Третье благовестническое путешествие святого апостола Павла 55–60 годы (Деян.18:23–21:16)

Having spent some time in Antioch, Saint Paul, in the company of Timothy, Titus, and perhaps Gaius, Aristarchus and Erastus, undertook his third evangelistic journey by land, first to visit and establish the Churches he had already founded, and then to visit Ephesus, as he promised (see Acts 18:21). Having passed through the Cilician Gate of Taurus, he went through the eastern part of Asia Minor, establishing the Churches of Galatia and Phrygia on his way. In Galatia, he commanded that every Sunday a collection be made for the poor of the Jerusalem Church (see 1 Cor. 16:1–2). He also found it necessary to make serious suggestions to the Galatian Christians. And although at that time they did not yet have a direct deviation from the teaching taught to them, he nevertheless noticed a slight weakening of the ardent zeal with which he was received for the first time by this glorious, but somewhat frivolous population (see Gal. 4: 14-15). Having thus taken care of the confirmation of the previously laid foundation of the Galatian Church, Saint Paul descended from the Phrygian heights and entered Ephesus, the great capital of proconsular Asia, a storage place for the goods of the East and West. The evangelistic activity of the Holy Apostle Paul in Ephesus 55–57 (Acts 18:24–19:40) Ephesus was the third capital and the new starting point of Christianity. In Jerusalem, Christianity was born in the cradle of Judaism; Antioch was the starting point of the Gentile Christians; Ephesus was destined to witness the full development of Christianity and the final combination of its disparate elements - Jews and Greeks in the work of St. John the Theologian, the apostle of love. Ephesus was located about two versts from the Icarian Gulf, in a magnificent meadow. Its buildings nested at the foot of the Koressa and Priona mountains. Its harbor was one of the most protected and convenient for shipping on the Mediterranean Sea, and was visited by many ships from all over the world. Ephesus was at the meeting point of the major roads that led north to Sardis and Troas, to the south to Magnesia and Antioch, and thus had easy access to the entire interior of the continent. The lakes and rivers around it abounded in fish, and, with healthy air and an incomparable location, its population was varied and huge. Its markets, resplendent with works of world art, were a kind of bazaar centers of Asia. At the same time, Ephesus was as rich and extensive as it was famous throughout the entire coast of Asia Minor and especially Ephesus; in all respects it was the seat of the best Hellenic culture and many Hellenic philosophers. But the main pride of Ephesus and one of the wonders of the world at that time was the church of Artemis of Ephesus. It was surrounded by 120 marble columns, decorated with carvings and paintings by the best Greek artists. At the front wall of the church stood a huge altar; behind it, behind a purple curtain, the very idol of Artemis was hidden in the darkness - an ugly figure, wrapped like a mummy, covered with a monstrous breastplate, with a trident in one hand and a club in the other. But the very ugliness of the idol increased the superstitious fear of it. Some mysterious words were inscribed on the statue of the goddess, which were given magical meaning. Under the cover of such a cult, superstition of all kinds flourished. Ephesus, par excellence, was a city of astrology, magic, lamentations, amulets, spells and magical charlatanry of all kinds. On the other hand, the cult of Aphrodite - the goddess of fertility, was a cult of sensuality - voluptuousness, and around her temple, as a temple of refuge, all kinds of pagan abomination settled - murderers, thieves and the like, persecuted by the law (F.V. Farrar. Op. cit. Part 2. Book IX. Chapter XXXI). Such was the field in which Saint Paul came to sow the pure seed of the word of God. But, despite all this, Saint Paul saw with spiritual eyes that for his word in Ephesus “a great and wide door was opened, although there were many adversaries” (1 Cor. 16:9). Saint Paul, at the end of his second evangelistic journey, on the way from Corinth to Jerusalem, visited Ephesus and in the synagogue announced Christ Jesus to the Jews. But, hurrying to Jerusalem for the holiday, despite the requests of the Jews to teach them also on the next Saturday, he left Aquila and Priscilla here, and he himself went to Jerusalem (see Acts 18: 21–22). After him, an eloquent Jewish man, Apollos, came to Ephesus from Alexandria, instructed in the faith by Aquila and Priscilla. Together they continued the preaching of St. Paul in Ephesus and formed a Christian community here. However, the brethren of Ephesus were only just prepared to accept Christianity. They were baptized with the baptism of John, but some of them had not even heard of the Holy Spirit and His grace-filled gifts. Arriving in Ephesus, Saint Paul found twelve such people and announced to them that John’s baptism was only the threshold to the Kingdom of God. The door into it is baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus, and the making into sons of the Kingdom is by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Having accepted the word of the apostle with full faith, they were baptized with Christian baptism and, after the apostle laid hands on them, they received the influx of the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues and prophesy (see Acts 19: 2–7). After this, Saint Paul taught the Jews about Christ in their synagogue for three months. But there was little success. The Jews, arguing with him, became bitter against him and the holy teaching, and reviled the way of the Lord. Therefore, Saint Paul left the synagogue, separated those who believed and went to the pagans with the gospel sermon, which he offered every day in the school of a certain sophist Tyrannus (see Acts 19: 8–9). The holy apostle taught here for two years. Jews and Greeks, local and foreign, near and far, listened to him, so that most of the inhabitants of Asia heard the gospel sermon about the Lord Jesus. The Church of God has spread wide branches, for “God... He performed many miracles with the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs and aprons from his body were placed on the sick, and their illnesses ceased and evil spirits left them” (Acts 19:11-12). And the name of the Lord Jesus, preached by Saint Paul, was glorified, so that some of the wandering Jewish exorcists began to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying: “We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preaches” (Acts 19:13). Perhaps they were successful for a while (cf. Luke 9:49), but then it was necessary to show everyone that in the realm of God it is not words and names that are terrible to demons, but the spirit of faith with which they are uttered. Why did one day the demon, whom the exorcists were trying to drive out in the name of Jesus, say to them: “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” And a man in whom there was an evil spirit rushed upon them, tore their clothes, and beat them, so that they ran out of that house naked and beaten (Acts 19:15–16). When the news of this spread among the Jews and Greeks, fear fell upon everyone, and “the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.” After this, the charm of sorcery diminished and warlocks lost their value. The warlocks themselves, having collected their magic books, burned them in front of everyone; the price of their books in our money was 12,500 rubles. 20 gold. The word of the Lord grew and grew with such power! (Acts 19:17–20). But the power of God is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). The preacher of the word of God himself, Saint Paul in Ephesus, as indeed everywhere else, had many enemies, suffered all kinds of disasters, teaching with tears day and night (see Acts 20:19). He experienced many temptations from the pagans, for whom preaching about the Crucified One was madness (1 Cor. 1:23), but especially from the Jews, who were tempted by the Messiah they preached - Christ Jesus. During, apparently, the most brilliant success of the sermon, the apostle himself, in the midst of human madness, was with a death sentence hanging over his head. Homeless, persecuted, enduring hunger, thirst and lack of clothing, he was reviled and slandered and, like “dirty trash for the world,” was trampled upon by everyone (cf. 1 Cor. 4:8–13; 2 Cor. 4:8–9). He was, as it were, in the arena in a fight with wild beasts, expecting death every minute; he was already sentenced to death (see Rom. 8:36; 2 Cor. 4:8-11). He says all this about himself. Is it surprising if he found himself forced to say that if this were the whole life of a Christian, without hope of future reward, then he would be the most miserable of people (see 1 Cor. 15:19). Saint Paul had many opponents, but the most dangerous for the cause of his preaching and the most cruel towards him personally were the Jews. He seems to be complaining to the Thessalonians about his relatives in the flesh - the Jews, saying that they “killed both the Lord Jesus and His prophets, and drove us out, and do not please God, and oppose all people, they prevent us from preaching the Gospel to the pagans, so that they may be saved" (1 Thess. 2:15-16). And indeed, the majority of the Jews, scattered among all nations, at first, Apparently, they listened attentively to Saint Paul’s sermon about Christ, and then turned away from it, entered into an argument with the apostle, became embittered and took revenge, either themselves, or by inciting and arming the pagans, the people and the authorities against him. But what is remarkable is that even the Jews who converted to Christianity armed themselves against Saint Paul and his apostolic work - the Churches he founded, trying to destroy them. Even at the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem, as we have seen, some Judaizing fanatics insistently said that “the Gentiles who accept Christianity must be circumcised” and “command them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5). Although the Apostolic Council decided not to impose the yoke of the Law of Moses on the pagans (see Acts 15:28), they remained faithful to their conviction and, considering Saint Paul an opponent of their convictions, they swore in their souls to destroy his work and take revenge on him in every way. To do this, they followed in the footsteps of the holy Apostle of Languages, invaded the Churches he founded and confused the minds of Christians with their false teaching. Thus, they invaded the Church of Galatia and shook its foundation, that the only salvation is in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and not in works of the law. The news of this was brought by someone to Ephesus shortly after the apostle arrived here, and prompted him to immediately destroy the evil with a message. Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Galatians Reason for writing a message As we have already seen, the Galatians were very impressionable, gullible and frivolous, and the Jerusalem Judaizing Christians who came from Jacob were persistent and convinced, so it was quite possible to fear that they would seduce the Galatians from the true path shown to them by St. Paul and leading to salvation in Christ, through faith in Him, to the false path leading to destruction - from the path of faith to the path of works legal. The false brethren from Jacob mainly insisted that one could not be saved without circumcision. Circumcision was an essential element, a centerpiece of Jewish ritual and even religion. According to the teachings of the Jewish rabbis, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses were all circumcised. It was such a complete seal of the people’s covenant with God that they said it was given not even to Moses, but to Abraham. Moses insisted on its necessity in the land of Midian, Joshua renewed it in the land of Canaan, and it was considered so sacred that the stone knives with which it was performed under Joshua were buried in his tomb at Timnath-sara (see Joshua 21:42). “Was there even one king or prophet,” the false teachers said to the Galatians, “who was not circumcised? Wasn't Jesus Christ Himself circumcised? Is not the prophet Elijah always present, although invisibly, at circumcision, in order to be a witness to its proper completion? Let the Galatians judge for themselves, have they really not heard about this? Isn't the law from God? If so, how can you arbitrarily reject it?” The Galatians' faith in salvation, in addition to the works of the law, was based on the authority of Paul as the apostle of Christ, to whom the Galatians committed their souls. The false brethren from Jacob knew this and tried to shake and even destroy this authority in their eyes. According to the false teachers, Paul was not an apostle at all. He was certainly not one of the twelve, he had not even seen the Lord Jesus Christ and thus did not have the essential qualification for an apostle (cf. Acts 1:21–22). He gained all his knowledge about Christianity in Jerusalem and, moreover, allegedly maliciously distorted it. His Gospel is not true. He received his authority from the heads of the Church in Jerusalem, to whose judgment his teaching must be subjected. Many of his previous interpretations of Christ's teachings were simply blasphemous. In their opinion, this was a daring apostasy from the oral and even written law of Moses, a rebellion against the tradition of the fathers and even against Moses himself. His teaching is a denial of all divine inspiration. They (false teachers) can easily put a whole series of texts against the apostle; almost every line of the Pentateuch speaks against him. Who is this Paul, this apostate from the rabbis, who, for reasons known only to him, became a Christian by name from a bitter persecutor?! Who is he that he could rebel against the great legislator?! He claims that the Law of Moses has been abolished. But how and with what can he prove this? Christ never taught this way. On the contrary, He Himself said that not a single line of the letter of the law should pass away until it is completely fulfilled (cf. Matt. 5:18). All twelve apostles can testify to this. They themselves carry out the law. They live in peace with all their Jewish brothers, even those who do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Are their views therefore not contrary to those of Paul, who cannot show his face in Jerusalem without arousing dangerous indignation against himself? In addition, he does not deserve trust, because he constantly fluctuates, saying one thing or another, with the obvious intention of people-pleasing. What could be more inconsistent than his teaching and manner of action regarding circumcision? He told the Galatians that they did not need to be circumcised, and yet he himself once preached circumcision and even performed it himself. Was it not he who circumcised Timothy? Was it not he who circumcised Titus the Gentile? (F.V. Farrar. Op. Op. Part 2. Book IX. Chapter XXXI). With such flattering speeches, the false brothers managed to sow tares in the field cultivated by the labors of St. Paul and promising a bountiful harvest. They listened to them and began to lean towards their beliefs. How far the Galatians went in deviating from the right path is difficult to determine with precision, but it is clear that this could not be ignored. From the tone of speech and the way the subject was presented in the letter, one can conclude that Saint Paul feared a significant falling away of the Galatians from the true faith in Christ, but at the same time he was confident that his word would find a proper reception among them and there was hope of returning them to a sound faith. The authority of the apostle was significantly shaken, but the doctrine of salvation may have occupied the Galatians as a theoretical question; only the speeches of the false teachers confused and disturbed them. The words “I am again in the throes of birth until Christ is formed in you” (Gal.4:19) indicate that the face of the Savior became dim in their consciousness, but those who deviated did not yet allow themselves to be circumcised, but only accepted some of the rules of Jewish religious life, only laying the foundation for Judaism (see Gal.4:10). The words “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Gal. 5:9) make it clear that some of the suggestions of the false brethren have yet to be accepted. It is not clear how many evaded there were. But it is impossible to think that everyone in all the churches of Galatia has deviated. True, Saint Paul in his epistle is speaking to the entire Church of Galatia. But this may be either because those who deviated were the majority, or they were influential people in the churches. It is not known from whom Saint Paul learned about all this, but it is clear that he learned it soon. He was greatly amazed by this and, under a fresh impression, explained to the Galatians the whole matter of salvation as it is, in contrast to the false suggestions of the false brethren. He writes the entire message with his own hand, so as not to encounter delays or interruptions on the part of the scribe. And the whole message is an inspired, continuously flowing speech, in which arguments convincing to the mind are interspersed throughout with suggestions that can touch the sensitive strings of the heart. Time and place of writing the message. Epistle to the Galatians Written from Ephesus during St. Paul's three-year stay there. Their first sermon (see Gal.4:13) certainly presupposes the second. We must assume that the message was written after both. From the book of the Acts of the Apostles it is known that the second visit to the Galatian Churches was during the third journey of St. Paul, when he was heading to Ephesus. That the writing of the epistle cannot be attributed to any later time after Ephesus, this is evident from the fact that St. Paul calls the change of the Galatians to have happened very soon. “I am amazed that... you are moving so quickly to a different gospel (Gal. 1:6). And suddenly I hear that you have veered into crossroads. I marvel at this." If the epistle was written shortly after Saint Paul’s last stay with the Galatians, then it cannot be assumed that it was written after his departure from Ephesus, where he stayed for three years, for three years cannot be called “soon.” Thus, it is more correct to believe that the Epistle to the Galatians was written in Ephesus, during the three-year stay of St. Paul there, between the years 56-59. There is no sufficient basis to indicate with certainty which of the indicated years the message was written. Only on the basis of the expression “soon” can we assume that it refers more accurately to the beginning of his stay in Ephesus than to the end, namely to the years 56–57. Contents and division of the message The content of the message corresponds to the false views of the seducers, who, wanting to prove, contrary to the teaching of St. Paul, the need for salvation to observe the Law of Moses, drew the strength of their evidence from the false thought that he himself was not an apostle, his teaching was therefore not from the Lord, that is, false. In response to this, Saint Paul first (in the first part - defensive) defends his apostolic dignity and shows that his teaching is not human, but from God, and thereby lays a solid foundation for his subsequent arguments and convictions (1: 6-2, 21). Then (in the second part - the doctrinal part) he refutes the position of the false teachers that salvation comes from circumcision and keeping the law of Moses, and not from the grace of the Lord through faith (3:1-5, 12). And finally (in the third part - moral) he adds moral lessons that naturally follow from the proposed doctrine of freedom from the yoke of the Mosaic Law. Namely, that this freedom is not given as an indulgence to passions, but so that, leaving the troublesome execution of trifles of external behavior, we turn our attention to the purification of the heart (5:13–6, 10). In addition, at the end there is a short conclusion (6:11-18), and at the beginning there is an inscription and a greeting, indicating the two main thoughts of the letter: that the apostleship of St. Paul is from God, and that our salvation is not in the law, but in the faith of Christ. 1 Paul is an apostle, chosen not by men or through man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead, 2 And all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father; 5 To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. 6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ to another gospel, 7 which, however, is not otherwise, but there are only people who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven were to preach to you a gospel other than what we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so now I say again: whoever preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you have received, let him be accursed. 10 Do I now seek favor from men, or from God? Do I try to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ. 11 I declare to you, brethren, that the gospel which I preached is not man’s, 12 For I also received it and learned it, not from man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 You have heard about my former way of life in Judaism, that I cruelly persecuted the Church of God and devastated it, 14 And he prospered in Judaism more than many of my generation, being an immoderate zealot for the traditions of my fathers. 15 When God, who took me from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach His gospel to the Gentiles; I did not then consult flesh and blood, 17 And I did not go to Jerusalem to the apostles who preceded me, but went to Arabia, and again returned to Damascus. 18 Then, after three years, I went to Jerusalem to see Peter and stayed with him for fifteen days. 19 But I saw no other of the apostles except James the brother of the Lord. 20 But in what I write to you, I do not lie before God. 21 After this I departed to the countries of Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was not personally known to the churches of Christ in Judea, 23 But they only heard that he who once persecuted them was now preaching the good news of the faith which he had previously destroyed— 24 And they glorified God for me. Here, in addition to pointing out the two main thoughts of the epistle, the apostle in a special way makes the Galatians feel that he is dissatisfied with them. 1:1–2. About the Apostle Paul, the Judaizing false teachers probably told the Galatians that he was not a real apostle, like the twelve. The real ones saw the Lord Himself and were sent by Him Himself. What about this one? Ananias baptized him, Barnabas recommended him to the apostles in Jerusalem, then he called him to Antioch, where he taught with Barnabas. The Church of Antioch sent him with Barnabas to preach in other places, and after this first experience, the apostles in Jerusalem gave their consent for him to work in preaching the Gospel outside Palestine. So, his apostleship has nothing special, above ordained. People saw that he was capable and sent him. But such persons cannot teach independently, on their own; they must agree in everything with the real apostles. And believers should not trust them unconditionally in everything, but should verify their teaching by what the main apostles say and how they act. Paul does not act in accordance with them, for they, living in Jerusalem, do not forbid circumcision and fulfill other prescriptions of the law, and they themselves fulfill them. Therefore, Paul has abandoned them and should not be listened to. Against such slander, the holy Apostle Paul says that he is an apostle, “chosen not by men,” Ananias and Barnabas, and even “not through man,” through the mediation of any of the apostles, Peter or James and others, but directly by Jesus Christ Himself and God the Father. When did the Lord choose him as His apostle? Not at the time of his conversion, when the Lord commanded him to go to Damascus, where he would be told what he needed to do (see Acts 9:6), and not in Damascus through Ananias, who only predicted his election by God. “He is my chosen vessel,” the Lord said about him to Ananias, “to proclaim my name before the nations and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). The very election of Saint Paul as an apostle took place in the Temple of Jerusalem, directly by the Lord Himself, as Paul himself testifies to this: “Praying in the Temple of Jerusalem, I was in a trance and saw the Lord, who said to me: Hasten and leave Jerusalem quickly, because here they will not accept your testimony about Me... Go, I will send you far to the Gentiles” (Acts 22:18-21). What then happened in the Antioch Church, when the Holy Spirit commanded that Paul be separated from Barnabas for the work to which he was called (see Acts 13:2), was only the fulfillment of this Lord's election. Saint Paul was called to the apostleship not by the Lord Jesus only, but also by God the Father, who raised Him (Jesus) from the dead (as the God-man) and thereby gave Him all authority in heaven and on earth (see Matt. 28:18). With this authority, one with God the Father, God the Son gave the apostles the authority to preach the Gospel and baptize (see Matt. 28:19). Saint Paul was also called to the apostleship by the same authority. Along with himself, as if witnesses to the truth proclaimed by him, Saint Paul places all the Christian brothers who are with him, as if saying: Behold, all the Christians of Ephesus recognize me as a true apostle and my teaching as true. But in the address of the letter to the “churches of Galatia” (located throughout Galatia), the apostle’s great indignation is noticeable. He did not say "beloved" or "saints" or "elect" as in other letters to other churches, but simply "to the churches of Galatia." For this is a sign of someone who is greatly grieving and sick, that he does not greet them either in the name of love or in the name of honor, but only in the name of their society, and does not even add “Churches of God” (Chrysostom). 1:3–4. “Grace by which our sins are remitted, peace by which we are reconciled and reunited with God” (Augustine). The Apostle Paul usually begins all his epistles with these desires for grace and peace, considering this necessary everywhere, especially the Epistle to the Galatians. Since they were in danger of falling from grace, he prays to God that He would again establish them in it. They became enemies of God, and therefore he asks God to again reconcile them with Himself (Chrysostom). Grace and peace are given by God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Next, the holy apostle briefly outlines his other thought - what is the source of salvation and what are its conditions - which he then reveals in more detail in the epistle. The matter of salvation corresponds to the fact of the fall. In the fall, for violating the will of God, we fell under God's wrath and, in addition, we upset our nature, accepting into ourselves, like poison, the corrupting power of sin - selfishness and all its passions. Now, accomplishing our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ first satisfied the righteousness of God, as if satisfying the righteous anger of God against us, and thus reconciled us with God, and then sent down the Holy Spirit to us and thereby healed our moral corruption. Saint Paul expresses these two saving actions of the coming to earth of the Only Begotten Son of God through the incarnation. The first - with the words: “who gave himself for our sins” (cf. Gal. 3:13; Rom. 5:10), and the second - with the words: “to deliver us from this present evil age,” that is, to deliver us from the power of sin, which rules all affairs in the people of this age. The present age is the age of fallen humanity, the age of selfishness and passions, which is why it is an evil age, evil and full of evil. It contains only “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). By his own efforts, man is not able to get rid of this evil, which dominates his very nature. He is delivered by the grace of the Holy Spirit, which, having come into the heart, weakens the power of sin in us and gives moral support to resist its attraction. From then on, man no longer works for the world and sin (cf. Rom. 6:6), although he is subject to its temptations. But deliverance should not consist in removing us from this world, but in preserving us here from evil (cf. John 17:15). You can live in the world and be alien to it, be alien to it. This regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit is given to us by God the Father for the merits of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who fulfilled His will. 1:5. Having remembered the Cross and the Resurrection, the cleansing of sins and protection from them in the future, the will of the Father and the consent of the Son, grace and peace and all the riches of God’s gifts, the holy Apostle Paul concludes his speech with a doxology: “eternal (forever and ever) glory be to Him for such great His benefits”! Truly so. Part one - defensive (1:6–2:21) In it, Saint Paul proves the Divine origin of his apostleship. The Judaizing false teachers told the Galatians that the teaching of Paul differed in many important ways from the teaching of the pillars of the Church - Peter, James, John, therefore, it was not true, that Paul did not have a Divine calling to the apostleship, he was not an impostor apostle, and that he learned Christian truths from people. The Apostle Paul proves the groundlessness of such slander against him. Section one. His teaching is true and therefore apostolic (1:6–10) 1:6. St. Paul turns directly to the Galatians with a word of reproach, while in other letters he first praises those to whom he writes for accepting the faith and success in it, although they were also defective in some way. But what praise can there be for those who fall away from the faith? Other Churches, although imperfect, firmly held the faith, but these, having betrayed the faith, destroyed what was most dear to them. I’m amazed, I don’t know how to understand, he says, this surprise amazes me, your change and falling away from the faith. This could not be expected both because you accepted faith with such fervor and because you have already experienced its saving fruits. How long have I been with you and seen that you are on a good path - you walked well. How did they so quickly bow to false teaching, waver in their fidelity to the Gospel, “move on to a different gospel,” and from whom? – From God the Father, who called you into the Kingdom of grace of His Son Jesus Christ (cf., for example, Rom. 8:30; 1 Thess. 2:12, 5:24; 2 Thess. 2:14). The false teachers who have come to you offer you something else - their gospel, their gospel as true, to which they draw you. 1:7. But there is no other true Gospel other than the one preached by the apostles and St. Paul, and the teaching of false teachers is not the true Gospel, but a perversion of the Gospel. They came to you, he says, instilled false thoughts about salvation and thereby confused your concepts, aroused fears, clouded your mind, and you began to see the truth where there was only lies and deception, but their goal was to pervert the Gospel of Christ. 1:8–9. The Gospel that I preached to you, says Saint Paul, is one true and immutable, like the revelation of the Lord, and none of the heavenly beings - whether an angel, or earthly ones - we are the apostles, can change anything in it, teach anything other than what I taught you, change it with impunity from God. Anyone who attempts this will be “anathema” - excommunication from communication with God and His life. The holy Apostle Paul told them this personally, and now he repeats it in writing, so that they remember well and beware of false teachers. 1:10. They could say: the Gospel itself is unchangeable, but the convictions of the apostle himself are changeable. When applied to people, in one case he speaks and acts one way, in another – differently. St. Paul seems to answer this in this way. After such speeches of mine, which define anathema to anyone who changes the Gospel or anything in it, judge for yourself whether I myself can be changeable for the sake of pleasing people? If I had tried both to teach and to please people, I would not have become a servant of Christ, I would not have turned to Christ, I would not have been called by Him to the apostleship. The Gospel is as unchangeable in my teaching as it is unchangeable in itself. True, Paul speaks of himself in other epistles “I please everyone” (1 Cor. 10:33), and advises every Christian to “please one’s neighbor” (Rom. 15:2), but in these and similar words the holy apostle expresses the idea that in order to save people, he applied all methods and techniques to them (see 1 Cor. 9:20-22). He did not change the truth as he applied it to people, but his methods and techniques, so that people would more conveniently accept the truth that is common to all. Having proved the first, as if introductory, but at the same time the main idea, the apostle moves more directly to the defense of his apostleship. Section two. He is a true apostle of Christ (1:11–2:21) The false teachers who came to the Galatians, in order to more successfully seduce, humiliated in their eyes the true apostleship of Saint Paul, saying that he did not see the Lord Himself, but learned the Gospel from the other apostles, and then retreated from them and, having drawn up his teaching about the uselessness of the Law of Moses, began to teach not in accordance with them. In order to allegedly cover up his deviation from the apostolic teaching, while in Jerusalem with the other apostles, he taught and acted in the same way as they did - he was a hypocrite before them. Saint Paul turns his speech against such false suggestions at the beginning, because these slander embedded in the soul of the Galatians would prevent them from correctly understanding the teaching about salvation proposed further. He says that the Gospel he preaches was not received by him from people, and he did not invent it himself, but was taught to it by the Lord Himself (1:11-16); that he could not learn this Gospel from other apostles, or believers in general, as can be seen from the circumstances of his life, and yet his Gospel was accepted by both the apostles and the Church, therefore, it is true (1:17-24); that he taught in no way different from the other apostles, they themselves gave him and Barnabas consent to this teaching (2:1-10), that he did not apply to others at all, on the contrary, he directly went against Peter himself when he saw that he was not acting in accordance with the Gospel (2:11-21). He does all this with the goal of restoring in the hearts of the Galatians the conviction that the Gospel preached by him is revealed to him by God, and therefore is immutably true and cannot be changed (Chrysostom). I. On the direct revelation of the Gospel to the holy Apostle Paul by the Lord Himself (1:11–16) That Saint Paul directly received the revelation of the Gospel from the Lord Himself, he proves this with his personality, conscience, honor (1:11-12) and confirms it with the testimony of others who can confirm the suddenness of his change from a persecutor to a defender of Christ's Gospel (1:13-16). A) The first proof of the apostle’s acceptance of the Gospel from God Himself (1:11–12) 1:11–12. Saint Paul, with his apostolic authority, “I proclaim” (in glory, “I say”) (cf. 1 Cor. 15:1; 2 Cor. 13:3), certifies the Galatian brethren that the Gospel that he preached to them is not human, is beyond the power of man, and it cannot be expected that a man with his mind could invent it. But not only is it not a human invention, but being Divine, it did not reach him through any person, but he, like the other apostles and self-seers, directly received it and learned it from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself through revelation. When these revelations of the Gospel were to Saint Paul, he does not say here, but in other letters he says that he was caught up to the third heaven and heard verbs there (see 2 Cor. 12:4). He speaks about the second coming of Christ “by the word of the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:15). He speaks about the Last Supper as he himself received it from the Lord (see 1 Cor. 11:23). Judging by this and where he, before presenting the essence of the Gospel, says that he himself accepted (1 Cor. 15:3), we must understand that he accepted this from the Lord. All such indications oblige us to recognize that the entire Gospel in its entirety was revealed to Saint Paul directly by the Lord Himself and that, therefore, he is a complete direct disciple of the Lord, like all the first apostles - self-seers. B) Second proof of the apostle’s acceptance of the Gospel from God Himself (1:13–16) Another, more tangible proof that the Gospel he proclaimed was received from above, Saint Paul takes from the sharp moral change that happened to him after his conversion, and the circumstances that accompanied this conversion. The Galatians know that Paul, being a zealous Jew, was a cruel persecutor of the Church of Christ, for which he was honored more than others in Jerusalem, and suddenly he neglected all this and became a strong zealot for Christianity, a preacher of the Gospel, which he had not learned from any other people. Obviously, both moral change and knowledge of the Gospel were given to him from above. 1:13–14. In my youth (about 20 years ago), I was, he says, too hostile to Christianity, and, like some fierce robber, “cruelly persecuted,” I sought to destroy the entire Christian Church, created by God, persecuting and destroying its members, so rumors about this reached you. What prompted me to persecute Christians so cruelly? Not any human motives, but the only deep, albeit false conviction that Christianity is contrary to our law and God. I carefully studied Judaism from its external and internal sides - history, law and traditions of the elders, considered them perfect and even burned with immoderate zeal to protect them from damage. In this regard, I was more successful than many of my peers from the Jewish people. Considering Christianity to be contrary to the traditions of our fathers and to God Himself, I sought to destroy it and thereby do what was pleasing to God Himself. That's what I was! Could it be expected, judging from a human perspective, that I would easily abandon my deep Jewish convictions and go over to the side of Christianity?! God made this change in him. 1:15–16. God foresaw that Saint Paul would be His chosen vessel to proclaim His name before the nations and kings and children of Israel (Acts 9:15), therefore He chose him from his mother’s womb, as if he had designated him for Himself. But until a certain time, the Lord allowed him to see in his own strength the bitter path of Jewish errors (see Rom. 7:7-25). When the time came that was predetermined to call, He deigned to call him and miraculously turned him to Himself on the road to Damascus. And Saul, the persecutor of Christians, became a Christian in Damascus. But in order for him to be an apostle of Christ, he needed to know Christ and His Gospel. And God revealed His Son to him in him - in his spirit, with his spiritual eyes, with which he saw Him, learned His Gospel from Him and received from Him his calling to the apostleship in tongues (cf. Matt. 16:17; 1 Cor. 2:9-13). This began in Damascus, continued in Arabia and ended in the Temple of Jerusalem during the frenzy of St. Paul (see Acts 22:17-21). Thus, having miraculously received the calling and revelation of the Gospel from the Lord Christ Himself, Saint Paul, obviously, had no need to borrow it from any of the people, “then he did not even consult with flesh and blood” (with people), but immediately began in Damascus to preach Christ as the Son of God, and all who heard were amazed at his sudden change and glorified God (see Acts 9:20-21). II. The holy Apostle Paul could not learn the Gospel from other people (1:17–24) The previous thought - about the direct receipt of the Gospel only from the Lord Jesus Himself, Saint Paul further confirms with the circumstances of his life. Upon his conversion to Christ, he did not go to Jerusalem to learn the Gospel from the apostles, but immediately began to preach it in Damascus and Arabia, and when three years later he came to Jerusalem to the apostles, they accepted him into fellowship with them; This means that his teaching was in agreement with them (1:17–20). Other Christians, churches in Judea, did not even know him personally; they only heard about him as a former persecutor. Hearing his preaching about Christ, they glorified God, which means that his teaching was identical with their faith. From this it is clear that Saint Paul learned the Gospel not from the apostles and brethren, but from God Himself (1:21-24). A) The first proof of why the holy apostle could not learn the Gospel from other people (1:17-20) 1:17. When, after a miraculous conversion to Christ, the grace of the Holy Spirit painted in his mind the image of the Lord Jesus, as if he himself had witnessed Him, saw Him, heard His teaching, and the apostle received the command to preach Him to people, Saint Paul had no need to consult “flesh and blood” - with people, did not go to Jerusalem to learn the Gospel from the apostles, who were chosen before him, the first in time, but immediately began to teach about Christ first in Damascus, then in Arabia, then again in Damascus (see Acts 9:20–22). Thus Saint Paul remained an apostle for three years. 1:18. Only after three years of his apostleship, when the Jews rebelled against him in Damascus and sought to kill him (see Acts 9:23-25), Saint Paul went to Jerusalem, but not to learn the Gospel from the apostles, but only to see Peter, as a man especially worthy of respect and love. They did not know each other personally before. When Barnabas introduced them, told Peter about the miraculous conversion of St. Paul and about his apostleship in Damascus, then the Apostle Peter received him in a friendly manner, and St. Paul “stayed with him for fifteen days,” preaching the Gospel with him in Jerusalem (see Acts 9:27–28). 1:19. Apart from the Apostle Peter, there were no other apostles in Jerusalem at that time, and therefore Saint Paul did not see them. He saw in Jerusalem another of the famous men in the Church of Christ, namely, James - brother of the Lord, son of Cleopas, brother of Joseph the Betrothed, bishop of the Church of Jerusalem. 1:20. Everything told by Saint Paul that he is a true apostle and received the Gospel not from the apostles, but from Christ Himself, is true, God is a witness to it (cf. Rom. 1:9; 2 Cor. 1:23, 11:31). B) Second proof of why the holy apostle could not learn the Gospel from other people (1:21-24) Saint Paul did not learn the Gospel of Christ from other Jewish Christians, and yet they recognized his teaching as consistent with their faith, therefore, their source is the same - the Lord Christ. 1:21. When in Jerusalem, for the preaching of Saint Paul, the Hellenists, the Jews of the Diaspora, rebelled against him, the Christian brothers sent him to Caesarea, from where he headed to Cilicia through Syria, in addition to Judea and Palestine, where at that time the planters of the faith who had seen the Lord continued to operate. Therefore, Saint Paul could not meet even by chance with the apostles and experts in the faith of Christ. Meanwhile, here he preached the Gospel and founded the Churches of Christ (see Acts 9:29–30), which he later, during his second evangelistic journey, established (see Acts 15:41). 1:22–23. It must be assumed that the holy apostles, before they dispersed to different countries, called the Jews living in Palestine to faith, and, having planted churches here and established them, they went to other countries to preach. These Churches did not know Saint Paul by sight, but only heard about his persecution of the faith of Christ and his conversion and exploits in preaching the Gospel. Hearing about this, they rejoiced and glorified the Lord. Saint Paul seems to say this to the Galatians: I did not learn from Peter, but only saw him; I didn’t study with Jacob - and I only saw him, I didn’t study with anyone else, inferior to them, not as noble as them. Was it possible for me to learn from those who had not even seen my face? But if they rejoiced that the one who persecuted the faith himself began to preach it, did this not mean that the faith preached by me was the same as the faith of those who rejoiced at this gospel? (Photius). 1:24. Believing Jews, recognizing the teaching that Saint Paul preached as true and seeing the Lord’s clear protection of him, glorified God for him. Therefore, Saint Paul taught the same thing that the other apostles taught, the same spirit with him, the same principles, and that, consequently, the false teachers who came to the Galatians, disagreeing with him, disagree with all the believers. III. On the agreement of the teaching of Saint Paul with the teaching of the other apostles, which was solemnly approved at the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem (2:1-10) Hitherto, Saint Paul argued that he received the Gospel not from any other person, but directly from God Himself and that, therefore, he is a true apostle. But the false teachers might not believe this and say that his teaching is not in accordance with the apostolic, but was invented by him. Therefore, Saint Paul proves that the apostles themselves at the Council in Jerusalem recognized his teaching as true. Talking about this, he indicates the motivation and purpose of his journey to Jerusalem (2:1-2), how he was received by the Christians there (2:3-5) and, most importantly, how the senior apostles treated him (2:6-10). 1 Then, after fourteen years, I went again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus with me. 2 And I walked by revelation, and there, and especially to those who were most famous, I proposed the gospel which I preached to the Gentiles, whether I have not run or have run in vain. 3 But they did not force Titus, who was with me, even though he was a Greek, to be circumcised, 4 But to the false brothers who crept in, who secretly came to spy on our freedom, which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us, 5 We never yielded or submitted for an hour, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you. 6 And in those who are famous for something, no matter what they have ever been, there is nothing special for me: God does not look at the face of a person. And the famous ones didn’t put anything more on me. 7 On the contrary, seeing that I have been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, as Peter was to the circumcised 8 (for He who helped Peter in his apostleship to the circumcision also helped me to the Gentiles) 9 And having learned of the grace given to me, James and Cephas and John, esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the hand of fellowship, that we might go to the Gentiles, and them to the circumcision, 10 only so that we remember the poor, which is what I tried to do exactly. 11 When Peter came to Antioch, I personally confronted him, because he was being criticized. 12 For before some came from Jacob, he ate with the Gentiles; and when they arrived, he began to hide and withdraw, fearing those who were circumcised. 13 The rest of the Jews also became hypocrites along with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not walking directly according to the truth of the Gospel, I said to Peter in front of everyone: if you, being a Jew, live like a pagan and not like a Jew, then why do you force the pagans to live like a Jew? 15 We are by nature Jews, and not sinners of the Gentiles; 16 However, knowing that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but only by faith in Jesus Christ, we also have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law; For by the works of the law no flesh will be justified. 17 If, seeking justification in Christ, we ourselves turned out to be sinners, then is Christ really the minister of sin? No way. 18 For if I build again what I have destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 By the law I died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, 20 And it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not reject the grace of God; and if there is justification by law, then Christ died in vain. A) The motive and purpose of the apostle’s journey to Jerusalem (2:1–2) 2:1–2. The Gospel received by Saint Paul directly from the Lord Jesus, he preached for 14 years between Jews and pagans in Damascus, Arabia, Antioch, in the southeastern part of Asia Minor, during his first evangelistic journey with Barnabas, proclaiming everywhere that salvation is in faith in Jesus Christ the Lord, and not in works of the law. But when, upon his return to Antioch, Judaizing Christians came here from Jerusalem and began to persistently teach that without circumcision according to the rite of Moses it is impossible to be saved, and thereby brought great discord into the Church of Christ, then the Holy Spirit inspired both the Church and St. Paul to transfer this issue to Jerusalem - to the judgment and decision of a conciliar, apostolic one. The Church of Antioch invited Paul and Barnabas and some others of them, among whom was Titus, a convert from the Gentiles and uncircumcised, to “go to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem on this matter” (Acts 15:1-2). On the way to Jerusalem, Saint Paul and his companions told the brethren - Jewish Christians - about the conversion of the pagans to Christ “and caused great joy in all the brethren” (Acts 15:3). In Jerusalem, Saint Paul proposed - laid out the work of his preaching of the Gospel to the “most famous” apostles - Peter, James, John and the elders of the Church, first one on one (in glory, “in private”), so that by publicly announcing his apostolic activity he would not arm against himself the Jewish Christians gathered at the Council, most of whom were prejudiced against him and his freedom in relation to the Law of Moses, and thus not to damage your apostolic activity, not to make your past and present labors in vain: “am I not struggling in vain (in glory, “let me not run in vain”) or have I struggled.” B) How Saint Paul and his companions were received in Jerusalem by the local apostles and brothers (2:3–5) 2:3. Titus, a Gentile believer, uncircumcised, was with Saint Paul everywhere among the apostles and Jewish brothers in fellowship, and no one despised him or forced him to be circumcised. From this it is clear that the true Church of Jerusalem did not believe salvation in circumcision. There were, however, immoderate zealots of the law, false brethren, who thought and taught differently (see Acts 15:5). 2:4–5. Our Lord Jesus Christ, by His death on the cross, which replaced all the sacrifices and rites of the Old Testament, and by the grace of the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments, which renew our nature, freed those who believe in Him from the yoke of the requirements of the Law of Moses, making it now unnecessary. Therefore, those who approached the Lord with faith, through the very fact that they believed, received everything that the Old Testament promised educationally, and, therefore, became free from it. In Jerusalem there were Jewish Christians who, although they correctly understood the power of faith in the Lord, nevertheless adhered to legal principles, but only out of habit. But there were also those among them who continued to attach saving significance to them even with faith in Christ and, inflamed by immoderate zeal, sought to “enslave” believers not only from Jews, but also from pagans, to the law of Moses, and thus pervert the Gospel. St. Paul calls them “false brethren.” These false brethren set the goal of their jealousy to destroy the work of St. Paul, to again enslave to the law those who were free from him - his disciples. To do this, they secretly spied on them, like spies, creeping into their society in order, on the one hand, to spy on how they live free from the law, and on the other hand, in order to seduce them from freedom in various ways and enslave them to the law. But Saint Paul and his brethren did not concede or submit to them in anything, did not observe anything from the ritual law of Moses, so that the truth of the Gospel, freedom in Christ from the yoke of the law, would be preserved in all its purity among pagan Christians, such as the Galatians. This is what all Christians in Galatia should do. C) How did the elder apostles react to Saint Paul and his apostleship (2:6–10) 2:6. St. Paul ranks the senior apostles above all the famous men that ever existed. But I, he says, have no difference from them either in apostolic authority, which I have the same as they have, or in teaching, for they understand salvation in the Lord in the same way as I do. “He who imparted understanding of Christian teaching to those not versed in the law (that is, unlearned fishermen), He was pleased to grant me, skilled in the law (scholar), the same understanding” (Ambrose); for “God does not look upon the face of man.” Although I was unfaithful and persecuted Christ, and they were His disciples from the beginning, God, foreseeing that I would remain a faithful worker if I was entrusted with the gospel (see 1 Thess. 2:4), chose me for this ministry and placed me among those most famous. 2:7–9. The most famous are Peter, and John, and James. The most famous, that is, the pillars of the faith and revered by everyone as such, with whom Saint Paul talked and told everything that he had done among the pagans, what signs and wonders accompanied his preaching, what fruits came from this preaching. Hearing all this, they did not add anything of their own, but only approved of what Saint Paul had done. From the signs and wonders accompanying the apostle’s preaching, they understood that the Lord was pleased to choose Paul as an apostle primarily of the Gentiles (in the glory of “uncircumcision”), just as Peter was chosen primarily of Jews (in the glory of “circumcision”), and they expressed their approval by giving the “hand of fellowship,” as a sign of fellowship, complete agreement and unity, to Saint Paul and Barnabas, so that “we” (Paul and Barnabas) preach primarily to the pagans, and to them - to the “circumcision”, the Jews. 2:10. The most famous asked us only one thing, so that we would not forget the poor: those of the Jews who believed, who became poor as a result of the cruel persecution of those who did not believe, who plundered their property (see Heb. 10:34), and had neither food nor shelter. And the pagans who believed were persecuted by their fellow unbelievers, but the Jews were the more cruel persecutors of Christians everywhere, for the Jews are the most cruel people of all nations (Chrysostom). Saint Paul strictly observed this commandment about the poor of the Church of Jerusalem wherever he preached the Gospel, asking for feasible collections to be made in their favor (see 1 Cor. 16:1; Gal. 2:10) and even himself carried them (see Rom. 15:25) to the brethren in Jerusalem. IV. The firmness of St. Paul in the doctrine of freedom from the law, revealed in relation to the Apostle Peter, when he inappropriately showed leniency to the Judaizing Christians (2:11-21) The false brethren inspired the Galatians that Saint Paul himself was not steadfast in his convictions and actions: he teaches among you that there is no need to adhere to the law, but in other places, among the Jews, he keeps the law and subjects others to the law - this is how he himself circumcised his disciple Timothy. What kind of apostle is he? Against this, Saint Paul tells them how he dealt with the holy Apostle Peter, when he, by his behavior in Antioch, served as a temptation for the brothers, not in accordance with the good of the Church and the successes of the Gospel. The meaning of this legend is exactly this: among Jews I am like a Jew, and I look condescendingly at others who act like this, but only until it serves to save many and thereby builds faith. When something harmful to the faith and the Church comes out of this, then I rebel against it with all my strength, regardless of any person. Having told about his encounter with the Apostle Peter (2:11-14), St. Paul sets forth his speech about salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, with a complete renunciation of all works of the law, with which he addressed the Apostle Peter in the presence of Jews and Greeks (2:15-21). This speech serves as a topic for detailed disclosure in the next part of the message. A) About the encounter with the Apostle Peter (2:11–14) The Holy Apostle Peter, having come after the Council of Jerusalem to Antioch (where Saints Paul and Barnabas were), as an apostle primarily to the circumcision - the Jews, out of jealousy for the success of his preaching among them, by his behavior introduced temptation into the Antiochian Church, consisting mainly of the uncircumcised. Saint Paul, noticing this, explained to Saint Peter and the Church that this should not be done. Saint Peter agreed with this by his silence. 2:11. Having returned from the Jerusalem Council to Antioch, Saints Paul and Barnabas taught together the Church of Antioch for the last time, because they soon separated and it is no longer visible that they were together in Antioch. At this time, the holy Apostle Peter came to Antioch. But, as was already noted earlier and will be seen later, by his way of acting he was subject to criticism, complaints, and censure (in the glory of “Stakh is shameful”) among the brethren. Then Saint Paul confronted him and, before the entire Church, personally expressed his opinion about his behavior. What shameful thing did Saint Peter do? 2:12–13. The zealots of the fatherly traditions believed that communication in food not only with pagans (cf. Acts 11:2-3), but even with sinners from one’s own people (cf. Luke 15:2) defiles a pure Jew. But Saint Peter, having come to the Church of Antioch, where there was communication between the brothers not according to the law of Moses, but according to the law of Christ - love, participated with them in a common meal, or supper of love. But when Christians came here from the Church of Jerusalem, the bishop of which was Saint James, the brother of the Lord (“some of James”), consisting exclusively of Jews and therefore naturally observing, even out of habit, the decrees of the Law of Moses, then Saint Peter, fearing that by his free communication with the pagans he might seduce the Jews and damage the success of his preaching among them, began, perhaps, under various pretexts to distance himself from participating in common meals with pagans. The brothers of the circumcision began to follow his example, not knowing his purpose, and even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy, at the promptings of the holy Apostle Peter. A division has occurred that is undoubtedly harmful to the well-being of the Church and could be terrible in its consequences. Pagan Christians were at a loss, what should they do? Should I accept circumcision and so on with it or remain free from it? Both were contradicted by the behavior of Saint Peter. Hence the need first of all to make clear the behavior of St. Peter, which is what St. Paul does. 2:14. When Saint Paul noticed that such behavior of the Apostle Peter and his followers turned out to be unfavorable for the success of the evangelical preaching, then, taking advantage of the general meeting of believers, he personally said to Peter, as the culprit of the troubles, in front of everyone: you, raised in the Jewish way, gave freedom from Judaism by communicating at meals with pagans, why should you pagans, free from the legal bonds of Judaism, by your authoritative example “Do you force” (in Slavic “nudishi”) to practice Judaism, to live according to the prescriptions of the Law of Moses? The speech of Saint Paul did not create a rupture between the holy apostles. Saint Peter saw that she was right and remained on good terms with Saint Paul, as he himself testifies to (see 2 Pet. 3:15). This shows that St. Paul said the same thing that was in the heart of St. Peter himself. B) Apostle Paul's speech about salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ (2:15–21) Next, Saint Paul explains, in general terms for now, the essence of faith in Christ the Lord and especially the freedom with it from the law. In his speech, from the very behavior of the Apostle Peter and other Jews, he extracts the conviction that it is unfounded to adhere to the law, especially after it has already been so clearly abandoned (vv. 15-18). Then he shows that those who sincerely believe in Christ must place all their hope of salvation on Him alone, decisively renouncing salvation through the law (vv. 19–21). a) It is unjustified to hold on to the law after it has been so clearly abandoned (2:15–18). 2:15–16. We - you, Peter, and I, Paul, and others - both by birth and by upbringing, are native Jews, a people chosen by God for holiness, not like pagans, and by birth and upbringing sinners who do not know the true God and His law and therefore live in sins. Everything was given to us by God in order to be righteous, therefore, it was not we who needed justification, but the pagans. Meanwhile, we Jews were the first, partly from our own experience, but mainly from the revelation in Christ Jesus, having become convinced (having learned) that no man can be righteous and holy by the works of the law - through the works prescribed by the law alone, with the strictest fulfillment of them, but only by faith in Jesus Christ - we believed in Him in order to be justified by this faith, and not by the works of the law, by which no one can be justified. In order to more clearly understand the thought of St. Paul, it is necessary to first clarify its basic concepts - justification, law, faith. God is our Creator and Father, Himself a Holy and Righteous Being, and He created us humans for holiness and righteousness, so that we would do His will. But after the fall of our first parents, we do not fulfill His will, but live according to our own will and, thus, are guilty before Him, and we have nothing to justify our guilt. The sin of resisting His will is so ingrained in us that we, as if by our very nature, became guilty before God - sinners. He, in His mercy, gave the Jewish people a revealed law, written through Moses, as an expression of His will, so that they would fulfill it. And so the ritual law concerning external, bodily purity could still be fulfilled, but the internal law concerning spiritual purity - thoughts, feelings, dispositions, a person does not have the strength to fulfill, and without this he could not be right before God, therefore, holy and righteous. Thus, all people became guilty before the truth of God and had nothing to justify themselves. Then the Lord, seeing man’s powerlessness to justify himself before Him, offered him another way of justification - faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Who took upon Himself the guilt of all people before God, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree” of the Cross (1 Pet. 2:24), and nailed the handwriting of our sins on the Cross (Col. 2:14). All that remains is to make sure that the truth of God recognizes each of us individually, personally, as suitable for this mercy, or that each of us presents to the truth of God that, in the total mass of persons whose debts have been paid, the payment has also gone for him. What should he present? His faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who paid his debts to God the Father - his sins. What is faith in the Lord Christ? It can only be described. It begins with repentance. “Repent, believe in the Gospel,” says the Lord Himself (Mark 1:15). A truly repentant person experiences two feelings and dispositions: sorrow for having sinned, and a strong desire not to succumb to more sinful inclinations. But in the first feeling he is tormented by the consciousness of guilt before the truth of God, which he cannot satisfy with anything, in the second he is afraid of his own powerlessness, proven by experience. The repentant person resorts to the Lord Jesus in full confidence that He will deliver him from both, forgive him his previous sins, and give him strength to resist his sins in the future. Without these two certainties, faith in the Lord is unthinkable. By virtue and to the extent of such confidence in the Sacraments, the grace of the Holy Spirit is given to the believer, which gives him both the consciousness of forgiveness of sins and the strength to no longer work against sin, but to live for God in Christ Jesus (see Rom. 6:3-13). The main and distinctive feature of faith is devoting oneself to serving the Lord to the point of life, in the hope of salvation by His grace. (The believer feels that he has been purchased at the price of His Blood, and must work for Him in full confidence that in this way he will certainly be saved). Only he who believes this way will be justified before God and can become holy and righteous. From all this it becomes clear why “no flesh” could be justified before God by the law alone. A Jew who sinned offered a sacrifice for sin, but left the altar with the same disposition towards sin, because his sacrifice did not give him the strength not to sin in the future, for it cleansed him only from carnal uncleanness (cf. Heb. 9:13). And all the Old Testament righteous were justified not by observing the ritual law, not by their own strengths and merits, but solely by faith in the coming Redeemer. 2:17. We Jews, seeking justification and salvation, not finding it in the works of the law, turned to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are told here that without the law, faith alone does not justify, with it alone we are again sinners. This means that Christ, who so commands us to justify ourselves - to be saved, has become a servant of sin?! He led us into sin?! This absurdity, however, logically derived from the teachings of the Judaizers, was indignantly rejected by the entire assembly of believers - “no way!” (in Slav. “let it not be”) - they (Augustine) said. It is not we who are justified by faith who are sinners, but those who, after or together with faith in Jesus Christ, turn to the works of the law for their justification. Saint Paul explains this with an example from everyday life. 2:18. If someone, he says, destroys his house only in order to build it again from the destroyed one in the same form, he will turn out to be a “criminal” against worldly wisdom, and he will be called insane. It's the same here. Having abandoned the law for the sake of faith, we ruined it, but by turning to it again, we build it up again. But if we turn to faith, which alone saves us, and then turn again to the law because we cannot be saved without it, then we sin against our conscience and sin against the will of God, who determined to save us by faith, apart from the law. b) Those who believe in Christ need to place their hope of salvation in Him alone (2:19–21). Finally, the law itself testifies to everyone that it was given by God not for justification, but in order to lead to faith in Christ. 2:19. For by the law, he says, one can be justified and be a living spirit only under the condition of completely fulfilling it in his spirit (see Lev. 18:5), he himself imposes a curse on those who violate it even in the slightest (see Deut. 27:26). But where will a person who is completely devoted to sin get the strength to fulfill it in its entirety? Consequently, the law itself, imposing a curse on those who violate it, thereby kills a person, declares him spiritually dead, morally powerless for justification by the law and life in God (cf. Rom. 6:10). Thus, a sincere Jew must necessarily recognize himself as a dead spirit according to the sentence of the law in order to fulfill it and be justified by the works of the law before God. But, having brought a person to the consciousness of his powerlessness to be justified by the works of the law, this same law leads him to the consciousness of possible life only in God. And for this purpose, I decided, as the apostle says, to leave everything in the past with which my whole life was connected, I sacrificed everything, everything that was so dear to my heart, my religious beliefs and the love of my people - in a word, I decided to suffer for the sake of fulfilling the will of God, which shows me a new path - the path of life in Christ. My change was painful, like death. Here I became like Christ, Who accepted suffering for the salvation of people out of obedience to the will of the Father, “I died” for the past for the sake of fulfilling this same will and, thus, “was crucified with Christ,” but through this I united with Him, so that later in unity (strengthened by the grace of Baptism) I could find myself a new life in God. 2:20. Having believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, he says, I now “live” spiritually, not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, not in my own strength - by the works of the law, but by the life of Christ I am alive - righteous before God. He lives in me and gives me new life and grace-filled strength for it. Although in this life (“in the flesh”) I do not embody in myself the fullness of spiritual life in Christ, I live in hope in the Lord Jesus, who “loved me” and gave Himself for my salvation from sin and condemnation for sin. He is therefore able to give me a full life, perfect in heaven. 2:21. So, if I receive a righteous life - spiritual in Christ through faith in Him, then it would be foolish to reject the source of this life - His grace and turn again to the works of the law, thinking that they justify us before God. If they justified us, then there would be no need for Christ to die for us and to give us the grace of the Holy Spirit that saves us. Part two - doctrine (3:1–5:12) 1 O foolish Galatians! Who 21 deceived you 22 not to submit to the truth, you who had Jesus Christ written before your eyes 23 as if he were crucified among you? 2 This only I want to know from you: did you receive the Spirit through the works of the law, or through the training of faith? 3 Are you so foolish that, having begun in the spirit, you are now finished in the flesh? 4 Have you really suffered so much without benefit? Oh, if only there was no benefit! 5 He who gives you the Spirit and performs miracles among you, does this work by the works of the law, or by the teaching of faith? 6 So Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. 7 Know then that those who believe are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles through faith, foreshadowed to Abraham: In you all nations will be blessed. 9 Therefore the believers are blessed with faithful Abraham, 10 But as many as are established by the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: Cursed is everyone who does not continually do all that is written in the book of the law. 11 But that by the law no one is justified before God, this is clear, for the righteous shall live by faith. 12 But the law is not of faith; but whoever does it will live by it. 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us (for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree), 14 so that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. 15 Brothers! I speak from human reasoning: even a will approved by a person cannot be canceled or added to by anyone. 16 But the promises were given to Abraham and to his seed. It is not said: and to descendants, as if about many, but as about one: and to your seed, which is Christ. 17 I say this, that the law which came after four hundred and thirty years did not nullify the covenant concerning Christ, which was first established by God, so as to make the promise of no effect. 18 For if the inheritance is by law, it is no longer by promise; but God gave it to Abraham according to promise. 19 What is the law for? It was given 24 after because of the transgressions, until the time of the coming of the seed to which the promise relates, and was given through angels, by the hand of a mediator. 20 But there is no mediator with one, but God is one. 21 So is the law contrary to the promises of God? No way! For if a law had been given that could give life, then true righteousness would have come from the law; 22 But the Scripture has concluded all 25 under sin, so that the promise might be given to those who believe through faith in Jesus Christ. 23 And before the coming of faith, we were imprisoned under the 26 law, until the time when it was necessary to open ourselves to faith. 24 Therefore the law was our guide to Christ, that we might be justified by faith; 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under the direction of a teacher. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus; 27 All of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is no longer Jew nor Gentile; there is neither slave nor free; there is neither male nor female: for you are all one 27 in Christ Jesus. 29 But if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. Having cleared his apostolic authority in the eyes of the Galatians from the slander of false brethren in the first part of his epistle, in the second - the doctrinal part, Saint Paul proves to the Galatians that they do not at all need the law for salvation, that the road to Christ is open to them even without the law. The law is only for Jews, and only for a time. That time has ended, and for them it was no longer needed, for for them the same path to the Lord is the same, exclusively the path of faith. Section one. Evidence of the uselessness of the Jewish law for the Galatians as Gentiles (3:1–14) I. The first proof of their receiving the Holy Spirit apart from the law (3:1-5) A distinctive feature of true Christianity is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given in the Sacraments, reviving true and sincere believers in Christ into a new, holy life. Without this grace there is and cannot be true Christianity, but only in name. Therefore, St. Paul’s main subject of preaching was about the grace of the Holy Spirit, without which there is no salvation; everything else is a means. And in the Epistle to the Galatians, he does not prove to them the necessity of grace for salvation, considering this to be a universally recognized truth, but asks them how they received grace - was it for the works of the law or apart from them? 3:1. In the previous speech, Saint Paul proved that a Jew is justified before God not by the works of the law, but solely by faith, therefore, the law is not needed for the Jews, much less is it needed for the pagans. Meanwhile, the gullible Galatians fell into deception, frivolously believing some false, self-proclaimed teachers, who by deceit and cunning circumvented them, deceived them with their false Jewish teaching, so that they (the Galatians) were ready to exchange their freedom in Christ for slavery to the law. The Apostle with bitterness, like a loving father, reproaches them as foolish, foolish children, because they, having accepted from him with enthusiasm and living joy the teaching about the Crucified One, conveyed to them by the Apostle with such clarity that Christ was depicted before them as if in a picture and so vividly that it was as if He had been crucified before their eyes, now, under the influence of some impostors, they removed the gospel from their hearts. the truth, are ready to reject faith in Christ. 3:2. St. Paul gets straight to the point and settles the controversy with one question. He puts forward this indisputable position: for the sake of which the Holy Spirit was given, that is what one must hold on to exclusively; if He was given for the sake of the works of the law, then the works of the law must be adhered to, and if for the sake of faith, then - faith, because the main good for us Christians is the acceptance of the Holy Spirit, on which side of the Holy Spirit we need to stand. The answer is not shown, but it was self-evident to the Galatians. They were pagans - lawless, but they received the grace of the Holy Spirit and felt His power reviving them. 3:3. Without the works of the law, you believed in Christ, received the grace of the Holy Spirit and, through its action, began a spiritual holy life, and now from the Spirit you turn to what pertains to the flesh (the cleansing of the flesh) - the law (cf. Heb. 9:13) as a condition of salvation. Could anything be more meaningless than this? 3:4. You have sealed your faith with suffering from the Jews and your own, in the hope of receiving a reward from the Lord for this. And they would have received it. But you are ready to abandon faith and come under the yoke of the law. This means that they suffered in vain for their faith. Well, if only in vain. It could be much worse; instead of a reward, you may receive punishment from the Lord for your apostasy from the faith. 3:5. With this question, also addressed to the consciousness of the Galatians, Saint Paul shows even more clearly their unreasonable enthusiasm for the teaching of the Judaizing false teachers. Has God Himself, who has given you the grace of the Holy Spirit and is still performing miracles among you, honored you with these mercies for fulfilling the rites of the law? No, obviously. For when you turned to Christ you were pagans, therefore, you did not know the law of the Jews. Therefore, you received the grace of the Holy Spirit, the gift of miracles, solely for your faith in Jesus Christ, which we proclaimed to you. II. The second proof was already proposed from the beginning, that the Gentiles entered into the possession of God by faith (3:6-14) 3:6. This method of justification by faith, and not by the works of the law, was established by God from ancient times. So Abraham was justified by faith, he believed the promise of God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. What was the essence of Abraham's faith? God told Abraham that he would have a son and from him numerous offspring would come (see Gen. 15:6), but he was a childless and ancient old man, so he could not hope for the natural birth of a son from him. But he fully believed the promise of God that this would come true. This was recognized as valuable, great in the eyes of God and was imputed to him as righteousness, holiness, and was considered worthy of all favor and the most abundant rewards. All who believe like Abraham will receive the same. 3:7. If Abraham, for faith, solely for faith, was justified by God and received the promise of a descendant and offspring, then his descendants should be like their father - believers, they are the true sons of Abraham, and not only descended from him according to the flesh (cf. John 8:39). From here the Galatians should have understood that the true descendants of Abraham are all those who, although pagans, are likened to him by faith. 3:8. That the true descendants of Abraham are all believers like him, St. Paul proves this in Scripture. God Himself, foreseeing that the pagans, separated from the Jewish people for their godlessness and wickedness, like Abraham, would believe in Him, said to Abraham, as Scripture testifies to this (Gen. 12:3): in you, for being like you by faith, whoever comes from you spiritually - by faith, will receive blessings, will be endowed with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit for happiness (cf. Gal. 3:14; Acts 3:25; Eph.1:5) all nations, therefore, the Gentiles. 3:9. So, only believers will receive God's blessing - complete sanctification by the grace of the Holy Spirit, in the likeness of Abraham, faithful to the faith. How was Abraham faithful to faith? He believed as he did. God commanded him to go to a land unknown to him, from his homeland, he believed and went, not knowing where he was going. God commanded him to sacrifice his only son, the son of promise, from whose seed he promised to produce numerous offspring; he believed and began to sacrifice him, without any doubt that God would fulfill His promise of offspring. Why does God Himself explain His preferential favor to him by the fact that he “obeyed My voice and kept what I commanded to observe: My commandments, My statutes and My laws” (Gen. 26:5). So, it is clear that believing Galatians, in order to receive the blessing of God - the grace of the Holy Spirit, must believe like faithful Abraham, and not desire the yoke of the law, as the Jews teach them, because under its yoke they will not only not receive the blessing, but will fall under the curse of the law itself. How? 3:10. All those Jews who hoped and hope to please God and be saved by the works of the law alone, strictly fulfilling the by-laws about circumcision, the Sabbath, holidays, ablutions, sacrifices, and so on, are all “under a curse” (cf. Deut. 27:26). But the law is from God and was given for justification through the prophet Ezekiel, God Himself says: “I gave them (the people of Israel) my commandments, and declared to them my statutes, which, if they did, a man would live through them” (Ezek. 20:11). And to those who keep the law, great promises are given (Deut. ch. 28). How are the under-the-legalists under an oath? St. Paul presents the reason: therefore all are under an oath. an oath that those who transgress the law in any way are subject to damnation. But were all the Jews transgressors of the law? - All, if we look at the law, as the only means of salvation. Those under the law could not fulfill it in everything, could not be holy and righteous before God, as the law required (see Lev. 11:44), for, as sinners, they did not have sufficient strength for this (see Acts 15:10). Meanwhile, the law only demanded from them the exact fulfillment of its instructions, but did not give them the strength to carry it out. True, in cases of violation of the law, he indicated to them what sacrifices they must make for their guilt. But again, the sacrifices themselves did not have the cleansing power of atonement for sin, but served only as a prototype of the Great Redemptive Sacrifice - the Lord Christ. Without faith in Her, legal sacrifices did not relieve one from the legal oath. Scripture says the same thing. 3:11. That is why no one could be justified before God by the law. Even in the Old Testament, the prophet Habakkuk said that a zealot of the law is righteous by his life (cf. Phil. 3:6), not for the works of the law received life, justification from God, but for faith and by faith in God (see Hab. 2:4). The Law of Moses, like any law, indicates justification in itself: do exactly everything that is written, and you will receive justification from God - you will live through this (see Lev. 18:5). But if you seek justification in the law, you will fall under a curse. 3:13. Christ freed us from this legal oath. How? – He bought us from the law, all our debts – our crimes before the law – He took upon Himself, He became One for all guilty, although He Himself had no guilt, as if One became a criminal of the law, and we all became free from the oath. He took up all our guilt before God against His law, like a manuscript in which our sins were written, onto the tree of the Cross (see 1 Pet. 2:24) and nailed it to the Cross (see Col. 2:14), on it He bore the punishment for our sins, as the most terrible sinner in fulfillment of the Scripture: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Deut. 21:23). In Deuteronomy, from which the passage is taken, it is prescribed that a son who is disobedient to his parents, a sensualist, a drunkard, should be killed and hanged on a tree, taken down in the evening and buried so that he does not spend the night on the tree. For he who hangs in this way is cursed before God. This hanging was a sign of the extreme depravity of the one hanging, for which he was cursed by God. It was not the hanging itself that entailed the curse, but the sin that led to such execution. 3:14. The Lord Jesus Christ, having accepted the guilt of all people before God alone, offered Himself for it as an atoning sacrifice on the cross. Thus, the sacrifices prescribed by the law became unnecessary, and the law itself, as soon as the leader and mentor to Christ (Gal. 3:24), lost its meaning, went bankrupt, and became unnecessary; and he was a wall separating Jews from Gentiles, and hid within himself the promise of Abraham. With the destruction of the law, Abraham's blessing extended to the Gentiles - namely, justification before God and salvation in Christ Jesus and renewal of life by the grace of the Holy Spirit through faith. Section two. Refuting the Objection to the Exclusive Importance of Faith Apart from the Law for Gentiles (3:15–29) From what Saint Paul had said so far, the Galatians clearly saw that they would undoubtedly receive Abraham’s blessing for faith alone, apart from works of the law. But the Jewish Christians could have, and probably did have, perplexities that prevented the formation of strong convictions on this score or weakened those already formed. They might have thought that the promises were given to Abraham because of his faith, and their fulfillment was conditional on faith, because there was no law then. But the law came and changed the conditions, so that receiving the promise began to depend not on faith, but on fulfilling the law. The apostle's answer to this is that no, the law did not change the force of the promise for faith (3:15-18). But this leads to another bewilderment: if under the law the receipt of the promise through faith remained in force, then why was the law given? The apostle answers that the law was given to prepare people for the acceptance of Christ, he is a nurturer to Christ, why with the coming of Christ he became unnecessary. Now both Jews and Gentiles are one in Christ Jesus (3:19–29). I. The Law Does Not Abolish the Promise Made to Abraham (3:15–18) 3:15. St. Paul dispels the bewilderment that the law may have abolished the promise of faith and introduced another - justification by law - by comparing the promise with a spiritual testament common among people. Just as no one can revoke a will, legally made and approved, or change it by adding or subtracting, so the promise given to Abraham, as a will approved by God before the law, could not be canceled by a law given after a long time. True, no one outside can change a valid will, except the testator himself, who has the legal right to change his will either in whole or in parts. The testator of both the Abrahamic promise and the law is the same - God. Maybe He, by giving the law, thereby replaced the previous testament - Abraham's? But it is not clear from anywhere that God, by His law, revoked the first will. Judging from a human perspective, a testator, replacing his will with a new one, must stipulate in it that this new will cancels the first, especially when these wills differ from each other in terms of persons, objects, and conditions. In content, the promise of Abraham embraces all humanity, and the law embraces one Jewish people. The goal of the first is to unite everyone by participation in the promise, the goal of the second is to separate the Jewish people from everyone else. The condition of the first is firm faith, the condition of the second is works. But in His second testament - in the law - God did not make such a reservation about the first testament, therefore, it remained in full force. 3:16. So, the law did not abolish the Abrahamic covenant. What does it consist of? The fact is that the blessing given to him for his faith will spread to all nations (see Gen. 12:7), but not for the sake of Abraham himself or all his descendants who came from him, but for the sake of one of his descendants - his seed, who is Christ, through Him all the tribes of the earth will receive a blessing. 3:17. With all the preceding reasoning, Saint Paul wants to express the idea that the law did not cancel the covenant approved by God 430 years before the law, that the pagans would be justified by faith in Christ, and the promise remained in all its force. 3:18. Because according to the law - for the works of the law - an inheritance is not at all the same as an inheritance by grace - according to promise; one excludes the other. If it is certain that the promise given by God has not been revoked, then inheritance by law, or rather the law itself, is not needed with the promise. II. Why was the law given? (3:19–29) The time determined for the appearance of the Savior of the world, according to God’s plans, was still far away. Meanwhile, a “youthful” period was approaching for humanity, when the excitement of vital forces and mental and physical needs does not allow reason and conscience to keep a person within proper limits. There was to be a general outpouring of diverse passions. And at the same time, the loss of even thoughts about the One who will heal everyone from the sting of the serpent is inevitable - about the Seed of the woman. And so, to prevent this, the Providence of God left all nations to follow their natural path, and chose one tribe, organizing it so that it would restrain itself from the impulses of sin and keep the faith that the Seed would finally come, to whom the promise refers (in glory, “it was promised to him”). For this purpose the law was given and prophets were sent. The law curbed, imposing chains on the will: “do not touch, do not taste, do not touch.” But he did not kill inner sinful impulses, did not ennoble the heart, did not revive him spiritually. External constraint alone, without internal change, disposed the law-makers to only crave deliverance, otherwise, to desire internal change, which would make external chains unnecessary. This is the essence of deliverance, and it could only be given “by faith in Jesus Christ.” Thus, the law, as if taking the subordinates by the hand, led them to Christ, was a mentor to Christ. This is why the law was given. 3:19. The law was given (in the glory of “addition”) to the people of Israel, as an addition to the promise, as a temporary measure to curb their iniquities, to protect the people from general idolatry and at the same time show them their depravity, their powerlessness to be saved and, thus, prepare them to receive the Promised Seed, in Whom is blessing. Consequently, it has a temporary, inferior significance in comparison with the promise. This can be seen even from the fact that the law was “taught” (in Slavic “instituted”), explained by the Angels to the mediator - Moses, and he explained it to the people, while the promise to Abraham was given by God Himself, without any intermediaries. 3:20. There are mediators only between two or more persons, but with the promise there was no one except the One God, Who gave it to Abraham directly, thereby showing that He stands in a closer relationship with believers than with those under the law. 3:21. If, therefore, the law is given only to curb crime, then it obviously cannot replace or cancel the promise given for salvation, does not go against it, is not contrary to it. He could only then replace and cancel it if he had the power to do what the promise does or ought to do. It is the latter, according to what the apostle said above (v. 14), that promises the pagans a blessing, that is, receiving the grace of the Life-giving Spirit through faith. This is the essence of the entire economy of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. In it are concentrated all the promises and all the prophetic gospels. The Lord has come, and whoever cleaves to Him by faith is given spiritual life by the grace of the Holy Spirit and begins to live a new life. But the law can neither deliver from sins nor give strength for a new life, like faith. If he had done this, then there would have been no need for the coming of the Lord, nor His suffering, nor the ascension, nor sitting at the right hand of the Father, nor the sending of the Holy Spirit and the establishment of the New Testament Church. All this appeared because the law did not have the power to give life, to “revive,” but only revealed deeper and wider the sinfulness of people, as evidenced by Scripture. 3:22. Scripture is the same law as the basis of the Old Testament writings. The law, with its demands: do not do this, do not touch that, or be this and that, and without giving the strength to fulfill these demands, brought all the subordinates to the consciousness of their guilt, jurisdiction and irresponsibility, and thereby declared everyone guilty of sin - sinners. However, such an impression of the law led not to destruction, but to salvation. Out of a sense of self-preservation, recognizing himself as guilty according to the law before God, the sinner under the law was encouraged to seek deliverance in the promised Lord Jesus Christ, believed in Him, strove for Him in order to receive from Him both forgiveness of sins and grace-filled strength for a new spiritual life. This is the promise of faith, to which the law only leads, but does not itself give. How the law led to faith is revealed further. 3:23. The Jewish people, before the appearance on earth of the light of truth - faith, the Gospel - were, by the will of the Lord, “imprisoned” under the law (in Slavic “closed”) and were protected by it with the fear of punishment for sins, like a prisoner in a prison or a besieged enemy in a city, they were “under guard” in order to keep them from the prevailing corruption of paganism with the scourge of executions of the law and, thus, prepare them for the acceptance of the Gospel. 3:24–25. From what has been said, it follows that the law in relation to us corrected the position of mentor, teacher, educator. He is a teacher to Christ. He demanded holiness and irritated the desire of the Jewish people for it, but did not give it, pointing out only that it could be given only by Christ, prefigured by the law. He led them to Him, as if taking them by the hand, in order to be justified by Him, to become right and holy through faith in Christ, which, attracting the grace of the Holy Spirit, sanctifies souls. But if such is the meaning of the law, just to guide to faith, to bring to it, then when faith comes, the nurturing of the law must end - it has become no longer needed. Why? 3:26. Because just as we, having come out from under the guidance of the mentor, so you, pagans, besides the law, who were directly grafted into Christ by faith, became adults, children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus. Sonship to God is essential in the matter of arranging our salvation, because the main thing here is birth from God in the image of the Creator, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ. Without this new birth there is no salvation, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). But those born in this way from God are therefore already sons of God (see John 1:12–13). This is accomplished by the grace of the Holy Spirit, under the condition of faith in Christ Jesus, by faith in Christ Jesus, who, being received by believers in the Sacraments, puts to death the very sin in them and gives them new life (see Acts 2:38). It happens like this. 3:27. He who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Redeemer from the slavery of sin and the Savior - the Source of salvation, repents of his sins and is baptized in His name - dies to sins and is reborn from God for a new, holy life and thereby becomes the son of God. But being born from God does not necessarily bring the one being born closer to God; he can remain very far from God. He becomes close to God when he puts on Christ, that is, having been reborn in baptism to a new life, he begins to live the life commanded in the Gospel of Christ (see Eph. 4:22–24). Then he becomes a new creation and a true son of God in the likeness of Christ the Lord. 3:28. When in this way all Christians, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, are created internally in one image - the Lord Jesus Christ, then it is clear that they are all the same in spirit, all are “one in Christ Jesus,” all as one, or what is given to one is given to another. Because of external differences, no one is deprived of anything that he needs as a Christian. Appearances mean nothing in Christianity; in it everything depends on the strength of faith, devotion to Christ the Lord and readiness to make all kinds of sacrifices to please Him. Therefore in Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Greek. “Neither a Jew is better because he is circumcised, nor a Greek is worse because he is not circumcised, but both are worse or better solely by the quality of their faith. In the same way, slave and free can differ in Christianity, but not in condition, but in faith. In the same way, man and woman differ in the strength and weakness of the body, but faith is determined by the mood of the heart, and it often happens that the wife saves the husband, and the husband precedes the wife in faith” (Jerome). 3:29. If you are in Christ, internally organized in the image of Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit by faith, then through this you have entered the circle of Abraham’s descendants - you have become the seed of Abraham, because you were spiritually born of Christ, and He in the flesh, the seed, comes from Abraham, to whom (and his seed) the promises were given, and as his seed, you became heirs of his promises. The descendants of Abraham according to the flesh were promised the inheritance of the land of Canaan, which later became known as the Promised Land. But his spiritual descendants, by faith, receive a spiritual inheritance - blessings in Christ Jesus: justification, grace, holy life with victory over sin, and especially the Kingdom of Heaven. Both Jews and pagans enter into it by faith in Christ Jesus and the grace of the Holy Spirit. This is how the Galatians should think. Section three. The Holy Apostle Paul defines the relationship of the Old Testament to the New (4:1–7) The Apostle clarifies the temporal meaning of the Old Testament for the Jewish people and indicates why this was necessary for the people, using an example from everyday life 1 I will also say: the heir, while in childhood 28, is no different from a slave, although he is only the master 29: 2 he is subject to trustees 30 and stewards 31 until the time appointed by his father. 32 3 So we too, as long as we were children, were enslaved to the material principles of the 33 world; 4 but when the fullness of the 34 time had come, God sent forth His (Only Begotten) Son, who was born of a woman 35 and was subject 36 to the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying 37: “Abba, Father!” 38 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Jesus Christ. 8 But then, not knowing God, you served 39 gods who are not gods in essence. 9 Now, having come to know God, or, better yet, having received knowledge from God, why do you return again to the weak and poor material principles and want to enslave yourself to them again? 10 You observe 40 days, months, times and years. 11 I fear for you, lest I labor with you in vain. 12 I ask you, brothers, to be like me, because I am like you. You didn't offend me in any way: 13 You know that although I preached the gospel to you the first time in the weakness of the flesh, 14 But you did not despise my temptation in my flesh and did not abhor 41 it, but received me as an Angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 How blessed you were! I testify about you that if it had been possible, you would have plucked out your eyes 42 and given them to me. 16 So, have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 They are uncleanly jealous for you, but they want to put you away so that you will be jealous for them. 18 It is always good to be jealous of good things, and not only in my presence with you. 19 My children, for whom I am again in the throes of birth, until Christ is formed 43 in you! 20 I wish I could be with you now and change my voice, because I am at a loss about you. 21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law: do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written: Abraham had two sons, one by a bondwoman, and the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who is of a servant is born according to the flesh; and the one who is free, the one according to the promise. 24 There is an allegory in this. These are two covenants: one from Mount Sinai, who gives birth to slavery, which is Hagar, 44 25 For Hagar signifies Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to what is now Jerusalem, because she and her children are in bondage; 26 And Jerusalem which is above is free: she is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written: Rejoice, O barren, unbearable; shout and shout, you who did not suffer from childbirth; because the one who is abandoned has many more children than the one who has a husband. 28 We, brothers, are the children of the promise according to Isaac. 29 But just as then he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now. 30 What does the Scripture say? Cast out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave will not be an heir along with the son of the free woman. 31 Therefore, brethren, we are not the children of a slave, but of a free woman. 4:1–2. According to Roman customs, a son does not enjoy the rights of an heir until he comes of age, or, more precisely, “until the period appointed by the father” (in glory, “until the adolescence”), during his infancy and youth. Although he is an heir, he is like a slave, under the supervision of trustees from slaves (in Slavic “lords”). The housekeeper (in Slavic “supervisor”) gives out what is needed for him according to the will of the parents or the overseer. 4:3. So we, the Jews, called the children of God (see Isa. 1:2), during the period of our youth in spiritual and moral life, according to the will of God our Father, were under the guardianship of the “material principles of the world” - the provisions of the law that have a material nature. All the justificatory, sanctifying and propitiatory rites of the law were accomplished through the elements, that is, material elements. And everything here was defined in detail as an urgent law, the violation of which attracted the wrath of God. This was enslavement until the time appointed by the father. 4:4–5. When the father’s mandate ended, the time for upbringing passed, and the upbringing itself was completed as far as possible, the “fullness” (in glory, “end of summer”) of the Old Testament time came (cf. Heb. 9:26), and God sent His Son (see, for example, John 3:17, 34, 35, 6:57). The son took human flesh from the wife, alone, without a husband; having submitted to the law, he took upon himself its oath, in order with His suffering to redeem those under the law from the oath. Thus, having freed us from slavery to sin, he gave us an inheritance - adoption, not a carnal one - to Abraham and his seed, but a spiritual one - to God according to the spirit of faith. How this adoption occurs, St. Paul further explains. 4:6. The proof that all of us, Christians - both Jews and pagans - are truly now children of God, is our living communication with God the Father through the Holy Spirit, acting in His Son and through the Son in us. Feeling His presence within ourselves, in our hearts, we, or He in us, with boldness and trustfulness turn to God in prayer as to our Father. This is what happens in every true Christian believer. The Holy Spirit, who regenerated him into sonship with God, implants in his heart a deep and firm conviction that he is the son of God. Feeling this and realizing it, he calls out to Him: “Abba, Father!” 4:7. You believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and received rebirth from the spirit of God, who now lives in you and assures you of your sonship to God. Thus, from here it is obvious that you are no longer a slave, but a son of God, and if a son, then, of course, also His heir. What about the heir? As the seed of Abraham by faith, you are an heir of his promises (the favor in his seed - that is, Jesus Christ), an heir of all the benefits of the gracious Kingdom of Jesus Christ here on earth (cf. Gal. 3:23-29), and as the son of God - a joint heir with Christ (see Rom. 8:17), therefore, a joint heir of goods in the Kingdom of glory. Section four. Encouraging the Galatians to remain faithful to the teachings of Christ and not bind themselves to the yoke of the law (4:8–5:12) In various ways, Saint Paul convinces the Galatians to remain faithful to the teaching of Christ preached to them about freedom from the law: he reminds them of their former life in paganism, in comparison with the present (4:8-10); then he indicates his anxiety, whether he taught them in vain (4:11); then he convinces by his own example (4:12); this indicates their former love and obedience to him (4:13–16); then points out to them the ill-intentions of the false teachers towards them (4:17–18); sometimes he points to his love for them (4:19–20), sometimes he points to the testimony of the law (4:21–5:1); then he threatens them with the loss of salvation if they turn to the law (5:2-6); then indicates to them the ease of returning to the path of righteousness (5:7–12). I. The Apostle reminds the Galatians of their former pagan life (4:8-10) 4:8. Having previously indicated what spiritual benefits the Galatians received by turning to Christ and believing in Him, Saint Paul now reminds them of what they were before turning to Christ. Then they did not know the true God, but slavishly served idols, which were their gods not because they are really gods, but only in the opinion of people - an invention of people, meanwhile they served them as slaves serve masters. 4:9. Now, having heard the apostle’s preaching about the true God, they abandoned their idols, knew or recognized Him as their God, and this is a great happiness for them, which they do not deserve, because, or rather, it was not they who knew God, but God Himself, in His mercy, knew them, accepted them into communion with Himself by the power of the grace of the Holy Spirit, who regenerated them and adopted them as sons to God. What is the point, what is the need to return again to the former life, into the slavery of evil and weak material principles, into the slavery of the law, into which the Galatians are drawn by the Judaizing false teachers? It, as previously clarified by Saint Paul, had a good educational meaning before Christ, but now, with His coming, it became bad, weak, and became equal to spontaneous service to idols. 4:10. Meanwhile, the Galatians had already begun to incline towards serving them, they began to religiously observe, according to Jewish rites, “days” - Saturdays, “months” - new moons, multi-day holidays, “times and years” - Sabbath and jubilee years. They are not needed, like the bad and weak elements that cannot by themselves justify a person without faith in Christ the Lord! But Christian service to God also has its own elemental principles, its own days, and months, and years. Aren't they needed too? No, Saint Paul himself started his own Christian ministry in each Church he founded. And indeed, the design of the external ritual order in our Church comes from the apostles and subsequently expanded on their foundations. We, as spiritual-bodily people, cannot do without the external in expressing our reverent relationships towards God. But our external things have meaning only insofar as they correspond to our Christian spirit, become an expression of our spirit and faith, and one thing in itself has no meaning, just like the Old Testament rites. That is why our Church can change it (except for the Sacraments) according to our needs. II. The apostle worries whether he taught them in vain (4:11) 4:11. To convince the Galatians to remain faithful to the truth of the Gospel, he, like a loving father, reminds them how much of his labor he put in to turn them from the darkness of paganism to the light of Christ. They turned to Christ, became sons of God, and now they are again going, or are ready to go, into their former darkness of delusion. I am afraid for you, he says, so that all my labors will not be in vain, so that I will not have to turn you to Christ again. III. The apostle convinces the Galatians by example (4:12) 4:12. By his own example, Saint Paul convinces the Galatians to abandon the idea of ​​salvation by law, as he left - “be” you too without the law, “as I am,” because both I and you, as pagans, are equally lawless. Listen to me in this too, as you obeyed me before, “you have never offended me in any way,” you have never offended me with your disobedience. IV. The apostle points to their former love and obedience (4:13–16) 4:13–14. Not only did they not offend him by their disobedience, they showed him their ardent love, which is what St. Paul reminds them of in order to convince them to adhere to the truth. He came to them for the first time sick, and the sick man preached the Gospel to them. But they did not disdain his weakness, temptation - the test of his illness, but accepted him with love as a messenger of heaven - an Angel of God, even more like Christ Jesus Himself. 4:15. “How blessed you were then” - happy, having accepted the faith of Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit! You were ready, out of love for me (apparently with an eye problem) for the highest feat of self-sacrifice, in your opinion, to tear out your healthy eyes and give them to me. Has this now been forgotten? 4:16. And now you consider me, according to the slander of false teachers, your “enemy”. For what? Is it really because I told you the truth? V. The apostle points out the bad intentions of false teachers (4:17-18) 4:17. The false teachers who have come to you are my enemies and yours! They only care about winning you to their side, to satisfy their unclean jealousy, or rather, for their vanity (cf. Matt. 23:15), and not about saving you and the truth of God, and distracting you from the true path shown to you. 4:18. How fickle and frivolous the Galatians are! They accepted me as an Angel of God, surrendered wholeheartedly to Christ and, with the influx of the Holy Spirit, they were so happy in their new life of grace, they burned with such good zeal for their salvation! But then I left, false teachers came, and everything changed, zeal for the salvation I indicated cooled. What kind of jealousy is this? Indeed, in the matter of salvation in Christ it must be constant. VI. The apostle keeps them in the truth with his love (4:19–20) 4:19. Saint Paul, with his love, tries to keep the Galatians from falling away from Christ. He loves them as his dear children, because he reborn them into Christ in the pain of labor. And now he is again experiencing these torments, because the bright face of Christ, previously imprinted on them, has darkened, precisely as a result of their deviations from Him, and again he will suffer until this face of Christ is fully reflected in them again - until they become perfect Christians. 4:20. Just as parents, hearing that a misfortune has happened to their children, anxiously rush to them in order to see the trouble with their own eyes and help them get rid of it, so Saint Paul, having heard that his spiritual children are in trouble, would like to go to them, see their condition with his own eyes and, accordingly, admonish them with stern or gentle speech, because he does not clearly know what condition they are in. VII. The apostle points to the testimony of the law (4:21, 5:1) 4:21. Next, St. Paul points to the evidence of the law itself regarding its use, and its adherents from the Galatians should obey it. Thus, in the story of Abraham there is an allegorical (allegorical - mysterious) indication of the abolition of the Old Testament with the coming of Christ (see Gen. 16: 1-16). 4:22–23. Of the two sons of Abraham, one from a slave is a slave, the other from a free woman is free, one according to the flesh, the other according to promise (see Gen. 16:15, 21:3), that is, one was born naturally, the other was formed by a higher power, although from elements of the flesh, that one is of lower, earthly origin, and this one is of higher - heavenly origin. 4:24–25. In the historical event told in the book of Genesis (see Gen. 16:15, 21:3), God revealed an allegorical, mysterious meaning to the spirit of the apostle. The mothers of Abraham's two sons - Sarah and Hagar - mean two Testaments, two laws. Sarah is the New, and Hagar is the Old. Hagar was Abraham's servant and gave birth to a slave. The law given at Sinai also gives birth to slaves, that is, those on whom it was entrusted and who follow it, it knits like slaves who do not dare take a step without the permission of their master. The law gives birth to slavery, under its influence the entire slavish personality is developed, to whom freedom does not even occur. The very name of Hagar the slave is called by the Arabs Mount Sinai, where the law was given. Mount Sinai is parallel to (for St. Theophan, “it stands opposite, vis-a-vis” - Ed.) the mountain on which Jerusalem is located. Sinai corresponds to earthly Jerusalem (Theodoret). It is he, primarily, with his children, who is in slavery to the Sinai law. 4:26. St. Paul's speech is abbreviated here. For the sake of clarity and completeness, the following should be implied. Sarah depicts another Testament - the Gospel, which requires free (from slavery to the law) service to God and gives birth to freedom. The full implementation of this Testament is represented by the highest Jerusalem - the Church of Christ, free from slavery to the law, like a mother with all her children, that is, with all of us who believe in the Gospel of Christ. She was called by the apostle the highest Jerusalem, not because she was in heaven, but because she was heavenly in her perfections, in her close union with heaven, with which she forms a single whole, forming heavenly citizens. She is called the mother of all believers in Christ, because in her believers in Christ are born and reborn in her Sacraments. 4:27. With the above prophecy (see Is. 54:1), St. Paul explains how the Holy Church is our mother. She gives birth, according to this prophecy, without a carnal husband (she is abandoned by her husband), without a carnal seed (she is barren), without birth diseases and the carnal birth itself (“non-bearing”); She is alien to all this and has nothing carnal, and yet she has more children than those who have all this, because her birth is spiritual, which is not limited by either time or place. It can happen everywhere, always and in large quantities. Both heaven and earth rejoice at her birth, calling out to her: “rejoice, shout” (in Slavic, “open your lips”) and “shout” (in Slavic, “cry out”) from the excess of joy! 4:28. If we belong to the Jerusalem above, if our mother, our Holy Church, gave birth to us not from carnal seed, but spiritually, according to our faith, then, obviously, we are children of promise according to Isaac, therefore, free from legality. 4:29. That we are children according to the promise of Isaac, this is also proven by the fact that, just as then, under Abraham, Ishmael, his carnal son, offended Isaac, his spiritual son, so now, the under-legalists, prefigured by Ishmael, spontaneously serving God, persecute us, predepicted by Isaac, spiritually serving God, because we serve God according to our spiritual law, and not according to their ritual one. For this reason, a spiritual inheritance belongs to us. 4:30. When the son of the slave began to offend the son of the free woman, God commanded Abraham to expel both the son and the mother from his home (see Gen. 21:10), to mark the fact that the son of the slave would not be a participant, along with the son of the free woman, in the inheritance of the promise given to him about the blessing of all nations in his seed, which means, as previously said, in the blessings of spiritual life in Christ. 4:31. So, we are not the children of slaves to be under the yoke of lawful work, but the children of a free woman and heirs in our father’s house. Free because, having received spiritual birth from the Holy Spirit, they became sons of God and therefore free. We serve the Lord not forcibly, like slaves under the lash, but on our own, taking care of the house, like masters in the house, doing everything for the glory of God, always and in everything we have God and His glory. 1 Stand therefore in the freedom which Christ has given us, and do not be subjected again to the yoke of slavery. 2 Behold, I, Paul, say to you, if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 Again I testify to every man who is circumcised, that he must fulfill the whole law. 4 You, who justify yourselves by the law, are left without Christ, you have fallen from grace, 5 But we in spirit wait for and hope for the righteousness of faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has power, but faith working through love. 7 You walked well: who stopped you 45 from obeying 46 the truth? 8 Such persuasion 47 is not from Him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I am confident about you in the Lord, that you will not think otherwise; but the one who troubles you, no matter who he is, will bear condemnation. 11 Why do they persecute me, brothers, if I still preach circumcision? Then the temptation of the cross would cease. 12 Oh, that those who trouble you 48 would be removed! 13 You, brothers, are called to freedom, so long as your freedom is not an excuse to please the flesh, but serve one another through love. 14 For the whole law is summed up in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 15 But if you bite one another 49 and devour one another, 50 beware lest you be consumed by one another. 16 I say, walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh, 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit what is contrary to the flesh: they oppose one another, so that you do not do what you would like. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The works of the flesh are known; they are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, quarrels, envy, anger, strife, disagreements, (temptations,) heresies, 21 hatred, murder, drunkenness, disorderly conduct and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do this will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 meekness, self-control. There is no law against them. 24 But those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. 25 If we live by the Spirit, we must walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not be conceited, irritate each other 51, or envy each other. 5:1. The conclusion from what has been said is clear. If the Galatians, like Christians, are not the children of a slave, but of a free woman, born into freedom, then they must stand in freedom, especially since Christ Himself gave us this freedom, having destroyed with His coming the entire meaning of the law, as only a nurse to Christ. There is no need, therefore, to restore its meaning and submit to its yoke. VIII. St. Paul threatens the Galatians with the loss of salvation if they become legalists (5:2–6) 5:2. It’s as if St. Paul says this: false teachers have surely taught you that you will not be saved unless you are circumcised (cf. Acts 15:1), but I say to you, as an apostle of Christ (cf. Gal. 1:1), in His name (cf. Luke 10:16) I say to you: if for your salvation you accept circumcision and the rest of the law, you will not receive salvation from Christ and will perish. The apostle expands on this idea further. 5:3. With the apostolic word I say to all of you, Jews and Gentiles, who desire circumcision: whoever is circumcised thereby becomes a lawyer and must fulfill the whole law, because circumcision is an obligation to the whole law. But neither we nor our fathers could fulfill the whole law; whoever does not fulfill the whole law is under its curse (cf. Gal. 3:3-10). Therefore, whoever is circumcised will fall under the curse of the law and will have no benefit from Christ. How? 5:4. Christ frees from this legal oath and saves only those who, having admitted their guilt before God, seek their salvation in Him Alone by faith; Only those He saves, in those only He indwells, from Him the grace of the Holy Spirit. And since you hope to be saved by circumcision and the law in general, you thereby alienate Christ and His saving grace from yourself and therefore become helpless in your work. 5:5. We, true Christians, do not base our salvation on anything other than faith in the Lord the Savior, who became incarnate and suffered for us in order to deliver us from the curse of the law. For our faith, He sends us the grace of the Holy Spirit, which makes us right, holy, pleasing to God and worthy of eternal bliss, which we hope for in full confidence that we will receive. This builds in us spiritual service to God. What does it consist of? 5:6. In a Christian, created by the Spirit of God, everything comes from a heart full of faith, breathing love. The internal mood is necessarily expressed externally, but the external - whether circumcision or uncircumcision - in itself is nothing before God. It is valuable only from the spirit with which it is accomplished, so if you take the whole of life as a whole, then if you have only the internal without the external, you have everything, but if you have only the external without the internal, you have nothing. All your externals without your internal mean nothing in Christ Jesus. He alone is the chosen one of Christ who is full of faith and breathes love. What does it mean – “faith working through love” (in Slavic “hastened”)? This means that in the Christian life faith and love are inseparable. Love in faith, faith in love find the principles that revive them. From the moment of their separation, true Christian life will begin to fade away; a Christian with only faith or love will be a Christian in name only. It shouldn't be this way. Having united by the Spirit of grace by faith with the Lord, a Christian draws from Him the fullness of love, which, by its nature, requires expression, and is poured out to the point of self-sacrifice on the members of the one body in Christ - the fraternal Christian community. This is the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. IX. The Apostle convinces the Galatians to return to the right path of faith and life by the fact that they have not yet strayed far from it (5:7-12) 5:7. The path of Christian faith and life indicated to you, he says, you walked quickly and successfully. Was it worth listening to some strangers from Judea in order to be inclined to their suggestions and not believe and no longer adhere to the teaching that was proclaimed to you? 5:8. The apostle wants to inspire them: “Weren’t you convinced of the truth of the Gospel? Was it not forced upon you? God sent me to you, I offered you the preaching of the Gospel, you were convinced of its truth - you accepted the teaching. This was a matter of your freedom - “conviction is not from Him who calls you.” Now do the same in reverse. You yourself have been shaken in your former conviction, and you yourself, throw away the lies that are being instilled in you, and return to the truth, while it is still easy for you, you have deviated a little more from the right path.” 5:9. To the apostle’s reproach that they, with conviction of the truth preached to him, accepted the faith of Christ, the Galatians seem to object: yes, we are still convinced of it, but the fact that, having listened to others, they accepted some things - Sabbaths, new moons, etc. - is unimportant, and it is not worth talking about. The Apostle answers this: “a little kvass leaves the whole dough.” They accepted a little of the Jews, but they stained everything they had with Judaism, they damaged the integrity of the faith, and it can no longer bring you all salvation. Besides, this little can lead to more; evil is contagious. 