Homily 13 — Ephesians 4, verses 17 to 24

“So I say this, and testify in the Lord: you must no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk, in the emptiness of their mind, darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart. Having lost all feeling, they gave themselves up to debauchery, to practice every kind of uncleanness with greed.” [a]

These words are not addressed to the Ephesians only; they are now addressed to you as well. And they come not from me, but from Paul — or rather, neither from me nor from Paul, but from the grace of the Spirit. So we ought to feel as though that grace itself were speaking them. Now hear what it says: “So I say this, and testify in the Lord: you must no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk, in the emptiness of their mind, darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart.”

If it is ignorance, then, if it is hardening, why blame it? If a man is ignorant, the fair thing would be, not that he should be ill-treated or blamed for it, but that he should be taught what he does not know. But notice how he cuts them off at once from every excuse. “Having lost all feeling,” he says, “they gave themselves up to debauchery, to practice every kind of uncleanness with greed. But you did not learn Christ that way.” Here he shows us that the cause of their hardening was their way of life, and that their way of life came from their own laziness and lack of feeling.

“Having lost all feeling,” he says, “they gave themselves up.” [c]

So whenever you hear that “God gave them up to a debased mind” (Romans 1, verse 28), remember this expression: “they gave themselves up.” If they gave themselves up, how did God give them up? And again, if God gave them up, how did they give themselves up? You see the apparent contradiction. The words “he gave them up,” then, mean this: he allowed them to be given up.

Do you see that an impure life is the ground for doctrines of the same kind? “Everyone who does evil,” says the Lord, “hates the light and does not come to the light” (John 3, verse 20). For how could a dissolute man — one sunk deeper in indiscriminate lewdness than the pigs that wallow in the mud, a lover of money, without so much as a desire for chastity — take up a life like this? They made the thing their “work,” he says. Hence their “hardening” (verse 19); hence the “darkening of their understanding.”

It is possible to be in the dark even while the light is shining, when the eyes are weak; and they become weak either from an inflow of bad humors or from too much watery discharge. So it surely is here as well. When the strong current of this life’s affairs overwhelms the understanding’s power to perceive, it is plunged into darkness. And just as, if we were placed deep under water, we would be unable to see the sun because of the mass of water lying above us, so it is here. Hardening of heart takes place — that is, a loss of all feeling — whenever there is no fear to stir the soul.

“There is no fear of God,” it says, “before his eyes” (Psalm 36, verse 1); and again, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14, verse 1). Now blindness comes from no other cause than from lack of feeling; this is what clogs the channel. For whenever the body’s fluids curdle and collect in one place, the limb becomes dead and without feeling; and though you burn it, or cut it, or do whatever you like with it, it still feels nothing. So it is with these people too, once they have given themselves up to debauchery. Though you apply the word to them like fire or the knife, nothing touches them, nothing reaches them; their limb is completely dead. And unless you can remove the numbness, so as to reach the healthy parts, everything you do is useless.

“With greed,” he says. Here he has taken away their excuse completely. For it was in their power, if only they had chosen, not to be “greedy,” nor “debauched,” nor gluttonous, and still to enjoy their desires. It was in their power to have a moderate share of riches, and even of pleasure and luxury. But when they indulged in the thing without measure, they ruined everything.

“To practice every kind of uncleanness,” he says. You see how he strips them of every excuse by speaking of “practicing uncleanness.” They did not sin, he means, by a slip of the foot; they worked at these horrible deeds and made the thing their study.

“Every kind of uncleanness”: uncleanness takes in every adultery, sexual immorality, unnatural lust, envy, every kind of dissolute living and debauchery.

Verses 20 and 21: “But you did not learn Christ that way,” he goes on, “if indeed you heard him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus.” The expression “if indeed you heard him” is not that of someone doubting, but of someone affirming, and strongly. He speaks the same way elsewhere: “If indeed it is a righteous thing with God to repay with affliction those who afflict you” (Second Thessalonians 1, verse 6). That is to say, it was not for these purposes that “you learned Christ.”

Verse 22: “That you put away, as regards your former way of life, the old man.” This, then, is surely what it is to learn Christ: to live rightly. For whoever lives wickedly does not know God, and is not known by him. Hear what he says elsewhere: “They profess that they know God, but by their works they deny him” (Titus 1, verse 16).

