Thomas Aquinas Commentary John 15

1. In this discourse, our Lord especially wants to comfort His disciples about two things. The first was near and present: His passion. The second was what they feared in the future: the troubles that would come upon them. He had spoken to them about these two things: let not your heart be troubled, referring to the first, and nor let it be afraid (John 14:27), referring to the second.

   So now, after comforting them about His departure—let not your heart be troubled (John 14:1)—He strengthens them for the troubles that will come upon them.

   • First, He presents a certain image.

   • Second, He moves from this to His intention: now you are clean by reason of the word.

   The image He presents is of a vine and a vinedresser.

   • First, He mentions the vine.

   • Second, the vinedresser.

   • Third, He approves of the vinedresser’s concern for the branches of the vine.

2. He Himself is the vine. So He says, making a comparison, I am the true vine. For just as a vine, although it seems insignificant, nevertheless surpasses all trees in the sweetness of its fruit, so Christ, although He seemed despised by the world because He was poor, appeared of little importance, and was publicly disgraced, nevertheless produced the sweetest fruit: his fruit was sweet to my taste (Song of Solomon 2:3). And so Christ is a vine producing a wine that inwardly intoxicates us: a wine of sorrow for sin—you have given us to drink the wine of sorrow (Psalms 60:3)—and a wine that strengthens us, that is, which restores us: my blood is drink indeed (John 6:56). In the same way, He compared Himself, earlier, to wheat, for His flesh is truly food.

   This is the vine mentioned in Genesis: there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches (Genesis 40:9–10), that is, Christ, in whom there are three substances: His body, soul, and divinity. This is also the vine about which Jacob says: my son, tie your she-ass, that is, the Church, to the vine (Genesis 49:11).

3. This vine is true.

   Sometimes what is true is distinguished from its image, as a man from his picture. At other times, what is true is distinguished from what is deformed or spoiled, as true wine from vinegar, which is spoiled wine. When Christ says here, I am the true vine, He is using “true” in the second sense to distinguish Himself from the deformed or spoiled vine, which is the Jewish people. We read about them: how then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine? (Jeremiah 2:21). This was because this vine brought forth wild grapes instead of grapes: when I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? (Isaiah 5:4).

4. There are two natures in Christ: the divine and the human. Because of His human nature, He is like us and is less than the Father. Because of His divine nature, He is like God and above us. Thus, He is the true vine insofar as He is the head of the Church, the man Christ Jesus. He implies this when He mentions the vinedresser, who is the Father. He says, and my Father is the vinedresser. If Christ were the vine because of His divine nature, the Father would also be the vine like the Son. But because Christ is the vine by reason of His human nature, the Father is related to Him as a cultivator to a vine. Indeed, even Christ Himself, as God, is a cultivator. The term “cultivator” comes from agriculture, and a vinedresser is a cultivator in that he cultivates the vine.

5. Now, to cultivate something is to devote one’s care to it. We can cultivate something in two ways: either to make what is cultivated better, as we cultivate a field, or to make ourselves better by the cultivating, as we cultivate wisdom. God cultivates us to make us better by His work, since He roots out the evil seeds in our hearts. As Augustine says, He opens our hearts with the plow of His words, plants the seeds of the commandments, and harvests the fruit of devotion. But we cultivate Him so that we might be made better through Him, and we do this by worshipping Him, not by plowing. But if a man is a servant of God and does his will, he hears him (John 9:31). The Father, therefore, is the vinedresser of His vine for the benefit of another. For He Himself plants: yet I planted you a chosen vineyard, all true seed (Jeremiah 2:21). Again, He gives the growth: I have planted, Apollo watered, but God gave the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6), because God alone causes interior growth and makes it bear fruit. And as much as man cooperates externally, He Himself guards and preserves it: there was a householder who planted a vineyard, and made a hedge round about it (Matthew 21:33; Isaiah 5:2).

6. The vinedresser is concerned about two things: the vine and its branches. Now the vine considered here was perfect and did not need the vinedresser’s care. And so the entire care of the vinedresser is directed to the branches. He says, every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he will take away. The branches of a vine, however, have the nature of the vine; and so those united to Christ are branches of this vine: the vine brought forth branches (Ezekiel 17:6).

   He mentions two things about the branches:

   • First, the attitude of the vinedresser toward the bad branches.

   • Second, his care for the good branches.

7. The vinedresser’s action toward the bad branches is to cut them off from the vine. Thus He says, every branch, that is, every believer, in me, that does not bear fruit—that is, bears no fruit on the vine, which is me, without whom nothing can bear fruit—he will take away from the vine. It is clear from this that some are cut off from Christ not only for doing evil, but also because they neglect to do good: we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1). Thus the Apostle said about himself: by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:10). We read in Matthew that the money was taken away from the servant who did not bear fruit with it, but hid it instead (Matthew 25:28); and in Luke, our Lord ordered the unfruitful fig tree to be cut down (Luke 13:7).

8. His care for the good branches is to help them so they can bear more fruit. So He says, and every one that bears fruit, he will purge, that it may bear more fruit. Considering the literal sense, we see that a natural vine with branches that have many shoots bears less fruit, because the sap is spread out through all the shoots. Thus the vinedresser prunes away the extra shoots so that the vine can bear more fruit. It is the same with us. For if we are well-disposed and united to God, yet scatter our love over many things, our virtue becomes weak and we become less able to do good. This is why God, in order that we may bear fruit, often removes such obstacles and prunes us by sending troubles and temptations, which make us stronger. Accordingly, He says, He purges, even though one may be clean, for in this life no one is so clean that he does not need to be cleansed more and more: if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). And He does this so that it may bear more fruit, that is, grow in virtue, so that the more one is pruned or cleansed, the more fruitful one is: let the just still be justified, and the holy still be sanctified (Revelation 22:11); the Gospel is bearing fruit and growing (Colossians 1:6); they go from strength to strength (Psalms 84:7).

9. Now He passes from this image to His main intention. Two things were noted in the above image when comparing the branches to the vine: the union of the branches to the vine, and the pruning of the branches.

   • First, He considers the union of the branches with the vine.

   • Second, their pruning: if the world hates you, know that it hated me before you (John 15:18).

   As to the first point, He does three things:

   • He advises the disciples to cling to the vine.

   • He gives the reason for this: as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself.

   • He describes this union: as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you.

   Concerning the first of these, He does two things:

   • He reminds them of a benefit already received.

   • He tells them to abide in Him: abide in me, and I in you.

10. The benefit they had already received was that of being cleansed. He says, now you are clean. It is as if to say: “I have said certain things about branches, and you are branches ready to be pruned so as to bear fruit.” And you are clean by reason of the word, which I have spoken.

    The word of Christ, in the first place, cleanses us from error by teaching us: he must hold firm to the sure word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine (Titus 1:9). This is because there is no falsity in the words of God: all my words are right (Proverbs 8:8). He says, you are clean, from the errors of the Jews.

    Second, the word of Christ cleanses our hearts from earthly affections by inflaming them toward heavenly things. For the word of God by its power moves our hearts, weighed down by earthly things, and sets them on fire: is not my word like fire? (Jeremiah 23:29).

    Third, when God is invoked in baptism, His word cleanses us from sin. For we are cleansed in baptism because the word cleanses with the water. As Augustine says, “Take away the word, and what is the water but water? The word is added to the element, and it becomes a sacrament.” Thus it is the word that makes the water touch the body and wash the heart. The word, I say, not because it is spoken, but because it is believed. For this word of faith is so strong in the Church that it even cleanses infants—although they themselves cannot believe—when it is proclaimed from the faith of those who believe, offer, bless, and touch the infants, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

    Fourth, the word of Christ cleanses by the power of faith: God cleansed their hearts by faith (Acts 15:9). Thus, He says, you, already instructed, moved, baptized, and confirmed in the faith, are clean by reason of the word, which I have spoken. As He said earlier: you are clean, but not all (John 13:11).

    Since He had said above that the work of a vinedresser was to prune, He clearly shows that He is a vinedresser when He says that His word cleanses. And indeed, Christ, as God, is a vinedresser and prunes the branches.

