1:1-2 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours.
The divinely inspired Paul says that he has been sent by Christ at the good pleasure of God the Father. I think that is what “by the will of God” means. Since the will and activity belong to the Father and come through the Son, we say that the saints have been appointed to apostleship by the same Son.
He makes it quite clear that the force of his message will benefit not only the Corinthians, but also all who have been called by Christ to sanctification through faith with the words, “to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus” through to “in every place, both theirs and ours.” The law did not command people to do this2 in every place, but to come to the holy temple itself in Jerusalem. The concern here is probably the vacillating nature of their mind. If they were commanded to worship or sacrifice in every place, they might make that command an excuse to turn to disgraceful practices. They might worship carved statues and erect temples and altars for themselves. However, now that we Gentiles have finally been called by faith in Christ into God’s family and we have been enriched by steadfastness through the Holy Spirit, we are all commanded to worship not in Jerusalem but in “every place.” This is what the statement of the prophets meant, which says, “And each one will worship the Lord from his own place.”3
Now along with Sosthenes, he writes to the “church of God,” which Christ himself presented to himself.4 And who saw this church? [90] All who were sanctified and called to righteousness by Christ and who call on his name “in every place, theirs and ours,” that is, whether in the land of the Jews or in the cities and regions of the Gentiles. He proclaims Christ to be God by nature, and with him and through him he gives glory to God the Father. He does that by referring to the sanctified as the church “of God” and then assigning them to Christ, saying, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”5
1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind—just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you.
He crowns believers with the grace that comes from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Through him and in him, all things come from God the Father, while he is the co-giver and co-supplier, along with his begetter, of the blessings from above. He is the distributer of gifts from heaven, and he himself is the peace of all things. By his grace, he enlightens principalities, thrones, and powers,6 and to put it generally, all rational creation.
1:10 That all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”
It was both necessary and wise to persuade us that the Lord’s name must be glorified. <God himself taught us this>7 by saying through one of the holy prophets, “My servants will be given a new name, which will be blessed on the earth.”8 And we are called “Christians” and have received the riches of the new name. But any who depart from the right ways of the church are justly deprived of it. Those who are devoted to “deceitful spirits”9 and to the wonders of certain unholy false teachers possess the name of those false teachers, and rightly so, because they do not belong to Christ. They participate in slander against him and they splinter into different views and opinions, even though Christ calls his own to peace.10 [92] Since he himself is one and is not divided, we are all one in Christ and we are united in this regard “in the same mind and the same purpose.” He has united11 us in one heart in a spiritual unity by saying to God the Father about us, I desire that just as you and I are one, so “they too may be one in us.”12
1:13 Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say that I baptized in my own name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the gospel.
If someone else endured the cross for us, let us count ourselves as his. And if by chance we have been baptized into someone else’s name, let that person possess us and let us register him as our Savior and Redeemer. But if “Christ died for our sins”13 and we have been buried with him alone “by baptism into death,”14 then let him possess those whom he purchased, since we have been saved by and through him who gave his own life for us.
It is common knowledge that he has been sent to proclaim Jesus to the Gentiles, yet we maintain that it is also the task of an apostle to perform some baptisms, if he so chooses, at times when there is a need. But so that he does not manifestly spend the time required for proclamation on other pursuits, he proclaims the gospel instead, wisely leaving it to all who have been ordained to the episcopacy throughout the regions to do this at their leisure. He devotes himself to the ministry of the word and presents the mystery of Christ with exquisite attention to detail. However, just as the divinely inspired Stephen performed the unavoidable task of mystagogy even though he was appointed to wait on tables,15 so also the divinely inspired Paul performed the task of baptism at certain times even though he was assigned the duty of proclaiming the mystery of Christ. He had the authority for both, and no one would prevent him if he chose to do this. [94]
1:20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
For those who have great minds for earthly wisdom but do not accept faith (that is, faith in Christ), the gospel is foolishness.16 But for us, this is not the case. Far from it! We are confident that it is the power of God. It is the way of salvation leading to sanctification. It wisely teaches us the knowledge of the truth through abundant proclamation. He here uses the term “wise,” at least in my view, to describe those rhetoricians who by their skill with words constantly weave together some plausible argument out of lies and eagerly surround it with the appearance of truth. And I think the term “scribes” refers to schoolmasters or grammarians whose practice was to waste their labors on the writings of the poets and explain them to the youth. And he uses the term “debaters” for those whose practice is to fight over words and conduct truly “painstaking” examination of matters, who in their pursuit of knowledge pretend to seek the truth, as every single one of their propositions seem faultless, but they are not right. No, they are completely negligent since they do not recognize the God of the universe, who effortlessly established all things by his ineffable activity and brought all things from nonexistence into existence with a mere nod. So the wisdom of the world has truly become foolish.
1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.
He calls human knowledge and eloquence (or rather, flowery diction) the “wisdom of God” in order to teach that God is the Creator of the mind and supplier of intelligence and eloquence, even if some use them for unfitting purposes. But he calls simplicity of speech “the foolishness of our proclamation,” since the divinely inspired disciples were ignorant in speech, but rich in knowledge. [96]
1:22-25 For Jews demand a sign and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
Paul’s statement is right about both. Christ once drove out of the temple precincts those who were selling sheep, cattle, pigeons, and turtledoves, saying, “Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!”17 They opposed him by saying, “What sign can you show us for doing this?”18 and, “Who gave you this authority?”19 Some of the scribes approached him after such a great demonstration of signs and maliciously said, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”20 So they sought a divine sign while completely disregarding the words of the saints by which they could probably learn that he was the Christ. That is why the Savior told those sent by John, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk,” and so on.21 And the Greeks, who seek glory in diction and discourse, consider the manner of the oikonomia in the flesh to be foolishness. They say, Why on earth was it necessary for the Word of God, who is God by nature, who is powerful enough to accomplish anything he wants by his will with a mere nod, to become human and endure death? And how could it be, they say, that a virgin gave birth? And how could what has decayed due to death be raised again? Well it is not unreasonable to say this about them: “Those who are unspiritual do not receive the things of the Spirit, for they are foolishness to them.”22 But for us, he is the power and wisdom of God. Through him, God the Father saved the earth under heaven through the power that is in him by nature and through the ineffable wisdom (that is, his own wisdom). The Son is the wisdom and power of God the Father through which he brought all things into being and preserves what he has made. And if any should choose, he says, to compare God’s power to human power, they will surely see that those divine works that may perhaps seem to be done in weakness and not by the full power of the Creator nevertheless outstrip and outperform all human strength. In the same way, when it comes to the knowledge of wisdom, that which seems to be foolish [98] is wiser than human wisdom. It is as if someone decided to compare the insignificant and smallest parts of creation with the magnitude and beauty of the elements, I mean the sky and the sun and the rest of the stars and fire and water and the rest. The power and wisdom in the former parts of creation will be found utterly negligible, and because of that, their creator would seem to be foolish.23 Yet there is no craftsman among us who can produce such admirable24 works. So it is true that God’s weakness is stronger than human strength, and God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom. Therefore, the oikonomia is altogether wise, since Christ rules the whole world under heaven with insight and wisdom.
2:1 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming the Testimony of God to you in lofty words and wisdom.
He calls Christ the “Testimony of God,” since God the Father testified about him saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”25
2:3-4 And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of human wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
Since I employed such a simple form of instruction, I was very much afraid, he says, that perhaps some would be found to have deeper thoughts than mine, and they would convey not benefit but harm. Those who are infants in their minds, after all, would need soft and gentle instruction that leads to knowledge.26 “But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good [100] from evil.”27 Therefore, he says, my instruction to you took place with great weakness, not with the full power of the mystagogue. Indeed, it was not “with plausible words of human wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.” That is why the apostles added signs from God to their proclamation, to provide a clear proof of the fact that we ought to believe that God has been made known among them through the Spirit and through the deeds themselves. And they accomplished those miracles easily by using a certain ineffable and indescribable power and activity. The Greek myths, of course, would need the defensive cover of artful language to cloak the ugliness within them. But when it comes to the divine proclamation, unadorned simple language, attested by the power of God, is enough. |
[100] Therefore, my instruction to you took place in weakness and not in the full power of the mystagogue. |
2:6 Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish.
The language of the holy mystagogues proceeds with humble diction, but it implants in us the unadulterated knowledge of the divine mysteries and reveals that Christ is Wisdom. He is attested not by the beautiful rhetoric of earthly wisdom, but by his own nature. None of the rulers of this age recognized him. The rulers of this age are the wicked and hostile powers who speak through the wise of the world. [102]
2:7-8 But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
This statement is very true. Christ has triumphed over the wicked and hostile powers through his cross. He nailed the “record that stood against us”28 to the tree and drove Satan out of his position of tyranny over us. He nullified the sin of the world, and by opening the gates of Hades for the spirits below, he took away the power of death. So how could his suffering on the cross not be infuriating to the unclean demons? They would not have crucified him if they had clearly known that he was the Redeemer and the Lord of Glory. The divinely inspired John made it clear that the crucifixion of Christ by the madness of the Jews was an act of the devil’s brutality when he said of Judas, “After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him.”29 Satan did not know that Jesus was God. After all, if he did know it and believe it, why did he tempt him in the desert saying, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread”?30 The Savior himself was obviously [104] eager to hide from the rulers of this age so that he might suffer and with his own blood win the earth under heaven for himself and his Father without them realizing it. |
[102] If they had known the blessings that would come to human beings through the crucifixion of Christ, and that Jesus Christ was the Redeemer and the Lord of Glory, and that the crucified one was God and the true Son of God the Father by nature, and that the one begotten of the holy virgin was God by nature in that the Word has become flesh,31 then the Jews, who did not recognize Christ, would not have crucified him.
[104] For the Lord himself was eager to hide so that he might suffer and by his own death redeem the earth under heaven without them realizing it. |
2:10-11 These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
“Depths of God” refers to the secret and hidden knowledge in the Holy Scriptures. The Spirit has this knowledge and reveals it to the souls of the saints, rendering their mind divine, in a sense.
2:14 The natural man does not grasp the matters of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he is unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
The “natural man”32 is someone who lives according to the flesh33 and whose mind is not yet enlightened by the Holy Spirit. He only has innate human knowledge, which the Creator implants in the souls of all.
