118

he says access, he calls Spirit. In whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. Using the example of the cornerstone, which supports the whole building, he teaches that we are established in Christ. And having spoken of a stone, and its connection to those being built, he showed its kinship to us, through the birth in the flesh of the Only-Begotten. For since, he says, the children have shared in blood and flesh, he himself likewise partook of the same things. In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God in the Spirit. That is, a temple.

CHAPTER 3. For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, for you the

Gentiles, if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of the grace of God which was given to me for you, that by revelation he made known to me the mystery. Of this grace towards you, he says, I am a minister and a struggler even to bonds, and for this reason a mystery was revealed, so that it might be declared to you through me. As I wrote before in brief, by which, when you read, you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ. The account is brief, he says, and the teaching concise, and I have taught many things summarily in a few words, revealing as much as you are able to understand; and to understand from much reading, not from a side-task or a cursory glance. 95.836 Which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ through the Gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God, which was given to me according to the working of his power. For even when spoken by the prophets it was a mystery; at any rate, those with Peter were astonished. And Peter himself then understood through the revelation of the Spirit, that God had also accepted the Gentiles. For the things of the prophets still lay in obscurity, and many things through riddles remained for the knowledge of experience. To the partakers, therefore, he says, of the grace of the Spirit, the communion of the Gentiles with Israel has now been clearly revealed, with the Gentiles also being brought into the same promise, through the one access to Christ. To me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach the gospel among the Gentiles. He calls himself the least of the saints, because he had previously persecuted the Church, considering more honorable than himself those who were called before him, and who were entrusted with the apostolate before the shedding of the saints' blood. the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to enlighten all, what is the stewardship of the mystery which has been hidden from the ages in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ. He calls the salvation of the whole world the immeasurable riches of Christ; and the stewardship of the mystery, the assumption of all people into the one Christ. This mystery, he says, was not considered by God later, for no subsequent will arises in him, but everything is eternal, at the same time as he was creating, he was also laying the foundation of salvation. so that now to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places the manifold wisdom of God might be made known through the Church. So that the rulers, he says, of the world, who were ignorant of the wisdom that was predestined for us, might now know from the Church being built the creator of the new creation, who put an end to the first creation through death, and introduced the beginning of the second through the resurrection. according to the purpose of the ages, which he made in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in him. Therefore I ask not to lose heart in my tribulations for you, which is your glory. From the ages, he says, the wisdom of God purposed, and preordained the [plan] in Christ

118

προσαγωγὴν λέγει, Πνεῦμα καλεῖ. Ἐν ᾧ πᾶσα οἰκοδομὴ συναρμολογουμένη, αὔξει εἰς ναὸν ἅγιον ἐν Κυρίῳ. Παραδείγματι χρώμενος τῷ γωνιαίῳ λίθῳ, τῷ τὴν ὅλην οἰκοδομὴν ὑποστηρίζοντι, διδάσκει ὅτι ἐν Χριστῷ στηριζόμεθα. Λίθον δὲ εἰπὼν, καὶ συνάρτησιν αὐτοῦ τὴν πρὸς τοὺς οἰκοδομουμένους, τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁμογένειαν ἔδειξε, τῆς κατὰ σάρκα γεννήσεως τοῦ Μονογενοῦς. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ, φησὶ, τὰ παιδία κεκοινώνηκεν αἵματος καὶ σαρκὸς, καὶ αὐτὸς παραπλησίως μετέσχε τῶν αὐτῶν. Ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὑμεῖς συνοικοδομεῖσθε εἰς κατοικητήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν Πνεύματι. Ναῷ δηλονότι.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Γʹ. Τούτου χάριν ἐγὼ Παῦλος ὁ δέσμιος τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν τῶν

