Father Charles Callan on 1 Corinthians 7:25-40

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More commentary on 1 Corinthians by Father Callan and others can be found here.

THE EXCELLENCE OF VIRGINITY OVER THE MARRIED STATE, 1 Cor 7:25-40.

25-40. What the Apostle had just said in the preceding verses, about remaining after conversion in the same condition of life as before, might cause much uncertainty and doubt in the minds of the Corinthians. Did he mean that young persons who were not yet married should remain single? And that widows should not remarry? It is true he had briefly touched on these questions in verses 8, 9; but after all that had been said in verses 17-24,
regarding the advisability of continuing unchanged in one’s former state of life after receiving Baptism, it became quite necessary that the questions involved be more thoroughly discussed and elucidated. Accordingly, the Apostle now explains that, while virginity is only a counsel, it is far more excellent than married life. He then gives some practical advice to parents in
regard to their daughters, and terminates with a few words of instruction for widows.

25. Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord; but I give counsel, as having obtained mercy of the Lord, to be faithful.

Beginning to speak of virginity and its excellence, the Apostle observes in the first place that he has no precept from the Lord in the matter, as was otherwise in the question of matrimony (verse 10).

Virgins (παρθενων). Perhaps this term here embraces both sexes, as in Matt 19:12; Apoc 14:4, and as would seem probable from verses 28, 32, 33 of this chapter.

No commandment of the Lord. Our Lord extolled the excellence of virginity (Matt 19:12), but He did not command it as something necessary for salvation.

I give counsel (γνωμην δε διδωμ), i.e., he gives very serious advice, as one who has obtained mercy of the Lord, i.e., who has been called to the Apostolate by the divine mercy, and has been commanded to preach by Christ Himself (Gal 1:1).

To be faithful, i.e., he must speak as he does, and give counsel regarding virginity, otherwise he will not be faithful to his mission and to the grace that has been given him; he must counsel as one “worthy of belief, called by the Lord’s great mercy, and entrusted with the ministry of preaching (Theodoret).

26. I think therefore that this is good for the present necessity, that it is good for a man so to be.

The Apostle’s counsel regarding virginity is this, that it is good, i.e., excellent, more perfect than the married state (cf. on verse 1)

For the present necessity, i.e., on account of the trials, troubles and anxieties of this present life, to which married people are more exposed than those who remain single (Cornely, Fillion, and most of the older interpreters); or, on account of the near approach of the end of the world (Bisping, Toussaint, Prat in La Theolegie, etc., vol. 1, p. 154). This latter explanation is out of harmony with the teaching of St. Paul in a previous Epistle (2 Thess 2:2 ff.; 3:5 ff), and with the decisions of the Biblical Commission of June 18, 1915, on the Parousia. Whatever may have been St. Paul’s private opinions on this, or any other subject, we cannot admit that he ever taught or wrote anything which subsequent facts have proved to have been false.

27. Art thou bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.

Notwithstanding the excellence of virginity, those who are already married should stay with their wives. On the other hand, those who are unmarried should remain single.

Loosed from a wife could include widowers, but the context seems to restrict it to men who have never been married.

28. But if thou take a wife, thou hast not sinned. And if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned: nevertheless, such shall have tribulation of the flesh. But I spare you.

If thou take a wife (with D E F G). Better, “If thou marry” (with B), The Apostle wishes to say that what he has just counselled about not seeking a wife must not be understood as meaning that those who marry will thereby
sin; for matrimony is good, having been instituted by God Himself
in the garden of paradise (Cornely). The verbs hast not sinned (Vulg., non peccasti), hath not sinned (Vulg., non peccavit), although representing the Greek aorist, would better express the meaning here, if they were in the future tense. The aorist is thus at times correctly rendered by the future in the Vulgate (cf. John xv. 6). Note: B, D, E, F and G are manuscript designations).

Tribulation of the flesh means the trials, anxieties and annoyances of life, which are more numerous for the married than for the single.

I spare you, i.e., I do not insist on your leading a life of virginity, which would be very difficult, if you have not the gift of continence. Others explain as follows: I recommend virginity to you in order to “spare you” from the difficulties and hardships of married life.