11. Here He urges them to persevere. He is saying, in effect: “Because you are now cleansed and have received such a great benefit, you should remain this way.” He says, abide in me, through charity—he who abides in love abides in God (1 John 4:16)—and through the sacraments: he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him (John 6:57). He says, abide in me, by receiving grace, and I in you, by helping you.

12. Next, He gives four reasons for being united to Christ: as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me.

    • First, it sanctifies those who are united to Him.

    • Second, those not united are punished: if anyone does not abide in me, he will be cast forth as a branch.

    • Third, those who are united to Him have their desires satisfied: if you abide in me . . . you will ask whatever you will, and it will be done unto you.

    • Fourth, it glorifies God: in this is my Father glorified; that you bring forth much fruit.

    In regard to the first reason, He shows two things:

    • That being united to Christ is necessary in order to bear fruit.

    • That this union is efficacious: I am the vine: you the branches: he who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit.

13. He does two things concerning the first point: first, He presents an image, and second, He shows that it is appropriate.

    As to the first, He says: I say that you should abide in me so that you can bear fruit, because just as the branch—literally, a material branch—cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abide in the vine, from whose roots sap ascends to give life to the branches, so neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in me. Thus, being united to Christ is the reason why someone bears fruit. And so of those who are not united to Christ we read: what return did you get from the things of which you are now ashamed? (Romans 6:21); the company of the godless is barren (Job 15:34).

    His example is appropriate because I am the vine, you the branches. It is as if to say: “The relation between you and me is like that of branches to the vine.” We read of these branches: it sent out its branches to the sea (Psalms 80:11).

14. Here He shows that being united to Christ is efficacious.

    • First, He shows that it is efficacious.

    • Second, He gives the reason for this efficacy: he who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.

15. First He says: I say that it is not only necessary for a person to abide in me in order to bear fruit, it is also efficacious, because he who abides in me—by believing, obeying, and persevering—and I in him—by giving enlightenment, help, and perseverance—he, and no other, bears much fruit.

    Such persons bear a threefold fruit in this life. The first is that they avoid sin: all the fruit, that the sin thereof should be taken away (Isaiah 27:9). Second, they are eager to accomplish works of holiness: the return you get is sanctification (Romans 6:22). Third, they are eager for the progress of others: the earth will be filled with the fruit of your works (Psalms 104:13). They also produce a fourth fruit, but in eternal life: he . . . gathers fruit unto life everlasting (John 4:36). Eternal life is the last and perfect fruit of our labors: the fruit of good works is glorious .

16. The reason for this efficacy is because for without me you can do nothing. With these words He instructs the hearts of the humble and silences the mouths of the proud, especially the Pelagians, who say that they can do by themselves, without the help of God, the good works of the virtues and of the law. And although they try to maintain our free will, they really undermine it.

    Consider what our Lord says here! He says that without Him we cannot do anything great, nor anything small; indeed, we cannot do anything at all. This is not surprising, because neither does God do anything without Him: without him was made nothing that was made (John 1:3). For our works are either from the power of nature or from divine grace. If they are from the power of nature, then, since every action of nature is from the Word of God, no nature can act to do anything without Him. If our works are from the power of grace, then, since He is the author of grace—because grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17)—it is obvious that no meritorious work can be done without Him: not that we are capable of thinking anything of ourselves as originating from ourselves; our capability is from God (2 Corinthians 3:5). Therefore, if we cannot even think without it coming from God, much less can we do anything else.

17. Here He mentions the second reason for remaining united to Christ, which is the threat of punishment, for unless we abide in Him, we will not escape punishment.

    He mentions five things that describe this punishment.

    1. The first is the punishment of loss, that is, the exclusion from glory. So He says, he will be cast forth. Sometimes on a natural vine we see a branch that remains by some sort of external connection without sharing any of the sap. In this way also some remain connected to Christ only by faith, yet they do not share the sap of the vine because they do not have charity. Thus, such persons will be cast out, that is, separated from fellowship with the good: I will stand and separate (Ezekiel 34:17).

    2. The second punishment of loss is withering. He says, and will wither, for if such a person once took anything at all from the root, he will lose it when deprived of its help and life. Even bad Christians seem to have some kind of freshness, but when they are separated from the saints and from Christ their dried-up condition will be apparent: my strength is dried up like a potsherd (Psalms 22:16).

    3. The third punishment is association with those who are evil. He says, they will gather him up, that is, by the reaping angels, to be with the wicked. This is a very great punishment. For if it is a great punishment to be with the wicked for only a little while, how much greater it is to be with the most evil men and devils forever? They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit (Isaiah 24:22); gather the weeds first and bind them into bundles to be burned (Matthew 13:30).

    4. The fourth punishment is that of sense. He says, cast him into the fire, which is eternal: what will be done with the wood of the vine? . . . look, it is given to the fire for fuel (Ezekiel 15:2). If the wood of the vine does not remain united to it, it is more worthless than other woods; but if it abides on the vine it is more beautiful than the others. Thus Augustine says: “A branch is fit for two things: either the vine or the fire. If it is not on the vine, it will be in the fire.” As is written: depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire (Matthew 25:41).

    5. The fifth punishment is the unending experience of fire. He says, and he burns, without end: and they will go away into eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46).

18. Now we have the third reason for abiding in Christ: our prayers become effective. He is saying, in effect, if you abide in me, you will obtain this fruit, that is, you will ask whatever you will, and it will be done unto you.

    Note that when He previously urged them to remain united to Him, He mentioned two things, and He repeats them here. First, He said before, abide in me, and He repeats it here by saying, if you abide in me. Second, He said before, and I in you, in place of which He now says, and my words abide in you. Because Christ is the Word of the Father, all words of wisdom are from Him: the source of wisdom is God’s word in the highest heaven . Thus it is clear that Christ is in us when the words of His wisdom are in us: you do not have his word abiding in you (John 5:38).

    Thus He says, and my words abide in you, in four ways: by your loving them, believing them, meditating on them, and accomplishing them. My son, be attentive to my words, by believing them; incline your ear to my sayings, by obeying or accomplishing them; let them not escape from your sight, because you meditate on them; but keep them within your heart, by loving them (Proverbs 4:20). Your words were found and I ate them (Jeremiah 15:16).

    Therefore, the words of Christ are in us when we do as He commands and love what He promises. From this it follows that they teach us what we ought to pray for: we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words (Romans 8:26). For this reason, Christ taught us to pray with His own words (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2).

    And so the words of God, when believed and meditated upon, teach us to ask for the things necessary for our salvation; and these words of God, when loved and accomplished, help us to merit it. So He adds, ask, with sound judgment and perseverance, whatever you will, and it will be done for you. As He says later, if you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you (John 16:23).

19. Now the fourth reason for abiding in Christ is mentioned, and it is the glory of the Father. All our works should be directed to the glory of God: not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory (Psalms 115:1); so, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

    And so our Lord shows that we are in Christ, because this is why we bear fruit, and because we bear fruit the Father is glorified. He says, in this is my Father glorified, that is, it reflects glory on my Father, that you bring forth much fruit.

    Here He mentions, in reverse order, three things that follow one from the other. One refers to abiding in Christ: become my disciples, which is the same as abide in me, and I in you. The second follows from this: that you bring forth much fruit. And from this, my Father is glorified. He is saying in effect: “It gives glory to the Father that you bear much fruit, and you bear much fruit because you are my disciples.” You do this, first of all, by living well—that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16)—and by teaching well, which also glorifies God: glorify the Lord by teaching (Isaiah 24:15); every one who calls upon my name I have created him for my praise and glory (Isaiah 43:7). And so the apostles are the soil that bears much fruit, as is said, and become my disciples, by abiding in Him and by the fire of their charity.

    For these are the signs of a disciple of Christ:

    • First, that one abides in Him and is united to Him: if you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples (John 8:31). By doing this, they become fit for bearing the fruit of teaching.

    • The second sign is charity: by this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35). Because of this, they are able to bear the fruit of good works, because nothing has any value without charity: if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries . . . but have not love, I am nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2).

