Homilies on Romans 10

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death;

and so death passed unto all men, inasmuch as all sinned.

Even as the best of physicians are always busied about the root of diseases, and go to the very source of the evil,

so too does the blessed Paul.

For having said that we were justified, and having shown it from the patriarch and from the Spirit and from Christ's dying (for neither would He have died, had He not been about to justify), he now establishes from another quarter also the things proved by these, and, confirming his proposition from the contraries—that is, from death and from sin—he inquires how and in what manner, and whence death entered, and how it prevailed.

How then did death enter, and prevail? Through the sin of the one.

But what is, 'Inasmuch as all sinned'? This—that, he having fallen, even those who ate not of the tree have all, from him, become mortal.

For until the law sin was in the world;

but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

The words 'until the law,' some think that he has spoken of that time before the giving of the law;

such as the time under Abel, that under Noah, that under Abraham, that up to when Moses was born.

What then was the sin at that time? Some say that he is speaking of the sin in paradise;

for as yet it had not been done away, he says, but its fruit was even flourishing.

For that transgression brought in the death common to all, which held dominion and tyrannized over mankind.

For what reason, then, does he add, 'But sin is not imputed when there is no law'? By way of an objection from the Jews, they say, those who have expounded our position have declared that he laid this down for this reason: that if there is no sin apart from law, how did death consume all who lived before the law? To me, however, what is about to be said seems to have more reason in it, and to agree better with the apostolic thought.

And what is this? When he said that 'until the law sin was in the world,' this is what he seems to me to mean: that even after the law was given, the sin that comes from transgression held sway, and up to that time it held sway.

it held sway as long as the law also existed;

for sin, he says, cannot even subsist when there is no law.

If, then, this sin, he says, which springs from the transgression of the law, gave birth to death, how did all those before the law die? For if death took its root from sin, and where there is no law sin is not imputed, how did death hold sway? Whence it is clear that it was not this sin, the sin of the transgression of the law, but that other sin, the sin of Adam's disobedience, which was the one that ruined all things.

And what is the proof of this? The fact that all died even before the law.

'For death reigned,' he says, 'from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned.'

How did it reign? 'After the likeness of Adam's transgression, who is a figure of him that was to come.'

For on this account Adam is also a figure of Jesus Christ.

In that, just as he became to those descended from him—even though they had not eaten of the tree—the cause of the death that was introduced on account of that eating;

so also Christ became to those descended from him—even though they had not wrought righteousness—the procurer of the righteousness which He freely bestowed upon us all through the cross.

For this reason, up and down he keeps hold of 'the one,' and continually brings this forward into the midst, saying:

'Just as through one man sin entered into the world;'

and, 'By the trespass of the one the many died;'

and, 'Not as through one that sinned, so is the gift;'

and, 'The judgment came from one unto condemnation;'

and again, 'For if by the trespass of the one death reigned through the one;'

and, 'So then as through one trespass;'

and again, 'For as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners;'

and he does not depart from 'the one,' so that when the Jew says to you, 'How was the whole world saved through the well-doing of one, namely Christ?' you may be able to say to him, 'How was the whole world condemned through the disobedience of one, namely Adam?' And yet sin and grace are not equal, nor are death and life equal, nor are the devil and God equal—rather, the distance between them is infinite.

When, therefore, both from the nature of the thing itself, and from the power of Him who intervened, and from what is fitting (for it is far more fitting to God to save than to punish)—when here lies the superiority and the trophies of victory, what reason could you have for unbelief, tell me? That what has come to pass is indeed according to reason, he showed when he said:

'But not as the trespass, so also is the free gift.'

'For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound unto the many.'

For what he says is of this kind:

If sin had such power, and the sin of one man;

grace, and the grace of God, and not of the Father only but also of the Son, how shall it not prevail the more abundantly? For this is far more reasonable.

For that one should be punished on account of another does not seem to have much reason in it;

but that one should be saved on account of another is both more fitting and more reasonable.

If, then, the former came to pass, much more this.

That it is therefore likely and reasonable, he showed from these things;

for when the former had been established, this was thereafter bound to be readily acceptable;

but that it is also necessary, he establishes from what follows.

