Until I make thy enemies thy footstool.
εως αν θω τους εχθρους σου υποποδιον των ποδων σου
6 Church Fathers comment on this verse
By these words he stirred up great fear in them, just as at the beginning he showed how God deals with His friends and how He deals with His enemies. And so that they might believe him more readily, he again ascribes the authority to the Father.
By David's words, "until I make Your enemies," Peter brought fear upon them as a means of conquering them. And so as not to weaken their faith in himself, he ascribes everything to the Father. After speaking of great things, he again brings his discourse down to the works of humility of Jesus.
Then the twelve Apostles come forward to the people. Peter, no longer the former Peter, timid and fearful, but courageous and undaunted, speaks to them.
He says that the extraordinary manifestation now accomplished upon them is the work of the Holy Spirit, whom God once promised to send upon His servants.
He says that Jesus Himself sent this Spirit down upon them, His disciples. This is the same Jesus whom the Jews had recently crucified here, and whom God raised from the dead, glorified, and seated at His right hand.
Therefore Jesus is the Christ. The recent instructions of the Risen One Himself had taught that Christ had to suffer, and only by this path enter into His glory.
The present illumination of the Spirit of God opened for Peter's speech a new source of power and proof in the prophecies.
Until then, these prophecies had been obscure and could not exercise such power over the minds of the Jews. Now they were intelligible to everyone who wished to know the truth.
The sign from heaven, which the Jews had so often and so vainly asked of Jesus, now appeared of itself from Him who had ascended into heaven. It testified where the Crucified One, whom they considered powerless, now dwelt.
The ability to speak in new and unknown tongues was an extraordinary gift among the miracles known from ancient and more recent times.
"Until I make Your enemies the footstool of Your feet," continued the Prophet David, and now the Apostle Peter.
In their meaning, as St Paul explains elsewhere, these words signify that death too is an enemy of the Lord, for God did not create it. Death also must in due time be subjected by Him, by His own person.
In relation to others, that is, so that all men in Christ Jesus may be freed from death and corruption through the general resurrection, death is also called in Scripture the last enemy.
"For David did not ascend into the heavens." Above, the Apostle established the truth of Christ's Resurrection on David's prophecy. This was especially important for his hearers, the Jews.
So also he establishes the truth of Christ's Ascension through a prophetic saying of David from Ps 109:1. The truth of the outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit upon believers is inwardly joined to the Ascension as consequence to foundation.
He establishes it by the same method as above. David, as is known, did not himself ascend or rise into heaven, as Elijah did, for example.
Yet David speaks of his Lord, saying that God, Jehovah, seated Him at His right hand. Therefore David says this not of himself, but of another person.
Precisely, he speaks of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, who ascended into heaven. The Lord Himself applied this prophetic saying to Himself; Mt 22:42 and following.
Cf. Ps 109:1.
Here, on the basis of a new prophecy, the Apostle proves that Christ's Ascension and His enthronement at the right hand of God's throne were also foretold.
Again this was foretold by the same great king and prophet David. The Apostle now dares to say of David that he did not ascend into heaven.
Earlier he did not say that David did not rise, which indeed he could not say, for David was brought out of Hades by Christ together with many others.
The Apostle does not unfold the mystical words of David's prophecy concerning Christ's Ascension and co-enthronement with the Father. Yet he did not pass over the fearful side of the prophecy, the overthrow of Christ's enemies.
He left the rest for the hearers themselves to understand and feel. In the Apostle's speech much was given for their thoughts, feelings, and resolution of perplexities.
If Jesus, who is called Christ, sat at God's right hand and will remain there until He treads upon the necks of His enemies lying in the dust before Him, then what awaits those who do not believe in Him is plain.
On the contrary, how blessed one may be under the dominion of such a glorious descendant of David, the great king of Israel.
Jesus Christ Himself applied this prophetic saying to Himself; see Mt 22:42.
In explanation of this prophecy, Blessed Theodoret, the interpreter of Psalm 109, says this: "If David, a king and a pious king, who was counted worthy of prophetic grace, calls the Master Christ his Lord, it follows that Christ is not only man, as the Jews madly say.
He is also God, as David's Creator and Lord. The sharing of names signifies identity of essence. For the Lord says to the Lord, not the Lord to a creature, not the Lord to a created being: 'Sit at My right hand'; Ps 109:1.
Not the humble is exalted, but the Most High, being in the form of God; Phil 2:6; cf. Jn 17:5. Therefore as man He hears, 'Sit at My right hand,' but as God He has eternal dominion.
The word 'until' does not here signify time. It is used according to a special manner of expression proper to divine Scripture. It only makes known that Christ will undoubtedly subject all"; cf. Is 46:4; Dan 7:14; Lk 1:34; 1 Cor 15:20.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 10 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS