In sanctum Paulum apostolum

Demonstration: That Saint Paul is greater than all the saints. "See," he says, "with how large letters I wrote to you with my own hand." For just as he is irreproachable among the many, so also here he is distinguished, using a newer ink; for there is nothing black or dark about him, nor anything human; he surpassed every nature, left creation behind him, thinking to converse with God alone; rather, I am persuaded that this is the one of whom the Lord said, small here, but in the kingdom greater than John, the greatest of the prophets; for he did not say, "He has been born among those born of women," but "He has not been raised"; for being born is different from being raised; for being born is clearly from a woman; but being raised means being promoted either to a kingdom or to a bishopric, or to some other such office; as when he says, "One was raised up as king, another as governor." So the Lord, foreseeing that the Apostle was about to be raised up and to bear his name and to take up the cross upon himself and to proclaim him among all the nations, says, "Why do you marvel at John as great? There is another greater than this great one, not yet having believed, not yet having been raised up to preach; he has not yet been ordained to the apostleship, I have not yet appeared to him while he was persecuting, but he is still in the act of persecuting; for compared to those who have truly been raised up, he is greater than John, but compared to the one who is about to be raised up, he is the least; for the one who is lesser here is greater than him in the kingdom, and the one who is to be among you as greater, let him be your servant and the last.

Let us see, then, who is the least and last of all, so that we may also recognize the greater, since the last is, as it were, instructive of the greater. What then does the Apostle say? "And to me, the least of all saints, this grace was given, and it appeared to me last of all, as to an abortion." If, then, this one was shown to be last and least of all, it is clear that he is greater than all, because the Lord declared it so. Not only is he greater than John, but also than all the saints. They are Hebrews, and so am I; they are seed of Abraham, and so am I; they are servants of Christ, but I am more. What is clearer than this? And in the case of the Hebrews and Israelites, as the least, he kept silent about the "more," lest anyone say he is greater than them, but equal to these; but he added the more honorable, the greater, concerning all, so as to make the question indisputable. Again, lest he seem to give occasion for true boasting, he immediately states the reason why he is in labors more abundantly, in blows exceedingly, in death and dangers often, and I have labored more than all, and that if each of all will receive according to his own labor, it is clear that this one will be honored more than all, as having labored more. What is more brilliant than this? If you wish, hear another such proof: Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first, and for this reason I was pitied, so that in me first he might show his great patience.

How then did he reveal himself to him, appearing to him last, if not first in time? For before him he appeared to the disciples, before the disciples to the prophets, and after these again to those in the world before them. How then was he first to him, if not because he was first in honor? Just as John was last in time among the prophets, but greater in honor, so also the Apostle was last in time among the apostles, but first in honor among all the saints. If you are not persuaded by the truth, at least be persuaded by the type prefigured concerning him in the recognition of Joseph's brothers, how Joseph seated each of his brothers according to seniority, and last of all the youngest-born Benjamin. And he gave him a portion five times greater than the portion of the brothers, which is a type of what was to come: Joseph representing the Lord, the other brothers the disciples, and Benjamin the Apostle, as he himself testifies, saying, "From the tribe of Benjamin," and there Benjamin is younger in ecstasy: "younger" because he was last, "in ecstasy" because of the vision on the road. He was also in ecstasy from legal matters, in ecstasy from heavenly things, in ecstasy from bodily things; he considered everything as dung in order to gain Christ.

Be persuaded, then, that this younger one, the last-born, the last of the disciples, the miscarriage beyond all, the offscouring of the whole world, will be honored fivefold by the Lord, as Benjamin was by Joseph—he who was not present at the sale of his brother, he who did not consent with his brothers, he who always remained with his own father and grieved him in nothing. And likewise this one will be honored not by grace, but by debt, as one who has labored more than all, as one who has always remained with God and the Father, as one who was not present at the betrayal of Judas. For he was blameless in the law and incomparable among the apostles. "For the deficiencies of the sufferings of Christ I fill up in my flesh on behalf of his body, which is the Church, of which I became a minister, according to the saying: 'Whoever among you.'" Do you see what he utters, what he testifies to himself? How, for as many sufferings as Christ fell short of, not having reached, he himself filled up, saying, "I fill up the deficiencies of the sufferings of Christ"? He means to say: Christ is the fulfillment of the law, I am the fulfillment of sufferings. Truly, in blows exceedingly, in sufferings surpassingly, in necessities, in straits, in toil and labor, night and day, and those which he himself enumerated, apart from the external ones.

Who then dares to say it? The same one has said: "I am conscious of nothing against myself," and being blameless, in order to show us that it is great to be conscious of nothing against oneself, and then, as a second point regarding what is sought, saying: "But I am not justified by this." And again: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. The crown of righteousness remains for me, which the Lord will render to me." He did not say "will give to me," for giving is a matter of grace, but "will render to me," for rendering is a matter of debt. For what is given by grace is spoken of thus: "Do not neglect the gift in you, which was given to you," not "which was rendered to you." But the crown is given not by grace but by debt to those who have lawfully contended. For if someone contends, he is not crowned unless he contends lawfully. Who among those who have gone, who among those who come, will say these things: "I have finished the race," and "he will render to me" the crown as if it were a debt, and "I fill up the deficiencies," and "I have labored more than all," and "they are servants, I am above"? Not unjustly, then, is he called a vessel of election, as a servant, as Moses. Not faithful as Abraham, not guileless as David, not blameless or pious as Job, but he called him a vessel of election. And election shows what is better, for no one, when choosing, chooses the worse. "For he chose us," it says, "before the foundation of the world to be blameless and holy before him." Therefore, from among the elect, the Apostle is one elect.

For these things I endure, he says, for the sake of the elect, so that they too may obtain salvation and that you may imitate the Lord, who endured the cross for us so that we might obtain salvation. Rightly, then, he placed first, saying: "But if you become my imitators, just as I also am of Christ." Did you see the good confidence of a good soul? Did you see one more elect than the elect, last of all in the proclamation, but first of all; last in the world, first in the kingdom; last to believe, first to be saved and crowned? It is just to say: "The last shall be first." For he fell short in nothing of the exceedingly great apostles, I dare to say. I now venture upon this boldness and this speech, not because I lack proofs, but because the occasion and the sequence of the discourse do not permit me to say more: that he is not only above every human being, but also above every intelligible creation; first in honor among creation, but more elect than the elect.