2:15-16 The spiritual man discerns all things, and he himself is subject to no one else’s scrutiny. “For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
The spiritual man discerns all things and winnows them, as it were, with exactitude. But he himself is subject to no one else’s scrutiny. On the other hand, Paul makes it clear that those whom he calls “natural” absolutely require spiritual teachers for their benefit and education [106] by adding, “For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” It is as though he should say: No one could instruct the natural man without having the mind of Christ. By “instruct” he means “prepare for knowledge.” Then he indicates who has the mind of the Lord by saying, “But we have the mind of Christ,” that is, the Spirit speaking in the saints and revealing mysteries to them and rendering their mind divine, in a sense. |
[106] No one can instruct the natural man without having the mind of Christ. By “instruct” he means “prepare for knowledge.” Those who have the mind of Christ are those who have the Spirit, who speaks in the saints and reveals mysteries to them. This is the same Spirit who searches the depths of God. “Depths of God” refers to the secret and hidden knowledge in the Holy Scriptures. The Spirit has this knowledge and reveals it to the souls of the saints, rendering their mind divine, in a sense. And even though they were able to understand and explain the most excellent and lofty matters, whenever they wrote they adapted the level of their instruction to the condition of those whom they were leading into the mysteries. |
3:1 And so, brothers, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.
It is not because I lacked for words that were strong enough to bring you complete knowledge that I was prevented from talking to you about more perfect matters, but because you are infants in your disposition and your mind is unsteady. Your mind has not advanced to more perfect knowledge, and it is not yet ready to proceed to the mysteries. [108]
3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
Paul planted, and Apollos watered, but God was the one who called forth the growth. What is the planting but the beginning of faith and the recognition and confession that God is the Lord of the universe? And what is the watering but a sowing, as it were, and pouring on of instruction in doctrine that nourishes and strengthens the mind of the believer so that it bears fruit? And what is the growth that Christ gives but toughening by the Spirit and growing up to be a “mature man,”34 given in accordance with the zeal and desire of each person.
3:7-8 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each.
Since Christ endured the death of the flesh and purchased us with his precious blood, we belong completely to him who purchased us, not to any others, even though we do have deacons and reconcilers and mediators and mystagogues by his grace. Therefore, we are not named after the others, but after Christ alone. He is our Lord.
3:10-11 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
Since he referred to believers as the house of God,35 he naturally refers to Christ as the foundation. And Paul boasts that he came before the others and was a kind of firstfruits of those who preached to them the mystery of Christ, who is the unshakeable foundation. Christ supports those who are built on him. He intimates that they are temples [110] and that they are joined with one another through faith and by the grace of the Holy Spirit, who brings them together in one heart. God the Father spoke of this foundation through the prophet: “See, I am laying as a foundation in Zion a costly stone, a precious cornerstone as her foundation. Whoever trusts in him will not be put to shame.”36 So Paul is quite right to say that he has laid the foundation and that the others can work and build on it, but they cannot now lay another foundation besides the one that has already been laid. “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”37 “For there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”38 “He is the head of the body, the church.”39 Therefore, whoever denies the foundation and rejects the rock does not build on rock but on sand.40 Because of that, he will be very easily shaken. Anything that Christ does not support will surely be moved since it does not have a stable foundation. [112] |
[108] Since he called believers the house of God,41 he naturally refers to Christ as the foundation. Now the Corinthians had many teachers, but Paul boasts that he came before the others and was the first of those who proclaimed the mystery of Christ, who is the foundation. So there is one foundation, and that is Christ. [110] Paul says that he laid a foundation and that the others can work on it, but they cannot lay another foundation besides the one that has already been laid. “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”42 That is because, though he was God by nature, he became human and was begotten through the holy theotokos43 Mary according to the flesh. Yet even in his humanity, he remained God. Therefore, whoever denies the foundation and the rock builds completely on sand and is easily shaken.44 Anything that Christ does not support will surely fall and have no firm foundation. |
4:18-19a But some of you, thinking that I am not coming to you, have become arrogant. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills.
Since there were some in Corinth who thought that they were self-sufficient and did not need teachers and that they surpassed Paul in the wisdom of worldly rhetorical skill, they became puffed up and proud because of it. They looked down on others, though their own lives were not blameless. Since some have become arrogant in my absence and think that I left because I was afraid to come and speak with them (which is not the case), I will come when God wills and commands it.
He announced that he would come, but not unequivocally. Rather, as was fitting, he rightly added the necessary qualification, “if the Lord wills.” Indeed, this is the only way we should think or speak.
4:19b-20 And I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. For the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power.
What use is glorious rhetorical style if it contains nothing good, as is the case with the style of the Greeks? But the style of the divinely inspired Scripture is simple and ordinary, yet it brings rich profit and leads gloriously to the true knowledge of him who is God by nature. It prepares us for every admirable good work. And when that happens, we receive the boundless riches of the grace of the Spirit’s gifts, which we yearn for. “For the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power.” Now you should understand “power,” when applied to the holy apostles themselves, to refer to the might and activity of the Spirit by which they perform miracles. But in our case, you should take the term to refer to the power of a holy and pure life. [114]
4:21–5:1 What would you prefer? Am I to come to you with a stick, or with love in a spirit of gentleness? It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father’s wife.
Do you want me to apply a wise rebuke to those who have sinned, he is saying, as with some kind of stick? Or shall I come to you in a spirit of gentleness and love and pass over the matter in silence? But a rebuke would be better for them, a rebuke that strikes at the terrible and reckless nature of even the attempt at such a transgression. The divinely inspired Scriptures spoke of this in the case of the Israelites through the voice of Joel: “A father and his son go in to the same girl, so that they profane the name of their God.”45 Such sexual immorality, he says, is not even heard of among the pagans. He had probably heard somewhere that Theseus was angry with his own son and cursed him and actually killed him because he was accused by his stepmother.46 And others who are guilty of such things may be found in the sweet-sounding verses of the poets.47
5:5 You are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
By the fact that he gave the sexual offender over “for the destruction of the flesh” in order that his spirit may be saved, Paul makes clear what the statement “the kingdom of heaven depends not on talk but on power” means. This is a clear demonstration of marvelous authority given to him from above. For our Lord Jesus Christ has honored his saints.
6:1 When any of you has a grievance against another, do you dare to take it to court before the unrighteous, instead of taking it before the saints?
He calls those who have been sanctified by the Spirit “saints.” Those who have not yet believed he calls “unrighteous” since they are more than ready to indulge in every kind of wickedness. After all, it is not strange that those who do not yet know him who is true God by nature are not qualified. [116]
6:2a Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?
They will preside as judges and judge the world, though not in an absolute sense. “For there is one lawgiver and judge.”48 Nevertheless, by their holiness of life and obedience in all things, they will for all practical purposes point out the sin of the world, since the world did not become imitators of them.49 We are all of the same nature since we have the earth as our mother and we are in these perishable bodies. But since some of us have become God-loving and good, what excuse will finally avail at God’s tribunal for those who have chosen an infamous and cursed life? They could have been exalted just like the others, but they voluntarily went after all sorts of perversity.
6:2b-3 And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels—to say nothing of ordinary matters?
We should read this verse as a question with a question mark, since the next verse must also be read as a question with a question mark.50 After all, who would dare to claim that you are incompetent for such paltry cases when you judge the world by the glory of your life? Next he extends the logic of his statement and emphasizes its reliability by comparison with something greater. Here he is speaking not of the holy angels but rather of the apostate angels, who did not maintain their rank. Even though they are from above and do not bear earthly bodies, they will be condemned by the saints and accused for all their shameful behavior in the same way as the world will be: by the virtue of the saints. So if the saints are better than the angels, how could they be incompetent in trivial cases regarding worldly matters? [118]
6:4 If you have ordinary cases, then, appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church.51
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
For those who are very competent in the church, it is trivial and unimportant to judge earthly matters. We learn this from the Lord. When someone came to him and said, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me,” he replied, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbiter over you?”52 Rather, it would be appropriate for the wisest members of the church to judge spiritual matters, to examine the utterance of faith with skillful discrimination. This was numbered among the good gifts given by the Spirit from above. For to some are given the utterance of wisdom and the utterance of knowledge, while to others also the discernment of spirits.53 |
[118] For the very competent select members of the church, it is trivial and unimportant to judge earthly matters. But it is more important to speak at length about spiritual matters and to discern carefully who is speaking by the Holy Spirit and says “Jesus is Lord,” and who is speaking by Beelzeboul and for this reason says, “Let Jesus be cursed.”54 |
6:15-17 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall be one flesh.” But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
How could our members be members of Christ? We have him in ourselves both physically and spiritually. He dwells in our hearts through the Spirit, and we participate [120] in his holy flesh. So we are doubly sanctified. And he dwells in us as the living life-giver in order that through himself he may destroy death, which rules our members.
