Institute for Colossians Studies

Sedulius Scotus (fl. 840–860), an Irish scholar working at Liège in the Carolingian period, compiled the Collectanea on the Pauline epistles, drawing on Pelagius, Jerome, Augustine and others. The Colossians section is brief and gloss-like — a gathering of short comments on words and phrases rather than a continuous exposition.

SOURCE: Sedulius Scottus. “In Epistolam ad Colossenses.” In Collectanea in omnes B. Pauli epistolas. Patrologia Latina 103, edited by J.-P. Migne, cols. 223–230. Paris: J.-P. Migne, 1851. Internet Archive.

TRANSLATION: Sedulius Scotus. Collectanea on the Epistle to the Colossians. Translated by Phil Thompson. Greenville, SC: Institute for Colossians Studies, 2026.

Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Text

[page 1]

NINTH CENTURY.

THE COMPLETE WORKS

OF ST. BENEDICT, ABBOT OF ANIANE

ACCURATELY COMPILED ACCORDING TO THE HIGHLY CELEBRATED EDITIONS OF HOLSTENIUS AND HUGO MÉNARD.

TO WHICH ARE ADDED

ALL THE SURVIVING WRITINGS

OF SEDULIUS SCOTTUS (THE YOUNGER)

OF THE IRISH NATION,

DRAWN FROM THE LIBRARIES OF THE FATHERS AND THE COLLECTIONS OF MAI.

UNDER THE CARE OF J.-P. MIGNE, PUBLISHER OF THE COMPLETE LIBRARY OF THE CLERGY, OR COMPLETE COURSES IN EVERY BRANCH OF ECCLESIASTICAL SCIENCE.

SINGLE VOLUME.

SOLD FOR 8 FRENCH FRANCS.

PRINTED AND SOLD BY J.-P. MIGNE, PUBLISHER, ON THE STREET CALLED D’AMBOISE, NEAR THE GATE OF PARIS COMMONLY NAMED D’ENFER, OR PETIT-MONTROUGE.

1851

[page 223]

IX.

ON THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS.

CHAPTER 1.

“Paul, an apostle.” On this occasion he uses the authority of his apostleship, because in some matters he is rebuking his audience.

“Having heard of your faith.” This faith was not seen or known directly, because he had not visited them.

“Because of the hope.” This is not for the sake of human praise, but for the sake of eternal life, which is in Christ.

“In heaven.” As it says: “Rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven” (Matt 5:12).

[page 225] “Just as in the whole world.” He uses a synecdoche here, substituting the whole for the greatest part of the world.

“Bearing fruit and growing.” One thirtyfold, another sixtyfold, another a hundredfold, according to the parable of the sower (Matt 13:8).

“And you knew the grace of God in truth.” A person has known grace in truth when he has not emptied its benefits by evil actions.

“Who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf.” By faithfully devoting himself to prayer on your behalf, he willingly fulfills the ministry of Christ.

“In the Spirit.” That is, in spiritual love.

“And asking.” Praying for the virtues that follow.

“That you may be filled with the knowledge” of his will. You cannot otherwise do his will. Understanding this, the Prophet said to the Lord: “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God” (Ps 143:10).

“In all power.” By overcoming the vices of the spirit and the flesh.

“According to his majesty.” Through his help.

“In all patience and longsuffering with joy.” True longsuffering and patience exist only when a person actually rejoices to endure what he is suffering.

“The lot” of the saints. Scripture calls an inheritance a “lot” because Joshua divided the land by lot.

“In the light.” The light of faith and wisdom.

“And transferred us into the kingdom.” Into the present Church, and the kingdom of heaven.

“Of the Son of his love.” That is, of his beloved Son, as in: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3:17).

“Who is the image of the invisible God.” “Likeness” refers to the outward appearance of form; “equality” refers to the measure of greatness and smallness; “image” refers to one thing being explicitly expressed from another. For example, two eggs can be alike and equal, but one is not the image of the other because one is not expressed from the other. In the case of children, however, there can be an image. Christ, moreover, is not only the image of God the Father because he is from him, and the likeness because he is the image, but he is also an equality so absolute that not even an interval of time stands in the way.

“The firstborn of all creation.” He is the firstborn according to the form of humanity he assumed, not in terms of time, but he is called this according to the text: “Israel is my firstborn son” (Exod 4:22). Alternatively, he is called firstborn because he was born in his divinity before all creation, or he is named the firstborn of the entire Church.

