Theophylact of Ohrid

In his own words on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:1

  Here is the beginning, directly exposing the false teachers. I, he says, was called, and did not invent it myself, did not attain it by my own wisdom, and was sent by Christ, and did not ordain myself, as your teachers did. "Jesus Christ." The Teacher is Christ: how then do you appoint men as teachers for yourselves? "By the will" (δια θελήματος) "of God." He saved and called us not because we were worthy of it, but because it was pleasing to Him. Therefore now He Himself also wills that I be your apostle. How then do you desire other teachers for yourselves? Are you not opponents of God? Note the preposition δια (through), which here refers to the Father. "And Sosthenes the brother." Out of humility he places alongside himself a man who was far lesser than he; and he does this in order to shame the high-minded Corinthians, who despised everyone.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:2

  "To the church of God which is at Corinth." The Church is not of this or that person, but of God. How then do you have men as your leaders? If, again, you are the Church, then you must be in perfect unity. "To those sanctified in Christ Jesus." You were sanctified not in some human being, but in Christ, that is, through baptism, and not through wisdom or wealth, of which you boast. "Called to be saints." And that very thing, he says, that you believed, is not from you, but you obeyed and believed because you were called by God. Therefore faith too has its beginning from God; for if He had not called, you would not have believed. "With all who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Grace, he says, and peace be not only with you, Corinthians, but also with all who call upon the name of Christ, and not of this one or that one. "In every place, both theirs and ours." He mentions the believers in every place in order to show that all believers constitute one Church, wherever they may be. How then have you, living in one city, become divided? On the other hand, he added "our." For having said "of our Lord Jesus Christ" and placed in the middle "in every place," he repeated and said the Lord "both theirs and ours," in order to show that the Master is one for all. Some, however, understand these words as they stand: in every place, both theirs and ours, that is, in which both we live and they.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:3

  Grace and peace from God. Even before, when we were at enmity against Him, we received peace by His grace, and I pray that from God both may always be yours, that is, that you be deprived of neither His grace nor peace; because you live in discord among yourselves. How then do you turn to men and seek from them, as from teachers, grace and favor?

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:4

  "I give thanks unceasingly." He teaches us to be thankful. He does this in almost every epistle; but now he speaks of thankfulness especially fittingly. For thankfulness is for a benefaction, and a benefaction is neither a debt nor a recompense. Consequently, by this too he brings down the pride of the Corinthians. "My God." He appropriates to himself, out of great love, the God who is common to all. "For you, on account of the grace of God." This teaches the Corinthians as well to always nurture grateful feelings toward God and not toward their own works, for he says: I give thanks "for the grace of God," and not for your works. "Given to you in Christ Jesus." That is, through Christ Jesus, and not through such-and-such a person. Why then do you give heed to men?

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:5

  "Because in Him (ἐν αὐτῷ) you were enriched in everything." "In Him" is again used in place of "through Him (δι' αυτού)." So when you have richness, and the richness of God, and in all things, and through the Only-Begotten Himself, how is it that you, ungrateful ones, appoint men as your teachers? "In all utterance and in all knowledge." There is also speech without reason, when, for example, someone speaks empty words, without any thought. There is also reason without speech, when someone thinks about lofty subjects but cannot find words to express them. But you have both speech and divine reason, so that you are able both to think and to speak.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:6

  For the word stands in place of: "through which" (δι᾿ ων). Through the word, he says, and knowledge, by which you were enriched, the "testimony," that is, the preaching about Christ, was confirmed in you; for you received this preaching not through outward wisdom, but through signs and gifts, of which you were deemed worthy.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:7

  "So that you come behind in no gift." If they had no lack in gifts, then how does he later call them (1 Cor. 3:1) carnal? To this we shall say: not all were spiritual, and not all were carnal; therefore everything he speaks of now, he speaks to the spiritual, and what follows he speaks to the carnal. Or: perhaps in the beginning they received all manner of gifts, but afterwards became negligent and began to live according to the flesh. "Awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ." Here he frightens them by reminding them of the second coming of Christ. For if Christ shall appear, then how is it that you have alien leaders? He also shows that along with gifts, virtues are also necessary. For on that day, gifts will in no way help the one who has not lived virtuously (Matt. 7:21–23). Finally, by the word "appearing" he expresses the thought that Christ is present even now, but in a hidden way, and then He shall be manifest.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:8