“As the truth is in Jesus: that you put away, as regards your former way of life, the old man.” That is to say, it was not on these terms that you entered into the covenant. What is found among us is not emptiness but truth. As the doctrines are true, so is the life. Sin is emptiness and falsehood, but a right life is truth. For chastity is truth indeed, since it has a great end; whereas dissolute living ends in nothing. [g]

“Which grows corrupt,” he says, “according to the cravings of deceit.” As his cravings became corrupt, so did he himself. How, then, do his cravings become corrupt? By death all things are dissolved. Hear the prophet say, “On that very day his thoughts perish” (Psalm 146, verse 4). And not by death only, but by many other things besides. Beauty, for instance, fades and dies away as disease or old age comes on, and suffers corruption. Bodily strength, again, is destroyed by the same means. Nor does luxury itself give the same pleasure in old age, as is clear from the case of Barzillai; you know the story, no doubt.

Or again, in another sense, craving corrupts and destroys the old man. For as wool is destroyed by the very same means by which it is produced, so is the old man too. Love of glory destroys him, pleasures often destroy him, and “craving” will “deceive” him completely. For this is not really pleasure, but bitterness and deceit, all pretense and outward show. The surface of these things is bright, but the things themselves are full of misery and utter wretchedness, of loathsomeness and complete poverty. Take off the mask and uncover the real face, and you will see the cheat. For it is a cheat, when what is does not appear, and what is not is put on display. That is how frauds are worked.

The apostle sketches four men for us, and I will explain them. In this passage he mentions two, when he says, “Putting away the old man, be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man.” And in the letter to the Romans he mentions two more, where he says, “But I see a different law in my members, waging war against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members” (Romans 7, verse 23). And the “old man” … to the “outer man.” However, three of these four were subject to corruption. Or rather, there are three: the new man, the old man, and this one — man in his very being and nature. [i]

Verse 23: “And that you be renewed,” he says, “in the spirit of your mind.” So that no one would suppose, when he speaks of old and new, that he is bringing in a different person, notice his expression: “that you be renewed.” To be renewed is when the very same thing that has grown old is renewed, changed from one state into the other. So the subject is the same, but the change is in what is incidental to it. Just as the body is the same, and the change is in what is incidental, so it is here.

How, then, is the renewal to take place? “In the spirit of your mind,” he says. So whoever has the Spirit will do no old deed, for the Spirit will not put up with old deeds. “In the spirit,” he says, “of your mind” — that is, in the spirit that is in your mind.

Verse 24: “And put on the new man.” Do you see that the subject is one, but the clothing is twofold — what is put off and what is put on? “The new man,” he goes on, “which has been created after God in righteousness and holiness of truth.” Now why does he call virtue a man? And why vice a man? Because a man cannot be shown apart from what he does. So these things, no less than his nature, show a man, whether he is good or evil. [k]

Now just as undressing and dressing oneself are easy, so we may see it is with virtue and vice. The young man is strong; so let us too become strong for doing good. The young man has no wrinkle; so neither should we. The young man does not waver, and is not easily taken by diseases; so neither should we be.

Notice here how he calls this making virtue real, this bringing it into being out of nothing, a “creation.” But what? Was not that other, former creation also after God? No, not at all; it was after the devil. He is the only creator of sin.

How is this? For man is created from now on, not from water, nor from earth, but “in righteousness and holiness of truth.” What does this mean? He created him at once, he means, to be a son; for this takes place from baptism. This is the reality: “in righteousness and holiness of truth.” There was of old a righteousness, and there was a holiness likewise, among the Jews. Yet that righteousness was not in truth but in figure. For being clean in body was a type of purity, not the truth of purity; a type of righteousness, not the truth of righteousness. “In righteousness,” he says, “and holiness,” which are “of truth.” [l]

And this expression is used in contrast to falsehood; for there are many who seem righteous to those outside, and yet are false. Now by righteousness is meant virtue as a whole. Listen to Christ saying, “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5, verse 20).

And again, a man is called righteous who has no charge against him. So even in the courts we call that man righteous who has been treated unrighteously and has not acted unrighteously in return. If, then, we too are able to appear righteous toward one another before that fearful judgment seat, we may meet with some of his love for humankind. Toward God, indeed, it is impossible for us to appear so, whatever we may have to show. For everywhere he prevails in what is righteous, as the prophet also says: “That you may prevail when you come into judgment.” But if we do not violate what is righteous toward each other, then we will be righteous. If we can show that we have been treated unrighteously, then we will be righteous.

How can he say “put on” to those who are already clothed? He is now speaking of the clothing that comes from our life and good works. Before, the clothing came from baptism; now it comes from our daily life and from works — no longer “according to the cravings of deceit,” but “after God.” [m]

But what does the word “holy” mean? It means what is pure, what is due. That is why we also use the word of the last duty paid to the dead, as much as to say, “I owe them nothing further; I have nothing else to answer for.” So we usually say, “I have acquitted myself of every obligation,” and the like, meaning, “I owe nothing more.”

