Fragmenta in epistulam ii ad Corinthios

And when he previously accused them, he does not accuse alone; and now when he reconciles, he does not write alone, showing the matter trustworthy by the addition of the holy Timothy. And here he showed that the phrase "through" also pertains to the Father, saying "through the will of God." Since in the former letter he did not accuse alone, so now in offering consolation he does not write alone, but shows the matter trustworthy by the addition of the holy Timothy. And since he says "from God our Father," it must be known that in the case of creatures both "God" and "Father" are said, but in the case of the Son only "Father" is said; for the phrase "my God" and "your God" Christ spoke while in the flesh. This glory which he glorifies and these titles with which he names God already foreshadow the reconciliation. "Father of mercies" and "God of all consolation"; for in the case of creatures both "God" and "Father" are said, but in the case of the Son only "Father" is confessed. Fittingly for those who are afflicted, he begins from the mercies of God and consolation, showing them good hopes; for if God is Father of mercies, he would console those who are persecuted and afflicted on his account. God, when consoling and comforting, does not offer comfort in a small matter. He proclaims these things beforehand, since he was about to recall the one condemned for sin through consolation. Our affliction becomes consolation for you; for if the apostles are afflicted, much more so the rest. Or he also says this: even if we are afflicted by men for the sake of your salvation, we suffer this because we proclaim Christ to you.

If we receive comfort from God through you, so that we may be sufficient for your consolation, in order to urge you to endure the same sufferings which we also undergo. I hope that those who endure the same things as I do will likewise obtain comfort from God. He does not recount the tribulations that befell him in Asia for the sake of display, but to anoint them for endurance of sufferings. Instead of "so that we might despair even of living." A verdict is called the decision from the judgment. So then, as far as it depends on themselves; for we have received the sentence of death, through which we are disciplined not to trust in ourselves but in the saving God, even those who despair of themselves. He does not pray to escape those who plot against him as one who loves the body, but so that he may serve the gifts given to him, so that through many persons now and through many of those to come the proclamation that saves them may be thanked; for having said "through many," he demonstrated the teaching of those to come. And "be thanked on your behalf" instead of "for the gift of which we also have partaken." This is our boast, that our conscience bears witness to us that we preach rightly. And indeed he intends the wisdom of outsiders to be psychic, but now he hints that he did not use speech according to the outsiders; in that he received something from them, he did not have a fleshly cause for the proclamation. We did not teach you different things when we were with you than what we now write, but these things which you read, being unadorned; whence you also recognize that our speech is that of a layman, but that the active power in faith is of God.

Paul calls the Indians his boast, on account of what he accomplished by preaching; and the boast of the Indians themselves on the day of Christ, as if they had glory on account of what they received from the preaching. I hope that you will recognize, since you have already partially recognized, that on the Lord's day we are your boast, just as you are ours; for some take pride in what they accomplished by preaching, while others are ambitious on account of what they believed in the preaching. I did not intend to come for any fleshly reason, but for the sake of God; and to plan to come for the sake of God is not a matter of levity. When I planned to come to you, I promised you this, not out of rashness and levity; for I do not plan according to the flesh, but spiritually. It is fitting that one who plans concerning spiritual matters should never be false, so that with him yes is yes and no is no. Whether to come or not is not in my power, but the intention is in my power. If the preaching had both yes and no, then my plan of arrival to you would rightly have both yes and no; but if the word is true, then the plan is entirely true as well. I trust in God that none of what we preached is false. For the Son of God, our Lord Jesus, did not become a liar. Through Christ we send up the amen to God the Father. We received the confirmation in Christ through God. And by sealing us, he manifested our intimacy with God and our alienation from the evil one; for shepherds also place a seal on their flocks, distinguishing their own from others.