5:10. However, Saint Paul, by the revelation of the Lord, hopes that the Galatians will come to their senses, will think like him, will adopt his way of looking at Judaism and will act accordingly, and those who trouble them, no matter who they are, will suffer punishment from God, according to His judgment for temptations (cf. Luke 17:2). His view of Judaism is unchanged. 5:11. That Saint Paul invariably adhered to his convictions in the Jewish law is proven by his persecution from the Jewish zealots of the law, for whom the doctrine of the Cross eliminated the law of Moses and was a temptation. If Saint Paul had not preached about the unnecessaryness of the law, or circumcision, for salvation, and his teaching about the Cross would not have tempted them as it does now, and they would not have persecuted him. 5:12. Saint Paul seems to express hope for the Lord’s sake that the Galatians this time will obey his message and distance themselves from the Jewish false teachers. But if false teachers remain among them, then who knows whether they will again seduce the gullible Galatians? Therefore, Saint Paul seems to be praying that troublemakers would be removed from their midst. Part three – moralizing (5:13–6:10) In the moralizing part of the message, it is easy to notice three sections. The first (5:13–25) indicates the general beginning of Christian activity, the second (5:26–6:6) determines how the most perfect should behave in a Christian society, as leaders of others, less perfect, and how the latter should relate to the former. The third (6:7-10) signifies the strongest motivation for spiritual life and all virtue. Section one. General beginning of the Christian life (5:13–25) This general principle can be briefly expressed as follows: in Christ Jesus you have been freed from the yoke of the law, but not to live according to the will of the flesh; and here a yoke is placed on you, not of law, but of love; Therefore, remain in active mutual love and spend your spiritual life in the fight against passions and lusts. 5:13. The law determined every step of the Jew, and he got used to it and knew what to do in this or that case. When he freed himself from the bonds of the law, he became perplexed - how should he act now? Freedom after constraint leads to licentiousness; one feels a strong urge to taste more of all kinds of pleasures. You need to know this especially with regard to sensual pleasures, to which freedom is usually sacrificed. But here new bonds begin, even more harmful than the previous ones. To prevent this, Saint Paul warns the Galatians: be careful that your freedom does not serve as a reason for indulgence in sensuality. Here's something for you to do - serve each other, help in business, admonish and console. This will be the best use of freedom, it will occupy you and give you pleasure much more than the other. Just do it all with love. This is also a yoke, but it is easier and more pleasant than the legal one. 5:14. For, according to the spirit of the old law, love for your neighbors is the essence of the whole law: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (see Lev. 19:18), and you will fulfill the entire law of God. But the most zealous followers of the law could not fulfill this on their own, for only the grace of the Holy Spirit, bestowed through faith in Christ the Lord, can inflame the heart with love. True, the legislators also lovingly provided this or that service to their neighbors, but their love was limited to these services. Christian love is not limited to any individual cases and services, but constantly acts in the heart, itself looking for an opportunity to provide a service, and not only to those who are nice and disposed towards us, but to all people without distinction (cf. Matt. 5:44), and not according to the prescription of the law, but freely, out of the need of the spirit. But why does St. Paul speak only about love for neighbors, and not about love for God, which a Christian should have first and foremost? There is, in fact, only one love – for God, and for God’s sake – for one’s neighbor. But Saint Paul apparently wants to indicate a characteristic sign of this love. He who loves his neighbor whom he sees loves God, and vice versa - he who does not love his neighbor cannot love God (cf. 1 John 4:20). 5:15. If love is the guarantee of prosperity, then without it there will be strife, ridicule of each other, insults - remorse, censure of honor - consumption, which will lead to mutual destruction, your prosperity will be destroyed. Perhaps it has already begun. Mutual love, perhaps, had already begun to cool between the Galatians, so St. Paul considered it his duty to warn them about the consequences of this cooling. 5:16. Having indicated the basis of a free Christian life in mutual love, Saint Paul also indicates the means for its fulfillment in the spirit: walk and then “you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” Why is this so? Here's why: carnal lust is the same as sin living in us, which, like carnal wisdom, does not submit to the law of God, and cannot submit (cf. Rom. 8:7). And love is fulfillment - the essence of the law. Thus, carnal lust is the negation of the law, and love is the negation of all lawlessness. Where there is love, there is no place for lust, and vice versa. But in order not to commit carnal lust, but to have love, one must accept the grace of the Holy Spirit and live according to the instructions of one’s spirit, guided by the Holy Spirit. In order to clearly understand the teaching of St. Paul, both here and in other epistles about our salvation in Christ, it is necessary to understand the essence and meaning of our spirit, which is the main thing in us, but, unfortunately, very often is forgotten or even neglected. He is essentially a god-like force breathed into man by God. Its purpose is to introduce man into life in God and, with the help of God, to control man. For this purpose, the spirit is given the consciousness of the Divine, with a feeling of comprehensive dependence on it, the fear of God, the consciousness of the obligation to please God, confidence in immortality and a future blissful life. With all this, the spirit moves a person towards God, as his highest goal, and turns everything else into a means to it. When man fell, fell from God, he stopped on himself and set himself as the main goal of life. Then his spirit, without the assistance of God, lost power over him; the place of the spirit was taken by pride, which gave rise to pride, self-interest, voluptuousness, and from these then the whole mass of passions, and all of them, together or separately, became the rulers of human life. The spirit fell silent, and if it sometimes gave its voice, it was not listened to, and it itself was powerless to restore its power in man without the help of God. This help is provided to him by the Holy Spirit. The Lord and Savior brought to earth the grace of the Holy Spirit, which awakens the spirit of a person, as if instilling in him: “get up from your sleep,” repent sincerely, recognize your powerlessness, turn to the Lord Jesus Christ with sincere faith for help. If a person obeys this voice of the Spirit, repents of his sins and turns to the Lord with faith, then in the holy Sacraments the grace of the Holy Spirit will awaken the spirit and what belongs to it - the fear of God, conscience, thirst for communion with God, hope for a future life, and it will again enter into its lost possession - control of man. Then life in the spirit will begin to please God, and not to please oneself, but not independently, because the spirit alone cannot resist its power on its own, but with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit does not give power unless it is received by our spirit. Spiritual life, therefore, is life under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, guiding our spirit, in complete obedience to the will of God, in anticipation of eternal bliss in God. The sinful life habitual to a person for self-gratification - self-loving and passionate, rooted mainly in carnal pleasures, obviously, cannot have a place in a person while he is living in the spirit, and therefore it should not be accomplished in him. But a carnal, self-indulgent, self-loving life with passions does not yield its dominance without a struggle, and a very cruel one at that; in a person who was first submissive to it, and then restored in his power by the Holy Spirit, a struggle arises between spirit and flesh. 5:17. This struggle between flesh and spirit arises not in a natural, but in a state of grace. In a natural sinful state, although our spirit sometimes seems to awaken, the fear of God, the voice of conscience, thoughts about the afterlife are heard in our consciousness, but this is the “voice of one crying in the wilderness,” little or no attention is paid to it, it is neglected. In such a state of mind, what kind of struggle is there with him, his voice is the cry of the vanquished! No, the struggle between self-indulgent flesh and spirit arises only when the spirit is excited by the grace of the Holy Spirit, when self-indulgence conceives something contrary to God. The spirit does not allow this suggestion or desire to be fulfilled. When the spirit demands something contrary to self-love, the latter resists it in various ways. So they fight each other. He who lives according to the Spirit, obviously, not only must not yield to the flesh, but must always do the opposite of it, do not what the flesh inspires in our will - “do not do what you want.” “How is it possible to overcome carnal passions? Do not follow inappropriate thoughts, that is, overcome them, having the cooperating grace of the Spirit” (Theodoret). 5:18. If in the internal struggle of flesh and spirit you always take the side of the spirit and act to please it, contrary to the suggestions of passions, then the spirit will guide life, and not the law. For whoever has a spirit as his guide, with its help he quenches every evil desire in himself. And whoever has freed himself from evil desires no longer needs the help of the law, having become much above its teachings. He who is not angry has no reason to hear “thou shalt not kill.” He who does not look with lustful eyes has no need for instruction - “do not commit adultery” (Chrysostom). 5:19–21. In order to more successfully fight the flesh, you need to know what it rebels against the spirit and what, therefore, you need to defeat in yourself. The holy Apostle Paul does not list all the deeds or sins of the flesh here, but only the more well-known, more gross ones, manifested in pagan life. The works of the flesh listed by St. Paul can conveniently be divided into two groups according to the forces operating in them. To the works of the flesh in the area of ​​desires and to the works of the flesh in the area of ​​feelings or, in short, in the area of ​​lust and anger. The first place in the works of the flesh is occupied by purely carnal sins: adultery - in marriage and against marriage; fornication - outside of marriage; uncleanness - desecration of one's flesh by onanism (cf. Rom. 1:24); lasciviousness (in Slavic “student activity”) - uncontrollable lust, ready to commit all carnal uncleanness with gluttony (cf. Eph. 4:19). Next, the apostle points out the sins that serve carnal lust. Idolatry - service to deities, patrons of carnal lust, whose service was performed by satisfying this lust, and magic (in Slavic "sorcery") - the use of various means, herbs, incantations and the like to incline to carnal lust. At the basis of the second group of sins of the flesh, expressing feelings of anger, Paul believes enmity, when people in anger either wish or do evil to each other: quarrels (in Slavic “zeal”) - abuse, disputes, when they want to stand on their own, outside the truth; envy - when they fight with all their might to prevent another from getting ahead of themselves in something, while trying to harm their opponent; rage (in Slavic "anger") - the highest degree of irritability, ready to offend in word or deed for every little thing; “discord” (in Slavic “incitement”) - when they quarrel with others, they set fire to all sorts of discord in society, families and between individuals; disagreements - when someone cannot get along with anyone in peace; discord, temptations - producing scandals; heresies - intolerance requiring the expulsion or death of opponents; envy - that is, the happiness of another, with anger towards him and even hatred towards him; murder is the height of hostile actions in which anger and hatred are expressed. In the last two sins of the flesh - drunkenness and disorderly conduct (in Glor. “disorderly cries”, singing and dancing of the disorderly) lust and anger equally find their satisfaction. A drunken person does shameful things and soon becomes angry. Equally at feasts, lust and anger are played out widely. Regarding all those who do the works of the flesh, Saint Paul, before the judgment of God, announces his sentence, just as he verbally tells the Galatians that as long as they do such works, they will not inherit, will not receive the inheritance promised by God to Christians in His Kingdom, will not taste the ineffable eternal bliss there. These are absolutely not the works, or fruits, of the spirit. 5:22–23. Struggling with the pride of the flesh and with the entire horde of passions generated from it, our spirit cultivates deeds and dispositions that are opposite to the deeds of the flesh, but not by its own strength alone, but with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit; For example, an angry person fights with himself and seeks meekness, but meekness itself sows and strengthens in the heart the grace of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Saint Paul called good works not works, but fruits of the Spirit, born of the Spirit. In the indicated fruits of the Spirit, one can also notice two kinds of them: the fruits of desires and the fruits of feelings. In the first place, Saint Paul puts the fruits of the feelings, the heart, and at their head is love. In contrast to self-love in carnal affairs, self-love sacrifices everything for itself, and love - for the good of others, without thinking about itself. Saint Paul points out its characteristic signs in the First Epistle to the Corinthians (see 1 Cor. 13:1-8). All subsequent virtues indicate only different aspects of love. Joy is the feeling of liberation from sins, forgiveness of them by God, salvation - the feeling of recovering from a sinful illness. The apostle’s commandment to “rejoice always” (1 Thess. 5:16) is a characteristic sign of salvation. Peace is a bright state of spirit freed from the bonds of sin. This inner mood is both outward agreement with everyone and the spread of peace around. Long-suffering is like an indestructible wall protecting peace, joy and love. It attributes all the insults that occur from people not to people, but to the enemy of our salvation; it pours out its anger on him, and on people - love. In this way, peace and joy are not disturbed by grievances. Why does the Wise One say in parables: “A patient man has much understanding, but an irritable man shows foolishness” (cf. Proverbs 14:29). Kindness – pleasantness, friendly appeal, sweet speech, attractive techniques. Those who live in the spirit bear a special mark on themselves. Everyone likes them, for everyone, like oil for wounds, and it comes straight from the heart, from the richness of the spirit, covered with deep humility. Mercy is compassion and compassion, with the willingness to do everything for the benefit of others. It is ready to undress itself in order to clothe another, to leave itself hungry in order to feed another, to give its healthy body to the sick, and to take the sick body for itself. Faith here is understood not as the content of dogmas, but as confidence in God that in everything is His holy will, everything is from Him and everything is for good. She inspires piety and life in the spirit everywhere. Meekness is the opposite of anger and all irritability. This is not insensibility of the heart, but its disposition, created by the Spirit, similar to the meekness and humility of the Lord Jesus Himself (see Matthew 11:29). Saint Paul indicates only one fruit of desires - abstinence, not only as the beginning of chastity, but also as curbing desires regarding food, drink and all other lusts. The purpose of abstinence is to train the body and adapt it to spiritual life, through the skill of satisfying its needs with the least amount of content. Ascetics say: train your body, and it will be your kindest spiritual helper in life. All of the above virtues are above the law; the law is not directed against them, but against sins and sinners; the law of spiritual life is written not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of the heart - in conscience. 5:24. The law and legality are for those who live in the flesh with passions and lusts - for those under the law, and those who rely entirely on Christ, cling to Him by faith, are already free from the law, from legality, because they live according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh, which they “crucified” - put to death “with its passions and lusts.” St. Paul depicts the crucifixion of the flesh as a one-time action - they do not crucify, but crucify. When and how does this happen? In holy Baptism, by the grace of the Holy Spirit. He who approaches Baptism renounces self-love, self-indulgence, Satan and all his works and is united with the Lord. This moral act is then sealed in the Sacrament of Confirmation by the grace of the Holy Spirit, which gives him the strength to no longer work against sin, but to reject it, hate and persecute it. This means that the baptized person dies to sin, crucifies it with all passions and lusts and comes to life for a new grace-filled life, becoming Christ’s. It is true that sin is not completely trampled upon, he fights it throughout the life of a Christian, but his first crucifixion in Baptism and grace-filled help serve as a sure guarantee for the final victory over it, just to live in the spirit. 5:25. By the grace of Christ, those who belong to Christ are given the strength to live in the spirit, therefore they must walk in the spirit, conform to its requirements in their lives, discover in their lives those qualities that are the fruits of the Spirit so strictly that nothing that is the work of the flesh enters into it. And this is acquired through a persistent struggle of the spirit with the flesh. Section two. What kind of leaders should be in a Christian society, and how should those whom they lead treat them (5:26–6:6) I. The apostle's teaching to those who govern and are perfect (5:26–6:5) A) Don't be vain (5:26) 5:26. Vanity is the pursuit of vain, empty, vain glory from people. The cause of many evils is hidden in it, for envy is born from it, and from envy countless types of evil arise (Chrysostom). It is possible that during the religious turmoil in the Galatian Church, those who were strong in faith entered into disputes with false teachers and their followers, but in these disputes they were carried away by praise from people, for the sake of which they deliberately challenged each other to disputes, and this aroused envy of each other, especially of those who were praised more. So, instead of benefit, the disputes brought or could only bring them harm. But Saint Paul gently eliminates this harm, placing himself among the vain: “let us not be vain,” perhaps because evil was only in its infancy. B) Be attentive to the needs of the fallen and weak (6:1–2) 1 Brothers! If 52 a person falls into any sin, 53 you who are spiritual, correct him in the spirit of meekness, watching each one for himself, so as not to be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For whoever thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, deceives himself. 4 Let each one test his own work, and then he will have praise only in himself, and not in another, 5 For each one will bear his own burden. 6 If you are taught by the word, share every good thing with those who teach. 7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap: 8 He who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. 10 So, as long as we have time, let us do good to everyone, but especially to those who belong to the family of faith. 11 You see how much 54 I wrote to you with my own hand. 12 Those who desire to boast in the flesh 55 force you to be circumcised only so that you will not be persecuted because of the cross of Christ, 13 For even those who are circumcised do not keep the law, but they want you to be circumcised, that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But I do not want to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but a new creation. 16 To those who walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and on the Israel of God. 17 However, let no one burden me, for I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus on my body. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. 6:1. The Holy Apostle gives a rule to the spiritual as to how they should treat those who fall into temptation. None of the Christians can escape temptation; they are rooted in the internal, inevitable struggle of spirit and flesh and in the intervention in this struggle in favor of the flesh of the enemy of our salvation - the devil. In this struggle, temporary falls and often unexpected hobbies are also possible. Anyone who has endured and experienced a difficult internal struggle with temptations and unexpected falls, especially under the influence of the spirit of malice, will naturally not treat the fallen one with anger and rage, but with regret, prudence and love, worrying about his salvation, for he himself can very easily, if he turns out to be especially unmerciful and harsh towards the fallen one, experience temptation and fall. Who are the “spiritual” to whom St. Paul gives such a rule? Obviously, those who are more perfect in spiritual life are the superiors appointed by the apostle, and not all those who have received the Spirit. They would correct each other, because this is not the case in any society; everywhere the best correct the worst. 6:2. Another motivation is to be lenient towards temptations and falls - St. Paul points out to elders in the general law of Christ - love: “bear one another’s burdens.” You have one shortcoming (for example, hot temper), but you do not have another, for example, drowsiness, lethargy. The other has his own shortcoming, not having yours. You bear his shortcomings, and let him bear yours. Thus, the law of love is fulfilled (Theodoret). C) Do not trumpet yourselves (6:3–5) 6:3. We have nothing to boast about each other, because in ourselves we are nothing. All our virtues and advantages, natural and spiritual, are not ours, but are given to us by God. Vanity arises from the false thought that they are ours, which deceives us. 6:4. True, our abilities and powers, natural and spiritual, are given to us from God, but their use depends on us. If, after carefully testing what we have done in the development and use of what God has given us, we find something good, then, having realized it, we can boast about it, but even then in ourselves, in our consciousness, and not in front of others, because our inner life cannot be shown to others. And by the very permission to seek praise in oneself, in one’s inner affairs, Saint Paul again leads to an awareness, only much deeper, of one’s insignificance in the use of God-given powers. Man has ruined his spirit by subordinating it to his lower nature. This is obviously nothing to brag about. The grace of the Holy Spirit restored his spirit, man was given the opportunity to overcome sinfulness with passions and lusts and cultivate the fruits of the spirit. It is these deeds that a person must carefully examine, and if he recognizes himself as a complete conqueror of the flesh, then he can boast in himself about this. But can he be a complete conqueror of his lusts and passions in order to be worthy of praise? Let us suppose that with great effort he has conquered his lusts and external passions and no longer allows them to be revealed in a visible, bodily form, but passionate movements remain in him, in his heart. You can not do passionate things, but be internally agitated by passions, which is almost the same thing. Inside, in relation to passions, there is a thought - sympathy, attraction, inclination of the will. Thought, attraction, sympathy may be involuntary. The will may not allow itself to sin, but attraction will show itself, sympathy will break through, and make thoughts known. A person is not guilty of his thoughts, but his attractions and sympathies for them, although temporary, indicate that his heart is not pure from passion, there is still a remnant of passions in him. He still has nothing to boast about himself. This is the path to perfection that the spirit of man and his soul must go through. Firstly, he must, by constant tension of his spirit and will, diminish and extinguish passionate and lustful desires in his heart. Secondly, suppress sympathy for passionate and lustful thoughts. Finally, thirdly, arouse in your heart disgust, anger, hatred of passionate and lustful thoughts. Based on these signs, one can very accurately determine each person’s own work of salvation, how successfully it is moving forward and deserving of inner praise. If you notice that when you look at an object of passion or when you think about it, sympathy for it breaks out of your heart, then know that your heart is unclean, passion still lives in it. With such temptation of oneself, of one’s inner life, everyone will easily notice that he has nothing to boast about, that he is in himself a nonentity. 6:5. For the Lord will not judge us by the sins of another and not by comparing us with the worst, but by our own work, labor - the burden of our whole life - He will recognize us as sinners or saints, and for this work everyone will receive reward (Jerome). II. Teaching to the Flock (6:6) 6:6. Having given the command to those who are perfect in spirit - teachers, to correct the weak in the spirit of meekness and to bear each other's burdens, now to the weak - those being taught - he gives instructions to share their material benefits with their teachers for their spiritual benefits. This is the law of the Lord, that those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel (cf. 1 Cor. 9:14). According to Chrysostom’s explanation, this is, firstly, in order to place the teacher, who often falls into conceit from his teaching dignity, into material dependence on the student, and thereby humble his conceit. Secondly, it brings the teacher closer to the student and strengthens mutual love. Section three. Encouragement to spiritual life and every virtue (6:7–10) 6:7. Man is always the same in essence; what happens to us, the same thing, of course, happened with the Galatians. Having become acquainted with the instructions of St. Paul on freedom, some of us will willingly accept his lessons on freedom, but will not care about spiritual life, understanding it as something abstract and therefore not very necessary for ourselves. Others, realizing the inevitability of spiritual life, will refrain from gross vices and do some obvious good deeds, but will not take care of cleansing their hearts from passions and lusts. In both cases, moral laziness is assumed - a reluctance to force oneself to exert effort, to strain the mind, heart, and body, in the false hope that what is, and what is, will do. This, of course, was the case with the Galatians. The Apostle says: no, do not be deceived by such false dreams. God cannot be deceived. He sees everything. And your laziness and unscrupulous attitude towards the work of your salvation. He will judge you for what you had the power to do and did not do. At the judgment, His harvest will correspond to the sowing: whatever he sows in his being, whatever he is as a result of his entire life and activity, he will be recognized as such, and by this his direct dignity will be determined, such a place will he receive, and the corresponding amount of benefits or punishments. 6:8. Two fields are open to us within ourselves for sowing - the field of the flesh and the field of the spirit. A sower is every person with his own consciousness and freedom. If he, with his consciousness and freedom, is in the flesh and carnal, then he sows “in the flesh” and carnal. On the contrary, if his consciousness and freedom are in the spirit, he sows the spiritual “into the spirit.” Both do not sow outside themselves, but into themselves, and the sowing constitutes itself. What is flesh and what is sown to the flesh? By flesh, Saint Paul, as seen above, means self-love and self-indulgence with passions and lusts; their sowing is the multiplication of the works of the flesh, listed in the 5th chapter. By spirit is meant a god-like force breathed into man by God to dominate him. The Spirit brings a person into communication with God, keeps him in reverent fear of God, and disposes him to do the will of God in the hope of eternal bliss in Him. Sowing in the spirit is the multiplication of the virtues listed in chapter 5. What is the fruit of both sowings? Sowing to the flesh means corruption, but sowing to the spirit means eternal life. Flesh, as material, will decay and be destroyed; but can it be said that, therefore, everything sown into it will be destroyed? No, the fruits of sowing into this material body will be revealed when the soul puts on an incorruptible body. The latter, and with it the soul, passionate and lustful, will be subject to decay - constant decay by fire, worms, cold, but not destruction. This will be uncorrupted corruption. The soul will experience its own decomposition, its own suffering, and it will be so painful that at every moment it will be felt that now is the end of life, and at the same time that there will never be an end to the torment, because this decay will be eternal, just as from the fruits of the spirit - eternal life. The fruit of sowing in the spirit is eternal life. Passion is a disease - suffering of the soul. Our spirit, with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit, fighting passions, defeats them and, thus, heals the suffering of the soul, returns life to it, and with it joy and incorruption. Thus, the direct consequence of sowing in the spirit is eternal and blessed life. 6:9. Sowing in the spirit is twofold - from within and from without. From within, the struggle with passions is in the soul, in the heart, which is more essential in the matter of spiritual warfare and comparatively easier, but only for those who are attentive; and sowing from the outside - with good deeds, opposite to passions, which is more difficult in the sense that it requires all the strength: both mental and physical, and overcoming various obstacles. But both are necessary to defeat passions. Saint Paul focuses on external sowing as requiring special effort. He seems to be saying that when doing good, do not be burdened, do not complain about the difficulty. Nothing done will be wasted and will bear fruit in due time. Sowing is difficult, but the harvest will be easy, without exhausting labor (Chrysostom). 6:10. If good here will bear fruit there, then you need to do it here, in this temporary life, and sow your spirit with it, for in that eternal life there will be no more sowing, but only harvest. Do good to everyone without distinction, but mainly to your fellow believers. The content of the conclusion is as follows. You see how much I wrote to you. I told you everything - both in my defense and in explaining the fundamental truth of Christianity - salvation by faith in the Crucified Lord, and in the application of this truth to life (6:11). Now you should no longer burden me with suspicions or your questions. If you have any doubts again, then bring to mind my suffering. I bear the marks of the Lord on my body. This, more than any other argument, should convince you of the truth of my teaching (6:17). In the middle verses (6:12-16) explain this idea: as it were, I suffer for the truth, but those who urge you to be circumcised do not tolerate anything, and they teach this way only in order not to tolerate anything. But I consider it my glory to suffer for the Lord and for His holy teaching. Discern now where the truth is. 6:11. Saint Paul says something like this: I have told you everything and proved my subject and promises, both by the law itself, and especially by the power and spirit of the New Testament. That's how many sides and how many arguments I examined and proved the truth of my teaching. And he outlined all this “with his own hand,” albeit in ugly letters, in order to stop the mouths of slanderers (Chrysostom). 6:12. During the time of St. Paul, the laws of Julius Caesar, Octavius ​​Augustus and Tiberius were in force in the Roman Empire, allowing the Jews to live according to their customs and serve their God, as they had received from their fathers. So, whoever was circumcised, even if he believed in Christ, was considered by the pagans to be a Jew and was not persecuted. Whoever did not accept circumcision and shunned paganism was subjected to persecution both from the pagans and from the Jews. In view of this, the corrupters of the Galatians did not want to suffer for the Cross of Christ themselves and convinced the Galatians to accept circumcision not for the sake of truth, but for the sake of a quiet life. With such convictions they forced, through fear of persecution, to accept circumcision (Jerome). 6:13. Wanting to live in peace, the false teachers forced the Galatians to accept circumcision not only for their practical benefit, in order to deliver them from persecution for the Cross of Christ, but, mainly, to satisfy their vanity, to boast before the Jews of the flesh of the Galatians: behold, they say, how many pagans were circumcised by their labors. This is why they force people to be circumcised, and not out of zeal for the law; They themselves do not fulfill their law, which circumcision encourages. 6:14. St. Paul's is the opposite of the false teachers. They seek salvation in slavery to the law, he - in freedom in Christ, they are zealous for the law for their vanity, he - for the truth, for the glory of the Cross, which for him is the only praise. For him, he died for everything worldly, and everything worldly became for him as dead - non-existent, for his whole life was concentrated in the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ or in Him crucified on the Cross. 6:15. Therefore, “in Christ Jesus,” in the grace-filled dispensation of our salvation, it does not count whether someone is circumcised or uncircumcised, but one thing, that everyone becomes a new creation. The new creation is man, reborn by the grace of the Holy Spirit through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And such one died to sin in order to live only for God. 6:16. To those who have crucified themselves to the world and the world to themselves, in order to live according to the spirit of faith in Christ Jesus in a new life, Saint Paul teaches the blessing of peace and the mercy of God, as the true new Israel of God, the prototype of which was ancient Israel (Chrysostom). 6:17. Saint Paul concludes his letter this way. I have told you everything that is essential for your salvation, no longer burden me with your disputes if they arise between you, remember that I endure suffering for the truth of Christ’s Gospel. My wounds on my body for Christ testify to the truth better and more convincingly than any argument (Chrysostom). 6:18. In conclusion, Saint Paul sends his apostolic blessing to the Galatians, as his prayer to God for them, so that His grace would abide with their spirit, strengthen it and protect it from temptation. The word “Amen” certifies, like a seal, the truth of everything said in the message. The evangelistic activity of the Holy Apostle Paul in Ephesus 57–59 Having sent his Epistle to the Galatians with an unknown person, Saint Paul continuously continued his apostolic activity in Ephesus for two years. But his teaching also spread beyond Ephesus. The Asian Churches mentioned in the Apocalypse in Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea (see Rev. 1:11), also in Colossae and Hierapolis (see Col. 4:13), probably now received their origin either personally from St. Paul himself, or through his collaborators, at his direction and guidance. At least, the Churches in Colossae, Hierapolis and Laodicea were founded by his disciples - Epaphras and Philemon, as can be seen from the letters to them. Epaphras and Philemon themselves were enlightened by the light of the teachings of Christ, probably in Ephesus, as a trade center for all of Asia Minor, where Jews and pagans from all over Asia gathered both on trade matters and for the spring holidays of the famous Artemis of Ephesus. Epaphras was previously enlightened by faith and, while staying with Saint Paul, received from him complete instruction in the subjects of faith, so that he was recognized by him as capable of teaching others. Then Philemon from Colossae was converted to Christ, and since he was returning from Ephesus to himself, the holy Apostle did not hesitate to send Epaphras with him to those countries and entrust him with preaching the Gospel there, which he did and for which St. Paul is called a co-worker (Col. 1:7). Philemon and his believing family helped him in this. Therefore, Saint Paul calls Philemon his assistant, and his son Archippus his co-combatant (Phil. 1:1-2). Having spread the faith in Colosse and the cities closest to it - Hierapolis and Laodicea, they maintained it. Philemon had general meetings of believers in his house, and Archippus ruled them (see Col. 4:17). Epaphras watched over all three cities, moving from one to another and confirming everyone in faith and life by faith (see Col. 4:12–13). God blessed the work of him and his collaborators. St. Paul testifies that their faith flourished and their lives were holy and all orders were beautiful (see Col. 2:5). Whether Saint Paul himself was in Colossae, Hierapolis and other Churches cannot be answered decisively. There is nothing about this in the Acts of the Apostles, although it is said that he passed through Phrygia, to the region of which the cities mentioned belong. In his Epistle to the Colossians, St. Paul writes: “I desire that you know what struggle I have for your sake and for the sake of those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis, and all who have not seen my face” (Col. 2:1). But from this it is impossible to draw a decisive conclusion whether they had an apostle or not, because this place can be read like this - I have a feat not only about you, but also about everyone who has not seen my face; So, I have a feat both for you and for everyone who has not seen my face. Having arranged everything necessary in Ephesus, Saint Paul drew up a plan for his further activities, according to which he intended to sail from Ephesus to Corinth, from here to go by land to the Churches of Macedonia, from there again to return to Corinth, and from here to Jerusalem (see 2 Cor. 1:16). But this plan was not destined to come true. From Corinth, news was brought to Saint Paul in Ephesus about the unrest in the Corinthian Church, which he considered it more prudent to correct not by personal presence, but by letter. The first letter of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Corinthians News about the state of the Corinthian Church At the end of his stay in Ephesus, Saint Paul received bad news about the state of the Corinthian Church, which he had not seen for almost three years, first general - from Apollos and from the message of the Corinthians themselves, and then, more detailed, from Chloe's household. The Corinthian Church, which consisted of converts who came mostly from a low position, and partly even from the dens of a shameful life - from slaves and, moreover, of the lowest class, was left by Saint Paul among the pagan world, which in Corinth was presented under the most cheerful and tempting forms. Habits of life cannot be abandoned in one day. Even those Christians whose conversion was most sincere had to wage a difficult struggle against two temptations - the temptation of dishonesty, which was mixed with the usual methods of obtaining the means of life, and the temptation of sensuality, which was intertwined with the very essence of pagan existence. With Christianity, a conscience awoke in them, which cruelly punished not only for the sins they had committed, but even for sympathy for them, for the very thoughts about them, which were richly nourished by both the sinful life surrounding them and their own participation in it before their conversion to Christ. When Saint Paul was with them, they were then in a relatively safe position. The irresistible force of his personal influence acted on them in his presence and inspiring conversations; With his encouraging example, it was much easier for them to wage a stubborn struggle against passions and lusts, because then everything that was highest and most holy was more accessible to them. But when he was absent from them for so long, when they lived every day in the large riotous streets, among the cunning numerous merchants, seeing and hearing everything that could suppress spiritual aspirations and ignite carnal desires, when cheerful, everyday life was in full swing around them, it is hardly surprising that their Christian mood began to weaken. Some of them could not withstand the temptation and again began to plunge into carnal impurity - drunkenness, gross selfishness, as if they had never heard of a heavenly calling. Saint Paul could have learned about all this from Apollos, and therefore, informing the Corinthians in his preliminary letter, which, unfortunately, has not reached us, of his intention to visit them for the purpose of making a charitable collection in favor of the poor saints of Jerusalem, at the same time he briefly but expressively asked them not to have communication with fornicators (see 1 Cor. 5: 9-14). But then a letter arrived from Corinth, in which members of the Corinthian Church, keeping silent about the moral state of the Church, asked St. Paul to resolve the perplexities that had arisen among them regarding the Gospel teaching and some practical issues related to it. After greeting St. Paul and assuring him that they all remembered him and kept the tradition as he handed them down (cf. 1 Cor. 11:2), they proposed to him a whole series of questions regarding marriage and celibacy, which were obviously hotly debated in their Church and decided in very different ways. How to look at marriage life? Isn’t it criminal in itself, and if not, then isn’t it lower and less pleasing to God than celibacy? As for persons who are already in a married state, shouldn’t they - or, in any case, isn’t it holier for them - to live among themselves as if they were not married? Can widows and widowers remarry? Can mixed marriages between Christians and pagans be tolerated? Or should a Christian husband reject a pagan wife, or a Christian wife a pagan husband? Should fathers arrange their daughters' marriages or leave them as virgins? Then what should they think about sacrifices made to idols? When asked this question, they self-confidently stipulate that they know everything about it (cf. 1 Cor. 8:1-2), that an idol is nothing in the world and that everything is permissible to their Christian freedom. However, it would be desirable for them to know from the apostle whether they can ever be present at idolatrous festivals? Is it possible to buy meat on the open market that, without their knowledge, may have been offered to idols? Could they, as guests, go to their pagan relatives and friends and eat what was part of the sacrifice to idols? Also, a dispute arose between them regarding the rule that must be observed in meetings - should men sit here with their heads covered? Can women come here and be here with their heads uncovered, and can they talk and teach in public? They were at a loss regarding spiritual gifts: what is more important: speaking in tongues or preaching? When two or three began to preach or speak in tongues at the same time, what should be done in this case? Some of them were troubled by strong doubts regarding the resurrection of the dead. There were even those among them who thought that the resurrection meant something completely spiritual and that it had already happened. This view arose as a result of the great (in purely material terms) difficulties that surround the whole subject of the resurrection of the body. Earlier the apostle asked the Corinthians to make a collection for the benefit of the poor in Judea, but they would like to hear a little more concerning this: what plan would he have for them in this collection? Finally, they really wanted to see Apollos again. They admired his eloquence and were carried away by his edifications. Will not Saint Paul encourage him to come to them again, and will he also visit them himself, as he promised them? Such questions were contained in a letter from the Corinthians brought to St. Paul in Ephesus by Stephen, Fortunatus and Achaicus, who belonged to the house of Chloe, who lived in Ephesus. But when Saint Paul personally spoke with these envoys, they told him in more detail about the state of the Church, which could not help but fill his heart with sorrow. First of all, Saint Paul learned from them that parties had formed in the Corinthian Church. Various teachers appeared in Corinth who, forgetting the sublime goal of Christianity and the deepest spirituality of its content, thought to erect buildings from very dubious materials on someone else's foundation. Where there are many teachers, there is always a lot of controversy. So in Corinth there was a lot of discord, envy, anger, quarrels, gossip, slander, pride and disorder (cf. 2 Cor. 12:20) due to the fact that they had many teachers. Even the visit and teaching of Apollos gave rise to strife. The sermon of Saint Paul himself in Corinth was distinguished by deliberate simplicity, consisted mainly in expounding the doctrine of the Redeemer, crucified for the sins of the world, and was presented in a speech that had no pretensions to oratorical eloquence. Meanwhile, Apollos, who visited Corinth after St. Paul, not only by the brilliance of his ardent and charming eloquence, but also by the exquisite refinement so characteristic of the Alexandrian mind, unintentionally gave the Corinthians, especially the educated, a reason, first of all, to treat inappropriately the simplicity of the teaching of St. Paul and then, taking the outer form for the essence, to give Apollos and his teaching an independent meaning in Christianity. The educated Christian followers of Apollos were so proud of the conceit of their knowledge, so filled with the importance of their mental freedom, that they also began to lay claim to freedom in moral terms. They entertained Sunday assemblies with vainglorious antics of rival oratory, expressed contempt for the strict piety of weak brethren, encouraged women to speak in public assemblies as well as men, were guilty of inconsistency and erratic behavior, and even tried to cover up or excuse one crime so heinous that even the pagans themselves felt disgust at the perpetrator. From the stories conveyed to Saint Paul about this party of Apollos, he could not help but see that the whole point was a false conclusion from his own teaching about freedom in Christ, in those half-truths that are always more dangerous than direct errors. But Apollos was not the only teacher who visited Corinth. Some Jewish Christians also came there and were received with the same enthusiasm by the Jewish members of the Church as Apollos was by the Greeks. Equipped with letters of recommendation from some of the supposed twelve apostles in Jerusalem, they sought recognition of the authority of Peter, or, as they preferred to call him, Cephas. True, they did not teach the obligation of circumcision, like others of them in Galatia. This could not have taken place in Corinth, but their influence here was great and harmful and served as the reason for the emergence of the “Petrine Party”. This party openly and secretly undermined the authority of St. Paul and encouraged the rejection of his teachings. Cephas, they said, is the true head of the apostles, and therefore of Christians. Christ handed over the keys of the Church into his hands; on the rock of his confession the Church of Christ must be built. Paul is a daring impostor, whose attitude towards Cephas in Antioch was extremely indecent. Who is Pavel? Not an apostle at all, but a self-proclaimed innovator. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, who persecuted the Church, and then became an apostate from Judaism. What was he like in Corinth? A preaching tent maker and nothing more. Cephas and the other apostles and brothers of the Lord during their travels were accompanied by their wives or serving women and enjoyed the honor and maintenance to which they were entitled. Why didn't Paul do the same? Obviously, because he felt the precariousness of his position. He will probably never come to Corinth again due to his weakness and instability. His very teaching is heretical, especially in view of the indifference that he preached regarding the Levitical law. Was he not destroying that very fence around the law, the construction of which was the centuries-old task of the most famous rabbis? These criticisms of St. Paul could have a harmful effect on Jewish Christians. Then representatives of a new party of Judaizers arrived in Corinth, and for one of them even the name of Cephas himself was not enough. He presented himself as a follower of James, and for him even the Apostle Peter was not faithful enough. He called himself a follower of Christ and rejected any other name. He was proud to have personally seen Christ and know Him in the flesh. Based on the celibacy of the Savior, as well as James, Bishop of Jerusalem, this teacher had an aversion to marriage. It was he who raised all the subtle questions regarding celibacy and married life. Among the Corinthian Christians there were those who remained faithful to St. Paul as their apostle father. They valued his disposition, always tried to act in accordance with his teaching (see 1 Cor. 11:2) and in cases of perplexity they turned to him for advice. These were mostly ignorant people - slaves, deprived of human rights by people (see 1 Cor. 1:26) and therefore joyfully accepted the simple but powerful teaching of St. Paul. But they too were overly carried away: while praising Saint Paul, they disparaged other preachers and their followers and did not have brotherly love. Carried away by freedom in Christ, they treated with arrogance the weaknesses of others, especially the Jews (cf. 1 Cor. 8:7, 9:12). Thus, as St. Paul now learned for the first time, the Church of Corinth was a place of strife, disputes and divisions, which shook its unity and its strength. The Corinthians kept silent about all this in their letter. But that's not all they kept silent about. They asked about spiritual gifts, but Chloe's household reported to St. Paul that the meetings of the Church were becoming so noisy and disorderly that there were even cases when a pagan who happened to attend these meetings could only say that they were all crazy. Sometimes several people stood up at once, pouring out a whole series of sounds that no human mind could understand, and sometimes among the delights even words were heard from which everyone shuddered in horror (cf. 1 Cor. 12:3). Sometimes two or three preachers interrupted each other, trying to capture the attention of the congregation all at the same time. The women vied with each other to offer their own opinions, appearing at the meetings with their heads uncovered and seemingly not even ashamed of being mistaken for hetaeras, who alone allowed themselves this indecent liberty. But there was something even worse. One could, at least, assume that the suppers of love still retained their former, brotherly, loving character, worthy of the great Eucharistic Sacrifice. The destructive leaven of selfishness has penetrated here too. Kissing the world has become a hypocritical form among some. The brothers did not hesitate to sue each other in pagan courts. The rich brought with them their own exquisite provisions and consumed them without waiting for the others, while the poor pitiful Lazari, half-starved slaves who themselves had nothing to offer, looked with envy at their happy but unfriendly brethren, who gave them nothing from their offerings. And the participants in the supper abstained so little from the dominant Corinthian sin - drunkenness - that there were cases when others, in a drunken state, stretched out their hands to the very Cup of the Lord. Finally, the moral depravity of some members of the Church consisted not only in the fact that Christians were not ashamed to sit at meals in the sensual surroundings of pagan temples, but one of its members, probably an important one, lived in shameful sin with his stepmother during the lifetime of his father. And although the pagans themselves were disgusted by this crime, not only was he not expelled from Christian society, but he also found brethren who were ready to look condescendingly at his sin and even boasted that they had left him unpunished. And what is most important, this person was not an exception, but only the most outstanding for his criminality, and his example was not the only one. Among the Corinthians there were Christians who indulged in carnal impurity, fornication and debauchery with impunity (see 2 Cor. 12:21). That is why in none of the epistles are St. Paul’s warnings against this sin, the dominant sin of Corinth, expressed with more solemn and impressive severity (see 1 Cor. 5:11, 10:8, 15:33–34). Having learned about such an undesirable state of the Corinthian Church, Saint Paul decided to postpone his journey to Corinth for a while, as he had previously assumed, but decided to first enlighten them in his letter and conclude about their condition from their attitude to his message. To do this, he decided to send Titus to them with news of a change in his travel plan, and Sosthenes himself dictated his First Epistle to the Corinthians. Content and division of the message. The content of the message is varied. As we have seen, life has raised many questions, which St. Paul addresses (here) one by one. The message is written as response letters are written, point by point. Therefore, in dividing it, it is impossible to indicate two or three parts in order to then calculate the subparts. All subjects of the message are equal to each other and are considered separately. It is therefore better to divide it into sections. The preface, which contains the inscription and salutation (1:1–3), and the beginning of the letter (1:4–9) are followed by: The first separation is the suppression of the divisions that have begun into parties (1:10–4:21). The second section is the reproof and correction of moral shortcomings (5:1–6:20). The third section is about marriage and celibacy (7:1-40). The fourth section is the prohibition of eating things sacrificed to idols (8:1–11:1). The fifth section is the exposure and correction of some disorders in church meetings (11:2-34). The sixth section is about spiritual gifts (12:1–14:40). The seventh section is about the resurrection of the dead (15:1-58). And finally, the conclusion (16:1–24). Time and place of writing the message In this First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul writes that he will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost (16:8). This means that the place where the letter was written was Ephesus. It was written at the end of the apostle’s stay there. For there he writes that he sent Timothy to the Corinthians (see 4:17), punishing him so that they would receive him better (see 16:10), and in Acts it says that he sent Timothy from Ephesus already before he himself was about to leave it (see Acts 19:21-22). This was in '59. First Epistle to the Corinthians 1 Paul, called by the will of God an apostle of Jesus Christ, and Sosthenes brother, 2 to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both among them and with us: 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I thank my God continually for you, because of the grace of God which was given to you in Christ Jesus, 5 For in Him you have been enriched in all things, in all speech and in all knowledge, 6 For the testimony of Christ is established in you, 7 so that you lack no gift, as you wait for the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 Who will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 10 I appeal to you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same spirit and in the same thoughts. 11 For it became known to me from the household of Chloe about you, my brethren, that there are disputes among you. 12 I mean what you say: “I am Paul’s”; “I am Apollosov”; “I am Kifin”; “And I am Christ’s.” 13 Was Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 So that no one should say that I baptized in my name. 16 I also baptized Stephen's house; I don’t know if I baptized anyone else. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of speech, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and destroy the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise man? where is the scribe? where is the questioner of this century? Has not God turned the wisdom of this world into foolishness? 21 For when the world through its wisdom did not know God in the wisdom of God, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believed. 22 For both the Jews demand miracles, and the Greeks seek wisdom; 23 But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Greeks, 24 For those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God; 25 For the foolish things of God are wiser than men, and the weak things of God are stronger than men. 26 Look, brethren, who you are who are called: not many of you are wise according to the flesh, not many of you are mighty, not many of you are noble; 27 But God has chosen the foolish things 56 of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the strong things. 28 And God chose the base things of the world and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are. 29 so that no flesh should boast before God. 30 From Him you also are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, 31 So that it may be as it is written: He who boasts, boast in the Lord. In the very inscription and greeting, the holy Apostle Paul declares to the Corinthians his apostolic authority and speaks of the unity and holiness of the Church of Christ, which they violate. 1:1. In his greeting, Saint Paul calls himself an apostle of Jesus Christ, not a self-proclaimed one, but called to the apostleship by the will of God, and by this he makes it clear to the Corinthians that his teaching and instruction in the letter should have an authoritative - apostolic meaning for them. Along with himself he places Sosthenes, the former leader of the Jewish synagogue in Corinth (see Acts 18:17), and now his brother in Christ and collaborator, probably the copyist of this letter. 1:2. Although there is a lot of disorder in the Corinthian Church, at its core, for the sake of some, it has not lost fellowship in Christ. She is the Church of God, but not an independent Church, or the Corinthian community, but only a part of the one Universal Church, founded on the same principles as all those sanctified by the grace of the Holy Spirit from the impurity of sin, called to the Kingdom of Christ through the prayerful invocation of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ on an equal basis with all who call on Him in all Churches. 1:3. For the troubled Church of Corinth, Saint Paul, as it were, primarily desires from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ the grace of the Holy Spirit to enlighten their minds and pacify their hearts. The Apostle Paul thanks God for giving the Corinthians the grace of faith and spiritual gifts (1:4–7) and expresses the hope that He will keep them innocent to the end (1:8–9). Thanks to God for the grace of faith and for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the holy Apostle Paul, of the spiritual gifts, names only the gift of speech and reason (knowledge), because these objects concerned the errors of the Corinthians, but about other gifts he says in general that they are not deprived of any of them. I. The Apostle thanks God for the grace given to the Corinthians (1:4-7) 1:4. Saint Paul, devoted to God with all his soul, assimilates Him to himself alone (“I thank my God”) and, constantly abiding in Him with his heart, unceasingly thanks Him for the Corinthians’ faith and turning to Him, for the grace of faith given to them not by people, but by Jesus Christ. 1:5. Therefore, Saint Paul thanks God that in Christ Jesus He made them rich spiritually in everything that a Christian needs to know and live. They not only themselves learned the will of God, how to believe and live by faith, but also received the gift of the word from Him to teach this to others. 1:6. Saint Paul sees God’s enrichment of the Corinthians with all spiritual riches in the fact that God accompanied and confirmed his teaching about Christ with many signs and wonders (Chrysostom), and they themselves received abundantly the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 1:7. So they were given from God everything that was given to other Churches in the grace-filled Kingdom of Christ. They need to expect one thing - the second coming of the Lord, as they expect Him. II. The apostle expresses hope that God will preserve them to the end (1:8–9) 1:8. The Lord whom they wait for will be their guardian. He will establish them in faith and life by faith and will present them to judgment innocent of anything by the day of His appearing. 1:9. That God will confirm them in faith and life to the end, Saint Paul bases this on the fact that He called them into communion with His Son, and through Him with Himself, and He is faithful to His promises - what He promised, He fulfilled. First department. Stopping the divisions that have begun (1:10–4:21) The disagreements (divisions into parties), apparently, had not yet taken particularly deep root, were more frivolous than serious, and consisted, as we have already seen, in the fact that one pestered one of the authoritative teachers, another - another, a third - a third. Everyone boasted about their teachers, and at the same time, they probably quarreled over them; but it is not noticeable that these disagreements introduced serious discord in the Church into the basic teaching of faith and morality. On the contrary, the Corinthians did not cease to gather together for general meetings and love suppers. Having learned about this, Saint Paul first briefly but strongly denounces the absurdity of such heteroglossia (1:10-16); then he identifies and eliminates the reasons from which those absurd speeches occurred (1:17–4:16); and in conclusion, he announces the message of Saint Timothy to them and his imminent arrival with suggestions that can sober up the disobedient (4:17-21). Section one. A brief denunciation of the controversy that has begun (1:10–16) Having prefaced, as a conclusion from the previous one, an exhortation to monospeech and like-mindedness (1:10) and pointing out where the Corinthians differed (1:11-12), the apostle shows how absurd this is (1:13-16). I. Apostolic exhortation to unity of speech and like-mindedness (1:10) 1:10. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Saint Paul implores the brethren of the Corinthian Church to leave their differences of tongue regarding their teachers. Verbal heteroglossia can lead to heteroglossia in thoughts, which will serve to create division into parties, disunity - strife, so he begs them to unite in unity of thoughts and the spirit of love. II. Subject of Dispute (1:11–12) 1:11. Therefore, Saint Paul begs the Corinthians to be of one mind and unanimity, because Chloe’s household, having returned from Corinth to Ephesus, informed him that fervent and quarrelsome disputes were taking place between them, contrary to the fraternal union of love. What are the disputes about? 1:12. They argued about which teacher was better, for they did not want to have one Teacher - Christ, but chose human teachers for themselves: some - Paul, others - Apollos, others - the Apostle Peter, and others - Christ, and, carried away by this, like children, they boasted about their teachers, each extolling his own merits over others, although they had the same basis of faith. Yet this happened because of their thoughtlessness. III. Denouncing the absurdity of such talk (1:13–16) 1:13. Christ is the one Head of the Church, and the Church is one body under the Head of Christ. The Corinthians, having chosen teachers for themselves as the heads of the Church, seemed to divide Christ and dissolve His body - the Church (Chrysostom). Christ alone is the author of our salvation. He died for us, and through holy baptism, entering into the communion of His death, we receive remission of sins and exchange the old life for a new, grace-filled one. At this, in fact, moment we become Christians. Christ, and not Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, is the author of our salvation, for none of the people for our salvation was crucified or baptized in his own name, and neither can be. 1:14. Probably one of the reasons why someone chose a teacher over others was that he was baptized by him. Thus, baptism became a reason for division. With this in mind, St. Paul thanks God that in this regard he did not give rise to division, for he himself did not baptize any of them, except for Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue (see Acts 18:8) and Gaius, the stranger of the whole Church (see Rom. 16:23), in whose house all the believers, no matter what side they were from, arriving in Corinth, found shelter, and perhaps even a meal. 1:15. To baptize in your own name means to set yourself up as God - the savior for the baptized. If Saint Paul had baptized all or many of the converted Corinthians, then the latter, out of frivolity, would perhaps have thought that he was baptizing them in his own name, and from this they would have taken a reason to isolate themselves from others. 1:16. The house of Stephen, which Saint Paul himself baptized, was the firstfruits of Achaia, that is, the persons of this house were the first of the Achaians to turn to Christ and devote themselves to serving the saints in order to promote the development of the preaching of the Gospel and to work together with the workers in this matter (see 1 Cor. 10:15-17). Apart from the persons mentioned, Saint Paul did not baptize anyone. He was sent not to baptize, but to evangelize. Section two. Determining and eliminating the causes of the rumors among the Corinthians (1:17–4:16) All these rumors of 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 the holy Apostle Paul set the goal for the future to prevent any possibility of such phenomena, eliminating (barring) the causes (sources) producing them. Among the latter were too much trust in the decisions of one’s own mind, as well as in human wisdom in general (1:17–2:16), and an incorrect understanding of the role of people, and even the apostles themselves, in planting the saving faith of Christ on earth (3:1–4:16). I. The First Cause and Its Remedy (1:17–2:16) The first reason (source) of the rumors was that the Corinthians attached too much importance to human wisdom, opening it up as a decider of questions and a legislative maker of definitions in the field of faith. So that the Corinthians do not fall into any further confusion, Saint Paul 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 it does not seem so to human wisdom. Therefore, whoever wants to be a student of the wisdom of the Gospel must renounce human wisdom and agree to be a holy fool (in Slavic “buiim”). The Gospel is true wisdom, but it appears in a completely simple form, and therefore only those who are not entangled in human wisdom can comprehend it; accepting it in simplicity of heart, they become wiser than the sages. This the apostle proves as follows. A) The subject of the gospel preaching is incomprehensible to human wisdom, and this is according to God’s intention (1:17–25) 1:17. Therefore, says Saint Paul, I baptized few, because Christ sent me not to baptize, which every believer can do, but in order to prepare me for baptism by preaching, which not everyone can do (see Acts 9:15, 26:18). His preaching was not about the wisdom of speech, not about eloquence and various considerations of the mind, so as not to abolish the Cross of Christ. How? A simple speech about Christ crucified as the Savior directly reached the heart and was imprinted on it, but florid speech, decorated with considerations of the mind, directly touched the mind, could easily arouse disagreement, disputes, objections in it and not reach the heart. Such preaching about the Cross does not achieve its goal, does not convert people to Christ, but abolishes the Cross of Christ. 1:18. Why was he not sent to preach the gospel in the wisdom of the word? Because the word about the Cross (that is, that God, having become incarnate, died on the cross and saved us) in itself for those who are being saved (that is, for those whom God determined by their disposition and life to save) is the power of God, attracting them and saving them, and for those who perish by their own will it will always be only foolishness. No matter how you paint it with human wisdom, they still won’t accept it, won’t follow it. This is how Saint Paul speaks the word in the synagogue, in the Areopagus, or in a private house: some mock, others propose questions, argue, and still others, hiding the word in their hearts in silence, secretly come to the apostle’s house and finally convert. Who repelled the former and attracted the latter? – We don’t know who pushed him away. We can only say that it is not God, for He wants everyone to be saved. Although there is something incomprehensible here, it is certain that there is nothing contrary to the goodness of God and truth. 1:19. Why the Lord was pleased to save us by the Cross, and not by the wisdom of the word of man, no one can comprehend. Throughout history, it was the case that what God had arranged seemed to the sages incongruous with the course of affairs and not leading to the goal. In fact, it turned out to be the most expedient, and thereby disgraced human wisdom. To prove this point, St. Paul takes an example from Jewish history. King Hezekiah was in difficult circumstances due to the possibility of an invasion of Judah by Sennacherib, king of Assyria. Wise advisers offered him their wise advice. God, through the prophet Isaiah, declares to him that what He has planned in His Divine Council will happen. The very Council of God is like a sealed book that no one can read. No one can guess what God will do and when he will do it; no wisdom can figure out why this is done. “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the understanding of the prudent” (see Is. 29:14). Wisdom will be put to shame, and the mind will be hidden, destroyed, as if hidden, because it will not be able to understand how and what the Lord has done. 1:20. Just as it was in the Old Testament that the saving Providence of God was a sealed book for human wisdom, so now the Cross and the word about it undoubtedly save: believers and those who are baptized become a new creation - they are reborn before everyone’s eyes. But none of the Greek sages, the Jewish scribes, the Jewish and Greek interrogators, who have long practiced the art of verbal debate, are able to either understand or explain this saving power of the Cross of Christ. By this, God turned all human wisdom into madness, showing all its powerlessness. 1:21. Why does God save not through wisdom, but through the violence of preaching? Because, says St. Paul, the world (people) did not know God either through their wisdom - the mind given to them by God, or from God's wisdom poured out in the world - in His creations. The cross and the preaching about it as saving is, in fact, the greatest wisdom of God, but for human wisdom there is madness. That is why the word of the cross is accepted not by the mind, but by faith. 1:22–23. The Holy Apostle Paul explains that the initial preaching of the apostles about Christ crucified - believe in Christ crucified and you will be saved (cf. Acts 16:31) - really seemed to human wisdom to be a riot. The Jews expected the Messiah with signs and wonders, through which He would defeat all their enemies and exalt the Jews themselves. And the Hellenes (Greeks, pagans in general) expected extraordinary human wisdom from their savior. The preaching of the apostles about Christ crucified as the Savior for the Jews was a temptation, for according to their law, “cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Deut. 21:23). But for the Hellenes it was madness, for what kind of God is He when He is crucified. If He was crucified, it means He could not save Himself, how can He save others - and everyone else, the whole universe. This is not consistent with anything (Chrysostom). And yet He saves. 1:24. Thus, the word of the cross to those who were perishing, Jews and Greeks, seemed like temptation and madness, but those who were being saved – those who were called – saw and felt in it God’s power and wisdom. How this happened is the mystery of God, but it appears to us as a real fact. Hearing the word about the Cross, some were tempted and even mocked her, others took her to heart, believed, were baptized and were reborn to a new life by the grace of the Holy Spirit. 1:25. Therefore, it is so that everything that God institutes and brings into life, although it seems madness and weakness to our wisdom, is in fact wiser than anything that the wisest and strongest people can do. So indeed it turned out that the word about the Cross, preached not by scientists, but by simple and weak people, conquered the whole world, and the works of the wise and strong of the world were covered in oblivion. B) Among the believing Corinthians there are few wise and prominent persons, but having believed, they receive high spiritual dignity (1:26–31) 1:26. To more clearly demonstrate his thought, St. Paul points to the Corinthians themselves. It was not the wise among them, not the noble, not the rich, or, in general, those strong in their minds and noble in their social position who were called by God and believed in the word of the Cross, but for the most part simple, poor, and ignorant people. 1:27–28. God, in His wisdom, was pleased to choose and call to faith in Christ the unwise (in Slav. "buya") of the world - uneducated not only in words, but also in knowledge, the weak of the world - the poor, who do not have any significance and power in society, the ignorant and humiliated - people of simple rank and low origin, meaning nothing (in Slav. "non-existent"), whom everyone regarded as nothing; but in their person He put to shame, abolished the significant (in glory, “existence”) - those noble by birth and honor. How? He endowed His called ones with such spiritual perfection both in knowledge and in moral life that the wise, noble and strong, seeing them, had to admit that they were higher and better than them in everything spiritual. 1:29. This is how God arranged our salvation, so that people would realize that everything is from God, and not from them, so that they would see that their carnal advantages - intelligence, nobility, strength and power, wealth, etc. - have no value in His eyes, so that they can boast about them before Him. And He gives spiritual gifts out of His mercy, and not for the merits of people, and one cannot boast of them as one’s own. 1:30. The spiritual gifts with which God bestows upon believers in Christ incomparably surpass all fleshly advantages. Through them the Lord makes believers His children. You, the believing Corinthians, says St. Paul, became of Him - God, that is, born by faith in Christ, for to those “who received Him”, believed in Him, “he gave them power to become children of God” - they were born of God (cf. John 1:12-13). The Lord Jesus Christ for us believers is the source of true wisdom about God, the world and man. He alone gives true knowledge of everything. He But He gives spiritual wealth to those who believe in Him - righteousness (in the glory of "truth"), justification by the remission of sins and the grace of the Holy Spirit, giving strength for a righteous life, sanctification, holiness, purity of heart and redemption (in the glory of "deliverance") from the bonds of sin and the flesh, the world and the devil - the freedom of the children of God. 1:31. Thus, external advantages are nothing; the entire price belongs to spiritual advantages. But since they are all given from the Lord and in the Lord, then if you want to boast, boast only about the Lord, that is, praise Him for His mercies and ask Him to extend them for you, as the prophet Jeremiah writes about this (see Jer. 9:24). 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, 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified, 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in great trembling. 4 And my word and my preaching are not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, 5 so that your faith does not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. 6 But we preach wisdom among those who are perfect, but the wisdom not of this age, nor of the passing powers of this age, 7 But we preach the secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 Which none of the authorities of this age knew; for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed these things to us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For what 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. 12 But we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which we speak not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit, comparing 57 spiritual with spiritual. 14 The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, because he considers them foolishness; and cannot understand, because this must be judged 58 spiritually. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, but no one can judge him. 16 For who has known the mind of the Lord so that he can judge him? And we have the mind of Christ. C) The apostle himself came to Corinth in a humble form, with a simple word about the Crucified One, so that their faith owed nothing to human wisdom, but entirely to God (2:1-5) 2:1. If the holy Apostle Paul was sent to evangelize not in the wisdom of the word, but on the contrary, he was instructed by God to save people through the violence of his preaching, then I, he says, came to you to evangelize and proclaim to you “the testimony of God” - a teaching attested by God, by His revelation, as true, not in eloquent words and not with the techniques of the wise. 2:2. For I decided to forget everything, to “know nothing” except for the salvation of people by Jesus Christ through His sufferings on the cross, and I only told you about this one thing. This was the main subject of his sermon; His entire teaching about God, about the world, about people, all boiled down to one thing - to salvation by Christ crucified. 2:3. And my speech, he says, with you was simple, not red, and the subject of speech was such that it seemed to some a temptation, to others - madness; finally, both my external appearance and my external position had nothing representative, but at the same time there were other obstacles, namely disasters and intrigues, daily dangers and persecutions, which kept me in constant fear and trembling (Chrysostom). 2:4. Although I did not use techniques of human wisdom or persuasive speeches in my preaching, my preaching had an effect on the hearts of my listeners and instilled in them faith in Christ. How? The action of the grace of the Holy Spirit, signs and wonders, demonstrating the power - the omnipotence of God. 2:5. And the Lord arranged all this so that your faith would be strong and strong, as if it were based on the power of God, and not on the wavering wisdom of men. D) The sermon at the first announcement is simple; but those who believe later, in the realm of faith, receive knowledge of true wisdom, unattainable by the wise men of the world (2:6-16). And in Christianity the deepest wisdom is preached, but only to those who are perfect in faith; only the spiritual, that is, those blessed by the Holy Spirit, can understand it. 2:6. To attract people to faith, the apostles used the simple word about Christ crucified. Those who accepted faith and had already achieved perfection through it, they preached spiritual wisdom, consisting in a detailed revelation of salvation in Christ and the methods of salvation, that is, such wisdom that infinitely surpasses the philosophy of all the temporary sages ("authorities") of this age. 2:7. This wisdom of God lies in the presentation of the image of the dispensation of our salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, namely, where it came from and what its immense consequences are, which are reflected in all areas of created existence (cf. Eph. 1: 9-10). It was originally hidden in the mystery of the Divinity, and before its appearance no one knew it as it should, even the Angels did not know it. With the manifestation of salvation, it also remained hidden in the Sacraments of the Church, but in such a way that non-believers see only what is visible in the Sacrament (water, wine, bread, etc.), and believers see what is hidden behind the visible. God, out of love for us, destined this wisdom from eternity not only for our salvation, but also for our glorification by the grace of the Holy Spirit, which sanctifies believers, not only in this life, but especially in the future, in the Kingdom of Glory. 2:8. Representatives of the wisdom and power of the flesh did not recognize this hidden wisdom even when it appeared on earth in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. They crucified Him, the Lord of Glory incarnate. They looked at this hidden secret from its visible side and did not see anything glorious in it. 2:9. But in its hidden side there is such a high good that there is no such thing, there has not been and will not be, as predicted by the prophet Isaiah (see Is. 64:4). And indeed, the greatest wisdom, hidden in secret, was revealed. God incarnates, takes the form of a slave, suffers on the cross as a villain; and this is all so that people who have committed crimes against Him can be justified, spiritualized, adopted by God, revealed not only as bright, but also luminous, and, even more so, so that everything, both earthly and heavenly, can be headed in Himself. All this is not only incomprehensible before it is accomplished and manifested by deeds, but also after it is manifested and accomplished it will remain immense and inconceivable for everyone except those who have been worthy of these blessings, those who love God and cling to Him with all their hearts. But even they, sensing within themselves these benefits, which surpass all visible and desired benefits, cannot comprehend them themselves. How do they know them? 2:10. It is known that the apostles themselves, before the resurrection of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit on them, were in extreme bewilderment regarding the Divine plans of salvation. But to them, as later to all believers and lovers of God, they were revealed and clarified by the Holy Spirit, for whom, as the Person of the Most Holy Trinity, there is nothing hidden. He knows perfectly everything that is hidden in God, all His depths. 2:11. Only through revelation by the Spirit does the mystery of our salvation become known to people, because He alone knows what is in God, just as only the spirit of man knows what is hidden in the soul of man. 2:12. This is the Spirit who knows the depths of God (because He is from God - Consubstantial with Him), and we, the apostles, received it, and through us (through the laying on of hands - anointing) all believers receive it, so that they can truly know what has been given to us by God in Jesus Christ, and not have false knowledge from the evil spirit, as the prince of the mind and power of this world. 2:13. Taught the truth by the Holy Spirit, the apostles conveyed it to people in the appropriate form, not in words and phrases invented by human wisdom, but in words and phrases corresponding to the truth itself, selecting spiritual (from the Spirit) phrases and testimonies and prototypes of the Old Testament to spiritual truth (Chrysostom). And since the truth is from the Holy Spirit and the form of speech about it is also from Him, it is clear that it can also be accepted with the assistance of the Spirit, that is, we offer spiritual truths to the spiritual, guided by the Spirit, as capable of accepting them. 2:14. Those who live and are guided in their lives not by the spirit, but by worldly wisdom, by their own mind, by their own natural powers and ways, organize their lives and only place their hope in them, in a word, in whom the soul, and not the spirit, dominates and controls everything for earthly well-being - spiritual people do not accept wisdom from the Spirit of God, because for their earthly mind it seems completely incomprehensible - foolishness. Only the spirit of man can judge and accept it, because it is from God, who breathed it into man. But there is a spirit in every person, right? Yes. But he, instead of controlling man with the assistance of the Spirit of God, after the fall he himself fell under the power of the soul, intended for earthly well-being, and was suppressed by it. On what, in this case, is the hope for the success of preaching about spiritual things based, if the spiritual does not accept what is from the Spirit of God, and cannot even understand? - On the fact that no matter how spiritual someone is, there is a spirit in him, which, under the influence of the grace-filled gospel, raises its voice in a spiritual person - in the feeling of the fear of God, conscience, and compels him to both listen and obey what he hears. However, what is described occurs to different degrees in different people. For some, the spirit barely begins to move, so it is suppressed by the soul; in others it rises with such force that conversion is immediately accomplished. One who is completely spiritual cannot hear the spiritual; he runs away from it or rebels against it; he does not receive the Spirit of God at all. In whom the natural movements and manifestations of his spirit - the fear of God and conscience - are not completely suppressed, he, listening to the gospel from the Holy Spirit, finds something similar in it, discusses it and, seeing how it corresponds to the requirements of his own spirit, accepts it, believes and is renewed in the Sacraments. Then the grace of the Holy Spirit comes to the aid of his spirit. He enters the spiritual realm, and the grace of the Spirit gradually introduces him to the knowledge of what is from the Spirit of God. This one becomes capable of discussing spiritual things spiritually. 2:15. So, the spiritual man does not know the spiritual; the spiritual one knows both the spiritual and the mental in which he previously resided. 2:16. Therefore, a natural person cannot understand and judge the spiritual, but the latter understands and judges everything that is given to him by the Holy Spirit to understand the mind of Christ, that is, His spirit, contemplations, plans, powers, dispositions and everything that Christ was pleased to reveal to us. Therefore, the knowledge of spiritual people is not human knowledge subject to doubt, but knowledge from Christ - true and spiritual. Such knowledge is inaccessible to the soul. II. The second cause and its solution (3:1–4:16) The second source of speculation that divided the Corinthians was the incorrect concept of what the significance of the apostles was in the structure of the Church of Christ, and after them all the other teachers, and how one should look at them, from what point of view one should judge them. St. Paul now explains both. To this end, he shows that the apostles are only workers in the field of God (3:1-23), and that they should not be judged by anything external, but by whether they are faithful to their calling and purpose (4:1-16). 1 And I could not speak to you, brethren, as to spiritual people, but as to carnal people, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you milk and not solid food, for you were not yet able, and even now you are not able, 3 because you are still carnal. For if there is envy, strife, and disagreement among you, are you not carnal? and are you not acting according to human custom? 4 For when one says, “I am Paul’s,” and another, “I am Apollos’,” are you not carnal? 5 Who is Paul? who is Apollos? They are only ministers through whom you believed, and this as the Lord gave to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God increased; 7 Therefore, he who plants and he who waters is nothing, but God who increases everything. 8 But he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his reward according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers, and you are God’s field, God’s building. 10 According to the grace given to me by God, like a wise builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it; but each one watch how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Does anyone build on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 Each one's work will be revealed; for the day will show it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will try everyone’s work, what kind it is. 14 Whoever’s work that he has built stands, he will receive a reward. 15 But whose work is burned up, he will suffer loss; however, he himself will be saved, but as if from fire. 16 Do you not know that you are the church of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys the church of God, God will punish him: for the church of God is holy; and this church is you. 18 Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks to be wise in this age, let him be foolish in order to be wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God, as it is written: It catches the wise in their craftiness. 20 And again: The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vanity. 21 So let no one boast about men, for all is yours: 22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or the present, or the future, all are yours; 23 But you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. A) What is the significance of the apostles in the dispensation of salvation through faith in the Lord (3:1–23) Here the apostle considers three points: the Corinthians are not yet spiritual, they do not understand the spiritual order of things - they consider people the sources of the preaching of the gospel and the performers of salvation (3:1-4), and salvation is arranged by God, and the apostles are only His instruments (3:5-9). Based on this thought, the apostle further draws conclusions that are instructive for the leaders of division (3:10-23). a) People should not be considered the source of the gospel preaching (3:1–4) 3:1. Perhaps among the Corinthian Christians there were those who, belonging to the party of Apollos or others, told those belonging to the party of Paul that other teachers offer high truths, but Paul speaks simply and the truths are not high. Saint Paul explains why he spoke to them simply and did not offer high truths: precisely because they are not yet spiritual and perfect to understand them, but carnal, have not yet completely renounced the carnal and spiritual way of thinking and goals, they are still “babes in Christ” - not perfect in Christianity. But if the Corinthian Christians were still only in the infancy of Christianity, with a carnal way of thinking, then how can we explain the abundance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in them? Saint Chrysostom explains this by saying that God sometimes imparts the gifts of the Holy Spirit to the unworthy, but not for them and for their sake, but for others. Thus, through unworthy priests in the Sacraments, grace-filled gifts are communicated to believers. 3:2. Like infants in Christ, Saint Paul fed them with “milk” - he offered the rudiments of Christian teaching, the factual side of God’s plans for salvation, and not solid food - the wisdom of God, secretly hidden, concerning the foundations and consequences of salvation, understandable only to those who are spiritually perfect. The Corinthians not only were “babes in Christ” during Saint Paul’s stay with them, but remain so even now (when the epistle was written). From what did the apostle conclude that they were still infants? 3:3. That the Corinthians are still infants with carnal inclinations, St. Paul concludes from the fact that they do carnal deeds - “envy, disputes, disagreements” (cf. Gal. 5:20), and thus they act according to the impulses and demands of the fallen nature of man. The most tangible trace and sign of fallen nature are passions that continue to operate in a person who has accepted the grace of the Holy Spirit, if he does not seek to counteract them with the help of the grace given to him. And until then he is carnal, passionate, until he defeats them. 3:4. And why were the Corinthians fighting? Because of their teachers; one says - I stand for Paul, he is better than others, and the other - I stand for Apollos, he is better than others. And both are trying their best to defend their opinion, which proves that they adhere to self-indulgence, in which their carnal life is expressed. They are not yet able to rise to spiritual wisdom in order to correctly understand the meaning of the teachers - the apostles in God's economy for the salvation of people, which St. Paul further explains. b) God arranges salvation, and the apostles are only His instruments (3:5–9) 3:5. Saint Paul seems to say this to the Corinthians: first I came to you to preach, then Apollos. We did not act on our own, but you, being carnal, paid attention not so much to our teaching, which is essentially the same, as to the external form of its transmission and to our personalities, why some of you clung to one, others to another. But we ourselves do not mean anything, we did not convey to you ours, but only what the Lord told us. We are only God’s instrument so that you believe in Him through our preaching, with His assistance, and this small task (serving the gospel) depended not on ourselves, but on God, who gave it to us; the Lord showed each of us his task. 3:6. The Lord instructed me, he says, to sow through my preaching the seeds of faith in the Lord Christ; but so that they would not dry out, the Lord instructed Apollos to water them with his preaching; but their emergence and growth depend on the Lord. The apostles, with their preaching, aroused in the Corinthians a desire for salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. God sealed this desire with the grace of the Holy Spirit, and it became a deed, they accepted faith and took the path of salvation. Having accepted faith, they want to live by faith, but this is impossible without the grace of God, which arouses zeal for salvation and strengthens them in patience amid temptations; without God’s help, spiritual growth is completely impossible. 3:7. From what has been said it is clear that in the arrangement of our salvation everything depends on God alone, and not on people, His servants. 3:8. God, at His discretion, equally uses both those who plant faith and those who give water as instruments. Both equally serve the will of God (Theodoret), which acts through them as it pleases. But they are not one in their labors. One easily, without much effort, achieves the goal, the other - with great effort. God, says St. Paul, values ​​not success, but the work of his servants. As they work, He rewards them. See what consolation is expressed here to those who work on something good, in themselves or others, and do not see success! 3:9. Shows the reason why work is valued. Because we are God's co-workers. He was pleased to choose us as an instrument for the salvation of you and others. He values ​​our work, for through it His fatherly intention is fulfilled - to save. We are collaborators, and you are a “field” cultivated by God, a building created by God, therefore, you should not consider Paul or Apollos your teachers and boast about them, but belong to God and attribute everything of yours to Him. c) Edifying lessons for the leaders of the Corinthian parties (3:10–23) Having called the Corinthians the field of God, the building of God, Saint Paul calls the apostles and teachers - co-workers and servants of God - builders of the building. The apostle himself sowed the seeds of faith in this field of God, Apollos watered them with his teaching, and God nurtured them, and the Church, the building of God, was formed from believers. But the church of God is not just a material church; it constantly grows from the inside as a spiritual one, and each of its previous states serves as the basis for the subsequent one. So, if the church of God is in constant construction, then from here the Apostle Paul draws lessons for the organizers. Lesson one. The church must be built on the proper foundation and from the appropriate material, otherwise both the building and the builder will suffer damage (vv. 10–15). Lesson two. To build, not by destroying, but by creating (vv. 16–17). Lesson three. Builders, and even more so their carnal wisdom, which is not at all suitable for building the church of God (vv. 18-20). Lesson four. The disciples and all Christians should not be carried away by carnal wisdom, but adhere to one thing - Christ (vv. 21-23). 3:10. Equipped with grace-filled aids - the knowledge of the wisdom of God, moral strength and the gift of miracles, I, he says, as a knowledgeable builder, laid the foundation of the building of God from you and brought it to some completeness. But everything I have done can only be considered the position of the foundation. On this basis, other builders will continue construction. What should they pay special attention to? To ensure that their construction is fully consistent with the required foundation and plan of the entire building. In a spiritual building - the church of God, the foundation determines the plan of the building, its character, and the materials from which it should be built. All this must be known and observed by teachers who undertake to build the church of God on the foundation already laid. 3:11. For the church of God, the only foundation is the Lord, our Savior. By His death He redeemed us from sin, curse and death. Those who believe in Him become partakers of this redemption and, with the help of the grace He bestows, live a new, spiritual life, successfully fighting passions and lusts, until they are completely expelled or killed in themselves, in order to be heirs of the Kingdom of Christ. This is the foundation on which the church of God must be built, both in the whole body of believers and in each individual! 3:12–13. The foundation of the Corinthian Church is one and unshakable, but the material - the teaching from which their teachers build the building on this foundation - is not the same. Some materials correspond to the base - durable (gold, silver, precious stones), while others do not correspond to it - fragile (wood, hay, straw). The Apostle does not explain, in particular, what is meant by the listed durable material in its various types and fragile. But one might think that St. Paul calls the doctrine of salvation solid, which is fully consistent with the teaching of Christ and the apostles, demanding unswerving, despite self-indulgence, following them and the constant mortification of one’s passions, and fragile - that which, for the sake of carnal wisdom and self-indulgence, tries to reinterpret or weaken the requirements of Christ’s teaching about moral life. Saint Paul only says that the labors of every teacher and every Christian, put forth by them for the salvation of others or themselves, will be fully revealed on the day of general judgment, where everyone will have to pass, as if through fire, which will tempt the work of everyone, whether it is strong or fragile. 3:14–15. This is the picture that paints itself before the spiritual eyes of the holy apostle. Each, on the basis of his faith, by his deeds builds himself a house in which he lives both here and beyond the grave, in which he will pass through the testing fire on the day of judgment. Whose house remains intact and does not burn down, “he will receive a reward” from the Lord – the Judge; and whose one is burned, he will see that all his earthly labor was in vain (in glory, “will be in vain”), he labored in vain, he cherished vain hopes, he deceived himself, thinking that he was building effectively. What will happen to those whose house burns down? He will be saved, but in the same way as those caught accidentally in a house fire are saved. There is fire all around, you have to run through it. Some will run through almost unscorched, others will run through in varying degrees of scorching, and others will burn out in the house. The meaning of what has been said is this: those who built their lives poorly or from fragile material - some will go into eternal fire, others will receive different degrees of punishment, and others will be pardoned. For although they are all to blame for building from fragile material, their guilt may have different degrees. Another may have worked conscientiously, but due to inability to build it poorly, or due to completely excusable circumstances, he did not have time to take on the best, or for some other excusable reasons. He may be pardoned. 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. He does this in order to further intimidate those who have undertaken to build or, rather, rebuild what has been built according to their own understanding, 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 punish him (in the glory of “corrupt”).” 3:16. The holy apostle reminds the Corinthians of the truth already known to them, that they all constitute the church of God, in which dwells the Holy Spirit, who dwelt in them after baptism. By reminding them of this, he makes them understand that since the church is a single whole, they too must be one, and not divided into parties according to teachers, and that by their division they destroy the single church, and the Spirit of God will leave them. He spoke this as a warning to all the Corinthians. But he especially strictly reminds their teachers of this and threatens them with God’s punishment for division. 3:17. The church of God, the community of believers, is holy both because it is God’s and because the Spirit of God dwells in it, so if anyone “ruins” it with his wrong teaching, brings into it turmoil, discord, dividing it into parts, God will punish him with His wrath. The Apostle warns the Corinthians and their teachers against this. Next, Saint Paul seems to give an answer to the question of the Corinthians: what should they do? He says: let some (teachers) abandon the wisdom of this age, and let others (disciples) stop marveling at it and obeying its wisdom. Lesson Three – For Teachers (vv. 18–20) 3:18. If you want to be “wise in this age,” become “mad.” “To be wise” of course - truly or before God. This is what St. Paul answers to the Corinthians’ question: what should be done? Who considers himself wise in this age? Everyone thinks the way things seem according to his own reflection. He has knowledge, acquired and verified by him from experience and observations, and concepts about himself and the world, and thinks that he knows everything that is possible for a person to know, and that he is a sage. But he deceives himself with this; he does not have true wisdom, which is from God and is opposite to the wisdom of this age. To become truly wise, one must completely abandon the wisdom of this age, recognize it as an empty phantom of wisdom and then accept the teaching and way of life according to Divine revelation and, thus, appear before the wise men of this world as crazy in order to become truly wise before God. Why is this so? 3:19. Because wisdom, or what is considered the wisdom of this world, is arrogant, self-indulgent boasting, dreaming of doing without God, of comprehending everything with one’s earthly mind, and this is “madness before God.” Saint Paul confirms the thought just expressed by Scripture, which says that God destroys all the plans of the wise, like a light web (see Job 5:13). 3:20. By another testimony of Scripture (see Ps. 93:11), St. Paul asserts that all the knowledge of the wise, all their plans are vain - vain, empty, and this is true, for the Lord knows this and told people through David. Lesson Four—Disciples (vv. 21–23) 3:21. Saint Paul seems to say this to the Corinthian disciples: I have explained to you well what human wisdom is; you see clearly that you should not get carried away by it, saying: “such and such a teacher speaks wisely and eloquently, you need to become his follower, and the like.” Have your Christian mind and use it to determine the dignity of persons and things, for God has established everything for your salvation. St. Paul explains this last thought further. 3:22–23. Everything, says the holy apostle, was arranged by God for your salvation and adoption by Him in Jesus Christ. We, the apostles, have been granted apostolic grace to preach to you about salvation and call you to faith in the Lord Jesus; you have also been given this life in this world, so that you can prepare for the future that awaits you; and death itself was brought into your nature for your own benefit, in order to pass through it to the Lord into the future life, and everything visible was created for your need, and for your sake the real Kingdom of grace was built - the Church, with all its grace-filled means, and the future blessed life. Therefore, you need to be in unity with the Lord Christ, Who is the Giver of all good things, and through Him in unity with God. For He is in unity with us according to humanity, in which He perceived us, and with the Father according to His Divine essence, because He was born of the Father by nature. He is God, not as God’s creature, but as the Son of God (Theodoret). B) How to judge the apostles (4:1–16) By incorrectly understanding the significance of the apostles, you also incorrectly judge them themselves; they determined their dignity by their personal qualities. One is eloquent, the other is simple-tongued, one is more representative in appearance, the other is so unprepossessing, and the like. Saint Paul now says that the apostles should not be judged by their personal merits, but by how they faithfully fulfill what the Lord entrusted to them (4:1-5). Their loyalty should consist in communicating to others what they are commanded, without appropriating it for themselves, but attributing everything to the Entruster. Teachers should also be guided by their example (4:6–8). As for the outward lack of display of the apostles, God destined them to be the rabble of the world (4:9-13). But let not my speech seem bitter to you; it is the fruit of fatherly love (4:14-16). 1 Therefore, everyone should understand us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Now it is required of stewards that everyone should be found faithful. 3 It means very little to me 59 how you judge me or how 60 other people judge me; I don’t judge myself. 4 For although I know nothing about myself, I am not justified by this; The Lord is my judge. 5 Therefore do not judge in any way before the time, until the Lord comes, who will illuminate the hidden things in darkness and reveal the intentions of the heart, and then everyone will have praise from God. 6 This, brothers, I applied to myself and Apollos for your sake, so that you would learn from us not to philosophize beyond what is written, and not to be proud of one another. 7 For who makes you different? What do you have that you wouldn't get? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you didn’t receive it? 8 You are already full, you are already rich, you have begun to reign without us. Oh, if you really reigned, so that you and I could reign! 9 For I think that God destined us, the last messengers, to be, as it were, sentenced to death, because we had become a disgrace to the world, to angels and men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ; We are weak, but you are strong; you are in glory, and we are in dishonor. 11 Even to this day we suffer hunger and thirst and nakedness and beatings 61 and wander 62 12 And we labor, working with our own hands. They slander us, we bless; they persecute us, we endure; 13 they blaspheme us 63, we pray 64; We are like rubbish for the world, like dust trampled upon by everyone to this day. 14 I do not write this to shame you, but I admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For although you have thousands of teachers in Christ, you have not many fathers; I have begotten you in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you: imitate me, as I imitate Christ. 17 For this purpose I have sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church. 18 Because I do not come to you, some among you have become proud; 19 But I will come to you quickly, if the Lord wills, and I will test not the words of the proud, but the strength, 20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. 21 What do you want? come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of meekness? a) The main idea for judging the apostles (4:1-5) You began, he says, to judge us by the personal properties of each and fell into error. The apostles must be judged by how faithfully they carry out God’s work entrusted to them. But only the Lord Himself can judge this, so I don’t attach importance to people’s judgments about me, and I don’t even judge myself, handing over the judgment to the Lord. Do the same, do not judge prematurely. The Lord will come, discuss everything and reward everyone according to their deeds. 4:1. Just as in the house of a rich servant, house-builders fulfill not their own will, but their master’s, so we, says the apostle, servants and house-builders in the Kingdom of Christ, fulfill His only will, we teach, we found Churches, in general, we carry out the mysteries of God’s arrangement for the salvation of people. This is how we need to be understood. 4:2. Just as one quality is required of housebuilders - loyalty to the master, so that he does not appropriate anything that belongs to the master and in everything does only the will of the master, so in the apostles their loyalty to the Lord should be valued, so that in the work of God they do not appropriate for themselves what belongs to the Lord, on the contrary, and attribute their own to the Lord as given by Him (cf. Acts 3:12; 1 Cor. 15:10). 4:3. If the only thing valuable in the apostles is loyalty to their Lord, then He alone can judge them. The judgment about them, whether by the Corinthians or people in general, has no value for them, as an incorrect judgment, and Saint Paul is therefore afraid to judge himself, so as not to be biased. 4:4. I can’t judge myself completely correctly, he says. Although I do not recognize my guilt before the Lord, much may slip from my consciousness, or my conscience is not so sensitive as to expose the sinfulness of some heart movements, and often words and deeds. That is why I submit judgment over myself to the Lord. 4:5. So, do not judge or condemn us, he says, because no one can see how thoughts and deeds arise in the heart and how they come from there into reality. And the person doing it himself is not always aware of it, as he should be; how can an outsider know? When the time of judgment comes, then the Lord will reveal everything that has been hidden. And everyone will see not only the deeds, but also what was in the heart when doing the deed, which sometimes the doer himself did not notice. According to this judgment, everyone will receive a righteous reward, then it will turn out which of your teachers is better, more worthy of praise from God. b) Application to the Corinthians (4:6–8) 4:6. There is no doubt that the apostles were of great importance in the establishment of the Church, but they did not appropriate anything to themselves, but attributed everything to the Lord, who acted through them, and cared only about being His faithful servants. In Corinth, the leaders of the parties, probably superior to others in both education and grace-filled gifts, must have thought a lot about themselves, towered over others, and behind them their followers were proud of them in front of each other. In order to heal them from conceit, Saint Paul, through the behavior of himself and Apollos, showed how to relate to the work of God. They, who worked so hard in Corinth, consider themselves only servants of God and attribute all success in their apostolic activity to God, who is returning their field on which they worked. Saint Paul said all this for their sake, to teach them humility, to be wise as he wrote in the 3rd chapter, and not to be proud of their successes in front of each other. Likewise, their students should not be proud of each other about the merits of their teachers. 4:7. For how, he says, is it known that you, a teacher, the leader of the party, are worthy of praise? Was there a trial, a test, an exact inquiry about you? No, if people judged this way, then their judgment is incorrect. But suppose that you are worthy of praise, that you really have talents and that human judgment is not false, and then you should not be arrogant about yourself. You have nothing from yourself worthy of praise, but you have received everything from God. Why do you imagine yourself having something that you don’t have? Your virtues do not come from you, but from the grace of God. Will you point out your faith? But she is from the calling of God. Will you point to the remission of sins, to your gifts, to your ability to teach, to your virtues? But you received all this from God. You received everything from God, and yet you exalt yourself as if you were your own, as if you did not receive it from God (Chrysostom). 4:8. But this is not how the Corinthians think. After the departure of Saint Paul and his co-workers, they acquired new wonderful teacher-leaders, received the gifts of the Holy Spirit in abundance and, not being subjected to such persecution as other Churches, dreamed that they had already received everything from Christianity, were enriched with everything, were satisfied with everything, achieved a kind of royal contentment and bliss, therefore they could now enjoy their happiness without the Apostle Paul and his co-workers, whom they now have little need of. Saint Paul would have rejoiced with the most lively joy if the Corinthians had really achieved such royal perfection in Christian life, then he would have joyfully shared the bliss with them, having calmed down from his long-suffering apostolic activity. However, the reality is not like that. The Corinthians are deceived: they are far from perfection in the Christian life and bliss, they are still infants in Christianity and carnal. They do not have humility, meekness, or the exploits of the cross, which St. Paul proves by comparing their behavior with the behavior of the holy apostles, from which it is clear that the Lord determined to achieve Christian perfection and bliss through complete renunciation of oneself, humility and the cross. c) The external position of the apostles in the world is far from brilliant (4:9–13) 4:9. This, he says, is the way the Lord destined to achieve perfection in Christianity in the person of us, the apostles! For He judged us, His messengers with the preaching of the Gospel, to be the last among people, to endure the full measure of disasters and suffering, to bring down on us all the evil of the world, so that we are, as it were, sentenced to death in advance, and before the whole world and even the Angels we are subjected to all kinds of disasters, like slaves at pagan festivals. 4:10. The world and human wisdom consider the teaching of the apostles about Christ crucified to be madness, and the Corinthians, guided by the same human wisdom, consider themselves wise in Christ. The apostles realize that they are weak in their human strength, but their disciples in Corinth consider themselves strong in them; the apostles are dishonest in the eyes of people and do not achieve this honor and glory, and the Corinthian teachers and students think that they have achieved glory and honor or are striving to acquire it. 4:11. The apostles endure cold and hunger; they have no place to lay their heads, they are pushed out of their homes, they suffer, have no place to stay for the night (wander), and are forced to earn their living by work. 4:12. The apostles are scolded, slandered, but they speak kindly to them, they are persecuted out of hostility, but they endure it without grief, without the desire for revenge. They curse them, call upon them heavenly wrath, and they ask them for all mercy from God. 4:13. The apostles, like “dirty” thrown out of the house, and like “dust” trampled underfoot by everyone, are swept away from everywhere, as if wanting to sweep them out of the world. This is what God destined the apostles to be and, following their example, everyone to acquire Christian perfection. What about the Corinthians? d) Fatherly softening of instruction and reproof (4:14–16) 4:14. Forgive me, says Saint Paul, if what was said is unpleasant to you. It was said not to shame you, but to enlighten you with fatherly love. 4:15. After me, he says, many mentors came to you. They may love you, but none of them love you as much as I love you, for I gave birth, reborn you to a new, grace-filled life in Christ. 4:16. After all that has been said, Saint Paul begs the Corinthians, like the father of children, to imitate him in humility, patience, troubles and adversities, as he imitates Christ in this. Section three. The Apostle informs about Timothy’s embassy to them, about his imminent arrival, and gives suggestions in order to sober them up (4:17–21) 4:17. When Saint Paul learned from Chloe’s family about the unrest in the Corinthian Church, then (“for this reason”), not yet having the opportunity to be there himself, he sent to them his beloved disciple and faithful servant of the Lord Timothy, so that he would settle the upset. But how? A reminder of how Saint Paul taught and acted in Christ among them and in all the Churches. From this the Corinthians could see their mistakes - deviations from the paths of the apostle and could more easily correct themselves. 4:18. He sent Timothy, and I myself will soon follow, he says, because some of you, due to my absence from you, “have become proud.” Probably, Saint Paul either, when moving away from them, promised to visit them again, or promised to come with someone. Seeing that he still did not go, some of them became proud, that is, they began to act as their high opinion of themselves inspired them - with disrespect for others and with contempt for the orders and rules taught by the Apostle Paul (cf. Matt. 24:48; Luke 12:45). 4:19–20. To suppress this pride of some, Saint Paul writes that he himself will come to them soon, if it is the Lord’s will, and then he will know how strong those who are proud are, not in their words, but in deeds, how good and worthy they are in their lives, with the assistance of grace-filled forces. For the Kingdom of God is not created in words, not in words of eloquence, but by the power of God - the grace of the Holy Spirit. 4:21. Promising to come soon, Saint Paul warns those who are proud to repent and leave their pride, then he will come to them with meekness and love; if they do not repent, he will come to them with a rod to punish them with the power given to him by God (cf. Acts 5:9-11, 13:11). Second department. Reproaching and correcting moral shortcomings (5:16–20) Section one. The apostle denounces the Corinthians for their indifference to the incestuous man and pronounces judgment on him (5:1–8) In his denunciation of the incestuous man, Saint Paul first shows the severity of sin and condemns the indifference of the Corinthian Christians to this (5:1-2), then pronounces the judgment of excommunication on the incestuous man (5:3-5) and, finally, sets forth the reasons why this should be done with him and should be acted in this way in relation to every sinner and sin (5:6-8). 1 There is a true rumor that fornication has appeared among you, and, moreover, such fornication as is not heard even among the pagans, that a man has his father’s wife instead of a wife. 2 And you became proud, instead of weeping, so that he who had done such a thing might be taken out from among you. 3 But I, being absent in body, but present with you in spirit, have already decided, as if I were with you: he who has done this deed, 4 in your congregation in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, together with my spirit, by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 6 You have nothing to boast about. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Purge therefore the old leaven, that ye may be new lump, for ye are unleavened: for our Passover, Christ, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, not with the leaven of vice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of purity and truth. 9 I wrote to you in a letter - do not associate with fornicators; 10 However, not in general with the fornicators of this world, or the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, for otherwise you would have to come out of this world. 11 But I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who, while calling himself a brother, is a fornicator, or a covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or a thief; You can’t even eat with someone like that. 12 For why should I judge those who are outside? Are you not judging the internal ones? 13 But God judges those who are outside. Therefore, cast out the wicked from among you. I. The severity of the sin of incest and the condemnation of the indifference of the Corinthians (5:1–2) 5:1. The Corinthians turned to the faith of Christ from the shameful and immoral service of Aphrodite, which was mainly developed in their rich and corrupt city. This old leaven was introduced by some of the Corinthians into Christian life, in its various forms. And so it was expressed in such a rude form in one Christian, and even the teacher of the Corinthians (Chrysostom), that the rumor about it spread not only throughout Corinth, but also beyond its borders, and amazed even the pagans. This act of an incestuous teacher of Christians fell as a heavy accusation on the entire Church of Christ in Corinth. What about the Corinthians? 