1. Above, our Lord urged His disciples to remain united with Him; here He shows what this involves. He makes three points:

1. To abide in Him is to abide in His love.
2. To abide in His love is to keep His commandments: if you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.
3. His commandment is to love: this is my commandment, that you love one another.

He does two things regarding the first point:

1. He recalls the benefit granted to the disciples.
2. He urges them to persevere: abide in my love.

2. He says that the fact that we abide in Christ is due to His grace, and this grace is the effect of His love: I have loved you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).

It is clear from this that all our good works are ours because of the benefit of divine love. For they would not be ours unless faith acted through love, and we would not love unless we were first loved. And so He reminds them of this benefit by saying, as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you.

3. The word “as” sometimes indicates an equality of nature and at other times a similarity in action. The Arians, who erred about this passage, wanted the as to indicate an equality, and because of this they concluded that the Son was inferior to the Father. But this is false. We must say, then, according to Augustine, that the word as indicates a likeness in grace and love.Tractates on the Gospel of John 82.4. For the love with which the Son loves His disciples is a certain likeness of that love with which the Father loves the Son.

To love someone is to will their good. Therefore, the Father loves the Son according to His divine nature, willing for Him the infinite good that He Himself possesses by sharing with Him the one and same nature that He Himself has: for the Father loves the Son and shows him all things that he himself does (John 5:20). He also loves Him according to His human nature: because Israel was a child, and I loved him: and I called my son out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1). And from this, God and man would be similar.

But the Son did not love the disciples in either of these ways. He did not love them to the point of their being God by nature, nor to the point that they would be united to God so as to form one person with Him. But He did love them up to a similar point: He loved them to the extent that they would be gods by their participation in grace: I say: you are gods (Psalms 82:6); he has granted to us precious and very great promises, that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

He also loved them to the extent that they would be united to God in affection: he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him (1 Corinthians 6:17); for those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son (Romans 8:29). Thus, the Father communicated a greater good to the Son (with respect to each of the Son’s natures) than the Son did to His disciples. Yet, as was said, there is a similarity.

4. Abide in my love. This is like saying, “Because you have received such a great benefit from my love, abide in it so that you love me.” Or it could mean, abide in my love because I love you—that is, abide in My grace so you will not be excluded from the good things I have prepared for you. This meaning is more fitting. The thought is this: persevere in this state so that you will be loved by me through the effect of grace: every one should remain in the state in which he was called (1 Corinthians 7:20). He who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him (1 John 4:16).

5. Now He shows what it means to abide in His love.

1. He shows that it means to keep His commandment.
2. He illustrates it with an example: as I also have kept my Father’s commandments.
3. He eliminates an assumption: these things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you.

6. He says, abide in my love, and you will do this if you keep my commandments, for this is the way you will abide in My love.

Keeping the commandments is an effect of divine love—not only of the love by which we love, but also of the love by which God loves us. For from the fact that God loves us, He influences us and helps us to fulfill His commandments, which we cannot do without grace: in this is love, not that we love God but that he loved us first (1 John 4:10).

7. He adds an example when He says, as I also have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. For just as the love which the Father has for Him is the model or standard of Christ’s love for us, so Christ wants His obedience to be the model of our obedience. By saying this, Christ shows that He abided in the Father’s love because in all things He kept the Father’s commandments. For He submitted to death: he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8); and refrained from all sin: he committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips (1 Peter 2:22). These things are to be understood of Christ in His human nature: he has not left me alone, for I always do the things that please him (John 8:29). And so He says, I...abide in his love, because there is nothing in me, as a human being, opposed to His love.

8. Now, so that they do not think He is urging them to keep His commandments for His own benefit and not for theirs, He says, these things I have spoken to you—that you keep My commandments for your own good—so that my joy may be in you. Love is the cause of joy, for everyone rejoices in what he loves. But God loves Himself and creatures, especially rational creatures, to whom He grants an infinite good. So Christ rejoices in two things from all eternity:

1. In His own good and that of the Father: I was delighted every day, playing before him (Proverbs 8:30).
2. He delights in the good of the rational creature: delighting in the sons of men (Proverbs 8:31), that is, in the fact that I am shared in by the children of men.

He rejoices in these things from eternity: as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so will your God rejoice over you (Isaiah 62:5).

Consequently, our Lord wants us to become sharers of His joy by observing His commandments. He says, that my joy—the joy I take in My divinity and that of My Father—may be in you. This is nothing other than eternal life, which, as Augustine says, is joy in the truth.Tractates on the Gospel of John 83.1.

That my joy may be in you means, in effect, that you may have eternal life: then you will delight yourself in the Almighty (Job 22:26). And He says, that your joy may be full, referring to the joy I take in My own humanity.

The goods in which we rejoice are either imperfect or imperfectly possessed, and so in this life our joy cannot be full. But it will be full when we perfectly possess perfect goods: enter into the joy of your Master (Matthew 25:21).

9. Now our Lord states what His precepts are:

1. He states His commandment.
2. He presents an example: as I have loved you.
3. He recalls a benefit: you are my friends, if you do the things that I command you.

10. The commandment He gives is the commandment of charity, which He wants us to keep: this is my commandment, that you love one another.

Since there are many other commandments of the Lord in the sacred writings, why does He say that His commandment is only the practice of charity?

The answer, according to Gregory, is that charity is the root and end of all the virtues.Forty Gospel Homilies 27.1. It is the root, because it is from charity, firmly rooted in the human heart, that we are led to accomplish all the other commandments: he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law (Romans 13:8). Therefore, all the commandments are, in a way, directed to this: that we do good to our neighbor and not harm him, which is done best through charity. Charity is the end because all the commandments are directed to it and by it alone are given strength: the aim of our charge is love (1 Timothy 1:5). So He says, this is my commandment, that you love one another, since everything comes from charity as its source, and all things are directed to charity as their end. As Gregory puts it: just as many branches of a tree spring from one root, so the many virtues are produced from one root; and the branch of a good work has no life if it is not united to the root of charity.Forty Gospel Homilies 27.1.

11. Since we read in Matthew that the law and the prophets depend not only on love for God, but also on love for neighbor (Matthew 22:40), why does Christ mention here only love for neighbor?

The answer is that one is included in the other. A person who loves God must love his neighbor and the things that belong to God; and the person who loves his neighbor for the sake of God must love God. Now although the objects of these acts are different, the outcomes are the same.

There are two reasons why He mentions love of neighbor rather than the love of God. By doing this, He wants to teach and lead them to help their neighbor and to become strong enough to endure sufferings from those who will persecute them. To do both of these, charity for our neighbor is necessary.

12. Here He shows by an example how we should love our neighbor: as Christ loved us.

Christ loved us in the correct order and efficaciously. His love was orderly because He loved nothing in us except God and in relation to God: I am the mother of beautiful love , and efficacious because He loved us so much that He delivered Himself for us: Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:2). So we should love our neighbor in a holy way, for his good, and efficaciously, by showing our love through our actions: let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18).

13. Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Here He shows the efficacy of love, which is that one undergo death for his friends; this is a sign of the greatest love.

Yet one could object that it is a sign of greater love when someone lays down his life for his enemies, as Christ did: but God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

We should answer that Christ did not lay down His life for His enemies so that they would remain His enemies, but to make them His friends. Or, one could say, that He laid down His life for His friends—not in the sense that they were friends who loved Him, but rather were those whom He loved.

It is clear that the sign of the greatest love is to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. This is so because there are four lovable things to be put in order: God, our soul, our neighbor, and our body.

We should love God more than ourselves and our neighbor. For God's sake, we ought to give our very selves—body and soul—and our neighbor. We should lay down our body for the sake of our soul. For our neighbor, we should expose our body and our physical life for his salvation.

Consequently, since our physical life is the best thing we have after our soul, exposing it for our neighbor's sake is the greatest thing we can do and a sign of the greatest love: in this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him (1 John 4:9).

1. Previously, our Lord urged us to love our neighbor based on His example. Here, Christ shows His disciples the benefit conferred on them, which obligates them to imitate Him: namely, that He has embraced them in His love.

First, He mentions a sign of friendship; second, the cause of this friendship: you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.

