Origen of Alexandria — Commentary on Scripture

Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

Not only the Gentiles are benefited by the coming of Christ but also some who belong to the divine race, many of whom have been called to salvation.

The fact that Paul adds the words “chosen by grace” seems to me to be significant. He could have said simply that there is a remnant saved by grace, but by adding “chosen” he indicates that there is grace both with and without election. For everyone who is saved has doubtless been saved by grace, but those who have been saved by the election of grace seem to me to be more perfect than the others. For just as Israel includes all those who are descended from the nation of Israel as well as those who worship God with a pure mind and sincere heart, so we may also assume that all who come to faith in Christ come by grace. But those in whom the gift of grace is adorned with the works of virtue and purity of heart will be said to be saved not only by grace but by the election of grace.

Romans 11:8

(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

I have not been able to find the source of this quotation. If someone consults holy Scripture more carefully than I have done and finds it, let him say so.

Romans 11:9

And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:

The trap is not mentioned either in the Hebrew or in the Septuagint. We have recorded these things about the order of the words and the quality of the witnesses consulted in order to show by these details that the authority of the apostle does not rely on the texts of the Hebrews nor does it always retain the words of the translators, but rather it expounds the meaning of the Scriptures in whatever words are most suitable.

Romans 11:10

Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

God will do this because it is better not to know anything at all than to know something badly.

Romans 11:11

I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

Note that Paul distinguishes between stumbling and sinning on the one hand and falling on the other. For he envisages a cure for stumbling and sinning but not for falling.… This is why he denies that Israel has fallen.… For the Israelites, although they rejected their redeemer and stoned and persecuted those who were sent to them, nevertheless still contain a remnant within them. For they have the witness of the law even if they do not believe or understand it. They also have the imitation of God even if it is not according to knowledge.

Romans 11:12

Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

Consider the wisdom of God in this. For with him not even sins and lapses are wasted, but whenever someone rejects freedom of his own accord, the dispensation of divine wisdom makes others rich by using the very failing by which they have become poor.…Now indeed, until all the Gentiles come to salvation the riches of God are concentrated in the multitude of believers, but as long as Israel remains in its unbelief it will not be possible to say that the fullness of the Lord’s portion has been attained. The people of Israel are still missing from the complete picture. But when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in and Israel comes to salvation at the end of time, then it will be the people which, although it existed long ago, will come at the last and complete the fullness of the Lord’s portion and inheritance.

Romans 11:13

For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

What is more worthy than to magnify the ministry which one has received by the providence of God? For the man who ministers well magnifies his ministry, while on the other hand the one who has ministered negligently and unworthily dishonors his ministry and draws unfavorable comment on it.

Romans 11:14

If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

By his attentive care and close attention to the teaching of the Gentiles and by making their behavior worthy of eternal life, Paul is inviting and provoking the Jews who see these things and who are his kinsmen according to the flesh to imitate those who are progressing in the faith of God. It is the glory of his ministry that he can use the teaching of the Gentiles to reach some of his own people as well.

Romans 11:20

Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

Who is the one from whom they have been broken off but he in whom they have not believed?

Romans 11:26

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

What “all Israel” means or what the fullness of the Gentiles will be only God knows along with his only begotten Son and perhaps a few of his friends, as he said: “I no longer call you servants but friends, for I have made known to you everything which I have heard from my Father.”

Romans 11:33

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

Paul did not say that God’s judgments were hard to search out but that they could not be searched out at all. He did not say that God’s ways were hard to find out but that they were impossible to find out. For however far one may advance in the search and make progress through an increasingly earnest study, even when aided and enlightened in the mind by God’s grace, he will never be able to reach the final goal of his inquiries.

Romans 11:34

For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

This refers to creatures, but the other members of the Trinity are excepted because they have nothing in common with the nature of creatures.

Romans 11:36 · 2 passages

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

You see how here, [as in the previous verses,] Paul indicates the mystery of the Trinity. For when he says from him and through him and to him, this corresponds to the one God and Father, from whom are all things, and our one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things. Likewise he says that all things are revealed by the Spirit of God, thus indicating that the providence of the Trinity is present in everything. When he talks about the height of riches he means the Father, from whom all things come; when he talks about the height of wisdom he means Christ, who is the wisdom of God; and when he talks about the depth of knowledge he is referring to the Holy Spirit, who knows the deep things of God.Paul adds “forever” to indicate that the perfection of all things is not bound by time but will extend to eternity and even be increased. He further adds “Amen” so that we might understand that we are coming to that blessedness through him, of whom it is written in the Apocalypse: “These are the words of the Amen.”

Paul declares that God is the beginning of the substance of all things by the words “of him” and the bond of their subsistence by the expression “through him” and their final end by the term “to him.”

Romans 12:1 · 2 passages

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

The divine Word wants you to offer your flesh to God in purity, with the understanding of your reason.