  By the word "will confirm" he shows that they are wavering, and by the word "blameless" he expresses that now they are subject to accusation. In this epistle more frequently than in others he mentions the Lord Jesus Christ, in order to remind the Corinthians by Whom they were saved and Whose name they bear. For Christians are called so from Christ, and not from the name of any man.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:9

  That is, God is true. If He is true, and has called us into the fellowship of His Son, that is, to be glorified together with the Son in His Kingdom, then it is evident that He will fulfill what He promised. "You were called," he says, and did not come of your own accord. How then do you boast, as though by your own works? Note here that the word "by Whom" refers directly to the Father.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:10

  "I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Intending to speak to them more sternly, he first declares that he beseeches them by Christ. I, he says, cannot ask you alone, but I take to my aid the name of the Lord, from whose name you are called Christians and which you have insulted by wishing to be called by the names of men. Let this bring you to shame! "That you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you." What do I beseech you about? That you all be in agreement and not be divided. For that which is divided, although it may seem to become many instead of one, in reality does not become many (for what use is a body cut into many parts?): in it unity has perished. Thus, he very expressively called what was happening among them "divisions"; by this word he clearly shows how calamitous their condition was. "But that you be joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." Above he said: "that you all speak the same thing." Therefore, lest they think that agreement consists only in words, he adds: "in one spirit," that is, I beseech you to be in agreement also in your thoughts. But many think alike about one subject, yet differently about another; therefore he added: "joined together in one spirit." Furthermore, many are in agreement in their way of thinking, but diverge in the disposition of their will (for when we have one and the same faith, but are not united with one another by love, then although we think alike, we diverge in the disposition of our will). Therefore, having said: "in one spirit," he added: "and in one mind," that is, so that they would disagree neither regarding faith nor regarding the disposition of their will.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:11

  "For it has been made known to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of the household of Chloe." Lest they begin to deny it, he brings forward witnesses, and lest it seem as though he is inventing them, he names them, saying: "from the household of Chloe" (there was a house in Corinth called Chloe's). He also calls them "brethren": for although their sin was evident, nothing prevented him from calling them brethren. However, he did not say who exactly informed him, but pointed to the whole household in general, so as not to arm them against those who had informed. "That there are contentions among you." Revealing what he has heard from others, he uses a softer expression — "contentions," but when he speaks in his own person, he calls the same thing "divisions" (1 Cor. 1:10), which is much worse than "contentions."

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:12

  Not some say this, but "among you." The Corinthians, however, did not actually say this, but the apostle gives such a turn of phrase, wishing to show that if it is unforgivable to call oneself followers of Paul and of Cephas, then all the more so of the names of others. "I am of Cephas." He mentioned Peter after himself not in order to exalt himself, but showing him greater preference, just as he mentioned Christ after. In general, in matters that ought not to be, he mentions his own person first. "And I am of Christ." He does not reproach them for saying "I am of Christ," but for the fact that not all say this; or rather, he added this on his own, wishing to make the rebuke stronger and to show that in such a case even Christ is appropriated by one party, although the Corinthians did not actually do this.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:13

  "Is Christ divided?" Why have you divided Christ? Why have you torn apart His body? A speech filled with anger. Some, however, understood the words "is Christ divided?" in this way: has Christ divided the Church from the people and taken one part for Himself, while giving the other part to them? "Was Paul crucified for you?" By this he refutes their unreasonable behavior, and mentions his own name, so that they would not think he mentioned the names of others out of envy. He did not say: did Paul create or bring you from non-being into being? But, what is much more, showing the ineffable love of Christ for mankind, he speaks of the cross. He also did not say: "did Paul die," but: "was crucified," pointing thereby to the supposed dishonor of the death. "Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" And I, he says, baptized many, but in the name of Christ. He speaks of baptism because the cause of the division was also that they called themselves by the names of those who baptized them. But the point is not who baptized, but in whose name one baptizes; for it is Christ who forgives sins, not the one who baptizes.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:14