Now if he is “the head of his body, the church,”55 then we are the individual members. So when we fall into alien pleasures, then—oh then we will offend him whose members we have become since we will give what is his to prostitutes! |
Our bodies are members of Christ in that we have him in ourselves both physically and spiritually. He dwells in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, [120] and we participate in his holy flesh. Thus, he dwells in us as life and life-giver. This frees us from decay and from the snares of death and makes us superior to carnal passions. We take the unleavened instruction of the divine sayings into ourselves, which nourishes our intellect, and we are yoked with Christ (obviously in a spiritual way) so that we overcome the passions of the flesh. Now since Christ is the head of the church,56 we are surely the individual members. So if we go to a prostitute, we offend Christ, whose members we have become. His members are then stained by sin and are made members of a prostitute. Just as one who unites himself to a woman will be one body with her, so also one who unites himself spiritually to God will be one spirit with him. That is because we have become “participants of the divine nature,”57 and we have been united and sanctified by the Spirit in Christ. |
6:18 Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
[124] As long as the members of our body remain members of Christ through chastity, they will surely participate in his life and glory. “He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory.”58 But if they should become members of a prostitute, how could they receive the transformation and spiritual glory that comes from being conformed to him? [126] |
[122] Someone may say, Tell me, how does the murderer commit murder? Is it not through blood? And if someone should decide to criticize others, does this not take place through the tongue? So what offense could there be that is not committed through the body? Is the Spirit Bearer, then, somehow shown to be a liar in the end? By no means! After all, he speaks in Christ, and Christ is the Truth. Therefore, he will tell the truth. Let us examine the matter carefully. If someone should choose to behave badly, such a person will surely behave that way toward others, not toward themselves. After all, murderers are not going to kill themselves but others. Slanderers are not going to insult themselves but others. The greedy are not going to wrong themselves but others. And you will find a similar course of action in every outrageous deed. In that sense, then, “every sin is outside the body, but the fornicator sins against the body itself.” Such a person will be caught spoiling their own body, [124] and I will tell you how. As long as the members of our body remain members of Christ through chastity, they will surely participate in his life and glory. But if they should become members of a prostitute, how could they receive the transformation and spiritual glory that comes from being conformed to him? When our bodies are raised from the ground at the time of the resurrection, “the righteous will shine like the sun,”59 while the ungodly and profane who have lived their lives intemperately will be raised, but they will not live the good life. Instead, they will remain without a share of glory. They will not rise “in the judgment or in the counsel of the righteous,”60 but they will live in outer darkness as their punishment and sentence.61 How could someone who is being punished live in glory? Then he adds something else that is not without the ability to persuade us to hate the cursed lusts of the body. [. . .]62 {Even though the murderer, the insolent person, and the slanderer commit sin with their body, nevertheless they do it to others. That is the sense in which he says, “Every sin is outside the body, but the fornicator [126] spoils the body itself.” Our bodies remain members of Christ through chastity, and they receive life and glory from him. But if they are defiled, they will be deprived of this glory.}63 |
6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which is from God.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
In you dwells the “Spirit of adoption” (that is, the Holy Spirit) “by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’”64 Furthermore, we were bought with a price when Christ the Savior of us all laid down his own life for us.65 We are therefore temples of the living God since Christ dwells in us through the Holy Spirit, and he also has God the Father in his own nature, from whom he shines forth essentially. He himself said, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”66 Therefore let us keep the stench of lust far from our minds as from the temple of God. Indeed, let the sweet fragrance of self-control arise like incense, and let us offer “our bodies as a living sacrifice, [128] holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship.” For we were bought “not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with his precious blood,” as it is written.69 Let us therefore serve the one who bought us and present ourselves to him as obedient servants and our members to God “as instruments of righteousness.”70 For it is written, “The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.”71 When we keep the members of our body free from the defilement of carnal desire, then he will be the Lord of our body. After all, he who is holy by nature as God dwells in those who are holy. |
In us dwells the “Spirit of adoption” (that is, the Holy Spirit) “by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’”67 Furthermore, we were bought with a price when Christ the Savior of us all laid down his own life for us.68 Now Christ dwells in us through the Holy Spirit, and he also has God the Father in his own nature, from whom he shines forth essentially. Therefore, it is fitting for us to bring our petitions to the divine temple and to lift up our praises and to offer continuous sacrifices of a pure body and soul. And so let us keep the stench of lust far from our minds. Indeed, let the sweet fragrance of self-control arise like incense. |
7:8-11 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am. But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion. To the married I give this command—not I but the Lord—that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
The Israelites were caught having a frivolous mind that is easily led astray into all sorts of pleasure. That is why they were rightly kept from giving their own opinion on the law. It says that one must not add to these things [130] or take away from them.72 The authors of the Gospels, on the other hand, have a mind fixed on the good and have Christ himself speaking in them. So they rightly dared to offer words of guidance from their great authority even where the Holy Scriptures do not say explicitly what should be done. The divinely inspired Paul acts this way when he says, “To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am,” and the rest. Where it is not a divine law for us, he uses the words “I say,” but where Christ is the one who gives the command, he says, “I give this command,” but he immediately adds, “not I but the Lord.” So what necessary instructions did Christ overlook when he gave his law? What better instruction did the mystagogues come up with? How could it not be ignorant and completely insane to think that the instructions given by Christ are not perfect? What then shall we say? The divine proclamation of the gospel did not deny marriage since God, I think, took human nature into account when he gave his command. After all, when the Pharisees tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife” for reasons besides fornication,75 the Lord replied, “Anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of fornication, [132] causes her to commit adultery.”76 At this, the disciples say to him, “‘If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.’ But he said to them, ‘There are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.’”77 He set this out for those who want to do well, but he did not subject them to a law since he did not believe that everyone could master the impulses of the flesh. The shadow of the law contains something like this as well when it institutes the ways of performing sacrifice to the glory of God. Some are for sins and unknown errors,78 and some are for purification and elimination of defilement.79 Some are offered on the Sabbath, some on the first of the month, and some at the festivals.80 In addition to these, the law allowed people to make a freewill offering, that is, to bring it before God. These freewill offerings were beyond what was required by the law. They were like the fruit of a good and godly love of honor. Now it was [134] not permitted to be remiss in offering the sacrifices prescribed by the law. But the people God considered worthy of praise were the ones who, in addition to the prescribed sacrifices, also offered something of their own on their own initiative. We maintain that this arrangement holds in the present case as well. Christ did not forbid people to engage in lawful unions, if they chose to do so. But nothing should prevent us from achieving something even better if we strive to lay hold of the ultimate glory. So Paul is completely right to say, “To the unmarried and the widows, it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am. To the married I give this command—not I but the Lord,” and the rest. He brings up himself as an example of the chosen life that is free from distraction and clearly prefers the unmarried life to the married one. Let those who do take off the yoke of the law maintain their self-control, he says. For in this way they will inherit the kingdom of heaven. And the one who distributes the crowns will make this pledge to them: “Thus says the Lord to the eunuchs: ‘Those who keep my Sabbaths and choose what I will and hold fast to my covenant—I will give them in my house and within my walls a place and a name, better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an eternal name, and it will never die out.’”81 |
[130] I marvel at the mystagogue. I am astonished at the beauty of the wisdom he possesses, at the superiority of his insight, and the exactitude of his mystagogy. Where it is not a divine law for us, he appropriately uses the words, “I say,” but where Christ is the one who gives the command, he says, “I give this command,” but he immediately adds, “not I but the Lord.” He advises us as a brother and a fellow servant. Now when Paul adds the qualifier that these words come from him, he does not do so because the evangelical laws are incomplete. Rather, even though the present age is drawing to a close and there is no longer a need to have children,73 the evangelical word passes over the exhortation to self-control as something difficult to bear so that its yoke and burden may not seem heavy.74 It did not explicitly impose this command. But when it pronounced a blessing on those who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven, it gave us to understand [132] that even though it did not annul the law of childbearing, it approves of those who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom. So it did not impose this as a law but merely gave permission to those who wanted to do it, since it did not believe that everyone could master the impulses of the flesh. That is why it adds, “Let anyone accept this who can.”82 Knowing this, Paul gives these instructions to those who wish to reach for a more perfect way of life, since it is not prohibited by Christ but left to the decision of those who want it. And he presents himself as an image of this preferred life, honoring singleness more than marriage and placing self-control higher than marriage. He advises the widows to remain pure. And he himself is holy and pure, superior to carnal pleasures, thus showing the reward for self-control to be more credible. But if any are too weak for self-control, he commands them to marry in the Lord, saying that it is better to marry than to be aflame. After all, if they might surrender themselves to the flame of pleasures [134] and fall into godlessness because they are unable to do right, it is better that the law should help them and that they should have an irreproachable remedy for their weakness rather than that they should feign self-control even though they are not yet able to practice it. For “God is not mocked.”83 Therefore, be strong and walk uprightly in self-control, or do not be ashamed to admit your weakness by getting married. For I think pardonable sickness is better than feigned courage that results in being aflame. |
The [136] reward of self-control is precious. But for those who are already bound by marriage, he does not permit them to leave their wife once they are married so that the saving proclamation may not raise an uproar in the world. Christ the Savior of us all does not approve of that, even though the law permitted the ancients to do this as an accommodation due to the “hardness of their hearts,” as the Savior himself says.84 From the following fact as well, anyone who is willing can easily see that those in Christ are steadier and stouter than the ancients: the law prohibited the Israelites from uniting themselves with foreigners and binding themselves together in marriage,85 but Paul says to us, “If any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever,”86 and so on. |
[136] For those who are married, he does not permit them to leave or divorce their wife once they are married so that the proclamation may not cause an uproar among the people. Through Moses God permitted the Jews to have certificates of divorce in the beginning87 because they were weak, but he does not permit this for us since we are strong in godly faith. |
7:12-15 To the rest I say—I and not the Lord—that if any believer has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. And if any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so; in such a case the brother or sister is not bound.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
Their mind is shaky and unsound, but we [138] are not like that. We have been anointed for adoption by the Holy Spirit, and Christ dwells in us. So since we are solid in our commitment to every kind of good work, we do not at all fear to associate with an unbeliever. Rather, we have courage that we will net them for godliness and that we ourselves will not become prey to their ignorance. We bless those who do not yet believe; we are not polluted by them. “For an unbelieving husband,” he says, “is made holy through his wife.” In this way our children are holy as well since the sanctification that believers have surely overcomes the uncleanness of those who do not yet believe. “But if the unbelieving partner separates,” he says, “let it be so; in such a case the brother or sister is not bound.” Let the polluted partner leave the holy one, if the polluted partner wants to do so, incurring the penalty for this as the payment for that decision. But the one who follows the divine commands is completely blameless since that partner will be blessed as obedient by Christ the Savior of us all. |
Because of the strength of the believers, he does not permit them to dissolve their [138] marriage and live with others. Nor does he forbid them from staying with unbelievers, as the ancient law did because of the feeble mind of the Jews. So also now he permits believing husbands to remain with unbelieving wives since they have the confidence that they will convert their unbelieving wives and that they will not be turned to evil. They will bless their wives; they will not be polluted by them.
In this way your children are holy as well, since the sanctification of believers overcomes the uncleanness of those who do not yet believe.
Let the polluted partner leave and separate from the holy one, receiving the penalty for this as a payment for that decision. But the one who follows the divine commands is completely blameless since that partner will be blessed as obedient by God. |
7:18-24 Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; but obeying the commandments of God is everything. Let each of you remain in the condition in which you were called. Were you a slave when you were called? Do not be concerned about it. Even if you can gain your freedom, make use of your present condition now more than ever. For whoever was called in the Lord as a slave is a freed person belonging to the Lord, just as whoever was free when called is a slave of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of human masters. In whatever condition you were called, brothers, there remain with God.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
[140] Some of those who were circumcised were probably saying among themselves, How can we be accepted and honor our life in Christ when we are already circumcised? Perhaps we should remove the marks of circumcision, that is, apply force to the nature of our flesh and return to being uncircumcised. Those who came from the Greek error, on the other hand, perhaps learned from those who still value the shadow of the law that circumcision is a precious thing that is observed by all the saints. Though they once accepted the faith, they tried to complete it with the flesh, just like some in Galatia whom Paul rebukes by saying, “Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?”88 Therefore, it was necessary to open the way for them with a clear and utterly unambiguous proclamation of the truth that circumcision is nothing apart from the other commands of God. Likewise, uncircumcision is nothing if it is not adorned with the life of the gospel. It is therefore fitting that those who are called remain in the calling in which they find themselves. He has to intervene [142] because he must once again scare away another blasphemy, as it were, to keep it away from the divine proclamation. That is because there is a spirit of slavery in those under the law, but he says that the gospel message inserts a Spirit of adoption in those who want to believe, and that Spirit calls them no longer to slavery but to a rank of freedom. |
[Scholion 1]89
[140] Now the apostle is speaking as a spiritual man. He does not allow types now that we have the revelation of the truth, that is, Christ. He helps both the Greeks and the Jews. He does not compel the former to be circumcised, nor does he compel those who are circumcised to apply force to the nature of their flesh to return it to uncircumcision. That is because circumcision in type has come to an end, while circumcision in spirit is brought about spiritually by Christ. After all, what benefit is circumcision to someone who leads an ungodly life? Let’s say there is an uncircumcised man who is conspicuous among those who pride themselves on goodness. And let’s say there is another man, a Hebrew of Hebrews who is circumcised in the flesh but unholy in his ways. He is beset by great weakness and lowers himself to every kind of alien and shameful act. Which of the two is worthy to be admired? Well I think it should be clear that we ought to honor not the circumcision that has been disfigured but the uncircumcision that contains virtue. The mystagogue, then, is telling the truth when he says, “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing.” Therefore, those who are called should [142] remain in the calling into which they have been called, that is, in which they find themselves, whether they are uncircumcised or circumcised. Now when some hear that faith sets them free and grants them the rank of adopted sons, they run away from the yoke of slavery. But Paul urges them not to do this but rather to remain in their physical slavery since they have been called by faith, he says, into a free sonship and have become “participants of the divine nature.”90 After all, their labor in slavery will not go unrewarded, since the Creator created nature free and knew it to be so. However, greed slipped in and spoiled the freedom. Nevertheless, we ought to love freedom because it provides help and reward, at least where God preserves it for everyone. On the other hand, we as human beings cannot escape slavery, since everything that is created is a slave. Therefore, even if you could gain your freedom, he says, “make use of your present condition now more than ever.” Indeed, the yoke is not without profit for those who have a good heart, and physical slavery does no harm to virtue. |
For this reason, some who were called by faith to spiritual freedom tried to escape from their physical slavery. Paul writes to them in another place and says, “Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.”91 He exhorts [144] them also with these words: “Were you a slave when you were called? Do not be concerned about it. Even if you can gain your freedom, make use of your present condition now more than ever.” This means: Even if you have the yoke of physical slavery imposed on you, you have been called by faith to freedom and sonship. And since you have become participants in the divine nature,92 transcend pettiness! You will find that your toil in slavery will not go unrewarded. Those who endure slavery by the oppression of another will certainly be free of that evil when the Lord transforms all things in the coming age to the way they were in the beginning. The Creator has made nature free, and that is how it will be, as I said, in the coming age. “And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress,” according to the prophecy of Isaiah.93 Therefore even if you can “gain your freedom,” he says, “make use of your present condition now more than ever.” For those who have a good heart and lead an upright life, the yoke of slavery is not without profit, as I said. In any case, he says, it would not be possible for us as human beings to escape the name slavery. After all, everything that is created is a slave. That means that “the slave is a freed person belonging to Christ,” and that the one who is called to freedom is surely a slave, just as the psalm says: [146] “For all things are your slaves.”94 Indeed the mystagogue shows us in another way as well that those who are saved by Christ are debtors to him. That is what he means when he says, “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of human masters.” As we all know, we were bought with a price when Christ the Savior of us all offered his own blood for us. We were rescued from the violence of the devil and from the savagery of the demons, and we were called to freedom through Christ. Since we were purchased and bought, we owe our life to him. So “do not become slaves,” he says, “of human masters.” Now we are not saying that he is urging them to run away from their physical slavery. Rather, he is quite rightly teaching them this: do not become slaves to those who try to carry off believers to the observance of the law and who pour into the souls of the simple the poison of the ancient deception and convince them to observe days and months100 and who practice what is termed “self-imposed piety”101 and persuade others to do so as well. Since you were bought with a price, he says, and “you were ransomed not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish,”102 let us be subject to his laws instead. [148] |
[Scholion 2]
Since some who are worthy of the grace of the Holy Spirit have shaken off the yoke of slavery, he writes somewhere else, “Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.”95 But here he bewitches them, as it were, [144] with a highly sophisticated discourse: “Were you a slave when you were called,” and the rest. This means: Even if you have the yoke of physical slavery imposed on you, you have been called by faith to freedom and sonship. And since you have become participants in the divine nature,96 transcend pettiness! You will find that your toil in slavery will not go unrewarded. The Creator knew a nature that was free because he created it that way. But greed rushed in at a certain time and spoiled the beauty of the freedom. Those who have endured slavery must surely be free of that evil when Christ transforms all things to the way they were in the beginning. What is in him is a new creation.97 There is neither slave nor free, but he is “all in all.”98 And Isaiah lifted up his voice ahead of time to describe the conditions and the equality before God that there will be in the life to come that we wait for. He said, “And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress.”99 Therefore, even if you could gain your freedom, he says, “make use of your present condition now more than ever.” For the yoke is not unprofitable, as I said, for those who have a good heart and lead upright lives under it. The oppressive imposition of physical slavery on some people now will not harm them as long as [146] the same freedom is preserved for everyone before God, who judges justly and weighs our deeds in holiness. In any case, he says, it would not be possible for us as human beings to escape the name slavery. After all, everything that is created is a slave, and everything that has been called into being is subject to the divine scepter. That means that “the slave is a freed person belonging to Christ,” and that the one who is called to freedom is surely a slave.
We were bought with the precious blood of Christ and rescued from the oppression of the devil and the rulers of the world when we washed away the filth of their wickedness and were called to freedom through Christ. So since we owe our life to him who bought us, “Do not become slaves,” he says, “of human masters.” He is not saying, Do not serve as physical slaves, but rather, Do not be slaves to the observation of laws that command circumcision and refraining from certain foods. Instead, let us be subject to him who purchased us not with perishable things but with his precious blood,103 and let us obey his laws. [148] |
8:1 Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
The believers in Corinth were convinced that there is only one who is God by nature and that the idols are not gods. They ridiculed those who sacrificed to them and said that what is offered as a sacrifice is nothing at all. They ate these sacrifices without discrimination, confident that no pollution could come from this. In so doing, they caused the weak to stumble, who assumed it would not offend God if they honored the feasts of idols. For this reason Paul put a stop to these feasts, since he wanted the believers to be single-minded in their worship of the all-holy God.104
8:4-6 Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
For those who are completely unfamiliar with idols and for those who know exactly what they are (wood and mere stone), “no idol in the world really exists.”105 They think this because they do not consider idols worth mentioning. They believe in “one God, the Father, from whom are all things,” and in “one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things.” God the Father has the glory of lordship and the one who was born of him has the supremacy of the one who bore him, since he is considered to be (and actually is) God in his own nature. By participation in him through the Spirit, many are called gods and lords, but few realize this.
By being deemed worthy of participation in the Holy Spirit, many are called gods and lords. But few have this mystical knowledge. The unbelievers think that there are many gods, and even some of those who believe in Christ have not completely abandoned the custom of idol worship.106 [150]
8:7 It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
Some who believe in Christ have not completely abandoned the worship of idols. “Their conscience, being weak, is defiled.” Perhaps because of the weakness of their soul, they imagine that they benefit themselves when they participate in the holy offerings and sample them and treat the sacrifices as food. We must guide the weak with spiritual teachings so that they do not eat indiscriminately and recline at table with unbelievers.
8:9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
When they ate food sacrificed to idols without discrimination and reclined at table with unbelievers in their sacrifices, they turned the demonstration of their strength into an occasion for others to stumble. One ought not exercise one’s freedom in the faith at every occasion or at the wrong time or indiscriminately. Rather, everything we do should be done with decency.
8:11-12 So by your knowledge the weak brother for whom Christ died is destroyed. But when you thus sin against your brothers and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.
If we cause our brothers to stumble, we will sin against Christ himself, who has died for the salvation of us all. What wrong could be compared with that? “For by your knowledge, the one who is weak is destroyed.” What is good has become a sin for you, and the strength of your faith has become a stumbling block for your brothers, and your knowledge has become a pothole.
It is a terrible thing when you all but attack your brothers’ weaknesses instead of being eager to strengthen the weakness of their conscience. We should not “put stumbling blocks or hindrances in front of our brother,”107 but bear in mind what is written: “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father.”108 Wouldn’t it be completely terrible for us to be denounced by their holy angels for all but attacking the weaknesses of our brothers rather than being eager to strengthen the weakness of their conscience? [152]
10:1-5 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the same spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
We maintain that these things are prefigurations of what God would accomplish. Before faith in Christ, we too were subject to the oppression of demons and we were slaves to the spiritual Pharaoh, that is, Satan, the origin of all evil. We toiled for him in vain since we engaged only in the works of the flesh, which was our clay brick-making, as it were. And we too were rescued by “the mediator between God and humankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.”109 He brought us too through the storms of this present life, as through a sea, and perfected us through holy baptism. He himself is the spiritual cloud from above that gives a supply of living water to those who love it. And this living water is the Spirit. Christ said, “As the Scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”110 [154] To clarify what he said, the divinely inspired Evangelist immediately added to these words the following statement: “Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive.”111 We too ate the bread that truly gives life, and we drank the spiritual drink just as they drank water from the rock. “And the rock was Christ,” who for us too sent his own blood, mixed with water, gushing from his side when Pilate’s soldiers pierced him with the spear. He is called the rock because he is invincible as God, even though he voluntarily suffered the assault of death. And what happened to the ancients after that? How did they offend God? They were profaned at Shittim, they worshiped idols, and they were consecrated to the Baal of Peor.112 Since they were entangled with idol worshipers and associated with them and took part in the table of idols, they fell into apostasy and danced in a chorus with women, “and the people entangled itself with a harlot,” as the prophet says.113 That is what it means that they “rose up to revel.”114 Therefore, it is dangerous to associate with the wicked and with unbelievers. As Solomon said somewhere, [156] “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but whoever walks with fools will be known.”115 |
Paul exhorts those with truly perfect knowledge not to eat food sacrificed to idols. Then he appeals to the experiences of the ancients to try to persuade them that this act is not beneficial but dangerous, and that the penalty is not trivial that comes on those whose conduct is unrighteous. After all, this eating leads them to break God’s law, since the human mind is easily shaken and quickly drawn to what is not right. Paul employs an image of this phenomenon that is not without beauty, indeed it is extremely fitting: the experiences of Israel’s descendants in the desert. He demonstrates with great force that the desire to associate with unbelievers is not harmless even for those who are firm in the faith. What he says is this: those who were freed from slavery were perfected through the cloud in the sea. The cloud hung over them, and Moses was their mediator. [154] They ate the bread from heaven. They drank the life-giving drink. Christ himself provided them with drink, since he was the rock. Indeed, he is invincible as God, even though he voluntarily suffered the assault of death. We maintain that these things are prefigurations of what God would accomplish. And what happened to the ancients after that? How did they offend God? They were profaned, they worshiped idols, and they were consecrated to the Baal of Peor. Notice how they who were baptized in the cloud and the sea and who ate the bread from heaven and drank the spiritual drink nevertheless entangled themselves with idolatry. Since they associated with idolaters and took part in the table of idolatry, they quickly became distracted and fell into apostasy and worshiped the Baal of Peor. Therefore, it is dangerous to live with the wicked and with unbelievers. Christ freed us when we were under the power of the spiritual Pharaoh. He brought us through the storms of this present life, as through a sea, and he perfected us through holy baptism. He himself is the spiritual cloud from above [156] that supplies living water, which is the Spirit. We ate the life-giving bread from heaven. We drank the spiritual drink, just as they drank the water from the rock. “And the rock was Christ,” who for us too sent his own blood, mixed with water, gushing from his side when Pilate’s soldiers pierced him with the spear. |
10:7-8 Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.
He brings up the entire narrative in the book of Numbers to teach that those who were baptized in the cloud and the sea, who were deemed worthy of the spiritual food, nevertheless fell when they ate with idolaters. And “they rose up to play” stands for “they committed sexual immorality with the Moabite women.”
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28)
10:28-29 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience. For the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. I mean the other’s conscience, not your own.
“For the sake of conscience you must abstain from those things you ought to abstain from. I do not mean your own conscience, since it has knowledge, but the other’s conscience. This is so that he will not be falsely emboldened to imitate out of ignorance what he does not understand, thus becoming a despiser rather than a high-minded person.”116 [158]
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28)
11:3 But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the husband is the head of his wife, and God is the head of Christ.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
[160] By “head” he means here the archetypal beauty. Each of the aforementioned people, enriched by that image, may rightly be understood to share in that essential nobility, or to put it another way, they share in the same nature. The first man, that is, Adam, was created in the image and likeness of God. The Creator of the universe says somewhere, “In the image of God he made the man.”117 Therefore, Christ is the head of the man. As God, he is the archetype, but by the law of our nature, he is also the same as us since he became a human being, even though the Word is God and has an ineffable birth from God the Father. The woman was created in the image and likeness of the man, that is, Adam. She is not at all alien to him, but she is of the same nature and species as he is. Our forefather Adam explicitly acknowledged this when he said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” and so on.121 But if they claim that the Word of God the Father is originate and should be numbered among the creatures since he is the “head of every man,” would we not have to think, by the same logic, that the Father himself is created and [162] made? After all, he is the head of the Son, and the Son has our essential nature, or more precisely, the essential nature of creatures. And as they themselves incessantly claim, the head is united by the laws of nature to the rest of the body so that they are identical. Therefore, kinship with every man will extend via the Son to God the Father himself. But we will not follow the idiotic teachings of these people. How could we? No, we believe that the Word who sprang from the Father is unoriginate from an unoriginate Father. And we maintain that he is called the “head of every man” as an archetype, as I said. But since he became a human being in the last times of the age, it is also as a member of the human race (at least according to his human nature) that he is the head “of the church, which is his body.”122 For he holds first place in all things, as Paul says.123 |
Since some of the Corinthians were recent converts who were just settling into the faith, they did not know how to pray and they did not observe the proper custom as they entered the house of God. When they drew near to pray to God and brought their petitions on their own behalf, their appearance was most inappropriate. Men approached without taking their customary coverings off their heads, and women came before God with their hair uncovered and unveiled,118 all but crying out against nature. To the man is given the boldness to speak, while the woman covers her hair for decency out of a sense of modesty. It was fitting to use logical necessity to shame them into thinking rightly and to make the law of nature a kind of referee of what is fitting for each gender. So Paul tries to use the natural law to persuade them to think the way they should.119 So he goes back to the creation of the human being in the beginning.120 [160] By “head” he means the archetypal beauty in whose likeness one is created. Adam was created in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, Christ is the head of the man. As God, he is the archetype, but also by the law of our nature since he became a human being, even though the Word is God. In fact, he calls himself the Son of Man in many places, even though he has an ineffable birth from God. Finally, the woman is created in the image of Adam. She is of the same nature and species as he is, not at all alien to him. So the man is the head of the woman, Christ is the head of the man, and God is the head of Christ. But some124 say that the Son is originate like the rest of creation of which Paul says Christ is the head, since Paul says, “Christ is the head of every man.” These people ought to consider above all else that the force of this blasphemy does not reach only to the teaching concerning the Son, but it will rush ahead on an unstoppable course, as it were, to reach the Father himself. I will tell you how. If they claim that the Word of God the Father is begotten125 and should be numbered among the creatures since he is the “head of every man,” would [162] we not have to think, by the same logic, that the Father himself is created and made? After all, he is the head of the Son, and the Son has our essential nature, or more precisely, the essential nature of creatures. And as they themselves incessantly claim, the head is united by the laws of nature with the rest of the body so that they are identical. Therefore, kinship with every man will extend via the Son to God the Father himself. So how does he still transcend the nature of originate beings? Whom shall we look to as the Creator of all things? They are forced to say that even the Father is begotten if he is called the head of Christ, and Christ has, according to them, the nature of us creatures, and kinship with every man extends via the Son in some way even to God the Father himself. So we must ultimately look for some other creator besides him. Therefore, lest we veer off into this bizarre nonsense, we must hold that the Son is unoriginate from an unoriginate Father, and that he is called the “head of every man” as an archetype in that he is by nature God. But since he became a human being as well, he is also considered the head “of the church, which is his body.”126 For he holds first place in all things,127 and in this sense he is understood to be the head of everything else. |
11:4-10 Any man who prays or prophesies with something on his head disgraces his head, but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled disgraces her head—it is one and the same thing as having her head shaved. For if a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, she should wear a veil. For a man ought not to have his head veiled, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. Indeed, man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man. For this reason a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
Do you see how he makes the law of nature the judge that determines what is fitting for each gender? Bold speech is most appropriate for men, while the modesty of veiling is most appropriate for a woman. And unseemliness on the part of the image would quite reasonably constitute an insult to the archetype. So since a man is the image and glory of God (for according to the Scriptures he is created as such), then let him preserve for God a fitting boldness of speech by keeping his head unveiled, since the law of nature does not force him to be veiled. After all, the divine nature is free and beyond all criticism. It is rich with its own glory, and it is wonderful. And since woman is in the likeness of man [166] and she is the image of the image and the glory of the glory, and since nature decrees that she let her hair grow long, why would the gender that comes later engage in a battle over grace with the gender that came first? She too is in the image and likeness of God, but mediately through the man, so that there is a slight difference between her nature and his. I will level no charge against a woman who modestly covers her body, as far as possible, and who crowns her head with hair. But bold speech is surely not without penalty for a woman. Therefore, “she should wear a veil,” he says, “because of the angels.” Clearly this refers to the angels whom God appointed over the churches.
[168] They are exceedingly upset whenever anyone neglects proper decorum since they too know the Creator’s will for us. |
By the term “prophesy” he means singing the Psalms and praising God. He makes the law of nature the judge of what is fitting for each gender. Bold speech is most appropriate for men, while the modestly of veiling is most appropriate for women. And unseemliness on the part of the image would quite reasonably constitute an insult to the archetype. So since man is the image and glory of God, let him preserve for God a fitting boldness of speech by keeping his head unveiled. After all, the divine nature is free, and the law of nature does not force him to be veiled. And since woman is created in the likeness of man and she is, as it were, the image of the image and the glory of the glory, and since nature decrees that she let her hair grow long, why would the gender that comes later engage in a battle over grace with the gender that came first? [166] She too is in the image and likeness of God, but mediately through the man, so that there is a slight difference between her nature and his. I will level no charge against a woman who modestly covers her body, as far as possible, and who crowns her head with hair. But bold speech is surely not without penalty for a woman. It would be more fitting for them gladly to veil themselves. “She should wear a veil because of the angels” whom God appointed over the churches. Not that they suffer anything when they see women. Human beings are actually the ones who would suffer harm, since they have this coarse earthly body and are dragged down by innate pleasure to what is shameful. They would be the ones aroused by the beauty of these women to commit inappropriate acts. But how could anyone either think or say this about the holy angels? They are holy, after all, and far above all filth because they use bodies that are incorporeal, subtle, spiritual, and beyond human comprehension. [168] No, the phrase “because of the angels” means that the angels are upset whenever proper decorum is neglected. Being veiled is appropriate for a woman, and nature is a witness of this fact. “For her hair,” he says, “is given to her for a covering.”128 Therefore, appropriate behavior should be observed for this reason as well: because of those who know the Creator’s will for us. |
11:11-12 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man or man independent of woman. For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman; but all things come from God.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
The divinely inspired Paul employs yet another skillful device. He just said that the man was created in the image and likeness of God. And after that, he made it clear that the female gender was subordinated to his honor and glory by adding the following:
“For the woman,” he says, “is the glory of man. For man was not created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man.”129 But then he quite rightly puts a veil over anything further that would likely cause grief to the female gender, and he adds, “Nevertheless, woman is not independent of man nor man independent of woman.” The woman certainly came [170] from the man. This is true. But she is not without contribution in the origination of man. The plan of nature has established a need for each other that brings them both into a unity and binds them in love. Paul also confirms that the Creator of all things is God when he adds, “But all things come from God.” For he has brought all things into being through Christ. |
In the foregoing material, he said that the female gender is lacking in many respects compared to the male. So to prevent the female from being upset by this, he shows care for her by saying, “Nevertheless, woman is not independent of man or man independent of woman.” The woman certainly came from the man. [170] This is true. But the woman also plays a role in the origination of man. After all, the plan of nature knew that their union would not130 be ineffectual, and it gave each of them a need for the other, thereby uniting them in love. But the Creator of all things is God. |
12:3-6 Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says, “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
Our Lord Jesus Christ promised that after he departed, he would send to us the Paraclete, and he added this: “He will glorify me.”131 We are right to think that Christ’s Spirit glorifies him by making everyone he enters wise and by making Christ to dwell in the saints through himself, since Christ is in us through the Holy Spirit. He glorifies him in another way as well. He performs works that bring glory to Christ through the hands of the saints. So if Christ’s Spirit glorifies the Son, how could anyone speaking by the Spirit speak ill of Christ? [172] You will say, rather, “Jesus is Lord.” Therefore, those who classify him as a creature, even though all things were brought into being through him, must be completely devoid of participation in the Holy Spirit. But those who reverently confess him as God and Lord thereby prove that they have been led by the Spirit to experience the vision of God in him. “For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”132 The Spirit, who knows what is hidden in God, conveys it to the souls of the saints and inserts into them knowledge that is sure and irreproachable. |
When the Lord promised to send the Paraclete to the holy apostles, he added, “He will glorify me.”133 We should understand this to mean that when he makes those he enters wise and when he makes Christ dwell in them through himself, then he glorifies Christ. He also glorifies him when he performs works that bring glory to the Son through the saints. So if the Spirit glorifies the Son, how could anyone speaking by the Spirit speak ill of Christ? He will say, rather, “Jesus is Lord.” Therefore, those who classify him as a creature, [172] even though all things were brought into being through him, are surely devoid of participation in the Holy Spirit. After all, they clearly say, “Let Jesus be cursed!” But those who confess that Jesus is God and Lord thereby reverently demonstrate that they have been led by the Spirit to experience the vision of God in him. |