29. This therefore I say, brethren; the time is short; it remaineth, that they also who have wives, be as if they had none;

This therefore I say. Better, “But this I say.” The Apostle explains why it is better to remain unmarried.

The time is short, i.e., the days of this life are few and short, and so it is better to avoid the cares and anxieties inseparable from married life, in order to give ourselves more fervently to the service of God. Some interpret these words as referring to the nearness of the day of judgment, which cannot be allowed, since this would make the Apostle teach something which was not true. Of course it is a fact that each one’s particular judgment is never far off, and all uncertain to the individual whom, therefore, it behooves to keep as free as possible from distracting annoyances and to be ever watching for his Master’s coming.

It remaineth, etc. The conclusion which follows from the brevity of our life on earth is that we ought to keep our hearts detached from all temporal cares, solicitudes, joys and sorrows which may obscure the vision of our real purpose in life, namely, the service of God and the salvation of our souls.

30. And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as if they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;

The meaning is that we must not allow any of our earthly experiences, whether of sorrow, of joy, or of business, to absorb our attention and distract us from loving and serving God. We must rather turn all these things to our sanctification by regarding them in the light of faith.

31. And they that use this world, as if they used it not: for the fashion of this world passeth away.

Use this world, as if they used it not. Better, “Use the World, as not using it to the full.”

The fashion . . . passeth away, i.e., the show, the external appearance, of things, such as riches, honors, pleasures, sorrows and the like, are fleeting, and should not be permitted to take our hearts away with them. These external things of the present world shall be destroyed at the judgment; the substance of the world, though changed and purified, shall not be destroyed (Rom 8:19 ff.; 2 Peter 3:13; 1 John 2:17; Apoc 21:1).

32. But I would have you to be without solicitude. He that is without a wife, is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God.
33. But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife: and he is divided.

St. Paul says that he prefers the Christians to be free from the cares and responsibilities of married life, in order that they may give their thoughts and affections more entirely to God. If one is unmarried, he can more easily give his undivided attention to his spiritual welfare; whereas, if married, one’s wife and family justly claim a part of his thoughts and affections, and thus he is divided.

God (Vulg., Deo) at the end of verse 32 ought to be “Lord” (Domino), as in the Greek.

34. And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she that is married thinketh on the things of the world, how she may please her husband.

What was just said of the unmarried and of the married man is also true of the unmarried and of the married woman.

The beginning of this verse has two readings, namely, that of the Vulgate and our version, which is supported by some of the best MSS. and the majority of critics; and that of the Revised Version, Tischendorf and others, which makes the verse begin with the last words of verse 33, and he is divided. Those who follow this less probable reading translate the beginning of the present verse as follows: “And there is a difference also between the wife and the virgin.”

It is clear that the meaning is the same in either reading; for both proclaim the one thing, namely, the superior perfection of the unmarried over the married state.

35. And this I speak for your profit: not to cast a snare upon you; but for that which is decent, and which may give you power, to attend upon the Lord, without impediment.

After having extolled the superior excellence of virginity the Apostle tells the Christians that he has spoken only for their profit, for their greater advantage. He does not want to cast a snare upon them, i.e., to deprive them of their liberty to get married, if they want to, but only to encourage them to seek that which is decent, i.e., what is seemly, more perfect, so that they may be better able to serve the Lord, without impediment, i.e., without the distracting cares of wedded life.

36. But if any man think that he seemeth dishonoured, with regard to his virgin, for that she is above the age, and it must so be: let him do what he will; he sinneth not, if she marry.

This and the two following verses give practical rules to guide parents in marrying off their daughters. The Apostle addresses the father to whom, according to ancient custom among the Jews and the Greeks, it pertained in particular to direct the future choice of the daughters of the family.

If any man think, etc., i.e., if a father of a family thinks he is being disgraced in the eyes of his neighbors for not providing a husband for his virgin, i.e., his daughter, and allowing her to get married, since she is above the age, i.e., since she has reached, or already passed the flower of her age, and it must so be, i.e., and, either she is determined not to lead a life of
virginity, or there is need to let her marry on account of the danger of immorality, let him do, etc., i.e., let the father permit his daughter to marry; he commits no sin thereby.