Having said "earnest," he indicated that we have received a small pledge of knowledge, while the full amount is owed to us; for the earnest is a part of the whole. Since there were many accusations against them, he did not wish to go and condemn them. The statement is elliptical; for he means to say, "I wished to come to you, but not as one who is lord and teacher of your faith." The fault lies with you, but the correction of those who err lies with us, so that we may become co-workers in joy according to God. The believing is in you, the correcting of those who err is in us, so that we may become co-workers in the grace of God. He speaks of joy according to God; for the apostle would not have cooperated with them for worldly joy. By saying "by faith," he indicated that they fall short in works. Therefore, since they have their faith as fruitless and still incomplete, he says he is their co-worker. For this reason I did not come, not so as not to grieve you, but myself, and so as not to condemn some for what they do. You do not grieve me and I you in like manner; for you grieve me by your sins, while I grieve you by my reproofs. But the one who is grieved rejoices—for he seems to be grieved because he is aware; for one who is not grieved clearly did not care when accused. For even if I grieve you, I do a fitting thing, contributing to my joy at your benefit. I wrote this, that I did not come out of consideration for you, at the end of this letter where it says, "lest God humble me when I come." And for this reason I wrote, so that I might find you corrected with pleasure, so that you might not be grieved. I said this not with a view to my own interest, but to yours.

I know that if you see me rejoicing, you rejoice, and if you see me grieving, you grieve. I wrote these things so that, if you wish me to come to you, you might first correct the faults. Having shown that he makes the same faults his own, he revealed the love he has for them through mourning and tears. By saying "I wrote to you," not simply that you might be grieved, but that the grief might be succeeded by joy according to God. If someone has grieved me, who loves them, he has grieved not only me but also, in part, you—so that I may not burden you by also saying "and Christ"; he was silent about saying "and Christ," lest he burden them by saying it. He calls "censure" the condemnation that comes from the majority. To grant him this. You obeyed me in condemning him; obey me also in recalling him after he has been condemned. Grant him this, he says, for you know that what you grant to him, I also wish to grant. Through this he shows that, out of his disposition toward them, he wishes to think the same as they do. He appears to have been grieved toward those in Troas, because they did not make much of Titus nor detain him until his own arrival, but, as if careless about the faith, they let him depart. Therefore, admonishing them...

he passed them by as unworthy, even though the door was open and no one was barring the proclamation. Or perhaps for this reason he passed them by, because he was able to correct matters there easily when he later arrived, since there was no one obstructing him. This is what he says to the one who publicizes our insults and the circumstances we endure for Christ's sake. He acknowledges a greater grace for being deemed worthy to be paraded in triumph for Christ's sake. He says these things also for the sake of the faint-hearted; for he feared that they might falter because of the tribulations they endured and fall away from salvation. The idolaters, being in a state of spiritual death due to the ignorance and hardness present in them, also encounter a second death by not accepting the evangelical proclamation; but those who, through legal instruction, have come to the beginnings of the knowledge of God, have somehow come to life; yet if they believe in Christ, they receive the fragrance of the knowledge of the Father from life to life. A little later he interprets this passage differently. Such achievements were said to be the fragrance of Christ, not of ordinary people but of those who serve God genuinely. And he does not say these things about himself as if they were burdensome, but from what he adds he says, "For we are not like the many," he revealed himself. He says the word is adulterated, that is, mixed with circumcision and observance of the Sabbath, or because some consider piety a means of profit. I say that I speak from sincerity, and he says that this very thing comes from God, and not from one's own power. He also gives another interpretation, that for this reason he speaks from sincerity, because we speak from God, not playing with matters but proclaiming the revelation of God.

He says this because there were also false apostles who regarded the discourse concerning piety as a means of profit. Then he adds "from sincerity," meaning, we are not playing games with these matters, he says, but we proclaim the revelation from God, not debasing the word of God. The word of God is debased when it is mixed with circumcision and the Sabbath and when piety is thought to be a means of profit. From this point he wishes to show how far the law falls short of grace, so that none of those from the circumcision, by appealing to the authority of Moses and the prophets, might transfer those from the nations to the observance of the law. That is, this faith and life of yours becomes a letter to all and a mark of our proclamation. "Inscribed with spirit," he says, by the activity of the Holy Spirit. And by saying "on stone tablets and on fleshly hearts," he shows the superiority of grace over the law, insofar as the heart is better than the lifeless tablet. He also shows how much the grace of the Spirit is better than the law and the proclamation of the apostles higher than the ministry of the prophets. "From themselves" instead of "from one another." He calls the law "letter," and grace "spirit"; for the law, while commanding, does not help, and it oppresses and kills through punishment those unable to fulfill it, while the spirit, making one pure from sin and providing the gifts, clearly leads to life. And indeed the glory was not on the tablets but on the face of Moses, as he himself says later: because of the glory of his face, which is now obsolete.

