not ours, but without his aid we neither will nor do anything good.

ON THE GRACE OF CHRIST 26

Philippians 3:6

Before his conversion Paul fulfilled the law conspicuously, either through fear of the people or of God himself, even if he may have offended the law in his internal affections. But he was fulfilling the law through fear of punishment, not through love of righteousness.

ON TWO LETTERS OF PELAGIUS 1.15

Philippians 3:9

Now what does he mean, “not having my own righteousness,” when that law was not his but God’s? He can only have called it his own righteousness because, although it was from the law, he used to think that he could fulfill it without the aid of the grace that is through Christ.

ON GRACE AND FREE WILL 26

Philippians 3:15

All of us who are running the race perfectly should be aware that we are not yet perfect. The hope is that we may receive perfection in the place to which we are now running perfectly.

ON THE PERFECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTEOUSNESS 19

Philippians 3:15

The apostle speaks of himself as both perfect and imperfect: imperfect when he considers how much righteousness is still wanting in him but perfect in that he does not blush to confess his own imperfection and makes good progress in order to attain it.

ON TWO LETTERS OF PELAGIUS 3.19