If she marry. Better, “Let them marry,” i.e., let the daughters get married; or, let the daughter and her suitor get married.

37. For he that hath determined being steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but having power of his own will; and hath judged this in his heart, to keep his virgin, doth well.

For should be “But” (δέ). On the other hand, if he that hath determined, etc., i.e., if a father, being steadfast (ἵστημι) in his heart against the criticism and erroneous judgments of his neighbors, having no necessity, i.e., being under no necessity of giving his daughter in marriage, but being able to follow his own wishes and hers, hath judged, etc., i.e., has decided to keep his
daughter from marriage, permitting her to follow a life of virginity—such a father doth well, literally, “shall do well.”

The statuit of the Vulgate should be stat, and facit should be faciei, to agree with the best Greek.

38. Therefore both he that giveth his virgin in marriage, doth well; and he that giveth her not, doth better.

Since, therefore, matrimony is good, a father does well to give his daughter in marriage; but he does better that keeps his daughter for a life of virginity. The Apostle’s teaching on this subject is decisive. Doth better (Vulg., melius facit) should be in the future tense.

39. A woman is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband die, she is at liberty: let her marry to whom she will; only in the Lord.

St. Paul now turns to the question regarding widows. In this verse he teaches three things: (a) The indissolubility of marriage; (b) that a widow has the right to remarry; (c) that she should marry a Christian.

The words, by the law (Vulg., legi) are not represented in the best MSS. here, and were probably inserted from Rom 7:2.

40. But more blessed shall she be, if she so remain, according to my counsel; and I think that I also have the spirit of God.

But a widow shall be more blessed, literally, “is more blessed,” if she continue in her widowhood, since the state of the unmarried is more perfect, giving greater freedom from the cares of life and enabling one to serve God more constantly and more fervently (verses 25, 26, 32-35).

I think that I also, etc. The Apostle had no doubt of his inspiration to counsel as well as teach, but he speaks modestly, saying less than he wishes to be understood (Estius). The “also” looks back to the other Apostles and leaders among the Corinthians who were so much admired by the faithful.

Oct 29: Aquinas’ Catena Aurea on Today’s Gospel (Luke 14:1-6)

Ver 1. And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.2. And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.3. And Jesus answering spoke to the Lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?4. And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;5. And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?6. And they could not answer him again to these things.

CYRIL; Although our Lord knew the malice of the Pharisees, yet He became their guest, that He might benefit by His words and miracles those who were present. Whence it follows, And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him; to see whether He would despise the observance of the law, or do any thing that was forbidden on the sabbath day. When then the man with the dropsy came into the midst of them, He rebukes by a question the insolence of the Pharisees, who wished to detect Him; as it is said, And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. And Jesus answering, &c.

BEDE; When it is said that Jesus answered, there is a reference to the words which went before, And they watched him. For the Lord knew the thoughts of men.

THEOPHYL. But by His question He exposes their folly. For while God blessed the sabbath, they forbade to do good on the sabbath; but the day which does not admit the works of the good is accursed.

BEDE; But the, who were asked, are rightly silent, for they perceived that whatever they said, would be against themselves. For if it is lawful to heal on the sabbath day, wily did they watch the Savior whether He would heal? If it is not lawful, why do they take care of their cattle on the sabbath? Hence it follows, But they held their peace.

CYRIL; Disregarding then the snares of the Jews, He cures the dropsical, who from fear of the Pharisees did not ask to be healed on account of the sabbath, but only stood up, that when Jesus beheld him, He might have compassion on him and heal him. And the Lord knowing this, asked not whether he wished to be made whole, but forthwith healed him. Whence it follows; And he took him, and healed him, and let him go. Wherein our Lord took no thought not to offend the Pharisees, but only that He might benefit him who needed healing. For it becomes us, when a great good is the result, not to care if fools take offense.

CYRIL; But seeing the Pharisees awkwardly silent, Christ baffles their determined impudence by some important considerations. As it follows; And he answered and said to them, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

THEOPHYL. As though He said, If the law forbids to have mercy on the sabbath-day, have no care of your son when in danger on the sabbath-day. But why speak I of a son, when you do not even neglect an ox if you see it in danger?