But not wishing to speak directly to the prophet Moses, he calls the law Moses, and he directs his discourse to this, showing that the grace given to Moses is inferior to the apostolic grace. "And if the ministry of death." He calls Moses a ministry of death, naming the law death, because when disobeyed it procured death. But the law is not slandered on this account; for the apostles are also called a scent of death unto death. He calls the apostles a ministry of spirit, and Moses a ministry of death. But sparing Moses, he mentions the tablets: Moses brought down tablets from the mountain; the apostles, sent as spirit to the world, conveyed it. And indeed the glory was not on the tablets but on the face of Moses. And wishing here also to speak to Moses, he indicates Moses through the law. He calls the law itself a minister of death, because the law put to death those who did not fulfill it. And he does not say this as slandering it, for he also called the apostles a scent of death because of those who do not obey the proclamation. A scent of death is the threat concerning Gehenna, bringing eternal death to the unbelievers, and a scent of life is the proclamation of the kingdom, sending those who follow the teaching to eternal life. The scent is the forerunner of the thing. He calls Moses a minister of condemnation and death—for in the law he condemned those who did not obey—and the apostles a ministry of spirit; for Moses brought down the law, but the apostles conveyed the spirit to the world.

The glorified letter of the law, when examined in comparison with the surpassing glory of the Spirit, is not glorified. Nor would one say it is glorified in this discourse of comparison with what is superior. He showed that the law must cease and be idle, while the grace of the Spirit, once introduced, remains. 2 Corinthians 3:12–14 Therefore having such hope. Hope that is seen is not hope; he made clear that grace remains even after the resurrection, receiving additions so that the sons of Israel cannot gaze upon the end of what is being abolished. For just as they could not attend to the glory... so they could not attend to the end of the law, that is, that the law will cease. Immediately he says: up to today they have a veil. The end of the law is when the veil is lifted and they behold the glory of the Spirit, that it is abolished in Christ, that is, through faith in him. 285, col. 2 What hope? That the grace of the Spirit is not abolished like the law, but remains even after the resurrection. We, because of the blessed hope that the grace of the Spirit will remain, teach with boldness, and we do not imitate the ordinances of Moses, who through the veil on the face indicated that the Jews cannot gaze and perceive that the law will reach an end and become idle. The veil remains, not even showing a face, indicating that when Christ comes, the law is abolished.

Just as Moses, when speaking to the Jews, had the veil, but when he turns back to the Lord it is removed, so now the Jews, after reading the law and returning the book, carry away the veil, as if Moses had turned back to the Lord. If, therefore, you withdraw and come to the Spirit, your veil is removed, just as when Moses turned back to the Lord. He who has been deemed worthy of the Spirit of the Lord has been freed from the condemnation of the law; for through the Spirit the gifts are activated. And the gift is for the worthy. We, he says, the apostles, are seen by men with unveiled face; and by saying "we" he shows that the beneficence of the Spirit is common. And the glory of Moses was inaccessible to the Israelites, but our glory of God is accessible; for, having established ourselves in faith and purified ourselves, we mirror the glory of God, that is, we both see and, as in a mirror, we impress upon our souls the image of the glory of the Spirit. We are transformed from legal knowledge to spiritual grace. Or it is to be understood thus: from the glory of the Spirit activated in us we come, evidently, to the glory of adoption. And the phrase "just as" indicates that it is from the Lord Spirit. It must be observed that he called the Holy Spirit "Lord," not the Son of God. And just as one person sees that mirror, and another receives the reflection of the one seeing, so also with the Spirit; for those who mirror the glory of Christ themselves, from that glory, carry away some likeness to glory, that is, they draw and receive the glory of the spiritual image.

We are transformed from legal knowledge to spiritual grace, and from glory not of the law but of the spirit, to glory of adoption; for having obtained the bath, we come to adoption. He speaks of the glory of grace, not of the law; for through the excess of grace we trample upon afflictions. The base and shameful things are hidden because of shame, which those who do them are eager to conceal on account of shame; for base things do not partake of frankness, but lurk in darkness. Even if the Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to unbelievers, not as in the law the glory of Moses' face was veiled from all Israel. If the god of this world is spoken of in connection with the reading, and "he blinded" has a sequence. But if "the god blinded," by hyperbaton, as in "God gave them a spirit of compunction, eyes not to see," and "I hardened Pharaoh's heart," according to the account given. Just as it is said "ruler of this age," not being a ruler by nature, but because those who were deceived appointed him as their ruler by obeying him, so also the "god of this world" is named, not as truly being god, but called god from what the nations say and think, as the belly is called the god of gluttons. If we had proclaimed ourselves, he says, it would be possible to suspect that we were falsifying the word; but if we proclaim Jesus Christ and his glory, there is no deceit in the proclamation, according to the saying: he who seeks his own glory is not true, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is true.