He gives two signs of friendship:

• One is found in the disciples.
• The other is in Himself: I will not now call you servants.

2. The sign that the disciples are friends of Christ is that they keep His commandments. He says, you are my friends, if you do the things that I command you. He is saying, in effect: until now I have urged you to love one another, but now I am speaking and teaching you about your friendship with Me.

The statement, you are my friends, can be understood in two ways, based on the two ways someone is called a friend. A person is called a friend either because he loves or because he is loved. What follows, if you do the things that I command you, is true for both meanings of "friend." Those who love God keep His commandments. Because a friend is, as Gregory says, in a way the guardian of the other’s soul, it is appropriate that one who guards or keeps the will of God in His commandments is called the friend of God. Again, those whom God loves keep His commandments, because by conferring His grace on them He helps them to keep them. For by loving us, God makes us love Him: I love those who love me (Proverbs 8:17). They did not first love God; rather, God makes them lovers by loving them.

3. Note that keeping the commandments is not the cause of divine friendship but its sign—a sign both that God loves us and that we love God: love of her is the keeping of her laws ; he who says he loves him and does not keep his commandments is a liar (1 John 2:4).

4. The sign of Christ’s friendship for them is mentioned when He says, I will not now call you servants.

1. First, He excludes what seems opposed to friendship.
2. Second, He mentions the sign of true friendship: but I have called you friends.

5. Servitude is opposed to friendship, and He rejects this by saying, I will not now call you servants. This is like saying: although you were formerly servants under the law, now you are free under grace, for you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear; but you have received the spirit of adoption (Romans 8:15).

Second, He adds the reason for this when He says, for the servant does not know what his lord does. A servant is like a stranger to his master, for the servant does not abide in the house forever (John 8:35). Secrets should not be told to strangers: do not tell a secret to a stranger (Proverbs 25:9). And so secrets should not be given to those who are servants in this sense.

We can thus connect this to the preceding point. The disciples could have said, "If we keep your precepts, we are your friends, but keeping precepts seems more like the task of a servant than a friend." Therefore, to exclude this idea, the Lord says, I will not now call you servants.

6. A question arises here. How can the Lord say, I will not now call you servants, when the apostles call themselves servants of Christ, as in, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:1)? David also says, I am your servant (Psalms 119:125), and the one welcomed into eternal life is called a good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23).

A further question arises because masters frequently reveal secrets to their servants, as God does: for the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets (Amos 3:7). Therefore, it does not seem to be true when Christ says, for the servant does not know what his lord does.

I respond, with Augustine, that the servitude Christ speaks of is born of fear. There are two kinds of fear: servile fear, which love casts out (as 1 John 4:18 says, fear is not in charity), and filial fear, which is generated by love, because one fears losing the one he loves. This fear is good and pious, as it is said, the fear of the Lord is holy, enduring for ever (Psalms 19:9). Correspondingly, there are two kinds of servitude. One proceeds from filial fear, and in this sense, all the just are servants and sons of God. The other servitude proceeds from the fear of punishment and is contrary to love. It is concerning this latter type that He says, I will not now call you servants.

It should be understood that a servant, properly speaking, is one who is not his own cause, while a free person is the cause of himself. There is a difference between the actions of servants and free men. The servant acts for the sake of another, whereas the free man acts as his own cause—both as the final cause of the work and as the moving cause. For the free man acts on account of himself, as an end, and acts by himself, because he is moved by his own will to work. But the servant does not act on account of himself, but on account of his master; nor from himself, but rather by his master’s will, as if in cooperation.

However, it sometimes happens that a servant acts for the sake of another (as the final cause), yet still acts by himself, insofar as he moves himself to work. This is good servitude, because it is moved by charity to perform good works, but not for its own sake, because charity does not seek its own interests, but those of Jesus Christ and the salvation of one's neighbors. Those, however, who act entirely on account of another are bad servants. It is clear, therefore, that the disciples were serving, but in a good servitude, which proceeds from love.

As for the second difficulty, we should say that a servant who is moved only by another and not by himself is related to the one who moves him as a tool is to a worker. A tool shares in the work but not in the reason for the work. Such servants, therefore, share only in the work. But when a servant acts by his own will, it is necessary for him to know the reason for the work and have secrets revealed to him so he can know what he is doing, as it is written, If you have a servant, regard him as your own soul . The apostles, as was said, were moved by themselves—that is, by their own will, inclined by love—to accomplish good works. And so our Lord revealed His secrets to them. But bad servants do not know what their master is doing. What do they not know? Strictly speaking, they do not know what God does in us. For God acts in us in all the good we do: O Lord . . . you have worked for us all our works (Isaiah 26:12); For it is God who works in you, both to will and to accomplish (Philippians 2:13). So the bad servant, darkened by the pride in his own heart, does not know what his lord does when he attributes to himself what he does.

7. Now He states the true sign of friendship on His own part, which is that all I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you. For the true sign of friendship is that a friend reveals the secrets of his heart to his friend. Since friends have one mind and one heart, it does not seem that what one friend reveals to another is placed outside his own heart: argue your case with your neighbor (Proverbs 25:9). Now God reveals His secrets to us by letting us share in His wisdom: in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God and prophets .

8. A question arises here as to what and in what way the Son hears from the Father. The answer has already been indicated in many ways. Since to hear is to receive knowledge from another, for the Son to hear from the Father is nothing other than for the Son to receive knowledge from the Father. Now, the knowledge of the Son is His own essence. Thus, for the Son to hear from the Father is for the Son to receive His essence from the Father.

9. Another question concerns the statement, all I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you. If He made all things known to them, it would follow that the disciples knew as much as the Son.

According to Chrysostom, the answer is that all I have heard means all that He heard which they ought to hear. He has made that known to them, but not absolutely all things, for He says later, I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now (John 16:12).

Alternatively, according to Augustine, what He would say to them was so certain that He used the past tense for the future. The meaning then becomes: all I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you—that is, I will make it known with that fullness of which the Apostle speaks: then I will understand fully, even as I have been fully understood (1 Corinthians 13:12). And as we read later, the hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in proverbs but will tell you plainly about the Father (John 16:25). This refers to when He leads us to the vision of the Father. For the Father knows all things the Son knows. So when the Son reveals the Father to us, He will reveal all that He Himself knows and which we are capable of knowing.

Again, one could say with Gregory—and this is the better explanation—that the same thing can be known perfectly or imperfectly. In the sciences, for example, a person who knows all the principles of a science is said to know that science, although imperfectly. Thus, a person who teaches some principles of a science can say that he teaches that science, because everything belonging to it is virtually contained in its principles. But one will know that same science more perfectly when he knows the individual conclusions that are virtually contained in the principles.

In the same way, we can have a twofold knowledge of divine matters. One is imperfect and is gained by faith, which is a foretaste of the future happiness and knowledge we will have in heaven: faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the assurance of things unseen (Hebrews 11:1). It is of this knowledge that He says, all . . . I have made known to you—that is, in faith, by a kind of foretaste, just as conclusions are virtually contained in their principles. So Gregory says: "All the things He has made known to His servants are the joys of interior love and the feasts of our heavenly fatherland, which He excites in our minds every day by the breath of His love. For as long as we love the sublime heavenly things we have heard, we already know what we love, because the love itself is knowledge."

10. Now the author mentions the cause of this friendship. It is common for each of us to claim to be the cause of a friendship: every friend will say, "I started the friendship" . In the same way, many people attribute the cause of God’s friendship to themselves when they credit themselves, and not God, with the source of their good actions. Our Lord rejects this by saying, you have not chosen me. He is saying, in effect: whoever has been called to this sublime friendship should not attribute its cause to himself, but to Me, who chose him as a friend.

1. First, He mentions the gratuitous choice of God.
2. Second, He sets forth what they have been chosen for: that you should go and should bear fruit.

11. He says, you have not chosen me—you did not choose Me to be your friend—but I have chosen you to make you My friends: not that we loved God, but that he loved us first (1 John 4:10). Now, God’s love is twofold. One is eternal, by which we are predestined: he chose us in him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). The other is temporal, by which we are called by Him; this is simply the carrying out of eternal predestination. This is because those He chose by predestining them, He also chose by calling them: those whom he predestined he also called (Romans 8:30); he chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles (Luke 6:13).

