Первое отделение. Пресечение начавшихся разноречий (1Кор.1:10–4:31)

The discrepancies, as you can see, did not take deep roots, but rather came from frivolity, consisted in the fact that one pestered mainly one of his scientists or even celebrities, another - to another, a third - to a third. Previously, in paganism, those who had the custom of dividing according to philosophers thought that in Christianity it was also permissible to put oneself under the title of one or another teacher, and they began to talk in this way. They did not isolate themselves from each other, did not form special parties, communities and gatherings, but were in harmony, like Christians, only allowing themselves such speeches. This came from too much trust in the decisions of one’s own mind, or in human wisdom, and from a lack of understanding of what teachers are - people in the matter of building the Church of God on earth. Having learned about this, Saint Paul first 1) briefly but strongly denounces the absurdity of such speeches (1 Cor. 1:10-16); then 2) blocks the sources from which those absurd speeches came (1 Cor. 1:17–4:16); 3) in conclusion, he announces the message of Saint Timothy to them and his imminent arrival, with suggestions that can sober up (1 Cor. 4: 17-21). 1. Brief denunciation of the controversy that has begun (1 Cor. 1: 10–16) Having premised, as a conclusion from the previous one, a) an exhortation to monospeech and like-mindedness (1 Cor. 1:10), and b) indicating where they differ in speech (1 Cor. 1:11-12), shows c) how absurd this is (1 Cor. 1:13-16). a) Exhortation to unity of speech and like-mindedness (1 Cor. 1:10) 1 Corinthians 1:10. I pray you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all things may be spoken in the same way, and that there be no strife in you, that you may be established in the same understanding and in the same thought. “I pray you, brothers.” “Reproof must be done gradually and little by little; that's what Paul does here. Approaching a subject full of great dangers and which could shake the Church to its very foundation, he begins his speech with meekness. It’s always like this, if you suddenly begin to sharply rebuke someone, he will become embittered and become shameless; if you make a (gentle) suggestion, you will bow his neck, tame his insolence and make him feel ashamed. This is what Paul does, begging in the name of Christ” (St. Chrysostom). “I pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Saint Chrysostom, noticing that in the previous nine verses the precious and sweetest name of the Lord Jesus Christ was mentioned nine times, notes “that Saint Paul does not do this in vain and does not simply do this, but by the frequent use of this high name he wants to bring down their arrogance and destroy their evil illness” (under Art. 8). Praying in the name of the Lord Jesus, he takes the Corinthians’ love for Him and the consciousness of their duty to submit to Him as co-conspirators with the power of his word. In the name of the Lord, to whom you cleave with love, before whom you revere, whose commands you are ready to follow, I beg you in His name. What heart could resist such a conviction? At the same time, no matter how soft such speech was, it could not help but remind that although the Apostle begs, but as he begs in the name of Christ, he at the same time strictly obliges. This is a fatherly, not mollifying, but sobering speech! “Yes, you all say the same.” The tongue says what is in the soul and heart. Unite thoughts and feelings, and speech will be one. But speech spreads dissent, and the evil of division expands. This is what St. Paul suppresses first, saying, as it were: stop contradicting yourself, speak everything in one word; otherwise the division between you will increase. And that’s why, perhaps, he said this at the beginning, that probably the whole matter consisted more in frivolous heteroglossia than in a serious mutual division. Therefore, after this, the Apostle says: “and let there be no discord among you” - σχισματα, that is, divisions into parties. There is no such disintegration yet; The Apostle only seems to be afraid of him, and says, as it were: stop interpreting: “I am so-and-so, I am so-and-so,” so as not to cause division in the heart and not give rise to parties, not to break the whole society into pieces, as clothes are torn to shreds. When clothes are torn into pieces, and the parts are worthless, and the clothes are lost. The same will happen to you. And the parts into which you are divided will not represent anything healthy, and the whole will be destroyed. So Saint Chrysostom and Theophylact. “Let you be established in the same understanding and in the same thought.” – “Approval” – κατηρτισμενοι. This word means the harmonization of one part with another, so that from all of them, harmonized together, one strong and durable whole is formed. The Apostle gives them a comparison that, for example, a carpenter, putting together part with part, achieves the result that a necessary and reliable thing is obtained - a table, or something else; so be harmonious in everything, you too. Saint Chrysostom says: “after the words: “Yes, you all say the same,” do not think, says the Apostle, that I mean agreement only in words; no, I want agreement in my thoughts too. And since it is possible to have the same thoughts, but not about all objects, he adds: “let you be affirmed” (κατηρτισμενοι - harmonious in everything). For whoever agrees on one thing, but disagrees on another, is not yet confirmed (not harmonized), has not achieved perfect unanimity.” The difference in words: “in the same understanding” - νοι “and in the same thought” γνωμη, Blessed Theodoret explains this way: “He does not reproach them for the difference in dogmas, but for disputes and rivalry about the primates: the meaning of the sermon, says the Apostle, is one (this is expressed by the words: “in the same understanding”), but the disposition is no longer one (this is what is meant by the words: "in the same thought") Therefore, he begs them, keeping one thing in mind and understanding the same, not to create discord and not to argue in vain about the superiors.” Saint Chrysostom says more definitely that there is - γνωμη. “It also happens that while there is agreement in thoughts, there is still no agreement in spirit, for example, when we, having the same faith, are not united by love. In this case we agree in our thoughts, because we think alike; but still disagree in spirit - γνωμη. The same thing happened in Corinth, where one took the side of one and the other of the other. Therefore, Paul says that we must be “established” (harmonious) “in the same understanding and in the same thought.” For their strife did not arise from differences in faith, but from disagreement in spirit, out of human vanity.” Thus, we can assume that “in the same understanding” means - in one mind; and “in the same thought” - in unanimity: may you have one mind and one soul, one heart; the same thing: strive to “keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). This makes it very clear what the discord was. In one frivolous argument: this teacher is better; no, this one. b) Indication of what the discrepancy is (1 Cor. 1: 11–12) 1 Corinthians 1:11. Let me know about you, my brethren, sent from Chlois (from Chloe’s household), for the essence of zeal is in you. "Be aroused by me". “Just as an accused without witnesses can remain stubborn to the point of shamelessness, so that they cannot reject what was said, he brings witnesses. He did not say this suddenly, but he laid out the reproof in advance, because he believed those who announced it; for if he had not believed, he would not have denounced him, and Paul could not believe blindly. Thus, he did not suddenly say: “be proclaimed by me,” so that it would not seem that he was accusing them only according to the words of those who announced it, and he did not remain silent about it, so that it would not seem that he was speaking only on his own behalf” (St. Chrysostom). "My brother". “Here again he calls them brothers. Although their sin was obvious, nothing yet prevented them from being called brothers” (St. Chrysostom). If their disputes did not concern dogma, but represented only a passion for frivolity, then there was no reason for anyone else to separate from them, especially the Apostle, who hoped to heal the disease by exposing their foolishness. “Sent from Chlois” (from Chloe’s household), - υπο των Χλοης - from Chloe. Chloe, presumably, was a well-known person in Corinth, one of the believers. If we assume that she was engaged in trade, and Ephesus, where Saint Paul was then, was in this regard in direct relations with Corinth, then it goes without saying how Chloe’s household could have been in Ephesus on trade matters and reported to Saint Paul about everything that was happening in Corinth. “Notice the wisdom of St. Paul! He did not point to an individual person, but to the whole house, so that they would not rebel against the one who announced it. So he hid it too, and directly revealed their guilt. He knew what was useful for some and what was needed for others” (St. Chrysostom). “As zeal is in you.” “Zeal” – εριδες, fervent debate, with the desire to argue and stand on one’s own. Their whole fault, it turns out, consisted of argumentativeness, irritating and violating the fraternal union of love. It is not clear that they are deviating into any error. Saint Chrysostom had already noticed that they were of one mind in matters of faith. What are the disputes about? 1 Corinthians 1:12. I say this, as every one of you says: I am Pavlov, I am Apollos, I am Cephas, I am Christ. “I say this verb,” for example. Your situation is similar to how one of you would say: I love Pavlov, I love Pavel, I follow him, I prefer him to everyone, I support his side, I stand up for him, I’m probably ready to die for him. Another would have had Apollos for himself, a third would have had Peter, a fourth would have had Christ Himself. “Kiyzhdo”, not from members of the Church, but from those who were carried away into this movement. The greatest part remained calm, the body of the Church did not waver. For any false opinions to be associated with this is not visible and should not be a guess. If under each title there was hidden some error, Saint Paul would expose each one and expose it, but he then exposes only human wisdom in general and explains the importance of teachers in the spread of the Christian faith. This means that the Corinthians exercised their wisdom only in exhibiting with art the excellent sides of this or that person under whose banner they placed themselves. In this they showed their wisdom and boasted of it. Just as in paganism the sages occupied themselves with trifles, so, having entered Christianity, learned people decided to study subjects that had no importance in the matter of salvation. It was enough for them to say: aren’t you children? (1 Cor. 3:1-3), as St. Paul said after exposing the worthlessness of human wisdom. Despite, however, the fact that no errors were hidden under the said titles, the very distribution of oneself under such supposed banners could not be approved; since it exposed a lack of understanding of the work of salvation in Christ Jesus and the attitude of believers towards Him. And it was tolerated by everyone! Nobody saw how ridiculous this was! Saint Paul says to them: well, you have become wise! And having then exposed the blindness of human wisdom and pointed out that they are teachers in the matter of Christianity, he leads: so you see, whether Paul, Apollos, Cephas - all are yours, for you, and you are all Christ's, Christ is God (1 Cor. 3, 22-23). Christ should not be put on an equal footing with anyone. Thus, there is no need to inquire who were Pavlov’s, who were Apollo’s, who were Cephas’, who were Christ’s, to determine their way of thinking and to create schools. It didn't go that far. The Corinthians distributed only themselves, as if under banners, under some celebrities, and each party defended its choice. This was the point of their disputes. This is completely similar to what later happened in Constantinople, as already noted, regarding the great saints. It must be assumed that many scientists joined the ranks of believers and it was they who stirred up all this. Each unit also had horse handlers. These horse guides were the closest leaders of each unit. Saint Chrysostom and our other interpreters believe that Saint Paul actually had them in mind, but did not name them, so as not to harden them. Meanwhile, the goal was achieved in this way of speech. For if it is impossible to place oneself under the banner of the Apostles, it is all the more absurd to place oneself under the banner of those who are incomparably lower than them. c) Exposing the absurdity of such rumors (1 Cor. 1: 13–16) 1 Corinthians 1:13. Food stripped Christ? Will Paul be crucified for you, or will he be baptized in the name of Paul? These questions alone were enough to destroy the cobwebs of the Corinthian sages: “The Apostle does not prove, but only proposes a question, as a sign of the obvious absurdity of the thought contained in it” (St. Chrysostom). “Is Christ divided into food?” Christ is the only head of the Church; and the Church is one body under the head of Christ. How did you create so many chapters for yourself? How can the body of the Church remain united, being placed under different heads? “This means you divided Christ and dissolved His body” (St. Chrysostom). Saint Chrysostom then adds: “Some find here the following thought: did Christ dissolve and divide the Church among people, and took one part for himself and gave the other to them?” The Apostle, having said that we are all united under one Christ the Lord and therefore it is absurd to choose a person as our head, now wants to say that we have all spiritual blessings directly from Him. And therefore it is absurd to cleave so closely to people and, as it were, expect everything from them. He died for us, and we, through holy baptism, entering into the communion of His death, accept the remission of sins and exchange the old life for a new grace-filled one. At this very moment we become Christians. Let me just say: how did you forget all this? But Saint Paul expresses all this stronger and more impressively with the questions: “Will Paul be crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Pavlovo?” Blessed Theodoret depicts the Apostle’s hidden thought here as follows: “Didn’t He alone accept death for you all? Have you not received the grace of baptism in His name? Has calling on human names granted you remission of sins?” But the contrast in the Apostle’s word is striking. He was supposed to make everyone arouse their opposition to the first foundations of faith in Christ the Lord. After this, they could not help but say to themselves: how did this simple thought not occur to us during our empty disputes? Now it is clear as day how unfounded our thinking is. The admonition coming from here should have been complete. Saint Paul did not continue to speak about this anymore. “It has been clearly proven that the honor that the Corinthians gave to their teachers cannot belong to anyone except the Lord” (St. Chrysostom). 1 Corinthians 1:14. I thank God, for I have not baptized a single one of you, except Crispus and Gaia. He thanks God that he did not baptize, not because he did not consider baptism to be an important matter or would degrade the power of baptism, but because through this he got rid of even an innocent reason for dividing or strengthening the rumors that divided the believers there. It must be assumed that among the reasons why someone chose someone as their head over others was the fact that he was baptized by him. If, despite the fact that the Apostle hardly baptized anyone, there was a part that considered him their head, what would have happened if he had baptized everyone he converted? He thanks God that he did not baptize, and thus did not give anyone a reason to deviate their attention from Christ the Lord. He brought everyone to the Lord and rejoiced when someone like him could say: “I live as no one, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Seeing that those who were baptized placed those who baptized closer to themselves than the Lord in whose name they were baptized, he thanks God that he has no part in this direction of minds that is displeasing to the Lord. If it were so, he seems to say, then there would be no end to my sorrow and the illnesses of my heart, which, although without guilt, was the reason that another would have closer attention to him than to the Lord. The Apostle’s language is driven by his immeasurable love for the Lord. With this, he gives the following lesson to everyone: “Don’t tell me who baptized you, but in whose name? What matters is not who baptized, but who is called in baptism, for He is the one who forgives sins. Baptism is important, but this importance is conveyed to it not by the baptizer, but by the Called One in baptism. The performance of baptism means nothing regarding human labor; but in itself it is so important that without it it is impossible to receive the Kingdom of Heaven. But such is its power not from the one who baptizes, but in the name of Whom baptism is performed” (St. Chrysostom). 1 Corinthians 1:15. Yes, no one says that I made the cross in my name. It suggests even greater trouble. If, he says, when I hardly baptized anyone, you formed a party under my name, then if I baptized everyone, perhaps someone else would proclaim that I baptized in my own name, and from you, who gathered yourself under my name, a new part would be formed who consider themselves baptized in my name. I, he says, consider this possible, and “I am afraid that the disease will not reach such a degree” (St. Chrysostom). For after the empty talk that divided you, everything can be expected from you. To baptize in your name means to set yourself up as God's savior for someone. This was very much to be expected from the Hellenes. In one place they considered Saint Paul to be God in the form of a man, and it took him some trouble to convince them that he was a simple man. Why not expect something similar from the Corinthians, when they have already shown considerable frivolity? Saint Paul says: Thank God that I did not baptize anyone. After all, this is what else could happen! 1 Corinthians 1:16. Krestichzhe and Stefanin's house; We don’t know anything else, unless we baptize anyone else. The Apostle listed by name all those baptized by him. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, was the first to believe in the Lord with all his household; Following his example, many others believed and were baptized, as soon as Saint Paul, leaving the Jews, began to teach in the house of Justus (Acts 18:8). The Apostolic Constitutions say that this Crispus was appointed bishop of Egypt (book 7, chapter 46). Gaius, with whom Saint Paul stayed when, after this letter, he arrived in Corinth. From his house the Apostle wrote a letter to the Romans and conveyed greetings to them from him: “You kiss Gaius, my stranger and the whole Church” (Rom. 16:23). “Hospital of the whole Church” gives the idea that all believers, no matter what country they were from, arriving in Corinth, found shelter in his house. Saint Demetrius of Rostov believes that he was later a bishop in Ephesus. About the “house of Stephanin” St. Paul writes at the end of this letter that it was the firstfruits of Achaia, that is, the first of the Achaians from this house dedicated themselves to serving the saints in order to promote the Gospel and work together with the workers in this matter. Stephen himself, together with Fortunatus and Achaicus, was now sent to Saint Paul with a letter from the Corinthians, to which he replies below (1 Cor. 16:15-17). That's all, he says, who were baptized by me. I don’t know if I baptized anyone else. The figure of speech signifies a perfect negation. He expresses: he did not baptize anyone else. I didn't care about baptizing. “I did not try to gain honor from the people with such an act” (Saint Chrysostom). This was done by my assistants, and even by the first converts and baptized ones. There is no doubt that not all of the Corinthians were carried away by the crowds of superstitious people, and the persons indicated by the Apostle and baptized by him did not belong to their circle. Pointing to them, he seems to say: after all, these, baptized by me, do not consider me their head; Why did you others fall into such a mental illness and remain in it? Come to your senses; follow in these footsteps. That such a thought is appropriate is shown by the words of the Apostle at the end of the letter about Stephen’s house: “and you shall obey such” (1 Cor. 16:16). And this thought comes more directly to thanksgiving: thank God that I hardly baptized anyone; and those whom he baptized are healthy, and not only are they healthy, but they will also serve to enlighten others. 2. Blocking the sources from which the Corinthians’ rumors came (1 Cor. 1:17–4:16) The rumors among the Corinthians were so absurd that two or three questions were enough to expose this absurdity and force the interpreters to come to their senses. But Saint Paul intended for the future to avert any possibility of such phenomena, blocking the sources that produced them. Such sources were: A) too much trust in the decisions of one’s own mind, as in human wisdom in general, and B) an incorrect concept of what people, and even the Apostles themselves, are in the matter of planting the saving faith of Christ on earth. The first is blocked in 1 Cor. 1:17–2:16; the second in 1 Cor. 3:1–4:16. a) Too much trust in human wisdom (1 Cor. 1:17–2:16) The first source of talk is the admission of one’s human wisdom to enter the realm of faith as a resolver of questions and a legislative maker of definitions. So that the Corinthians do not fall into any more vanity, the Apostle now reveals that human wisdom and the Gospel are two opposites. One must abandon the first in order to accept the second. The Gospel is the true wisdom of God; but to human wisdom it does not seem so. Therefore, whoever wants to be a student of the wisdom of the Gospel must renounce human wisdom and agree to be humanly buoyant. This is the lesson of the Apostle for all times, for here the relationship of mental considerations to the simplicity of the Gospel truth is determined. The Gospel is true wisdom; but it appears in a completely simple form. Those who have become acquainted with human wisdom and are accustomed to wisdom cannot accommodate it. Only those who are not entangled in this wise wisdom can accommodate it. But by accepting it with a simple heart, in its naked simplicity, they become wiser than the sages. What is this, look, says the Apostle: aa) what do we preach? We say: The crucified Christ is the Savior of the world; believe and you will be saved; Those who believe become wise unto salvation (1 Cor. 1:17-25). But this is not at hand for those who are wise in human terms. For how many believers, for example, do you have in Corinth! But look, bb) who are they? Are there many among them who are wise according to the flesh? But these foolish according to the flesh are made wise by the Lord (1 Cor. 1:26-31). This is how God already destined it to be. That is why, when I came to you, I did not offer any wisdom, but spoke only about the Crucified Lord, so that human wisdom would not have any part in your faith (1 Cor. 2:1-5). But with such simplicity of preaching we only appear at first, so that by ourselves, without any participation of human efforts, those who are capable, or chosen by God, to be disciples of the wisdom of God, are revealed and separated. When someone believes and follows the path of the Gospel, then we reveal to him more fully the true wisdom of God, which embraces heaven and earth, the beginningless and the infinite. And not only us, but even more so the grace of the Holy Spirit, fulfilling sincere believers and the right of those living by faith (1 Cor. 2:6-16). aa) The subject of the Gospel preaching is incomprehensible to human wisdom, and this is according to the intention of God (1 Cor. 1:17-25) 1 Corinthians 1:17. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in the wisdom of the word, lest the cross of Christ be made void. This text stands at the transition from the previous to the present speech. First, the Apostle presents the reason why he did not baptize many. Not sent, he says, for this. The Lord said to the apostles: “Go and teach, baptizing” (Matthew 28:19). Therefore, they had to do both. The Lord said about the holy Apostle Paul Ananias: “This vessel is chosen by Me, to bring My name before the tongues” (Acts 9:15). To Paul himself: “Open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness into light” (Acts 26:18). But just as other Apostles could entrust baptism to others, so Saint Paul could not perform baptism himself. Saint Paul was always accompanied by assistants dedicated to the work of God. Through them he performed holy baptism, and he himself was mainly engaged in preaching; when it was necessary, he did it himself. This is what he wanted to say: my main business is to enlighten with faith, and others baptize those who believe. So Saint Chrysostom: “To preach the gospel is much more difficult, it required great effort and special strength of spirit and contained everything; that is why it was entrusted to Paul. But why did he baptize without being sent to baptize? – He did this not out of opposition to the Sender, but out of excess zeal. He didn’t say that he was forbidden to do this, but: I was not sent on this matter, but on a much more important one. The gospel was not given to many, but anyone with the priesthood could baptize. For a person who has been instructed in the faith and has believed can be baptized by anyone else; the disposition of the one approaching and the grace of God completes everything; and in order to instruct unbelievers in the faith, this requires great work, great wisdom, and even poses dangers. There everything has already been done, the one who wants to receive the sacrament is convinced of the faith, and it is not at all difficult to baptize the believer, but here great work is needed to change the disposition, correct the character, destroy error and instill the truth. So now we entrust this work (baptism) to the simplest of the elders, and the teaching of doctrine to the most prudent, because it requires work and effort. Therefore, he himself says: “Let elders who practice good deeds be counted worthy of greater honor, especially those who labor in word and doctrine” (1 Tim. 5:17). For just as a courageous and skillful teacher is needed to train warriors, and even an unskilled one can lay a crown on the winner in a fight, although the crown glorifies the winner, so in baptism; although it is impossible to be saved without it, the one who baptizes does no great work by accepting those who are disposed and prepared for it.” “It is not in the wisdom of speech, lest the cross of Christ be made void.” “Here the Apostle proceeds to denounce those who pride themselves on external wisdom and speaks against them with special force” (St. Chrysostom). The wisdom of speech means a word adorned with the art of eloquence and seasoned with all kinds of considerations of the mind. I was sent, says the Apostle, to preach the gospel without these instruments of human wisdom, I was sent to offer one naked truth about the cross of Christ, - he says: God became incarnate, suffered, died on the cross and saved us; believe this and you will be saved. This is what I have always done and do: I do not color the words, I do not surround the death of the cross with pathetic pictures, I do not come up with any mental considerations about the necessity and suitability of such a death for the cause of our salvation; This one bare truth is preached everywhere: God died on the cross and saved us; believe and you will be saved. I allow this truth itself to act on hearts and minds, without any human aid. She finds her own. It’s all the same, as if you point a magnet at particles of different metals, the magnet will select from all of them and attract the iron particles to itself; Thus, when I extend the word of the gospel to a whole assembly of people, my word itself finds its own, and those who are of the truth themselves turn to it and cleave. The fact that my word has such an effect must be attributed not to my speech, but to the truth itself, naked and unvarnished: God died on the cross and saved us. If I began to embellish it, then it would be the same as with a magnet when it is wrapped in something that prevents it from acting on iron. If I had wrapped the word of the cross with embellishments of the word and considerations of human wisdom, I would have blocked its path to act on simple hearts. And this would abolish his power. I wouldn't convert anyone. And this is very natural. Let us divide the listeners into two halves: those who participate in human wisdom and those who do not participate in it. For the first, the word about the cross, no matter how you paint it, no matter how you surround it with considerations, cannot possibly be comprehensive. For them, working on such a word means wasting time and energy. If it is possible for any of them to believe, then it is only by offering them the naked truth about the cross. In embellishments and considerations, they will always find many objections to this truth, which will not allow it to establish itself in their minds and penetrate to the heart, in order to lay the beginnings of faith there. So for scientists, embellishments and considerations are not a help to the success of the word of the godfather, but, on the contrary, an obstacle. They are also an obstacle for the unlearned, because for an unaccustomed mind they entangle the truth in the intricacies of speech and in wisdom inaccessible to the simple; and also because tricks of speech and resourcefulness of thoughts always lead to suspicion as to whether the truth is being proposed. If it’s true, speak directly and simply: why cheat? This is the law of simple hearts. Thus, embellishing the word and confusing it with considerations would nullify the cross of Christ. Saint Paul was not ordered to mix this wisdom of words into his gospel. And he didn't do it. This speech of the Apostle was very intelligible to those who, valuing human wisdom too highly, made so much talk in Corinth. He seemed to say to each of them: “Why are you proud of something that you should be ashamed of? For if this wisdom is hostile to the cross and contrary to the Gospel, then one should not boast, but be ashamed of it” (St. Chrysostom). And to this day one of the strongest proofs of the truth of the Gospel is that it conquered the world with its ingenuous simplicity. Saint Chrysostom depicts this side of the matter well: “That is why the Apostles were not wise, not for lack of talents, but so that the preaching would not suffer harm. The sages did not contribute to the preaching, but harmed it; the fools affirmed it. The preaching won the victory not by human wisdom, but by the grace of God. So, when they say that the Apostles were simple people, we will add that they were unlearned, and unlearned, and poor, and ignorant, and unwise, and unknown. It does not serve to dishonor, but to the glory of the Apostles, that they, being such, appeared more glorious than the whole universe. For these simple, unlearned and unlearned wise, strong and powerful, boasting of wealth, glory and all external things, defeated as if they were not people. From this it is clear that the power of the cross is great and that everything was not accomplished by human strength. For such things are not in the nature of things, but above nature.” 1 Corinthians 1:18. The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved the power of God is. Why was he not sent to preach the gospel in the wisdom of the word? – Because the word about the cross, in itself, is the power of God for those who are being saved. Consequently, its goal is achieved without the wisdom of the word. But for those who are perishing it is foolishness; and no matter how much you paint it and surround it with ideas, there will be no benefit; those who perish will all consider it foolishness and perish. “The word of the cross” is this: God, having become incarnate, died on the cross and saved us; believe in Him and you will be saved. “Those who are perishing and those who are being saved” seem to be determined – some for destruction, and others for salvation; so no matter how hard you fight, the one who is perishing will perish, but the one who is being saved will be saved, no matter how much you deviate from time to time from the path of salvation. Observation of people suggests that there is definitely something fatal in human ways. But faith confirms that a person’s life is all a matter of his free will, and if he dies, he destroys himself, and if he is saved, he is not drawn to salvation against his will. By her way of life, others actually come to the point that they cannot accept the words of their godfather; and others, by the same way of life, come to the point that they willingly accept this word. The first dies, the second is saved. The course of life with all its connections, although not in our will, but the moral system is always in our will. Because one does not accept the word of the cross, due to the way of his thoughts and the prevailing disposition, and therefore perishes, it is his own fault; and the fact that the other does not encounter any resistance to this word either from his mind or from his character, and therefore willingly accepts it and is saved, also has nothing that mechanically determines him to faith, apart from his will. The Holy Apostle takes on those and other faces as they appeared before the face of his sermon. He speaks the word in the synagogue, in the Areopagus or in a private house: some mock, others offer questions, and still others, silently hiding the word in their hearts, secretly come to the Apostle’s house and finally convert. Who attracted the latter? And who pushed away the first? – We don’t know who, we can say and add: but it was not God who pushed the first away, because He wants everyone to be saved and to come to the mind of truth; It was not He alone who drew the latter, for if He had begun to draw everyone, then all would have been saved. This is how we confess. Although there is something incomprehensible here, it is certain that there is nothing contrary to the goodness of God and truth. The apostle with his word only affirms the fact, what he learned from observing the conversions. One word, and people of the same clan and the same locality listen to it, but some believe and are saved, while others do not believe and perish. Those he has are saved, and these are perishing. The word of the cross for those who are perishing is madness; it would be expected that for those who are being saved it is wisdom, but he says: for those who are being saved the power of God is. Didn’t the Apostle want the readers to complete the supposedly omitted opposites, and add weakness and impotence to madness, and wisdom to strength? At least in the further development of his thought, he touches on both opposites and brings to the end that Christ Crucified is God's power and God's wisdom. Or the Apostle wanted to show the more the perishing unbeliever is repelled from the cross and the more the saving believer is drawn to it. To the first, the cross seems like madness, and he turns away from it, but to the second, he sees it as force, and he cleaves to it. The Apostle’s intention is only to say that the word of the cross itself does its work where it is needed, and does not need assistance from human wisdom. But one cannot help but see that he looks very unfavorably at human wisdom and by perishing he means mainly those who are familiar with this wisdom, who follow it and who consider it alone to be a faithful guide. In outer life this wisdom precisely dominates, and harmlessly; but whoever enters the realm of salvation with it in this same meaning always spoils the matter. God determines the image of salvation; it must be accepted with submission as it is offered. Our wisdom, without its submission to the command of God, at the beginning interferes with the acceptance of saving faith, and if, after obedient acceptance of faith, it interferes later, it always confuses everything. The path of salvation is decisively incompatible with human wisdom. She cannot understand anything about the word godfather; and this word is the beginning and the end of everything. Saint Chrysostom says: “For those who suffer, even healthy food is mortally unpleasant, friends and relatives are unpleasant, whom they often do not recognize and are even burdened by their presence. This usually happens with those who suffer mentally: they do not know what is needed for salvation, and they are burdened by those who care about them. This does not come from the nature of the matter itself, but from the disease. Just as those who are mad in their minds do not tolerate those who care for them, and even blame them, so do unbelievers. Let us weep for them, because the word about the cross, which is wisdom and power, is foolishness for them. “The word of the cross,” says Paul, “is foolishness to those who perish.” Since the cross was ridiculed among the pagans, they probably called the teaching about it contrary to their wisdom and inconsistent with their teaching; therefore Paul, admonishing them, says: Do not consider him strange and absurd; this matter is such in nature that those who are perishing cannot comprehend its power, for they have lost their minds and fallen into madness. That is why they revile and hate saving medicines. What are you saying, man? God became a slave, taking on the “form of a slave” for you, was crucified and resurrected; one should bow to the Risen One and marvel at His love for mankind, as everything that neither father, nor friend, nor son did for you, He did for you, His enemy and insulter; one should be surprised at Him for this; and you call a thing filled with such wisdom madness! And no wonder; for it is common for those who are perishing not to know what is necessary for salvation. Therefore do not be embarrassed; There is nothing strange or unexpected in the fact that madmen laugh at great things. Such people cannot be convinced by human wisdom; and if you begin to convince them in this way, you will do the opposite: for in order to exceed reason, faith alone is needed. Truly, if we, through the judgments of reason, want to explain (to those who are wise about ourselves) how God became a man by moving into the womb of the Virgin, and do not recognize this as an object of faith, then they will only laugh. Those who want to comprehend this through reason are the ones who are perishing.” 1 Corinthians 1:19. For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will reject the understanding of the prudent. This was written by Isaiah the Prophet (Is.29:14). There, it is believed, these words were spoken in denunciation of the wise people of that time, who offered advice to King Hezekiah, who was in difficult circumstances, that seemed to them wise and very useful for business. God, through Isaiah the Prophet, declares that what He has planned in His Divine Council will happen. This advice is a sealed book that no one can read; here both literate and illiterate. No one can guess what I will do, and when I do it, no wisdom will understand why this was done... “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and hide the understanding of the prudent.” Wisdom will be put to shame by this, and reason will hide, humiliate itself, and, as it were, hide itself. Wisdom will be put to shame, because all its methods will turn out to be worthless, and the mind will hide, because it will not understand anything about how I did it. Such are generally the providential judgments of God, repeatedly justified in the history of the Israelites. Saint Paul cites this passage not as a prophecy, but as the law of God’s providential actions. He seems to be saying: that it pleased the Lord to do this, there is nothing to marvel at; Such is the law of God’s Providence that no one can comprehend the turns in His destinies. No one can comprehend why He arranged our salvation through the cross, and He commanded that the sermon about it should not be preached in the wisdom of the word. Therefore, there is no point in crowding in here with your wisdom, and the fact that it cannot understand anything here, justifying your unbelief and considering the image of salvation offered by God to be madness. Throughout history, it was so that what God arranged seemed to human sages incongruous with the course of affairs and not leading to the goal, but in fact it turned out to be the most expedient and thereby disgraced human wisdom. That's the word of the cross! The wise men look at him and say: what means of salvation is this? How can this save and be saved? But in fact, it turns out that this is the most effective means of salvation, and those who accept it with faith are saved, vividly feeling its saving power. The Lord destroyed the wisdom of the wise and rejected the wisdom of the wise - he pushed them away, so that all he could do was run and hide. 1 Corinthians 1:20. Where is the wise man? where is the scribe? where is the questioner of this century? Has not God put on the wisdom of this age? That I am speaking the truth, let us continue the speech of the Apostle, here is proof for you: behold the cross, the word of which saves believers. Its salvific value cannot be rejected, for the experiences of this are before everyone’s eyes: they hear the word of the cross, believe, receive baptism and appear as a new creation; They feel themselves new, others see them new. They have a different mind, different feelings, different things to do. Those who for an hour were the same as everyone else, upon leaving the font they became completely different. There they joined the power of the godmother. So, isn’t the power of the cross saving? But explain it to us! Where are you, wise ones? Where are the scribes? Where are the questioners of this century? Come, delve into this wondrous matter with your wisdom and explain to us why it is so, just believe that God, having become incarnate, died on the cross for our salvation, and be baptized, and suddenly you will become completely different! Here are whole societies of these wonderfully renewed people! And no one said a word. And this is the thing by which God showed that all the wisdom of this age is madness, and he made her mad. And because they call the word of the cross, the preaching of the Crucified One and faith in Him madness, they expose their own madness even more: for is it not madness to call a matter mad when it justifies its wisdom in the eyes of everyone? “Having said: “It is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,” he adds proof of this from works and says: “Where is the wise, where is the scribe?” “(Saint Chrysostom) - The sermon on the cross defeated them all. He calls “wise” the one adorned with Hellenic eloquence, “scribe” the Jewish teacher who boasts of knowing the law, and “co-questioner” the Jew and the Greek who has long practiced the art of verbal debate (Theodoret). The Apostle wanted to say: no matter what the rank of a person, boasting in human wisdom, the cross put them all to shame; through him, God “shoeed” their wisdom, that is, “showed that she was insane and not fit for the work of faith. Since people thought highly of her, He directly rebuked her. What kind of wisdom is this if it cannot not only find, even understand, where our main good is? He exposed her madness, because she had exposed herself in advance” (St. Chrysostom). 1 Corinthians 1:21. Because in the wisdom of God, not in the understanding of the world, through the wisdom of God, God deigned to save the believers through the violence of preaching. “Gives the reason why this was done” (St. Chrysostom); that is, why it was pleasing to God to arrange our salvation in such a way that it seems riotous to human wisdom. God saved, he says, with wisdom, but they did not understand: He now deigned to save with the violence of preaching, that is, with the word about the cross or the Crucified God, which to our wisdom seems madness. – By what wisdom did the world, that is, people, fail to understand God? - The one that He invested in us, a mind capable of distinguishing good from evil, knowing God and giving Him due worship. What wisdom did you not understand? – In the wise dispensation of the world, where God imprinted His traces so tactilely that ignorance of Him in creation is inexcusable. The Apostle speaks here of natural knowledge of God and reverence for God; but not in the sense that they were sufficient for salvation when they appeared in perfection, but in this sense: you who stand up for rationality and human wisdom place it so highly that you do not want to accept anything that seems incomprehensible to it, although God, who arranges and reveals it, vouches for the truth of it, tell me, have you done with your rationality what you could have done and should have done? God has opened His great book before you - a wisely arranged world. The testimony here about God is so obvious that one can, as it were, touch Him. Well, have you understood God in this wisdom of God? - No. If you have not understood, then what else do you demand that is reasonable? You lost any right to do this because you did not know how to use rationality. If you didn’t know how, admit it and humbly submit to God’s will to save us through the violence of preaching. But let us leave the speech to Saint Chrysostom. ""Because in the wisdom of God, not in understanding, the world is in the wisdom of God," then the cross appeared. What does "in the wisdom of God" mean? - In the creations through which He deigned to be revealed, He arranged everything so that man, moving from visible objects to the Creator, marveled at Him. Great is the heavens and vast is the earth; marvel at their Creator, for this great heaven was not only created by Him, but and this vast earth was created by Him as nothing. Therefore, about the first it is said: “The works of Your hand are the heavens” (Ps. 101:26); and about the earth: “Make the earth as nothing” (Is. 40:23). (considerations of the mind), but through faith. Where there is the wisdom of God, there is no need for human wisdom. For to say that the Being who created such a beautiful and such a great world is God, having boundless and ineffable power, was a matter of judgment (considerations) of human wisdom and meant to comprehend Him through them, but now it is not judgments that are needed, but faith alone. In order to accept and be convinced that the Crucified and Buried One has risen and sits on the mountain, this requires not judgment, but faith. The apostles did not walk with wisdom, but with faith, and they appeared wiser and higher than the external sages, and even more so since the acceptance of Divine objects by faith is higher than reasoning, for this exceeds human reason. How did He destroy wisdom? - By revealing itself to us through Paul and similar men and showing that it is useless. For neither wisdom helps the wise in the least in accepting the Gospel preaching, nor does ignorance hinder the unlearned in the least; and even to surprise, it must be said, ignorance can accept it much more quickly and easily than wisdom. The shepherd and farmer, without being carried away by judgments and devoting themselves to the Lord, are more likely to accept it. Thus He destroyed wisdom! Since she herself had first disgraced herself, she then became useless for anything. For when she had to show herself and know the Lord from His works, she did not want to; and now, even though she wanted to contribute to this, she cannot, because now this is not the state of affairs, there is a much better way to worship God. Now we need simple faith, we must look for it everywhere and prefer it to external wisdom. For if this wisdom did not reveal anything when it was possible to investigate through judgments, then what success can we expect from it now, when higher objects are coming, when faith alone is needed, and not the art of judgment. So God showed her madness, but deigned to save her “by the violence of preaching,” however, not a real violence, but an apparent one.” The Apostle only put it this way: “by the violence of preaching”; His thought is that God saves believers through the highest wisdom, such wisdom, before which the greatest mind goes mad, not comprehending anything in it. Just as we call the great light dazzling light, so the highest wisdom is the wisdom that envelops the mind. It was this preaching wisdom that God deigned to save those who believe. For when the mind is overwhelmed by this wisdom, then there is nothing left to accept it except faith. 1 Corinthians 1:22–23. Even Judea is asking for a sign, and Hellenes are seeking wisdom; We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a temptation, and to the Greeks madness. Saint Paul explains that the preaching that he and the other Apostles preach according to God’s command is definitely a riot, and that, despite this, it saves. He says, as it were: that God definitely arranges the salvation of everyone through the violence of preaching, this does not require mental proof, but look at what is being done with the eyes of everyone and you will see that it is so. God chose us and sent us to preach salvation to both Jews and Greeks. What exactly is there to preach? – Believe in Christ Crucified and you will be saved. This is what we do: wherever we go, we say to both Jews and Greeks: believe in Christ Crucified, and you will be saved. Looking at us, shouldn’t everyone say: isn’t it madness to preach such a sermon? What success can you expect from such a sermon? You say: believe in the Crucified One, and you will be saved. But for a Jew this is a temptation, and for a Greek it is madness. Who will listen and believe you? Give a sign to the Jews, present to the Greeks some wise philosophical system and offer it in an attractive form, then maybe they will open their ears to your preaching, but the way you are doing is real riot: for it means wanting to achieve the goal by means that not only do not lead to the goal, but, on the contrary, move away from it. - That’s how the perishing looked at this sermon. The apostle here gives evidence of experience. “The Jews ask for a sign.” But there were signs, both from Christ the Savior and from the Apostles. What does this Apostle want to say? - Or that they are all asking for signs and wonders - asking for more and more signs, not being satisfied with the ones they see. How many signs has the Lord shown?! And yet they, having seen many of them, come up to Him and say: Teacher, we want to see signs from You. They want signs, but when they are given, they do not want them to be forced to change their hopes and beliefs on the basis of this, and they cannot do without this: so they begin to crookedly interpret the sign they saw and desire something else. So endlessly. Or this is what the Apostle meant: they ask for signs, but we cannot give them whenever we want. This is God's work. Whenever it pleases God, then He creates a sign through us, but when it does not please, He does not create it. But we still have to offer preaching and we do offer it. Or the thought he has is that the Jews are waiting for some striking sign, like what Moses did when he delivered the Israelites from Egypt and led them through the sea in which Pharaoh and his army were mired. Then this miracle was announced throughout all nations. And now it would be like that. If the Lord had appeared in the light of God’s majesty and struck all nations, and exalted Israel, then this sign would not have been needed for the Jew. Christ the Lord, living among the Jews, left a reverent memory of Himself with His moral character, teaching, and signs. The memory of this could greatly contribute to the preaching. But the death on the cross upset everything. For in the eyes of a Jew, death on the cross is a kind of heavenly punishment. Meanwhile, the sermon told them: believe in the Crucified One, and you will be saved. The thought of the crucifixion tempted them, and they turned their ears away from this sermon. “The Ellini seek wisdom.” They want to be offered some wise teaching and, moreover, a speech that is beautiful in form, but they are offered a legend about one event, the most unpleasant - the crucifixion of a person, and they say: believe, and you will be saved. What can every preacher expect from them, except: “What does this vain one want to say?” (Acts 17, 18). The doctrine of salvation by the death on the cross of God incarnate, as it was later revealed by the Apostles, represents the most sublime and harmonious metaphysical system, beginning in pre-eternity, embracing everything temporary and ending in infinite eternity. But teaching in such a volume was not offered at the beginning, not to beginners, but to those who had already succeeded in Christianity, as St. Paul writes below (1 Cor. 2:6 ff.). At the beginning, the sermon was always simple: God, having become incarnate, died on the cross; believe and you will be saved. To Hellen this sermon could not help but seem madness. What is God like when he is crucified? If He was crucified, then He could not save Himself: how can He save others, and everyone else, the whole universe? This is incompatible with anything (Saint Chrysostom). Looking at the sermon like that, how could he believe? Thus, it is obvious that God arranged for salvation a sermon that must have seemed like a riot to everyone. She seemed like a riot, and yet she saved, and thereby proved that the highest wisdom and Divine power were hidden in her. 1 Corinthians 1:24. To those who were called by Himself, Jew and Greek, Christ, God's power and God's wisdom. How it was possible that other souls, despite this apparent temptation and this visible madness, penetrated through this nondescript veil and saw in the essence of the sermon the saving power and wisdom, this is the mystery of God. Saint Paul does not explain this, but only testifies that it was so. So it was with the souls that above he called saved, but here he called called. Both point to God’s election, and although, of course, not without the participation of human will, it is nevertheless true that human wisdom had no participation in this. And to these blessed souls, from Jews and Greeks, preaching, which was temptation and madness for others, represented Divine power and Divine wisdom. In this sense, having accepted it, they believed and were saved. They were truly convinced of this power and wisdom when they buried the Crucified Lord in baptism and tasted the saving power of the cross. But everything that happened here was transformed in faith; and therefore it turned out that they believed. “Wisdom and violence, and strength and weakness are one and the same; violence and weakness to those who do not believe, but wisdom and strength to those who believe. For the sun is light to those who see, but darkness to those who are blind. But it is not it that brings darkness, but illness that delays the lightness of the ray. So the pus of unbelief prevents the light of knowledge of God from illuminating the soul” (Theodorit). Saint Chrysostom says: “Great power lies in these words of the Apostle! He wants to show how God won by something that apparently did not promise victory, and how preaching is not a human work. His words mean the following: when we say to the Jews: believe, they object: raise the dead, heal the demoniac, show us signs. What do we say instead? – We say that the One we preach was crucified and died. This apparently not only fails to attract those who resist, but can also drive away those who do not resist; however, it does not drive away, but attracts, holds and conquers. The pagans, for their part, demand from us eloquence and skill in judgment; and we preach the cross to them too. To the Jews this seems impotence, and to the Greeks madness. If we offer them not only not what they demand, but also the opposite of it, for the cross, according to the judgment of reason, seems not only not a sign, but something contrary to a sign, not only not a sign of strength, but a sign of powerlessness, not only not an expression of wisdom, but a proof of madness - if those who demand signs and wisdom not only do not receive what is required, but also hear from us the opposite of what they demand, and yet are convinced by this opposite, then we do not Is this a matter of the ineffable power of the Preached One? The apostles won not only not by signs, but by what was apparently contrary to signs. This is what Christ did with the blind man: wanting to give him healing, He destroyed blindness by what produces blindness, “put down clay” (John 9:15). Just as He healed the blind man with clay, so He drew the universe to Himself with the cross, by something that apparently increased the temptation and did not destroy it. He did the same during creation, arranging the opposite for the opposite: He fenced the sea with sand, bridling the strong with the weak. Through the Prophets he created that iron floated out of the water through a small tree (2 Kings 6:6). So He restored the universe through the cross. Thus, to convince the contrary is a sign of great strength and wisdom. The cross apparently produces temptation, and yet it not only does not tempt, but also attracts. Imagining all this and being amazed, Paul says: 1 Corinthians 1:25. Before God, man is wiser; and what is weak of God, what is stronger is man. That is, what God institutes and brings into life, although it seems violent and weak to our wisdom, in fact it is wiser than all the wise that people can come up with, and stronger than everything that people can do. “The apostle calls the mystery of the cross to the violent and weak of God, in the opinion of the foolish, and proves that it has overcome both the wise and the strong” (Theodoret). It seemed to human wisdom that the cross was evidence of weakness, and it was foolish to believe in it; but in reality it was completely different: those who believed in him were filled with strength and wisdom. “Speaking of the violence and weakness of the cross, the Apostle does not mean that it is really like that, but it seems like that; for he speaks in reference to the opinions of his opponents. What philosophers could not do through reasoning was done by seeming madness. Who is wiser? Is it the one who convinces many, or the one who convinces no one? Plato tried so hard to prove that the soul is immortal, but he did not say anything clear and did not convince anyone! On the contrary, the cross, through the unlearned, convinced and converted the whole universe, convinced not of unimportant subjects, but of the teaching about God, true piety, the Gospel life and the future judgment; He made everyone wise, both farmers and unlearned. Thus, man is more wise than God, and God’s weakness is stronger. What's stronger? - Because it spread throughout the entire universe, subjugated everyone to its power and, while countless people were trying to destroy the name of the Crucified, it did the opposite. This name was glorified and grew more and more, but they died and disappeared: the living, rebelling against Him who was given over to death, could do nothing. What the publicans and fishermen accomplished by the grace of God, philosophers, rhetoricians, rulers, and in general the entire universe, with countless efforts, could not even imagine. What didn't the cross do? He introduced the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of bodies, the contempt of present goods and the hope of future goods; he made people angels; through them everyone and everywhere became wise and capable of every virtue” (St. Chrysostom). bb) And among the believers there are few wise and prominent persons, but having believed, they receive high spiritual dignity (1 Cor. 1:26-31) “The Apostle expressed above that human wisdom has been rejected, and he proved this both by the testimony of the Scriptures and by the events themselves; the testimony of the Scriptures, in the words: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise”; and the events in the proposed question: “Where is the wise man, where is the scribe?” Then he proved that this was both useful and necessary: ​​“since in the wisdom of God there is no understanding of the world through the wisdom of God, God deigns to save the believers through the violence of preaching”; that the cross is proof of ineffable power and wisdom, and that “more than God” is much higher than human wisdom. Now he proves the same not from the teachers, but also from the students themselves: “You see,” he says, “your title” (St. Chrysostom). 1 Corinthians 1:26. You see your calling, brethren: for you are not many wise according to the flesh, you are not many strong, you are not many noble. It goes one by one. Just as it pleased God to arrange salvation through the cross, for the seemingly weak, inglorious and ignorant of anything wise, almost no one from the wise, glorious and powerful of the world comes to preach about it, but mostly the unwise, weak and ignorant come. Look at all the believing brothers and make sure that this is the case. But this does not humiliate the cross or you. For God pleased the matter to be so. He called you. This “calling” and election is your honor, the highest of all earthly glories. The honor of the cross is that having believed, you do not remain as you were, but are transformed in spirit, and receive such advantages, before which all the advantages of the world are nothing. In a word: the title means everyone who is called. "Don't worry too much." He did not say: there is not one wise, not one strong, not one noble; because some of them believed, but he says: “Do not be many,” because the greater number of those who believed were from poor people” (Theodoret). Those who were visible in the flesh were prevented from believing by pride, but those who were invisible and humble were not prevented from believing by either the underdevelopment of their minds or the coarseness of their morals. Their humble faith, with the power of the cross, clothed their spirit with lofty perfections. Saint Chrysostom writes to this: “Not only unlearned teachers, but also the same disciples were chosen: “for you are not many,” he says, “be wise according to the flesh.” This is how great power and great wisdom are revealed when many, even the unwise, are convinced. For the most difficult thing is to convince an ignorant person, especially when important and great subjects are suggested. And yet they were convinced, to which they themselves are witnesses: “You see your calling, brothers,” that is, look, think. What does it mean: “according to the flesh?” - In appearance, in everyday life, according to external teaching. Lest they think that he contradicts himself (for he convinced the proconsul and the Areopagite, and Apollos, and other wise men, as we know, accepted the sermon), he does not say: none of the wise, but: “be not many wise.” For he did not exclusively call on the ignorant and reject the wise, but he also accepted the latter, and much more than the former. Why? - Because the wise man according to the flesh is filled with great foolishness, and he is especially foolish when he does not want to reject ungodly teachings. As in the case when some doctor wants to teach others his art, people who know something, but use this art badly and incorrectly and are stubborn, cannot quickly learn, and those who know nothing can sooner accept the teaching; it was the same here. The ignorant were more likely to be convinced, because they did not have that extreme madness to consider themselves wise. “Don’t be too strong, don’t be too noble.” For even such people are filled with pride; and nothing harms true knowledge of God so much as pride and addiction to wealth; because those who are devoted to them consider the present to be great, do not care at all about the future and block their ears with many worries.” The cross caused people to despise everything that a person shows from the outside, and, on the contrary, to be jealous of perfections in the spirit, which are real nobility, and real power, and real wisdom, putting to shame external wisdom, strength and nobility. 1 Corinthians 1:27–28. But God has chosen the turmoil of the world to put to shame the wise; and God has chosen the weak of the world, that the strong may be put to shame; and the base thing of the world and the base thing is chosen by God, and the thing that is not, that He may bring to nothing the thing that is. “The rioters of the world” are uneducated people, ignorant not only in words, but also in knowledge; “the weak of the world” - the poor, who have no weight in society and no power; “the poor of the world and the humble” - people of simple rank, low birth; “non-existent”, whom everyone regards as nothing. Opposite to them are the “wise” people, not only educated, but even more superior in their education and knowledge; “strong” - strong in power and weight, and wealth in society, and relying on them, and relying on them for the strength of their condition; “existing” - who seem to be the only ones in society, but those who are not, noble both by birth and by honor. God, he says, chose the first to “disgrace and destroy” the last. But how? If God, having chosen the first, left them as they are, then through this there would be no shame for the last. But He, leaving the first in appearance as they were, filled them with perfections in the spirit, so high and so sharply pronounced that the latter could not help but notice them and could not help but realize that these perfections were incomparably higher than those they had. To realize that those whom they imputed to nothing have become incomparably higher than them - that is the shame. Coming into contact with them, the nobles saw in the humiliated a high nobility of character, feelings and dispositions, which they themselves did not have and which their birth in the flesh did not give them; the strong saw in the weak power over themselves, not disturbed by any passions, and peace of mind, not shaken by any combination of unfavorable external circumstances; they saw power and tranquility, which they themselves were alien to and which their external power did not give them; the wise saw in them the brightness of concepts about everything, about God, and about the world, and especially about man, why he is on earth, what awaits him beyond the grave, and how to do it in order to go there not to torment, but to bliss - they saw concepts in front of which their own, acquired with such difficulty, were nothing due to their poverty, and their narrow-mindedness, and their darkness and uncertainty. Seeing all this, the persons visible in the flesh could not help but feel shamed. Experiments have repeatedly shown that, feeling ashamed, they abandoned everything they considered valuable, turned to faith and humbly entered into the company of those whom they had previously considered worthless. God arranged it this way because it was impossible to distract minds from the carnal and visible otherwise than by presenting so strikingly before their eyes the advantages of spiritual perfections, with outward invisibility and exposure to the advantages of the flesh. “The apostle called them violent, weak, and ill-born, according to the opinion of men; for true violence (madness) is not inexperience in the word, but lack of faith; and weakness and wickedness are not poverty, but wickedness and depravity of morals. God conquered the learned over the unlearned, the rich over the poor, and captured the universe through the fishermen” (Theodoret). “It is a great victory to win through the foolish. For the pagans are not so much put to shame when they are conquered by the wise, as when they see that people who work with their own hands and belong to the common people are wiser than they are. That is why Paul said: “Let him put to shame the wise.” And not only with this, but God did the same with other worldly advantages. “And the weak of the world is chosen, that the strong may put to shame,” He called not only the unlearned, but also the poor, the despised and the ignorant, in order to put to shame the strong. “And the lowly thing of the world, which is despised and does not exist, let it abolish that which exists.” What is called “non-existent” here? - Those who are considered nothing. Thus He showed great power, overthrowing the great through those who seemed nothing, as He says elsewhere: “My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). For great power is needed to suddenly teach people who are the most humble and have never engaged in any teaching to philosophize about what is higher than heaven. We are surprised at the doctor and the rhetorician and all the others, especially when they successfully convince and teach the ignorant. If it is a great thing to instill in the ignorant the doctrine of some art, then how much more such wisdom. However, God did this not only to surprise or to demonstrate His power, but also in order to humble those who exalt themselves. Therefore, the Apostle, as he said above: “Let him put to shame the wise, let him abolish the existing,” so he says here” (St. Chrysostom). 