Augustine of Hippo — Commentary on Scripture

But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

Accordingly “the law is holy and the commandment holy, just and good.” It commands what ought to be commanded, and prohibits what ought to be prohibited. “Was that which is good, then, made death to me? God forbid.” The fault lies in making a bad use of the commandment, which in itself is good. “The law is good if one uses it lawfully.” But he makes a bad use of the law who does not subject himself to God in humble piety, so that, with the aid of grace, he may become able to fulfill the law. He who does not use the law lawfully receives it to no other end than that his sin, which was latent before the prohibition, should be made apparent by his transgression.

Indeed, “the precepts are good,” as Pelagius says, if we use them lawfully. And in virtue of our strong conviction “that the good and just God could not have prescribed impossibilities,” we are admonished both what to do in easy things and what to ask for in difficult ones. Indeed, all things are easy for love, to which alone the burden of Christ is light, or which alone is itself the burden which is light.

1 Timothy 1:9

Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

“The law is not made for the righteous,” and yet “the law is good, if one uses it lawfully.” Now by connecting together these two seemingly contrary statements, the apostle warns and urges his reader to sift the question and solve it. For how can it be that “the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,” if what follows is also true: “Knowing this, that the law is not made for the righteous”? For who but a righteous man lawfully uses the law? Yet it is not for him that it is made, but for the unrighteous.… The unrighteous man therefore lawfully uses the law, that he may become righteous. But when he has become so, he must no longer use it as a vehicle, for he has arrived at his journey’s end—or rather (that I may employ the apostle’s own simile, which has been already mentioned) as a schoolmaster, seeing that he is now fully instructed.

1 Timothy 1:13 · 3 passages

Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

We heard the reading from the apostle, and perhaps some of you may be worried by what is written there, “According to the justice which is from the law, I was without reproach. Whatever was a gain for me, that I have regarded as a dead loss on account of Christ.” Then he went on to say, “I have reckoned it to be not only a dead loss, but even muck, that I may gain Christ and may be found in him, not having my own justice which is from the law, but the justice which is from the faith of Jesus Christ.” The question is, how could he consider conducting himself without reproach according to the justice which is from the law, to be so much muck and loss? After all, who gave the law?… But let us listen to what he says in another place, “It was not as a result of works,” he says, “which we have done ourselves, but according to his own mercy that he saved us, by means of the bath of rebirth.” And again, “I, who was previously a blasphemer and persecutor, and an overbearing man; but I obtained mercy,” and so on. On the one hand he affirmed that he conducted himself without reproach; on the ot…

We heard the reading from the apostle, and perhaps some of you may be worried by what is written there, “According to the justice which is from the law, I was without reproach. Whatever was a gain for me, that I have regarded as a dead loss on account of Christ.” Then he went on to say, “I have reckoned it to be not only a dead loss, but even muck, that I may gain Christ and may be found in him, not having my own justice which is from the law, but the justice which is from the faith of Jesus Christ.” The question is, how could he consider conducting himself without reproach according to the justice which is from the law, to be so much muck and loss? After all, who gave the law?… But let us listen to what he says in another place, “It was not as a result of works,” he says, “which we have done ourselves, but according to his own mercy that he saved us, by means of the bath of rebirth.” And again, “I, who was previously a blasphemer and persecutor, and an overbearing man; but I obtained mercy,” and so on. On the one hand he affirmed that he conducted himself without reproach; on the other he confessed he had been a sinner of such proportions that no sinners need despair of themselves, precisely because even Paul had found remission.

From being a persecutor he was changed into “a preacher and the teacher of the nations.” “Previously,” he says, “I was a blasphemer and persecutor and an insolent man. But the reason I obtained mercy was this, that Christ Jesus might demonstrate his forbearance first of all in me, and for the instruction of those who were going to trust him for eternal life.” It is by the grace of God, you see, that we are saved from our sins, in which we are languishing. God alone is the medicine that cures the soul. The soul was well able to injure itself but quite unable to cure itself. In the body, too, after all, people have it in their power to get sick, but not equally in their power to get better. I mean, if they exceed the proper limits, and live self-indulgent lives and do all the things that undermine the constitution and are injurious to health, the day comes, if that’s what they want, when they fall sick. When they’ve so fallen, though, they don’t get better. In order to fall sick, you see, they apply themselves to self-indulgence. But in order to get better, they must apply the doctor’s…

From being a persecutor he was changed into “a preacher and the teacher of the nations.” “Previously,” he says, “I was a blasphemer and persecutor and an insolent man. But the reason I obtained mercy was this, that Christ Jesus might demonstrate his forbearance first of all in me, and for the instruction of those who were going to trust him for eternal life.” It is by the grace of God, you see, that we are saved from our sins, in which we are languishing. God alone is the medicine that cures the soul. The soul was well able to injure itself but quite unable to cure itself. In the body, too, after all, people have it in their power to get sick, but not equally in their power to get better. I mean, if they exceed the proper limits, and live self-indulgent lives and do all the things that undermine the constitution and are injurious to health, the day comes, if that’s what they want, when they fall sick. When they’ve so fallen, though, they don’t get better. In order to fall sick, you see, they apply themselves to self-indulgence. But in order to get better, they must apply the doctor’s services to their health.… And so it goes with the soul.

What then is this “grace for grace”? By faith we first win God’s favor; and for us who were not worthy to have our sins forgiven, from the very fact that, though unworthy, we received so great a gift, it is called grace. What is grace? That which is given gratuitously. That which is bestowed, not paid back. If it was owed, recompense was paid, not grace bestowed.… Having acquired this grace of faith, you will be just by faith. “For the just man lives by faith.” And you will first win God’s favor from living by faith. When you have won God’s favor from living by faith, you will receive as a reward immortality and everlasting life. And that is grace.… Paul acknowledges this grace when he says that he had before been a blasphemer and a persecutor, and insulting, “but I obtained mercy.”

1 Timothy 1:15 · 4 passages

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

There was no reason for Christ the Lord to come, except to save sinners. Eliminate diseases, eliminate wounds, and there is no call for medicine. If a great doctor has come down from heaven, a great invalid must have been lying very sick throughout the whole wide world. This invalid is the whole human race.

We heard the blessed apostle Paul saying, “The word is human and worthy of total acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” So it’s a human word, and worthy of total acceptance. Why human, and not divine? Without the slightest doubt, unless this word were also divine, it would not be worthy of total acceptance. But this word is both human and divine in the same sort of way that Christ himself is both man and God. So if we are right in understanding this word to be not only human but also divine, why did the apostle prefer to call it human rather than divine?… So the aspect he chose was the one by which Christ came into the world. He came, after all, insofar as he was man. Because insofar as he was God, he was always there.

“For all have sinned,” either in Adam or by themselves, “and are deprived of the glory of God.” Consequently, the whole human mass ought to be punished, and if the deserved punishment of damnation were rendered to all, beyond all doubt it would be justly rendered. This is why those who are liberated from it by grace are not called vessels of their own merits but “vessels of mercy.” But whose mercy was it but him who sent Jesus Christ into this world to save sinners, whom he foreknew, predestined, called, justified and glorified? Hence, who could be so advanced in foolish insanity as not to render ineffable thanks to the mercy of this God who liberates those whom he has wished, considering that one could not in any way reproach the justice of God in condemning all entirely?

Pay attention to the apostle Paul, “The word is faithful and worthy of total acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first.” He said, “of whom I am the first.” How was he the first? Weren’t there so many Jews who were sinners before him? Weren’t there any sinners before him in the whole human race?… So what’s the meaning of “of whom I am the first”? That I am worse than all of them. By first he meant us to understand worst.… Remember Saul, and you’ll discover why. Isn’t he the one who wasn’t satisfied with only one hand to stone Stephen, and who took care of the coats of the others? Isn’t he the one who persecuted the church everywhere?… So he it is who was the number one persecutor. There was none worse than he.