ἐθνῶν, εἴ γε ἠκούσατε τὴν οἰκονομίαν τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Θεοῦ τῆς δοθείσης μοι εἰς ὑμᾶς, ὅτι κατὰ ἀποκάλυψιν ἐγνώρισέν μοι τὸ μυστήριον. Ταύτης, φησὶν, τῆς εἰς ὑμᾶς χάριτος ὑπηρέτης ἐγὼ καὶ ἀγωνιστὴς ἄχρι δεσμῶν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μυστήριον ἀπεκαλύφθη, ἵνα εἰς ὑμᾶς ἐξαγγελθῇ δι' ἐμοῦ. Καθὼς προέγραψα ἐν ὀλίγῳ· πρὸς ὃ δύνασθε ἀναγινώσκοντες νοῆσαι τὴν σύνεσίν μου ἐν τῷ μυστηρίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Βραχὺς ὁ λόγος, φησὶ, καὶ σύντομος ἡ διδασκαλία, καὶ ὀλίγον τὰ πολλὰ σπερματικῶς ἐδίδαξα, τοσοῦτον ἀποκαλύψας, ἐφ' ὅσον καὶ συνιέναι δύνασθε· συνιέναι δὲ ἐκ πλείονος ἀναγνώσεως, οὐκ ἐκ παρέργου ἢ παραδρομῆς. 95.836 Ὃ ἑτέραις γενεαῖς οὐκ ἐγνωρίσθη τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὡς νῦν ἀπεκαλύφθη τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀποστόλοις αὐτοῦ καὶ προφήταις ἐν Πνεύματι, εἶναι τὰ ἔθνη συγκληρονόμα, καὶ σύσσωμα, καὶ συμμέτοχα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ διὰ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου, οὗ ἐγενόμην διάκονος κατὰ τὴν δωρεὰν τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὴν δοθεῖσάν μοι κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ. Καὶ λαλούμενον γὰρ ἐν προφήταις μυστήριον ἦν· ἐξεπλήττοντο γοῦν οἱ μετὰ τοῦ Πέτρου. Καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ τότε ὁ Πέτρος συνίει διὰ τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος ἀποκαλύψεως, ὅτι καὶ τὰ ἔθνη προσδέδεκται ὁ Θεός. Ἐν ἀδήλῳ γὰρ ἔτι τὰ τῶν προφητῶν ἔκειτο, καὶ δι' αἰνιγμάτων τὰ πολλὰ καὶ τῆς πείρας ἐπίγνωσιν ἔμενεν. Τοῖς οὖν μετόχοις, φησὶ, τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος χάριτος σαφὴς ἀποκεκάλυπται νῦν ἡ κοινωνία τῶν ἐθνῶν, ἡ πρὸς τὸν Ἰσραὴλ, εἰς τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τὴν αὐτὴν εἰσαγομένων καὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν, διὰ τὴν μίαν εἰς Χριστὸν προσαγωγήν. Ἐμοὶ ἐλαχιστοτέρῳ πάντων ἁγίων ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις αὕτη, ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν εὐαγγελίσασθαι. Ἐλάχιστον τῶν ἁγίων ἑαυτὸν καλεῖ, διὰ τὸ προδιῶξαι τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, προτιμοτέρους ἑαυτοῦ τιθεὶς τοὺς προκεκλημένους, καὶ πρὸ ἐκχύσεως ἁγίων αἱμάτων τὴν ἀποστολὴν ἐγχειρισθέντας. Τὸν ἀνεξιχνίαστον πλοῦτον τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ φωτίσαι πάντας, τίς ἡ οἰκονομία τοῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ ἀποκεκρυμμένου, ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων ἐν τῷ Θεῷ, τῷ τὰ πάντα κτίσαντι διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Πλοῦτον ἀμέτρητον Χριστοῦ λέγει, τὴν τοῦ παντὸς κόσμου σωτηρίαν· οἰκονομίαν δὲ τοῦ μυστηρίου τὴν ἀνάληψιν πάντων ἀνθρώπων εἰς ἕνα Χριστόν. Τοῦτο δὲ τὸ μυστήριον, φησὶν, οὐχ ὕστερον ἐπεσκέφθη παρὰ Θεῷ, ὅτι μηδὲν ἐπιγενόμενον βούλημα παρ' αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ αἰώνιον ἅπαν, ἅμα τῷ κτίζειν, καὶ τὴν σωτηρίαν καταβαλλομένῳ. Ἵνα γνωρισθῇ νῦν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς, καὶ ταῖς ἐξουσίαις ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις διὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἵνα οἱ ἄρχοντες, φησὶ, τοῦ κόσμου, οἱ τὴν σοφίαν ἀγνοήσαντες, τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς προορισθεῖσαν, ἐπιγνῶσι νῦν ἐκ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας οἰκοδομουμένης τὸν κτίστην τῆς νέας κτίσεως, πέρας μὲν ἐπιθέντα τῇ προτέρᾳ κτίσει διὰ τοῦ θανάτου, ἀρχὴν δὲ τῆς δευτέρας εἰσαγαγόντος διὰ τῆς ἀναστάσεως. Κατὰ πρόθεσιν τῶν αἰώνων, ἣν ἐποίησεν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν τὴν παῤῥησίαν καὶ τὴν προσαγωγὴν ἐν πεποιθήσει διὰ τῆς πίστεως αὐτοῦ. ∆ιὸ αἰτοῦμαι μὴ ἐκκακεῖν ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσί μου ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, ἥτις ἐστὶ δόξα ὑμῶν. Ἐξ αἰώνων, φησὶν, ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφία προέθετο, καὶ προδιατέταχε τὴν ἐν Χριστῷ