1 Corinthians interpretation. The first letter of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians
Memory: January 28 / February 10
The Monk Ephraim the Syrian was an ascetic and spiritual writer who lived in the 4th century. He wrote many interpretive and moral works, penitential and funeral chants.
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Interpretation of the epistles of the divine Paul. First Epistle to the Corinthians
When the Gospel reached the Corinthians through Paul and they received the Spirit, they were overcome by an arrogant conceit because of the gracious gifts of the Spirit. And each of them began to try to attract his neighbor to himself; and as soon as the teacher acquired a student, he immediately hastened to baptize him, so that no one else would warn him by baptism and call him by his name. Although these people preached a new teaching, they preferred the old way of behavior. True, the sects differed in their vows, so that the schools of Plato and Aristotle did not have such vows, but they still had the same dissenting spirit as those of them. So among their leaders and teachers there was one Jew, and he, magnifying himself over his comrades, indulged in pride;
another was distinguished by wisdom; another was rich and gave generous alms. One was gifted with prophecy, another with a kind of tongues, a third with the interpretation of tongues, and another excelled the other in that he suffered persecution and torment for the Gospel.
And while each of these teachers arrogantly boasted of what he had, their students were even more exalted than they were by the same boast of their teachers.
Therefore the Apostle humbly wrote to them, saying:
Chapter I
1. Paul, Apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, which was accomplished for the sake of your conversion, and Sosthenes brother. He made his brother a participant in the epistle, in order to teach them that if the brother, for the sake of Paul’s humility, was so exalted that his name was written in the epistle along with the Apostle, how much more appropriate was it for them to be equal and like-minded among themselves, when they are in almost the same position
4. I always thank my God for the fact that you are in no way inferior in any grace given to other Churches. But there is one thing you do not have - the expectation of the revelation of our Lord, so that you may be found pure and blameless on that day.
10. I beg you, brothers, that you all speak the same thing (have the word) and that there be no divisions among you, but be all in the same mind and in the same opinion - instead of, as now , have different thoughts.
11. For I became aware of you, brothers, from Chloe, who informed me, not to accuse you, but because they grieved for you.
So, I know that there are disputes between you.
12. This is what I'm talking about: some of you say - we are Pavlov's, and some - we are Apollo's. Here the Apostle also humiliates himself more than Apollos, in order to shame those who arrogantly exalted themselves over each other; for they were called by the names of Paul, Apollos, and not by the names of Peter and Christ, but were called by the names of their teachers. So, not wanting to embarrass them and announce their names to the whole world, omitting their names, he wrote his name and his companions, and the Lord Himself of all, so that, after such reproof and reproach, they would turn to humility and meekness.
13. Was it really, he says, that Paul was crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul, if you already boast so vainly in the name of Paul?
14-17. I thank God that I did not baptize any of you, for I baptized two of you, so that you would know that I was baptized in the name of Christ. 17. For he did not send me Christ baptize
, immediately and with haste, as you do, but preach the gospel; not in the wisdom of the word, as some of you also arrogantly boast of it - for if wisdom has entered, then the power of the Cross will be abolished, that power that without wisdom prevailed among all the pagans.
18. And (for) although for the Greeks, who wandered after wisdom, the word about the Cross is foolishness, but for us who are being saved, who are gifted with life through it, God’s power is.
19. But lest you think that I rejected wisdom because I did not understand it at all, listen to something from Scripture that before I despised it, it was rejected according to the prophecy of the Spirit, for it is written: I will destroy the cunning of the cunning and the wisdom of the learned. I will reject (Isa. 29:14).
21. Since in God’s wisdom (by God’s wisdom) the world did not know the wisdom of God, therefore now God was pleased to save the believers better not through wisdom, but through stupidity, that is, through the simplicity of this sermon.
22. Because the Jews also demand signs, and not the wisdom of the school of Plato; and the pagans seek wisdom more than miracles.
We preach Christ crucified - to the Jews who demand miracles, this is a temptation, i.e. His suffering, and to the pagans seeking wisdom, is foolishness.
24. To those who are called, whether from Jews or from pagans, Christ is God's power and His (God's) wisdom. The power of God is He, because He has overthrown all idols; He is also His wisdom, for through peace He attracted and tamed the ferocity of the pagans.
26. Indeed, take yourself as an example, (precisely) your calling: after all (for) there are not many wise men among you according to the flesh, - because if there was any need for wisdom, then I would choose the sophists (prudent ), not fishermen; how many of you are also strong and noble?
27. But he chose the unlearned, that through them he might confound the wise, who were filled with errors; and he chose the weak, that through them he might confound the mighty, trampled under foot by lusts.
28. And he chose the lowly, and the humble, and those who were not (meaning nothing), in order to abolish the boasting of pride of what is (meaning).
29. So that no flesh should boast in what is rejected in the sight of God (before God).
30. From Him you also are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom for us, if, of course, by the gift of His grace we speak, and by our righteousness, since we are justified through His help, and by our redemption, since we have received salvation through His death is our sanctification, for through His baptism we are cleansed (from sins).
31. So that we may boast in Him alone, as it is written: Let him who boasts boast in the Lord (Jer. 9:24).
Chapter II
1. And when I came to you, brothers, not with excellence of speech, that is, not with the wisdom of rhetoricians and not with the art of poets, I announced to you the mystery of God.
2. And I did not discern in my mind that I should know anything more than Jesus Christ, and Him (moreover) crucified.
3. And I was with you in much weakness and fear and trembling, and not at all in pride and boasting.
4. And my speech and my preaching are not in deceitful words of wisdom, but in works of the Spirit and power, that is, in works (proofs) from the Scriptures of the Spirit and in the power of miracles.
5. And I did this so that your faith would not (consist) in human wisdom, but in the very power of God.
6. We speak about wisdom not with children, but with the perfect - and about the wisdom not of this age and not of the rulers of these times, which must be abolished.
7. But we are talking about God’s wisdom in hidden mysteries, that is, through the secrets that were secretly indicated by the prophets, whose truth (fulfillment) was hidden in God, and which God chose (predestined) for His glory before the ages: that which Before the world, it was decided in the Council of God, which was to be fulfilled at the end of time.
8. Which none of the rulers, none, that is, of the priests, knew, for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. This is the same as the Apostles said: we know that you did this through deception and seduction; turn and repent, and no one will count it as sin to you (Acts 3:17,19).
9. But as it is written: what eye has not seen and ear has not heard. Where is this written? Nowhere except the very Gospel of our Lord, when He said that kings and the righteous desired to see what you see - and did not see, and to hear from Me what you hear - and did not hear (Matt. 13:17; Luke 10: 23).
10. God revealed to us through His Spirit: either through the miracles that He performed through them, or this is what (the Lord) said: My Father will send to you the Comforter Spirit in My name, He will teach you all things (John 14). :26).
For, he says, the Spirit searches everything, that is, reveals it.
11. For who among men knows what is in a man, except the spirit of man that is in him? So God (reveals) through the Spirit of God, through Whom we become able to understand His mysteries.
12. We have not received another (of this world) spirit, but a Spirit (that is) from God, so that through Him we might know what was given to us from God.
13. Not only are our deeds spiritual, but also what we preach is not the learned wisdom of man, but the teaching of the Spirit; because through spiritual deeds we preach to you and compare our spirit with spiritual ones, that is, we speak to you, speaking in the language of the Spirit. 14. Animal people, having not received the Spirit, consider this stupidity. This is the same as he said: do not throw pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). And they cannot understand, since it is being explored spiritually, that is, through spiritual person
condemned.
15. The spiritual man, in whom the works of the Spirit are carried out, while he examines everything, is not examined by anyone.
16. For who has known the mind of the Lord, except he who will be a partaker of it? Just as they say: the former righteous, who were participants in the worship of God, knew the will of God, we too, by our participation in the suffering of Christ, accepted the mind of Christ.
1-2. But although you have the works of the Spirit in you, I could not speak to you as spiritual people: and like infants who begin to listen to the Gospel, in Christ He gave you milk to drink, and not solid food, because you are carnal.
3-4. For when there is envy and strife among you because of the multiplication and increase of the hearers and because of the calling of them by the name of each of you, then are you not carnal?
5. Even we, your teachers, what are we?
Are they not ministers, that is, mediators, through whom you believed?
6. For, although I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the regrowth.
7. Therefore, not from your teachers and not from your instructors, but from God who increases.
9. God’s, after all, (for) we are co-workers and we all strive for one thing - to please God through you.
10. By the grace of God, given to me, as a wise builder, I laid the foundation, that is, the builder Spirit.
11. The foundation is faith itself: besides that which I preached to you, there is no other.
12-13. If someone builds on this (foundation) good deeds as if it were gold, or (on the contrary) perverted teaching and shameful deeds as if it were stubble, then fire, the tester of the great day, will test that deed.
14. For whose building remains, he will receive the reward for his building in the Kingdom.
15. And whose building is burned, he will suffer harm, that is, torment; for although the resurrection will raise him up and revive him, he will nevertheless come to life in a pitiful way, as if through fire (in fire).
16. Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you through works?
17. And if anyone damages the temple of God through hatred, fornication and other similar things, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, as you are.
18. So, let no one deceive himself, let him not think that he who introduces vice into his body, which through the gifts of grace, is worthy to be the dwelling place of the Spirit, will not receive any punishment. So, if any of you thinks that I (he) is wise in this age, then not only let him not boast of it, but let him even become a fool, that is, simple and innocent, so that he may be wise in the Lord.
19. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness, that is, rejected, from God; for it is thus written: He catches the wise in their cunning (Job 5:14), that is, He who judges them according to their thoughts.
20. And the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; for, although they consider these wisdoms to be witty and profound, they are vain (Ps. 93:11).
23. Therefore, since everything is ours, let us be Christ's, as Christ is God's.
Chapter IV
1. So let people consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God; Therefore, do not be called by the name of any of us, or of others.
2. And from the stewards, however, what is required (precisely this) is that everyone turns out to be faithful.
3. For me, this even serves as a reproach, so that I will be judged by you, or ever by the son of man.
4. But although I know that I am not at all accused by you, and my conscience (spirit) does not reproach me for anything, it is not by this, that is, not by the fact that my conscience (mind) does not convict me in the least, that I am already justified , for it is not my conscience (mind) that is my judge, since the Lord who judges me is.
5. Since He justifies me in consciousness or conscience, then do not judge me ahead of time until the Lord comes, Who will illuminate what is hidden, what has been done in secret, and will reveal the intentions of the heart, and then praise will be announced to everyone from God the Judge.
6. I have transferred this to myself and Apollos for your sake, so that from us you will learn, both we and you, not to be more wise than what is written, that is, do not boast of wisdom, for it is written about it that it is foolishness before God , - and, both with her and with everyone else, let one not be arrogant over another.
7. After all, who (how) will distinguish what you have, if you received it freely and by grace? And if you received it through a gift, why do you boast as if it were yours?
8. And what does what you received mean in comparison with what the Apostles received? Even with the small gifts you received, you were satisfied and enriched and without us, that is, with us (in view of us, during our lives), you reign. It would be good for you to reign with them (the Apostles), so that we, who have these gifts, might also reign with you.
9. Again the Apostle humiliates himself and his comrades in order to dispel the pride with which the Corinthians were overwhelmed by his humility. For I think he says that God is to us apostles Lately showed the truth, as if condemned to death, because we became a spectacle to the world and Angels and people, that is, for the pagans, priests and Jews.
10. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ, that is, you are in glory, and we are in dishonor.
11. Even to this day (until the last hour) we endure both hunger and thirst.
12. And we work with our own hands. And not only by this alone did we become an example for them, but also by our other deeds.
13. They blasphemed us, but we blessed them.
14. But I am writing this to you not to shame you, when the opposite is already happening among you, but so that you imitate us - like children.
15. You know, after all, that through the Gospel I gave birth to you.
17. For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who will remind you of my ways, that is, to inform you of my deeds, which are in Christ, so that you may know that as I do, so I teach in every church.
18. Some of you have become proud of each other, and think that I will not come and humble them.
19. But I will come quickly and will not know the word of those who are proud, but their strength.
20. For we have the kingdom of God not in words, but in the power of patience.
21. So, what do you want? Should I come to you with a rod, with severity, that is, or with meekness?
Chapter V
1. Behold, fornication has appeared among you, and such as does not exist among the pagans, although you exalt yourself above each other, so that the most noble son has his father’s wife.
2. But you have become proud and exalted yourself with the spiritual gifts that you have. Why didn’t you give in to crying and grieve, with scourging and fasting, so that either this sin or the culprit of this sin would be removed from among you?
4. Therefore, gather yourselves together, and I am with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord who is among you.
