Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come:
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Gaius Marius Victorinus
AD 400
All names are secondary inventions. They primarily point to that which is in the created order, whether it be angels, human beings or temporal powers. By contrast, only that is eternal in essence which has existence without dependency upon something else that exists, which lives by its own power. That which is eternal has no name in itself. Such “names” are added by us with our vocabulary and language. Christ receives these names from us (Son of God, divine, Spirit), yet he is still more than whatever these names convey…. Among names, the name that holds the chief place and that from which all names come is that which the Greeks call Being itself. But Christ is above this very being and is therefore above every name. –.
Because he is the fount and the origin and the principle in everything that moves, Christ was therefore set “above all authority and above all power.” Authority is one thing, power another. Authority is expressed in action. Power is expressed in the capacity to act. A potential act may exist not as present fact but as the present possibility of something. But since Christ is himself the origin of all and is in all that is possible, he is “above all power.” Since he is the source of all acts and authority is expressed in actions, he is therefore said to be “above all authority. “ –.
All principality. The Fathers agree that there are nine orders of blessed spirits, of which some are specified here; in the Epistle to the Colossians we have the order of thrones, to which if we add the cherubim, seraphim, Angels, and Archangels, we shall have nine. Calvin and other heretics strive to bring into doubt, and to corrupt many points of Catholic doctrine, sufficiently clear in holy writ, and sanctified by the general belief of the Universal or Catholic Church.
Since, therefore, it was requisite, he says, that we should be revealed as the children of God, in expectation of whose manifestation, he says, the creation habitually groans and travails in pain, the Gospel came into the world, and passed through every Principality, and Power, and Dominion, and every Name that is named.
H understand His hand,-that hand which measures immensity; that hand which, by its own measure, spreads out the measure of the heavens, and which comprises in its hollow the earth with the abysses; which contains in itself the breadth, and length, and the deep below, and the height above of the whole creation; which is seen, which is heard and understood, and which is invisible? And for this reason God is "above all principality, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named".
For they were assisted by the Scriptures, which the Lord confirmed and tiff-filled, in coming such as He had been announced; but here,
Now we must ask where the apostle found these four names—principalities, powers, forces and dominions? From what sources did he bring them into the open? It would be dishonorable to imagine that Paul, who had been schooled in godly literature, might be quoting this from pagan sources. I therefore suggest that he has brought into the open some of the Hebrew traditions which are secret. Or better, it might have been that once he understood that the law is spiritual, he grasped a higher meaning in those things that are written in the guise of history. He could have known, for example, that there was a symbol of other powers and authorities in what is said in the books of Numbers and Kings about kings, princes, captains and leaders of tribes and ages. .
Vast indeed are the mysteries and secrets of which He has made us partakers. And these it is not possible for us to understand otherwise than by being partakers of the Holy Ghost, and by receiving abundant grace. And it is for this reason that Paul prays. The Father of glory, that is, He that has given us vast blessings, for he constantly addresses Him according to the subject he is upon, as, for instance, when he says, The Father of mercies and God of all comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3 And, again, the Prophet says, The Lord is my strength and my might. Psalm 18:1
* Far above all rule, he says.
Need then indeed is there of the Spirit, of an understanding wise in the knowledge of Him. Need then is there indeed of revelation. Reflect, how vast is the distance between the nature of man and of God. Yet from this vile estate has He exalted Him to that high dignity. Nor does He mount by degrees, first one step, then another, then a third. Amazing! He does not simply say, above, but, far above; for God is above those powers which are above. And there then has He raised Him, Him that is one of us, brought Him from the lowest point to the supremest sovereignty, to that beyond which there is no other honor. Above all principality, he says, not, i.e., over one and not over another, but over all,
* Rule and authority and power, and dominion, and every name that is named.
Whatever there be in Heaven, He has become above all. And this is said of Him that was raised from the dead which is worthy of our admiration; for of God the Word, it cannot possibly b...
He says not merely “above” but “far above.” For God is higher than the powers on high. So he led him up there, the very one who shared our lowly humanity. He led him from the lowest depth to the highest sovereignty, beyond which there is no higher honor. “Above every sovereignty,” he says: not merely compared with this or that…. What gnats are compared with humans, so is the whole creation compared with God. .