12. Some say that God’s temporal choice is caused by the merits of those who are chosen. This conflicts with what is said here. For if God chose you because you were good, you were still not able to be good unless you chose the good, and this good is especially God. Therefore, you would have first chosen the good, which is God, before you were chosen. But our Lord says the contrary: you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. Thus, we should not say that our own goodness entirely precedes God’s choice. I say "entirely" because we might have some particular good that could be the cause of another good being given to us, and this good could be the cause of being given still another good, since there is a certain order in God’s gifts. But in general, nothing of our own can be the cause of and precede the divine choice, because all our goods are from God.

13. It would be an even greater error to say that our eternal election was preceded by our own choice. Yet some have said that our preceding merits are the cause of that election. This was Origen’s error. He said that human souls were created equal at the same time and that while some stood firm, others sinned, more or less seriously. Thus, some merited to receive grace, and others did not. Our Lord’s saying, you have not chosen me, is opposed to this.

14. Others say that while our actually existing merits are not the cause of our predestination, our merits as they preexist in the foreknowledge of God are. They say that because God knew that certain persons would be good and make good use of grace, He decided to give them grace. But if this were so, it would follow that the reason He chose us was because He foreknew we would choose Him. And so our choice would be prior to the divine choice, which is contrary to our Lord’s statement.

15. Perhaps someone might ask: "What choice could there be, since we were nothing and there was no rank among us?"

But one who says this is misled by thinking that the divine choice is like human choice. They are not the same. Our choice is caused by some already existing good, while God’s choice is the cause of an influx of good, greater in one person than in another. Since choice is an act of the will, the character of God's choice and human choice will be different, according to how the will of God and the human will are differently related to the good. God’s will is related to a created good as its cause: how would anything have endured if you had not willed it? . And so, goodness is dispensed to created things from the will of God. Accordingly, God prefers one person to another insofar as He confers more good on that one than on another. But the human will is moved to something by a preexisting good that has become known. Therefore, in our choices, it is necessary that one good exist before another.

The reason God confers more good on one than on another is so that there might be a splendor of order in things. This is clear in material things, where prime matter of itself is uniformly disposed to all forms. Also, before things themselves exist, they are not disposed to this or that existence; rather, they receive different forms and existences from God so that an order can be established among them. It is the same among rational creatures, where some are chosen for glory and some are rejected for punishment: The Lord knows who are his... In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and earthenware, and some for noble use, some for ignoble (2 Timothy 2:19–20). And so we see a diversified order: the mercy of God shines forth in those whom, without any previous merits, He prepares for grace; in others, we see the justice of God when, because of their own guilt, He allots them punishment, yet less than is deserved. So, "I have chosen you" means by predestining you from all eternity and by calling you to the faith during your lifetime.

16. Then He points out for what He has chosen them when He says, I have appointed you, that you should go, and should bear fruit.

First, He states for what He chose them; second, He gives a reason for this: these things I command you, that you love one another.

In regard to the first point, He does two things:

1. He shows that He chose them to do something.
2. He shows that He chose them to receive something: that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

17. He says, I . . . appointed you, that is, I gave you a definite rank in My Church: and God has appointed in the Church, first apostles, second prophets (1 Corinthians 12:28). Again, I . . . appointed you means I firmly set you, just as God made the two great lights . . . and God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth (Genesis 1:16–17). As it is also written, The stars remaining in their order and courses fought against Sisera (Judges 5:20). For this position brings about order and strength.

18. I . . . appointed you, I say, for three things. First, to go. He says, that you should go, traveling over the whole world to convert it to the faith: go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15). Or, that you should go means to progress from virtue to virtue: they go from virtue to virtue; the God of gods will be seen in Zion (Psalms 84:7); his shoots will spread out (Hosea 14:6).

Second, He appointed them to bear fruit, so He says, and should bear fruit. This fruit is the fruit of conversion to the faith, as in Paul’s first journey: in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the gentiles (Romans 1:13). Or it is an interior and spiritual fruit, as in his second journey: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace (Galatians 5:22); my blossoms became glorious and abundant fruit .

Third, they were appointed to bear fruit that would not be destroyed by death or sin, so He says, and that your fruit should abide. This means that the community of the faithful would be led into eternal life and their spiritual fruit would flourish: he . . . gathers fruit for life everlasting (John 4:36).

19. That whatever you will ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. Here He shows that He chose them to receive something: namely, whatever they ask for. He is saying: "I have appointed you to be worthy to receive from the Father in My name," for if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask (1 John 3:21–22).

20. These things I command you, that you love one another. Here He gives the reason for what He has said.

Someone might ask why Christ told them all these things. Our Lord answers: these things I command you, that you love one another. He is saying, in effect, that everything He said was to lead them to love their neighbor: the aim of our charge is love (1 Timothy 1:5).

One could also say, with Chrysostom, that the apostles might have asked, "Lord, why are you reminding us so much about Your love? Are you rebuking us?" But our Lord answers: "Not at all. I am doing this to encourage you to love your neighbor," for this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also (1 John 4:21).

1. After presenting the image of the vine and the branches and explaining how the branches are united to the vine, our Lord now explains the pruning or cleansing the disciples will receive from their trials. He consoles them against the tribulations they were going to endure.

He does this in three parts:

1. First, he mentions a few considerations that will console them.
2. Second, he explains these, beginning with, remember my word that I spoke to you.
3. Third, he rejects the excuses of those who will persecute them: if I had not come, and spoken to them, they would not have sin (John 15:22).

He mentions two reasons why they should be consoled:

• The first uses himself as an example.
• The second is based on the reason for their being hated: because you are not of the world.

2. Our Lord consoles them by using himself as an example of one who has suffered persecution from oppressors, saying, if the world hates you, know that it hated me before you. Note that just as the source of all benefits is love, so the source of all persecutions is hatred. And so our Lord foretells that they will be hated: you will be hated by all nations (Matthew 24:9); blessed are you when men hate you (Luke 6:22).

He says, if the world hates you—that is, it will come to pass that the world will hate you and show its hatred by persecuting you—know that it hated me before you. As he said previously, the world cannot hate you, but it hates me (John 7:7). This thought is a great consolation for the just, enabling them to courageously endure persecutions: consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted (Hebrews 12:3); Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps (1 Peter 2:21).

According to Augustine, the members should not consider themselves greater than the Head, nor refuse to be part of his body by being unwilling to endure with their Head the hatred of the world.

3. The world can have two meanings. First, it can have a good meaning, for those who lead a good life in the world: God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). Second, it can have an evil sense, meaning those who love the world: the whole world is in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19). And so the whole world hates the whole world, because those who love the world—and they are spread throughout the whole world—hate the whole world, that is, the Church of the good, which has been established throughout the whole world.

4. If you had been of the world. Now he mentions a second point for their consolation, which is based on the reason for their being hated. When a person endures another’s hatred because of his own sins, there is reason for regret and sorrow; but when he is hated because of his virtue, he should rejoice.

First, our Lord gives the reason why some are loved by the world. Second, he gives the reason why the apostles are hated by the world: because you are not of the world . . . therefore the world hates you.

5. The reason some are loved by the world is that they are like the world: if you had been of the world, the world would love its own. Like loves like: every creature loves its like . And thus the world—that is, those who love the world—loves those who love the world. Accordingly, our Lord says, if you had been of the world, that is, followers of the world, the world would love its own, because you would be its own and like it: the world cannot hate you, but it hates me (John 7:7). They are of the world, therefore what they say is of the world, and the world listens to them (1 John 4:5).

6. One might object that our Lord meant by “the world” the authorities of the world, who would persecute the apostles. Yet these same authorities persecute other worldly people, like murderers and thieves. Therefore, the world does not love its own any more than it loves the apostles.

