Глава 2

The nature of the sermon of St. Paul in Corinth (1–5). On the highest wisdom contained in the Gospel (6–16) 1 Corinthians 2:1–5. During the founding of the Church in Corinth, Apostle. Paul strictly adhered to the principle he mentioned in the first chapter: not to resort to the help of human wisdom in establishing the Gospel. 1Cor.2:1. And when I came to you, brethren, I came to proclaim to you the testimony of God, not in excellence of speech or wisdom, 1Cor.2:2. for I have determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified, "When I came to you". This was after the removal of Ap. Paul of Athens (see Acts 18). - “Not in the superiority of the word,” that is, without caring that his word, his speech was constructed according to all the rules of oratory. - “Or wisdom.” He also did not care about his preaching appearing philosophically thoughtful. - “For I have judged.” Ap. acted this way in Corinth according to a previously made decision. - “And, moreover, crucified.” Ap. From the entire life of Christ, I decided to focus the attention of the Corinthians mainly on His crucifixion, which, although it speaks little to human wisdom, is therefore a valid means of the redemption of mankind. He did not want Christianity to affect the Corinthians only by satisfying their intellectual or aesthetic needs. In this case, the Corinthians could easily equate it with those philosophical and religious teachings that appeared many at that time. It was necessary for the Corinthians to directly show Christianity as a completely special, new religion that had nothing in common with the above-mentioned teachings, and this was only possible with the direction that the apostle gave to his preaching. 1Cor.2:3. and I was with you in weakness and in fear and in great trembling. The Apostle was well aware that speaking in Corinth with only one proclamation of Christ crucified was a great risk on his part. His feeling of weakness turned into direct fear for the outcome of his enterprise and was even accompanied by some kind of bodily shock (“trembling”). And indeed, Ap. He actually came to preach to the pagans, to whom he could not address with an indication that the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Christ, as he did when addressing the Jews. He also did not want to resort to pagan wisdom. Hence his anxiety was understandable. 1Cor.2:4. And my word and my preaching are not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and power, 1 Corinthians 2:5. so that your faith is not based on human wisdom, but on the power of God. Nevertheless, his “word”, i.e. the Gospel, which constituted the content of his sermon, and “sermon”, i.e. his speeches about Christ (from the outside) remained alien to the influences of human wisdom. - “Not in the convincing words of human wisdom.” Ap. He believed that the strength of his sermon did not lie in giving it the appearance of a strictly developed oratorical system. - “But in the manifestation of spirit and power.” By “appearance” (αποδείξει) one should understand the clarity that occurs in the mind of the listener of the apostle’s sermon (cf. 1 Cor. 14:24–25). The Apostle, preaching to the Corinthians, tried only to make it completely clear to them what constituted the essence of the Gospel. - “Spirit and strength”. “Spirit” is the genitive of cause. Only from the Divine Spirit is such a completely clear consciousness obtained in the listeners of the apostolic sermon (cf. Eph. 1:17–18). “Power” is a genitive, denoting the mode of action of the Spirit. The Spirit acts strongly in this case; the inner power of the truth proclaimed with the help of the Holy Spirit attracts the mind, will and heart of a person to obedience to this truth. - It is unlikely that the apostle here could have meant the miracles that he performed in Corinth (opinion of John Chrysostom), because in Chapter I. he himself condemned the Jews, who sought support for their faith in Christ only in miraculous signs (v. 22). The apostle did this because he well understood how easily faith, justified by logical arguments, can be shaken by new arguments of the same kind. He therefore wanted, with his simple testimony of Christ, only to pave the way for the influence of the power of the Spirit of God on the hearts of the Corinthians - Thus here is Ap. again returns to the topic he expressed in Chapter I. 18th century : The Gospel is not wisdom at all, but power, not philosophy, but a matter of salvation. The Corinthians were divided into parties because they did not want to recognize this truth. They made a system out of the Gospel, turned the Church into a philosophical school, and its ministers into teachers and rhetoricians. 1 Corinthians 2:6–16. The Apostle has already said (1 Cor. 1:23–24) that Christ crucified is not only God’s power, but also God’s wisdom. He is now developing the latter point. He depicts the wisdom contained in the Gospel by its supernatural origin and its inaccessibility to ordinary human understanding (6-9) and indicates the way in which it can only be known and transmitted to others (10-13). At the same time, the apostle reveals the concept of Christian “perfection,” which makes people capable of understanding divine wisdom (14–16). 