1 Timothy 1:16

Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

So note how this Saul, later Paul, ironically “congratulates himself” on having attained to the mercy of God, because he was found to be the first, that is the most outstanding, in sins!… This was so that others could all say to themselves, “if Paul was cured, why should I despair? If such a desperately sick man was cured by such a great physician, who am I, not to fit those hands to my wounds, not to hasten to the care of those hands?” That people might be able to say that sort of thing, that’s why Saul was made into an apostle out of a persecutor. When a doctor comes to a new place, he looks for someone there who’s been despaired of and cures him, even if he finds he’s very poor, provided he finds him a desperate case. He is not looking for a fee but displaying his skill.

1 Timothy 1:17 · 3 passages

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Let us hold firmly that Father and Son and Holy Spirit in their own proper nature, their proper substance, are together and equally invisible. We believe them to be together and equally immortal, together and equally imperishable. There is one place where the apostle states all these things simultaneously, “Now to the king of ages, immortal, invisible, imperishable, to the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

In order to attain that vision by which we see God as he is, he has warned us that our hearts must be cleansed. As objects are called visible in our fashion of speaking, so God is called invisible lest he be thought to be a material body. Yet he will not deprive pure hearts of the contemplation of his essence, since this great and sublime reward is promised, on the Lord’s own word, to those who worship and love God. At the time when he appeared visibly to bodily eyes, he promised that his invisible being also would be seen by the clean of heart, “He that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.” It is certain that this nature of his, which he shares with the Father, is equally as invisible as it is equally incorruptible.

So this faith is also a rule for salvation, to “believe in God the Father almighty,” creator of all things, “king of the ages, immortal and invisible.” He is indeed the almighty God who at the origin of the world made all things out of nothing. He is before the ages and made and governs the ages. He doesn’t, after all, grow with time, or stretch out in space, nor is he shut in or bounded by any material. He abides with and in himself as full and perfect eternity, which neither human thought can comprehend nor tongue describe.

1 Timothy 1:20 · 3 passages

Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Let us learn, brethren, when actions are alike, to distinguish the intentions of the actors; otherwise, if we shut our eyes to this, we might judge falsely, and we might accuse well-wishers of doing us harm. Likewise, when the same apostle says that he delivered up certain men to Satan, “that they may learn not to blaspheme,” did he render evil for evil, or did he, rather, judge that it was a good work to correct evil men even by evil?

Out of love the apostle delivered a man up to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Again they say, “Who made the devil?” He made himself; for the devil was made by sinning, not by nature. “Or,” they say, “God should not have made him if he knew that he would sin.” On the contrary, why should he not have made him? For through his own justice and providence God corrects many as a result of the malice of the devil. Or have you perhaps not heard the apostle Paul saying, “And I handed them over to Satan so that they might learn not to blaspheme”?

1 Timothy 2:1

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

I prefer to understand by these words what the entire, or almost the entire, church observes: that we take as supplications those prayers which are said in celebrating the mysteries, before we begin to consecrate what lies on the table of the Lord. Prayers are said when it is blessed and sanctified and broken for distribution; and the whole church, for the most part, closes this complete petition with the Lord’s Prayer. The original Greek word helps us to understand this distinction: the Scripture seldom uses the word euche in the sense of oratio, but generally and much more frequently euch&#; means votum; whereas proseuch&#;,the word used in the passage we are treating, is always rendered by oratio. … Now, all the things which are offered to God are vowed, especially the oblation at the holy altar, for in this sacrament we show forth that supreme offering, by which we vow to abide in Christ, even to the union of the body of Christ. The outward sign of this is that “we, being many, are one bread, one body.” Consequently, I think that at this consecration and this preparation for Comm…

