We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
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Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
Those just men also were saved by their salutary faith in him as man and God. They, before he came in the flesh, believed that he was to come in the flesh. Our faith is the same as theirs, since they believed that this would be, while we believe that it has come to pass. Hence, the apostle Paul says: “But having the same spirit of faith, as it is written: I believed for which reason I have spoken: we also believe for which reason we also speak.” If, then, those who foretold that Christ would come in the flesh had the same faith as those who have recorded his coming, these religious mysteries could vary according to the diversity of times yet all refer most harmoniously to the unity of the same faith. Letter , To Optatus.
Moreover, our Mediator, when revealed to us, wished the sacrament of our regeneration to be manifest. But for the just men of old it was something hidden, although they also were to be saved by the same faith which was to be revealed in its own time. For we do not dare to prefer the faithful of our own time to the friends of God by whom those prophecies were to be made, since God so announced himself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, as to give himself that name forever. If the belief is correct that circumcision served instead of baptism in the saints of old, what shall be said of those who pleased God before this was commanded, except that they pleased him by faith, because, as it is written in Hebrews: “Without faith it is impossible to please God”? “But having the same spirit of faith,” says the apostle, “as it is written: I believed, for which cause I have spoken, we also believe, for which reason we also speak.” He would not have said “the same” unless th...
Paul the apostle says that he has the same spirit of faith which the blessed David had, which the holy Moses received, just as he himself testifies, saying, “Since then we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written: ‘I believed, therefore, I spoke.’ We too believe and therefore speak.” How did they have the one spirit of faith, if they believed differently concerning the faithful God? For the difference in belief is great if what Paul says, “There is no injustice with God,” differs from what Moses and David say, “There is no iniquity in God.” And if, as Paul says, he has the same spirit of faith which the prophets also had and yet his belief is different from their faith, let the apostle be declared a liar (God forbid), he who testifies that Christ speaks in him. “You are looking for proof of Christ speaking in me?” But since Christ has truly spoken in Paul, Paul is not a liar. And when he says that he has the same spirit of faith, he does not lie; the belief of each i...
We also believe That is, we have the like faith as David, when he spoke in that manner; we hope and believe, God will deliver us, or at least raise us up from the dead with Jesus. (Witham)
He has reminded us of a Psalm which abounds in heavenly wisdom , and is especially fitted to encourage in dangers. For this saying that just man uttered when he was in great dangers, and from which there was no other possibility of recovery than by the aid of God. Since then kindred circumstances are most effective in comforting, therefore he says, having the same Spirit; that is, 'by the same succor by which he was saved, we also are saved; by the Spirit through which he spoke, we also speak.' Whence he shows, that between the New and Old Covenants great harmony exists, and that the same Spirit wrought in either; and that not we alone are in dangers, but all those of old were so too; and that we must find a remedy through faith and hope, and not seek at once to be released from what is laid upon us. For having showed by arguments the resurrection and the life, and that the danger was not a mark of helplessness or destitution; he thenceforward brings in faith also, and to it commits th...
Paul reminds us of a psalm which abounds in heavenly wisdom and is especially fitted to encourage us in dangers. The psalmist uttered these words when he was in great danger, from which there was no possibility of escape except in the power of God. In similar circumstances, Paul says that we who have the same Spirit will be comforted likewise. Thus he shows that there is a great harmony between the Old and the New Testaments; it is the same Spirit at work in both. The men of old were in danger, just as we are. Like them, we must find a solution through faith and hope.