If we were proclaiming ourselves, it would be suspected that we were falsifying the word; but if we proclaim Christ and his glory, there is no deceit in the proclamation. "In the person of Jesus Christ" is used instead of "through Jesus Christ," on his account. "For the illumination of knowledge" means that knowledge was not discovered by reasoning but was set forth through revelation. Instead of saying that through Jesus Christ it shone in our hearts, and knowledge was not found by reasoning but was made known through revelation and illumination; for a man clothed in flesh would never have been able to attain this. Through these and the following words, he shows that God does not permit us to be tried beyond what we can bear. For even if we are oppressed by persecutors, we are not so constricted as to have no escape or refuge anywhere; for God makes room for those oppressed on account of piety, whence David says: "In distress you have given me room." We always carry death with us, being ever in danger for Christ's sake, as sharers in Christ's sufferings. The Lord was handed over to death for us, but we for ourselves through Jesus, so that we might become sharers in his life. The apostles were in danger because of the proclamation, and they proclaimed so that believers might live, and this is the meaning of "but the life in you." Because, he says, there is a spirit of servitude in the law, but a spirit of adoption in grace. And he said that we have the same spirit that David had, and he added "of faith," the same spirit, not of legal servitude. Having, he says, the same spirit as David, who spoke according to faith, as he said: "I believed, therefore I spoke." Then, having said "spirit," he added "of faith.

For this is common to the New and the Old only, since in the law there was a spirit of servitude, but in grace a spirit of adoption. If deaths and dangers and trials accompanied them, how is the affliction lighter? How is it immediate? For the trials remained with them and were driven on into old age. How then is the affliction of the saints light? Or is it evidently because it is weighed against the glory of the future age and against the goods set before the righteous? For compared to these, even the heaviest trials appear light to me. And the afflictions are not simply light, but exceedingly so, which afflictions fall far short of the magnitude of the glory; for a large body is also heavy. Or he spoke of "weight" metaphorically, from scales; for when glory is weighed against the afflictions, it is found to be very heavy indeed. And "immediate" refers to the temporary; for even if the thing that afflicts and grieves is long-lasting, it appears temporary in comparison to the infinity of glory. "House of the tent" is not the tent but the house; for the dwelling here ceases, but the 290

A tent is set up. And he called "house" both the mortal and the expected way of life. Then he shows that he means by "dwelling" corruption and incorruption. He calls the body the house of the tent, which, he says, even if it is destroyed in trials and dangers for Christ's sake, we will put it off as a perishable house and as the last of hand-made things. But we will find in the heavens another house, which God provides, incorruptible and not made by hand. Through these things he indicates both the mortal and the immortal way of life. By the phrase "to put on over" he shows that the perishable flesh rises and puts on the immortal; for "over-garment" is said with reference to another garment. He speaks of two houses, the mortal and the expected; and two dwellings, corruption and incorruption, because we put off one and put on the other. He calls "dwelling" the incorruption from heaven, in that it is not hand-made but a gift of God. All, both just and unjust, put on incorruption. But if someone is handed over to punishment, it is no different from being naked. He intends the logical consequence: we wish to put on incorruption over that, but not to strip off the body itself into corruption. Therefore he added: so that the mortal may be swallowed up by life. For this very purpose, namely to become incorrupt. Instead of "convinced that while dwelling in the body," that is, while still living in the flesh in this world. Through faith we hope in God; for his form is not visible to us; but we believe that we will depart to him, when we will see him, insofar as it is possible for a human to see God.