1 Corinthians 1:29. For let not all flesh boast before God. Let not all flesh, that is, every man, boast before God. For there is nothing to boast about. People who are visible in the flesh have nothing to boast about, for they have nothing spiritual, and their external ostentation is exposed and put to shame as having no value. People invisible in the flesh, having been called to spiritual perfection, are outwardly left in the same humble lot; their inner being, no matter how high, is tangibly recognized as a gift of grace, undeserved of anything on their part. Thus, the salvation arranged by God by faith in the word of the cross leads directly to the fact that no flesh should boast before God. Or by “flesh” we mean carnal, external, visible, and the thought here is: let nothing carnal be boasted, let it not be considered something important, worthy of attention, and let not those who possess it boast: I am rich, I am learned, I am noble. All this does not lead to anything worthy of value; on the contrary, it deviates from it. Behold, God called not those who possess them, but those who do not have them, and when He called, He enriched them not with them, but with perfections in the spirit; He also rejected them by calling, just as he did not look upon them by calling. So you should not praise what is seen in the flesh, or boast about it. Saint Chrysostom makes highly edifying instructions under this place. “God did this in order to humble pride and arrogance, in order to overthrow self-praise. He especially showed by this that it is impossible for us to be saved by ourselves. This is how He arranged it in the beginning: for even then it was impossible to achieve salvation by oneself, but it was necessary to contemplate the beauty of the sky and the greatness of the earth and explore the nature of other creatures in order to ascend to the Creator of creatures. By this He wanted to overthrow the arrogance that was about to appear. Just as a teacher who ordered his student to follow where he leads him, when he sees that the student is getting ahead of himself and wants to learn everything by himself, then leaves him to wander and, having let him experience that he cannot learn on his own, then begins to guide him, so God at the beginning commanded him to follow the path of contemplation of creatures, and when people did not want this, then He, having let them experience that they could not go by themselves, began to lead them to Himself otherwise. He gave us the world, like a tablet (tablet); but the philosophers did not think about this, did not want to obey Him and go to Him along the path that He commanded. Therefore, He proposed another path, clearer than the first and teaching that man alone is insufficient for himself. Previously, it was possible to indulge in reasoning, to use external wisdom, with the guidance of nature; and now whoever does not “buy”, that is, does not abandon all reasoning and all wisdom and does not surrender to faith, cannot be saved. Thus, He accomplished a not unimportant thing: He offered a convenient path, and at the same time destroyed the former illness and taught not to boast, not to be arrogant: “let not all flesh boast.” A lot of trouble comes from the fact that people want to be wiser than the laws of God and do not want to learn as He commanded: therefore they learn nothing. It was like that in the beginning. God said to Adam: do this, and do not do this; but he, thinking to find something more, did not listen, and lost what he had. Then He said: do not stop at creatures, but through them know the Creator, and people, as if looking for something wiser, built themselves countless labyrinths; That’s why they themselves got lost and came into conflict with each other, they didn’t find God, they didn’t learn anything clear about creatures and didn’t form a proper and true concept about them. After this, wanting to decisively destroy their arrogance, He called first of all simple people, and thereby showed that everyone needs wisdom from above. Not only in relation to knowledge, but also in all other respects, people and all other creatures have a great need of Him; and He did this in order to give them a strong incentive to obedience and devotion, so that they, being separated from Him, would not perish. Therefore, He did not allow them to be complacent. For if even now, when they need Him, many abandon Him, then if this had not happened, to what oblivion would they have reached? It was not out of envy that He deprived them of the basis for self-praise, but in order to save them from the destruction that comes from here.” 1 Corinthians 1:30. From what is worthless you are in Christ Jesus, who gave us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and deliverance. God chose the weak, the weak, the weak-born, so from this side we have nothing to boast about. “Do not think, however, that having deprived us of any reason to boast about anything, He left us; no, He gave us another, greater praise” (St. Chrysostom). Instead of visible insignificant advantages, He enriches believers with spiritual advantages of the highest dignity. They do not have nobility of blood by carnal origin; in place of this they are given godhood according to spiritual origin. From “It is not good,” he says, he says, “you are,” that is, from God. By this the Apostle does not point to the beginning of existence, but to a new spiritual birth, about which it is said: “When those who received Him (Christ the Lord, the Son of God incarnate) gave them the realm to become children of God, who believe in His name. Who was not born of blood, nor of carnal lust, nor of manly lust, but was born of God” (John 1:12-13). That’s why he says: “You are from worthlessness in Christ Jesus.” By faith in Christ Jesus Crucified, you became born of God in the baptismal font. You are His children and became them through Christ. You have become the noblest of all because you have God as your Father; and the culprit of this nobility is Christ the Lord (St. Chrysostom, Theodoret). “Wisdom came to us from God.” Worldly wisdom is not accepted into the realm of faith and the work of salvation. Instead, believers are filled with divine wisdom, that which is from God. This wisdom combines bright concepts about everything that exists and happens about God, worshiped in the Trinity, about creation and providence, about the fall and rebellion, about the incarnation of God the Word, His death on the cross, resurrection, sitting at the right hand of the Father and the sending of the Holy Spirit, about the structure of the Church, about gifts to Christians, about their hopes and ways not to make them futile, about what life is real, and how to arrange yourself in order to be worthy of a blissful eternity. All these concepts, each of which is inaccessible to the highest philosophy, become the property of everyone who is baptized in the first fruits of his life in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus is this “wisdom from God” to us, because He brought it from heaven from the Father and communicated it to us first Himself, and then through the Apostles. “But why didn’t the Apostle say: He made us wise, but: “Give us wisdom”? “By this He shows the abundance of the gift” (St. Chrysostom). And therefore it is said that Christ the Lord in himself combines all the calculated concepts and many others. If you begin to reason about Him, then in His face alone you will find all wisdom. Here is the trinity of Persons, and creation with providence, redemption from the fall, and grace, and hopes in the future with obligations in the present, and all the sacraments of salvation. And something more can be imagined with this. since He is wisdom itself, believers, united with Him, are one spirit with Him; then, communicating with Him so sincerely, they become partakers of His wisdom. But in every possible way it is shown here that the only source of Christian wisdom is Christ the Lord. She has no other source. There is a frank word; but it is only a starting guide. True wisdom must be taught by God, according to an ancient promise. “Truth and sanctification and deliverance.” Believers do not have external wealth and power; but there is spiritual wealth and moral strength: truth, sanctification and deliverance. The Lord Jesus Christ is our “truth,” because in His name is given remission of sins and grace, strengthening us to do all good. He is our “sanctification”, because under His banner, under His guidance and His power, we fight against passions and lusts, and through them against the world and the devil, and we achieve purity not only in outward behavior, but also in the hidden heart of man, purity, which is true holiness, found in the entire composition of our nature. This is our sanctification. It is from Christ the Lord, for it comes through putting on Him. He is also our “deliverance.” All bonds fall from the sanctified: the bonds of sin and the flesh, and the bonds of the world and the devil. He enters into the complete freedom of his children. Like a free bird of paradise, he soars in the sky. He carries Christ within himself and through Him we carry him to eat, and it is no longer he who fears the former binders of his hands and feet, but they who fear him. This is the height of spiritual blessings and spiritual perfection in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is how Saint Chrysostom depicts it, who says: “Look at the gradualism the Apostle observes. First, God made us wise, freeing us from error, then righteous and holy, giving us the Spirit, and thus delivered us from all evils, so that we became His (property, or part).” Theodoret writes the same: “He gave us true wisdom. He granted us remission of sins, made us worthy of justification, made us saints, delivering us from the devil’s torment.” 1 Corinthians 1:31. Yes, as it is written: Boast, let him boast in the Lord. External advantages are nothing; the whole price belongs to spiritual benefits. But since they are all received from the Lord and in the Lord, then if you want to boast, boast only in the Lord. To boast in the Lord, therefore, will be - not only with the tongue, but with a constant feeling of the heart to confess that if there is anything in the spirit, everything is from the Lord and the Lord, and that if there is hope for preserving what we have and acquiring more, it all rests on the Lord. Boasting in the Lord means the same thing as praising the Lord for His mercies with confession of hopes for their extension. This is the thought in the passage of the Prophet Jeremiah, in relation to which the Apostle speaks here. “Thus says the Lord: Let not a wise man boast in his wisdom, and let not a mighty man boast in his strength, and let not a rich man boast in his wealth, but let him boast in this, even if he knows and knows, for I am the Lord, who shows mercy and judgment” (Jer. 9:23-24). “Therefore take no credit for anything, but rather boast in God in everything. Never attribute anything to any person, for if nothing should be attributed to Paul, much less to others. Az, he says, planted, Apollos gave water, but God will increase (1 Cor. 3:6). He who has learned to boast in the Lord will never be arrogant, but will always humble himself and thank Him for everything” (St. Chrysostom). cc) And the apostle came to Corinth in a humble form, with a simple word about the Crucified One, so that their belief owed nothing to human wisdom, but everything to God (1 Cor. 2:1-5) “And what was said before was sufficient to bring down the pride of those who exalted themselves in their wisdom; even part of what was said was enough. But to make the victory more glorious, he continues his speech, trampling on already defeated opponents. Having pointed out that God intended to save the believers through the violence of preaching, “destroying the wisdom of the wise,” and that therefore He called more of the unlearned (and invisible), he now proves that the very method of preaching could have confused, but did not confuse. Not only the disciples, he says, are simple people, but the preacher is the same” (St. Chrysostom). 1Cor.2:1. And I came to you, brothers, not because of excellent speech or wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. Since I was sent to preach the gospel not in the wisdom of words, and since it was necessary to save through the violence of preaching, I came to you to preach the gospel and proclaimed the testimony of God to you not in eloquent words and not with wise considerations. “Not by excellent speech or wisdom” ου καθ υπεροχην λογου η σοφιας - not by excellent word or wisdom. “Testimony of God” – God’s revelation; a teaching that is witnessed or attested by God to be true, and the true one offers a way of salvation, apart from which it is impossible to be saved. - “And he came to you.” When I came to you and came, I had no intention of conversing with you with excellent eloquence or wise considerations. But as it was sent and as God intended, so I had it in my heart to proclaim to you the testimony of God nakedly, as it is, and in simple speech. 1Cor.2:2. For I do not judge what is in you, but rather Jesus Christ and Him who was crucified. Above he said that he came to them to proclaim the will of God not in the wisdom of the word, but as Christ commanded; Now he says that while he was with them, he fulfilled God’s decree - to save believers through a riot of preaching and proclaimed only the word of the cross. He taught, he says, but in such a way that it was as if he knew nothing else except Jesus Christ Crucified, or in such a way that he did not want you to know anything else except Jesus Christ Crucified. There was only talk about Christ Jesus. But much can be said about Christ Jesus without touching on death on the cross; I, he says, only spoke about the crucifixion of the Lord. He started with it, ended with it, and filled the conversation with it. However, the word of the Apostle does not reject the idea that his conversations touched on other subjects of faith; it only asserts that whatever he began to talk about, he always started from the cross and returned to it. The crucified Lord ruled over everything in my conversations with you. The very word about the Crucified One is brief: God became incarnate and died on the cross for our salvation; believe in Him and you will be saved. But in order to approach Him, we must say that we, the fallen, have angered God and cannot save ourselves; say that we are fallen, we must say about the primitive state, and then about creation with providence, and even further about the Most Holy Trinity. Then, having spoken about the incarnation of God the Word, about His deeds and teachings, and finally about His crucifixion, it was impossible to stop there, but it was necessary to speak about the resurrection, about the ascension into heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father, the sending of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, about sending them to preach, and finally about what should be done by those who hear the sermon and believers, that is, that they must be baptized, then through the laying on of hands (confirmation) to receive the Spirit and, by His power, conquering passions, then live holy according to the commandments, in the hope of a blessed life in eternity. All these subjects, entering into the conversation, did not introduce anything superfluous into it, but only made the speech about Christ the Lord Crucified rounded. And there seem to be many of these subjects, but they all boil down to speech about the Crucified One, so that the Apostle, while speaking about many things, spoke only about Christ Jesus, and Him Crucified. 1Cor.2:3. And I was in you in weakness and fear and trembling. And my speech was simple, not eloquent, and the subject of speech was such that it seemed to some a temptation, to others madness, and finally, my outward appearance and my outward position had nothing representative. “In weakness,” some mean generally poor health, or an illness that occurred at that time, some mean weakness of voice, some mean poverty, a beggarly appearance, some mean something else. We present the speech of St. Chrysostom, explaining this entire text. “Here’s another circumstance. Not only believers are simple people, not only the preacher is a simple person, not only the method of teaching is filled with simplicity, not only the very subject of the sermon can confuse (the listeners), for this subject is the cross and death; but at the same time there were other obstacles, namely disasters and intrigues, daily dangers and persecutions. He often calls persecution a weakness, as for example: “Even though it is fitting for me to boast, I will boast about my weakness” (2 Cor. 11:30). What weakness? - “The pagan prince Aretha the king guarded the city of Damascus, although he punished me” (2 Cor. 11:32). And again: “I will also delight in weaknesses”; and in which ones, he further explains: “in annoyance, in troubles, in exile, in distress” (2 Cor. 12:10). He says the same thing now, for having said, “and I am in weakness,” he does not stop there, but in order to show that by weakness he means danger, he adds: “and there was much fear and trembling in you.” What is this? Was Paul really afraid of dangers? - I was afraid and very afraid. For although he was Paul, he was also a man. This is not Paul’s fault, but the weakness of (human) nature, and at the same time the praise of his will, if he, fearing death and wounds, did not do anything unworthy out of fear. Therefore, those who say that he was not afraid of wounds not only do him no honor, but also greatly humiliate his dignity. For if he were not afraid, then what kind of firmness or what wisdom would there be in enduring adversity? And that’s why I am surprised at him, because although he was afraid, and not just afraid, but trembled at disasters, he always labored with glory, and did not weaken in any danger, cleansing the universe and everywhere, on land and sea, sowing the seeds of preaching.” 1Cor.2:4. And my word and my preaching are not in words exceeding human wisdom, but in the manifestation of the Spirit and power. What does he mean? Was his word and preaching like that with them, or like that at all? - He says that they were like that, for after this he says: “Yes, your faith.” In “pretentious” - πειθοις - convincing, persuasive. He wants to say that his word was not seasoned with phrases and techniques that human wisdom usually uses to convince someone and win over to their side. He said, I didn’t use such techniques, but spoke simply. He already said this above; Now he repeats it again only to point out why those who heard were convinced, how they bowed to the word and believed. The power of my preaching, the Apostle says to this, consisted “in the manifestation of the Spirit and power.” What does this mean? – Nothing more than the fact that my preaching was accompanied by signs and convinced, just as the Evangelist Mark says that when the Apostles went to preach, “the Lord prospered them everywhere and the Lord confirmed their word with subsequent signs” (Mark 16:20). What everyone else had, St. Paul also had. There is no doubt that the grace of the Spirit acted through the word of Paul on souls and disposed them to faith: this is always the case with the anointed word. But this statement of faith cannot be explained alone; for the revolution it produced was extremely great, and in order for anyone to decide on it, it is necessary to make a striking impression on him, a stunning one, in which there would be evidence that the teaching proposed comes from above, that God sent it and demands obedience. Just as the Apostle Paul himself was converted, so later the Lord gave him to convert all nations. Everywhere his preaching was accompanied by signs - these manifestations of the Spirit and power, which finally sealed conviction and faith. This is how all our interpreters understand it. Theodoret writes: “The evidence of the sermon was the working of miracles by the Spirit. Very appropriately, the Apostle placed, along with the weakness of suffering, the power of the Spirit.” Saint Chrysostom speaks at greater length: “If the sermon had nothing sophistical in itself, and those who were called were simple people, and those preaching were the same, and, in addition, there were persecutions, fear and trembling, then tell me how they won the victory? - By divine power. That is why Paul added: “but in the manifestation of the Spirit and power.” Simple preachers, oppressed and persecuted, defeated their persecutors. Why? – Because their preaching was accompanied by manifestations of the power of the Spirit. For, tell me, who will not believe, seeing the resurrection of the dead and the casting out of demons? This actually proved that she is Divine and has a higher, heavenly origin.” 1 Corinthians 2:5. Yes, your faith will not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. This is how the Lord arranged it so that your faith owes nothing to human wisdom, but everything to the power of God. And God sent you preachers, and God convinced you with powers and signs. There is nothing human to boast about. Everything in your faith comes from God. O Lord and boast. And don't hesitate. For if you have such tangible evidence that our teaching is from God, then, having believed, stand firm in the faith. Then the Lord arranged everything so that doubts and suspicions would not find any support in the image of your faith. You cannot help but realize that God commands this; One must submit to God wholeheartedly. This is the good God has given you by sending you a sermon in simple speech, but with the manifestation of the Spirit and power. Theodoret writes: “It was precisely for this reason that the Lord did not allow us to use eloquence, so that your faith would not be subject to suspicion and hesitation, as if aroused not by the power of the word, but guided by the power of the Spirit.” Saint Chrysostom speaks on this extensive instruction, which is applicable at all times: “Do you see how clearly he presents the great benefit of simplicity and the great harm of wisdom? The latter humiliated the cross, and the former proclaimed the power of God; This one produced the fact that people did not recognize what they should and boasted about themselves, while this one encouraged them to accept the truth and boast about God; wisdom inspired many to consider the Apostolic teaching human, and simplicity clearly expressed that it was Divine and came down from heaven. When a proof is made up of wise words, then often the unworthy, being stronger in words, prevail over the worthy, and lies take the place of truth. But here it is not so: the Holy Spirit does not enter an unclean soul, and having entered (into one that desires purity), it cannot be defeated, even if all the power of eloquence rebels against Him; for proof by works and signs is much clearer than proof by words. But perhaps someone will say: if preaching must win and does not need the power of the word, “let not the cross be abolished,” then why have the signs stopped now? - Why?! – Do you not believe, and do you think that they were not there even under the Apostles, or do you really just want to know why? – If you don’t believe me, then I’ll stop there first. If there were no signs then, then, therefore, the Apostles, being persecuted, oppressed, subjected to fear and bonds, being common enemies to all and hated by all, having nothing attractive in themselves, no eloquence, no nobility, no wealth, no fame in the city, in the people, in origin or in art, and nothing else like that, but having everything contrary to this - ignorance, ignorance, poverty, simplicity and humiliation, and, moreover, rebelling against entire nations and proclaiming such truths - produced conviction? – Their rules were not easy, their dogmas were difficult (to understand), and the listeners, who had to be convinced, were given over to voluptuousness, drunkenness and great impiety. How did they convince, tell me? How did you gain trust? If, as I said before, they convinced without signs, then this is an even greater sign. So, from the fact that there are no signs now, do not conclude that there were none then. Then they were useful, but now it is useful that they are not there. However, from the fact that now persuasion is achieved with one word, it does not follow that preaching now depends on wisdom. Like the original sowers of the word, they were simple and unlearned and did not say anything on their own, but what they received from God they taught to the universe; So now we offer not our own, but what we received from them, we proclaim to everyone. And now we convince not by conclusions, but by the testimony of the Divine Scriptures and the signs of that time, we inspire to believe what is proclaimed. However, the Apostles convinced then not only by signs, but also by conversations; only their words received more power from the signs and testimonies of the Old Testament Scripture, and not from the art of eloquence.” d) The sermon at the first announcement is simple; but those who later believe in the realm of faith receive knowledge of true wisdom, inaccessible to the wise men of the world (1 Cor. 2:6-16) The Lord spoke in parables - why? - For this reason, he says that whoever has the seed of life according to God could see the hidden treasure under the influent shell; and then, clinging to Him by faith and joining the number of disciples, along with them, he received an open explanation of the hidden. The Apostle was ordered to do the same thing: to offer the word of the cross to everyone, simply, without embellishment or mental considerations. Whoever, despite this simplicity, began to believe and through baptism entered the number of believers, whoever, that is, became a perfect Christian, and was not only exposed to Christian teaching, then listened within to the full revelation of Christian wisdom. The Apostle now speaks about this, explaining together that it is impossible to act otherwise: for in order to assimilate Christian wisdom, the grace of the Spirit is required, which is given within faith. The spiritual only understands Christian wisdom; It is the Spirit of God that makes us spiritual. 1 Corinthians 2:6. We speak wisdom in those who are perfect; but the wisdom of this world is not, nor the princes of this world that pass away. This speech about true wisdom is contrary to everything that was said by the Apostle, starting from the place where he said that he was not sent to preach the gospel in the wisdom of speech (1 Cor. 1:17). Here he said that God intended to attract people to salvation through the violence of preaching, and those who accepted the sermon were increasingly violent and invisible in a worldly way, and he himself preached simply and only the simple word of the cross. After hearing this, anyone could think: it is true that Christianity does not contain anything nutritious for the mind, it is poor in content, its wisdom is not great. Against this, the Apostle says that the violence of the sermon and its entire humble atmosphere were adopted, by order of the Lord, only for the purpose that they themselves should become sons of wisdom. When such are converted by the action of simple preaching, then they are already enriched with such wisdom that is inaccessible to the sons of the age. What wisdom do they hear? – A full disclosure of how salvation was accomplished by the Lord through death on the cross and how this salvation is acquired by those who turn to the Lord through faith; then - from what sources did the arrangement of such an image of salvation come, and what are its fruits in the circle of creatures. All this is revealed in places by the Apostle in his epistles, especially in his epistle to the Ephesians and Colossians. They are gradually introduced into the comprehension of relationships with God by the grace of the Spirit under the condition of moral perfection. Here the spiritual, Divine realm is revealed, and there is no end to this revelation. Our interpreters express this wisdom about this wisdom as follows: “The Apostle calls the preaching of the Gospel and the method of salvation through the cross wisdom” (St. Chrysostom). “Preaching, which was previously called violence, for those who have accepted the true and perfect faith really is and is called wisdom” (Theodoret). “He calls wisdom the preaching and the method of salvation, how one is saved through the cross” (Saint Damascus), “how the whole under heaven is saved by the cross” (Ecumenius). “For to abolish death by death is the work of the greatest wisdom” (Theophylact). Who does the Apostle mean by perfect? – This is understood differently. Contrasting these perfect Christians with the catechumens, who are only preparing to become Christians, we must understand by them all believers who are baptized, have received the Spirit of grace through the laying on of hands (confirmation) and are partaking of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. These divine sacraments were called perfect because they performed them on a Christian. The one who accepted them was considered a perfect Christian, and after this he was faced with the concern no longer about how to become a Christian, but about how he should continue to live and act like a Christian, preserving this grace. Others, contrasting these perfect babes in Christ who have just become Christians, understand by them those who have succeeded in the Christian life, who have reached its highest degrees of dispassion, the effective manifestation of the grace of the Holy Spirit, or tactile sanctification. It seems like it would be more appropriate to understand the latter here. But we must take into account that in the first times those who turned to the Lord approached the Lord with ardent faith, with complete selflessness and unrepentant readiness to do whatever was required to please Him; why the grace of God, descending into them through the sacraments, found the vessel of their hearts ready to contain it, and manifested its action in them without shortening its hand. The spiritual perfections in them suddenly shone through, and this change was obvious to everyone. Judging by this, the perfect Christians of the Apostolic time cannot be removed as much from the beginning of their Christianity as is done now. Our interpreters act more carefully, meaning by perfect true Christians, believers, and faithful. So Saint Chrysostom and others. Saint Chrysostom says: “He calls believers perfect. For truly perfect are those who know that everything human is very weak, despise all this and are sure that it serves them nothing; and such are the essence of believers.” - Saint Chrysostom wants to say that these are believers who, having abandoned everything temporary and earthly, with their minds and hearts desired the heavenly, eternal, spiritual, Divine, they live not in the interests of this age, but in the views of this age. Others write this: “He calls the faithful perfect, who, having despised everything, soar to the heavenly” (Theophylact). - “They surrender themselves to God” (Ecumenius). "The Wisdom of this Age". This is an earthly way of thinking, in knowledge not going beyond the visible, and in life limited to the ability to conduct business in such a way as to live in peace and contentment. Saint Chrysostom means by this “external wisdom, which is limited to this world and does not extend further, and which even here cannot bring any benefit to those who possess it.” “Nor shall the princes of this age pass away.” These are not only persons in power, but in general the rulers and guardians of the order established in this century - worldly horse breeders. “The princes of this age,” says Chrysostom, he calls here not demons, as some think, but people endowed with distinction and power, and who regard it as something very important, philosophers, rhetoricians and writers, who often possessed power and were rulers of the people. He calls them princes of “this age” because their power does not extend beyond the present age; therefore, he adds: “those who cease,” and thus proves the insignificance of external wisdom both by its very property and by the property of those who possess it. Having proved that it is false and insane, that it cannot reveal anything, that it is powerless, now he shows that it is short-lived.” 1 Corinthians 2:7. But we speak the wisdom of God in the hidden mystery, which God first ordained for our glory. “The Wisdom of God” is the image of the arrangement of our salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, with its initial principles, and with immense consequences that are reflected in all areas of created existence, as St. Paul depicts in his letter to the Ephesians (1 Cor. 1:9-10). Its first outline is combined in the word of the cross offered to the catechumens, while the believers are introduced to its fullest contemplation; The more perfect someone is, the deeper he enters and the more he sees. In what “secret” is this wisdom hidden? – She was hidden in the mystery of the Divinity and before her appearance no one knew her as she should. “Neither Angel, nor Archangel, nor any other created power knew it before it was revealed. Therefore, the Apostle says: “Let the manifold wisdom of God now be revealed as the principle and authority of the heavenly Church” (Eph. 3:10). God honored us so much that they heard it with us” (St. Chrysostom). It is also called “mystery” because what we contemplate in it is not what we see; but we see one, and believe the other. This is the nature of our sacraments. Otherwise I look at them, otherwise I am unfaithful. I hear that Christ became a slave, and I am amazed at His providence; The infidel hears it and considers it dishonorable. I hear that Christ was crucified and died, and I am amazed at His love for mankind, I am amazed at the power of how He, having undergone death, was not restrained by it, but still destroyed death; the infidel hears and attributes this to His weakness and powerlessness. Hearing about the resurrection, he calls it a fable; and I, having been convinced of this by the events themselves, worship the economy of God. Hearing about baptism, he imagines water alone; and I see not only the visible, but also the invisible cleansing of the soul accomplished by the Spirit. He thinks that my body has only been washed; but I believe that the soul has become pure and holy, and I imagine the tomb, resurrection, sanctification, justification, redemption, adoption, inheritance, the Heavenly Kingdom, the gift of the Spirit; for I look at the visible not with simple sight, but with spiritual eyes. It is said about the body of Christ, and I understand what is said differently, otherwise I am an infidel. So it is in relation to all the sacraments: unbelievers, hearing about them, seem to have not heard, but believers, having been taught by the Spirit, understand the power of the hidden. Therefore, Paul says that “even now the gospel is veiled: it is veiled among those who are perishing” (Cor. 4:3). For some are spiritual people and do not understand, others have a veil over their hearts and do not see” (St. Chrysostom). And therefore this wisdom is also a hidden secret, because even now, when it is committed to writing, of course, it is only through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, without Whom you read and do not understand. But even if everyone understood it, they would only know part of it, and not all of it. “The Mystery” is the wisdom of God, says Saint Chrysostom, and because, although it is preached everywhere, it is not comprehended by those without a sound mind, and is revealed not with the help of wisdom, but with the Holy Spirit, as much as we can contain. Therefore, the one who, for this very reason, calls it an unknown secret will not sin; for we who believe have not been given full and perfect knowledge, as Paul says: “we understand in part” (1 Cor. 3:9, 12). “God ordained this,” he says, thereby expressing God’s care for us. For those are usually considered the most caring for us and loving us, who have long been disposed to do good to us, as parents do with their children: although they give them property later, they are disposed to do this for a long time and from the very beginning. So Paul is trying to show here that God has loved us from ancient times and always, even when we did not yet exist; for if He had not loved us, He would not have destined for us wealth. Therefore, do not imagine the enmity that existed between Him and us: love is older than it. The words: “before the age” mean eternity, just as elsewhere it is said: “This is the first age” (Ps. 54:20). - “To our glory,” “because it is not only salvation, but also glory that gives to believers” (Theodoret). The glory in the future is the giving of the Kingdom; but glory precedes it here. This is the purification of our nature, filling it with the lightness of grace to the point that it not only becomes bright, but also luminous - the glory of spiritual perfection in Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians 2:8. No one of the princes of this age understands: if they had understood, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. He calls the princes of this age the same as before - the leaders and rulers of life according to the spirit of this age, according to the principles of human wisdom, whether they have power or without it, but they are always influential, and with their influence they lead others to destruction, whereas with their own better direction they could lead them to good. First he said that the wisdom preached is not the same as that of these princes; now he says more that it is such that none of these princes could and cannot understand it. So it is the opposite of the spirit and principles that these princes adhere to. “If they had understood, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Since he speaks in general, he mentions those who crucified the Lord only as representatives of the princes of the age. There was Pilate, the representative of the princes of the age from the Gentiles, and Herod and Caiaphas with the high priests and scribes, the representatives of the princes of the age from the Jews. And he remembers the crucifixion as the most striking evidence of the blindness of the princes of the age, when, being face to face with Wisdom itself, they did not understand it. The crucifixion took place in Judea, in Jerusalem, and it could not have been otherwise, according to former prophecies and foreshadowing; but, in essence, it could happen everywhere. The princes of the age are of the same spirit everywhere, and what they did in Jerusalem, they could do the same in any other place. The misunderstanding of the wisdom of God continues, and the crucification of the Lord of glory continues—all by the princes of the age, rulers of life according to the spirit of the age, and guides of human wisdom. For the wisdom of God is not inaccessible only to the princes of the age of that time, but in general to all of them, and since they are the princes of the age. And it is not only inaccessible, but also irritates them and is the subject of their hatred, persecution and oppression, which is what they do at all times, as soon as their wisdom finds handy means and sees that this can be done without interfering with their main goals, which they pursue, that is, peace and contentment in this life. "The Lords of glory were crucified". – They crucified the man Jesus, but since He was God incarnate, Who is the Lord of glory, then, by crucifying Him, they crucified the Lord of glory. This is what the Apostle says because of the unity of the hypostasis in the Lord Jesus Christ. Who will say what is their fault? for they did so out of ignorance. But their very ignorance is to blame; the Lord has not left Himself untested. The Jews had so many testimonies and proofs of who Jesus Christ was! He directly told them: “My Father works hitherto, and I work,” and they understood that He puts Himself on an equal footing with God. And he admonished with a parable, saying in it: They will put the Son to shame... and they also understood that this parable was speaking to them. And he inspired with prophecies: David calls Christ Lord, as is His Son? And they were silent, because the answer led them directly to acknowledge Him as the Lord of glory. Likewise, Pilate was not left without admonition. What did the Lord’s brief words to him mean: My kingdom is not of the world, and so on. what about admonition? His wife’s dream especially had this significance. Thus, all the crucifiers could have understood, but they did not understand. The wisdom of God was hidden here, and although they saw, they did not see. But why they didn’t have eyes to see, that was their fault. For the fact that they were all imbued with the spirit of the age and did not want to know anything except human wisdom, this was not due to any captivity they had, but was the fruit of their free life. The spirit of the age is opposite to the wisdom of God, and the princes of the age do not understand it, because they have the wrong mindset, the wrong tastes of the heart, the wrong plans for life. But as then, so always. And always the princes and sons of the age do not understand the wisdom of God and are ready to crucify it for the same reason - that it is inconceivable for them and is contrary to their principles. 1 Corinthians 2:9. But as it is written: eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and the heart of man has not breathed what God has prepared for those who love Him. “But” is the opposite. Why? - the misunderstanding of the princes of the century. They didn’t understand: no one would have thought that this was something that there was nothing to look at. No, he says, not like that. They did not understand through blindness; but in fact this is such a high good that there is no such thing, has not been and never will be. “Since the Apostle mentioned the ignorance of the Jews and said that the secret of the economy was hidden, then of necessity he added that what no one had heard of, what no one had ever seen and what the most insatiable mind had not thought about, God prepared for all those who have ardent love for Him” (Theodoret). “Written.” Where? There is no such place in the Old Testament Scriptures. But the Apostle takes it from the spirit of all Scripture, or, having borrowed a thought from the spirit of Scripture, he took the word for expressing it from various places thereof. For example: “from time immemorial we have not heard, but our eyes have seen God, except You” (Is. 64:4). Or again: “So the multitudes of the nations will be amazed at Him, and the kings will stop their mouths: because those who are not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand” (Isa. 52:15). Theodoret cites the first, Saint Chrysostom points to the second, and perhaps word for word it was written like this, but that scripture has been lost. This is how Saint Chrysostom decides this: “and so it is said (that is, written) even when something is depicted not in words, but in the actions themselves, or when the same thought is expressed, although not in the same words, as here. Thus, the Apostle either expresses this, or, perhaps, it really was written in books, but the books themselves were lost.” The words: “eye has not seen, ear has not heard, heart has not sighed,” expresses the extraordinaryness, the greatness that surpasses all expectation, the incomprehensibility and immensity of the blessings given to us in Christ Jesus, and the very manner of their delivery, or the economy of salvation. God incarnates, takes on the form of a slave and is found in the image, like a man, humbles Himself even to death, death on the cross, and this is in order to justify, adopt, spiritualize, deify people who have committed crimes against Him, to reveal them not only as light, but also as luminous, and even more so, in order to lead everything in themselves, whether earthly or heavenly. This is not only incomprehensible until it is accomplished and manifested by deeds, but even after it is manifested and accomplished it remains immense and inconceivable for everyone except those who are worthy of those benefits and those who are introduced into their communion; but they also taste and see, but cannot comprehend it. All this, he says, is prepared for “those who love God,” that is, for those who, having forsaken everything, cleave to God with all their hearts, and enter into heartfelt, living communion and unity with Him in a way indicated and prescribed by Him Himself, the image of which also forms part of the wisdom of God, hidden before, but now revealed and revealed to all. Saint Chrysostom says: “What then? Has the eye not seen what God has prepared? - I certainly didn’t see it: for which of the people saw the dispensation of God that was about to take place? Has the ear really not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man? Is this true? If the Prophets foretold, then how did the ear not hear and the heart not enter into man? Definitely not included. The Apostle speaks not only about the Prophets, but about all human nature. How? Haven’t the Prophets even heard? They heard, but their prophetic hearing was not human hearing; they heard not as men, but as Prophets. That is why Isaiah says: “Attach my ear to hear” (1 Cor. 50:4), meaning the application given by the Spirit. From this it is clear that before they heard, it did not enter the man’s heart; for after the gift of the Spirit, the heart of the Prophets was not a human heart, but a spiritual heart, as Paul himself says: “the mind of Christ is imams” (1 Cor. 2:16). The meaning of his words is as follows: before the Spirit was given to us and unknown secrets were revealed, none of us, nor any of the Prophets, understood them. And could it be otherwise if even the Angels did not know them? After this, what can we say about the princes of this age, if none of the people and even the heavenly Powers knew this? What? “The fact that by the seeming madness of preaching the universe will be conquered, the nations will be converted, the reconciliation of God with men will be accomplished and such great benefits will be granted to us.” 1 Corinthians 2:10. God has revealed it to us by His Spirit: for the Spirit tests all things, even the depths of God. The economy of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ has been completed in the sight of all; and no one understood it. Before confirming the resurrection of the Lord, the Apostles themselves were in extreme bewilderment from death on the cross. It is natural to ask: how do you now know the secrets of this wise economy, and see what God has prepared for those who love Him? - The Apostle answers: “God has revealed to us by His Spirit,” that is, by the Holy Spirit, for Whom, as one of the Holy Trinity, there is nothing hidden in the mysteries of the Divine. "Us". To whom? - Obviously to the holy Apostles, and then, according to their leadership, to all believers; for the same Holy Spirit teaches everyone. He arranges conversion, forms faith, strengthens life, and through the purification of the heart introduces every Christian to the contemplation of the mysteries of God. In this regard, the Apostle contrasts us with the princes of the age with all his sons. Saint Chrysostom says: “How did we know this? “But to us,” he says, “God has revealed it by His Spirit.” Not by external wisdom, which, like a despised servant, is not allowed to enter inside and see the mysteries of the Lord. Do you see what is the difference between this and other wisdom? One taught us what the Angels did not know; but the external one did the opposite: not only did it not teach, but it also served as an obstacle to this and, when everything had already been accomplished, it overshadowed the events and humiliated the cross. Thus Paul honors us by showing that we have not only learned, and that together with the Angels, but have also learned from the Spirit Himself. But at the same time, he also shows the importance of knowledge, making it clear that if the Spirit, who leads the mysteries of God, had not revealed this to us, we would not have known it either. So God was pleased to keep this matter secret. Therefore, we needed a Teacher who would know this clearly. This is the Spirit of God. - “The Spirit tests everything, even the depths of God.” Here the word “tests” does not mean ignorance, but accurate knowledge. He uses the same expression about God when he says: “Try the hearts of the message, which is the wisdom of the Spirit” (Rom. 8:27), - he knows everything, that is, everything that exists and happens. But maybe he doesn’t know what is hidden in God?! - No, he knows everything that is hidden in the secrets of the Divine - he experiences the very depths of God - so that nothing remains secret and hidden for him. 1 Corinthians 2:11. Who is the message from man who is in man, even the spirit of man living in him? Likewise, no one knows God’s message, but the Spirit of God. The Apostle explains how the Spirit of God knows all the depths of God, by a generally understandable comparison of this with what happens in every person. Whatever happens in the spirit of a person, everything is hidden from outsiders through the body, but the spirit of a person, conscious of itself, knows everything and cannot help but know, even if it does not want to: for everything happens in it. So the Spirit of God in God knows everything, because everything that is in God is in Him, as if it were inseparable from other Persons in the One and Existing God. But doesn’t the Son of God know everything? - He knows. And God the Father knows everything. Knowledge is inseparable in the Divinity and belongs equally to all Persons. Saint Paul mentions the Spirit because he is talking about Him revealing the mysteries of God. Or maybe he points here to the spirit of the Divine, uniting all the hypostases in a single consciousness of a single Divinity, speaking humanly. However, the Apostle Paul’s intention is not to introduce us to the secrets of the Divine, but to explain that no one knows God except the Spirit of God. This is hidden from all creatures, and no one can comprehend it for himself, no matter how high he stands on the ladder of creation. He said that the Holy Spirit revealed it to us. Now, no matter how anyone thinks: the Holy Spirit has revealed it to you, and we will reach the same thing by another road, he adds: no one knows God except the Spirit of God. Consequently, there is no other way to the knowledge of God’s wisdom in the hidden mystery and there cannot be. Either learn from us, or remain outside, ignorant and misunderstanding of the matter. And by following us, you will not be taught by us, but by the Spirit of God, who teaches and enlightens everyone, Whom the Crucified Lord gives for the sake of faith. 1 Corinthians 2:12. We do not receive the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is from God, that we know that is given to us by God. The Apostle was to say: it is this Spirit who knows the depths of God and all things of God that we have received; but as through contrast the thought affirmed becomes clearer, he said in advance about the spirit of the world that we did not receive it - it was not this spirit that we received, before which the door of the mysteries of God is closed - and which, as it itself sits in darkness, how it covers with darkness all those who, even if only a little, breathe it into themselves. And the princes of the age with his sons are filled with a spirit that also knows the depths, but not of God, but of Satan. Or Satan himself is this spirit of the world, which darkens the minds of the unbelievers, so that the light of grace does not shine in them. In every way, the spirit of peace here is not an idea - or the way of thinking and undertakings of the sons of the world, the hopes they nourish, the goals they pursue, the customs and morals that rule everything among them - but the spirit that rules over all this, setting all this in motion and thus circling the lovers of peace. This is what makes one believe that it is opposed to the Spirit of God. We received not this spirit, but “the Spirit who is from God” - from God - εκ θεου - from God, that is, the Spirit proceeding from God the Father. The apostles received Him on the day of Pentecost. Then all believers received Him from them through the laying on of hands (confirmation). That's how it started, and that's how it still is. In whatever communities there is no this sacrament, there is no Spirit of God there. If without the Spirit of God there is no knowledge of true Christianity, then the consequence is obvious. You can speak, but not when you are taught by the Spirit. “Yes, we have what God has given us.” “The Spirit Himself, proceeding from the Father, taught us hidden secrets” (Theodoret). “Light is the Spirit of God, and we have received this light, so that, enlightened by it, we will see what has been hidden until now. What exactly? – What was given to us from God was given according to the economy of Christ, that is, how He died for us, how He made us sons of God and how He seated us in heaven at the right hand of the Father; so those who do not have the Spirit do not know this” (Ecumenius). This Divine knowledge has truly shone on earth since the descent of the Holy Spirit, and is still preserved by Him in the Church of God and communicated to the worthy by Him. The Apostle speaks not only about himself and his time, but about Christians at all times. This is written in the books of the New Testament; Anyone can read and everything is passed on to those catechumens for baptism. But the present knowledge of everything is always communicated by the Holy Spirit. Strong faith and sincere devotion to God make the soul a charter on which the Spirit of God inscribes the mysteries of God. 1 Corinthians 2:13. And we speak not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Holy Spirit, the spiritual with the spiritual, judging. “Having spoken about the perfect knowledge of the Spirit, showing that it is equal to the knowledge of God, just as human knowledge is equal to itself, and proving that we have learned everything from Him, the Apostle continues: “as we say...”. Do you see how he exalted us with the dignity of a Teacher? We are as much wiser than the pagans as Plato is from the Holy Spirit. They have rhetoricians as their teachers, and we have the Holy Spirit” (St. Chrysostom). Previously he spoke about subjects revealed by the Spirit, or about the content of his sermon, now he speaks about the form in which the Apostles offered their teaching. “Even as we say.” “Even” is what we know through the Spirit, which we received from God, that is, all the mysteries of the Kingdom, all the economy of salvation. “With a verb” - we preach, proclaim to everyone; “not in the words taught by human wisdom,” not in the verbal form that human wisdom came up with to convey its teachings to others. The thought here is the same as in the words: “not in the wisdom of words that exceed human wisdom,” or: “not in the wisdom of words.” All verbal art taught by rhetoricians is denied. The essence of this art is to arouse movements of the heart and passions with various turns and techniques of speech, and through this to take possession of minds and win them over to one’s side. since everything passionate can only be turned to the earthly, worldly, carnal, while the wisdom of God belongs to a completely opposite area; then the methods of speech invented to excite passions are not accepted by the Spirit when teaching the wisdom of God to people. We, he says, did not use them. We had our own tricks. As the Spirit of God taught, so we spoke. The Spirit of God inspired certain truths; they evoked certain concepts, and concepts attracted certain words. The words of these brothers were from the sum of words that the one to whom the truth was revealed possessed, and the same way of speech also awakened that one to which he was accustomed, or akin to the one receiving the revelation. But when it was necessary to offer teaching, he not only did not go to rhetoric for art, but also did not care at all about the word. It flowed from a heart set in motion by the Spirit, imprinting there the mysteries of the Kingdom. This is what the Apostle expressed when he said: “by the verb... in those who are taught by the Holy Spirit.” The Lord also promised the same thing when he said: “Do not worry about what you say or what you say, for fear it will be given to you in the hour that you say it; You will not be the ones who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you” (Matthew 10:19-20). "Spiritual with spiritual judgment." “Rapidly” - συγκρινοντες. This verb means: to match one object to another so that they fit together. “Spiritual” - the wisdom of God, all the truths inspired by the Spirit of God; “spiritual” - spiritual words, figures of speech, ways of expressing revealed truths. So, the Apostle says: for spiritual truths, selecting words and figures of speech corresponding to those subjects, which should also be called spiritual. We have never allowed ourselves to descend from the height to which contemplation brought about by the Spirit of God brought us, so that here, in the sphere of vain human wisdom, we could find ways to express Divine truths. Although the Spirit of God moved the tongue of the evangelists, they did not lose self-control and directed their speech consciously. Saint Chrysostom explains where to get the items needed for explanation. He says - from prototypes and prophecies. Here is his speech: “What does it mean: “spiritual with spiritual judgment”? If there is any confusion regarding the spiritual, then we also give explanations from spiritual objects, for example: I say that Christ was resurrected, that He was born of a virgin, and to explain I cite evidence and prototypes - Jonah’s stay inside the whale and subsequent release from there, the birth of barren wives Sarah, Rebecca and others, the growth of trees in paradise, while the seeds had not yet been thrown, the rain had not shed, the reins had not yet been held. For future events were outlined and foreshadowed, as if in shadow, by the former, so that they might believe in them when they had happened. I also show how man came from the earth, how without any copulation a wife came from one husband, how the earth itself came from nothing, how everywhere and in everything the power of the Creator was sufficient. This is how I explain the spiritual to the spiritual, and nowhere do I resort to external wisdom, to reasoning and conclusions. Pagan sages strain and torment their weak minds and cannot explain in any way what they are talking about, but they also do the opposite, lead to greater confusion and increase darkness and bewilderment.” So are all ours - Theodorit, Ecumenius, Theophylact. Theophylact, by the way, also expressed the following thought: “spiritual reasoning with spiritual people,” that is, offering spiritual truths to clergy, or reasoning about spiritual things with spiritual people: for only such people can accommodate them.” Πνευματικα πνευματικοις συγκρινοτες ... Πνευματικοις can also be translated in the dative case. Some new interpreters pestered him, and the opinion was formed that this was exactly what the Apostle wanted to say here. It may be too much to prefer this opinion to the first, but one should not completely despise it. The following text gives him credibility: “a spiritual man does not accept even the Spirit of God,” as if prompted by what is said, that is, we try to offer spiritual things to the spiritual, or to reason about the spiritual with the spiritual, for they are only capable of accepting that; a spiritual person does not accept spiritual things. The implication is that we are not offering it to him. So the Savior commanded: “not to scatter the beads.” 1 Corinthians 2:14. A spiritual person does not accept even the Spirit of God, for he has foolishness, and cannot understand, he strives for spiritual things. A “spiritual man” is one who wants to know everything with his mind, and then only recognizes as true what seems to him to be so, who arranges his life and all his undertakings in his own ways, relying on them alone as a solid foundation, who sets earthly peace and happiness as the goal of life and turns everything into a means to someone who is so accustomed to the tangible and perceptible that he does not consider the invisible and spiritual to exist. “Even the Spirit of God” - what the wisdom of God suggests, inspired by the Spirit of God, is completely opposite to this. She reveals dogmas that are accepted by faith in spite of the mind, commands to abandon all one’s ways and surrender life, both external and especially spiritual, into the hands of God, indicates the goal beyond the grave and, in order to achieve it, demands the sacrifice of happiness, contentment and peace on earth, commands one to live as if there were no body and nothing visible, but only the invisible, which to taste means to live. Due to such a contrast between the demands of the spiritual wisdom of God and the mood of the spiritual man, it is very natural that the latter does not accept anything from the demands of the former. The broadcasts of the Spirit are inconceivable to him; they seem foolish to him, and he cannot understand anything about them. In order to accept and understand the spiritual and see wisdom in it, for this a spiritual person must cease to be spiritual, or at least desire it. We have in our nature a spiritual element - a spirit blown into the face of the primordial. The fear of God is characteristic of him, the demands of conscience belong to him, he instills dissatisfaction with all created things. When the soul, the power that is given control over earthly life, takes over the spirit, it is muffled, but is never destroyed and is always inside, and immediately gives voice as soon as an opportunity opens. When the Apostles went to preach to proclaim the Spirit of God and to those who were taught the Holy Spirit, then everywhere, especially among the pagans, they met mainly spiritual people. What was the hope of success based on when the soul does not even accept the Spirit of God? - On the fact that no matter how soulful someone is, there is a hidden spirit in him, which, under the influence of the grace-filled gospel, raised a voice in a soulful person and forced him to both listen and agree to what he heard. And this is to varying degrees. For some, the spirit barely began to move, for others it rose with such force that conversion was immediately accomplished. But those who were completely spiritual closed their ears and fled from the Apostolic preaching or rebelled against it. The Apostle witnessed this phenomenon everywhere and testifies that he who is mired in spirituality cannot accommodate the broadcasts of the Spirit, does not understand them and does not accept them. “Zane spiritual is fighting.” “Values” – ανακρινεται – is being discussed. In whomever the natural movements and manifestations of the spirit are not stifled, especially the fear of God and conscience, he, listening to the Apostolic gospel, found in it a similar element, was riveted to it by attention, discussed it and, seeing how it corresponds to the requirements of his own spirit, clung to it, believed and was renewed in the sacraments. From that moment on, he no longer discussed the Spirit of God with his own spirit alone, but also with the grace that revived him and infused him. He entered the spiritual realm and the grace of the Spirit gradually introduced him into the knowledge of the Spirit of God. And by such and such a person the spiritual is actually spiritually vying. The natural spirit, excited by the gospel, sought the spiritual only through probability and aspiration, but this one now seeks as something real, possessed, tasted. 