1848. Above, our Lord taught his disciples by example, here he consoles them by his words. 1848. Supra Dominus informavit discipulos suos exemplis, hic confortat eos verbis, et First, they are encouraged in many ways by what he says; primo ponitur multiplex verborum exhortatio; second, what he has said is explained, these things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized (John 16:1). secundo ipsorum quae dicta sunt explicatio, cap. XVI haec locutus sum vobis, ut non scandalizemini. Concerning the first, we should note that there were two things which could trouble the disciples. One was near, that Christ would soon be leaving them; the second was in the future, and was the hardships they would undergo. Circa primum sciendum est, quod duo imminebant discipulis, de quibus conturbari poterant. Unum de praesenti, scilicet recessus Christi imminens; aliud de futuro, scilicet tribulationes quas passuri erant. First, Christ consoles them over his leaving; Primo ergo confortat eos contra primum, scilicet contra eius recessum; second, over their future hardships, I am the true vine; and my Father is the husbandman (John 15:1). secundo contra tribulationes quas passuri erant, XV, cap., ego sum vitis vera etc. He does two things concerning the first: Circa primum duo facit. first, he consoles them from their own point of view, as those who will be left: I am the true vine, you the branches (John 15:5); Primo confortat eos ex parte ipsorum remanentium; second, from his own point of view, as the one leaving: let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid (John 14:27). secundo ex parte sui recedentis, ibi non turbetur cor vestrum, neque formidet. He does three things about the first: Circa primum tria facit. first, he says that he is going to the Father; Primo praemittit suum accessum ad Patrem; second, he promises them the gift of the Holy Spirit: if you love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15); secundo promittit eis donum Spiritus Sancti, ibi si diligitis me, mandata mea servate; third, he promises that he will also be with them: I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you (John 14:18). tertio suam praesentiam, ibi non relinquam vos orphanos. He does two things about the first: Circa primum duo facit. first, he mentions that he is going to the Father; Primo praemittit suum accessum ad Patrem; second, he brings in the way he would go: and where I go you know, and the way you know (John 14:4). secundo agit de via per quam accessurus erat, ibi et quo ego vado scitis, et viam scitis. He does three things about the first: Circa primum tria facit. first, he expels their anxieties; Primo excludit turbationem; second, he refers to his power: you believe in God, believe also in me; secundo innuit sui potestatem, ibi creditis in Deum, et in me credite; third, he adds a promise: in my Father’s house there are many mansions. tertio subiungit promissionem, ibi in domo Patris mei mansiones multae sunt. 1849. In regard to the first, note that the disciples could have been disturbed by what our Lord said about the betrayal of Judas, Peter’s denial, and his own going away. Indeed, each of these did trouble them and make them sad: you have made the land to quake, that is, the hearts of the disciples, you have rent it open (Ps 60:2). Therefore our Lord, wishing to soothe their sorrow, said: let not your heart be troubled. 1849. Circa primum sciendum est, quod discipuli perturbari poterant ex verbis Domini supradictis de proditione Iudae, et negatione Petri, et recessu suo. Et vere omnia turbationem et dolorem ingerebant; Ps. LIX, 4: commovisti terram, scilicet cordium discipulorum, et conturbasti eam. Et ideo Dominus sanare volens eorum contritionem, dicit non turbetur cor vestrum. 1850. In Acts we read: Jesus began to do and teach (Acts 1:1). Yet above it says that Jesus was troubled in spirit (John 13:21). How can he tell his disciples not to be troubled when he himself was troubled? 