“The firstborn from the dead.” In the glory of incorruptibility.

“That he might become in all things.” Both visible and invisible; whether dead or living.

“Holding the first place.” Whether according to the flesh or according to his divinity.

“It pleased” the Father.

“All the fullness.” He possesses the fullness of divinity. In others—that is, the apostles, patriarchs, and prophets—grace existed only in part; in Christ, however, the whole divinity abounds.

“To reconcile all things.” Heavenly and earthly things, which once stood apart in their discordant ways of life.

“Through the blood of his cross.” That is, through the blood that was poured out on the cross. We should note why he does not simply say “through the cross,” but rather “through the blood of his cross.” The cross standing on high is one thing, and the blood running down is another. Therefore, by ascending the cross, he, as it were, offered up and healed heavenly things; but his blood dripping down from above healed earthly things. This was prefigured in the blood of the animal sacrifices, some of which was offered on top of the altar, while the rest was poured out at the base of the altar.

“Reconciled in the body.” The body of the Church.

“Stable.” In love.

“In all creation.” Meaning rational creation, as in: “Preach the Gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15).

“A minister.” A preacher.

“And I fill up those things that” are lacking in the afflictions of Christ. For Paul suffers in his own members those things that are lacking in Christ’s afflictions. He had experienced everything he could fulfill in life regarding Christ’s afflictions; however, dying still remained, and he was prepared for that.

“According to the dispensation of God.” The administration of the gospel teaching, which I am seen to distribute to you Gentiles.

“The riches of his majesty.” Because the same God is Lord of all, rich to all who call upon him.

“Which is Christ.” For he himself is the mystery.

“Admonishing.” Because of their evil works, as in: “Turn away from evil and do good” (Ps 37:27).

“Every man.” Slaves and freemen, the noble and the lowly.

“And teaching.” That is, instructing them to do good, as in “do good.”

“In all wisdom.” The wisdom of the Old and New Testaments.

“Striving.” Struggling against heretics and demons.

“In power.” The power of his might, in signs and miracles.

CHAPTER 2.

“For I want you to know what great concern I have for you and for those who are in Laodicea.”Which is a city in Asia Minor.

“I say this.” I say that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ so that you might not only refuse to marvel at the discourse or understanding of philosophy that stands opposed to him, but might even consider it foolishness.

“But in spirit I am with you.” The Apostles possessed this grace: though located in one place, they knew what was happening elsewhere, just as Elisha’s spirit was with Gehazi on the road (2 Kgs 5:26).

“And supplying.” That is, fulfilling by letter what I am unable to fulfill by my bodily presence.

“Rooted.” In faith.

“And built up.” With other virtues, for a building grows upwards in proportion to the strength of its solid foundation.

“And established in the faith.” Namely, in the hope of good things to come.

“Abounding in him in thanksgiving.” That is, always growing in him and giving thanks for all his benefits.

“See to it that no one deceives you through philosophy and empty deceit.” He is arguing against the philosophers, whose debates are almost entirely about the elements based on visible created things. They evaluate the power of God based on natural phenomena, claiming that nothing can be made from nothing; and that the soul either has no beginning or is mortal; and that it is entirely impossible for a virgin to give birth, and that it is foolish to believe that God could be born from a human being, die, and rise again. Alternatively, the phrase “empty deceit” refers to Judaism.

“According to the tradition of men.” Secular literature.

“The elements.” Carnal commandments.

“Not according to Christ.” Not according to the faith of the Gospel of Christ.

“All the fullness of divinity bodily.” We must understand that a thing is called “bodily” either in a literal sense, when actual bodies are being discussed, or in a figurative sense, as is the case when it is said: “Because in him dwells all the fullness of divinity bodily.” After all, divinity is not a body. Rather, because Paul calls the sacraments of the Old Testament shadows of things to come, he uses the “body” of those shadows to say that the fullness of divinity dwells “bodily” in Christ, meaning that everything prefigured by those shadows is fulfilled in him. It is as if he himself were somehow the body of those shadows—that is, the reality behind those figures and signs. Therefore, just as those figures or signs were called shadows figuratively rather than literally, so too

[page 227] he used a figurative expression when he said that the fullness of divinity dwells “bodily.”