Paul says that the sacrifice is living because it has eternal life in it, which is Christ. Elsewhere he says: “We always carry in the body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.” He calls it holy because the Holy Spirit dwells in it, as he says elsewhere: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

Romans 12:2

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

By this Paul shows that there is one form of this world and another of the world to come. If there are those who love this present life and the things which are in the world, they are taken up with the form of the present age and pay no attention to what is not seen. But the things which are not seen are eternal, and they are being transformed and renewed in the form of the age to come. For this reason the world does not acknowledge them but hates them and persecutes them. But the angels of God, who belong to the age to come, see that form.“Be transformed by the renewal of your mind” tells us what form is guilty, for every soul once had the form of wickedness. But the apostle’s words urge us to cast that off and to be reformed in the likeness of the individual virtues, so that once the face of our heart is revealed we may be transformed by God’s image and contemplate his glory.… Our mind is renewed by the practice of wisdom and reflection on the Word of God and the spiritual understanding of his law. The more one reads the Scriptures daily and the greater one’s understanding is, the…

By this Paul shows that there is one form of this world and another of the world to come. If there are those who love this present life and the things which are in the world, they are taken up with the form of the present age and pay no attention to what is not seen. But the things which are not seen are eternal, and they are being transformed and renewed in the form of the age to come. For this reason the world does not acknowledge them but hates them and persecutes them. But the angels of God, who belong to the age to come, see that form.“Be transformed by the renewal of your mind” tells us what form is guilty, for every soul once had the form of wickedness. But the apostle’s words urge us to cast that off and to be reformed in the likeness of the individual virtues, so that once the face of our heart is revealed we may be transformed by God’s image and contemplate his glory.… Our mind is renewed by the practice of wisdom and reflection on the Word of God and the spiritual understanding of his law. The more one reads the Scriptures daily and the greater one’s understanding is, the more one is renewed always and every day. I doubt whether a mind which is lazy toward the holy Scriptures and the exercise of spiritual knowledge can be renewed at all.
Many people think they know what God’s will is, and they are mistaken. Those who do not have a renewed mind err and go wrong. It is not every mind but only one which is renewed and conformed (as I say) to the image of God which can tell whether what we think, say and do in particular instances is the will of God or not.
“What is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” If we read this according to the Latin manuscripts, the meaning is as follows: Because the will of God is something good and acceptable and perfect, there is no doubt that it is pleasing to God. For God cannot will anything which is not good, and if something is good and perfect, then it must be pleasing to God. But if we read this according to the Greek manuscripts, i.e., “that you may prove that the will of God is good and acceptable and perfect,” it can also be interpreted in the same sense. Yet something else may be felt in these words, viz., that God’s will is always good but that we do not always deserve to receive what is good by his will, nor what is acceptable and perfect. For example, when Saul was anointed king it was according to God’s will, but it was not acceptable or perfect. For God was angry at the people because they refused to have him as their king, and he ordered a man to be set over them as king. … Thus from time to time God’s will gives us what we want and desire, but the man who is renewed in his mind must ask whether this will of God is good and acceptable and perfect, and not more likely to indulge our lusts than to serve our needs.

Romans 12:3

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

In his usual way, the apostle says that he is speaking by the grace which has been given to him and not by the power of human persuasion, nor by philosophy.… There is an enormous difference between speaking by grace and speaking by human cleverness. Many people speak with a smooth voice and a clever style but do not edify their audience. They cannot get anyone to obey them, because they do not practice what they preach. People like that are not speaking by grace, which was given to Paul.Everyone ought to know what the measure is of the grace which has been given to him, for which he has been prepared by his faith. One person receives grace from God to be wise in the work of charity, or in the service of visiting or toward the needs of the poor, or concerning the care of the sick, or the defense of widows and children, or hospitality. For God has apportioned these to each person according to the measure of his faith. But suppose someone has received grace in order to be wise about one of these things but does not understand the measure of the grace which has been given to him and want…

In his usual way, the apostle says that he is speaking by the grace which has been given to him and not by the power of human persuasion, nor by philosophy.… There is an enormous difference between speaking by grace and speaking by human cleverness. Many people speak with a smooth voice and a clever style but do not edify their audience. They cannot get anyone to obey them, because they do not practice what they preach. People like that are not speaking by grace, which was given to Paul.Everyone ought to know what the measure is of the grace which has been given to him, for which he has been prepared by his faith. One person receives grace from God to be wise in the work of charity, or in the service of visiting or toward the needs of the poor, or concerning the care of the sick, or the defense of widows and children, or hospitality. For God has apportioned these to each person according to the measure of his faith. But suppose someone has received grace in order to be wise about one of these things but does not understand the measure of the grace which has been given to him and wants to know more about the wisdom of God, the word of doctrine, the meaning of deeper knowledge, for which he has not received grace. He does not want to learn so much as to teach what he does not know. Because he does not know enough, he wants to know more than he ought to know.

Romans 12:4

For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

One person gives all his energy to the wisdom of God and the teaching of the Word; he is the eye of the whole body. Another, as we said above, looks after the needs of the brethren and of the poor; he is the hand of the holy body. Another is an attentive listener to the Word of God; he is the ear of the body. Another is busy admonishing the slack, comforting the suffering and aiding those in need; he is without any doubt called the foot of the body of the church. Each of these has his special task, but none can function properly without the others.