1 Corinthians 2:15. The spiritual one is vying for everything, but he himself is not vying for a single one. The Apostle compares the horizons of the spiritual man and the spiritual man. Although he does not name the latter, it is obvious that he means him by the inability to strive for the spiritual. The spiritual one speaks, discusses, surveys and defines the “whole” of his spiritual realm, he strives because he abides in it, which is why he knows it, as they usually know the house in which they live; and he explores and surveys the spiritual region, and understands, for although he is no longer in it, he knows it well, because he languished so much under its yoke, he knows all the twists of spirituality and everything on which it rests and where it aims, when this or that speaks, this or that begins. From the first words, he recognizes the spiritual and spiritual and, accordingly, manages his behavior in relation to them. A spiritual person cannot understand the spiritual from any side, for what he lives in is an unknown land to him. He only sees that he is not the same and that instead of expecting such and such a manifestation in him in a certain case, something completely different appears in him. And this is incomprehensible to him. He cannot understand or explain to himself either his way of thinking or the rules of life. For a spiritual person, the spiritual is not understandable and does not appeal to him. What happens here is the same as, for example, when, in a two or three-story building, a person who lived on the lower floors moves to the upper floor. He knows his floor well, knows the lower floors, and those who live on the lower floors, and who have not been able to visit the upper floors, do not know anything there and cannot judge it. Saint Chrysostom says: “The one who sees sees everything, even that which belongs to the one who does not see; and what pertains to it, none of those who do not see sees it. So here too, we know ours and everything that belongs to the infidels, but they do not know ours. For we know what is the property of present objects and what is the dignity of future ones, what will happen to the world later, what punishment sinners will suffer and what the righteous will enjoy; We know that present goods have no dignity, and we denounce their insignificance, but future ones are eternal and unchangeable. The spiritual person knows all this, and what punishment the spiritual person will suffer in the future life, and what the believer will enjoy after moving from here, but the spiritual person does not know anything like that.” 1 Corinthians 2:16. Who can understand the mind of the Lord and explain it? We are the mind of Christ, imams. He gives a reason why none of the souls of a spiritual person can understand and discuss. For, he says, what is in a spiritual man, that is, the mind of Christ, the spirit of Christ, he has Christ’s contemplations, Christ’s dispositions, Christ’s powers, plans, hopes—everything is Christ’s. But no one of the soul can understand the mind of Christ, the mind of the Lord, so that everything in it is understandable. Just as none of them can understand this, they cannot understand spiritual things either, because they have the same mind. The words: “Whoever will explain and” - who refers to the mind of the Lord, like this: who knows the mind of the Lord in order to clearly understand it and harmonize it with his own concepts? (Theophylact). Who refers to a spiritual man like this: who understands the mind of the Lord in order to understand and discuss a spiritual man? And in us, the spiritual, there is the mind of Christ, that is, the mind of the Lord. The main idea in both understandings of these words remains the same: the spiritual realm - with what it contains, and with persons and objects - is inaccessible to a spiritual person: he cannot understand anything in it, not only as it exists in itself, but also as it reveals itself in persons living spiritually. This is what Saint Chrysostom says to this: “The mind of Christ imams” - that is, we know what is in the mind of Christ, what He wants and what He has revealed to us. Since the Apostle said above that the Spirit revealed to us, so that no one would deny the Son, he adds that Christ also revealed, expressing not that we know everything that Christ knows, but that all our knowledge is not human and therefore subject to doubt, but is knowledge of the mind of Christ and spiritual. The understanding that we have is Christ’s, that is, the knowledge that we have about the objects of faith is spiritual knowledge, and therefore no one can really judge us, for a spiritual person cannot know Divine objects. Therefore, the Apostle said: “Who understands the mind of the Lord,” arguing that our understanding of these objects is His understanding. And the words: “whoever will explain and” - he added not in vain, but in accordance with the above words, “the spiritual one does not claim anything from anyone.” – Do you see how variously he refutes external wisdom and shows that a spiritual person knows more and better? Only in this way (that is, having the mind of Christ) can we see and cognize objects that are lofty, mysterious and above us; and reason turned out to be insufficient, because through worldly wisdom we cannot comprehend what is above us. - “We are the mind of Christ, imams,” - that is, spiritual, Divine, having nothing human in us; Christ communicated His knowledge to our minds. And Christ Himself is proof of perfect friendship in the fact that He revealed secrets to us: “to no one,” He says, “I say, you are servants... you are naturally My friends... as I told you all that I heard from the Father,” that is, He entrusted it to you (John 15:14-15). If trust alone serves as a sign of friendship, then think what kind of love He expressed by entrusting us with secrets not only in words, but by communicating them to us in reality. Let us be ashamed; and if Gehenna does not frighten us too much, then let it be worse than Gehenna for us - to turn out to be unappreciative and ungrateful to such a friend and benefactor.” b) Incorrect understanding of the role of the Apostles in the work of preaching (1 Cor. 3:1–4:16) The second source of the rumors that divided the Corinthians was the incorrect concept that the essence of the Apostles in the work of preaching, and after them all the other teachers, and if we judge them, then from what point of view we should judge them. St. Paul now explains both, directing his speech to the admonition of the horse breeders who ran the parties. For this purpose, Saint Paul shows aa) that the Apostles are only workers in the field of God (chapter 3), and bb) that they should be judged not for any external reason, but by whether they are faithful to their calling and purpose (1 Cor. 4:1-16). aa) What are the Apostles in the work of preaching, in arranging salvation through faith in the Lord? (1 Cor. 3) α) The Apostle arranges the transition to speech about this from previous thoughts. The soulful, he said, does not understand the spiritual. Therefore, it is not appropriate to offer him a lengthy teaching about this. For this reason, he says, I did not offer you anything high, because you are not yet spiritual. And that you are not spiritual is clear from your talk (1 Cor. 3:1-4). By this you clearly showed that you do not understand the spiritual order of things. Why were you distributed among people? Are we the sources of the preaching of the Gospel and the producers of salvation? β) God arranges everything, and we are only His instruments (1 Cor. 3:5-9). Based on this thought, the Apostle further makes γ) guidance that is understandable to the leaders of the division. α) Transition to indicating the significance of the Apostles in the work of arranging salvation and preaching the Gospel (1 Cor. 3, 1-4) 1Cor.3:1. And I, brothers, cannot say to you that you are spiritual, but that you are carnal, like a child in Christ. Having so fully explained the relationship of external wisdom to the wisdom of God and mental life to spiritual life, Saint Paul prepared for himself a solid point of support, establishing himself on which, he now begins little by little to admonish those who have gone astray and have deviated from the path of truth, following his wisdom. To explain why Saint Paul now says that he could not offer the Corinthians high teaching, it must be assumed that those who ruled the Corinthian schools of thought based their preference on Saint Paul, for example Apollos, on the fact that Saint Paul speaks simply and does not speak high truths, not like Apollos, who is both eloquent and knowledgeable. He certainly strongly proved through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ (Acts 18:28). Leaving the perfection of Apollos or anyone else aside, Saint Paul takes one thing - why he himself did not offer the highest truths among them, and explains that he certainly did not offer them, but the reason for this is not in him, but in them themselves. I could not, he says, proclaim to you lofty truths, as spiritual men when you are carnal, or as perfect men when you are infants. We proclaim the highest wisdom, but to those who are perfect (1 Cor. 2:6), whether someone is such immediately after baptism, or ascends to such perfection gradually; Only while someone is imperfect, we do not proclaim the highest truths to him. This is our law - to balance spiritual conversations with the spirituality of those who hear (1 Cor. 2:13), so as not to waste the labor of sowing and seeds when the field is not prepared to receive them and return. My Apostolic duty obliged me to act as I did with you. “I did not keep silent so that I could not tell you anything more, but because you are “of the flesh”” (Saint Chrysostom). Carnal in what sense? – The fact that they have not yet completely renounced the carnal and spiritual way of thinking and goals. They have already believed, they have already been baptized, they have already become alive in spirit; but carnal and spiritual wisdom was still alive in them and intervened in the spiritual realm, as can be seen even in the use of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit. “The Apostle called the Corinthians carnal, as partial to this life, coveting what is glorious in human opinion, and paying attention to wealth and eloquence (external advantages)” (Blessed Theodoret). The Apostle called them carnal; but to show that this fleshiness is not the same as that of the unbaptized, he adds that they “are babes in Christ.” The unbaptized and the firstfruits do not have spiritual life, but they have it, they have already been reborn in the spirit, but the new man born in them is still in infancy, manifestations of carnal and spiritual life are still breaking out around him, only these must fade and end completely, and he will grow and mature. “Since what was said (that is, that they are carnal) could strike them, then, softening the blow with some similarity, he says: “like a child in Christ,” that is, you are still carnal, like newborns and imperfect” (Theodoret). If Saint Paul, living with them for a year and a half, could not achieve to move them towards perfection in spiritual life, then we must admit that it is certain that external education, the gloss of life, the sophistication of everyday morals and tastes - which distinguished the Corinthians - serves as the greatest obstacle to Christian perfection, delaying those who are zealous about it with carnal concepts and views, and in others extinguishing the very zeal for it. Saint Chrysostom solves the question of how they had so many spiritual gifts, as mentioned below, and having solved it, he makes an application to the performers of the mysteries, which is edifying to remember at all times: “But how does he call carnal people who received so many gifts of the Spirit and whom he extolled with such praise at the beginning of his epistle? - Just as those to whom the Lord said: “Get thee from Me, we know not you workers of iniquity” (Matthew 7:23) were carnal, although they cast out demons, raised the dead and uttered prophecies. Therefore, the one who performed signs can be carnal. So God acted through Balaam, revealed the future (in a dream) to Pharaoh, and Nebuchadnezzar, and Caiaphas prophesied, without knowing what he was saying, and some others cast out demons in the name of Christ, although they themselves were not Christ’s; because all this happens not for those who do it, but for others. Often this was done through unworthy people. It happens that bosses are evil and intemperate, and subordinates are kind and self-controlled, the laity live piously, and the priests live viciously; and if grace always sought the worthy, there would be no baptism, no celebration of the body of Christ, no offerings. But now God acts through the unworthy, and the grace of baptism does not suffer any harm from the life of the priest, for otherwise the recipient would also suffer harm. Although this happens rarely, it does happen. I say this so that any of those present, observing the life of the priest, will not be tempted regarding the sacraments he performs. Man brings nothing into them from himself, but all this is the work of God’s power; He works on you in the sacraments.” 1Cor.3:2. We gave you milk to drink, not meat; for not at the most, but below you can still now. The Apostle calls the beginnings of Christian teaching “milk,” and “brush” the complete teaching of the wisdom of God in the hidden mystery. The first is fitting for babes in Christ, and the second for perfect men. Since you are still babies, I taught you only the rudiments of the teaching, and gave you it to drink, as children are given milk to drink. “The teaching, he says, was proportionate to the weakness of hearing and imitated the father who offers newborn babies food commensurate with their age” (Theodorit). What is milky and what is dirty in Christian teaching? One interpreter, responding to this, says: “milk” is the factual side of the dispensation of salvation, and “brashno” is the ascent to the foundations of why it is so, and leading to the consequences, so what. This can be accepted. For the believer who approaches the Lord must believe that God, worshiped in the Trinity, created the world and provides for it, that He, having created man in His image and likeness, placed him in paradise for a blessed life, that he fell and from his fall is restored only by the Son of God incarnate, who, having become incarnate, died on the cross and thereby saved the fallen, that the believer and the baptized enter into communion of this death and receives a new life, in which, with the help of grace, among sorrows and hardships in the fight against passions and lusts, remaining faithful to the Lord through the fulfillment of His commandments, he becomes worthy of the fact that at the second coming the Lord will glorify him with Himself in the Kingdom of Heaven. Such outlines of the entire economy of salvation are often made by St. Paul in his epistles. And we can assume that this served as a symbol for him, which he taught to everyone, announcing to them for the first time the call to faith and salvation. This, of course, he also taught to the Corinthians and now calls it milk. Here exactly all the facts are contained, sometimes already accomplished, sometimes about to happen. When Christian contemplation deepens into them and reaches the foundation, and goes through to the consequences, then the result will be a wealth of spiritual wisdom, which the Apostle refrained from teaching in Corinth. "Not at the Mojaste". That they could not then is not surprising, for they had only just approached the Lord; but that even “until now” (when the epistle was written) “they cannot,” this forces one to assume great obstacles to spiritual advancement in the order of ordinary Corinthian life. Perhaps they are the same as in all capital cities and big cities in general - too much development of carnal, self-indulgent life. They excelled in external wisdom, but lagged behind in spiritual wisdom, perhaps because they did not get along with each other. We have been Christians for five years now, and all are children. since the Apostle says, we must assume that this was the case, that is, that the Corinthians could not, and cannot yet (at the hour of writing the epistle) accept the lessons of the spiritual wisdom of God. St. Chrysostom says: “If they could not at the beginning, then this, perhaps, depended on the essence of the objects themselves, although they cannot imagine such a justification, as he proved, because, he says, the objects were inconceivable for them, because they themselves were carnal. However, at the beginning this was not so reprehensible; and not to achieve knowledge of perfect objects for such a long time is already a sign of extreme carelessness.” 1 Corinthians 3:3. Still more carnal. Where there is envy and zeal and strife in you, are you not of the flesh, and walk after man? He said that they could not yet accept the lessons of the highest Christian wisdom; now indicates why he judges this way. Therefore, he says, that you are still carnal, and that you are carnal is evident from the fact that passions, envy, zeal, and strife are active in you. And in the letter to the Galatians, listing the works of the flesh, he included in them “zeal, envy, strife” (Gal. 5:20). Why does he now speak to the Corinthians: if these passions are at work in you, are you not carnal? and do you not walk according to man? According to man, that is, fallen, damaged, according to the excitement and demands of fallen, damaged nature. The most tangible trace and sign of damage is passion; they rose as a result of the fall into the pure and dispassionate nature of man. The grace of the Spirit comes to destroy them and cleanse our nature from them; but it does not destroy itself, but helps the will in this, which alone cannot have any success in this matter. Just as the will, and having received the Spirit, does not rebel against its passions with equal zeal, then in some people the passions quickly melt and evaporate in others. That is why he who has received the Spirit is passionate, because he does not whole-heartedly oppose them. As long as such order is maintained within, a person is carnal and passionate. When he completely silences passions with the help of grace, then the grace of the Spirit shines in him, and he is spiritual. Such is a worthy repository of the mysteries of the wisdom of God. The Apostle understands envy, zeal and strife as those that were revealed through discussions. Because of this, some argued in front of others, strained with all their might to prove the superiority of their side, and were jealous when one managed to out-argue the other. “All this proves and says that you do not think about anything spiritual, but are attached to earthly things” (Theodoret). “He could reproach them for adultery and intemperance, but he especially points to the sin that he is now trying to eradicate. From here we learn, as Christ rightly said, that “everyone who does evil... does not come to the light” (John 3:20), that an unclean life prevents the understanding of great truths, not allowing the mind to express its intelligence. One who leads a vicious life cannot rise to the understanding of our dogmas, but everyone who wants to comprehend the truth must be cleansed of all passions. Whoever cleanses himself from them will get rid of error and come to know the truth. Do not think that for this it is enough for you just not to be greedy and not to commit adultery; no, whoever seeks truth must unite all the virtues” (St. Chrysostom). 1 Cor.3:4. When someone says: I am Pavlov, and another: I am Apollos, are you not of the flesh? This is where the strife lies and what zeal concerns! It seems as if their zeal revolves in the spiritual realm, but what kindled this zeal was completely carnal in nature. Everyone was eager only to stand his ground, no matter what the cost: the truth is aside here. They were torn so as not to lose face. The Self set everything in motion, and it is the source of fleshiness. Saint Chrysostom says: “Here he addresses his subordinates; in previous words (chapter 2) he denounced the superiors and said that the wisdom of eloquence has no dignity, but now he denounces his subordinates and shows that this (I Pavlov, Apollosov) not only did not bring them any benefit or gain, but also blocked their path to obtaining the highest, for it produced envy; envy made them carnal, and when they became carnal, they became incapable of understanding higher objects.” β) The importance of the Apostles and teachers in the work of arranging salvation for the preaching of the Gospel (1 Cor. 3:5-9) 1 Corinthians 3:5. Who is Paul, who is Apollos? but precisely serve in the image of those who believe, and to whomever the Lord gave. “Having explained and proved his thought, he openly begins to denounce” (St. Chrysostom). I came to you to preach, then Apollos. We did not act on our own; but you, like carnal ones, focused on what was before your eyes - on me and Apollos, and how we were not the same in our personal properties and one was liked more by one, and the other by others, then naturally some clung to one more, others to the other. If you, bypassing us, had paid more attention to our teaching, then, not having found any difference in it, you would not have disagreed with each other. And we would be even more united if we thought only about Him who entrusted us with preaching and brought us to you. You would see then that we are only servants, servants of God, as executors of His commission, and your servants, as those who brought you the gift of salvation. We are an instrument in the hands of God, through whom you have believed. “Of course, this is important and worthy of attention and respect, but in comparison with the prototype and source of goods, it is nothing. For the benefactor is not the one who serves in the distribution of benefits, but the one who communicates and bestows them. – He did not say: those who brought you to faith, but: “who believed,” so that, again, he could give credit to the believers and show who the servants are (and that belief came beyond them, not without action from above). “And to everyone like the Lord gave.” And this small matter (service of the gospel) depended not on themselves, but on God who gave it to them (and to the extent that He gave it). But shouldn’t we, they might say, love those who serve us? This is what he says, but one must know to what extent, for their work is not from themselves, but from God, who has given it to them” (St. Chrysostom). With these words the Apostle wants to divert their attention from himself and Apollos and transfer it to the Lord, from Whom lies the gospel, and their message of preaching, and the very faith of the Corinthians. And this simple truth did not allow them to well understand and assimilate the carnal view of evangelists and the vain valuation of persons by the standard of external wisdom and appearance and representativeness. 1 Corinthians 3:6. Az planted, Apollos gave water, God will grow. Explains what the Lord gave each of them to do in planting the faith in the Corinthians. “I,” he says, “sowed the word; and so that the seeds would not dry out from temptation, Apollos added something from his side; but everything was the work of God” (St. Chrysostom). “Success depends on the grace of God” (Theodoret). Those who listen listen to the sermon and are willingly inclined to accept it. God seals this desire with grace, and it becomes action. Those who accept faith are offered life by faith, and it is impossible without God’s grace. Desire elevates to diligent action and throughout the entire period of action God supports patience in working on it, both in life in general and in every private matter and undertaking. If growth in spiritual life is determined by action, then it is obvious why the Apostle says: “God will grow.” - But what about growing when they are still carnal? - First, faith: for they were strong in faith; secondly, to a certain extent, life by faith. For the moral shortcomings mentioned by the Apostle concerned private individuals: in the community, they also showed impulses towards the most perfect life, as can be seen from their question about celibate life. – One can say that the Apostle does not define a high degree of spiritual growth in them, but only wants to inspire that everything that is good and spiritual in them - all that God increased in them, and he and Apollos were only instruments for sowing good seeds, which were also received from God. 1 Corinthians 3:7. Likewise, neither plant nor drink, but God increases. “For without God’s help labor is in vain” (Theodoret). Why “the Apostle refers everything to God, who has given everything” (St. Chrysostom), “teaching that we must listen to Him alone, and to Him we must attribute everything that is good that is affirmed in us” (Theophylact). Planting and watering are not something decisively and exclusively important in the matter of arranging your salvation. Their work is not nothing, as they will later say, but your conversion to faith and your affirmation in it did not act among you by their power. We spoke the word, but with the word grace came and perfected faith in you. We performed the sacraments for you, but grace entered into you and began to dwell in you not from our action, but from God’s dispensation (Augustine “De gratia Christi”, L, 1, p. 25). 1 Corinthians 3:8. Planting and soldering are one thing; Each one will receive his reward according to his work. “They are one,” as the instruments through which God acts. With Him even the donkey speaks, and the stone will cry out, if necessary. ““One” calls them in the sense that they cannot do anything without the increasing God” (St. Chrysostom). “Because both equally serve God’s will” (Theodoret), which acts through them, not because one is like this, and the other is different, but because it pleases it. “But, being one in relation to the work of God, they are not one in their labors” (St. Chrysostom). “Not simply,” he says, “by the execution of the task, but by the labor in the task. One often brings two hundred to the Savior with great convenience, while the other, having taken great pains, frees one or two from delusion. The same can be seen in the discussion of fasting and chastity. One, assisted by nature, succeeds in chastity without difficulty; the other, struggling with natural inclinations, achieves what he wants with great difficulty. One, having a hot constitution, waits with great agony for the evening without tasting food; another spends two or three days without eating food, and yet does not endure much labor. Therefore, the righteous Judge does not look at the deed, but at the work” (Theodoret). What consolation is expressed here to those who work on something good, in themselves or others, and do not see success! “St. Chrysostom sees that purpose in the addition of these words by the Apostle, so that those who have achieved much without much labor would be deprived of the reason for exaltation, and those who worked a lot and had little time would be given consolation - to inspire everyone to work for the good of themselves and others. Work: the measure of labor is the measure of reward. 1 Corinthians 3:9. For we are God’s helpers: God’s effort, God’s building of nature. Shows the reason why work is valued. Because we are God's co-workers. He was pleased to choose us as instruments for bringing about the salvation of you and others; He valued our work, for through it His fatherly desire to save is fulfilled. “We who teach, he says, are co-workers of God, cooperating with His intention to save everyone who wants to; but we are not the creators or givers of salvation itself. We should neither be despised as God’s co-workers, nor should we be exalted: for everything is God” (Theophylact). We, co-workers with God, and you are God's labor - γεωργιον, - God's field, but not standing idle, but cultivated, you are farmers. God's field is both God's and God's cultivated field. - To this comparison, previously begun, he adds a new one - with a building. You are God's building, - οικοδομη, - not finished and idle, but a building in the process of creation, you are a building created by God. - From here it follows: so, you must attribute everything you have to God, and consider yourself to be God’s, and not Paul’s or Apollo’s. “If you are God’s field, then you should bear the name not of those who cultivate it, but of God, for the field is called by the name not of the farmer, but of its lord. "God's building is natural". Likewise, the building does not belong to the builder, but to the master... If you are the building, then you should not fall into pieces; otherwise there will be no building. If you are a field, then you should not be divided, but be protected by one stronghold of unanimity” (St. Chrysostom). This explanation of the meaning of the holy Apostles should have sobered both those who ran the talk and those who were carried away by them. They, rightly, imagined the Apostles as philosophers who themselves invented their own philosophy and gave their name to both philosophy and followers; The Apostle showed that such a concept was not applicable to them, and thereby destroyed the basis on which the rumors were based. This is similar to the previous one: “Will Paul be crucified for you?” γ) Intelligible guidance for the leaders of the Corinthian interpretations (1 Cor. 3, 10–23) On the transition to these instructions, Saint Paul added another to the previous comparison, with which he explained his and the other Apostles’ meaning, that is, the cultivator of the field and the sower, - the builder, the builder of the building according to the instructions of the owner. And from the first comparison one could extract the necessary understandings, but from this it is more convenient, and the thoughts conveyed by it are more accessible to everyone; why was it taken by St. Paul as the starting point for admonition. You, he says to the Corinthians, are God's building. I and others like me are God’s workers in building this building out of you, or each of you into a building. In order to more clearly imagine the further course of the Apostle’s thoughts for the admonition of those who ruled the fleas, it must be borne in mind that when Saint Paul was in Corinth, he not only laid the foundation, but also erected the building; for each of the Corinthians was already a full Christian, and all together constituted the real Church of God; why in front he said: you are a building, and after that he will say: you are the church of God. But in spiritual creation, things go in such a way that each previous state serves as the basis for the subsequent one, although in its essence it represents a complete building. Why at every moment of the building you can say: you laid the foundation, and you can say: you are a church, that is, a complete building. This is what Saint Paul does: first he looks at the work of establishing the Church in Corinth as the position of the foundation (1 Cor. 3:10–15), and then as a complete building (1 Cor. 3:16–17). He makes strong admonitions to both the leaders of the talk and those led by them. Suppose he says that I laid only the foundation. You should look at what the foundation is in order to select materials based on it. You can build from durable materials and build from fragile ones, such as wood, straw, reeds. If you build from these last, the fire of judgment will come and consume everything; There will be nothing left for you, and you yourself will not be comfortable (1 Cor. 3:10-15). The rumors that arose there were as if they were straw, yet they boasted of them, thinking that they had built something majestic. But the Apostle does not apply it word for word, but makes it clear to those who should understand it themselves. Having understood what such a speech meant, they should have been struck with fear. But this fear was to grow even more from the subsequent words. Why, I erected a complete building there for you (1 Cor. 3:16–17). You undertook to add and add on. When it is done with skill, it is good; but if you take up a task without skill, you can ruin the building. This is not an ordinary building, but one of God, and whoever corrupts the church of God, God will corrupt him. St. Paul does not apply word for word here either. Those who were concerned by the speech could not help but understand where it was going. If they understood, but they could not understand, then at the same time they had to abandon the talk and return to the simplicity of the Gospel confession. Having put them in such a position, Saint Paul γγ) finally strikes their wisdom, saying, as it were: this is how we must abandon the wisdom of this age. What you piled up is all from her; it is by its nature hostile to both God and the divine order of things (1 Cor. 3:18–20). This is for the leaders; then he applies a final suggestion to everyone: and you should not focus your attention on any of the people or on anything human. Everything around you is for you to lead you to Christ. Brought - and be in Him, without blocking communication with Him by inserting yourself among human personalities. The whole point is to be with Christ, and through Christ with God. You are Christ's; Christ is God's (1 Cor. 3:21-23). αα) About the foundation of the Corinthian Church, which was laid by the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 3, 10–15) 1 Corinthians 3:10. By the grace of God given to me, as a wise architect lays the foundation, and also edifies; Let everyone be careful how he edifies. “You are God's building,” he said. But God built you into a building through me, as His fellow worker. Equipped with His grace-filled benefits - that is, with the knowledge of the wisdom of God, and moral strength, and the gift of miracles - I, as a builder who knows his work, laid the foundation of the building of God from you and raised it to some completeness. But everything I have done can only be considered the position of the foundation. And let’s take this as the initial thought: let me lay the foundation, and another builds on it, erects a building. What is this master obligated to do first of all? - In order to carefully understand and sufficiently understand how the building should be erected. Although I have only laid the foundation, the full outline of the building has already been given. In material buildings, the foundation indicates only the external shape of the building, but in spiritual buildings this is not the case: here the foundation indicates the plan of the entire building, its character, and what materials it should be built from. Whoever undertakes to edify must understand all this well and then erect the building with all attention: “let him be careful how he edifies.” Why such a speech is made will become clear later. Here the Apostle focuses only on the fact that he who undertook to erect a building should be forced to think about whether he understood properly what and how he should do, starting the building on a ready-made foundation, and, moreover, one that indicates everything. Having founded the Church in Corinth, the Apostle went to another place; after him Apollos came and continued the creation of the Church. This one continued the work completely in the spirit of the Holy Apostle Paul, therefore faithfully and irreproachably. This is not what St. Paul has in mind. But when Apollos departed from there, among the local sages, those who were more capable and more educated and talkative than others rose up and acted as leaders for the lesser brethren. He aims at them. But at the same time, like every Christian, he is a small example of the Church, and also received from the Apostle the foundation in himself for the creation of salvation through faith in the Lord; then everyone should have seen in this a good reminder for themselves: be careful how you edify. Saint Chrysostom says: “Here, it seems to me, he turns them to the exploits of life.” The ecumenium continues: “Calls them to a worthy life, calling the activity of each one edification. And each one take care to edify on the foundation laid, that is, having faith, and Christ himself, in order to do good deeds.” In the words: “as the architect is wise” - it is not the idea that he calls himself wise, there is only a comparison; When a wise architect lays a foundation, he lays a proper, solid, best foundation. It was precisely this foundation that I laid, or better yet, God through me; For whatever I do, I do it by the grace given to me. The emphasis of thought is not on the wisdom of the one who laid the foundation, but on the strength of the foundation, or its irrevocability, on the fact that a foundation has been laid that cannot be changed, for it is the only one in the spiritual building. He talks about this right away. But even though we accept that he called himself wise, this is not in the thought that “he exalts himself, but provides them with an example and shows that it is common for a wise man to lay down one (single) foundation. And look how he maintains humility here too. Having called himself wise, he did not attribute this to himself, but first of all he betrayed himself to God and then he called himself that: “by grace,” he says, “God’s given to me.” At the same time, he inspires that everything is God’s” (St. Chrysostom). 