The divinely inspired Paul himself is a witness to this when he adds, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” Just as those who rule over earthly affairs, resplendent on the thrones of their kingdoms, crown their noble servants with various honors, so also the holy and consubstantial Trinity distributes his abundant blessings from above on those who love him with a pure heart and a full understanding. This takes place from the Father through the one Spirit just as through Christ, since all things are from the Father through the Son in the Spirit. |
The Holy Trinity richly grants his manifold gifts from the Father through the one Spirit, just as through Christ, since all things are from the Father through the Son in the Spirit. |
12:7-11 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
He knows, yes he knows the right time for everything he does! “In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” as it is written.134 And he clarifies what the gifts are and what their distribution is and indeed what the workings of miracles are as well when he says, “To one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom.” The phrase word of wisdom means, in my opinion, that when someone “opens his mouth,”135 he is articulate and fluent.136 “And to another the word of knowledge.” There are some among us who do not have the aptitude for speaking and who do not possess the confidence they need to be able to express themselves with ease, but they do have a profound capacity for understanding, and they approach the holy words with great insight.137 Both the former and the latter word are given through the one Spirit to those who are worthy to receive them from the Father through the Son, who is said to distribute the ministries. [176]
He commanded some of the holy apostles to preach the word of faith to those of Israel’s bloodline. Others he assigned to Gentile regions. And he did this through the Holy Spirit. Indeed, we find written in the Acts of the Holy Apostles, “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”140 The divinely inspired Paul was appointed as apostle to the Gentiles, and that is the ministry he received. He himself proves it when he writes, “Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry.”141 So the Son apportions the ministries, but the Holy Spirit carries out the task with power, since he is the Spirit of the Son. But it is also the case that God himself accomplishes for us the workings of miracles, that is, the divine signs done by the saints, [178] since all things, as I said, are from the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. In everything that is accomplished, the holy and consubstantial Trinity is praised. Notice how Paul begins from the Spirit, since he is in us and he brings about the distribution of the divine gifts. Then he ascends to the Son, who is Son by nature. And finally he reaches the Father and ascribes to him the activity that is carried out by the Spirit through the mediation of the Son.142 “To another faith by the same Spirit.” Faith here means, in my opinion, steadfastness in all good things and in whatever God wills. That is the sense in which we say that the priest Moses was faithful “in all his house.”143 Faith should not be construed in thought or word to mean the mere belief that the God of the universe is truly one by nature. Rather, it means having a steadfast spirit and being “ready to walk with the Lord God,” as the prophet says.144 At any rate, the divinely inspired disciples once approached Christ and said explicitly, “Increase our faith!”145 And they were given more than that: “gifts of healing by the one Spirit.” Now please pay careful attention to the following: Christ is the giver of the Spirit [180] who Paul says distributes the gifts of healing. That is because Christ gave the holy apostles “authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out.”150 In particular he told them to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.”151 Surely the working of miracles also came from him, but by the one Spirit. Moses threw his staff on the ground and it became a snake.152 He turned the waters into blood.153 He drew out water from a rock.154 The blessed prophets performed an exceeding number of acts beyond reason and wonder. We maintain that these are the working of miracles through the same Spirit. Someone else can prophesy, but not without the Spirit. Someone can have the discernment of spirits, but only by the same Spirit. I have previously discussed what kind of spirits these are. Now he also maintains that the knowledge of various kinds of tongues is given to others, and to still others is given the knowledge of how to interpret them. We say that this gift is private and is given to certain people at the proper time when the circumstances call for it. Some spoke in tongues even though they previously did not know them, while others knew how to interpret them, [182] even though they were previously unacquainted with the vocabulary. However, the divinely inspired Paul maintains that speaking in tongues was given to people in those days not as a gift but as a sign to unbelievers.155 And in particular, he cites the prophetic saying that goes like this: “In other tongues and by the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, yet even then they will not believe.”156 The Spirit brings about the distribution of gifts differently in each person. He does this, Paul says, so that just as this coarse earthly body is composed of parts, so also Christ or his body, which is the church, may be put together from a great multitude of saints into the most perfect spiritual unity. Along the same lines the divinely inspired David says that she is robed in a “golden garment” of many shades,157 signifying by this, it seems to me, the multiplicity and precious value of the gifts. [184] |
He knows the right time for everything he does. “In him are all the treasures of wisdom.”138
The phrase word of wisdom means, in my opinion, that when someone “opens his mouth,”139 he is articulate and fluent and proceeds with an exquisitely eloquent tongue. “And to another the word of knowledge.” There are some among us who do not have the aptitude for speaking and who do not possess the confidence they need to be able to express themselves with ease, but they do have a profound capacity for understanding, and they approach the holy words with great insight and nuance. They can also lead others into the mystery and easily lay out the objects of contemplation. But [176] both the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge are given through the one Spirit to those who are worthy to receive them from the Father through the Son. It is a word of knowledge when someone knows the meaning of the divine sayings and is capable of unpacking that meaning but he cannot teach it eloquently. Both the former and the latter word are given to the worthy through the one Spirit, from the Father, through the Son, who is said to distribute the ministries. He commanded some of the apostles to preach the word of faith to Israel according to the flesh, while he commanded others to preach it to the Gentiles. And this too he did through the Holy Spirit, who says, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul.”146
But it is also the case that God himself does the workings of miracles, the divine signs done by the saints, since all things are from [178] the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. In everything that is accomplished, the holy and consubstantial Trinity is praised.
He uses “faith” here to mean not bare knowledge, which even the unclean spirits have since they believe that God is one.147 No, “faith” here should be understood to mean not only believing in God, but also doing everything that pleases him, having genuine love for him, having a steadfast spirit, and being “ready to walk with the Lord God.”148 After all, if faith is understood to mean merely believing that God is one and this is classified as one of the divine gifts, why can’t we who believe also command the mountains to be moved?149 The term gifts of healing refers to the healing of the sick that Christ performs through the Spirit. The term working of miracles refers to miracle-working and prophecy through the [180] Spirit. “Discernment of spirits” is the ability to identify which teachings are heretical and erroneous and which are orthodox. Speaking in tongues is a private gift that is given to certain people at the proper time when the circumstances call for it. Others did not speak in other tongues but interpreted what was spoken in them. The Spirit brings about the distribution of gifts differently in each person. |
12:12-13 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
We have been united with one another and have become part of the same body in Christ.158 He has gathered us together and practically tied us to each other through the one Spirit who is in all. And we have been given the Spirit as a life-giving drink. Indeed, when Christ was speaking to the woman at Jacob’s well, he said, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give—a spring of water will arise in them gushing up to eternal life.”159 And he said somewhere to the Jews, “As the Scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ He said this,” it says, “about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive.”160 And do not be astonished by this! If he who is full of water is “the river of God,” as the psalmist says, “flowing with abundance,”161 and God the Father is said to give him as a drink to those who love him, how could we not understand his Spirit to be a drink and life-giving water? Therefore, since we have been called to unity through the Spirit and we have been made one body with Christ, let us keep the unbreakable bond of love.
14:1-3 Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. For those who speak in a tongue do not speak to other people but to God; for nobody understands them, since they are speaking mysteries to the Spirit. On the other hand, those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
(Cod. Coisl. 25) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
He gave them tongues as a sign that the mystagogues of the world would preach the gospel proclamation (that is, the saving proclamation) in every tongue and every nation. Though the men were Galileans and were raised [186] in Judea, Hebrews descended from Hebrews, they spoke in the tongues of Medes, Parthians, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Cappadocians, and Egyptians.162 They accomplished this by the activity and grace of the Spirit. As it is written, “Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them,” and so on.163 Now what they did was a way of furthering God’s plan of salvation, but not everyone understood this. Once they began to speak in other tongues, they made the grace of the Spirit into a kind of show and took the sign as an opportunity for boasting. They neglected their duty to speak the message of the holy prophets to the crowds and counsel them with the evangelical dogmas, as these were long proclaimed from above. They were proud only of their ability to speak in tongues and thought that they should strive for this alone. That was what they wanted the most.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) He disabuses them of the idea that speaking in tongues is more glorious than interpreting [188] the words of the prophets. Once we have in ourselves faith, hope, and especially love for God and the brothers, which is the fulfillment of the entire law, then let the rest be added as well. Then—then!—will be just the right time for us to be filled with God’s graces and enriched by the gifts of the Spirit! I am referring to the ability to prophesy, that is, to interpret the words of the prophets. After all, once the Only Begotten became man, once he suffered and rose and accomplished the oikonomia for us, what prophecy could still be needed? What deeds could still be foretold? Therefore, the term prophesying in this passage could have no other meaning than the ability to interpret prophecy. When we elucidate a passage for our hearers as best we can, confirming our interpretation by comparing it with the truth, then we will be correct and error-free interpreters of the most beautiful things. Now the one who speaks in tongues, he says, does not speak to other people but to God. Why is that? “For nobody understands them,” he says. So, for example, if one of the disciples happens to receive the ability to speak in the language of the Medes and another receives the ability to speak in the language of the Elamites, [190] and the men I am talking about want to converse in the Jewish synagogues or with the Greek flocks, who would understand them? What would be the benefit of such a conversation? No one would understand them except for God alone, who knows everything, “since they are speaking mysteries to the Spirit,” he says. Notice how the one who speaks to God speaks to the Spirit. Therefore, the Spirit is God. Now “those who speak in a tongue speak to God,” he says, “and not to other people.” But “those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.” He understands the term prophesying here to mean interpreting the words of the prophets, by which the message of encouragement is confirmed and the mind of the catechumens is led to the truth of Christ. So he adds further clarification that interpreting the words of the prophets is incomparably better than speaking in a tongue. “Those who speak in a tongue,” he says, “build up themselves.”164 That is because no one else understands them. But those who employ the words and predictions of the holy prophets as evidence “build up the church.”165 Therefore, prophesying is greater. It has the utmost renown and brings glorious hope since it is obviously better to build up the church than to speak only to oneself in a tongue. [192] |
When those who received the gift of tongues became more proud than they ought, they took the sign as an opportunity for boasting and they neglected the proclamation of the gospel. They were proud, as I said, only of their ability to speak in tongues and thought that they should strive for this alone. Paul teaches that the duty of speaking the message of the holy prophets to the crowds and counseling them with the evangelical dogmas is better than speaking in tongues.