1850. Sed contra; Act. I, 1: coepit Iesus facere et docere. Sed supra XIII, 21, dicitur: turbatus est Iesus spiritu etc. Quomodo ergo docet non turbari qui primo turbatus est? I answer that he did not teach the opposite of what he did. It was stated above that he was troubled in spirit, not that his spirit was troubled. Here he is not forbidding them to be troubled in spirit, but he is forbidding that their hearts, that is, their spirits, be troubled. For there is a troubled state which arises from reason; this is to be praised and is not forbidden: for godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation (2 Cor 7:10). Yet there is a different grief or troubled state of the reason itself; this is not laudable because it draws the reason from its proper course; this is forbidden: the just person will not be troubled for the Lord puts his hand under him (Ps 37:24). For one who always possesses God cannot be disturbed. Responsio. Dicendum quod non docuit contrarium eius quod fecit. De eo autem dicitur quod turbatus est spiritu, non quod spiritus eius sit turbatus. Hic autem non prohibet quin turbentur spiritu, sed prohibet quod eorum cor, idest spiritus, non turbetur. Est enim quaedam turbatio ex spiritu, ex ratione procedens, quae laudabilis est, nec prohibetur. II Cor. III, 10: quae enim secundum Deum tristitia est, poenitentiam in salutem stabilem operatur. Alia est tristitia seu turbatio ipsius rationis; quae non est laudabilis, quia abducit a propria rectitudine; et prohibetur Ps. XXXVI, v. 24: iustus non conturbabitur, quia Dominus supponit manum suam. Non enim turbari potest qui Deum semper habet. 1851. Accordingly, our Lord refers to the power of his divinity, saying, you believe in God, believe also in me. Here he presupposes one thing and commands another. 1851. Et ideo Dominus suae divinitatis potestatem subiungit, dicens creditis in Deum, et in me credite: ubi unum supponit, et aliud praecipit. He presupposes their faith in God, saying, you believe in God: he had already taught them about this: for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists (Heb 11:6). Supponit quidem eorum fidem in Deum, dicens creditis in Deum: in hoc enim iam instructi erant ab ipso; Her. XI, 6: accedentem ad Deum oportet credere. What he commands is that they believe in him, saying, believe also in me. For if you believe in God, and since I am God, then you should believe in me. And this follows whether the word ‘God’ stands for the divine essence, since the Son is God, or whether it stands for the person of the Father. For no one can believe in the Father unless he believes in the Son: he who does not honor the Son, honors not the Father, who has sent him (John 5:23). Praecipit autem ut credant in ipsum, dicens et in me credite. Si enim in Deum creditis, ego autem sum Deus: consequens est quod in me credatis. Et tenet haec consequentia, sive ly ‘Deus’ teneatur essentialiter, cum ipse Filius sit Deus, sive ly ‘Deus’ supponat pro persona Patris. Nullus enim potest in Patrem credere nisi credat in Filium; supra V, 23: qui non honorificat Filium, non honorificat Patrem. The fact that he says, believe also in me, indicates that he is truly God; for although we are allowed to believe a human being or a creature, we ought to believe in God alone. Therefore, we must believe in Christ as we believe in God. We are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20); this is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent (John 6:29). In hoc autem quod dicit et in me credite, contestatur se verum esse Deum; nam etsi homini vel creaturae credere liceat, in nullum tamen nisi in Deum credere debemus. Est ergo in Christum credentium sicut in Deum. I Io. ult., 20: ut sitis in vero Filio eius Christo. Hic est verus Deus et vita aeterna; supra VI, 29: hoc est opus Dei, ut credatis in eum quem misit ille. 1852. Then when he says, in my Father’s house are many mansions, he adds the promise that it is through Christ that they will approach and be brought to the Father. Now a promise to others that they will gain entrance to some place involves two things: first, the place must be prepared; next, they have to be brought there. Our Lord makes these two promises here: one concerns the preparation of the place, and the other is about their being brought there. Yet the first is not necessary, for the place has already been prepared; but the second is necessary. Thus he does two things: 1852. Consequenter cum dicit in domo Patris mei mansiones multae sunt, subiungit promissionem quae est ut per Christum accedant, et introducantur ad Patrem. Promissio autem de accessu aliorum ad aliquem locum duo includit: unum est praecedens, scilicet loci praeparatio; aliud sequens, scilicet in locum introductio. Et ideo Dominus duas hic promissiones facit: unam quae pertinet ad loci praeparationem, aliam ad loci introductionem. Prima autem non est necessaria, cum iam locus sit praeparatus; sed secunda: et ideo circa hoc duo facit. he says the first promise is not necessary; Primo excludit necessitatem primae promissionis; and then he makes his second promise: and if I will go, and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will take you to myself (John 13:3). secundo ponit secundam promissionem, ibi et si abiero, et praeparavero vobis locum, iterum veniam, et accipiam vos ad meipsum. In regard to the first he does two things: Circa primum duo facit. first, he indicates that it is not necessary to prepare the place; Primo excludit necessitatem praeparationis; second he shows that he could prepare it if it were necessary: if not, I would have told you: because I go to prepare a place for you. secundo ostendit facultatem suam ad praeparandum, si necesse esset, ibi si quo minus, dixissem vobis, quia vado parare vobis locum. 1853. He says, in my Father’s house are many mansions. 1853. Dicit ergo in domo Patris mei mansiones multae sunt. The house of any one is where he dwells, and so the house of God is where God dwells. Now God dwells in his saints: yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us (Jer 14:9). In some of them he dwells by faith: I will live in them and move among them (2 Cor 6:16); while in others he dwells by perfect happiness: that God may be everything to every one (1 Cor 15:28). Accordingly, God has two houses. One is the Church militant, that is, the society of those who believe: that you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God. God dwells in this house by faith (1 Tim 3:15). The dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them (Rev 21:3). The other is the Church triumphant, that is, the society of the saints in the glory of the Father: we will be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, thy holy temple (Ps 65:4). Ubi sciendum est, quod cum uniuscuiusque domus sit in qua habitat, illa dicitur domus Dei in qua habitat Deus; Deus autem habitat in sanctis; Ier. XIV, 9: tu in nobis es, Domine etc. Sed in quibusdam quidem per fidem; II Cor. VI, 16: inhabitabo in illis, et inambulabo inter eos. In quibusdam vero per fruitionem perfectam, I Cor. XV, 28: ut sit Deus omnia in omnibus. Duplex est ergo domus Dei. Una est militans Ecclesia, scilicet congregatio fidelium; I Tim. III, 15: ut scias quomodo oporteat te in domo Dei conversari, quae est Ecclesia Dei vivi. Et hanc inhabitat Deus per fidem; Apoc. XXI, 3: ecce tabernaculum Dei cum hominibus, et habitabo in illis. Alia est triumphans, scilicet sanctorum collectio in gloria Patris; Ps. c. LXIV, 6: replebimur in bonis domus tuae. Sanctum est templum tuum, mirabile in aequitate. Yet the house of the Father is not only where he dwells, but he himself is the house, for he exists in himself. It is into this house that he gathers us. We see from 2 Corinthians that God himself is the house: we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Cor 5:1). This house is the house of glory, which is God himself: a glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctification (Jer 17:12). We remain in this place, in God, with our will and affections by the joys of love: he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him (1 John 4:16). And we remain here with our minds by our knowledge of the truth: sanctify them in truth (John 17:17). Sed domus Patris dicitur non solum illa quam ipse inhabitat, sed etiam ipsemet, quia ipse in seipso est. Et in hac domo nos colligit. Quod autem ipse Deus sit domus, habetur II Cor. V, 1: domum habemus a Deo, non manufactam, aeternam in caelis. Et haec domus est gloriae, quae est ipse Deus; Ier. c. XVII, 12: solium altitudinis gloriae tuae a principio, locus sanctificationis nostrae. Manet autem homo in hoc loco, scilicet Deo, quantum ad voluntatem et affectum per fruitionem caritatis I Io. IV, 16: qui manet in caritate, in Deo manet, et Deus in eo: et quantum ad intellectum per notitiam veritatis; infra XVII, 17: sanctifica eos in veritate.