“In the stripping off.” In the circumcision of Christ, through which you stripped off the entire old man.

“Buried with him in baptism.” Because sins are buried in baptism.

“And rose again” / “Into newness of life.”

“Of the working of God.” That is, the resurrection of Christ.

“He made alive together.” By removing the causes of death, namely, sins.

“Wiping out the record of debt that was against us.” He uses “the record of debt” to refer to the curse of the law, which is why he says elsewhere: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, which states, “cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to do them” (Gal 310). Some people, however, say that the “record of debt” is a kind of written record kept by God as a memory of sins; hence God himself says in the Song of Moses “Are these things not gathered together with me, and sealed up in my treasures?” (Deut 3234). And Jeremiah says “The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen, with a diamond point” (Jer 17:1). This record, then, was also destroyed on the cross, for when sins were forgiven, even the memory of those sins was abolished. Alternatively, he refers to a “record of debt” against the human race that the devil had kept stored deep in his memory.

“Fastening it to the cross.” Because we incurred that record of debt from a tree, it could only be wiped out by being fastened to a tree, as Peter says: “He bore our sins on the tree” (1 Pet 2:24). For the inscription written over the cross wiped out the inscription of this record of debt.

“Stripping the principalities.” The demons, because he had snatched the plunder of the human race away from them.

“He made a public spectacle.” He bound them.

“And took captive.” Death.

“With confidence.” Without fear.

“Openly.” Not in secret.

“Triumphing over them in himself.” He conquered them openly, and by being crucified, despising the shame, he triumphed; not by killing, but by dying; not by inflicting violence, but by enduring it, so that he might give us an example of how to overcome by putting an end to all pride.

“Let no one judge you.” For there should be no judgment in this matter, which, since it was only a shadow, ceased when the body arrived. There is no need for an image when the reality is present.

“But the body is of Christ.” That is, the reality of the thing.

“Let no one deceive you in humility.” No one who is arrogant with false humility and lies about seeing angels should vaunt himself over others in vain, because he is only speaking visions from his own heart. Or, let no one seem so humble and religious to himself that he lies about seeing the Angels who see God.

“By the mind of his flesh.” Not understanding spiritually.

“Not holding fast to the head.” Not believing in Christ, who is the head of all the saints.

“From whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments.”Therefore, whoever is outside this body, no matter how much he boasts, will not live, because he does not have Christ as his head, who is life.

“Grows with a growth that is from God.” For the growth of that body, which is the Church.

“Do not touch.” He says this to the Jews.

“Nor taste.” Unclean foods according to the law.

“To perish with use.” Therefore, these things should not be highly esteemed, because they perish and pass into the latrine of the stomach.

“Which indeed have an appearance of reason.” That is, they appear to have some reason behind them if they are explained mystically rather than merely according to the letter, and provided they are not practiced literally for the honor or satiation of the stomach.

CHAPTER 3.

“If then you have been raised with Christ.” Logically, he says first that we have died with him, and then that we have been raised with him. He exhorts us not only to die to the earth but also to live for heaven. Do not strive after anything earthly, he says, and do not seek what is mortal.

“Set your minds on the things that are above.” That is, pursue heavenly wisdom; but nowadays we are too quick to devote our efforts to human wisdom.

“Put to death therefore your members that are on the earth.” Before we examine the rest of his points, then, let us investigate what these members are that he commands us to put to death. The blessed Apostle is not enforcing a command to cut off our physical hands or feet; rather, he wants the body of sin—which certainly consists of members—to be destroyed as quickly as possible. He speaks of this body elsewhere: “That the body of sin might be destroyed” (Rom 66). He subsequently explains what its destruction entails “That we might no longer be enslaved to sin” (Rom 66); he asks to be freed from this body even with a cry of lament, saying “Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom 724). This body of sin is therefore shown to be constructed from many members of vice, and whatever sin is committed in deed, word, or thought belongs to its constitution. Its members are quite rightly said to be upon the earth; for those who employ their service cannot truthfully profess, “But our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 320). First, then, he thought it right to introduce fornication, which is carried out through carnal intercourse. He sets down lust as the third member of sin, which, germinating in the hidden recesses of the soul, desires to draw near, but cannot do so without the passion of the body: for there is no doubt that “lust” derives its name from that which pleases.