[188] Once we have in ourselves faith, hope, and love for God and the brothers and we prize those virtues above all, which is what the entire law commands, then I will be amazed by the gifts of the Spirit. I am referring to the ability to prophesy, that is, the ability to interpret the words of the prophets. After all, once the Only Begotten became man, once he suffered and rose again and fulfilled the oikonomia for us, what prophecy could still be needed? What deeds could still be foretold? Therefore, the term prophesying in this passage could have no other meaning than the ability to interpret prophecy. When we elucidate prophecies as best we can for our hearers, then we will be correct and error-free interpreters of the most beautiful things.
For example, if one of the disciples happens to receive the ability to speak in the language of the Medes, and another receives the ability to speak in the language of the Elamites, and then they speak with the Greeks or the Jews, [190] who would understand them? What would be the benefit of such a conversation? No one understands them except God alone, who knows everything, “since they are speaking mysteries to the Spirit.” Now if the one who speaks to God speaks to the Spirit, then the Spirit is God.
Now “those who speak in a tongue build up themselves,”166 since they are the ones who understand what they are saying. But those who explain the words of the prophets and employ their predictions as evidence “build up the church.”167 Therefore, prophesying is greater since it is better to build up the church than to speak only to oneself in a tongue. [192] |
14:5 Now I would like all of you to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. One who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
Since it was unusual and truly a gift from God that men who were Hebrew could speak in the language of other people, and so that no one may think that the apostle was foolishly discounting what happened and saying that the gift given through the activity of the Spirit was nothing, he approves of it and says, “Now I would like all of you to speak in tongues.” But he abruptly and decisively cuts short any eagerness for this gift and transfers it to a better one by immediately adding, “but even more to prophesy.” He is thereby saying in the clearest way possible that the one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in a tongue. Then he shows that it is not altogether useless for those who have it and for their hearers when he adds, “unless someone interprets,” that is, unless there is always someone there to interpret for the catechumens. [194] |
Since it was unusual and truly a gift from God that men who were Hebrew could speak in the language of other people, and so that no one may think that Paul was rejecting the gift of tongues and saying that the gift given through the activity of the Spirit was in vain (since it was given as a sign to unbelievers), he approves of it and adds, “Now I would like all of you to speak in tongues.” However, he says that prophesying is better than speaking in a tongue, except that even speaking in tongues can bring some benefit to the hearers if there is always someone there to interpret for the catechumens in a language that the catechumens know how to speak and understand. [194] |
14:9-11 So with yourselves; if in a tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is being said? For you will be speaking into the air. There are doubtless many different kinds of languages in the world, and nothing is without language. If then I do not know the meaning of a language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
He says that there is absolutely no example of a rational or human creature that is without language. But if someone does not happen to know the meaning of another’s words and they do not know each other’s language, they will be foreigners to one another, even though they speak their own languages correctly. Therefore, those who want to teach others [196] must produce speech that is comprehensible to their hearers. |
Some who regularly went to church possessed the ability to speak in tongues by the activity of the Spirit. Now in church, one should offer prayers and, more importantly, make petitions and sing psalms in the language of those present, but they did not do so. They took pride only in the gift of tongues and did not offer prayers or psalms. Paul teaches that if the hearers do not know the language in which the possessor of the gift is speaking, there is no benefit from this activity. After all, there are multitudes of nations and many human languages, and there is no example of a rational or human creature that is without language.
If someone does not happen to know the meaning of another’s words and they do not know each other’s language when one speaks, they will be foreigners to one another, even though they speak their own languages correctly. Therefore, those who want to teach others must produce speech that is comprehensible [196] to their hearers. If the utterance is meaningless and the language is unknown, then they have labored in vain and assaulted the hearing of the learner with a pointless cacophony.
He says that those who want to teach must speak words that are comprehensible to the hearers or else they labor in vain. That is because the one who speaks only in tongues does not edify the church. |
14:13-15 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive. What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing psalms with the spirit, but I will sing psalms with the mind also.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
In this passage he uses the term “spirit” to refer to the grace given by the Spirit, that is, the ability to speak in tongues. If, he says, I pray prayers in church with the spirit, that is, employing the tongue given by the Spirit, my mind will remain unfruitful. I should pray earnestly and ask God for those things that pertain to salvation. I should not pride myself in speaking in a tongue [198] or concentrate only on speaking in a tongue, since my mind is unfruitful and it derives no benefit from such ambition.
When I sing psalms in a tongue, if I want to be approved and make use of a tongue given by the Spirit and earnestly try not to leave my mind unfruitful but raise up my mind within myself, as it were, then I must sing the psalm no less with my mind as well—that is, I must understand the meaning of the psalm in detail and not allow the words of the prophecy to go unexamined. Therefore, it is better to desire to prophesy or interpret the Holy Scriptures in church than simply to make use of tongues. [200] |
“Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret,” since speaking in tongues by itself would not have the power to build up the church. Here he uses the term spirit to refer to the grace given by the Spirit, that is, the ability to speak in tongues. [198]
The meaning of this passage is not entirely clear. Yet I will attempt to explain it as best I can. If I want to pray in a tongue, that is, if I want to be approved when I speak in a tongue and to try earnestly not to leave my mind unfruitful, if I want to be someone who does not only speak in a tongue but also rouses my mind within myself when I sing a psalm in a tongue, then I must sing the psalm no less with my mind by understanding the meaning of the psalm and the prophecy, and I must not allow their words to go unexamined. That is because if I should speak empty words, then “I am a noisy gong.”168 Therefore, it is better to prophesy or to interpret the divine Scriptures in church than simply to make use of tongues. What then will be better? “I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also.” He uses the term “spirit” here to refer to the gifts given by the Spirit. It is his goal to use as many considerations as he needs in order to show that speaking in a tongue is useless unless it is accompanied by the ability to explain the words of the prophet to others. Therefore, he adds additional considerations by which one may see clearly what he is saying. [200] |
14:16-17 Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of a private person say the “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since that person does not know what you are saying? For you may give thanks well enough, but the other person is not built up.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
When you yourself speak in a tongue, he says, but someone in the rank of the laity does not know your language, how can that person supply the “Amen” in their own thanksgiving or prayers so that what seems to be lacking in completeness on the part of the priests may be supplied by the laity and God may receive “the small along with the great,”169 as it were, in the unity of the Spirit? |
When you yourself speak in a tongue, he says, but someone in the rank of the laity is ignorant of your language, how can that person supply the “Amen” to their own thanksgiving or prayers? Everyone knows that there is a custom in the church that the prayers of the presiders and the prayers of those under them come to an end at the same time. The people supply the “Amen” for those who pray to God on their behalf, adding the conclusion to the priest’s words. That way whatever seems to be lacking in completeness on the part of the priests may be supplied by the laity and God may receive “the small along with the great,”170 as it were, in the unity of the Spirit. For the laity under the priests’ supervision believe that their own prayers will be received when they unite them to the prayers of the priests. This was the reason God commanded even humble offerings to be brought to the altar of burnt offerings, so that what is modest may be combined with what is complete and may become acceptable to God, since we are all one in the Lord. So, he says, when you speak in a tongue (since that is what “say a blessing with the spirit” means), how can those who do not know what you are saying “say the ‘Amen’ in [202] their own thanksgiving?” You yourself may act rightly, at least when it comes to your intentions, but “the other person is not built up.” We must do everything for the sake of building up and benefiting the brothers. {You who speak in a tongue, that is, say a blessing with the spirit, act rightly in your intentions, but the other person is not built up. Everything must be done for the benefit and edification of the brothers.}171 |
15:1-2 Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
He very appropriately and wisely uses the term good news to refer to the proclamation of the resurrection from the dead and the proclamation of Christ himself more generally. It is, after all, an announcement of every good thing for those who have accepted the faith. He says that in it they stand and are being saved. “Standing” means that believers have a steadfast hope and right doctrine. “Being saved” means that they are found to be stronger than sin itself and they have escaped the snares of death. [204] |
He fittingly uses the term good news to refer to the proclamation of the resurrection from the dead and the proclamation of Christ himself, since it supplies every good thing to believers. He says that they stand in it, signifying their steadfast hope, and that they are being saved, indicating their superiority to the very snares of death. [204] |
15:3-9 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
He says that he did not hand on to you something that just came into his mind or that he accepted without careful examination, but the good news that he received. He received it from the one who placed in his mind the knowledge of him who became a human being for us. Paul himself elsewhere says of the good news, “For I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”172 Now if the one who hands this on is taught by God, how could what he proclaimed be untrue, namely, that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures” (that is, both the Old and New Testaments)? After all, there were a great many witnesses of Christ’s death and resurrection. There is therefore no doubt that Christ Jesus died for us according to the flesh to take away the sin of the world173 and that he was raised again and trampled death so that [206] we too may profit from this event. It is also imperative in the present passage for him to say not only that Christ died but also that he was buried. Emmanuel was placed in the tomb to give us confidence that he truly died. But he rose again, as I just said. By dying in the flesh, he proves that he was made flesh, even though the Word is God. And by trampling death, he manifestly demonstrates that he is God by nature. However, the Word of God the Father does not give life to someone else’s temple or to a body that strictly belongs to someone else. Rather, he gives life to his own body through which he is said to die for us so that the benefit of the resurrection may truly be ours as well.174 You see, the entire human nature was trampling death in him. That is why we are said to be buried and raised with him175 and seated with him “in the heavenly places.”176 Then he says that he was raised in accordance with the Scriptures and that he appeared to the holy apostles, first to a select few and then to a great many. Then “as to one untimely born” among the apostles, “he appeared also to me.” He is very humble and insists that he persecuted the church, but he received mercy from Christ and was called to his apostolic office. He made known the great mystery of the resurrection. [208] This mystery was not unknown to the ancient saints, since it was announced beforehand, nor was it unknown to those chosen to be apostles, who were “eyewitnesses and servants of the word.”182 |
He says that he did not hand on something that just came into his mind or that he took to heart without careful examination, but the good news that he received from Christ himself, who placed in his mind the knowledge of him who became a human being for us.
{He says that he did not hand on something that just came into his mind, but the good news that he received from the one who placed in his mind the knowledge of him who became a human being for us.}177
After all, the death of Christ was prophesied by the Law and the Prophets as well as the evangelical and apostolic oracles. There is therefore no doubt that Christ died for us according to the flesh to take away the sin of the world178 and he was raised again and trampled [206] death so that we too may profit from this event.
By dying in the flesh he proves that he was made flesh, even though he is God and therefore impassible. And by rising again, he proves that he is God by nature. Just as suffering is a human characteristic, so also conquering death is a divine one. Thus we are said to be buried and raised with him179 and even to be seated with him in heaven.180 He is not talking about Christ’s two natures,181 but he is saying that in Christ all of humanity, or rather the entire human race, obtains immortality and the other blessings.
Then he was raised and appeared to the holy apostles, first to a select few.
He is very humble, and he persecuted the church, yet he insists that he received mercy from Christ and was called to his apostolic office. [208] |
15:12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
He is astounded at those who are persuaded (I know not how) to oppose the holy and divine Scriptures and have the audacity to take a different position. After all, if Christ died not to remain dead, but to overpower death and decay and to become for human nature a road, as it were, and a door leading to the power to overcome decay and return to life, and if the one who died for us has risen again so that we may have life with him, how can they now bind with the cords of death those for whom Emmanuel, who is God by nature, is said to have died and returned to life? How can they remove the human race from the benefits of the resurrection and misrepresent the culmination of the oikonomia in the flesh? If Christ has become “the firstfruits of those who have died”183 and “the firstborn from the dead,”184 then all the rest will surely follow their firstfruits. [210] They will accompany the firstborn, and rightly so, since he is the firstborn. The divinely inspired Paul himself will be our witness: “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”185 Now when some people acknowledge that Christ has been raised but deny the mystery of the resurrection of the dead, they are utterly ignorant of the reason for the incarnation186 of the Only Begotten. God the Word did not become a human being for his own benefit, but “instead of the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.”187 The most-wise Paul himself teaches us the reason when he says, “Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.”188 Now if death has not been rendered powerless, then his plan is pointless and the mystery of the oikonomia in the flesh is useless to us. We have utterly failed to obtain the hope of life. How then have we been called to adoption and how are we the children of God, as [212] the wise John says?192 If it is true that “we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies,”193 what kind of redemption will it be if Christ has not made us stronger than death? How will he “transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory”?194 When will this happen if death has not been neutralized? What kind of transformation will they have who will stay the same, or rather change for the worse? Notice how skillfully he brings us around to the necessary conclusion that we must say that our earthly bodies will be returned to life at the right time. If, he says, throughout the entire divinely inspired Scriptures Christ has been proclaimed as risen from the dead, “how can some of you say there is no resurrection from the dead?” He died, as we said before, not for himself but for us so that—since he is life by nature as God—he might destroy death by the death of his own flesh and human nature might follow him. He returned to life and became a kind of firstfruits of a humanity that crosses over to life, is re-created in incorruption, and conquers death. Whatever is in Christ is a new creation.195 [214] Since this has begun, how will we remain in the ground? How can some of you have the audacity to claim that the dead will not return to life? These people seem to be the Sadducees, since they are the ones who said that “there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit.”196 Hymenaeus and Alexander also falsified the mystery of the resurrection “by claiming that the resurrection has already taken place.”197 But they suffered shipwreck in the faith,198 along with everyone who wants to follow their foolishness.199 |
He is astounded at the audacity of those who dare to contradict the entirety of the Holy Scriptures. After all, if Christ died not to remain dead, but to overpower death and decay and to become a way for human beings to return to life and overcome decay, and if Christ who died for us (even though he is God by nature) rose again so that we may be made alive with him, how can some deprive the human race of the benefits of the resurrection and misrepresent the culmination of the oikonomia in the flesh? Those who claim that Christ has not been raised deny the consummation of the oikonomia in the flesh. If Christ has become “the firstfruits of those who have died,”189 and “the firstborn from the dead,”190 all the rest will surely follow the [210] firstfruits and the firstborn. They are the ones of whom he is the firstborn.
Now when some people acknowledge that Christ was raised but reject the mystery of the resurrection of the dead, they are ignorant of the reason for the incarnation191 of the Only Begotten. The Word of God did not become a human being for his own benefit, but to free us from death.
Now if death has not been rendered powerless, then his plan is pointless and useless to us, since we have utterly failed to obtain the hope of life.
When he says “some” he is hinting at the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection or angel or spirit.200 Hymenaeus and Alexander also falsified the mystery of the resurrection. But they suffered shipwreck in the faith.201
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15:13-15 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
The second follows from the first, as it were, and the first goes with the second. When this happens, that is, when we believe this, the proclamation of the holy apostles will be in vain, and the faith is in vain. So is the word of faith202 that through the saints guides initiates all over the world. How then [216] can we still believe if he did not return to life, as some claim? “We are even found,” he says, “to be misrepresenting God,” because we said that “he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.” In that case, how could such a great multitude of saints escape the charge of falsification? They should not even be saints. How could they be? They would suffer from the sin of lying against God. But that is not how things are. The mystagogues are not lying when they say that Christ has been raised. |
Now if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. The second follows from the first, and the first goes with the second. When this is believed, the proclamation of the apostles will be in vain and impotent. The faith too will be in vain. It will turn out to be a lie, and the apostles could be accused of telling pointless fables.
If we say that this claim is true, it will carry us to other absurdities too. [216] A great multitude of saints will be subject to the charge of falsification as well, since they testified in contradiction to God, who did not raise Christ. They should not even be called saints. They suffer from the sin of lying against God, and they should be punished. The faith is futile. |
15:17 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
He is quite right and utterly truthful to add this to his other statements. Faith justifies,203 but if someone subscribes to the futile notion that Christ was not raised, what difference does it ultimately make? We are still subject to the ancient charges, and our sin is not washed away. In vain did the divinely inspired psalmist say, “Lord, you were favorable to your land. You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin.”204 And again, “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom [218] the Lord imputes no iniquity.”205 And the blessed Paul says in the epistle to the Romans that the blessedness referred to in this passage extends both to the circumcised and to the Gentiles.206 For we have been justified in Christ, “who was handed over for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.”207 |
If Christ has not been raised, what is left to justify us? We are still subject to the ancient charges since we have not washed away the filth of our sin. [218] |
15:18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
They have been deceived, it seems, and have given their lives for him without reward if Christ has not been raised.
If the hope of the saints is not full of immortality,208 if they do not expect to reign with him, then perhaps they have perished. But away with such terrible ignorance! “For the dead will be resurrected and those in the tombs will be raised,” as the prophet says.209 [220]
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The holy martyrs have been deceived, it seems, and they have given their lives for him without reward. They can in no way boast of the glory of their genuine relation to him, even though the blessed Stephen became the firstfruits of the holy martyrs when he offered his own death as a sweet-smelling offering to God. But if Christ has not been raised, if the hope of the saints is not full of immortality,210 if they do not expect to reign with him, then perhaps they have perished and receive a penalty for their efforts in that they have endured death itself to no benefit. But away with such terrible ignorance! “For the dead will be resurrected”211 and the distributor of crowns will weigh out to each one what is most appropriate, and he will surely impose punishment on the ungodly. [220] As God, he is the judge of all. {And perhaps they have perished if the hope of the saints is not full of immortality, if they do not expect to reign with him.}212 |
15:20-23 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
(Cod. Vat. Gr. 762) |
(Cod. Pantokrator. 28) |
He takes it as a given that we must believe that Christ returned to life and became the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, the first one on earth to trample death, just as our forefather Adam was of course the first one to enter into death and to become the firstfruits of those who have fallen into decay. And he adds that the resurrection of the dead will follow the resurrection of our Savior when he says, “For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being.” Observe how once again he shows that the mystery of the oikonomia in the flesh is replete with God-befitting craftsmanship. It was necessary—necessary, he says—that a human being conquer death on our behalf. This is the reason why God the Word, who came from God, did not take on213 the nature of angels, as Paul says, but the seed of Abraham: to [222] be made like his brothers in all things.214 It was necessary, as I said, that what was sick be healed and what had fallen be raised up. It was necessary that what had come under the power of death through transgression and sin should overcome death through obedience and righteousness. This is why the only begotten Word of God, who knew no sin, became a human being: so that just as all were condemned in Adam when human nature experienced death, so also we will be justified in Christ and put off sin along with the death that springs from it. |
Since it is a given that Christ returned to life and became the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, the first one on earth to trample death, the resurrection of the dead will surely follow the resurrection of the Savior. [222]
Just as all were condemned in Adam when human nature experienced the fall through his disobedience, so also we will be justified in Christ and put off sin along with the death that springs from it. |
The divinely inspired Paul himself will be our witness when he says, “Just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners.”215 Therefore, “as all die in Adam,” since our nature was condemned in him by his transgression, as I said, “so all will be made alive in Christ,” since our nature is correspondingly blessed in him in the same way by his justification. The second condition, then, redeems us from the first. “For he was handed over for our transgressions and was raised for our justification.”216 Therefore, when he was raised, we were raised with him as well. The Word of God is life by nature, and he grants this good attribute of his nature (I mean life) not only to his own flesh, but [224] he conveys it to the entirety of human nature. Christ has undoubtedly been raised as the firstfruits “so that he might come to have first place in everything,” as it is written.217 Then the resurrection of the others will follow at the proper time. However, as you might expect, this will not take place chaotically but decorously and in order, “with a command.” You see, it is only after the firstfruits (that is, Christ) that it says that those who belong to him will be raised. This clearly refers to those who lived at the time of his advent, or more precisely those who were born after the incarnation and fell asleep in faith. There were, of course, holy people in Israel at that time, when the life of the law was held in high regard and still held sway. But those in Christ were better, since they were justified by faith and became participants of the divine nature218 and were enriched by the spirit of adoption.219 They have been called into brotherhood by the grace of him who is the true Son by nature. Those under the law had the spirit of slavery, but we cry out, “Abba! Father!”220 Therefore, those in Christ are better, as I said, than the ancients. And so [226] he says that they will be raised first since they followed in the footsteps of him who is the first of all. Because they are bound more closely to him, they also receive greater honor than the others. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself hints at something like this in the Gospel parables as well. He said that when evening came, the master who hired laborers for his vineyard said to his manager, “Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.”221 |
The second condition, then, redeems us from the first, and the righteousness and obedience that we find in Christ effect an overthrow of what happened to our nature because of sin. Therefore, when Christ was raised, we were raised with him as well. Since the Word of God is life by nature, he granted this good attribute of his nature (I mean life) not only to his own flesh, [224] but he conveyed it to the entirety of human nature. |