I reply that it is possible to find something purely good, but not something purely evil, since the subject of evil is something good. Consequently, the evil of guilt is located in some good of nature. Therefore, no person can be a sinner and evil without having some good. So it is because of the evil of these authorities—the evil of their unbelief—that they belong to the world and hate the apostles and those who are not of the world. But because of the good they possess, they are not of the world and hate those who are of the world, such as thieves and robbers.

7. But now a greater difficulty seems to arise. Every sin pertains to the world, and so a person is “of the world” by reason of any sin. Yet we observe that people who commit the same sin hate each other. For example, the proud: among the proud there is always strife (Proverbs 13:10). One greedy person hates another who is also greedy. As the Philosopher says, “potters quarrel with one another.” Thus, the world hates the world, and what our Lord says here—the world would love its own—does not seem to be true.

I reply that there are two kinds of love: the love of friendship and the love of concupiscence. These are quite different. With the love of concupiscence, we draw external things or people to ourselves, loving them insofar as they are useful or pleasurable to us. In the love of friendship, however, the opposite occurs: we draw ourselves to what is external, treating those we love as we treat ourselves and sharing ourselves with them in some way.

Therefore, likeness is a cause of love when we are speaking of the love of friendship, for we do not love a person in this way unless we are one with them, and likeness is a certain way of being one. But with the love of concupiscence—whether for what is useful or what gives pleasure—likeness is a cause of division and hatred. Since with this love I love a person or thing insofar as it is useful or pleasurable to me, I hate whatever hinders that usefulness or pleasure as something opposed to me. This is why the proud feud among themselves, for one takes for himself the glory that another loves and takes pleasure in. Likewise, potters quarrel because one takes for himself a profit that another wants.

Notice that the love of concupiscence is not a love for the thing desired but a love for the person desiring. In this kind of love, one loves another because the other is useful, as was said. Therefore, one is loving himself rather than the other. For example, a person who loves wine because it gives him pleasure loves himself rather than the wine. The love of friendship, however, is concerned more with the one loved than with the one loving, because here one loves another for the sake of the one loved, not for the sake of the one loving.

Because likeness is a cause of love in friendship, and unlikeness a cause of hatred, the world hates what is not its own and is unlike it. But it loves what is its own with the love of friendship. The reverse is true with the love of concupiscence. Thus, our Lord says, if you had been of the world, the world would love its own—that is, with the love of friendship.

8. Now he gives the reason why the world hates the apostles: because they are unlike the world. He says, because you are not of the world—because your spirit has been lifted above it, although you are of the world by your origin: you are from below, I am from above (John 8:23). You are lifted above it not by yourselves but by my grace, because I have chosen you out of the world. Therefore, because you are not of the world, the world hates you. That is, those who love the world and who are unlike you, hate you: an unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, but he whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked (Proverbs 29:27); and in the same chapter, bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless (Proverbs 29:10).

9. Three reasons can be given why the world hates those who are holy.

1. There is a difference of condition: the world is in a state of death, but those who are holy are in a state of life. Do not wonder, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren (1 John 3:13). And so we read: the very sight of him is a burden to us .
2. The world does not like to be corrected, for the words and actions of the holy are a rebuke to the conduct of the world. Consequently, the world hates them: they hate him who reproves in the gate (Amos 5:10); but it [the world] hates me, because I give testimony against it, that its works are evil (John 7:7).
3. The third reason is evil envy, for the evil envy the good when they see them grow and increase in goodness and holiness, just as the Egyptians hated and persecuted the children of Israel when they saw them increasing (Exodus 1:9). We also see that Joseph’s brothers hated him when they saw that he was loved more than they (Genesis 37:4).

10. Now he expands on the reasons just given for their consolation:

• The first reason, using himself as an example.
• The second reason, relating to why they are hated: but all these things they will do to you for my name’s sake.

Regarding the first reason, he does two things:

• First, he reminds them that he and they are different in status.
• Second, he shows they are alike in what will be done to them: if they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

11. Their different statuses were that Christ was the Lord and the apostles were servants: the servant is not greater than his master (John 13:16). He reminds them of this difference when he says, remember my word that I spoke to you, namely, as said above, the servant is not greater than his master (John 13:16). Therefore, it is not inappropriate for you to undergo the same sufferings as your Lord; rather, you should regard this as a great glory. Thus Christ said to the disciples who were asking to sit on his right and left, are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink? (Matthew 20:22). It is a great honor to follow God ; it is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher (Matthew 10:25).

12. On the contrary, he said above, I will not now call you servants (John 15:15), while he says here, the servant is not greater than his master (John 13:16).

I answer that there are two kinds of servitude. One comes from a slavish fear, that is, from a fear of punishment; the apostles were not servants in this way. The other comes from a chaste fear, and such servitude was in the apostles: blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes (Luke 12:37).

13. If then you are my servants and I am your Lord, you should be content to have happen to you what happens to me. Now, some have despised me, while others have accepted me: he came to his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, he gave them power to become the sons of God (John 1:11–12). You will be treated the same way: if some despise you, yet others will honor you.

For this reason he says, if they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. Here we see how the saints are like Christ, for the disciples were persecuted for the same reason that Christ was: because Christ was being persecuted in the disciples. In fact, Christ said that he was being persecuted in the persecution of his disciples: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? (Acts 9:4). And so because their reason for acting is the same in both cases, the consequence follows: if they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household (Matthew 10:25); therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from town to town (Matthew 23:34).

Similarly, they will be honored for the same reason that Christ was: if they kept my word, they will keep yours also, because your words are my words: you desire proof that Christ is speaking in me (2 Corinthians 13:3); for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you (Matthew 10:20). And so Christ says, he who hears you hears me (Luke 10:16). The apostles were in truth accepted and honored by some of the people, as is clear from: when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

14. Now he expands on the second consideration that would console them, which is based on the reason for their being hated. The apostles were chosen and raised above the world insofar as they had been made sharers of divinity and joined to God. This is why the world hated them. From this it follows that the world hated God in them rather than them. The reason for this hatred was that the world lacked the true knowledge of God which comes from true faith and devoted love. If they did have this knowledge and recognized that the apostles were friends of God, they would not have persecuted them.

Thus he says, all these things they will do to you for my name’s sake. And so this should be your glory: let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a wrongdoer, or a mischief-maker; yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God (1 Peter 4:15–16). For my name’s sake—not because they love me, but because they hate me; just as, on the contrary, you will suffer on my account because you love me. They will do these things to you because they do not know him who sent me. As was said before, if you did know me, you would perhaps know my Father also (John 8:19). For they did not know that God would be pleased by their accepting Christ.

Note that he is speaking here of a perfect knowledge, which consists in a faith that perfects the intellect and joins the affections to God. We read of this kind of knowledge: let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me (Jeremiah 9:24); to know you is complete righteousness .

1. Previously, when our Lord said that the Jews would persecute His disciples, He gave the reason that they did not know the One who sent Him. Now, since ignorance usually excuses a person, He shows here that they are inexcusable. He does this in two ways:

   First, because of the things He personally did and taught them;

   Second, because of what will occur when He is no longer present: but when the Paraclete comes.

   In regard to the first, He does two things:

   First, He shows that they were without excuse because of the truth He taught;

   Second, because of the witness of the works He performed: if I had not done among them the works that no other man has done.

   Regarding the first of these, He does three things:

   First, He shows what could have excused them;

   Second, that they did not have this excuse: but now they have no excuse for their sin;

   Third, He shows the real source of their persecution: he who hates me, hates my Father also.

2. He had said, but all these things they will do to you for my name’s sake (John 15:21). Yet they might have had an excuse. If I had not come and spoken to them—that is, if I had not shown Myself personally and taught them personally—they would not have sin.

3. How does this reconcile with, all have sinned and need the grace of God (Romans 3:23)?

   We should say that our Lord is not speaking here of just any sin, but of the sin of disbelief, that is, that they did not believe in Christ. This is called here simply sin because it is a prime example of sin; as long as this sin lasts, no other sin can be remitted. For as we read in Romans, no sin is remitted except by faith in Jesus Christ, through whom we are justified (Romans 5:1).

