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Ancient Christian Texts
https://verbum.com/monthly-sale#free Ancient Christian Texts
Never used them, but I liked the write-up about the Ambrosiaster authored commentaries. I like having church fathers' works and fresh translations, easily accessible. I have gotten the free and cheapest ones, likely will get the others. For instance, am working through Moo's Romans course, and as my own reading, will likely refer to the Ambrosiaster Romans volume when I start getting into the text of Romans.
Some Samples:
2with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, 3eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Now Paul forbids dissension and urges the Ephesians to strive for love, so as not to lose the spirit of unity and peace which will enable them to put up with one another in patience. Modesty engenders success, because if they tolerate one another and point things out gently to one another, they will be corrected in the right way and peace will dwell in them. Then they will deserve to be called children of God, because the Lord said: blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.37 Disturbance and tension lead to contention, which usually tries to defend even things which it knows to be wrong, so as not to appear to give way. Thus arises discord which destroys the bonds of peace.
Ambrosiaster, Commentaries on Galatians–Philemon (ed. Thomas C. Oden and Gerald L. Bray; trans. Gerald L. Bray; Ancient Christian Texts; Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2009), 47.
17and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
Paul asks that they may be strengthened in the inner man so as not to doubt but to believe more deeply that Christ dwells in them. They have not seen him with their eyes, but the Spirit given to them by the gift of God has given them the assurance that Christ is alive, that he is the Son of God and that he dwells in our hearts by faith, so that when we have his faith in our hearts it is as if we see him. He encourages us to be certain of his help by not deserting us. He is always present with us because of his faith, which he sees in us, especially since his Spirit, which is also the Spirit of God the Father, is given to us in order to protect us on his behalf if we accept him, and to reveal things which are hidden. By his presence we do not doubt that Christ himself dwells in us. He is the other comforter, distinguished from the Son in terms of his person but not of his nature, because he receives from him and proceeds from God the Father.34 There is a unity of nature in them because they belong to each other. This is why the Lord says: All that the Father has are mine and all mine are the Father’s.35
18may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
Paul says that the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us grants that we may be grounded in the love of God, bound to him by his blessings, and that we may be able to understand, with all the saints (who are the apostles and prophets) that the incomprehensible and immeasurable God towers over everything by the power of his majesty.When he says the breadth and length and height and depth, he means that just as in a ball the length is as great as the breadth and the height is as great as the depth, so also in God all these things are equal in the immensity of his infinity. A ball is defined in time and space, but God not only fills all things, he goes beyond them as well. He is not limited by anything but contains everything in himself, so as to be the one and only ineffable and infinite being. It is impossible to thank him too much when in his greatness he was pleased through Christ to visit the human race, which was subject to sin and death.
19and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fulness of God.
After the infinite and incomprehensible knowledge of God the Father and the ineffable mercy of Christ, Paul also wants us to know the love which is far above knowledge (and here it is human knowledge which must be understood), for the love of Christ surpasses human knowledge. Who can understand the nature of this mystery of love, that God should be born as a man for the sake of the human race and die for us—the Lord for his servants, the Creator for his creatures, the godly for the ungodly? Why did he love us like that? What did he want from us, when he lacks for nothing himself? Is this not a love beyond human understanding? What human being could possibly show such love to anyone else, since God is not our equal and for this reason stands far above human thoughts? Paul wants us to know that our minds cannot grasp or perceive the depths of Christ’s benefits toward us. We must therefore always be completely submissive and devoted to him, and because we can never pay our debts to him in any way, we must persevere in his faith until death. He has done for us what is worthy of him, for the sake of the honor of his majesty, so that we might serve him as much as we can.Because faith is not fully complete in the Father alone, nor is it perfect in the Son alone, Paul added this verse to show that both in confession and in thanksgiving the honor reserved for the Father and the Son is the same. Everything which has been made by the Father must also be believed to have been made and restored by the Son, so that the fullness of the Godhead might be seen in the confession of believers. The Christian will lack nothing when he acknowledges that God the Father is incomprehensible above everything, and confesses that the love of Christ is ineffable and far above human knowledge.
20Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
This refers to the person of the Father, because he knows best what is useful for us, what we ought not to ask for, when we should be given it and how much is required. By his providence and power he governs the lives of believers. Glory is due to him in Christ Jesus, because it is through him that he offers everything to us and because the honor of the Father is seen in the Son and in the church, that is to say, in the people whom he has been pleased to adopt for himself. The glory of the Father is found in the brilliance of the children, as the Lord says: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven, for ever and ever. Amen.36
Ambrosiaster, Commentaries on Galatians–Philemon (ed. Thomas C. Oden and Gerald L. Bray; trans. Gerald L. Bray; Ancient Christian Texts; Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2009), 45–47.
I'm very happy with these choices!
I'm glad they're getting added to others' library ... I had them all at higher prices.
I'm very happy with these choices! I'm glad they're getting added to others' library ... I had them all at higher prices.
And, I hope, found them worth said prices.
I got them all since I already have the ones offered in the Logos website. Verbum is putting out some great freebies 👍😁👌
DAL
I got them all since I already have the ones offered in the Logos website. Verbum is putting out some great freebies 👍😁👌 DAL
I agree!