  Why, he says, do you boast that you baptize, when I thank God that I did not baptize? He says this not in order to diminish the importance of baptism, but in order to restrain the Corinthians, who boasted of baptism. For baptism is an important matter, but to baptize is not an important one.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:15

  I say this not because it was actually so, but out of fear that the disease might reach such a degree. For if division arose when baptism was performed by insignificant people, then if I, who preached baptism, had baptized, some would certainly have agreed to attribute the baptism to me.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:16

  "I also baptized the household of Stephanas." That is, all who were in the house of Stephanas. He was a great and most illustrious man in Corinth. "And whether I baptized anyone else, I do not know." For me, he says, it is so unflattering to baptize that I do not even remember whether I baptized anyone else. So how can you take pride in baptism?

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:17

  "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel." Preaching the Gospel is far more difficult and required an especially steadfast soul; for to persuade a person and turn him away from ancestral traditions, and moreover amid dangers, is the work of a great and courageous soul. But to receive one prepared for baptism and baptize him, anyone who held the priesthood could do. But if he was not sent to baptize, then how did he baptize? He was not sent for this as his primary purpose; but neither was he forbidden to baptize. He was sent for a more important work; yet he was not forbidden to perform the less important one as well. "Not in the wisdom of word, lest the cross of Christ be made void." Having overthrown the arrogance of those who boasted in baptism, he now turns to those who were puffed up with worldly wisdom, and says: (Christ) sent me to preach the gospel "not in wisdom of speech," that is, not with eloquence and refined words, lest the cross or the preaching of the cross should suffer harm and degradation; for what does "lest it be made void" mean? That is, lest it prove useless and vain. Indeed, if the apostles had preached with wisdom of speech, some might have said that they persuaded by the power of words, and not by the power of what was preached; and this would have been a degradation and harm to the Crucified One. But now, preaching with simplicity, they show that the power of the Crucified One accomplishes everything. The cross is also made void in another way. For example, a Greek asks me about something divine that surpasses our understanding. If I try to prove it to him by means of syllogisms and worldly wisdom, I will prove weak; for no intellect can adequately represent divine things. Thus my weakness will appear to be the weakness of the preaching, and by this the cross itself will be made void, because it will appear futile and vain.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:18

  "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing." There were in Corinth unbelievers who subjected the cross to mockery and said: truly, it is foolish to preach a crucified God, for if He were God, He would not have allowed Himself to be crucified; and since He could not escape death, how could He have risen from the dead? The faithful, it seems, opposed them with their own wisdom, indignant that those people were blaspheming the cross. Therefore he also says: do not consider this strange; for that which is given by God for salvation seems foolishness to those who are perishing. By "the word of the cross" he means the preaching of the cross, or of Christ crucified. "For us who are being saved, it is the power of God." For us, he says, who are not perishing but being saved, it is the power of God. But the cross also shows wisdom. It shows power in that by death He destroyed death, for if the one who has fallen conquers, this is a sign of the greatest power; and wisdom — in that He saved the perishing in precisely this manner.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:19

  Having said that the unbelieving wise men perish, he confirms this with Scripture: for it says, "the wisdom of his wise men shall perish" (Isa. 29:14), namely, of the external ones, that is, in the wisdom of this world there is no understanding (this is no longer wisdom), and the understanding of those who consider themselves intelligent and knowledgeable has been rejected.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:20

  Having brought forward testimony from Scripture, he then proves his thought from deeds, and exposes both the Greeks with the words "where is the wise man," that is, the philosopher, and the Jews with the words "where is the scribe?" And he called "disputers" those who base everything on syllogisms and investigations. None of them saved us; but the fishermen led us out of error. The expression "has not God turned the wisdom of this world into foolishness?" stands in place of: He showed that it was foolish, because it could not find the truth.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:21