How, then, does he establish this? 'Not as through one that sinned is the gift,' he says;

'for the judgment came from one unto condemnation;'

'but the free gift came from many trespasses unto justification.'

And what exactly is this that is being said? That one sin had power to bring in death and condemnation;

but grace not only did away with that one sin, but also with those that came in after it.

For, lest the 'as' and the 'so' that are set down should introduce an equal measure of the good things as against the evil, and lest, hearing of Adam, you should suppose that only that one sin which he brought in was done away, he says that the doing away of many trespasses came to pass.

Whence is this clear? From the fact that, after the countless sins committed after that one in paradise, the matter issued in justification.

But where there is righteousness, of necessity life also altogether follows, and the ten thousand good things—just as, where there is sin, death follows.

For righteousness is more than life, since it is even the root of life.

That, then, the good things introduced are more abundant,

and that not only that one sin was done away, but also all the rest, he showed when he said:

'But the free gift came from many trespasses unto justification.'

Whence it has of necessity been demonstrated together that death also has been plucked up by the roots.

But there is now need to establish yet this very point—since he said that the second is greater than the first.

For first he had said that if the sin of one killed all, much more shall the grace of one be able to save;

after this he showed that not only was that one sin done away by grace, but also all the rest, and that not only were sins done away, but righteousness also was given;

and that Christ did not benefit us only as much as Adam harmed us, but far more and greater.

Since, then, he made such declarations, here too he again requires further establishment.

How, then, does he establish it? 'For if,' he says, 'by the trespass of the one death reigned through the one, much more shall they who receive the abundance of the grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.'

And what he means is this:

What armed death against the whole world? Merely the eating from the tree by the one man.

If, then, death received such strength from one trespass, when some are found to have received grace and righteousness far greater than that sin, how shall they be able any longer to be liable to death? For this reason he did not say here 'grace,' but 'the abundance of grace;'

for we did not receive from grace only as much as we needed for the doing away of sin, but far more.

For we were both delivered from punishment, and put off all wickedness, and were born again from above, and rose again with the old man buried, and were redeemed, and sanctified, and led into adoption as sons, and justified, and made brethren of the Only-begotten, and were constituted His joint-heirs and members of one body with Him, and are counted part of His flesh, and united to Him as a body to its head.

All these things, then, Paul called 'the abundance of grace,' showing that we received not merely a remedy to counterbalance the wound, but also health, and comeliness, and honor, and glory, and dignities far exceeding our nature.

And each of these things was of itself sufficient to abolish death;

but when all together are seen running in concurrence, it is not possible for even a trace of it, or so much as a shadow, to appear any more, for it has been utterly done away.

Just as, therefore, if someone should throw into prison a man who owed ten obols—and not him only, but on his account also his wife and children and servants;

and another should come and pay down not the ten obols only, but should freely bestow ten thousand talents of gold, and lead the prisoner into royal courts, and to a throne of the highest rule, and make him a partaker of the loftiest honor and of every other distinction—then he who lent the money would no longer be able to remember the ten obols;

For Christ paid down far more than we owed, and by so much more as an infinite sea compared to a little drop. Therefore do not doubt, O man, when you behold such wealth of good things, nor inquire how that spark of death and of sin was quenched, when so great a sea of gifts was poured upon it.

For this too Paul hinted at when he said that 'they who receive the abundance of grace and of righteousness shall reign in life;'

and since he had clearly demonstrated this, he again employs the first syllogism, tightening it by the repetition, and saying that, if through that trespass all were punished, they might well from this source also be justified.

'So then, as through one trespass it came unto all men to condemnation, even so through one act of righteousness it came unto all men to justification of life.'

And he contends further for it, speaking thus:

'For as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous.'

that what is said contains some small difficulty;

but if one attends carefully, this too will easily be resolved.

What, then, is the question at issue? It is this saying, that through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners.

For that, when he had sinned and become mortal, those descended from him should likewise be such—there is nothing improbable in this;

but that through that man's disobedience another should become a sinner—what logical consequence could this have? For on such reasoning it would be found that such a one owes no penalty at all, seeing that he did not become a sinner of his own doing.