1 Corinthians 2:6. We preach wisdom among the perfect, but the wisdom is not of this age and not of the passing powers of this age, This contains the theme of the next section, ending with verse 4 of chapter III. Although the cross is not wisdom, for those who have already experienced the grace of redemption given by the Cross of Christ, the Cross is the source of all enlightenment and the highest wisdom. - The “wisdom” that the Apostle is talking about here is not a simple sermon about Christ, but religious and philosophical discussions about the essence and foundations of Christianity, about the plans of Divine economy. Such reasoning is offered by Ap. eg in the letter to Rom. (chap. IX-XI), in the letter to the Ephesians (chap. I) and to the Colossians (chap. I) or in ch. XV. our message. It is no longer the job of the missionary to present such teachings, but of the teacher. The missionary actually turns to the heart of a sinner and points him to the cross as a means of salvation from sins, and the teacher develops the knowledge of believers and thereby helps to strengthen their sense of Christian love. – This is how the expression “wisdom” is understood by the expression used: “among the perfect.” The word “perfect” (τέλειος) here obviously has a special meaning, not the same as the expression “believer” (πιςτός). In 1 Cor. 3:1, this word is already replaced by the word “spiritual” (πνευματικός), the opposite of the expression “baby” (cf. 1 Cor. 14:20; Eph. 4:13–14). Here and in the indicated parallel places, a child is called a “believer” who has just entered the Church and still needs spiritual strengthening. Thus, by “perfect” we must understand a Christian who has already reached full manhood, as opposed to a Christian child, who has been sufficiently (though not completely - cf. Phil. 3:12-17) established in the Christian faith and life. When Ap. is among such believers established in Christ, he considers himself entitled to reveal to them the treasures of wisdom contained in the Gospel (cf. Col. 2:3). At the same time, Ap. acts no longer as a preacher, but as a teacher (instead of “we preach,” we should put: “we talk, discuss” - in Greek λαλοῦμεν). "The Wisdom of This Age". The Corinthians believed that the teachings of Christianity were only an improved teaching of Greek philosophy. Ap. on the contrary, he says that the wisdom he proclaims is not at all the product of the human mind (“of this age” - see 1 Cor. 1:20). - “Not the transitory authorities of this age.” Some interpreters mean “demons” here, based on John. 12:31 and Eph. 6:12. But according to the apostle, these “powers of the age” crucified Christ (8) - which means they are not demons. Then, these “powers of the century” Ap. considers them capable of cognizing the wisdom of God in Christ and believes that, having cognized it, the “powers of the age” would not have crucified Christ. But again, he could not say this about the demons who knew Christ and nevertheless harmed Him in every possible way... It is better to see here those people like Herod, Pilate and the Pharisees who stood under Christ at the head of the Jewish people and almost unconsciously contributed to the implementation of the plan of Divine economy. - “Transient”. The more the influence of the Gospel increases in the world, the more the representatives of human wisdom lose their power. 1 Corinthians 2:7. but we preach the wisdom of God, the secret, hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages for our glory, "The Wisdom of God". This wisdom was originally in God and came from Him - “Secret” (εν μυστηρίω). At Ap. Paul, the word mystery does not mean a fact or event with which one person acquaints another, but a decision hidden for a time in God and then revealed by God Himself. A mystery is an event or truth that a person cannot know with his own mind, independently, but only through revelation from God (Eph. 3:4; Rom. 11:25; 1 Cor. 15:51; cf. Luke 8:10). Instead of “secret,” it would be more correct to translate: “which existed as a secret.” It is impossible to relate this expression to the word “preach”, because this would mean that Ap. introduced some kind of special, esoteric or secret, teaching of religion. - “Hidden”. This addition indicates that God was pleased for a long time to hide this wisdom from people (cf. Rom. 14:24–25; Eph. 3:5). This distinguishes it from another, also God's wisdom, which people could recognize from their very birth (1 Cor. 1:21; Rom. 1:20): it was the wisdom revealed in creation. - “Which God has ordained...”. Two signs of true Gospel wisdom have already been indicated. This is its highest origin and then its hiddenness. Now Ap. indicates its third characteristic feature - its high purpose. This wisdom should lead to the glorification of believers. Man was created for heavenly glorification - this goal was determined in the Council of God even before the creation of the world and man (cf. Rom. 1:21). This glory will consist in the fact that believers form themselves into a society of saints who are able to reflect the greatness of God and serve as instruments of the holy will of God, who stand towards God in relation to children and to Christ in relation to brothers. 