1 Corinthians 3:11. For no one can lay the foundations of anything more than the one who lies down, who is Jesus Christ. Just as a wise architect lays the best foundation, which cannot be replaced by a better one, so I have laid in you such a foundation that there cannot be another. The only foundation for the spiritual building of the Church and the souls of believers is the one that I laid, that is, Jesus Christ. This is the same as: “there is no other name under heaven in which we must be saved.” Or what is higher: “do not judge what is in you, but rather Jesus Christ and him who was crucified.” The whole mystery of faith is in this. It can be briefly described as follows: God, worshiped in the Trinity, saves us in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, who became incarnate and died on the cross; Those who believe in this, through baptism, are introduced into the communion of this death on the cross and, receiving all-forgiveness, are honored with the firstfruits of the renewal of the spirit, into which the Spirit of God then indwells, leading the renewed one through works of goodness and through feats of self-sacrifice and self-mortification, and through the complacent patience of everything he finds, to perfect renewal, so that he can appear completely pure and immaculate before the face of the Lord on the second day His coming. The basis of salvation, therefore, is in the mysterious combination with the crucified Lord and then in the arrangement of such a life, which would all be compassion for the Lord. Through this, the holy Apostle said to the leaders: this is where to direct the minds of everyone, why to arouse desires and initiatives; and all this is what you should take care of, how to remain in union with the Crucified Lord, through co-crucifixion with Him - the crucifixion of passions and lusts, and bearing your cross. “Let us build, teaches Saint Chrysostom, on this foundation and hold on to it, like a branch on a vine, and let there be no separation between us and Christ; for if we separate ourselves from Him, we will immediately perish. The branch draws sap into itself because it is connected to the vine, and the building stands because it is connected (to the foundation and to itself); and what breaks away dies, because it is not supported by anything. Therefore, let us not just cling to Christ, but cleave to Him: for if we separate ourselves, we will perish. “Those who separate themselves from You will perish,” says the Scripture (Ps. 73:27). Let us cleave to Him, and cleave to Him through deeds; for “whoever keeps”, says, “He who keeps My commandments, he abides in Me” (John 14:20-21). He (the Apostle) inspires unity with Him by many comparisons. Look: He is the head, we body; can there be any distance between the head and the body? He is the vine; we are the bridegroom; we are the shepherd; we are the way; All this means unity and does not allow any division, even the slightest. For whoever separates himself a little will later be separated a lot. So the body, having received even a small wound from the sword, deteriorates; the building, having cracked even a little, collapses; and a branch, having broken off even a little from the root, becomes unusable. Thus, this small is no longer small, but almost everything. Therefore, when we sin in something like this, or feel laziness, let us not despise this small thing, because, if left neglected, it will soon become great. Thus, clothing, if it begins to tear and is left neglected, is completely torn, and the roof, if several tiles are exposed and is left neglected, the whole house will collapse.” 1 Corinthians 3:12–13. If anyone edifies on this basis, gold, silver, honorable stone, wood, hay, reeds: everyone’s work will be revealed: the day will reveal it, it will be revealed before fire; and everyone’s work, even if it is, will be tempted by fire. Having indicated the foundation and in it the plan, scale and character of the building, the Apostle does not touch further on these subjects, because for his purpose it was enough to focus only on the materials of the building. He indicates these materials not by name, but metaphorically, giving the freedom to the intelligent to understand for themselves what is going on. It can only be seen that he wanted to mean durable materials and fragile materials. Durable ones are gold, silver, expensive stones, and fragile ones are wood, hay and reeds. There is no need to find out what the Apostle means by each of them in particular; it is enough to determine what is strong and what is fragile. What is strong is what is in accordance with the foundation; what is not strong is what is inconsistent with it. For the foundation itself is so strong that it can neither be moved nor replaced, therefore everything consistent with it will be firm and durable. But first we must determine what is meant by instruction, the teaching of teachers, or the life of every Christian? – According to the Apostle’s goal, it would be better to understand the teaching of teachers; but as he says in general, it is not surprising that he wanted to instill both of them - to teachers, so that they teach sensibly, and to every Christian, so that he lives as he should. Theodoret writes: “Some argue that the Apostle says this about dogmas, but I think that he says this about active virtue.” - In his time, opinions became divided. Saint Chrysostom, under the word: let each one watch how he edifies, said: “Here, it seems to me, he turns them to the exploits of life.” But then, explaining the meaning of the laid foundation, he says: “The words of the Apostle mean the following: I proclaimed Christ, I gave you a foundation; look at how you build on it, is it not with the goal of turning away disciples from Him and attracting them to some people? Let us not be carried away by heresies.” - From this it is clear that Saint Chrysostom meant by instruction the teaching of both teachers and the life of believers. Although he then mainly talks about the latter, this was required by the goals of his conversations, always moral. What teaching is lasting? – That which develops directly from the established foundation and is established on it. That is, when teachers only try to explain to their students how salvation worked out and how to be saved; that is, how God created us and placed us in paradise, how we fell, how the merciful God did not abandon us in our fall, but was pleased to arrange our salvation, not sparing His only begotten Son, how the Son of God came to earth, became incarnate, suffered and died on the cross for the sake of our salvation; how he then rose again, ascended into heaven and sent down the Holy Spirit to arrange the salvation of every person; how these persons are called to salvation by the grace of God, mysteriously partake of the death of the Lord and, having received new life, are led to perfection through voluntary and involuntary hardships and sorrows and through death are transferred to the region of initial bliss with the Lord. Whoever teaches everything about this, and, moreover, as all this is depicted in the New Testament, pre-depicted in the Old, as explained by the holy fathers and contained by the Holy Church, teaches simply, clearly, having in mind one thing, to build the souls of those who hear, his teaching is as strong as gold, silver and honest stone. - But whoever teaches, although he does not violate dogmas, but teaches everything about extraneous subjects that only bother the head and arouse a proud opinion of learning - both in him and in those who listen to him, or who, while teaching, presents the objects of faith more for reasons of reason than as they are taught in revelation, as if they actually receive strength from these considerations - or who, teaching about the Christian life, tries in every possible way to cover up the obligatory severity this life, instead of the cross, introducing self-indulgence and consolation and thereby eliminating the cross of Christ - whoever teaches this and like this, his teaching is fragile - it is hay, reeds, brushwood. This also includes the talk of the Corinthian parties - petty, - the fruit of frivolity and idleness. Whose life is lasting? - The one who, having been mysteriously united with the death of Christ and having received new life in Christ, and having been strengthened in his heart by the grace of the Holy Spirit, knows how to enter deeper and deeper into co-crucifixion with the Lord, without indulging self-indulgence in anything, constantly crucifying the flesh with passions and lusts, being ready to die rather than indulge himself in anything, or violate even the smallest conscious commandment, and all this doing it not out of fear, but out of love for the Lord, who was crucified and gave us life through His death. Whoever is so inclined, the rules of life and deeds are gold, silver and honest stone. Whoever, without clearly violating the commandments, although he leads a good life, but about keeping a pure heart for the Lord, and in order to be with oneself in the struggle and as an aid to it, to keep oneself in feats of self-denial, has no concern and therefore does not deny himself any joys and pleasures that are possible on earth and introduced by the spirit of this age into the order of life, not considering them contrary to the cross of Christ, which every Christian is obliged to bear, those rules of life and things are fragile. They are hay, reeds, brushwood. It is necessary to note that in this half of admonition (1 Cor. 3:10-15) the Apostle contrasts the sound teaching of teachers and the true Christian life of Christians not with false teachers and obvious sinners, but with such teachers who adhere to the proper foundation and work on this foundation to erect the building of teaching, only they take fragile material - scholarship that is not relevant to the matter, and the like - and such Christians who do not want to destroy their soul, but dream of saving it and do things at hand for this purpose, that is, they also erect a building of salvation, but at the same time they do not deny themselves anything - their material is hay and reeds. “Everyone’s work will be revealed.” Now it’s not visible, he says. And teachers enjoy fame, and dignified Christians are respected. But the day will come when everything will be brought into reality. The work of each one, which he established on the accepted basis of faith, will also be revealed - the teachers - the building of teaching, and all Christians - the building of works for salvation. “The Day will appear.” This is the day of judgment. The appearance of the Lord at judgment is depicted in such a way that it is preceded by a river of fire. It is a sign of the invincibility of judgment, from which nothing can hide, and everything revealed will receive a righteous, impartial assessment, and then reward. The Apostle also expresses this when he says that that day “is revealed by fire: and whatever work there is, fire will tempt it.” The Apostle presents such a picture that everyone must go through the fire that precedes the Lord in order to, presenting Him, receive a reward. This passing fire will tempt everyone’s work, whatever it is, whether it is strong or fragile. Here is a figurative expression of the fact that God’s judgment will determine exactly what everyone’s deeds are worth. 1 Corinthians 3:14–15. And even if his work endures, he will accept the reward; but his work will be burnt, it will be lost; He himself will be saved, just as by fire. What a picture! Everyone who has built a house for himself on the basis of faith lives in it, both here and beyond the grave; in this he will stand before the fiery river flowing before the Lord. It will roll over everyone. Whose house remains intact when the fire passes through it, he will receive a reward from the Lord Judge; and whose one is burned, he will be “vanished,” that is, he will see that all his work was in vain: he worked in vain, he had vain hopes, he deceived himself, thinking that he was building effectively. It is obvious who the Apostle means by these latter and who by the former. Under these are those whose teaching and life are hay and reeds, and under those whose teaching and life are gold and silver. What will happen to the one whose house burns down?! - He “will be saved as by fire.” This place is dark and has given rise to different interpretations. The word: “will be saved” means that he will remain intact: his house will burn, but it will not burn, will not be destroyed. What will happen to him? The words: “like fire” indicate a comparison. Let's take this comparison and get: he will be saved in the same way as those who are caught in the house by fire are saved. There is fire all around, you have to run through it. What's going on here? Some will run through almost unscorched, others - in varying degrees of scorching, and others will remain in the fire. The same thing will happen to those whose houses will burn in the fire of judgment. Some will go into the fire, others will receive other varying degrees of punishment; and others will receive mercy. For although they are all to blame for not building from durable material, their guilt may have different degrees. Another may be guilty without guilt; he worked on a fragile structure, not knowing a better way of building; or maybe due to circumstances I didn’t have time to take on the best, or for some other reason it deserves an apology. ββ) About the Church of Corinth as a building built by the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 3, 16–17) Hitherto the Apostle looked upon the Corinthian Church as having received from him only a foundation. Now he looks at it as a whole building he built. You, he says, are the church of God. The purpose of the speech is to further intimidate those who have undertaken to build, or rather, rebuild what has been built, according to their own intelligence; and this is the same as ruining. Above, he left salvation still possible for them, although with difficulty, but here he gives a decisive sentence: “God will corrupt this one.” 1 Corinthians 3:16. Do you not know that you are the church of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you? What he said above: “you are God’s building” (1 Cor. 3:9), now he says: “you are the church of God.” He expressed this with the question: “don’t you know,” showing the certainty of this truth and its general knowledge. They all knew that this was so, therefore it was enough to force this truth into their consciousness with a stronger question, in order to enlighten them with it, without going into explanation and proof. With the consciousness that they are all one church of God, the thought should have come to mind that, although a church usually is a multi-part building, it is one, indivisible. At this thought, their conscience could not help but remind them: what do we have? – We went to different chapters, some under one teacher, some under another, some under a third teacher. It turns out that we broke the church of God into pieces, we destroyed the building of God. “And the Spirit of God dwells in you.” And this was also known to everyone. For everyone clearly received the gift of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands, and He manifested His actions tangibly in their assemblies. What does this Apostle remind you of? - That the division that has begun among them may lead to the fact that the Spirit of God will depart from them. Just as a vessel, until it is broken, holds and stores some aroma, and when it is broken, the aroma comes out, so it could have happened to them that, due to separation, they would be deprived of the Spirit. These words apply to the whole society and admonish it, but the following ones directly concern the leaders of division. 1 Corinthians 3:17. If anyone corrupts God's church, God will corrupt him: for the church of God is holy, just as you are. Although in general he says: “if anyone corrupts,” he clearly alludes to those who caused and supported the division. He does not say that they have already corrupted - in this case, the Apostle wrote and would have acted differently - but he also does not consider what has already been done to be unimportant, thoroughly assuming that if the same state of affairs continues, the division will take root, especially when some accidents increase the dividing mediastinum. Then it will be real corruption. He frightens them with the possibility of such an outcome. It was started out of frivolity and idleness, but it could end like this: the Church will be divided and corrupted. All the blame will fall on you. But look what judgment will fall on you then: “If anyone corrupts the church of God, God will corrupt him.” “He will corrupt,” that is, he will betray him to destruction. The Apostle does not curse, but predicts” (St. Chrysostom). How can one expect even stronger admonition?! You can feel the sword over your head. Why is there such punishment for the corruption of the church of God? - Because it is holy, and holy because it is God’s and is the dwelling place of the Spirit, and its foundation is Christ the Lord. Whoever corrupts the church sins directly against God, who is worshiped in the Trinity. Gamaliel, when the Jewish authorities decided to upset the Church of Jerusalem, turned them away from this, frightening them: “Let us not find ourselves fighting against God” (Acts 5:39). Same idea here. “Like you are.” The Apostle deliberately added this word, making it clear: that’s what you are! – Again he addresses the entire community of believers and gives them a lesson: how you, having such a high importance, allowed yourself to be put in such a position that you could lose the Spirit. At the same time, he inspired the instigators of the division: you looked at this society of saints so frivolously and began to tear it apart, but this is what it is! Such thoughts are seen in these verses (1 Cor. 3:16–17) in the course of the Apostle’s speech. But out of context they can be applied to heresy leaders and unrepentant sinners. Heresy corrupts the Church; mortal sin - soul. The leader of the heresy is responsible for the corruption of the Church: God will corrupt him. And for mortal sin, not purified by repentance, the sinner is responsible. And God will corrupt him, that is, destroy him, if he does not repent, if not here, for this happens sometimes, then in every possible way there - in another life. This last thought about the corruption of the church of the soul by a sinner is revealed by St. Paul below, when he warns against fornication (1 Cor. 6:15-20). γγ) Apostle Paul against the wisdom of this age (1 Cor. 3, 18–23) In verses 18–23 the conclusion of the previous speech seems to be the answer to the question: what should we do? After the previous intimidation, it is very natural for such a question to arise, and Saint Paul answers it: ααα) let some abandon the wisdom of this age (1 Cor. 18–20); and βββ) let others cease to marvel at her and obey her wisdom (1 Cor. 21-23). “Intending to add what still remained to be said in order to complete this subject, the Apostle turns to the refutation of external wisdom and to the denunciation of those who, proud of it, divided the church” (St. Chrysostom). ααα) The wisdom of this age must be abandoned (1 Cor. 3, 18–20) 1 Corinthians 3:18. Let no one deceive himself: if anyone thinks that he will be wise in you in this world, let it happen, for he will be wise. Whoever imagines himself to be wise in this age, become foolish in order to be wise - of course, truly, or before God. -Who is this wise man in this age? - Anyone who thinks not according to how God commanded in revelation, but how things seem according to his own understanding. “The Apostle here means wisdom, devoid of the grace of the Spirit, driven only by human thoughts” (Theodoret). This sage has his own worldview, which includes the concept of himself, his place in the world and the final goals of man; possesses varying degrees of scholarship and art of speech; and most importantly, in arranging his fate, his life and in conducting his affairs, he ultimately relies on his own considerations, not realizing the need for higher help; the objects with which his wisdom is occupied are all external things, the earth and earthly well-being; caring for the soul and saving it does not occur to him. But with all the perfection of his wisdom in these parts, he only “seems to be wise to be,” and not to be. Others, perhaps, do not always consider him as such, but he himself does not look at himself otherwise, as a sage of the first degree, although his learning, and worldly wisdom, and the sum of his knowledge are very limited, but he always ranks himself highly in wisdom. And in this he deceives himself. The beauty is that he considers himself to have something that he doesn’t have. All non-true Christians are entangled in this delusion. She is the vestment of pride, the cloud that surrounds her. Dispelling this delusion, the Apostle says: everyone like this “let it happen,” that is, first of all, let him realize that he has no wisdom; then let him recognize imaginary wisdom itself not as wisdom, but as an empty phantom of wisdom; and then let him accept both the teaching and the way of life that he himself previously considered riotousness, and all those who were of the same mood with him considered and still consider riotousness - and let him appear to such violent people before the face of all the wise in this world. To be such means to recognize oneself as such by external wisdom, and for others to begin to consider him such, because he has changed in everything. The Apostle commands not to lag behind only external wisdom, but also to adhere to the violence of preaching. And such a one cannot do without being reviled as a brawler: he believes in the Crucified One, gives away his property, mortifies his flesh, spends his nights in prayer, shuns amusements; whoever offends does not defend himself; before him there is beauty in different forms, but he finds no taste in them; He doesn’t save money for a rainy day, he’s always thinking about something and hoping for something that neither he nor anyone else sees. According to the wisdom of this age, this is a riot worthy of any condemnation. This is what the Apostle offers, certifying that whoever becomes such will be a real wise man. “Let him be wise,” that is, there is no other way to be truly wise than by appearing in the face of the wisdom of this age: for whoever appears like this means that he has entered the realm of wisdom, even from God, and has become its owner. Saint Chrysostom says to this: “just as the Apostle commands to be dead to the world (Col. 2:20) and this deadness not only does not harm, but also brings benefit, becoming a source of life, so now he commands to be foolish for the world, showing us in this true wisdom. The one who despises external wisdom and is convinced that it does not help him in the least in the matter of faith and salvation is the one who is mad for the world. Therefore, just as poverty according to God leads to wealth, humility to greatness, contempt of (worldly) glory to glory, so this madness makes a person wiser than everyone else, for with us everything happens the other way around. And why didn’t he say: let wisdom leave, but let it happen? - In order to humiliate external learning as much as possible. For it is not the same thing to say: abandon your wisdom and: be foolish. - On the other hand, he teaches us not to be ashamed of our ignorance, for he presents everything funny as worthy of ridicule. He is not ashamed of names, because he relies on the power of deeds. Just as the cross, an apparently blasphemous thing, became the source of countless blessings, the cause and culprit of ineffable glory, so apparent madness becomes for us the guilt of wisdom. Just as someone who has learned something badly, unless he forsakes everything, erases it from his soul and presents it pure to those who wish to teach him again, will not clearly recognize sound teaching, so with external wisdom, unless you forsake everything, purify your mind and present yourself to faith, like a commoner, then you will not know anything good in the proper way; just as someone with weak eyesight, if he closes his eyes and does not entrust himself to others, but is guided by his damaged vision, wanders much more than those who see absolutely nothing. How, you say, can one leave external wisdom? “Not accepting her teachings.” 1 Corinthians 3:19. The wisdom of this world, the violence of God, is. It is written: Confuse the wise in their deceit. Worldly wisdom is a riot before God, a strict sentence, but completely fair, justified by experience everywhere. The sages of the world themselves pronounce the same judgment on this wisdom when they recognize the truth and whole-heartedly enter the realm of the wisdom of God. The fact that she considers herself all-sufficient is not riotousness? The fact that it towers over revealed wisdom and places it at almost nothing—isn’t it riotous? The fact that she limits her horizons only to the external, earthly and created, being herself, although unseemly, of an intelligent, pompous (rank) quality - isn’t it riotous? The fact that she thinks to arrange her life, her happiness and affairs according to her thoughts, while she tangibly sees how everything around her flows in addition to and contrary to human considerations - isn’t it riotous? The fact that she excluded from the subjects of her discussion what will happen beyond the grave, while she clearly sees that real life is instantaneous and cannot accommodate the final goal of human existence—isn’t it riotous? The fact that she doesn’t even think that her pet human will die today or tomorrow, while humanity flows like a wide river into the gates of death - isn’t it riotous? So she is a riot, and a riot before God, because she does not see the tactile orders of God, condemns them when others proclaim this to her, and keeps her pets in her gloomy riot, not allowing them to arise from being entangled in themselves and turn to the true wisdom of God. In this regard, she is God-born. And it turns out that “not only does it not help (a person in his final goals), but also serves as an obstacle; therefore, it must be left as harmful. Do you see how victoriously St. Paul refuted it, proving that it is not only useless, but also brings harm to us? However, he is not content with his own evidence, but provides further evidence: “it is written: Confuse the wise in their deceit” (Job 5:13)” (St. Chrysostom). The cunning of the wise does not mean malicious intent, but their every cunning in order to comprehend everything and arrange everything in their own lives and that of others here on earth, according to their own intelligence. As long as this has the property of only idleness and does not ruin the plans of God's providence for the human race, until then God leaves them to delve into their anthill as much as they want, and to build and rebuild everything as they please; but when their attempts go far, then God puts obstacles in their way and ruins their plans, just as a spider’s web ruins a child with the light touch of a thin twig. A striking example of this is the pandemonium and scattering of people across the face of the earth. What did the wise men at the time of the Apostles reach? – So much so that they themselves no longer knew where to stop: they were so scattered in their thoughts and thought up so many teachings. And there was a need to teach people the truth through the unlearned. – Saint Chrysostom sees in this the trapping of the wise in their deceit. “In their deceit, that is, by catching them with their own weapons. Since they used their wisdom to do without God, through it he himself proved to them that they had a great need for God. How and in what way? “Through her they got to the point where they themselves didn’t know where to go; therefore they are caught through it. For, thinking to do without God, they came to such a disastrous state that they turned out to be worse than fishermen and unlearned people, and they began to need them. That is why the Apostle says: “Stumble them in their deceit.” The words: “I will destroy wisdom” express its complete uselessness; and the words: “stay the wise in their deceit” - show the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 3:20. And again: The Lord knows the thoughts of men (in the original of the Greek Apostle: the wise), as they are vanity (Ps. 93:11). The prophet says: “human thoughts”; but the Apostle put: “the thoughts of the wise.” Not only every person has vain thoughts, but even the wise men themselves. “And when infinite wisdom pronounces such judgment about them and presents them as such, what else can one demand proof of their extreme madness?” (Saint Chrysostom). What is vanity? – In vain: they rely on them, but nothing lasting comes of them. The wise think that with their considerations they have finally reached the truth - so every philosopher thought - but there was no truth in them. They think of building a paradise on earth, but it still doesn’t work out, and yet no one understands that this is an empty undertaking and that it should be abandoned: everyone builds and builds. They think that beyond the limits of visibility there is nothing more, and yet there is real substance. And in many other respects the thoughts of the wisest are vanity. But no one who is wise knows this. The Prophet says: “The Lord knows,” meaning: the Lord alone knows how vain they are. How can this be? -The Prophet indicates this, saying after this: “Blessed is the man whom the Lord has chastened, and taught him from Your law” (Ps. 93:12). βββ) One should not marvel at the wisdom of this age (1 Cor. 3:21–23) “Having thus given glory to the judgment of God (over worldly wisdom), the Apostle turns with greater force to those being taught and says” (St. Chrysostom): 1 Corinthians 3:21. Moreover, let no one boast in men: for all your essence is. Now he turns to the leaders carried away into division and says that, after God himself has so exposed the vanity of human wisdom, no one should marvel at it, cleave to it and be proud of the fact that you belong to its party. “To boast in men” must be understood from the opposite: to boast in the Lord, or about the Lord. The one who boasts about the Lord says: this is what our Lord is like! And he did this to us, and he did that, and is ready to do everything for us, whatever we ask. He who boasts in men or about men says: this is the kind of teacher I have! what knowledge! what a speech! what a character! In Corinth, it became the norm that some of the celebrities there began to boast. These party leaders stood in the foreground and attracted others to their side. The Apostle had hitherto denounced their vain wisdom. Now he is undertaking to calm down those who have become carried away, “let no one boast among men.” I explained to you well what human wisdom is. You see clearly that you shouldn’t get carried away by it, saying: such and such a smart guy says this and that, we must join under his banner, and the like. Have your own Christian mind and use it to determine the dignity of persons and things. So that they know how to do this, the Apostle presents them with a ladder of relationships that was established as a result of the fact that we became reunited with God in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ in God, you in Christ, everything else - persons and things - for you as a means of raising you into communion with Christ and maintaining you in Him. "Your whole essence". 