5:2. The Corinthians, instead of mourning such a gross fall of their eminent member and praying that he would be removed - excommunicated as an infectious and seductive example from their Christian society, and immediately notify their spiritual father, the holy Apostle Paul, about this, not only did not cry and did not notify the apostle about this, but even became proud that they had such a teacher, not paying attention to his shameful behavior. II. Judgment of excommunication against an incestuous man (5:3–5) 5:3–5. An extraordinary court hearing. The Lord presides invisibly, the apostle from Ephesus directs everything, and a decision is made, one part of which was to be immediately fulfilled by invisible power, and the other to be completed on the day of the Lord’s Judgment. Only in the Church of God can such judgment be carried out. As the shepherd of the Corinthian Church, living in it with his spirit, the apostle decided in the general meeting of the Church, where he would be present in his spirit, under the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ, by His power to deliver the incest to excommunication from the Church and into the power of Satan into the destruction of the flesh, where sin is rooted, in order to weaken the bonds of sin through the torment of the flesh and give room for the spirit to repent, so that it could be saved from Gehenna on the day of the Lord’s Judgment. III. Why should this be the case for all sin (5:6–8) 5:6. This, he says, is the punishment the incestuous man deserves. And you were proud of him, boasted of him as a fascinating teacher. Although he alone fell so deeply, if left unattended, he could infect the entire body of the Church - an example is contagious, and even remain unpunished. The same thing happens in everyone’s soul - the satisfaction of any passion darkens thoughts, coarsens the heart and weakens energy for good. Therefore, if things are not immediately corrected, then sinfulness, receiving support in the defeat of spiritual forces, with the lure of one passion arouses other passions, for they are connected like a chain, and then it will become very difficult to fight them. 5:7. So, the Corinthians must cleanse themselves (the Church) from the incestuous, this old pagan leaven, cast him out from themselves and no longer tolerate his presence in their society and be a “new test”, so that there is not a single sinner in their society, nor is there a single sin in their souls. And this is all the more so because they, as Christians, must be “unleavened” - immaculate, because “Christ, our Easter, was sacrificed for us.” Among the Jews, when the Passover lamb was being prepared, according to the law there should not have been anything leavened in the house; so it is with us - in the house of our soul there should be nothing leavened or sinful, because our Paschal Lamb, Christ, was slain for us. 5:8. Since Christ was slain for us as the Paschal Lamb, we Christians must celebrate our Easter, driving out from society and from our souls the old leaven - the depravity in which we previously lived: selfishness with mental and physical passions, malice, wickedness - and celebrate it “with the unleavened bread of the purity of truth” - in all virtue and all pleasing to God. Section two. Instruction on the cleansing of Christian society from all obvious sinners (5:9–13) The apostle expresses this instruction by demanding not to mingle with any Christian sinner, not even to eat with him. This means considering him ostracized from his society. That’s why he concludes: cast out the evil – every such evil “from among you” yourself. 5:9. In what message? In this, in the words: in order for such a thing to be removed from you, cleanse the old leaven. But the Corinthians might have thought that they should avoid all fornicators - not only from their society, but also from the pagan one. But if they began to move away from pagan fornicators, this would embarrass them and irritate the pagans. Therefore, St. Paul makes a reservation. 5:10. By fornicators and other sinners he did not mean pagans with whom Christians were necessarily in communication, such as artisans and others, or relatives. The harmful influence of pagan sinfulness on Christians could not be harmful, for Christians looked at pagans as obvious sinners before God. On the other hand, if Christians began to shun pagans, they would have to leave the pagan world. But where? There were pagans everywhere. Therefore, Saint Paul further explains which sinners to shun. 5:11. Do not mingle - do not enter into intercourse, do not have close communication with someone who, bearing the name of a Christian, indulges in obvious vices, do not even eat with such a person, do not invite him to your place, do not go to him, and do not enter into any transactions with him. Among such sinners, Saint Paul includes fornicators, covetous people - either by dishonest trade, or usury, or by deceit, acquiring wealth for themselves; idolaters - who eat things sacrificed to idols without reasoning; slanderers (in Slavic terms “annoyers”) - abusive, grumpy, gossipers, drunkards - those who drink excessively and engage in disgraceful behavior, predators - thieves in various forms. And in general, it can be assumed that the apostle means not only those listed, but also all other obvious sinners who must be removed from the Church of Christ, as obvious seducers - old leaven. In the first times, obvious sinners were actually thrown out of the Church; and those who, having repented, sought fellowship again, although they were accepted, were subjected to strict tests and had to go through several degrees of repentance in order to be accepted again into full fellowship. 5:12. By external he means pagans, by internal - Christians and says: I should not prescribe laws of judgment for the pagans, it is not for us to judge them. We Christians must judge Christians, that is, those who violate the laws of the Church of Christ. The court of the Church must determine who are obvious sinners, with whom other Christians should stop communicating. 5:13. It’s as if St. Paul says this: we still judge our sinners here ourselves and through this, disposing them to repentance, we deliver them from the Judgment of God, but the pagans do not have this intermediate corrective court, the Judgment of God awaits them directly. So, the holy apostle concludes, by your church court, cast out every obvious sinner from your society, according to God’s commandment to Moses - “destroy evil from among you” (Deut. 17:7), in order to cleanse the people of God from obvious sinners, who were then stoned. 1 How dare anyone among you, when dealing with another, sue the wicked and not the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is to be judged by you, are you really unworthy to judge unimportant matters? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels, much less the deeds of this life? 4 But when you have worldly disputes, you appoint as your judges those who are of no importance in the church. 5 To your shame I say: Is there really not one wise man among you who can judge between his brothers? 6 But brother and brother go to court, and that too before unbelievers. 7 And this is already very humiliating for you, that you have litigation among yourself. Why would you rather not remain offended? Why would you rather not endure hardship? 8 But you yourselves wrong and take away, and from your brothers. 9 Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor wicked people, nor homosexuals, 10 Neither thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable; everything is permissible to me, but nothing should possess me. 13 Food is for the belly, and the belly is for food; but God will destroy both. The body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 God raised up the Lord, and He will also raise us up by His power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I, then, take away the members of Christ to make them members of a harlot? It won't happen! 16 Or don’t you know that whoever has sex with a harlot becomes one body with her? for it is said: the two will become one flesh. 17 But he who is united to the Lord is one spirit with the Lord. 18 Flee from fornication; Every sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the fornicator sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, which you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God both in your bodies and in your souls, which are God's. Section three. Reproof for litigation before unbelievers (6:1–8) Having spoken about the internal church court in spiritual matters, the apostle wants Christians to sort out their everyday affairs themselves, without bringing them to pagan judges (6:1-6), and it would be even better if, through mutual compliance and readiness to suffer offense rather than offend, they did not allow litigation to arise among themselves (6:7-8). I. Christians must sort out their everyday affairs themselves (6:1–6) 6:1. The Apostle Paul, also knowing from hearing that the Corinthian Christians, mainly pagans, having controversial cases over everyday matters, go to court before pagan judges out of old habit or because it was shameful to appear with a litigious case in a meeting of Christians, becomes indignant and says: how dare anyone decide to do this? What does it look like? Seeking truth, they go to court with the unrighteous! If judicial truth is necessary, then we must seek it from righteous people - holy Christians. 6:2. After all, the Corinthians were told orally by Saint Paul that Christians, saints, by their example of faith and life will be the accusers of the wicked world at the judgment of Christ (cf. Matthew 19:28)! Are they really unworthy to sort out their unimportant affairs now? 6:3. The Corinthians also know from the Apostle that Christians, saints, in their example of salvation in the flesh at the judgment of Christ will be accusers of evil spirits (former angels), who in their incorporeal nature loved wickedness (Theodoret). Can’t they really judge their everyday, empty affairs? 6:4. If Christians judge the world and angels, then it is incongruous in your everyday affairs for you (the Corinthians) to judge people who mean nothing before the Church and its members, as infidels. 6:5. The Corinthians could say in their defense that there was no one to sue among Christians. Saint Paul reproachfully tells them: if this is so, then you should be ashamed that there is no one among you who is reasonable, disposed towards his own, related (spiritually), to fraternally judge the dispute between his (spiritual) brothers. 6:6. It is very shameful if brothers quarrel and there is no reasonable reconciliator between them in the Church of Christ, and therefore they are forced to turn to the court of infidels. But it would be better not to quarrel at all. II. It is better to suffer offense than to allow litigation to arise (6:7–8) 6:7–8. The Apostle Paul considers litigation humiliating for Christians; it would be more worthy for a Christian to endure an insult, to suffer deprivation of something, than to start litigation because of this, and especially between brothers in Christ. The requirement that there be no litigation between Christians is not excessive. Christian society is a society of saints. This is how Saint Paul depicts him everywhere. He ordered all sinners to be cast out, depriving them of their Christian name, if they did not repent. He drove out fornicators, covetous people and predators, troublemakers and drunkards. But if there are no such people in society, then there will be no one to offend, and there will be no litigation. And if any unpleasant misunderstanding occurs, it can easily be settled with the help of some mediator or even without him, when there is love between the brothers. Section four. Refutation of sinful and passionate life in general (6:9–20) In particular, the apostle denounces carnal life (6:9–11), expressed in gluttony and fornication (6:12–19), and gives a general conclusion about the glorification of God in souls and bodies (6:20). Having established an internal court in the Church itself for obvious unrepentant sinners, commanding the expulsion of such from the society of Christians, drawing litigants to the same court, Saint Paul further directs his word to the sinners themselves, especially carnivores, threatening them with deprivation of the Kingdom of God. I. Reproof of the carnal life (6:9–11) 6:9–10. In the first words of verse 9, Saint Paul seems to conclude his previous speech about litigation: don’t you know that offenders, as those who are unjust before the law of conscience and God, “will not inherit the kingdom of God,” for nothing unclean will enter there. Having finished this, the apostle turns to denouncing sinful and passionate life in general. Do not deceive yourself, he says, with empty hopes, as if sin is nothing. God is humane and good, He does not take revenge for crimes, He will not punish for any sin (Chrysostom). No matter how absurd such thoughts may be, all sinners always deceive themselves with them, according to the teachings of the enemy of people - the devil. God is infinitely Good, but no less Righteous. St. Paul lists which sinners are barred from entering the Kingdom of God: fornicators—the wifeless, who indulge in sin with the husbandless; idolaters - allowing them to eat things sacrificed to idols and falling into other impermissible acts associated with this, adulterers - violators of the marital bed; malakiyam - those who defile themselves with lustful passions; homosexuals - those who defile themselves with fornication with men instead of women, covetous people - those who acquire wealth by lies, deception in trade, usury and the like; misers - who do not share their surpluses with those in need; thieves - of all kinds and by all means, stealing other people's property; drunkards - voluntarily stupefying themselves with wine to the point of committing outrageous acts; slanderous (in glory, “annoyers”) - scolding, pugnacious, scolders and scoffers, from whom no one can live or escape; predators - robbers, secretly and openly robbing others. All such people are intolerant even in the good society of people, especially in the bright and pure Kingdom of God. Through fear of losing the Kingdom of God, Saint Paul warns the Corinthian Christians to fall into the listed sins in which they lived in paganism. 6:11. There were some such, but now, it is true, neither they nor the others are such, otherwise the Apostle would not have spared them. They accepted the faith of Christ and through it they were washed in holy baptism, as in the bath of rebirth, from original and all voluntary sins; They were sanctified by the grace of the Holy Spirit, which gave them the strength to live holy, and thereby they were justified - they became blameless before the face of God, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and with the help of God's grace. II. Deviation from the works of carnality, gluttony and fornication (6:12–19) Further, Saint Paul rejects the Corinthians from sympathy for such matters in which carnalism is most manifested - from gluttony (6:12-13) and fornication (6:13-19). A) Forbidding gluttony (6:12–13) 6:12. The Corinthians, perhaps based on the teaching of St. Paul about spiritual freedom from the bonds of the Law of Moses, drew up a rule for guidance regarding food: it is permissible for me to eat everything. God gave the body, put into it the needs to support its life, and scattered the goods in nature that satisfy these needs. Use everything freely, this is God’s blessing, all this was created by God and for you. Saint Paul does not directly deny this freedom, but puts two restrictions on it. The first is benefit and the second is so as not to possess anything. Use all kinds of food freely, but so that it is truly beneficial not only for the body, but for the whole of you, that is, both soul and body. In this case, it is necessary to limit freedom in food both in quantity and quality. But another limitation constrains freedom even more: “nothing should possess me.” In our body there lies some kind of law of habit, according to which the pleasure experienced today will be required by the body again tomorrow at the same hour. If you satisfy it tomorrow, then on the third day the same demand will be repeated with greater force; and the more often a need of a certain kind is satisfied with objects, the stronger and more persistent the demand for them will be and, finally, it will turn into the habit of satisfying the need of the body in a certain way and to a certain extent, so that it will be like a natural need of the body that cannot be satisfied. This habit binds our freedom, assigning us an object, a time, and a measure, in contrast to a natural need, which only requires satisfaction, and does not bind. We have many such habits as artificial needs. Saint Paul warned free will against this slavery to his sensuality. Use everything, but do not bind yourself to sensual habits of pleasure, and this means limit your needs to only what is essential, seeking only contentment in food, not pleasure. 6:13 (before the words “God will destroy both”). The incentive to abstain from gluttony is also indicated by Saint Paul in the fact that in the future life God will abolish and make unnecessary both the belly with its needs for food and food. Is it therefore reasonable to become addicted to food and form habits in the soul that restrict its freedom? After all, these spiritual habits will languish and demand satisfaction in the future life and, due to the impossibility of satisfying them, will torment the soul. B) Prohibition of fornication (6:13–19) 6:13 (from the words “the body is not made for fornication”). Having taught a life of abstinence, Saint Paul now begins to teach chastity, and takes the incentive to maintain chastity from the essence of the Christian faith. The Lord Jesus Christ, having accepted human nature, became the Savior of believers and their Head, and they became His members, therefore they must serve Him entirely, not only with soul, but also with body - Him, the Lord, Who mysteriously enters into communion with all man in his wholeness of soul and body, as the Lord does both soul and body. If the body is for serving the Lord and for communicating with Him, then it should not be for fornication, as an abuse of a natural need that is legally satisfied in marriage. 6:14. How is it possible for our body to be darkened and desecrated by fornication, when God, having resurrected the body of the Lord Jesus as the Head of Christians, will also resurrect our body by His power? How can what is darkened here by fornication be resurrected in light?! Therefore, the idea of ​​the lordship of the future body served as a strong incentive for all ascetics to refine it as much as possible and especially to avoid passionate excitement. When one of them, by the grace of God, achieved that lust was extinguished and died away in him, then they said about him that before the general resurrection he tasted its power. Some of them, when aroused by grace-filled movements, sometimes became bright during prayer, some had their faces brightened, others had their hands raised to the sky - this was a taste of the power of the future resurrection. 6:15. Christians, having accepted the faith of Christ, renounce serving Satan, die to their former vicious life, being reborn into a new, grace-filled one, and in it they are mysteriously united with Christ with their whole being. Saint Paul reveals this truth in all his epistles. If the bodies of Christians are members of the body of Christ, then what audacity, what madness, is it to darken and defile the members of Christ with fornication, to make them members of a harlot? But how do they become members of a harlot? 6:16. He who should be one with Christ is torn away from Christ and becomes one with the harlot, and this is according to the law of the original institution of marriage (see Gen. 2:24). Marriage is a Divine institution, blessed by God, and in it those who cleave to each other in marriage become one body in Christ, but the harlot serves Satan, and therefore he who cleaves to her becomes one body with her in Satan. That fornication is a service to Satan is also evident from the fact that it darkens not only the body, but also the soul of the fornicator, drives away his Guardian Angel from him and separates him from the Lord, for the gloomy and stinking cannot be one with the Lord. 6:17. He who unites with a harlot unites with her, and both serve Satan. He who is united with the Lord by faith, the Sacraments and the grace of the Holy Spirit lives according to His Spirit and, as it were, becomes one spirit with Him, doing nothing to please the flesh - contrary to the Spirit of Christ. 6:18. At the end of his admonitions, Saint Paul teaches not only to beware, but to avoid fornication in every possible way, and also gives an incentive for the weaker, namely, that fornication defiles the whole body. Other sins are committed, although also through the body, but sin itself is outside the body. In fornication, the very sin is in the body, which itself is increasingly exhausted by fornication, and part of it is rejected and senselessly abandoned. One devoted to this passion soon becomes exhausted in the strength of body and soul and goes to the grave prematurely. Is this why the Lord redeemed and saved us? 6:19. Do you not know, says the apostle, that the Holy Spirit, which has been given to you, dwells with your spirit, which rules your body? Thus, your body is a church - a dwelling place and the Holy Spirit, which you received from God. How can the temple of the Holy Spirit be given to Satan through a harlot? You do not even have the right to do this, for you were redeemed from slavery to sin and Satan by the dear Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ who suffered for us. We have become His slaves and must serve Him and do His will, and not be self-willed. So what to do? III. General conclusion about glorifying the Lord in souls and bodies (6:20) 6:20. As not your own, but the servants of the Lord, be, he says, sober, chaste, self-controlled, hardworking and ready to physically fulfill the commandments of your Lord, and thereby you will glorify Him physically. Always remember God, glorify Him for His great good deed in redeeming you and in bestowing the grace of the Holy Spirit, spiritually spend your life fulfilling His commandments and in all deeds pleasing God, and thereby glorify Him in your souls (cf. Matt. 5:16). Third department. Instruction on Marriage and Singleness (7:1–40) 1 And what you wrote to me about is that it is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 But to avoid fornication, each one have his own wife, and each one have his own husband. 3 The husband show his wife due favor 65; likewise is a wife to her husband. 4 The wife has no authority over her own body, but the husband does; Likewise, the husband has no power over his body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deviate from each other, except by agreement, for a time, to practice fasting and prayer, and then be together again, so that Satan does not tempt you with your intemperance. 6 However, I said this as permission, and not as a command. 7 For I desire that all men should be as I am; but everyone has his own gift from God, one this way, the other another. 8 But to the unmarried and to the widows I say: It is good for them to remain as I do. 9 But if they cannot abstain, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to become inflamed. 10 But to those who are married, I command not I, but the Lord: the wife must not divorce her husband, 11 If she divorces, she must remain single, or be reconciled with her husband, and the husband must not leave his wife. 12 But to the rest I say, and not the Lord: if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she agrees to live with him, then he should not leave her; 13 And a wife who has an unbelieving husband, and he agrees to live with her, should not leave him. 14 For an unbelieving husband is sanctified by a believing wife, and an unbelieving wife is sanctified by a believing husband. Otherwise your children would have been unclean, but now they are holy. 15 If an unbeliever wants to divorce, let him divorce; the brother or sister is not related in such cases; The Lord has called us to peace. 16 Why do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or do you, husband, why do you know if you won’t save your wife? 17 Only 66 each one do as God has determined for him, 67 and each one as the Lord has called. This is what I command in all churches. 18 If anyone is called to be circumcised, do not hide himself; If anyone is called uncircumcised, do not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but everything consists in keeping the commandments of God. 20 Let each one remain in the rank in which he was called. 21 Whether you are called to be a slave, do not be embarrassed; but if you can become free, then use the best 68. 22 For a servant called in the Lord is a free servant of the Lord; likewise, he who is called free is a servant of Christ. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 In whatever calling anyone is called, brethren, let each one remain in that position before God. 25 Regarding virginity, I do not have a command from the Lord, but I give advice as one who has received mercy from the Lord to be faithful to Him. 26 Out of real need, I acknowledge that it is good for a person to remain like this. 27 Are you united to your wife? don't look for a divorce. Are you left without a wife? don't look for a wife. 28 However, even if you marry, you will not sin; and if the girl marries, she will not sin. But such will have tribulations according to the flesh; and I feel sorry for you. 29 I tell you, brethren, the time is short, so that those who have wives must be as if they had none; 30 And those who weep, as if they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as if they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as if they did not acquire; 31 And they that use this world, as if they use them not; for the image of this world passes away. 32 And I want you to be without worries. An unmarried man cares about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord; 33 But a married man cares about the things of this world, how to please his wife. There is a difference between a married woman and a girl: 34 The unmarried woman is concerned about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit; but a married woman worries about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your benefit, not to put bonds on you, but so that you serve the Lord decently and continually without distraction. 36 If anyone considers it indecent for his maiden that she should remain so when she is of mature age, let him do as he wishes: he will not sin; let them get married. 37 But whoever is unshakably firm in his heart and, not being constrained by need, but having power in his own will, decides in his heart to keep his virgin, he does well. 38 Therefore he who gives his maiden in marriage does well; and the one who does not issue does better. 39 A woman is bound by law as long as her husband lives; if her husband dies, she is free to marry whomever she wants, only in the Lord. 40 But she will be happier if she remains thus, according to my advice; but I think that I also have the Spirit of God. From the seventh chapter, Saint Paul responds to the message of the Corinthians to him and resolves various perplexities that arose among them and at the same time gives them instructions about the order of Christian life. His instructions on marriage (7:1–24) and celibacy (7:25–40) come first. Section one. Marriage Instructions (7:1–24) In expounding his doctrine of marriage, St. Paul first establishes a general law concerning it (7:1-2); then gives instructions on the use of the marriage bed (7:3-6); further gives advice to the unmarried and widowed (7:7–9) and finally gives a lesson on the indissolubility of marriage (7:10–24). 1. General Marriage Law (7:1–2) The general law on marriage is this: it is better to be celibate, but to avoid fornication, get married. 7:1. What you asked me about marriage in your message, here is my answer: it is an excellent thing for every person not to touch a woman at all, and therefore to observe virginity; For the weak, marriage is safer (Chrysostom). 7:2. But not everyone is able to maintain their virginity, so let every weak man get married and let every weak woman get married. For what? In order not to fall into fornication from intemperance. You can please God and be saved both in marriage and in celibacy, but in celibacy it is more convenient than in marriage. In marriage it is impossible to achieve such high spiritual perfection as virgins achieved. Marriage is for the weak. This weakness is physical and spiritual. There are body compositions that are more conducive to lust, there are more sober (cold) compositions; in the same way, there is a strong spirit of jealousy, and there is a weak jealousy. A spirit that is very zealous for salvation overcomes nature with the grace of God, which gives that zeal, but a spirit that is weakly zealous and has a strong constitution cannot cope. Therefore, the choice is offered to prudence and self-knowledge. But even in marriage, the holy apostle encourages abstinence, because he is in order to avoid fornication (Chrysostom, Theodoret). I. Advice on Marital Cohabitation (7:3–6) 7:3. Husband and wife must remain mutually faithful out of good will towards each other. 7:4. It happens that a husband or wife, living with them in marriage without permission, refrained from marital intercourse for the sake of abstinence. Saint Paul gives them this command. If the marital law has made the spouses one flesh, then the body of the wife rightly belongs to the husband, and the body of the husband to the wife. But here the law was first expressed to wives, because it is the custom of wives, for the most part, preferentially before men, to love continence (Theodoret). 7:5. The wife should not, says the apostle, abstain against the will of her husband, and neither should the husband, because from such abstinence great evil comes. This often results in adultery and domestic disorders. He commands abstinence only during fasting for the most fervent prayer, because although married life does not interfere with ordinary prayer, with abstinence it becomes more perfect. This is what St. Paul advises to adhere to if abstinence is persistent. But if it is weak, then come together again, so that Satan does not take advantage of the weakness of abstinence and lead into the temptation of incontinence - lust. 7:6. When, how and for how long to abstain for spouses, the apostle does not legitimize this, but only advises in general terms, allowing them to use his advice according to their prudence. III. Advice to the Single and Widowed (7:7–9) 7:7. The Holy Apostle Paul wants everyone to imitate him in chastity, but not everyone is capable of this, both by their physical nature and by grace-filled gifts from God. For some, the spirit is so excited and so strengthened by grace that it immediately silences all mental and physical demands, while for others, although the demands of the spirit are strongly pronounced, the lower needs do not cease. Depending on these dispositions and talents, some abstain from married life and follow the best path to perfection, while others enter into marriage and in it seek to please God, and with the help of grace and in married life they succeed in chastity and other virtues (Theodoret). 7:8. For those who either have not yet entered into marriage, or who, having entered into marriage, are widowed, Saint Paul advises it is better to remain celibate, as he did. 7:9. Better is abstinence from marriage and chastity; but if there is a strong attraction in the soul and a fire of lust in the flesh, then he advises to rid yourself of their inhibitions - to get married so as not to become corrupted (Chrysostom). IV. Advice to married couples not to dissolve their marriage (7:10–24) A) When both spouses are Christians (7:10–11) 7:10–11. Divorce between Christians is prohibited by the Lord Himself (see Matt. 5:32, 19:9). Therefore, Saint Paul, on behalf of the Lord, says: “a wife should not divorce her husband, and a husband should not leave his wife.” The Apostle mainly addresses this commandment to wives. It is true that in Corinth women enjoyed greater rights, and husbands allowed themselves greater freedom. Therefore, Saint Paul humbles wives so that they do not quickly proceed to divorce: if a wife gets divorced, she must remain single or be reconciled with her husband and live with him. The same probably applies to your husband. What if they get divorced due to infidelity? In the ancient Church, as can be seen from the commandment of Hermas (see The Shepherd, book two, chapter 4), even the unfaithful side, after sincere repentance, was accepted back into cohabitation with the faithful. B) When one of the spouses is not a Christian (7:12–24) Giving instructions to married couples, of which one party belongs to the infidels, the apostle even in such marriages advises believers not to separate if the infidels married to them want to live together (vv. 12-16). And in order to dispose them to this, he depicts how he teaches everyone everywhere to remain in the state in which someone is called to faith (vv. 17-24). This last speech seemed to be from the outside, but it led directly to the goal, that is, it encouraged us to act as the apostle advised. a) Why there is no need to dissolve such a marriage (7:12–16) 7:12–13. As for the marriages of believers with unbelievers, that is, when one party believed and the other remained an unbeliever, St. Paul gives them the following commandment, although not directly from the Lord, but not without the participation of the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom. 12:3; 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 13:3) not to dissolve such a marriage if the unbelieving party (husband or wife) wishes to remain in it. Why? 7:14. Because in this combination of love, by agreement, the purity of the Christian side is not violated; on the contrary, with its influence it can contribute to the conversion to Christianity of a pagan husband or a pagan wife, especially children born in such a marriage. 7:15. If the unfaithful party does not want to live in marriage with the faithful one, then in order to avoid family discord and quarrels that are inevitable in such cases, the faithful party must separate from the unfaithful one, for the Lord called us to faith not for quarrels, but for peace. 7:16. If your husband does not bother you with his unbelief, then stay, says the holy apostle, with him, this can be beneficial, stay and exhort, advise, convince. No teacher can convince like a wife. However, the apostle does not force his wife and does not absolutely demand this from her, so as not to again place too heavy a burden on her. He only advises not to despair, placing your hope in God. The mystery of God is the sinner’s turning to Him. The same applies to a faithful husband (Chrysostom). b) Everyone in whatever rank you are called, remain in that rank (7:17–24) Since in Christianity everything depends on faith and grace, external things mean nothing in the matter of salvation. Everyone in whatever rank he is called must remain in that rank. If you are called in marriage to an unfaithful wife, stay with her, do not drive her out because of your faith. If you are called a slave, do not be sad and remain a slave. So it is in other respects. The path of salvation and all the treasures of grace are equally open to everyone (Chrysostom). 7:17. If the faithful party in a marriage has no hope of converting the unfaithful party to faith in the Lord, then let him not divorce the unfaithful one, submitting to the lot that God has given her, let him live in the state in which he is called. Such a law was established by Saint Paul in all Churches and not only regarding marriage. 7:18. In the Church of Corinth there were probably cases where those who believed among the circumcised hid their circumcision, while others among the uncircumcised, on the contrary, were circumcised. Saint Paul applies what was said in the previous verse to circumcision, which in itself means nothing in Christianity. Therefore, there is no need to hide your circumcision or to be circumcised. 7:19. In Christianity, the value of circumcision is not of the flesh, but of the heart - from passions and lusts, as a consequence of fulfilling the commandments of God, which are directed against passions and lusts. 7:20. Whatever kind of life you had, what class you were in, what state you were in when you were called by God and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, remain in that (Theophylact). 7:21. If you are called to the faith of Christ in slavery, then do not be embarrassed by this and do not pay attention to it, even if you can become free, then all the more serve. It’s better to remain in slavery and expect reward (Chrysostom). 7:22. Why should not a believing slave be embarrassed by his external slavery? Because he is called by the Lord to spiritual freedom from the most terrible slavery - sin, the devil and passions, he is no longer their slave. In Repentance and Baptism, all his sins were forgiven; in Confirmation and Holy Communion, grace-filled power was given for liberation from the slavery of the devil and passions; and he has become free from them if by faith he cleaves to the Lord Jesus, having enslaved himself entirely to Him. 7:23. You are slaves of the Lord Jesus, for you were redeemed from slavery to sin and the devil at the “dear price” of His Blood, therefore obey His will in everything. Do not agree to do anything contrary to His will, no matter how it manifests itself, out of pleasing people. Do not become slaves to human opinions, customs and desires contrary to the will of the Lord. 7:24. At the conclusion of his speech on the indissolubility of marriage, St. Paul repeats for the third time the general rule common to all Churches, so that no one should be burdened by his title and condition, but should adhere to the one in which he was called, and remain faithful to God. Section two. Instructions on Celibacy (7:25–40) First, the apostle offers general provisions (7:25-35), in which he says that it is better to be celibate than to be married, although those who marry do not sin. Then he writes a rule about the application of the stated provisions to the case (7:36–40). I. General provisions on celibacy (7:25–35) A) It is better to be celibate (7:25–28) 7:25. Regarding the observance of the purity of virginity outside of marriage, Saint Paul does not give commands, just as the Lord Himself did not give them, saying: “let him who is able to contain (observe virginity) contain” (observe) (see Matt. 19:10–12). But he gives his advice, stipulating that he has been granted that mercy by the Lord to be faithful to Him, a faithful interpreter of His will, therefore, his advice is not alien to the Lord’s intentions. What is his advice? 7:26. Saint Paul, not in the form of a command or law, which obliges to observe it, and threatens punishment for violation, but in the form of his personal opinion, advises abstinence from marriage - it is good for a person, man or woman, to remain so, that is, not to marry. Why? “Because of present need,” the apostle foresaw that the Corinthians would soon undergo disasters for their faith, which are easier for singles to endure than for married ones. It is not as difficult for a lonely person to endure them as for one bound by a wife and children. At the same time, the soul seems to be torn into pieces - it’s hard for oneself, and one feels sorry for them, and the person is loaded with an unbearable burden of evil; and for a lonely person, not affected by the suffering of people so close to him, it is more convenient to withstand the worries of disasters (Chrysostom). 7:27. If such a sorrowful need is foreseen that it is more convenient to be unmarried to endure it, then those already married might think that they too need to leave their wives and divorce them. St. Paul explains that whoever is bound by marriage, “do not seek divorce,” live with his wife, but whoever is not bound (or has not yet married, or is widowed), do not marry, but live celibate. This is expressed by the apostle no longer as advice, but as a decisive command. 7:28. Lest anyone think that St. Paul condemns marriage, he says: I offer my advice on celibacy not because there is anything sinful in marriage. There is no sin in getting married. But those who marry will have sorrows in the flesh, and I feel sorry for you, so I advise you to refrain from marriage. By sorrow of the flesh or according to the flesh we can understand illnesses of childbirth, in which husband and wife suffer equally: the husband in soul, the wife in body; then sorrowful worries about maintaining the house, raising children, maintaining external relations, deprivation, failure, attacks, ruin, persecution and oppression for the faith that are always ready to arise. All this is easier for a celibate person to endure or more convenient to avoid. B) Reasons why celibacy is preferable (7:29–35) These reasons are, firstly, the transience of temporary life and the blessings of the world (vv. 29–31); secondly, it is more convenient to thank God in a single life (vv. 32-35). a) The time is already short (7:29–31) 7:29–31. In these verses, Saint Paul explains what kind of sorrow and need one must have in one’s mind in order to abstain from married life: “time... is short... the image of this world passes away”; and with this will be associated such a defeat for everyone that everyone will forget about everything: husbands about their wives, wives about their husbands, the joyful about joy, the sad about sadness, and everyone who enjoys any benefits of the world will forget about these benefits. Just as during a fright, everything is repressed from consciousness and it is completely embraced by fear alone, so that those who are frightened, “seeing do not see, hearing do not hear,” so it will be at this time. And it’s already close. Therefore, we should not be concerned about the world and its blessings, but so that this disastrous time does not find us unprepared. This time, obviously, is the sudden appearance of the Lord Jesus at the judgment of the world, as He Himself foretold (see Matt. 24:42–44; Mark 13:33–36). It is this time that St. Paul commands Christians to always keep in their thoughts and prepare for it, and not to apply it to the conditions of the present vain age, where all blessings are such only in appearance - only an image, in themselves - nothing, and, moreover, only transitory, changeable. b) In celibacy it is more convenient to please God (7:32–35) 7:32–33. Nothing hinders service and pleasing God so much as concern for worldly things. It circles and darkens the mind, destroys and dries the heart and does not allow a person to come to his senses, driving him from one thing to another, and does not allow them to see the end, meanwhile, apparently, does not represent any evil in himself, and the one who indulges in it thinks of himself as a good person, and lives in a ghostly deception of himself. He has no time to think about salvation, about eternity, about pleasing the Lord. He is all about worldly things, but his spiritual side is completely closed. In view of this, Saint Paul wants Christians to be without these worldly worries, so that they do not torment themselves exclusively with worldly and worldly worries, especially those occurring in marriage. One who is not bound by the bonds of marriage can more conveniently please the Lord if he wants, but one who is married, even if he wanted to take care of this, cannot, no matter how hard he tries, because either his wife, or his children, or his house interfere, all of which require his care and attention. An unmarried person cares only about himself. That is why married people can never reach the same degree of spiritual perfection as celibate people. 7:34. There is such a difference between a married person and a celibate person as there is a difference between a married person and a virgin. For a married woman, her husband, family, home and other worldly things are on her mind, while for a girl, her mind is focused on the Lord and maintaining the holiness of her body and spirit, as necessary qualities of true virginity, which consists not only in the purity of the body, but mainly in the purity of the soul. If a virgin, despite the purity of her body, does not care about the purity of her soul and indulges in worldly concerns, then she is no different from a married woman (Theophylact). 7:35. Saint Paul has already said more than once that he is giving not a commandment, but advice, but by the fact that he often repeats this, he makes it clear that he would like this advice to be followed by many. This is evident from the reason why he recommends virginity, so that they can serve the Lord decently and unceasingly without being distracted by worldly concerns. II. Applying these Instructions to Action (7:36–40) A) Instructions for virgins (7:6–38) 7:36. If someone, not understanding the high importance of virginity, thinks that he will be ashamed to leave his daughter as a virgin, or thinks that for some reason it will not be so convenient for his daughter and is disapproved in the opinion of people, and meanwhile she has already begun to pass full age, and perhaps there is a fear that she will not observe her virginity, let such a parent do as he wants, let him give his daughter in marriage - there is no sin in that. 7:37. Whoever in his heart has a firm conviction in the superiority of virginity and courageously resists the oppression of human opinions, has no need to marry off his daughter (for example, to support the family), and is confident for his daughter that she will observe her virginity, does not encounter any embarrassment to act according to his own will, has thought everything over, examined the matter from all sides and is convinced that it is both good and feasible, and promises only good things to both him and his daughter, whoever stopped with the thought in his heart to guard his daughter in virginity, he does well. 7:38. Marrying a maiden in marriage is a matter of worldly prudence and, as such, good; and not to give it away, in the form of the most perfect pleasing to the Lord, is a feat and a virtue and, as such, it is, of course, better. B) Instructions for widows (7:39–40) 7:39. A married woman is bound or, in Slavic, “tied by law to her husband”, so that she knows him only one, and to the marital state, so as not to abandon him arbitrarily, and so on until the death of her husband. And when he dies, his wife is free, she can remarry whomever she wants, “only in the Lord” - only to a believer, pious and chaste (Theodoret). 7:40. Saint Paul allows a second marriage, but he honors the one who does not enter into a second marriage as most blessed. Although the apostle offers this, like virginity, not as a yoke of the law, but in the form of his advice, he immediately says that this advice agrees with the will of the Spirit of God. Therefore, it is desirable for him to be fulfilled not as an obligation, but according to his own will, which has a great value in moral life. Fourth department. Prohibition of eating food sacrificed to idols (8:1–11:1) Many of the Corinthian Christians, knowing that what does not go into the mouth defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth (Matthew 15:11) and that idols can neither harm nor benefit, used this perfect knowledge unwisely, to the harm of others and themselves. They entered idol temples, took part in meals there, and thereby caused harm to both themselves and others: themselves by being defiled by demonic meals, others by their example leading into temptation the brothers with an idolatrous conscience (that is, those who considered idols to be pagan gods and a meal at the temple to be a demonic meal); therefore, taking part in it, following the example of the perfect, they seemed to participate in idolatry itself. This is what the holy Apostle Paul denounces and corrects. First, he denounces for tempting the weak (8:1–9:27), then for being defiled by offering to idols (10:1–11:1). Section one. Reproof for tempting the weak (8:1–9:27) 1 We know about food sacrificed to idols, because we all have knowledge; but knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2 Anyone who thinks that he knows anything does not yet know anything as he should know. 3 But whoever loves God has been given knowledge from Him. 4 So, regarding eating food sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but the One. 5 For although there are so-called gods, either in heaven or on earth, since there are many gods and many lords, 6 But we have one God the Father, from whom are all things, and we are to Him 69 , and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we are to Him 70 . 7 But not everyone has such knowledge: some even to this day, with a conscience that recognizes idols, eat things sacrificed to idols as sacrifices to idols, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Food does not bring us closer to God: for if we eat, we gain nothing; If we don't eat, we don't lose anything. 9 Beware, however, that this freedom of yours does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone sees that you, having knowledge, are sitting at the table in the church, then his conscience, as a weak one, will not incline him too to eat something sacrificed to idols? 11 And because of your knowledge the weak brother for whom Christ died will perish. 12 And by sinning in this way against your brothers and wounding their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I cause my brother to stumble. First, the apostle reveals how this temptation occurs (8:1-13), then he convinces us to refrain from it (9:1-27). I. How temptation occurs (8:1–13) Temptation comes from the mind's view of this matter. According to the mind, it turns out that eating something sacrificed to idols is not harmful, because idols are nothing (8:1-6). But this view of the mind actually harms the weak, seduces them, so the seducers sin by participating in idols’ meals (8:7-13). A) In the eyes of the mind, idols are nothing (8:1–6) 8:1. The Corinthians, in their letter to St. Paul, wrote that they all had knowledge of foods sacrificed to idols, that they could not be reprehensible, since idols are nothing. On this basis, they accepted an invitation from their relatives and acquaintances, pagans, to participate with them in a meal at the temples, at which parts of sacrificial animals brought to idols were offered. Saint Paul gives his instructions on this. Without condemning their knowledge, he only adds that knowledge alone, without love, leads only to conceit, pride and social disorder. Society is created not by reason, but by love, which builds all Christians into one whole and harmonious building - the house of the Living God. 8:2. You say about food sacrificed to idols: “we know.” But there is pride in this. Whoever speaks so arrogantly knows nothing, his imaginary knowledge is not real, but superficial. If you had real knowledge, then, realizing the shortcomings of your knowledge, you would be more modest and would not say that “we know.” 8:3. If knowledge puffs up, and love edifies, then you need to take care of love, but how? - To love God. This love for God will attract His love. He will pay special attention and care to the one who loves Him, just as He knew Moses (see Ex. 33:17) and others, and will grant him true knowledge. This is the path to knowledge through love. 8:4. The Corinthians, as can be seen from the words of their letter, well understood the teaching of St. Paul that idols in the world have no power, and not even gods, but stones and demons (Chrysostom). Therefore, they are not something real, but only imaginary, ghostly, they are not gods, and there is nothing in them. God is One, and besides This, the One God, there is no other. 8:5. True, the pagans honor many gods and lords, both in heaven - the heavenly bodies, and on earth - earthly creatures or people who have become famous for something. But these are not real gods, but only those called so by people, but in reality they are not gods. 8:6. According to our true faith, there is one God: one God the Father and one Lord the Son - Jesus Christ. Both are of one essence, and everything came from Them. Just as from God the Father, from His creative power, everything came from Him, so everything came from His Son, “all things came into being” (John 1:3). What the Father does, the Son also does at the same time. He says about us, in relation to the Father: “and we are for Him,” that is, we are destined to be in communion with Him. In Him is our goal and supreme good. And in relation to the Lord Jesus: “and we by Him,” that is, through Him we come to God, are reunited with Him after falling away and achieve our final destination. All this knowledge is undoubtedly true, but not everyone has it. B) Why is it sinful to partake in idols’ meals (8:7–13) 8:7. More perfect Christians considered idols to be nothing and considered things sacrificed to idols to be pure food. Others, less perfect, could not yet renounce their former, pagan view of idols as gods and sacrifices to them as real bad gods. With such thoughts, they considered eating something sacrificed to idols to be contrary to their Christian conscience, which was still weak - powerless to consider idols as nothing. But, carried away by the example of those more perfect, they took part in idol meals, ate things sacrificed to idols as sacrifices to idols, and thereby desecrated their weak conscience. 8:8. The reason for the temptation of the weak is that which in itself has no value before God. Whether we eat something sacrificed to idols, we “gain nothing”; “if we eat it, we lose nothing” before God. If such an insignificant reason leads to temptation, then it is necessary to eliminate it. Therefore the apostle speaks further. 8:9. Look at the danger that comes from your free attitude towards sacrificial dishes: your brother, and even a weak one, who needs to be healed as a weak person, and not seduced, may stumble and fall into temptation (Chrysostom). 8:10. St. Paul explains how stumbling can occur. He says, the brother will see you in the church of idols, whom he knows as a man of great knowledge, revered by all, whose word and deed always have weight and significance among the brethren, he will see, and following your example he himself will sit down to a meal sacrificed to idols, while in his conscience he considers this deed not sinless for a Christian. By doing this, he will offend his conscience and sin before God, for in no case should he act against his conscience. This is how a weak brother can stumble and fall! 8:11. How can the weak brother perish from the knowledge of the perfect? The knowledge here, of course, is that an idol is nothing and that which is sacrificed to an idol does not defile. The weak brother thinks differently and, following the example of the perfect one, participating in an idol’s meal, he defiles his conscience - he sins against it, and perhaps also that, having tasted the demonic meal, he will completely fall away from the faith and again turn to idolatry. Fell - lost until he repents; but if he fell away, he died completely. He died, and meanwhile Christ the Lord died for him, saving him from destruction with His Blood. This is what irrational knowledge leads to! 8:12. Thus, those who have correct knowledge, but use it unreasonably, sin against their brothers by leading them astray from the right path with their unreasonable behavior and plunging them into deeds that are contrary to their conscience, hurting their conscience, and they suffer through this. But even more they sin against Christ as their Savior, of whom they are members. 8:13. What should they do? The holy apostle answers: if “he tempts his brother in a cruel way,” then I “will not eat him forever, so as not to tempt my brother.” So do you too. 1 Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my business in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, I am an apostle to you; for the seal of my apostleship is you in the Lord. 3 This is my defense against those who condemn me. 4 Or do we have no power to eat and drink? 5 Or do we not have the power to have a sister as a companion, like the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? 6 Or do I and Barnabas alone have no power not to work? 7 What kind of warrior ever serves on his own pay? Who, having planted grapes, does not eat its fruit? Who, while tending a flock, does not eat milk from the flock? 8 Am I saying this only by human reasoning? Isn't that what the law says? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: You shall not muzzle an ox while it is threshing. Does God care about oxen? 10 Or, of course, is it said for us? So, this is written for us; for he who plows must plow with hope, and he who threshes must thresh with the hope of receiving what he expects. 11 If we have sown spiritual things in you, is it great if we reap bodily things from you? 12 If others have authority over you, do we not have more? However, we did not use this power, but we endure everything, so as not to put any obstacle to the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who officiate are fed from the sanctuary? that those who serve the altar take a share from the altar? 14 So the Lord commanded those who preach the gospel to live by the gospel. 15 But I didn’t use anything like that. And I didn’t write this so that it would be like that for me. For it is better for me to die than for anyone to destroy my praise. 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for this is my necessary duty, and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this willingly, I will have a reward; and if it is involuntary, then I perform only the service entrusted to me. 18 What is my reward for? Because, while preaching the Gospel, I preach the gospel of Christ freely, without using my authority in the gospel. 19 For although I was free from all, I made myself a slave to all, that I might gain more: 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win the Jews; to those under the law he was as one under the law, in order to gain those under the law; 21 To them that are strangers to the law, as one that is strangers to the law, not being a stranger to the law before God, but under the law of Christ, that he may win those that are strangers to the law; 22 He was like one who is weak to the weak, that he might gain the weak. I became everything to everyone, in order to save at least some. 23 But I do this for the sake of the gospel, that I may be a partaker of it. 24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the reward? So run to get it. 25 All ascetics abstain from everything: some to receive a perishable crown, but we an incorruptible one. 26 And therefore I do not run as if against the wrong, I do not fight as if only to beat the air; 27 But I subdue and enslave my body, so that, having preached to others, I myself would not remain unworthy. II. The apostle urges us to refrain from temptation (9:1–27) The Corinthians could have noticed to the apostle that he was only verbally refusing to eat meat forever, so as not to tempt his brother. Let him show in practice what he really refused, so as not to seduce his brother. Saint Paul, as if bearing this in mind, points them to himself, which he actually refused in view of the possible temptation of the brothers. He is an apostle (9:1-3), and as an apostle he could use content from believers (9:4-14), but he did not use this right (9:15-18), and not only did he not use this one thing, but also refused many other things for the benefit of those converted (9:19-23). The Corinthians should follow his example (9:24–27). A) St. Paul points to his apostleship (9:1–3) 9:1–2. Through a series of questions, Saint Paul expresses the idea that he is a true apostle. He is called to the apostleship by the Lord Himself, like the other apostles, and therefore has the authority to act completely freely, like the other apostles. He, like the other apostles, saw the Lord, He Himself appeared to him (see 1 Cor. 15:8) and He Himself sent him to preach to all languages. The Corinthians themselves know how he apostleized with them; they serve as a seal - proof of his apostleship, his teaching, the signs and wonders he performed in the Lord (see 2 Cor. 12:11-12), his impeccable behavior with them. Others who have not seen Saint Paul may still doubt whether he is an apostle, but for the Corinthians it must be certain that he is an apostle. 9:3. And here is my answer to those who would object to my apostleship and argue: what I said should convince everyone that I am a real apostle. B) As an apostle, he could benefit from content from believers (9:4–14) Saint Paul proves this position in various ways. a) The apostle takes his first proof from the example of the other apostles (9:4–6) 9:4–6. As an apostle, he had the right and authority to eat and drink at the expense of his disciples; he could have as his companions sisters in Christ - pious women who would take care of his material comforts, as the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord and the Apostle Peter do. Is it really only he and Barnabas who do not have the right to use the contents not obtained by their own labor? b) The apostle takes the second proof from everyday customs (9:7) 9:7. How a warrior fights with enemies, receiving support from a military leader; as he who plants grapes enjoys its fruits; Just as a shepherd tends his flock and feeds on milk from the flock, so the apostle, waging war not only with people, but also with demons and their leader, turning to the faith of Christ and founding the Church as the grapes of God, and shepherding and protecting his flock of those converted by him to the faith of Christ, has the right to use the material contents of his flock. c) Saint Paul takes the third proof from the representative meaning of the decree of the Law of Moses (9:8–10) 9:8. It is not only human customs that prove the position of the apostle, but also the law itself. 9:9. In the East they thresh with oxen. Untied sheaves of wheat or barley are scattered on the current and oxen, a couple or more, are driven along them. With their feet they will crush everything into small particles. Then they will winnow and receive grain. The law forbids the mouths of these threshing oxen to be tied (see Deut. 25:4), so that, while they labor, they may at least eat a little of what is under their feet. St. Paul applies this to the apostles working to preach, giving the idea that if the disciples did not support the apostles, it would be like a cruel and greedy owner stopping the mouth of threshing oxen, which is prohibited by law. But the law talks about oxen. Yes, the Lord also cares about oxen, but not so much as to establish a special law about them. No, by giving the law about oxen, God meant by their example to teach people to take care of those who themselves take care of them, teaches them (Chrysostom), which St. Paul explains further. 9:10. Undoubtedly, he says, by the image of oxen he means us, working for people, from whom he orders us to receive our support so that we cultivate their souls, like a plowman in a field, and sow in them the seeds of truth and with all our might direct them to bear fruit, without worrying about their maintenance, just as someone who cultivates the earth cultivates it in the hope that it will give him fruit, and a thresher threshes in full confidence that he will taste bread. from his labors. Thus, the law about not blocking the mouth of the threshing ox means nothing more than that working teachers should receive remuneration (Chrysostom). d) Saint Paul takes the fourth proof from the essence of the work of preaching (9:11–12) 9:11. We, says St. Paul, give you much more than we receive from you, we instill faith in your souls, which gives you spiritual benefits that you feel. How insignificant in comparison with them are the bodily benefits that we enjoy from you! 9:12. If you, as Saint Paul says, support those who come to you as teachers, who rule you, show power over you, treat you like slaves, and not only take from you what is voluntary, but even with extortion and insolence (cf. 2 Cor. 11:20), then we have all the more the right (as has been proven earlier) to your maintenance (Chrysostom). So what? We, of our own free will, did not exercise our right with you, and not because we did not need your support, no, we were in need and hungered and thirsted, and endured nakedness and suffered (see 1 Cor. 4:11). But all this did not force us to break the law that we established for ourselves. Why? Yes, because so as not to tempt you by accepting payment from you for his teaching, and thereby not cause the slightest slowdown and stop in the spread of the teachings of Christ (Chrysostom). e) The fifth proof is from the law on the Old Testament priesthood (9:13) 9:13. The Old Testament priesthood, according to the law of Moses, consisted of maintaining the sanctuary and altar. Those who brought, what they brought, they brought to the sanctuary and the altar, and the sanctuary and the altar were given to their servants. Not all of what was sacrificed went to the altar, but only a part. The Lord commanded that the remainder of the sacrifices be divided among the servants. This is how they were kept. The Apostle wants to suggest that if this was the case in the Old Law, which was a shadow of the New, shouldn’t it be much more so in the New? But he directly makes this note, giving a special decree about this on behalf of the Lord. f) The sixth proof is from the express command of the Lord (9:14) 9:14. The Lord, sending the apostles to preach, did not order them to take anything with them, no clothes (spare), no food, no money, and where they were accepted, they should live there on their support, saying: “he who works is worthy of reward for his labors” (Luke 10:7). Just as the Old Testament priests were, as it were, supported by God, eating from the house of God, so the apostles are supported by the Lord, feeding from His gospel. Thus, Saint Paul, by the evidence given, made it clear to the Corinthians that he, as their apostle, had every right to receive material content from them. C) However, the apostle did not exercise this right 9:15. Much, he says, as you saw from the previous one, gave us the right to use content from you, but I did not take advantage of any of it, I was not inclined by any of the given reasons to preach for a fee. I wrote this to you now not so that in the future you will provide me with everything I need. And in the future everything will be the same. I will decide rather to die of hunger than to lose this praise of mine, which I voluntarily accepted. 9:16. For if I preach the gospel, I do not deserve special praise for it. This is my duty - my obligation to serve my Master Lord, as He Himself said to His disciples: “When you have done all that was commanded you, say: We are worthless servants, because we did what we had to do” (Luke 17:10). On the contrary, woe to me if I do not evangelize. 9:17. So, he says, if I do this, that is, preach the gospel of my own free will (without payment), it is not because I have a debt, but what I wanted is what I chose, and if I do this, then I have a reward, praise, I have something special to reward me for. But if I carried out the work of preaching entrusted to me as a duty, and not out of desire, then, while working in the gospel, I would not do anything special, doing only what was entrusted to me. He did not say that he would not receive a reward if he fulfilled only the duty entrusted to him, but that he would receive a greater reward if he did more than what was commanded according to his will (Chrysostom). 9:18. I will receive a reward for preaching the gospel freely. I fulfill the gospel of Christ or about Christ as my duty, but at the same time I do not use the right that belongs to me, according to which the evangelists lived from the gospel. The Holy Apostle Paul does not make an application to the Corinthians from what was said; but it is already clear. He seems to be saying this: I sacrifice my right so as not to interfere with the Gospel; you also sacrifice the right of your knowledge and do not eat something sacrificed to idols, so as not to seduce the brother for whom Christ died, and not again plunge into destruction the one whom my preaching saved. D) And not only did Saint Paul not use this right, but he also refused many other things in favor of those converted (9:19-23) 9:19. Not only did Saint Paul not use his authority as an evangelist, he did much more for the benefit of preaching, being free. Not subordinate to anyone and having no need, he voluntarily enslaved himself to everyone: he subordinated his character, his customs and desires to the morals of others in order, thus, by drawing closer to them, to more easily find access to their hearts and, placing the seed of the word there, to acquire them to the Lord. 9:20. All Jewish rituals, prescribed in the law for the Jews, in Christianity lose their binding force and become indifferent, which they could use freely, depending on the circumstances, with one thing in mind to please God. This is how Saint Paul acted in view of the success of preaching the Gospel. It was for the sake of the Jews that he circumcised Timothy, went to their synagogues, performed other rites of the law, and all in order to convert the Jews to Christ. He did the same in relation to those who, not being Jews, voluntarily submitted to the yoke of the law and considered it necessary to adhere to it even with faith in Christ (see Acts 21:18-26). 9:21. With the lawless, alien to the law of Moses, the pagans, Saint Paul in outer life was like them. He neither shunned their food, nor marveled at their other customs - he was like everyone else, and in the form of his teaching he adapted to them, as, for example, was the case in Athens. But, acting in this way, he was clear in his conscience before God, for he acted in the confidence that it was pleasing to Himself: before God he was not alien to the law, but was under the law of Christ, that is, by faith in the Lord he directed everything to His glory and, bearing in His heart the law of faith and love for all people, he showed himself free from the law of Moses. 9:22. There were those who were weak in mind, who did not understand his teachings; there were those who were weak in faith or in life; Saint Paul condescended to all such in his teaching and actions, becoming as if he himself were weak, enduring the weaknesses of the powerless, and not only pleasing himself (see Rom. 15:1), in order to win the weak for Christ in this way. Thus, he refused to be kept in Corinth so as not to tempt the weak Corinthian Christians. In a word, he was “everything to everyone”; as in relation to whom it was necessary to act, so he acted, did not consider anything humiliating for himself, and nowhere did he make his personal will and his desires and tastes a law for others, having the only goal - in this way to save at least some. 9:23. Saint Paul did everything that was said for the sake of the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ, which he was called, as an apostle, to establish, so that he himself could be a participant along with others called by him into it. E) Application to the Corinthians (9:24–27) St. Paul, in the 8th chapter of his letter, argued that one should not eat something sacrificed to idols (although an idol is nothing, and something sacrificed to idols did not accept anything unclean from it), because not everyone has such knowledge about something sacrificed to idols. There are Christians with a weak conscience: they, eating things sacrificed to idols, following the example of those who have knowledge, defile their conscience, sin and perish, and yet Christ died for them, for their salvation. By his example, Saint Paul convinces the Corinthian Christians not to do this, in order to benefit the weak brethren, so that they could not lose salvation. Here he compares everyone’s life with all its features, with what happens at games when running on the lists. Just as everyone there runs in order to reach the mark and receive the crown, so we rush to receive the true crown from the Lord: “so you also run to receive it” (v. 24). And then he says more clearly: “all ascetics abstain from everything” (v. 25), meaning by this that they, if they wish to receive a reward, abstain from eating things sacrificed to idols. And in order to take away from them any pretext for reservations, he again presented himself as an example (vv. 26-27). 9:24. The Corinthians themselves had different types of competitions on the lists: they fought, fought with fists, threw stones, discs, jumped over ditches, ran races, ran themselves and on horses. For the last exercises in strength and agility, a certain goal was assigned, and whoever reached it first received the due reward, and everyone who volunteered for this competition ran. The apostle points out to the Corinthians: you see, he says, as in your lists, everyone who has undertaken to run is running, but only one receives the honor. Why? Because he was better prepared than others for this, he abandoned everything that could interfere with the run, and spared no effort and effort when he ran. Do the same, “so run to receive.” Whatever techniques and efforts this one used, use the same for all of you. Remove everything that interferes with your running. And what hinders your run, you know - that which destroys your brother and makes you guilty before Christ. So, refrain. 9:25. Those preparing to run abstain from everything that may be harmful to them here; so, for example, during competitions they should neither get drunk nor commit adultery, so as not to weaken their strength, nor engage in anything else, but, abstaining completely from everything, engage only in their exercises. If this happens where one is given a crown, then even more so it should be here, where there is more generosity, for here everyone can be awarded, and even rewards much higher than feats are received for deeds - a crown is not only imperishable, but also priceless (Chrysostom). 9:26. In his example, Saint Paul represents how important it is for spiritual life to understand for oneself what the proper feat will crown, and then direct everything in one’s life so that it leads directly to achieving what one wants. He who has understood the goal well and figured out how to achieve it, follows the path of this life with full confidence that he will achieve the desired good. At the same time, outsiders can often tell him: “the air is beating” (the water is pushing), but he knows for sure that he is not running somehow, but probably. I look, he says, at the blessings I hope for, because the crown is not unknown to me (Theodoret). 9:27. I have, he said, a definite goal, clearly recognized by me, I have taken measures and means that will truly lead to this goal, and I strive in the confidence that I will achieve what I expected. Feats are varied, there are spiritual feats and there are physical ones. The Apostle takes the latter to set an example in himself of how one must get rid of indulgences to the body, and also because with the mortification and enslavement of the body, the soul becomes healthy and strong. Pampering and indulgence of the body led to exclusion from the lists of those who signed up for the competition. Therefore, moderation must be observed everywhere. So, there is a measure beyond which, when indulgence in the body goes (whether in food, sleep or rest), spiritual life already begins to freeze, jealousy weakens, vigor is lost, and a deadening cold penetrates the soul. If such a passion arises in the soul of a Christian, it will not be strange if a fall occurs, and this is already an exception from the lists of those being saved (as at games - from the lists of competitors). To avoid this, the apostle gives a lesson on how to mortify and enslave one’s body. Section two. Those who eat food sacrificed to idols become defiled themselves (10:1–11:1) 1 I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 and they were all baptized 71 into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and they all ate the same spiritual food; 4 And they all drank the same spiritual drink: for they drank from the spiritual following stone; the stone was Christ. 5 But God was not pleased with many of them, for they were slain in the wilderness. 6 And these were examples for us, so that we would not lust after evil, as they lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as some of them are, of whom it is written: The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play. 8 Let us not commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them perished. 9 Let us not tempt Christ, as some of them tempted and were killed by snakes. 10 Do not murmur, as some of them murmured and were killed by the destroyer. 11 All these things happened to them as images; but it is described for the instruction of us who have reached the last centuries 72. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but when you are tempted, He will also provide relief, so that you can endure it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee idolatry. 15 I speak to you as men of understanding; Judge for yourself what I say. 16 Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a communion of the Blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a communion of the Body of Christ? 17 There is one bread, and we, who are many, are one body; for we all partake of one bread. 18 Consider Israel according to the flesh: are they not partakers of the altar who eat the sacrifices? 19 What am I saying? Is it that an idol is something, or that something sacrificed to idols means something? 20 No, but that the pagans, when they sacrifice, offer to demons, and not to God. But I don't want you to be in communication with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; You cannot be participants in the table of the Lord and in the table of demons. 22 Shall we dare to provoke the Lord? Are we stronger than Him? 23 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable; everything is permissible for me, but not everything edifies. 24 Let no one seek his own, but each one the benefit of another. 25 Eat everything that is sold at the market without any examination, for peace of conscience; 26 For the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness of it. 27 If one of the unbelievers calls you and you want to go, then eat everything that is offered to you without any examination, for peace of conscience. 28 But if anyone says to you, “This is something sacrificed to idols,” then do not eat, for the sake of the one who told you, and for the sake of your conscience. For the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness of it. 29 But I don’t mean my own conscience, but another: for why should my freedom be judged by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I eat my food with thanksgiving, why should I be blamed for that for which I give thanks? 31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense either to the Jews or to the Greeks, or to the church of God, 33 Just as I please everyone in everything, seeking not my own benefit, but the benefit of many, so that they may be saved. The main idea, that those who eat things sacrificed to idols become participants in a demonic meal and therefore are not innocent and should fear the wrath of God for this, is revealed by the apostle in the middle of the chapter (10:15-22). But ahead of this is the example of God’s judgments on the Israelites, chosen like Christians and who sinned before God by idolatry (10:1-14). And after (10:23–33) he adds rules on how to deal with food, so as not to sin by eating something sacrificed to idols. I. Examples of God's judgments (10:1–14) A) Parallel between Christians and Israel (10:1–4) 10:1–2. I want, he says, for you to know that ancient Israel, like you (only representatively), was baptized while crossing overland by the sea, protected from the Egyptians by a cloud, in the sea and cloud in the name of the One Whom Moses represented, and thereby pledged to serve Him, to do His will. 10:3–4. Just as Christians eat the Body and Blood of the Lord, so the Israelites ate manna and water brought out of a stone in the desert. Although it was sensual, it was presented spiritually, not according to the laws of nature, but by the power of God. About manna, the holy apostle did not add anything to the explanation, because it was different from ordinary food not only in the method of receiving, but also in its essence, but about drink, in which only the method of receiving was miraculous and required explanation, he added: “for they drank from the spiritual stone that followed” - not the stone by its nature exuded water, but all this was done by some other spiritual stone, which constantly accompanied them - it followed and worked all the miracles - this stone – Christ (Chrysostom). B) Application to Christians of what was in Israel (10:5–14) 10:5. There were many Israelis in the desert, but only to two of them (Joshua and Caleb) God showed His mercy - He brought them into the Promised Land, and He miraculously struck the rest of them in the desert. But what does this have to do with Christians? 10:6. Just as their gifts were types, so their punishments were types. God struck them down for lust - gluttony and voluptuousness (see Num. 11:4; Ps. 106:14-15), and the Corinthians, attending pagan meals, sin the same (Chrysostom). 10:7. This was after the fusion of the calf and sacrifice to it (see Exodus 32:6). Having eaten and drunk, they got up and began to sing songs, form round dances and have fun in every possible way (see Ex. 32:6). Look, as the apostle suggests to the Corinthians, the Israelites moved from idolatry to gluttony, and you are in danger of moving from gluttony to idolatry, to which they, in some way, have already switched, which he further reveals more clearly. 10:8. When the Jews approached the promised land, the Midianites, on the advice of Balaam (see Num. 31:16), sent their women to the camp of the Jews, who, carried away by them, made sacrifices to Baal-Peor, ate from the victims and drank and committed fornication with the women. This brought upon them the wrath of God, which struck 24 thousand Jews in one day (see Num. 25:1–9). Likewise, the Corinthians who attend pagan meals are in danger of falling into fornication, and this is all the easier because in other cases unclean deeds were also associated with Greek feasts. 10:9. The temptation was that the Israelites one day began to grumble and complain to Moses: “Why did you take us out of Egypt into the desert, where there is neither bread nor water, do you want to kill us here? Can God really prepare a meal for us in the desert?” (cf. Ps. 77:18–19). For this murmuring and temptation, God sent snakes against them (see Numbers 21:5–6). With something similar (it is not clear what) the Corinthians tempted Christ. Some think that those who ate things sacrificed to idols deliberately exposed themselves to various moral temptations and thought self-confidently that Christ would deliver them from all trouble. 10:10. The Israelites often grumbled in the desert against Moses and God. The apostle does not specifically indicate the case of murmuring, nor the murmuring of the Corinthians. Therefore, interpreters make different assumptions. Blessed Theodoret in the murmur of some suggests the murmur of Dathan and Abiron for their humiliation before Aaron, and in the Corinthians the murmur of some for lesser gifts of the Holy Spirit; Those for murmuring were swallowed up in the earth (see Numbers 16:31–33), and these for murmuring the wrath of God may befall them. Others suggest other instances of murmuring. 10:11. Everything said above actually happened to the Jewish people in the desert. But it was not for them alone that the Lord revealed His judgments against them, but as an example for us, so that we, seeing this, would know that the sins of those whom God chose for himself and provided with gifts of grace cannot remain unpunished. In what sense these are images is explained by the words “described for our instruction.” Read or listen, reason and learn. There will be no mercy for anyone. Neither lusts who live only for their own pleasure, with oblivion of God and the future life, nor idolaters who trust not in God, but in people or things, nor living in carnal sins; nor those who tempt God, who either presumptuously plunge themselves into danger, or fearlessly insult God, saying: “What will God do?”; nor murmurers, to whom God grants everything they want, and if something happens not to their liking, they rebel in heaven. The Apostle says that not only what he said, but also everything that happened to the people in the desert can serve as a teaching (image) in life - from baptism to entering the gates of death into another, promised life. For previous centuries with their events have rested on us, and everything foreshadowed in them must come to fruition on us. We are the goal of previous events, which must all come true on us. 10:12. In the examples given, it was suggested: be careful not to be carried away from feasting to idolatry, and from both to fornication, or to tempting God and murmuring. Those who consider themselves to have knowledge might say or think: oh no! We understand the matter clearly and stand firm. The Apostle admonishes them: but whoever thinks that he is standing, be careful not to fall, do not hope for anything, do not be proud of the fact that you are standing, but be careful not to fall. 10:13. Corinthian Christians, as in other places, suffered external and, moreover, insignificant human temptations in the form of insults, ridicule, and the like from unbelievers. Probably, they were in connection with the sacrifice to idols, perhaps the unbelievers, for the refusal of the weak to participate with them in idol meals, took revenge on them with ridicule, insults, oppression and other insults. Saint Paul consoles them, saying something like this: “Do not be faint-hearted, do not complain, your temptation is small, brief, moderate. You have not yet seen a danger that would threaten you with death, a temptation that could destroy you. Since any temptation can destroy if it is endured by a person’s strength alone, and, conversely, all together cannot harm him if he places his hope in God’s help, the apostle points out to those who are tempted that God, although He sends temptations to those who trust in Him, always does so to the extent of their strength, and He does not allow them to be tempted beyond their strength. Even though the temptation God allows may seem unbearable, He will either quickly deliver you from it or give you the strength to endure everything, as if not noticing it. 10:14. At the conclusion of this section on the judgments of God, St. Paul seems to say this: you saw how the Israelites, who were typologically baptized, ate spiritual bread and drank spiritual beer, when they touched idolatry, God destroyed, so you, truly baptized and truly eating the Body and Blood, if you touch something sacrificed to idols, that is, eating from something sacrificed to idols, God will not spare you. Therefore, beware of participating in pagan meals. But how can participation in idol meals defile, just like idolatry, if an idol is nothing in the world? This St. Paul explains further. II. Those who eat things sacrificed to idols become participants in the demonic meal and are therefore guilty of idolatry (10:15–22) The apostle’s train of thought is this: judge for yourself, when we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ, we partake of Christ; the same thing happens with the Jews, who eat from the sacrifices and are partakers of the altar. Do you therefore think that those who partake of idolatrous sacrifices do not become partners with anyone? Idols are definitely nothing, but there are demons who are served through sacrifices to idols. If so, then those who eat food sacrificed to idols are associates of demons. That’s why I don’t want you to be associated with demons. You cannot partake of the Holy Mysteries and participate in the demonic meal. Stop it. By doing this you irritate God's jealousy. And who can stand when the Lord is angry? 10:15. Wanting to prove that those who eat things sacrificed to idols thereby become associates of demons, Saint Paul chooses the Corinthians themselves as judges over himself. He says something like this: I will offer you only data, and you, being reasonable, draw your own conclusion from them. What data? 10:16. St. Paul proposes two types of communication, through the visible with the invisible, for the consideration of the wise Corinthians. The first highest is the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, under the guise of bread and wine, of which the sacrifice is made. Bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of the Lord, and those who partake of them enter into the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. Saint Paul called the cup of wine a blessing (or Eucharist - thanksgiving), because we, holding it in our hands, glorify God, are surprised and amazed at His inexplicable gift, blessing Him that He shed His Blood to deliver us from error, and not only shed it, but also gave it to all of us (Chrysostom). And the words “which we bless” indicate a sacred blessing, through which by mysterious power the wine is made by the Blood of Christ, and the bread by His Body. So what is in the cup is the very thing that flowed from the side of the Lord, and that is what we partake of (Chrysostom). And by breaking and eating bread, after its transubstantiation, we enter into communion with the Body of Christ, and through the Body with Christ (Chrysostom). 10:17. What does this communication consist of? We, he says, constitute His very Body, for what is this mysterious bread - the Body of Christ? What do those who receive communion do? The Body of Christ, and not many bodies, but one Body, although we commune with many. Christ united in Himself all who partake of His Body, through this those who partake of the One become His one Body (Chrysostom). The holy apostle explains this same idea with another, more illustrative example. 10:18. The second example of communication is “with Israel according to the flesh.” Since the greatness of what was said about the communion with Christ of those partaking of His Body and Blood was beyond what the listeners could understand, Saint Paul takes another example and seems to say: learn even from the simplest things. Those who eat from the sacrifices become participants in the sacrifice. “Behold Israel according to the flesh,” the carnal descendants of Abraham and Jacob, still holding to the law of Moses. The law on sacrifices in Israel was such that of what was brought to the altar, only part was placed on the altar and burned, and the rest was eaten by the priests, who ate from the altar, as if from the table of the Lord. In this sense, Saint Paul calls the priests fellow members of the altar. So, the priests of carnal Israel, eating the sacrificial food, became partakers of the altar on which parts of the sacrifice were offered. 10:19. From the two examples given, it obviously emerged that those who partake of the sacrifices become partakers of the sacrifice in the sense and meaning in which it is performed. Having read this, the Corinthians could have become perplexed: by eating something sacrificed to idols, we also become community members, but to what end? After all, an idol is nothing, and a sacrifice to it is nothing, as the apostle himself teaches. Who needs companions? Saint Paul resolves this bewilderment. “I’m not saying that the idol itself represents anything, nor does the person sacrificed to idols, but there is another person with whom the sacrifice, those who offer it and eat it, enter into communication, and this person is ungodly. 10:20. In religious and moral terms, there are two areas - God's and satanic, demonic - opposite, like light and darkness, like truth and falsehood, like good and evil, like life and death. He who serves God denies demons, and, conversely, he who does not serve God serves demons, makes sacrifices to them and is in communion with them. The pagans do not serve God, they do not offer their sacrifices to Him, therefore, they serve demons - they offer their sacrifices to them and are in communion with them, so that a meal made from idols’ sacrifices is a demonic meal. But I don’t want you to be friends with demons. 10:21. In conclusion, Saint Paul gives an imperious command: do not dare to touch these demonic sacrifices anymore, you cannot drink that demonic cup or partake of that demonic meal. You have your own cup - the cup of the Lord, and your own meal - the Lord's table. When you partake of them, do not desire others (Chrysostom). 10:22. Reasoning is good, but it has a weak effect on the determination of the will if the fear of God is not the basis of moral life. To protect against moral weakness, the apostle restores the fear of God as the fear of punishment. Do we, he says, dare to tempt God and irritate His jealousy, going over to the side of opponents and standing on a par with His enemies? His jealousy will be aroused and will crush you to dust, for what are we in comparison with Him? III. How to deal with food so as not to sin by eating something sacrificed to idols (10:23–11:1) It was impossible to avoid such a question and write rules in response to it in relation to the circumstances of that time. The offerings to idols were not only eaten at the churches, but also offered in houses at meals, and sold in markets. Thus, it was possible either to buy something sacrificed to idols in the market and eat it, or to come to a pagan for a meal and touch it. How can this be? The apostle answers: eat everything until someone tells you: “This is what was sacrificed to idols.” When you hear this, do not eat, so as not to tempt someone. Take food with thanksgiving, and use it for the glory of God and the spiritual edification of others. 10:23. It is legal to use freedom, but with its necessary guardrails, so that what you do in freedom is useful and edifies your neighbors. It is permissible for you, he says, to do everything according to your knowledge, but it is not good for you to harm others; what you do edifies them. “Suppose you are perfect, but you must also take care of the weak, for the apostle added this” (Theodoret). 10:24. The fundamental law of Christian activity is: love God most of all, and love your neighbor as yourself. There are no rules to write about self-love, but you can only limit it. Love for God is a heartfelt, inner, secret action. In our visible life, the only thing that is active is love for neighbors, kindled within by love for God, which itself is expressed in love for neighbors. Therefore, “let everyone seek the benefit of his neighbor” is an abbreviation of the entire moral law. But at the same time, we must remember that this search for the benefit of our neighbor comes from love for God, otherwise it has no moral Christian value. Having laid the basis for judging what is permitted, Saint Paul indicates the method of using it. 10:25–26. So, from now on one should not eat something sacrificed to idols openly in churches. But what is sold in the market, even from the churches of idols, buy and eat “without any examination” and doubt, as pure food in the conviction that every creature of God is the good of the Lord (see Ps. 23:1), and the Lord is blessed. There is no need to think twice about it, eat everything as a blessed gift from God. 10:27. Another case is when one of the pagans calls for dinner, and they had the custom of taking parts from the sacrifices and bringing them home. How can we be here? And here is the same rule: eat everything that is offered to you, without any doubt, out of conscience, that is, out of the conviction that every creation of God is good, not allowing even the thought that there was anything sacrificed to idols. 10:28. But not all foods are supposed to be sacrificed to idols, but only some. So, if someone, when it comes to their turn, says: “This is sacrificed to idols,” then do not eat for the sake of the one who announced it to you, that is, whether he is a Christian or a pagan with a weak conscience. The latter may condemn you for taking food that is sacred and sanctifying, in his opinion, contrary to the requirements of your religion, but only out of motives of gluttony. So, eating is not permissible for the sake of the conscience of not only the Jew, but also the pagan. 10:29. Always hold on to this conviction that in the Kingdom of the Lord everything is good and blessed, even when someone says: this is a food sacrificed to idols, but do not eat it for the sake of the conscience of another, which recognizes it as sacrificed to idols. For although the conscience of another is not a law for me and does not bind my freedom to eat something sacrificed to idols as pure food, I must not eat it, so as not to tempt the weak conscience of another. 10:30. If, he says, I accept food with thanksgiving, as a gift from God, then it is not reasonable to allow me and my faith to be blamed for it if I eat as if sacrificed to idols. Therefore, one should not eat something that gives rise to censure. 10:31. So,” he says, “whether you eat, drink, or whatever you do, do so that those who see your deeds and your behavior glorify God (cf. Matt. 5:16). 10:32. Don't give anyone any reason to be tempted. Otherwise, your brother will be tempted, the Jew will hate and condemn you even more, the pagan will laugh at you as a glutton and a hypocrite (Chrysostom). 10:33. To seek what is useful for everyone, and not for one’s own personal benefit - this is the rule of the most perfect Christian, this is his exact purpose, this is the height of perfection! (Chrysostom). Saint Paul offers four rules for guiding moral life: first, to do everything according to a clear and firm conscience, according to an exact awareness of the conformity of the matter with the will of God; second - to do everything for the glory of God, so that the glory of God comes out of our behavior; third - so as not to seduce anyone not only intentionally, but also unintentionally; fourth - to direct everything towards the salvation of our neighbors, both in word and in deed. The apostle himself served as an example of all these rules. That's why he goes on to say: 11:1. Compete with these measures of mine in the work of salvation, because I did them and fulfilled them, imitating my Master, Christ (Theodoret). 1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. 2 I praise you, brothers, because you remember everything I have and keep the traditions as I handed them down to you. 3 I also want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of every woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered disgraces his head. 5 And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is as if she had been shaven. 6 For if a woman does not want to cover herself, then let her have her hair cut; and if a wife is ashamed to be shorn or shaved, let her cover herself. 7 Therefore a man should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God; and the wife is the glory of the husband. 8 For man is not from woman, but woman is from man; 9 And the man was not created for the wife, but the woman for the man. 10 Therefore, a woman should have on her head a sign of authority over her, for the Angels. 11 Yet neither is man without wife, nor woman without man, in the Lord. 12 For as the wife is from the husband, so is the husband through the wife; yet it is from God. 13 Judge for yourself: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man grows his hair long, it is a disgrace to him? 15 But if a woman grows her hair, it is an honor for her, since the hair was given to her instead of a covering? 16 And if anyone wanted to argue, we do not have such a custom, nor do the churches of God. 17 But in offering this, I do not praise you, because you intend not for the best, but for the worst. 18 For, first of all, I hear that when you gather for church, there are divisions among you, which I partly believe. 19 For there must also be differences of opinion among you, so that the wise may be revealed among you. 20 Further, you gather together in such a way that this does not mean eating the Lord's supper; 21 For everyone hastens to eat his food before others, so that some are hungry, and others are drunk. 22 Don’t you have houses to eat and drink? Or do you neglect the church of God and humiliate the poor? What should I tell you? Should I praise you for this? I won't praise you. 23 For I received from the Lord himself what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus took bread on the night in which he was betrayed 24 And having given thanks, he broke it and said: Take, eat, this is My Body, broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. 25 He also took the cup after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; Do this whenever you drink, in remembrance of Me. 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. 28 Let a man examine himself, and in this way let him eat of this bread and drink of this cup. 29 For whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation for himself, not considering the Body of the Lord. 30 For this reason many of you are weak and sick, and many are dying. 31 For if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But being judged, we are punished 73 by the Lord, lest we be condemned with the world. 33 Therefore, my brethren, when you gather together to supper, wait for one another. 34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you do not gather together for condemnation. I'll arrange the rest when I come. Fifth department. Reproaching and correcting some irregularities in church meetings (11:2–34) This concerns two subjects: women not covering their heads in church (11:2–16) and disorder at love suppers (11:17–34). Section one. Against women not covering their heads in church (11:2–16) Among the Jewish people and among other eastern peoples, and even the Greeks, a woman of respectable behavior had to appear at public meetings under a veil, which served as a symbol of her submission to her husband or father and chaste isolation for all outsiders to her family. Greek women appeared without a veil only during idolatry, as evidence of their reverence for the gods. Some pagan Christian women, to the great temptation of others, especially Jews, brought this pagan custom into the Church of Christ. This circumstance gave rise to heated disputes, which the Corinthians asked Saint Paul to resolve. Saint Paul, who founded the Church in Corinth, introduced in it, as in other Churches, the custom of women appearing with their heads covered during divine services. Many Christian women continued to adhere to this custom. Therefore, St. Paul first praises them for their faithfulness to those devoted to them, despite the fact that he had not previously explained to them the moral significance of such a custom. Now, when controversy has arisen over this, St. Paul also explains its meaning. This custom follows from the relationship of God to man and husband to wife, according to the commandment of the Lord (11:2-12) and from the laws of nature (11:13-16). I. An admonition based on the relationship of God to man and husband to wife (11:2-12) 11:2. While in Corinth, Saint Paul established among them, as in other Churches, comprehensive rules by which their life was shaped - family, civil and ecclesiastical. Remember, he says, what I commanded you, and keep the rules that I have established for you. For this I praise you. His praise obviously refers to those (and these were the majority) who kept his traditions. 11:3. In affirming the custom of women wearing veils on their heads, St. Paul gives reasons that the Corinthians did not yet know. Namely, Christ the Lord, having taken on human flesh and revived people to new life, became the natural head of the newborn creature, the representative of which is the husband, because earlier he alone was first created by the Lord. Since woman was created later (from Adam’s rib) and through him had to learn the will of God, the husband naturally became the head of the wife. The head of Christ, as the God-man, is God the Father, whose will Christ came to fulfill on earth. From this order established by God, Saint Paul derives moral teaching. 11:4–5. The husband, as bearer of the image and glory of God, as the representative on earth of God, Who gave him power over creation, although jointly with his wife, but as subordinate to him (cf. Gen. 2:20, 3:16), should not cover his head during prayer and prophecy, with the action of the Holy Spirit on him, for he, thus, humiliates with this sign of submission both his dignity before the creation, and the dignity of his head - Christ Lord, in whom dominion is given to all. On the contrary, a wife praying and prophesying in church with her head uncovered disgraces her head, her husband, by not showing Him due obedience before God and becoming like those with shaven hair - careless, unchaste (cf. Numbers 5:18). 11:6. For if a woman is ashamed to be shorn or shaved, then she should also be ashamed without a veil, because it is the same thing to be shorn and without a veil. So, the wife should carefully close herself from prying eyes everywhere, as a sign of her submission to her husband. Saint Paul proves the same idea from the order of creation. 11:7–8. So, the husband, as the image and glory of God among creation, should not cover his head in church, and the wife is then taken from the husband, as if already created in his image, and therefore is the image of the image, or is a reflection of the glory of the husband, and therefore should be covered as a sign of submission to her husband. 11:9. And also the advantages of a husband over his wife. The husband was created first, and the wife was created after, because of the husband’s need to be in society with someone like himself, and was created to be a helper to her husband. This expresses her dependent and subordinate position. Thus, the holy apostle indicated four advantages of a husband over a wife: first, the head of the husband is Christ, and the husband is the head of the wife; second - the husband is “the glory of God, and the wife is the glory of the husband”; third - “not husband from wife, but wife from husband”; fourth - “not a husband... for a wife, but a wife for a husband” (Chrysostom). 11:10. For the above reasons, and besides them, also “Angel for the sake of”, a wife should wear a veil on her head, as a sign of her husband’s power over her, so that by her submission to her husband and God she will bring joy to the Angels, the guardians of people who are close to them always, and especially during worship. 11:11–12. However, the husband should not forget that in Christ the Lord - in salvation he has no advantage over his wife (see Gal. 3:28), and both have the same rights and came from the Lord, on whom they must be dependent. For, although initially God created the wife from the rib of the husband, but then he arranged it so that the husband began to be born from the wife. Finally, to prove his position, the holy apostle turns to natural feeling or meaning and the laws of nature. II. Exhortation taken from the laws of nature (11:13–16) 11:13. He invites the Corinthians themselves to judge whether it is proper for a woman to pray to God with her head open, and whether she does not anger God with such a prayer? What and why? 11:14–15. Nature itself, having given a woman long hair, and a man short and thin, indicates that for a woman long hair is an honor, and for a man it is dishonor; on the other hand, that long hair was given to her instead of a veil. This should serve as an indication to her that she herself should voluntarily cover herself with a veil, so as not to dishonor nature and not show resistance to God, who created nature. 11:16. St. Paul, in conclusion, seems to say this: I proved, convinced, explained that women in church should have their heads covered; for those who are attentive and reasonable, what has been said is enough. But if anyone raises a dispute or objects, I will say to him: we do not have a custom in the Universal Church for women to stand in church with their heads uncovered, therefore, anyone who opposes us opposes the Universal Church. Section two. Against disturbances at love suppers (11:17–34) With the spread of the teaching about Christ, the apostles established in the Churches they founded the so-called love suppers, or the Lord's suppers, for which at the beginning of the night (cf. Acts 20: 7-8, 11), Christians at the appointed time gathered in the church or the house of one of the Christians, bringing with them for a meal what each had, and here, after common prayer and partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, they sat down to a common meal - the rich together with the poor and, thus, were in living communication with each other. Saint Paul established such a wonderful custom in the Corinthian Church, but the Corinthians, carried away by the wisdom of the world and arrogance, began to gather at the supper of love as if at a feast: they each ate and drank their own, not giving to the poor, even treating them with disdain; and therefore it turned out that they were gathering here “not for the best, but for the worst,” for the Lord had often visited them with His wrath for this neglect. And so those sent from the Corinthians probably conveyed to the apostle that at their love suppers there were disagreements - a division between the rich and the poor. To suppress them, Saint Paul writes to them his instructions and admonitions, in which he first points out what is wrong with them and denounces them (11:17-22); then, in order to dispose them to a proper attitude towards the Lord’s Supper, he speaks about the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ - how it was established and how one should approach it (11:23-32); and finally, makes regulations regarding the order of the love feasts (11:33–34). I. Pointing out and rebuking the discord at love feasts (11:17–22) 11:17. Having praised the Corinthians for observing the customs established by them regarding the veiling of women in church meetings, St. Paul, proceeding to expose the disorders at the suppers of love, says: before they were good, but now they have become worse, instead of being better; I will not praise you for this. What's worse? 11:18. On certain days, Christians gathered in church to celebrate the Eucharist and receive the Holy Mysteries. After this sacred rite, they held a supper of love from the remnants of what was brought for the bloodless sacrifice and from what was directly brought for the supper. Its goal was that during these days of common communion of the Holy Mysteries, the poor would have consolation from the rich and would all eat the supper of love together. Some of the rich Corinthian Christians, as St. Paul heard from Chloe’s household, having introduced divisions here too (in Slavic “strife”), separated from the poor and used what they brought with them, not wanting to share it with the poor. This news greatly amazed the holy apostle, so much so that he even refused to believe it completely. 11:19. Differences of opinion are natural between people when they are free (cf. Matt. 18:7). They also have their good side, revealing skillful ones - true followers of Christ, firm in faith, since they themselves serve as a test of faith. But what were the differences? 11:20. The Corinthians were apparently followers of Christ and the apostles. The Lord Jesus Christ, before His suffering with His disciples, celebrated the Old Testament Passover and on the same evening established the New Testament Passover - the Sacrament of the Body and Blood - and for the first time gave communion to the apostles, thereby abolishing the previous one, so that after that the Old Testament Passover became a simple meal. This entire supper is the Eucharist - and the meal after it is called the Lord's Supper. In remembrance of the Supper performed by the Lord, the apostles instituted the same Lord's Supper in the Churches they founded. But the Corinthians, having partaken of the Body and Blood of Christ, in their meal differed sharply from the Lord's Supper. What? 11:21. At the Lord's Supper, all the disciples shared a common meal. The Corinthians did not give what they brought to the common meal, but consumed it themselves, without sharing it with others, especially the poor, who had nothing to bring here. And it turned out that the poor remained hungry, while the rich ate and drank even to the point of excess, to the point of intoxication. This obvious violation of the Lord's Supper, disdain for the Church of God, in which they allow themselves to revel, disdain for the poor, angered St. Paul. 11:22. If you like to live in luxury, he says, then do it in your home, but here it is an insult and a clear desecration of the Church. Isn’t it the most inappropriate thing to do inside the church of God, in the presence of the Master, who offered us a common meal, for you to live luxuriously, while those in need hunger and are ashamed because of poverty (Theodoret). The Church was created not so that those who gather in it would be divided, but so that those who were divided would be united, for nothing else is shown by the very word Church - assembly. But, wanting to incite meekness and condescension towards the poor, the holy Apostle himself uses the language of meekness: “I will not praise you for this.” II. About the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord (11:23–32) The Love Supper was celebrated immediately after the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ and general communion. St. Paul reminds of this to encourage the Corinthians to correct their mistakes at the suppers. He speaks first about the establishment of the Sacrament (11:23–26) and then about worthy preparation for it (11:27–32). A) Establishment of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord (11:23–26) 11:23–25. It was not the apostle, according to his own understanding, who established the Sacrament of the Body and Blood in the Corinthian Church, but God Himself directly revealed to him, as this greatest Sacrament was instituted by the Lord Jesus on the night on which He was betrayed. At the Supper, He took bread, gave thanks to God for establishing the New Testament for the salvation of people, broke it, blessed it and thereby transubstantiated it, and, giving it to the disciples, called it no longer bread, but His Body. “This is My Body, broken for you” (Luke 22:19), which has to suffer for the entire human race and become an atoning sacrifice for those who, like us, will accept it with faith. Do this too, afterward, just as I did, remembering what I have accomplished. After the supper, he took a cup of wine and, having blessed the wine, said: this wine “is the New Testament in My Blood” (Luke 22:20), that is, My Blood, My suffering for the redemption of people will be the basis of the New Testament between God and people. Remember this when you drink transubstantiated wine from the cup. Do the same thing, just as I did. This Sacrament was established for the entire existence of the Church of Christ on earth until the second coming of the Lord Christ. 11:26. This is the conclusion from the image of the establishment of the Sacrament, which determines its meaning for the entire time until the second coming of the Lord. Every time, he says, you eat this bread, that is, about which the Lord said: “This is My Body,” and drink this cup, that is, the one about which the Lord said that it is the New Testament of His Blood, “you proclaim the death of the Lord.” With this solemn action you proclaim to everyone about the death of the Lord, namely, that the Lord God was incarnate on earth, Who died on the cross for our sins. It is not faith, not the word that proclaims this, but the communion of the Body and Blood, without a word, but clearly speaks of it. B) About the worthy approach to the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord (11:27–32) 11:27. This bread is the Body of the Lord, and this cup contains the Blood of the Lord, true, and not similar only to the true. Therefore, whoever partakes of them unworthily will “be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord.” What does this duty mean? That he kills the Lord and sheds His Blood, like His murderers. Communion is received unworthily not only by those who do not prepare for it as they should, but also by those who, after receiving Communion, behave unworthy of this Communion, like the Corinthians at the supper of love (Chrysostom). 11:28. In order not to be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord, those intending to approach the Holy Sacrament must carefully examine the purity of their conscience, whether they are worthy of Holy Communion. And after such preliminary testing and preparation, let him proceed to the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. 11:29. And whoever, without proper preparation, without reflecting on the suffering of the Lord and His atoning sacrifice offered in the Sacrament of the Body and Blood, receives communion, not only will he be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord, according to the verdict of God’s court, but the very execution of the judgment will be carried out by the Lord on him at the very moment of communion. What is the punishment? Just as there is one guilt, but its degrees are different, so are the punishments: some are committed in this life, and sometimes immediately, while others are left until the next life. That punishments were sent to those who received communion unworthily even in this life, St. Paul further points out examples of this in the lives of the Corinthians themselves. 11:30. From such unworthy communion, many of you already bear the sentence of God’s judgment and condemnation, others are struck by general weakness of bodily strength (“weak”), others by a certain illness (sick), and others by death, and there are many of them. 11:31. If we had properly tested ourselves before communion and properly prepared for it, we would not have been judged, the sentence would not have been pronounced on us: guilty against the Body and Blood of the Lord. Condemnation, that is, judgment and judgment of punishment, occurs for unworthy communion, and unworthy communion is allowed because we do not judge ourselves, do not test ourselves, and do not cleanse ourselves of sins by repentance, concealing some things, half telling others. 11:32. “Being judged” means that at the moment of unworthy communion, a sentence is pronounced on us, for, having received communion unworthily, we ate and drank our judgment. The sentence is followed by punishment: sometimes weakness, sometimes illness, sometimes death. This is how we are punished by the Lord. But the Lord sends these temporary punishments to us by His mercy, not as executions, but as admonitions, healing, in order to save us from condemnation to eternal torment along with the world, or with unbelievers mired in sins (Chrysostom). III. Rules regarding love feasts (11:33–34) “That the apostle offered the word about the Holy Mysteries as an example, teaching the Corinthians that they should have common meals in churches, looking at this sacred meal, this is evidenced by what he added” (Theodoret). 11:33. From what was said about the Lord's Supper, it follows: if Christ suffered for everyone and allowed Himself to be tasted, then will the Corinthians, who are in communion with Christ, having partaken of His Body and Blood, be so insensitive and like the enemies of the Lord, guilty of His Body and Blood, that they will regret their perishable goods - bread and wine for the poor and will neglect them? The apostle hopes that the Corinthians will correct themselves, therefore, as their brothers, he advises them at the suppers of love to “wait for each other,” so that the supper is completely common, that is, so that what is brought here is given to the steward, for it to be divided equally by everyone. 11:34. Those who gathered for the supper of love for the sole purpose of eating and drinking, the apostle, as it were, expels them from the church into their homes, so as not to humiliate the spiritual by the carnal and not be judged by God for this. As for other disorders in the Corinthian Church known to the apostle, he promises to personally correct them. Sixth department. About spiritual gifts (12:1–14:40) In the primal Church, the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit were manifested with particular force in believers, which made it clear to everyone that only Christianity is the only true faith pleasing to God. All these gifts of grace were sent, in addition to witnessing the truth of faith, and so that with their help the whole Church would be edified and confirmed in faith and love. But the Corinthians showed themselves to be carnal here too. With childish vanity, they boasted to each other about their gifts, especially the gift of language to those who did not have it, and in their meetings, edifying only themselves, each hastened to discover his gift. Therefore, in the meetings there was noise and disorder instead of general edification. For admonition, Saint Paul writes about gifts of grace in general, explaining how they are necessary and equivalent both in source and in their meaning in the Church (12:1-31); about love as a container and at the same time a condition for gifts (13:1–13); and the use of the gift of tongues (14:1–40). 1 I do not want to leave you, brothers, in ignorance about spiritual gifts. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you went to silent idols, as if they were leading you. 3 Therefore I tell you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will pronounce anathema against Jesus, and no one can call Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 And there are diversities of services, but the same Lord; 6 And there are diversities of actions, but one and the same God, who works all things in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone to benefit. 8 To one is given the word of wisdom by the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 faith to another by the same Spirit; to others gifts of healings by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another divers tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He pleases. 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of one body, although many, are one body, so is Christ. 13 For we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, and we have all been given one Spirit to drink. 14 But the body is not made of one member, but of many. 15 If the foot says: I do not belong to the body, because I am not a hand, then does it really not belong to the body? 16 And if the ear says: I do not belong to the body, because I am not an eye, then does it really not belong to the body? 17 If the whole body is eyes, where is the hearing? If everything is hearing, then where is the sense of smell? 18 But God arranged the members, each one in the body, as He pleased. 19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now there are many members, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand: I have no need of you; or also head to feet: I don’t need you. 22 On the contrary, the members of the body that seem weakest are much more needed, 23 And those who seem to us to be less noble in body, for those we take more care; 24 And our dishonest ones are covered more gracefully, but our good ones have no need for it. But God proportioned the body, instilling greater care for the less perfect, 25 So that there may be no division in the body, but all members have equal care for one another. 26 Therefore, if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is glorified, all members rejoice with it. 27 And you are the body of Christ, and individually members. 28 And God appointed others in the church, firstly apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers; further, to others he gave miraculous powers, also gifts of healing, help, government, and different languages. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are everyone miracle workers? 30 Do everyone have gifts of healing? Does everyone speak in tongues? Are everyone interpreters? 31 Be zealous for greater gifts, and I will show you an even more excellent way. Section one. About gifts of grace in general (12:1–31) Having briefly indicated the action in Christianity of the grace of the Holy Spirit (12:1-3), the apostle further speaks of the equivalence of gifts according to their source, purpose and purpose (12:4-11) for the edification of the entire Church (12:12-26) and, finally, speaks of how the gifts of the Spirit are realized in the Church (12:27-31). 12:1. The Corinthians themselves probably asked St. Paul about “spiritual gifts.” He answers them: as for spiritual gifts, I really want you to have a sound understanding of this. 12:2. Saint Paul first of all points out the difference in the effect on the soul of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the seducing spirit in paganism. When, he says, you were in paganism, you were drawn to silent idols made by people, as if someone were drawing you to them, tying them with ropes. There were also soothsayers there, as if on behalf of the idol. But the soothsayers were also bound in their freedom by an evil spirit and did not realize what they were saying (Chrysostom). This is not how the Holy Spirit acts on the human spirit. This is the first difference. 12:3. Another difference between the action of the Spirit of God and the spirit of demons is that the spirit of demons cannot pronounce the name of Jesus as Lord and even blasphemes Him (pronounces anathema), but the one speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit not only does not blaspheme Jesus, but heartily confesses His name. There are different kinds of calling Jesus Lord: sometimes they call Him only with the tongue, sometimes with memory, sometimes with thought, but only those who are enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit call Him Lord with the heart. Because the true faith that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and the Savior is imprinted only by the Holy Spirit in the heart. Thus, the Holy Spirit enlightens the Christian's mind with the light of true wisdom and leads him to the conscious confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. II. Spiritual gifts are equivalent in their source, purpose and purpose (12:4–11) Having pointed out the effect of the gracious gifts of the Holy Spirit on the spirit of a Christian, the apostle further says that although the gifts are different, their source is the same - the Holy Spirit or, rather, all Three Persons of the Holy Trinity. 12:4–6. The gifts are numerous and varied, but their source is one - the Holy Trinity. The gifts of the Holy Spirit give birth to new life. Jesus Christ, as the King of the new Kingdom, distributes ministry among people and for this purpose bestows gifts of ministry from the gifts of the Spirit. God the Father, as the Father of Jesus and the source of the Holy Spirit, gives the powers that operate in these gifts. Thus, all gifts come from the consubstantiality of the Holy Trinity and are all given for the benefit of the entire Church. 12:7. In the primal Church the gifts of grace of the Holy Spirit were manifested visibly. Those who received them began to speak in different tongues, others to prophesy, others to perform miracles. Not everyone received all the gifts, but each received his own gift, exactly the one that was useful to him, and through him to others - the Church. Next, the holy apostle lists the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. 12:8–10. The Apostle divides all the gifts of the Holy Spirit into three classes, according to their significance for the benefit of the Church. Gifts of knowledge and words of teaching, “word of wisdom” - a statement of the faith of Christ and information about this faith in a strong word that no one could resist. “The Word of Knowledge” is a statement of the same faith, but combined with the deepest penetration into its secrets and requirements. The gifts of practical life are faith, the mother of signs and wonders (cf. Matt. 17:20), the performer of what is beyond human strength (Chrysostom). “Gifts of healing” of various diseases through the miraculous action of faith, “miracle-working” (in the glory of “action of forces”) - healing not only diseases, but also performing other miraculous actions. “Prophecy” is the revelation of Divine mysteries for the admonition and consolation of the Church, the ability to find out what is in someone’s heart. “Discernment of spirits” is the gift of distinguishing true prophecy from false (who is spiritual, filled with the Holy Spirit, and who is not spiritual, speaking from himself) and explaining what is not entirely clear in prophecies. Extraordinary gifts, less useful for the edification of the Church, “various (divers) tongues” - the gift of speaking, without learning, in different languages. “Interpretation of tongues” is the gift of explaining what is said in different languages ​​to others for the edification of the Church. Another, who received the gift of tongues, himself knew what he was saying, but could not interpret to another, and another had the gift of both (Chrysostom). But, despite this difference in gifts, there is one and the same Distributor of them - the Holy Spirit, who bestows them at His discretion. 12:11. The Holy Spirit, Consubstantial with God the Father and the Son, distributes the gifts common to the entire Holy Trinity, for everyone’s benefit, at His discretion, as He pleases. III. Gifts of grace are given for the benefit of the whole Church (12:12–26) In order to indicate the significance of the various gifts for the good of the entire Church and to console those who have lower gifts, the holy Apostle compares the gifts with members of one body. 12:12. Just as in our body there are many higher and lower organs and members, but they all together make up one body, so the different members of the Church, having different gifts, make up one body - Christ. 12:13. For, although different people make up the Church of Christ, Jews and Greeks, slaves and free, they all received one baptism, rebirth into spiritual life from the Holy Spirit, they were all infused with the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit in confirmation (the laying on of hands of the priest), thus, they all constitute one spiritual body, which is possible only with the composition of many members. 12:14. The needs and living conditions of the body are varied, therefore it consists of many members, which, receiving everything from the body, themselves fulfill its needs, thus all making up one. This is why the body has not one member, but many, and this is why the members do not live only for themselves, but mainly for the whole body. 12:15–16. In an organic body, consisting of many higher and lower members, nature has established such a structure that each member does its job for the whole body, without interfering with the higher members, a leg with a hand, an ear with an eye, and they do not strive to separate from the body, for in this case there would be neither body nor members. 12:17–18. The desire to reach into the higher members leads to the destruction of the lower ones, and this leads to disorder of the body and general death. If such a desire were to be satisfied, then everyone would have to be promoted to the noblest members (eyes, ears). But then there would be no other members necessary for the life of the body. God judged differently. He arranged it so that there were many members in the body, and indicated to each member its specific place and purpose. From this the body lives and every member feels good. Otherwise, a disorder could occur in the body itself. 12:19–20. If instead of different members there were one in the body, for example, an eye, a hand, then there would be no body, but only one or another member, since the body is possible as one with the varied activity of many members, which is what it is. On the other hand, even the members themselves would be impossible without the help of other members and the body. 12:21. Thus, the most important members of our body, the eyes and head, cannot do without the lower ones - arms, legs - all members need each other. 12:22–24 (before the words “this is necessary”). God has so arranged our members that those which we think are weaker are in reality more necessary, and those which seem less noble to us we take special care of. Unbecoming members are covered more than good ones, which by nature do not need it. What does this show? 12:24 (from the words “But God proportioned”) -25. Thus God equalized the members of the body, so that he instilled in us greater concern for the less perfect, and thereby eliminated the envious attitude between the members and instilled in them concern for each other. And indeed. 12:26. All members of the body, both pleasant and unpleasant, mutually sympathize with one another; for example, a headache occurs - and all members feel an unpleasant state, lose energy, and are inactive. And vice versa, the head is healthy, bright - and all the limbs are vigorous and active. IV. The distinction of gifts is for the benefit of the whole Church (12:27–31) 12:27. All together, he says, you are the body of Christ, and each individually is a member of this body. If there should be no discord in our body, then much more so in the body of Christ, and all the more so as grace is stronger than nature (Chrysostom). Just as in the organic body there are different members and of different dignity, so in the Church of Christ. 12:28. This or that rank did not appear in the Church arbitrarily, but God established the order of their service and dignity. Firstly, the apostles who planted the teachings of Christ and founded the Church, secondly, the prophets - God-enlightened and temporary teachers of the mysteries of God, thirdly, teachers - the permanent leaders of Christians in faith and life; then he gave various pious people from the Church various gifts for the edification of the Church: the gift of healing illnesses and working miracles in general, the gift of help - to provide assistance and protect the offended, the gift of governing the Church, which had already been founded - shepherding, and finally, the gift of tongues - without learning to speak in different languages. 12:29–30. Just as in an organic body not all members are the eye, ear, head, but each individually has its own special purpose, and all together make up one body, so in the Church of Christ, different members, although they have different gifts, but all together make up one body of Christ - the Church, for the benefit of which different gifts are given. Arousing in the Corinthians zeal for more beneficial gifts of grace for the Church, the holy apostle promises to show them the most excellent way to receive these gifts. 12:31. At the conclusion of his teaching about the gifts of grace, the holy apostle seems to say to the Corinthians: do you want the best, highest gifts? - Look. But I will tell you that the point of Christian life is not gifts. There is something in Christianity that is above all gifts, “the most excellent way” - the way of life, the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. And this is what I want to show you now. Section two. About love as the highest path (13:1–13 1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, then I am a sounding gossamer or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and have all knowledge and all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but do not have love, then I am nothing. 3 And if I give away all my goods and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind, love does not envy, love does not boast, it is not proud, 5 He does not behave unruly, does not seek his own, is not easily provoked, does not think evil, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; 7 He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails, although prophecies cease, and tongues are silent, and knowledge is abolished. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will cease. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; and when he became a husband, he left behind his children. 12 Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face; Now I know in part, but then I will know, even as I am known 74. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but love is the greatest of them all. I. The apostle first shows the superiority of love over all gifts and exploits (13:1-3) 13:1. The essence of Christianity is love. This path is the highest for receiving all gifts and bliss. Immersed in God and filled with God, love pours out everything – both God’s and its own – onto the brothers, in whom it also lives not in thought, but in the heart, believing that everything that concerns them concerns itself. This is a self-crucified life, an inexhaustible source of all good. Gifts themselves, not guided by love for others, are useless. Thus, someone who has the gift of tongues, who can speak not only in all human languages, but also in the language of Angels, in which they speak among themselves like spirits, but who does not have love in himself, for his neighbors will be like an insensitive ringing brass or even like a “sounding cymbal” that is unpleasant to the ear, out of tune. The ability to speak different languages ​​is a completely external matter, and in the natural order only memory is occupied with it, but in the blessed order even that is not the case; for even the donkey could speak when it was necessary, and “the stone will cry out” (Luke 19:40), says the Lord, when there is no one to utter the will of God. A speaker without love, without the presence of inner life, is like either a monotonous sound, a strike on a piece of copper, or the sound of a rattle, which is made by a detuned cymbal. Without love, the gift of prophecy and even faith itself have no meaning. 13:2. The gifts of prophecy and faith are rooted deeper within a person's soul, internal, and indicate greater closeness to God. But they also do not concern our nature and do not mean the very depth and essential combination with God. Prophecy with full knowledge of the mysteries of God in the structure of the Kingdom of grace and with full consciousness of the structure of the world and all creatures, that is, what concerns their origin, life and purpose, and such a prophecy still has its place in the head; and when necessary, God can teach it to the mind without considering what is happening in the heart, just like making a donkey speak. Consequently, even with prophecy, the inner heart can be alien to God and neighbors, alien to true life. Miraculous faith, which moves mountains, presupposes great closeness to God. Since the apostle indicated external works of faith, and, moreover, God’s ones, God, for the purposes of providence, can act through imperfect instruments, meaning not them, but others, then this gift can be revealed in a completely external way, and not be a decisive confirmation of internal unity with God and with brothers in God. The possibility of such phenomena was confirmed by the Lord Himself when he said: “Many will say to Me on that day (judgment): Lord! God! Have we not prophesied in Your name? and was it not in Your name that they cast out demons? and was it not in your name that many miracles were performed? And then I will declare to them: I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:22–23). This clearly states that prophecies and miracles are possible both in the presence of lawlessness and without love. Finally, even the highest feats of moral life - distributing property and giving oneself up to be burned - without love do not bring any benefit to the ascetic. 13:3. Voluntary impoverishment and martyrdom for the faith are the greatest feats of Christian life (see Matt. 19:21; John 15:13). The apostle looks at them as deeds done in an external way, in which the internal mood may not correspond to the dignity of the external. You can give everything away without love and decide to die without having love either. If God looks at the heart and values ​​deeds according to it (the price of deeds comes entirely from love), then it may turn out that all sorts of deeds of this kind will have no value before God, that is, they will not bring any benefit to the ascetic. But how are such feats possible without love? Blessed Theodoret responds to this: “You should know that the Righteous Judge looks not only at the righteous deed, but also at the goal of this deed. Many people do a lot for the sake of human glory. How can one suffer without love? An example of this was given by a certain Saprikius, a priest of Antioch. He was on the most friendly terms with one layman, Nicephorus. Then they got very upset because of something. Nikifor, however, soon came to his senses and sought reconciliation, but to no avail. In this state the persecution found them. They took Saprikium; He stood firmly in the faith and for this he was tormented in various ways and finally condemned to beheaded. Nikephoros, having learned about this, came to the martyr and asked for reconciliation. But Sapriky refused him this. For this reason, grace departed from him, and he renounced Christ, under the executioner’s sword stretched out over him. So, without love, he suffered and did not receive any benefit from his suffering” (Cheti-Minei, February 9). I. Love is superior in nature to all gifts (13:4–7) Having proved that without love there is no benefit either from faith, or from knowledge, or from prophecy, or from the gift of tongues, or even from a perfect life and martyrdom, the apostle describes its unparalleled beauty, decorating its image, as if with some kind of paint, with various kinds of virtues and carefully connecting all the parts (Chrysostom). 13:4–7. “Love is long-suffering” - good-naturedly endures all troubles, insults and lies, without succumbing to the movements of anger or revenge. “Love is kind” by enduring trouble from others; not only does she not cause sorrow to anyone, on the contrary, she considers all the sorrows of others as her own and tries in every possible way to alleviate them; she grieves at the sorrow of others and rejoices at their joy. “Love does not envy” any talents, nor external well-being, nor differences, nor success in business, nor any benefit or advantage of another over itself. She does not seek to be happier than others, but for everyone to be as happy as possible, she will let everyone through to what is good, so that everyone can experience it, not caring whether anything goes to her share, as long as everyone else gets it. “Love does not exalt itself” - it does not trumpet itself, does not demand praise or surprise at its deeds, it acts slowly, looking out and making sure where, what and how something useful can be done, and does it without noise or statements. “Love is not proud” - does not boast of its deeds. But no matter how perfect she may be, she thinks that she has nothing better in comparison with others, and no matter how much good she does in her circle, she does not think at all that she has done anything. But what is especially remarkable is that love, giving birth to virtues, does not allow vices to arise. Thus, with long-suffering, there may be unmercifulness, but it gives mercy; With mercy, exaltation is possible, but it is not exalted; With long-suffering and mercy, pride is possible, but it is not proud. In a word, with it a person does good without effort and labor and avoids evil (Chrysostom). That is why the Monk Isaac the Syrian calls it Paradise. “Love does not act outrageously” - does not feel dishonor when enduring for a loved one. She is not afraid of anything, as long as the good of her neighbor requires it, no matter how humiliating it may seem in the eyes of people, she does not stop at anything, but willingly decides to do good to her loved one. For “love does not seek its own” - it forgets about itself and, as it were, merges with the one to whom it extends, so that the lover and the beloved are no longer two separate persons, but as if one person. “Love is not irritated” - does not get upset even when her beloved does something unpleasant to her. “Love does not think of evil” - even in its thoughts it does not allow evil to be in others, everyone seems to be good, and just as it itself does not think of evil, it does not assume it in others. Love does not rejoice when others suffer evil, but rejoices in the truth when others live well. Love covers up every insult to itself with mercy; it does not want to hear or look for bad things in others. But she believes with hope everything that concerns the good in people, and she herself tirelessly seeks ways to do good to people, in the hope that the Lord will help her. Love endures everything patiently in the way of doing good to others. In general, love, “doing good, without despair, expects all the good from the loved one, and even if he was bad, does not cease to correct him, take care of him, and not just hopes, but with confidence, because he loves so much. And even if no good happens beyond expectation, and even if her beloved becomes even worse, she endures this too” (Chrysostom). III. The holy apostle proves the superiority of love over all gifts and that it will endure forever (13:8-13) 13:8. The gift of tongues and prophecy and other gifts are given by God for the establishment of faith; when faith is established, then the gifts will cease, which exist partially now, but completely in the future life. Even the very knowledge of the mysteries of the Divine as a gift will cease in the future life, without achieving complete perfection. Why? 13:9–10. Our earthly knowledge, and about earthly, and even more so about heavenly, can be called knowledge only in part; and the prophecies themselves give us such knowledge, partly in images, fortune-telling. So, now we know that God is everywhere, but we don’t know how; that He created everything that exists, but we don’t know how; We know that the Lord Jesus was born of a Virgin, but we don’t know how. When the perfect comes in the future life, then we will know it more and more clearly, and then our present knowledge and prophetic knowledge will no longer have meaning (Chrysostom). To explain his thought, Saint Paul calls our present knowledge infancy, and the future - the knowledge of perfect men. 13:11. Infancy, according to the development of the forces of nature, has its own imperfect language, imperfect knowledge and understanding; in adulthood, all this is replaced by a more perfect one. The baby speaks and thinks in images, the husband - in concepts, in the form of which he recognizes things more accurately. In this example, St. Paul shows what a profound difference will be between our future knowledge and our present knowledge—infancy. All of them, even the wisest of them, will be rejected in the future life as infants and incompetent. Then both earth and heaven will have new, new conditions of existence and mutual relations. Everything will appear in a different form, in a different meaning, and will be understood. What is to happen in the next century is predicted to us through comparisons, but since the comparisons are taken from the objects of this world, and it will cease, they do not allow us to understand anything in essence, but only lead us to fortune-telling and assumptions. The apostle speaks about this further. 13:12. Saint Paul compares our current knowledge of the mysteries of the Divine with the reflection of visible objects in dull glass, only externally and “fortune-telling”. Then, in the future life, we will see them face to face, without any mediation, as they are in themselves. Now, just as our knowledge is dim and guesswork, so our understanding is imperfect, but only in part, but then it will be perfect and complete. This does not mean that we will see God Himself face to face there and understand Him completely, just as He knows us. God is always hidden and will remain. Even the highest beings do not see Him directly, but only in the manifestations of His glory. There will be no greater and more perfect sight of God than that which believers will be rewarded with in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. In seeing Him they will see God Himself, and our knowledge will then be perfect, according to the extent of our powers, just as God’s knowledge of us is perfect, according to the extent of His powers. Finally, the holy apostle puts love above faith and hope. 13:13. Now, in this life, a person lives with faith in the future, with the hope of receiving bliss, and with love leads a morally perfect life. In the Kingdom of Heaven there will be no need to believe. If faith is “the substance of things hoped for” (Heb. 11:1), then, after the appearance of the things themselves, there is no longer any need for faith. Hope is also superfluous there. For “hope when it sees is not hope; for if anyone sees, what can he hope for?” (Rom.8:24). “But love has more power there when passions calm down, bodies become incorruptible, and souls do not choose one thing today and another tomorrow” (Theodoret). Section three. On using the gift of prophecy and the gift of tongues (14:1–40) Having indicated the high importance of love, St. Paul advises the Corinthians to strive for it and at the same time pray for receiving spiritual gifts, especially prophecy over the gift of tongues. The apostle first convinces the Corinthians of the superiority of the gift of prophecy over the gift of tongues (14:1-25), then gives rules for the use of both in the church (14:26-38) and, finally, puts a brief conclusion to the entire discussion about these gifts (14:39-40). 1 Achieve love; be zealous for spiritual gifts, especially to prophesy. 2 For he who speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not to men, but to God; because no one understands him, he speaks secrets in the spirit; 3 But whoever prophesies speaks to people for edification, admonition and comfort. 4 He who speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself; and whoever prophesies edifies the church. 5 I desire that you all speak in tongues; but it is better that you prophesy; For he who prophesies is superior to him who speaks in tongues, unless he also speaks, so that the church may be edified. 6 Now, if I come to you, brothers, and speak in unknown tongues, what benefit will I bring you if I do not speak to you either by revelation, or knowledge, or prophecy, or teaching? 7 And soulless things that make a sound, a pipe or a harp, if they do not produce separate tones, how can one recognize what is being played on a pipe or a harp? 8 And if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? 9 So if you also utter unintelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will be talking into the wind. 10 For example, there are so many different words in the world, and not one of them is without meaning. 11 But if I do not understand the meaning of the words, then I am a stranger to him who speaks, and he who speaks is a stranger to me. 12 So you also, being zealous for spiritual gifts, strive to be enriched in them for the edification of the church. 13 Therefore, you who speak in an unknown tongue, pray for the gift of interpretation. 14 For when I pray in an unknown tongue, although my spirit prays, my mind remains unfruitful. 15 What to do? I will begin to pray with the spirit, I will also pray with the mind; I will sing with my spirit, I will also sing with my mind. 16 For if you bless with the spirit, how will he who stands in the place of the common man say, “Amen,” when you give thanks? For he does not understand what you are saying. 17 You give thanks well, but the other is not edified. 18 I thank my God: I speak in tongues more than all of you; 19 But in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. 20 Brothers! Do not be children in mind: in evil, be babies, but in mind be adults. 21 It is written in the law: I will speak with other tongues and other mouths to this people; but even then they will not listen to Me, says the Lord. 22 So tongues are a sign, not for those who believe, but for those who do not believe; prophecy is not for unbelievers, but for believers. 23 If the whole church comes together, and they all speak in unknown tongues, and those who do not know or do not believe come in to you, will they not say that you are mad? 24 But when everyone prophesies, and someone who does not believe or does not know comes in, he is convicted by everyone and judged by everyone. 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed, and he falls on his face and worships God and says, “Truly God is with you.” 26 So what then, brethren? When you come together, and each of you has a psalm, there is a teaching, there is a tongue, there is a revelation, there is an interpretation - let all this be for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in an unknown tongue, speak two, or many three, and then separately, and explain with one. 28 But if there is no interpreter, then remain silent in the church, and speak to yourself and to God. 29 And let two or three prophets speak, and let the rest reason. 30 But if there is a revelation to another of those sitting, the first one should remain silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone can learn and everyone can be comforted. 32 And the spirits of the prophets are obedient to the prophets, 33 because God is not a God of disorder, but of peace. This happens in all the churches of the saints. 34 Let your wives be silent in the churches, for it is not lawful for them to speak, but to be in subjection, just as the law says. 35 If they want to learn anything, let them ask their husbands about it at home; for it is indecent for a woman to speak in church. 36 Has the word of God come from you? Or did it reach you alone? 37 If anyone considers himself a prophet or spiritual, let him understand what I am writing to you, for these are the commandments of the Lord. 38 But whoever does not understand, let him not understand. 39 Therefore, brethren, be zealous to prophesy, but do not forbid speaking in tongues; 40 only everything must be decent and orderly. I. The Advantage of the Gift of Prophecy over the Gift of Tongues (14:1–25) St. Paul compares the gifts of prophecy and tongues according to their benefit to the Church and finds that the gift of tongues, without interpretation, serves only for the edification of those who have it (14:1-20), while prophecy serves for the edification of others (14:21-25). A) The gift of tongues, without interpretation, is for the edification of those who have it (14:1–20) 14:1. In view of the high dignity and importance of love in Christianity, St. Paul says: pursue love, use every effort to acquire it. Love, in the words of St. Isaac the Syrian, is Paradise to which we must strive. How to achieve it? Love is the negation of all passions and enters the heart after they are expelled from there. Therefore, it is necessary to fight passions and overcome them so that love is poured out by the Holy Spirit in the heart. But, advising us to achieve love, Saint Paul advises us to be zealous - to seek diligently for spiritual gifts, and most of all, to prophesy. To prophesy means, through the action of the Holy Spirit, to speak to believers for their edification in a language they understand. The subject of speech could be dogma, moral teaching, consolation, prayerful praise, and prophecy itself. This gift should be sought first before the gift of tongues. Why? 14:2. He who has received the gift of tongues through prayer from the Holy Spirit is under His guidance and expresses the mysteries of faith and life instilled in his spirit in words, but incomprehensible to people, but known only to God, who instilled them. People hear only sounds that are incomprehensible to them and therefore do not seem to hear what the prophet is saying. 14:3. Whoever receives the gift of prophecy through prayer, at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, speaks the mysteries of God clearly for people to hear. He speaks not only to himself and to God, but also to people, and thus brings them spiritual benefit - edification (in the slav. “creation”), consolation, exhortation (in the slav. “affirmation”). Edification is a good mood of spirit, especially in moral terms. Consolation is persuasion, persuasion, useful for the mind. Exhortation is pacification of the heart, healing of its illnesses. This is the benefit of prophecy. 14:4. Thus, the one who speaks in tongues only edifies himself, because he only understands himself, but the one who prophesies is understood by everyone in the Church, and everyone is edified. And this is the purpose of gifts. But the apostle does not disparage the gift of tongues. 14:5. Saint Paul desires that all Corinthian Christians receive the gift of language, but more desires that they receive the gift of prophecy for the good of the Church. However, the gift of tongues can also be useful to the Church if the speaker explains in an understandable language what he says in an incomprehensible one. For then it will be the same with prophecy to edify the Church. Without the interpretation spoken through the gift of tongues, even the holy apostle himself would not have brought any benefit to the Church. 14:6. If, he says, I myself came to you and began to speak in tongues, there would be no benefit if at the same time, in a language already understandable to you, I did not communicate to you revelation, or knowledge, or prophecy, or teaching, inspired by the Holy Spirit and in the gift of tongues. 14:7. The incomprehensible words spoken by one who has the gift of tongues are as useless, incomprehensible and even unpleasant for listeners as disorderly and ridiculous playing of the pipe or harp. 14:8. So, if the war trumpet gives vague signals indicating preparation for battle, then who will prepare for it? Here the apostle points out not only the uselessness, but even the direct danger from such incomprehensible sounds. 14:9. So you too, he says, if you speak in unintelligible words that do not have a clear meaning, incomprehensible, then who will understand you? "You will speak into the wind". Not only that, but someone who speaks a language that is incomprehensible to the listeners is completely alien to them. 14:10–11. Every nation in the world (and there are many of them) has its own language that it understands, and communicates with each other in it. Whoever does not understand their language is a stranger in their eyes, and so are they for him. Likewise, the Corinthians, speaking an incomprehensible language, will seem like strangers to their own compatriots. What follows from this? What we need to ask God for gifts useful for the edification of the Church. 14:12. You are jealous of spiritual gifts of grace. Okay, be zealous, but look for such gifts that would edify the Church. How can the Church be edified by the gift of tongues? 14:13. In order for the gift of tongues to serve for the edification of the Church, the recipient must pray to God that He would grant the gift of interpretation spoken under the influence of the gift of tongues, which edifies only the heart of the speaker, and not his mind. 14:14. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit on a person’s spirit, the spirit prays and is edified, but the words of his prayer, expressed in a language unfamiliar to the person praying, are incomprehensible to his mind, and therefore do not bear fruit, cannot be conveyed to others in an understandable way for their edification. So what should we do? What to do? 14:15. We must make sure that in a foreign language, according to the movement of the Holy Spirit, we pray and sing, and then do the same in a language we understand. To do this, as mentioned earlier, you need to pray that God will grant the gift of interpretation of tongues either to someone who has the gift of tongues or to someone else. Without this, confusion may arise in the congregation. 14:16. For if you (very likely the head of the Church) bless in a foreign language, not knowing how to interpret it, then a layman (ignorant - simpleton) cannot answer “Amen” (yes, truly so), because not understanding the final words “forever and ever,” he will not say “Amen” (Chrysostom). Consequently, there would be confusion in the prayer itself. 14:17. Thus, he who has the gift of tongues alone is edified by prayer and thanksgiving to God under the influence of the Holy Spirit. 14:18–19. The Holy Apostle, by his example, shows them how to use the gift of tongues in the Church. He says, by the grace of God, I have been vouchsafed more than all of you the gift of tongues. But for the good of the Church, I prefer to say five words in a language understandable to the listeners, rather than tens of words incomprehensible to them. 14:20. The Apostle exhorts the Corinthians not to be like foolish children, carried away by what catches the eye, and not to be carried away, preferably over all gifts, by the gift of tongues. At the same time, he advises to be children in spite of evil: gentle, not leading evil, but in mind - mature, reasonable. “He wanted them to be both husbands and children: children in evil, but men in wisdom. And the husband will then be a man when at the same time he is a child; and until he is a child in evil, he will not be a husband, because an evil person cannot be perfect, but can be unreasonable” (Chrysostom). B) Prophecy is for the edification of all believers (14:21–25) 14:21. By law here we mean the Old Testament Scripture (see Is. 28:11–12). God taught His people as they obeyed Him through the prophets. When the people ceased to be faithful to God, then He threatened them: do they not listen to the prophets? So I will speak to them in a different language, that is, I will send a strange people against them. Hence the apostle draws this conclusion. 14:22. The gift of tongues should serve as a sign to admonish unbelievers, striking them with amazement, although it does not always serve to convert them. Prophecy is for the edification and benefit of believers. St. Paul explains this with an example. 14:23. Suppose, he says, that your whole church has gathered, and everyone who has the gift of tongues will begin to speak them either one by one, or several at the same time. And that in itself is ugly. But if at this time “those who don’t know” come to you - simpletons, villagers or infidels, “won’t they say that you are going crazy”, have gone crazy? And you will push away from the doors of salvation those who came to seek salvation, and, moreover, in such a way that even after you will not attract them to listen to the truth, and they will tell others about the outrages happening in your meetings. 14:24–25. Your meeting will have a completely opposite effect, says St. Paul, on the soul of the simpleton or the unbeliever, when, having entered your church, they hear what you prophesy one after another, that is, speak in a language understandable to everyone, what the Holy Spirit inspires to whom, whether prophecy, reason, revelation, teaching, or prayer. Christian truths in themselves, and even more so directly inspired by the Holy Spirit and conveyed in a convinced language, are capable of disturbing the conscience, arousing the fear of God and converting the unbeliever and sinner to the good path. Then the one who enters your meeting will be convicted before everyone, not through any judicial interrogations, but through the truths expressed by the prophets, and along with the conviction, the path of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ will be revealed to his soul. Thus, the one who is convicted can immediately receive the hope of salvation, and even reach the determination to take the path of truth. And the grace of the Holy Spirit, which overshadows everyone in the assembly, penetrating into the very words of those speaking, will accomplish the work of conversion. And so the infidel, internally changed under the influence of the prophetic word, falls, worships the Christian God and confesses that in the meeting of Christians in the church God is truly present and active. II. Rules for the use of the gifts of prophecy and tongues in the church (14:26–38) First, the general law is given (14:26), then specific rules for those speaking in tongues (14:27–28), for prophets (14:29–33), for wives (14:34–36), and finally, a general conviction is attached to the fulfillment of what was said (14:37–38). A) General law of the use of gifts (14:26) 14:26. What comes out of all that has been said about the gifts of the Holy Spirit? What should you do? Here's how. You have gathered in church, everyone has something from the Spirit of God: for someone a psalm - every kind of prayerful appeal to God, petition, thanksgiving, doxology; who is teaching (in Slavic “teaching”) - dogma, moral teaching, advice, solution to perplexities; who is revelation - insight into the future, the discovery of secrets in the present or past, the taking away of the secrets of the heart; who has a tongue - the gift of speaking everything shown in a foreign language; who interpretation (in Slavic “legend”) is the gift of interpreting what is said in an incomprehensible language. So, you have gathered in church with all this spiritual wealth; Here is a general law for your use: “let everything be for edification.” Remember that no one receives anything exclusively for himself, but receives everything for the entire congregation of believers. With them he must share what he has received, not seeking his own glory, but fulfilling the order of God, who seems to say: take and distribute to everyone. The holy apostle applies this general law to possible cases in the congregation. B) Private rules (14:27–36) a) To those who speak in tongues (14:27–28) 14:27–28. Speak in tongues in the assembly only when there is an interpreter-translator, and when he is not there, then silently, speaking to yourself and to God, that is, speak to yourself, in your mind, secretly, without noise (Chrysostom). In every meeting, speak two, many three, and not suddenly, but separately, one after another, so that the faithful may receive edification. 14:29. Likewise, those who have received the gift of prophecy must convey what they have received from the Spirit for edification, two or three - one after another. At the same time, so that something demonic does not creep in under the guise of prophecy, he commands those who have been granted the gift of discerning spirits (see 1 Cor. 12:10) to judge the prophecy being pronounced, whether it is said according to the action of the Spirit of God (Chrysostom). 14:30. It happens that during the speech of the first prophet, the Holy Spirit will arouse another sitting and listening to speak, then let this one speak, and let the first one be silent, for this is why the Holy Spirit aroused the other (Chrysostom). 14:31. Then, as a consolation to the one who is commanded to remain silent, he says something like this: let the one excited by the Spirit speak again, then the one who has fallen silent can speak again if there is still something to say. Since the purpose of the apostle’s orders is “that all may learn and all may be comforted,” it is easy to understand why he gives preference to the speech of one who has just received revelation from the Spirit. His speech is smoother, more heartfelt, and therefore more influential on his listeners and more beautiful than the speech of someone who received a revelation, perhaps even during his home prayer, and then in church, who conveyed the revelation from memory. But the one who received revelation from the Spirit could object that he could not resist the Spirit and remain silent when the Spirit commanded him to speak. To this Saint Paul responds: 14:32. The grace of the Holy Spirit, which inspires a prophet, does not forcefully act on the will of the prophet. He is always the master of his will, therefore, he can obey the order of the holy Apostle, which is in accordance with the will of God. 14:33. For this order was established by the God of peace in all the holy churches through the Apostle, so that nowhere would there be disorder contrary to God. Such was the structure of the Apostolic Church. “The church was heaven then. The Spirit arranged everything among the people, guided and inspired each of the primates. And now we only have signs of the talents of that time. And now we speak, but all these are only signs and monuments of the past. In ancient times they spoke not according to their own wisdom, but according to the inspiration of the Spirit, but now they speak their own. In ancient times there was a real treasure in the church, but now it is for the most part only a place where these treasures lay” (Chrysostom). 14:34. And the Corinthian women brought disorder into the public meetings of Christians. Contrary to women's modesty, on the basis of equality in Christ, receiving inspiration, they dared to teach in church and, thus, to the temptation of others, violated God's fundamental law about the subordination of a wife to her husband. True, teaching was not prohibited for women. The Apostle Paul himself praised women who labor for the Lord (see, for example, Rom. 16:6-12). But their teaching duties were limited to those at home (see, for example, 1 Tim. 5:10). A wife could instruct in the faith only in the absence of male teachers, as Priscilla did in Ephesus, teaching Apollos the faith of Christ, having first accepted him into her family (see Acts 18:26). “The Holy Apostle Paul suppresses disorder in the Church not with exhortation and advice, but with a command with authority, citing the ancient law about this. Which? “You will turn to your husband, and he will have possession of you” (Gen. 3:16). This law commands wives not only to remain silent in front of their husbands, but also to remain silent with fear, and, moreover, with such fear as a slave should be silent. If wives should be like this in relation to their husbands, then even more so in relation to teachers and fathers and the general meeting of the Church. They should listen to what they should, and ask their husbands at home about doubtful things” (Chrysostom). 14:35. Wives, says the apostle, are not allowed in church not only to speak openly themselves, but also to ask about anything. If in church they hear something that is incomprehensible to themselves, then let them turn to their husbands for clarification, but not in church, but at home. “Why does he place them in such subordination? Because the wife is the weakest creature, fickle and frivolous. Therefore, he appoints husbands to them as teachers and benefits both of them: he makes the wives modest and the husbands attentive, since they must accurately convey to their wives what they hear. Further, since they (in Corinth) considered it an honor to speak in the assembly, he proves the opposite and says: “for it is indecent for a woman to speak in church,” this is contrary to human customs and church institutions” (Chrysostom). 14:36. “He says something like this: you are not the first Christians, and you are not the only faithful ones. You cannot say: we have been teachers of others and we should not learn from others. Here only the doctrine of faith was established, and we should not imitate the example of others. No, there were and are other Churches, and they did not come from you, and everywhere the custom that I proclaim to you is what you should imitate” (Chrysostom). C) General conviction to fulfill what was said (14:37–38) 14:37. This confirms St. Paul's instructions regarding the use of the gifts of prophecy and tongues in the church. So, he says, you who speak in tongues and prophesy, take heed carefully to what I write, and do it exactly, for these are the commandments of the Lord. “God commanded this through me” (Chrysostom). 14:38. He who does not have the gifts of grace and cannot, with the help of them, understand this, must remain silent as one who does not understand. III. Conclusion of all that has been said about the gift of prophecy and tongues (14:39–40) 14:39–40. Having begun to talk about the gifts of prophecy and tongues, the apostle first proved that the gift of prophecy is better and more useful for the Church than the gift of tongues, now he concludes: therefore, be zealous about the gift of prophecy, but when someone receives the gift of tongues, do not forbid him, do not forbid him to use it, with the restrictions that I have made. And in conclusion, he adds the following words: only everything is “decent and orderly” (in glory, “decent and in order”); and how it will be decent and in order, he has already indicated this in the above rules. Seventh department. On the resurrection of the dead (15:1–58) Finally, in the Church of Corinth they questioned the most basic dogma of Christianity - the resurrection of the dead. And no wonder, Corinth was filled with pagan wisdom. Thus, on almost every street there was some kind of educational institution, and at every step one could meet a sophist. The resurrection was rejected by the Epicureans, who believed the happiness of life in sensual pleasures, by the Stoics, who strived for self-destruction as the highest good, by the Sadducees and philosophers of the Alexandrian school. This body of teachings of the wisdom of the world could not but influence some Corinthian Christians, especially since the denial of the resurrection of the body removed responsibility for carnal sins. Therefore, some Christians understood the apostolic teaching about the resurrection in a spiritual and moral sense, as the rebirth of the soul by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and completely denied the resurrection of the body. Others believed with their hearts in the resurrection of the body, but were not convinced of this with their minds; they wondered how a rotten body could rise and what the future body would be like. True, there were few such unbelievers or doubters. But even a little leaven can leaven the whole dough. Therefore, St. Paul considered it necessary to stop evil at the very beginning. He first proves the resurrection of the body against those who denied it (15:1-34), then he speaks about the image of the resurrection and the quality of the resurrected bodies - against those who hesitate in this (15:35-53) and, finally, sings a song of victory over death and gives a short exhortation (15:54-58). Section one. Proof of the resurrection of the dead by the body (15:1–34) 1 I remind you, brethren, of the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you stood, 2 By which you are saved, if you keep what was taught, just as I preached the gospel to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I taught you from the beginning what I also received, that is, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve; 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, and some have fallen asleep; 7 Then he appeared to James, and also to all the apostles; 8 and last of all he appeared to me, as to some monster 75 . 9 For I am the least of the apostles, and am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace in me was not in vain, but I labored more than all of them: not I, however, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 So whether it is I or they, this is how we preach, and this is how you believe. 12 If it is preached about Christ that He rose from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain. 15 Moreover, we would also be found to be false witnesses about God, because we would testify about God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, unless, that is, the dead are raised; 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ is not raised. 17 But if Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain: you are still in your sins. 18 Therefore also those who died in Christ perished. 19 And if in this life only we hope in Christ, then we are the most miserable of all men. 20 But 76 Christ rose from the dead, the firstborn of those who died. 21 For as death came through man, so also came the resurrection of the dead through man. 22 As in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall live, 23 each in his own order: Christ the firstborn, then those of Christ at his coming. 24 And then the end, when He will hand over the Kingdom to God the Father, when He will abolish all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 But the last enemy to be destroyed is death, 27 For he put all things under his feet. When it is said that all things are subject to Him, then it is clear that except for Him Who subjected all things to Him. 28 When all things are put in subjection to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to Him who put all things in subjection to Him, so that God may be all in all. 29 Otherwise, what do those who are baptized do for the dead? If the dead do not rise at all, then why are they baptized for the dead? 30 Why are we also subjected to calamities every hour? 31 I die daily: I am testified of this by your praise, brethren, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 According to human reasoning, when I fought with the wild beasts in Ephesus, what good was it to me if the dead did not rise again? Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die! 33 Do not be deceived: bad communities corrupt good morals. 34 Be sober as you should, and do not sin; for, to your shame, I say, some of you do not know God. 35 But someone will say, “How will the dead be raised?” and in what body will they come? 36 Reckless! what you sow will not come to life unless it dies. 37 And when you sow, you do not sow the body that is to come, but the naked grain that happens, wheat or some other grain; 38 But God gives him a body as he wills, and to each seed his own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same flesh; but there is another flesh among men, another among beasts, another among fishes, and another among birds. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; but the glory of those in heaven is one, and that of the earth is another. 41 There is another glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, another of the stars; and star differs from star in glory. 42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead: it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; 43 It is sown in humiliation, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in strength; 44 The natural body is sown, the spiritual body is raised. There is a spiritual body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written: The first man Adam became a living soul; and the last Adam is a life-giving spirit. 46 But the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual. 47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second person is the Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, so are the earthy; and as is the heavenly, so are the heavenly. 49 And just as we have borne the image of earth, we will also bear the image of heaven. 50 But I tell you this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and corruption does not inherit incorruption. 51 I tell you a secret: we will not all die, but we will all be changed 52 suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise incorruptible, and we will be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 When this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then the word that is written will be fulfilled: Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 Death! where is your sting? hell! where is your victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law. 57 Thanks be to God, who has given us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be strong, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord I. The basis of the doctrine of the bodily resurrection is the certainty of the resurrection of Christ in the flesh (15:1–11) The truth of the resurrection of Christ is undeniable. Among the Corinthians who believed, no one doubted the truth of the resurrection of Christ. Saint Paul does not prove it, but only reminds of it, reproducing how he taught them the faith. 15:1–2. The holy apostle, instilling the doctrine of Christ in Corinth, expounded to them the doctrine of the resurrection of bodies. The Corinthians took the teaching of the apostle to heart, believed in Christ, and through their faith they are saved if they firmly adhere to the teaching taught. Therefore, Saint Paul now only reminds them of this teaching, and especially those of the Corinthians who did not call themselves Christians in vain (“they did not believe in vain”). What does he remind them of? 15:3. Saint Paul reminds them that when he came to them, he began his preaching to them about Christ, that He died bodily for our sins. “He himself did not invent this sermon and did not follow human reasoning, but he received the teaching about it from the Lord Christ” (Chrysostom). “The cross was known to everyone, because Christ was crucified in front of everyone, and the reason was not known to everyone. That He died, everyone knew, but that He suffered death for the sins of the universe, many did not know, therefore Saint Paul cites evidence from Scripture (see Is. 53:5), testifying that this was so ordained in the Eternal Council of the Holy Trinity” (Chrysostom). 15:4. He really died and was buried as if dead. But on the third day after His bodily death He rose again. All this happened according to Scripture, according to the eternal destiny of the Holy Trinity (see Isa.53:8,10-11; Ps.15:10). That He really rose bodily is testified by many eyewitnesses who saw Him risen bodily. 15:5. So, the holy Apostle Peter saw Him risen bodily (see Luke 24:34), then the eleven disciples both on the very day of the resurrection, and on the eighth day (see Matt. 28:17; Mark 16:14), and maybe even when, although it is not written down. But this is not enough. 15:6. Not only His closest disciples saw Him alive, but once more than five hundred brethren saw Him, many of whom are still alive and can confirm this; some fell asleep until the general resurrection. 15:7. Then the Lord appeared to the Apostle James. They say that He Himself ordained him and made him the first bishop in Jerusalem (Chrysostom). In addition, He appeared to all the other apostles, except the eleven, who were mentioned earlier. That's how many witnesses there were who saw the Lord Jesus risen in the flesh! 15:8. Finally, Saint Paul himself saw Him physically both on the way to Damascus, and after - in the Jerusalem temple during his prayer there (see Acts 9:4,17, 22:14,18), although he was unworthy of this, as a degenerate from among the people due to his then moral qualities. Who was he then? 15:9. He did not belong to the disciples of Christ, but was a persecutor of the Church of Christ. But the risen Christ who appeared to him turned Him to Himself and called Him to the apostleship, although he in himself was unworthy of this. And he became a most zealous apostle, but not on his own, but by the grace of God. 15:10. Having become an apostle by the grace of God, until that time he proclaimed the teachings of the faith of Christ throughout Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece and some islands. After this, he could say that the grace of God, which chose him, was not in vain in him, that it did not choose him in vain, that it was successfully doing through him, what it intended to do. Therefore, although he points out that he worked more than all the apostles, he sees in this not the fruit of his zeal and strength, but also a work of grace. Because he would not have had enough of his own spirit—the strength to kindle this zeal so intensely; he would have lacked the will and energy to continue such exorbitant labors. If he is such a bearer of God’s grace, then his testimony about the risen Christ is the testimony of God Himself. 15:11. Thus, the truth of the resurrection of Christ according to the body is beyond doubt. It was preached by all the apostles, and the Corinthians themselves believed in it. Therefore, we can recognize the resurrection of our bodies. I. Denial of the resurrection introduces disorder into the Christian worldview (15:12–19) 15:12. We preached, says the apostle, that Christ is not only God, but also man, for in the form of God, He took on the form of a servant (cf. Phil. 2:6-7), and they said that He both died and rose again. But it is obvious that the Divinity is impassive, but only the body is subject to suffering. It was this that Christ handed over to the cross and raised from the grave. Therefore, how do some of you question the resurrection of bodies, when we have believed in the resurrection of the Lord Christ? (Theodorite). 15:13. And vice versa - what is an integral part of a whole series of phenomena also occurs in each individual case; if, in your opinion, the resurrection of the dead is impossible, then there was no resurrection of Christ, because the Lord Christ had the same body as all people (Theodoret). 15:14. If Christ was not resurrected, then terrible conclusions emerge from this. The first is that “if Christ, having died, was not resurrected, then sin was not destroyed, and death was not defeated, and the oath was not destroyed, we lost everything, everything perished, and not only did we preach empty dreams in vain, but you also believed in these dreams in vain” (Chrysostom). 15:15–16. Not only is our preaching in vain, “we are also subject to punishment for slander, having dared to assert that God raised Christ, but He did not raise Him” (Theodoret). He did not resurrect, as your idea suggests, if the dead do not rise. For one must necessarily follow from the other, “if the dead are not raised, then Christ is not risen.” 15:17. If Christ is not resurrected, then there is no atonement. You believed in Christ in the hope of receiving remission of sins and receiving strength to resist sin and destroy it in yourself with a new life. What is this hope based on? Based on the fact that Christ, having died on the cross, offered an atoning sacrifice for our sins - “Behold, Lamb of God, take away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). And that this sacrifice was accepted is confirmed by the resurrection of the One who died for sins. If He was not resurrected, the sacrifice was not accepted, the sin remained unredeemed. On the other hand, deliverance from sins has two sides - the remission of sins and the seed of new life for the destruction of sin. The first is given by communion with the death of Christ, and the second by the communion of His resurrection. If Christ has not been resurrected, then there is no fellowship of His resurrection, there is no seed of new life in us, therefore, sin still possesses us and we are still in sin. That is why the apostle says that “if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is vain: you are still in your sins.” 15:18. Without the resurrection of Christ, the living remain unredeemed - that is, in sins, and the dead - in sins; although they believed in Christ, they must perish in eternal torment. 15:19. Without the resurrection of Christ, the dead will perish in eternal torment, and the living, who believe in Christ and hope in Him, are the most unfortunate of people. Christians are oppressed, persecuted, deprived of everything and even their lives, and they themselves voluntarily subject themselves to all kinds of deprivations for the sake of moral improvement. There is a lot of sorrow, but no reward or consolation, neither here on earth, nor there, beyond the grave. This is what would have happened to Christians if Christ had not been resurrected. III. The power of Christ's resurrection is such that it will also resurrect us (15:20–28) 15:20. Now, now the apostle points out the consequences of the resurrection of Christ. He is the first, like the firstfruits, the firstborn from the dead (see Col. 1:18), resurrected bodily, and thereby laid the beginning and foundation of the resurrection of all. His power is so great that life will come out of Him for everyone, and His resurrection is the possibility of the resurrection of everyone. Why? 15:21–22. Since death entered the world through man, man had to defeat it by his resurrection. Therefore, Christ, as a man, died and rose again, and thereby conquered death not only in Himself, but in all people, the descendants of Adam - mortal for his sin. Therefore, just as in Adam all his descendants die bodily, so in Christ they will all come to life. 15:23. Everyone will come to life in Christ, but not together with the resurrection of Christ, but each in his own time, in his own order, when his turn comes, precisely at the second coming of Christ. The risen Christ is the firstfruits, in whom the foundation is laid and the path of the general resurrection is indicated, and through this resurrection the final restoration of fallen humanity will be accomplished and its appearance in the glory destined for it and in the light and perfection characteristic of it. Therefore, the resurrection of Christ is a guarantee for the fidelity of all Christian hopes, which is why it is glorified by Christians above all else. The Holy Apostle limits the resurrection only to those who believed in Christ, but not because those who did not believe will not be resurrected, but because his attention was exclusively drawn to the believers, to whom he writes his message. 15:24. After the general resurrection and judgment there will be an end to the present order of things, an end to the Kingdom of grace; and the Lord Jesus Christ will hand over all power in heaven and on earth (cf. Matt. 28:18) given to Him by God the Father after the resurrection to God and the Father. And the Kingdom of glory will come, in which there will be neither sin, nor death, nor the devil, nor his power and strength (Chrysostom). 15:25. For in the Eternal Council it was ordained that the Lord should reign until he subdues all the enemies of His blessed Kingdom. 15:26. Death will be abolished by resurrection after the principalities, powers and powers of demons are abolished through the defeat of the Antichrist. “The power of death has now been abolished, but the action will cease then” (Chrysostom). Death will be abolished not only in relation to people, but also in relation to all creatures, for it is impossible for our body to become alien to death and corruption without corruption and death being completely expelled from all areas of existence. The imperishable period of existence of heaven and earth and everything that is in them will come. 15:27. In confirmation of the fact that the Lord Jesus, as the God-man, God in the Eternal Council gave the power to conquer everything, made him Lord and King, the apostle cites the words of Scripture (see Ps. 8: 7), which says that God gave power to man over the beasts of the earth. Applying this to the Lord Jesus, as the prototype of restored man, the apostle extends this authority to all created things, except only the Creator Himself. When and how is this submission of everything to the Lord Jesus accomplished? After His resurrection, the Lord Jesus said to His disciples: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). From that moment on, He received power over everything submissive, and the subjugation of the rebellious began, namely: sin, the devil, death. This conquest is being accomplished, but has not yet been accomplished. “Today we do not yet see that all things have been submitted to Him,” says the apostle in another letter (Heb. 2:8). A lot of time has passed since what the apostle said, and not only is there no subjugation, but, apparently, the number of Christ’s enemies not only does not decrease, but even increases. However, this is not what we need to look at, but what the Lord does in believers; in them he tramples on sin, defeats the devil and takes away the power of death. The number of true believers sometimes decreases, sometimes increases, but they are always there, and the subjugation of enemies goes on continuously. The trophies of victory over them are the hosts of saints who mature in the Church on earth, and shine with victorious glory in heaven. The enemies think that they are taking power, and the Lord leaves them to still act in the form of preparing their conquerors through them. When everything is fulfilled as prescribed, then all these enemies will be subdued by the Lord. Until the Lord thus subdues all enemies, His and ours, until then it is fitting for Him to reign as the God-man, the Redeemer. 15:28. When the Son fulfills what is determined in the Eternal Council, then He will lay down the work and power of redemption and hand over the Kingdom to God the Father and will reign in the glorious Kingdom of the Most Holy Trinity, and “God will be all in all” (in glorified “all in all”). And now God is in everyone, “in Him we live, we move, and we are.” But now His indwelling in us is hindered by our sins, from which no one living is free (see, for example, Job 14:4; Ps. 143:2; Ps. 129:3). In the future life, when corruption ceases and immortality is taught, there will be no place for passions, and after the final expulsion of passions, not a single type of sin affects, then God will dwell more fully and perfectly in everything. But how? It is not given to us to know this (Theodoret, Chrysostom). IV. Convictions to Accept the Truth of the General Resurrection (15:29–32) Continuing to prove the truth of the general resurrection, the apostle brings two convictions to accept it: one he takes from baptism (15:29), and the other from his mortal dangers when preaching about this resurrection (15:30-32), and by faith in the resurrection of the dead he understands the Christian teaching about baptism and suffering. A) Conviction to accept the truth, taken from the idea of ​​baptism (15:29) 15:29. In baptism, the apostle adds, according to Christian teaching, we are “buried with Him through baptism into death” (Rom. 6:4), dying to a sinful life with faith in the resurrection of the dead and the future life promised to us by the risen Christ. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then those who die in baptism die without benefit, without hope of resurrection for dead bodies that will not be resurrected. They are baptized dead and come out of the baptismal font the same way. So, baptism is useless, and Christian suffering is useless without the hope of the resurrection of the dead. B) Conviction taken from the experience of preaching about the resurrection (15:30~-32) 15:30. Christians are shown the path of suffering in order to obtain bliss - “through many tribulations it is necessary to enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Acts 14:22; Matt. 10:38). When believing in a future blissful life in the body, this is very understandable, for through short-term suffering in this life, a person cleanses himself from sin in order to receive eternal bliss in the future. But if there is no future life in the body, then the struggle with sin and the bodily suffering to which Saint Paul himself is hourly exposed from various enemies are completely in vain. 15:31. Here I am, says the apostle, dying every day, that is, I am in such circumstances that I am threatened with death, but I do not retreat, but betray myself in deciding my will for this death and behave as if I were about to die. Thus, although there is no death yet, I constantly experience the feelings of a dying person, as if I were passing through the valley of death. You can witness this for yourself as you appreciate my dedication. 15:32. To prove that he is constantly exposed to mortal danger, Saint Paul points to a recent incident when, due to the slander of numerous ill-wishers, in Ephesus he was thrown to be torn to pieces by wild beasts. But God delivered him. If there is no other life, if there is no resurrection of the dead, then what is the use of being exposed to such dangers? It is much more prudent to follow the rule of the Epicureans - eat, drink and enjoy this life, for with death everything will end for you. True, without believing in the resurrection of the body, one can still believe in the immortality of the soul. But this is not enough. One soul is not a person, and life only with the soul is not a full human life. Saint Paul does not distinguish between the immortality of the soul and the resurrection, but believes that if this is not there, then neither is that, therefore everything ends in death. V. A brief exhortation concerning all that has been said (15:33–34) 15:33. Having proved to the doubting Corinthians that the resurrection of the dead will undoubtedly take place, the holy apostle warns them against association with people who deny the resurrection, in all likelihood pagans, conversations with whom are destructive to their good morals and mislead them regarding the essential truths of Christianity. 15:34. To preserve good morals, St. Paul advises: “be sober as you should” - drive away false thoughts, restore sound concepts, as you were taught, reason about everything soberly, firmly, without hesitating, and not like drunk people who do not know what they are imagining. With this direction of thoughts, passionate thoughts will not come to mind and there will be no reason to sin, for every sin is the fulfillment of passionate thoughts. Otherwise, some of you do not even have the correct understanding of the properties and works of God. God announced that there will be a resurrection, how can one not believe it? He is omnipotent to resurrect, how can one doubt this? Even if only some people have such ignorance, the entire Church of Corinth should be ashamed of them, how could it allow this to happen. Section two. Teaching about the manner of resurrection and the properties of resurrected bodies (15:35–53) Those who did not believe in the resurrection confused Christians’ faith in the resurrection of bodies, offering them a kind of objection: how can bodies that are dead, rotten, or broken up into millions of parts be resurrected, and in what form will they be resurrected? St. Paul addresses the first question first. I. By what power will bodies be resurrected (15:35–38) 15:35. Common questions regarding the resurrection of the dead, both non-believers and believers: how will decayed and scattered bodies be resurrected and with what body - the one they had during life, or some other, new one - will they be resurrected? 15:36. The Apostle calls it foolishness to doubt the possibility of the resurrection of a decayed body. On the contrary, death is a necessary condition for revival; and the seeds that are sown in the ground come to life only when they initially die, rotting in the ground. 15:37–38. Having indicated that bodies will be resurrected in the same way as new life is reborn from a seed that has died in the earth, Saint Paul also indicates the power that accomplishes this: you sow a naked grain of wheat or some other grain, and when it dies in the ground, God then in due time gives it a body, to each seed its own, and so the resurrection of the dead will be accomplished, from each dead body a new body will arise by the power of God. New in what sense? When you sow, he says, you sow not the future body, not a whole ear, not new wheat, but bare grain, from the properties of which a new body grows by the power of God, with new wheat or other bread. “How does this ear relate to the grain sown? He is the same with him and not the same: the same because he is of the same being with the grain; not the same because he is better, the creature remained the same, but greater splendor appeared, and he rose in a new form. So the future body will be the same in its essence - each has its own, but will appear in its most perfect form" (Chrysostom). St. Paul says that to every grain God gives its own body. Meanwhile, we see that nature acts in the revival of grain - earth, moisture, air, light and heat. To this it must be said that the word “nature” is an empty word. The will of God laid down the laws, the will of God wants them to act, they act and produce what God wants them to produce. What is usually attributed to nature belongs to God. It is possible to think that in the resurrection of the dead God will act through nature. II. In what form will bodies be resurrected (15:39–50) Having explained how and by what power the bodies will be resurrected, Saint Paul explains in what form they will be resurrected. A) They will be different from each other (15:39–41) 15:39. The holy apostle lists the various classes of earthly organisms or bodies in order to more clearly imagine that although they differ in the degree of perfection, in their essence they are all equally crude, carnal, perishable, and easily decomposed. 15:40. Others are the celestial bodies - the sun, the moon, the stars; they are luminous, unchanging, solid, constant. A simple glance is enough to see how the heavenly bodies are more glorious than the earthly ones, and the resurrected bodies of people will be more glorious than the present ones. 15:41. The holy apostle also lists the heavenly bodies, as they appear to the naked eye, just as he previously listed the earthly ones. Just as there is a difference in the degree of perfection between earthly things, so there is also between heavenly ones, not only between the sun and the moon, but even between the stars, but their common property is one. Heavenly bodies are more perfect than earthly ones, so the resurrected body will be, as heavenly, more perfect than the present earthly one. But based on the difference between bodies not only heavenly and earthly, but even, in particular, between earthly and earthly, heavenly and heavenly, the interpretive fathers see an indication of the difference in the resurrected bodies according to their moral state. Earthly bodies, they say, represent sinners, and heavenly bodies represent righteous people, and different types of both represent different degrees of sinners and righteous people. Sinners, although they will all be in Gehenna, will not all suffer equally, and the righteous, although they will all be in the Kingdom of Heaven, will not all receive the same bliss (Chrysostom). B) The apostle points out the differences between resurrected bodies (15:42–44) Having indicated in general terms that the resurrected bodies will differ from the present earthly ones in the same way as heavenly bodies differ from earthly ones, St. Paul further more specifically indicates the features of the difference. 15:42–44. Just as earthly bodies now differ from heavenly ones, so in the resurrection of the dead our present body will differ from the resurrected one. Thus, a body living on earth and dying is perishable in its essence. Being itself composed and maintained through the decomposition of the food consumed by the vital force, and not by mere chemical affinity, it is already doomed to be disintegrated and decomposed by the action of a chemical process from without, when the vital force ceases to act in it. It will rise in incorruption, so that it will no longer be subject to the action of chemical forces and decompose, because it will be composed differently, the image and way of life will be different. “It is sown in humiliation” - our body, and besides corruption, although it is nobler than all earthly bodies, its real purity has already been lost. That is why the creatures do not give him due honor. It should have been bright, as the bodies of some saints were brightened during hours of intense excitement of spiritual life, but it became darkened and became pale from the coarse substances that made up its composition. “Rises in glory” - after the resurrection the body will be glorious - luminous. And now for some blessed saints it is freed from gross materiality. For example, the organ of vision was able to see the distant and hidden, the organ of hearing was able to hear angelic singing, the sense of smell was able to smell the smell of passion in a thing, and the like. But now we cannot fully define and imagine that future glory. St. Paul defines it this way. The Lord will transform our humble body so that it “will be conformed to His glorious body” (Phil. 3:21). “It is sown in weakness” - our present body is much weaker: a little labor and it becomes tired; a little wakefulness - and he is already overcome by sleep; a slight deviation from the usual order of life - and it falls ill. How long does it take to move from place to place? How much effort does it take to lift something? How many precautions are there to get rid of unpleasant external influences? What about clothes and shelter? We are used to all this, and it seems to us that it is in the order of things. No, the king of earthly creatures should not appear in such weakness! “Rises in strength” - it is not omnipotence that is promised after the resurrection, but the elimination of the weakness of the body that now exists in it. It will be active without fatigue, cheerful without the need for sleep, not subject to painful and destructive influences from the outside, as mobile as thought, so powerful that it will not encounter obstacles from external influences in doing what it should. “The spiritual body is sown, the spiritual body is raised.” Our present body is full of all sorts of passions - passionate, and as such, it is not inspired by the Holy Spirit, it is spiritual, but the future body will be dispassionate and therefore spiritualized by the Holy Spirit - spiritually. C) The resurrected bodies will be spiritual, not mental, which St. Paul proves by the word of God (15:45–50) 15:45. The Holy Scriptures clearly indicate two periods in the life of mankind – the spiritual period, of Adam and all who descended from him, and the spiritual period, of Christ. It is said about Adam that he became a living soul (Gen. 2:7), about Jesus Christ in many places it is said that the Holy Spirit rested on him (see, for example, Ps. 45:8; Is. 11: 2-3, 61: 1; Luke 1:35; Matt. 3:17), Who quickened His spirit, and this one quickened His entire bodily organism. When Christ appeared on earth, all people, according to the first Adam, were spiritual. He was the first in the spirit of Life-Giving, and He, through the resurrection and ascension, became the Head of the new humanity born of Him. A characteristic feature of the new humanity is spirituality, the fact that it carries the Spirit of God within itself. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of man’s future revival in his body, which will then appear spiritualized to him. Now the spiritual bodies are being prepared in the region of the spiritual Adam, and will appear in spiritual glory at their own time, determined by God. 15:46. It was God's will that there should first be soulfulness, which would be transformed into spirituality. Why soulfulness comes first and how it is transformed into spirituality, St. Paul explains further. 15:47. Therefore, first there is soulfulness, because the first man was created from the dust of the earth. But how did she make him spiritual when he received from God the breath of life, by the power of which he could be in living communion with the Spirit of the Lord, and then must subjugate his bodily nature and, having spiritualized it, become a life-giving spirit? He could have done this, but he fell, and thus fell away from the Spirit of God, and without His assistance he himself fell under the influence of his dusty nature, became a living soul, only animating the body, but not imparting spirit to it, so that, having enslaved the flesh - the dust of the earth, he himself could not animate it. This was done by the Second Adam - the Lord, who descended from heaven and took on human flesh. Through obedience to the Father, through suffering, He enslaved the flesh to the spirit, killed sin and rose again in a new, glorified, spiritualized body, and imparted to us victory over the flesh by the power of His Spirit, with the help of the Spirit of God. 15:48. Therefore, we are all born into the world according to the first ancestor, Adam, earthly, but then we are reborn and become like the Second ancestor - spiritual, heavenly, destined for imperishable, eternal life, the beginnings of which we now accept. 15:49. We will undoubtedly put on the image of the heavenly, just as we have put on the image of the earthly. The image of the earthly is death - “earth you are and to earth you will go”, and the image of the heavenly is resurrection. In death there is the image of Adam, for he was the first reason that all others began to die, and in resurrection and incorruption there is the image of Christ, for He was the first to rise, having conquered death, and through this gave resurrection and incorruption to the entire human race. 15:50. Everything that has been said so far from verse 45 was said by the holy apostle in order to convince that our present corruptible, mortal body (flesh and blood) will not enter the incorruptible Heavenly Kingdom. To do this, it must, as subject to decay, remain here in the earth and be transformed into incorruptible and immortal. For this, the resurrection of the dead is necessary. III. Prophecy of how the future resurrection will take place (15:51–53) 15:51. “The Apostle intends to speak about the Last Judgment and the ineffable, about what not everyone knows” (Chrysostom). What is the secret? Not all of us will die, some of the people will live to see the time of the second coming, but everyone - both the dead and the living - will change. What will this change consist of? 15:52. As soon as the voice of the trumpet sounds, proclaiming God’s command, at that same moment the dead will rise incorruptible, and the living will change, that is, they will receive an incorruptible body, in which the dead will also be resurrected. 15:53. For such is the inevitable law that this lifeless - mortal, subject to decay - our body becomes immortal and incorruptible; the body will remain the same body, but its mortality and perishability will disappear, and it will receive incorruptibility and immortality. “Therefore,” says Saint Chrysostom, “do not doubt how the body will live endlessly when you hear that it will be incorruptible.” Section three. A song of victory over death with a short exhortation (15:54–58) 15:54. When corruption is thus expelled from all areas of existence and immortal life reigns everywhere, then everything will be full of the joy of life, then the prophetic word will come true: death is finally defeated. The apostle further glorifies this victory over death. 15:55. Death is represented in the image of a poisonous snake, which killed everyone with its sting, but now its sting was torn out, and it became a laughing stock for everyone in its impotent anger. Hell was filled with everyone killed by the sting of death, now it is empty, for death has been destroyed. 15:56. What death stung people with, sin will be destroyed; that which gave power to sin, revealing it and subjecting it to the curse of the law for sin, will then not exist, for eternal truth and all-perfect holiness will reign there. 15:57. The triumph of victory over death is still in the future, but it is so true that God has, as it were, already given it into our hands. The victory has already begun, and in the person of Christ the Savior has already taken place; we assimilate it to ourselves by faith through communion with the life of Jesus Christ in Baptism and Communion. We are being snatched from the jaws of death, and solid foundations are being laid for our immortality. And all this by our Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God, who deigned to arrange it all this way! 15:58. At the conclusion of this chapter, the apostle exhorts believers to be firm and unshakable in the faith and moral life commanded by the Lord Christ, for which they will undoubtedly receive a future blessed life from God as a reward. Order for the preparation of alms for the Jerusalemites (16:1–4) 1 And when you make the collections for the saints, do as I commanded in the churches of Galatia. 2 On the first day of the week, let each of you set aside and save for himself as much as his fortune allows, so as not to have to make preparations when I come. 3 When I come, those whom you choose I will send with letters to bring your alms to Jerusalem. 4 And if it is fitting for me to go, they will go with me. 5 I will come to you when I have passed through Macedonia; for I am going through Macedonia. 6 Perhaps I’ll live with you, or spend the winter, so that you can accompany me where I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now in passing, but I hope to stay with you for a while, if the Lord allows. 8 But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 For a great and wide door is open to me, and there are many adversaries. 10 If Timothy comes to you, see that he is safe with you; for he is doing the Lord’s work, just as I do. 11 Therefore let no one despise him, but lead him through in peace, so that he may come to me, for I am waiting for him with the brothers. 12 And as for brother Apollos, I earnestly asked him to go with his brothers to you; but he did not want to go now, but will come when it is convenient for him. 13 Watch, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. 14 Let everything with you be done with love. 15 I ask you, brothers (you know the family of Stephen, that they are the firstfruits of Achaia and that they have dedicated themselves to the service of the saints), 16 Be respectful to them and to everyone who helps and works. 17 I rejoice at the arrival of Stephen, Fortunatus and Achaic: they made up for your absence for me, 18 For they have calmed my spirit and yours. Read those. 19 The churches of Asia greet you; Aquila and Priscilla and their home church greet you earnestly in the Lord. 20 All the brothers greet you. Greet each other with a holy kiss. 21 My, Pavlovo, greeting with my own hand. 22 Whoever does not love the Lord Jesus Christ is anathema, maran-afa 77 . 23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, 24 And my love is with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. 16:1. This alms were collected for the Jerusalem Christians, who at first were most exposed to deprivation and persecution. The cruelty of the Jews is known. Since the persecution, after the murder of Stephen the First Martyr, attacks on Christians there have not stopped. Saint Paul received the commandment from the apostles about collecting alms for them not incidentally, but as the first task, which he tried to fulfill with zeal. In the Galatian Churches he has already made an order about how alms should be collected, and he proposes to follow the same order here. 16:2. On the first day of the week, Sunday, since apostolic times it has been the custom among Christians to organize acts of charity. On this day, the wealthy fed their own poor at love suppers, and those far away - through collections and sending them aid. This day is established by Saint Paul for collecting alms for the Jerusalemites. The Apostle advises not to put it off all at once, but little by little, because in this way you can quietly collect more than at a time. Do not force, but let everyone save as much as they can. He orders you not to bring your gift to church, so as not to be ashamed to bring little, but to save it up at home and give it to him when he comes to them, perhaps in order to arouse more zeal for donation by waiting for it (Chrysostom). 16:3. Then, when he comes to them, they will send what they have collected with their chosen ones and on their own behalf to the Jerusalemites, and the holy apostle promises to give them letters of recommendation from himself to the Jerusalem brethren. 16:4. If he himself needs to go to Jerusalem, then their chosen ones will still give alms, only instead of letters, Saint Paul himself will serve them personally. Perhaps this refers to the amount of alms; if it is large, then he himself will go with it. Announcing his plans for travel and preaching work (16:5–9) 16:5. Saint Paul informs the Corinthians that he will come to them from Macedonia, having first visited and established the churches there. 16:6. St. Paul’s plan was this: to spend the winter and spring, until Pentecost, in Ephesus, then in the summer to visit Macedonia, and in the fall to arrive in Corinth and, after spending the winter there, go to another place where the Holy Spirit would indicate. But he entrusts the implementation of this plan to God, which is why he writes: “maybe.” 16:7. He wants to stay longer in Corinth, probably because, as can be seen from the message, a lot of disorder has crept in among them; it was necessary to correct their behavior and influence in many ways a change in their thoughts. This news brought joy to the serviceable ones, but to the faulty ones it should have given rise to fear and anxiety. 16:8–9. In Ephesus, he proposed to spend the winter and spring until Pentecost, because there was a lot of harvest there, the sowing for which Saint Paul prepared with his three-year preaching, widely opening the great door to the Church of Christ. Many are ready to turn to Christ, but there were also many who opposed this, which is why it was necessary for his personal presence here for a long time. The command about Timothy with the message about Apollos (16:10–12) 16:10. Saint Timothy was sent to Corinth as a result of the news received by the Apostle Paul from Chloe's household, in order to find out the true state of affairs and, probably, in order to make the necessary orders in case of need. He went to Corinth through Macedonia (see Acts 19:22). The epistle is written upon its dispatch, on the occasion of the letter of the Corinthians sent to the apostle by courier. Saint Paul responds to the letter of the Corinthians with this letter, which he hands over to their envoys. They were supposed to arrive by sea in Corinth before Timothy. Therefore, Saint Paul asks the Corinthians, when Timothy comes to them, to accept him as his collaborator in the work of the Lord and protect them from insults from those accused by him (Chrysostom). 16:11. Since Timothy was young and he alone was entrusted with the correction of such a society, so that this would not be a reason to neglect him, Saint Paul instructs the Corinthians to receive him respectfully and see him off in peace, so that he would come to him, for he and the brethren are waiting for him in Ephesus. 16:12. Probably the Corinthians asked St. Paul to send Apollos to them. Saint Paul writes to them that he very much asked Apollos and the Corinthian brethren, their envoys, to go to them. But since the work of preaching was not his main business, he rejected the request of the holy Apostle. However, he promised to visit them when he found it convenient for his business. Reminders - to stand cheerfully and courageously in faith, not to abandon mutual love, obeying leaders and giving due honor to those who serve and labor in the cause of God (16:13-18) 16:13–14. Saint Paul reminds the Corinthians that they apparently forgot to look around vigilantly and guard so that no deceiving enemy accidentally attacks them. When the enemy approaches and wants to knock the awake person out of position, he must stand firmly in his place, not giving in to the enemy. The position of Christians is faith. The enemy intensifies the attacks, they oppose him with courage, and in courage they are strengthened by mutual love, they all form one body, held together by flesh. What does it mean: “let everything be done with love”? – Whether someone reproaches, whether someone rules or serves, whether someone teaches or studies, everything should be with love. Why did the Corinthians have troubles? - From neglect of love. With mutual love, there would be no division into parties, and they would not be judged not only by the pagans, but also at all, there would be no examples of fornication, there would be no contempt for the poor, there would be no vanity with spiritual gifts. That is why the apostle tells them: “Let everything with you be done with love” (Chrysostom). 16:15. The faith of Christ in Achaia began with the family of Stephen, which Saint Paul converted to Christ and baptized himself (see 1 Cor. 1:16). Thus, the house of Stephen was the firstfruits, the best fruit of Christianity, which it justified by dedicating itself to serving the holy pilgrims. 16:16. Probably, Stephen was among the primates of the Church both as the firstfruits of the faith and as a highly moral man, because Saint Paul commands that obedience be shown to him, as subordinates to those in power, as well as to others who contribute to the well-being of the Church and workers serving in the church and outside - in baptism, preaching, helping the poor and similar services to the saints. 16:17–18. Stephen, Fortunatus and Achaic were envoys of the Corinthians, with a letter from them to Saint Paul, to which he answered them point by point. I was glad, he says, of their arrival, because in their faces I saw all of you. They calmed his spirit by giving him the opportunity to see in himself all the beloved children of the Corinthian Church, and especially by presenting the state of this Church in its true form, that is, now it became known to him that although there were shortcomings in it, they were more likely a matter of misunderstanding than negligence in goodness and unwillingness to show themselves correct in everything. And this meant that now all you have to do is show them how to live, and everything will go as it should. This is what St. Paul does in his epistle. To such, he says, reward them with gratitude, attention, love, and respect. Greetings, expressions of good wishes, bows (16:19–20) 16:19. Converted by the apostle, everyone recognized themselves spiritually as children of one spiritual father, and therefore sincerely greeted each other as if they were relatives. But, in addition, all Christians have one Lord as their head and are related in Him alone, forming, as it were, one family. Therefore, the Asians send their kindred greetings to the Corinthian Christians. Aquila and Priscilla, whom they knew, sent their greetings to the Corinthians, along with everyone in their house, and with those who gathered with them for prayer and communion and thus constituted their home Church. 16:20. All the brothers of Ephesus also greet the brothers of Corinth. If the distant ones greet them like brothers, how much more should they be like brothers among themselves. Kiss, he says, with a holy kiss and live with one accord, like loving brothers. The Apostle's Last Word and Well-Wish (16:21–24) 16:21. Greetings to love, he says, to you and from me, who writes this with my own hand. The apostle usually expresses his greeting with the words: “the grace of our Lord.” But sometimes, in accordance with the persons to whom he wrote, he adds something to this. In this message he prefaces the blessing with words of love. 16:22. The essence of a Christian is union with the Lord Christ. Whoever is in this combination cannot help but love the Lord. If someone does not love the Lord, then this is a direct sign that he is not in union with Him, therefore, he is alien to Christianity, alien to the body of the Church, self-excommunicated from it, although he bears the name of Christian - “anathema” and, therefore, excommunicated from the body of the Church not in the future, but in the present. The apostle affirms this position with the words “maran-afa”, in the sense - it’s true. Translated, “maran-afa” means “The Lord will come.” The Apostle expresses: whoever does not love the Lord is anathema, self-excommunicated from Him, this is as true as it is true that the Lord has come. In the Old Testament He was coming, destined to come, longed for, but for us He is the one who has come. “With this one saying the apostle brings into fear all those who made their members members of harlots, who seduced the brethren by eating idols’ sacrifices, who did not believe in the resurrection” (Chrysostom). 16:23–24. Saint Paul ends his epistle with the goodwill of the grace of Christ the Lord to the Corinthians and the assurance of his not carnal, but spiritual, in Christ Jesus, love for them; he himself seems to be with them. All this is truly "Amen". The reasons that prompted the Holy Apostle Paul to leave Ephesus. Evangelism in Troas and Macedonia 59–60 Saint Paul sent his letter with the Corinthian messengers, while he himself remained in Ephesus. In Ephesus, Saint Paul proposed to spend the winter and spring until Pentecost (see 1 Cor. 16:8), because the Lord opened wide the door of faith in Ephesus. But the Spirit of God was pleased to change his plan and hasten his departure from Ephesus. In the winter of 59 and the spring of 60, Saint Paul attracted many Ephesians to the door of the Church, and thereby armed the enemies of the faith of Christ against himself (see 1 Cor. 16:9). Although they multiplied as the believers multiplied, he could still fight their attack. However, on the spring holidays of the goddess Artemis of Ephesus, they attacked him en masse, forcing him to leave Ephesus prematurely. The month of May, which was called Artemidin, was specially dedicated to honoring Artemis in Ephesus. For this holiday, many people flocked to Ephesus from all over, especially since at the same time there was also a fair called “Ephesia”. During this month, the city groaned with all sorts of pagan rejoicings, cheerful processions from everywhere constantly marched to the famous temple, drunkenness and revelry spread in a wide wave throughout the city. At such a time, it was inevitable that fanaticism would become especially brutal, and it is not incredible that the shameless and dissolute mob, incited by the eunuch priests of Artemis, chose as the object of their insults the Christian community, which met mainly in the school of a certain Tyrannus, and its well-known teacher. And the reason for fanaticism was obvious. This year (60th) there was a visible decrease in reckless revelry during the month of Artemidin, and the reason for this was well known. In Ephesus and in all the main cities of proconsular Asia, the people heard the preaching of St. Paul and his colleagues that idols are not gods. Many people were inclined to this sermon, and there were even more who became indifferent to idols and the meaningless ritual of serving idols. The consequence of this was that in Ephesus there was “no small rebellion against the way of the Lord” (Acts 19:23). Great losses from this indifference were suffered, in addition to the priests, by the artists and craftsmen of the figurines of the church and the goddess Artemis, who now began to buy little. Therefore, one of their sellers, a certain silversmith Demetrius, having gathered masters and artisans, told them that if things went like this, then not only would they go bankrupt, but also “the very church of the great goddess Artemis will soon mean nothing, and the greatness of her, whom all Asia and the universe reveres, will be overthrown” (Acts 19:27). This speech inflamed the fanaticism of the people, who shouted: “Great is Artemis of Ephesus!” - rushed to the Jewish quarter, to Aquila’s workshop, where Saint Paul and his employees were staying. The disciples and friends of St. Paul managed to hide him from the fury of the crowd, which therefore captured only his disciples, Gaius and Aristarchus, the Macedonians, and rushed with them into the vast premises of the theater, which always stood open. However, the idle people who had gathered at the noise did not know well why they had gathered here, because “some shouted one thing... others another... the meeting was disorderly” (Acts 19:32). But, apparently, everyone knew that the people who caused the indignation were Jews, towards whom the Greeks were generally very disliked. In order to ward off danger, the Jews prepared one of their artisans, Alexander, to explain to the people that Christians, although there are some Jews, are in essence a completely different sect from them. However, as soon as the people saw what the Jew intended to tell them, they immediately flew into a rage and shouted their own: “Great is Artemis of Ephesus!” They shouted like this for about two hours, and when they did not calm down, the head of the city came out to them with a prudent speech. “Men of Ephesus,” he exclaimed, “what man does not know that the city of Ephesus is a servant of the great goddess Artemis... If... there is no dispute about this, then you need to be calm and not act rashly. And you brought these men (Gaius and Aristarchus), who neither robbed the church of Artemis nor blasphemed your goddess. If Demetrius and other artists with him have a complaint against someone, then there are court meetings and there are proconsuls: let them complain against each other... For we are in danger of being accused of indignation for what has now happened, since there is no reason by which we could justify such a gathering” (Acts 19:36-40). This reasonable speech had an amazing effect; the confusion ceased. But Saint Paul could no longer remain in Ephesus, where in this noisy month passions could very easily flare up again. Therefore, when the rebellion ended, Saint Paul called his disciples and, having consoled them, said goodbye to them and headed to Macedonia with Guy and Aristarchus (see Acts 20:1), and from the Ephesian Christians he took two - Tychicus and Trophimus. But he, himself experiencing grief, also took pity on those who might have been subjected to grief, perhaps through his fault. So, the Corinthians, he thought, having read his first letter, could be saddened (see 2 Cor. 7: 8-9), perhaps even his message would bring them harm instead of benefit. Grieving for them with fatherly love, Saint Paul sends his disciple and collaborator Titus to them by sea, ordering him to find out what effect and influence his message will have on the Corinthians, and together order the collection of alms (see 2 Cor. 8:6), and notify them about when they should expect Saint Paul. Titus was to bring the collected news to the apostle in Troas, where he intended to go with his companions. Troas was located on the shores of the Aegean Sea (or Archipelago). The distance by sea from Ephesus to it was the same as to Corinth. But if Saint Paul decided to visit some Churches on the way, then, having arrived in Troas, he could most likely hope that he would find Titus there or would soon wait for him. He had in mind to take up the gospel in Troas. Upon his arrival there, he began to do this, and the Lord opened the door for him in preaching (see 2 Cor. 2:12). But since Titus was still away, due to his great anxiety he could not continue the work of the gospel and hurried to Macedonia, probably to Philippi (see 2 Cor. 2:13). Here Saint Paul either found or soon waited for Titus, and with comforting news from Corinth, why, having spoken about his transition to Macedonia, he cried out “thanks be to God, who always allows us to triumph in Christ” (2 Cor. 2:14). In Macedonia, Saint Paul caught up with Timothy, who for some reason slowed down there. From Macedonia - probably from Philippi - Saint Paul, soon after the arrival of Titus, on the basis and regarding his news about the Corinthians, writes his second letter to them. Second Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Corinthians What news did Titus bring to Saint Paul about the Corinthians? He brought Paul a certificate that his message had the same effect on the Corinthian society as a strong wind has on evil vapors gathered somewhere. The letter caused grief to the Corinthians, but this grief was salutary and gave rise among them to a sincere and ardent impulse of zeal to set everything right, a fit of crying and an ardent desire to make amends for everything old before the apostle (see 2 Cor. 7:6-11). Titus himself was received cordially, even “with fear and trembling” (2 Cor. 7:13–15). The Corinthians dealt quickly and even harshly with the vile incest exposed by the apostle in his letter (see 2 Cor. 2:5-10), and everything that Saint Paul said to Titus in praise of the Church was justified by what he saw (see 2 Cor. 7:14). But still, Titus brought from Corinth something that, although it did not disturb the apostolic spirit, which was calm about the entire body of the Corinthian Church, nevertheless, nevertheless, required his attention and care. The body of the Church presented itself as pure (see 2 Cor. 7:11) and filled with the Christian spirit, but here and there bad speeches were heard about the person of St. Paul and his deeds. There were, it seems, also such persons who, not quite willingly and quickly, abandoned the disapproving, but unfortunately, habitual activities for them (see 2 Cor. 12:20–21). The latter is a matter of human weakness, and the former seemed to have a hostile disposition towards Saint Paul. This, in all likelihood, was the so-called “Petrine” party of the Judaizers, which St. Paul denounced in his first letter. She not only did not repent, but even intensified, and with the decline of spirit and repentance of others, she raised her head above everyone else and strongly opposed the authority of the apostle they did not love, using the same means as in the Galatian Churches - slander. This party was reinforced by new missionaries who probably came from Jerusalem (see 2 Cor. 11:4). They taught the same thing - the need for Jewish rituals for salvation in Christ (see 2 Cor. 3: 7-11). In order to have a stronger effect on the Corinthians and give greater importance to their authority, they stocked up on letters of recommendation from Jerusalem, which they showed here (see 2 Cor. 3:1), boasted of their teaching as true (see 2 Cor. 10:12-13), and lived at the expense of the simplicity of their listeners (see 2 Cor. 11:20). In order to act more successfully, they spread slander in order to humiliate the dignity of Saint Paul, they said that Paul was strict only in his epistles, but in his personal presence he was a coward and powerless, his speech had no power at all (see 2 Cor. 10:10-11). It's easy to be threatening in letters, but let him show his strength in person. And he will not dare to do this, he has already deceived, since he promised to come, but did not come (see 2 Cor. 1:15). Such is his honesty in general (see 2 Cor. 1:18–19). He preaches the Gospel for selfish reasons (see 2 Cor. 1:12, 12:17–18). Further, they slandered that Paul did not have the dignity of an apostle, lower than all the other apostles (see 2 Cor. 11:5). He is so insignificant that he has nothing to boast about except the disasters with which the Lord punishes him for his untruth. These and other messages prompted Saint Paul to immediately write a new letter to the Corinthians. Thus, the apostle needed to inform them, even before his arrival there, that he had already calmed down on their account, and in his soul had made peace with them for the sake of that zeal for the correction of everything, which they showed as a result of his message. In addition, the faithful should have been given sufficient explanations, with the help of which they themselves could reflect the empty slanderous speeches launched among them about their apostle, and finally, encourage those who were still delaying correction to correct them, so that, having come to them, they would not have the need to act with all the severity of the apostolic authority, as he himself says: “lest... I should not exercise severity according to the authority given to me by the Lord” (2 Cor. 13:10). It was also necessary to make orders for the collection of alms, so that when the Macedonians come with him and find the Corinthians unprepared, the apostle and his companions would not remain in shame (2 Cor. 9:4). All of the above constitutes the content of the message. There is another subject in it, as if independent of any circumstances, a speech about the high dignity of the Christian revelation despite the outward unostentatiousness of its preachers. Saint Paul turned to this view after the news of the victorious effect of his word to the Corinthians. Subjects are presented in the epistle in the following order: in the middle (chap. 8–9) we are talking about alms; at the end (chap. 10–13) - a stern word encouraging those who are faulty to correct themselves; at the beginning, after thanking God for consolation and deliverance from many troubles, the apostle contemplates the heights of Christian revelation and economy (chap. 1-7). So, the message is divided into three parts: after the usual inscription and greeting (1:1-2) and the beginning of the message (1:3-11), part one follows - theoretical (1:12-7:16), part two - practical (8:1-9:15) and part three - protective (10:1-13:10). The letter ends with the traditional conclusion (13:11–13). In the process, it is clear that this letter was written in the same year as the first, that is, in the 59th year, most likely in Philippi, and was forwarded to Corinth with Titus, accompanied by two more persons from the local brothers (see 2 Cor. 8:16, 18, 22). 1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and brother Timothy, of the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints throughout all Achaia: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we too can comfort those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which God comforts us! 5 For as the sufferings of Christ increase in us, our consolation also increases through Christ. 6 Do we grieve, we grieve for your consolation and salvation, which is achieved by enduring the same sufferings that we endure. 7 And our hope for you is sure. Are we comforted, are we comforted for your consolation and salvation, knowing that you participate both in our suffering and in our consolation. 8 For we do not want to leave you, brethren, ignorant of our tribulation that happened to us in Asia, because we were burdened beyond measure and beyond our strength, so that we did not hope to survive. 9 But they had within themselves the sentence of death, so that they could not rely on themselves, but on God, who raises the dead, 10 Who also delivered us from such near death, and delivers us, and in whom we hope to deliver us again, 11 together with your prayer for us, so that for what has been given to us, through the intercession of many, many may give thanks for us. 12 For this praise of ours is the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not by carnal wisdom, but by the grace of God, we lived in the world, especially among you. 13 And we write to you nothing other than what you read 78 or understand, and what I hope you will fully understand, 14 For in part you have already understood that we will be your praise, and you will be ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 And in this confidence I intended to come to you earlier, so that you might receive grace a second time, 16 And through you to go to Macedonia, and from Macedonia to come to you again; and you would take me to Judea. 17 Having this intention, did I act lightly? Or, what I undertake, do I undertake according to the flesh, so that with me it is sometimes “yes, yes”, sometimes “no, no”? 18 God is faithful, that our word to you was not either “yes” or “no.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not “yes” and “no”; но в Нем было «да», 20 For all the promises of God are in Him “yes,” and in Him “Amen,” to the glory of God through us. 21 He who establishes 79 you and me in Christ and anoints us is God, 22 Who also sealed us and gave the pledge of the Spirit into our hearts. 23 I call God to be a witness against my soul, that in sparing you I have not hitherto come to Corinth, 24 not because we take power over your faith; but we make you happy: for by faith you are strong. 1:1–2. There are some peculiarities in the inscriptions and greetings traditional for the messages of St. Paul. Firstly, he calls himself here only a general messenger of Jesus Christ and does not add to this, as in the Epistle to the Galatians, “neither from man nor by man” (Gal. 1:1), although as we see, in Corinth some disputed his apostolic dignity. From this we must conclude that he did not attach much importance to the evil speeches about himself, although in the end he refutes them. Secondly, he places Timothy alongside himself, calling him brother, showing by this that Timothy is with him and, despite his youth, deserves great honor through his zealous service to the Lord. I didn’t include Titus’ name because I intended to send the message itself with him. Thirdly, the message is intended, as it were, for the entire Achaian district of the Churches, led by the Corinthian one, for by all the saints of Achaia one must mean the Churches in Achaia, for example, the Cenchrean Church (see Rom. 16:1) and others. Saint Paul asks all of them from God the Father and the Lord Jesus for grace - the integrity of spiritual life and peace - a peaceful union of believers among themselves, peaceful relations with outsiders, so that there is no persecution, oppression, deprivation, so that in an external world it would be more convenient to improve in an internal, God-pleasing life. Saint Paul begins his epistle with an expression of grateful feelings towards God, for consolation in the sorrows of both him and all those who work in the gospel, as well as for delivering him from the recent mortal danger, and at the same time expresses the hope that He will not cease to save him for the prayers of, among other things, the faithful Corinthians themselves. Sending gratitude to God for consolation in sorrows, the apostle confesses that God does this for the good of believers (1:3-7), and recognizes the prayers of believers as participants in deliverance from troubles (1:8-11). Both there and here the closest union is expressed between evangelists and believers. 1:3–4. Great and severe were the sorrows of Saint Paul both in Asia, and in Troas, and in Macedonia (cf. 2 Cor. 1:10, 2:13, 7:5-6), but the apostle not only graciously endured them, but even blesses for them God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because He, sending sorrow, also sends consolation, as the Father of generosity, mercy and all consolation, He gives consolation in equal measure with temptation (cf. Ps. 93:19; 4:2), and this happened repeatedly, but constantly. Why does God send sorrows and consolations to His chosen ones? In order, says St. Paul, so that we too can comfort others. How? God comforts them, and they share the comfort with others through the word. For a heart full of consolation imparts consoling power to the word, so that it, too, breathes only consolation. The mourner knows from which side the languishing tides of grief come, and also knows what thoughts the comforting God gives birth to in the languishing soul to repel these tides, therefore he can so configure every soul that it will rejoice even in sorrow. The holy apostles were richly endowed with this gift, and in their writings they left us a rich source of consolation. 1:5. Do not doubt, he says, of this, for we have both sorrow in abundance and consolation in abundance; we grieve more than anyone else, and God gives us the most consolation. One thing that is comforting in our sorrows is that they are for Christ, for His word, for the work of preaching the salvation of all in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the apostles, while suffering, seem to suffer for Christ and, thus, enter into the communion of the sufferings of Christ, and with this into communion with His glorification. That is why sorrow remains only on the outside, but only consolation reigns inside, settling in the heart not through some consoling thoughts, but apart from any efforts of the mind and considerations, it pours into the soul from the face of Christ the Lord and, settling in it, fills it with joy, so that it seems to absorb the suffering itself. “That is why those who suffer for Christ do not fear or tremble, and even in the midst of adversity they are the calmest and most joyful of all, for they are immediately rewarded with countless consolations from Christ Himself” (Chrysostom). But why the sorrow of the apostles? Is it really just for the sake of consolation? - No, the main thing in sorrow is salvation. 1:6–7. Tribulation for both the apostles and believers is the path to salvation. Because just as the apostles suffered for the preaching of the Gospel - about salvation by faith in it, so the believers, accepting the gospel of the apostles, enter the path of salvation and are also subjected to sorrow for this from unbelievers and in sorrow receive consolation from the apostles who grieve for the Gospel and salvation. Believers experience sorrows on the outside, like the apostles, but the grace of God for the sake of Christ our Lord, who, just as He deigned to suffer, so arranges the salvation of all under the yoke of suffering, brings about their salvation within. Saint Paul firmly hopes that the Corinthians will invariably stand on this sorrowful path of salvation, even if they have to experience persecution (Chrysostom). He also knows that they will become participants in the consolation that he receives from Christ for their own consolation and salvation. As if as an example of his sorrows and consolation from God, and at the same time the communication of the Corinthians in them, Saint Paul cites a recent incident with him, when, at the slander of evil people, he was condemned to fight wild beasts in Ephesus (see 1 Cor. 15:32), and how he, no longer hoping to be alive, was consoled by the Lord, who delivered him from trouble through the prayers of the Corinthians. 1:8. The story of St. Paul's struggle with the beasts in Ephesus is not recorded in Acts and is only briefly mentioned as a fact in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, but here it is noted by St. Paul, so to speak, from the psychological side. The struggle was not only beyond the strength of the martyrs, but also beyond their strength, and therefore they were so burdened by it that they no longer hoped to survive. 1:9. We, in our thoughts, he says, have already condemned ourselves to death, having decided that we will no longer live. “Why did God allow them to be exposed to such danger that they lost hope and even despaired of life? In order to rely not on ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead. By saying about himself, Saint Paul teaches others to do the same” (Chrysostom). 1:10. We, he says, were in such extremity that our death was a decided matter. Having delivered us from such extremes, God delivered us from death; we, like those buried, rose from the graves. God, in whom we hope, continues to deliver us from sorrows - in Troas and Macedonia (see 2 Cor. 7: 5-6), we seem to be doomed to suffering and sorrow. We know this and we don’t expect anything else ahead, but this does not bother us or stop us, for as much as troubles and sorrows are certain for us, deliverance from them by God is just as certain. 1:11. In the deliverance from death granted to him by God, Saint Paul sees the participation of the Corinthians with their prayers for him. God heard the prayers of many for him and granted what he asked, so that for what was given through the prayer of many, many would thank Him. Does God need thanksgiving? No, but for Him, what evokes gratitude is dear and valuable in His sight. Gratitude is evidence that God’s mercy is poured out on many, accepted by them and instills among them the consciousness of their well-being. But this feeling of well-being is more valuable in the eyes of God when it is felt not for the sake of what everyone receives from the hand of God only for themselves, but also for what others have received; the wider the circle of gratitude, the deeper the feeling of well-being, the more valuable it is in the eyes of God. This is the basis of public prayer, as a union of love among many. Part one – theoretical (1:12–7:16) First, the apostle explains why he changed the plan of his journey (1:12–2:11); then he talks about the height of Christian revelation and the entire economy of salvation (2:12–7:1) and, finally, expresses the joy and consolation brought to him by the arrival of Titus with news from Corinth (7:2–16). Section one. Reason for change of travel plan (1:12–2:11) Saint Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, promised to come to them soon, but did not fulfill his promise, because he had not yet received news of their correction and did not want to appear to them “with a club” (see 1 Cor. 4:21) to punish them. But his good, truly fatherly intentions were interpreted differently by his enemies: namely, that he acted this way out of frivolity, that he was not true to his word, that he was not honest, that he was only menacing from afar, and not in his personal presence. In his defense, Saint Paul says that he performs his ministry with the sincerity and truth that are characteristic of Christ and Christianity. The train of his thoughts here is as follows: I have always and everywhere acted with a clear conscience, and I have acted this way now, and you should be well aware of the sincerity of my speeches (1:12-14). Based on this, you should not have misinterpreted the fact that I changed the plan of my trip, doing it as if out of frivolity, and that there was some kind of conference according to the flesh (cunning) (1:15-17); but that’s nothing, I’m afraid that you might go further and, on the basis of this, begin to think about the instability of my gospel being taught. Oh no! The word of our gospel was immediately accompanied by action, you received the anointing, therefore our word was “yes” (1:18-22). From this, obviously, you had to conclude that there was a reason for changing the plan of my path that was worth attention: namely, the desire to avoid the sorrowful necessity of personally disposing of the judgment and reprisal of the one who saddened you all (1:23-24). You did well to deal with the incestuous man, as I wrote. But since he now repents, he can be accepted into the community again (2:5-11). I. The Sincerity of the Apostle (1:12–14) 1:12. Saint Paul had previously expressed confidence that God not only delivered and is delivering them from all troubles, but will also deliver them. On what does he base his confidence? On the testimony of his conscience, which by its purity gives him the right, or as he puts it, the praise of trust in God. In this purity of conscience, St. Paul sees another source of consolation in adversity. “For,” he says, “even if we endure countless calamities, for our consolation one testimony of a clear conscience is enough that we suffer these calamities not for any crime, but for the sake of pleasing God, for virtue, for the salvation of many. And because this was the fruit of their virtue, he calls it his praise” (Chrysostom). What is the praise and evidence of conscience? – He says that we lived among people in “simplicity” - like children, without plotting anything evil, and in “godly sincerity” (in the glory of “the purity of God”) - sincerely, both in the soul and outwardly, as before God, without hiding anything that is in the heart. Not as they act according to the wisdom of the flesh, which has in mind neither virtue nor the glory of God, but only the satisfaction of egoism, which gives birth to it, nourishes it, and perfects it. This wisdom is cunning in words, and even more cunning in the conduct of its affairs. If we were to reveal all its intricacies in just one case, we would be amazed and would not believe that a person himself could manage to do this, and it is not for nothing that they say: the evil one is deceived. Saint Paul and his co-workers lived in the world “by the grace of God,” as God’s grace inspired, guided, and acted in them. The Holy Fathers distinguish three degrees, or classes of life, in which the same person can move from time to time. One life is carnal, it is called a life below natural and even unnatural. Another life is virtuous, at the request of conscience, possible even outside of grace, it is called natural. The third life is grace-filled, beginning, maturing and manifesting itself in various ways through the action of God’s grace alone; it is called supernatural and is possible only in true Christianity, constituting its distinctive feature. It is completely opposite to living according to the wisdom of the flesh. In it nothing is done for oneself, but everything is for the glory of God and the good of others, nothing is done according to one’s own instructions, but everything is done according to the inspiration of grace, and whatever is done in it is done not by one’s own strength, but by grace acting through the strength of man, which is why such a life does not happen without miracles. Especially the apostles could not have it without it. Saint Paul lived such a pure and grace-filled life in Corinth (cf. 1 Cor. 9:1-27). 1:13–14. Just as he was sincere in life, he is the same in his message, he writes not one thing, but has another in his thoughts, and has the same thing in his thoughts that the words written here express. Moreover, he says: “I convey (in the letter) to you only what you yourself can remember, and you know that I am not lying, in this you yourself must be my witnesses before others. For, reading our messages, you see that the same thing is written in them that you actually know about us” (Chrysostom). You yourself witnessed my sincerity with you, you already know me in part, and I hope that you will recognize me completely from this side. Moreover, while acting among you, I had in mind to give an account of my behavior at the Judgment of the Lord Jesus, on the day of His coming. And I assure you that on the Day of Judgment of the Lord we will be to your praise, and you to us. The Righteous Judge will praise you for the fact that you sincerely believed our word, and for this faith of yours you will be praised by us before the Lord. This is how Saint Paul proves his sincerity, simplicity and purity of God! II. The unfoundedness of interpreting for the worse that the apostle changed his plan (1:15-17) 1:15. In the hope that the Corinthians would fully understand him as a sincere person, the apostle wanted to come to them and, informing them, spoke the absolute truth. He sincerely desired this in order to please them with his second visit, which was usually accompanied by an abundant outpouring of the grace of the Holy Spirit (to allow them to receive grace a second time). What was his plan? 1:16. Saint Paul, before writing the First Epistle to the Corinthians, thought from Ephesus to visit Corinth, from Corinth to visit Macedonia and from there to return again to Corinth, and from there to Judea. But when he received news of disagreements in the Corinthian Church, he changed this plan, which he wrote to them in his first letter (see 1 Cor. 16:5-8). His enemies, on the basis of this change in plan, began to accuse him of inconstancy and frivolity. 1:17. I, he says, wanted to come to you. Why didn't you come? Is it not because of frivolity and inconstancy? - No. Why? - Because what I undertake is not undertaken according to the flesh, not guided by the natural prudence of people or frivolity - sometimes “yes”, sometimes “no”. A carnal man lives by his own mind and will; what he thinks, he will do; but I, he says, am under the guidance of the Spirit of God and am not the master of my will to go where I want: I am subject to the power and command of the Spirit of God, and His voice controls and guides me. That is why I could not come to you, for it did not please the Spirit of God (cf. Acts 16:6-9). How did you promise to come earlier? Is it not by the inspiration of the Spirit of God? No, but out of love for the Corinthians (Chrysostom). III. This change of travel plan does not cast any shadow on the immutability of the gospel truth (1:18–22) 1:18. They could have thought, and probably the enemies of the holy Apostle thought and said, that if his “yes” is not “yes”, and his “no” is not “no”, then it turns out that he is talking about the same thing, then “yes”, then “no”. What if his Gospel is the same? Warning this, he says: no, don't think like that. My gospel is always faithful, just as God is faithful, because it is from God. Saint Paul proves this by the deed of his preaching among them. 1:19–20. When, he says, Silas and Timothy and I preached Christ the Savior to you, did it happen that we said one thing, but it turned out something else? No, but whatever we said, everything was justified by deeds in you and on yourself. We said: believe in the crucified Son of God and receive remission of sins, through baptism you will receive new life, through the laying on of our hands (the same as chrismation today) you will be awarded the gifts of the Holy Spirit and receive the strength to overcome all sin, all passion and all enemy violence. Did it come true as we said? It came true, and you know it. So don’t think and don’t say that Christ, whom we preached to you, was sometimes “yes” and sometimes “no,” isn’t it clear that everything in Him is “yes.” All the promises of God in Christ Jesus our Lord are fulfilled with perfect accuracy, in Him they are “her” and “amen”. Those who approach the Lord with faith immediately experience the fulfillment of all the promises related to the matter of salvation - remission of sins, as evidenced by a relieved conscience, renewal, as evidenced by the consciousness of new life received in the baptismal font, tasting the grace of the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by the moral strength they feel, to overcome every passion and every sin, adoption, as evidenced by the inner feeling of sonship to God, warmed by the Spirit, as a result of which they are ready to exclaim: “Abba, Father!” Just as the fulfillment of the promises about the present life is certain, so is the future - the resurrection of the dead and eternal bliss - undoubted. How are God's promises in Christ Jesus fulfilled? - Through the apostles, their evangelists. An increase in the number of those who achieve salvation is the glory of God on earth. For her there was the coming of the Lord in the flesh. For her it is an apostolic sermon. For her - faith and future bliss, so that the One God can be glorified with all deeds and lips. 1:21–22. From the fact that in Christ Jesus the promises given in the past have already been fulfilled, the apostle deduces their truth for the future. For if God Himself affirms and convinces us in Christ, that is, does not allow us to waver in our faith in Christ, and He Himself anointed us, bestowed “a deposit (deposit) of the Spirit in our hearts” as the first feeling of Fatherly affection, then how can He not grant us the benefits promised for the future life? “If God did not want to give us everything that He promised, then He would not have been pleased to give us a deposit, so as not to destroy it in vain.” (Chrysostom). So, the teaching of St. Paul in Corinth is undoubtedly true, which the Corinthians themselves must admit. And that he changed his plan, he did so, having important reasons for this, which he further expresses to them. IV. The Real Reason for the Change in Travel Plan (1:23–24) 1:23. I speak as before God, he says that I did not come to Corinth directly from Ephesus because I did not want to upset both you and myself; when I heard that there are faults in your society that it would be better for you to correct before my arrival than for me to come and punish those who are faulty for them, “sparing you”, I did not come to you. So that these words do not seem offensive to anyone in the sense that he takes upon himself the power to do whatever he wants with them and their faith, St. Paul explains the meaning of his words. 1:24. Sparing you, I said, he says, not because I want to rule “over your faith,” faith is a matter of freedom, believe it or not. Who has the power to force someone who does not want to believe to believe? (Chrysostom). But when you have entered the realm of faith, you must be faithful to faith in everything. And I am the guardian of this fidelity, therefore, out of my duty, I cannot leave your faults without correction. Everything that I taught you and that I got from you is not mine, but God’s; I cannot give up any of it; and therefore, as soon as you turn out to be faulty, I must correct you, and this is bitter for you. I don’t want to be the culprit of your sorrows, but I want something joyful to come from me to you. This is the sense in which I said, “sparing you,” not to upset you, but, on the contrary, to always contribute to your joy with everyone. This is how it should be - those who are faulty will correct themselves, and when I come to you later, I will be happy to see you in good working order. For I am sure that you stand firm in faith to correct your shortcomings. 1 So I determined within myself not to come to you again with grief. 2 For if I make you sad, who will make me happy but the one who makes me sad? 3 This is what I wrote to you, so that, when I came, I would not have grief from those about whom I should have rejoiced: for I am confident in you all 80 that my joy is joy for you all. 4 Out of great sorrow and an oppressed heart, I wrote to you with many tears, not to grieve you, but so that you might know the love that I have in abundance for you. 5 But if anyone has grieved, he has not grieved me, but in part, not to say much, he has grieved all of you. 6 For such a one this punishment from many is sufficient, 7 So it is better for you to forgive him and comfort him, so that he will not be consumed by excessive sorrow. 8 Therefore I ask you to show him love. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might learn by experience whether you are obedient in everything. 10 And whomever you forgive in any way, I also forgive him; for if I have forgiven anyone for anything, I have forgiven you on behalf of Christ, 11 So that Satan does not harm us, for we are not unaware of his devices. 12 Having come to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, although a door was opened to me by the Lord, 13 я не имел покоя духу моему, потому что не нашел там брата моего Тита; но, простившись с ними, я пошел в Македонию. 14 But thanks be to God, who always allows us to triumph in Christ and spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Himself to us in every place. 15 Ибо мы Христово благоухание Богу в спасаемых и в погибающих: 16 To some there is a savor of death unto death, but to others a savor of life unto life. And who is capable of this? 17 For we do not corrupt the word of God, as many do, but preach sincerely, as from God, in the sight of God, in Christ. 2:1–2. I didn’t want, he says, to cause you grief personally, but it was impossible to do without it, so I limited myself to causing you grief in the message, knowing your faith and therefore hoping for your self-correction; I upset you with my message, but I was waiting for consolation in your correction, this for me should have been the best reward from those who upset me! 2:3. I did not come to you, but wrote and sent you a message about your shortcomings so that, he says, you yourself would correct yourself and so that, having come to you before the message and before your correction, I would not accept sorrow upon sorrow. I already had the grief that you had problems, and then, having come to you before your correction, I should have accepted a new grief, personally exposing those who were faulty and correcting them. And this last trouble would have been increased further by the fact that instead of finding you at the highest degrees of perfection and rejoicing at that, I would have seen you completely faulty. This is the third sorrow, and, moreover, the most sensitive, when the cause of sorrow is those from whom you expect to receive joy. This is the reason why I did not come to you from Ephesus myself, but sent a message in advance, so that, having received it, you would correct yourself, and when I came after that, I would only rejoice with you. I acted this way, being confident that my joy is joy for all of you, that is, that you will try to correct the shortcomings that I noticed in you, in order to bring me joy, and to rejoice with me. But lest anyone think or say: the preacher cares only about himself, so that he does not have sorrow, and he does not care about others whom he upset with his message, St. Paul answers what he felt when writing this letter to them. 2:4. Namely, he himself suffered more than those who sinned. For not simply, he says, out of sadness, but “out of great sorrow,” not only with tears, but “with many tears of a constricted heart,” that is, his sadness choked and suppressed his soul; and it was then that he, not being able to bear such a burden, decided to write to them, not, however, to upset them, but so that they would know how much he loves them and cares about them. V. On the pardon of the repentant incestuous man (2:5–11) 2:5. Saint Paul showed his great fatherly love for the Corinthians in the strictest severity towards the incestuous man. With his shameful act, he not only insulted him, but disgraced and saddened the entire Corinthian community. So, pronouncing a strict sentence on him, the holy apostle stood for them, cared for them and wanted to drive away their sorrow. 2:6. The Corinthians fulfilled the order of Saint Paul, excommunicated the incestuous man from society, so that he could cleanse his sin with this punishment - penance. But now he has repented, and Saint Paul himself is interceding to be forgiven and again accepted into their fellowship, so that, while continuing to remain alienated from the Church, he does not fall into despair. 2:7–8. Therefore, Saint Paul commands not only to allow the prescribed punishment, but also to return the guilty person to his previous state. For if someone, having punished a guilty person, simply forgives him without any consolation, he is not doing him any good. He inspires the guilty person “that he receives forgiveness not so much for his repentance, but because of mercy and condescension; he himself, although he has sincerely repented, is weak and may succumb excessively to grief and despair. Therefore, Saint Paul asks the Corinthians to accept the guilty person into their fellowship with sincere and strong love, and not just as it happens” (Chrysostom). 2:9. I could, as Saint Paul says, punish the incestuous man with my judgment, but I handed him over to your judgment in my letter in order to actually test your obedience to me in everything. Then you obeyed, listen now (Chrysostom), accept the guilty one into your fellowship with love. 2:10–11. Forgive, he says, the guilty one, just as I forgave him for your sake, but not to please you, but “on the face of Christ,” according to the will of Jesus Christ, and so that Satan would not destroy him. Сатана всюду вмешивается со своими советами для нашей погибели. В настоящем случае он мог нашептать коринфянам: «Как можно терпеть такого. Вы – народ свят, люди обновления; место ли ему быть среди вас, гоните его прочь». А виновному мог внушить другие мысли: «Пропал уже ты, нет тебе спасения; брось их, видишь, какие они; ступай опять к язычникам и живи себе, как душе угодно». The Apostle also puts himself among those offended by Satan, for Satan’s shamelessness has no measure, he even tempted the Savior. Но апостолы, просвещаемые Духом Божиим, видели его козни. We, he says, clearly see and understand what he is leading to and how, and what he can use to his advantage. Разумея же это, не можем допускать, чтобы он имел в чем-либо успех. В этом окончательное убеждение простить виновного. Section two. On the height of Christian revelation, or gospel truth, with an account of how it is established on earth (2:12–7:1) Having finished his speech about changing the travel plan, the apostle wanted to expound what happened to him on this path (from Ephesus through Macedonia) and talk about the return of Titus, but he only reached the point of returning to Macedonia (2:12-13), when he was taken by the Spirit to contemplate the power and glory of the gospel truth (2:14-7:1). I. Introduction to Conversation on Gospel Truth (2:12–13) 2:12–13. Saint Paul informs the Corinthians of the sorrow he experienced in Troas when he left Ephesus, having no news from Titus about the state of the Corinthian Church. He came to Troas to preach the gospel, and the door for preaching was opened by the Lord - they listened to him willingly and with complete submission to the word of grace. But Saint Paul, not finding Titus here with news from Corinth, had no peace in his spirit, suffering in soul for the cause of God in Corinth. This forced him, saying goodbye to the Troadians, to go to meet Titus in Macedonia. But in this sorrow he received consolation from God. Titus brought him good news about the Corinthians - sinners repented, all faults were corrected, confusion was dispelled, and everyone expressed complete readiness to follow the word of the apostle. II. Contemplating the power and glory of gospel truth (2:14–7:1) The Apostle first sets out the properties and actions of the gospel truth (2:14–4:6), then points out that, despite the height of the revelation, its bearers are meager vessels (4:7–5:10), and, finally, sets out how the sermon itself goes, with the application of this to the Corinthians (5:11–7:1). A) About the properties and actions of Christian revelation, or gospel truth (2:14–4:6) The Apostle speaks of the word of the gospel: it is self-witnessing, spreading like a fragrance (2:14–3:3); it is not ours, but from God, and more glorious than the Old Testament (3:4-11); it is light and enlightening (3:12–18); it works irresistibly when the god of this age has not blinded anyone’s understanding (4:1-6). a) The word of the gospel is self-attesting (2:14–3:3) 2:14. Thank God! - the apostle called. Thank God, his word in the message turned out to be completely victorious, and he could rightly recognize himself in the position of a winner, making a triumphal procession after some famous victory. Despite many obstacles, God always gives victory. So he, as a conqueror in the name of Christ, solemnly moves from city to city. And just as incense was burned before the victors at that time, so he spreads this incense of his victory over evil everywhere, preaching in Jesus Christ “the stench of His mind” among everyone and in every place. 2:15–16. We, the apostles, he says, are, as it were, saturated, like clothing, with fragrant perfumes, the Gospel of Christ Jesus. And in thoughts, and in feelings, and in deeds - Christ is everywhere, we know nothing and no one except Him alone; service is pleasing to God, like the costly aroma of sacrifice (cf. Gen. 8:21; Lev. 1:9–17; Num. 15:7). They were such a fragrance of Christ both for those who are being saved, those who accept salvation by faith, and for those who are perishing, those who resist salvation, and unbelievers; they taught the Gospel to everyone. But it was not accepted equally, and therefore it acted differently: for some who do not accept it - those who perish - it is a sentence of condemnation and death, but for others who accept it - those who are saved - it is a guarantee of eternal life. All the power of our preaching is in Christ - He produces everything, but there is nothing of ours. And which person is capable of this on his own? Therefore, the whole concern of the apostles is to teach the Gospel as they received it from God. 2:17. In the time of the apostles there were many false teachers who mixed their own speculations into the pure Gospel, supposedly for the sake of explanation, and thereby robbed it of the healing and power that is characteristic of it in its unalloyed integrity. Saint Paul says: we do nothing of the kind, not only lies, but we also do not attach any of our own wisdom to the word of the gospel, we convey it as we received it from God, fully aware that we are speaking before the eyes of God Himself, we are speaking in Christ, by His power, by His protection, to His glory and as creators of His work. 1 Should we really get to know you again? Do we really need, like some others, letters of approval to you or from you? 2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, recognized and read by all people; 3 You show by yourselves that you are a letter of Christ, through our ministry written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh of the heart. 4 This is the confidence we have in God through Christ, 5 not because we ourselves are able to think anything from ourselves, as if from ourselves, but our ability is from God. 6 He has given us the ability to be ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit, because the letter 81 kills, but the spirit gives life. 7 But if the service of the deadly letters written on the stones was so glorious that the children of Israel could not look upon the face of Moses because the glory of his face was passing away— 8 Should not the ministry of the spirit be much more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation is glorious, much more will the ministry of justification abound in glory. 10 That which is glorified does not even turn out to be glorious from this side, because of the predominant glory of what follows. 11 For if the things that pass away are glorious, much more are the things that remain glorious. 12 Having this hope, we act with great boldness, 13 And not as Moses did, who put a veil over his face, so that the children of Israel would not look upon the end of the passing. 14 But their minds are blinded: for the same veil remains untaken to this day in the reading of the Old Testament, because it is removed by Christ. 15 Until now, when they read Moses, a veil lies over their heart; 16 But when they turn to the Lord, then this veil is removed. 17 The Lord is Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 But we all, with open face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 3:1. In Corinth, as we know, Judaizing false teachers appeared with their teachings, exalting the dignity of the Old Testament before the New, and themselves before St. Paul. They reinforced their dignity with some letters of recommendation, probably from Jerusalem, supposedly from the oldest apostles. The apostles, says St. Paul, do not need anyone’s recommendation, but their very service and its fruits serve for them and for others as the best recommendation, self-testimony. 3:2. Likewise, the Corinthians, with their faith and good life, serve as a letter of recommendation for the apostles in the eyes of others. Everyone sees their faith and good life, reads them as if in an open letter, and recognizes the culprit of everything - the apostle. And Saint Paul carries this letter on his heart, as especially dear to him. What kind of letter is this and by whom was it written? 3:3. By their faith in Christ and life according to faith, the Corinthians appear before everyone as a letter of Christ, as a written law of life in Christ Jesus. Christ wrote it with the Holy Spirit through his servants - the apostles, not in any external way - with ink on paper, but internally. The Holy Spirit directly penetrated into their hearts and there inscribed the truths of salvation that transformed their lives. That is why Saint Paul says that the “letter of Christ” - His law, was not written externally for them, like the law of Moses, on tablets of stone, but internally - in their hearts by the Holy Spirit. There the law reached the heart and mind through sight and hearing, moreover, under threat, whereas here it directly comes from the heart, according to its disposition towards it, and merges with conscience. This is the ideal perfection of man, arranged by God. Why did the prophet pray: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb” (Ps. 50:12). The right spirit is renewed along with purity of heart; this is the Spirit of the Living God, written on the tablets of the heart, the scripture of the law of life in Christ Jesus. b) The word of the gospel is not ours, but from God, and it is more glorious than the revelation of the Old Testament (3:4–11) 3:4–5. The Holy Spirit accomplishes the entire work of our salvation. What about the apostles? They are only His servants, doing His work in the hope of God's help in Christ. They are only faithful servants, but on their own, as people, they not only cannot come up with anything for a better effect on people with their preaching, but they also do not understand how it happens in another person. True, everything they undertake to save people is accompanied by success, and it seems that their ability to do this can be judged by it, but this ability is not theirs, but from God. He works through them in Christ Jesus by the grace of the Holy Spirit. 3:6. God gives the apostles the ability and grace-filled strength for the success of their apostolic ministry. This distinguishes the New Testament ministry from the Old Testament. There, salvation depended on fulfilling the letter of the law: “Whoever created that man will live in them” - this is what was said in the Old Testament to those who wish to be saved (Lev. 18:5); this was the Old Testament ministry, based on the moral law of Moses. Therefore, the Old Testament law itself killed a person both physically (cf. Numbers 15:32) and morally and spiritually; along with sin, he also revealed his powerlessness to fulfill the whole law, and pronounced the sentence of death over a person (cf. Gal. 3:21; Rom. 6: 7–9). Thus, the letter killed a person. In the New Testament, salvation does not depend on the strength of man, but on the grace of the Holy Spirit, which life-giving the spirit of man, giving him strength to fulfill the law written by grace in the heart, and for salvation. Consequently, the New Testament ministry is higher than the Old Testament, just as the spirit and life are higher than the letter and death. The apostle’s saying: “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” also has an application to New Testament salvation, if it is based only on the external fulfillment of the New Testament and the teachings of the Church, without the participation of the life-giving action of the grace of the Holy Spirit. 3:7–8. Saint Paul proves this superiority in the arrangement of the New Testament salvation and ministry over the Old Testament even more clearly by comparing the New Testament ministers with Moses and his ministry. The Lord at Sinai gave the law for the leadership of the people of Israel. Although this law led a person to the consciousness of his powerlessness to fulfill it and, thus, condemned him to spiritual death, in itself it was good, holy, true, like the Lord Himself, who wrote it, and led a person to faith in Christ; Therefore, the glory of this law, although temporary, was reflected on the face of Moses when he came down from the mountain, and, moreover, so strongly that the people of Israel could not look at his face because of this glory of it, and Moses had to put a veil on himself when he had to speak in the presence of the people (see Ex. 34: 29-34). If this ministry of Moses in itself, without faith in Christ, leading to condemnation and death, was so glorious and imparted such glory to Moses, then the New Testament ministry should be immeasurably more glorious, which leads to justification in Christ through faith in Him, with the assistance of the grace of the Holy Spirit. True, the holy apostles do not have the external glory of Moses, but they have the internal, spiritual glory of the Life-Giving Spirit. 3:9. On the other hand, if the ministry that leads the sinner only to his condemnation and death was so glorious in the person of Moses, then incomparably more glorious is the ministry that leads to the justification of the sinner and righteousness with the help of grace-filled powers. 3:10–11. Even though the Old Testament ministry in the person of Moses was glorious, this glory was inferior in comparison with the subsequent New Testament glory, especially since it was only temporary - during the establishment of the law, and then ceased. If the temporary, transitory, was so glorified, then the permanently abiding - the New Testament and the grace of the Holy Spirit should be incomparably more glorious. The glory that the apostle speaks of is in no case an external, visible glory by which the dignity of the Kingdom of grace could be measured. Yes, this is not the point. What is important, and this must be treasured, is that the Church always has spiritual vitality and that there are always zealots of the Spirit in it. Their decrease is an impoverishment of the spiritual glory of the Kingdom of Christ, and their cessation is the end of glory. Where this is, there the ministry of death of condemnation is established, with all the appearance of the ministry of spirit and truth. в) Слово благовестия светло в себе и просвещает всех (3:12–18) Святой Павел, как видели, останавливал свое внимание на прославленном лице Моисея. Делал это он, между прочим, и затем, чтобы показать, что служило символом значения Ветхого Завета. Как Моисеево лицо было славно, но скрыто, так что другие уже не видели этой славы, так Ветхий Завет славен, но слава его прикрыта. This glory is Christ the Lord hidden in all his parts and decrees. Если же смотреть на одну внешность, то все ветхозаветное устроение не представляет ничего, кроме вещественного служения жертвами, курениями, омовениями. In essence, all this is only a shadow, but the body of this shadow is Christ the Lord. Поэтому увидеть это тело и понять ветхозаветное устроение может только верующий в Господа. He penetrates through the outer cover and sees the light hidden there. Such, says the apostle, we are believers. Мы прямо видим Господа и славу Его, и сами все больше и больше просвещаемся этою славой. 3:12–13. “Having such hope that we have been worthy of more than Moses, and not only we, but all believers, we, the apostles, preach everywhere with freedom - boldly, without hiding anything, without any pretense, without fearing anything, but speaking clearly and without fear, so as not to strike your eyes, just as Moses struck the eyes of the Jews” (Chrysostom). The Jews were not able, due to their carnality, to look at the end of the transitory law - Jesus Christ, since the Old Testament law was a nurturer to Christ. But you, as Christians, can see the glory of the Gospel, although it is much higher than that of Moses (Chrysostom). The majority of the Jewish people, even to this day, when the end of the transitory has already come and Christ the Lord has appeared, still cannot see and understand the hidden glory of the law. Why? 3:14. Потому, что умы их ослеплены и они не видят скрытого в законе света. Для них доселе лежит непроницаемый покров на законе, как лежал на лице Моисея. И не проникнуть им внутрь закона, пока не уверуют во Христа Господа. But as soon as they believe, the veil will be removed, and they will clearly see everything that was hidden in the law. 3:15–16. Так это происходит повсюду. Everyone, reading Moses, that is, the law without faith in the Lord, experiences that they do not see anything there, “a veil lies over their heart” - it would be possible to see, but the eyes of the heart are closed by unbelief and the mind is held by the heart, as if in a daze, therefore, seeing, they do not see, and when reading, they do not understand. And as soon as they believe in the Lord and turn to Him, then “this veil is removed” - their spiritual eyes are opened by faith, and they clearly begin to see everything hidden in the law. How is this accomplished? 3:17. When, he says, they turn to the Lord with faith, they receive the grace of the Holy Spirit - the Lord, which will break all the veils and bonds of their spirit and heart, and they will understand what is hidden for them in images and symbols, the whole work of salvation in Christ Jesus the Lord. For the Holy Spirit is the source of complete and complete freedom of our spirit. Our mind is blind, a veil lies over its eyes. The Holy Spirit comes, with his collurium, an eye salve, anoints the eyes of the mind, and he begins to clearly see (cf. Rev. 3:18) God, and himself, and how he remains in a living union with Him, and what everything created is, and how to relate to it. Now our active forces are bound by passions, but the Holy Spirit comes, breaks these bonds, puts in completely opposite principles for desires, undertakings and deeds, and a hitherto weak person, like a mighty lion, begins to walk new paths of life, breaking all the old ones that previously held him, as if in chains. The Spirit of God leads the spirit of the believer into the spiritual realm, where no statute or letter can bind him. There he is free in everything and is guided, as such, only by the Spirit of God, where truth and freedom are. All this is accomplished when someone cleaves to the Lord by faith and receives the grace of the Holy Spirit through the Sacraments. 3:18. In the Old Testament, the children of Israel could not look at the glory of the Lord reflected on the face of Moses, but we, he says, the apostles and all believers, confirmed in the truth by the Holy Spirit, who gave freedom to our spirit, look at the glory of God, embodied in the Lord Jesus Christ, with an “open face,” without images and rituals. This glory of the Lord, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, becomes more and more clear in our soul, reflected in it as a face is reflected in a mirror. d) The word of the gospel is irresistible, self-effective (4:1–6) Having been chosen to spread the word of the Gospel, the apostles cared only about not mixing in anything of their own, but presenting it to everyone’s conscience in all its purity. Accepted by the conscience, it itself already carries out its work, develops repentance and leads to the Lord, for whose name remission of sins is given. This is how the conversion of the pagans proceeds through the action of the fear of God and conscience, which lie in the spirit of man, if they are not drowned out by the action of the god of this age. As for the Jews, they convert through the law and the prophets, if their minds are not clouded by superstition. This is the mystery of the apostolic gospel, which the Lord has now deigned to illuminate the darkness of this age, as He originally commanded to shine among the darkness. 1 Therefore, having such a ministry by the grace of God, we do not lose heart; 2 But putting away hidden, shameful things, not resorting to cunning or distorting the word of God, but revealing the truth, we present ourselves to the conscience of every man before God. 3 But if our gospel is hid, it is hid to those who are perishing, 4 For those who do not believe, whose minds the god of this world has blinded, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, should shine upon them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and we are your servants for Jesus, 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we carry this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the exceeding power may be attributed to God and not to us. 8 We are oppressed on every side, but not straitened; we are in desperate circumstances, but we do not despair; 9 We are persecuted, but not forsaken; we are cast down, but we do not perish. 10 We always carry about in our body the death of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are continually being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh, 12 so that death works in us, but life in you. 13 But having the same spirit of faith, as it is written: I believed, and therefore I spoke, and we believe, therefore we speak, 14 Knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will raise us up through Jesus and set us before Himself with you. 15 For all things are for your sake, so that the abundance of grace may produce greater gratitude among many to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart; but if our outer man is decaying, then our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction produces eternal glory beyond measure, 18 when we look not at what is seen, but at what is unseen: for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 4:1. Therefore, having received such a glorious service by the grace of the Lord, the apostles, despite all dangers and generally unfavorable circumstances for them, do not lose heart, do not lose heart, but act tirelessly and, guided by the grace of the Holy Spirit, clearly and openly proclaim the gospel truth to everyone, avoiding various unclean means of false teachers. 4:2. We are only concerned, he says, with presenting the pure truth to everyone’s conscience, and it will do its job on its own, as long as it is accepted. In order for the truth of the gospel to remain pure, we avoid everything bad in our intentions - we have rejected all hidden shameful deeds that nest in the recesses of the human heart, thirsting only for what is pleasant for ourselves, we avoid everything bad in the manner of our actions - we do not resort to cunning, we do not act in such a way that one thing is in our words and another in our minds; We are not entangled by any flattering speeches, we are not enticed by seemingly good plans behind which an ambush is hidden, we act openly, but what is clear from our words is in reality. We avoid everything bad and in the very presentation of the truth we do not distort the word of God, but convey it in its pure form: if it is strict, we do not soften it out of man-pleasing; if it exceeds human wisdom, we do not hide it and do not try to reconcile it with this wisdom. Whether it is simple or sublime in itself, that is how we teach it, but mixing our own into the word of God does not even occur to us. The very truth we proclaim testifies to us that we are not liars, namely: “we present ourselves to the conscience of every man before God.” In the soul of everyone there is an intercessor for the truth of the gospel - his spirit, and in him - the fear of God and conscience. The word of the gospel says that we are irresponsibly sinful before God, and our conscience is aware of this; the word of the gospel proclaims that judgment and condemnation await every sinner, and the fear of God confirms this same truth. But to the spirit, constrained by the fear of judgment and condemnation, the word of the gospel offers a reliable outcome in pardon and receiving blessedness through faith in the Son of God, who suffered for the salvation of sinners, and he joyfully accepts this good news. That is why the word of the gospel found a reception in every place, for everywhere there were people whose fear of God and conscience were still alive, and others suitable for the faith followed them and followed their example. So openly, as before God, the word of the gospel of the apostles acted on the spirit of people fit for salvation! 4:3–4. For people who have an unsuppressed conscience and the fear of God, the word of the gospel was open as life-giving truth, but for those whose conscience and fear of God are silenced, the word of the gospel is closed; They are perishing not because they are doomed to perish, but because they, by the way of their life, as it has developed until now, have put themselves in such a state that the gospel is inconceivable for them, they cannot understand anything in it, in any way, it does not cling to their soul and the soul does not find anything interesting in it for itself. That's why she doesn't accept him. And since salvation is possible only under the condition of accepting this word, such a person remains outside the realm of those being saved. So, who is the main culprit behind their death? “The God of this age,” says the apostle. Who is he? The Prince of Peace (John 12:31, 14:30), the ruler of the darkness of this world (Eph.6:12), the spirit who works in the sons of disobedience (Eph.2:2), or Satan. This power he has is not natural, but accidental, based on people’s tendency to self-indulgence, through which he rules over their souls. A whole horde of demons spread and maintain his power among people through passions, into which they skillfully and diligently lure self-indulgent people. How do they darken the minds of the unbelievers? “They try to concentrate all their attention and consciousness on the visible and tangible so that they do not feel or recognize the invisible and intangible at all. And indeed, little by little they become their own god, they build themselves up, they rely on themselves alone in everything. Their goal is not to go beyond the boundaries of real life, but to live in contentment, with honor and with the greatest measure of fun and various pleasures. True conscience is violated. Its place is taken by the rules of everyday prudence. God exists as something external, and satisfaction with the external image of religious customs is considered quite sufficient in order not to fear Him; as if neither He cares about our soul, nor our soul cares about Him. And they live in complete complacency, not realizing any serious guilt. They don’t feel the fear of God’s Judgment, they say that God is merciful and will forgive, we light candles for Him, we serve prayers, what else? Death and judgment are still far away, we still have time to repent. In such a mood of the soul, formed under the influence of the spirits of lies, the unfortunate ones do not see when they see, and when they do not hear, they seem to say with their whole being to the preachers of repentance: go ahead, this does not concern us. So, blinded by self-indulgence and passions, under the influence of the spirits of evil and Satan, those who perish naturally do not see the light of the glory of Christ in the gospel, despite the fact that He is the image of the invisible God (cf. John 14:9). But why is the gospel saving for those who are being saved? To explain this, the apostle says this. 4:5. Therefore, it is saving that in our gospel we do not present ourselves: neither in the image of words, nor in the manner of action, nor in goals (cf. 2 Cor. 4:2) we are not visible at all, but we try to portray Christ the Lord Himself before the conscience of people, and then they themselves recognize in Him the Savior from destruction, the Healer of infirmities, the Giver of all strength, and therefore they cleave to Him with all their souls. We ourselves, the apostle adds, are only instruments, only your servants, ministers of your salvation, for the glory of the Lord Jesus. 4:6. In conclusion, the apostle draws everyone's attention to what is now being done through the gospel, which is being spread throughout the face of the whole earth. He says that a veil lay over the hearts of the Jews, and they did not see the light hidden in the law. All the pagans walked in darkness, and none of them saw the light of God. But the Lord Jesus Christ came, and the light of reason shone upon the world. The enlightening power is the Holy Spirit who descended on the apostles. Enlightened by Him, guided and taught by Him, they walk throughout the world and proclaim the light of truth to everyone. The Spirit of God, enlightening them, enlightens the hearts of believers, and after that they clearly begin to see the light of reason of the glory of God. Thus, in the midst of the darkness that covered the whole world, the light of the knowledge of God has now shone. Now the same thing is happening in the moral world that happened on the first day of creation for the material world, when God with His word commanded the light to shine out of darkness. “God said: let there be light, and there be light.” The same God now speaks through us: “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” And this word lights up the light in the hearts of believers. Those who accept it begin to clearly see the indescribable glory of the Infinite God in the face of Jesus Christ, how He, our Compassionate Father, did not want to leave us in our fall, but decided to save us with the precious blood of His Beloved Son and, in His person, to place those who believe in the Son at the right hand of His glory. In the person of His Son, God gave us to see the light of the glory of His perfections and the entire Holy Trinity (John 17:4-6). B) Treasure of grace in scanty vessels (4:7–5:10) Having set forth the essence of the apostolic gospel and shown the greatness of the glory of the New Testament revelation of salvation, St. Paul further shows how outwardly the servants of this gospel are humbled. Moreover, he first indicates the providential goals of this order of affairs, namely, the glory of God and the benefit of the faith of those announced by their preaching (4: 7-12); then he states that in enduring labors in this order of service, ministers of the Gospel are inspired by the confidence of their co-glorification with the Lord in the future life (4:13–15). In doing so, he reveals the picture of this glory: how glorious this future is, how desirable it is, and how one must prepare for it (4:16–5:10). a) The goals of the outwardly debased state of ministers of the gospel (4:7–12) 4:7. Despite all the greatness of the glory of the Gospel, the Lord was pleased to entrust its proclamation to clay vessels (in glory, “meager”), to people and to the physically weak, such as St. Paul, for example, and, moreover, to those constantly oppressed, humiliated and oppressed. Why is it arranged this way? Couldn’t the Lord have done this so that the apostles could already influence people by their very appearance? Of course he could, but he did not deign to do so in order, he says, so that in our service of the gospel nothing of ours would be visible, but everything would be attributed to the power of God, and so that, seeing our weakness and the glory of our ministry, everyone should conclude that if these are doing all this by the finger of God, for the Kingdom of God has come upon us (cf. Luke 11:20), we must submit to their word and believe so as not to be God-fighters. To show more clearly how the power of God works in scanty vessels, St. Paul says: 4:8–9. Isn’t the power of God clearly revealed in the circumstances of our lives? Sorrow is caused to us from everywhere, it touches the soul sensitively, inflicts wounds on the heart, but it does not constrict the chest, does not take our breath away, does not compress our hearts. Isn’t it clear that God sends such power to our hearts that no sorrows choke it? We find ourselves in desperate circumstances (in Slavic terms “no hope”), but we do not despair—we do not lose our presence of mind, knowing that God is with us and that no one can do anything to us against His will. And it always happens that God arranges for us a successful way out of our situation. “We are persecuted” - we are persecuted, but we are “not abandoned”, God does not abandon us. We are “cast down, but not destroyed.” It happens that enemies, apparently, are completely ready to destroy us, but we, with the help of God, remain safe, alive and do not perish (cf. Acts 14:19). 4:10–11. We always, he says, carry in our body “the deadness of the Lord Jesus” - troubles, sorrows, mortal dangers experienced by the Lord Jesus during His earthly life. Isn’t it obvious that, speaking humanly, we should have perished long ago, but we are all alive, and therefore it turns out that every day we appear, as it were, alive from the dead. This is completely similar to how the Lord was crucified and put in a tomb, and then sealed, but He rose again, His life swallowed up death. The same life of Jesus now operates in us, for when we are subjected to countless deaths for preaching about Him, but we all remain alive, isn’t it obvious that we are alive by His life. For this reason we undergo death for His sake, for the Gospel about Him. In addition, suffering for Christ the Lord also has the purpose of promoting faith in Christ. 4:12. Seeing us in sorrows, in misfortunes, as if constantly in the embrace of death, and yet alive, you can see from this that the power of God operates in us, the life of the risen Lord Jesus gives life to our dead bodies, and believing the word of our gospel, to the extent of faith, you too are quickened by the grace of the Holy Spirit through the Sacraments and begin to live a new, unknown life in Christ Jesus, a life that, having begun here, will last forever and lead you into endless bliss. b) The apostles in the work of evangelism are inspired by the confidence of their future co-glorification with the Lord Jesus (4:13–15) So, the apostles are meager vessels and, as it were, died alive for the manifestation in them of the power and glory of God and for the multiplication of believers. What inspires them to this mortal feat? – Confidence of participation with Christ the Lord in His glory. 4:13. True, the apostle evangelists endure great adversity for the word of the gospel, but they do not remain silent, but are inspired by faith, like David (see Ps. 116:1), and it forces them to continue the gospel. What is faith? 4:14. Let, he says, we endure sorrow here, we live like those sentenced to death, but we know - we have complete and living confidence that God in the Holy Trinity, who raised the Lord Jesus as a man, will resurrect us through Him and bring us into the blessed Kingdom, and not only us, but also you, who believe in the Lord Jesus. 4:15. Because the whole work of salvation is in Christ Jesus and all the indescribable blessings in the future life, all this, he says, is for you who believe. We, the apostles, proclaim faith, those who accept it receive the grace of the Holy Spirit and the joy of new life, and the more believers multiply, the more abundant the grace and joy, and the greater gratitude and glorification are raised for this to God and the glorification of Him for His great mercies to fallen man. The glory of God is the final goal of the entire work of salvation in Christ Jesus. For people were created by God for the work of this doxology, because doxology is a sign of tasting the joy of life with which God wants to make everyone happy. c) Contemplation of the future life (4:16–5:10) The truth about the future life is morally the most influential, the most exciting. Those who are established in contemplation of it do not sin, but in works and all kinds of virtues and in asceticism they know almost no measure. That is why Saint Paul pays more attention to it. When he refers to himself, he means all believers. The future life is full of glory (vv. 16–18) 4:16. Being confident in future bliss, he says, we do not lose heart, despite all the sorrows and troubles that surround us. Not only that, but external sorrows themselves benefit our spirit, improving it. As the outer man - the body with its needs, decays, weakens and collapses among various disasters and sufferings, the inner, hidden (1 Peter 3:4) - spirit and soul - is strengthened by faith, hope and zeal, and mainly, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, from day to day it is renewed and improved, drawing closer to God (in its spirit). Thus, earthly sorrows are the cause of heavenly joy. 4:17–18. For although earthly sorrows are severe, they are short-lived and are soon forgotten when they pass; but the same sorrows, when we endure them for faith in Christ, lead us to heavenly glory. If we now look at this future glory, then the present will be easy for us, and the future will be attractive, because what is here is only temporary, and what is here is eternal. This also happens in spiritual life: while a person lives a self-indulgent physical life, she knows only the visible, and does not think about the invisible, considering it as if it does not exist. When, under the influence of grace, his spirit awakens, then among the first requirements for the perception of a new life is renunciation of the visible for the sake of the invisible, and if someone actually renounces the visible, then grace introduces him into a new life and contemplation of the invisible, which more than replaces the visible for him. Why the Hereafter is Especially Desirable (5:1–5) Because there we will put on a heavenly body, pure, light, bright. This real body is heavy, burdensome, requires a lot of care and counteracts spiritual aspirations for heavenly things. Therefore, striving for the heavenly, we desire to put on a heavenly, light, incorruptible body and yearn for it. And that we will receive this heavenly body, the Holy Spirit assures us of this. 1 For we know that although our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God in heaven, a house not made with hands, eternal. 2 That is why we sigh, desiring to be clothed with our heavenly habitation; 3 Let us not, even though we are clothed, find ourselves naked. 4 For we, being in this tent, groan under the burden, because we do not want to be undressed, but to be clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up with life. 5 For this very reason God created us and gave us the pledge of the Spirit. 6 So we are always in good spirits; and as we know 82 that, being established 83 in the body, we are removed from the Lord, - 7 For we walk by faith and not by sight, 8 then we are pleased and wish 84 better to leave the body and be with the Lord. 9 And therefore we earnestly strive, whether in or out, to be pleasing to Him; 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what he has done while in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we admonish people, but we are open to God; I hope that your consciences are also open. 12 We do not introduce ourselves to you again, but we give you a reason to boast about us, so that you may have something to say to those who boast in appearance and not in heart. 13 If we lose our temper, it is for God; if you are modest, then for you. 14 For the love of Christ compels us, considering this: if one died for all, then all died. 15 But Christ died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again for them. 16 Therefore from now on we know no one according to the flesh; if we knew Christ in the flesh, now we no longer know him. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the ancient has passed away, now everything is new. 18 But from God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 For God in Christ reconciled the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against men, and gave us the word of reconciliation. 20 So we are messengers on behalf of Christ, and it is as if God Himself exhorts through us; On behalf of Christ we ask: be reconciled with God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 5:1. Our soul is appointed by God to live in the body, as if in a house. This is the earthly house of the soul, which we received in our carnal birth, and this house is temporary, but where will the soul live after the destruction of this house, that is, after the death of the body? St. Paul says that she will then live in a new body, as a house not made with hands, but built by God and indestructible, eternal. This, he says, we know from the Holy Spirit. 5:2–3. Having a strong, uncontrollable desire to quickly put on the heavenly, God-given, incorruptible body, that is why we yearn while in this rough body. But, says the apostle, our soul must correspond to this new dwelling: if it is not clothed here in good deeds, then in the new, heavenly body it will be as naked, to the shame of all. 5:4. Therefore, he says, we want to throw off this body, since it is heavy for our spirit, it requires a lot of care for itself - feed it, give it something to drink, clothe it, give it a restful bed, and this every day, and more than once; so you spend a whole century toiling as if just to take care of your body. Meanwhile, for life according to the spirit, it not only does not provide help, but, on the contrary, serves as the first obstacle to this. It happens that the enemies of the spirit fall silent, but your own body does not stop fighting. That is why, being in this body, we sigh under its burden, but we do not want to be completely without a body, but to change clothes, and not into a completely new body, but into the same one, only one from which corruption and passion would be expelled, and in their place incorruptible, pure, bright, heavenly life would be infused into it. This life would enter him and swallow up his deadness and completely transform him. This is the kind of body we desire to put on and we sigh for it! 5:5. We were originally created for such an incorruptible life, but we fell and through sin were subject to corruption. The Lord Jesus Christ destroyed corruption, trampling death by resurrection. Mysteriously, we become participants in this resurrection in the Sacrament of Baptism, laying aside the old life and putting on the new. But this is only a deposit - a deposit, a beginning and a foundation for a future resurrection in glory, like the resurrection of the Lord. This is what the inherent grace of the Holy Spirit confirms to us, as if given to us by God as a deposit of a future glorious life. What must one do in order to be worthy of the future glorious life (vv. 6–10) It is difficult to live in an earthly body, he says, because it prevents us from seeing the Lord. We are breaking out of it to be with the Lord. But in order to be with the Lord, one must take care of pleasing Him, for those who do not please Him will meet with Him not for their own joy, but only to hear a terrible sentence for themselves. 5:6–8. Knowing well that while living in this body, we depart from the Lord, and therefore we greatly thirst to leave the body in order to enter the Lord, because while we are in this body, we still live by faith in the Lord, and not by knowledge of Him. Living in the body, we are like strangers in a foreign land. Our Fatherland, our home, is where the Lord is. Thus, while wandering in the body, we naturally separated from our native home and from the Father of the Lord Himself. The body has become a wall between us and the Lord. It is therefore understandable that Saint Paul himself and other ascetics of the faith had a strong desire to leave the body and go to the Lord. But death is not a transition to a blessed life for everyone, but only for those who please the Lord. 5:9. But whether we are here or there, our business is to take care only of living in accordance with the will of the Lord, this is our main duty, so that after this we are, without a doubt, heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven (Chrysostom). The apostle also encourages this with the threat of the Last Judgment. 5:10. Living in the body, one must primarily take care of pleasing the Lord; for the Lord will require us all to His Judgment, according to which some will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, while others will not only be deprived of bliss, but will be condemned to eternal torment, depending on how the bodies lived on earth, whether they did good or evil. “For the body that served virtue or vice will not be excluded from participation in rewards, but together with souls, some bodies will be given over to torment, while others will be crowned with rewards” (Chrysostom). C) How the Gospel is preached (5:11–7:1) It’s as if the apostle says this: God in Christ reconciled the world to Himself and gave us the word of reconciliation, so we go around convincing everyone to be reconciled with God. We say the same to you, and at the same time we add advice: see, do not miss the favorable time (5:11-18), the apostolic ministry contributes to your salvation (5:19-6:2), we do our job, especially taking care not to be a temptation to anyone, but, on the contrary, helping everyone to turn to faith (6:3-10), take care to do yours, forsaking all ungodliness and lawlessness, cleave to God, so that you can be God's (6:11–7:1). a) See that you do not miss the favorable time (5:11–18) 5:11. So, knowing that Christ, our Lord, at His Judgment will demand an answer in all our affairs, imbued with this fear, we, he says, admonish people, try to correct those who have false opinions about us. God knows our sincerity, but I hope that the majority of the Corinthian Church in conscience knows us like that. 5:12. Everything that Saint Paul said about his high ministry was not said to boast to the Corinthians, they know him; but so that they would know what to say about the dignity of his apostleship to those of the Judaizers who condemned him, judging him by his appearance, and not by his heart, that is, by his inner mood. 5:13. For, if we show off our dignity, as if we “lose our temper”, from our humble role, then this is so that, seeing our humility, whoever has not humiliated and despised our preaching, does not reject it and perish - thus, we do so for the glory of God. For people, we try to be modest in order to attract them more to ourselves and show them an example of humility (Chrysostom). What inspires the holy apostles to such service? 5:14. Therefore, the holy apostles perform their service with such dedication that they are embraced by a strong love for God, which is nourished by the living consciousness of what He has arranged for our salvation in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ; We are all subject to death, but “He alone accepted death for us, so that life might be acquired for us all” (Theodoret). All people died in the person of Adam, who transgressed the commandment of God in Paradise, died mentally immediately after the fall, which was revealed in their attempt to hide from God, and in covering up sin, and dumping it on one another, and physically they die gradually. The Lord Jesus Christ, having become incarnate, took upon Himself their guilt before God, and He alone died for all, in order to give life to all by His resurrection. How? 5:15. If Christ the Lord died for the sins of people and was resurrected for their life, then it is natural that in order to live they must live not for themselves, not according to the selfish aspirations of the flesh, but for the Lord, that is, according to His holy will, pleasing and righteous. This is a necessary condition for new life in Christ (cf. Matthew 16:24; John 14:21). Saint Paul also tries to live this way. 5:16. He himself, having abandoned the advantages of a carnal life for the sake of a spiritual one, does not want to know anyone according to the flesh, does not give preference to a Jew over a pagan or an educated person over an uneducated one. He sees only a new creation in Christ, even Jesus Christ Himself, as a descendant of Abraham and David, he no longer knows, but knows Him as the Eternal God, the Redeemer of all people. 5:17. Thus, Christians are reborn to a new, spiritual life, which, as St. Paul prophetically foresees, should completely regenerate people and transform them in a new way. The world, everything “ancient” - carnal, selfish, must cease, and in its place a “hidden man of the heart” (1 Peter 3:4) will be born, who will begin to rule everything in the soul, in the body, and in external relationships. Look - it’s like the same person, the same powers of spirit, soul and body, but life is no longer the same. This planting is not earthly, it does not breathe earthly air, it does not feed on earthly products. He is a wise man above, not an earthly one, and his life is hidden with Christ in God. 5:18. This rebirth into new life is accomplished by God, having reconciled through the sacrifice of the Lord Christ with fallen people and sending the apostles to proclaim the Gospel - reconciliation to the whole world. In the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, it was ordained from time immemorial for God the Son to become incarnate in due time from the Ever-Virgin and, having died on the cross, to tear up the handwriting of our sins, thereby satisfying the eternal truth of God, to reconcile us with God. It is also ordained that the Spirit should descend upon those reconciled in this way and make those justified by the blood of Jesus Christ righteous and holy, renewing their inner life with His grace. The work of reconciliation in the person of the Lord Savior was completely accomplished, but the assimilation of reconciliation to the people being saved had to be accomplished not through imputation, not externally, but required certain moral changes in those being reconciled, as a necessary condition for the extension of the power of reconciliation to them. In order for this to be fulfilled, it was necessary to announce to people these conditions of reconciliation, tell them what they must do for reconciliation to take place, and then, after they expressed their readiness to fulfill the conditions of reconciliation, to grant them from the Holy Spirit the power to fulfill these conditions, because people themselves could no longer fulfill them. For all this, the apostolate was established. Those chosen for the apostleship, abundantly endowed with the gifts of grace, were to walk throughout the world and proclaim to everyone the good will of God about the reconciliation of everyone with God under the condition of repentance, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, and selfless readiness to steadily live according to the will of God - according to his commandments. Those who were inclined to listen to this sermon should be baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity, and through the laying on of hands, the grace of the Holy Spirit should be brought down upon them. This is the essence of the apostolic ministry, and in this way reconciliation with God of each person was accomplished. b) The ministry of the apostles significantly helps us in arranging our salvation (5:19–6:2) The work of the apostleship is to call to reconciliation with God those who have turned away from God and those who have angered Him, and then to impart to them the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle says: now we do this, we call everyone - make peace with God, and we teach grace to everyone. So you also, the Corinthians, were called and made partakers of grace. We pray that you do not have this grace in vain. 5:19. How did God reconcile sinners to Himself with His truth? Christ the Lord “beared all our sins... in His body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). The handwriting in which they are all recorded is, “He took it out of the midst of the people and nailed it to the cross” ( Col. 2:14 ); so that for the truth of God these sins and their records are all one, that they do not exist. She is quite satisfied. All that remains for people is to retreat under the shadow of the Cross, so that the truth of God does not see their sins on them and impute them to sinners. He commanded us, the apostles, to proclaim this to people, so that they, for their part, would heed our word of reconciliation and be reconciled with God. 5:20. What great mercy of God to us sinners! God sent His Son for our salvation, He died for the sins of people, so that the truth of God would not impute their sins to them, and He sent the apostles to announce this and in the name of God the Father and the Son to earnestly ask them to take advantage of the salvation that had been arranged - to be reconciled with God, as if it were not God who was angry with people, but people with God. 5:21. God does not have enmity towards people, but inexpressible love, for He not only did not commit sin and did not think anything sinful, but also did not know what sin was, did not experience the sweets of sin, He made such a Most Pure One sin for us, that is, He treated Him as a sinner, as if He Himself had committed all those sins for which all people are guilty in the aggregate. Only through this could the truth of God be satisfied. She is satisfied. God could and did do the reconciliation of the world with Himself in Christ without people. But in order for people to take advantage of this reconciliation, their personal participation in this matter was necessary. That is why, he says, we cry to everyone: “be reconciled to God,” for the work of salvation is not only to reconcile the world to ourselves through the sinless sacrifice of our Son, but also to make us “righteous before God.” This requires the participation of people's free will. And for this you need repentance, faith in the Gospel, Baptism, acceptance of the gift of the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments of Baptism, Communion and others. When all this is done, then, he says, you will become the righteousness of God, that is, you will not become externally righteous, but you will possess internal righteousness, or the righteousness of the spirit and holiness, the righteousness of God, or God-like. But then, in order to remain in this truth, it is not enough just to, having reconciled with God in baptism or repentance, again live carelessly. 1 We, as companions, beseech you that the grace of God may not be received by you in vain. 2 For it is said: In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is the favorable time, behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We do not cause anyone to stumble in anything, so that his ministry may not be reproached, 4 But in everything we show ourselves as servants of God, in great patience, in troubles, in needs, in difficult circumstances, 5 under blows, in prisons, in exiles, in labors, in vigils, in fasts, 6 in purity, in prudence, in generosity, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love, 7 in the word of truth, in the power of God, with the weapon of righteousness in the right and left hand, 8 in honor and dishonor, in reproach and praise: we are considered deceivers, but we are faithful; 9 we are unknown, but we are known; we are considered dead, but behold, we are alive; we are punished, but we do not die; 10 They make us sad, but we always rejoice; We are poor, but we enrich many; we have nothing, but we possess everything. 11 Our lips are open to you, O Corinthians, our hearts are enlarged. 12 You are not cramped in us; but your hearts are tight. 13 In equal recompense, I say, as to children, you too will be distributed. 14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with iniquity? What does light have in common with darkness? 15 What agreement is there between Christ and Belial? Or what is the complicity of the faithful with the infidel? 16 What is the relationship between the church of God and idols? For you are the church of the Living God, as God said: I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. 17 Therefore come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. 18 And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. 6:1. The purpose of the apostles is to spread the doctrine of redemption and, through preaching, to attract people to a blessed, righteous life. In this they are, as it were, instruments of God’s love for people, His accomplices, as if collaborators in the work of redemption (cf. 1 Cor. 3:9). But they are companions and people, begging and convincing them to be reconciled with God, and those who have received baptism and the grace of the Holy Spirit, not to make it vain, accepted in vain, but to kindle it with their lives according to the commandments of God. Hurry, he says, to take advantage of the favorable time in this earthly life. “The time has come,” he says, “the propitious time for salvation predicted by the prophet - the time of God’s grace and the time of intercession for us before the God of our Lord Savior (cf. Heb. 5:7), which is heard and is being heard by God the Father. This favorable time for our salvation is our earthly life. Hurry to use it for your salvation, for if there is a favorable time, it means that there is also an unfavorable one, and who can say that the latter will not come soon? c) How the apostles helped ensure that believers did not receive grace in vain (6:3–10) 6:3–4. To help everyone improve in a life of grace, the apostle says, we, for our part, use everything: both the word of the sermon and the example of our lives. And then the holy apostle points out two distinctive signs of an immaculate life: first, we do not cause anyone to stumble in anything, we do not give anyone a reason for slander and reproaches against us, so that “our service” is not reproached, so that our service does not give even an accidental reason for reproaching him in anything; the second - “but in everything we show ourselves as servants of God,” not only we try to be like that in front of people, but in the face of the All-Seeing God, internally, heartily and in our lives. Namely, “in great patience,” not in one or two troubles, but in many troubles, not only in external troubles, but also in those that can strike deeply in the heart, in troubles, in needs and extremes that present oppressive evil as inevitable, “in cramped circumstances,” the last degree of extremes from hunger and failure to satisfy the most necessary needs, in such a sorrowful situation from which there was no convenient way out. 6:5. The Apostle showed himself to be a servant of God “under blows” (in slav. “in wounds” from blows), for example, in Lystra (see Acts 14:19), in Philippi (see Acts 16:22–23; 2 Cor. 11:24–25), “in prisons” (see 2 Cor. 11:23), “in exiles” (in slav. “disorders”), when it rose up against him persecution, with noise and confusion, forcing him to run from one place to another, for example, in Iconium (see Acts 14:6), in Thessaloniki (see Acts 17:6), in Beria (see Acts 17:13) and in Corinth itself (see Acts 18:12). “In labor” - in difficult journeys through mountainous areas, in labor to support himself and his companions, in labor to establish order in the newly established Churches. “In vigils”, when he spent the nights in prayer or conversation with converts, for example, in Philippi (see Acts 16:25) and in Troas (see Acts 20:7–11). “In fasting,” when he voluntarily deprived himself of food to strengthen himself in prayer, to appease God, to prepare for some kind of struggle, for example, against lies and delusion. “Fasting is a strong moral means and a valuable feat in the eyes of God” (Chrysostom). 6:6. As servants of God, he says, we kept ourselves “in purity” - chastity of body and heart; “in prudence” - in the knowledge of Divine things - wisdom descending from God (Chrysostom); “in generosity”, which, despite all the troubles from others, maintains a peaceful and good disposition. “In goodness” - good-heartedness, when they have a merciful heart towards everyone, ready to do every good to everyone, to deliver from every sorrow, to ward off every misfortune, in general a heart that cannot see with indifference either the need or the sorrow of another. In the Holy Spirit, even in the use of the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit, abundantly given to us, we, he says, did not give anyone any temptation. “In unfeigned love” - not only in matters of external behavior the apostle revealed his love, but, most importantly, his heart was full of true love. 6:7. We, he says, show ourselves to be servants of God, conveying what and how God has entrusted us with, without mixing in anything of our own; the entire success of preaching depends on the power of God, signs and wonders. We both affirm and defend the true faith as truth, also with the weapon of truth, as servants of God, denying lies and not suppressing the truth. 6:8. In all cases, when there was something to our glory or dishonor, when we were slandered as deceivers or praised, we behaved as the servants of God should (see Acts 14:16). 6:9. “For some they were known and respected, for others they were unworthy to know them” (Chrysostom). Judging by how and to what extent our enemies were angry against us, all we could do was die. This is what everyone thought, for example, in Lystra (see Acts 14:19–20), but God saved us from destruction. He allows us to be punished, but not to put us to death (cf. Ps. 17:18), but to teach and admonish us, especially to convince us that we should rely on His Almighty Hand in everything. 6:10. Others, he says, looking at us, think that we are grieving. We, on the contrary, feel the highest pleasure and not just once, but always, constantly receiving joy from the Comforter Spirit, since after love it is his first gift (see Gal. 5:22). We are literally poor, but we enrich many not only with spiritual gifts, but also with physical ones - through collected alms, and God’s blessing on those who took us under their roof. We have nothing of our own, but we have everything from the Spirit of God. Thus, Saint Paul had the greatest influence over entire nations and was lord not only of their property, but also of their very eyes (see Gal. 4:15). Saint Chrysostom, from his exploits described by Saint Paul, derives the following moral teaching for Christians: “Therefore, if we bear anything for Christ, we must bear it not only courageously, but also with joy. Whether we fast - we will be cheerful, like those who feast, whether we endure reproach - we will behave as if showered with praise, whether we are dependent on property - we will try to be in such a mood as if we were increasing it, whether we give something to the poor, we will think that we are gaining. And not only when distributing alms, but also in any other virtue, thinking not about the severity of labor, but about the sweetness of rewards, mainly keeping in mind our Lord Jesus Christ, for Whom we undertake certain deeds, from which we will be more willing to go out on deeds, and will spend the whole time of our lives in pleasure.” d) Obligations of those who accepted the preaching of the apostles (6:11–7:1) Having said how the apostles, both by word and by the example of their lives, proclaim to the world the word - the Gospel of reconciliation with God - St. Paul now turns to those who have accepted the gospel of reconciliation and gives instructions on how they must behave in order to be worthy of their calling. They must avoid all sin and shun all wickedness in order to be clean. And then, as in pure ones, God will dwell in them and take them into Himself, which is the final, highest goal of rational creatures. He sets out these instructions, addressing the Corinthians, assuring them of his special disposition towards them and at the same time demanding mutually and from them full attention to his words for their better assimilation. 6:11. Saint Paul wrote about his apostolic deeds to the Corinthians, prompted solely by the mood of his heart, full of love for them; his lips spoke from the abundance of his heart. 6:12–13. We, he says, embrace you with our wide love, we love you all, but you do not love us so widely; at least there are some among you in whose hearts there is no spacious place for me. Just as I love you all widely, so you all, and each one of you, will love me with complete love. After all, you are my spiritual children; what children do not love their father? And at the same time, how hard is it for children to love him? But why does St. Paul ask the Corinthians to love him completely? In order to attract their full attention to his next decrees, with which his loving heart is filled and is ready to pour them through his lips into their soul. What are these decrees? 6:14–16. Probably, those persons about whom Saint Paul hinted in verse 12 that there was no spacious place in their hearts for him took part in idolatrous meals, and perhaps in some other everyday customs of paganism. In view of this, Saint Paul says: do not become yoked together with the unbelievers. And he explains why they shouldn’t do this: you are not a couple with them at all, but differ from them to the opposite. Firstly, from the moral side, “what is the relationship between righteousness and lawlessness”?! Just as righteousness is opposite to lawlessness, so are you, believers, to the pagans. He calls believers righteousness because their previous sins were washed away by baptism, and in order not to fall into new ones and live righteously, they received the grace of the Holy Spirit to strengthen their strength in fulfilling righteousness. He calls the pagans lawless because sin reigns in paganism from birth to death. Secondly, from the mental side, “what does light have in common with darkness”? Believers are light, according to the clarity of their religious knowledge. They know where they come from, why they are on earth, what awaits them beyond the grave and how to make their future life blissful. They know God, the Creator and Provider, the Savior and Comforter, they know how to enter into communication with Him and always remain in Him - which is the final goal of rational creatures. Knowing all this, they walk in the light. Pagans, on the contrary, do not know anything like this, the most essential questions for them remain unresolved, and they live like random people, unable to give themselves an account of where they are going and how their path will end. The thick darkness of ignorance covers them. How, he says, can you, the light, get into the same yoke with them, the darkness? Thirdly, on the part of the representatives, “what agreement is there between Christ and Belial”? Christ the Lord is the Head of Christians, they put on Him, being baptized and receiving grace, and are then transformed into His image through the labors of their whole lives, so that they become one with Him here, and in another life they are worthy to be where He is, in indescribably blessed glory. Belial is Satan, the first to enter into the fight against God in the spirit of pride, then he taught his ancestors not to obey God, promising them deity and depriving them of everything, then he deceives all people, dragging them into deeds of self-indulgence, contrary to conscience and God. He has no real power over anyone or anything, but falsely calls himself a king, because people, seduced by his ghosts, rush to self-indulgence and serve him through him. The goal of all his efforts is to create more people who perish, solely due to hostility to the truth and God. So, he says, is it fitting for you, Christians, to be yoked together with the servants of Satan, the enemy of Christ? Fourthly, from the point of view of the beginning of life and the end of it, “what is the complicity of the faithful with the unfaithful”? The faithful, having believed in the Lord the Savior, knows what he needs to do here and what awaits him in the future life. Such is his honor. The unfaithful person, neither in this nor in the future life, does not know his fate at all, and when death comes, he is struck with frenzied fear. This is the fate of the infidel! Is it possible to become a couple with him? Fifthly, from the side of the last goal of religion - communion with God, “what is the compatibility of the church of God with idols”? The soul that has accepted God, in communion with Him, becomes the church of God. Believers, through communion with the Lord Christ, also enter into communion with God and also become the church of God, not all together, but each believer in particular; for, says the apostle, you are churches (in the Slavic “churches”), and not the Church of the Living God. This leads to such an incongruity: bringing something pagan into your soul, in which God dwells, is the same as bringing an idol into the temple of God. Since the most significant difference between the faithful and the unfaithful is true and living communication with the Living God, the holy Apostle primarily focuses on this, calling it prophecies and through them depicting it from different sides. The prophecies are given not literally, but according to their meaning, from different places. You, he says, are “the church of the Living God.” And that this is so, listen to what God promised Israel: “I will dwell in them and walk,” that is, I will dwell in these churches, and I will walk in them. “And I will be their God, and they will be My people” (cf. Lev. 26:12). I am their God, they are My people. This expresses communication on the part of God. But when people took this to heart, they began to have God as their God, and themselves as the people of God. This is communication from people. This is how it was in Israel, the type of the believers. But all this happened to them externally. True communion with God was accomplished by the Lord the Savior. First hypostatically in His Person, and then graciously - morally and in all believers. All believers, becoming one with the Lord, become truly and essentially one with God. This is how the Lord Himself prayed: “That they all may be one: as You Father are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us” (John 17:21). And this prayer is fulfilled by deed in every believer. It is the believer, being reborn by the grace of the Holy Spirit and becoming pure through the rejection of passions (especially self-indulgence), who then enriches himself with various virtues and through this becomes a decent church for God, who dwells in him and leads him along the paths of life, as the pillar of cloud led Israel in the wilderness. But again, with ancient Israel this happened externally, with the new one - internally, in souls and hearts. For the Lord says: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word: and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). 6:17. What did Israel have to do on their part to receive the favors God promised them? He had to not only come out from among the pagans, completely separate from them, but not even touch anything unclean that was defiled by pagan idolatry. What ancient Israel had to do externally, the new one must do internally. In his soul and heart, he must renounce self-indulgence, like idolatry, get out of the midst of his passions and not touch, completely renounce, all impurity, both physical - fornication, adultery and all carnal knowledge, and spiritual - unclean thoughts, voluptuous glances, rancor, deception and the like, which the Lord Himself expressed with the words: “if ... he wants to walk after Me, yes.” he will deny himself” (Matthew 16:24), and the apostle: “who are Christ’s, having crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts” (Gal.5:24). And for fulfilling this condition of communication with God, a great reward is promised: “and I will accept you,” you will become Mine; I will accept you both into My protection and into My kinship. 6:18. So it was with ancient Israel that the Lord, faithful to His covenants, was like a Father to children, speaking in reproach to the faulty ones among them: “They begot sons and raised them up, but they rejected Me” (Is. 1:2). And the new Israel - the believers - is also given sonship, for it is said: “The little ones... received Him (the Lord the Savior with faith and love), and gave them the right to become children of God, who believe in His name, who were not born of blood, nor of the lust of the flesh, nor of the lust of men, but were born of God" (John 1:12-13). This is the entry of every believer into Christianity, that he is born again by water and the Spirit, and at the moment of this birth he becomes a son or daughter of God. So what? 1 Therefore, beloved, having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Accommodate us. We did not offend anyone, we did not harm anyone, we did not seek gain from anyone. 3 I do not say this to condemn 85; for I said before that you are in our hearts, so that we can die and live together. 4 I have much hope in you, I boast much in you; I am filled with consolation, overflowing with joy, despite all our sorrow. 5 For when we came to Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were oppressed on every side: from without - attacks, from within - fears. 6 But God, who comforts the humble, comforted us with the arrival of Titus, 7 and not only by his arrival, but also by the consolation with which he consoled himself for you, telling us about your zeal, about your crying, about your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. 8 Therefore, if I grieved you with the message, I do not regret it, although I did regret it; for I see that that message saddened you, but only for a while. 9 Now I rejoice, not because you were sad, but because you were saddened to repentance; for they grieved for God's sake, so that they suffered no harm from us. 10 For Godly sorrow produces unfailing repentance leading to salvation, but worldly sorrow produces death. 11 For the very fact that you were grieved for God’s sake, see what zeal has produced in you, what apologies, what indignation at the guilty, what fear, what desire, what jealousy, what retribution! By all accounts, you have shown yourself to be clean in this matter. 12 So, if I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender and not for the sake of the offender, but so that our care for you before God would be revealed to you. 13 Therefore we have been comforted by your consolation; and we are even more delighted with the joy of Titus that you all calmed his spirit. 14 So I was not left in shame if I boasted of anything about you before him, but just as we told you everything that was true, so before Titus our boasting turned out to be true; 15 And his heart is greatly disposed towards you, in remembrance of the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. 16 Therefore I rejoice that I can rely on you in everything. 7:1. Having such promises, that is, that we have become churches for God, His children, and have Him as our God and Father, we must “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,” both from carnal sins and from spiritual sinful thoughts, feelings and dispositions, and the root sin - self-indulgence. To cleanse yourself of them means, firstly, to repent of all your previous deeds and, secondly, to no longer allow yourself not only unclean deeds, but also thoughts and even any unkind movements within, and most of all, self-indulgence, from which everything unclean is born and supported. By cleansing ourselves in this way, both physically and spiritually, we will create purity in ourselves, as a shrine in the fear of God, because the fear of God is a necessary condition for cleansing ourselves from sinful impurity. First of all, it awakens the conscience, imparting its irresistible power to the voice, and with it gives birth to energy for the organization of salvation, which arouses repentance and determination to cleanse itself from the impurity of the flesh and spirit, then, after receiving the grace-filled power from the Spirit of God in the Sacraments, it accomplishes the cleansing itself. The fear of God, having laid the foundation for purification, remains throughout the entire period of purification as a vigilant guard during work. “Great is the power of lust, but if you protect yourself with the fear of God, you will overcome its fury” (Chrysostom). Section three. Expression of joy and comfort brought by the return of Titus with good news from Corinth (7:2–16) The apostle expresses confidence in the Corinthians and speaks of his joy and comfort at the return of Titus regarding what he had seen and met in Corinth. 7:2. St. Paul had earlier (6:12-13) rebuked some of the Corinthians for not loving him as he loved them. Now again, hinting at them, he asks them to accept him more cordially, with an open soul, so that he will not be cramped in their hearts. You, he says, willingly accept those who offend you, corrupt your minds with lies, set a bad example for you, profit from you and insult you with their arrogance (Chrysostom). “We, he says, lived with you for a year and a half, and didn’t do anything like that. 7:3. Saint Paul softens what was said earlier and says: do not be afraid, I am not calling down punishment from heaven on you - I love you so much that I cannot live without you and do not wish you anything but good, so if it were possible, I would happily settle among you and end the rest of my days among you. 7:4. And how, he says, can I not rejoice and love you? Titus brought me the most comforting and encouraging news about you. Now I see that I can rely on you in everything. You showed that you treat me like students treat a teacher, like children treat a father. You have given me many reasons to praise you and boast about you. I was grieving, but as soon as Titus came and told about you, the sorrow went away and I was comforted again. His grief was very strong from both external and internal reasons. 7:5. Both in Troas (see 2 Cor. 2:2-13), and in Macedonia, I never found peace for myself either in spirit or in body; everywhere and on all sides I was surrounded by sorrows: on the outside - attacks from unbelievers, and inside - in my heart, fear for the believers, lest they be carried away into error, which happened not just among the Corinthians, but also among others. 7:6. His sorrows and anxiety, as said above, began because Titus delayed his return. And the beginning of consolation is placed in the arrival of Titus. Before he told anything about you, I was already, he says, comforted by his mere arrival. From his long wait, Saint Paul seemed to despair of ever seeing Titus, so he considered his arrival as a message from heaven. That’s why he says: “God, who comforts the humble (that is, those who are humble and crushed by grief and sorrow), comforted us with the arrival of Titus.” But he was even more comforted by what Titus brought him. 7:7. Saint Paul was also pleased by how Titus himself was delighted by the Corinthians and his joyful news about them. What joyful news did Titus bring to Saint Paul from Corinth? - The Corinthians have a warm disposition towards the apostle, they painfully lament and mourn that they have bothered him so much with their faults, their determination to zealously correct everything that is faulty - to do everything according to his instructions, to drive out the incestuous one and silence the detractors of St. Paul; All this news, he says, made me even more happy. How is this possible? The Corinthians cry because they are insulted, but those who insulted them rejoice? 7:8. St. Paul explains why he rejoices. For he says, although I insulted and saddened you in my letter with what was said in the first letter, I do not repent of this, although I repented until Titus came; I do not repent, seeing in the words of Titus what good fruit it brought you, for your sorrow was brief, but the benefit came out everlasting (Chrysostom). Why continues: 7:9. Not only do I not repent, but on the contrary, I rejoice - and not because you are saddened, but because you were saddened to repentance, accused yourself, admitted that you were worth such reproaches, repented of your guilt and decided to correct yourself, remembering the Judgment of God, and thus received only benefit from our strict reproof. 7:10. I, says the apostle, now do not repent of having upset you in my message, for the fruit of your grief was your sorrow for God (Chrysostom), which produces salvation. How? Sadness for God is sorrow and painful contrition of the heart, when, when thinking about God and their relationship to Him, they recognize themselves as unrequitedly guilty before Him. Such consciousness gives rise to the fear of judgment and condemnation, from which there is no other way out except heartfelt repentance with a firm determination to live according to the will of God. He who grieves over Bose resorts to this and thus enters the path of salvation. But only “unchangeable repentance” (in Slavic “unrepentant”) leads to it, with a firm determination not to return to the old path - sinful; no one repents of such repentance, because they immediately see its good fruits. This is not at all like worldly sadness over the loss of any earthly, worldly goods. This grief only kills with grief and amazes with joylessness, without bringing any benefit. Saint Paul cites the Corinthians themselves as an example of the saving power of grief for God. 7:11. For your sorrow for God, he says, look how it has made you concerned about yourself - about appearing correct in everything before God with your conscience and before the holy Apostle. And here are the signs of such concern: an apology before me (expressed, perhaps, before Titus and conveyed by him to the Apostle), and indignation at the sinner, and fear before God, and perhaps before St. Paul, and the desire for me - they loved me more ardently than before, and zeal for God, and retribution (in the glory of “vengeance”), when they armed themselves with indignation against those who sinned. “In everything, you have shown yourself to be pure in this matter,” that is, not only by the fact that you yourself did not commit the same crime, but also by the fact that you did not condone the one who committed it (Chrysostom). 7:12. Hearing about the incestuous man, Saint Paul sternly denounced the Corinthians for tolerating such a sinner in their midst, warning them that “a little leaven leavens all mixtures” (cf. 1 Cor. 5:6). He wrote so strictly to them, not because he exclusively had in mind the offended - criminal son, or the offended - his father, but, mainly, for the entire Corinthian Church, so that one after another, others would not become infected with the same evil, for “little kvass leavens all mixtures.” He said this when he did not know about their correction. Now he says the same thing, but only in softer terms. I wrote to you then so strictly so that you could see how much I love you. Since I love you very much, I was afraid that you would not suffer harm from this tempting example, and that you would not be forced to grieve for yourself (Chrysostom). Now you have repented, which greatly consoled both me and Titus. 7:13. For the sake of the consolation that you brought to us by your correction of everything that I noticed in you, we consoled ourselves with Titus. But you brought us even more consolation by the fact that with your spiritual behavior you calmed the spirit of Titus sent to you. 7:14. Thus, St. Paul was not deceived about the Corinthians when he spoke good things about them to Titus. His praise, like everything he proclaimed to them, turned out to be true. And Titus himself was very pleased with them. 7:15. Titus remembers them with love, their obedience to the word of the apostle and, probably, to him; he remembers with love how they received him there, with great honor, as the messenger of the apostle (Chrysostom). 7:16. So, the behavior of the Corinthians delighted Saint Paul and instilled confidence in his heart that he could rely on them in everything, as faithful to him and his teaching. Part two – practical (8:1–9:15) Saint Paul, having established good relations with the Corinthians, exhorted them to show him obedience and love, inviting them to collect alms for the poor Jerusalem brothers. Saint Paul already wrote to them about alms in his first letter (see 1 Cor. 16:1-3). Titus also contributed greatly to the organization of this matter in Corinth, while he was there. The Corinthians, although they were wealthier than many others, were apparently not particularly inclined to give alms to others. Therefore, St. Paul again speaks of the collection of alms among them, encouraging them to do so first by the example of the Macedonians, who were merciful even beyond measure, then by indicating other motives for the generous collection of alms, namely, that alms replenish their virtues, that they have already begun to collect it, and finally, that it is not excessive what is required, but who can do what (8:1-15). Then he reminds him of his order to send Titus and the other two brothers to them so that when he comes to them with the Macedonians, they would have everything ready (8:16–9:5). Finally, he again inspires them to generous and voluntary giving with the promise of God’s blessing and hence the glory of our confession (9:6-15). Section one. Incentives for Charity in Various Examples (8:1–15) I. Motivation by the example of the Macedonians (8:1-6) 1 We inform you, brothers, of the grace of God given to the churches of Macedonia, 2 For in the midst of great trial and tribulation they abound in joy; and their deep poverty abounds in the wealth of their hospitality. 3 For they are willing according to their strength and beyond their strength—I am a witness: 4 they very earnestly asked us to accept the gift and their participation in the service of the saints; 5 and not only what we hoped for, but they gave themselves first to the Lord, then to us according to the will of God; 6 Therefore we asked Titus that he, just as he began, would also complete this good work with you. 7 And just as you abound in everything: in faith and in word, and in knowledge, and in all zeal, and in your love for us, so do you abound in this virtue. 8 I say this not as a command, but through the diligence of others I test the sincerity of your love. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that through His poverty you might become rich. 10 I give advice on this: for it is profitable for you, who not only began to do this, but have also desired it since the past year. 11 Now do the work itself, so that what you have earnestly desired may be fulfilled in abundance. 12 For if there is zeal, it is accepted according to who has what, and not according to what he does not have. 13 It is not required that there should be relief for others and heaviness for you, but that there should be evenness. 14 Now your abundance is to make up for their lack; and then their excess to make up for your lack, so that there is uniformity, 15 As it is written: He who gathered much had nothing to spare; and whoever had little had no lack. 16 Thanks be to God, who has placed such zeal for you in Titus’s heart. 17 For although I asked him, he, being very diligent, went to you voluntarily. 18 We also sent with him a brother who was praised in all the churches for his gospel, 19 and, moreover, chosen 86 from the churches to accompany us for this good work, which we serve for the glory of the Lord Himself and in accordance with your zeal, 20 being careful lest we should be reproached by anyone with such an abundance of offerings entrusted to our service; 21 For we strive to do good, not only before the Lord, but also before men. 22 We also sent with them our brother, whose zeal we have tested many times in many ways, and who is now even more zealous because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my companion and fellow worker with you; and as for our brothers, these are the messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 Therefore, before the churches, give them proof of your love and that we justly boast about you. 8:1. I cannot, he says, keep silent about what is happening in the Macedonian Churches (meaning not only Philippi, but Thessaloniki and Veria) before my eyes. This is truly the grace of God! What is this? 8:2. Macedonian Christians experience many sorrows, and yet they rejoice, and even in abundance, so that joy covers their sorrow, and the latter is not visible because of the first. Who would not consider this a wondrous act of God’s grace? Further, they are extremely poor, in the very depths of poverty, and yet they are so merciful and generous that this is a rarity even for the rich. Undoubtedly, this is also an action of God’s grace, for to be merciful is a gift from God, as is to perform healings (Chrysostom). 8:3. I myself am a witness - an eyewitness that their zeal exceeded their strength and means, and not as a result of our admonition, but on their own, voluntarily. That's what they did. 8:4. They very convincingly and humbly asked us to accept their alms, as if afraid that, due to their poverty, we would refuse to accept it. They really wanted to take part with their alms in the ministry - helping the poor Christians of the Jerusalem Church. 8:5. The Holy Apostle seems to be saying that with their alms they exceeded our expectations, they gave more than they kept for themselves. What about yourself? As the Lord pleased, they surrendered themselves to Him. They did not partly submit to God, serving another part to the world, but they gave themselves up entirely to Him alone (Chrysostom): first to the Lord, and for the Lord’s sake to us, as His servants, according to the will of God. 8:6. The Apostle seems to say this to the Corinthians: the collection of alms is also carried out among you; imitate the Macedonians in this matter. You yourself, of course, can arrange all this well, but since Titus has already begun this work with you, I am sending him to you so that he can finish it and you will not be inferior to the Macedonians in this matter. II. Other, closer to the Corinthians, motivations for generous almsgiving (8:7–15) A) Despite other good qualities, they should not lag behind other Christians in this virtue (8:7-9) 8:7. The Corinthians, as can be seen from the praise of St. Paul, were distinguished by faith, that is, by the gifts of faith - the word of wisdom, knowledge (in the glory of "reason") of dogmas, and all zeal - zeal for other virtues, and "your love for us", which he already spoke about earlier. All these virtues are theoretical. But their active side was weaker than this, as can be concluded from the content of the First Epistle. Meanwhile, Christianity is primarily a matter. His theory is short, it can be summarized in a few words, but the matter has no end; and not a single step in it can be taken not by deeds, but by reflection alone. That is why the apostle makes such an effort to win the Corinthians over to almsgiving, because it is the closest expression of love for neighbors, which also testifies to love for God. Therefore, he exhorts them to abound - to abound in this virtue. 8:8. To give alms is a commandment, or law. But how and how much cannot be expressed in letters, so what follows is provided according to the will of each, his methods and prudence. Therefore, Saint Paul says: I am not writing a command, but I am presenting to you an opportunity to prove by deed the sincerity - the genuineness of your love, for which purpose I point out to you and to encourage you to do this in the example of others, so that your zeal for the same virtue and love for God and people will be revived with greater force. 8:9. For our Lord Jesus Christ Himself showed in Himself an example of love of poverty. He, God, diminished His glory, appeared in the flesh in order to enrich us with His spiritual wealth. He became poor, He says, for your sake, you too become poor for His sake, in order to enrich with your alms, or to help those in need, because what was done for His least brothers was done for Him (see Matt. 25:40). B) This is not a new matter for them, they have already started, all that remains is to finish (8:10–11) 8:10. Try to become like the Lord. However, I do not force you, I do not demand against your will, but I say this, meaning not so much the benefit of those receiving, but your own (Chrysostom). Moreover, it is easy for you to complete this task: since last year you have not only expressed a desire to collect alms for the poor, but have also begun to collect it. All that's left to do is finish. 8:11. You started this work with zeal, with the same zeal and finish it now, do not make the excuse that “we ourselves are in need,” donate each according to your income, as much as you can. This St. Paul develops further in more detail. C) Not excessive what is required, but who can do what (8:12–15). 8:12. Saint Paul praised the Macedonians for being generous beyond their strength. But the Corinthians were still weak for such zeal, so St. Paul advises them to sacrifice as much as anyone can, as long as there is zeal, shown even in a small sacrifice. 8:13–14. The Apostle writes here the law of truth, not love, for love has no boundaries. She not only lays down all of her own, but also lays down her life for others. But such manifestations of love are not included in a number of duties, because in reality this is impossible to fulfill. Only the Holy Spirit, pouring such love into the heart, gives the strength to put it into practice. The general order is to do only what is possible; if you have an excess, share it with those who have not, and there will be an equation for both. If this rule also became the law of life among us, then poverty would have long ago disappeared from among Christians. But, unfortunately, the existing surplus is not recognized by many as surplus, and therefore giving it to the poor is considered a deprivation for oneself - one’s need. To eliminate this, Saint Paul seems to say this: it is not for nothing that you share your abundance with the poor, he will pay you for it with what you do not have. What? If not physical benefits, then spiritual ones, for example, prayer to God for you (Chrysostom). “For it is not said because of the high value or low value of what is given and what is received mutually: “so that there is equality,” but because whatever you have in abundance, you give to them from it. And on the contrary, whatever they have in abundance, they give to you. And again, what you lack, you receive from them, and what they lack, they receive from you” (Theophylact). 8:15. “This is what happened when the manna was collected. Everyone was ordered to collect it equally, but some collected more, others less; but they found both in equal measure. God himself punished gluttony” (Chrysostom). So it is here. Give the excess to the needy, and both will get the same amount, that is, as much as each needs. Section two. The apostle's order to send Titus to Corinth with the other two brothers (8:16–9:5) So that there would be no delay in collecting alms, Saint Paul decided to send Titus with two brothers for this purpose. Notifying the Corinthians about this, he considered it necessary to recommend the messengers, entrusting them to the attention and guardianship of the Corinthians (8:16-24), and then indicates why he ordered this (9:1-5). I. Who are sent (8:16–24) Titus on behalf of the Apostle, and another brother from the Church of Jerusalem, and another from the Churches of Macedonia. 8:16. “They give much more generously when they are confident in the honesty of the employee and do not suspect the recipient of alms” (Chrysostom). Therefore, the apostle, sending three brothers to the Corinthians to collect alms, assures them of their honesty. Behold, he says, Titus has the same zeal for you as I myself. And this zeal was placed in his heart by God. This, therefore, can be completely relied upon. 8:17. Titus is so zealous and so disposed towards you that although I asked him to go to you, he would have gone to you of his own free will. 8:18. With Titus, Saint Paul sends another brother to collect alms. He is known throughout all the Churches for his commendable service to the cause of evangelistic preaching and was ordained to serve the Church as an steward. 8:19. And not only what I said is worthy of attention and respect in him, but also the fact that he was chosen from the Churches - ordained, chosen by a general verdict and assigned to a certain task by the laying on of hands. For what purpose? “To accompany us for this benefit,” that is, he was chosen to serve in collecting alms. We begged, he says, to be elected and sent with us, entrusting him with the post of steward of church property and deacon. And he was elected by the Churches by the consent of all the people (Chrysostom). Father interpreters believe that this brother was a trusted representative of the Palestinian Churches and from the very beginning of St. Paul’s apostolic activity was his companion. I am sending such a brother of proven honesty to you, “so that God may be glorified, and you will become more diligent in giving alms, when those who accept these alms will be proven people, so that no one can have any, even false, suspicion against them” (Chrysostom). 8:20. The Apostle diligently took care of collecting alms, but he kept himself away from the collection, which went into the hands of the said trusted steward. And so that suspicion would not fall on him, Saint Paul sometimes ordered someone from the local Church, in which a significant collection had been made, to take alms to Jerusalem with him, as he had previously written to the Corinthians (see 1 Cor. 16:3). His goal in these orders was to protect the holy cause of alms from any criticism, especially when the alms were significant, and to spread confidence that what was given undoubtedly went straight to the needy, as if into his own hands. 8:21. For we try, he says, to do good not only so that it is pure and perfect before God and our conscience, but also so that others see it that way, however, not for praise, but let us not seduce our brother. Tempting others to foolishly do good deeds greatly reduces the value of those deeds. You can’t say that my conscience is clear, let those who like to suspect think as they please. This reflects a cruel heart that does not want to pay any attention to the weaknesses of the weak, a proud heart that despises others. There are circumstances when you have to act this way, but not always. In the ordinary course of affairs, it is necessary to spare the conscience of the weak, for this also applies to the circle of deeds by which the rule is fulfilled - “bear the infirmities of the weak and not please yourself” (Rom. 15:1). Adhering to this law, Saint Paul himself acted in the same way. “He avoided not only accusations, but also bad opinions, the slightest reproach and empty suspicion” (Chrysostom). 8:22. For the same purpose and for the same purpose, Saint Paul sends a third brother from the Macedonian Church to Corinth. He says about him: he is a jealous husband, I have experienced his zeal and jealousy in many matters and many cases, in many ways - many times. I have always known him to be careful and now I am sending him to you in full confidence that with you he will fulfill the assignment entrusted to him in the best possible way. He values ​​you highly and relies on you for everything. 8:23. So, these are the persons St. Paul sends to the Corinthians: Titus, his comrade and collaborator in the work of evangelism, and brothers, ambassadors of the Churches and the glory of Christ, who do everything not for themselves, but for the glory of Christ. Such an embassy deserves to be received with due honor by the Corinthians. 8:24. Show, he says, your Christian love for them and thereby prove that we did not praise you falsely. By showing love for them, you will show love and respect for those Churches on whose behalf they are sent. 1 However, it is unnecessary for me to write to you about helping the saints, 2 For I know your zeal, and I boast of you before the Macedonians, that Achaia has been prepared since the past year; and your zeal has encouraged many. 3 But I sent the brothers so that my praise of you would not be in vain in this case, but so that you, as I said, would be prepared, 4 And so that when the Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we will not remain in shame - I do not say “you” - having boasted with such confidence. 5 Therefore, I considered it necessary to ask the brothers to go to you in advance and take care in advance, so that your blessing, already announced, would be ready as a blessing, and not as a tax. 6 Moreover I will say: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Let each one give according to the purpose of his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion; For God loves a cheerful giver. 8 Now God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that you, always having all sufficiency in everything, may abound in every good work, 9 As it is written: He spent it, gave it to the poor; his truth endures forever. 10 But he who gives seed to the sower and bread for food will provide abundance for what you sow and will multiply the fruits of your righteousness, 11 so that you may abound in all manner of generosity, which through us produces thanksgiving to God. 12 For the work of this ministry not only fills the poverty of the saints, but also produces abundant thanksgiving to God in many; 13 For, seeing the experience of this service, they glorify God for your obedience to the gospel of Christ that you profess and for your sincere communication with them and with everyone, 14 praying for you, according to his will toward you, for the grace of God abounding in you. 15 Thanks be to God for His ineffable gift! II. Why did the apostle send Titus and other brothers to the Corinthians for alms (9:1-5) So that the Corinthians would have everything ready for his arrival there, so that he would not be ashamed before the Macedonians for their unpreparedness. 9:1. Sending envoys to the Corinthians, Saint Paul asks to receive them with love, and how they should conduct the work of serving the saints, how to collect alms and for whom - he says about this that it is now unnecessary to write, for a lot has already been said about this before, and you know it yourself. 9:2. I know your zeal, I boasted about it before the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you have been preparing alms for the saints of Jerusalem. By this I encouraged many Macedonians to compete with you. See, as if he were telling them, support my praise of you. 9:3–4. I boasted to the Macedonians that you have collected alms since last year, and so that my praise of you would not be in vain and so that we would not remain ashamed of you before the Macedonians when they come to you with me and find that you have not yet collected alms, I decided to send brothers to you before my arrival so that they would collect alms from you in the meantime. 9:5. That is why I considered it necessary to ask the brothers to go ahead to you, before me, and to prepare in advance what had already been announced - what you had planned and said to me, and I and others retold, “your blessing,” which you willingly and well-wishing decided to collect for those in need, so that by my arrival everything would be ready for you. At the end he adds that this alms should be welcoming, “as a blessing, and not as a tax.” “For almsgiving is a blessing, it is done with good will, and it brings blessing from above. If it is served with coercion and ill will, then it already becomes covetousness, miserliness, and not a blessing” (Chrysostom). Section three. Exhortations to give generously, willingly, and cheerfully (9:6–15) St. Paul says that to the extent of our willing giving and generosity, there is also God’s blessing from above to the giver (9:6-11), and that with such benevolent generosity all religious life among Christian societies is aroused, which is why it constitutes the glory of the Church or those who believe in Christ, the glory of the Christian confession (9:12-15). I. In proportion to voluntary generosity comes God's blessing (9:6–11) 9:6. Having said that almsgiving should be a blessing and not a coercion, St. Paul now explains why it should be a blessing. He compares almsgiving to sowing and says that whoever sows sparingly, a few seeds, will gather them sparingly, and will gather them sparingly, and whoever sows them generously will gather them a lot. So in the distribution of alms, whoever gives generously and kindly will receive abundant fruit - God's blessing, and whoever gives sparingly and without goodwill will receive meager fruit from God. 9:7. Let, he says, everyone give alms as much as his heart is inclined to. What is not given according to this measure will be fruitless. What kills alms is restraint of the heart and indifference when giving alms, when alms are given with grief - when they give, but in their hearts they regret giving, or with compulsion - either by the need for obedience, or by the community of the matter, or by some other external reasons. Such alms are not pleasing to God, who, according to the testimony of Scripture, loves a willing giver (see Proverbs 22:9). 9:8. Many are afraid to give alms generously under the pretext of not becoming poor themselves and asking for alms from others. To dispel this fear, Saint Paul adds a prayer in which he asks God to enrich them with grace, so that even with the generous distribution of alms, they will have contentment in everything, so that they will give to others, do good, and not only this one thing, but also everything else. Saint Paul confirms his thought with the testimony of Scripture. 9:9. And Scripture, he says, testifies that whoever generously gives alms to the poor will receive from God a reward for his truth - love for mankind, if not here, then in the eternal Kingdom (see Ps. 112:9), “for love for mankind makes people righteous and, like fire, destroys the sins of people when it is poured out abundantly” (Chrysostom). 9:10. So that the Corinthians, in order to acquire the truth of God, would have something to generously give alms from, Saint Paul prays to God, who supplies seeds for sowing and bread for food, that He would supply and multiply the seed they sow in the fields, and grow it abundantly, but not for carnal pleasure, but for the alms of the poor, as the fruit of truth - love of mankind, which he further expresses. 9:11. He prays to God to enrich the Corinthians with everything, but not so that they spend what God has given them for their own pleasure, but for all generosity and charity to the poor. Receiving benefits from them, the poor will give thanks to God both for giving them prosperity and for inspiring them through St. Paul to make good use of it. II. Voluntary generosity stimulates the whole Christian life and serves to the glory of the Christian profession (9:12–15) 9:12. The collection of alms to the poor, organized by the Apostle, is a work of service, just as a liturgical work is a divine service. It aims not only to help poor Christians, but also to evoke in many “abundant thanksgiving to God,” who awakens the hearts of people to mercy. And not only thanksgiving, but also glorification of Him. 9:13. From gratitude to God for works of mercy, those who received alms move on to glorifying Him for the fact that He gave victorious power to the Gospel of Christ and imparted such benefit to its action for everyone. Thus, seeing the experience of serving the poor and experiencing how pleasant and joyful it is for them, the poor thank God for this and begin to glorify Him. For what? Firstly, because He subjugated you (the benefactors) to the Gospel and disposed you to confess the faith of Christ. Secondly, because the Gospel was not accepted dead, but had a beneficial effect. In the fallen, selfish principles reign everywhere. The Gospel, settling in the hearts, drives out selfishness and establishes selflessness in everything, for everyone. This, the poor saints say, we see in your simplicity of communication not only with us, but with everyone, in the fact that you are generously ready to share with everyone everything that God sent to you yourself. This is the glory of the Gospel, the glory of Christianity. No faith gives this. This mood is given by the grace of the Holy Spirit, which itself is given by faith in Jesus. Seeing this, even non-believers begin to marvel at the power of the Gospel. And so they glorify Him, who has chosen you as an instrument for glorifying the power of our confession. And they not only praise God, but also pray to God for you. 9:14. They not only thank and glorify God, but also pray for you, loving you for God’s mercy generously poured out on you. 9:15. In conclusion, as if surveying the gifts of God’s mercy shown in the work of our salvation, Saint Paul expresses gratitude to Him. Part three – protective (10:1–13:10) The false apostles, adherents of the “party of Peter,” had some influence over the Corinthian Christians, probably Jews, and spread false rumors about St. Paul. When these slander did not harm the cause of the gospel and firmness in the faith of those who believed, Saint Paul did not pay attention to them. But when harm came from this, he considered it his duty to cleanse himself and his affairs from all criticism. There were many detractors of him among the Corinthian Christians, but the majority of them revered St. Paul. Until now he had addressed his speech to these admirers of his, and his speech was lively, warm and supportive. Now he begins to speak against the critics, and it becomes strict and bears the stamp of apostolic authority. Saint Paul was not visible in body and was in poor health. His speech during personal evangelism was distinguished by weakness (of sound) and meek persuasiveness. And in the letter, when he wrote to the believers, his word was strict and authoritative. His opponents took this difference as the starting point for censure of the apostle. They said: “In person he is modest, but in absentia he is courageous; in his messages he is strict and strong, but in his personal presence he is weak, and his speech is insignificant” (cf. 2 Cor. 10: 1-10). This would be nothing, but something was inserted into the explanation of such a difference, why others could consider Saint Paul to walk according to the flesh, and this could no longer be ignored. The apostle's answer is short: I, he says, am the same in person as I am in writing - strict when need demands; The title of apostle, entrusted to me from above, authorizes me to do this. Therefore, I pray to you in advance, do not force me to use this severity, correct yourself, because if, when I come, I find you faulty, I will not spare you. There are three points in the apostolic defense: I am as strict in person as in writing (10:1-11); my apostolic title authorizes me to do this (10:12–12:18); When I come, I will not spare you (12:19–13:10). Section one. “I am as strict in person as I am in writing” (10:1–11) Having cited these speeches about himself, as if he is personally humble, but in his absence he is strict, and hinting that no matter how those who say this had to experience the opposite of this, the holy apostle explains that it is impossible to judge him by his appearance, for his power is not external, but spiritual, strong by God. Armed with this same power, I can, he says, appear among you as strict as I am in the message. 1 But I, Paul, who is modest among you personally, but bold against you in absentia, convince you by the meekness and forbearance of Christ. 2 I ask that when I come, I will not resort to that strong boldness that I think I will use against some who think about us that we walk according to the flesh. 3 For although we walk in the flesh, we do not fight according to the flesh. 4 The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds: with them we overthrow the plans 5 and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and we bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, 6 and are ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is complete. 7 Do you look at personality? Whoever is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, judge for himself that just as he is Christ’s, so we are Christ’s. 8 For if I had boasted more of our power, which the Lord has given us for our building up, and not for your destruction, I would not have remained in shame. 9 However, let it not seem that I am frightening you only with messages. 10 Since someone says: in messages he is strict and strong, but in personal presence he is weak, and his speech is insignificant - 11 Let such a one know that, as we are in words in letters in absentia, such are we in reality in person. 12 For we dare not compare or compare ourselves with those who put themselves forward: they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves to themselves foolishly. 13 But we will not boast without measure, but according to the portion that God has assigned to us, in such measure as to reach you. 14 For we do not strain ourselves as if we had not reached you, because we have also reached you through the gospel of Christ. 15 We do not boast excessively, not in the labors of others, but we hope, as your faith grows, to abundantly increase our inheritance in you, 16 so that you may continue to preach the Gospel, and not boast of being ready in someone else’s inheritance. 17 Let him who boasts boast in the Lord. 18 For he is not worthy who praises himself, but whom the Lord praises. 10:1. As for my ambassadors, he says, I told you everything. As for myself, I am forced to tell you this: my enemies say about me that I am personally modest, but in absentia, in my messages, I am bold to the point of insolence. I convince those who believed them by the example of Christ’s meekness and humility (see, for example, Matt. 11:29, 12:20), following whose example I try to act, not to lead me to act differently. 10:2. I ask you, do not force me to act in my personal presence with the courage that some among you attribute to me, who is absent, and from here they draw the conclusion that we act like people who walk according to the flesh, hypocritical and crafty, who flatter in person, curry favor, but in absentia act differently - more boldly. I am thinking of using this courage of mine personally against them. 10:3. For we, he says, although in human form and body, with human speech and powers, what we do, what we strive for and by what means we achieve it, is not all human. 10:4. In the fight against sin and the power of the devil, they do not use carnal weapons - not prudence, experience, the power of eloquence and persuasiveness, but spiritual ones - “mighty in God,” whose power acted through them to destroy all the strongholds, all the fortifications erected by Satan in order to strengthen his kingdom on earth, the kingdom of wickedness and idolatry. What are these strongholds? In thoughts, says the apostle. Both unbelief with wickedness, and sin with selfishness and passions build a fortress around themselves, made up of thoughts with which they think to justify both their way of thinking and their way of life. But the word of the apostolic preaching, with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit, penetrates the spirit, awakens the fear of God and conscience; and not a single thought can stand before them - they are overthrown. 10:5. And not only the thoughts on which unbelief and sin are based, he says, we cast down, but we also cast down every exaltation, every objection that the enemy placed in the minds of unbelievers “against the knowledge of God” - the truth of the Gospel proclaimed by the apostles. What are they deposing with? Subsequent signs (Mark 16:20), before which all objections fell by themselves. Thus, he punished the sorcerer Elim (see Acts 13:6–12). What did this lead to? To the liberation of the spirit from sinful captivity in obedience to Christ, to the acceptance of the faith of Christ and to the obligation to live by faith, according to His commandments. He is ready to use this weapon in Corinth. 10:6. When in Corinth the stubborn and disobedient stand out and are clearly identified from among others who are obedient to him, then he is ready to use his wonderful weapon against the first to punish them. 10:7. Do you only judge by appearances? They saw that I was not personable, that I was in poor health, that I spoke quietly, and they believed those slanderers that I meant nothing and due to the blessed order of affairs. Yes, if you only looked at me as a Christian, then you wouldn’t have to spread bad language about me. Everyone know that just as they call themselves Christ’s, so do I. And just as they, being Christ’s, try to act according to the Christian conscience, as servants of Christ, so let them judge me by themselves, that I also care to be faithful to Christ: to fulfill His will, to act for His glory in everything. But I am more than any Christian. 10:8. I have been entrusted by the Lord to organize the Churches, give laws for them and punish violators of these laws. This is my power. You can verify this for yourself, and I will not remain in shame. 10:9. I could, he says, boast of such power, but I will not do this, so that it does not seem that I am definitely frightening you only with messages. This makes it clear that he will actually show this power when needed. 10:10. His enemies said about him that his messages were strict - they pronounced strict judgment, imposed a heavy yoke, and were strong - authoritative, powerful. And when he himself is in front of us, neither power nor strength is visible in him, he does not burden anyone with anything, and his speech is humble, more begging than commanding. 10:11. But let such slanderers know that I personally am as strict in deed, when necessary, as I appear in my message - in word. Section two. “My apostolic title authorizes me to be strict” (10:12–12:18) In this large section, St. Paul defends his apostolic dignity. He speaks here of the portion assigned to him for preaching (10:12–18); about his selfless service (11:1–20); about the sorrows, hardships and suffering that accompany his preaching (11:21–32); about the rapture to the third heaven (12:1-10), miracles performed as signs of his apostleship in Corinth, and again with a reminder of selflessness (12:11-18). With such signs he proves the dignity of his apostolic ministry and his authority to act in whatever way is necessary. Throughout the entire section, the apostle seems to be praising himself, but at the same time he constantly makes a reservation: “be lenient with my foolishness” (11:1), “I will speak out of foolishness” (21), “I have reached the point of foolishness, boasting, you forced me” (12:11). It is true that circumstances required such a way of presenting the work of his apostleship. For he mentions not only the glorious things in his ministry, but also those things which pertain to his humility. I. The portion assigned to the Apostle Paul for his preaching (10:12–18) Probably his opponents boasted in Corinth that they were in charge here. St. Paul, as if in his own defense, says that he does not build on someone else's foundation. The Church in Corinth was founded by him, and other Churches were founded by him, at the direction of God, and in places where there were none at all. Therefore, in Corinth he is in his inheritance, while his opponents invaded someone else's area. 10:12. The opponents of Saint Paul in Corinth boasted that they were superior to him, that they had done more than him. Is it really so? - No. They measured themselves by themselves, by their idea and assessment of themselves, it is clear that then they seemed the best and most worthy in their own eyes and in the eyes of others like them. St. Paul says ironically that he does not dare compare himself with such self-praisers. His standard for assessing his activities is completely different - his deeds and God, who evaluates them. 10:13. For boasting of his power, the holy apostle has another solid basis and proof. This foundation, or the rule and measure for his activity and praise, is the fulfillment of the destiny assigned to him by the Lord, for his preaching among the pagans. He had already reached Corinth with his preaching, enlightening the nations on the way from Jerusalem here with the light of the teachings of Christ. 10:14. For we, he says, did not reach you boastfully or in words, but in fact we were with you and planted the faith of Christ among you. 10:15–16. Not like those false apostles, they delved into other people’s works and boasted beyond measure. We boast in ours to the extent that it is given to us to do the work. Faith has been planted in you, when it grows and is established in you, our inheritance will continue to spread, and we will continue to preach and work, and not be vain about what others have worked on (Chrysostom). 10:17. But, despite his such merits, Saint Paul does not assign praise and glory to himself, but to God, like the prophet Jeremiah (see Jeremiah 9:24), and expects praise from the Lord, who rewards it not to the one who praises himself, but to the one who glorifies the Lord with his deeds. 10:18. For, he says, it is not the skillful worker who praises himself, but the one whom God praises. How does He praise? He instructs those who rely on Him in everything to do praiseworthy deeds in the eyes of people who praise the performer, and he attributes this praise to God. II. On selflessness in preaching the Gospel (11:1–20) 1 Oh, if only you were somewhat lenient towards my folly! But you also condescend to me. 2 For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God; because I have betrothed you to one husband, in order to present you to Christ as a pure virgin. 3 But I am afraid, lest, just as the serpent deceived Eve with his cunning, so your minds may be corrupted, straying from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if someone came and preached another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or if you received another Spirit, which you did not receive, or another gospel, which you did not receive, you would be very lenient towards him. 5 But I think that I have nothing lacking against the chief apostles: 6 Although I am ignorant in speech, I am not ignorant in knowledge. However, we are completely known to you in everything. 7 Have I sinned in that I humbled myself in order to exalt you, because I preached to you the gospel of God freely? 8 I caused expenses to other churches, receiving from them support for serving you; and, being with you, although I suffered from lack, I did not bother anyone, 9 For my lack was supplied by the brethren who came from Macedonia; and in everything I tried and will try not to be a burden to you. 10 According to the truth of Christ in me, I will say that this praise will not be taken away from me in the countries of Achaia. 11 Why do I do this? Is it because I don't love you? God knows! But as I do, so I will do, 12 so as not to give opportunity to those who seek reason, so that whatever they boast about may be found to be the same as we are. 13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder: for Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light, 15 Therefore it is not a great thing if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness; but their end will be according to their works. 16 Again I will say: almost no one makes me foolish; and if not so, then accept me, although as unreasonable, so that I too can boast in some way. 17 What I say, I will say not in the Lord, but as if in foolishness, considering such courage to praise. 18 As many boast in the flesh, so will I boast. 19 For you men of understanding gladly tolerate foolish people: 20 You endure it when someone enslaves you, when someone devours you, when someone robs you, when someone is arrogant, when someone hits you in the face. 21 To my shame I say that we did not have enough strength for this. And if anyone dares to boast about anything, then (I will say foolishly) I dare too. 22 Are they Jews? and I. Israelis? and I. Abraham's seed? and I. 23 Servants of Christ? (in madness I say:) I am more. I was much more in labor, immensely wounded, more in prison, and many times near death. 24 Five times the Jews gave me forty stripes minus one; 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the depths of the sea; 26 I have been on journeys many times, in dangers on rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from fellow tribesmen, in dangers from pagans, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers among false brethren, 27 in labor and in exhaustion, in watching often, in hunger and thirst, in fasting often, in cold and nakedness. 28 In addition to extraneous adventures, I have a daily gathering of people, caring for all the churches. 29 Who is faint, and with whom would I not faint? Who is tempted, for whom would I not be inflamed? 30 If I should boast, I will boast in my weakness. 31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, blessed forever, knows that I do not lie. 32 In Damascus, the governor of King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus to capture me; and I was lowered from the window along the wall in a basket and escaped his hands. 11:1. It was difficult for Saint Paul to display his virtues before the Corinthians, which, he knew, belonged not to him, but to God, who gave them; He calls self-praise in general madness. But circumstances forced him to boast. The false apostles with their self-praise attracted many to their side; they could have attracted even more. Thus, the glory of the apostles, and at the same time God himself, was diminished in the eyes of people. That is why Saint Paul, forced by the foolishness of the Corinthians, boasts, in order to exalt the glory of God, boasts, firstly, of his external virtues, and secondly, of his internal - spiritual ones. But at the same time he says that you yourself forced me to boast about my merits, so be lenient towards me. 11:2. For your sake I intend to boast, for I am jealous of you for the false apostles and do not want you to belong to them, but to belong to God. I am jealous of you and do not want you to be carried away by any false teaching, but to follow the one truth proclaimed everywhere through us, for I have betrothed you to Christ. Just as during betrothal, the bride and groom promise to belong to each other, so in Christianity, those who have accepted the faith of Christ in baptism become engaged to Christ and promise to be faithful to Him, and from Him they receive, as if as a guarantee of future eternal bliss with Him, remission of sins and the grace of the Holy Spirit for a new, sinless life. You, who were converted by me to Christ, are betrothed to Him through me and have become a pure virgin in your soul - the bride of Christ. 11:3. I have betrothed you, I am also a surety for you before God, so that the enemy does not deceive your mind through false apostles, as he once deceived Eve through the serpent, and does not turn you away from the pure and simple faith with which you should abide in Christ the Lord. Such seducers should be avoided, and here's why. 11:4. You could accept them, be lenient towards them, only if they preached to you something new about Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. But they cannot tell you anything true more than what we preached to you. But while preaching the same thing, they can add to it some harmful teaching that will turn you away from the simplicity of the teaching of Christ. 11:5. If you would like to learn something more fully about Christ Jesus or receive something more abundantly from the Holy Spirit, then you should desire that not just any teachers come to you, but the supreme ones. But such a desire is unnecessary, because they would not teach you anything that was not taught by me, for I am no less than them. And I will not compare myself with those who come to you, and you should not do this. Against those who said about the apostle that he was not skilled in words, he says: 11:6. I do not deny that I am unskilled in words, but this does not in the least detract from the importance of apostleship, for it is not a matter of words, but of understanding the truth. God gave us this understanding from above, but He left us our natural word, and the truth comes from our mouths in its natural simplicity, as inspired by the Holy Spirit. However, he says, I don’t need to talk at length about what is in me and what is not. You yourself know this, because I acted openly among you (cf. 2 Cor. 1:12-13). 11:7. Would you blame me for the sin that I behaved very modestly among you and, while preaching the Gospel to you, did not receive the necessary food from you, as your false apostles do? But I did this for your own benefit, I humbled myself in material things and thereby removed from you every pretext for temptation about me, so that you would rise spiritually, receiving more edification (Chrysostom). 11:8. While with you, I suffered material shortcomings, but I did not bother any of you with my need. My service to you was completely selfless. My needs were met by other Churches, especially the Macedonian ones. 11:9. For the Macedonians, coming to Corinth and seeing that Saint Paul was suffering from shortcomings in everything, considered it the duty of their conscience and hearts to repeatedly (see Phil. 4:15–16) help him, although they themselves were not rich. But the Corinthians did not seem to think of doing this themselves, and Saint Paul decided not only not to bother them with his needs, but also not to be a burden to them at all. 11:10. Saint Paul attaches the significance of the truth of Christ to this decision of his - not to burden the Corinthians with anything. As Christ is true, so is what I say true, and this is my praise in the countries of Achaea. But he took from other Churches, for example Macedonian. Why did you decide not to take it in Achai? 11:11. The Corinthians, naturally, could have thought that Saint Paul did not love and does not love them, and therefore does not want to benefit from their contents. The Holy Apostle spoke before (see 2 Cor. 7:3), and now he says that he loves them, just as he says this before God. But the Holy Spirit, who guides him, wanted to inspire him not to use anything here, so he did and will do. But why did the Holy Spirit inspire him to do this? 11:12. The false apostles took every opportunity to present both St. Paul himself and his preaching in an unfavorable light, and thereby put obstacles in the way of the progress of the Gospel. The Holy Spirit knew that such people would appear in Corinth and present themselves to Saint Paul if he used the contents from the Corinthians. Therefore, in order not to give them a reason to boast before him of their hypocritical unselfishness, Saint Paul preached the Gospel unselfishly, so that the false apostles would turn out to be the same in this regard as he was, “no better than him” and would have nothing to boast about before him. 11:13. For the false apostles, in order to have success in their crafty activities, try to hypocritically imitate the true apostles of Christ. 11:14–15. And it is not surprising that the false apostles try to imitate the true apostles, the servants of truth, for Satan, whom they serve, himself tries to imitate the Divine in a ghostly manner to deceive people. He took the form of prophets, and takes the form of an Angel of Light. This is how his servants act. But this will end with their deeds being exposed and them receiving due punishment. 11:16. It is these false apostles, on the one hand, and the Corinthians themselves, with their unreasonable trust in the false apostles, on the other, that encourage St. Paul to boast of his visible merits before the Corinthians. It is reckless, he says, to boast, but do not think that I do this without reasonable grounds, not out of recklessness, but out of necessity. “Therefore, even if you didn’t believe it, even if you saw the need and would begin to condemn me for it, I will not renounce my cause. Do you see how you showed that there was a great need to speak?” (Chrysostom). The false apostles boast too much before you, and you listen to them to the detriment of the truth; in opposition to them, I too will boast a little, although this is unreasonable. “But it happens that someone speaks a word of foolishness, without being foolish and without thereby committing foolish deeds. He who speaks about himself, although great, but true and for the sake of spiritual benefit, is, on the contrary, very reasonable, and does the work characteristic of the most intelligent person, when for the sake of the benefit and salvation of others he does not look at the blasphemy for being foolish” (Ecumenius, Photius). 11:17. What praiseworthy things I will say about myself, I will say not in the Lord, that is, not according to His law, which forbids boasting about one’s own deeds (cf. Luke 17:10), but as if in this regard, being in foolishness, being forced to do so by you. 11:18. However, what does the holy apostle think he can boast about? Those carnal advantages that the false apostles who came to Corinth boasted about (v. 22). And in them, as he says, I have no lack against them. Although it is foolish to boast, I will boast. 11:19. Why does he want to boast unreasonably? Because the Corinthians, although considered reasonable people, willingly listen to the unreasonable praises of the false apostles, will listen to him. Is that just it? 11:20. And because the Corinthians allow themselves to listen to the flattering speeches of the false apostles, the latter enslave them to themselves, devour them, rob them, treat them with contempt and contempt, as if slapping them in the face. And the Corinthians tolerate such people, and yet they consider themselves wise. If we were truly wise, we would clearly see the difference between these false apostles and St. Paul, the true apostle. III. What did the apostle endure during his evangelistic labors (11:21–32) 11:21. If the prudent Corinthians, says St. Paul, as if ironically, see dignity in the fact that the false apostles enslave, devour, rob them, and magnify themselves over them, then St. Paul admits that he cannot boast of anything of the kind; he lacked the moral strength for all such things. But in everything that really constitutes the true dignity of the apostle, he can boldly boast before false teachers, although this, again, is unreasonable. In what way do false teachers have an advantage over him in the flesh? 11:22. Just as they belong to the Jewish people, descendants of Israel (Jacob) and Abraham, so do Saint Paul. But these are still differences that were given for nothing, in the order of natural birth. But let's see what they are like where it is necessary to show patience and firmness of faith? 11:23. If they say that they are servants of Christ, then I, he says, are greater than them; that is, I am a true servant of Christ, and they are self-proclaimed, and again it is stated that he is forced to boast about this. Saint Paul proves his true apostleship by his sufferings, which he endured for the name of Christ and the preaching of the Gospel. He undoubtedly worked more than they did in his apostolic ministry, and at the same time suffered many beatings to the point of wounds, endured bonds many times, and was in mortal danger many times. Next he points out the cases of his suffering. 11:24. Saint Paul received wounds from the Jews: five times, he says, I was given 39 blows. The law (see Deut. 25:3) was supposed to give the guilty no more than forty stripes, so as not to dishonor him. “Why, so that the one who beats in a passion does not give an extra number of blows and thereby dishonor the punished, they decided to give forty minus one, so that the one who beats does not exceed forty, even if he strikes one more time” (Chrysostom). 11:25. Then he suffered wounds from the pagans. They beat him three times with rods (see, for example, Acts 16:22), once they stoned him (see Acts 14:19). Then, while traveling by sea, he was shipwrecked three times; twice it ended safely, but the third time the ship was broken, and he rushed along the waves for a day, probably holding on to some fragment of the ship. 11:26. In addition, Saint Paul suffered disasters while traveling, suffered poverty, exhaustion and hunger, danger when crossing mountain rivers, danger from robbers lying in wait for travelers on the roads, especially in the mountains and gorges, danger from the Jews, who pursued him everywhere, and not only themselves, but also through the pagans. Neither cities nor deserts protected him from danger. In the cities, people caused him trouble, in the deserts - wild animals and reptiles, while sailing on ships, those sailing with him, even false Christians, armed themselves against him, some were hostile to him and dangerous. 11:27. The oppression from the outside was not enough for him; he also overworked himself with labor and exhaustion and night vigils (see, for example, Acts 20:7), suffered hunger and thirst both on the road and in prison. In addition, he imposed fasting on himself; in the cold he had nothing to cover himself with and keep warm. 11:28. Besides these external sufferings, how much internal troubles did he have, concerns about the structure and welfare of all the Churches he founded? For he is devoted to Christians with all his soul. 11:29. The misfortunes of Christians were also his misfortunes; he experienced them as his own. Their weaknesses in faith, or disorder - temptations, inflamed his zeal to correct them. 11:30. What is the dignity of an apostle? Apparently, everything that Saint Paul said about himself does not serve as praise to him, his dignity, but rather as condemnation, for everything testifies to his weaknesses. But what is weak in the eyes of men is strength in the hands of the Lord. So it is here. In the weaknesses of St. Paul, the power of God was manifested in abundance; he did not perish in disasters, on the contrary, through him the light of the teaching of reconciliation spread far in the world. That is why Saint Paul dares to boast about his weaknesses. If the Corinthians force him to praise themselves, then he will boast about his weaknesses - that in which the power of God was more clearly manifested in him, and in which it was more obvious that he was a true apostle. 11:31. I testify by God that everything I have said is true, that all the disasters I have endured relate to the praise of the glory of God and my apostolic dignity. The event in Damascus also refers to the manifestation of the power of God in his weakness. 11:32. This incident took place at a time when Saint Paul, upon his return from Arabia (where he went after his conversion), preached the Gospel with such zeal in Damascus that he irritated both Jews and pagans. Both of them incited the mayor against him, who, wanting to capture the apostle, ordered the city gates to be guarded. But God saved him: his Christian brothers lowered him in a basket from the window of the house where he lived, along the city wall, and he safely went to Jerusalem (Acts 9:23–25; Gal.1:17–18). IV. The Apostle's Rapture to the Third Heaven (12:1–10) Here we are talking about two subjects - about the rapture to Paradise (12:1-6) and about the dirty trick of the flesh, given to the apostle to cover up his spiritual perfections, so that he does not become proud, having constantly such a reminder of the weakness of our nature (12:7-10). The descriptions of the disasters that the holy apostle suffered for the name of Christ were, in the eyes of true Christians, solid evidence of the dignity of a true servant of Christ. But not all Corinthians were like that. Some wanted to determine the dignity of the apostle by the revelations that came to him, by the miracles he performed. As if condescending to weaknesses and such, Saint Paul, in his praise of himself, moves on to visions and revelations, although he again stipulates that this is not useful for him personally. A) About the rapture of the apostle to Paradise (12:1–6) 1 It is not profitable for me to boast, for I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ, who fourteen years ago (whether in the body - I don’t know, or out of the body - I don’t know: God knows) was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know about such a person (I just don’t know - in the body or outside the body: God knows), 4 that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is impossible for a man to utter. 5 Of such a man I can boast; I will not boast about myself, except in my weaknesses. 6 However, if I want to boast, I will not be foolish, for I will speak the truth; but I restrain myself so that no one thinks about me more than what he sees in me or hears from me. 7 And so that I would not become exalted by the extraordinaryness of the revelations, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me, so that I would not become exalted. 8 Three times I prayed to the Lord to remove him from me. 9 But the Lord said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. 10 Therefore I am content in weaknesses, in insults, in needs, in persecutions, in oppressions for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong. 11 I have become foolish in boasting; you forced me to do this. You should praise me, for I lack nothing against the highest apostles, although I am nothing. 12 The signs of the apostle appeared before you in all manner of endurance, signs, wonders and mighty powers. 13 For what do you lack in comparison with the other churches, except this, that I myself have not been a burden to you? Forgive me for this guilt. 14 Behold, for the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not burden you, for I do not seek yours, but you. It is not the children who should gather wealth for their parents, but the parents for their children. 15 I will gladly spend my time and exhaust myself for your souls, although, although I love you exceedingly, I am loved less by you. 16 Let us assume that I myself did not burden you, but, being cunning, I took from you with cunning. 17 But did I benefit from anything from you through any of those whom I sent to you? 18 I asked Titus and sent one of the brothers with him: Has Titus benefited from anything from you? Were we not acting in the same spirit? Didn't we go the same way? 19 Do you still think that we are only making excuses for you? We speak before God, in Christ, and all this, beloved, is for your edification 87 . 20 For I fear lest, when I come, I find you as I do not desire, and lest you also find me as you do not desire: lest I find among you strife, envy, anger, strife, slander, gossip, pride, disorder, 21 So that when I come again, my God will not disgrace me from you, and so that I will not mourn for many who have sinned before and did not repent of the uncleanness, fornication and lasciviousness that they did. 12:1. It’s useless, he says, for me to boast. Why? - Because I’m moving on to the story of the revelations that happened to me, so that your praise for them does not make me proud. “For what usually puffs us up is not our merits in themselves, but the fact that many testify and know about them” (Chrysostom). Vision here is the same thing as revelation through visions. Revelation embraces everything that God wants to reveal to people. It happens to be intelligent when knowledge is put into the mind; there is an external thing, when God or an Angel appears and says what is needed; but it also happens through visions. Visions are also different: either they represent the spiritual in images, such as, for example, the visions of the prophet Ezekiel and the Apostle John the Theologian, but then they require a new revelation in the mind in order to understand them; or they are a vision of the spiritual world in its essence, when the spirit of a person is introduced in an extraordinary way into the contemplation of it, not in images, but as it is. Saint Paul now talks about such a vision. 12:2. Not wanting to boast, but forced to do so, Saint Paul, as it were, covers himself with another face. I know, he says, a man who truly believes in Christ, who 14 years ago (before the departure of St. Paul to the first sermon to the pagans in Jerusalem or Antioch, it is unknown) was caught up in spirit to the third heaven - to Paradise. I can’t say, he says, whether the body participated in this rapture, or whether there was only one soul, God knows. His attention was not occupied by this, it was all absorbed by what he saw and did not turn to himself. After the vision, this question could have arisen and probably did, but 14 years passed and it remained unresolved. If Saint Paul himself did not solve it, then it means that no one can solve it. In the same way, it is impossible to decide what the third heaven is, where he was caught up. Since the whole vision was a vision of what the bodily eye does not see, then these heavens cannot be determined by their correspondence to something visible to the bodily eye. The apostle was caught up to the third heaven. To say this, it was necessary to see separately how the heavens pass one after another - the second after the first and the third after the second. But the apostle does not say that the third heaven is the last; The meaning of his words is that he passed two heavens and stopped at the third, but it is possible to pass not only two, but dozens, and stop at the twentieth. 12:3–4. Some interpreters believe that here Saint Paul is talking about another rapture: in the first to the third heaven - whether in the body or in spirit only, then from the third heaven to Paradise, also in the body or in one spirit - he does not know. In Paradise, he saw the glory of the Lord and heard words that are impossible to express in ordinary human language (cf. John 3:12). 12:5. He can boast of this spiritual state of his inner man, blessed by the grace of God, but not of himself, of his personal merits. His merits, and even then by the grace of God, consisted only of weaknesses and suffering for the faith of Christ. In this he can boast for the glory of the Lord. 12:6. If, he says, I take what was said about someone else caught up into Paradise to myself, then I will not do a foolish thing, I will not tell a lie, for this is what actually happened. And finally, he directly says who was caught up into Paradise, but still covers himself and tries to keep himself in the shadows. Thus, he did not want to appear in the splendor of his spiritual greatness. I’m afraid, he says, to expose myself in all my greatness, so that someone won’t think more about me than what they see and hear from me. However, God Himself arranged his life in such a way that he could not fall into the temptation of arrogance. B) About the dirty trick of the flesh, given to the apostle to cover up his spiritual perfections (12:7–10) 12:7. Saint Paul received numerous revelations from God. But so that he, either through human weakness or at the instigation of the devil, would not fall into conceit - pride, the Lord arranged for him a safety measure - he allowed the angel of Satan to hurt him, humiliate him, and put him to shame before people. They usually thought that the dirty trick of the flesh, the angel of Satan, was something that troubled and troubled Saint Paul from the side of the flesh and was in the flesh itself. Our interpreters (Chrysostom, Theophylact) believe that Saint Paul speaks here, as before, about external disasters and about hostility on the part of the enemies of the Gospel, who are the tools of Satan. So that the apostle could not boast before people outwardly, the Lord allowed opponents of his preaching about Christ to attack him everywhere, humiliate him, beat him, and imprison him (Chrysostom). These attacks from enemies were difficult for Saint Paul. He repeatedly prayed to the Lord to smooth out and straighten the path of his preaching, to reduce the attacks of his enemies, to reduce the resistance that had been almost continuous until that time. 12:9. But the Lord said to him: “It is enough for you that you raise the dead, heal the blind, cleanse lepers and perform other miracles with the help of My grace. Do not strive to live in safety, without fear, and to preach without difficulty. But are you grieving and sad? Do not attribute to My weakness that many deceive you, torment you, persecute you and beat you with whips. This very thing shows My power, for it is accomplished in weakness, that is, when you, the persecuted, prevail over your persecutors, when you, the persecuted, defeat your pursuers, when you, the bound, put those who bind to flight. So, do not desire unnecessary things” (Chrysostom). Having heard such an answer from the Lord, Saint Paul says that he will more readily boast of his weaknesses, in which the power of God is manifested, for “to the extent that the temptations intensified, to that extent the grace of Christ multiplied and abided in him” (Chrysostom). 12:10. Therefore, if the strength of God is revealed in weaknesses, Saint Paul willingly endures the dirty trick of the flesh, that is, insults, needs, persecutions, oppression for Christ, for “when I am weak,” he says, “then I am strong.” “Where there is sorrow, there is grace, and where there is grace, there is consolation and strength to endure sorrow (cf. 2 Cor. 1:5). For then the soul is purified when it endures sorrows for the sake of God. Then she receives greater help, because she needs more help from God and is worthy of greater grace. Sorrow conquers arrogance, teaches patience, reveals the insignificance of human affairs. All passions give way to her: envy, jealousy, lust, addiction to wealth, carnal love, pride, arrogance, anger and the whole swarm of mental illnesses. Sorrow leads into the Kingdom, therefore the path to the Kingdom is narrow” (Chrysostom). Therefore, the Savior said: “You will be in a world of sorrow” (John 16:33). V. About the miracles of the Apostle Paul in Corinth with a reminder once again about free preaching (12:11–18) 12:11. I, he says, have reached the point of foolishness in praising myself, you forced me to do this. I was with you and acted as an apostle, and you know it. Therefore, you should have praised me before the false apostles, but you forced me to praise yourself, for I acted among you in the same way as one of the first apostles, although I am insignificant in myself. 12:12. Everything that an apostle should show himself to be, you could see in me at the time when I lived among you and before your eyes. These are the signs of apostleship: to endure everything generously and, by the power of God, to perform signs and wonders for conviction and confirmation in the faith (cf. Mark 16:20). And Saint Paul showed great patience in all his troubles, then the power of signs over nature, miracles of healing and power over demons. 12:13. And yet, despite all this, they might have thought: we do not deny that all this was among us, but in other Churches where the supreme apostles acted, it was in greater quantity and to a greater extent, it would be better for us to wait for them. Saint Paul says to them: go and look around all the churches, and in none of them will you find anything that you do not have. The only thing you are deprived of is that I was not a burden to you and did not bother you with content. All other Churches, founded by me and by other apostles, are not free from this. But if you consider this an injustice on my part towards you, then “forgive me for this guilt.” 12:14. I will not be a burden to you even when I come to you for the third time, because I do not seek your contents, but I desire your souls. I have revived you to a new, spiritual life and I care about your salvation the way a father cares about providing for his children materially. But “so as not to put any obstacle to the gospel of Christ” (1 Cor. 9:12) and, consequently, to your salvation, I will never be a burden to you. 12:15. That's why he acted this way. It was not their means that he spared, but his souls. They spent theirs not because they were sorry for what belonged to them, but because the salvation of their souls required it. In other Churches, the use of content did not interfere with the salvation of souls, and he used it, but in Corinth it did, and he not only did not use their content, but happily spent his, so much he loves them, although on their part (from some) he sees less love for himself. 12:16. His enemies probably said that he himself did not take it personally, but, like a cunning man, he took it through others, through one of his assistants. 12:17. If I didn’t take it myself, but took it through my messengers, then tell me, through which messengers did I rob you? And there were only two sent, it was not difficult to keep an eye on them. 12:18. Behold, he says, whom I sent to you! Can you say that Titus took from you? Of course not, because we all act in the same spirit of selflessness, we walk the same road. It is obvious, therefore, that his enemies are slandering him. Section three. Armed with such power, I will come, I will not spare (12:19–13:10) Here is the conclusion from everything said in this part. Above, the apostle defended his dignity from all criticism, now he asks: what, I said all this only to justify myself before you? No. I had in mind your edification, so that you would correct yourself from being carried away by the false apostles before I came to you and save me from the need to exercise my apostolic authority on you. If you don’t correct yourself, “I will come, I will not have mercy.” 12:19. Don’t think, he says, that we talked about ourselves only in order to justify ourselves externally to you. No, we spoke as before God in Christ, we spoke about ourselves as we are before the All-Seeing Eye, and we spoke not for ourselves, but for your edification, in order to bring into proper order and structure what was upset in you and took the opposite direction - the wrong direction. 12:20. I am writing everything to you so that everything will be in order with you, so that when I come to you, I will find you in order in everything, which is what I would like. I am afraid that the opposite might happen, I remind you of what I would not want to meet among you. What exactly did he not want to meet with them? Discord and unclean behavior. He talks about the second in the next verse, and about discord in this one. Let there be no strife among you, he says, because of the desire to stand on your own; envy - for the good of others out of pride and conceit, anger - outbursts and irritation when colliding with others, quarrels (in the glory of "zealousness") - competition in business, with unscrupulousness in means, slander - spreading bad rumors about others based on one guess, and sometimes on malicious lies; sneaking (in Slav. “whispering”) - timid slander, whispering in the ears of influential people about others with the aim of harming them, pride (in Slav. “arrogance”) - pouting, arrogance, desire and desire to rise above others, without real merits, unrest (in Slav. “disorder”) - disorder, as a consequence of previous shortcomings. 12:21. I wouldn’t like to encounter lustful deeds among them. Many in the Corinthian Church suffered from unclean lust. Saint Paul vigorously denounced them for this and tried to eradicate this evil with his first letter. Some were corrected, but many remained faulty. Therefore, here again the fatherly encourages such to correct themselves by repentance even before he comes to them. He seems to be saying this: once you have sinned, you can’t turn back what to do, but it is bitter if I find those who have sinned unrepentant and remain stubborn in unrepentance. Although it is a pity, they will have to be excommunicated from the Church, because persistent sinners are intolerant in the Church. Then I will cry for them. This is how God will humble me with you. I will be ashamed before myself, and before God, and before people, that I boasted about you before them, and meanwhile I will be forced to do this to you. In order not to be in such humiliation and grief, I am writing to you with the desire that everything will come to you in proper order, and that when I come to you, I would only rejoice at your behavior. 1 This is the third time I’m coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word will be established. 2 I preceded and continue to preface, as if I were with you for the second time, and now, being absent, I write to those who have sinned before and to everyone else, that when I come again, I will not have mercy. 3 You seek proof whether Christ says in me: He is not powerless for you, but strong in you. 4 For although He was crucified in weakness, He lives by the power of God; and we also, although we are weak in Him, will live with Him through the power of God in you. 5 Test yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; examine yourselves. Or do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless you are what you are supposed to be. 6 As for us, I hope you will know that we are what we should be. 7 We pray to God that you do no evil, not to appear to us as what you ought to be; but that you do good, even if we seem not to be what we should be. 8 For we are not strong against the truth, but strong for the truth. 9 We rejoice when we are weak and you are strong; This is what we pray for, for your perfection. 10 For this reason I am writing this in my absence, so that in my presence I would not use severity according to the authority given to me by the Lord for creation, and not for destruction. 11 However, brethren, rejoice, be improved, be comforted, be like-minded, be peaceful, and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. 13 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen. 13:1. For the third time I exhort you to correct yourself. I exhorted in the first epistle, I exhorted through Titus, and now in this epistle I exhort. With two or three witnesses, according to the law, every word will be established (see Deut. 17:6). Which one? – A word of threat that will certainly be carried out if you do not correct yourself. He promises to come to them a third time. But when he was in the second is unknown. Based on the meaning of the speech (cf. 2 Cor. 12:14), it can be assumed that Saint Paul by comings means his threats to them - in two epistles and through Titus, which is confirmed by the next verse. 13:2. If, after my threefold admonition and threats, you do not correct yourself, then, having come to you, “I will not spare” those who have sinned and have not repented, I will punish them by the power of my apostolic authority. 13:3. He says something like this: you yourself have set the matter that if I do not correct myself, I cannot spare you, and I will have to show you the apostolic power given to me and the power of Christ acting in me. You began to say about me that he was weak in body and his words were not strong, and that my teaching was not Christ’s. If I don’t show you my apostolic severity, you will actually become firmly established in such a conviction, and this will extremely harm the cause of the Gospel and your salvation. So, one of two things: either correct yourself, or I will have to show no mercy to you, to powerfully cut off the disobedient from the Church, or even strike them with some direct punishment, as I struck the sorcerer Elimas with blindness in Cyprus. And then you will see tangibly that Christ the Lord speaks and acts in me. And what is the power of Christ, you have experienced it yourself from grace-filled experiences. 13:4. As if he were saying that when the Lord was crucified, everyone considered Him to have no power, while by death on the cross He destroyed the power of death and, when they laid Him in the tomb, destroyed hell and brought out of it all those who had been contained in it for centuries, then He rose again and continues to act with power in other believers and in the structure of His Church on earth, He is strong in you too. Likewise, we, the apostles, seem to everyone to be weak, and they persecute us, and beat us to the point of wounds, and reduce us to nothing; but meanwhile the power of God acts through us everywhere, it has manifested itself in you, and will manifest itself in ways you would not expect. We seem to have frozen for you, but we will be revived by Christ, and you will experience this living Christ’s Divine power in us, if, when I come to you, I find you not corrected. 13:5. If you want to know and, so to speak, test whether Christ is in me, test first yourself, test more carefully whether you are in the faith. Surely you have not fallen away from it, for otherwise you probably would not have tested me. Don't you feel Christ within you in His gracious gifts? If you feel Him in yourself, then you will not deny Him in me, as your teacher. If you don’t feel it, then it means that you are not what you should be living according to the faith of Christ, and I will have to prove to you differently that Christ is working in me. 13:6. I hope to prove to you by my very deed, when I come to you and will not spare the guilty, that I am what I should be - an apostle by the power of Christ. But Saint Paul would not want to use such power with them. Therefore he adds: 13:7. We pray to God so that we will not need to impose any punishment on you by the force of our power; we wish better that you, having repented and corrected yourself, do good through that and thereby take away from us the opportunity to show ourselves strong by the power of Christ. It’s better that we remain seemingly weak than that you tolerate anything from us, even if it’s fair. 13:8. For the power of Christ is given to us to fight for the truth, and not against the truth. 13:9. Therefore, when our enemies consider us weak, powerless, unable to punish you, then we rejoice that there is nothing to punish you for; it would be better to consider us powerless, if only you were virtuous. And we not only wish this, but also pray that you be perfect and not give us any reason to punish you (Chrysostom). This is what Saint Paul had in mind when he threatened not to spare them. 13:10. But if, having come to you, I find the faulty ones not yet corrected, I will not spare them. Now I’m writing about this so that I really don’t act harshly with you (in glory, “mercilessly”). I have no desire to do this to you, “I want my messages to be strict, so that the threats continue, but do not come true” (Chrysostom). But in order for my desire to be fulfilled, it is necessary for you to improve in everything. Know that the authority given to me by the Lord is with me. It was given to me for creation, and not for destruction. If you are faulty, the authorities must correct you. Otherwise, leaving you faulty, I will give you relief not for creation, but for destruction, and then you will be even more upset. So, one of two things: either correct yourself, or wait for merciless punishment. But still, know that I do not want the latter, and if I do so, it will be only because the essence of the commandment given to me requires it. 13:11. At the conclusion of his letter, Saint Paul wishes the Corinthians to always feel joy and bliss in everything, and for this to improve in a good spiritual life, especially in loving each other, avoiding disagreements and quarrels; with such a life, the God of love and peace will be in living communication with them. 13:12. So, when you come together in prayer meeting, give each other a brotherly kiss as a sign of holy and pure love. 13:13. Then he sends them greetings from all, perhaps, acquaintances, Christians from the Macedonians. And on his own behalf he conveys to them his blessing: in the name of Jesus Christ, who gave grace to people through His redemption (cf. John 1:17), - grace, in the name of God the Father, Who so loved the world that He did not spare His Son in order to redeem people (see John 3:16), - love, in the name of the Holy Spirit, - fellowship, for He, dwelling with grace in believers, gives them thereby communication with God and with each other. Yet what the apostle wrote is the truth. Amen. Second visit to Corinth by the Holy Apostle Paul 60 Having sent his message to Corinth with Titus and two brothers and instructing them there to complete the collection in favor of the poor Palestinian Christians, Saint Paul passed through those places where churches had already been founded, taught abundant instructions to the believers (see Acts 20:2) and, having reached Illyria, a country lying on the shores of the Adriatic Sea (see Rom. 15:19), went to Hellas (see Acts 20:2). With him were many companions from various Macedonian Churches, collecting donations for the benefit of poor Palestinian Christians, since Saint Paul himself kept all financial matters away from himself. His companions were Timothy, Tychicus, Gaius the Dervian, Jason, Aristarchus and Secundus - the Thessalonians, Sosipater from Veria and others. From Corinth, Justus, Sosthenes, Erastus, Tertius, Quartus, Fortunan, Achaic and Gaius came to him in Macedonia, who offered Saint Paul room in his house in Corinth. With such a large company, the Apostle Paul, in late autumn, probably by ship, headed to Cenchrean harbor near Corinth. How did the Corinthians greet him? Have the sinners repented? Were the false apostles afraid? Did he come to them with a club and, without sparing, restore order in the Church, or did he manage to accomplish this without resorting to punitive measures? There is no positive data to answer all these questions. He stayed in Corinth for three months and from there wrote an Epistle to the Romans, in which he speaks of his intention to visit them on his way to Spain, where he also thought of going to preach the Gospel (see Rom. 1:13, 15:24–32). The Apostle dictates it to his companion, Tertius, and here with clarity, completeness and depth, in a harmonious logical system, he reveals the basic truths of Christianity. Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Romans In the year 60, when Saint Paul was in Macedonia and Corinth, Christian teaching was already widely spread in Rome, and the virtues of the Christians there were famous throughout the West. Who was the planter of the Christian faith here? History does not provide a reliable answer to this question. True, some Western writers, however, based on dubious data, consider the founder of the Roman Church to be the Apostle Peter. But this assumption is already doubtful because in his epistle the Apostle Paul does not make any hint of this, which he could not have allowed if the Roman Church had been founded by the Apostle Peter. Judging by some data, it can be reliably assumed that by this time there were still none of the apostles in Rome, because there, in fact, there was no Church with shepherds and teachers at its head. Saint Paul in his greeting does not call Roman Christians the Church, but sends his greetings to “all the Christians who are in Rome” (Rom. 1:7). He writes his message to them and wishes to give them his instruction according to the duty of his apostleship, as the apostle of the tongues (cf. Rom.1:13–14), and according to custom, to preach where none of the other apostles had preached (see Rom.15:20). Acts of the Apostles (18:23–21:16) How did Christianity appear in Rome? Roman Christians consisted of Jews and pagans, but not Latins, but Greeks, as can be seen from the names of Christians listed in the 16th chapter of the epistle, therefore, in fact, newcomers to Rome. The Jews, of whom there was a whole separate quarter in Rome, traveling according to custom to the main holidays in Jerusalem and who were at the Feast of Pentecost (see Acts 2:10), when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and inspired the Apostle Peter to preach the gospel of Christ, probably accepted Christianity there, were baptized and received the gifts of the Holy Spirit. With this joyful news they arrived in Rome and became here the first proclaimers of the Gospel of salvation. In the same way, the Roman Greeks, being in relations with their fellow tribesmen in Macedonia and Achaia or traveling there, could hear the teaching about Christ from those converted to Christ and even from the Apostle Paul himself, which is very likely, because among the Roman Christians there were also those who were personally known to Saint Paul (see Rom. 16: 5-15). In this way, the Roman Christian community was probably formed. It consisted of five groups, headed by the best of the Christians, in whose houses they gathered to perform prayers and hid it so much that when two years later the apostle arrived in Rome in bonds, even the keen eyes of unbelieving Jews did not catch anything shameful in the teachings of the apostle (of course, from their point of view), that is, they did not hear about the apostle, neither about him, nor about his teaching (see Acts 28:21). In general, the Christian community in Rome was in excellent condition, although there were slight deviations from Christian discipline, for example, a tendency to disobey authorities (see Rom. ch. 13), suspiciousness of the weak in the faith (see Rom. ch. 14), incipient intrigues between Jewish Christians and disunity between them and the pagans (see Rom. 15:5, 7:9). It is very likely that the Roman Christians, especially those who personally knew the Apostle Paul, seeing disunity in their communities, which was not characteristic of Christians, and especially the discord between Jewish and pagan Christians, growing more and more, conveyed this to him and asked him to come so that he would give them the proper structure. The Reason, Motivation, and Purpose of Writing the Epistle to the Romans When the Apostle Paul was in Corinth, Thebe, a deaconess of the Cenchrean Church, prepared to go from there to Rome, a person who had rendered important services to the cause of faith and the Church. She had business in Rome, and Saint Paul, knowing how she herself was an intercessor to many and to himself (see Rom. 16:1-2), considered it his duty to recommend her to the Christians there and ask them to help her in her affairs. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the apostle writes a large message to the Romans, remarkable in its content. The Holy Spirit, who tangibly guided Saint Paul in everything, inspired him to do this. Pagan peoples all made up the area entrusted to him. He considered himself obligated to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to both Greeks and barbarians (see Rom. 1:14). But Saint Paul knew that the society of Christians existing in Rome had not yet been properly established and that there were some problems there. Hence, he had a desire to visit there himself, to properly organize the Church of Christ with hierarchy and order, in order to teach, he says, a certain spiritual gift for strengthening, and thus to have some fruit here, as among other nations (Rom. 1:11-13). He sets out this personal desire to see the Roman Christians in order to confirm them in the faith through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in a letter that, to some extent, was supposed to replace himself for the time being. The purpose of the letter is not to resolve some issues that worried the Roman Christians or to correct their errors, but to have some fruit for them, as well as for other peoples. Proclaim to them the Gospel of salvation, which Saint Paul preached orally in all the Churches, so that they not only have faith, but can also give an answer to everyone who asks about their faith, and can answer the objections of non-believers or those who doubt the faith. In the Epistle to the Romans, Saint Paul comprehensively set out the doctrine of justification by faith, both in relation to Jews and pagans, foreseeing and resolving all the objections of opponents of the faith of Christ. In view of this, this epistle represents more reasoning than an ordinary epistle. It develops its theme with logical consistency, that the Gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” - Jew and Greek (Rom. 1:16). This theme is developed in the message in two ways: theoretically, or dogmatically, and practically, in application to moral life. Therefore the message is divided into two parts. As in all messages, the whole thing is preceded by a preface, which consists of an inscription and a greeting with a decent beginning, and at the end of everything there is a corresponding afterword with greetings. The message is divided like this: Preface consisting of an inscription, a salutation (1:1-7) and a decent beginning (1:7-17). Part one is the doctrine of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ (1:18–11:36). Part two is moral (12:1–15:13). Conclusion (15:14–16:24). Even before writing the First Epistle to the Corinthians, Saint Paul “decided in the Spirit, having passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying that because I had been there, it was fitting for me to see Rome” (Acts 19:21). Then, sending the First Epistle to the Corinthians, he says: “I will come... to you, when I have passed through Macedonia” (1 Cor. 16:5), and in the Epistle to the Romans he says: “Now I am coming to Jerusalem, serving the saints, for it is good for Macedonia and Achaia to create some kind of fellowship with the poor saints living in Jerusalem” (Rom. 15:25-27). This means that Macedonia and Achaia have been passed, the apostle is in Corinth and is going to Jerusalem with alms. From this it is clear that the letter was written in Corinth - during his last three-month stay there (see Acts 20: 1-3). This is confirmed by the fact that he sends a message with Thebe, deaconess of the Cenchrean Church, which is near Corinth. And since he was in Corinth in the late autumn of 60, the letter also dates back to this time. The epistle begins by naming the writer and his title (1:1), briefly indicates the subject of the epistle - Jesus Christ, the Son of God, foretold by the prophets (1:2-4), the right of the apostle to preach about Him to the pagans (1:5-6), and sends a greeting of peace and grace to the Christian community in Rome (1:7). 1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called an apostle, chosen for the gospel of God, 2 which God promised before through His prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 about his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh 4 and was revealed to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, through the resurrection from the dead, through Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship, that in His name we might bring all nations under faith, 6 Among whom are you also, who have been called by Jesus Christ, 7 To all the beloved of God who are in Rome, the called saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 8 First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. 9 God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that I make mention of you continually, 10 always asking in my prayers that the will of God may one day prosper me to come to you, 11 For I greatly desire to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, 12 that is, to be comforted with you by our common faith, yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, that I intended to come to you many times (but have been hindered even until now) so that I might have some fruit among you, as well as among other nations. 14 I am indebted to Greeks and barbarians, to the wise and to the ignorant. 15 Therefore, as for me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek. 17 In it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written: The righteous shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. 19 For what can be known about God is obvious to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For His invisible things, His eternal power and Godhead, have been visible from the creation of the world through the consideration of creatures, so that they are without answer. 21 But how, having known God, they did not glorify Him as God and did not give thanks, but became futile in their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened; 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things, - 24 Then God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, so that they defiled their own bodies. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature instead of the Creator, who is blessed forever, amen. 26 Therefore God gave them over to shameful passions: their women exchanged natural uses for unnatural ones; 27 Likewise, men also, abandoning the natural use of the female sex, were inflamed with lust for one another, men committing shame on men and receiving in themselves the due retribution for their error. 28 And because they did not care to have God in their minds, God gave them over to a depraved mind—to do lewd things, 29 so that they are filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, malice, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil spirits, 30 slanderers, slanderers, haters of God, offenders, self-praisers, proud, devising evil, disobedient to their parents, 31 foolish, treacherous, unloving, implacable, unmerciful. 32 They know the righteous judgment of God, that those who do such things are worthy of death; however, not only do they do them, but they also approve of those who do them. 1:1. At the beginning of his letter, Saint Paul seems to recommend himself to the Roman Christians as the apostle of the tongues, appointed by God to preach the doctrine of redemption to all people. He is a servant of Jesus Christ, not only in the sense in which every Christian is called a servant in relation to Jesus Christ as his Lord, but as his servant with the rank of apostle, to which he was chosen by the Lord Himself, in order to proclaim the true teaching to the world (see Acts 22:17-21). 1:2. This good news, which the Lord commissioned the apostle to proclaim to the world, is not new, but was previously prophesied by God to the Jewish people through the prophets, as can be seen from the Holy Scriptures (see Is. 52:7; Ps. 67:12). What is this good news about? 1:3–4. This good news is about the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father in essence, but for the salvation of people who took flesh from the seed (offspring) of David. During His earthly life, He appeared to people as the Great Prophet (Luke 7:16). But in the power of the signs and wonders He created, the grace of the Holy Spirit, which He bestowed on those who believed in Him, and especially in His resurrection from the dead, it was revealed - it was determined, it became clearer to everyone that He was not the son of David, but the Son of God, Jesus Christ, our Lord. It was he who called Saint Paul to the apostleship. 1:5–6. The Lord Jesus Christ gave us, the apostles, apostolic grace, by which we are endowed from above with the power of the Holy Spirit to conquer all nations to faith in the Lord Jesus, so that everyone would hear the Gospel of salvation and believe in it through the grace of the Holy Spirit acting in the word of the apostles, opening the hearts of the faithful (cf. Acts 16:14). Among the languages, the Lord determined that the Romans should be subdued to the faith through the apostles and called to themselves. 1:7. Therefore, Saint Paul sends his greetings to the Roman Christians, whom God, in His foreknowledge, loved, and having loved, called to faith by apostolic grace. They obeyed the word of the gospel, believed in the Lord Christ and became saints. They have already received grace in the calling. Saint Paul wants the grace of God to increase in them, and with it peace with God and people to penetrate deeper into their souls and make them worthy sons of God. This grace is from God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ. At the beginning of the epistle, the apostle places thoughts that encourage the desire to read and become interested in the epistle. Thus, he praises the faith of the Romans and thanks God for it (1:8), testifies to his disposition towards them, expressing his desire to see them and make them participants in the benefits of his apostleship (1:9-13). He indicates the reason for such a desire in his responsibility to enlighten everyone by faith (1:14-15) and, finally, indicates the subject of the entire message, that salvation is achieved only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (1:16-17). I. The Apostle Commends the Faith of the Romans (1:8) 1:8. Saint Paul begins his epistle with gratitude to God, to whom he is completely devoted, and therefore calls Him his own (“I thank my God”), as the prophets did, giving thanks through Jesus Christ, through whom alone we have boldness towards God (cf. John 14:13–14). Thanks for the fact that the faith of the Romans, with the assistance of God, is so alive and strong that it is the subject of conversation for people all over the world, the center of which was then Rome. Everyone’s eyes were turned there, and Saint Paul strove there with soul and body. II. The apostle expresses his desire to see the Romans and make them partakers of his apostleship (1:9–13) 1:9–10. Since the majority of Roman Christians did not know Saint Paul, so that they could not doubt the sincerity of his disposition towards them, he calls God, to whom his whole life is dedicated, as a witness. What is his disposition towards them? The fact is that he always has them in his thoughts, and not only in his thoughts, but also strives for them, for this he always prays to God, so that God’s will will favor him to come to them. Why does the apostle want to see them so much? 1:11–12. I wish, he says, to see you not prompted by the curiosity of ordinary travelers, but entirely in view of that spiritual work that I am called to plant in the souls of everyone and everywhere. The apostles were the bearers of all the gifts of grace of the Holy Spirit, and when they appeared where, the Lord gave through them everything that turned out to be necessary for those living there. They did not give their own and not of their own free will, to whomever they wanted, but according to the direction of the will of God, which is what the apostle expresses by saying that, having come to them, he will teach, transfer to them from his spiritual gifts something (that is, what God will indicate to whom) necessary for their establishment in faith and in life by faith. The apostle is confident that he will find them firm in the faith. This will serve as a consolation for both him and them: for him - that they are firm in the faith, for them - that their faith is approved by apostolic authority. 1:13. Here St. Paul reinforces his previous point. He not only wants to visit them and prays about it, but he actually wanted to go there; but there were all obstacles, probably during his apostolic ministry in Macedonia and Achaia, where he intended to visit before Rome. He repeats again why he rushes to them: then, he says, “to have... fruit among you too,” in order to confirm faith in believers and plant it in the souls of unbelievers (and there were a lot of them in Rome), as he does among other nations out of duty of his apostleship. III. The Apostle's Duty to Enlighten All by Faith (1:14–15) 1:14. The Lord called him to be an apostle of languages, therefore it was his duty to teach both the Hellenes - the wise, and the barbarians (not Hellenes) - the ignorant. 1:15. So, Saint Paul’s zealous desire to be in Rome stems from the apostle’s awareness of his duty, which stirred his heart with zeal and readiness to preach the gospel to everyone - “and to you who are in Rome.” IV. Main Subject of the Epistle (1:16–17) 1:16. Imbued with a sense of apostolic duty and the desire to fulfill it, Saint Paul is ready to personally preach to everyone. Even if they are low people, he, a preacher of high morality, will not be ashamed to enter into close relationships with them, preaching the gospel of Christ. Whether they are educated or learned people, he will not be ashamed to preach to them about the Cross and about Him Crucified on it, although for them the Cross is madness. Why isn't he ashamed? Because his gospel is strong not by his own, Paul’s, power, but by the power of God, which saves all who believe, no matter who they are: he lifts up the fallen, humbles the proud, renews the life of all and bestows filial boldness towards God. Such and such grace-filled power is given to all believing Jews, to whom the gospel was first preached, and to pagan Greeks. 1:17. This verse indicates the main subject of the entire message. The general meaning of the verse is this: the gospel is the power of God. What is the strength? The fact is that through the gospel “the truth of God is revealed,” which appears only through faith - “from faith to faith,” which the apostle confirms with the testimony of the prophet Habakkuk: “the righteous shall live by faith” (Hab. 2:4). By the truth of God we can understand the property of God - that God is Righteous and always acts righteously in everything. But by the truth of God we can also understand Divine righteousness - complete and perfect, communicated from God to man and making him righteous and holy. Which one is it, of course? In the course of speech, more directly – the last one. God in the Eternal Council determined, by His mercy towards fallen man, who had offended the truth of God with his sins, to satisfy His truth at the cost of the death on the cross of the incarnate Son of God, to save people from condemnation and again to grant them righteousness - holiness. But this definition until time was hidden from the people of the Old Testament in the writings of the prophets and in the subordinate images. The prophets themselves were perplexed about many things that the Holy Spirit revealed about the truth of God. It was fully revealed in the Gospel when the Redeemer Himself appeared in the form of a man. Then it became clear to everyone how the unrighteous become righteous, the angry and angry becomes meek, the fornicator becomes chaste, and the like. The Gospel also reveals how the death of the Redeemer satisfied the truth of God for sinful people. Both truths of God appear only through faith. By faith a person is justified and becomes righteous, and by faith he comprehends the work of God for his salvation. There are several degrees of faith. There is mental faith, without the participation of the heart; demons also have such faith (see James 2:19). There is faith of the heart, feeling the blessings of the Gospel, the blessings of the Spirit of God, but this too is heartfelt. There is only faith in the Sacraments, in dogmas. The final thing is the highest, intelligent, mastering the entire being of a person, there is confidence in God and, so to speak, resting in Him (Isaac the Syrian). Therefore, the apostle writes that the truth of God is “from faith to faith” - it begins with faith, ends with faith and is revealed as faith improves and deepens; and only faith of the heart and mind makes a person righteous and gives him true life, as the prophet Habakkuk testifies: “by faith the righteous will live.” Part one - doctrine (1:18–11:36) In this main part of his letter, St. Paul proves that no one can be justified before God by his own strength (1:18–3:20), that the righteousness of God comes by faith (3:21–7:6). He speaks about the revelation and fulfillment of the righteousness of God under the law, under grace and in the Kingdom of Glory (7:7–8:39), about the attitude of Israel and the pagan world to the new way of justification (9:1–11:36). Section one. No one can be justified before God by his own strength (1:18–3:20) Section Introduction (1:18) 1:18. Everyone, according to the testimony of his conscience, recognizes that sin follows his judgment and condemnation. Therefore, Saint Paul does not prove this, but positively says that “the wrath of God is revealed” - there must always be judgment and retribution, and he paints a picture of judgment. Now the heavens are opening, and a terrible and righteous judgment is revealed. Terrible because he will condemn all sinners to eternal destruction and will appear to them as if the wrath of God, meanwhile, he is a righteous, unhypocritical judgment from heaven, not like a human court - earthly, often hypocritical, judging by appearance. What will serve as the norm for the court? In the conscience of every person there are given the truths of piety - knowledge of God and pleasing God, and truth - justice to each other. If people keep them, they will be justified. But if people have distorted these truths, suppressed them with untruth, suppressed piety and perverted it with ungodliness - false faiths, and the truth - with untruth, ill will, injustice, then the wrath of God, the terrible Judgment of God, is revealed to all such wickedness and untruth. To this righteous judgment, Saint Paul draws all people who were then divided into pagans who do not know the True God, and Jews - the chosen people of God. The Apostle, as it were, interrogates them as to how they contained the truth given to them by God, and finds that both suppress the truth by untruth. I. The Gentiles Contain the Truth of God in Untruth (1:19–2:16) Religiously, the pagans suppressed piety with wickedness. Although they know God, they do not honor Him as they should (1:19–23). Morally, they have suppressed the truth with unrighteousness: they know how to live righteously, but they live wickedly and depravedly (1:24-31). Therefore, they are unrequited and righteously deserve the wrath of God at God's Judgment (1:32–2:16). A) The Gentiles are convicted of wickedness (1:19–23) 1:19. Is it fair to judge the pagans for wickedness when God does not reveal Himself to them as He did to the Jews? Fair enough, says St. Paul. Because what is available to the human mind to know about God is “obvious to them,” in their hearts, before their souls, standing as clearly as a visible object before their eyes, for God Himself revealed Himself to them in themselves, He put the knowledge of Himself into the soul of a person at his very birth. Thus, the innateness of piety is the first - internal source of knowledge of God. But this inner voice of the soul could be drowned out by the noise of human troubles and concerns. Therefore, in order for the “reasonable of God” to be evident in people, God opened before them the book of nature, which one cannot help but read, for it is always before one’s eyes. In it He revealed Himself in a visible way. 1:20. Everything in God is invisible: both the Divine being and His Divine properties, and not only for us, but also for the higher spirits. The very actions of the Divine are invisible. Creation after creation entered the stage of life according to His word - “he spoke and came” (see Gen. ch. 1); but neither the definition of His will nor its action could be seen or heard. The created world exists according to known laws, this is obvious; We do not see the all-powerful power of God providing for the world. However, the traces of the Creator’s existence and His eternal properties, invisible to the eye, cannot be invisible to the mind; here they are clearly imprinted in His creations. Considering the world as a whole and in parts, one cannot help but see and recognize the omnipotent creative force that organized all this immense variety of diverse creatures, their life and activities; one cannot help but see the properties of the God who created them, especially wisdom and goodness, who gave all created things everything necessary for existence. While searching for the root cause for the visible in the visible, the mind cannot find the root cause for the invisible Creator and must recognize Him as eternal. So, the visible world reveals the invisible God, the Ever-Bearing One, and His Divine properties. This is the second source given by God to people for the knowledge of Him, so that they, having two indicated sources of knowledge of God, are “unanswerable”, cannot say that they did not have the opportunity to know Him. How did the pagans use the means given to them for the knowledge of God? 1:21. In this and the next two verses the apostle reveals the psychological process of the gradual transformation of this truth of God into wickedness and idolatry. The pagans initially knew that God existed and that they should honor Him, but they did not glorify Him, that is, they ceased to constantly remember Him, to confess and glorify His boundless perfections and wondrous deeds and, having forgotten His benefits, did not have grateful feelings towards Him and did not constantly try to please Him. Thus, the first stage of the fall from God and the suppression of truth by untruth is oblivion of God. He is forgotten, and thoughts of Him rarely enter the mind; It turns into something only conceivable and ceases to control the internal movements of a person, and at the same time the religious feeling of a person cools down. The heart does not glorify and thank God, although the tongue, out of habit, reads praises and thanksgiving to Him, but there is no longer ceaseless internal glorification and thanksgiving to Him as God, moving the whole being of man. Further, thought began to move away from God - it became fussy, occupied itself with earthly objects, seeking in them benefits and happiness for man. But this happiness is a ghost - vanity. The attachment of thought to earthly things and its enslavement by them is the second stage of falling away from God. At this stage of mental obscuration, there is still worship of God, but only externally - externally, without the participation of not only the heart, but even the thought, which is occupied with something completely different. So, the truth of knowledge of God in the soul is suppressed by untruth. But it still exists in the inner man - in his spirit or heart; At times, conscience awakens and reproaches a person for forgetting God, and the fear of God threatens punishment for this. But now the foolish heart is darkened. Busy with earthly things, a person is guided by rules that do not agree with his conscience, and it is gradually drowned out, the fear of God, which enlivened the conscience, fades away, and the true concepts of God and the purpose of man become dark. There is darkness in the soul, however, a person does not look there, he is entirely outside. This is the third stage of suppressing truth by untruth. Now God is forgotten. The heart and thoughts are attached to earthly things, the conscience is drowned, the fear of God is darkened, the truth of God is suppressed. All that remains is to justify this situation with reason, which is what he who has departed from God does, and falls even lower. 1:22. The fourth stage of descent from God is the subsuming of the entire perverse order of life under the principles of reason and the establishment of it as the only reasonable and proper standard of life characteristic of man. This is the height of madness, but in their opinion it is the height of wisdom. Conceit and self-confidence are a distinctive feature of such wisdom; it hopes to receive everything from itself, from its own skills and its own methods. But, caring exclusively about the physical and having neither the knowledge nor the power to eliminate various misfortunes from a person, she falls into cowardice, sadness, despair, fear from demons, fear from people, animals, illness and death. There is as much arrogance as there is, or even more, cowardice, and in this latter is the most visible denunciation of violence - the wisdom of the world (Isaac the Syrian). What has led to such corruption of the mind and heart? - To idolatry. 1:23. God the All-Perfect, Ever-Living Spirit was replaced with idols (images - likenesses) of people, animals, even reptiles, dead and material. These crude, dead material idols began to be revered not only as symbols of the Divine, but also by God himself. The question is, how could people reach such madness after they had a true concept of God? Saint Chrysostom says that people themselves could not reach such an absurdity without the participation of an evil spirit. He tried, taking advantage of the darkness of people, to humiliate them to the worship of various reptiles and thereby subjugate them to the most senseless creatures, and not even creatures, but their likenesses. Such gods did not require anything other than external, ritual veneration. B) The Gentiles are convicted of falsehood (1:24–31) Along with the perversion of faith and piety came a perversion of the proper character of life and the loss of good morals: people indulged in sensuality (1:24-27) and then began to do all kinds of unrighteousness (1:28-31). a) Sensuality of the Gentiles (1:24–27) 1:24. Because the pagans abandoned the True God, and God allowed them to go where their corrupt hearts drew them, namely into the uncleanness of the flesh, into self-defilement by carnal uncleanness. This is a natural consequence of falling away from God. Man should live in God with his spirit and rule over soul and body with his spirit. But when he fell away from God and began to live ungodly, then his spirit, no longer animated by God, not only lost power over his soul and body, but even himself submitted to them. Therefore, living in the spirit, a person was guided by a sense of moral duty and conscience, and living outside the spirit - by a feeling of bodily pleasure. And since carnal pleasures are more palpable in their rudeness than others, the human soul submitted to them, carnal needs became its needs and turned into its lusts. The soul, carried away by these lusts and pleasures when satisfying them, was no longer content with only natural satisfaction, but ready to experience constant and strong pleasure from them, came up with unnatural satisfaction - through self-defilement. 1:25. Such moral humiliation and perversion of natural needs was a consequence of the fact that the pagans replaced the truth about God as the Living, Eternal and Imperishable Spirit with a lie, beginning to revere God and serve idols instead of Him, and, moreover, to serve more diligently (in the glorious “more”) than they had previously served the True God - the Creator. However, despite their wickedness, God is Blessed forever; the wickedness of the pagans did not harm the glory of the Creator. By this the apostle makes it clear that God did not take revenge on the pagans for Himself when He left them, since He Himself did not suffer anything. His glory has not diminished (Chrysostom). 1:26–27. Because the pagans did not give God the honor due to Him, He allowed (“betrayed”) them to fall into dishonorable passion. They did not serve God, who is God by nature, and began to serve and honor him who is not God by nature, and He allowed them to fall into unnatural shame. Women and men fell into unnatural carnal relationships, each with their own sex. b) The iniquities and untruths of the Gentiles (1:28–31) 1:28. Falling away from God and self-indulgence (selfishness that pleases only one’s pride) perverted the natural, benevolent relationships of people and gave rise to many vices. Since the pagans decided not to have God in their minds, not to think of Him as God and not to honor Him with a godly life, but voluntarily chose wickedness, God allowed them to fall under the guidance of a perverse mind, acting not as it should have acted, but as it should not - “to do indecent things.” The mind in man is a ruling power, the same as the spirit – the bearer of God-likeness, breathed into his face by God during the creation of man. The feelings of the Divine and His truth, or the fear of God and conscience, are imprinted on the mind. The fear of God is sustained by true knowledge of God and the memory of God and revives the conscience as knowledge of the will of God. When the memory of God leaves the mind and knowledge of God is clouded by lies, the feeling of fear of God weakens, conscience weakens, and sensuality increases. Conscience without the fear of God is lifeless and does not have the power to force one to listen to oneself. Instead of conscience, carnal passion, guided by egoism, then makes itself felt. This is where all kinds of inconsistencies and obscenities come from. Under the influence of egoistic sensuality, the mind little by little becomes corrupted (in the popular sense “unskilled”), recognizing evil as good and inventing false principles to justify a wrong life. Having presented a picture of the development of pagan sinfulness, the apostle further shows in what actions it was expressed, listing the very vices that governed obscene life 1:29. The Lord allowed the pagans to fall into an unskilled mind, and they were filled with “all unrighteousness” without measure, limitation and restraint. And what could hold them back then? God is forgotten, conscience is muffled, the mind is perverted, on the outside there are only temptations all around. Therefore, the pagans seemed to be filled with vices: illegal cohabitation - fornication; deceit that cunningly undermines the good and peace of one's neighbor - wickedness; stinginess indiscriminately - greed; evil thoughts to harm one's neighbor - malice; torment of the heart over the well-being and success of one’s neighbor – envy “attempt on life – murder; passions of primacy without due merit - strife; flattering speeches with the aim of deceiving a neighbor and setting him up so that he causes harm to himself - deception; evil mood, hidden malice, from which quarrels arise - malice. 1:30–31. In these two verses the apostle lists wicked people. These are those who speak ill of someone on the sly - slanderers (in Slavic terms “whisperers”); those who openly speak ill of others, out of malice, are slanderers; even those who are at enmity with God, reviling Him with murmuring and blasphemy are God-haters (in Slavic terms “god-abominations”); those who swear with indecent and caustic words are offenders (in Slavic “annoyers”); those who think highly of themselves and their advantages - self-praise (in Slavic “magnificent”); having any merits, looking down on those who do not have them, arrogant, arrogant - proud; inventors of evil, initiators, leaders of others for evil - inventive for evil; those who are not attentive to parental instructions are disobedient to parents; those who have lost the features of rationality are reckless; absurd, crafty - treacherous; those who are hard-hearted and do not even have kindred love are not loving; those who fearlessly violate mutual agreements are irreconcilable (in Slavic “not oath-keepers”); not compassionate, not inclined to mercy, cruel like animals - not merciful. C) Irresponsibility of those who know and those who do not (1:32–2:16) In addition to all the horror in which the pagan world found itself, one must also note that they are all irresponsible before God. They have no excuse for their bad character before God at His trial, for they knew what they should have done, but did not do it, and therefore condemnation awaits them. 1:32. The apostle specifically states that the pagans knew not only the depravity of sin, but also what retribution they would be subject to for their behavior. They knew about death and eternal torment, and yet not only did they not correct themselves, but they also drew others into the same vices with their approval, and this is the extreme limit of corruption. There is hope that the one who sins and at the same time realizes that he is sinning will correct his behavior over time, for he still has an incentive to repent in the consciousness and condemnation of sin, and whoever has reached the point where he boasts even of his shame has deprived himself of the last incentive to correct. 1 Therefore, you are inexcusable, every man who judges another, for by the same judgment with which you judge another you condemn yourself, because in judging another you do the same. 2 And we know that truly there is judgment of God on those who do such things. 3 Do you really think, O man, that you will escape the judgment of God by condemning those who do such things and (yourself) doing the same? 4 Or do you despise the riches of God’s kindness, meekness and long-suffering, not realizing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of righteous judgment from God, 6 Who will reward everyone according to his deeds: 7 to those who by persistence in good deeds seek glory, honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 But to those who persist and do not obey the truth, but give themselves over to unrighteousness, there will be wrath and wrath. 9 Tribulation and distress to every soul of a person who does 88 evil, first the Jew, then the Greek! 10 On the contrary, glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, first to the Jew, then to the Greek! 11 For there is no partiality with God. 12 Those who sin without the law are without the law and will perish; and those who have sinned under the law will be condemned by the law 13 (for it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified, 14 For when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what is lawful, then, not having the law, they are a law unto themselves: 15 they show that the work of the law is written in their hearts, as evidenced by their conscience and their thoughts, sometimes accusing, sometimes justifying one another) 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secret deeds of men through Jesus Christ. 17 Behold, you are called a Jew, and you take comfort in the law, and you boast in God, 18 and you know His will and understand what is best, learning from the law, 19 And I am confident of myself, that you are a guide for the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 A teacher of the ignorant, a teacher of babes, having in the law an example of knowledge and truth: 21 Why, when you teach another, do you not teach yourself? 22 When you preach not to steal, do you steal? When you say, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” are you committing adultery? By abhorring idols, are you blasphemous? 23 Do you boast about the law, but dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 For for your sake, as it is written, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles. 25 Circumcision is beneficial if you keep the law; and if you are a transgressor of the law, then your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the statutes of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision to him? 27 And he who is uncircumcised by nature and does the law, will he not condemn you, a transgressor of the law under the Scripture and circumcision? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision made outwardly in the flesh; 29 But he who is a Jew inwardly, and that circumcision which is in the heart is in the Spirit, and not in the letter, his praise is not from men, but from God. 2:1. Everyone knows that there is righteous judgment for lawlessness and sinners. If some, whether in private or in general conversations, condemn sins, but not in themselves, but in others, then such, sinning, have no justification - they condemn themselves. 2:2. Everyone knows that those who do such things are subject to the Judgment of God, the truest Judgment. From here it directly follows that if there is a Judgment of God, which is undoubtedly the case, then how does the person himself, who condemns others and does the same, think of escaping this Judgment? 2:3. There is a judgment of God, and therefore it is in vain to think that you can somehow evade it. On the contrary, whoever condemns someone himself exposes himself to even greater condemnation, because he did what he had previously condemned in another. 2:4. But at the same time, some of those reading the message could think like this: I have sinned so much, but God does not punish me, and perhaps he will not punish me now. The Apostle warns against such a thought, saying that God’s long-suffering and condescension towards the sinner have a good purpose - to give him time to more deeply recognize his sins and repent of them here - the goodness of God leads him to repentance. Therefore, one should not neglect it, but should use it to correct oneself, so as not to incur even greater condemnation for neglecting the gifts of condescension, or the mercy of God. 2:5. With His long-suffering, the Lord leads the sinner to repentance. But woe to him if he neglects the mercy of God - his heart will harden, his feeling for everything that can still lead to repentance will become dull. Finally, the very voice of conscience will be drowned out, and disastrous indifference will take root in the soul, it will lose all sensitivity, become stone, and then neither the grace of God nor the fear of punishment will awaken it. Following this will come enmity against God and everything Divine, and after it - despair and final destruction. This is the result of hardness of heart, which comes from an unrepentant heart. The sinner, by his behavior, collects the wrath of God on his head like a treasure, which will not hesitate to break out over him on the day of God’s righteous Judgment. 2:6. The Lord will judge only for works. And faith is only an initial matter, guiding the behavior of a Christian. It leads to the path of salvation, gives strength for salvation, and salvation itself is accomplished by works of faith. When you hear that you can be saved only by faith, you must flee these seductive and dangerous speeches. They are not from God, but from the enemy of our salvation. 2:7. To those who decide to live holy and pleasing to God, supporting themselves with the hope of future reward (glory and honor), God will give them the taste of eternal blessings - eternal life. 2:8. And for those who sin not by chance, but are torn from the hands of the Truth, which commands a virtuous life, and willingly, with servility, obey untruth, knowing that it is untruth, then - “rage and anger”, rejection from God: “depart from Me” (see Matt. 25:41), - and terrible torment. 2:9. The Apostle again repeats what he said about the trial, wanting to more strongly imprint the truth that there will be a trial and at it everyone will receive what they deserve by their deeds. Internal, mental (“sorrow”) and external, physical (“crowded”) suffering and torment will fall on every soul, as the main culprit of sins, doing evil with diligence, being carried away by evil and not repenting of it. First of all, great punishments will fall on the soul of the Jew, as being more knowledgeable in the truth, and then on the soul of the Greek. 2:10. All the fullness of the benefits prepared by the Lord in His Heavenly Kingdom will be received by everyone: mainly the Jews, for whom it was more difficult to justify themselves due to the mass of demands of the law placed on them, then the Greeks - those of the pagans who honor God and live in truth, under the guidance of natural knowledge of God and conscience. 2:11. Lest anyone think that God unfairly equates the rewards of the pagans, who did not have a written law and revealed teaching of God, with the Jews, the chosen people of God, the apostle adds that God is no respecter of persons. Whoever is worthy of something due to his deeds will receive it, whether he is a Jew or a Greek, it makes no difference. On what basis will the Lord judge Jews and Gentiles? Based on the means of a godly life given to them. 2:12. He who had only the natural law will be condemned for his sins for eternity, not according to the written law, but according to the gift innate in his nature to recognize good and evil. Whoever had a written law and sinned will be judged according to this law and condemned to eternal torment. It turns out that Jews who did not fulfill the law given to them will be judged more severely. Why? 2:13. Because for righteousness it is not enough to have the law before God and only read or listen to what it commands or prohibits, but it is necessary to fulfill it, and only those who do the law will be justified at the Judgment of God and will receive a reward. But if only those who do the law are justified, then how will the Gentiles who do not have the law be justified? 2:14. Pagans have a natural law embedded in their soul, therefore, they can create what is lawful by nature. This law is in their nature - in themselves, therefore they are a law to themselves. 2:15. How is the work of the law done by the pagans? A legal (moral) matter appears, first of all, in the heart, as if it were written there. If you meet someone who is suffering, compassion for him appears in your heart. When someone sees someone who is offended, displeasure towards the offender is born again in the heart, with the urge to protect the sufferer. If someone receives a good deed, the heart is filled with gratitude to the benefactor. So in all moral matters, the first suggestion comes from the heart. Who shows what is right in the heart? Conscience quickened by the fear of God. She inspires goodness in the heart, and the heart sympathizes with it. But there is still no definite command of the law. How does it happen? The person paid attention to this sympathy of the heart, recognized it and with his consciousness turns to his conscience: what should he do? Then conscience authoritatively, through consciousness, tells him that he must definitely act as his heart suggests. Thus, a legal decision will take place in the conscience, consciousness and heart. Now, in order for this legal decision to go into execution, it needs to pass through the soul with its needs, habits and external relationships accepted as a rule. Here it almost always meets with a storm of opposing sentiments. Meanwhile, conscience defends its cause. There is a struggle between thoughts, on the one hand, accusing, and on the other, justifying the proposed law. Whichever side of thoughts prevails, execution will follow. So, a legal matter, internally laid down by law, is in fact either rejected or fulfilled. Who does it depend on? From the free will of man, that is why secret decisions (taking place in the soul of man) will, in fact, be subject to trial and condemnation. 2:16. On the Day of Judgment, the fate of everyone will be finally decided, but not by appearance, not by what a person is and what he is like in his appearance, but by what he is according to his inner structure, that is, how his deeds originated in his soul, how he related to the voice of his conscience, what motives guided him in his deeds. Such judgment, as the apostle taught, would be carried out by God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ, to whom He gave all judgment (see John 5:22). II. And the Jews contain the truth of God in unrighteousness (2:17–3:20) In the previous verses, the apostle put the Jews on the same line as the pagans before the Judgment of God and thereby aroused in them fears of condemnation. In the following verses, he addresses his speech exclusively to the Jews and proves that they, like the pagans, contain the truth of God in untruth. Both by purpose and by their consciousness they know the will of God not only for themselves, but also for others - the pagans (2:17-20). And since in fact it turned out that they live incorrectly, in contradiction to both their purpose and their consciousness (2:21-24), then all their advantages over the pagans are useless; they represent the Jew only as worse than the pagan (2:25-29). This conclusion could not but meet with an objection: what advantage does the Jew have over the pagans? Having eliminated him (3:1–8), the apostle again accuses the Jews, no longer on his own behalf, but on behalf of the prophets, and thereby makes them irresponsible before the Judgment of God (3:9–20). A) The Jews know the will of God not only for themselves, but also for the Gentiles (2:17–20) 2:17. Behold, he says, turning to the Jew, you bear on yourself the name of Judah, the son of Jacob, which you honor, to whom God promised the scepter, and the main thing is that from his tribe Christ was born - the hope of the tongues. You were given a law that taught you everything good, and you did not need, like the pagans, to worry, to search for what you need to do to please God, and you boast that you are the chosen people, as the best of all nations, that God is your God and you are His beloved people. 2:18. You know the will of God, definitely expressed in the law and interpreted by the prophets regarding how and with what to please the Lord, how to live godly among one another, how and with what to atone for your sins, what to trust in and correctly understand what and how to do in all cases of your life. All this is taught to you by your law, read and interpreted to you in the synagogues. 2:19–20. From the announcement of the law, you received both knowledge and how one should live according to this knowledge - the truth, and therefore you are convinced in yourself that you really are the interpreter of knowledge, the light, the mentor, the teacher of knowledge, who do not have it either by nature - infants, or by their own will - ignoramuses who have not developed their minds through negligence, that you are the leader - the leader of life according to the law, wandering in the darkness of ignorance - the blind. B) In fact, the Jews live abnormally (2:21–24) One would think that you are like that in reality. But: 2:21–22. You, knowing the will of God and teaching others how to live according to God’s commandments, should demonstrate the fulfillment of the law in yourself. Are you really doing this? As proof of the depravity of the Jews, their violation of the commandments of God, Saint Paul points to only three of their vices - theft, adultery and sacrilege. Perhaps because these three vices designate the three main vicious inclinations - self-interest, voluptuousness and pride, from which all other vices stem. Thus, a Jew teaches others not to steal and not to commit adultery, but he himself steals and commits adultery. Although he himself abhors idols (after the captivity, the Jews did not fall into idolatry), he blasphemes (in the glory of “holy stealing”). Perhaps the blasphemy of the Jews consisted in the fact that they withheld the best from what was sacrificed to the Lord, and offered the worst to Him, as the prophet Malachi convicted them of this (see Mal. 1: 8, 13-14). By connecting the speech with the following verses, this sacrilege can be understood this way: you abhor idols, but you do not honor the True God as you should - you steal from Him your heart, which should be dedicated to Him, betraying it to earthly, created things. 2:23–24. You boast that God has given His law to you, as the best of all nations. And it was necessary by deed, by fulfilling the law, to show that you are truly the best, but you break the law, and thereby dishonor not only yourself, but also God, who gave you His law. The pagans, seeing your vicious life, say in bewilderment: is God, who loves such vicious people, the True God? Did He not foresee that they were thin and would remain thin? Thus, because of you, the pagans do not glorify God, as they should, but blaspheme Him, as the prophet Isaiah testifies (see Is. 52:5). From what the apostle said it directly follows that both Jews and pagans are guilty before God and are subject to condemnation. But the Jews might have thought that such a judgment about them was unfair. They have the seal of God on them - circumcision, which will save them from condemnation. The Apostle says to this: C) The advantages of the Jew show him only as worse than the Gentile (2:25–29) 2:25. Circumcision, and with it the entire ritual law, of course, have significance, but not on their own, but in the fulfillment of the law, which expresses the internal moral and religious structure of a pious Jew: the fear of God, religious and moral feelings and deeds. Without this internal law, external circumcision has no meaning. And vice versa. 2:26. Suppose (in Glav. “even if slaughter”) that the uncircumcised fulfills all the requirements of the law as he should, will he not receive justification, like the circumcised? Not only will he himself be justified, but he will even judge the circumcised sinner. 2:27. This uncircumcised one, if he fulfills the law, will condemn you if you turn out to be a transgressor of the law, to the fulfillment of which Scripture obliges you and constantly encourages you. If the one who does not have the Scripture and circumcision, breaking the law, is a criminal, then you, having the Scripture and the law, become a greater criminal because of the Scripture and circumcision. And what’s most terrible for a Jew who thinks of himself as God’s chosen one is that he will be condemned at the future Judgment not by a Jew, but by a pagan, whom he despises here. 2:28–29. The appearance of the Jews has developed into a certain type, known to everyone; the external law seemed to be visibly embodied in him. The Jew fulfills all the external requirements of the law and, as a seal of this, wears bodily circumcision and considers himself right before God. The Apostle does not reject this external thing, but says that the law has an internal, spiritual side, which is invisible, since it concerns the heart, moral and religious feelings and moods. She's in charge. That is why a true Jew, not in appearance, but one who serves God in spirit (heart), circumcises not only his flesh according to the letter of Scripture, but, mainly, circumcises his heart according to the spirit of Scripture, cutting off his passions. A visible Jew receives praise from people for his outward fulfillment of the law, but a Jew in heart receives praise from God. D) What is the advantage of the Jew over the Gentiles (3:1–8) 1 So, what is the advantage of being a Jew, or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 This is a great advantage in every way, but especially in the fact that they have been entrusted with the word of God. 3 For what? even if some were unfaithful, will their unfaithfulness destroy the faithfulness of God? 4 No way. God is faithful, but every man is a liar, as it is written: Thou art righteous in Thy words, and thou shalt prevail in Thy judgment. 5 If our unrighteousness reveals the truth of God, then what shall we say? won't God be unjust when he expresses anger? (I speak from human reasoning). 6 No way. For how else can God judge the world? 7 For if the faithfulness of God is elevated by my unfaithfulness to the glory of God, why else should I be judged as a sinner? 8 And should we not do evil so that good may come, as some slander us and say that we teach so? The judgment against such is just. 9 So what? do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already proved that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, 10 As it is written: There is none righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; no one seeks God; 12 They have all turned aside from the way, even one of them is worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. 13 Their throat is an open tomb; they deceive with their tongue; the poison of asps is on their lips. 14 Their lips are full of slander and bitterness. 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 destruction and destruction are in their ways; 17 They do not know the way of peace. 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. 19 But we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth is stopped, and the whole world becomes guilty before God, 20 For by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, to which the law and the prophets testify, 22 The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ is to all and to all who believe, for there is no difference, 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God offered as a propitiation 89 in His blood through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness in the forgiveness of sins previously committed, 26 during the longsuffering of God, to demonstrate his righteousness at this time, that he may appear righteous and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. 27 Where is there something to boast about? destroyed. What law? the law of affairs? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we acknowledge that a man is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law. 29 Is God really the God of the Jews only, and not of the Gentiles? Of course, pagans too, 30 For there is one God, who will justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcised by faith. 31 Do we then make void the law by faith? No way; but we affirm the law. 3:1. They will say: if there is no benefit in either Judaism (external) or circumcision (according to the flesh), then why are the Jewish people called? Why was the promise given to him? In general, what is its advantage over other pagan peoples? 3:2. There are many of these advantages, but the apostle stops here in the course of his thoughts on one thing: they were entrusted with the words of God - the word of God, Scripture with all its deep and comforting meaning of the prophecies about the Messiah, so that they, as God’s trusted ones, would be the first to meet and announce to the whole world about the appearance of the Savior. But it turned out differently. The majority of Jews, and moreover, the most educated majority (priests, scribes and Pharisees), do not believe the fact of the New Testament that has already come. The question involuntarily arose: is it true that the Old Testament has already ended and the New Testament has begun? 3:3. Even during the Savior’s earthly life, the obvious lack of faith in Him by the rulers, scribes and Pharisees confused the people and shook their faith. The people might have thought that if Jesus were the promised Messiah and His teachings were true, then the scribes and Pharisees would be the first to believe in Him. Meanwhile, they clearly do not believe, and only the common people believe in Him. But the people are ignorant of the law, and therefore can easily make mistakes (cf. John 7:48–49). And afterwards, during the preaching of the apostles, and almost always, examples of noble unbelief greatly hindered and continue to hinder the spread and establishment of the faith of Christ and the truth in general. The Apostle, having this in mind, says here as it were: do not be embarrassed by this, for the unbelief of some, no matter who they are, is not able to destroy the plan of God’s economy. At the time appointed by God, the promised Redeemer appeared, and the gospel of Him will spread throughout the entire universe, despite the unbelief of some. Is it really possible to think that the unbelief of some can change the plans of God, make God unfaithful to His promises? 3:4. This cannot be, because such thoughts contradict religious beliefs, according to which God is always True in everything. As He promised, so He will do, and nothing in the world can prevent Him from fulfilling His plans. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar. This is also confirmed by the prophetic word (see Ps. 50:6), according to which God is always right in His words (promises), always justifies them by fulfilling them and turns out to be the winner in judgment, at which He will condemn the unbelievers, and every person who thinks otherwise is a liar. 3:5. The unbelievers, justifying themselves humanly, reasoned like this: if, as a result of the unbelief (untruth) of the Jews, the truth of God was brilliantly revealed - the Promised Redeemer came, and the gospel of Him and the glory of God spread throughout the entire universe, then it means that the former was the cause of the latter. And if so, is it right for God to be angry with unbelief and unbelievers? 3:6. The apostle responds to this that one cannot think so. Otherwise, untruth will remain unpunished, God will not be able to judge and condemn it in the world, and therefore, He will not be the Judge of the world. 3:7. Moreover, if the unfaithfulness of the Jews contributed to the elevation of God's faithfulness to His greater glory - the fulfillment of His promises - then the unbelieving sinner should not be condemned, but rewarded. This is how they reason humanly, falsely establishing a causal connection between human untruth and God’s truth! 3:8. From previous human reasoning it seems to follow that in order to increase the glory of God one should deliberately sin. So, some even said, the Apostle Paul himself allegedly taught. From what teaching of the apostle did they draw this conclusion? He taught that no prior merit was needed to be accepted into the Kingdom of Christ. No matter how sinful a person may be, if he believes in Jesus Christ, he will be saved. Grace does everything, and it happens that when sin increases, grace begins to abound (see Rom. 5:20). But in teaching this way, the apostle had in mind only the time before entering the Kingdom of grace, that is, the Church. From those who entered into it, he demanded the most perfect holiness. So, should we remain in sin (having entered the Kingdom of Christ by faith)? No way, let it not be (Rom.6:1). This is what Saint Paul taught. But the enemies of the apostle confused these two completely different points - before the introduction and after the introduction, and blasphemed him, as if he generally taught: “Let us do evil, that good may come.” Such distorters of the apostolic preaching oppose the plans of God and seduce others. On such people is truly the righteous and formidable Judgment of God. E) The Apostle accuses the Jews with the words of the prophets (3:9–20) 3:9. So, did the Jews have an advantage over the pagans? From the previous speeches of the apostle it was clear that the advantages that the Jews enjoyed were given to them not for their merits, but only by the grace of God. They themselves are just as or even more sinful than the pagans. The apostle now proves this idea with the words of the prophets. 3:10. “There is none righteous, not even one.” These words are not literally in Scripture, and one can assume that here the apostle gives only a general meaning, saying, as it were, according to the meaning of Scripture, that there is not a single person wholly righteous before God. He further proves this idea with excerpts from various places in the Bible. 3:11. This means general oblivion of God. The understanding of God is the preoccupation of the mind with God, and the seeking of God is the aspiration of the heart to Him. Here the apostle speaks of people who do not think about God either in their minds or in their hearts; He seems to be completely absent from their lives. 3:12. The decline of piety is followed by the decline of morality. Everyone has deviated from God and His will - both with their minds and hearts they began to serve their own lusts, and therefore they became unfit for any good: there is no one who would actually fulfill the good inspirations of the heart and conscience (see Ps. 13: 1-3). 3:13. What is in their mind is also in their tongue, which, spreading the stench (as from the grave) of wickedness, dirty debauchery and anger, makes it known that the soul of a person speaking such a language is rotting from the corrupting action of passions. The first indecency of the tongue is flattery, malice, which is aimed at covering up evil goals with good speech (words) and through this deceiving another, for the sake of one’s own benefits. Whoever listens only to them will already suffer - he will be poisoned, as it were, by the poison of an asp (see Ps. 5:10, 139:3). 3:14. The second indecency of the tongue is swearing - slander: they curse you so that something bad will happen to you. The third indecency is bitterness - speech that upsets another either with subtle offensive hints or harsh abuse (see Ps. 9:28). 3:15. They indulge in anger and express the desire to shed the blood of another - to destroy him. 3:16. Either as overt villains or as secret ones, they leave behind traces of destruction and all kinds of misfortune. 3:17. They have neither in thoughts nor in deeds the desire to establish and maintain peace, and do not understand that this is necessary for good (see Proverbs 1:16; Isaiah 59:7–8). 3:18. They have completely forgotten God and do not fear Him (see Ps. 35:2). These are the gloomy features with which the prophets depict the wickedness and untruth of people! What kind of people? Pagans? - No, not pagans, but Jews. 3:19. All of the above accusations against people of wickedness and untruth are contained in the Old Testament Scriptures (the law in general), and they, as you know, speak to those who are under the law, that is, to the Jewish people, so that no one can say anything in their own justification before God. Thus, the whole world - Jews and pagans - become guilty before God and worthy of God's wrath - condemnation. 3:20. The pagans, however, could not imagine anything that would mitigate their guilt before God, but the Jews could refer to their deeds of the law, could say that they were fulfilling the law, and therefore could not be subject to condemnation, along with the pagans. The apostle here briefly gives, however, the answer - no one can be justified by the works of the ritual law. The law could not justify a person, because it did not have justifying power, but only pointed to this power, and this was its whole role. The law of morality could come to the rescue, but it was spiritual, and the performers were carnal (flesh) - weak, passionate, sensual, and, as such, could not on their own fulfill the spiritual demands of the law, which only commanded and forbade, and did not give the strength to fulfill its commands. Therefore, the law did nothing but bring people to the consciousness of their sinfulness. Section two. The truth of God comes from faith. God created a special, wondrous image of salvation in His Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (3:21–7:6) Having proved that the human race itself, by its own strength, could not justify itself before God, because it turned out to be completely and completely depraved by the essence of its nature and subject to the wrath of God according to His justice, the apostle says that, despite this guilt of mankind before God, He now proclaims in the Gospel a new image of His righteousness and justification in His Only Begotten Son, through faith in Him. I. The Apostle persuades, attracts, and persuades to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (3:21–4:25) 3:21. Now, after the fulfillment of the time set for the coming of Christ, the truth of God has become clear (appeared) to all Christians from Jews and pagans - the righteousness bestowed by God not from the works of the written or natural law, but from faith; the righteousness to which the law and the prophets testified. 3:22. The truth of God is possible and realized only by sincere, heartfelt faith in the entire New Testament work of salvation, organized by Jesus Christ. It operates within everyone and extends to everyone without any external distinction - Jew or Greek. Why? 3:23–24. There is no difference in justification, firstly, because everyone without exception is a sinner; secondly, because righteousness is given freely, for the sake of God’s mercy alone - His grace, through redemption from the slavery of sin and the devil by Jesus Christ. 3:25–26. God, in His council, decided from eternity that the Lord Jesus Christ should be for us a Purification, a Sacrifice of propitiation. Its symbol is the Old Testament purification (see in detail Ex. Chapter 25, Lev. Chapter 16). Previously, once a year, but not more often, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies with the blood of a sacrifice for the sins of the entire people and sprinkled it on the lid of the ark, the place where God Himself mysteriously dwelt between the Cherubim and from where He gave His commands to the high priest. So, God, invisibly present over the purgatory, accepted this blood as a sacrifice of propitiation. Through this, all Israel was made clean from all the sins they had committed during the year. So now the Lord Jesus Christ brought His most pure Blood, which He shed on the Cross for the human race, to God, His Father, with Whom He did not cease to abide even after His incarnation, and thus became the unceasing, always active Purifier of people. What the representative purification gave only once and for one year, in the Lord Jesus the Blood that stained Him is given continuously for all times. Thus, Jesus Christ for us is the Purgatory, the propitiatory Sacrifice, for He propitiates God and accepts the remission of our sins, which is true cleansing “in His Blood,” through faith, that is, when by faith we accept upon ourselves, as it were, the irrigation of His Blood. God arranged this method of justification “to demonstrate His righteousness,” so that it would be clear to everyone that He has mercy or justifies not out of arbitrariness or excess of goodness, but in truth. Truth would not allow mercy when the truth is not satisfied, but when it is satisfied, it itself demands mercy. The apostle presents the manifestation of God's truth in two forms - before the coming of Christ (to demonstrate His righteousness during the forbearance of God) and after the coming of Christ (to demonstrate the truth from faith in Jesus). How was the righteousness of God revealed before the coming of Jesus Christ? Then God patiently endured, as if he ignored the sins of those who sinned at that time, did not punish them according to His righteousness, but satisfied the righteousness with the sacrifice offered in advance - the Blood of Jesus Christ. So, in the Old Testament, the Lord righteously, that is, without violating the truth, endured sins and sinners, out of attention to truth through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. How does the truth of God appear now, after the incarnation of Christ? God has mercy on people and justifies them not only because He is infinitely Good, but because of the faith of those who can understand and accept this goodness by the power of their faith. He who believes in the redemptive power of Christ’s sacrifice unites himself with Christ by the power of his faith, receives from Him the justifying power that in each of us overcomes sin, reconciles us with God, and then, by virtue of the same truth of God, attracts His mercy to us. Thus, in the New Testament, God is righteous and justifies us for believing in Jesus Christ. From this the apostle draws a conclusion in relation to the Jews. 3:27. Previously, the Jews could boast of having the divinely established statutes, but since they did not fulfill them, they thereby deprived themselves of all praise. And even more so now - with the advent of the New Testament, this praise has been destroyed (in Slavic, “driven away”), has disappeared, and has no more place. Why did I “drive away”? Is it by force of affairs? No, although legal deeds did not give room for praise, but mainly because of faith and grace, which are given tuna - freely, by the grace of God. 3:28. The apostle concludes his previous speech. From all that has been said, it is clear that every person is justified by faith, and not by the works of the law. This is our immutable conviction “we recognize”. It cannot be otherwise. 3:29–30. God is not the God of the Jews alone, but of all people - and of the pagans, who, not having lawful deeds, should have completely perished. This is the law of salvation that the Lord has now established for everyone: believe and you will be saved, whether you are circumcised or uncircumcised - faith alone (without the law) is able to make you righteous before God. But if a person is justified by faith, and not by the works of the law, then should we not conclude from this that the law is completely destroyed by faith and it was completely useless? 3:31. The apostle answers the puzzling question that faith not only does not destroy the meaning of the law, on the contrary, it affirms its meaning. How? Law and faith are essentially the same in their essence and goals. Both law and faith have the purpose of leading a person to salvation in Jesus Christ. But faith, giving man the means to fulfill the law, to be justified, thereby affirms the power of the law, which did not give man such means. The law only led a person to faith, but it already justifies him. So faith is necessary. The apostle reveals this idea in more detail in the examples of Abraham and David. 1 What, say, did Abraham our father acquire in the flesh? 2 If Abraham was justified by works, he has praise, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. 4 The reward of the one who works is not according to mercy, but according to debt. 5 But to him who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. 6 So David calls the man blessed to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 7 Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin. 9 Does this blessedness apply to circumcision or to uncircumcision? We say that Abraham's faith was counted as righteousness. 10 When was it imputed? after circumcision or before circumcision? Not after circumcision, but before circumcision. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness which he had through the faith of being uncircumcised, so that he became the father of all who believed in the uncircumcision, so that righteousness might be imputed to them also, 12 and the father of the circumcision, not only having received circumcision, but also walking in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham, which he had while uncircumcised. 13 For the promise was not given to Abraham, or to his seed, by law, to be heir of the world, but by the righteousness of faith. 14 If those who are established in the law are heirs, then faith is vain, the promise is useless; 15 For the law produces wrath; for where there is no law, there is no transgression. 16 Therefore according to faith, so that it may be according to mercy, so that the promise may be sure to all, not only according to the law, but also according to the faith of the descendants of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written: I have made thee a father of many nations) before God, whom he believed, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth things that are not as though they were. 18 He believed with hope, beyond hope, through which he became the father of many nations, according to what was said: “So many will your seed be.” 19 And, not failing in faith, he did not consider that his body, almost a hundred years old, was already dead, and Sarah’s womb was dead; 20 did not waver 90 at the promise of God through unbelief, but remained steadfast in faith, giving glory to God 21 and being fully confident that He is able to do what He has promised. 22 Therefore it was counted to him as righteousness. 23 But it was not written in relation to him alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also in relation to us; will be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus Christ our Lord from the dead, 25 Who was delivered up for our sins and rose again for our justification. 4:1. Abraham, the father of the Jewish people and the bearer of promises about them, was a righteous man, a friend of God. How did he achieve such righteousness? Is it by works of the flesh, or by fulfilling the commandments of the Lord in one’s own strength? 4:2. It is true that the deeds of Abraham's piety are known and visible to everyone, but only people who judge by appearance, and not God, base their praise on this visible thing. Therefore, it is necessary to know the true praise of Abraham from God. What does Scripture say in the name of God about the righteousness of Abraham, was it from works (the flesh)? 4:3. Scripture testifies that Abraham received praise from God and was called righteous, but not for his visible deeds, but for faith, which gave birth to deeds and made them pleasing to God (see Gen. 15:6). He lived entirely by faith. The Lord commanded him to leave his father’s house and go to an unknown land, and he went. God promised this land to him and his offspring, he believed and waited for the promised offspring, which he did not yet have. Years passed, a childless old age set in, he still had no offspring, but he still believed and waited for a descendant. Now faith finally culminated in an event - God gave him a son. But as soon as his son grew up, God commanded him to be sacrificed to Himself. Abraham believes that this should be so, goes to the indicated place to sacrifice his only begotten to God, without ceasing to believe that he will still have numerous offspring. Such was Abraham's faith! 4:4–5. If it is said about Abraham: “he believed, and it was imputed to him,” it means that all the power is in faith, and not in works. If there had been a justifying power in works, then it would have been said: he did such and such, but did not believe, and it would not have been said - it was imputed, that is, given by grace, but repaid according to debt, in truth, which he deserved by works. It can be said that faith in righteousness is imputed only to those who do not do, but believe. In order to more correctly understand the apostle’s speech about the worker and the believer, it is necessary to more accurately determine how they differ. The essential sign of a doer is works, but a believer is also unthinkable without works, because he lives (does) in the work of faith. This means that doing and believing differ from each other in spirit. What is the spirit of the believer? He believes in the One who justifies the wicked, establishes himself on Him, as on an unshakable rock, with the faith that it is not the works he does, but God, Whom he serves with all his soul, in His goodness, will not allow him to perish, but will save him, justify him, even if he was previously wicked. And the spirit of the doer does not consist in unbelief (for he also believes that there is a God, Creator and Provider), but in the fact that he places the support of his salvation in his deeds, in truth, and not in the mercy of God. Therefore, their reward is different. The believer, relying on mercy, which is limitless, is justified by mercy; and the one who does it, relying on his truth, receives the truth as his due. But since it is impossible for a person to do everything necessary for justification on his own, he does not receive justification for his deeds. But why does the believer receive his reward? Because faith accomplishes and completes deeds, because it is impossible to sincerely believe and keep faith without constant labor in the spirit of faith. Therefore, faith is higher than works in themselves, as the most perfect act of the spirit. The apostle confirms this idea with the testimony of David in the psalms. 4:6–8. David calls blessed the person to whom God imputes righteousness (whom he recognizes as righteous and accepts as righteous) regardless of the works of the law (see Ps. 32:1-2), despite the fact that he does not have and does not represent works of righteousness, and not only does not have such works, but, on the contrary, has works opposite to that - sins and iniquities. Meanwhile, the Lord honors such a sinner with a state of bliss - special closeness to Himself. Why? Because he forgave him all his sins. What did you forgive me for? For his sincere repentance, as can be seen from the words of the same psalm: “there is flattery in his mouth” - there is no sin-loving mood and desire to sin in his heart, therefore, there is the opposite of this - a sincere desire for good, aversion from evil and contrition of the heart for the sins committed. It is for this that the Lord honors him with His closeness. What is faith? The Apostle, in the words of David, wanted to prove that faith is imputed to truth, but in the passage cited only the remission of sins is spoken, but not a word about faith. “As if the testimony does not go to the point” (Chrysostom). True, faith is not spoken of, but if we compare it with the previous one, where it is said that the sinner will receive mercy only by faith in the Justifier, then here, with justification, faith in the One who gives bliss to the believing sinner is implied. But perhaps the Lord forgives the sins only of His chosen people, the circumcised, to whom David’s confession literally refers? 4:9. “We (the apostles and Christians) say,” the apostle teaches, “that to Abraham faith was counted as righteousness.” Now let's consider when it was imputed - before or after circumcision. 4:10–11. Faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness before circumcision. Using the example of Abraham, the apostle decides the question of whom David predicts blessedness. Precisely uncircumcised. If so, then the question naturally arises: what does circumcision mean? Circumcision is an outward sign showing that the one who wears it is under the favor of God, and not that favor is acquired by this sign. So, first Abraham believed, and then received the command to be circumcised. This is not an accident, but, on the contrary, it was arranged by God, so that he who was justified by faith outside of circumcision and who received the sign (seal) of faith - circumcision, would become the father of all - both circumcised and uncircumcised, but who believe like him (according to his spirit), so that even to the uncircumcised faith would be counted as righteousness. 4:12. The uncircumcised have Abraham as their father when they believe, because their faith is credited to them as righteousness, just as it was credited to the still uncircumcised Abraham. And those who are circumcised have Abraham as their father, not only because they are circumcised and are descended from Abraham, but because of faith, when they believe and walk in the footsteps of the faith that Abraham had while he was still uncircumcised. Thus, circumcision in itself, without faith, has no value for justification, as a sign without a signified. Perhaps promises were given to Abraham for the works of the law, for the unconditional fulfillment of the commandments of the Lord? The Apostle answers. 4:13. Abraham was given the promise that he or his seed would be heirs of the world. Why is this promise given? Was it because of Abraham's faithfulness to the law or because of his faith? There was no law then; therefore, the promise was not given by law, but by faith. What is the essence of the promise? The fact is that Abraham and his seed will inherit the world not in a carnal, but in a spiritual sense, because the promise says: “all nations will be blessed (receive a blessing from God) through you and your seed (for the sake of you and your seed)" (Gen. 22:17-19). This blessing of God descended on the world through the Seed of Abraham, through Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of people, through faith in Him, by which people and they will be justified before God, like Abraham, the father of those who believe. To this the Jews could object: suppose Abraham received the promise through faith, but then God gave the law for justification and the fulfillment of the promise began to depend on the works of the law, therefore only those who accept the law and obey it can be heirs of the promise. The apostle answers this. 4:14. God gave the promise to Abraham not for his personal merits and fulfillment of the law, but solely for faith. He who receives an inheritance according to the law, of course, has no need of either faith or promises for faith. Thus, if the inheritance of Abraham is given for works of the law and according to the law, then both faith and the promise for faith are abolished. 4:15. The promise is a blessing promised by mercy, but “the law produces wrath,” therefore, it eliminates mercy, and without it the promise itself is unthinkable. For where there is law, there is crime; where there is crime, there is anger; where there is wrath, there is no blessing, and there is no blessing, there is no promise. Therefore, if the under-legal heirs of the promise, then faith is vain, the promise is ineffective, powerless, inapplicable, that is, there is neither faith nor promise. But how was sinfulness and death connected with the law given for righteousness? The law itself is holy, and its holy purpose is to show a person how he should live in order to be pleasing to God. But man, conscientiously examining his life under the guidance of the law, saw his sinfulness in all its fullness and depth and at the same time came to the realization that he did not have the strength to fulfill the law, and continued to sin consciously. Without the law, although he also sinned, it was out of ignorance, but under the law he sinned consciously and thereby brought upon himself a grave sin. This is what subordinate legislation leads to! 4:16. If for the works of the law one cannot receive the inheritance of the promise, then faith remains - to receive by faith, therefore, by mercy, and if by mercy, then one cannot doubt the fulfillment of the promise, for the mercy of God is both faithful and limitless. God established this order of things in spiritual life, “so that the promise might be certain.” Under the condition of faith, it can, and in this order, extend to everyone, to the entire seed, not only those under the law - the Jews, but also the pagans who believed like Abraham, which is why he is the father of all believers. That's what Scripture calls it. 4:17. Scripture calls Abraham the father of many languages, and not just the Jewish one, therefore, a father not according to the flesh, but according to faith (see Gen. 17:5). The following words: “before God” and to the end of the verse are connected with the words of the end of the previous verse: “who is the father of us all” before God and further. Their meaning is this: Abraham is our father according to the judgment of God, by kinship not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit - according to feelings, according to motives, according to faith. The apostle goes on to point out the essential features of Abraham's faith, to indicate what our faith ought to be. The main thing in his faith was that he believed without having any support for his faith either in himself or in the surrounding circumstances, but only because God told him so. This is evident from his entire history. God promised him numerous offspring. He believed, although he was childless. Old age has come - deadness for childbearing, and he continues to believe in God, who can revive even the dead, resolve the dead womb of Sarah with the birth of a son, believe in God, who calls the non-existent as existing, Who, by His omniscience, sees that he will have a son, and by His omnipotence will fulfill His promise. 4:18. Abraham, being old and having no children, wanted to make Eliezer, his steward, his heir, but God appeared to him and said: “He will not be your heir, but from you yourself will grow a seed, and a numerous seed.” Look how many stars there are in the sky. Such will be your seed” (cf. Gen. 15:4–5). Abraham, for human reasons, had no hope that anything would be born from him and Sarah, but he believed in God that it would be born, having hope beyond hope, for he knew that for God everything is possible (Ambrosiastes). The years passed, Abraham and Sarah grew older, and the Lord delayed in fulfilling the promise. 4:19. Abraham did not allow his faith and hope to weaken in the fulfillment of God’s promise of numerous descendants from him, despite the fact that he himself was almost a hundred years old, and Sarah was not only elderly, but also barren. And this is because he looked not at himself and Sarah, but at the unfaithful word of the Lord. 4:20–21. The apostle goes inside the soul of Abraham and depicts what happened there when he listened to the promises of God. He saw that God had promised him something impossible for his flesh, contrary to nature, but he did not hesitate, as might have been expected, and did not meet the promise with unbelief or distrust; he immediately completely believed the promise of God, although God did not confirm the promises by a miracle, like others, and “remained firm in the faith,” keeping it despite the obstacles. How did Abraham strengthen his faith? Because he left everything to faith and not to reason; otherwise he too would have fallen. He gave glory to God, understood His truth, His infinite power and, having formed for himself a proper concept of God, through this he was completely confident in the promises of God. He not only believed God, but, firstly, unshakably, as in his existence, he was convinced of His existence - this is the essence, the essence of faith, and, secondly, that God was “able and able to fulfill” what he promised. Such faith is the most sublime act of the spirit and is the fruit of love and living communication with God and, as it were, disappearing into Him with the heart. “Believing is characteristic of an exalted and great soul, and unbelief is a sign of an unreasonable and low soul” (Chrysostom). 4:22. In view of such high and deep faith of Abraham, it was said about him that faith was imputed to him as righteousness. Abraham's faith was a greater feat than works of justification, for works can be limited to one external side, but faith embraces the whole person, which is why it was imputed to Abraham as righteousness, as a reward. Thus it is counted as a reward for righteousness to all who believe, like Abraham. 4:23–25. Abraham's faith was not counted as righteousness to him alone. The events with him prophetically pointed to what is now happening in the New Testament. Abraham believed that God, who raises the dead and “calls things that are not as though they are,” is able to revive the deadness of his and Sarah’s flesh and give them a son. And we, says the apostle, believe in the same God who raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Abraham was credited with his faith in righteousness, and it will be credited to us if we imitate him in his faith. Abraham considered himself dead in his flesh to bear children, but faith revived his flesh and gave him a son; and we, dead in our sins, yet through faith in the Lord crucified for our sins in the font of baptism, receive justification; and by faith in the Risen One we ourselves become participants in His holy life, in Him we receive the fruit of life - we come to life. Having proved that a person is justified before God solely by faith, the apostle further indicates the fruits of faith and depicts how faith justifies a person before God. With the fruits of faith, as a precious treasure, the highest good, the apostle attracts hearts to faith, meaning the saying of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Where your treasures are, there are your hearts” (cf. Matt. 6:21), and where the heart is, there is the will. These fruits are peace with God (5:1), access to grace to obtain blessedness (5:2) and confidence in victory over evil (5:3-11). 1 Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we glory in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces patience, 4 From patience comes experience, from experience comes hope, 5 But hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For Christ, while we were still weak, at the appointed time died for the ungodly. 7 For hardly anyone will die for a righteous man; maybe someone will decide to die for a benefactor. 8 But God demonstrates His love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more therefore now, having been justified by His blood, we will be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we will be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we glory in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all men, because all sinned. 13 For even before the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 However, death reigned from Adam to Moses and over those who did not sin, like the transgression of Adam, who is the image of the future. 15 But the gift of grace is not like a crime. For if through the crime of one many were put to death, much more will the grace of God and the gift by the grace of one Man, Jesus Christ, abound for many. 16 And the gift is not like judgment for one sinner; for judgment for one crime leads to condemnation; and the gift of grace leads to justification from many crimes. 17 For if through the transgression of one death reigned through one, much more will those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through one Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, just as through one transgression there was condemnation for all men, so through one righteousness there was justification for life for all men. 19 For just as through one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so through one man’s obedience many will be made righteous. 20 But the law came after, and thus the transgression increased. And when sin increased, grace began to abound, 21 That as sin reigned unto death, so grace also might reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 5:1. So if we believe like Abraham, then we are justified by faith; the terrible wrath of God against all ungodliness and untruth will pass us by, the enmity between us and God is already over, and through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ we have entered into peace with God and gained access to the bliss lost in Paradise. But in order to receive bliss and maintain it, a person must be pure before God and righteous. Faith justified him before the truth of God for his past sinful life, but if he again, already justified, began to live only by his own strength, he would again fall into the same old depravity. Faith also provides him with significant help in this; through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, he gains access to the grace of the Holy Spirit, which revives him, renews and strengthens his spirit and strength to fulfill the will of God and, thus, instills in his soul the joyful hope of receiving bliss - of glorification from God. B) Accessing Grace to Receive Bliss (5:2) 5:2. Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are drawn to the grace of the Holy Spirit, which renews our spirit and strengthens our strength for a godly life, which we experience for ourselves - we stand in it: everyone has learned what we were before and what we have now become in the spirit under the influence of grace. This gives us the undoubted hope that we will be partakers of the eternal glory of God in the hereafter. Undoubted: we now boast about it, as if we had already received the promised bliss. C) Confidence of victory over evil (5:3–11) 5:3–4. With the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit, the believer is no longer what he was before without faith. Previously, in the fight against evil, sin, he fell powerless, he considered the temptation of evil to be a punishment from God, now he joyfully enters into the fight against sin and temptation, knowing that they are sent by God to test and cultivate the strength of his renewed spirit. While fighting sin, enduring various sorrows and suffering, he becomes stronger in spirit, acquires patience - stability, self-control (cf. Luke 8:15), as a result of this, through his own experience (in glory, “art”), he is convinced that he is able to fight sin and defeat it with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. By thus fighting sin and temptation, he is more and more strengthened in the hope of his salvation and the hope of glory. 5:5. Hope for future bliss will not disgrace or deceive him, for it is based on the great love of God the Father for the human race, by which He gave the believer the grace of the Holy Spirit, as if He poured out His love into the hearts of people in the Holy Spirit. That the believer will not be put to shame by the hope of the glory of God, the apostle hitherto proved by sensations of the heart, or inner feeling. But since the evidence of the inner sense is not always vividly perceived, in the following verses he proves the immutability of the hope of a future blessed life by describing how we are justified. 5:6. God’s love for the human race is so immeasurably great that when the whole world was sinful and guilty of the terrible Judgment of God, at the time appointed at the Eternal Council of God, Christ, the Son of God, appeared on earth and died for the wicked to satisfy God’s righteousness. This love of God for the human race is unparalleled in human history. 5:7. There are very rare examples in history, but there are examples that for a righteous man, and especially his benefactor, friends and obligors who had benefited from him were ready to sacrifice their lives, and did. But for anyone to agree to such self-sacrifice for a villain, for his enemy - history does not know such examples. But the Lord showed us such love. 5:8. When the human race was wicked and in enmity with God, then He decided to send His Son to death to save it, “for God so loved the world that he gave his Son (to death), so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). 5:9. If, out of His love, Jesus Christ delivered the still wicked from the wrath of God, then all the more will He deliver us, already redeemed by His Blood, from future torment. 5:10. If by His death Christ justified sinners, then what does He not give to us by His life, that is, by rising from the dead and sitting at the right hand of the Father, having all power both in heaven and on earth! And indeed, He gave us the power to become children of God. 5:11. We have received through Jesus Christ not only the previously listed benefits: calling, justification, reconciliation, the outpouring of the Spirit and love by the Spirit, the hope of glory, but even more incomparably that we boast in God, closeness to Him and close fellowship with Him in that He is our Father, and we are His children, we love Him and are loved by Him and have in Him a ready Intercessor and Patron. And all this is given through Jesus Christ, and so dear and sublime that nothing else can even compare with it. How is this benefit given? Communion with Christ in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and through Jesus Christ with God and the Father (see John 17:21–23). III. The significance of Christ's economy in the salvation of all mankind (5:12–21) The Apostle, by comparing Jesus Christ, the Founder of the new spiritual life, with Adam, the founder of carnal, sinful life, explains how the righteousness of One - Jesus Christ - saves the entire human race, how the merits of One can be imputed to everyone. 5:12. Previously, the apostle said that the whole world is guilty of the wrath of God, because everyone has sinned, but here he explains where such universal sinfulness came from. It started with Adam. Death and sin were originally associated with God's definition. Having given the commandment to Adam, God said: as soon as you sin, you will die, or you will fall under the law of death. They sinned and fell under him. After this, children were born subject to the same law of death. And thus death entered the world because of the first sin of the first parents, for all sinned in it. 5:13–14. Sin reigned in the world even before the giving of the law through Moses. But this is obviously not a sin from breaking a law that has not yet existed. “Sin is then imputed when there is a law, and people who violate the law were necessarily called sinners” (Theophylact). But death reigned even before Moses, that is, before the publication of the law. This means there was sin through which death reigned; without it, there would be no reign of death. If it is proven that sin, as a crime of the law, did not yet exist, then it remains that sin was the sin of Adam, through whom death reigned over those who did not sin, like Adam, but became an accomplice in his sin and fall, like their forefather. In this case, Adam is the image of the future, that is, Christ, who justified everyone, although they did nothing for which they should be justified. But how come sin was not imputed before the law, when Cain, antediluvian humanity, Sodom and Gomorrah were condemned to death for it? At the same time, you need to know that their sin was not similar to the sin of Adam - the definition of death was not connected with it, moreover, the condemnation for it did not extend to everyone, but only to some. The condemnation of these sinners to death was not what the original sentence to death was, but only an acceleration of its term, already sentenced to everyone. The apostle goes on to say that we have received much more in Christ, the New Adam, than we lost in the ancient Adam. 5:15. The more mercy and the gift of justification are greater and higher than crime, the more we have received from Christ in comparison with what we lost in Adam. If in Adam, by natural necessity, and without sinning like him, everyone was subject to the law of death, then all the more is the grace and gift of Jesus Christ, as an outpouring of the love of God, able to save believers not only from sin and death, but even to grant them sonship with God and grace-filled life. The apostle further explains this same idea about the superiority of the gifts of grace over crime from a different point of view. 5:16. In Adam, everyone is condemned to death for one of his crimes, but in Jesus Christ we are freed not only from Adam’s crime, which lies on us, as his descendants, but also from all our other crimes. 5:17. For just as the death of Adam in body and soul brought death and destruction into the whole world, so much more does the life of Jesus Christ bring into the world an “abundance of grace” and life in the forgiveness of sins, in holiness, with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit given to believers, so that the inheritance of Adam is the kingdom of death, and the inheritance of Christ is the kingdom of life. Thus, Jesus Christ is completely the ancestor of the new humanity and the Second Adam. 5:18–19. The first Adam transgressed God's commandment and brought condemnation and death upon everyone. The second Adam - Jesus Christ, by His death on the cross for the human race, justified people before God. The first Adam resisted the will of God, wished to be God himself or like Him, and poured this poison of disobedience into the souls of his offspring. Jesus Christ was obedient to the will of God until death; the will of God was also His will, and this obedience He poured into the souls of those who believed in Him and thus made them justified. What did the law do for so many years, if Christ alone justified us? 5:20. The Apostle answers that the law not only did not reduce the great merits in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, but, on the contrary, significantly increased them. It was given after Adam’s crime, when the concept of good and evil was eclipsed in the consciousness of fallen people. He explained it to people, but not only did he not make them better, but even worse in their own minds; With the advent of the law, human crimes increased. And it’s understandable. What previously, with a darkened conscience, was not considered a crime by people, has become a crime in the light of the law. What was previously an ideal in pleasing God, the law declared insignificant in the eyes of God. The Law clarified and resolved this ideal: be holy as God is holy (cf. Lev. 11:44, 19:2). The person did not have the strength to do this. Thus, the law revealed all the criminality of man, and all his depravity, and powerlessness to justify himself before the truth of God. Then the work of redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ appeared in all its splendor and majesty - in the abundance of the grace of God. But for what purpose? 5:21. So that instead of sin and death, which reigned in the descendants of ancient Adam, now, with the help of grace, righteousness and eternal life – blessed – would reign between the descendants of the New Adam - Jesus Christ. This is what our Lord Jesus Christ did for us! IV. Faith in the Lord who saves places an obligation on believers to be holy (6:1–7:6) With the advent of the Kingdom of grace, everyone, regardless of their past life, is called into this Kingdom by God Himself. But at the same time, a condition is made necessary, a kind of law for the members of this Kingdom - to be holy and righteous in this Kingdom. Arguing on this matter, the apostle first legitimizes this obligation, deducing it from our grace-filled, mystical union with Christ (6:1-10), then proposes ways to maintain this holiness and how to manifest it (6:11-14), with the application of incentives for this (6:15-23); finally, he rejects the use of the means that the law recommends for this (7:1-6). A) A holy life is obligatory for those who are united with Christ (6:1-10) 1 What shall we say? Should we remain in sin so that grace may increase? No way. 2 We died to sin: how can we live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we are united to Him in the likeness of His death, we must also be united in the likeness of His 91 resurrection, 6 Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, so that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 For he who died was freed from sin. 8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, 9 Knowing that Christ, having risen from the dead, dies no more: death no longer has power over Him. 10 For because He died, He died once to sin; and what he lives, he lives for God. 11 Likewise, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore let not sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts; 13 And do not yield your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness. 14 Sin must not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? No way. 16 Do you not know that to whomever you present yourselves as slaves to obey, you are also slaves to whom you obey, either slaves of sin to death, or slaves of obedience to righteousness? 17 Thanks be to God, that you, having formerly been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you have given yourselves. 18 Having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak from human reasoning because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you presented your members as slaves to uncleanness and lawlessness for wicked works, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for holy works. 20 For while you were slaves to sin, you were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then? Such deeds of which you yourself are now ashamed, because their end is death. 22 But now that you have been freed from sin and become slaves of God, your fruit is holiness, and the end is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 6:1. If God arranges our salvation by His grace, completely independent of our previous life, whatever it was, and only faith is required of us, then now we, the saved, need to change our sinful life to another and should we not remain in sins, so that grace will multiply? Such thoughts could easily arise in people prone to sin, taken away from sin. The Apostle here briefly denies such thoughts, and in the following verses he makes it an obligation for those who have entered into a new life - not a sinful, but a holy life, and indicates why this should be so. 6:2. Because having believed in Christ, we died morally to sin; if we have died, then obviously we cannot live in it or sin. The idea of ​​how we died to sin is not clear here, so the apostle explains it in the following verses. 6:3. He says that you know that those who were baptized in the name of Christ were baptized into His death. Having died on the cross for our sins, He killed sin by His death and became a cleansing power and saved us from sins. Therefore, whoever is baptized is immersed in the power that cleanses from sin; and this power in the very immersion destroys sin, so that not even a trace of it remains, this sin dies in a person. However, the mortification of sin here is not accomplished mechanically, but only with the full and living participation of the person being baptized. What is it? The intention to no longer sin, which is expressed by the person being baptized by renouncing Satan and all his works. This decision of his will is secured in baptism by the grace of the Holy Spirit, which gives him living and active power to fulfill this decision - to live sinlessly after baptism. Thus, the person being baptized is forgiven all his sins, and the grace-filled power given in baptism will protect him from future ones. This is how he becomes dead to sin. 6:4. So, plunging into the font of baptism, we are, as it were, lifted up with Christ onto the cross and laid in the tomb, and all in order to die to sin. And just as Christ rose from the dead in the lightness and glory of the Divine (in the glory of “the glory of the Father”), so he who was baptized, having died to sin and received grace-filled powers, must begin to live a new, bright and immaculate life, hating sin and loving truth and holiness. 6:5. We are united with Christ, like a graft with a tree to which it is grafted; therefore, everything that is in Him (according to His humanity) should also be our property. He died and rose again, therefore we, who are partakers of the likeness of His death, must be partakers of the likeness of His resurrection. If the first is accomplished by death to sin, the second must be accomplished through a new life in holiness and righteousness. If we die to sin in baptism, then naturally we must rise up sinless and, without much effort on our part, become righteous before God, since there is no more sin. The apostle goes on to explain what it means to die with Christ and why we need to work hard in the new life. 6:6. Here's what he says we need to know to clear up misunderstandings. Our old man is crucified with Christ. Obsolete in sins and sinful habits, degenerated from self-indulgence, greedy for every sin, our life in baptism in the name of Christ becomes completely weakened and yields its dominance in us to a new, good disposition. This is how the “old man” is crucified in baptism in order for all types of sin to be abolished - to become, as it were, no longer active in us, especially in our body, so that they cease to act in us, freeze, which is what the baptized person himself has to do. But how is it possible - the old man has already been crucified, and yet the body of sin or various types of vice still have to be abolished? Sin appears in three forms: firstly, as a deed, and embraces the entire totality of sinful deeds; secondly, as an inclination, and embraces all types of sinful inclinations, passions and vices; and, thirdly, as sinfulness in general, it means the fundamental inclination of a person in general to sin. Sin in the latter sense is, in fact, the old man. He is crucified and dies in baptism, because before baptism they renounce Satan and all his works - they blow, spit on him and thereby express mortal hatred of sin and love for truth and goodness, this is the crucifixion of the old man. But at the same time, the first two types of sin - inclinations and passions - remain in a person. They will need to be defeated with the help of the grace-filled powers bestowed in baptism, through labors and exploits that can weaken them and make them invalid (“abolish”). This fight against them is possible only when the love for sin (“the old man”) is crucified in us and there is determination and love for goodness and truth. The Apostle also indicates the method of abolishing the body of sin. If you want the body of sin to be abolished, do not work for sin, that is, every time an opportunity for sin arises or thoughts arise towards it, do not submit to it, drive away the thought, move away from the reasons, do not succumb to sin. If you don’t give food to passion, it will remain hungry. Mori, thus, starve her, and she will finally die, be abolished. So, do not allow yourself to indulge in any sin, and the “body of sin” (passions) will be abolished, so that in such a state a person will become dispassionate - he will not work for sin. 6:7. The apostle explains his idea of ​​freedom from slavery to sin with an example. Before baptism, we were slaves of sin and, like slaves, unquestioningly fulfilled the will of our master - we sinned. In baptism we died to sin and, as dead, we are freed from slavery to sin and therefore must not sin. The resurrected Christ will give strength for this. 6:8–9. How can one completely die to sin when the passions are not crucified and prevail? The Apostle answers: you have within you the power of the crucified Lord and with it you will conquer everything, you will not succumb to sin, you will not die, but you will live; believe that just as Christ, having risen, no longer dies, so you, united with Him, will not die and will not be in slavery to sin, because Christ is with you. Know this for sure, that Christ, risen from the dead, no longer dies and, as always alive, is ready to help you in your struggle with sin, therefore you need to die to sin and live for God. 6:10. For in baptism one thing died in us, another came to life. Sin died, or we died to sin, and life came to life for God or according to God, or we came to life for such a life. Both happened once and for all. Once upon a time we died to sin forever, so that we could always live to God. This is how we should live. Grace in baptism infuses new life into a mysterious union with the Lord. But this new sinless life is difficult to achieve for a soul in which sin still reigns in the form of inclinations and passions. To combat them, the apostle offers the following remedy. B) Means for fighting sin (6:11–14) 6:11. In the baptismal font, the baptized person, renouncing sin, dies for it and comes to life for God with his determination to live for goodness and truth, for which he receives grace-filled powers. So you too, he says, “consider yourself dead to sin,” always keep in mind that you died to sin and decided to live only for God, hoping that the Lord Jesus Christ will help you in this, for He is with you who believe in Him. But this decision of the spirit - to be dead to sin and live for God - is strongly opposed by sinful inclinations and passions living in the soul and body. How to fight them and defeat them? “Do not listen to the lusts of sin,” says the apostle. 6:12. In baptism we hated sin, renounced it, died, and decided to live holy lives assisted by grace. This decision was made in spirit and conscience. Meanwhile, the soul and body still remain on the side of sin. Through their long stay in sin, they have developed the skill of acting according to the instructions of sin, but they not only do not know how to act according to the holy, but also do not want to. The spirit demands to think good, but the head (mind, memory, imagination) is completely full of sinful ideas, which take over the consciousness. The spirit requires good deeds with selflessness, and the will (desires, plans, goals, means) is inclined towards self-indulgence and does not want to deprive itself of its usual pleasures. The spirit requires kind and bright feelings, but the heart is indifferent, even cold, towards them, not knowing the taste in them. The spirit requires wakefulness, work, abstinence, purity, and the body wants to sleep and enjoy sensuality. And there a whole horde of passions appears with their demands: the spirit, which itself died to sin, has to subjugate the soul and body and kill sin in them. How to do this? By resisting them in what they want and forcing them to do what they do not want. They want sinful things, do not listen to them, and not only do not listen, but also force them to do something contrary to their desire. Such an authoritative action of the spirit is necessary so that again, as before, before baptism, sin does not reign in the soul and body as its dwelling place, and does not begin to tempt and attract to itself, arousing lust for sinful objects and deeds. Do not listen to sin, resisting its lusts and suppressing them, and thereby do not allow sin to reign in you. 6:13. In order to weaken the influence of the lusts of sin on the soul, one must watch over the members of the body and not give them as instruments of sin. Sin lives in the heart and from here rules all the powers of the soul and members of the body. The heart, therefore, is his throne. Therefore, driven even from the heart by the decision of our spirit to live holy, he again tries to penetrate there and take possession of it again. For this purpose, he begins to seduce him with untruths, as if living holy means doing violence to his nature, and then he takes possession of the members of the body - hands, eyes, ears and others to carry out this untruth. The Apostle warns, saying something like this: when it happens that sin leads, for example, to look with your eyes at something unclean, passionate, with your hands at theft, and so on, do not yield to it the members of your body for a shameful deed. You have already died in baptism to sin, you have been resurrected for a new life, bright and holy, so try to live not for sin, but for God, who raised you. Give Him your members, submit to His will, so that they become servants only of Him, and not of sin, servants of truth, the will of God in His commandments. 6:14. All this is true, but we must not forget that sin is strong, it can overcome a person. To this the apostle answers that before baptism sin dominated you and you did not have the strength to fight it and overcome it, but after baptism you received the strength to fight and defeat sin, therefore do not be afraid to fight it. He will not overcome you, for “you are not under the law,” which only revealed sin in you and thereby strengthened it, but did not give you help in the fight against it, but “under grace,” which gives you the most powerful help in victory over sin. Before baptism, sin lives in the heart, and grace acts from the outside; after baptism, grace begins to dwell in the heart, and sin begins to act from the outside - through temptations and enticements. C) Incentives to acquire grace (6:15–23) 6:15–16. So, what comes of the fact that we are now not under the law, but under grace? Should we continue to sin, hoping that grace itself will save us? Of course not. On the contrary, we must try to remain in truth and holiness, because we are under the grace that God has given us because of our determination to live holy, to die to sin. Further, the apostle warns against non-resistance to sin, presenting the harmful consequences of this non-resistance - slavery and death, and the great benefits of resistance - freedom and life. To whom or what you spiritually surrender yourself to serve and obey, that is who you become slaves to. You indulge in sin, become slaves of sin; If you give yourself over to righteousness, you become its slaves. The consequence of slavery to sin is death, and slavery to righteousness is life. Sin kills all the powers of the soul and depletes the life of the body, but righteousness leads into true life, in which both body and spirit flourish. How does she enter? By obedience to her - devotion of all oneself to the will of God. Such a mood introduces a person into a state of righteousness - righteous, which fully corresponds to human nature, and therefore it is the state of a truly living person, or true life. 6:17–18. You, he says, know from experience what it means to be a slave of sin. When, by the grace of God, you heard the Gospel (teaching) about Christ, you accepted it and devoted yourself wholeheartedly to it, and now you have become convinced by experience what benefits it gives to the believer in the Lord Christ, namely: freedom from sin and enslavement to a righteous life with the help of the grace of God. Let us thank the Lord for this! 6:19. “The apostle above demanded greater severity in behavior, commanded them to become dead to the world, to die to sin. But such demands seemed heavy, even beyond human nature. Therefore, wanting to prove that he does not require anything excessive, that he requires less than what should be demanded from a person using the gifts of grace, and that his commandment is commensurate with man’s strengths and is easy, he says: I speak according to human reasoning, in relation to man’s strengths (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13). He demands that they serve the truth in the same measure as they served sin, although the truth should be served much more, but he does not demand this due to the weakness of their flesh” (Chrysostom). How to serve the truth? In a person, his own “I” should rule everything. His plans and commands should be carried out, like slaves, by various faculties and members of the body and soul, so that self-activity, or “I,” is, as it were, the master of man. But in fact, a person is controlled by his mood, the strong disposition of his heart towards something. In religious and moral life there are two of these moods: life according to God - in truth, and life in impurity and lawlessness. In the first case, the heart clings to God, and in the second, to sin. Having loved one thing or another, the heart gives direction to a person’s entire activity and life, conquers his initiative, and through it all the members of a person. Before turning to Christ, Roman Christians were given in heart to impurity (lust, especially carnal) and lawlessness (offenses, envy and all sorts of bad deeds), and served them like slaves with all their nature, so that their nature seemed to be saturated with lawlessness, disfigured, darkened. Now, with the acceptance of the faith of Christ, they must also love the truth and enslave their entire nature to it, so that, sanctified by the deeds of truth, it returns to its natural state - purity and holiness. In order to inspire the fulfillment of the proposed suggestion, the apostle exhibits the fruits of both kinds of life. What were the fruits of their slavery to sin? 6:21. When, he says, you worked for sin, like slaves, and lived by sin alone, but were completely alien to the truth (were free from righteousness). What fruit did they have then? They did such things that it is now a shame to even remember them, because sin is a disgrace for the soul, created in the image and likeness of God. Shame alone is not enough; the end of a life of sins is death. How? – Sin decomposes and destroys our nature, decomposes the body, producing a struggle of vital forces in it, disturbing the natural course of bodily life and upsetting the harmony of forces, by excessively exciting one mood and suppressing another. The consequence of this is illness and always premature death. Sin also corrupts the soul, arming one of its abilities against another, separating them and thereby depriving the soul of its inherent life, which is determined by the consonant action of all forces. If the soul does not correct itself, then it will pass into eternity with the corrupting power of sin, as a result of which its eternal legacy will be incessant languor and dying, with all the horrors of death. What is the fruit of righteousness? 6:22. But those who have been redeemed from slavery to sin and baptized by faith in the name of Jesus Christ, therefore enslaved to God, what fruit do they have? – Holiness and eternal life. Sin has disfigured our nature, and the Righteous God sanctifies it, brings it to a holy, pure, undamaged state (in baptism). If through effort she remains like this until the end of this life, then she will pass on to eternal life in the same way. Why is this so? 6:23. Because the “retribution for sin” (in Slavic “tire of sin” - payment for serving sin) is death, although during the service of sin this rent seemed to be bliss. For a righteous life there will be no reward - a rent equal to it, but a gift according to the immeasurable goodness of the Lord - eternal life in Christ our Lord, according to the promise - where He is, there His servants will also be (cf. John 12:26). D) The Christian is free from the curse of the law (7:1–6) That a true Christian who has died in Christ is free from sin and legal oath, the apostle explains with an excellent example, on the basis of the law itself, and for this purpose he turns his speech to those who know the law - Jewish Christians. 1 Do you not know, brothers (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has power over a person while he lives? 2 A married woman is bound by law to her living husband; and if her husband dies, she is freed from the law of marriage. 3 Therefore, if she marries another while her husband is living, she is called an adulteress; if her husband dies, she is free from the law, and will not be an adulteress if she marries another husband. 4 So you also, my brothers, died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, who was raised from the dead, so that we may bear fruit to God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, the passions of sin, revealed by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit in death; 6 But now, having died to the law by which we were bound, we have been freed from it, that we might serve God in the newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. 7 What shall we say? Is it really sin from the law? No way. But I knew sin no other way than through the law. For I would not understand desire if the law did not say: do not desire. 8 But sin, taking occasion from the commandment, produced in me every desire: for without the law sin is dead. 9 I once lived without law; but when the commandment came, sin came to life, 10 and I died; and thus the commandment given for life served me to death, 11 Because sin, taking occasion from the commandment, deceived me and killed me with it. 12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, and righteous, and good. 13 So, has what is good become deadly to me? No way; but sin, which turns out to be sin because through good it causes death to me, so that sin becomes extremely sinful through the commandment. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand what I do: because I do not do what I want, but what I hate, I do. 16 But if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law that it is good, 17 Therefore it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that no good thing dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; because the desire for good is in me, but I don’t find it to do it. 19 I do not do the good that I want, but the evil that I do not want, I do. 20 But if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 Therefore I find a law, that when I would do good, evil is present to me. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inner man; 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members. 24 Poor man I am! who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank my God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh the law of sin. 7:1. The law (whatever it may be) is binding only on the living, not on the dead. With the death of a sub-legislator, his obligation to the law ends. This is well known to those who understand the law. 7:2–3. A wife bound to her husband by law will be an adulteress if she marries another husband while her husband is alive; but if her husband dies, she is freed from the law of the first marriage and can enter into a second without breaking the law. From here the apostle makes an application to believers in Christ. 7:4. With whom were people in legal union before Christ? With sin, which reigned in the world over people as their rightful head. Christ died in His flesh, with His suffering on the cross for the sins of people, and the one who believes in Him in holy baptism dies to sin, therefore, is freed by law from serving sin in order to unite with the Risen One and bear fruit no longer to sin, but to God. What fruit did those bound to sin, figuratively speaking, those in marriage with it, bring? 7:5. When people “lived according to the flesh,” in union with sin, then their whole nature was permeated with sin and sinful passions, revealed by the law and bearing the fruit of death, dominated in all their members. 7:6. But now, having believed in Christ and been baptized, we have died to sin. Death, thus, broke our union with sin, and we became legally free from it, so that, united with the Lord, renewed by His grace-filled gifts, we could serve God not outwardly, as before (according to the old letter), but in spirit - with the heart and all spiritual nature. Section three. The revelation and implementation of the righteousness of God - under the law, under grace and in the kingdom of glory (7:7–8:39) God's promise of the redemption of the human race was given to the fallen ancestors, and the human race, especially the Israeli people, was carefully prepared by God for the promised justification. How? The apostle resolves this issue by revealing the legal state of the Jewish people. After the fall of the ancestors in the human race, its internal moral law, as the guide of its moral life, became more and more obscured, and at the same time the firm, definite concept of good and evil was smoothed out in its consciousness. The human will became more and more corrupted and took precedence over reason. Then man, naturally, no longer considered himself a great sinner before God and felt little need for atonement. In order to restore the meaning of the internal law and reveal to the conscience of man the full depth of his fall and guilt before God, the people of Israel were given an external law, under the guidance of which they felt themselves to be a great sinner. I. The righteousness of God under the law (7:7–25) A) It was not the introduction of the law that gave rise to sin, but human nature (7:7–13) 7:7. The law given by God is not the cause of sin. He only clarified what is sin and what is not sin. Man sinned before the law, and there were sinful lusts in him, but he did not clearly realize this, and he did not consider lusts and desires to be sin. When the law clearly and definitely indicated which deeds and lusts were sinful, then man clearly recognized his sins and lusts as sins. But instead of realizing his sin and stopping sinning, he began to sin even more. 7:8. How did the law contribute to the proliferation of sins? The sin living in man, having taken possession of his entire nature, did not encounter any obstacles before the law. The man completely surrendered to him and did, like an obedient slave, everything pleasing to him as to himself (self-pleasure). All this went so naturally and calmly that it seemed as if there was no sin in it (before the law, sin was dead). But when the commandments appeared, this and that other prohibition, then sin seemed to come to life, began to kindle lusts contrary to the commandments, and man began to consciously desire and do what was forbidden. This is how sin multiplied. He came to life, but the man died. 7:9–10. Before the law, when a person sinned, he was not clearly aware of his sinfulness, therefore his conscience did not torment him, and he felt that he was living correctly, as he should live, and sin seemed to be dead, inactive. When “the commandment came” and illuminated the consciousness of the sinner, then sin seemed to awaken in him, lusts began to multiply in opposition to the commandment, conscience awakened and began to torment the soul for violating the commandment. But since there was no strength to resist sin either in the soul or in the law, the soul involuntarily recognized itself as powerless, as if dead for true holy life. This is what was the result of sin! The Lord gave His commandments to people so that they would know exactly what was pleasing to Him, and, fulfilling them, would live a true life, but the opposite happened - the commandment served them to death. How? 7:11. The commandment gives a reason for sin to deceive a person with something contrary to itself. He does not directly rebel against the commandment, but manages to present lusts and deeds contrary to it in such a light that it seems to a person much better, even more reasonable, to act against the commandment than according to the commandment. For example, the commandment commands to forgive the offender, but sin deceives - if you forgive, they will trample you into the dirt, it is more prudent to stand up for yourself, prove that you will not allow yourself to be offended with impunity, there is nothing bad in this, and the law of justice requires the same. It is in this way or in a similar way that sin seduces into doing something contrary to the commandment, leading a person to death as if by the commandment itself. But is the law given to him to blame for a person’s criminality, if sin revived him, aroused passions, accused him, condemned him? 7:12. No, from what was said earlier (about the law) it is clear that all of God’s care is for the salvation of people: the law, dogmatic teaching, commandments, moral teaching, how to live according to the law - everything is holy, as coming from the Holy God Himself, righteous, as teaching the righteousness of the righteous, good, as having as its goal the good of people. 7:13. Was the holy, righteous and good law the cause of the death of the soul? No, and this cannot be. It is not the law that is deadly, but the sin that lives in us. Having taken possession of us, He teaches us to break the law given for our good, and thus causes us death. The law, by the way, was given for the purpose of bringing out (in the glory of “let it appear”) the evil of sin hidden within us, to show that it turns good into evil. Another purpose of the law is to show the extreme sinfulness of sin. And our spiritual nature shows us sin. But evil often manages to seduce, deceive her, and reconcile sin with truth. When the law clearly indicates what is due, and sin, despite this, gains strength, then a person can no longer sin with a clear conscience, but directly goes against it and, thus, becomes extremely sinful both before his conscience and before God. B) The essence of sin and how it operates in us (7:14–25) 7:14. The Apostle in his own person depicts the difficult state of the human soul, not peacefully resting under the power of sin, but under the guidance of the law, recognizing its bitter sinful state. And what does she realize? On the one hand, that the “law is spiritual” both in its origin from the Holy Spirit and in its requirement from man of spiritual life, and man himself recognizes himself as carnal, with all his mood desiring only that which serves to delight the flesh, which relates only to the benefits of bodily life. In order to more accurately and clearly understand the apostle’s thoughts, one must keep in mind the composition of man. It consists of flesh, soul and spirit. Flesh - the body and its needs. The soul is the totality of the abilities of thinking, representation, imagination, memory and the results of their activities, various scientific and non-scientific knowledge of art, artistry, craftsmanship, all types of practical life, family and social. Spirit is all manifestations of inner life that lead a person from the earthly to the heavenly, from the created to the Creator, from the temporary to the eternal. The Spirit is the power that the Lord breathed into the face of man during his creation, and in which, in fact, lies the image and likeness of God. It is tangibly revealed in us by the fear of God, the actions of conscience and the fact that it does not allow us to be satisfied with anything created. When all these movements of the spirit are in force, they detach one from everything earthly and force one not to heed any conditions of earthly existence. The norm of human life is to live by the spirit and with it to spiritualize the soul and body. He who lives this way receives from God the power to control his soul and body and subordinate them to the spirit. With the fall of our ancestors, all this changed for the worse: man began to live without God, by himself, with his spiritual powers, to organize his life in accordance with the conditions of his earthly existence. Thus, instead of the spirit, the soul and body with their needs became the leader. The spirit not only lost its leadership significance, but even fell to the point of subordination to the soul and body. What came out of this? The needs of the soul and body, without the guidance of the spirit, have lost their measure and the law of mutual relationship and subordination and, at every opportunity, strive to take first place and subjugate others, and from life without God and from self-indulgence many passions have arisen. The apostle calls all this mental and physical life under the control of self-indulgence carnal. In such and such a carnal life, sin arose and multiplied. The needs of the soul and body are not sinful in themselves, but when the body is satisfied to the detriment of the soul, and the soul and body - contrary to the spirit, then they sin, and especially when the needs of the soul and body are satisfied not for them, but for the passions; and thus, a person, like a slave, sins willy-nilly - “sold to sin.” 7:15. As a result of such a disorder in human nature, what happens is that a person himself does not know what is happening in him: he wants one thing, but does something completely different, exactly what he previously considered hateful. This is how it always happens with a mental-physical person: he decided not to succumb to any passion operating in him, as hated by him, but passion arises, seduces him, and he succumbs to it like a slave. 7:16–17. If, he says, I do not do what I want, then I realize that I should not have done what I do, and if I realize it, it means I approve of the behavior opposite to this, that is, the law. What comes out of all this is that, when doing what he does not want and what he hates, a person does so not on his own, but under the compulsion of the sin living in him. What usually happens is this: before sin and after, that is, having sinned, a person does not approve of sin, and when he sins, he wants it and considers doing it better for himself than not doing it, as if someone outside is forcing him by the power of some incomprehensible charm to sin. What is the mystery of sin that it has such power? With the defeat of his nature, resistance to God, a person is under the influence of two principles: the spirit, which draws him to God, and the self-indulgence of the soul and body, which draws him away from God. The spirit, although weakened by sin, is still alive in man. So he sympathizes with the requirements of the law, he wants to do according to the law. But he is not able to captivate the heart with heavenly blessings, because the heart either has not tasted them, or they seem weak to him in comparison with the sensual passion, which he has experienced many times, therefore, when it is necessary to actually fulfill the law, the passions, seducing the soul with memories of what has already been experienced, unexpectedly draw a person in a direction contrary to the law, and he sins. After sin, the spirit again recognizes the justice of the law and its own wrong. 7:18. Where does all this lead a person? Leads him to the experienced (“I know,” says the apostle) conviction that there is a discord in his nature. With his spirit he desires good, but he cannot do it - he does not have the strength, because in his mental-physical nature, through which the work is done, there live lusts, passions (bad things), which control the actions of a person. 7:19–20. Hence the conclusion is direct. Although a person desires to do good in spirit, the passion that lives in his spiritual and physical nature attacks, seduces the heart with sinful sweetness and thereby inclines him to do not good, but evil, according to its inspiration. And he sins and, as it were, absolves himself of the blame for his sins. “It is not I,” he says, “who is doing this, but the sin that lives in me,” this master of mine, to whom I was sold into slavery. But who is this master? He himself is a man who voluntarily enslaved himself to self-indulgence and passions; he loved them more than God, and sold himself to them, so they push him around as their slave, and even made it a law for him to please them. 7:21–23. Such an unnatural order of life has turned, as it were, into a law, when, at the request of the law, I want to do good, but at the same time evil is offered to me. It is known from experience that when a person plans to do good, either directly from himself or for external reasons, the opposite immediately arises from within - evil, and offers itself to attention instead of good. It does not force yet, but only offers itself. The poor are asking for help, I want to help. But self-interest appears and whispers: you need it for yourself, save it for yourself and refuse. This happens with any assumption of a good deed; There is a kind of dispute going on: good attracts to itself, and evil to itself. The spirit, or inner man, is on the side of good, he finds pleasure in the law of God, in everything pleasing to God, lawful, good, to which man is drawn. The evil, living in the spiritual and physical nature of man, resists the law and good, attracts to itself. When a person is just thinking about good, evil only offers itself instead of good; when sympathy for good and delight in it appears in the heart, then evil offers its charm, the sweetness of feeling from an evil deed experienced by a person. The struggle between good and evil is growing. Evil counteracts as the power of good acts - it counteracts the law of mind - spirit. The law of the spirit consists of the demands of the fear of God and conscience, which contains the natural law and accepts the written law of God. She sympathizes with and enjoys all that is good. This law of the inner man, the spirit, is opposed by sin - evil, living in the soul and body as a law, but not established by God, but by man himself, as a constant, habitual, ingrained order of his self-pleasing life. The law of sin takes precedence over the law of the mind - spirit, by the fact that it seduces the heart of a person with the sweetness of sin that he has already experienced (cf. James 4:1), albeit illusory. Man still succumbs to this seduction, but not out of necessity, because he already has the power to prevent these seductions of sin from reaching his heart or to weaken them, but because of his weak will. If sin so overcomes a person, then how can a person enjoy goodness? Sin does not directly reject the law, but attracts a person to break it, only this time the person succumbs to this temptation - he sins, and henceforth he promises himself not to sin, and the second and next time he sins according to the example of the previous one. So, where did the law lead man? To the deep consciousness that he is extremely sinful, moreover, to the even more difficult consciousness that he does not have the strength to fulfill the law, even if he wanted, and to justify himself before God - in a word, to the consciousness that he is the most unfortunate person, fully worthy of death and eternal condemnation - the wrath of God. 7:24. The state of fallen man depicted by the apostle evokes pity. This is a sad state of affairs: poor, unhappy man I am! But in the soul there is still hope for deliverance, and it cries out with a cry: who will deliver me from the captivity of the lusts living in the body and soul, because for me they are death?! This is where the truth of God is revealed, preparing people through the law to receive the Redeemer. She brought the man to the consciousness of his powerlessness and helplessness; he himself consciously said: “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Consequently, he already directs his gaze to salvation not in himself, but outside himself, to salvation in the Promised Seed, in Jesus Christ, for which he consciously gives thanks to the Lord. 7:25. This expectation of delivering people from sin and the wrath of God was realized in the person of Jesus Christ. On behalf of all those who wait, the apostle sends thanks to God for deliverance. He talks about how the deliverance took place in the next chapter, but here he again recalls the sad state in which fallen man finds himself, still awaiting deliverance. Of all his nature, one spirit remained faithful to God - it serves the law of God, and everything else is under the power of sin - it serves the law of sin. II. The manifestation of God's righteousness in the Kingdom of grace (8:1–10) Before the coming of the Redeemer, the truth of God prepared people to accept His law, which revealed in all its fullness and depth the sinfulness of people - slavery to sin, and thereby brought them to the consciousness of their powerlessness to justify themselves before God and to avoid the wrath of God, that is, they felt the need for a Redeemer. The Redeemer came, and everything changed: sin was destroyed on the cross, the weak spirit was strengthened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the Christian was given the opportunity and strength to live not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit, and achieve perfection in a holy life pleasing to God. 1There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, 2 because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 Because the law, weakened by the flesh, had no power, God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sacrifice for sin and condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, 7 because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for they do not obey the law of God, and indeed cannot. 8 Therefore those who live according to the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh; 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if through the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 Because you did not receive the spirit of slavery to live in fear again, but you received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry: “Abba, Father!” 16 This very Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. 17 And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits with hope for the revelation of the sons of God, 20 For the creation was subjected to vanity, not voluntarily, but by the will of him who subjected it, in hope, 21 that the creation itself will be freed from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now; 23 and not only she, but we ourselves, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, and we groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For we are saved in hope. But hope, when it sees, is not hope; for if anyone sees, what can he hope for? 25 But when we hope for what we do not see, then we wait with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses; for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be expressed. 27 But he who searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 Moreover we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 And whom He predestined, them He also called, and whom He called, them He also justified; and those whom he justified, he also glorified. 31 What can we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who will accuse God's elect? God justifies them. 34 Who condemns? Christ Jesus died, but also rose again: He is also at the right hand of God, and He intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of God: tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword? as written: 36 For Your sake they kill us every day; they count us as sheep doomed to the slaughter. 37 But we overcome all these things through the power of Him who loved us. 38 For I am confident that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, neither the present nor the future, 39 Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 8:1. In this verse the apostle draws a conclusion from the previous verses 24 and 25: fallen man, tormented by sin, cries out in sorrow: who will deliver me from the body of death? The Apostle briefly indicated the Savior in the person of Jesus Christ. So now there is no condemnation for us believers. We have been delivered from the law of sin, which lives in the flesh, because we no longer live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Now we will not only enjoy the spirit of God's law, but also fulfill it. But how did it now become possible to do what was impossible to do under the law due to the complete depravity of man? Where will the human spirit get the strength to dominate the flesh and sin? This is accomplished by the renewal of the human spirit under the influence of the spirit of Divine grace, which gives strength to the first to rise and triumph over the sinfulness that has enslaved man and become his law. 8:2. Why does a believer now live and act not according to the flesh, as before, but according to the spirit? Because, he says, a new spirit entered into him, which freed him from the law of sin, and he does not sin. But what is this power? Why and how did she appear, and how to achieve liberation from sin? According to his original purpose, a person should live in the spirit breathed into his face by God, be determined by this spirit in all his mental and physical activities, spiritualize everything in himself with its power, thus embodying in himself the will of God in full. The human spirit could have such power only from God, from communication with Him. But with the fall, communication ceased, and at the same time the strength of the spirit began to weaken, and its power passed to the man himself, because he wanted to be God for himself. From this false independence many passions were formed (pride, ambition, love of fame, anger, hatred and others). This passionate self-indulgence, introduced forcibly into human nature, perverted the natural forces, needs and functions of mental and physical life, and, moreover, introduced many things that have no kinship or support in our nature. The pleasure of satisfying passions inclined the heart to their side. All this is so ingrained in a person that it has become the usual order of his life, a sinful law. The fear of God and conscience, although they still existed in the spirit, but after the separation of the spirit from God they became weak and could not keep a person from his sinful life. From what has been said, it is clear what man’s deliverance should consist of, namely, the strengthening or renewal of his spirit by the Spirit of God. This is the new law of life in Christ Jesus. Faith in Jesus Christ attracts grace, which, entering within, awakens the fear of God, and it revives the conscience. From this moment the concern for salvation begins. A person looks at his life and, finding it extremely sinful, decides to change everything and live in a new way. With such a firm decision, in the Sacraments he receives grace inside (hitherto it acted from the outside), which, having taken possession of a person, allows him to feel or taste all the sweetness of life in God, before which all hitherto experienced sweets are nothing, which attracts the heart to itself. The spirit of man, brought back into communion with God, acquires from him powerful strength to resist passions, which now, no longer having support in self-indulgence and in the heart of man, which has experienced the highest pleasure from tasting grace, are easily overcome and even expelled from man. Mental-physical life, having come under the power of the spirit, again acquires its normal course. All this constitutes the law of life in Christ Jesus, freeing man from the law of sin and death. How did this approval of the new law take place? 8:3–4. When fallen man's fear of God and conscience were weakened by sin, then God gave him the law to help his conscience. But the law, although it brought man to the consciousness of his sinfulness, however, did not have the power, it turned out to be powerless to overcome the sin that had taken root in his flesh. Then “God sent His Son,” who took on natural flesh, not contaminated with sin (the likeness of sinful flesh) to atone for sin, with His sacrifice, pure flesh (suffering on the cross), and in it He condemned sin, taking away its power in this His flesh, as sinless, and gave grace-filled powers to those who believe in Him, so that they could be justified, that is, able to fulfill God’s holiness the law and to be righteous before it, living not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, because only those who live in the Spirit can fulfill the law. Why? 8:5. Because those who live in the world of carnality do not care about the law of God. All their worries are devoted to carnal interests. Only those who live according to the spirit care about keeping the law, because all their thoughts, feelings, desires and deeds are directed towards God in order to please Him and not lose fellowship with Him. Why do spiritual people think about spiritual things? 8:6. Because being spiritually minded gives life and peace, but carnally minded brings death. How? It is known from experience that nothing strengthens life according to the spirit so much as the consciousness of feeling and tasting moral and religious well-being and the memory of the source of what joyless longing is life according to the flesh. And indeed, he who lives in the spirit and thinks so, lives in spirit in God and, strengthened by His power, directs the actions of soul and body to please God. Being in living communication with the Source of life, one is abundantly filled with true life, which brings harmony and peace to everything, more beautiful and sweeter than which a person cannot imagine anything on earth. On the contrary, carnal leadership - life at a distance from God and with oblivion about Him, a life of voluptuous self-indulgence, driven and agitated by passions, dries out human nature, introduces discord that corrodes it. This responds with languor, similar to the agony of death. Fearing such a deadening state, one who enters the sphere of the domination of the spirit holds on to his position with all his might, especially since he feels and tastes the life and peace it bestows. How is life according to the flesh different from death? 8:7–8. Carnal life, by its very essence, is “enmity against God.” True life is living communication with God; and the carnal soul, born as a result of rejection from God, is not only far from this union, but also turns away from it. Therefore, naturally, it gives birth to death, and is even death itself. Carnal life, carnal wisdom - everything is focused on the organization of earthly well-being, placing it in the satisfaction of mental and physical needs, perverted by passions. It is busy with this day and night. His soul does not lie towards God or religious issues. And the extreme limit of enmity against God is an active, furious rebellion against the Divine order, accompanied by blasphemy and the determination to distract others from God. The Apostle here means that type of enmity that clearly does not rebel against the Divine, but only does not submit to the Divine law, deceiving a person who is contrary to it. And this is done whenever a person needs to act in accordance with the law. From here the apostle further adds that carnal wisdom cannot even submit to the law while it operates in a person. Therefore, naturally, “those who live according to the flesh” in passionate, self-loving self-gratification can no longer please God, because they do not want to fulfill the will of God and His law. Their souls, occupied with worries about earthly things, do not lie to Him. 8:9. Roman Christians, according to the apostle, by their faith in Christ and determination to live according to the law of God, restored the power of their spirit in themselves and over themselves, because the grace of the Holy Spirit, communicated to them in the Sacraments, settled in them and strengthened their spirit. Therefore, they no longer live according to the flesh and its lusts, but according to the Spirit, and they are Christians, because whoever does not have grace from Christ is not Christ’s - he is not a Christian. 8:10. Whoever has the Spirit of Christ in him also has Christ; he who is baptized puts on Christ. From the moment of Christ's indwelling, the flesh dies to sin. This does not mean that sin in a Christian is destroyed by itself (mechanically), but that by the grace of Christ the power is given to the spirit to overcome it. The passionate and sinful, as soon as the opportunity arises, immediately appears and offers itself to consciousness and will. But if consciousness and will at that hour turn away from him with contempt, go over to the side of the spirit and prayerfully turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and His Spirit living in him, then everything carnal and passionate immediately disappears. This is the law of life of true Christians. With constant abiding in it, the flesh becomes completely dead to sin, impassive. This state is what the apostle means when he says that “the flesh... is dead for sin’s sake.” When the body dies to sin, then our spirit becomes what it should be by its nature - life for righteousness, life in God and fulfillment of His holy will. This is the restoration of our fallen nature as defined by God's righteousness. However, this does not exhaust all the restorative power in Christ Jesus. The complete restoration of human nature will be accomplished when death is destroyed and all creation is freed from vanity. III. The manifestation of God's righteousness in the Kingdom of glory (8:11–39) A) There will be a resurrection of our bodies (8:11–18) 8:11. The man was condemned to death for original sin. Now in Christ he has risen spiritually, and therefore, over time, with the power of the Spirit of God dwelling in Christians, he will rise, just as Christ rose bodily. Under what conditions will this uprising of the body take place after death? 8:12–13. Promising Christians eternal life, the apostle makes it a condition here on earth - life according to the law of the spirit, and not according to the law of the flesh - our carnal, voluptuous and passionate self. For if, he says, we live according to the laws of the flesh, we will die, we will be subject to judgment and condemnation not only in the future life, but also here - to the corrosive poison of death. The seed of death lies in passions and self-indulgence; they introduce the corrosive poison of disorder and destruction into the soul and body. Eternal death is torment. To live according to the spirit means to live in God, striving to please Him by being faithful to His commandments. He who is guided by his spirit, strengthened by the power of the grace of Christ, mortifies the deeds of the flesh (passionate thoughts and desires) by treating them inattentively, with contempt, and prays to Jesus Christ for help and deliverance from them. Such life in the spirit, or under the direction of the spirit, is the seed of eternal life, beginning here and having to be crowned with the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven. The apostle goes on to indicate the grounds for such Christian hope. 8:14. He says that only those who live under the guidance of the spirit will live forever. For whoever lives according to the Spirit is regenerated to such spiritual life by the Spirit of God and is guided by Him, and is a son of God. What does it mean to be led by the Spirit? In the Sacraments, believers receive the grace of the Holy Spirit, which gives them birth to a new spiritual life. But this is not enough; after this, you can again fall into the seductions of sin and sin. And in order not to sin and to continue to live according to the spirit, we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Who puts the corresponding thoughts, feelings and desires into our spirit, but the believer must heed this and be guided by it. Only such regeneration and the guidance of the Holy Spirit gives the right to sonship to God. What shows that believers are sons of God? 8:15. From the attitude of believers to God. You, says the apostle, did not receive the spirit of slavery out of fear, but the spirit of adoption out of love. In the Old Testament, the spirit of the law consisted in the fact that through the fear of punishment it kept people in submission to itself, and those under the law submitted to it as slaves, captives, so that the spirit of life, inspired by the entire essence of the law, was the spirit of slavery and fear. The spirit of the gospel life is not like this: here they serve God in spirit not as slaves, but as children in their parents’ house, out of love for Him, and they express their love for God as a Father in prayer, when they call Him their Father. This courage towards God as the Father is instilled in believers, together with our spirit, by the Holy Spirit. 8:16. Our spirit tells us from the depths of our being that we are children of God (cf. Acts 17:28). But its testimony in fallen man is muted and almost inaudible behind the vain noise of the passions bubbling inside us. However, as soon as this passionate sea is tamed by the power of grace, our spirit will immediately perk up, and we will clearly hear its joyful cry: “Abba, Father!” Thus, the Holy Spirit Himself gives us evidence that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs. 8:17. But Christians (children) receive God's inheritance not, as is usually the case with people, upon the death of their father, but after their own physical death. What is God's heritage? The Apostle answers that it, in fact, is the inheritance of Christ, but Christians will also participate (co-inherit) in it. The Holy Evangelist John speaks of this inheritance of Christ this way: “When Christ appears in His glory at His second coming to earth, we will be like Him” (1 John 3:2). Thus believers become one with Him, clothe themselves in Him, are grafted into Him like branches into a tree. If we now suffer, then we suffer for Christ and with Christ, and therefore we will share His glory with Him, because all Christians, having previously proven their faith and love for Christ by their suffering, whether external or internal - the fight against passions, lusts and spirits of malice, will certainly be glorified with Him. Thus, the redemptive power of Jesus Christ will completely restore fallen man, not only freeing him from slavery to sin, but also from death, giving him blessed eternal life. The creature remains enslaved, but it will also be restored by the same power. In view of such a glorious future, the apostle suggests complacently enduring sorrows in the present life. 8:18. True, he says, now Christians endure sorrows, suffering from outside and from their passions, as if crucified with Christ, but all these sufferings, no matter what kind they are, are nothing in comparison with the glory that will appear in us in the future life. Then not only we, but all creation will be restored. The latter is already awaiting this restoration and the glory of the sons of God. B) Glorification of creation as participation in our celebration (8:19–22) 8:19. All creation eagerly awaits the discovery of the glory of the children of God, because they themselves will participate in it. Why is she waiting impatiently? 8:20–21. The creature, like man, was created beautiful, kind and alien to death. It was given into the power of man, as its king, so that he, being himself pure, holy and immortal, would support it and keep it pure and good. But after the fall of man, so that he, possessing a beautiful creature, would not become proud, the Lord gave the creature over for man, its master, to the curse - vanity, variability and death, however, not forever, but for a while, with the hope of restoring it to its primitive state (in freedom from corruption), when people will be freed from this same corruption and appear in the glory of the children of God. Thus, the same division that a person feels in himself and groans from his own powerlessness to restore the lost unity is also introduced into nature. Changeability and death - a consequence of sin, tear out a cry both from the creature and from the human soul. 8:22. The apostle, enlightened by the Spirit of God, hears these groans and sighs of the creature. Man sighs and groans. C) We, too, await our transformation to the glory of God (8:23–39) a) The firstfruits of the given Spirit tells us this (8:23–27) 8:23. Not only the creation, which does not have any visible and tangible firstfruits of glory, groans and sighs about it, but also we, who already have the “firstfruits of the Spirit” - forgiveness of sins, strengthening of our spirit by the grace of the Holy Spirit, peace of conscience, courage of filial appeal to God, this tangible guarantee of future renewal. We sigh to quickly get rid of external and internal sorrows - from the corruption of the body and to enter into the full grace of sonship in the incorruptible body. For we know that we are saved for this future glory. 8:24. Our entire salvation is based on the hope of being saved by faith. We believe and expect forgiveness of sins, strengthening of our spirit by the grace of the Holy Spirit and sonship with Jesus Christ. We receive the first two gifts of salvation here, and we will receive the last one in the future life, because hope refers to what does not yet exist. Patience goes hand in hand with hope. 8:25. With the hope of receiving the invisible comes expectation, and with expectation comes patience. And patience, no matter how much it is facilitated by the certainty of hope, is still painful. That is why we sigh, although we hope to receive it. The apostle wants to convey by this that patient waiting should be a characteristic characteristic of a Christian. 8:26. The Holy Spirit also actively helps us to patiently await future glory and bliss, with various temptations in this life (“in our weaknesses”). He, firstly, pours consolation into the heart in case of troubles, and secondly, he teaches us at the same time how we should pray and even, moreover, puts prayer itself into the heart. In sorrows and troubles, we turn to God in prayer and pray for what we would like to receive from Him, but we do not know whether it will be saving for us. The Spirit of God, disposing our heart to prayer, inspires it with the subject of prayer. He “intercedes for us” before God with “groanings that cannot be uttered.” In ordinary prayers, we ourselves arouse prayers and sighs in ourselves, but it happens that the attraction to prayer finds itself independently of us and forces us to pray, giving us no rest until the prayer pours out. The content of such prayers is rarely determined by any subject; they always breathe complete devotion to the will of God, entrusting ourselves to His leadership, who knows better than us what is needed for us. Such prayers constitute intercessions for us before God of the Spirit of God, as was the case, for example, in the primacy of the Church. The one who received the gift of prayer stood up in the meeting, in a spirit of great contrition, fell to God and asked for what was useful for everyone. Such a prayer, inspired by the Holy Spirit in the heart of man (in the glory of “groanings that cannot be uttered”), cannot be fully expressed in human language. The heart feels it, but thought is unable to understand its content and language cannot express it. It is unspeakable, but before God it is alive and active. 8:27. The prayer inspired by the Spirit into the heart of the one praying, expressed with “unspeakable groanings,” is heard and graciously accepted by God. For the Spirit makes intercession for the saints who believe according to the plans and will of God. b) God Himself strengthens those who love Him in enduring sorrows (8:28) 8:28. God Himself also strengthens in the sorrows and patience of those who are sincerely devoted to Him and those who love Him by the fact that everything that encounters them - sorrows, temptations, etc., turns them into riches of the spirit - into the purification of the heart, the strengthening of good character for the glorification of those in need, because those who love God are His chosen ones, called by the will of both God, who called them, and themselves, who listened to the calling. c) Providential plans and actions of God regarding those being saved (8:29–30) 8:29. The Lord knows everything - the past, the present, and the future - the beginning and end of each and, in accordance with this knowledge, lays down His determination: knowing in advance, He foresees, determining in advance how things will be; He predetermines, He sees in advance all the free actions of people and, in accordance with them, predetermines them. So here too, the Lord foresaw who would truly believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him by faithfully fulfilling His commandments and, sanctified by grace, would become a saint. Therefore, he predestined such to be saints, similar to the image of His Son, that is, in the Sacrament of Baptism, with the help of grace-filled gifts, to put on the image of Jesus Christ, to be like Him, which they will fully achieve in the future life, so that the incarnate Son of God would be the Firstborn - the first to restore pure human nature in Himself and the first among His followers - the brothers. This is God's destiny - foreknowledge and foreknowledge of those who are saved. How does God bring it to pass? 8:30. God accomplishes and fulfills this predestination of people to salvation by attraction to Christ (see John 6:44), by the disposition of their spirit to the consciousness of the need for salvation in Christ; then justification - liberation from sins and rebirth of the spirit of those who believed in Him by the grace of the Holy Spirit; and finally ends with glorification of the body in the future life. d) Such is the love of God for those appointed for salvation that no obstacles should deter Christians in their path (8:31–34) 8:31. God rewarded his chosen ones so richly that there are no words how we could express our gratitude for this. If He is with them and for them, then who is able to harm them, diminish or frustrate the promise of God? 8:32. If God did not spare His Son for our salvation, giving Him over to death, then can we doubt that He will fulfill everything promised to those who believe in His Son? But perhaps past and present sins, since there is not a single person without sin (see 1 John 1:8), will condemn them before God and deprive them of what they were promised? 8:33–34. But no one will dare accuse God's elect of sins, because God has made them essentially righteous by the power of His grace. Who will condemn for the sins committed by the elect if they sincerely repented of them? Christ not only died for sins, but after his resurrection he sits at the right hand of God the Father and intercedes for those who sin, who come running to Him with tears of repentance. With such love of God, His chosen one is not afraid of any disasters that befall him on earth. e) The guarantee of our salvation is the unceasing love of God (8:35–39) 8:35–36. If God loved His chosen ones and they themselves burn with love for Him, then no one and nothing can shake their fellowship with God and the strength of their hope in His promises. No external disasters - sorrows (troubles of the heart), hardships (physical disasters), persecution from anyone, hunger, nakedness (deprivation of food and clothing - poverty), dangers that threaten us with the horror of suffering, even death by the sword. All such disasters were predicted several centuries earlier in Scripture, therefore, Christians are determined by God to endure disasters. Of course, this in itself is difficult, but since they endure for the sake of God (“for You”), they endure them willingly, rejoicing that they endure dishonor for the name of Christ. In the psalm, people are depicted as being put to death every day (see Ps. 43:23), constantly in fear of death and ready to die every moment. They are considered dumb sheep destined for the slaughter, but God does not leave them in suffering and gives them His all-powerful help. 8:37. The sorrows experienced by Christians are severe, but they overcome them easily (in Slavic “overcome”), strengthened by the power of the Lord who loved them and loving Him so much that no one and nothing can distract them from this love. 8:38–39. At the conclusion of the section, the apostle gives an enthusiastic answer to the question posed above: “Who will separate us from the love of God?” By his own experience, the apostle was convinced that whoever experiences the true love of God for himself and his own for God, nothing can tear him away from it, he will not exchange it for anything and will not cling his heart to anything else, be it something else - death in Gehenna or life in the Kingdom of Heaven, be it everything visible and conceivable - the angelic ranks or every other possible creature - all this without love for the Lord has no meaning for him prices. Section four. The attitude of Israel and the Gentile world towards the new way of justification (9:1–11:36) In the first eight chapters, the apostle clarified the essence of Christianity, with all its gracious actions on fallen humanity, showing that only faith saves, and not deeds without faith, for which all humanity - both pagans and Jews - are subject to God's righteous wrath. This path of salvation is not new. The Lord prepared His chosen people for it with promises, prophecies and the entire structure of the Old Testament Church, so that the Jews should be the first to enter the Church of Christ, and, moreover, all without exception. Meanwhile, the pagans entered here, while the overwhelming majority of Jews remained outside the church fence. What does this mean? Has God turned out to be unfaithful to His promise? Will the Jews really remain outside the Church of Christ and perish? Pitying the Jewish people, to which he himself belonged in the flesh, and caring for them, the apostle further resolves the following questions regarding Divine Providence for them. God justifies everyone solely by His mercy, assimilated by faith (9:1-33), but most of the Jewish people sought justification in the works of the law, and therefore were rejected by God (10:1-21). However, God will eventually call His people to salvation again (11:1–36). I. God justifies everyone, Gentiles and Jews, according to His mercy, received by faith (9:1-33) A) St. Paul’s testimony of his excessive love for his people (9:1–5) When starting to resolve the issue of the fate of the people of Israel, the apostle expresses his sincere love for them, so that no one accuses him of biased or malicious judgment. 1 I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie, my conscience bears witness to me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that there is great sorrow for me and constant torment of my heart: 3 I would like to be excommunicated from Christ for my brothers who are related to me according to the flesh, 4 that is, the Israelites, to whom belong the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the law, and the worship, and the promises; 5 theirs are the fathers, and from them is Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all, blessed forever, amen. 6 But it is not that the word of God is not fulfilled: for not all are Israelites which are of Israel; 7 And not all the children of Abraham who are of his seed, but it is said, Thy seed shall be called Isaac. 8 That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are recognized as the seed. 9 And the word of promise is this: At this same time I will come, and Sarah will have a son. 10 And not only this; but so it was with Rebekah, when she conceived at the same time two sons from Isaac our father. 11 For while they were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad (so that the purpose of God in election might take place 12 not from works, but from Him who calls), it was said to her: the older will be enslaved by the younger, 13 Just as it is written: Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. 14 What shall we say? Is it really not true with God? No way. 15 For He saith unto Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will show mercy; I will regret whoever I feel sorry for. 16 Therefore, mercy does not depend on the one who wishes, nor on the one who strives, but on God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: For this very purpose I raised you up, that I might show My power over you, and that My name might be preached throughout all the earth. 18 So he has mercy on whomever he wants; and he hardens whomever he wants. 19 You will say to me: “Why is he still accusing me? For who can resist His will? 20 And who are you, O man, that you argue with God? Will the product say to the person who made it: “Why did you make me this way?” 21 Has not the potter power over the clay, that out of the same mixture he may make one vessel for honorable use, and another for base use? 22 What if God, desiring to show His wrath and demonstrate His power, with great patience spared the vessels of wrath that were ready to perish? 23 that together He might display the riches of His glory upon the vessels of mercy, which He has prepared for glory, 24 over us, whom He called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles? 25 As also in Hosea he says: I will call not my people my people, and not my beloved, beloved. 26 And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” there they will be called sons of the living God. 27 And Isaiah declares concerning Israel: Though the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea in number, only a remnant shall be saved; 28 For the work is finished and will soon be decided in righteousness; the Lord will complete the decisive work on earth. 29 And as Isaiah foretold: If the Lord of hosts had not left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and would have been like Gomorrah. 30 What shall we say? The Gentiles, who did not seek righteousness, received righteousness, the righteousness of faith. 31 But Israel, who sought the law of righteousness, did not attain to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? because they sought not in faith, but in works of the law. For they stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written: Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a stone of offense; but whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame. 9:1. The Apostle expresses to the Jews not the usual affection and love, but such that for them he is ready to lose all the benefits bestowed by Christianity. In order for them to believe the sincerity of his love for them, he assures them of this with the Lord Christ, the Holy Spirit and his conscience, strengthened and enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Why is his love for the Israeli people so strong? 9:2–3. Due to the fact that most of the people of Israel persist in entering the Kingdom of Christ, the apostle experiences heartfelt sorrow. He wished, even more, prayed in his heart to be excommunicated from Christ, only so that they would turn to Christ; and this is such a sacrifice, higher than which nothing could be for the apostle, who said that there is no power that would separate him from the love of God. Isn't his love for Christ diminished here? Doesn't he love his relatives according to the flesh more than Christ? No. The Apostle not only does not renounce his love for Christ, but expresses it even more strongly, because he, zealous for His glory, desires and prays that the Lord would join his unbelieving brothers to His chosen flock, even at the cost of separating him from the blessings of heaven, but not from love for Christ. This is the highest trait of love - selflessness. The apostle feels sorry for his brothers according to the flesh especially because they were the chosen people of God, and for their stubbornness they are deprived of all the benefits of God’s promises. 9:4–5. God gave the people of Israel all the means for their salvation: they were chosen by God from all nations and were close to Him, like children to the Father (see Deut. 14: 1–2); among them dwelt the glory of the Lord - in the camp (see Exodus 13:21, 24:16), in the tabernacle (see Exodus 40:34) and in the church (see 1 Kings 8:11) and, mainly, in the ark of the covenant (see Exodus 25:22; 1 Samuel 4:22; Ps. 25:8); God repeatedly made His covenants with them; to guide their execution he gave them laws, established true worship; He repeatedly made promises of salvation with the coming of the Messiah, and, indeed, by virtue of these promises from their fathers, Abraham and David, the Messiah came into being - Christ according to the flesh, although He in His essence is the God of all, Blessed forever. These are the gifts of God that the Jews have received and yet neglect them! Blessed Theodoret rightly in this case compares the apostle with the mourners, “who in their lamentations over the dead and those mourned by them depict the beauty of the body, and the flourishing age, and the celebrity of the ancestors, and the wealth and power of the deceased.” B) The rejection of some of the Jews does not contradict the promises of God (9:6–33) But despite all these promises, the majority of Israel did not enter the Kingdom of Christ. Does it not follow from this that God did not fulfill His promises regarding them? No, the apostle answers. The Lord saves not according to a person’s merits, but according to His mercy. Therefore, man himself has no legal right to his own salvation. 9:6–7. The word of God has come true: the promises of God belong to the descendants of Israel, not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. Israel means "spectator of God." Seeing God is the highest spiritual perfection, which is given by the mortification of passions, which in the story of Jacob is indicated by the death of members in the struggle with God. The children of the promise and the true descendants of Israel are those who will be born according to the promise, like Isaac, born again by the power of the word, and then attain to the sight of God. This idea, that God singles out the true children of the promise from the mass of Israel, is illustrated by the apostle in examples. Not all who were born of Abraham are his true, promised children. And Ishmael is from the seed of Abraham, and the children of Keturah are also from Abraham. But they, being only children of the flesh, are not accepted among the heirs of the promise. His heir is one: “in Isaac your seed will be called” (Gen. 21:12) - worthy to be a participant in receiving the benefits of the promise, as the apostle further explains. 9:8. It is not Ishmael and the children of Keturah who are the seed of the promise, the sons of God, but Isaac is the true son of the promise and the son of God. Why? 9:9. Abraham and Sarah were both old and incapable of natural childbearing, but God acted on their weak nature, and Sarah, according to His promise, had a son a year later (see Gen. 18:10). Therefore only those are the seed of Abraham and the children of the promise who are born in this way, that is, by virtue of the influence of the Divine on nature, therefore, by spiritual birth. Another example of the separation from the inheritance of promise is even more obvious than the first. 9:10–12. In Abraham's example, the children of the flesh and the promises are separated, like children of different mothers. But there was another, more striking case, when there were children not only of one father and mother, but twins, that is, of one father and one mother, and, moreover, those who were both conceived and born at the same time. And one of them was separated from the inheritance, and the other was chosen to be the heirs of the promise, while the children were still in the womb and, therefore, could not have deeds either good or evil. “The greater,” He said, “will be enslaved by the lesser,” that is, he will be like a slave, alienated from the inheritance (see Gen. 25:23). But in this verse there is, as it were, an inserted thought, meanwhile it is the main one - about the providential action of God. For this reason, God announced to Rebekah that of the two children in her womb, one would be an heir, and the other, like a slave, would be removed from the inheritance before they were born and made anything? In order to show that when God decides to choose one and eliminate another, He does not do this on the basis of the works already done by the chosen or eliminated. He does not need to wait for the end of things, for He knows everything in advance, but from Himself, as is characteristic of Him, who chooses and calls, but not contrary to His properties - truth and goodness. God's promise about the enslavement of Isaac's eldest son, Esau, to the younger, Jacob, refers not to individuals, but to the peoples who descended from them - Jews and pagans, as can be seen from the prophecy of Malachi given below (see Mal. 1: 2-3). 9:13. God says that He showed His love to the descendants of Jacob, gave them the land of promise as an inheritance, but deprived the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, of such mercies, albeit for a while. From the above examples it is clear that God distributes His promises among nations regardless of their carnal origin, but solely according to His Divine plans. But does God have the right to dispose of His promises - the salvation or destruction of this or that people, apart from the merits of people? 9:14. Absolutely right. For He distributes them not on the basis of human deeds or merits, by which they incur only the wrath of God, but solely according to His mercy, about which, from the point of view of law, there can be no judgment or claim. That God gives His blessings by mercy, the apostle proves by the example of Moses. 9:15. Moses, although he was honored to see the glory of God on the mountain, which he asked God for, although he himself was a worthy person, he did not see it for his merits, but solely by the mercy of God, who, passing by him on the mountain, said: “I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will have mercy on whomever I have compassion” (Ex. 33:19). 9:16. Consequently, pardon depends entirely on God who has mercy. Since a person is not rightfully worthy to receive mercy from God for his deeds or exploits, God has mercy on him at His discretion. But who receives mercy from God? Only the one who unconditionally subordinates his will to the will of God, which the apostle proves by the example of Pharaoh. 9:17. When Pharaoh treated with disdain the request of Moses and Aaron to release the Jewish people to serve God in the desert, at the same time he treated God Himself with the same pride: “I do not know your God, neither will I let Israel in” (cf. Ex. 5:2) - he did not want to acknowledge the will of God over himself, then God allowed his heart to harden, depriving him of His mercy, and gradually executed brought him to destruction in order to demonstrate His power and authority over the world and nations through the example of his punishment. So, God's mercy depends solely on His will. 9:18. Whoever submits to His will, He has mercy; whoever resists Him, He allows him to become hardened and perish. And man, as His creation, obviously does not have the slightest right to judge the distribution of God’s mercy, just as a building has to sue the architect who built it, or clay has to sue the potter. 9:19. If both mercy and hardness belong to God, then why does He accuse and judge those who have sinned? It is impossible to resist His will. This objection only apparently follows from the previous one. And the apostle, without yet deciding the question on its merits, takes the answer to it from the objection itself. 9:20–21. Who are you, man, that you dare to argue with God? After all, you are a creation, and He is your Creator. Is it really possible to allow that creations (whether it be some kind of product, sculpture, moulding, building or clay vessel, so can you, a human being) be able to tell the one who created them why he made them this way and not others. The Creator disposes of His creation as He wants. But if God, like a potter who makes unequal vessels from the same mixture of clay: some for honorable use, others for low, does the same with people who are completely identical in their qualities - he has mercy on some, he hardens and destroys others, then He, apparently, violates the free will of man? But man, as God’s creation, argues with God, his Creator, resists Him, and therefore has free will for good and evil, and even for resistance. How can we understand the example of the apostle? Saint Chrysostom explains that the apostle, by his example, wants to convince the listener to submit to the will of God in everything and not demand an account from Him for anything. Just as a potter does from the same clay what he pleases, and no one contradicts him, so do not ask or inquire from God why people, although they are of the same kind, punishes some and rewards others; on the contrary, reverence Him and imitate the clay. Just as she submits to the hands of the potter, so you submit to the determination of the Distributor of the universe. He does not act without intention and not as it happens, although you do not comprehend the secrets of Wisdom. Although a potter makes different vessels from the same clay, their honorable or dishonorable use depends on the will of those using them. So here, too, the matter depends on the free will of people, in accordance with which God, foreseeing it, predestines some to honor and others to dishonor. 9:22–24. The apostle’s speech in the 22nd and 23rd verses is truncated; it omits the second part of the sentence corresponding to the first (if) (then), which should be supplemented from the previous verse, because the cited verses serve as conclusions from it. It will be like this: if God spared the vessel of wrath for destruction, and prepared others to be vessels of mercy, then did He really not have the right to do this, or perhaps someone will argue with Him - why did He do this? How did it happen that some were condemned to be vessels of wrath, and others to vessels of mercy, and why did God do both? God spared Pharaoh for a long time, but he became more and more stubborn and bitter, and through this he was prepared to become a vessel of wrath, then God destroyed him with His wrath. In the same way, during longsuffering, God prepared vessels of mercy. God guided them, and they willingly submitted to His will. Why did God do this? In order to “show His wrath and reveal His glory” over the vessels of wrath, as He did with Pharaoh, as He does with everyone who does not submit to His will, temporarily punishing them with various disasters so that they feel His anger and repent. And on the vessels of mercy to show the riches of His glory - His love for mankind, His mercy towards them, strengthening them in the disasters that are so common in this life. Who are these vessels of God's mercy, formed during the long-suffering of God and singled out by Him from the mass of humanity? These are those whom He called to His glory - to faith, and through faith into the glorious Kingdom of grace. The Lord chose the worthy from all people - Jews and pagans - as vessels of mercy. The Jews, as God's people, should naturally be vessels of God's mercy. But how could pagans, not people of God, get into the vessels of mercy? The Apostle says that the election of the pagans was predicted long ago by the Lord, and he cites two prophecies of Hosea about this. 9:25–26. The prophet Hosea quotes the words of God Himself, referring them to the ten tribes of the Israeli people, who fell away from the True God (see Hos. 2:23, 1:10), falling into idolatry, and became like the pagans - unloved by God, not His people. But God will call them to Himself again in due time if they repent, and will again call them His own, His beloved and His people. Next, the apostle cites two prophecies from the prophet Isaiah that not all of the Jews will be accepted into the promised Kingdom of salvation in Christ Jesus. 9:27–29. The meaning of the first of the above prophecies of Isaiah (see Is. 10:22–23) is this: God appointed the Assyrians to be His scourge on the wicked and lawless, including the Israelites. But Assur himself will be struck by God for his pride. Then the Jews remaining from the defeat will turn to God, and He will save “only the remnant” - a small number of them, out of all the numerous people captured by Asur, meaning by saving the remnant not a return from captivity, but something else - a decisive deed that the Lord will accomplish in righteousness on earth. What is this decisive matter? This is the appearance of Christ on earth, to which all nations will be called (cf. Hag.2:7; Heb.12:6). The second prophecy cited by the apostle (see Isa. 1:9) explains what is meant by the remnant. It is called here the seed. The meaning of the prophecy is this. The prophet Isaiah denounces the Jewish people for their wickedness and, pointing out the disasters that befell them for this wickedness (see Is. 1:7), predicts that the Lord would have destroyed them completely, like Sodom and Gomorrah, if there had been no good seed left among them, pious and beneficent people, for whose sake He spared the people. This seed, or remnant, is the true children of Abraham, the children of the promise. From everything that the apostle said, it follows that if salvation does not depend on the merits of man, but exclusively on the mercy of God, then it must be acquired by devotion to the will of God and faith in His mercy. The pagans took advantage of this remedy because they did not have revealed law, did not rely on their rights, and received salvation. 9:30. What is the reason that the pagans, who do not care about righteousness, but live under the guidance of self-gratification, thinking only about the well-being of earthly life, when they heard the Gospel sermon, then, believing it, accepted baptism and with it the grace-filled gifts that renew and strengthen the life of the spirit, began to live righteously? The reason for this is their faith in the gospel preaching, and by faith - works or life. The people of Israel, relying on their own righteousness, and not on the mercy of the Lord and faith, got lost on the path of salvation and did not receive justification in the Kingdom of grace. 9:31–33. The law of truth, inscribed in human nature, is to, remembering God and containing the fear of God, live according to His will, known to people through conscience, in the hope of a future grace-filled life. This law of truth was also recognized by the pagans, but vaguely. Israel had a true knowledge of God, had a written law that precisely and in detail defined everything necessary to please God, and understood the future life more clearly than the pagans. Therefore, he could follow the right path following the law of righteousness (seek righteousness) in order to achieve it and fulfill it. The holy seed, the pious people who rested in the bosom of Abraham, reached the law of righteousness. Who does the apostle mean by Israel, who did not reach the law of righteousness? Contemporary Jews in Jerusalem and in the diaspora who did not believe in the gospel preaching about Christ the Lord, the Savior. This Israel also sought legal righteousness, but did not achieve it, because it was sought not in the spirit of faith, but only in works of the law. In deeds, one should distinguish between the external - visible and internal - spiritual sides, that is, the deed itself and the disposition with which it is done, the spirit that penetrates it. For example, we can take the teaching on alms revealed by the Holy Evangelist Matthew in the Discourse on the Mount. Some do a good deed out of vanity, while others do it out of motives of love and mercy. The same is true in relation to all works of the law - you can apparently fulfill them, but not have the disposition and spirit of the law. This will be righteousness from the works of the law, but without righteousness in accordance with the law of righteousness, without a good disposition and spirit. All this is what the apostle means when he says that the deeds of the Jews were not of faith. Therefore, relying on their visible legal righteousness, without faith, they did not want to recognize and accept the truth from faith - the gospel preaching. At the same time, guided by the spirit of self-love and peace, they expected that the Messiah, when he came, would praise and reward them for their works of the law. But the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus, not only did not praise or reward them for their outward righteousness, but condemned them and threatened them with punishment (see, for example, Matthew 23:13–39). Therefore, they did not recognize in Him the expected Messiah; they stumbled over Him as a stone of stumbling and temptation. The one who stumbles over a stone is the one who is blind and does not see the stone in his path, or who walks looking around. So the Jews were blinded by their legal righteousness, having looked at it, they did not notice the stumbling block on the path of their lives - the coming Messiah, and stumbled over Him because they did not believe in Him (Theodoret), and having not believed, they did not comprehend the law of righteousness, and remained outside of God's promises. All this was predicted from ancient times (see Is. 28:16; 8:14). The Promised One is there called the stone laid in Zion, because through Him and on Him the Kingdom of God was to be founded, the Kingdom of righteousness and holiness, the Kingdom of the sons of God. He was called a stone of stumbling and temptation not because he was deliberately placed for stumbling and temptation, but because many did not understand that He exists, were offended by Him, did not believe in Him, and thereby stumbled. As it was foretold, so it was fulfilled in Christ Jesus. Evangelists more than once notice that many were offended because of Him. He is the Son of God, has nowhere to lay his head, suffers reproach and even death from evildoers. Only His speeches and deeds testified that He was not from the earth. This was the case during the apostolic sermon. The subject of faith is hidden, and only those who are drawn by the Father to the Son understand it (see John 6:44). Such people will not be ashamed, they will receive the greatest benefits (Theodoret). How much strength one must have in order to believe, when there is unbelief all around, mocking faith, and the object of faith is hidden! II. The guilt of the people of Israel in being rejected by God (10:1–21) In chapter 9, the apostle proved that the salvation of people does not depend on their works, but on the mercy of God. But the people of Israel, having received the law from the Lord, with a zeal worthy of a better fate, sought to obtain salvation by the visible fulfillment of the law, apart from the mercy of the Lord. This unreasonable jealousy of the people arouses grief and prayer in the soul of the apostle for its proper direction. A) The Jews did not understand the purpose of the law as a guide to Christ (10:1–4) 1 Brothers! my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel's salvation. 2 For I testify to them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For not understanding the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God, 4 For the end of the law is Christ, for righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 Moses writes about the righteousness of the law: the man who does it will live by it. 6 But the righteousness of faith says this: Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven? that is, to bring Christ together. 7 Or who will go down into the abyss? that is, to raise Christ from the dead. 8 But what does Scripture say? The word is close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith that we preach. 9 For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says: Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame. 12 Here there is no difference between Jew and Greek, for there is one Lord of all, rich to all who call on Him. 13 For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 14 But how can we call on Him in whom we have not believed? How can one believe in Him of whom one has not heard? How to hear without a preacher? 15 And how can we preach if they are not sent? as it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good tidings of peace! 16 But not everyone obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says: Lord! who believed what they heard from us? 17 So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 18 But I ask: didn’t they hear? On the contrary, their voice went through all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. 19 Again I ask: Did not Israel know? But the first Moses says: I will arouse jealousy in you because of no people, I will provoke you to anger because of a foolish people. 20 But Isaiah says boldly: Those who did not seek Me found Me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask about Me. 21 But of Israel he says, All day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and stubborn people. 10:1. The Apostle, meaning to explain to the Jews that their zeal for the law will not save them, begins by assuring them of his sincere goodwill towards them. This kindness towards them is not in the tongue, but from the fullness of the heart: with all his heart he desires and always prays to God that the entire Israeli people be saved. 10:2. I know, he says, and I tell them all, that the Jews “have zeal”: they zealously fulfill all the external prescriptions of the law - Sabbaths, holidays, sacrifices, and others established by the law. And this zeal of theirs is God’s, for God’s cause, for the law is from God, but this zeal of theirs is “not according to reason” (in the glory of “not according to reason”), not according to the meaning and significance of the law, is not consistent with the will and instructions of the Lawgiver God, which is also evident from their attitude to the truth of God. 10:3. According to the plans of God's truth, a person can be justified before God only by faith in Christ, to which the law led a person, showing him his helplessness and the means to salvation - faith in Christ. But the Jewish people as a whole did not submit to this, but hoped to justify themselves through their own efforts, and therefore did not achieve righteousness. He did not understand that the law was leading him to Christ. 10:4. For the law with its entire structure - spirit and words - leads to Christ as its end and goal. It was given for righteousness: whoever does it as he ought will be righteous. But no one had the strength to fulfill it. Christ gives strength for this to those who believe in Him. Only by this power do people become truly righteous to the full extent of the law and receive justification for what they have sinned against the law, and are endowed with the power to act in everything in accordance with the law. In this sense, Christ appears to the righteousness of everyone who believes, that is, to bestow righteousness for the sake of faith. He is also the purpose of the law. The apostle further proves this idea by the law itself and the prophets. B) They also neglected the testimony of the prophets (10:5–13) 10:5. In the name of God, Moses commanded the Jewish people so that they would have nothing to do with the lives of the pagans around them, but would try entirely only to fulfill the commandments of their Lord: “Do all My commandments and all My destinies (laws), and I will do them: whoever does these things will live in them” (Lev. 18:5). The pagans will be punished for their wickedness and bad life. This is the legal truth - whoever fulfills the entire law as it should will be right. But the Lord Himself, through Moses, also spoke about another way of justification, closely related to the first - about righteousness through faith. 10:6–8. About righteousness through faith, the Lord speaks to the people through Moses: “The commandment... which I command you today is not inaccessible to you and not far away... in heaven, so that you can say: “Who would ascend for us into heaven... and let us hear it, and we would do it?” And it is not beyond the sea, so that one could say: “Who would go over the sea for us and bring it to us, and let us hear it, and we would fulfill it?” But this word is very near to you: it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it” (Deut. 30:11-14). The law written on the tablets, on the charter, is an external law. In order for it to become a source of life, it must move into the heart, merge with the entire being of a person, and then the commandments will already be written in the heart. This is the main thing in the law, and it is achieved only by faith in Jesus Christ. How is the New Testament written with all its laws in its heart? – Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, through regeneration through baptism and, finally, through the betrothal of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, that is, when the Spirit inscribes a new law in the very heart. So, the root of everything is faith in Jesus Christ, for whoever believes in Him receives the Spirit, who teaches us all things (cf. 1 John 2:27). That is why the apostle inserts into the prophecy words of Moses their fulfillment. Do not say: who will ascend to heaven to bring Christ together, so that He may inscribe His new law in our hearts? Christ has already come, believe in Him and you will receive what you ask for. Do not say: who will descend into the abyss to raise Christ from the dead? He has already been raised up, like Jonah from the depths of the sea, resurrected. Believe in Him and you will receive Christ, and with Him the new law. Just as there was no need to go to heaven or overseas to obtain the laws and commandments, they were close at hand - brought, inscribed, so the word of faith is preached everywhere by the apostles. Therefore, the only way of salvation is faith in the Lord Jesus. 10:9–10. The law of works says: fulfill the whole law and you will live through it; The law of faith says: Confess with your mouth Jesus as the Lord (Son of God) and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved and live. Why is this so? Because faith implants in the heart truth, holiness, purity, everything that is necessary for salvation; therefore, he believes in truth and salvation, and confesses with his heart and lips. But aren’t works necessary for salvation? Works are also necessary, for the law established by the Lord Himself is immutable: “If... you want to be taken into account, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). Consequently, the fulfillment of His commandments is inextricably linked with faith in the risen Lord. And if a believer is saved, then, undoubtedly, by a holy life, according to the commandments of God, with the assistance of the grace of the Holy Spirit, bestowed in the Sacraments. This path of salvation by faith, as the only one, is also foreshadowed by the prophets, whose testimony the Apostle cites further. 10:11. The above words were taken by the apostle from the passage of the prophet Isaiah, where he speaks on behalf of the Lord: “I lay for the foundation of Zion a stone of great value... honorable... and he who believes in it will not be put to shame” (Is. 28:16). The stone clearly means Jesus Christ: He alone lies at the foundation of the spiritual Zion - the Holy Church of God, which, founded on Him, stands unshakably. Whoever believes in Him will not be ashamed of his hopes of salvation, either in this life or in the Hereafter. The apostle further reveals who everyone is. 10:12. The Lord, rich in saving mercy, pours it out abundantly on all who turn to Him, no matter whether they are Jews or pagans, because He is the Lord, One and the same for all people. 10:13. The above words were taken by the apostle from Joel’s prophecy about the abundant outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (see Joel 2:32) and were interpreted by the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles, and they, to the amazement of the assembled Jews, began to speak and glorify God in different languages ​​(see Acts 2:6–21). The prophecy foretold the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. The Apostle Peter explains what it means to call on the name of the Lord and the promised salvation: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins: and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Realize that you are a sinner and believe that there is no salvation for you except the Lord; this will be a calling on the name of the Lord. Then, with a feeling of repentance and with faith, be baptized, through which you will receive remission of sins, be reborn to a new life and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, which, poured out on you, will teach you how to become holy, and will strengthen you so that you maintain yourself in holiness all the days of your life. This will be salvation. C) Some reasons that remove the last excuses for the obstinacy of the Jews (10:14–21) So, the only way to salvation is faith, as evidenced by the law itself and the prophets. Meanwhile, the majority of Jews continue to persist and do not turn to this path of salvation. 10:14. Maybe that is why they persist and do not call on the name of the Lord, because they have not heard about Him, because there was no sermon, there were no preachers sent to them? In order to have a stronger effect on those who persist, the apostle answers the questions posed not by indicating reality, but by a more convincing prophetic word for them. The answers lead to the last question. Were not preachers sent to them? – They were, and this is confirmed by Scripture. 10:15. The above words are taken from the passage of the prophet Isaiah, where, as a consolation to the Jewish people, he predicted that the Lord Himself would be among them and evangelists would be sent, spreading the good news about Him. “And the Lord will reign... and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation that comes from God” (see Is. 52:7–10). Obviously, the prophet is speaking here about the coming of the Promised One. Who are the messengers of His peace and goodness? The apostles, for they preached about reconciliation in Him with God, from which flowed countless spiritual benefits for temporary and eternal life (cf. 2 Cor. 5:20). But, they could object to the apostle, if the Lord had really reigned over Zion and sent to preach the gospel about this, then, undoubtedly, all the Jews would have obeyed. Meanwhile, not everyone obeyed the apostles. To this the apostle replies: this is how it should be, for the prophet Isaiah predicted this too. 10:16. These words are taken from Isaiah’s prophecy about the suffering and death of Christ (see Is. 53:1). What did the apostles preach? They preached Christ crucified, which was a temptation for the Jews, and madness for the Greeks (see 1 Cor. 1:23). Therefore, the apostles could have had the same complaint about the indifference of their listeners as the prophet: “Lord, how few believe our word about You!” So, everything is for faith - both the word of God and His preachers. 10:17. The proclaimed word of God is perceived by the ear, reaches the mind and heart and gives rise to faith. Why don't the Jews believe? Maybe the preaching of the Gospel - the word of God - does not reach their ears, and therefore faith does not arise in their hearts? 10:18. How can they say that they did not hear when the whole universe heard the broadcast of the apostles? The Gospel was first proclaimed to the Jews, for the Lord Himself said to the apostles: “Go... rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6), and in the Acts of the Apostles it is said: “You (the Jews) were the first to have the word of God preached” (Acts 13:46). This is the actual answer to the question proposed. What is the prophetic answer? The prophetic one is taken from the 18th Psalm, in which the prophet David depicts how the Lord reveals His glory, wisdom, goodness, omnipotence and providence in visible nature and in verbal revelation - in the law and commandments. The natural revelations of the glory of God are so striking and immutable that they are proclaimed throughout the entire universe and there is no one who does not hear their voice. With this indication of revelation in creation (in the created world), the prophet was led to think about a better revelation - through the word, in which the apostle sees a prophecy about the New Testament revelations that are heard everywhere. But perhaps, in order to excuse the unbelief of the Jews, it is possible to say that they did not understand the meaning of the present time, the fact that in it everything predicted by the prophets, everything promised by God, as the Savior reproached them, is being fulfilled, that they can recognize the face of heaven - whether there will be a bucket, or bad weather, but cannot sign the signs of the times (see Matt. 16:3)? Or when, mourning the fate of Jerusalem, He said that the people did not understand the time of His visit (see Luke 19:42–44)? 10:19. The Jewish people should have understood, understood that the time had come for the fulfillment of the promises, the Promised One had come, but they did not believe. Moses was the first to predict this time, the characteristic sign of which is that God will irritate them with such a people, whom the Jews will consider unworthy to be called His people (see Deut. 32:21). This is how the Jews thought about the pagans. What will irritate you? By accepting them into His mercy. What should have been for the Jews will be transferred to them and passed on to them. This was exactly fulfilled when the pagans, having believed in the Lord, came into possession of the spiritual blessings promised to the fathers of the Jews. Could the Jews not see and understand this? They saw and were most irritated by the acceptance of pagans into the Church of Christ. Therefore, the prophecy of Moses was understood. Thus, the first Moses teaches the Israelites to understand the time of the coming of the Promised One. 10:20. Isaiah admonishes the second (see Is.65:1). The prophet Isaiah clearly and accurately predicts that the pagans, who have not sought God and do not ask about Him, will find Him, and He will reveal Himself to them. This was indeed the case. Having heard the preaching of the apostles, the pagans believed in Jesus Christ, were baptized, clothed themselves with Him and became the sons of God. The Jews saw this and were irritated, which means they understood what had happened, but out of stubbornness they did not submit to the truth. And the prophet Isaiah predicted about this stubbornness. 10:21. The Prophet Isaiah says that the Lord, throughout their political life, from their expulsion from the land of Egypt (all day long), stretched out His hands to them, calling them to Himself, but they did not hear Him (see Is.65:2). So now, all day long - throughout His ministry on earth, the Lord Jesus Christ called on them: repent and believe in the Gospel! After His ascension, the apostles also cried out to the Jews everywhere: repent, believe in the Lord Jesus! So, everything was done to convert the Jews to Christ. There was a sermon, and preachers, and means for understanding the present saving time of the fulfilled promise, and the arousal of zeal in them by the Lord through the acceptance of the pagans. Everything was in vain, everything turned out to be in vain before their stubbornness and unbelief. The apostle does not directly say what they deserve, leaving it to their conscience to decide. III. Future Conversion of Israel (11:1–36) In the 10th chapter, the apostle, both by his own and prophetic words, proved that the Jews persisted through their own fault and did not deserve an apology. Such an accusation must have resonated heavily in the hearts of the believing Jews, who could not help but feel sorry for their people, so high in their election and so humbled through foolishness and stubbornness. The apostle offers them comforting thoughts that the Jews are not all rejected (11:1-10), that the falling away of those who disobeyed the faith serves to save the Gentiles (11:11-12) and that the blindness of the Jews is temporary - after a certain time, all Israel will be saved (11:13-32). A) The seed of promise (root) has already been saved (11:1–10) 1 So, I ask: has God really rejected His people? No way. For I also am an Israelite, from the seed of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject His people, whom He knew beforehand. Or do you not know what Scripture says in the story of Elijah? how he complains to God about Israel, saying: 3 Lord! They have killed Your prophets, They have destroyed Your altars; I am left alone, and they are looking for my soul. 4 What does God’s answer tell him? I have reserved for Me seven thousand men who did not kneel before Baal. 5 Even so at this time, according to the election of grace, there remains a remnant. 6 But if it is by grace, it is not by works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. But if it is by works, then this is no longer grace; otherwise the matter is no longer a matter. 7 What then? Israel did not receive what it sought; the elect received it, but the rest were hardened, 8 As it is written: God gave them a spirit of slumber, eyes with which they do not see, and ears with which they do not hear, even to this day. 9 And David says, Let their table be a snare, a snare, and a snare for their retribution; 10 Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and let their back be bent forever. 11 So I ask: did they really stumble so that they might fall? No way. But from their fall the salvation of the Gentiles is to arouse jealousy in them. 12 If their failure is riches for the world, and their lack of wealth is riches for the Gentiles, how much more is their fullness. 13 I say to you, the Gentiles. As an apostle to the pagans, I glorify my ministry. 14 Shall I not make my relatives according to the flesh jealous and save some of them? 15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what is acceptance but life from the dead? 16 If the first fruit is holy, so is the whole; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 If some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive tree, were grafted in their place and became a sharer of the root and juice of the olive tree, 18 then do not be arrogant before the branches. If you are arrogant, then remember that it is not you who holds the root, but the root of you. 19 You will say, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Okay. They were broken off through unbelief, but you hold on by faith: do not be proud, but be afraid. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, see if He will also spare you. 22 So you see the goodness and severity of God: severity towards those who have fallen, but kindness towards you, if you continue in the goodness of God; otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 But even those, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from the naturally wild olive tree, and were not grafted into the good olive tree according to nature, much more will these natural ones be grafted into their own olive tree. 25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should dream for yourselves, that a hardening has happened in Israel in part, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in; 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Deliverer will come from Zion, and will turn away wickedness from Jacob. 27 And this is my covenant to them, when I take away their sins. 28 Regarding the gospel, they are enemies for your sake; and in relation to election, beloved of God for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were once disobedient to God, but have now received mercy because of your disobedience, 31 So now they too are disobedient, so that you may have mercy on you, so that they themselves may also receive mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. 33 Oh, the depth of the riches of both the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His destinies and unsearchable His ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who was His adviser? 35 Or who gave Him advance, that He should repay? 36 For all things are from Him, by Him and to Him. To him be glory forever, amen. 11:1. The Jewish people did not accept the Promised Redeemer, and the Lord, through the apostles, called the pagans, and they, having believed, received the good promised to the Jews. It turns out that the Lord rejected His people? The apostle answers that God did not give His promises to the whole mass of the people, but only to the chosen ones. Did He reject the elect? No, and here the apostle points to himself as the chosen one; Meanwhile, he is from the family of Judah, from the seed of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin, and he is not the only chosen one. 11:2–5. God foresaw that they would be obedient to His word, and gave promises, although not to all the people, but had in mind those foreseen, who, in fact, are the people of God, and His promises apply to them. Now something similar to what happened in the Israeli people during the time of the prophet Elijah is happening in the Jewish people (see 1 Kings 19:14–18). Just as then the entire people fought against God - they beat the prophets, destroyed the altars dedicated to the Lord, and only the seven thousand who were hiding honored God, and God called them His own, so now the Jewish people as a whole fight against God - the Jews crucified Christ, beat and torture His followers, but the believers living among them still believe in Christ and worship Him. These are the ones God considers His own. This is His remnant by election. God chose and chooses him from among the people through preaching, faith and grace. Everything is done in accordance with the will of God, according to His promise. This means that God did not reject His people. His chosen ones are by grace, not by the works of the law. 11:6. Who are God's chosen ones by grace? All who do not rely on themselves, on their works and on any of their external advantages (for example, descent from Abraham), but wait for salvation from the hands of God, ready to accept it by His grace, “on such and such humble people the ray of God’s grace falls and attracts them to the source of salvation. This finding by grace of those who are able to accept it is election by grace” (Chrysostom). If election to salvation is from grace, then, obviously, it is not from works, for if it were from works, it would not be from grace, because grace is not required with works (when one hopes for salvation as a payment for works), and also works (self-justification) with grace. What came out of the ways of life in Israel? 11:7. Israel sought to become an heir of the promises of their ancestors and did not receive it, because they hoped to receive it by their own strength, by fulfilling the law, and not by grace. Therefore, when the time of grace came, he rejected it and was himself rejected. And those few chosen ones, although they also kept the law, placed their hope of receiving what they were looking for in the grace of God alone. Therefore, when grace came and called them, they accepted it and received the promised salvation, while others became hardened, as was predicted by the prophets (see Isa.29:10; Deut.29:4). 11:8. As during the time of the prophet Isaiah, the princes and people were as if in a state of sleep, they saw God’s Providence for them, but as in a dream, and it was for them a sealed book; such a sealed book for the Jewish people was Jesus Christ - His deeds and teachings. Just as Moses reproached the Jews for not paying attention (“seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not”) regarding what the Lord has done for them, from liberation from Egyptian slavery to this day, so now the people of Israel do not pay attention to what the Lord is arranging in Jesus Christ for their salvation. 11:9–10. From verses 1 to 22 of the 68th Psalm, David predicts the suffering of the Lord Jesus from the Jews, and in the 23rd and 24th - the punishment of the guilty. What promised them pleasure and pleasure ("meal") will turn into a snare for them; become entangled in disasters from which they cannot extricate themselves. In relation to the Jews contemporary to the Apostle, the meaning of this passage will be this: they thirsted and hungered for the death of Christ as a great pleasure, and this very thing attracted the greatest disasters to them, “their eyes were darkened so as not to see.” The Jews saw neither the works nor the miracles of Christ, nor even His glorious resurrection. For this, “their backbone will be bent forever,” they will forever be in slavery to other nations, which is in fact the case. But this is not an accident, but has its own deep good goals in the matter of salvation, in order to save the pagans by the fall of Israel, and by saving the latter to save Israel, arousing jealousy in them. B) The fall of Israel to save the Gentiles (11:11–12) 11:11. The Jews sinned by rejecting the salvation offered to them through faith in Jesus Christ, but they did not completely perish. Instead of exclusively preaching the Gospel of salvation to them, the apostles began to preach it to the pagans in order to receive them into the Church. But they themselves, fallen, with darkened eyes, seeing the salvation of the pagans, will finally wake up, see clearly, excited by zeal, turn to faith in Christ and be saved by His grace. Then the grace of the Lord will appear in even greater abundance. 11:12. If the apostasy of the Jews enriched the world with the knowledge of God - the pagans believed in Christ from them, accepted the grace of the Holy Spirit and became heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven, then what will happen, how much grace and mercy will be poured out from the Lord when all the Jews believe, giving them the fullness of the Church of Christ?! C) The blinding of the Jews is temporary - after a certain time, all Israel will be saved (11:13–32) a) Conversion of the Gentiles for the Salvation of Israel (11:13–24) The Apostle turns his speech to the believing pagans. His train of thought goes like this. As an apostle to the pagans, I highly value your conversion to Christ, but at the same time I mean through your conversion to convert my relatives according to the flesh, because with their conversion the bright Kingdom of God will come. The Jews will turn to Christ because their root is whole and holy. True, some branches were broken off and you, the pagans, were grafted in their place. Know this, but do not be proud; the Lord will eventually graft in what has fallen away. And so all Israel will be saved. 13 What does the apostle say to the pagans? “I praise, he says, your conversion and you who have turned to Christ, for two reasons: firstly, because I have a need for it, as someone sent to serve you, and secondly, in order to save me and others through you” (Chrysostom). 11:14. By multiplying the number of pagan believers and exalting the significance of turning to Christ, the apostle indirectly intends to, at least, arouse the Jews, kindred to him in the flesh (and not in spirit), to competition, and at least in this way convert some of them to salvation. Why is the apostle so concerned about converting the Jews? 11:15. The Apostle cares about the Jews not only because they are relatives to him in the flesh, but mainly because if they themselves were rejected for rejecting faith in Christ, and instead of them God reconciled the pagan world to Himself, then how much good will happen when they join the faith and are saved? Then the time will come for the resurrection from the dead, “then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14), and Israel’s conversion to Christ will undoubtedly take place, because their root is whole and holy. 11:16. The firstfruits, foundation and root of the Jewish people - their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, Jacob - are holy, therefore the whole people (branches) will be holy, although now some of its branches have withered and been replaced by others. 11:17–18. True, now many of the Jews do not believe in Christ the Lord and, like dry branches, are broken off from the tree of the people of God, alienated from their holy root, and in their place a wild olive tree, with bad juices and fruits, clung to the branch - the pagans - and became partakers of the root and juices of the good olive tree (the ancestors of the Jewish people). But the pagans only, as it were, externally clung to the chosen people, therefore they should not exalt themselves above the fallen, natural branches; but we must remember that they are not an independent tree, but only a graft to a tree, the branches of which are held by the root, the ancestors of the Jewish people. However, the pagans apparently still have reason to boast. 11:19–21. Apparently, how can the pagans not boast? They, alien to God’s promises and the Jewish people, are grafted into the good olive tree, into the chosen people of God, and the natural branches of this olive tree are deprived of these benefits, they themselves are broken off from their tree. The Apostle seems to approve of this, but now he says that such order is only external - external consistency. If you pay attention to the reason for both, then something different will come out. The Jews fell away from their tree for unbelief, the pagans clung to it by faith. This means that the reason is faith, which is given by God by grace, and not for any advantages, given for humility and self-abasement. So, boasting is inappropriate here; Moreover, it is dangerous for faith, for with conceit, faith weakens, which must be feared so as not to lose faith completely. For the pagans must remember that if God rejected those (Jews) for unbelief, whose race He considered His own and cared so much about them, then much less will He spare them, foreign pagans, from those accepted into the race of God, if they weaken in faith or waver in it, or behave unworthy of it. The pagans have before their eyes examples of the severity and mercy of God: the Jews and themselves. 11:22. The disbelieving Jews did not submit to the will of God, and through this they fell away from the race of the chosen sons of God, and God did not spare them, did not consider that they had such great fathers according to the flesh and that He Himself cared so much about them. And as soon as they became unworthy of His goodness for their stubborn unbelief, He immediately rejected them and deprived them of His mercy. The pagans humbly believed in the Lord Jesus, and He poured out His blessings on them, and will not deprive them of His mercy if they remain faithful to Him to the end. But if by their faith and life they turn out to be unworthy of His mercies, then He will cut them off from the good olive tree of those being saved. In the same way, the Jews will also receive mercy if they believe. 11:23. While we are here on earth, God’s rejection is only corrective, and therefore not final. God rejects in order to reason with the fact of rejection and attract to Himself. The same will happen to the unbelievers. If they stop stubbornly and believe in the Lord Jesus, God will again accept them into His generation - the saved, the elect and the saints, because He is omnipotent to bring about that which is beyond hope. The apostle further explains the possibility of grafting the Jews to their natural olive tree. 11:24. Everything comes from faith, and faith comes from the will of God’s mercy. The Jews will accept the faith and be grafted into their olive tree again, and even more conveniently than the pagans. The pagans grew like wild olives, uncultivated by the gardener's art. They had neither the law given by God nor the prophets sent by God. They did not experience the providential actions of God, therefore they did not have anything Divine in themselves, except for what was put into them by nature, and yet they were grafted into the good olive tree by grace, by faith. A Jew, brought up on laws and prophecies, although he now does not believe, still remains traces of a special Divine upbringing; he has law and prophets. Consequently, he has much in common with the principles of faith, and therefore can all the sooner turn to Christ and be grafted back into his natural olive tree if he wants. b) God's revelation that Israel will be saved (11:25–32) Hitherto the apostle had said for reasons of reason that Israel would be saved, but now he proclaims this according to the revelation given to him from God. 11:25. That God did not completely reject the people of Israel, He revealed this to the apostle in a special revelation, which he now proclaims. What is this mystery of revelation? The fact is that the blindness of Israel is not final, but temporary, until the full number of pagans, predetermined by God, enters the fence of faith. Then the Jews, destined by God for salvation, will believe. In this way all Israel will be saved. The apostle proclaims this mystery of God about the salvation of the Jews to all the brothers of the Roman Church so that they themselves do not invent erroneous assumptions, do not dream about themselves. 11:26–27. When the full number of pagans enters the Church of Christ and when the blindness falls from the eyes of Israel, he sees the truth, believes in the Lord Savior, then he too will be saved, not all without exception, but only those who believe, and they will be the majority - as if all of Israel. The apostle confirms the salvation of all Israel with a prophetic word. The Prophet Isaiah, predicting the coming of the Deliverer, says that He will come from Zion, that is, from among the very children of Israel, “turn away wickedness from Jacob,” that is, make him pious, teach him faith, provide him with grace and make him a saint. During the time of the Apostle, many Jews turned to the faith of Christ, but there were still many unbelievers; and the prophecy says that all will be believers (see Is. 59:20–21, 27:9). Therefore, it has not yet been fulfilled, but will be fulfilled in the future. How can we know that this promise has been fulfilled in Israel? According to the covenant or law that the Lord has established: then I will take away (from them) their sins. The Lord will then not only forgive the guilt of their stubbornness and bitterness, but will make them themselves clean, driving out their sins from them, which is done in baptism and renewal by the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that then their lives will completely change. This will serve as a sign of the salvation of Israel. For the sake of their fathers, Israel continues to be beloved of God. 11:28–29. From all that has been said, it turns out that if you look at the Jews in relation to their attitude to the Gospel, how they resist it and are at enmity with the evangelists and believers, then they are the enemies of God - they are at enmity with God, but this is for the sake of the pagans, so that they may be saved. If you look at them in relation to their election, then they are beloved of God, although not for themselves, but for the sake of their ancestors, with whom the Lord entered into a covenant, which is why the Lord did not reject them completely, but only for a while, and in due time will save them, because the gifts and callings that He bestowed and whom He called according to His foreknowledge are unchangeable. It was not by chance that He chose the Jews from all nations, but according to His foreknowledge, as the most worthy. If he has chosen, he will not completely reject them, but in due time he will save them, because he chose and bestowed mercy on them. The apostle illustrates this idea with the example of the pagans. 11:30–31. Before turning to Christ, the pagans opposed God and did not want to know Him, but the Jews were submissive to Him. Now it’s the other way around: the Jews began to resist the will of God and God’s decision to save people. Then God, in view of this opposition, addressed the word of calling to the pagans. They obeyed and were accepted into mercy instead of the Jews. If God accepted the pagans who once opposed Him, then what wondrous if He accepted the Jewish people who resisted for the benefit of the pagans. 11:32. For God, in His Providence, convicted everyone, declared them disobedient, “he included everyone in one category of disobedient, not so that everyone would remain disobedient, but in order to save some through the stubbornness of others: Jews through the pagans, and pagans through the Jews” (Chrysostom). D) The Apostle expresses wonder and awe at the ways of the Wisdom of God (11:33–36) The apostle concludes this section with an expression of wonder and awe at the ways of the Wisdom of God in ruling the world. 11:33. Contemplating the salvation of people accomplished by God, the apostle exclaims in amazement: oh, how incomprehensible, what an abyss (in the glory of “depth”), the fullness of goodness (wealth) in Wisdom - the expedient implementation of the great plans of God’s Providence for the human race by means incomprehensible to the human mind, and in knowledge that best determines everything that should happen and how it should be! How incomprehensible are the definitions (of fate), and how incomprehensible to people are the ways of fulfilling the definitions (paths). Only God knows them. 11:34–36. “God, being so much Wisdom, does not borrow Wisdom from another, but He Himself is the source of it and all good things. He, who has done so much for us and benefited us so much, did not give us what he borrowed from others, but poured it out from Himself. He should not reward anyone as if he took something from another, but He Himself is always the main source of benefits. He Himself invented, He Himself created everything, He Himself supports, because He is rich and has no need to take from another, because He is Wise and does not need advice” (Chrysostom). “He is the source of everything, this means: from Him. He and the Creator of all this is by Him, everything has a beginning from Him and was created by Him, and everything stands and rests, leaning on Him as on what foundation” (Theodoret). To him be glory eternal! - “It is Paul’s custom to end his speech with thanksgiving when he speaks about something important” (Theodoret). Part two – moralizing (12:1–15:13) Having set out the doctrine of faith, the apostle also teaches how to live by faith, or in accordance with faith. His moral instructions can be divided as follows: general rules about the spirit of Christian life (12:1-2), rules concerning the mutual relations of Christians (12:3-21); rules regarding the behavior of Christians towards outsiders (non-Christians), as necessary conditions for their spiritual growth (13:1–14), and rules regarding those weak in the faith (14:1–15:13). Section one. Picture of the spirit of Christian life (12:1–2) 1 Therefore I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service, 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 By the grace given to me, I say to each of you: do not think more about yourself than you ought to think; but think modestly, according to the measure of faith that God has allocated to each. 4 For just as we have many members in one body, but not all the members have the same function; 5 So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 And since, according to the grace given to us, we have diversified gifts, if you have prophecy, prophesy according to the measure of faith; 7 If you have a ministry, remain in the ministry; whether a teacher, in teaching; 8 If you warn, exhort; whether you are a distributor, distribute in simplicity; Whether you are a boss, lead with zeal; Whether you are a benefactor, do charity with cordiality. 9 Let love be unfeigned; turn away from evil, cling to goodness; 10 Be kind to one another with brotherly love; warn one another in respect; 11 Do not slacken in zeal; be on fire in spirit; Serve the Lord; 12 Be comforted by hope; be patient in sorrow, constant in prayer; 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; be zealous for hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless, not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind among yourselves; do not be arrogant, but follow the humble; don't dream about yourself; 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but make provision for what is good in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible on your part, be at peace with all people. 19 Do not avenge 92 yourselves, beloved, but give room to the wrath of God. For it is written: Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. 20 So if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink: for by doing this you will heap burning coals on his head. 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 12:1. The strongest motivation for a God-pleasing life is the consciousness of God’s great benefits, both to the entire human race in general, and especially to the person himself who wants to live a God-pleasing, pious life. This consciousness gives rise to a warm feeling of gratitude, a readiness to devote all of oneself and everything to serving God. This is the beginning of love. Therefore, the apostle begins the moralizing section with a reminder of the good deeds of God, praying, as if in their name (“I beg... with mercy”), first of all, to arrange your body in the church of God. It starts with the body, because the sin of self-indulgence, like the soul of everything sinful, is almost exclusively carnal pleasure. Therefore, he who decides to live a holy life from the very first step enters into a harsh regime of the body, or, according to the Apostle, from the body he constantly makes a sacrifice to God, crucifying his flesh with passions and lusts (cf. Gal. 5:24). This crucifixion, or self-mortification of the body for God, is a sacrifice to God, but here, in fact, it is not the body that is mortified, but the passions in the body, and thereby true life is created, therefore this is a living sacrifice - for life. Just as the Old Testament sacrifice should not have any defects (physical) in itself in order to be holy, so in our body all members must be clean from passions and defilement by sin, and then our sacrifice will be holy. But external purity is not enough; both the disposition and the spirit of the person making a bodily sacrifice must be holy and pleasing to God, then the sacrifice will be pleasing to God. Thus, constantly tempering passions and lusts in the body, a Christian will perform rational and spiritual service to God. This is the law for the body. Next, the apostle proposes a law for the soul of a Christian from the negative and positive sides. 12:2. What is the law for the soul? On the negative side, it should not conform to the spirit of the age; on the positive side, it must be transformed by a renewed mind according to the spirit of Christ. What is the spirit of the century? The spirit of the age is such a mood of the soul, its thoughts, feelings and desires, the purpose of which is to adapt to the conditions of a purely practical nature of a given time, which, in turn, is the goal of the life of the people of this century. All their thoughts, desires, concerns are on earth and about earthly things, and they want to arrange all this on their own, according to their plans. This earthly mood of the soul does not exclude thoughts about God, His Providence and the future life, but they do not penetrate the heart and do not go beyond words and external deeds. With such a mood, a Christian is only such in name, but in reality he is not a Christian, because he does not have the spirit of Christ. What is the spirit of Christ? He is the opposite of the spirit of the age: this one is all on earth and in earthly things, that one is all in heaven and in heavenly things; this one relies on his own strength in everything and cares only about pleasing himself, the other one relies in everything on the will and grace of God and strives to please God. The Spirit of Christ does not exclude matters related to the earthly life of the body, does not suppress the satisfaction of natural needs, does not drive away from family and society, it allows the same forms of life as the spirit of the age, but gives their content a different meaning. The Spirit of Christ is born from the grace of God, awakening the fear of God and conscience in the heart. Under their influence, a person overestimates his life according to the spirit of the age, finds it abnormal and dangerous for himself, and the determination to change it to life according to the spirit of Christ matures in him. Then repentance appears in him, and he receives the grace of God within, strengthening his spirit and helping him to live according to the Spirit of Christ. It is to such that the apostle turns his warning when he says: “Do not be conformed to this age,” lest the spirit of the age seduce them with its seductive lures and draw them back to itself. What does the apostle advise them to do so that they do not succumb to the temptations of the spirit of the age? - “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind!” - this is his answer. Living in the spirit of the age tunes the whole soul in its own way - in an earthly way, which, of course, certainly prevents a person from living and thinking in a new way; therefore, with the help of this grace, which strengthens the spirit, it is necessary to re-educate the powers of the soul and its habits, give them a different direction, in accordance with the spirit of Christ, destroy the old - sinful and grow stronger in the new - spiritual, and in case of a fall, renew the spirit with repentance, which is an integral part of the new spirit of Christian life, characterized by a constant state of a humble and contrite heart. By what standard should one transform oneself? There is only one norm here - the will of God, “so that you may know what the good will of God is.” The will of God is shown to us in the word of God, which sets forth everything that pleases God. Fulfilling what is pleasing to God will immediately give a person a clearly tangible result in internal self-satisfaction, from which everyone can learn how “good, acceptable and perfect” the will of God is. This is generally the spirit of the Christian life. Next, the apostle offers rules on how to live and act in the spirit of Christ. Section two. Rules regarding the mutual relations of Christians, as an expression of the spirit of Christian life (12:3–21) I. Everyone should occupy the position in the Church indicated by the gift of faith, and walk through it with all caution (12:3-8) 12:3. “The apostle does not propose rules on his own, but through the inspiration of the grace of the Holy Spirit. They apply to everyone: superior and subordinate, slave and free, unlearned and wise, both woman and man, young man and old man, this is a general law, because it is the Lord’s” (Chrysostom). In the first place the apostle puts humility, not to think of oneself above measure, that is, not to be proud of one’s talent, not to look down on others, not to think of things beyond one’s strength, and not to demand for oneself a place or position beyond one’s abilities. In a word, do not be excessively pretentious, or ambitious, power-hungry, or power-hungry. To think about yourself according to your gifts and abilities, according to the apostle, means to think chastely - sensibly. What is the measure of sanity? So that everyone thinks about himself according to the measure of the gift he received from God, in accordance with his faith. The apostle further explains this idea with an example - from a consideration of the structure of our body. 12:4–5. There are many different members in our body, and each of them does only its own thing, to the best of its ability, and does not interfere with the activities of its neighbor. Likewise, Christians, who form one body under the head of Christ, must each do their own work according to the strength, abilities and gifts of God, without interfering with each other. This is relative to natural gifts. 12:6–8. But, in addition to natural powers and abilities, God also grants Christians supernatural and grace-filled powers: prophecy, teaching, and others. The Apostle, as if continuing the comparison with the members of the body, teaches that every Christian who has received one or another gift, without envying others or being proud, must use the gift given to him. If you have received the gift of prophecy, then prophesy, that is, predict the future, reveal what is hidden in the thoughts and hearts of others, confirm good, expose evil. In a word, from what is revealed to you, convey to others that which is in accordance with the general faith (to the extent of faith), that clarifies, nourishes and confirms it. If you have received the gift of ministry in the church (of course, the entire priestly rank), remain in your position and be satisfied with what you have received. If you have received the gift of teaching for the interpretation of Divine dogmas, then remain in the teaching, think about it, be occupied with it and correct it diligently and carefully. If anyone has received the gift of a warner (in Glor. “If you console”) in sorrows and adversities, let him remain in consolation, doing his job and not being proud of others. If you have received the gift of thrift as a distributor and are assigned to distribute alms on behalf of the Church, then give in simplicity, that is, without suspecting the petitioner of anything wrong, but in the simplicity of your heart, trusting his word and not being stingy. If you have received the grace of a superior - bishopric or priesthood, do your work with diligence - care and diligence (cf. 1 Tim. 4:14). If you have the gift of charity, then do charity with a joyful heart and a cheerful face - cordially (cf. 2 Cor. 9:6-7). “If you give a little with joy, you give a lot. In the same way, if you give a lot, but with regret, then you do little out of a lot” (Chrysostom). II. The Spirit of Christ must be expressed in the sincere mutual love of Christians (12:9–21) A) Love is the basis, its strength is in flame, burning (12:9–15) 12:9. Love should constitute the soul of all Christians, serving as a distinctive feature of true Christianity (see John 13:35). The consciousness that this should be so lies deep in the heart of a Christian, but in fact, love relationships are often limited only to words, and, moreover, not coming from the heart. Therefore, the apostle adds that love must be “unfeigned” - not feigned, but sincere and heartfelt. From the realm of love, the apostle excludes all evil deeds, words and thoughts. She commands not only to shun evil, but also to hate it, to turn away from it with horror, and to cleave - not only to do, but to have a commitment, a kind of addiction, to good. The mutual relationships of Christians should be imbued with such love. 12:10. In mutual relationships, love should be distinguished by ardor and tenderness, as is the case between brothers. “Do not wait for another to discover love for you, but run to him first” (Chrysostom). In relation to others, you need to configure yourself in such a way as to put them above yourself, as more worthy and perfect. “Nothing wins us so many friends as trying to surpass our neighbor in respect. From this, not only love increases, but also respect. As love comes from respect, so respect comes from love” (Chrysostom). 12:11. Zeal for serving God, caring for others and for oneself should be the most ardent, as happens when one devotes oneself to a task with all one’s soul—thoughts, dispositions, and will. In view of this, the apostle teaches to blaze in spirit, igniting it with thoughts about the Divine, holy, heavenly, eternal, and most importantly, to live a spiritual life and serve the Lord, to serve Him alone and to fulfill His will only. What are the fruits of a burning spirit? 12:12. A burning spirit tunes the heart with joy in the hope of future blessings and gives it a taste of them, which makes it happy. In the sorrows that are inevitable in Christian life (see John 16:33), he gives patience, encourages prayer, which is so dear to him, and even stimulates prayer itself. The very “Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered” (Rom. 8:26). However, in what deeds does a burning spirit manifest itself? 12:13. A burning spirit manifests itself in the desire to satisfy its fellow believers—Christians in general—with shelter, food, clothing and everything generally necessary. In the words: “take part,” there is an indication of reciprocity. Help someone in need, and he will help you through prayer. “What you do for your brother, your Master takes to Himself, and, as if He Himself had received a benefit from you, rewards you for it” (Chrysostom). A burning spirit manifests itself in love of strangers, in the repose of strangers, not only when they ask for it, but when you yourself are looking for them, looking for them, and, so to speak, are jealous about it (see, for example, Gen. 18: 2–5). A burning spirit encourages us to show love to our enemies, the persecutors of Christians. 12:14. For a burning spirit there is nothing valuable on earth; all its treasure is in heaven. Therefore, what contributes to the increase and preservation of heavenly blessings is good for him, and what hinders him is evil. As a result, the good of the world is evil for such a spirit, and vice versa, the evil of the world is good for him. So in persecution he sees and feels not evil, but good (cf. Matt. 5:11-12), therefore he no longer curses those who persecute, but blesses them as his benefactors. The burning spirit is further manifested in sympathy for the grief and joy of others. 12:15. If it is impossible to remove trouble from your neighbor, he encourages you to grieve, cry with him and thereby alleviate his grief. Each of us is drawn to this by our nature. There is no heart of stone that does not share the sorrow of the unfortunate (Chrysostom). But it is much more difficult for a natural person, given the well-being of his neighbor, not to envy him, but to rejoice in his well-being, sharing his joy with him. This is helped by grace, which ignites the spirit suppressed by selfishness and arouses in the heart pure love for the well-being of one’s neighbor. B) What prevents love from burning (12:16–17) 12:16. The development of sympathy and love can be hampered, firstly, by differences of opinion in the main issues of life, as a result of which people become strangers to each other, so that between them there is nothing to look for joy with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep, and unity in prayer. Secondly, arrogance is an excessively high opinion of oneself, which is a poison that corrodes society. Thirdly, arrogance is an obstacle - a dream about yourself that you can do everything with your own mind and strength, without needing the advice and help of others. Arrogance, first of all, is dangerous for the dreamer himself. She can lead him down a dangerous path without his noticing and cause trouble. Finally, sympathy and love are hindered by quarrels, hostility, and revenge. 12:17. The Apostle advises not to take revenge for insults, which is characteristic of those who live according to the spirit of the world; Evil cannot be extinguished by evil; it is strengthened by revenge; this is the rule of prudence. And most importantly, vindictiveness does not agree with complete devotion to the will of God, on which everything depends - both to extinguish evil and to allow it. Instead of revenge and evil, the apostle commands everyone to do good and be kind, so as not to lead anyone into temptation by their behavior and, if possible, to live in peace with everyone. C) How to maintain and rekindle love (12:18–21) 12:18. From the point of view of the sons of this age, maintaining peace with everyone is completely impossible. The personal interests of people are so dissimilar, even opposite, that people rarely come together and make peace, but more often they diverge and quarrel. What is heavenly never serves as a reason for envy and discord, it is unenviable - everyone take as much as they want and can. On the contrary, earthly things are such that as soon as one takes, then the other has little or even nothing to take. In order to be at peace with everyone, one thing is required - always sacrifice your own for the benefit of another, and your peace will never be disturbed. This seems unprofitable, but in reality it always turns out to be profitable; through this, not only the spiritual will grow, but the earthly will also increase, both from the sympathy and goodwill of others, and from the mercy of God, which our selflessness will attract. But what if others disturb the peace? The Apostle says: “if it is possible on your part,” that is, on your part, use everything possible so as not to disturb the peace, keep peace in your heart and do not give anyone a reason for hostility. What if the truth is condemned and lies are extolled? The commandment commands us to stand up for the wrongs of the offended and to defend the truth. Here comes the discord! But even in this case, by defending the truth, you can maintain peace in your heart if you condemn not persons, but bad deeds, so that enmity will not come with face, but with untruth. In the spirit of peace, a person will be treated with regret and a sensitive attitude towards his shortcomings. 12:19. In order to prevent all causes of quarrels and revenge, the apostle advises Christians to avoid even judicial - civil litigation (cf. 1 Cor. 6:7; Matt. 5:40). Do not seek, the apostle teaches, the restoration of your rights even through the courts. Although this is not a bad thing in a civil sense, it still feeds and satisfies the feeling of revenge. It is better to leave it to God to restore the truth, give place to His wrath, that is, His righteous retribution. He knows better how to restore the violated truth and how and when to punish the culprit. It may even be that the offense was allowed by God for your admonition. To further convince his thought, the apostle cites the testimony of Scripture, not literally, but in the spirit; The Lord Himself said: “Vengeance is mine, I take upon myself the matter of vengeance, I myself will repay when and how I find it necessary and useful to do it.” For Christians, the apostle offers a different way of vengeance. 12:20. The only blessed way of revenge is doing good to those who have done and are doing something unpleasant and evil to us. As the Savior said: “Do good to those who hate you” (Matthew 5:44). This vengeance has a beneficial effect on the offender and collects burning coals on his head. In fact, “an enemy, even if he were an animal, having been fed, will not remain an enemy, and the offended, no matter how vindictive he is, having fed and watered the enemy, will no longer seek revenge” (Chrysostom). The comfort of the enemy, this coal of fire, collected on his head, extinguishes or evaporates the fire of hostility burning in his heart, and establishes peace. Thus, a Christian will overcome evil with good. 12:21. When someone, encountering an insult or insult, succumbs to this feeling and himself is not only inflamed by the same, but also plots revenge, then he is already overcome by evil. But when someone does not succumb to anything like that and, on the contrary, does good instead of evil, then he is the conqueror of evil with good. The Apostle commands Christians not to allow the first, and to choose the second as the rule of life. Section three. How Christians Should Live and Act as Members of Civil Society, or the State (13:1–14) I. Christians must submit to established authorities, which Jews were especially reluctant to do (13:1–7) 1 Let every soul be subject to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God; the existing authorities have been established by God. 2 Therefore he who resists authority resists God’s ordinance. And those who resist will bring condemnation upon themselves 93 . 3 For rulers are not a terror to good deeds, but to evil deeds. Do you want to not be afraid of power? Do good and you will receive praise from her, 4 For the ruler is God’s servant, for your good. If you do evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain: he is God's servant, an avenger to punish those who do evil. 5 And therefore one must obey not only out of fear of punishment, but also out of conscience. 6 For this reason you pay taxes, for they are God’s servants, constantly busy with this. 7 Therefore give to everyone their due: to whom to give, to give; to whom quitrent, quitrent; to whom fear, fear; to whom honor, honor. 8 Do not owe anyone anything except mutual love; For he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not covet the things of others, and all the others are contained in this word: love your neighbor as yourself. 10 Love does not harm one’s neighbor; So love is the fulfillment of the law. 11 Do this, knowing the time that the hour has come for us to awaken from sleep. For salvation is closer to us now than when we believed. 12 The night is past, and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the weapons of light. 13 As during the day, let us behave decently, not indulging in feasting and drunkenness, nor in sensuality and debauchery, nor in quarrels and envy; 14 But put on our Lord Jesus Christ, and do not turn the cares of the flesh into lusts. 13:1. At first, Christians, and especially the apostles, were considered world-wide troublemakers (see Acts 17:6), overthrowing social orders and introducing other customs (see Acts 16:21), disagreeing with the established ones. It can be assumed that some Christians, considering themselves the best, even disdained worldly authority. The Apostle always and everywhere commands Christians to submit to the civil authority, everyone without distinction ("every soul"), not only outwardly, but with reverence, out of duty, as an authority established by God for the good of people. “The Apostle here speaks not about every boss, but about leadership in general: it is from God, so that there is no disorder in the world” (Chrysostom). However, in relation to individual leaders: God appoints the good and virtuous (cf. Jer. 3:15; Is. 1:26), and allows the bad to be leaders as punishment for human sins (see Is. 3:4). From this view of authority the apostle also derives incentives to obey it. 13:2. Therefore, resistance to authority is resistance to God, who established authority, and is a sin, entailing condemnation and punishment. Moreover, the government has the goal of stopping evil in order to give space to the good – the legal. 13:3–4. Leaders, according to God's decree, are appointed to frighten evildoers; those who do good have nothing to fear from them, because God has established power to serve the good in the sense that it protects them from the evil and even supports the good themselves in good, threatening them with fear of punishment for deviating into evil, for the leaders are armed not for form, but to punish the evil. The authorities perform all this as servants of God, although perhaps they are not aware of it. They imitate God by being angry with the wicked and exacting punishment from them, and thereby instilling fear in them. 13:5. Therefore, one must obey the authority established by God not only out of fear of punishment, but also out of consciousness of duty (“according to conscience”) before God, who established the authority. The state owes all its well-being to the government, both externally for protection from external enemies, and internally for protection from evil people. To do this, it provides him materially. 13:6. That the government is a beneficial institution for the state, the apostle proves by the fact that from ancient times the state has paid taxes to it in order to provide for it (engaged exclusively in public service) as servants of God. 13:7. Since the government is an institution of God, the apostle commands to give it what is due: to whom the land tax is due (in glory, “lesson”), to whom the duty for the right to trade (“rent”) is a material reward. In addition, the apostle commands to give to the authorities, as servants of God, a kind of moral tribute - fear, not fear of punishment, which the apostle rejected earlier, but the highest degree of respect that those who love show to their loved one, and honor - honor, honor. II. Rules regarding the hostel. The basis of everything is love (13:8–10) The duties or laws of social life of a negative nature are on the second table of the ten words: do not do this, do not do that. For a pagan, and even a Jew, such a formulation of the norm of life was enough, but for a Christian this was not enough: he also had to be given a good basis for all activities. The apostle indicates this in love. He talks about it like this: there are a lot of laws about this, but you just love and you will fulfill everything, even if you don’t know the laws, love itself will teach you legal actions, and with it you will always be a good citizen. 13:8. What is due to the government is taxes, duties, respect when meeting, and what is due to each other is love. The first is a temporary debt, and the second is a permanent, unpayable debt. Why is this so? Because in love lies the entire fulfillment of the law: it indicates the goal of the feat, and it also gives strength to fulfill it. In this respect, love is the source from which all that is lawful proceeds; it is the basis of peace and prosperity and social tranquility. In short, love is the fulfillment of the law. And then the same idea in more detail. 13:9. The Apostle lists such cases as are punishable by civil law, and suggests that love will not allow any of them and the like. In fact, can someone who loves a friend raise his hand against him or steal something from him? Will he be tempted to say something bad about his friend, to envy him, and even more so to carry out some evil plan on him? So, where there is love, there is only justice, actions in accordance with the law, and even more than that, a living desire for mutual assistance, support and sympathy. Therefore, the word “love”, as the title, refers to all the commandments, and here this word also means its highest degree, for he did not just say “love”, but added “as yourself” (see Lev. 19:18). Hence the essence of love, according to the apostle, is to sacrifice oneself for one’s beloved and one’s entire being for his well-being, which the apostle further expresses even more sharply! 13:10. Love in its essence does not harm one's neighbor. Consequently, if someone has love, then all civil laws will be easily fulfilled by him; it is the fulfillment of the law. III. Warning against pagan ways of life (13:11–14) Having indicated how one can become a good citizen in the Christian spirit, the apostle immediately warns Christians against such customs, which are certainly condemned by Christianity, although they received the right of citizenship in some pagan societies. The motivation for this is the coming of Christ, which is as bright as day; the same customs are dark as night. Therefore, a Christian, as a son of light, must avoid them. 13:11. In addition to love for one’s neighbors, the apostle commands to do something else, namely: knowing that the Savior has come and day has already come with Him, further understanding the spirit of the times - Christianity, when one should be vigilant over oneself - one must awaken from the sleep of the night and not do what is characteristic of the night, but do what is characteristic of the day. In the old, Old Testament times, they only believed that the Deliverer would come; and now He is with us, clothes us with Himself in baptism and feeds us with Himself, and gives us strength “for life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3). That’s why we can’t sleep now, but must stay awake and work tirelessly. 13:12. The night of ignorance and sinfulness has passed, now the day of light and knowledge of God has come. Therefore, Christians should reject what they did while living in the night, and put on, decorate themselves both inside and outside, as for a holiday, with expensive and bright clothes, with deeds of virtue. These latter are the weapon of light, because each virtue, establishing itself in the heart, expels from there the sinful passion opposite to it and makes the virtuous person light, just as sinfulness makes him dark. For the Angels of God always see us either light or dark, depending on the quality of our mood. How should Christians live? It is good, says the apostle, and explains this. 13:13. Usually, sin hides in the darkness of the night, and during the day it is afraid to appear in the light; This is how sinners are ashamed of sin and try to show themselves as virtuous in front of people. It has become a custom among the pagans, and also among some Christians, to gather together for feasts, mostly at night, and here, according to an old habit, to indulge in goat-talking - shameful songs, and drunkenness, and then voluptuousness and even debauchery (in the glory of "student activity"), uncontrollable lust and its unnatural satisfaction. Envy and quarrels usually arise at these feasts. Envy is the fruit of pride, which cannot tolerate anyone standing above us. Envy gives rise to quarrels with fervor (in Slavic “zeal”) to get ahead of everyone, and on this basis disputes and even fights often arise, without which any of these revels was rarely complete. The apostle warns against ugly customs. He inspires that since they are now Christians - as in the daytime, that is, in the light of the knowledge of God and the grace that sanctifies them, then they need to behave - to live well, not only in appearance, but, mainly, in their inner mood, in the soul and heart, where the bright solemn day has come for them. To walk gracefully means to put on Christ. 13:14. To put on Christ means to embody the life of Christ in your life, in your dispositions and deeds, so as not only to be called, but in fact to be Christians, to satisfy the natural needs of the body, but not to create artificial ones and not turn them into lusts, not to give yourself into slavery to them and, in general, not to serve them; for the lusts of the flesh are the final limit of man’s fall, which is why his rebellion necessarily begins with their rejection: “those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24). Section four. Correcting One Significant Fault of the Roman Christians (14:1–15:13) This problem was that they did not treat each other properly due to differences in food consumption. Some of them abstained from certain foods, either always, or only on other days, while others did not make any distinction in food. Both of them, considering their way of action to be right, condemned those who did not adhere to it and thereby violated the law of brotherly love and peace. It is this fault that the apostle is now correcting. He leaves without determining which course of action is better, but pays all attention to the unkind feeling with which they treated each other. Don’t judge, he says, it’s none of your business. I. Rules concerning those who are weak in the faith (14:1–12) 1 Accept him who is weak in the faith without arguing about opinions. 2 For some are confident that they can eat everything, but the weak eat vegetables. 3 He who eats, do not despise him who does not eat; and whoever does not eat, do not condemn the one who eats, because God has accepted him. 4 Who are you, judging another man's servant? Before his Lord he stands, or he falls. And he will be raised up, for God is able to raise him up. 5 One distinguishes one day from another, and another judges every day equally. Everyone act according to the evidence of his own mind. 6 He who discerns the days discerns them for the Lord; and he who does not discern the days does not discern for the Lord. Whoever eats eats for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat does not eat for the Lord, and thanks God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself; 8 And if we live, we live for the Lord; Whether we die, we die for the Lord: and therefore, whether we live or die, we are always the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died, and rose again, and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. 10 Why do you judge your brother? Or are you also why you humiliate your brother? We will all appear at the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to Me, and every tongue will confess to God. 12 Therefore, each of us will give an account of himself to God. 13 Let us no longer judge each other, but rather judge how not to give your brother any chance of stumbling or temptation. 14 I know and am confident in the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean in itself; Only to him who considers something unclean, it is unclean for him. 15 But if your brother grieves over food, then you are no longer acting out of love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16 Let not your goodness be blasphemed. 17 For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and worthy of people’s approval. 19 Let us therefore seek what leads to peace and mutual edification. 20 For the sake of food, do not destroy the work of God. Everything is pure, but it is bad for the person who eats because he is tempted. 21 It is better not to eat meat, not to drink wine, and not to do anything that causes your brother to stumble, or to be offended, or to faint. 22 Do you have faith? have it within yourself, before God. Blessed is he who does not condemn himself in what he chooses. 23 But he who doubts, if he eats, is condemned, because it is not by faith; and everything that is not from faith is sin. 24 Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept secret from time immemorial, 25 But which has now been revealed, and through the writings of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all nations for the subjection of their faith, 26 To the only Wise God, through Jesus Christ, be glory forever. Amen. 14:1. True faith frees the conscience from any sense of obligation to the ceremonial law. But a weak, weak faith does not give such permission and makes it also weak. Such a one, weak in faith, is worthy of fraternal condescension, and the apostle asks to accept him into his former fellowship, without discerning by what thoughts he does this or that, without condemning his thoughts. 14:2. He who is strong by faith eats everything, because he knows without hesitation that “every creation of God is good, and nothing is to be condemned if it is received with thanksgiving” (1 Tim. 4:4). And the weak by faith eats only vegetables, because due to the weakness of his faith he thinks that food can bring us closer to God (cf. 1 Cor. 8:8). The apostle forbids making these thoughts about food a reason for condemnation. 14:3. The apostle does not speak about different types of food, but draws attention to what is in the hearts of certain people. He says to some, “don’t humiliate” (in Slavic, “don’t reproach”), and to others, “don’t condemn.” Whether there is sin in what we eat, no one knows, but in reproach and condemnation, sin is obvious. God accepted into His mercy both those who eat and those who do not eat (Jews and pagans), and you reproach and condemn them! They are the servants of the Lord, He alone is their Judge. 14:4. The Apostle points out why one should not condemn those who are weak in the faith, or indeed others in anything. We are all servants of the Lord and must serve Him. He will judge us. Judging others means the same thing as judging someone else's slave. Whether he is good or bad, it concerns his master - God; the servant sinned and weakened in faith, the Lord alone is able to restore him again - to strengthen his faith. 14:5. And regarding the distribution of food by day, the apostle gives the following rule for conscience. Some sort out the days when what is available, while others do not. The apostle provides the distribution of food according to the days of everyone's conscience, but not without some guidance. 14:6. They distinguish between days and food by day to please God. He who distinguishes between days and meals does so (to please God) in full confidence that by this he can please God; and whoever does not attach significance to such a distribution is, therefore, freed from this by his conscience, for he believes that his faith has made him free in this regard. Thus, both of them act from the conviction that they please God. The eater thanks God for giving him food to satisfy his hunger, thereby showing that he is eating for the glory of God for the Lord; the one who does not eat again thanks the Lord for giving him the power of abstinence, therefore, he also does not eat for the Lord. Here is a guide for conscience. 14:7. There is a general law that our life, without exception, must be dedicated to the Lord. This is what it means to philosophize or not to philosophize. Everyone must act according to this law, living and dying not for themselves, but for the Lord, because death and life do not depend on us, but on Him. 14:8. Because while we are alive, we live by the Lord - His right hand supports us and His power lives; and when we die, we also do not leave His power. He is the Lord, the Lord of life and death. Therefore, our lives should be entirely devoted to him. 14:9. In the heart of everyone, deep in nature, there is an indelible testimony that the beginning, the end, and the continuation of our existence are all in the hands of the Lord. This natural connection of people with God in Christianity became even stronger when the Savior became for us the Redeemer from death and, thus, twice the Lord of our life and death. This means that, both by nature and by redemption, all Christians, living and dead (for the soul does not die), are servants of the Lord. Therefore, He is our Judge, and not we to each other. 14:10. Both the one who eats and the one who does not eat are all brothers among themselves, and this is how they should treat each other like brothers; and all are servants of the Lord, who alone will judge everyone, as the Lord and Lord of all. That Christ is the Ruler of all men, the apostle confirms this by the testimony of Scripture. 14:11. The words of Scripture were taken from the prophet Isaiah (see Isaiah 45:23), where he speaks of the return of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon by Cyrus, the restoration of the true knowledge of God and teaching among the people, and then their spread throughout all countries. Then all nations will turn to the True God and repent that they acted wrongly, choosing as the object of their worship something other than the True God. All this will undoubtedly come true, so says the Lord: he who swears by himself (in Isaiah), or who lives (in the apostle). When will this be? The spread of true knowledge of God points to the gospel preaching, worship, submission of all nations to the Lord - to the second coming of the Lord Jesus, when He will come to judge everyone as Master and Lord. 14:12. So, here is Who will judge each of us - the Lord, but not we - each other. Judgment must be avoided. This sin is so strongly and deeply rooted in our nature that we often do not notice it in ourselves. Therefore, imagine yourself more often in the position of being judged at the eternal Divine Judgment, and this will help you not to sin, you will become accustomed to noticing this shortcoming of yours, and over time you will acquire the skill not only not to succumb to it, but also to overcome it. II. How one should behave in relation to so-called indifferent things, that is, those that one can do or not do (14:13–21) 14:13. The general rule in such cases is to let everything serve not as temptation, but as edification. Before any such act, you need to discuss whether it will serve to tempt those weak in the faith, and do it when you are convinced that it will lead to edification. The same should be thought about food, which in itself, of course, is pure. 14:14. Both from the Lord Jesus Christ and from his own reflection, the apostle knows well that there is nothing unclean in nature, and therefore in food, but it happens that one person considers one thing, and another another, for their various reasons. Therefore, someone, perhaps, eating certain food, thinks (according to his conviction - even if false) that it is unclean and still eats it, he will defile himself, because by acting against his conscience, he will arouse it against himself and fall into sorrow. 14:15. If someone who is weak in faith, following the example of the strong, tastes something unclean, and his conscience torments him, and he begins to grieve because of it, then you, the strong, are guilty of seducing the weak, and this is no longer love. If Christ died for the salvation of all, then how can a follower of Christ destroy the weak with food (his temptation)? 14:16. Finally, these disputes and quarrels over food can also give the pagans a reason to censure the good of Christians - their faith. 14:17. For the Kingdom of God is acquired not by eating one thing and not eating another, by drinking one thing and not drinking another, but by truth - a righteous, holy life, peace - a calm, clear conscience, as a result of a holy life, and joy in the Holy Spirit, which comes from the feeling in the heart of the blessings of the grace of the Holy Spirit. 14:18. He who serves Christ with truth, peace and joy, becomes pleasing to God - “worthy of approval from people” (in glory, “skilled”), that is, he will not offend, he will help, he will give good advice, and he will do everything good for them that he can. So, how should you treat indifferent things? 14:19. It should be remembered that the use of these things does not violate mutual peace and does not give rise to temptation, but, on the contrary, strengthens this peace more and more and serves for mutual edification. 14:20. For the sake of eating or not eating this or that food, one should not destroy the weak, which means ruining the work of God, the salvation of people. It is true that everything is clean; but to eat everything to tempt others means to do evil both to others and to oneself; for “woe... to the man through whom temptation comes,” said the Savior (Matthew 18:7). This leads to the following rule: 14:21. Do not eat or drink anything that could tempt your brother: not only to stumble - to taste against your conscience, or to be tempted - to agree mentally, but even to become weak - to begin to hesitate. III. Instruction for the Strong in the Faith (14:22–15:13) A) The strong should not be vain (14:22–23) The Apostle further turns his speech to those who were convinced that there was nothing unclean either in food or drink, and perhaps they even boasted of this before those who were weak in the faith. 14:22. You have faith that everything is pure; good, and have it in yourself before God, but do not be vain about it before people. If you see that food can tempt someone, then abstain from it. When everything is clear for your conscience, then you can calmly eat meat and vegetables. In general, happy is the person whose conscience does not bother him at the time when he wants to do something, decide on something, or chooses something; he who acts contrary to conscience is condemned by it and sins. 14:23. And the doubter, who distinguishes between clean and unclean food, if he eats something against his conviction (not according to faith), is condemned by his conscience and is deprived of peace - bliss, because everything that is against faith is sin. Hence the general rule - everyone is obliged to have a clear conscience regarding what they undertake and do, so that everything is done with a clear consciousness of the rightness of their cause. B) The apostle’s prayer for the admonition of people (14:24–26) 14:24–26. The Apostle turns with prayerful praise to God, who is able to confirm the weak in the faith. The mystery of salvation, preached by the Apostle according to the teaching of Jesus Christ, which from eternity was predetermined at the Judgment of God, hidden until time, and now obvious to everyone, as predicted by the prophets, is that all nations will be saved not by the works of the law (food or drink), but by faith in Jesus Christ. To him who so wisely arranged the salvation of people through Jesus Christ, glory forever. Amen. C) The apostle teaches the strong to support the weak (15:1–13) Continuing for a moment the instruction interrupted by prayer, the apostle teaches believers, strong in faith, to support the weak and to live not only for themselves, but also for their neighbors. 1 We who are strong must endure the weaknesses of the weak and not please ourselves. 2 Each of us must please our neighbor for his good and his edification. 3 For Christ also did not please Himself, but, as it is written: The slander of those who slandered You fell on Me. 4 But whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through patience and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of patience and comfort grant you to be of one mind with one another, according to the teaching of Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one accord, with one mouth, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore accept one another, just as Christ also accepted you to the glory of God. 8 I mean this, that Jesus Christ became a minister to the circumcision for the truth of God, to fulfill what was promised to the fathers, 9 But for the Gentiles - out of mercy, so that they may glorify God, as it is written: Therefore will I praise You, (Lord,) among the Gentiles, and will sing praise to Your name. 10 And it is also said: Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people. 11 And again: Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and glorify Him, all you nations. 12 Isaiah also says: The root of Jesse will rise up to rule the nations; The pagans will hope in Him. 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. 14 And I myself am confident about you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, full of all knowledge, and able to instruct one another; 15 But I wrote to you, brothers, with some boldness, partly as a reminder to you, according to the grace given to me from God 16 to be a minister of Jesus Christ among the Gentiles and to perform the sacrament of the gospel of God, so that this offering of the Gentiles, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, might be acceptable to God. 17 Therefore I can boast in Jesus Christ in the things of God, 18 For I will not dare to say anything that Christ has not done through me in subduing the Gentiles by faith, in word and in deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that the gospel of Christ was spread by me from Jerusalem and the surrounding area to Illyricum. 20 Moreover, I tried to preach the gospel not where the name of Christ was already known, so as not to build on someone else’s foundation, 21 But as it is written: Those who have not had news of Him will see, and those who have not heard will know. 22 This is what prevented me many times from coming to you. 23 Now, not having such a place in these countries, but having long ago had a desire to come to you, 24 As soon as I take the road to Spain, I will come to you. For I hope that, as I pass, I will see you and that you will take me there, as soon as I enjoy communication with you, at least partially. 25 And now I go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints, 26 For Macedonia and Achaia are zealous in giving some alms to the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27 They are zealous, and they are also in debt to them. For if the pagans have become participants in their spiritual things, then we must also serve them in their physical things. 28 Having accomplished this and having faithfully delivered to them this fruit of my zeal, I will go through your region to Spain, 29 And I am confident that when I come to you, I will come with the full blessing of the gospel of Christ. 30 Meanwhile, I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive with me in prayers to God for me, 31 That I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 So that I may come to you with joy, if God pleases, and rest with you. 33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen. 15:1. The strong are those who have reached the strong conviction that salvation is based on the inner feat of faith, on such a mood that grew out of faith; and the weak are those who base their hope for salvation on something else from the outside. The strong must (are obliged), like the strong, to be lenient towards the weaknesses of the weak and not to please themselves, not to live solely for their own interests, but for the good of their neighbors. 15:2. Self-indulgence disrupts social life, so Christians must live for their neighbors in order to establish mutual communication. The highest example here is the Savior, Who lived not for Himself, but for others. 15:3. The Savior did nothing for Himself, but everything to arrange our salvation. He, the Sinless One, took upon Himself “the slander of those who slander” God (Ps. 68:10) - the sins of a sinful world, and died for them on the cross. 15:4. From the specific text of Scripture given in verse 3, the apostle moves on to the general and says that all Scripture has the purpose of edifying, teaching Christians, in order to confirm them in the hope of salvation by Jesus Christ through the means given to them. All this is depicted in the Scriptures. By reading them carefully, we can be confirmed in the constancy (patience) of hope and in the consolation of the hope of salvation with such faith. 15:5–6. The Apostle prays to God, the Giver of patience and consolation, that He would eliminate differences of opinion between Roman Christians and establish unanimity, so that they would contain the same truths, concepts, judgments and ideas on the subject of faith in Jesus Christ, so that when they gather to pray and glorify God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, they would glorify Him not only with the same lips, singing the same songs of praise, but with one soul, containing in their souls the same thoughts and beliefs. Unity of beliefs will give rise to unity of feelings and dispositions, and then everyone will have one soul, with which we will glorify God. 15:7. Therefore, just as Christ called everyone without distinction into His Kingdom (“to the glory of God”), so Christians (Romans) who are strong in faith must accept into their fellowship those who are weak in faith. How did the Lord Jesus Christ accept everyone into the glory of God? 15:8–9. For the circumcised, Jesus Christ is the Servant - the Messenger and the Holy One - the Organizer of salvation “for the sake of the truth of God” - so that God may be true in His words and promises given to the fathers of the circumcision about Jesus Christ. For the pagans, He achieved salvation by mercy alone, in order to show the abundance of His goodness towards them. “Consequently, pagan believers are more favored to God” (Chrysostom). From this it was not difficult to deduce how pagan Christians should relate to Jewish Christians; that is, if they are more indebted, then their duty is to tolerate the weak among the Jews (Chrysostom). That the pagans are called by grace to glorify God, the apostle proves this by the testimony of the prophets. 15:9–12. The prophets who foretold the calling of the pagans invited them to glorify God. In the first prophecy, the prophet David puts into the mouth of the Lord Savior the following song to God and the Father: “The pagans, converted to faith through My gospel, will receive Me (put on Christ), and I will confess to You through their lips and will sing the praise of Your name, stirring them up to praise You” (cf. Ps. 17:50). In the second prophecy, Moses invites all nations to rejoice with the people of God, because he foresaw their future calling to participate in those benefits that were promised to the people of God through their fathers (see Deut. 32:43). In the third prophecy, the prophet David calls on all nations to praise and glorify the Lord, because His mercy has been firmly established and firmly established on all people (see Ps. 116:1), which was fulfilled in the Church of Christ, the keeper of all blessings until the end of the age. In the fourth, the prophet Isaiah says that from the root of Jesse (the descendants of David) will grow the One who will rule the nations, that is, Christ, in whom the pagans will trust and praise God (see Is. 11:10). 15:13. With this verse-prayer the apostle ends his instructions regarding food and the weak in the faith. He prays to the Lord, the Source and Giver of hope, to enrich them with the hope of salvation in Jesus Christ. With this hope present, hopes for food and drink, as imaginary conditions of salvation, will naturally disappear. But in order to receive sufficient hope for this, you need faith and the grace of the Holy Spirit, which will give peace to the soul, cleansing it of passions, and at the same time instill joy in the heart. Therefore, the apostle prays to God to fill the Roman Christians with joy and peace, according to the measure of their faith. Peace and joy in the Lord will serve as a source of unity and mutual love. The apostle explains his motives for writing this letter to the Roman Christians (15:14–17). 15:14. The apostle believes that Roman Christians are good-hearted (filled with goodness) and sufficiently established in faith and knowledge, so that they can instruct each other without outside help. Why did he write a letter to them and teach them faith and life in it, even with severity? 15:15–16. For this purpose, the apostle writes to them to remind them that he, by the grace of God, is the apostle of the tongues and, for his part, will perform the ministry entrusted to him, which he calls sacred rites. He is the priest, the gospel sermon is the liturgy, and the sacrifice is the believers. He, as a priest, makes sure that the sacrifice is pure in all respects, acceptable to God and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Hence his apostolic duty to take care of the purity of believers by reminding them of what they should do and what they should be. This is how he conducts the apostolic work with the help of God. 15:17. The apostle can boast of spreading the gospel teaching, planting and establishing faith in Jesus Christ. But this praise refers to the apostle not as a person, but as an ambassador of Jesus Christ, that is, even to Jesus Christ Himself. The apostle explains what delayed him from visiting them (15:18–22) 15:18–19. Christ accomplishes everything through the Apostle, so that he has nothing perfect that he could attribute to himself. Through him, Christ conquered the pagans with his word - teaching, deed - the life of the apostle and the power of the Holy Spirit, in signs - actions in accordance with nature, but performed in an extraordinary way, for example, the sudden healing of Peter's mother-in-law who was sick with fever through one touch to her (see Matt. 8: 14-15), and miracles - actions incompatible with nature, for example, healing born blind, resurrection of the dead (see John 9:1–41, 11:1–46). And the Lord granted him success in his apostolic ministry. 15:19. So, with the help of God, the apostle spread the gospel teaching from Jerusalem to Illyricum, not only in Asia Minor, but also in Europe (in Macedonia and Greece), and not only spread the word-teaching, but fulfilled the believers, filled the mentioned spaces with them; Moreover, the apostle planted the faith of Christ where there was none at all, on his own, and not on someone else’s foundation. 15:20–21. At the same time, he tried, considering it a matter of apostolic honor, to preach the gospel not where they already knew Christ the Lord, but where they did not yet know Him, so as not to take advantage of the fruits of others. He did not build the Church of Christ on the foundation laid by any of the apostles. The apostle sees the commandment for himself in a prophetic prediction: so it was predicted, so I do, I proclaim Christ to those who were not told, who did not hear, so that they would hear and understand that “there is no other name under heaven... by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). 15:22. It was this planting of faith and the foundation of the Church of Christ among the pagans and the correction of various disorders among them that prevented the apostle from coming to the Romans many times. The Apostle announces when he will visit them (15:23–29) 15:23–24. Now the apostle went everywhere with his gospel preaching, where he intended to be according to his plans, everywhere he seeded the faith of Christ. Now there are no obstacles for him to fulfill his long-standing desire: to come to the Romans on the way to Spain, so that, after staying with them, at least partly enjoy their company - faith and life, and then they will accompany him, like the children of a loving father, to Spain. But again there is a delay. 15:25–27. Now the apostle goes to Jerusalem to serve the poor Christians there (“saints”), to carry the alms collected for them in Macedonia and Achaia. This is how the pagans strive for the Jews, and they should do so, because they pay materially for the spiritual benefits that they received from Jerusalem. By his example and that of the Macedonians and Achaians, the apostle teaches the Romans about mutual relations between Christians. 15:28. Having completed this work of serving the saints and faithfully delivering it to them, sealing it - putting the alms of the Macedonians and Achaians, as it were, in the royal treasury and sealing it so that it, as the “fruit of their zeal,” would be preserved for them forever (Chrysostom), the apostle will then go to Spain through Rome. 15:29. Previously (1:11), the apostle wrote that he wanted to see Roman Christians in order to teach them some kind of spiritual gift for affirmation, and now he repeats, at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (“I am confident”), that he will come to them in the fullness of all the grace-filled gifts that are given to those who accept and hold Christ’s teaching or faith in Christ the Lord, in order to make them also participants in these gifts. But as if anticipating the disasters that await him in Jerusalem, he asks for their prayers for himself. The apostle requests the prayers of the Roman Christians (15:30–33). 15:30–31. Having decided to go to Jerusalem with alms for the poor Christians of the Jerusalem Church, the apostle, as it were, foresaw the hostile attitude of the Judaizers towards him, therefore he imposed a prayer feat on himself, and invites Roman Christians to join him in his prayer feat, not out of respect for the apostle, but for the sake of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and for the love of the Holy Spirit, Whom he communicated to all Christians and Who made the needs of everyone the needs of everyone. What does he ask to pray for? That God would deliver him from the machinations of the unbelievers (in the glory of “resisting”) the Jews, who were everywhere seeking the destruction of the apostle, and that the collected alms for the poor would be received favorably in Jerusalem, so that glory would be given to God for it. And for this, the apostle could have feared that people hostile to him would interpret the benefit itself, as a fruit of love, in a bad direction. 15:32. If the Lord, through his and their prayers, delivers him from those who oppose him and his service through alms to the poor saints is accepted favorably, then the apostle will come to the Romans with joy and in a good mood and will calm down, as if resting his soul with them and with them. 15:33. The apostle ends his letter with the wish, in the form of a blessing, that the God of peace, Jesus Christ (cf. John 14:27), would be with the Roman Christians for their better prosperity. With greetings and bows, the apostle also connects one instruction regarding Thebes, the giver of this message. 1 I present to you Phoebe, our sister, deaconess of the Church of Cenchrea. 2 Receive her for the Lord, as is fitting for saints, and help her whatever she needs from you, for she has been a helper to many and to myself. 3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus 4 (who laid down their lives for my soul, to whom not I alone give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles), and the church of their own. 5 Greet my beloved Epenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia for Christ. 6 Salute Miriam, who has worked hard for us. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and prisoners with me, who were glorified among the apostles and who believed in Christ before me. 8 Greet Amplius, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urban, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachy, my beloved. 10 Greet Apelles, tested in Christ. Greet the faithful from the house of Aristobulov. 11 Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those from the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphos, who labor for the Lord. Greet beloved Persis, who has labored much for the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, the chosen one in the Lord, and his mother and mine. 14 Greet Asinkritus, Phlegontus, Hermas, Patrov, Hermias and the other brothers with them. 15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympanos, and all the saints with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. 17 I urge you, brethren, beware of those who cause divisions and temptations, contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and turn away from them; 18 For such people serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and with flattery and eloquence they deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 Your obedience to faith is known to everyone; Therefore, I rejoice for you, but I wish that you would be wise in good and simple in evil. 20 But the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet quickly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you! Amen. 21 Timothy, my fellow servant, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives, greet you. 22 I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius, my host and the whole church, greets you. Erast, the city treasurer, and brother Quart greet you. 24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 16:1. The apostle sends his message with Thebe, deaconess of the Cenchrean Church, in a large village located near Corinth on the seashore, near the pier. She went to Rome on her business, but was not known to Roman Christians. The Apostle recommends her and gives (entrusts) her to their care. He calls her our sister, that is, a Christian, a deaconess of the Cenchrean Church. In the primal Church, virgins and widows who were distinguished by their holiness of life and readiness for all good were chosen from among them to serve at the baptism of women, to give alms and to look after the sick. 16:2. The Apostle asks the Roman Christians to accept Thebes for the Lord - with honor, as a Christian, and to help her in what she needs due to her affairs. For she was an intercessor before the authorities for many and even for the apostle himself. Next, the apostle sends bows to his Roman Christians. 16:3–4. Aquila was a Pontic by birth and lived in Rome with his wife Priscilla. Under Emperor Claudius, they, along with other Jews, were expelled from Rome and settled in Corinth. The Apostle Paul, having come to Corinth to preach, became friends with them, lived with them and made tents with them for his food. After the organization of the Church in Corinth, the apostle, going to Syria, took his spouses with him and on the way to Ephesus left them here, where they lived (see Acts 18:2–3, 18, 21–26) until the apostle’s second visit to Ephesus, for in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, written in Ephesus, the apostle sends greetings from them (see 1 Corinthians 16:19). But soon after this they moved again to Rome, after the death of Claudius, along with other Jews. Sending them greetings, the apostle conveys that they were his collaborators in converting the pagans, that they were exposed to mortal danger for him, for which not only he, but the entire pagan Church thanks them. The apostle also greets “their home church,” which means all the home believers, among whom God was served. 16:5. Who Epenet was is unknown. The Apostle calls him his beloved and the firstfruits of Achaia (Athens or Corinth) in the sense that he was the first of the Achaians to turn to Christ and was distinguished by a virtuous life, for which he enjoyed the special love of the Apostle. 16:6. The apostle does not say how much Mary worked for Christians, but only exposes her labors as worthy of praise. 16:7. Andronicus and Junia were relatives of the apostle, they were imprisoned with him (in prison); They were known among the apostles for their virtues; they accepted the faith of Christ before the Apostle Paul. 16:8. Amplius was probably distinguished by his virtuous life, for which the apostle loved him. 16:9. Urban was a collaborator in the preaching of Christ not only with the Apostle Paul, but also with the other apostles (“ours”). Stachy was distinguished by his pious life. 16:10. The apostle calls Apelles proven in Christ, that is, in fact, in faith in Christ, so that you can rely on him in everything. It is not clear why the apostle does not greet Aristobulus himself, but only the believers from his house, perhaps because Aristobulus himself was not in Rome at that time. 16:11. Herodion, a relative of the apostle, received greetings from him, of course, for his pious life. Narciss was a presbyter (as listed in some codes), and was outside Rome at that time, so the apostle sends greetings to his family, but not to everyone, but only to those who are in the Lord, that is, to believers. 16:12. All three women worked for the Lord either through love of hobbies, or through fasting and other virtues. Of these, Persis worked more and was more pleasant to the apostle during her life. 16:13. Rufus and his mother are called by the apostle chosen for their virtuous lives. In the sense of spiritual kinship, the apostle calls Rufus’s mother his mother. 16:14. The listed group of believers constituted, as it were, a special parish, united by faith and like-mindedness. 16:15. And this group of saints constituted, as it were, a separate parish. All the persons named in verses 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, except Nereus, belonged to the 70 apostles. 16:16. In conclusion