  He gives the reason why worldly wisdom turned into foolishness. Since in the wisdom manifest in creatures (for heaven and earth and all creation proclaims the Creator: see Ps. 19:2; Rom. 1:20), "the world," that is, those who think in worldly terms, did not know God (evidently because wisdom of the kind seen in eloquence hindered it from doing so), it pleased God to save believers through the simplicity of preaching (which only seemed like foolishness but was not truly so). Thus the Greeks had as their teacher the wisdom of God, that is, the wisdom discerned in creatures, yet they did not know God, because they were guided by the wisdom that consists in eloquence, which is not true wisdom.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:22-23

  Paul wants to show how God produced opposite effects by opposite means, and says: when I tell a Jew "believe," he immediately demands signs to confirm the preaching, but we preach Christ crucified; and this not only does not show signs, but on the contrary appears to be weakness, and yet this very thing, which seems feeble and opposite to what the Jew demands, brings him to faith, which demonstrates the great power of God. Again: the Greeks seek wisdom from us; but we preach the cross to them, which is to preach a crucified God; this would seem to be foolishness, yet they too are persuaded by it. Therefore, is this not proof of the greatest power, when they are persuaded by the very opposite of what they themselves demand?

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:23

  For the Jews, he says, the Crucified One is a stumbling block; for they stumble over Him, saying: how can He be God who ate and drank both with tax collectors and with sinners and was crucified with robbers? And the Greeks mock this mystery as foolishness, when they hear that only by faith alone, and not by the rational arguments to which they are so attached, can one understand that God was crucified and that the preaching of the cross is not adorned with eloquence.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:24

  For the unbelieving Jews, he says, Christ serves as a stumbling block, and for the unbelieving Greeks He seems foolishness, because both groups do not find in Him the signs and wisdom they seek. But to the "called" among both Jews and Greeks — that is, those called by God as worthy — Christ manifests in Himself both of these things they seek. Why, indeed, do you, O Jew, seek signs? Behold, Christ is the power of God, who works signs. And you, O Greek, what do you say? You seek wisdom? Behold, you have Christ, who is the wisdom of the Father.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:25

  He calls the cross foolishness because that is what people thought of it; yet it is wiser than men. For the philosophers occupied themselves with empty and useless subjects, while the cross saved the world. Furthermore, it appears weak, as though the crucified Christ were weak, but in reality He is stronger than men, not only because He flourishes more and more despite the efforts of countless people to extinguish this Name, but also because by this seemingly weak instrument the strong devil was bound. You may, however, understand this also in another way: what is most wise in God is called unwise, that is, foolish, and everything most powerful is called weak, just as His most exalted light is called gloom and darkness.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:26

  Consider, he says, and examine those called to the faith, and you will find that "not many of you are wise according to the flesh," that is, in outward appearance, in a manner suited to the present life. He did not say: there is not a single wise person, but: "not many," because there were believers even among the wise, for example, the Areopagite, the proconsul, and others whose names are now unknown; some from among the powerful and noble also believed. Therefore he said of all: "not many." So then, behold the power of the preaching, how it taught such wise doctrines to uneducated people, and how worldly wisdom proved to be useless.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:27

  Indeed, for the Greeks it is the greatest shame to see that a common craftsman surpasses them in philosophy, and that the weak and despised humbles the strong and wealthy.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:28

  He calls "things that are not" those who were regarded as nothing, and "things that are" those who seemed to be something. So then, in order to show these latter to be vain and useless people, God chose those who were regarded as nothing. And when you hear "chose," do not think that He necessarily wanted to choose the despised and reject the distinguished; no, but since the distinguished were puffed up by their own wisdom and therefore did not accept the preaching, God found more capable of receiving it those who had nothing to boast of.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:29

