I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,
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Thomas Aquinas
AD 1274
Having shown the need [n. 97] and power [n. 381] of grace, the Apostle begins to discuss the origin of grace and ask whether it is conferred solely by God’s choice or from the merits of previous works. He raises this question because the Jews, seemingly called to God’s special protection, had fallen from grace; whereas the Gentiles, previously alienated from God, had been admitted to it. First, therefore, he discusses the election of the Gentiles; secondly, the fall of the Jews, in chapter 10 [n. 813]. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he recounts the greatness of the Jews; secondly, he shows how the Gentiles have been drawn into that greatness [v. 6; n. 748]. 361 In regard to the first, he does two things: first the Apostle shows his affection for the Jewish people, lest anything he had said or was about to say against them should seem to proceed from hatred; second, he shows their dignity [v. 4; n. 742]. Concerning the first he does two things. First he confirms what he was about to say; second, he demonstrates his affection [v. 2; n. 737]. 736. Concerning the first he does two things. First, he confirms what he is about to say with a simple assertion: I am speaking the truth, which especially befits the preacher who is a witness to the truth: "My mouth will utter truth" (Pr 8:7); "Love truth and peace" (Zech 8:19). And because a person sometimes mixes falsehood with the truth, he excludes this when he adds: I am not lying: "Putting away falsehood, let everyone speak the truth to this neighbor" (Eph 4:25). Secondly, he confirms what he is about to say with an oath, which is a confirmation supported by the testimony of infallible truth. Such are the witnesses of the saints: first, God Himself, as it say in Job 16:19: "My witness is in heaven." Hence Paul says, in Christ, i.e., through Jesus Christ Who is the truth without falsehood: "The Son of God whom we preached among you was not Yes and No" (2 Cor 1:19). Secondly, the infallible witness of the saints is their conscience; hence he adds: my conscience bears me witness: "Our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience" (2 Cor 1:12). But because one’s conscience is sometimes erroneous unless it is corrected by the Holy Spirit he adds: in the Holy Spirit: "The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit" (Rom 8:16). 362 737. Then (v. 2) he shows his affection for the Jews by the pain he suffered from their fall. First, he describes this pain; secondly, he mentions a sign of it [v. 3; n. 739]. 738. He emphasizes how much pain he has suffered in three ways. First by its magnitude: I have great sorrow, because it concerns a great evil, namely, the exclusion of such a great people: "Vast as the sea is your ruin" (Lam 2:13). But this seems to conflict with Sir (30:22) where it says: "Give not up your soul to sadness," which seems to agree with the opinion of the Stoics, who admitted no sadness at all in the soul of a wise man. For since sadness is a reaction to a present evil, it cannot exist in a wise man to whom no evil is present. For they supposed that virtue was the only good and sin the only evil. But this opinion is refuted in two ways. First, because bodily defect, although they are not such evils as make men evil, are nevertheless among the evils which nature abhors. Hence, even the Lord is described as saddened by them: "My soul is sorrowful, even to death" (Mt 26:38). Secondly, since charity requires that a person love his neighbor as himself, it is laudable for a wise man to grieve over a son of his neighbor as over his own. Hence the Apostle says: "I fear that I May have to mourn over many of those who sinned" (2 Cor 12:2). Thus, worldly sadness, which springs from love of the world, works death and is rejected, but sadness which is godly and springs form divine love works salvation, as it says in 2 Cor 7:10. Such was Paul’s sadness. 363 Secondly, he emphasizes his grief by its duration, when he says: and unceasing anguish; not that he never ceased to grieve actually, but habitually: "That I might weep day and night for the slain of my people" (Jer 9:1). Thirdly, he emphasizes how real it was when he says: in my heart; for it was not superficial but rooted in the heart: "My eyes are spent in weeping…. My heart is poured out in grief" (Lam 2:11). 739. Then (v. 3) he presents the sign of his sadness, saying: For I, who am so fervent in the love of Christ, as was shown above, could wish that I myself were accursed [anathema]. Here it should be noted that "anathema" is a Greek word formed by combining "ana" which means "above" and "thesis" which means "placing," so that something placed above is said to be anathema. For when they found among the spoils of war something they did not wish men to use, they hung it in the temple. Form this, the custom arose that things but off from the common use of men were said to be "anathema"; hence, it says in Jos 6:17: "Let this city be an anathema, and all things that are in it, to the Lord." 740. He says, therefore: I could wish that I myself were anathema from Christ, i.e., separated from Him. One is separated from Christ in two ways: in one way by a sin, through which one is separated form the love of Christ for not obeying His commandment: "If you love me, keep my commandments" (Jn 14:15) But the Apostle could not wish to be separated from Christ in this way for any reason, as he explained in c. 8. For this is against the order of charity, by which a person is bound to love God above all things and his own salvation more than that of others. So he does not say "I wish" but "I could wish" during his days 364 of unbelief. But according to this explanation the Apostle is not saying anything great, because