What then does 'sinners' mean here? To me it seems to mean those liable to punishment and condemned to death.

That, then, when Adam died we all became mortal, he has shown clearly and by many arguments;

but the point in question is, for what reason this came to pass.

Yet he does not go on to add this;

for it contributes nothing to his present purpose;

for his contention is against the Jew, who doubts and derides the righteousness that comes through the one man.

Therefore, having shown that the punishment too was brought upon all from the one, he did not further add for what reason this came about;

for he is not one to be superfluous, but keeps only to what is necessary.

For this the law of argument compelled not so much himself as the Jew to say further:

But if any of you should seek to learn, we will say this: that not only have we suffered no harm from this death and condemnation—provided we are watchful—but we have even gained by becoming mortal;

first, that we do not sin in an immortal body;

secondly, that we have countless occasions for the practice of virtue.

For death, both when present and when expected, persuades us to be moderate, to be temperate, to be restrained, and to be freed from all vice.

But together with these—nay rather, even before these—it has brought in yet many other good things.

For from this source come the crowns of the martyrs and the prizes of the apostles;

thus was Abel justified, thus did Abraham slay his son, thus was John slain for Christ's sake, thus the three children, thus Daniel.

For if we are willing, not only death but not even the devil himself will be able to harm us.

And apart from these, this too may be said: that immortality also awaits us, and that after being admonished for a little while, we shall with security enjoy the good things to come—being trained in the present life as in some school, through sickness and affliction and temptations and poverty and the other things that seem to be grievous, that we may become fit for the reception of the good things to come.

'But the law entered in, that the offence might abound.'

For since he had shown that the world was condemned through Adam, but through Christ was saved and delivered from condemnation, he now opportunely inquires again concerning the law, curtailing the high opinion held of it.

For not only, he says, did it profit nothing, nor only did it render no aid, but the disease was even increased when it entered in.

But the word 'that' here again denotes not the cause, but the result.

For it was not given for this end, that the offence might abound, but it was given so as to diminish and abolish the offence;

but the contrary came to pass, not by reason of the nature of the law, but by reason of the negligence of those who received it.

But why did he not say, 'The law was given,' but, 'The law entered in besides'? To show that its use was temporary, and not sovereign nor primary;

which very thing he says also in the Epistle to the Galatians, declaring this same truth in another manner:

'For before faith came,' he says, 'we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.'

So that it was guarding the flock not for itself, but for another.

For since certain of the Jews were coarse and dissolute, and had grown careless even toward the very gifts, for this cause the law was given, that it might convict them the more, and teach them clearly in what state they were, and, by heightening the accusation, might bind them the more tightly.

For this came about not that the punishment might be made greater, but that grace might appear the greater.

Wherefore he added, 'But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.'

He did not say, 'abounded,' but, 'did much more abound.'

For He did not merely deliver from punishment,

but He also gave remission of sins and life, and the other things which we have often mentioned;

just as if one should not only free a man in a fever from his sickness, but should also make him comely and strong and honoured; or again, should not merely feed one who is hungry, but should make him master of much wealth and lead him to the highest office.

'And how did sin abound?' one may ask. The law gave countless commandments;

since, then, they transgressed all of them, sin abounded.

Do you see how great is the difference between grace and the law? For the one became even an addition to condemnation, while the other was an abundance of gift.

Having spoken of this unspeakable bounty, he again inquires into the origin and root both of death and of life.

What then is the root of death? Sin;

'that, as sin reigned in death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.'

This he said to show that sin holds the rank of a king, while death holds the rank of a soldier ranged under it and armed by it.

If, then, sin armed death, it is manifest that the righteousness which destroys sin—the righteousness brought in through grace—not only disarms death, but also destroys it, and dissolves its whole reign, inasmuch as the latter is greater than the former, being introduced not by man or by the devil, but by God and by grace, and leading our life to what is better and to a good without end;

for there shall no longer be any end of it, that from this also you may learn its superiority.

For sin cast us out of the present life;

but grace, when it came, bestowed on us not the present life, but the immortal and eternal one.

And of all these things Christ is for us the procurer.