  So that no flesh should boast before Him. For this reason, he says, God acted in this way, to bring down the pride and boasting of those who were thinking about worldly things, and to convince them that they should ascribe everything received from Him to Him and not boast before Him. How then do you, Corinthians, take pride in this? Note in passing, we did not say without reason that those who were rejected were not deemed worthy of the preaching because of their pride.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:30

  "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus." The words "of Him" understand not as referring to being brought into existence in general, but into a better existence. The meaning of the words is this: you have become children of God, and "of Him," having become His sons "in Christ," that is, through Christ. And by the words "the base things He chose," he shows that they are nobler than all, because they have God as their Father. "Who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." That is, He made us wise, and righteous, and holy, and free; for this is what "redemption" means, that is, liberation from captivity. Furthermore, just as, having chosen the ignoble, He made them noble, because He adopted them as children of God, so also He made the uneducated wise, having Himself become wisdom for us. Why then did he not say: He made us wise, but: "became wisdom for us"? In order to express the abundance of the gift. He as it were said: He gave us His very Self. Having used lofty expressions about the Son, he adds: "from God," so that you would not consider Him (the Son) unbegotten, but would turn to His cause, the Father. And note the order: first, He made them wise, delivering them from error and teaching them the knowledge of God; then righteous, granting them the remission of sins; then He sanctified them with the Holy Spirit, and thus granted us perfect freedom and "redemption" from all evils, so that we belong to Him alone and are under His authority.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 1:31

  All this, he says, was done so that no one would consider himself to be something and would boast neither in himself nor in any other person, but only in God, Who has granted us such great blessings. How then do you take pride both in yourselves and in your teachers — mere men?

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:1

  Not only, he says, were the disciples of the Gospel chosen from among men who were not wise and not of noble birth, but the preacher of the Gospel himself came proclaiming to you "the testimony of God," that is, the death of Christ, without eloquence and human wisdom. Note then that the preacher was a simple and uneducated man, and the subject of the preaching was the cross and death, and yet they prevailed. Thus it is evident that the power which accomplished all this is ineffable. What then? Could Paul, even if he had wished, not have come with wisdom? He himself could not, because he truly was a simple and uneducated man; but Christ, Who granted him even greater things, could have — only this would not have been advantageous for the preaching. For there is more glory for Christ in the fact that He conquered others through the simplicity of Paul than if He had achieved this through wisdom and eloquence.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:2

  And Christ, he says, wanted this, that is, for me to be a simple man, and I myself recognized it as good — to not know external wisdom at all, but to know only that Jesus Christ was crucified, and to be able to preach to you about Him.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:3

  Not only, he says, did I come to you poor in speech, but I also lived among you in weakness, and fear and trembling, that is, amid persecutions, trials and countless dangers. For he himself as a human being feared dangers, even trembled at them; therefore he is also worthy of great praise, that being of the same nature as us, he surpassed us by his will. With the words stated above he shows the power of Christ, that is, that He overcame so many obstacles, and at the same time he overthrows the pride of the Corinthians, who relied on wisdom, wealth and strength.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:4

  My preaching, he says, was not adorned with outward persuasiveness and eloquence, but consisted "in demonstration of the Spirit," that is, it had as its proof the Holy Spirit Himself. This means either that the apostle, through his grace-filled ministry of the Word, instilled faith in his listeners in some extraordinary manner, or that he performed signs and wonders; for he adds: "and of power," that is, of signs. Indeed, to see the dead rising was a powerful proof of the truth of the faith. But since demons also produce signs through delusion, the apostle added the word "power," having said "Spirit" first, showing by this that his signs depended on the Holy Spirit. However, the word "power" can also be understood differently, for having said he came not in "wisdom" but in "weakness," the words "in demonstration of the Spirit" he relates to wisdom, and the word "power" he contrasts with weakness, as if saying: although I endured persecutions and was beaten with scourges, I proved to be even stronger, and this serves as the greatest proof for the word.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:5