Our part, then, is never to put off the garment of righteousness, which the prophet also calls “the garment of salvation” (Isaiah 61, verse 10), so that we may be made like God. For he indeed has put on righteousness. Let us put on this garment. Now the word “put on” plainly declares nothing else than that we should never take it off at all. Hear the prophet where he says, “He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment, and it came into his inward parts” (Psalm 109, verse 18). And again, “You who cover yourself with light as with a garment” (Psalm 104, verse 2). And again, we commonly say of people that so-and-so has “put on” so-and-so.

So he would have us clothed in virtue, not for one day, or two, or three, but always, and never stripped of this garment. For a man is not so disfigured when he is stripped of his clothes as when he is stripped of his virtue. In the first case his fellow servants see his nakedness; in the second, his Lord and the angels. If you ever happen to see someone going out naked through the public square, tell me, are you not distressed? Then when you go about stripped of this garment, what are we to say?

Do you not see those beggars we usually call vagrants, how they roam about, and how we pity even them? And yet they have no excuse. We do not excuse them when they have lost their clothes gambling; how, then, if we lose this garment, will God pardon us? For whenever the devil sees a man stripped of his virtue, he at once disguises and disfigures his face, wounds him, and drives him into great distress.

Let us strip ourselves of our riches, so that we are not stripped of righteousness. The clothing of wealth spoils this garment. It is a robe of thorns. That is what thorns are like: the more closely they are wrapped around us, the more naked they leave us. Debauchery strips us of this garment, for it is a fire, and the fire will burn this garment up. Wealth is a moth; and as the moth eats through everything alike and does not spare even silk clothes, so does wealth. So let us put off all these things, so that we may become righteous, so that we may “put on the new man.” Let us keep nothing old, nothing outward, nothing “corrupt.”

Virtue is not toilsome; she is not hard to attain. Do you not see those who live in the mountains? They leave houses and wives and children and every position of honor. They shut themselves away from the world, clothe themselves in sackcloth, and spread ashes under themselves to lie on. They wear collars hung about their necks, and they have shut themselves up in a narrow cell. Nor do they stop there; they torment themselves with fasting and constant hunger. If I now ordered you to do the same, would you not all run away? Would you not say it is unbearable?

But no, I do not say that we must do anything like this. I would wish indeed that it were so; still, I lay down no law. What then? Enjoy your baths, take care of your body, go freely about in the world, keep a household, have your servants wait on you, and make free use of your food and drink! But everywhere drive out excess, for that is what causes sin. The same thing, whatever it is, becomes a sin if it becomes excessive; so excess is nothing other than sin. Just notice: when anger is stirred up beyond what is fitting, then it rushes out into insult, then it commits every kind of injury. So too with an inordinate passion for beauty, for riches, for glory, or for anything else.

And do not tell me that the people I spoke of were strong. Many far weaker than you, and richer, and more used to luxury, have taken on that harsh and rugged life. And why do I speak of men? Young girls not yet twenty years old, who had spent all their time in the inner rooms of the house, in a soft and pampered way of life; in inner rooms full of sweet ointments and perfumes, lying on soft couches, soft by nature themselves and made softer still by overindulgence; who all day long had no other business than to adorn themselves, to wear jewels, and to enjoy every luxury; who never waited on themselves, but had many maids standing beside them; who wore clothes softer than their skin, fine and delicate linen; who were forever surrounded by roses and such sweet scents — yes, these very girls, in a moment, seized by Christ’s flame, have put off all that idleness and even their very nature. They have forgotten their delicacy and their youth, and like so many noble wrestlers they have stripped off that soft clothing and rushed into the middle of the contest.

Perhaps I will seem to be telling you incredible things; yet they are true. These girls, these very tender girls, as I myself have heard, have brought themselves to such a degree of strict training that they wrap the coarsest horsehair around their bare bodies, go unsandaled on those tender feet, and lie on a bed of leaves. More than that, they stay awake most of the night. They pay no attention to perfumes or to any other of their old delights. They even let their heads, once so carefully dressed, go without special care, the hair just plainly and simply tied up so that it does not fall into untidiness. Their only meal is in the evening, and it is not even a meal of greens or of bread, but of flour and beans and other pulses, olives and figs. They spin without stopping, and work far harder than their maids at home. What more? They take it on themselves to wait on women who are sick, carrying their beds and washing their feet. Many of them even cook. So great is the power of Christ’s flame; so far does their zeal rise above their very nature.