For corporeally even Moses saw, and angels see as it is possible for them to see; for no one has ever seen God, and every creature falls short of the vision of God. If you are pleasing here, you are incontestably more pleasing there, no longer struggling but having the security of being pleasing. It is possible that the statement "we walk by faith, not by sight" is said concerning the economy of the Word of God, since he himself was not among those who had seen the Lord in the flesh before the passion. Those who are pleasing to men and boast not for the sake of piety itself evidently boast for the sake of human approval; for the heart is observed by God. He calls boasting "ecstasy." We boast so that he may be glorified; we keep silent about boasting—which he calls being prudent—so that we may teach you not to boast. And he calls "ecstasy" the fact that one who ought to avoid boasting is compelled to boast. He says that boasting about one's conduct is "ecstasy"; for it is characteristic of those who are out of their minds to boast, and of those who are prudent to be moderate. Often, then, we are compelled to be beside ourselves and to boast, so that God may be glorified through us; but we strive to be prudent and moderate, so that we may also teach you not to boast. And he says that "ecstasy" is when one who ought to speak of boasting is compelled to come to this. Desiring to be silent, we are compelled to boast, constrained by the love of Christ, so that he may be glorified. All have died; he means the faithful, who through both baptism and life are dead to the world. And they no longer live for themselves.

For if I were living for myself, I would not boast; but since I live for Christ, for his sake I am silent if need be for your benefit, and for his sake I boast, so that he may be glorified. Whether we are out of our minds, he says, or we are in our right minds for you, we do everything for the love of Christ. Since, then, one who dies for others releases those already condemned to death, and as far as it depended on us we were dead, if one died for all, then all died as far as the condemnation is concerned. He speaks of the faithful, who through baptism were put to death to the world, no longer living for themselves but for Christ; for Christ, having died for all and paid the common debt, made the world his debtor. So from now on we know no one according to the flesh. Since circumcision is of the flesh, and "eat this" and "do not eat that," and the Sabbath, he says that we of the faithful know no one according to the flesh. But because the objection arose that the Lord was circumcised and kept the Sabbath, he says this opportunely, so as to benefit those under the law. But now we do not yet know this; for he does not want us to live according to the law. This is said not only to mortify the desires, but also so that we no longer obey the law; for even if Christ was circumcised and came under the observances of the law—that is, even if we have known Christ according to the flesh—yet now we no longer know him in that way. For when he was among men, he lived as a man, fulfilling the law in his life; but having died and risen, incorruptible, he abolished the ordinances of the law and pointed out the way of the heavenly polity.

Therefore, those who are baptized mortify their bodily ways of life as if they were dead, and imitating the pure conduct in the heavens, they join themselves in their heart to God. If someone lives in Christ and is baptized, that person is a new creation, no longer living according to the law but according to the new grace of the Spirit. For whether you speak of law or grace, all things are from God; we do not say that the law is not from God, even if it has come to an end. He says that the proclamation is a ministry of reconciliation, through which believers will be reconciled to God. This is how it must be understood: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ. Thus the punctuation should be: that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, that is, through Christ. Now we, in place of Christ, intercede, with God exhorting you through us. Then he also shows that he is grieved because of those who observe the law; for it is on behalf of Christ, he says, not on behalf of the law. And God exhorts through us as through Christ, whose servants and ministers we are. From this he showed how he is grieved because of those who strive to keep the law; for by keeping the law, he says, we have become sinners. Christ became sin, so that he might free us from sin. And God provided these things; accept the reconciliation by ceasing to observe the legal requirements. He not only permitted the apostles to exhort but also to cooperate and to labor with them for salvation, so that they might genuinely receive the grace from God. As an unbreakable foundation, he lays down patience beforehand, with which it is easy to impose every commandment.

The right-hand weapons of righteousness consist in holding to good works, the left-hand in refraining from evil works, and through both of these righteousness is accomplished; for it is clear that if one is absent, the other becomes idle. Through the glory of those who receive the word and admire it, and through the dishonor of those who insult the believers; the same principle applies to what follows. Saying, "You are not constrained among us," he teaches this instead of "We do not constrain you with the saving teaching, nor is there any lack on our part"; for our heart has been broadened and our mouth has been opened for teaching. And you, therefore, as in reciprocity, broaden your understanding and accept the teaching; for your heart is not so expanded as to receive the teachings from me. So you are constrained by yourselves, not being receptive to more commandments. Accept us as we speak; so that you may suffer no loss from us. For if I had been silent, he says, and had not rebuked, you would not have been grieved; but if you had not been grieved, you would have been harmed by not repenting. I rejoice, he says, at your afflictions, because they are not worldly but spiritual. And he next recalls the things that happened to him in Asia for Christ's sake. And indeed he wrote for this reason. But as it seems and as the outcome showed, they did not write for this reason, but to demonstrate your zeal and obedience; so that under the pretext of one thing, another was perceived. In this he has found rest, that they obeyed his teaching. In that, he says, in which they are greatly afflicted by being persecuted, in that they rejoice all the more, and their deep poverty has overflowed into the wealth of their simplicity.