Do not then doubt concerning life, since you have righteousness;

for righteousness is greater than life, seeing that it is even the mother of it.

'What then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.'

Again he passes over to the ethical discourse, not introducing it as his primary theme, lest he should seem to many burdensome and irksome, but as arising from the sequence of the doctrines.

For if, even while thus varying his discourse, he was cautious, lest at any time they should be vexed at what was said (wherefore also he said, 'I have written the more boldly unto you in some measure'), much more, had he not done this, would he have appeared to them too harsh.

Since, then, he had shown grace to be great by its having healed great sins, and from this the thing said seemed, in the eyes of the foolish, to be an incitement to sin—

for if, they say, grace appeared the greater on this account, because we sinned greatly, let us not cease from sinning, that grace may be shown the more abundant;

in order, then, that they might not say or surmise these things, see how he overthrows the objection—first by the prohibition, saying, 'God forbid,'

which he is wont to do in cases of things exceedingly and confessedly absurd;

then he also sets down an irrefutable argument.

What kind, then, is this? 'We,' he says, 'who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein?' What is the meaning of 'we died'? Either that, as concerns its part and what pertained to it, we all received the sentence;

or that we became dead to it, having believed and been enlightened;

which is the rather to be said;

for this is what the words that follow also make plain.

And what is it to have become dead to it? To yield obedience to it no longer in anything.

For this baptism accomplished once for all; it made us dead to it;

but for the rest, it must be continually carried through by our own diligence, so that, though sin enjoin ten thousand things, we should no longer obey, but remain unmoved as the dead man.

And yet elsewhere he says that this sin itself died;

but there, wishing to show that virtue is easy, he puts it thus;

while here, since he is eager to rouse the hearer, he transfers the death to the man himself.

Then, since what had been said was obscure, he interprets it again, employing his words also with a note of rebuke.

'Or are you ignorant, brethren,' he says, 'that as many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried together with Him through baptism into death.'

What does it mean, 'We were baptized into His death'? It means that we too should die just as He did.

What the cross and the tomb were to Christ, that our baptism has become to us, even if not in the same respect.

For He indeed both died and was buried in the flesh, whereas we died and were buried, both of these, with respect to sin.

Wherefore he did not say 'planted together in His death,' but 'in the likeness of His death.'

For both this and that are indeed death, yet not of the same subject;

but the one is the death of Christ's flesh, while the other is the death of our sin.

As therefore that death was real, so also is this one.

But if it too is real, then what pertains to us must again be brought into agreement;

'that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.'

Here, together with diligence in living, he also hints obscurely at the doctrine concerning the resurrection.

How so? 'You believed,' he says, 'that Christ died and that He was raised. Then believe also what concerns yourself;

for this resembles that, since your case too involves both a cross and a tomb.'

For if you shared in His death and burial, much more will you share in His resurrection and life;

for since the greater thing, namely sin, has been done away with, one need no longer be in doubt concerning the lesser, the abolition of death.

But these things for the present he leaves to be reckoned by the conscience of his hearers; while he himself, setting forth the resurrection that is to come, requires of us another resurrection, namely the new manner of life, that which comes about in the present life through a change of our ways.

For when the fornicator becomes chaste, and the covetous man merciful, and the harsh man gentle, here too a resurrection has taken place, being a prelude to that other one.

And how is it a resurrection? When sin has been put to death and righteousness has risen, when the old life has vanished and this new, angelic manner of life is being lived.

But when you hear of a new life, look for a great alteration and a mighty change.

But indeed it comes upon me now to weep and to groan deeply, when I consider how great a philosophy Paul requires of us, and to how great a slothfulness we have surrendered ourselves, returning after baptism to our former old age, turning back to Egypt, and remembering the leeks after the manna.

For being changed for but ten or twenty days at the very time of baptism, we again set our hands to our former deeds.

But Paul requires this manner of life of us not for a set number of days, but for our whole life;

yet we return to our former vomit, and after the youth we received from grace, we fabricate for ourselves an old age out of our sins.

For indeed the love of money, and the being enslaved to unseemly desires, and every sin in a word, is wont to make old the one who practices it;

and that which is made old and grows aged is near to vanishing away.