5. To deliver such a one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, that is, to be excommunicated from them and to be given over to the power of his works, so that others may be saved from his destruction. And if he turns and repents, then let him be accepted again. Otherwise, (i.e., if he does not repent), after he is excommunicated, let others be warned not to imitate him.
6. Your boasting is not good, for this is what it has brought you to.
7. Purify the leaven of evil within you, so that you may be a new test in Christ, since you are unleavened, for our Passover is not a slain lamb, but Christ who was slain.
8. Therefore, let us celebrate not with old leaven, that is, not in works of the law, and not in works of wickedness, but in unleavened bread of righteousness, that is, in works of righteousness and truth.
9. I wrote to you in a letter: do not associate with fornicators.
10. Not in general with the fornicators of this world, or the covetous, otherwise it would be necessary to leave the world.
11. But if anyone calls himself a brother and is a fornicator or a covetous person and the like, then do not communicate with him.
12. For what should we judge about worldly people?
Those who are within, judge these.
13. Those who are outside, God will judge on His day and will remove evil from among you in the person of the doer of evil, who is excommunicated from among you.
1. How dare any of you, having business with another, leave the saints and go to court with the covetous sons of the world?
2. Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world, that is, that through them this world will be judged? And if the whole world is judged by you, are you really unworthy to judge unimportant disputes?
3. Or do you not know that we judge angels? He speaks about his comrades - the Apostles, who judge the priests, called angels. If the great judgments of the future have been handed down to us, then how much less the earthly trials of this world?
4. So, if you have everyday disputes among yourself, then set up the least of the people for judgment.
5-6. To your shame, I said this, calling you to the court of insignificant people. Why does not the one who is wise among you create justice between a brother and his neighbor? Therefore let them refrain from going to court with the infidels.
7. It’s already quite humiliating and shameful in you that you have litigation with each other.
After all, if you receive an insult, do as you are commanded: if you are insulted, forgive as you were commanded, and do not enter into judgment with each other (Matthew 5:38-41).
9-10. Or don’t you know that the covetous and the fornicators and all those who commit acts similar to these will not receive the kingdom of God into possession (inherit)?
11. And some of you were once like this, but you were washed, you were sanctified, and you were justified. So let this not be renewed in you again.
12. I can eat everything, but let no one rule over me because of food.
13. Food for the belly is established, and the belly requires nourishment. God will destroy the food and needs of the belly. Likewise, the body was not appointed for fornication, but for the Lord, that He might dwell in it; and the Lord for the body, to sanctify it and to dwell in it.
14. God, who raised the Lord from the dead, will also raise us with him by His power, that is, through His Christ.
15. Do you not know that your body, members, are Christ’s, which He redeemed and in which He dwelt? So, having taken the members in which Christ dwelt, shall we become the body of fornication?
16. Or do you not know that (those who copulate) are called one body in the law: they will be one body (Gen. 2:24).
18. Let us run away from fornication. Every sin that a person commits, even if it exposes him to the second death (Rev. 2:11; 20:6.14), is nevertheless outside his body. So, whoever kills and steals, of course, does not in the least connect through murder or theft (with this or that person). But whoever commits fornication, not only is his mind (soul) attached to the woman he meets, but his body is also united, which is why it was said: the two will become one flesh. So, he who commits fornication sins against his own body, for the one who shortly before was a member of Christ through fornication becomes a member of fornication.
19. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you? First he said: don’t you know that your bodies are members of Christ, - and then he added here: don’t you know that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you - in order to show precisely that people have been made a dwelling and habitation Trinity. This is what our Lord said: whoever loves Me will keep My commandments, and My Father will love him; and we will come to him and make our abode with him (John 14:23).
20. When, he says, preserve your bodies from all uncleanness, then glorify God, who dwells in your bodies.
Chapter VII
After this he speaks of virginity, which rises above everything, since laws do not rule over it. Knowing what the Lord taught about him (Matthew 19:11-12), he was afraid to preach about him himself. But when he saw that the people themselves were looking for him, he became their adviser, and not a mentor, an exhorter, and not a legislator.
1. And what you wrote to me about is that it is good for a man not to touch a woman, just as you said:
2. For the sake of fornication, let everyone have his own wife.
5. Do not deviate from each other, except with consent for a time, to perform religious duties, during fasting and prayer. So, on solemn days, abstain, lest Satan tempt you.
6. But I say this out of condescension, and not as an order.
7. For I wish that every man should be like myself. Without the command of the Lord, he chose this. But grace is given to everyone from God. And he also called this the commandment of his Lord, (because) not every person has the strength to do this. He further said: one is like this, and the other is like that, since one is like this, and can be justified by this, and the other in another way, when it is given to him to reign.
8. For those who are single, or do not have a wife, namely, those who are widowers or who are widows, it is good for them if they remain so, like me.
9. And if they do not abstain, then let them also marry; for it is better to remarry than to be inflamed by lust.
10. The Lord Himself commands those who have entered into marriage (those who are united in marriage): the wife should not separate from her husband.
11. If she separates, remain celibate, if she chooses purity, or reconcile with her husband, and not give herself to another.
12. If anyone has an idolatrous (unbeliever) wife, and the wife wants to live with her husband, let him live.
13. And if any wife has an unbelieving husband, and it pleases him to live with his wife, then let her live.
14. If a believing husband thinks that his marriage will be illegal for the sake of an unbelieving wife, then let him know that the seed of an unbelieving husband in the womb of a believing mother is holy; in the same way, the fruit of an unbelieving wife is holy for the sake of a believing husband. And if what I said were not so, then, consequently, their children, if we follow their opinion, would be unclean; but now they are pure if they continue in the faith that I gave them.
15. If an unbeliever wants to separate from the believer himself, let him separate, for there is no need or danger for the believer in this.
16. Why does a believing husband know whether he will save his unbelieving wife? Or why does the wife know whether she will help her idolater husband take the first steps of faith?
17. But as God called, that is, as he was found when he was called to His Gospel, so let him remain: and what I say to you, I also command all the Churches.
18. If anyone is called to be circumcised, let him not regret at all that he is not with the foreskin.
In the same way, if anyone is called uncircumcised, let him not be circumcised.
19. For circumcision and uncircumcision are nothing, but keeping the commandments of God.
21. Also, if you are called to be a slave, do not let this worry you. If you can also become free, and go out and preach the Gospel, and endure persecution for it - this will be useful to you - be free.
22. For in the Lord a called servant is free, as a result of the very baptism of our Lord: but whoever is called free is through humility a servant of Christ.
24. Since this is equivalent, he therefore said that everyone in whatever rank is called, let him remain in that.
25. Regarding virgins, I do not have any command from God, but I give some advice, as a person who has received mercy from God and has been worthy to be faithful to this Gospel.
28. If you took a wife, you have not sinned.
However, he called it tribulation, because they face the necessity of danger in the flesh. And I, brothers, feel sorry for you.
29. For the time, that is, either the end, or the day of our death, has been shortened and has arrived. Therefore, those who have wives will be as if they have not.
30-31. And let those who weep, that is, those who are sad, be like those who do not cry, but enjoy the blessings of the world, and do not fall into luxury.
36. If someone has a girl and, after keeping his vow for a certain time, finds out that he is not able (to keep the vow), then for the sake of the time spent he should not be ashamed.
37. But whoever has decided in his spirit, and there is no danger of wanting to change his decision, and has decided in his heart to keep his virgin, he does well.
38. So, he who gives his maiden in marriage does well, and he who does not give it away, who is holding back, does better.
Chapter VIII
1. And we know about idol sacrifices, since we all have knowledge. And although this knowledge puffs up those who go there for food, but the love that spares your neighbors does not allow you to go there, and it creates.
2. If anyone thinks that he knows something, he has not yet known as he should know, for there are very many things that he has not known.
3. But whoever loves to help (his neighbors), he has learned.
4. We know about eating idol sacrifices that nothing is an idol in the world and, among all the called gods, there is no other God except the One.
5-6. For although there are objects to which worship is given, in heaven or on earth, as I have already said, since in heaven the sun and moon are called gods, and other objects on earth as well, but for us there is one God the Father, from whom all things were created , and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created.
7. But not everyone has knowledge about the subject that I spoke about. There are some simpletons among the believers who go to the house of the idol to eat;
10-11. For if one of the brothers is not strong in his mind and sees you, who have knowledge, reclining there, then, with a false view of the sacrifice, carried away by the desire to eat something sacrificed to idols, behold, the innocent perished, for whose sake Christ died.
12. So, do not lead your brothers into sin and do not tempt them, that is, do not force them to hesitate, for the sake of their weak conscience. Do not consider this as something easy, since you will sin against Christ if you do not protect your brothers.
13. Truly, if my brother is tempted because of the food that is thrown into the latrines, then I will not only abstain from meat, which is eaten in a few days in the house of the idol, but I will not eat meat at all forever, so as not to tempt my brother .
Chapter IX
1. Am I not free, since I am not a slave to the service of the womb? Or am I not an Apostle if I sanctify and eat everything, like you? Haven't I seen Christ Jesus? Because for this reason He strengthens me. Is it not my work and your suffering in my Lord, if I command you to do so?
2. And although for others who have not seen my powers, I am not an Apostle, but for you, who through me have received the gifts of the Spirit, I am an Apostle. And you receive the seal of my apostleship by speaking in tongues, which you received through the Spirit.
4. And if we have been made worthy of the great gifts of the apostles, then do we not have the power to eat and drink, just like the Apostles, who eat and drink?
7-8. He began to defend himself and his comrades, saying: Who ever serves in the army on their own pay? And so on.
9. And in the law, he says, it is written: You shall not gag an ox that is threshing (Deut. 25:4). Does God really care about the oxen alone, but not about us?
10. But, obviously, through the oxen he made a symbolic foretelling of us when he first took care of the oxen.
11. And is it really something great that we will reap from you carnal things, if we ourselves have sown spiritual things for you?
13. After all, those who serve in the temple eat from this house, and those who serve at the altar in Jerusalem share with the altar.
14. And our Lord established, saying that whoever preaches His Gospel among the people (Israel) and among the Gentiles, let them live from the Gospel itself; He said exactly this: eat from that house; the worker is worthy of his food (Matt. 10:10; Luke 10:7).
15. Although I have an example for myself in all this, I have not bothered you with anything like that; for it is better for me to die of hunger than for anyone to abolish this praise of mine, that I preach the gospel for free.
16. Moreover, if I preach the gospel, then for this there should be no gratitude to me and no praise to me, that is, it is not in my will, but the necessity lies on me from the One who sent me: alas, (woe) to me (there is ) from His judgment, if I do not preach the gospel.
17-18. For if I did this voluntarily, I would receive a reward for the good will living in me.
If I have been faithful to the economy, then what is my reward if for the sake of the reward I carry out the economy entrusted to me?
19. For, being free from all these, I enslaved myself to all of them, in order to acquire heirs for the inheritance.
20. Consecrated with the Jews, I entered the temple in order to win the Jews (Acts 21:26).
21. I have cut my hair from those under the law (Acts 18:18) in order to acquire them. And for those who were not under the law, for the Athenians, at the time when I entered (into Athens) and walked among their temples, I became like one who was not under the law, in order to gain them (Acts 17:16).
22. With the weak, who fall and sin, I was weak in order to win them. The same thing he says: who would faint, and I would not be inflamed? or who would be tempted, and I would not faint (2 Cor. 11:29)?
23. I do this so that through all this I may be a partaker of the Gospel of Christ, Who desires the life of all people.
24. Do you not know that in the lists, that is, the Olympic stadium, although many run, one remains after the other until only one gets the reward.
25. And each of those competing there in the race abstains from everything harmful, in order to receive a corruptible and transitory crown. How much more should we, with the increase and expansion of our achievements, protect ourselves from all bad deeds? Because we strive for the imperishable and imperishable crown.
26. Therefore, I do not run as wrongly as someone who does not know why he is competing, so that he may receive defeat instead of the expected victory; I don’t fight so hard that I hit the air in vain.
27. But I tame my body with fasts and enslave it with vigils, so that, having preached to others the kingdom of heaven, I myself would not remain unworthy of this kingdom.
Chapter X
He begins to prove that in the passage of the Jews across the sea and the events in the desert, the sacraments of our Lord were foreshadowed.
1. Our fathers, he says, were all under the cloud (Ex. 13:21-22).
2. And all were baptized in Moses, in the cloud and in the sea (Ex. 14:19.22).
4. And they drank the spiritual drink that came out of the rock from the rod (Ex. 17:6). And the rock, in its symbol, was Christ Himself. So, he (the Apostle) set the sea as a symbol of baptism, and the cloud that spread over them and overshadowed them was the image of the priest’s hand. Just as after baptism a person begins to receive the Body and Blood (of Christ), so the Jews at that time were baptized in type, and then they tasted spiritual manna and drank spiritual water. They were called spiritual because of the manna that came down from above (from heaven). Also the waters that miraculously flowed out of that rock again. So he called Christ that Rock, for, like a rock, the side of our Lord was pierced by the blow of a spear, and from it they drew blood and water (John 19:34), - blood - for cleansing and for drinking of all nations.
5-6. But all this was done to them not because God’s favor rested on their multitude, for at the time when these representative events took place, they (the Jews) were obviously struck with death in the desert itself (Num. 14:29; 26:64-65). But (this was done by God) so that, through this very defeat of them, they would serve as an image and example for us: so that we would not be lusters of evil, like them (Numbers 11:4; Exodus 32:6).
8. And let us not commit fornication (Num. 25:1.9).
9. And let us not tempt Christ, like the Jews (Num. 21:5 ff.).
11. All this happened figuratively to them, but it was written for our admonition.
12. So, whoever dreamily thinks that he is standing firmly, let him beware of sin, lest he himself fall.
13. But God is faithful, who will not send you temptations greater than you are able, that is, will not endure temptations greater than our weakness: but He will immediately bring about the outcome of your temptation, so that you can endure it.
14. After giving these commands, he proceeds to reasonable reprimand and accusation of those who, with their fathers and brothers, went to festivals in the houses of the pagans. Flee, he says, from idolatry, designating the place where demons are worshipped, so that when you come there you do not somehow become accomplices of the demons worshiped there.
15. Judge for yourself what I say.
16-17. After all, just as through one Body, which we receive, we all become one body, so you, through one food that you eat there, will become one.
18. Along with the spiritual example I gave you, I give you another example - a physical one.
19-21. It’s not that we say that an idol is anything, for I know that what the pagans sacrifice, they offer to demons. For this reason, I exhort you to avoid them, since your fellowship with demons removes you from fellowship with our Lord: for you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons, nor eat at the table of the Lord or at the table of demons.
22. Or do you want to make Him jealous by this? Are we (are we) stronger than Him, so that He will not exact this from us?
23. And although everything is possible for the sake of freedom, not everything that is possible is useful to our neighbors.
24. We should not only seek our own benefit, but also that of our neighbors.
25. Eat whatever is sold at the market, but do not approach the altar of demons. For the sake of conscience, do not ask questions about what you find in the market - I mean the conscience not of those asking, but of those asking.
27. If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner, and you want to go, then eat everything that is offered to you because of hunger, without asking anyone for the sake of your conscience, so as not to weaken it.
28. If anyone says, “This is a sacred sacrifice,” then do not eat for the sake of the one who announced it.
For the earth is the Lord's in its fullness (and what fills it). And although he will not let you eat here, he will not forbid you to eat in another place.
For the sake of conscience, will he be weak or will he be strong?
29. I’m not talking about my conscience, but someone else’s. Why should my freedom be subjected to the judgment of someone else's conscience? that is: if they are tempted, will I also become like them?
30. If I take food with thanksgiving, then why am I subject to blasphemy for giving thanks? Perhaps the false apostles blasphemed him because he preached and did not take anything from anyone (for this), and thus blocked the entrance for the false apostles, who fixed their eyes only on receiving (remuneration for preaching).
Chapter XI
1. So be imitators of me, just as I am of Christ. Since you have not seen Christ, so that He would be an example for you, then imitate us, just as we strive to imitate Christ.
2. He exalted them even to the point of pride, saying: I praise you, brothers, for always remembering me - and just as I betrayed the commandment, so keep it.
3. The head, he says, of the husband is Christ, and the head of the wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is His God.
4. Therefore, every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered disgraces his head.
5. But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head. He talks about the women of Rome, Corinth and other cities, in which they, entering the Church to pray and sometimes to prophesy, prophesied with their heads open - which, however, they did not do out of any shamelessness - following the ancient custom.
With the words that the Apostle spoke about the head of husband and wife, he wanted to introduce the custom of wearing veils on the heads of women, who from ancient times walked without a veil, with their heads uncovered.
9. He says that man was not created for wife, but just as everything was created for Adam, so Eve was created for Adam.
10. Therefore, a wife should have honor on her head for the sake of the angels, that is, the priests, for although in some places she is forced to obey, everywhere, however, for the sake of the priesthood she is in obedience.
12. After he had belittled and humiliated the wife, he again exalted her and praised her, saying: As the wife is from the husband, so is the husband through the wife. Here, he says, for her part, through the grief of (child)birth, she repays her husband what she should (repay) him for the time in which she was taken from him - the time of sleep without the pain of birth.
16. If any of the Greeks who are fond of debate objects to this, saying: this is an ancient custom, and therefore should not be abandoned, then we (answer) that those living in the countries of Syria do not have such a custom, nor the churches of God , which are based in other countries.
17. For you did not go forward for the better, but through this you descended towards the worse and bowed down; for for this reason you have stooped to such utterances.
18-19. Moreover, when you come together in church, I hear that there are divisions and strife among you, so that both the skillful and the patient may be known among you.
They gathered for (the celebration of) Easter on the fifth day (of the week), in the evening time, at which our Lord distributed His Body at the supper; and after they had eaten and drunk, they then broke the Body and accepted it. Since some of them fasted and patiently waited for their comrades, and others, who were not the first to come, having eaten and drunk, hurried to take the Body and leave, then those who came later, who had not eaten enough, were, as a result, depressed by shame and great sorrow.
22. Why do you despise the Church of God, turning it, as it were, into a helmsman, and shame those who have no property, who, due to their need and poverty, were not prepared?
23. Indeed, I delivered it to you: as I received from my Lord, I delivered it to you.
24-25. Indeed, although after the supper He broke and gave them (the Apostles) His Body and Blood, yet the Body was not distributed among the hungry and the drunken, as is done among you today.
26. But whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you will remember the death of our Lord. But the death of our Lord is truly indecent to remember in such confusion and disorder;
and we must not, if He is given to us by grace, eat Him with carelessness and disdain.
27. And just as one who does not partake and does not participate in this sacrament has no life, so anyone who eats this bread and drinks this cup unworthily will be guilty of (a crime in relation to) the Body and Blood of the Lord. This also applies to all peoples and centuries.
29. For he who eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment upon himself.
30. Therefore, among you, many are weak and sick - those who are afflicted in their bodies, because they boldly approached the Body of Christ - and many died, because without fear and trembling they began to heal life.
31. But if we reasoned with ourselves and (then) approached Him, then without a doubt we would not be judged, we would not be condemned by Him.
32. If we are subject to judgment, then we receive instruction from the Lord through this, so that together with this world we will not be condemned in the end.
33. So, brothers, when you come together, wait for each other.
34. And whoever is hungry and does not have the patience to wait for his comrades, let him eat at home, so that you do not gather together to condemnation.
Chapter XII
1-2. As for the spiritual ones - they were awarded the gifts of the Spirit and inspired - know your former humiliation, since you were pagans and worshiped dumb idols.
3. Just as no one speaking in the Spirit of God and performing miracles of the Spirit in the name of Jesus will say anathema to Christ, so no one can say: Lord Jesus, if not by the Holy Spirit. A person in whom the gifts of the Spirit are active can proclaim and say: the Lord is Jesus.
4-7. Although, he says, there is a division of gifts (of grace), ministries and powers between you, and a division exists between grace and grace, yet one and the same is the Spirit.
8. So to one was given the speech of wisdom, that is, the word of knowledge.
10. Another is given the ability to strengthen others during testing; prophecy to another, in order to reveal and indicate what is to happen in subsequent times; to another discernment of spirits, that is, good government in the church; different kinds of languages; to others the interpretation of the same tongues.
11. All this is from one and the same Spirit, who gives and divides according to His will.
12. Moreover, he turns to proof of this through examples taken from the body. Although the action of all these gifts is not required at the same time, however, each of them is very necessary in its own time. And even if one of the gifts was greater than the other in that it was more necessary for a certain person and time, however, under the same condition, each gift turns out to be necessary.
13. So, although the grace-filled gifts of the Spirit were poured out on Jews and Gentiles, on slaves and free, we were nevertheless filled with the One Spirit, and by Him and for His sake we were all made members of the Spirit.
14-25. Therefore, our highest gifts cannot exercise their ministry unless they receive revelation from our least gift. Because, just as the head cannot say to the feet: I don’t need you, for we have members that seem weaker, but turn out to be necessary for us - and others that, although they are considered less noble, we must give them all the more care - so, whether the gift is great or small, whether the person in whom it acts is noble or ignorant - but God proportioned the Church, like the body, and gave greater honor to the lesser, so that there would be no division in the very body of the Church, as there is no any discord in the members of the body.
But as they competed in this, trying to surpass each other, it turns out to be forced to limit their arrogant boasting to these gifts, and exalts above all gifts love, which remained neglected by very many. If you want, he says, to compete with each other, then not in those smaller gifts that are not yours and on which you are focused, but in the greater (virtues) that you have not yet achieved. So, I will show you the way that leads to life and is better than the way you wander.
Chapter XIII
1. What praise will be given to one who through the Spirit has received the gift of speaking in one language or another? For if I spoke in the tongues of men or of angels, but did not have love, then I would become like a ringing brass, or a sounding cymbal. Just as brass or a cymbal are soulless objects and produce sounds from someone else’s voice and tone, so anyone who speaks with a tongue, because he does not know what he is saying, is like brass, since he does not understand the meaning of the voice.
2. Against those who were puffed up by prophecy, knowledge and faith, he says: and if I have prophecy, not like you, but if I knew all the secrets that were revealed to you, let, in addition, all knowledge be given to me, instead a small share of the knowledge imparted to you - and let, moreover, there be in me not the small faith that you have, but if I have all the faith so that I can move mountains, but have no love, I am nothing.
3. Since some exalted themselves over their neighbors, some - by the generosity of their alms, others - by suffering for the Gospel, then he said against them: and if I distribute all my possessions as food to the poor, and if I give up my body so that they may glorify me, but love I won’t have it - there’s no benefit to me. This is the same as what our Lord said: do not give your alms as if for the sake of men, otherwise you will not have any reward with your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 6:1).
4. Love is patient and merciful, despite what you do towards each other.
Love doesn't envy you like you.
5-7. Love does not seek what is useful to itself, but what is useful to many for their salvation. So, if the qualities I have listed do not appear in you due to a lack of love, then what benefit will boasting of the gifts that you are proud of bring you?
8. Moreover, I will say: love never falls away, that is, it is not destroyed, just as your gifts that you have are destroyed; also the prophecy which you have will be abolished, and tongues will cease.
9. For, although we know in part, we still know as much as we should know.
10. When perfection comes, then that which is in part will be abolished.
11. Just as your childhood thoughts were destroyed before the knowledge that you now have, so our present knowledge must be destroyed before the knowledge that we will acquire in the future.
13. So, before all the gifts with which you exalt yourself, there remain: faith, hope, love; for it is of great importance to believe that God exists, and to hope for what one believes, and also to love the commandments of Him from whom we hope to receive gifts.
Chapter XIV
1. Achieve love, then the gracious gifts of the Spirit, especially to prophesy.
2. For whoever speaks in tongues speaks to God, who knows what he is saying, for no one else, not even he himself, knows what he is saying.
3. And whoever prophesies tells people who hear and know that he speaks edification, admonition and consolation.
4. He who speaks with a tongue edifies only himself by learning that he has been awarded the gifts of the Spirit, but he who prophesies edifies the entire Church of God.
5. I wish you all to speak in tongues, but rather to prophesy; For he who prophesies, according to the benefit he brings, is greater than he who speaks in tongues.
6. For if I come to you speaking in tongues different from all yours, how will I be of use to you?
7. Shall I not be like a pipe and harp without a soul; for if they do not give some difference in sounds, how can one recognize what is being played on a flute or a harp?
9. So you too, if you say any word in a language alien to your Hellenic dialect, as a result of this you will be, as it were, speaking to the air, and not to people.
13. Therefore, let him who speaks a tongue pray that what he speaks in a foreign tongue may be interpreted in the Greek language of the Hellenes. The gifts of the Spirit were of such a kind that one was given kinds of tongues, and another the interpretation of tongues, so that one had need of the other, that is, who spoke in who interpreted;
The Church is both.
14. If I pray, he says, with my tongue, then my spirit prays, but my mind is barren (there is), that is: the Holy Spirit, speaking, knows what He is saying in me, but my mind, because it does not know what it is saying tongue, remains without fruit in this prayer.
15. Therefore I do not ask in prayer that I may know the meaning of the tongue, but if I pray in the spirit, I will also pray with the mind.
16. Moreover, if by means of the tongue which you have received you bless with your spirit, how can a simpleton, a stranger to your tongue, say Amen at the end of the blessing?
17. Even though you have spoken well, your neighbor does not understand what you say; therefore, it is not edified.
19. But among the people I wish to say five words correctly and sensibly and be useful to others, rather than to utter a thousand words on the tongue; for this is not praiseworthy, and I will not bring any benefit to my neighbors.
20. Do not be children of your thoughts, so as to chase after such (thoughts) that outrage the simple and are completely useless for the perfect.
21-22. It is written in the law that I will speak to this people in another tongue and with another mouth, and neither will they hear Me, says the Lord (Is. 28:11-12).
So, if for the sake of that people tongues were given, so that through tongues they might know the time of the new Gospel, then now tongues are not a sign for the faithful, as you are, but for the unbelievers, that is, the scattered Jews - those of whom it is said: even so they will not listen to Me, says the Lord. Prophecy is not unfaithful, but true: for if they do not believe what you say, how will they listen to what you say?
23. So, if all the people come together, and everyone speaks in tongues at once, then the simpletons who enter there will not say, as they said about the Apostles, that they were drunk with sweet wine (Acts 2:13), - and about us, that we are truly mad?
24. If all the prophets were and would edify, if someone who is unfaithful or simpleton enters, he will be convicted of his error and judged by his evil deeds. 25. So, the secrets of his heart are made clear through prophecy, which reveals his secrets
, - thus, falling on his face, he worships and says: truly God is in them, for He revealed what was hidden inside, in the heart.
26. So, when you come together to perform a service or a single Saturday (Sunday service), then whoever knows the psalm, let him sing, - whoever has the teaching, let him teach, - and thus, one after another, let everyone speak for the building of the Church.
27-28. If anyone speaks with a tongue and there is no one who can interpret, then let him remain silent among the people;
Let him speak to himself with prayers poured out to God.
29. The prophets do the same - let two or three speak, and let the others reason, that is, let them make clear to the people what the prophets prophesied.
32. For the spirit of prophecy is subject to the prophets, that is, what one prophet said was explained by another prophet.
37. Therefore he said: If anyone considers himself a prophet or spiritual, let him first know what I have written to you, because these are the Lord’s commandments.
38. Otherwise, he himself will not be recognized before our Lord.
39. Therefore, be zealous to prophesy and do not hinder those who speak in tongues.
40. Do everything decently, prudently and according to order, as it should be.
Chapter XV
1-10. Again he spoke about the rise of our risen Lord, Who appeared to Peter (Luke 24:34.36) and the Twelve (John 20:19 ff. Matthew 28:17; Mark 16:14); He appeared to over five hundred brethren at once, many of whom are still present when these words were spoken. And after he appeared to James and the Apostles to all, that is, seventy-two, after all he appeared to me, as the worst among the Apostles (Acts 9:4 ff.).
11-12. So, whether I, or the Apostles, we all preach about Christ... that He rose from the dead. How is it, therefore, that some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13. If there is no resurrection of the dead, while the crucifixion took place for this purpose, then, consequently, Christ has not yet been resurrected.
17. And your faith in the Lord is vain, and you are still in the same sins, for you did not receive cleansing from your infidelity when you were buried in baptism with Him who died and rose again on the third day.
18. And, therefore, according to your word (teaching), those who died a martyr’s death in Christ perished, since there is no resurrection for them.
19. If in this life only, subject to persecution, we rely on Christ, then our life is more miserable than all the people who have ever been in the world. And if here we are tormented by fasting and persecution, and there we do not receive reward - if this is so - then we will begin to eat and drink (below v. 33), taking advantage of at least the present - if, according to you, Besides what is here, we have nothing else to receive.
20. But truly Christ rose from the dead and became the firstfruits of the resurrection of all the dead.
21-22. For just as Adam was the beginning of the death of all the living, so our Lord became the beginning of the life of all the dead.
23. And although they live through revival (resurrection), each one lives as he turns out to be.
24. Then the end will come when the kingdom is handed over to God the Father - not because the Son is not the King, for if the Father is the King, then the Son, as the son of the King, is the King;
because the Father will be the Head of the new kingdom, and then, in order, he correctly placed the Son after the Father: when he abolishes, continues, all principalities, and authorities, and powers, and the leaders who persecute the Gospel, and the evil forces of the father of hatred (the devil).
25. He must reign until He places all enemies, physical and spiritual, under His feet.
26. The latter, that is, after that death will be destroyed, is the enemy of human life; for He put all things under His feet in the end.
27. When it is said: everything is subordinate;
He also said in one place: all things have been delivered to Me by My Father (Matthew 11:27). When he says: It is given to me, then do not think that it is not given; otherwise you will falsely say: everything that the Father has is Mine (John 16:15) - and another thing: everything that is Mine is Yours - and whatever is Yours is Mine (John 17:10 ). So, he said this to us for the sake of the flesh, and not because it was so according to the divine nature of the Son.
The devil was able to subjugate all creatures with vain hope, but really the Son could not subjugate everything to Himself? True, although the cause of all this was humiliation, it is not such that when everything submits to Him, then the Son also submits to the Father, He Who, from the beginning of centuries, without change, abides with His Father through birth. We do not say that everything was not subject to Him, but everything was subject to Him and not subject to Him. Subordinated, of course, to His Divinity, which is why he said: everything is Yours is Mine;
He will submit to the flesh, which by its nature, of course, was in subjection, but by the mercy of His grace He made it the subjugator of the highest and the lowest (Phil. 2:10).
So, when this rebellious freedom is subordinated to the Son by the Father, then through Him and with Him it is also subordinated to the Father, so that God may be all in all, that is, so that God may be among all, as He Himself is, and the place of all, since even now He abides secretly and in those who do not want to, but in the end He will be in everyone already and clearly: in Him the righteous will shine like the sun (Matthew 13:43), or even stronger than the sun, as far as human nature is able to perceive.
29. Then he returns to his former speech, saying: what will those who are baptized for the dead do if the dead do not rise? After all, if they do not resurrect, then what benefit does the one who baptizes receive? Why would you be baptized with him in baptism?
30. Why do we endure persecution if there is no resurrection?
32. Moreover, in Ephesus I was thrown even to the beasts: what benefit would it have been for me to become food for the beasts if I had not received the resurrection, as you claim? In this case, let us eat and drink while we are alive, if there is no promised life after decay.
33. Do not go astray in the footsteps of those who tell you this; for your pure souls are spoiled by the evil conversations of the Greeks.
35. For they said: How is it that the dead are raised? In what body will they come, since their body is already lying (in the ground), decayed and destroyed?
36. He gives them a comparison with a seed that receives life through its death.
37. But the seed is not at all like a sprout from it, since you sow only bare grain.
39. And although all seeds are made to sprout, for each seed is given its own body, however, not all the flesh of birds, animals and people is the same, so that all indifferently achieve this very resurrection; but there is other flesh of people, which was created by the hand of God, and it is promised resurrection, and other flesh of cattle, and birds, and fish, which are deprived of the same (resurrection).
40-41. Those who are in heaven, that is, those who perform heavenly deeds, have another body, and those on earth who commit evil on earth have another body: so a star surpasses a star in its light.
42. Thus those in heaven excel those on earth in raising the dead.
So, bodies are sown in corruption, but are raised in incorruption.
43. They are sown in nakedness in dishonor, but are raised in glory; they are sown in the weakness of death, but are raised up in the power of resurrection.
44. The spiritual body is sown, but the spiritual body is raised, that is: it is sown in the likeness of the first Adam, but will be raised in the likeness of the Spiritual Adam.
48. As is the earthly man, that is, the one who is immersed in the affairs of the earth, such are the earthly; and as the heavenly was, so are the heavenly in their deeds.
49. Just as we bore the image of the earthly at birth, so we are prepared to bear the image of the heavenly in that resurrection.
And how the Greek sects disagreed with each other: there were those who denied the resurrection, and those who said that there is no soul, therefore it also says against them: if there is no soul, as you claim, and yet there is truth in the law , - then your law also testifies that there is a resurrection. Therefore, when you declare eternal corruption to this visible body - and, being corruptible, it cannot possess indestructibility - then where will those who crucified themselves here for the sake of God receive their reward?
After all, the soul that could receive reward (in your opinion) does not exist; on the contrary, there is only the body, which you have made the prey of eternal destruction.
51-52. So, he says, here is a secret that is revealed to those who are inside, and not to outsiders, that is, to believers who profess the resurrection, and not to philosophers who deny the resurrection of the dead. “Let us all rest,” this says to those who will wait for the coming (of Christ). Let us all be renewed: although only the righteous are resurrected into a renewal of glory, the bodies of sinners are also renewed, since they do not rise with the same sorrow and joy. This is what the words mean: the dead will rise incorruptible, and we will be changed.
54. When this mortal and corruptible thing is clothed with immortality and incorruptibility, then the word that is written about this will be fulfilled: death is swallowed up in the victory of the resurrection (Is. 25:8).
55. Where (is) your death and victory, which was from Adam to this day? And where (is) death your sting, which received its origin from the fruit of the tree (Hos. 13:14)?
56. The sting of sin is the law that was imposed on Adam and his descendants in paradise itself (Gen. 2:16-17).
57. But God’s gracious gifts gave us victory, despite all our guilt, not through us and not through the prophets, as our saviors, but through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Chapter XVI
1. Concerning the gathering that takes place for the saints, as I ordered in the churches of Galatia, do likewise.
2. On the first day of the week, what was collected from all over the country should be sent to the poor who were in Jerusalem; The Apostles gave him this command.
9. A great and inevitable door was opened to him in Ephesus: either by the people who became his disciples, or by the persecution that was carried out by his enemies, because they rose up against him to throw him there among the beasts.
15. About the house of Stephen, you yourself know that these were the firstfruits for me in the countries of Achaia: either through apprenticeship, or through my gifts, which they gave to the poor in Jerusalem.
May everything be for you, my deeds and my soul and my life, in Christ. What love the Apostle has for his people! What kindness is his towards foreign pagans!
For the life of the Jews he himself asked to be excommunicated from Christ, but for the life of the pagans he is ready to give his deeds, his soul and his life. Ephraim the Syrian,
Reverend
Quoted from:
Saint Ephraim the Syrian. Creations. T.7.
***
Reprint edition. - M.:
- Publishing house "Father's House", 1995, - P.59-110 Prayer to St. Ephraim the Syrian:
Prayer to St. Ephraim the Syrian
- . Ascetic and spiritual writer who lived in the 4th century. From a young age he left the world and retired to hermits after he was imprisoned on false charges. Afterwards he was again subjected to slander, but was justified by God before people. He fought against the Arians, wrote many interpretive and moral works, penitential and funeral chants. Protector of the innocently slandered and oppressed, patron of monasticism, giver of humility and chastity
Akathist to St. Ephraim the Syrian:
- Akathist to St. Ephraim the Syrian Works of St. Ephraim the Syrian:
- On wicked wives Works of St. Ephraim the Syrian:
- - Rev. Ephraim the Syrian Works of St. Ephraim the Syrian:
Paul is a true Apostle and his rights as an Apostle (1-14). Ap. voluntarily renounced the right to receive remuneration for his preaching activities due to the principle of self-denial he had learned (15-22). What dangers would the Apostle Paul have had to endure if he had refused to follow the path of voluntary renunciation (23-27).
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?
1-14. At Ap. Paul had many opponents in Corinth (cf. 2 Cor. XII:11-18), who tried to humiliate his authority as an Apostle. Even the fact that he did not want to enjoy the reward for his preaching labors was blamed on him by his opponents, who saw this as proof that he himself did not consider himself equal to the other Apostles of Christ. In view of such attacks on him, Ap. proves first that he is a true apostle, especially for the Corinthians, that he has all the rights of an apostle and must benefit from the contents of the Corinthian community, like everyone who works, like for example. the priest serving the altar enjoys the income from the altar, although in fact Ap. I did not take advantage of this right so as not to put an obstacle to my preaching about Christ.
1. Ap. Even in the last verses of Chapter VIII he said that for the benefit of his brothers he was ready for self-denial. Now he reveals this thought, but first considers it necessary to point out that he has something to renounce, that what he voluntarily renounces actually belongs to him. - Am I not an Apostle? It seems that it would be more correct to put this question, according to many ancient manuscripts, in second place, and first - the question: "Am I free?" This way the transition from Chapter VIII to Chapter IX will be much more consistent. In the previous chapter, he addressed people strong in faith, who were proud of their Christian freedom. In this chapter, he compares himself with these people and asks them if they really don’t recognize that he fully possesses such freedom? Then, he points out that he is truly an Apostle of Christ. Since, when placing the Apostle in the place of Judas, the demand was made that the new Apostle be from among the constant companions of Christ (Acts I:22), Paul says that he too saw Jesus Christ, of course, during the trip to Damascus. This vision, as is known, was his initiation into apostolic dignity by Christ Himself. Ap. at the same time he calls Christ our Lord in order to designate Him as the Head of the Church, Who alone has the right to call anyone to apostolic service (cf. Gal. I: 1 and Acts I: 26). This is the first proof of the truth of his apostleship. But since his opponents could call the said vision a play of the imagination, then Ap. Paul considers it necessary to give a second proof of his apostleship: he points to his founding of the Church in Corinth, which is his business. What is the strength of this evidence? Apostle, as he says in II (1-2 v.), appeared in Corinth weak and defenseless. Could he hope that his business here would be successful? No. However, his case turned out to be strong. - The church in Corinth was founded and began to flourish. Who helped him in this case, if not Christ - the Lord who called him?! (my business is in the Lord).
2
If for others I am not an Apostle, then for you Apostle; for the seal of my apostleship is ye in the Lord.
3
This is my defense against those who condemn me.
2-3. Revealing the last thought, Ap. declares that the Corinthian Church can directly be called seal, which the Lord Himself placed in his apostolic ministry. - Those who judge me- more correctly: making an inquiry (about the correctness of my apostleship).
4
Or do we have no power to eat and drink?
5
Or do we not have the power to have a sister wife as a companion, like the other Apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?
6
Or do I and Barnabas alone have no power not to work?
4-6. Ap. has the right to receive maintenance from the Corinthian Church. - We, that is, I, Barnabas and, perhaps, Timothy and Silas, who took part in the founding of the Church of Corinth as employees of St. Pavel. - eat and drink- of course, at the expense of the Corinthian Christian community. - Have a sister's wife as a companion. From Greek It would be more accurate to translate: “sister, that is, a sister in faith - like a wife.” The Vulgate translates: “a wife as a sister” - of course, in order to find here the basis for the celibacy of the clergy. The new English translation separates both expressions as "sister, wife." The first translation is more correct: “a sister, that is, a Christian as a wife,” because Ap. further refers to the example of the other apostles, who, according to ancient testimony, were all married, except John (Clement Alex. and Ambrosiast). - Brothers of the Lord- see Matt. XIII:35 et al. places. - Ap. thus he wants to say that both the other Apostles and he, if they were married, had the right to receive maintenance from the Christian communities they founded not only for themselves, but also for their wives. – Barnabas although he was not called by Christ Himself, like Apostle. Paul, to the apostolic ministry, but nevertheless, as his collaborator, (Acts XIII: 1 et seq.; Gal. II: 1 et seq.), he occupied a high position. - Don't work- of course, to earn food for themselves.
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?
7. The same thought about your right to the content of Ap. confirms by reference to a custom, observed everywhere, according to which a warrior receives his allowance, a vinedresser receives income from the vineyard, and a shepherd uses milk from his flock. These examples are Ap. chose, probably, because the people of God were often depicted by the prophets under the images of an army, a vineyard and a flock.
8
Is it only human? reasoning Am I saying this? Isn't that what the law says?
9
For in the Law of Moses it is written: You shall not muzzle an ox that is threshing. Does God care about oxen?
8-9. This reference to common custom is here reinforced by an allusion to divine right or the law of Moses. - Ox threshing. In the east, wheat was threshed in such a way that a horse or an ox was driven along the spread sheaves, which knocked the grains out of the ears with their hooves, or they harnessed the animal to a small cart, in which a worker stood and drove the ox. - Does God care about oxen? In giving the above law, God, in fact, did not care about animals, to which He could always send food from Himself. He wanted to awaken good feelings in the Jews towards their workers. If already - the Jews had to tell themselves - the Lord cares so much about oxen and teaches us to be kind to them, then how much more does He oblige us to be kind to the rationally free beings who work for us?!
10 Or, of course, is it said for us? So, this is written for us; for whoever plows must plow with hope, and whoever threshes must thresh with the hope of getting what you expect.
10. Or, of course, for us it says? It is better to translate this: “or - if it is impossible to allow God to speak for the sake of the oxen - was it not for our sake in the full sense of the word (πάντως) that (God) said this?” - For our sake- that is, in order to establish the right relationship between you people. Some interpreters attribute this expression only to preachers of the Gospel, but Ap. clearly contrasts the oxen not with the apostles, but with people in general. - For who threshes... This second half of the verse is read differently in different codes. According to the Alexandrian manuscripts, as well as the Vatican and Codex Sinaiticus, it is necessary to translate this passage as conveyed in the Russian translation. But it is difficult to agree with this reading, because in it both works - plowing and threshing - are equated with each other, while in Holy Scripture the first seems to be very difficult, and the second - easy and forming part of the work of collecting grain, as if being a holiday for a toiler-plowman (cf. Ps. CXXV:5, 6). Therefore, it is better to accept here the reading of other, Greco-Latin, ancient manuscripts as more consistent with the thought of the Apostle, i.e. translate it like this: “whoever plows must plow with the hope (it reinforces the plowman in his hard work) that he will thresh will not remain without reward" (as would have happened if he had been gagged with a sack like an ox). In relation to the thresher the expression "with hope" in fact, is completely inappropriate, because threshing is a sure thing, not like sowing, which may not bear fruit...
11 If we have sown spiritual things in you, is it great if we reap bodily things from you?
11. Ap. now applies an example from the life of a farmer to himself and his employees. But at the same time he exposes to the Corinthians that they cannot even sufficiently reward him for his activities, because his work is spiritual, and the content that they should have given him is a carnal matter. Next, there cannot be any special pretension in the fact that Ap. expresses his rights to the content that should come to him from the Corinthian Church: this is such a small thing compared to what Ap. gave to the Corinthians. Paul...
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.
12. Other- these are either local, Corinthian preachers, or Judaizers who came from Jerusalem. - You have the power- more precisely: power over you or the right to receive content from you. - However, we did not use... About this Ap. speaks in detail below (v. 15). Here is Ap. expresses this, unable to contain his indignation at the mention of his opponents, who brought various accusations against him. Then he again continues the thought started above. - We transfer everything- Wed 2 Cor. XI:24-27. - Putting barriers to the gospel. Of course, if Ap. began, following the example of philosophers and traveling rhetoricians, to take payment for his sermons, then many could, first of all, equate him with rhetoricians and philosophers and look at the Gospel itself as philosophical system, A Secondly, could accuse the Apostle of spreading the Gospel for personal interests in order to get more income from his disciples.
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?
13. Here we are obviously talking about the Jewish, Levitical priesthood, because Ap. couldn't use the word sanctuary in annex to the pagan temple, which he calls temple(VIII:10). - Priests- more precisely: “those who care about worship.” This refers to all the Levites, including the priests. - Altar Servers- these are priests. - The Levites received tithes from the people and part of the sacrificial gifts, and the priests received part of the Levitical tithes and part of the sacrifices.
14 So the Lord commanded those who preach the Gospel to live from the gospel.
14. Here is Ap. provides evidence that is already irrefutable - namely, the commandment of the Lord Himself. He means, of course, what was conveyed to him. Matthew (X:10; cf. Luke X:7). - It’s clear that Ap. looks at preaching as a special type of ministry established by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. While other believers are engaged in the affairs of their profession, preachers must leave their work ( leave your networks The Apostles also had to) in order to exclusively take care of the souls of men. Therefore, the Church they serve is obliged to take care of their maintenance. This also applies to the Christian clergy and establishes for them the right to receive maintenance from their flock.
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.
15-22. No matter how undoubted the rights of the Apostle Paul to receive support from Christian communities are, he voluntarily renounced this right. The reason for his refusal was the consideration that his preaching service was for him personally not a merit, but a duty before Christ. Self-denial Ap. extended even beyond the refusal of remuneration. In all his activities as a preacher, he sacrificed his freedom where the benefit of his neighbor and the salvation of people required it.
15. Ap. speaks of his renunciation of his rights to compensation in order to give a lesson to those of the Corinthian Christians who did not want, in the name of their freedom, to refuse to eat meat sacrificed to idols. - I didn't use... Ap. begins from here to talk about himself in one. number, because what he talks about matters only to him personally. - So that, that is, to give me content like other teachers. - My praise, i.e. what I am rightly proud of (namely my refusal of content).
16 For if I preach the gospel, then I have nothing to boast about, because it is a necessary duty mine, and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
16. Why Ap. Would you rather die than lose the glory of being a free teacher of the faith? Because he cannot be proud of the teaching or preaching itself - performing this service is for him a matter of necessity, duty. While the 12 Apostles followed Christ by free decision, Ap. was forced take upon himself to preach the Gospel to the pagans, otherwise he would face condemnation (Acts IX:5).
17 For if I do this voluntarily, then will have a reward; and if involuntary, then performing only ministry entrusted to me.
17. If the Apostle had at will acted in the field of preaching about Christ, then this could be praised. Meanwhile, he did not undertake this task of his own free will: like a trusted servant (cf. Luke XII:42, 43), he must fulfill the master’s order without expecting any reward.
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.
18. The apostle, however, does not want to perform the work entrusted to him as a slave. He wants to do it as a free man, as a friend of the One who entrusted him with this task. To do this, he decided to preach for free. - Why am I rewarded?? i.e.: "in what way I decided to seek a reward from the Lord? (Ap. doesn’t want to work without a reward). So, by preaching the gospel freely, I am doing something that was not charged to me. In this way I am equal with the 12 Apostles who voluntarily joined the Lord."
19 For, being free from everyone, I enslaved myself to everyone, in order to gain more:
19. Self-denial Ap. Paul is not limited to his refusal of content: it extends to his entire activity. He always renounced his rights where this renunciation could benefit his neighbor. He submitted to the habits of others in order to win more believers for Christ.
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 those who are strangers to the law, as one who is stranger to the law, not being a stranger to the law before God, but under the law of Christ, so as to win those who 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.
20-22. Here is Ap. reveals the idea of one’s subordination to others ( I enslaved myself to everyone). - For the Jews... for those under the law. The first expression denotes the Jewish people, and the second embraces everyone who fulfilled the law, both Jews and Jewish proselytes from the pagans. - Like a Jew... like one under the law. Ap. here he means the concessions that he made when entering into communication with people who were accustomed to looking at the Law of Moses as obligatory for every Jew and who were embarrassed by any violation of this law. In view of this Ap. Paul circumcised Timothy (Acts XVI:3), made a vow in Cenchrea (Acts XVII:18) and performed the rite of Nazirite cleansing on himself at the suggestion of Ap. James (Acts XXI:26). - For strangers to the law as strangers to the law. Ap. puts himself on a par with pagan Christians, for whom compliance with the Law of Moses was not obligatory. Although he was a Jew by birth, he recognized himself as a Christian, freed from fulfilling the requirements of the law, which could not represent eternal value, like a general moral law. But at the same time he was not a stranger to the law before God that is, in his inner life he was subject to the true law, the will of God. - Under the Law of Christ. With these words Ap. explains that he submitted to the highest law of God by first submitting to Christ. In Christ he also received the law that governs his inner life. - Thus Ap. distinguishes three stages of life: 1) life without law, when a person is guided in his activities only by natural inclinations, 2) life under law, when the law is something external to a person and forces him to obey and 3) life V law or the life of a Christian, when the human will is one with the divine law, being under the influence of the spirit of Christ. - Infirm- these are Christians who are not sufficiently established in the faith, which were discussed in Chapter VIII. Buy them - meant: not to allow them to deviate again into Judaism or paganism, which could have happened if the Apostle had not limited his freedom for them, had not been like a weakling. - Became everyone- better: all sorts of- both a Jew and a follower of the law, etc. - Of course, the Apostle was not guided by any personal goals, but by love alone. But in any case, this ability of the Apostle to adapt to other people’s opinions could give reason to accuse him of opportunism, and he is, indeed, accused of this. Is it fair? There are two kinds of opportunism. Some of the modern theologians, seeing that it is difficult for society to believe in the miracles described in the Bible, try to present belief in miracles as completely unnecessary for true piety: the essence of the Gospel, they say, is not in miracles! It is clear that such a concession to the spirit of the times cannot be justified at all, because it changes the very concept of Christianity as a religion that has witnessed itself with signs and wonders (Heb. II: 4). It also happens that preachers of Christian morality cross out from their program all the stricter requirements of the Gospel in order to attract people from among educated society, and sometimes sacrifice the dogma of Christianity, church discipline, which is considered obligatory only for the common people. Such opportunism causes significant harm to true Christianity because it encourages unbelief, moral laxity and attachment to sensual pleasures. Christianity in such cases is half-truth, only an imaginary force and, at best, only a roundabout way to the Kingdom of Heaven. But there is opportunism completely different kind. Some preachers of the Gospel have the ability to penetrate deeply into the secrets of another's soul. With a loving gaze, he sees everything that worries and confuses someone else’s soul, and so, when he has to address such a soul with a word of exhortation, he makes concessions, softening the severity of his denunciations, although he does not sacrifice the essential requirements of the Gospel and dogma. Such is the opportunism of Ap. Pavel. This is nothing more than a manifestation of his high humility and self-sacrifice for the benefit of his neighbor. The tolerance of this opportunism is not unlimited: it does not allow everyone to be saved in their own way (the saying Frederick the Great), and this was fully proven by Ap. Paul, when he came out with a sharp denunciation against St. Peter, who, with his concessions to the Judaizers in Antioch, could completely destroy the work that Ap managed to do there through long efforts. Paul (see Gal. II:14).
23 I do this for the sake of the Gospel, to be a partaker of it.
23-27. Until now, the Apostle has said that we should renounce our right to eat meat sacrificed to idols and some other rights in view of the benefit that our refusal will bring to our neighbors. From here - and up to verse 22 of chapter 10 - he begins to explain to the Corinthians that their personal salvation also requires the same, which will be very difficult for them if they, without any consideration of the circumstances, use their rights. In the considered conclusion of Chapter IX, the Apostle, first of all, points out that he himself could easily lose salvation if he wanted to retreat from the path of self-denial.
23. The apostle makes so many concessions of his rights for the sake of the Gospel in order to become himself a participant in the salvation about which he preaches to others. The thought of the future reward promised to all who love God never leaves him: he wants to receive the crown of victory from the hands of the Righteous Judge.
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the reward? So run to get it.
24. In order to better understand the readers’ understanding of this constantly haunting thought about a future reward, the Apostle compares his position with the position of those who participated in the so-called Isthmian games. These games took place in Corinth every two years, and, like the ancient Greek games (Olympic, Nemean), consisted of five exercises: jumping, discus throwing, racing, fist and simple wrestling. All of Greece took part in these games with great enthusiasm, and the winner was greeted with universal delight. During his two-year stay in Corinth, Ap could also be present at these games. Paul. He only remembers racing and fist fighting. - Everyone runs, but one gets the reward, that is, there are many hunters to receive a reward on the lists, many run towards the goal, but only one, especially strong in faith, receives the reward. - So run, that is, like this strongest runner, having gathered all your strength, and only in this case will you receive (many, of course, and not just one) a heavenly reward from the Righteous Judge. The running of the Corinthians should, of course, consist of spiritual exercises and, mainly, self-denial.
25 All ascetics abstain from everything: some to receive a perishable crown, and we to receive an incorruptible crown.
25. Already ten months before the games, their participants began to prepare for them and at the same time led a very abstinent lifestyle, so as not to weaken their body by any excess. This abstinence was observed not only in relation to illicit pleasures, but also in relation to those that were permissible from a moral point of view. Likewise, a Christian must abstain not only from sinful joys, but also from those that are or may be accompanied by loss of time or weakening of moral strength. And this is all the more obligatory for a Christian because he receives as a reward not a simple wreath of leaves - a symbol of universal human praise, but an imperishable crown.
26
And that’s why I don’t run in the wrong way, I don’t fight in a way that just beats the air;
27
but I subdue and enslave my body, so that, while preaching to others, I myself may not remain unworthy.
26-27. I am running that is, I strive further and further along the path of Christian self-improvement (cf. Phil. III: 13, 14). - Not the same as the wrong one, that is, not in such a way as not to have a specific goal in mind, and not to clearly see the path leading to this goal. - I bet... Ap. here he means fist fighting, in which blows are delivered to the opponent’s chest in order to knock him to the ground, and are not wasted in vain. - I pacify... my body. This is the enemy on whom the Apostle’s blows fall! He means here his bodily organism ( not flesh, as the seat of sin), which he subjects to all sorts of hardships in order to make it an obedient instrument in his hands. Instead of I pacify, or, more precisely, I knock you down with a fist blow(υποπιάζω) some codes read: I break it or I give bruises under my eyes(υπωπιάζω). It seems that the second reading is more consistent with the previous expression: I fight. Ap. this word denotes (υπωπιάζω) all the hardships to which he subjected his body - night work to earn food for himself, etc. (cf. 2 Cor. VI:4, 5; XI:23-27; Acts XX:34, 35). - So that, while preaching to others, you yourself do not remain unworthy. But all these exploits of the Apostle in his eyes do not represent anything special. It's just a matter of necessity. Without them, he himself could lose the reward for which he excited others. - A Christian shepherd who strives to save others should not forget about his own salvation, which requires from him personal feats of abstinence. And not only to him, as a herald inviting to fight ( I preach- κηρύσσω), but all Christians should remember that the life of a Christian should be constant The struggle of a person even with his natural inclinations, how soon there is a danger for a person to be carried away by the desires of the world. The struggle against the old man (Rom. VI:6) must be waged with unremitting energy throughout the life of a Christian, and at the same time it must be waged skillfully, according to all the rules of spiritual struggle, in order to achieve the desired success.
However, Ap. not a word says that the above law about the threshing will does not have a direct relationship to animals. He recognizes the literal meaning of the commandment, but deduces from it the highest commandment - about leniency and justice towards people.
From υπο and πιέσω.
From υπο and ώπια (from ορσάω).
Excerpts from Barkley's comments used.
One of the most important chapters of the Bible. Paul wants to show in Corinth a way of life for Christians that is more superior to the way of life they lead, using various spiritual manifestations of the holy spirit in them.
Paul will tell them about the most important gift of God, about the basis of the foundations of God's man, about the final result of all the efforts of the holy spirit operating in a Christian; about what without which all the other abilities of a Christian are meaningless and will not bring him any benefit.
Paul will show them that everything they now possess and are proud of are just stages on the way to achieving perfection, to the highest spiritual point of Christianity - GOD'S LOVE. And if a Christian does not learn to love as God loves, he will have no part in God’s world.
A loving Christian is the apogee of the influence of the holy spirit on a believer, this is the ripened fruit of God’s upbringing, therefore love and nothing else is the most valuable gift from God to humanity and a sure sign of a Christian.
God's love for a Christian does not come on its own. God's love needs to be learned, which is why Paul showed what God's love looks like, describing its qualities and properties, so that Christians of all times would have an idea of what they need to strive for, what internal qualities they need to form in themselves with the help of the holy spirit.
So, Paul's instructions about the excellence of God's gift to the Christian - His many-sided love; We will dwell in detail on each of its facets, highlighted by the apostle:
13:1,2 Here - aboutthe uselessness of the most outlandish abilities, of which they prided themselves in Corinth, if their use is not moved by the love of God:
since God created man in His image and likeness, it means that the desire for perfection is nothing more than the desire of a Christian to have the same motives and intentions as God.
God created everything out of love, and the motivating force in all his actions is love. This means that a Christian should also be motivated by love, because for God it is important from what motives we perform this or that act:
1 If I speak with the tongues of... angels, but do not have love, then I am like a ringing brass or a clanging cymbal.
Here is an exaggeration to enhance the effect of clarification in a combination like: “ even(in reality this is not true) I'm flying to the moon
but not out of love for God and neighbors, there is no benefit for me in this.” The same goes for unreal ones" IF I move mountains" And " IF I know ALL the secrets", because all this in reality is literally impossible:
2 If... I 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.
Even if I performed all of the above most incredible miracles in reality out of a desire, for example, to become famous or out of a desire to receive some kind of reward for my deeds, then I cannot get closer to God and achieve perfection, because in order to get closer to God love - and you yourself need to try to become love.
13:3
And if I give away all my property and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good.
The same applies to the readiness to make enormous sacrifices: even sacrificing one’s life (the most precious thing a person has) for the sake of, for example, obtaining sensations during a volcanic eruption, for the sake of sporting achievements, or for the sake of carrying out the order of a military leader - does not make sense if the person sacrificing does this not out of love for God and people.
13:4
Love is patient and kind, love does not envy, love does not boast, it is not proud,
Paul is not describing feelings or emotions, but rather manifestations of God's love in concrete actions. God's love surpasses romantic, family and friendly love, and therefore is the basis of a new world order: if God's love settles in a family, among relatives and friends, then throughout eternity their relationship will not be interrupted and they will never get bored of each other.
Love is patient
- here it’s about patience specifically in relationships with people, and not about enduring some personal difficulties, for example, enduring poor health or poverty.
Patiently endure infirmities
neighbors because of imperfection in the hope that one day they can all become spiritually strong - a sign of Christian strength, not weakness; God tolerates the imperfection of all humanity for a long time, and this is His strength: thanks to long-suffering, He will be able to raise for Himself sons and daughters from imperfect people.
A loving Christian is merciful, ready to show mercy, leniency towards wrongdoings and does not look for something to punish, but always actively seeks the opportunity to forgive the sinner and have mercy. Mercy encourages even enemies not to harm, but to help if they are in serious need.
Love doesn't envy
We completely agree with Barkley’s characterization of envy:
There are two types of envy. One of them covets what belongs to others.. Another type of envy: she is dissatisfied with the very fact that others have what she does not have; she does not so much desire to have these things herself as to prevent others from receiving them. This is the lowest quality of the human soul.
God's loving person should be far from these two:
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
(Exodus 20:17)
not like Cain, [who] was of the evil one and killed his brother. Why did you kill him? Because his deeds were evil, but his brother’s deeds were righteous.
(1 John 3:12) Love is not exalted
A loving Christian is always ready to give in and is never ready to snatch some benefits for himself at any cost. In addition, he never considers that anyone owes him anything, but always considers himself obligated in everything and for everyone. Not proud
13:5
A loving Christian never considers himself better than others or worthy of being treated better than other fellow believers. He is always ready to admit his mistakes and apologize, not considering them as something unimportant in the Christian journey. He is also always ready to forgive the guilt of those who sin against him and is always ready to be the first to take a step towards reconciliation, even if he himself is innocent. L
love...doesn't go wild
A lover is always afraid of accidentally offending a person; he is tactful and attentive to ensure that he does not violate someone’s rights or cause inconvenience through his actions: a loving Christian is always ready to sacrifice his own rights for the sake of the convenience of his neighbors.
Not looking for his own, but seeks what is pleasing to Christ: a loving Christian will never achieve his personal goals at the cost of violating God’s principles - this is one point.
And second: a loving Christian is always more ready to give to others than to take from others; he believes that he has more responsibilities to everyone than rights.
Don't get annoyed Nothing and no one can bring a loving Christian out of the state of long-suffering and goodwill, but not because he suppresses adrenaline and restrains irritation inside, but because adrenaline is not released in him. With the power of the spirit of love and reason, a Christian is able to find a sound explanation for everything that happens and justify it so that the negative does not even develop within him.
Barkley: Irritation is always a sign of defeat. When we lose our temper, when we lose control, we lose everything.
Thinks no evil A loving Christian does not carry stones “in his bosom” on his neighbors and does not count their number, but throws them off regardless of whether the offender deserves forgiveness or not, whether he succeeds in reconciling with him or not.
Barkley:
The Greek word logieshfai (translated in the Bible as thinks), comes from accounting. It means to record a fact in a ledger so as not to forget it later. This is exactly what a lot of people do.
In life, it is very important to learn to forget what is better to forget. Many people nurture their hatred, constantly fueling and refreshing it in their memory; they brood over their grievances until they can no longer be forgotten. Christian love
13:6 teaches you to forgive and forget. Love...does not rejoice in untruth,
Barkley: a loving Christian will never rejoice at the unrighteous deeds of his neighbors or the falls of his enemies. Just as he will not rejoice at success achieved through deception or unrighteous acts. Strange feature human nature is that we prefer to hear about other people's failures than about theirs happy fate
. ...Christian love is free from this human malice that rejoices at the bad news of others
but rejoices in the truth
A loving Christian always rejoices that he and his fellow believers manage to cope
with all the difficulties of the path of Christ, without sinning and acting according to the truth, even if acting according to the truth is unprofitable or associated with bad consequences for them: the devil expects that a Christian will not withstand the pressure of the wickedness of this age and will himself begin to act unrighteously in order to alleviate his circumstances . Therefore, when a Christian withstands all his pressure and does the right thing, his joy about the triumph of truth is boundless.
And to falling enemies, a loving Christian always wants to rise and take the path of God.
13:7 Love… covers everythingA loving Christian always seeks and finds a reasonable explanation for the misdeeds of others, and therefore he is not inclined to be offended by others, or to condemn them, or to discuss them, much less to flaunt their mistakes and unseemly actions. He is more inclined to forgive than to blame, trying to be lenient towards actions where possible. He will not remind anyone of past sins and mistakes, but will leave them in the past, just as God does ours.
Barkley: love can endure any insult, insult or disappointment.
believes everything A loving Christian is not inclined to be suspicious of everyone and everything that happens; he is not in a hurry to attribute bad motives to those who sin against him. He is more inclined to trust the word of his fellow believers than to think badly of them. A lover does not want to think badly of people and always tries to find mitigating circumstances where they can be found.
In the congregation, fellow believers do not seek to monitor each other’s personal lives, understanding that everyone has a Bible, and if someone wants to be God’s and does not want to disgrace either God or His people with their unworthy behavior, then he himself will try to act in truth . Complete trust in God and each other is the basis of a future happy human society.
Note:
According to Proverbs 14:15, only a fool believes everything (" A fool believes every word").
Is there a contradiction between the words of Proverbs and Paul?
No: Proverb 14:15 shows the state of things for this age(Solomon drew conclusions from his life experiences in this age) in which lies and deceitful people flourish.
That is, according to the Proverb, a loving person (gullible, building his relationships on trust) - in this century will act foolishly if he believes every word (is not careful.)
And Paul described the inner state of a person in the new world,
loving God and neighbor, and therefore - building his relationships in full confidence.
No trust relationship new world is impossible, like any strong, long-lasting family: if a family is based on love, then everyone in it completely trusts each other, because love itself is the guarantor of constancy, strength and creation of the whole family.
Whoever does not learn to love God and his neighbor will not get into the new world, even if in this century he will not trust anyone (he will not be stupid according to the parable)
And whoever learns to love will certainly end up in the new world, even if in this century he was let down and deceived many times because of his gullibility and his love (even if he looked stupid in the eyes of this world because of his love and trust in his neighbors )
hopes everythingA loving Christian is essentially an optimist; the basis for his optimism is hope in God, so it is difficult to offend or disappoint him. He does not pronounce hopeless judgments on anyone or anything, but always hopes that circumstances will change for the better, that everyone is potentially capable of coming to God and accepting Christ, just the conditions for this must be ripe. And he is ready to wait and hope that one day the conditions for the conversion of everyone will ripen
endures everything
How much did Jesus endure from those for whom he came and for whom he tried? How much did Paul endure for the sake of preserving those whom he acquired for the church of God, and how many insults did he suffer from them themselves? A loving Christian is able to endure everything that comes his way, but not just passively endure, but steadfastly endure trials, remaining faithful to God, making efforts to survive yourself and help others survive.
Barkley: Verbhipomeneine - one of the great Greek words. It is usually translated as endure or endure, but its meaning is...to endure, to overcome, to be able to overcome and transform. This verb was defined as courageous constancy, subjected to a serious test.
13:8
Love never ends
God's love is the essence of relationships in the eternity of God's world order. Absolutely all relationships THERE will be built on this love, which is why society can exist forever and its harmony will not be destroyed.
Everything that a Christian possesses in this world is given by God in order to develop in him the most important quality - love. For this purpose, the meeting was organized, and various gifts of the holy spirit were distributed, and there was a call to fulfill God’s assignment together - everything was done by God so that people would learn to love each other with God’s love now, and so that in the new world they would not fight among themselves throughout all eternity
(Eph.4:11-16)
although prophecy will cease, and tongues will be silent, and knowledge will be abolished.
In God's new world order, neither the ability to prophesy nor speak complex foreign and spiritual languages ( about spiritual languages - see analysis of chapter 14), nor the ability to possess special spiritual knowledge - will no longer be needed: the prophecies will all be fulfilled and will become obsolete; signs and wonders to confirm the finger of God will not be needed there;
and everyone will acquire the same knowledge, for everyone will be taught by God through His heavenly government. Therefore, everything that the Corinthians were so proud of in their meeting now will be abolished in God’s world.
13:9,10
And only love will invariably forever remain the essence of God’s world order so that it is happy and can please both God the Father himself and the inhabitants of His new world order.
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
All the gifts that the Christian congregation has in this century are only partially, not in full, capable of showing us the essence of eternity and forming a Christian personality in us.
But when that which is perfect comes, then that which is in part will cease.
When the period of the eternal day comes, in which humanity will achieve spiritual and physical perfection, then everything that was only a part of God’s picture will be abolished: why does anyone need just a fragment of the picture when they can enjoy its entirety?
Why should an adult have the ability to walk unsteadily on infant legs and fall, if walking as a baby is only a stage towards confidently walking like an adult?
Nothing.
13:11
Likewise, knowledge with prophecies, languages, and other things are “baby legs,” but for the spiritual age of the adult Christ, the need for them will disappear by itself.
When I was a baby, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, reasoned like a child; and when he became a husband, he left behind his children.
Infants have very limited knowledge and experience, and they think within these limitations. The knowledge and experience of adults is many times greater than that of children, which is why adults think differently, relying on the knowledge and experience they acquired while growing up. In order to explain in more detail how to understand this: everything,
that partly will stop at the moment when
the perfect will come
- Paul gives a clear example of the difference between the perception of reality in an infant and an adult. An infant, for example, had limited knowledge, say, about semolina porridge,: he knows that he has porridge for breakfast, it is tasty, when he eats it, he stops feeling hungry. And this is enough for the baby to feel omniscient and happy at that moment.
Being a baby, he does not yet know and cannot comprehend the fact that semolina porridge, for example, does not appear out of nowhere, it is made from wheat and in order for it to get to the baby’s table, many people spend a lot of effort to produce it.
But when he grows up - what he knew partly about semolina porridge - stops, and more people come to him complete knowledge not only about porridge, but also about its composition, how it is produced, how it is useful, how much it costs, etc.
That is, the Christians from Corinth would have to learn: everything that they possess from the holy spirit at the present moment is only a tiny part of what they should actually possess according to God's plan. Love is the fullness of Christ’s adulthood; one must strive to acquire it (Eph. 4:11-16).
13:12
Now we see as if through a [dull] glass, fortune-telling, but then face to face; Now I know in part, but then I will know, even as I am known.
Through dim glass, a person is able to see only outlines and does not clearly see all the details of the picture.
The same is true with knowledge and spiritual vision: at the moment, being imperfect (babies), Christians have very limited ideas about God and His intentions, about His essence and feelings, they see only vague outlines of the true picture of things. But when everyone becomes perfect, both the knowledge and spiritual vision of God will be different for everyone, it will be revealed in all the transparency and completeness of the understanding that a perfect person (adult) possesses.
But this is a question for the future.
13:13
And now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but love is the greatest of them all.
And at this stage of the Christian path of this century, the main thing for a Christian to learn is that faith in God, hope for the future and love for God and neighbors are the basis of the necessary minimum for the believing “baby” of this century.
But even in this minimum there is a predominant facet for a believer: this is the ability to love just as God loves.
God's love in a Christian should be his most important inner quality.
Because both faith and hope, when the perfect comes and everything that they believed in and hoped for comes true, will be abolished and exhausted. Only the Christian himself and the endless expanses of the new world in the Millennium will remain before him. And if at that moment he turns out to be a NOT LOVING person, and does not learn to love as God loves, then he risks his future:
He who does not love his brother remains in death.
(1 John 3:14)
love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God
(1 John 4:7)
he who loves another fulfills the law
.
(Rom.13:8)
Only loving Christians will live in eternity.
Paul, by the will of God an Apostle of Jesus Christ, and Timothy brother.
Since the apostle sent Timothy to Corinth during his first epistle and then received him again when he returned, he rightly adds his name to his name. In addition, Timothy showed the Corinthians the experience of his virtue. Thus, the apostle mentions Timothy in this letter as a person already known to the Corinthians and who corrected many things among them. Notice that sometimes he calls him a son: as a son to his father, he says, he served me in the gospel (Phil. 2:22), sometimes a fellow worker: for he does the work of the Lord, just as I do (1 Cor. 16:10), and now a brother , presenting him in every respect worthy of respect.
Church of God located in Corinth.
He connects them again, saying; churches; for those who are divided do not constitute the church.
With all the saints throughout Achaia.
He mentions everyone living in Achaia, giving preference to the Corinthians, when through a letter to them he welcomes everyone, and at the same time calls on the entire people to agree. In addition, since they all hesitated, he offers them general medicine; does the same thing in the epistles to the Galatians and to the Hebrews. Calling them saints shows that if someone is unclean, then he is unworthy of this greeting and name.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
And now he uses the usual greeting, as described in other places.
In the first message he promised to come to them, but since he did not come, he assumed that he had greatly saddened them with the thought that he preferred others to them. So, wanting to justify himself and show that he was delayed by many temptations that happened to him, he offers an excellent explanation in his defense. I thank, he says, God, who saved me from danger; through this thanksgiving he hints that there were some great obstacles that held him back, for which he thanks for liberation. Put a punctuation mark on the word God, then start: and the Father of the Lord. If you understand this together: God and Father of the Lord, then there will be nothing new, for He is one and the same Christ - God in humanity, and Father in divinity.
Father of mercies and God of all comfort.
That is, He showed such great generosity that He brought us out from the very gates of death and honored us with every consolation in our sorrows. It was the custom of the saints to name God by the benefits they received from Him. Thus, on the occasion of victory in the war, David says: I will love You, O Lord, my strength (Ps. 17:2), and also: The Lord is the strength of my life (Ps. 27:1); on the occasion of deliverance from darkness and eclipse of the mind and from sadness: the Lord is my enlightenment (Ps. 29:1). So now Paul calls God the Father of bounties and the God of comfort because of what happened to him. Notice his humility: having received deliverance from temptations for the gospel, he does not say that the deliverance is due to merit, but according to the bounties of God.
Comforting us in all our sorrow.
He did not say: he who never ceases to depress us, but who comforts us in times of trouble; for if He allows us to be oppressed, it is so that through patience we may gain a reward; when he sees that we are exhausted, he consoles us; and it always does. Therefore, He did not say that He once consoled, but He consoled, that is, always; and not in this or that sorrow, but in every one.
So that we too can comfort those in any affliction with the consolation with which God comforts us.
Not because, he says, God consoles us because we are worthy of consolation, but so that, in the image of the consolation I experienced, I could comfort others who are in temptation. Therefore, you, seeing me so comforted, do not lose heart while in sorrow. Through this, it also points to the work of the apostles, to the fact that they were appointed in order to encourage and excite others, and not like false apostles who, being in bliss and sitting at home, neglect those in need of consolation and encouragement.
For as the sufferings of Christ increase in us, our consolation also increases through Christ.
Do not be discouraged, he says, no one who hears about sorrows and sufferings, for to the extent that they multiply, so do the consolations. He didn’t just say: suffering, but Christ’s, in order to inspire the Corinthians with this. Christ's sufferings are those that we endure and through this we become fellow-partners with Him in suffering. Therefore, let the greatest consolation for you be that you endure the sorrows of Christ and not only those, but greater ones. For, he says, Christ’s sufferings are multiplied in us: that is, we endure more than Christ endured. Feeling, however, how great he said, he softens the same, saying: our consolation is multiplied by Christ, for we relate everything to Him. And he did not say that consolation is equal to sorrows, but multiplies - much more than sorrows.
May we mourn, we mourn for your consolation and salvation.
You, he says, should not be embarrassed that I endure tribulations, because we undergo tribulations for your salvation and consolation. We could spend our lives in safety if we did not preach; but now, when we preach in order to save you and comfort your souls through preaching and the benefits that come from it, we are subjected to sorrows. So we endure tribulations for your salvation, but you should not be embarrassed.
Which is accomplished by enduring the same suffering that we endure.
He says that this salvation is accomplished not only through our patience, but also through yours; that is, it is not I alone who brings about your salvation, but you yourself. For just as when I preach, I endure sorrows, so you, when you receive the preaching, endure the same sufferings that I endure. He testifies to them of their great virtue by the fact that they accepted the sermon with temptations.
And our hope for you is firm.
That is, we are firmly confident in you that you will not fall away from temptation, therefore, all the more, do not be embarrassed when you see that we suffer.
Are we comforted, are we comforted for your consolation and salvation.
Since he said above: we endure sorrows for you, so that what was said does not seem unbearable, now he says: for you we are comforted, that is, our consolation is your consolation. For if we receive only a little inspiration, then this is enough to comfort you, because you become sharers of our joy.
Knowing that you participate both in our suffering and in our consolation.
Since you, he says, when we are persecuted, grieve as if you yourself were enduring it, we know that when we are comforted, you consider yourself to have received consolation.
For we do not want to leave you, brethren, ignorant of our sorrow that happened to us in Asia, because we were burdened excessively and beyond our strength, so that we did not hope to survive.
Since he mentioned grief vaguely, he now explains what kind of grief it was. Through this, love also shows to them, for it is characteristic of love to reveal to others what has happened. At the same time, he provides an explanation for his delay. In Asia, he says, tribulation happened to him, which he speaks about in the first epistle: for a great and wide door was opened for me, and there were many adversaries (1 Cor. 16:9). It would seem that he says the same thing when he expresses himself: excessively and beyond strength, but in fact they are not the same thing. He says this: the temptation was excessive, that is, great; then, since the temptation, being strong, can be courageously endured by those who are able to endure it, he says that it was not only great, but also exceeded our strength, that is, both great and unbearable, such that we even despaired and in life, that is, they no longer hoped to be alive. David calls this state the gates of hell, mortal diseases, because they give birth to death, and the shadow of death (Ps. 27:45,7).
But they themselves had a sentence of death.
They had a determination, a sentence, an answer, which the cases gave, although they did not utter a voice, that is, before we thought, the expectation of death and the sentence that the circumstances pronounced appeared, but in fact this did not happen.
In order to rely not on ourselves, but on God.
What, he says, was this for? So that we learn not to rely on ourselves, but only on God. However, Paul says this not because he himself now needs this instruction (for who has believed more that one should rely only on God?), but under the guise of telling about himself he admonishes others and at the same time teaches humility.
The One who raises the dead, who delivered us from such near death, and still does.
Again he reminds them of the sermon about the resurrection, about which he spoke so much in the first letter, and which the present circumstances confirm even more; That’s why he added: Who delivered us from such near death. He did not say: from danger, but from death. Although the resurrection is a future and unknown matter, he shows that it happens every day. For when God delivers a person who has approached the very gates of hell, this shows nothing other than resurrection; That is why we are in the habit of talking about a similar state of man: we saw the resurrection of the dead.
And in whom we hope that He will also deliver.
From here we learn that our life must constantly pass in struggle; for when he says he will deliver, he predicts a storm of many temptations.
With the assistance of your prayers for us.
Since the words not to rely on oneself could seem to some to be a general accusation concerning them, he softens what was said and asks for their prayers as a great intercession. From here we learn humility, because Paul needed the prayers of the Corinthians, and we learn the power of prayer itself, for the prayer of the Church, performed as it should, can do a lot, so Paul also needed it.
So that for what has been given to us, through the intercession of many, many may give thanks for us.
God has delivered us, he says, and will deliver us through your prayers, so that for what was given to us, through the intercession of many, that is, for the grace that was in me through your prayers, many people among you would give thanks. For He gave my salvation, which came through your prayers, to all of you, so that many people would thank Him for us. From here we learn not only to pray for each other, but also to thank each other. Pay attention to how at the beginning he says that he was saved by the generosity of God, and now he attributes salvation to their prayers, for we must combine our own mercies with the mercies of God. And here Paul did not attribute all of the good deeds to the Corinthians, so as not to lead them to arrogance, but he did not completely alienate them from this, so as not to make them careless. God, he says, will deliver us with the assistance of your prayer, that is, with your assistance.
For this praise of ours is a testimony of our conscience.
This, he says, serves as a source of consolation for us: our conscience, which testifies to us that we are persecuted and persecuted not because we were convicted of bad deeds, but for virtue and for the salvation of many. So, the first consolation came from God, and this, he says, comes from the purity of my conscience, therefore he calls it praise, thereby showing the great power of conviction that he had in a clear conscience.
That we are in simplicity and godly sincerity.
What, he says, does our conscience testify to us? and why do we boast? We acted in simplicity, that is, in kindness of heart, and in sincerity and openness of mind, having nothing to hide, nothing shameful: God accepts this. He said this referring to the insidious false apostles.
Not according to carnal wisdom.
That is, without refined words and intricately woven feelings. For such is the wisdom of the flesh that they are puffed up by it, but he rejects and despises it.
But by the grace of God, they lived in peace.
That is, according to God-given wisdom, signs and wonders that happened by the grace of God. The greatest consolation is when someone has evidence in himself that he does everything not by human strength, but by the grace of God. And they lived like this not only in Corinth, but all over the world.
Especially for you.
How? For the apostle preached the Gospel to them not only with signs, but also without any reward on their part. Notice how he attributes his own actions to the grace of God.
And we write to you nothing other than what you read or understand.
Since the apostle seemed to say a lot about himself, so that no one would say that this is self-praise, he says: we write to you what you read in this epistle and what you already know. For the knowledge you previously received about me does not contradict my messages. Some understood it this way: we write to you what you read, that is, what you remember; for reading is remembering, or the highest knowledge. And why, he says, am I saying what you remember, what you know, that it belongs to us and does not need reminding, as it is known?
And that, I hope, you will fully understand, since you have already partially understood.
He places everything on God. I hope, he says, in God, that you know us as our messages and our past life show. In part, you have already understood, that is, you know from experience, because we have already partially presented to you some evidence of a virtuous life. He said this out of modesty.
That we will be your praise, as you will be ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What will you find out? What is your praise, that is, that I am such that I can give you a means to boast about me, that you have such a teacher who does not teach anything human, nothing harmful, nothing insidious. Then, so that it does not seem that he is saying this about himself out of boasting, he makes the praise general and says: you too will be my praise; for I will boast that I had such disciples who did not waver, who did not succumb to the deceptions of the false apostles. When will we boast about each other? And now, but especially on that day. For even now many see the slander and reproach that we endure, and perhaps they even slander us, when everything will be exposed, and it will be clear about me that I am not what the slander of the false apostles represents me to be, and you too will our praise, because we did not join the seducers.
And in this confidence I intended to come to you earlier.
What hope? The fact that I am not aware of anything bad in myself, that I am your praise, that I was converted not in carnal wisdom, but in the grace of God, and that, finally, you are witnesses of all this for me. That's why I intended to come to you.
So that you may receive grace a second time.
That is, double joy: one from the first message, and the other from my presence.
And through you we will go to Macedonia.
In the first letter he said: I will come to you when I pass through Macedonia (1 Cor. 16:5), but here he says: I intended to come to you earlier. What? Doesn't he contradict himself? No. For although I wrote differently, he says, I tried and wanted to come to you before I saw Macedonia. I was so far from being careless in coming to you and delaying the fulfillment of my promise that I even wanted to come earlier.
From Macedonia I will come to you again; and you would take me to Judea.
In the first letter he said vaguely: so that you accompany me where I will go (1 Cor. 16:6), fearing that, having said that he would go to Judea, and then being forced by the Spirit to go to another place, he would not appear to be a liar. Now, when he was unable to come to them, he boldly says that he wanted them to accompany him to Judea; but it pleased God that I should not come to you at all and should not be escorted by you to Judea. Listen further.
Having such an intention, did I act frivolously? Or, what I undertake, do I undertake according to the flesh, so that with me it is sometimes “yes, yes”, sometimes “no, no”?
Here he justifies himself more clearly regarding the delay, saying that he wanted to come to them, but why didn’t he come? Is it because I am frivolous and fickle, reasoning this way or that way? No. Or do I desire according to the flesh, that is, humanly, and am guided by my own will, so that whatever I decide for myself, I do, whether it be yes or no? Not at all. But I am under the control of the Spirit and have no power to go where I want, but where He commands. Therefore, with me, “yes” often does not happen “yes,” for this happens to be displeasing to the Spirit, and “no” does not happen “no,” for what I deny is commanded by the Spirit. Note wisdom, how what slanderers made as a pretext for slander, namely, that he did not come, although he promised, turns into praise, saying that he has no power over himself, but the Spirit leads him where He pleases. What? Did he really make a promise not with the assistance of the Spirit, but out of ignorance of the future? Out of ignorance, because I didn’t know everything. So I prayed, sometimes for what was useless, for example, for the removal of temptations (2 Cor. 12:7-9). And in Acts there is an example that this was beneficial so that people would not treat the apostles as gods, as happened with the Lycaonians (Acts 14:11).
God is faithful that our word to you was not either “yes” or “no.”
Refutes the objection that arises. Someone could quite rightly say: if what you say is not firm, but you often say “yes”, but it turns out “no”, then we are afraid whether your teaching is not like this, whether your preaching is not like this - “yes” and “no”, that is, fickle and unstable? To refute this objection, he says that the promise to come to them was his business, which is why it was not fulfilled; As for preaching, it is the work of God, and what is from God is inaccessible to lies. That is why he said: God is faithful, that is, true, and since He is true, His word to you, preached by us, is neither fickle nor unstable, sometimes “yes” and sometimes “no.”
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, preached among you by us, by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not “yes” and “no”; but in Him there was a “yes.”
Finally he says which word was not “yes” and “no”. The One whom we preached to you was not “yes” and “no,” that is, it was not preached one thing now and now another, but it was “yes,” that is, it was preached firmly and without hesitation. He also lists many of those who preached, presenting their testimony as worthy of faith and at the same time teaching humility, for he presents his disciples as co-teachers.
For all the promises of God are in Him “Yes” and in Him “Amen” - to the glory of God, through us.
There are many promises in the sermon: the resurrection of the dead, adoption and, in general, the hope of the future age. So, he says that not only is the sermon always exactly the same and is proclaimed with immutability, but also the promises contained in it; for they are God's. And what God has promised is in Him “yes” and in Him “amen,” that is, it is immutable; for it is fulfilled not in any of the people, but in God Himself, which is why it is immutable. Moreover, they serve for His glory, and, of course, if for nothing else, then for His own glory God will fulfill His promises. How to fulfill them? Through us, that is, through good deeds to us. For we who receive the promises give Him a reason to fulfill these promises. If the promises of God are true, then much more is God Himself faithful and the word about Him is sure. Words through us can be understood in another way, that is, to the glory of God, exalted to Him through us; for He is glorified through us.
He who confirms you and me in Christ and anoints us is God, who sealed us and gave the pledge of the Spirit into our hearts.
Having said above that God will fulfill the promises, now confirms this. That, he says, that you and I, your teacher, stand firmly in faith in Christ, was given by God, who anointed us and sealed us, that is, made us prophets, kings and priests. For such is everyone who is baptized: he is a prophet, as one who sees what eye has not seen and ear has not heard; he is a priest, as one who must offer himself as a living, holy sacrifice, pleasing to God; he is a king, as the son of the King of God and the heir of the future Kingdom, and as now reigning over inappropriate thoughts and placed above the whole world. As in ancient times priests and kings were anointed with oil, so now we are anointed with the Spirit, when God gave the deposit of the Spirit into our hearts. If he gave a deposit, then, of course, he will give everything. And he calls the gifts of the Spirit now being given as a pledge; For we understand in part and prophesy in part, but we will receive what is perfect when Christ appears in His glory. So, do not think that we promise, lest we appear to be liars. For it is not we who establish you, but God both promises and confirms both me and you; for He Himself will fulfill everything. Therefore, understand that God, who does this and that, will Himself fulfill His promises.
I call God to be a witness for my soul, that, sparing you, I have not yet come to Corinth.
Above he said that he did not come to them because he had no power over himself and was not allowed by the Spirit. How can he now say that he did not come to spare them? Because either this very thing happened by the will of the Spirit, that is, the Spirit inspired him with the idea not to go in order to spare them, or - at first the Spirit forbade him, and then he himself, deciding that it was better, stayed. Notice the wisdom of the apostle. While they said: you didn’t come because you seemed to hate us, then they say the opposite: I didn’t come because I spare you. He says this because there were some among them who sinned and did not repent, whom he would have punished if, when he came, he found them not corrected. So, I stayed so that I could come back when they had corrected themselves and not have any reason to punish me.
Not because we take power over your faith; but we will promote your joy.
Since what was said resonated with power (for the one who has the power to punish them can spare others), he softens the harshness of the speech: “I didn’t say because I’m sparing you, because I would like to rule over your faith, for faith is a matter of will and no one is forced to believe against their will, but, considering your joy to be my joy, I did not come so as not to plunge you into sadness and not to be saddened myself. For I do everything for your joy, and I remain so that only by threat I can correct those who have sinned and not cause you any sorrow.
For in your faith you are strong.
He talks to them with meekness, since in the first letter he had already amazed them enough. His words mean the following: as for faith, you stand in it, and I had no reason to complain about you, but in other respects you wavered, and if you had not corrected yourself and I had rebelled against you, then I would have saddened both you and myself. would cause sadness.
Interpretation Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Bulgaria
Corinth, famous for its great wealth and wisdom, although it believed in Christ, but having believed, it was in danger of falling away from Christ. For the rich formed their parties, and the wise men theirs, and, having chosen teachers for themselves, they reproached Paul as a poor and uneducated man. In addition, one of them was mixed with his stepmother; some, out of gluttony, ate things sacrificed to idols; others in monetary litigation were tried before Hellenic judges; further, men grew their hair long, ate in churches and did not give to the needy; exalted themselves with spiritual gifts; they hesitated regarding the doctrine of the resurrection. The cause of all these disorders was external wisdom; for she is the mother of all evils for those who believe her in everything. Therefore Paul writes a letter to Corinth with the purpose of correcting all this. Since, most importantly, there were divisions in the Church, and this came from arrogance; then he first of all tries to destroy arrogance. Those infected with arrogance thought that they were teaching something higher. That's why Paul begins as follows.