The apostle bears witness to the Macedonians that, although they were poor, they became lavish in beneficence, so that even the Indians might be roused to fruitfulness. The zeal of the Macedonians for beneficence prompted us to urge Titus to come to you, so that he might also urge you to fruitfulness. And he said this for this reason, because they had from him the grace of teaching. He says this through the others, the Macedonians. 2 Corinthians 8:18—This must be connected to: "We sent the brother whose praise is in the Gospel," so that with much and abundant beneficence from the Gentiles they might suffice to serve, being careful and guarding lest anyone blame us as hindering beneficence toward the saints. Before the Lord it is good to serve beneficence, but before men it is good not to be blamed or slandered in the abundance of the ministry. Not as the soldiers of the world receive wages, so do we preach for the sake of receiving wages. And we are ready to avenge every disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. Since I knew that some are persuaded by word and exhortation, I did not wish to immediately employ the severity which I contemplate for some, because those who obey by word alone were not apparent. First I reproved by word, so that those who correct themselves through this might be taught, and those who do not obey by word, needing severity through actions, might be convicted.

Knowing that some are persuaded even by hearing, I do not wish to employ abruptness yet, but only when they show themselves obedient, so that it may be revealed who are those instructed by reason and who are those in need of correction. Examine each one accurately according to the worth of the person's conduct. This pertains to the apostles: for since he was about to reprove those from the circumcision, and they put forward Peter and James and John, he says, be on guard, lest the authority of the persons ever prevent you from perceiving the truth. We write these things not imitating those who commend themselves—for this is not good—; for they do not understand that they measure themselves by themselves and cannot be compared to another; for when compared to others, they are nothing. We do not boast as insignificant people beyond our own measure concerning greater things; for we came even to you and proclaimed the word. They boast in our labors, but we do not, but according to the law we boast in the rule and the measure apportioned to us, hoping that as your faith increases, we may preach the gospel even beyond you. By "rule" he means having reached them for the time being. Even if we boast, we do not do so as though accomplishing things by our own understanding but by the grace of the Spirit. You have died, he says, to the law, you have become another man, to the one who rose from the dead. How then is a pure virgin previously married? But having been reborn through the bath of regeneration and having passed into another life, she is rightly called a pure virgin. Christianity is confirmed by faith in Christ and by the illumination of the Spirit.

If, therefore, you did not receive these things from you, you were right to seek out those who still wish to live according to the law. He does not say this reproaching the Indians, but he exposes those who use the proclamation as a trade. Therefore he says that I do not cease boasting, because I have not made the proclamation a trade as they did; for I neither received anything from you nor do I receive, not as though I do not love you—for I do love you—but in order to cut off the pretext of the accusers, so that whether they boast falsely or truly, they may be revealed as we also have been revealed. This is strong to prove that the soul is immortal; for if he knew that it was mortal, he would not have doubted whether he saw the vision outside the body or in the body. And the phrase "as far as the third heaven" he said the third of the interval; for if he had ascended as far as three heavens, he would certainly have heard the ineffable words there and not in paradise. And let no one think that paradise is above the heaven; for it is planted toward the east on the earth in the place called Eden, where also Adam was formed, as Moses records. He speaks of weaknesses

the persecutions, not a bodily affliction as some suppose. He is suspected by many of having a pain in his head, but the truth is he speaks of the persecutions, since the temptations arose from diabolical activity. He called the temptation that serves the devil a "angel of Satan" by a metaphor from the angels who serve God. And "it was given" is to be understood as by God's permission, as also in the case of Job; for God does not give evils. 298 2 You have apostolic grace; do not seek to accomplish this even without temptations; for my power is perfected in persecutions and afflictions. Unless perhaps you have this to charge against me, that I did not receive anything from you for sustenance, having become indifferent to need, in which, if you think I have erred, forgive me and grant me this injustice which you consider to have been done by me. This testifies to them that he came to them a second and third time for the sake of the proclamation. Just as Christ is said to have become sin and curse, being neither sin nor curse, but he appropriated our evils to himself in order to remove us from them; so also now, it is said that he was crucified not from his own weakness, but from that which he undertook on our behalf, managing things for our sake.