For it is not possible—no, it is not possible—to see a body so paralyzed by the passage of time as to see a soul rotted and falling to pieces under the weight of many sins.

For it is thenceforth reduced to the utmost dotage, uttering meaningless sounds like men grown old and raving, filled with rheum and great derangement and forgetfulness, with discharge before its eyes, loathsome to men and easily mastered by the devil;

for such indeed are the souls of sinners.

But not so the souls of the righteous; rather they are youthful and vigorous, and are ever in the very flower of their age, always prepared for every combat and wrestling;

whereas the souls of sinners, even if they receive but a slight assault, straightway fall and are destroyed.

And declaring this, the prophet said that those who live in sins are 'like the chaff which the wind drives away from the face of the earth,' thus easily blown about and exposed to injury from all.

For neither do they see soundly, nor hear clearly, nor do they speak articulately, but are full of much hoarseness, and carry about in their mouth much saliva flowing over.

And would that it were saliva, and there were nothing amiss;

but as it is, they emit words fouler in stench than any mire, and—what is yet more grievous—they are not even able to spit out the saliva of these words, but receiving it upon their hand with much loathsomeness, they smear it back on again, thick as it is and hard to sever.

so much the more, then, ought we to attend to our conduct.

For if these unpleasant things, when they befall the body, are so distasteful, much more so are they in the soul.

Such was that son who had squandered all that was his own and had been brought down to the utmost wickedness, disposed more feebly than anyone raving and diseased.

But when he willed it, he suddenly became young again, by mere resolve and a change of mind.

For when he said, 'I will return to my father,' this word brought him all good things;

or rather, not the word simply, but the deed added to the word.

For he did not say, 'Let me return,' and then remain where he was;

but he said, 'Let me return,' and he did return, and he retraced that whole road.

so, even if we have been carried away into a far country, let us return to our Father's house, and let us not shrink from the length of the road.

If we are willing, the return becomes easy and most swift; only let us forsake the strange and the alien land;

for this is what sin does—it leads us far away from the Father's house.

Let us therefore forsake it, that we may quickly return to the Father's house.

For the Father is tenderly affectionate, and will love us, when we have changed, no less than those in good standing, but even more;

since the father then also honored that son the more;

for he himself rejoiced the more at receiving his son back.

'And how am I to return?' one asks. Only make a beginning of the matter, and the whole thing is accomplished;

stand fast against wickedness, and go no further, and you have already laid hold of the whole.

For just as with the sick the ceasing to grow worse becomes a beginning of getting better, so also does it come to pass in the case of wickedness;

do not proceed further, and your vices will have their end.

And if you do this for two days, on the third you will desist more easily, and after the three you will add ten more, then twenty, then a hundred, then your whole life.

For the further you advance, the easier you will find the road, and you will stand upon its very summit, and will enjoy many good things all at once.

Since then too, when that prodigal returned, there were flutes and lyres and dances and feasts and festivities;

and he who ought to have demanded satisfaction from his son for the untimely expenditure and so long a flight did none of these things, but looked upon him as one who had done well, and did not endure to reproach the boy even so far as words—nay, he would not so much as simply remind him of his former deeds, but rather he fell upon his neck and kissed him, and slew the calf, and clothed him in a robe, and established him in great splendor.

Having then these examples, let us also take courage and not despair.

For God does not so rejoice at being called Master as at being called Father, nor at having a slave as at having a son;

and He wishes for this rather than for that.

For this very reason indeed He did all that He did, and did not even spare His Only-begotten, that we might receive the adoption as sons, that we might love Him not merely as Master, but also as Father.

And if He obtains this from us, then, like one who is being glorified, He exults, and proclaims it to all—He who has need of nothing that is ours.

This indeed He did in the case of Abraham, everywhere saying, 'I am the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.'

And yet it would have been fitting for the servants to pride themselves on this;

but now it is the Master who is seen doing this.

For this reason too He says to Peter, 'Do you love Me more than these?'—showing that He seeks nothing from us before this.

For this reason too He commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son, that He might show to all that He is exceedingly loved by the patriarch.

And this desire to be loved exceedingly arises from His loving exceedingly.

