Compare the striking words of Theophylact: kai; zhvsomen prosevqhken i{na deivxh/ o{ti oJ ajnupovtakto" oujde; zh'/. e[xw gavr ejsti tou' qeou' o{" ejsti zwhv : and OEcumenius: tou'to ga;r zwh; to; uJpotetavcqai qew'/ .
The phrase oJ path;r tw'n pneumavtwn is quite general, the Father of spirits embodied, disembodied, unembodied. The context, which regards disobedience as possible, seems to exclude the idea that ta; pneuvmata means only the spirits in conscious, willing, fellowship with God.
The pneu'ma corresponds with the savrx , in the narrower sense, as an integral element in man's nature. By the latter he is bound to the line of ancestors who determine the conditions of his earthly life (Heb. 7:5, 10 note): by the former he stands in immediate connexion with God.
The Greek Fathers are vague in their interpretation of the phrase, as Chrysostom: tw'/ patri; tw'n pneumavtwn . h[toi tw'n carismavtwn levgei h[toi tw'n eujcw'n ( leg. yucw'n ) h[toi tw'n ajswmavtwn dunavmewn . Theophylact adds to carismavtwn and ajswmavtwn dunavmewn, h], o{per kai; oijkeiovteron, tw'n yucw'n . Theodoret: patevra pneumavtwn to;n pneumatiko;n patevra kevklhken wJ" tw'n pneumatikw'n carismavtwn phghvn .
The later Latin Fathers speak more decidedly: Pater spirituum, id est creator animarum, Deus omnipotens est, qui bona creavit, primum ex nihilo, deinde vero ex elementis, corpora hominum aliorumque animalium. Animam vero hominis ex nihilo creavit et creat adhuc; non est enim probandum quod anima pars deitatis sit; quoniam deitas increata est, anima autem creatura est. Idcirco autem omnipotentem Deum creatorem animarum appellat, non corporum, cum omnium creator sit quia...anima...semper a Deo ex nihilo creatur (Primas.).
12:10. The method of human discipline is as inferior to the method of the divine discipline as the claims of the one are inferior to the claims of the other.
The clauses in the verse are related inversely:
pro;" ojlivga" hJmevra"
kata; to; dokou'n
ejpi; to; sumfevron
eij" to; metalabei'n th'" aJgiovthto" aujtou'
. The discipline of the human father is regulated according to his pleasure. Even when his purpose is best, he may fail as to the method, and his purpose may be selfish. But with God, for His part, purpose and accomplishment are identical; and His aim is the advantage of His children. The spiritual son then may be sure both as to the will and as to the wisdom of his Father.
Again the discipline of the earthly father is directed characteristically to the circumstances of a transitory life: ( pro;" ojl. hJm . with a view to a few days, for a few days, in the final sense of for): that of the heavenly Father has in view the participation of His son in His own eternal nature (comp. 2 Pet. 1:4), after His likeness.
The interpretation of pro;" ojl. hJm . (Vulg. in tempore paucorum dierum ) simply of the short period of life during which the paternal discipline both of man and God lasts (for a few days in the temporal sense of for) seems to introduce a thought foreign to the context. To insist on the brevity of human discipline would be to weaken the argument, which rests on general relations.