   Consequently, they would not have sin means that they would not be charged with not believing in Him. This is primarily because faith comes from what is heard (Romans 10:17). So, if Christ had not come and had not spoken to them, they could not have believed. And no one is charged with a sin for not doing what he cannot do at all.

4. Yet some could say that they were bound to believe and could have believed even if Christ had not come, since He had been foretold to them by the prophets: which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, the Gospel concerning his Son (Romans 1:2). I answer that of themselves the Jews could not believe and understand the words of the prophets unless they were shown by divine help: the words are shut up and sealed until the appointed time (Daniel 12:9). Thus the eunuch said, How can I understand, unless someone guides me? (Acts 8:31).

   Therefore, if Christ had not come, they would not have this sin—the sin of disbelief—although they would have had other actual sins for which they would have been punished. A similar reasoning holds for all those whom the preaching of God’s word could not reach. For this reason, they cannot be charged with the sin of disbelief for their condemnation; but deprived of God’s favors because of their other actual sins and original sin, they will be condemned.

5. Note that Christ’s coming and teaching resulted in good for many, that is, for those who accepted Him and kept His word. For many, however, it turned out badly, that is, for those who decided neither to listen to Him nor believe Him. He will become... a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Isaiah 8:14); this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel (Luke 2:34).

6. He has just stated what could have excused them from unbelief. But they do not have this excuse, because Christ showed Himself to them in person and taught them. Thus He says, but now, since I have come and spoken to them, they have no excuse—that of ignorance—for their sin. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God (Romans 1:20). But they did know Christ, as is clear from, This is the heir; come, let us kill him (Matthew 21:38). However, they knew that He was the Christ promised in the Law, but they did not know that He was God, because if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8). And so their ignorance is no excuse, because they did not do this from ignorance but from another root: from hatred and a certain malice.

7. This is why He adds, he who hates me hates my Father also. This is like saying, “Their sin is not ignorance of Me, but hatred for Me, and this involves hatred for the Father.”

   Since the Son and the Father are one in essence, truth, and goodness, and since all knowledge of anyone is through the truth which is in him, whoever loves the Son loves the Father also. Whoever knows the one knows the other also, and whoever hates the Son hates the Father also.

8. Two problems arise here. First, can anyone hate God?

   We should say that no one can hate God as God. Since God is the pure essence of goodness, and since this is lovable in itself, it is impossible that God be hated in Himself. This is the reason why it is impossible for an evil person to see God. For it is impossible for God to be seen without being loved, and one who loves God is good. Therefore, these two things are incompatible: to see God and to be evil.

   Yet one can hate God from a particular point of view. For example, someone who loves lustful pleasures hates God as forbidding the enjoyment of lust, and someone who wants to be free from all punishment hates the justice of God when it punishes.

9. The second problem arises because no one can hate what he does not know. But the Jews did not know the Father: they know not him who sent me (John 15:21). Therefore, it does not seem true that, as was said, he who hates me, hates my Father also.

   We can say, according to Augustine, that a person can love or hate something that was never seen or truly known. This can happen in two ways. In one way, I can hate or love a person according to how I know him, or according to what I am told about him. For example, if I hear that someone is a thief, I hate him—not because I know or hate this very person, but because in general I hate all thieves. So, if he were a thief and I did not know it, I would hate him without realizing that I hated him. Now the Jews hated Christ and the truth that He preached. Since the very truth that Christ preached and the works He performed were in the will of God the Father, then just as they hated Christ, so also they hated the Father, even though they did not know that these things were in the will of the Father.

10. Now He shows they are without excuse because of the witness of His signs. They could say that they were not convinced by the words He spoke in opposition to them. So He corroborates His words with marvelous actions, saying, if I had not done among them the works that no other man has done, they would not have sin.

    First, He shows that they could be somewhat excused;

    Second, He reveals the root of their sin;

    Third, He cites an authority.

    He does the second at, but now they have both seen and hated me and my Father; and the third at, that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their law.

11. There are two questions about the first point. One is about the truth of the antecedent statement, if I had not done among them the works that no other man has done. Did Christ perform certain good works among them that no one else had done? It seems not. If we say that Christ raised the dead, Elijah and Elisha also did this. If Christ walked on the water, Moses parted the waters. Again, Joshua did something greater, for he made the sun stand still. So it seems that Christ should not use this as an argument, and thus the conclusion is not true.

    I answer that we can say, according to Augustine, that our Lord is not speaking of the miracles He worked among them—that is, merely in their sight—but of those He worked on their very persons. In curing the sick, although others did it, no one did so as much as Christ, because no other was made God, and no one but Christ was born of a virgin.

    So in healing the sick, He performed among them works which no one else performed, and this in three ways. First, because His works were so great: for He raised a person who had been dead for four days; He gave sight to a man who was born blind, which had never been heard of before, as we read above (John 9:32). Second, because of the great number of His works, for He healed all who were sick (Matthew 14:35), and no one else did this. Third, because of the way He did these works: others did these things by praying for help, which showed that they were not doing this by their own power. But Christ did it by command, for He did it by His own power: What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him (Mark 1:27).

    Therefore, although others have raised the dead and have accomplished other miracles which Christ did, they did not do it in the same manner as Christ, nor by their own power, as Christ did.

    Furthermore, making the sun stand still is less than what the dying Christ did, when He made the sun darken and changed the whole course of the heavens, as Dionysius says.

12. The second question is about the truth of the conditional statement, that if Christ had not done among them works which no one else did, the Jews would not have the sin of disbelief.

    My reply is that if we speak of any of the miracles indiscriminately, the Jews would have been excusable if they had not been done among them by Christ. For no one can come to Christ by faith unless he is drawn: no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him (John 6:44). So the spouse says, draw me after you, we will run to the odor of your ointments (Song of Solomon 1:3). Therefore, if there were no one who had drawn them to the faith, they would have an excuse for their disbelief.

    Note that Christ drew by words and by signs, both visible and invisible—that is, by inciting and stirring hearts from within: the king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD (Proverbs 21:1). And so an inner impulse to act well is the work of God, and those who resist it sin. If not, Stephen would have no reason to say, You always resist the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51); The LORD has opened my ear—that is, the ear of my heart—and I was not rebellious (Isaiah 50:5). When our Lord said, if I had not done among them the works that no other man has done, we have to understand this as referring not only to visible works but also to the interior impulses and attractions to His teaching. If these had not been done among them, they would not have sin.

    It is now clear how they could have been excused: that is, if He had not accomplished miraculous works among them.

13. Now He shows the root of their sin of disbelief—namely, their hatred—because of which they did not believe the works they saw. He says, but now they have both seen—the works He did among them—and hated both me and my Father. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD (Proverbs 1:29). As Gregory says, There are some in the Church who not only do not do good works, but they even persecute those who do, so that what they fail to do they detest in others. Thus their sin is not one of weakness or ignorance, but is committed of set purpose.

14. Yet some could say: if it is true that the Jews hated You and Your Father, why did You perform miracles among them? He answers and says, but that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their law.

    Here we could ask why He says that this was written in their law when it was written in the Psalms.

    We can say to this that the ‘Law’ is understood in three ways in Scripture. Sometimes it is taken for the entire Old Testament, and this is how it is understood here, because the entire teaching of the Old Testament is directed to the observance of the Law: Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom (Luke 23:42). Sometimes it is taken as distinguished from the histories and the prophets: that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled (Luke 24:44), in which are included the histories. And sometimes the Law is taken as distinct only from the prophets, and then the histories are included in the prophets.

    He says, that... may be fulfilled which is written in their law, that is, They hated me without a cause (Psalms 35:19). Their hatred was not to gain some benefit or avoid some trouble, for it is for reasons like these that a person might hate something—but such reasons were not found in Christ. Indeed, Christ gave them opportunities to love Him when He healed and taught them: he went about doing good (Acts 10:38); Is evil a recompense for good? They have dug a pit for my life (Jeremiah 18:20); What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me? (Jeremiah 2:5).

15. Now He shows that they are inexcusable because of what would happen after He was gone, for they would have other testimonies: namely, those of the Holy Spirit and of the apostles.

    First, He states what was to come from the Holy Spirit;

    Second, from the apostles: and you will give testimony because you have been with me from the beginning.

