Worthy Of Glory

Quare habentes hanc administrationem, prout misericordiam consecuti sumus, non deficiamus... Tantam spem dicit habere, administrationis hujus, ut non deficiat in pressuris, confortatus fide promissionum. Unde superius dixit: Multa fidcucia utamur, fidentes enim in his, quae promissa sunt, quidquid adversum acciderit, tolerant. Quod non humanis meritis deputat, sed misericordiae Dei, quae hominem primo abluit, deinde justificat, adoptans Filium Deo; ut donet eum gloria simili gloriae Filii proprii Dei. Sed renuntiamus occultis dedecoris... Ut illius gloria dignus sit homo, omnia turpia et polluta, quae fieri et cogitari possunt, amovenda docet; ut non solum de opere, sed et de cogitatione pellantur. Invitantis verba sunt; sub sua enim et suorum persona ad meliorem vitam hortatur, propter supradicta vitia, quae in his saepe reprehendit. Possunt et haec occulta dedecoris esse, quae pravo sensu ad praedicandum meditantur ut fallant; unde subjecit: Non ambulantes in astutia, neque adulterantes verbum Dei... Ad dedecus enim et deformationem ejus proficit, qui subdola mente confingit doctrinam, ad decipiendum corda simplicium; turpis enim invenietur in die judicii Dei. Nam astutia malae mentis, ut id quod sibi libitum est, expleat, verba Dei adulterat, ut sensum invertat. Adulterare est autem verum sensum per falsum velle excludere. Sed in manifestatione veritatis commendantes nosmetipsos ad omnem conscientiam hominum coram Deo. Hoc dicit, quia in praedicatone evangelica nulli se fecit suspectum, addens amplius, cum dicit coram Deo; ut hoc ipsum non solum hominibus manifestum probet; sed etiam Deo, cui nihil occultum est. Testimonium ergo Dei implorat, ut vel sibi credatur, quia ita praedicat, sicut datum est ab Auctore: et Deus hoc modo testis est, dum dat signa et prodigia fieri per manus ejus. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Secundum, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 17.288d-289

Whence having this ministry by mercy, we do not lose heart.' 1 Such hope he says he has in his ministry that he does not wither under its burdens, but is fortified by trust in the promises. Whence above he said: 'We are very confident' 2 confident in those things which were promised, that whatever adversity befalls, he endures. Whence he reckons it not a matter of human merit, but of the mercy of God, that which first cleanses a man, then justifies, adopting him as a son of God, so that he might give him glory similar to the only Son of God. But let us renounce all shameful hidden things... That man be worthy of that glory, he teaches that all that is vile and unclean, which they can do and think, should be cast off, that such things be banished not only from the deed but from the mind. And with words of invitation he exhorts them in their person and ways to a better life, on account of the aforementioned vices, which he often reproves in them. And these shameful hidden things can be that which in a depraved mind mediates deception in preaching, whence it continues: Not walking in cleverness, nor adulterating the word of God... For to shame he advances with his deformity, who with a cunning mind fashions teaching in order to deceive the simple hearted. Indeed he will be found repulsive on the day of the judgement of God. For the cleverness of the wicked mind, which does what pleases itself, he explains, adulterates the words of God, so that the meaning is perverted. For to adulterate is to remove the true sense for the false. But in the manifestation of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of every man before God. He says this because in the preaching of the Gospel he has made himself suspect to none, further adding, when he says, 'before God' that this is not only proved openly before men, but even before God, to whom nothing is hidden. Therefore he implores the witness of God, that he be trusted, because he preaches that which was given to him by God, and God is in this way his witness, when he gives signs and makes wonders by his own hands. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Second Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 4 1 2 Cor 4.1 2 2 Cor 3.12