For this reason too He said to the apostles:

'He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.'

For this reason, that which is dearer to us than all else, the soul, He commands us to set even this in second place after our love for Him, since He wills to be loved by us above all measure.

For we ourselves, when we are not very much disposed toward someone, do not greatly crave that person's friendship either, even though he be great and illustrious;

but when we love someone warmly and sincerely, even though the one loved be lowly and insignificant, we count his affection for us the greatest glory.

Wherefore He too called it a glory not only to be loved by us,

but also to suffer for our sake those shameful things.

Yet those sufferings were a glory on account of love alone;

but whatever we may suffer for His sake is a glory not on account of love alone, but also on account of the greatness and worthiness of the One desired; and so it would rightly both be called and be a glory.

Let us therefore run to the perils undertaken for His sake as to the greatest crowns, and let us count neither poverty nor sickness nor insult, nor false accusation, nor even death itself, to be grievous and burdensome, when we endure these things for His sake.

For if we are sober and vigilant, we shall gain the greatest advantages through all these things;

just as, if we are not vigilant, we shall reap nothing good even from what is contrary.

Does someone insult and war against you? Then he is preparing you to be watchful, and he affords you occasion to become like God.

For if you love the one who plots against you, you will be like Him who maketh His sun to rise on the evil and the good.

Does another take away your goods? If you bear it nobly, you will receive the same reward as those who have spent all upon the poor.

For 'ye took joyfully,' he says, 'the spoiling of your goods, knowing that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.'

Has someone spoken ill of you and reproached you? Whether these things be true or false, he has woven for you a very great crown, if you bear the reviling meekly.

For the one who falsely accuses procures for us much reward ('Rejoice,' He says, 'and be exceeding glad, when they say all manner of evil against you falsely, for great is your reward in heaven'), and the one who speaks the truth again benefits us greatly, only if we bear meekly what is said.

For the Pharisee too, speaking truly, spoke ill of the publican, yet nonetheless he made him righteous instead of a publican.

And what need is there to speak of each case? For one may, by going through the contests of Job, learn all these things with exactness.

Wherefore Paul also said:

'If God be for us, who can be against us?' Just as, then, by being diligent we gain even from what grieves us, so by being slothful we become no better even from what benefits us.

For what, tell me, did the company of Christ profit Judas? And what did the Law profit the Jews? And what did Paradise profit Adam? And what did Moses profit those in the wilderness? Therefore, letting all else go, we must look to one thing alone: how we may order well the things that concern ourselves;

and if we do this, not even the devil himself will ever prevail over us, but he will even benefit us the more, by preparing us to be vigilant.

In this way, at any rate, Paul also roused the Ephesians, by recounting that one's ferocity.

But we sleep and snore, and that too when we have so wicked an enemy against us.

And if indeed we knew that a serpent was lurking beside our bed, we would take great pains to destroy it;

but when the devil lurks in our souls, we think we suffer nothing dreadful, but we lie supine.

And the reason is that we do not see him with the eyes of the body;

yet for this very reason we ought rather to be watchful and vigilant.

For a sensible enemy one may easily guard against, but the invisible one, unless we are armed at all times, we shall not be able easily to escape;

and especially because he does not even know how to war straightforwardly;

but often under the guise of friendship he injects the venom of his cruelty.

In this way, at least, he prepared even Job's wife, having her put on the mask of tender affection to bring in that wicked counsel;

in this way too, conversing with Adam, he feigned solicitude and protectiveness, saying that 'Your eyes shall be opened in the day that ye eat of the tree.'

In this way too he persuaded Jephthah, under the pretext of piety, to slay his daughter and offer up that lawless sacrifice.

Do you see his stratagems? Do you see the manifold warfare? Guard yourself, then, and fortify yourself on every side with the spiritual weapons, and learn his contrivances with exactness, that you may be both invincible and may take him easily;

since Paul also thus got the better of him, learning these things with exactness;

for 'we are not ignorant of his devices.'

Let us therefore also be diligent both to learn

and to flee his plots, that having lifted up the victory over him, we may be proclaimed both in the present life and in the age to come, and may attain the incorruptible good things, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom, to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.