“Evil desire.” This can be referred generally not only to the aforementioned passion of impurity, but also to all harmful desires, which is an illness solely of a corrupted will. The Lord speaks of this in the Gospel, saying: “Whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her” (Matt 528). Furthermore, there are three types of fornication. The first is that by which the intercourse of both sexes is completed. The second occurs without contact with a woman; this is how Er, the son of the patriarch Judah, is recorded as being struck down by the Lord, and it is called impurity in the Holy Scriptures. The third is that which is conceived in the mind and intellect, about which the Lord says “Whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her” (Matt 528). Declaring that these three types must be equally extinguished, the blessed Apostle says “Put to death therefore your members that are on the earth: fornication, impurity, lust,” etc. (Col 3:5).

“Which is idolatry.” You see, therefore, to what a profound ruin this madness grows through individual stages, so much so that the Apostle’s voice pronounces it to be even the worship of idols or images. This is because a person has neglected the figure of God’s image—which he ought to have kept spotless within himself by devoutly serving God—and has instead preferred to love and gaze upon the figures of men stamped on gold, treating them as God.

“Indignation.” This is what intoxicates the mind.

“Do not lie.” For the children of truth are not allowed to lie.

“Who is renewed in the knowledge of God.” When a person comes to know

[page 229] whose image he is, and strives to imitate it as much as he can.

“Where there is no male.” Because with God there is no prejudice regarding sex, race, homeland, or social condition, but only one’s way of life matters: for that other diversity is carnal.

“But Christ is all and in all.” This will come to pass when all our love, all our desire, all our zeal, all our effort, all our thought, everything we see, speak, and hope for will be God, and when that unity which presently exists between the Father and the Son, and between the Son and the Father, is poured into our own senses and minds. That is, just as he loves us with a sincere, pure, and indissoluble love, we too will be joined to him in perpetual and inseparable love.

“Put on then, as God’s elect.” Having put off those former things, put on these virtues, since you are the elect.

“Bearing with one another.” Following the example of Christ, who bore our infirmities.

“Which is the bond of perfection.” For love gathers many members together into one body.

“And the peace of Christ.” Who died for all, and loved his enemies.

“In your hearts.” Not on a deceptively smiling face, nor in deceitful speech.

“Be thankful.” For the benefits of Christ. In some manuscripts it reads: “And be grace”; this means do not become like the law, which repays in kind, but rather like grace, which forgives even its enemies.

“In the name of the Lord.” That is, do everything for the glory of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Giving thanks to God.” Who deigned to appoint his Son to teach these things.

“As is fitting in the Lord.” In the things that are pleasing to God.

“Do not be bitter toward them.” He desires that when physical pleasure ceases, it is not insults and hatred that grow, but love.

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to indignation.” Lest they become exasperated and prone to anger, when they ought to have learned patience from your example.

“Fearing the Lord.” Who sees everything at all times, and hates all that is false.

“Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.” Even if you have ungrateful earthly masters, do not think that your service is fruitless. Because it is offered for God’s sake, it will be recompensed with a heavenly reward.

“For he who does wrong will receive back the wrong he has done.” Whether it is the slave who has despised his master, or the master who has acted unjustly against his slave.

“And there is no partiality with God” (Col 3:25). He says this so that they might have consolation, knowing that their injury will not go unpunished before God.

CHAPTER 4.

“Masters, provide your slaves with what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.”

“Devote yourselves to prayer.” Now a general exhortation follows.

“Let your speech always be seasoned with salt.” That is, produce gracious speech, seasoned with the salt of wisdom and reason, so that our religion is not judged as foolish by philosophers and Gentiles.

“So that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” For you must respond in one way to pagans, in another way to Jews, in another to heretics, and in yet another to the rest who contradict the truth.

“The things concerning me.” He wants them to be secure about his safety, so that they will not be overtaken by sadness on this account.

“My fellow prisoner.” He was imprisoned alongside him, or else he was suffering alongside him through the affection of love.

“The cousin of Barnabas.” The son of Barnabas’s sister.

“Who is one of you.” From your own people.

“In Hierapolis.” The city where John the Baptist is buried.

“See to the ministry.” This man is reported to have been a deacon.

“Remember my chains.” Either pray that I might be returned to you, or imitate my endurance in suffering.