1 Corinthians 3:22–23. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or present, or future: all your essence. You are Christ's, but Christ is God's. “And we are Apostles,” he says, “for your sake we have been deemed worthy of apostolic grace, so that we may preach the word to you; you have been given both the present and the expected life; and death itself was introduced into nature for your benefit; and everything that is visible was created for your need, and for your sake the things you hope for are prepared. Therefore, you must be in unity with the Lord Christ, Who is the giver of all good things, and through Him, in unity with the God of all things. For He is in unity with us by nature, into which He received from us, and with the Father, by His Divine essence, because He was born of the Father by nature. Christ of God is not as God’s creature, but as the Son of God” (Theodoret). This is where he took their minds. To the truth that “our life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). And from this height he surveys all that exists, determining the dignity of everything by this truth. We were originally appointed to live in God, but we fell away from Him. Since God’s gifts are unrepentant, He did not allow us to perish forever in this falling away, but was pleased to arrange an inexplicably wondrous image of reunification with Himself. The Son of God became incarnate and hypostatically united humanity and Divinity in Himself, remaining inseparably in the trinity of consubstantiality. People saved by faith and grace mysteriously and actively enter into a living union with Christ, and through Him with God. This is how our original purpose is fulfilled and achieved. You are Christ's, but Christ is God's. Therefore you too are God’s. The Lord Himself spoke a similar word: “I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20). Why then, in His prayer to the Father, did he remember: “As You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us” (John 17:21). This has already begun to take effect and is working. But now this wondrous deed is being accomplished in secret, but it will come to light when another request of the Lord is fulfilled: “Father, these you have given Me, I will, that where I am, they also may be with Me” (John 17:24). After the resurrection, the Lord ascended into heaven and sat at the right hand of the Father. There the gates of death given to Him by the Father are erected to Him (and death is yours). But in order to be raised to Him by these gates, and not taken to another place, for this it is necessary, during the continuation of earthly life, to properly prepare for this in ways established by the Lord Himself. These methods are all combined in the Holy Church, established by the Lord on earth through the Apostles. The main essence is: faith in the word of the Gospel, communication with the Lord through the sacrament, and upon receiving grace, deepening this communication, or maturation in it, through active life under the leadership first of the Apostles, and then of their successors (and the Apostles for you). Those who are ripe here pass through death to where Christ is, so that they may be with Him forever. This is the whole point of the economy of salvation in Christ Jesus. Having this in mind, it is not difficult to see how “whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas are yours.” They are yours or for you, because they call you to Christ, sanctify you with the sacraments and guide you; this is the same as the Apostle says elsewhere: “I have betrothed you as a pure virgin to be the bride of Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2). The apostles are not only for the Corinthians, but for all believers, they are such, not only in their lives, but also after death, acting themselves invisibly, spiritually, and through their writings, and through their successors. Apostleship and, according to them, shepherding - shepherding exists, and exists for us, believers. How is “the world yours”? – He is the field in which the economy of salvation has been completed and the salvation of everyone is being accomplished. The world does not stand for itself: its purpose is in the spiritual world. We can say: he stands so that all who can be saved in the Lord Jesus Christ may be born. How is “your belly”? - So, we are born in order to believe in the Lord and, through His gracious means, prepare for a blissful eternity. How is “death yours”? - So that through its gates we pass to the Lord. How “the present and the future are yours”? - But what does this mean? – The future is a blissful coexistence with the Lord in the kingdom of glory. Accordingly, the real one will be the grace-filled kingdom of Christ on earth, or the Church with all grace-filled means. How is it “yours”, obviously. This is how the holy Apostle illuminated all the relationships between things and persons, and made it clear on what one should base one’s hopes on, what one should set to one’s glory and what one should seek. You are Christ's. That's all. Take care to remain Christ’s forever, for this is the only condition for the fact that everything is yours. Nothing will be yours if you are not Christ's. δδ) If we judge the Apostles, then from what side should we judge them (1 Cor. 4:1-16) In understanding the meaning of the Apostles incorrectly, they were judged incorrectly. Believing that they were similar to the founders of philosophical sects, they began to determine the dignity of each by personal qualities: one is eloquent, the other is colloquial; one is more ostentatious in appearance, the other is so invisible; one is wealthy, the other is poor, and the like. Therefore that one is better than this; he must be given preference, be attached to him, be called by his name. The Apostle now hints at this, saying that if we are servants of Christ and dispensers of His property, then we should not focus on what each of us is in himself, but on how faithful he is, how faithfully he fulfills what is entrusted to him (1 Cor. 4:1-5). This fidelity must consist in informing others of what is commanded to be communicated, without appropriating it for oneself, but attributing everything to the Entruster. βββ ) Apply this to yourself. Now you have been taught by us, and everything that you know about the work of Christ you know from us. Why do you reject disciples after you, as if you know what you know from yourself? – This is incongruous with anything (1 Cor. 4:6-8). γγγ ) As for the fact that I am unshowy and poor, this is in the order of things. So God wanted us to be a disgrace, the scum of the world. You see this in me and in all the Apostles (1 Cor. 4:9-13). δδδ) But let my speech not seem bitter to you: it is the fruit of a fatherly love for you (1 Cor. 4:14-16). ααα ) Instructions on how to judge the Apostles 4, 1–5 You began to judge us by each of our personal characteristics, and you fell into error. If we are to be judged, then we should be judged only from that side, as someone who is faithful to the Lord, who has entrusted His work to us. But who can judge this except the Lord Himself? – I don’t consider it important who judges me; and I do not judge myself, submitting judgment to the Lord. Do the same: do not judge prematurely. The Lord will come, discuss everything, and reward everyone according to their deeds. 1 Corinthians 4:1. Thus let man hate us, as the servants of Christ and the builders of the mysteries of God. By “us” he means himself, Apollos and Peter, and the Apostles in general. “Let him not feel”, let him count, let him place on that line. - “Like servants” - υπηρετας and “builders” οικονομους. Just as a rich householder has servants and housekeepers in his house, stewards of various parts, so the Lord Jesus Christ - the Lord of all spiritual treasures for the human race - has servants and housekeepers, to whom He entrusted the distribution of His treasures and the organization of His work on earth - the salvation of people, through the planting of Churches everywhere. This is who we are. But just as servants and housekeepers in the master’s house have nothing of their own, but everything is the master’s, so we have nothing of our own, but everything is Christ’s. And just as servants and housekeepers cannot do anything of their own free will, but must do only what and as ordered by the master, so we cannot do anything of our own will and according to our own mind, but we do everything as the Lord commanded. There is no need to strain to point out the difference between servants and housekeepers in the kingdom of Christ, for the Apostle’s goal is only to convey that they are not independent agents, have nothing of their own, and cannot do anything on their own. “Servants,” he says, “are Christ’s, and builders of the mysteries of God.” For everything of Christ is God’s, and everything of God’s is Christ’s. “All that is yours is mine, and mine is yours,” says the Lord to God the Father. The “secrets” here are not only sacraments, but the arrangement of the whole work of Christ on earth, which is called the wisdom of God, in the hidden mystery; and not only mysteries teaching, but the entire economy of salvation, which includes teaching, the establishment of a right life, and the teaching of sanctifying sacraments. 1 Cor.4:2. And everything else is sought in the builders, so that he who is faithful will find it. If we are builders, stewards of Christ, then all our care should be directed to this, in order to correctly arrange the trust; в этом и все достоинство наше. Neither our intelligence, nor eloquence, nor wealth should be included in the calculation as factors that determine our weight. He who is faithful is a real, good economist, and how faithful he is, so good. The faithful builder does not appropriate anything of the master's property to himself, does not hide anything, but distributes everything as ordered, and tells everyone that this is not his property, but the master's. Faithfulness in the work of God also consists in “not appropriating for yourself what belongs to the Lord, and not ascribing to yourself instead of the Lord, but doing as faithful stewards do. For the job of a steward is to arrange well what is entrusted to him, not to call what belongs to the Lord his own, but, on the contrary, to attribute what is his to the Lord. Representing this, everyone who owns the gift of speech, or property, that is, that these gifts are entrusted to him by the Lord, and not his own, should not retain them or appropriate them to himself, but attribute them to God, who has given everything. Хочешь ли видеть верных домостроителей? - Listen to what Peter says: “Why do you look at us, as if we were able to walk by our own strength or by godliness” (Acts 3:12)? Likewise, Paul, having said: “I have labored more than all,” added: “Not I, but the grace of God which is with me” (1 Cor. 5:10). And below, turning to the Corinthians, he said: “Why did you receive the same thing that you brought” (1 Cor. 4:7)? Everything is not yours: wealth, the gift of speech, and your very soul; for she too is from the Lord” (Saint Chrysostom). 1 Cor.4:3. It’s not too much for me to eat, but I’ll get it from you, or from the human day: but I’m not getting it from myself. This, he says, is how we should be judged! – Precisely, how faithful we are to the Lord who entrusted His work to us. But who can judge this except the Lord Himself! He entrusted; He can only determine the extent to which someone justifies trust in fidelity to the assignment. You do not judge us from this side, and your judgment means nothing; but if they judged me from this side too, and did not reproach me, but lifted me up to heaven, then it would not be great for me. I say with confidence, as I look at these courts: whether you judge, whether others will judge and determine what I am worth, this is not big for me. I don’t judge or define myself. “Not great” - εις ελαχιςον - the last meaning of the matter is for me your and in general human judgment, I consider it the very last small thing, I impute it to nothing. He does not say this because he despises people with their judgment, but because this court cannot determine anything true, judging people, what kind of person they are. The Apostle calls human judgment the “human day,” just as the Lord’s day is the judgment of the Lord. “To judge” ανακρινειν - to judge or discuss someone or something with a definition of dignity - to pronounce judgment with a decisive sentence. Whether, he says, you will praise or criticize me when judging me, this has no weight for me, it is insignificant. Here is the edifying word of St. Chrysostom in this place: “I don’t know how, among other types of evil, the evil of testing and inappropriate condemnation of one’s neighbors entered into human nature, which Christ also denounced when he said: “Judge not, lest ye be judged” (Matthew 7:1). It does not even give any pleasure, like other sins, but only leads to troubles and punishment. Meanwhile, we ourselves, being guilty of countless sins and having something like a log in our eyes, carefully examine the sins of our neighbor, which are no more than a knot (Matthew 7:3). So it was with the Corinthians. They ridiculed and rejected men who were pious and pleasing to God for their lack of learning, and they respected those guilty of countless vices for their eloquence. Taking on the face of judges, they boldly pronounced sentences: so-and-so is worthy, so-and-so is better than so-and-so, this one is higher than that, and that one is lower than that; instead of mourning their own sins, they judged others, and thus aroused great mutual disagreement. To cure this disease, Paul, see how wisely he admonishes them. Having said: “and everything else is sought in the builders, that the faithful may be found,” - and with these words, apparently allowing them to judge and examine the life of everyone, he wants to free them from such passion and says: “It is not too much for me, but I will get it from you,” again pointing to his face. Do not think that Paul speaks this way out of pride, as if none of the people are worthy to pronounce judgment on him. For firstly, he does not say this for himself, but in order to heal others from their illness; secondly, he did not stop at the Corinthians, but did not attribute to himself the right of judgment, saying that such a judgment was above his own understanding; “but not to myself,” he adds, “I strive.” So, he does not exalt himself, but humbles others, admonishes those who extol themselves and teaches them humility when he says: “It is not too much for me to eat, lest I get it from you or from mankind.” Do you see how he heals them? Hearing that he did not pay attention to everyone’s judgment and considered everyone incapable of correctly judging him, none of them could grieve and say that he was the only one rejected. If he had said: “from you” only, and stopped, then they could have been upset, like outcasts; and by adding: “or from the human day,” he lightened the blow by recognizing others as incapable along with them. Further he softens this too, adding: “but I do not blame myself.” Do you see how his words do not come from pride? “I myself, he says, am not able to pronounce judgment.” 1 Cor.4:4. I have nothing in myself, but I am justified about nothing: challenge me, the Lord is. “What can we say about others? And I, knowing exactly what concerns me and not being aware of anything legally criminal, dare neither condemn myself nor admit myself innocent; I await the Lord’s judgment” (Theodoret). “I have nothing in myself.” I don’t know anything about myself that is guilty before God; my conscience does not accuse me of anything. From the time I came to know the Lord and devoted myself to serving Him, I did not allow myself to do anything even the slightest that I recognized as displeasing to the Lord, and I did not miss anything that I recognized as good and pleasing to the Lord, no matter how difficult it was and no matter what sacrifice it required. Judging by this, one could say that I am right, if one could be sure that God’s judgment is the same as our judgment. Meanwhile, although it is certain that whoever his conscience denounces, God will condemn him; but one cannot in any way rely on the fact that whoever his conscience does not convict will not be condemned by God. Thus, even though “I have nothing in myself, I will justify myself in nothing.” “What shall we say, who have a conscience stricken with countless wounds, and know nothing good about us, but everything contrary to it? But why doesn’t he consider himself justified, when he knows nothing about himself? “Because he also happened to commit some sins, without his own consciousness of these sins” (St. Chrysostom). “It often happens that one sins without knowing, even recognizing in oneself what has been done just; but the God of all looks at it differently” (Theodoret). He says, as it were: “It is very likely that I have sinned in something, although I don’t know what” (Theophylact). Why “I cannot consider my justification reliable until I hear justification from the mouth of God” (Ecumenius). “From here you can conclude how terrible the future judgment is” (St. Chrysostom). “The Lord is the Lord who challenges me.” Not only others cannot correctly judge me and pass sentences on me, because my inner is hidden from them, but I myself, who can see what is in me, cannot determine myself, because much eludes my consciousness, or my conscience is not so sensitive as to expose the sinfulness of some movements of the heart, and often words and deeds; or, perhaps, I gave others reasons to sin, due to inattention to my deeds and words. And the prophet David prayed: “Cleanse me from my secrets, and spare your servant from strangers” (Ps. 18:13). That is why I submit judgment over myself to the Lord. He alone “righteously tests hearts and bellies” (Ps. 7:10), correctly determines the quality of deeds and thoughts, and according to them pronounces judgment on a person. And His judgment is righteous and unchangeable. 1 Cor.4:5. Moreover, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord will come, Who will bring the secret of darkness into the light and reveal the counsels of the heart, and then praise will come to everyone from God. “You see what is visible, but what is hidden is also clear to God. But in this life He does not reveal everything; in this life everything will become clear. Therefore, expect righteous judgment. For then you will see righteous judgments” (Theodoret). You, he says, decided to judge us from the wrong side, and you made a mistake. But even if you began to judge from the proper place, then you cannot pronounce a righteous judgment, because you cannot see how deeds arise in the heart and how they come from there in reality. And the person doing it himself is not always aware of it, as he should be; Where can an outsider find out about this? “It will be better if you stop judging completely, so as not to make unjust judgments that expose foolishness.” “Before the time, judge nothing.” - “Judge nothing,” that is, do not condemn anything, no cases or anyone’s, do not pronounce condemnatory sentences, or even judgmental sentences. He says: “before the time”; as if, when the time comes, they can judge; but when the time comes, then the Lord will be the judge, but they themselves will not have time to judge others. Therefore, he also says never judge. When the time of judgment comes, then the Lord will “bring into light the secret darkness.” “The secret of darkness” - deeds done in darkness, which outsiders now do not see; but then the Lord will bring them out and everyone will see them. And not only will he bring hidden matters to light, but he will also “declare the advice of the heart.” What a person decides to do to himself, no one except the person himself can know. It is hidden by the veil of the body; and then the Lord will announce these councils, and everyone will also see what was in anyone’s heart when he did things. And the one who does it will see himself. Now he does not see otherwise, he deliberately hides other things from himself; but then he will see everything with irresistible clarity. Whether then any of the blasphemies here will turn out to be worthy of praise is very likely. But it is certain that many of those who are praised will not stand the test of judgment. And so, when in this way, and all the deeds, now hidden, will be brought out, and all the intentions of the heart, now naturally invisible, will be declared, then all the data for obtaining the righteous determination about each will be available. God will publish it. “And then everyone will have praise from God.” There will be praise for one and reproach for another; but the Apostle exposes this one part, perhaps because the Corinthians erred in that they said, some: this one is better, others: that one. Then it will turn out, he says, who is better. “The apostle speaks here of favoring such and such over such and such, and of judging others. Only He can accurately judge this, He who will judge our innermost thoughts and determine which of them deserve more, which deserve less punishment or reward, while we judge by appearance. What does it matter if some people appear virtuous and wonderful in appearance? This Judge does not judge by appearance, but also reveals hidden intentions. Thus, for two, or better, for three reasons, our judgment is not right: firstly, because, even if we do not know anything about ourselves, we are not innocent before the court of Him who convicts our sins with accuracy; secondly, because most of the cases remain unopened and unknown to us; thirdly, because many of the actions of others seem good to us, but are not done with good intentions. Why do you say that such and such is better than such and such? For the Apostle says that “there is nothing in myself,” and yet, “I am not justified in this,” that is, it cannot be said that I am free from guilt and condemnation. If even then, when we do not know anything about ourselves, we cannot be free from condemnation, and for the best deeds, when we do them not with good intentions, we are subject to punishment, then imagine how wrong human courts are. People can't see everything; this is possible only for one watchful Eye; We can deceive people, but never Him. Therefore do not say: darkness and walls surround me; who sees me? “He who formed our hearts in private” (Ps. 32:15) knows everything; because “even darkness will not be darkened from Him” (Ps. 139:12). Therefore do not say: who sees me? There is One who penetrates “to the soul and the spirit, the members and the marrow” (Heb. 4:12)” (St. Chrysostom). βββ) Application of what was said to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 4:6–8) 1 Cor.4:6. This, my brethren, I have transformed upon myself and Apollos for your sake, so that from us you may learn to be wiser than what is written, so that you may not be proud of each other. “I have transformed this.” What is siya? - What he said in the third chapter and what he said now. There he said: “Who is Paul, who is Apollos, exactly a servant?” Here he said: “so let man hate us, as the servants of Christ and the builders of the mysteries of God.” There is no doubt that the evangelists of the Gospel were of great importance in the establishment of the Church, the savior of mankind. But the Apostles did not attribute anything to themselves, but attributed everything to the Lord, who acted through them, considering themselves to be His instruments and paying all their attention to being faithful to Him in everything. In Corinth, the leaders of the parties, perhaps superior to others in both education and gifts of grace, probably thought a lot about themselves, towered over others, and after them those whom each attracted to their side were proud of each other. In order to heal them, Saint Paul presented to them that both he, who worked so hard in planting the faith in Corinth, and Apollos, who contributed a lot to this, are nothing in this matter: “neither plant what is, nor give drink, but God restores”; while everyone saw the importance of the work they had done and the greatness of the labor they had undertaken. From the whole course of speech, those who towered over others could not help but understand how shameful it was for them to appropriate something for themselves and to stand tall when the Apostles judged themselves so humbly. But since a sinful conscience is evasive, the Apostle rightly assumed that it would not evade the reproof of these guilty ones, and considered it necessary to say directly that he said all this about himself and Apollos with the goal of healing their weakness. “For your sake,” he says, “I will transform it” on myself and Apollos. Although he does not name who exactly he was talking about, it was obvious to them and to everyone who he was talking about. No matter how carefully this was done, it could not help but confuse them; therefore, in order to soften the impression, he prefaces it with a word of love: “my brother.” They listened to everything that had been said with attention and understood everything well, vaguely, perhaps, wondering what the speech concerned them. But when the Apostle said: “for your sake,” then everything became clear to them - both how what was said came to them, and why the Apostle gave such a turn of phrase. The understanding was complete. “If he had said directly: you condemn holy and venerable men, they would have been offended and would not have listened; and now, when he said: “Who is Paul,” and so on, they were more likely to accept the suggestion. Therefore, he said: “For this sake I have transformed you, so that from us you will learn to be wiser,” expressing by this that if he had directly spoken about those men, they would not have learned what they should have learned, and would not have accepted admonition, being offended by what was said” (St. Chrysostom). And now there is no need to run, because everything necessary for admonition has already been heard. “Be wiser than what is written.” What is this written? – What the Apostle wrote ahead. He wants to say to the leaders: learn from us to attribute everything that you have to God; if you managed to do something good for the brothers, consider yourself only servants through whom God acted, and if anything you did bore fruit, attribute it to God, who increases all good things; consider yourself nothing, and in no way anticipate God’s judgment, thinking about yourself that you are worthy of praise and rewards. The words: “Let one not be proud of another,” apply also to the leaders, of course, but more to all others who are carried away by them. “Here he, leaving the teachers, denounces the students” (St. Chrysostom). “For the Corinthians, having divided themselves into factions and decided to be called - some by the name of one, and others by the name of another, argued one with the other, and each faction tried to give primacy to its teacher over the others” (Theodoret). The apostles, whose names the parties bore, were hidden from the closest personalities of the leaders. Their students were proud of them and stood tall in front of each other. It was the most empty pride of one against the other. Pride is the fruit of frivolity, but still pride, arrogance. “Indeed, this also comes from pride, when someone, having nothing for himself, is extolled by others. Just as one who exalts himself in someone else’s wealth does this out of pride, so does one who exalts himself in someone else’s glory. Therefore, the Apostle rightly calls this pride. When one member in the body becomes higher than the others, then this is nothing more than a painful tumor, for one member can only rise higher than another except from inflammation. So in the body of the Church - whoever is proud and exalted is in a painful state, because he rises above the general commensurate position and, therefore, is exposed to a painful tumor. This happens in the body when some excess and harmful moisture accumulates instead of ordinary nutritional juices. So pride is born in the soul when alien thoughts enter into us. Pride is like an inflammatory tumor filled with harmful juices. However, saying this, he does not prohibit showing respect (to teachers), but condemns respect combined with harm. Do you want to pay respects to so-and-so? I don’t interfere; but only without harming another. Teachers were not given to us so that we would rebel against each other, but so that everyone would unite with each other. The military leader is placed over the army in order to form one body from the divided members; if he begins to divide the army, then he is more an enemy than a military leader” (St. Chrysostom). 1 Corinthians 4:7. Who's reasoning with you? What about him, did he even accept him? Even if you accepted what you boasted about, why did you not accept it? When it was revealed who the previous speech was aimed at, and the purpose of the hidden denunciation was indicated, so that they would not be proud of each other, the guilty were caught and could not evade, then the denunciation itself falls on them with all severity. The Apostle leaves the others and presses the leaders, especially in the thought that when they return to modesty in thoughts and deeds, then those led by them will all humble themselves, looking at them. “Here, leaving his subordinates, he turns again to his superiors. And the meaning of his words is as follows: how do you know that you are worthy of praise? Was there a trial? Was there a test, a study, an exact inquiry? You can't say it. If people judged this way, then their judgment is incorrect (“reasons” - διακρινει, distinguishes, distinguishes). Let us even assume that you are worthy of praise, that you really have talents and that human judgment is not false: and then you should not become arrogant. You have nothing from yourself, but you have received everything from God. Why do you imagine yourself (from yourself and for yourself) having something that you do not have (from yourself and for yourself)? What you have, others have with you (for it was given for them). You have received everything you have, and not just this or that (special gifts). Your virtues do not come from you, but from the grace of God. If you point to faith, it comes from a calling; whether you point to the remission of sins, to gifts, to the ability to teach, to virtues - you received everything from there. What, tell me, do you have that you would not have received, but achieved on your own? You can't point to anything. Have you received it and yet are you arrogant? At the same time, you should humble yourself, because what is given does not belong to you, but to the Giver. If you have received, you have received from Him; if you received it from Him, then you received what was not yours; If you have received something that is not yours, then why do you boast, as if you had everything from yourself? That is why the Apostle added: “Even though you have received what you boasted about, why not receive it?” Having thus consistently proven his thought, he further shows that they still lack much, and says: even if you received everything, then you should not boast, because all this is not yours; but now you still don’t have much. And at the beginning he hinted at this when he said: “You cannot say that you are spiritual” (1 Cor. 3:1), but here he reproachfully instills this in them and says” (St. Chrysostom): 1 Cor.4:8. Behold, you are full, behold, you have become rich, you have reigned without us: and oh, that you may have reigned naturally, so that we too may reign with you! “Behold” - that’s how it is, you are already “full” and “rich”! Before we had time to taste the firstfruits of the fruits of faith, we were already full; No sooner have you acquired a little knowledge of Christianity and Christian virtues than you already consider yourself rich? What does this mean? On the other hand, he denounces pride: there he denounced it by the fact that it appropriates to itself what is given; and here the fact that it always comes from harmful self-delusion, from a feeling of self-satisfaction: the enemy inflates the idea into the head that there is so much of what is available that there is nothing more to desire. All that remains is to enjoy and adorn yourself with crowns of praise, or more directly, weave self-praise for yourself, and as a result rise above others, looking down on them. Since this kind of mood is very funny in the essence of the matter, the Apostle uses irony to ruin it. ““Behold, you are full.” It was not in vain that the Apostle used the word “behold” (that’s how you are already full), but by the very time he proves how unfounded and reckless their opinion is. He ironically tells them: so soon you have reached the end! This could not have been due to time itself; perfection is in the future; being content with little is a sign of a weak soul; with little, considering oneself rich is typical of a sick and pitiful soul; piety is insatiable; at the beginning, to consider oneself to have received everything and only at the beginning of the matter to have reached the end is characteristic of a child’s mind” (St. Chrysostom). “You will reign without us.” “We are still in poverty, we are subjected to suffering for preaching, but you have already enjoyed the kingdom” (Theodoret). We must mean “as if” here. You behave as if you have already reigned, as if the kingdom of glory has arrived, crowns have been distributed, blissful rejoicing has arrived. But how can this happen without us? We work, we endure all kinds of hardships, but it’s as if you have already entered the kingdom! The Apostle exposes the absurdity of the thoughts of the proud, that they already have enough of everything, there is nothing more to work for. He says here: now is the time of toil and sweat; It’s absurd to have yourself as if you already hold the kingdom in your hands. Or there may be such a thought here: we worked on you and on those whom you selected for yourself, and you entered into our work and disposed of yourselves there autocratically, like real kings. Everyone has already turned to you, but we are pushed out of attention, as if we do not exist, and we do not mean anything, although your rumors are decorated with our names. But the first thought is more direct. “And may you reign naturally!” - “The irony is over; The apostle expresses his real disposition towards them, and says, as it were: in this regard, not only do I not envy you, but I also wish that you would be worthy of such a good” (Theodoret). “And so that these words do not seem ironic, he continues: “Yes, and we would have reigned with you.” Then, he says, you and I would receive this benefit!” (Saint Chrysostom). With this “the Apostle expressed the immensity of his humility. Christ truly reigns; His servants are partakers of His kingdom; but the Apostle, intending to humble their (party leaders) pride with his modesty, used such an expression” (Theodoret). “It’s like this: for your sake the kingdom will be given to us; Perhaps we will not be deprived of such a benefit. For it is right for teachers to be where the students are—not to lag behind them. Or this: you and I would reign in you, that is, your glory is our glory. Honor to teachers when students stand tall” (Ecumenius and Theophylact). The following words force us to add: but this cannot be now. We wish that you were already in the kingdom, so that you and I could be there too, but the time is not right. Now is the time of labor, sorrow, death. The idea of ​​this place is a little dark. It is not clear what the Apostle wanted to inspire with it. γγγ) Outwardly, the position of the Apostles in the world is not bright (1 Cor. 4:9–13) Others think that the irony begun before this continues in this section; others - that the Apostle deliberately presented a picture of the sorrowful and humiliated position of himself and all the Apostles and laid the reason for it in the special intention of God - so that those who had not yet been cleansed of proud worldly views would not look at him and the other Apostles with contempt and would not humiliate them for that. The latter seems to go straighter. But the former can also be seen in other terms. In this way, both understandings of this separation will be combined. 