    He indicates four things about the Spirit:

    First, His freedom,

    Second, His tenderness,

    Third, His procession,

    and, fourth, His activity.

16. He indicates His freedom, or power, when He says, but when the Paraclete comes. Strictly speaking, a person is said to ‘come’ who comes willingly and on his own authority. This is true of the Holy Spirit, because the wind blows where it wills (John 3:8), and, I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me . Therefore, in saying, whom I will send, He does not suggest force but origin.

17. He touches on His tenderness when He says, the Paraclete, that is, the Comforter. Since the Paraclete is the love of God, He makes us scorn earthly things and cling to God. Thus He takes away our pain and sadness and gives us joy in divine things: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace (Galatians 5:22); and the church... was filled with the comfort of the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31).

18. Third, He touches on the twofold procession of the Holy Spirit. First, He mentions the temporal procession when He says, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father.

    Note that the Holy Spirit is said to be sent not because the Spirit is changing place, since the Spirit fills the entire universe . Rather, it is because by grace the Holy Spirit begins to dwell in a new way in those He makes a temple of God: Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16). There is no disagreement in saying that the Holy Spirit is sent and that He comes. In saying that the Spirit ‘comes,’ the grandeur of His divinity is indicated: the Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills (1 Corinthians 12:11). And He is said to be ‘sent’ to indicate His procession from another. For the fact that He sanctifies the rational creature by indwelling is something He has from that other, from whom He has His very being, just as the Son has from another whatever He does.

    The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son together. This is indicated in he showed me the river of the water of life—that is, the Holy Spirit—flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb—that is, of Christ (Revelation 22:1). Therefore, when speaking of the sending of the Holy Spirit, He mentions the Father and the Son, who send the Spirit by the same and equal power. Thus sometimes He mentions the Father as sending the Spirit, but not without the Son: the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name (John 14:26). At other times He says that He Himself sends the Holy Spirit, but not without the Father, as here: whom I will send to you from the Father, because whatever the Son does He has from the Father: the Son can do nothing of himself (John 5:19).

19. He mentions the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit when He shows in a similar way that the Spirit is related both to the Father and the Son. He shows the Spirit as related to the Son when He says, the Spirit of truth, for the Son is the Truth: I am the way, and the truth, and the life (John 14:6). He shows the Spirit as related to the Father when He says, who proceeds from the Father. So to say that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth is the same as saying the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Son: God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts (Galatians 4:6). And because the word ‘spirit’ suggests a kind of impulse, and every motion produces an effect in harmony with its source (as heating makes something hot), it follows that the Holy Spirit makes those to whom He is sent like the One whose Spirit He is. And since He is the Spirit of truth, he will teach you all truth (John 16:13); the inspiration of the Almighty gives understanding (Job 32:8). In the same way, because He is the Spirit of the Son, He produces sons: you have received the spirit of sonship (Romans 8:15).

    He says the Spirit of truth as contrasted with the spirit of lying: the LORD has mingled within her a spirit of error (Isaiah 19:14); I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets (1 Kings 22:22).

20. Because He says, who proceeds from the Father, and does not add, “and from the Son,” the Greeks say that the Holy Spirit does not proceed from the Son but only from the Father. But this absolutely cannot be.

    For the Holy Spirit could not be distinguished from the Son unless He either proceeds from the Son, or, on the other hand, the Son proceeds from Him (and no one claims this). For one cannot say that among the divine persons—who are entirely immaterial and simple—there is a material distinction based on a division of quantity, which requires underlying matter. Thus, the distinction of the divine persons must be a formal distinction, which has to involve some kind of opposition. For if forms are not opposed, they are compatible with one another in the same subject and do not diversify a supposit (for example, being white and being large). Thus, among the divine persons, since the properties of not being begotten and of fatherhood are not opposed, they belong to one person. If, then, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons proceeding from the Father, they have to be distinguished by some properties that are opposed. These properties cannot be opposed as affirmation and negation or as privation and possession are opposed, because then the Son and the Holy Spirit would be related to one another as being and non-being, or as the complete to the deprived, and this is repugnant to their equality. Nor can these properties be opposed as contraries are, where one is more perfect than the other. What remains is that the Holy Spirit is distinguished from the Son only by a relative opposition.

    This kind of opposition rests solely on the fact that one of them is referred to the other. For the different relations of two things to some third thing are not directly opposed, except accidentally—that is, by some incidental consequence. So in order for the Holy Spirit to be distinguished from the Son, they must have relations that are opposed, by which they will be opposed to each other. No such relations can be found except relations of origin, insofar as one person is from the other. Thus it is impossible, granting the Trinity of persons, that the Holy Spirit not be from the Son.

21. Some say that the Holy Spirit and the Son are distinguished by the different ways they proceed, insofar as the Son is from the Father by being born and the Holy Spirit by proceeding.

    But the same problem returns which arose from the previous opinion, as to how these two processions differ. One cannot say that they are distinguished because of the diverse things received by their respective generations, just as the generation of a human being and a horse differ because of the different natures that are communicated. For the same nature is received by the Son by being born from the Father and by the Holy Spirit by proceeding. So we are left with the conclusion that they are distinguished only by the order of origin, that is to say, insofar as the birth of the Son is a principle of the procession of the Holy Spirit. And so, if the Holy Spirit were not from the Son, the Spirit would not be distinguished from the Son, and procession would not be distinguished from birth.

    Thus, even the Greeks admit some order between the Son and the Holy Spirit. For they say that the Holy Spirit is ‘of the Son,’ and that the Son acts ‘through the Holy Spirit,’ but not the other way around. And some even admit that the Holy Spirit is ‘from the Son,’ but they will not concede that the Holy Spirit ‘proceeds from’ the Son. Yet in this they are obviously imprudent. For we use the word ‘procession’ in all cases in which one thing is from another in any way. And so this word, because it is so general, has been adapted to indicate the Holy Spirit’s existence as being from the Son. We do not have any examples of this in creatures that would lead us to give it a specific name, whereas we do have examples that give us the special term ‘generation,’ which is applied to the Son. The reason for this is that in creatures we do not find a person proceeding from will, as love, while we do find a person proceeding from nature, as a son. Thus, however the Holy Spirit is ordered to the Son, it can be concluded that the Spirit proceeds from the Son.

22. Nevertheless, some of the Greeks assert that one should not say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son because for them the preposition ‘from’ indicates a principle which is not from a principle, and this is so only of the Father. This is not compelling, because the Son with the Father is one principle of the Holy Spirit, just as they are one principle of creatures. And although the Son has it from the Father that the Son is a principle of creatures, still creatures are said to be ‘from the Son’; and for the same reason it can be said that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son.

    Nor does it make any difference that we read here, who proceeds from the Father, instead of ‘from the Father and the Son,’ because in a similar way it is said, whom I will send, and yet the Father is also understood to send, since there is added, from the Father. In a similar way, because it says, the Spirit of truth—that is, the Spirit of the Son—we understand that the Spirit proceeds from the Son. For, as has been said, when the procession of the Holy Spirit is mentioned, the Son is always joined to the Father, and the Father to the Son; and so these different ways of expression indicate a distinction of persons.

23. Fourth, He mentions the activity of the Holy Spirit when He says, he will give testimony to me. This happens in three ways. First, the Spirit will teach the disciples and give them the confidence to bear witness: for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you (Matthew 10:20). Second, the Spirit will communicate His teaching to those who believe in Christ: God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 2:4). Third, the Spirit will soften the hearts of their hearers: when you send forth your Spirit, they are created (Psalms 104:30).

24. Finally, He mentions what lies ahead for the disciples when He says, and you will give testimony, inspired by the Holy Spirit: you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). We read of this twofold testimony in Acts: We are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him (Acts 5:32).

    He adds why this testimony is appropriate when He says, because you have been with me from the beginning—that is, the beginning of my preaching and working of miracles—and so you can testify to what you have seen and heard: that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you (1 John 1:3).

    We can see from this that Christ did not perform miracles in His youth, as some apocryphal gospels relate, but only from the time He called His disciples.