I prefer to understand by these words what the entire, or almost the entire, church observes: that we take as supplications those prayers which are said in celebrating the mysteries, before we begin to consecrate what lies on the table of the Lord. Prayers are said when it is blessed and sanctified and broken for distribution; and the whole church, for the most part, closes this complete petition with the Lord’s Prayer. The original Greek word helps us to understand this distinction: the Scripture seldom uses the word euche in the sense of oratio, but generally and much more frequently euch&#; means votum; whereas proseuch&#;,the word used in the passage we are treating, is always rendered by oratio. … Now, all the things which are offered to God are vowed, especially the oblation at the holy altar, for in this sacrament we show forth that supreme offering, by which we vow to abide in Christ, even to the union of the body of Christ. The outward sign of this is that “we, being many, are one bread, one body.” Consequently, I think that at this consecration and this preparation for Communion the apostle fittingly wishes that proseuchas, that is, prayers, should be made, or, as some have unskillfully rendered it, adoration, that is, what takes place at the offering, although this is more commonly expressed in Scripture by euch&#;.Intercessions, however, or, as your texts have it, requests, are offered while the blessing is being given to the people, for at that time, by the laying on of hands, the bishops, as intercessors, offer the members of their flock to the most merciful Power. When this is completed and all have received the holy sacrament, the whole is ended by thanksgiving, and this last is the very term called to our notice by the apostle. .

1 Timothy 2:2 · 2 passages

For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

As the life of the body is the soul, so the “blessed life” of a man is God. As the sacred writings of the Hebrews have it, “Happy is that people whose God is the Lord.” Yet even such a people cherishes a peace of its own which is not to be scorned, although in the end it is not to be had because this peace, before the end, was abused. Meanwhile, it is to our advantage that there be such peace in this life. For, as long as the two cities are mingled together, we can make use of the peace of Babylon. Faith can assure our exodus from Babylon, but our pilgrim status, for the time being, makes us neighbors. All of this was in St. Paul’s mind when he advised the church to pray for this world’s kings and high authorities—in order that “we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all piety and worthy behavior.” Jeremiah, too, predicting the Babylonian captivity to the Old Testament Jews, gave them orders from God to go submissively and to serve their God by such sufferings, and meanwhile to pray for Babylon. “For in the peace thereof,” he said, “shall be your peace”—referring, of course, to the…

As the life of the body is the soul, so the “blessed life” of a man is God. As the sacred writings of the Hebrews have it, “Happy is that people whose God is the Lord.” Yet even such a people cherishes a peace of its own which is not to be scorned, although in the end it is not to be had because this peace, before the end, was abused. Meanwhile, it is to our advantage that there be such peace in this life. For, as long as the two cities are mingled together, we can make use of the peace of Babylon. Faith can assure our exodus from Babylon, but our pilgrim status, for the time being, makes us neighbors. All of this was in St. Paul’s mind when he advised the church to pray for this world’s kings and high authorities—in order that “we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all piety and worthy behavior.” Jeremiah, too, predicting the Babylonian captivity to the Old Testament Jews, gave them orders from God to go submissively and to serve their God by such sufferings, and meanwhile to pray for Babylon. “For in the peace thereof,” he said, “shall be your peace”—referring, of course, to the peace of this world, which the good and bad share in common.

My very special reason for saying all this was that after I had briefly defined and interpreted these terms [i.e., the terms of 1 Timothy 2:1], no one should think of overlooking the passage that follows, “for all men, for kings and for all those who are in high station, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all piety and charity,” and that no one should imagine, by a common frailty of the human mind, that these prayers are not also to be made even for those at whose hands the church suffers persecution. For the members of Christ are to be gathered from every class. Hence he continues and says, “for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” And that no one might say there can be a way of salvation without partaking of the body and blood of Christ but simply by living a good manner of life and worshiping one God Almighty, Paul continues: “For there is one God and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” This makes it clear that what he had said above, “He will have all men to…

My very special reason for saying all this was that after I had briefly defined and interpreted these terms [i.e., the terms of 1 Timothy 2:1], no one should think of overlooking the passage that follows, “for all men, for kings and for all those who are in high station, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all piety and charity,” and that no one should imagine, by a common frailty of the human mind, that these prayers are not also to be made even for those at whose hands the church suffers persecution. For the members of Christ are to be gathered from every class. Hence he continues and says, “for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” And that no one might say there can be a way of salvation without partaking of the body and blood of Christ but simply by living a good manner of life and worshiping one God Almighty, Paul continues: “For there is one God and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” This makes it clear that what he had said above, “He will have all men to be saved,” is to be realized only through a mediator who would not be God, as the Word is always God, but the man Christ Jesus, since “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”