1 Corinthians 2:8. which none of the authorities of this century has known; for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Here is Ap. proves beyond the human origin of God's wisdom contained in the Gospel, and its mysterious nature by indicating the fact of the crucifixion of Christ by people. Christ, this incarnate Divine Wisdom, was not recognized in this dignity by the representatives of humanity, the highest representatives of human wisdom. They had no idea about the high destiny of humanity and therefore rejected and crucified the One who first fulfilled this destiny in His person. - “Lords of glory.” As Ap said. at the end of verse 7, “glory” was the ultimate goal of human existence on earth, by virtue of Divine destiny. But when the Lord Himself came, the Lord Himself of this glory, people, instead of turning to Him to receive this glory, rejected Him and even killed Him! 1 Corinthians 2:9. But, as it is written: eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and what God has prepared for those who love Him has not entered into the heart of man. The same thought - about the highest origin of the wisdom of the Gospel and its mystery - Ap. proves here by reference to the prophetic word. It is simpler and more natural to supplement this verse with the addition: “this wisdom is what is written in the words: “I did not see,” etc. - It is difficult to say where this place came from. It is more likely to believe together with the blessed one. Jerome, that here the prophet combined into one two sayings of St. Isaiah, found in the LXIVth and LXVth chapters. his books (Isa.64:4, 65:17). – Three expressions: “see, hear” and “come to the heart” - denote the threefold way in which human knowledge goes: vision or direct experience, hearing - or knowledge gained through the study of tradition, and, finally, what comes to the heart or knowledge based on one’s own reflection. By none of these three means could a person achieve knowledge of the salvation destined for him from God, both of the benefits here still received through Christ, and of the future, heavenly, glorification (cf. Eph. 3:18). 1 Corinthians 2:10. But God revealed this to us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. How, now, did the Apostle himself come to know this wisdom of God? He and his assistants (“and to us” – cf. vv. 6 and 13) received this knowledge by revelation (“God revealed”). Ap. here he means that initial enlightenment with the light of the Gospel, which he received directly from God during his call to apostolic service and about which he speaks in the last chapter. to the Galatians (Gal. 1:12, 16). Ordinary believers are also rewarded with revelations (cf. Eph. 1:17), but these revelations, one might say, are of secondary importance and represent a reproduction of the first revelation, which was awarded to the first heralds of Christianity and which was later included in the sacred writings of the New Testament as the guiding principle of Christian life (cf. John 17:20). – The means through which the Apostle received this revelation was the “Spirit” of God. This Spirit gives all knowledge, because all things are revealed to Him. - “And the depths of God”, i.e. the Being of God, then the properties of God, Divine plans and decisions. 1 Corinthians 2:11. For which man knows what is in a man except the spirit of man that dwells in him? Likewise, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. In order to explain to his readers this activity of the Spirit of God, which takes place, of course, within the Divine sphere, Ap. speaks now about the activity of the human spirit in the sphere of human inner life. And in our soul there are moods and aspirations that are accessible only to our own spirit and incomprehensible to an outsider. 1 Corinthians 2:12. But we have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we might know the things freely given to us by God, The Spirit of God is opposed to the “spirit of this world.” Under the “spirit of this world” Ap. refers to the god-like human soul with its high abilities, which in people of genius rose to extraordinary strength and thanks to which humanity owns many great works of philosophy and art. Still, the apostle wants to say, no matter how precious the creations of this human spirit are, they cannot in any way compare with what is given to some chosen ones by the Spirit of God. The Apostle calls this Spirit the Spirit that comes from God (εκ) to show that He cannot be confused with the human spirit. - “Given to us,” that is, all saving blessings: the sending of the Son of God, His redemption of humanity, justification, sanctification, etc. All this can, of course, be comprehended by simple, immediate faith, but you can also “recognize” (ειδέναι), that is, comprehend it in all its breadth and depth, fully recognize the greatness of these blessings, which is given by the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:13. which