1 Cor.4:9. I remember that we are God’s messengers of the last manifestation, like death rowers, we are a shame for the world, both Angel and man. “Bo” – for – is the reason for the silent thought. We would like for you to reign, so that we ourselves can reign with you; Yes, the time is not right. For this is what the present time is like: sorrow, death, deprivation. And this is by God's purpose. God put it that way. “I see” - I guess it’s probably the same thing - I see. He wants to say: for it is obvious that God was pleased to show us, the Apostles, last, last in destiny. God wanted us to be in the lowest, lowest place, so that we would be, as it were, condemned to death, people condemned to death and given over to shame, like, for example, those who are given over to be eaten by beasts. Why is this so, look what we are. - “We are a disgrace to the world, both Angel and man.” Shame is a spectacle, not for glory, but for disgrace and all-round humiliation, although spiritually it is glorious and majestic. Let us select some provisions from the words of Saint Chrysostom: “The Apostle says, as it were: I proclaim that the present time is not a time of honors and glory, but of persecution and sorrow. I see that we, the Apostles, are the most despicable of all and are condemned to endure constant disasters. Those who sow the preaching of piety, God showed last, as if condemned to death, that is, as if condemned to death and worthy of every kind of death. - “Shame on the world, both Angel and man.” What does it mean: “shame on the world”? “We are not exposed to this in a hidden place,” he says, “and not in a small part of the universe,” but everywhere and in front of everyone. And what does it mean to be an Angel? You can be a spectacle for people, but not for Angels, when what you do is unimportant; and our exploits, he says, are such that they are worthy of being a spectacle for the Angels (despite the fact that in appearance they are so derogatory). They attract the attention of not only people, but also the entire host of Angels. “For our struggle is not with men, but with disembodied forces (Eph. 6:12), which is why a great multitude of spectators are looking at us.” But this is how the Apostles are, that is, they are so humiliated and wretched only in appearance; in essence, what they produce has universal significance. People unenlightened by grace do not see this; the enlightened can see if they discard worldly concepts about the lightness or lack of lightness of external states; but the Angels undoubtedly see it. The evil ones see, because their kingdom is being ruined, and the good ones see, because their job is to promote the spread of the kingdom of goodness, which is their constant joy. 1 Cor.4:10. We are buoys for Christ's sake, but you are wise about Christ; We are weak, but you are strong; You are glorious, we are dishonest. Our hardships, sorrows, mortality are a blessing to the world, not external, but spiritual and eternal. The proof of this is you yourself. “We are rioters for Christ’s sake,” “we preach what the infidels recognize as riotousness” (Theodoret). For our preaching about Christ the Lord Crucified, everyone considers us crazy. And let them; we do not look at this, for we are sure that this madness is true wisdom for those who accept our word with faith. You know this from experience. You accepted our word, believed, clung to the Lord and became wise in Christ, wise with true wisdom, which no one in the world has except believers. See how everything has become clear to you; You know what God is, what this world is, how it began and how it will end, what man is and what his purpose is, where evil comes from and how to heal him, and so on. Who in the world knows this as well as you?! “We are weak, but you are strong.” Here, too, as in the first position, it is necessary to understand the addition: we are weak for Christ’s sake, but you are strong in Christ. We are weak for Christ's sake in that we are persecuted, beaten, imprisoned; There is no external force in us, just as there is no external wisdom. But to those who follow our teaching, we give a moral strength that no worldly force can overcome. You know this from yourself. As soon as you decided to follow the Lord, taking up His cross with a firm determination to fulfill His commandments, and were baptized, you immediately received new life, and through the laying on of my hands the grace of the Holy Spirit, Who poured into you moral strength, irresistible for the passions that rise up in you, for the delights of the world that attracts you, for the enemy that fights you. So you have become strong in Christ. There is no such power anywhere in the world, and there is no place to obtain it except in the faith we preach. “You are glorious, we are dishonest.” And here we must add: we are dishonorable for Christ’s sake, but you are glorious in Christ. This is not something new, but rather a conclusion from the previous one. What kind of honor is there when everyone is considered insane, driven from city to city and from town to town, beaten, and thrown into prison? The Apostle seems to be saying by this: “So we are dishonorable for Christ’s sake.” But according to this, in the first position one must see the same conclusion: thus you are glorious in Christ, glorious in true knowledge and moral perfection, glorious in inner glory, which is the beginning and deposit of eternal glory in Christ Jesus our Lord. 1 Cor.4:11–12. Until this hour we hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and suffer, and wander, and labor, working with our own hands. We have not only been appointed to bring such good to you, but to spread it throughout the world, to communicate it to all who are capable of receiving it. But since for this, not only at the beginning, but always, we must be in a humiliated state, according to God’s definition, then we, as we began, continue to lead the last part, like death row. Until this hour, “we hunger, and we thirst, and we are naked.” It’s not that we walk around without clothes, don’t drink or eat, but we dress as we have to, not having any clothes in stock except those that we wear according to the commandment of the Lord; We eat and drink, too, as it happens, which is why we are often without food and drink. The apostle wants to say that the satisfaction of these primary bodily needs is the most meager among them and is not the subject of their cares and concerns, but is done as God sends. We get meager clothes and food, but we have no housing at all, we have no place to lay our heads: “we suffer and wander.” “To suffer” - κολαφιζομεθα - expresses when someone is pushed out of the house. “We are wandering” - αστατουμεν, - there is nowhere to stop for the night or for rest. Everywhere we are driven, pushed, we move from place to place. “And we labor, working with our own hands.” But where we have to stop, we are not a burden, but immediately take up work in order to earn food for ourselves through labor. What a hard lot! But in the confidence that this is how God judged, and in the conviction that otherwise it is impossible for the salvation of the world to be arranged, for which the Lord Himself did not have anywhere to lay His head, we bear our share complacently and with joy - “not only do we not complain, but we also rejoice, and we repay those who do us evil with good” (St. Chrysostom). 1 Cor.4:12–13. We rebuke, we bless; persecute, endure; blaspheme, let us console ourselves. They scold us and slander us, but we bless us and speak kind words to them; we are persecuted out of hostility, but we endure it complacently, without anger, without violating love, and without allowing movements of revenge; They blaspheme us - βλασφημουμενοι, - they curse, not only contemptuously revile us, but as if against the indecent they invoke the wrath of heaven, and we are consoled, - παρακαλουμεν, - we pray, by implication, to God: they call upon us punishment from heaven, and we ask them from God every mercy. 1 Cor.4:13. Let us console ourselves with khulimi; just as the world was destroyed, everything hitherto will be trampled underfoot. “Like scum,” - περικαθαρμα “to the world bykhom,” “that is, we are no different from what is thrown away in houses as unnecessary, whether peeling vegetables or something similar. So the majority of people consider us unimportant” (Theodoret). Like rubbish that is swept from the house into the yard, and then from the yard, so they sweep us away from everywhere, wanting to sweep us out of the world. “Trampled upon by all” - (περιψημα), - the same rubbish, thrown out and trampled underfoot by everyone, without any fear and any attention. There is no way to say anything more derogatory. How should those of the Corinthians who said: Paul is invisible, poor, lives with his own hands, and the like, feel like this - Apollos is better? But Apollos did not tolerate what St. Paul endured, both in other places and in Corinth; and this is for the work of God, of which they also became involved. They could not help but feel that what they considered not an advantage in St. Paul was an advantage for which there was nothing like it in Apollos or in any other of us. - And shame and sorrow! δδδ) Fatherly softening of reproach and reproof (1 Cor. 4:14–16) 1 Cor.4:14. I am not writing this to shame you, but like my beloved child I am punishing you. “I’m not telling you this,” he says, “to shame you. But the shaming is already done. Therefore, he wants to express this: I did not do this with evil, not with hateful intentions. For, having spoken a word, justifying it with intention is an excellent way of healing. It was impossible not to speak, because otherwise they would remain uncorrected, and having said it, leaving the wound without healing would also be dangerous; therefore, after conviction, he is justified. This not only does not destroy the effect of the applied healing, but introduces it even deeper and meanwhile quenches all the pain of the wound, for the one who hears that this is said not with grief, but with love, is more likely to receive admonition. However, here too there is great exposure and reproach. He speaks not as a teacher, not as an Apostle - which would express dignity - but as a father: “like a beloved child I punish.” Not just “child”, but also “beloved”. Forgive me, he says, if anything unpleasant was said, it happened out of love. He didn’t say: I reprove, but I “punish” - I admonish. Who wouldn't listen to a father complain and offer helpful advice? Therefore, he said this not before, but when he had already caused defeat” (Saint Chrysostom). 1 Corinthians 4:15. Even though there are many who are nurturers, O Christ, there are not many who are fathers; I gave birth to Christ Jesus through the gospel. “The Apostle called the other teachers pestuns, and himself a father, because he was the first to bring them the Gospel teaching” (Theodoret). The teachers are the teachers who edified them after St. Paul. Here, of course, Apollos and his Corinthian mentors. At the words: “beloved child,” another might think: “What? Don't others love us? – The apostle answers as if: they love, but not like me. They are nurturers - teachers, and I am a father. Just as in the reasoning of children there is only one father, but there are many pesters, and against the love of one father much is lacking in the disposition of those many, so in the reasoning of you” (Theophylact). “The apostle does not point to his own dignity, but to the abundance of love. He does not reproach other teachers, adding: “about Christ,” and calling them not flatterers, but “nursers,” meaning that they cared about them and worked for them; but he expressed both the superiority of his love and his care for them, saying: “fathers are not many.” - Thus, he did not want to point out to them his dignity, nor to remind them how much benefit they received from him, but, agreeing that other teachers also worked hard for them - for such is the property of nurturers - he assimilates an excess of love to himself, for such is the property of a father. And he doesn’t just say that no one loves them as much as he does - that would not be proof - but he points to the very point. Which? - “Of Christ Jesus the gospel was born unto you.” - “About Christ Jesus” - I don’t attribute this to myself, he says. Again he hints at those who appropriated the teaching to themselves. Below he will say: “You are the seal of my Apostleship” (1 Cor. 9:2); above he said: “I am planted” (1 Cor. 3:6); and here he says: “I gave birth.” He did not say: I proclaimed the word, but: “I gave birth,” using an expression close to nature, for he tried for one thing, how to express the love that he had for them. Those who took it from me raised you; and the fact that you became believers happened through me. So, having told them: “like children,” and wanting to show that this was not a word of flattery, he pointed to the matter” (St. Chrysostom). The Corinthians were “born,” that is, they became Christians, not through the gospel alone, but the gospel marked the beginning of this birth and illuminated the entire process of the work; That's why it's worth one. The birth of Christ happens like this: faith begins with the gospel, and then, with the action of grace, it ends with it; the believer is baptized and receives new life in Christ; then this new person is anointed with the Spirit through the laying on of hands (now anointing). And here is a perfect Christian, that is, anointed with the Spirit and become spiritually Christ's or Christ's. 1 Cor.4:16. I pray you, be like me, like Christ. Unexpected application! Why is it difficult to guess the direct thought of the Apostle. Theodoret paraphrases this passage as follows: “Humble yourselves as I humble myself; endure what I endure; boast in your sufferings, not in your gifts.” Theophylact: “Imitate me in everything, do not be proud of yourself in wisdom or wealth, and do not break with your brethren, but consider both wisdom and wealth to love Christ and your brethren in Christ. Look how tender it is! “He asks, but does not command.” Perhaps the Apostle only wanted to say by this: look, do not separate your soul from me, but, remaining faithful to the teachings and commandments of Christ, remember me, and do not interrupt spiritual communication and heartfelt union with me. I pray stands in place of all convictions, for when a lover prays for love, who can resist? Saint Chrysostom draws a general edifying lesson from these words. “Oh, what audacity of the teacher. How faithful he was in the image of Christ, if he points this out to others. However, here he does not exalt himself, but shows the ease of virtue. Don’t say: I cannot imitate you, you are a teacher, and a great teacher. There is not such a distance between me and you as there is between me and Christ, and yet I imitated Him. When he writes to the Ephesians, he does not offer himself as a mediator, but directly leads them all to God: “be imitators of God” (Eph. 5:1); and here, since he addressed his speech to the weak, he represents himself as the mediator. On the other hand, it shows that in this way one can imitate Christ. For whoever imitates the true image imitates the prototype.” 3. Conclusion. Announces the message of Saint Timothy and his imminent arrival, with intelligible suggestions (1 Cor. 4: 17-21) 1 Corinthians 4:17. For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and who will remember my ways in Christ Jesus, as I teach everywhere and in every church. “For this reason.” What? - “The fact that I definitely have you as beloved children and care about you like a father” (St. Chrysostom). Or this: out of fatherly love for you, but because of the unrest that occurred among you; so “for this sake” embraces the entire previous department. "Ambassador." When this letter was written, Saint Timothy had already been sent to Corinth. This gives an idea of ​​such a course of events. Chloine's household informed St. Paul that bad things were happening in Corinth. Saint Paul himself would have been ready to rush there, but business was holding him back, which is why he sent Saint Timothy ahead, so that he would either correct or stop the evil until Saint Paul himself arrived. This is the same letter of Timothy, which is mentioned in Acts 19, 22, where it is said that Saint Paul, having decided in spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia, sent Timothy and Erastus ahead to Corinth. “Look how valiant Paul’s soul is, how fiery and more alive it is than fire! He himself wanted to come to the Corinthians, who were in serious illness and confusion, for he knew well how beneficial his presence was to the disciples and what harm his absence would entail. He wanted and was in a hurry to come himself; but since it was still impossible to do this, he admonishes them with the promise of his arrival, and meanwhile sends a student to them” (St. Chrysostom). When Saint Timothy departed, Stefan, Fortunatus and Achaic, sent from the Corinthians, also came (1 Cor. 16:17) with a letter; On what occasion is this message written. “The ambassador of Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord.” “The Apostle showed his affection towards the Corinthians by sending Timothy to them; and his love for Timothy by calling him a beloved child, declaring his other virtue, calling him faithful in the Lord” (Theodoret). Saint Timothy was famous in Corinth, for he was there with Saint Paul at the first planting of the faith. But the Apostle considered it necessary to highlight his good qualities and his closeness to himself for the sake of the fact that the Corinthians turned out to be very forgetful when they forgot about the dignity of their Apostle himself. “Therefore, with these words he expresses his love for Timothy, and together the Corinthians are disposed to receive him with respect. “Child,” he says, “beloved and faithful.” Not just: “true,” but: “true in the Lord,” that is, in the works of the Lord. If it is commendable to be faithful in everyday affairs, then even more so in spiritual ones. If he is faithful, then he will arrange things impeccably” (St. Chrysostom). “He who will remember my ways will remember you.” Here both reproof is heard and the voice of love, trying in every possible way to soften the word. Reproof with this understanding: “He did not say that Timothy would make known his ways, but would remember them; this same word accuses them of oblivion, because they were witnesses of Apostolic virtue” (Theodoret) and activity. They probably also heard about how the Apostle acted everywhere; but this did not stick in their heads, and they acted as if they knew nothing about it. Meanwhile, it is enough to remember to keep yourself in proper rank. - The voice of love, softening the word, with this understanding: “He did not say: he will teach, but “he will remember,” so that they would not be upset, as if they should learn from him. But he was not satisfied with this word either, but, extending the speech further, added: “my ways.” Not your ways, but “mine”. For Timothy was young” (St. Chrysostom). He will not speak on his own behalf and not about himself. He will be a representative of an authority figure and act on his instructions. Listen! "My ways." This word embraces the entire image of the apostolic activity in planting churches: how he began the sermon, and how he led it, how he dealt with the believers, what kind of order he established, in what relation he placed the believers in relation to the primates. Why he says: “my ways are in Christ” is not my private deeds, but how I act in the work entrusted to me by the Lord - preaching the Gospel. “He,” says the Apostle, “will tell you how I act, for he calls the ways of his actions” (Theodoret). “That is, orders, customs, laws, institutions, apostolic rules, and everything else” (St. Chrysostom). “As I teach everywhere in every church.” “I teach” does not mean teaching alone, or teaching the truth, but teaching in general; and instruction, and the establishment of all orders. When warriors, recruits, are given to be trained by experienced warriors, these do not only tell them what they should do, but actually teach them how to act. So it is here: I teach, that is, I teach the Church, and I teach them the truth, and teach them to live, and show them to perform the sacraments, and I put the whole Church in order. By this the Apostle inspired: nowhere did he teach anything special, and nowhere did he establish any other order; both with you and everywhere; so this alone should have strongly denounced them and brought them to their senses: it’s the same everywhere, why bring such news to yourselves? “Shame on you! not a single Church deviates from my paths except you” (Theophylact). 1 Corinthians 4:18. As if I am not coming to you, I have become proud. “I sent Timothy, and I myself will soon follow,” he says, “because some of you, because I did not come to you, became proud. - It’s true that Saint Paul either promised to visit them again when moving away from them, or punished someone with what would happen. Seeing that he was still not coming, some became proud, that is, they began to act as their high opinion of themselves inspired them to do - with disrespect for others and with contempt for the orders and rules taught by Saint Paul, as in the parable of the Lord the overseer (Matthew 24:48; Luke 12:45). This is what St. Paul alludes to. I see, he says, why some of your troubles arose: because I was slow to come. I will correct this omission. Until then, Timofey will do something for you, and then I’ll be there soon. – There is hidden a strong denunciation of them. He seems to say to them: what a childish mind you have! When you have me, or there is a fear that I will come soon, you are fine. And as soon as I left and it seemed to you that I would not be back soon, you immediately forgot and became unsettled. You are like children who, in the absence of a teacher, become careless and playful (Saints Chrysostom, Theophylact). What and how did some people become proud? - It is very likely that those of them who stood out because of others for their learning, or wealth, and perhaps for Christian knowledge and deeds, and even spiritual gifts, began to think highly of themselves; Then vanity was grafted onto this, and since in the absence of an authoritative teacher, the Apostle, there was no one to reprove and correct them, they became completely proud (Ecumenius). 1 Corinthians 4:19–20. I will come to you quickly, if the Lord pleases, and I will understand not the word of those who are proud, but power. The kingdom of God is not in words, but in power. Just as between children, when a teacher comes, order is immediately restored, so to restore order among the Corinthians, as the Apostle hopes, his mere presence is enough. “For just as the presence of a lion brings fear to all animals, so the presence of Paul brings fear to those who corrupt the Church” (St. Chrysostom). “I’ll come,” he says, “soon.” His intention is decisive; but as the course of events is in the hands of God, he added: “if the Lord pleases.” “He does not appoint a specific time,” since he could have slowed down, “in order to keep them awake through the unknown” (St. Chrysostom), and so that they, knowing in advance about the possibility of delay, regardless of his will, would not interpret it crookedly, not into creating themselves, if it really happened. “I will come” following the previous “proud” already hints at a threat; but it would have remained very vague and therefore, perhaps, would not have produced the proper effect if Saint Paul had not immediately added: “And I will not understand the word of those who are proud, but power.” The first thought these words convey is that those who were proud were proud of something unimportant. “Their pride was a consequence not of their own merits, but of the absence of a teacher, which was a sign of the low disposition of their souls” (St. Chrysostom). Significant merits never lead to pride, but something accidental, illusory, deceptively valued always does. The Apostle proclaims that before his judgment this ghost, which incites pride, will disappear. But what is it? - In the word: “I will understand,” he says, “not the word of those who are proud, but power.” It lets you know that they have a word, but no power, and that they are proud of their word, but it has no meaning in front of the power that they do not have. What does the word mean and what is power? Theodoret and Ekumenius understand that “word” means the ability to speak well about the work of salvation, or to appropriate it to oneself by word without deeds, and “power” means the very accomplishment of salvation by deed. Theodoret writes: “I will examine, says the Apostle, not eloquence, but the way of action.” Ecumenius: “Perhaps some self-praisingly presented themselves as perfect Christians in spirit, without being such in practice. The Apostle says: I will come and find out whether you are praising yourself righteously. For self-praise without deeds is an unworthy thing, but it is necessary that words should be matched by deeds. It is not words that are needed, but rather doing the spiritual work (salvation). Words without deeds will not lead you into the kingdom of heaven, but only if you work out your salvation by doing it yourself, doing deeds worthy of it.” Saint Chrysostom, Saint Damascus and Theophylact contrast the “word” with the “power” of signs. Here is St. Chrysostom’s speech for all of them: “But why don’t you want to look at the “word”? Not because I am poor in “words,” but because our cause is strong. Just as in war it is not those who talk a lot, but those who do a lot who win, so here the victory belongs not to those who speak, but to those who do. You are proud, he says, of eloquence. If now there was a field and time for rhetoricians, then you could rightly be proud of him; but since now is the time of the Apostles, proclaiming the truth and confirming it with signs, why are you proud of a superfluous work that means nothing and cannot bring any benefit in the present? For can eloquence serve to raise the dead, to expel evil spirits, or to perform any other similar miracle? But now this is necessary, and through this our cause is strengthened. Therefore, he adds: “For the kingdom of God is not in words, but in power.” We conquer, he says, with signs, and not with eloquence, and the greatest proof that our teaching is Divine and that we proclaim the kingdom of heaven is by presenting the signs that we perform by the power of the Spirit. Thus, if those who exalt themselves now want to be great, then when I come, let them show whether they have the same power, and do not show me the pomp of eloquence, because this art serves us nothing.” This is the real meaning of the “power” manifested in the kingdom of Christ the Lord. The Holy Church was founded on the preaching of the holy Apostles, “I make haste for the Lord, and confirm the word with the following signs” (Mark 16:20). The Holy Church, by the power of the Spirit of God living in it, is what it is. By the power of the Spirit of God, ordinary people become Christians; they remain with it, and ascend to the final degrees of Christian perfection, when it begins to manifest itself in them clearly and tangibly - so that the essence of Christianity consists in the manifestation of the powers of the Spirit. Their absence exposes the falsity of those who boast in the word of truth, or the moral deceit of those who arrogate to themselves real Christian perfection. Saint Chrysostom touched here on the power of the Spirit, since it was manifested in the initial planting of the Church on earth; but in other places he reveals with the same convincingness the truth that in the life of Christians, if there is anything significant and valuable, it all comes from the Spirit. At this point, one can agree with the first opinion with the present one, that is, by power we mean life, or the achievement of salvation, and everything essential in a Christian, adding to this: since all this is the fruit of the power of the Spirit of God. 1 Cor.4:21. What do you want? Will I come to you with a club, or with love and a spirit of meekness? With these words he encourages the guilty to repentance and correction. He already pointed out their sin, exposed the insignificance of their pride, said that this is intolerable in the kingdom of God, for it throws out all illusory things and stands only on the essential. To support the Church and the faithful in this way is his apostolic work. From here it naturally followed that if the guilty and exposed do not confess and correct themselves, then when he comes to them, he will have no choice but to pronounce a strict sentence of judgment on them, and if they repent and correct themselves, then he will accept them with love. Just as self-correction and non-correction are in their power, it also depends on them how the Apostle will appear upon coming to them, meek or strict. Why does he say: “What do you want?” Do you want me to come to you with a club? Stay in your pride; and if you don’t want this, give up your pride and I will appear to you as a father full of love. Saying: “Is it with a club?” it is as if he ascends to the seat of the judge and from there pronounces the word with full authority. The club means the severity of power, but it can also mean punitive force, with which Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:9) and Elymas (1 Cor. 13:11) were punished (St. Chrysostom, Theodoret). The Apostle also used it among the Corinthians, betraying the incestuous man to Satan. It is not surprising that here, foreshadowing the severity of the court, he had in mind to use such force in the case if the good of the Church required it. Will I come with a club, or with love? “Wasn’t coming with a club a sign of love? – It was a sign of love; but someone who loves deeply is not easily inclined to punish, that’s why he says so. Speaking about punishment, he did not express himself in the same way as about meekness. Here he says: “with a spirit of meekness,” and there: “with a club”; although this was also the work of the Spirit, for there is a Spirit of meekness and a Spirit of strength (severity), but he does not want to call Him that way, but attributes more meek deeds to Him. And look at the wisdom of Paul: having power, he offers them a choice of both, and says: “What do you want?” It depends on you, just as it depends on us ourselves whether to go to Gehenna or receive the kingdom, because it pleases God. “Behold,” he says, “fire and water: if you want to do it, stretch out your hand” (Sir. 15, 16); and again: “If you want and listen to Me, you will destroy the good earth; if you do not want, you will listen to Me, you will belt the sword” (Is. 1, 19-20)” (St. Chrysostom). You might be interested in: