Translated by Qwen.
Denis the Carthusian: Commentary on 1 Peter 1:17-21
1 Pet 1:17 Since, as Solomon testifies, "the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life" (Prov. 14:27), consequently the most glorious leader of the apostolic choir, most holy Peter, exhorts us that we should fear God with a filial fear. And if, because you invoke as Father—that is, naming the Father in prayer—Him who without partiality judges according to each one's work, that is, who judges each person according to their works: understanding by "works" not only external actions but also interior acts, words, and even the omission of obligatory acts. Whence it is introduced in Job: "Far be it from God to do wickedness, and from the Almighty to do iniquity: for He will render to a man according to his work, and according to the ways of each He will repay him" (Job 34:10-11). And Jeremiah says: "O Lord God, most mighty, whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the children of Adam, to render to everyone according to his ways" (Jer. 32:19). Moreover, how partiality does not befit God, and what partiality is, and concerning the sin thereof, has been discussed above in the exposition of the second chapter of the Epistle of James.
"Conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your sojourning," that is, during the time in which you subsist in this world, live in filial fear of God, lest you be unworthy of so great a Father, and lest you fall into the severity of His judgment on account of your sloth and dangerous sense of security: lest at some time you experience the strict Judge, whom now you despise as a loving Father, and refuse to fear and honor. For "he who is without fear cannot be justified" (Sir. 1:28). And Christ in the Gospel commands: "Fear Him who has power to cast both soul and body into hell" (Matt. 10:28).
But someone may object, that this adaptation by the Apostle Peter does not seem to correspond with the adaptation whereby God speaks through Malachi: "A son honors his father, and a servant fears his master. If then I am a Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My fear?" (Mal. 1:6). From which words it is inferred that fear is owed to God insofar as He is Lord, and honor insofar as He is Father. How then does the Apostle now say, "If you invoke as Father God, conduct yourselves in fear"? For he seems to have ought to say, "If you invoke as Lord," etc.
And the response is, that to God is owed a chaste, holy, and filial fear insofar as He is Father, because this fear arises from the greatness of charity. But servile or initial fear is rendered to God as Lord. Now filial fear is that by which one avoids the evil of fault, lest God the Father be offended or dishonored. And thus filial fear is in reality a flight from or abhorrence of sin. Concerning this, many things are written in Ecclesiasticus, namely: "The fear of the Lord surpasses all things" (Sir. 25:11). "Blessed is he to whom it is given to have the fear of God." "The fear of the Lord is like a paradise of blessing" (Sir. 40:27). Moreover, the fear of God is especially necessary for every Christian, because it preserves from vices, keeps one in good works, and makes the one who fears vigilant lest he fall into the snares of the enemy. Again, we ought always to be vigilant and reverent before God, because we do not know whether we are worthy of love or hatred (Eccl. 9:1)—that is, whether we are in charity and grace or not—and furthermore, because we are ignorant of what will finally become of us, whether eternal damnation or perpetual salvation; and because we are so prone to every evil, and walk in the midst of snares.
Furthermore, what ought to induce us to conduct ourselves so reverently and virtuously is that the Only-Begotten of God, true God, assumed, accomplished, and endured so much for our salvation. Therefore it is added: "Knowing by faith, not by natural reason"—concerning which knowledge Job said, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the last day I shall rise from the earth" (Job 19:25); and Martha likewise, "I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you" (John 11:22).
1 Pet 1:18 "That you were redeemed from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers"—that is, from original corruption or vicious upbringing—because the parents of those to whom these things were written taught their children most wickedly, namely to worship idols, as regards those who were born from the Gentiles. Moreover, the priests and scribes of the Jews handed down to their children and subjects certain things contrary to the divine law; to whom Christ says in the Gospel: "You have made void the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition" (Matt. 15:6).
1 Pet 1:19 "But with the precious blood, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled, of Christ." That is, by the passion and death of the Son of God, who is as a lamb, inasmuch as He is likened to a most innocent lamb. Concerning whom John the Baptist says: "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). And who testifies through Jeremiah: "I was like a meek lamb that is carried to be a victim" (Jer. 11:19). And He is as a lamb unspotted and undefiled, on account of His purity from all sin, both original and personal, both mortal and venial. For Christ, although He is said to have suffered especially for the blotting out of original sin, nevertheless by His most holy passion He made satisfaction for all the sins of the entire human race, insofar as it depended on Him, according to that word of Isaiah: "The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6). On account of which the angel said to Joseph: "You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21).
1 Pet 1:20 "Christ, indeed foreknown before the foundation of the world"—that is, from eternity, preordained and foreseen by God the Father, according to the assumed nature, that through Him the human race might be redeemed. For God from eternity decreed to redeem the world through the passion of Christ. "But manifested in the last times for your sake"—that is, for your salvation—Christ in the last age of the world appeared in this world through the mystery of the Incarnation, according to that word of Baruch: "After this He was seen on earth, and conversed with men" (Bar. 3:38). This is what John says: "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Whence Paul speaks to the Ephesians, saying: "God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world... in whom we have redemption through His blood" (Eph. 1:4, 7). Concerning these last days Paul also speaks: "We are those upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Cor. 10:11).
1 Pet 1:21 "Who through Him are faithful in God"—that is, by the virtue and merit of the passion of Christ, you have obtained from God the grace of conversion and faith, and have remained faithful in Him up to this point. For the merit of Christ is applied to human beings in the sacrament of Baptism and Penance; and whatever virtue and grace is conferred upon them by the Lord is given to them through Christ and His passion and merit, inasmuch as through the mysteries of Christ God has purposed to reconcile and save the human race. On account of which it is held in the Epistle to the Ephesians: "God predestined us unto the adoption of children through Jesus Christ... unto the praise of the glory of His grace, in which He has graced us in His beloved Son" (Eph. 1:5-6). Or: "Through Him you are faithful in God," because Christ sent His disciples everywhere for the conversion of others, and through the Apostles gave to men the law of salvation, just as it is said in Isaiah: "A law shall go forth from Me, and My judgment I will cause to rest as a light for the peoples" (Isa. 51:4). Therefore the Apostle says: "In Christ, you who were far off have been made near" (Eph. 2:13).
"Who raised Him from the dead on the third day." This resurrection is ascribed to the whole most-blessed Trinity, whose external works are indivisible. Nevertheless, it may be appropriated to the Father, because it was effected by divine power, and power is appropriated to the Father. Indeed, Christ, insofar as He is God, raised Himself up insofar as He is man. On account of which He said: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19). "And gave Him glory," that is, perpetual glorification of the body, and the accidental reward, and judicial power, in the resurrection, ascension, etc. For in the beatific vision of God, the soul of Christ was perfect from the beginning of His creation and union with the Word. Whence Christ, with His passion at hand, prayed that word of John: "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son" (John 17:1). And in the Epistle to the Hebrews it is held: "We see Jesus, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor" (Heb. 2:9). In Isaiah also it is read: "Because His soul has labored, He shall see and be satisfied" (Isa. 53:11).
"That your faith and hope might be in God"—that is, that you might firmly believe in God and hope in Him. For from the fact that God so glorified Christ through His resurrection, ascension, and the sending of the Holy Spirit, men were led to embrace the Christian faith and hope, believing and hoping that they themselves would at last, by the merit of Christ, be raised up and fully glorified.
CONTINUE
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