we proclaim not in words learned from human wisdom, but in words learned from the Holy Spirit, comparing spiritual with spiritual. The Spirit of God informs the Apostle not only of the content of the sermon, but also teaches him to put this content in an appropriate form. If they want to teach people what is revealed by the Spirit of God, then in this case they do not use words that were found by man himself or by the combined efforts of human genius. For this they expect a special inspiration from the Spirit, and this is the secret of the unique style of Holy Scripture. However, of course, there is nothing mechanical in this inspiration: as the expression “studied” (διδακτοῖς) shows, here Ap. speaks of the living assimilation by an inspired person of the truth revealed to him. - “Connecting the spiritual with the spiritual.” In the Russian translation, the expression πνευματικοῖς is understood as a neuter adjective. But with such an understanding, there would be nothing new in this expression compared to the first half of the verse; Therefore, it is better to understand the meaning of the Greek. expression as masculine and translated as follows: “since we offer spiritual teachings to spiritual people (the same as “perfect” cf. v. 15 and 1 Cor. 3:1), with a certain choice.” 1 Corinthians 2:14. The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, because he considers them foolishness; and cannot understand, because this must be judged spiritually. This special wisdom can be communicated through the Apostle Paul and his assistants only to those who are able to assimilate it, and such people are relatively few. Most people are “spiritual” people (ψυχικοί). This expression designates a person as an animated being, with a natural vitality (ψυχή), which is common to man with all living creatures. Such a person does not have that higher power of life, thanks to which (power) morally free beings become in communion with God and which in Holy Scripture is called “spirit” (πνεύμα). True, a person in the natural state also has a “spirit” (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:23), but this spirit is not real power and real life in him. Rather, it is only receptivity to Divine suggestions, the ability to understand and assimilate the divine, which in a Christian turns into a new principle of life. Of course, a person’s soul also has higher abilities than other animate beings, but still only the spirit puts a person in relation to God, and it is in the spirit that man differs sharply from animals. In a natural person, the spirit remains, one might say, in a latent state (also almost like “hidden energy”) and only the Spirit of God awakens it to life and makes it the ruler of soul and body. A natural person has only an innate mind or understanding, through which he judges the phenomena of this life. It should be noted, however, that a “spiritual” person is not the same as a “carnal” one (1 Cor. 3:1): the Corinthian Christians were also carnal, but Apostle, of course, could not say that they “regarded spiritual things as madness.” "Does not accept". Just as an egoist “cannot” believe that anyone would be able to accomplish any difficult task without personal interest, so a “spiritual” person in the full meaning of the word is unable to understand the great significance of the work of Christ (divine wisdom), because it goes beyond the circle of his understanding. - “Spiritually”, that is, on the basis of spiritual assumptions, having a certain reserve of higher, spiritual knowledge. 1 Corinthians 2:15. But the spiritual one judges everything, but no one can judge him. 1 Corinthians 2:16. For who has known the mind of the Lord so that he can judge him? And we have the mind of Christ. Who is a spiritual person and who is a spiritual person - the apostle has the ability to find out this, like any spiritual person. In the 15th Art. Ap. claims that such an ability really exists, and in 16 he adds that he, Paul, also possesses this ability. - “Judges everything.” From the mountain you can easily see what is happening below, while from below you often cannot see what is happening on the mountain. Likewise, a spiritual person does not understand anything spiritual, but a spiritual person understands everything - both good and evil in public and personal life. - “For whoever knows...” Ap. borrows this expression from the book. Isaiah (Is. 40:13 according to the text of LXX). He points here, obviously, to the special revelations he received, which none of the Corinthian Christians received ("we" is contrasted with the word "with you" - in 1 Cor. 3:1). – “Mind of the Lord” (νοῦς) is not the same as “Spirit of the Lord.” This expression denotes the thoughts of God regarding man and the best means for realizing these thoughts. “Spirit” means the organ through which these thoughts are communicated to the spiritual person. – “We have the mind of Christ,” i.e. we have knowledge of all the thoughts and plans of Christ and know how to bring them to fruition. Whoever treats such people with distrust means that he does not trust Christ Himself. You might be interested in: