Severian of Gabala
Eastern & Byzantine Theology · 425
138 passages of commentary across 13 books.
Books commented on
A few passages
There is a difference between ancient and recent prophets, as follows. The ancients prophesied about the redemption of Israel, the calling of the Gentiles and the incarnation of Christ, whereas recent prophets prophesy about particular things or people, as Peter prophesied about Ananias, for example..
Tilling the earth, keeping the commandments of God and fidelity to those commandments was the "labor" of God.… Just as believing in Christ is a "work," so also was Adam's faithful keeping of God's command. If he touched the tree, he would die, but if he did not, he would live. "Work" was keeping the spiritual words.… The text says "work" and "protect it."…
Through the phrase "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve" he shows that the Son is not a servant, but a fellow worker with God.
For just as in the matter of "radiance" and "exact image of his nature" he imitated John, calling him "the Word" and saying that he was God, so also here he imitated John. Just as John said, "This one was in the beginning, all things were created through him," so also does Paul, although he says, "these things were not" instead of saying, "This one was."…
Paul shows that nature has failed the Gentiles and that both nature and the law have failed the Jews, before going on to mention the grace of the gospel and saying: "What do we have by grace which is special and superior? Faith, made effective by the righteousness of Christ." … Paul does not say that all have broken the law but that all have sinned in a…
Paul says that the righteous will inherit the world because the ungodly will be thrown out and handed over to punishment on the day of judgment, but the righteous will possess the universe which remains, and will have been renewed, and the good things of heaven and earth will be theirs.
The context shows that there is one person who intercedes and another who receives the plea. Nor is it improper for the Son to ask and for the Father to grant the request, for thus the complementary relationship between the two persons is maintained.… This text teaches us that there is a distinction between the Father and the Son which must not be confused.
Paul says "the image of the Son" meaning the Holy Spirit, because just as the Son is the immutable image of the Father, so the Spirit is of the Son. For those who have been made worthy by the Holy Spirit live according to the Spirit and are conformed to the Spirit, who is the image of the Son.
When he said above, "the full assurance of the hope," he made clear that God furnished to Abraham "full assurance," not that which belonged to his conduct through works but that which belonged to him through God's redemptive plan.
Strictly speaking, not everyone has died. Enoch and Elijah, for example, never did. Some will be found alive at the second coming of the Savior.
And labor: Now faith raises us to labors, and love causes us to remain in those labors. And enduring hope: And he says "enduring", because persecution is not a one time thing, but it is continuous. All these things, he says, do from faith and hope, so that those circumstances will not only show their courage, but with assurance they might trust in…
God's power is made perfect in persecutions and sufferings.