However, I demand nothing like this of you, since you are content to be outrun by women. Yet at least, if there are any tasks that are not too laborious, at least do these: restrain the violent hand and the eye that lacks self-control. What is there so hard in that, tell me, what so difficult? Do what is just and right; wrong no one, whether you are poor or rich, shopkeepers or hired workers — for wrongdoing can reach even to the poor. Do you not see how many quarrels these get into, and how they turn everything upside down? Marry freely and have children. Paul too gave instructions to such people; to such people he wrote. [o]

Is that contest I spoke of too great, the rock too high, its top too near to heaven, and are you unable to reach such a height? Then at least take hold of lesser things, and aim at the lower ones. Do you lack the courage to get rid of your own riches? Then at least stop seizing the things of others and wronging them. Are you unable to fast? Then at least do not give yourself to self-indulgence. Are you unable to lie on a bed of leaves? Still, do not provide yourselves with couches inlaid with silver. Use a couch and coverings made not for show but for rest — not couches of ivory.

Make yourself small. Why load your ship with crushing cargoes? If you travel light, you will have nothing to fear: no envy, no robbers, no one lying in wait. For you are not so rich in money as you are in worries. You abound not so much in possessions as in anxieties and dangers, “which bring in many temptations and cravings” (First Timothy 6, verse 9). These are the things endured by those who want to gain great possessions. I do not say, wait on the sick yourself; but at least tell your servant to do it. Do you see, then, that this is no toilsome task? No, how could it be, when tender girls outstrip us by so great a distance?

Let us be ashamed of ourselves, I beg you. In worldly matters, of course, we do not give way to them at any point, neither in wars nor in games. But in the spiritual contest they get ahead of us, seize the prize first, and soar higher, like so many eagles, while we, like jackdaws, live forever in the steam and smoke. For it truly is the business of jackdaws and of greedy dogs to set one’s thoughts on caterers and cooks.

Listen to what the women of old were like. They were great characters, great and admirable women: such were Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Deborah, and Hannah; and there were such women in the days of Christ as well. Yet they never outstripped the men; they held the second rank. But now it is the very opposite: women outstrip us and outshine us. How contemptible! What a disgrace this is! We hold the place of the head, and we are surpassed by the body. We are appointed to rule over them — not merely so that we may rule, but so that we may rule in goodness as well. For the one who rules ought above all to rule in this respect, by excelling in virtue; if he is surpassed, he is no longer a ruler.

Do you see how great is the power of Christ’s coming? How he undid the curse? For indeed there are more virgins among women than before, there is more modesty in those virgins, and there are more widows. No woman would lightly let slip even an unseemly word. Why, then, tell me, do you use filthy language? And do not tell me that they became virgins out of dejection or despair.

The female sex is fond of ornament, and it has this failing. Yet even in this you husbands outdo them, since you pride yourselves even on them as your own particular ornament. For I do not think a wife is as eager to show off her own jewels as the husband is to show off his wife’s. He is not as proud of his own gold belt as he is of his wife wearing gold jewelry. So even of this you are the cause: you light the spark and kindle the flame. [q]

What is more, it is not as great a sin in a woman as in a man. You are appointed to guide her; in every way you claim to have the first place. Then show her in this too, by your own clothing, that you take no interest in her costly finery. It is more fitting for a woman to adorn herself than for a man. So if you do not escape this temptation, how will she escape it? They also have their share of empty glory, but this they have in common with men. They are somewhat quick-tempered, and this again they have in common with men. But the things in which they excel are no longer common to them and to men: their holiness, I mean, their fervor, their devotion, their love for Christ.

Someone may say: “Why, then, did Paul shut them out of the teacher’s chair?” Here again is proof of how great a distance separated them from the men, and that the women of those days were great. For tell me: while Paul was teaching, or Peter, or those holy men of old, would it have been right for a woman to push her way into the office? But we have sunk so low that it has become a question why women are not teachers. So truly have we come down to the same weakness as they.

I have said these things, not from any wish to make them proud, but to shame ourselves, to correct and admonish us, so that we may take up again the authority that belongs to us — not because we are bigger in size, but because of our foresight, our protection of them, and our virtue. For so the body too will be in the order that befits it, when it has the best head to rule it. And may God grant that all, both wives and husbands, may live according to his good pleasure, so that on that fearful day we may all be counted worthy to enjoy the love for humankind of our Master, and to attain the good things that are promised in Jesus Christ our Lord, with whom, to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, and honor, now and forever and ever. Amen.