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But thou hast a few names in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments: and they shall walk with me in white, because they are worthy.
St. Gregory the Great
For what is denoted by the name of 'clothes' save this earthly body, with which the soul is endued and covered, that it might not be naked in the subtleness of its substance? For hence Solomon says, "Let thy garments be always white," (Eccl. 9:8) i.e., the members of the body clean from filthy acts. (Morals 9.36)
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Oecumenius
By “garments undefiled” he means the bodies of saints, as the patriarch Jacob said, “He washes his garment in wine.(Gen. 49:11)” And Isaiah says the same thing, “Why are your garments red, like those of one who has come from the winepress, fully trampled down?(Is. 63:2-3)” Therefore the white garment symbolizes the purity of the body.
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St. Andrew of Caesarea
You possess this good, he says, that some people, those who have not soiled the garment of the flesh by filthy deeds, will be with me in the rebirth brilliantly attired because they have kept the garment of incorruption spotless.
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Apringius of Beja
Everyone who is not soiled with the filth of sin walks with the Lord in white, and he is made worthy so that he might follow the footsteps of the Lamb.
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St. Bede
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St. Anselm of Canterbury
He says names, because in like manner, as by names we know the properties of things, so the Lord knows all works and their properties, as if by their names. In Sardis, by which are meant those who are truly in Sardis, because those begin to be beauteous who had not defiled their garments, &c.
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Nicholas of Lyra
But thou hast a few names Here he commends the few, as if to say, “The multitude of your subjects is not spoiled by sin.” they shall walk with me Namely, those who are not stained by sin, and the whiteness of the clothing means the robe of glory and of immortality. Because God is no respecter of persons.
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Hieronymus Lauretus
"The golden clothing of the queen-spouse of Christ designates the beauty of the senses of Holy Scripture, and the mysteries of their doctrine, variegated in various languages, but with the gold of wisdom." (Jerome.) "The nuptial garment is faith and charity, with which he who is not clothed is sent into outer darkness; or rather it is charity itself; because through faith we enter into the nuptials, but without faith, are rejected. . . . The garment of Christ, which is undivided, is the faith, which is not to be rent asunder. The golden garment of the queen is the ornament of faith and charity." (Ambrose, Origen, Jerome, Gregory.) "To be clothed with the bysse of Jerusalem, is for the church to be adorned with the profundity of the senses of the Holy Scripture. (Gregory, Origen, Jerome.) The garments which the heretic, or hypocrite prepares as the clay, (Job. 27:16,) are the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures, which they mix up with their errors. With these garments the just man is clothed, who, full of true faith, makes use of these testimonies for the support of the truth, which every perverse person endeavors to adduce against the truth."
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John Henry Cardinal Newman
A distinction is seen in passages where mention is made of being "counted worthy of eternal life:"—for instance, when our Lord speaks of those "which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead " [Luke xx. 35; xxi. 36.] or bids us watch and pray that we "may be accounted worthy to escape all these things which shall come to pass;" and when St. Paul speaks of our "being counted worthy of the kingdom of God," [2 Thes. i. 5.] no one can deny two things;—on the one hand, that those who are counted worthy, are worthy (for our Lord says in the Apocalypse, "They shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy;" [Rev. iii. 4.]) on the other, that to be "counted worthy" does not, in the very sense of the words,mean to be worthy, though it implies it, but means a declaration of that which really is, though, or rather because, it is declared. [Lecture 3. Primary Sense of the Term Justification]
The robe vouchsafed to us is the inward presence of Christ, ministered to us through the Holy Ghost; which, it is plain, admits on the one hand of being immediately vouchsafed in its fullness, as a sort of invisible Shekinah, or seal of God's election, yet without involving on the other the necessity of a greater moral change than is promised and effected in Baptism. With this, too, agrees what is told of our own duties towards this sacred possession, which are represented as negative rather than active; I mean, we are enjoined not to injure or profane it, but so to honor it in our outward conduct, that it may be continued and increased in us. For instance, our Lord says, "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy." [Rev. iii. 4.] Such words are more naturally interpreted of an inward gift than of a mere charge; and scarcely admit of being explained of a moral condition of heart, attained (under grace) through our own exertions. They are parallel to St. Paul's warning against "grieving the Spirit of God;" which may just as reasonably be interpreted of mere moral excellence, as in some heretical schools has been done. Of the same character are exhortations such as St. Paul's, not "to defile the temple of God;" to recollect that we are the temple of God, and that the Holy Ghost is in us. [Lecture 7. The Characteristics of the Gift of Righteousness]
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Haydock Bible
But thou hast a few names, &c. That is, a few persons not yet defiled, neither as to their consciences, souls, nor bodies. --- They shall walk with me in white apparel, &c. It is a new way of expressing the happiness of heaven. (Witham) --- White is the color of joy, festivity, and triumph. The Angels always appeared clothed in white. (Calmet)
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