BEDE; By these words He so refutes His watchers, the Pharisees, as to condemn them also of covetousness, who in the deliverance of animals consult their own desire of wealth. How much more then ought Christ to deliver a man, who is much better than cattle!

AUG. Now He has aptly compared the dropsical man to an animal which has fallen into a ditch, (for he is troubled by water,) as He compared that woman, whom He spoke of as bound, and whom He Himself loosed, to a beast which is let loose to be led to water.

BEDE; By a suitable example then He settles the question, strewing that they violate the sabbath by a work of covetousness, who contend that he does so by, a work of charity. Hence it follows, And they could not answer him again to these things. Mystically, the dropsical man is compared to him who is weighed down by an overflowing stream of carnal pleasures. For the disease of dropsy derives the name of a watery humor.

AUG. Or we rightly compare the dropsical man to a covetous rich man. For as the former, the more he increases in unnatural moisture the greater his thirst; so also the other, the more abundant his riches, which he does not employ well, the more ardently he desires them.

GREG Rightly then is the dropsical man healed in the Pharisees’ presence, for by the bodily infirmity of the one, is expressed the mental disease of the other.

BEDE; In this example also He well refers to the ox and the ass; so as to represent either the wise and the foolish, or both nations; that is, the Jew oppressed by the burden of the law, the Gentile not subject to reason. For the Lord rescues from the pit of concupiscence all who are sunk therein.

Oct 29: Bernardin de Piconio on Today’s 1st Reading (Philippians 1:1-11)

1. Paul and Timotheus, servants of Jesus Christ, to all the Saints in Jesus Christ who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.

Chapter 1. In this chapter the Apostle expresses his gratitude and affection towards the Christians of Philippi; informs them as to his own situation and circumstances at Rome; expresses the conviction that he will live to return to them; and exhorts them to courage and constancy.

Paul and Timotheus. Timotheus was highly honoured and valued by the Christians of Philippi, and regarded them with great affection, as appears from 2:20. For this reason the Apostle adds his name to the salutation, but in verse 3 he recurs to the singular number, gratias ago. He does not here style himself Apostle, because he prefers to adopt a title shared by Timothy, Servants of Jesus Christ. It is the highest of all possible dignities, Saint Chrysostom says, to be the servant of Jesus Christ, and not only be called so. If you so call yourself, see that you are so in reality. You glory in the name; but have reason to blush for the work you do. Fear what Christ says in the Gospel: Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of the heavens; but who does the will of My Father. Matt 7:21.

With the bishops and deacons. The bishops of the other cities of Macedonia, to whom it was intended that this epistle should be communicated, with the deacons who assisted them. There is no mention of priests, because in the Apostolic times, when the numbers of the Christian communities were very limited, priests were rarely required to assist the bishop, and they hardly yet appear as a distinct order. When Saint Gregory, for instance, went to Neocaesarea, and found only seventeen Christians in the place, he would hardly have required the aid of a priest. Probably, therefore, under the term bishops the priests at Philippi are intended to be included. Thus it is apparently understood by the Syriac version, which reads: with the priests
and deacons.

The expression saints in Jesus Christ suggests the reflection that union with Jesus Christ is the only source of sanctity. No one separated from Jesus Christ can in reality be holy. All who are grafted into Christ are holy, and more holy in proportion as they are more fully and perfectly united with him. Union with Christ in mind, heart, and work, sanctifies the whole man. This union is accomplished by faith, hope, and charity, and sustained, augmented, and drawn closer by continual prayer. Persons professing other religions, or who do not belong to the communion of the Catholic Church, or are devotees of some system of false philosophy, not unfrequently exhibit qualities which resemble Christian graces, and are externally the same, as liberality, justice, courage, fortitude, chastity, generosity, philanthropy, and the like. But these do not constitute real sanctity, and are always in reality referable to some motive inferior to the love of God for his own sake, which is the principle of the Christian life. And though these qualities, excellent as far as they go, are
often valuable for temporal ends, they do not advance the kingdom of Christ, or tend to the salvation of souls.

2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace to you and peace, &c. This is the Apostle’s invariable form of salutation, as including all interior and exterior good.

3. I give thanks to my God in every memory of you.

I thank my God in every memory of you. Literally, in all my memory of you. He was conscious, St. Chrysostom says, how many great and good gifts God had bestowed on them, and therefore he glorifies God and prays for them at the same time. He gives thanks for what is past, he prays for what is to come. He glorifies God for their good works, done from their first conversion; he prays they may persevere until the day of Christ. Thank God for holy beginnings, and for good works done, but pray for perseverance. It is not the Christian’s beginning, but his end, upon which eternity depends. Not he who begins well, but who perseveres to the end, shall he saved.

4. Always in all my prayers for you all, with joy making deprecation,

With joy making deprecation. The Apostle prays with joy for the Philippians. This is greatly to their praise, and a proof of the graces and excellences they exhibited. They kept their faith, persevered from their first conversion in good works, had the purpose of perseverance in their hearts. Nothing can give greater joy to the Saints of God than to see this, and with joy will they intercede for us. For if there is joy in heaven for the conversion of a sinner, how much more for his perseverance in good.

5. For your communication in the Gospel of Christ, from the first day until now.

For your communication in the Gospel of Christ. The Greek has to the Gospel, omitting of Christ. This is the cause of the joy referred to in the last verse. The Latin interpreters generally understand by it your participation by faith
in the privileges and promises of the Gospel, from the time you first accepted it until now. But St. Chrysostom and other Greek writers think it refers to the generosity and munificence with which the Philippians had contributed to the support of their teachers and the preachers of the Gospel, from the date of their conversion until the present time, when hearing of St. Paul’s imprisonment they crowned this liberality by sending him a large sum of money by the hands of Epaphroditus, to which he makes further reference
in verse 18. This interpretation is for several reasons the more probable one. It was certainly one of the principal objects for which the Epistle was written, to return to them the thanks of St. Paul for this contribution to his wants. The same expression, only more fully expanded, is used in 4:15, communication in giving and receiving, which undoubtedly has reference to the collection of money for the service of the Church. Several other passages in the writings of St. Paul might be quoted, which prove that he was in the habit of using the word communication in this sense, as in this Epistle, 4:14, you have done well in communicating with my afflictions; Rom 12:3, communicating with the needs of the Saints; Gal 6:6, let the catechised communicate with the catechiser; Heb 13:16, forget not well-doing and communicating. The expression of the Greek in this place indicates the same thing, to or for the Gospel, for its extension and propagation. The verse may therefore be paraphrased thus: I glorify God, and when praying for you I do so with joy, not only because you have believed the Gospel, and faithfully retained your confidence in it, but because you have displayed your solicitude for the salvation also of others, by giving me sympathy and substantial help wherever I went, and united your own zeal and diligence with mine in spreading the cause of Christ; supplying me, and those who were engaged in the same labours as myself, with what we required for our temporal necessities. This you have done, not once and again, but continually, from the date of your first conversion until now, when you have sent me substantial aid and support in my imprisonment, by the hands of Epaphroditus, your bishop. St. Chrysostom adds: Therefore to give aid in money is communication to the Gospel; and to cherish and support the preacher of the Gospel, is to share his crown. Thus it is in your power to share the crowns and honours laid up in heaven for Apostles and holy men, by giving them the support of your advocacy and of your purse, by consoling
them in trouble, supplying their wants, aiding their ministry by any means that may be within your power. You admire the angelic life of the holy hermits of the desert, the Apostolic virtues of prelates and holy priests, and mourn for the wide interval that separates you from them; yet it is in your power to communicate with them, by support, aid, and service. And this by the kindness and benignity of God, who has thus opened out to the more negligent and weak, unequal to the rough passage of the ascetic life, another road by which they may attain the same end.

Some people are rich in temporal things, and poor in those that belong to the spirit. Yet they can in this way obtain a share of the virtues of the Saints, and the merits of Apostles. Others are poor equally in the things of time and the graces of the spirit, yet even these can enrich themselves with the merits and spiritual wealth of  holy men, by uniting themselves with them by their advocacy and their prayers.

6. Trusting this, that he who began a good work” in you, will complete it to the day of Jesus Christ.

St. Paul had a firm trust and confidence that God, whose grace had begun this good work, would enable it to continue until the day of Christ, the last judgment. Of this day, the Apostle invariably speaks as it it were near at hand,
that we may be always ready for it. See 1 Thess 4:, &c.
And in 4:5 of this Epistle he says expressly, the Lord is near.