in those days he was willing to be separated from Christ even for himself. Hence, a Gloss explains that he says, I have great sorrow, referring to the sorrow with which he grieved over his past state of sin, during which he willed to be separated from Christ. In another way one can be separated from Christ, i.e., from the fruition of Christ possessed in glory. This is the way the Apostle wished to be separated from Christ, for the salvation of the Gentiles, not to mention the conversion of the Jews. For he says in Phil (1:23): "My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remains in the flesh is more necessary on your account." This he now says: I could wish, namely, if it were possible, to be anathema, i.e., separated from glory either absolutely or temporarily from Christ’s honor, which would be enhanced by the conversion of the Jews, as it ways in Pr 14:28: "In the multitude of the people is the dignity of the king." Hence, Chrysostom says: "Love so ruled his mind that to please Christ he would not only sacrifice being with Christ, which he deemed more desirable than anything else, but also the kingdom of heaven, which would be the reward of his labor for Christ." 741. The cause of this attitude is shown when he says: for the sake of my brethren. Hence Sir (25:1) says: "Three things are approved before God and men: the concord of brethren, the love of neighbors, and a wife and husband who live in harmony." Then to show that he was not referring to those who were his spiritual brethren in Christ, he adds: who are my kinsmen by race: "Are they descendents of Abraham? So am I" (I Cor 11:22). 365 742. Then (v. 4) he shows the greatness of the Jews in order that his sadness appear reasonable on account of the ancient dignity of a deteriorating people (for it is a weightier evil to lose greatness than never to have possessed it) and not as though it arose solely from worldly love. 743. But he shows their greatness in three ways. First, from their face when he says: They are Israelites, i.e., descending from the stock of Jacob who was called Israel (Gen 32:28). This pertains to their greatness, for it says in Dt (4:7): "Neither is there any nation so great as to have their gods coming to them…" 744. Secondly, he shows the greatness of that race from God’s blessings: first, the spiritual blessings, one of which refers to the present: to them belongs the sonship: hence it says in Ex (4:22): "Israel is my son, my firstborn." This refers to the spiritual men who arose among that people: but as to worldly men he stated above (8:15) that they received the spirit of slavery in fear. Another spiritual blessings refers to the future when he says: the glory, namely, of the sons of God promised to them. A reference to this is found in Ex (40:32): "The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." Then he sets out other, figural benefits, of which there were figures of present spiritual benefit. The first of these is the covenant, i.e., the pact of circumcision given to Abraham, as is recorded in Gen c. 17, although this could be referred to the new covenant preached first to the Jews. Hence, the Lord Himself said: "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Mt 15:24); and Jer (31:31): "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel." The second is the Law given through Moses; hence, he continues: the giving of the law: "Moses commanded a law to us" (Sir 24:33). The third is 366 divine worship when he says: the worship with which they served God, when all the other nations were serving idols: "But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen" (Is 44:1). Then he mentions the blessing which pertains to future glory when he says: and the promises. For the promises made in the Old Testament and fulfilled by Christ seem made especially to the Jews; hence he says below (15:8): "I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs." Now many other promises were made to them about earthly goods, as is recorded in Lev (c. 26) and Dt (c. 18), but by these temporal goods spiritual [goods] were prefigured. 745. Third he describes the Jews’ dignity by their origin, when he says: to them belong the Patriarchs, because they were begotten according to the flesh by those ancestors who were especially acceptable to God: "I love your fathers and chose their descendants after them" (Dt 4:37); "Like the first fruit on the fig tree I saw their fathers" (Hos 9:1). 746. Fourthly, he shows their greatness from the a descendant when he says: and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ Who says: "Salvation is from the Jews" (Jn 4:22). 747. Then to prevent this from being underestimated he shows the greatness of Christ, saying: Who is God over all, blessed for ever. Amen: "This is the true God and eternal life" (I Jn 5:20). In these words four heresies are refuted: first, Manichean, which held that Christ had not a true but imaginary body. This is refuted when he says, according to the flesh. 367 For He has true flesh, as it says in Lk (24:39): "A spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have." Secondly, Valentinus’ heresy which claims that Christ’s body was not taken from the human line but brought from heaven. This is excluded when he says that Christ was from the Jews according to the flesh, in keeping with Mt (1:1): "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Thirdly, the heresy of Nestorius according to whom the Son of man was other than the Son of God. Against this the Apostle says here that He is from the patriarchs according to the flesh Who is God over all. Fourthly, the Arian heresy, which claimed that Christ was less than the Father and created form nothing. Against the first he says that He is over all; against the second that He is blessed for ever. For it is true of God alone that His goodness remains forever.