7. As it is just for me to feel this for you all, because I have you in my heart and in my chains, and in the defence and confirmation of the Gospel, that you should all be sharers in my joy.

It is just for me to feel this. This confidence which I have expressed, namely, that God will give you grace to persevere in charity until the day of Christ, is justified, first, by my ardent affection for you, I have you in my heart, which
encourages me to pray earnestly for your perseverance; and next, because by so generously contributing to my necesities, and by the sympathy and support you tender to me, you are become partakers in my imprisonment, and I have your aid, countenance, and authority, thus publicly conveyed, to the apology or defence of the Gospel of Christ, which I am continually conducting at Rome, and your open support is a confirmation and strengthening of what I teach. In all these three things I feel and know that you are with me, by your ardent sympathy, your advocacy, and your prayers. And you are partakers also of the joy I experience in witnessing the progress of Christ’s truth, and the establishment and extension of the Church in Rome. The Greek text has grace (χάρις) for joy(χαρά), the two words being very similar, and one easily substituted for another. Partakers of my grace
would signify a share m the privilege and honour I enjoy of being a herald of Christ’s Gospel, and one of the founders of the Roman Church. The Philippians, by contributing liberally to the wants of the Apostle, obtained a partnership in the merits of his chains, his apology, his confirmation of the truth of Christ. Thus may one who is rich in this world’s goods, or possesses worldly influence, purchase a share in the merits of the saints. He is like an elm, says St. Gregory (Hom. 20 in Evang.), fruitless itself, but rich in the abundant produce of the vine which clings to it. Men in secular life, within the Church, have not the gifts and graces of the spiritual life, but when by their liberality they support holy men who are filled with these gifts, they bear the vine and are enriched and ornamented with its fruits.

8. For God is my witness how I desire you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.

God is my witness, how I long for you all. The Apostle cannot express his affection by words that come from his own heart, and has recourse to the heart of Jesus Christ. He loves the Philippians with the heart of Christ, and with something of the vehemence and fire of that sacred Heart, longs earnestly for their salvation and eternal happiness. The Latin word viscera, like the Greek word corresponding to it, includes the heart and all the other internal organs of life. It is used in figure to represent the ardent and supernatural love of Jesus Christ for the people he has redeemed.

9. And this I pray, that your charity may abound more and more in knowledge and in all sense;

I pray that your charity may abound more and more. The Greek, still more and more. Charity is insatiable, says St. Chrysostom, without bound, limit, or measure. On this account the Apostle prays that the charity of the Philippians may increase beyond all measurement or limit. But he prays also that this charity may grow in knowledge and prudence, for without this we may be blinded ourselves, and leaders of the blind. Knowledge of the truth of God, prudence in the conduct of life. For this term the Vulgate has sensus, or tact, as the translation of the Greek word αἴσθησις, which signifies intellectual and moral perception of what is noble, and beautiful, and good.

10. That you may approve the better, that you may be sincere and without offence to tlie day of Christ,

Charity combined with knowledge and perception will enable you to distinguish what is best, the better things, potiora. This is the first effect. The second is, to give you purity, integrity, sincerity of conscience before God. And the third, you will be able to continue in your Christian course, and persevere, without stumbling, without offence, encountering no difficulties in your faith or obstacles to your salvation which grace will not enable you to overcome, until the day of Christ. The Apostle does not say, the day of your death, evidently expecting that in the case of most of them this would be
anticipated by the speedy coming of Christ to judgment.

11. Filled with the fruit of justice through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Filled with the fruits of justice. A fourth result of charity, combined with knowledge. An abundant exercise of the holy works which come from the grace of God given you in your justification. Justice is the condition in which we are placed by justification, and its fruits are the graces of the Christian
life. And these graces tend to that which is the ultimate end and object for which you were created, redeemed, justified, and endowed with grace of perseverance, the glory and praise of God, from whose grace your salvation proceeds. This is also, therefore, the supreme and ultimate object of the Apostle’s prayer for the Philippians, that they may abound in charity, in knowledge, and in good works, for all these tend to the glory and praise of God.