  By human wisdom he means persuasiveness and eloquence, while by the power of God, as shown above, he means the strengthening of the weak and the persecuted, as well as the manifestation of signs. It was by these means, O Corinthians, that your faith was established — not by the ability to express oneself persuasively and eloquently, but by the power of God.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:6

  Above he called the preaching foolishness, because that is what the Greeks called it. But, having proved by the deed itself that it is true wisdom, he finally boldly calls the preaching about Christ wisdom and salvation through the cross; for to destroy death by death is truly a matter of the greatest wisdom. He calls the faithful "perfect"; for they are indeed perfect, because, having despised all earthly things, they strive toward the heavenly. By "wisdom of this age" he means secular wisdom, since it is temporal and ends together with this age; by "rulers of this age" he means not demons, as some have thought, but wise men, orators, rhetoricians, who were together with the leaders and chiefs of the people. Since they too are temporal, he calls them "rulers of this age" and "passing away," that is, ceasing to exist, and not eternal.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:7

  He calls the preaching about Christ a mystery. For it is both a proclamation and at the same time a mystery, because even the angels did not know of it before it was announced (1 Pet. 1:12), and we, seeing one thing in it, understand another: thus I see the cross and suffering, but understand power; I hear "servant," but worship the Master. This wisdom is hidden from unbelievers completely, but for the faithful only in part; for now we see as in a mirror (1 Cor. 13:12). By the word "foreordained" he indicates God's love for us. For he truly loves us who was ready long beforehand to bestow blessings upon us. So also God before the ages foreordained for us salvation through the cross, a salvation constituting the greatest wisdom. He said "for our glory" because He made us partakers of glory. For to be participants together with the Lord in a hidden mystery constitutes glory for a servant.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:8

  Princes here refers to Herod and Pilate. It would not be wrong, however, to also understand this as meaning the chief priests and scribes. The words "of this age" express, as was shown above, their temporal power. If they had known the hidden wisdom, as was said above, and the mysteries of the divine economy, namely the mystery of God's incarnation, the mystery of the cross, the mystery of the calling and adoption of the Gentiles, the mystery of rebirth, sonship, and the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven — in a word, all the mysteries revealed to the apostles by the Holy Spirit — and likewise if the chief priests had known that their city would be conquered and they themselves would be led into captivity, then they would not have crucified Christ. He called Christ here "the Lord of glory." That is, since they regarded the cross as something dishonorable, he shows that Christ in no way lost His glory through the cross; on the contrary, He was glorified even more, because through the cross He more clearly revealed His love for mankind. So then, if they did not know, ought this sin to have been forgiven them? Yes; if after this they had repented and turned back, the sin would have been forgiven them, just as it was forgiven Paul and others among the Jews.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:9

  The words "and so it happened" are missing. The Apostle in many places employs the figure of omission. What then has God prepared for those who love Him? The knowledge of Christ and salvation through the incarnation. This no human eye has seen, nor human ear heard, nor human heart imagined. The prophets, however, did not see with human eyes, nor hear with human ears, nor comprehend the revelations about Christ with a human mind (Isa. 64:4), but everything in them was divine. For it is said: "The Lord... has given me an ear" (Isa. 50:4), that is, a spiritual one, and other things similar to this. And who are those who love God? The faithful. Where, furthermore, is this saying written? Perhaps it was indeed written in these very words, but now that book no longer exists, or perhaps the wise Paul expressed with this saying the following words: "they shall see that which had not been told them, and shall understand that which they had not heard" (Isa. 52:15).

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:10

  Someone might ask: if it has not entered the heart of man, then how did you learn of this? He answers: God revealed it to us by the Spirit, and not by human wisdom. For it was neither worthy nor able to see the mysteries of God. Such, he says, was this mystery and so hidden that we could not have learned of it from anyone, had the Spirit not taught us, who knows even the depths of God. The word "searches" indicates not ignorance, but perfect knowledge, just as it is also said of the Father: "You search the hearts" (Ps. 7:10), meaning: You know the depth of hearts. It can also be understood this way: the Spirit is said to search the mysteries of God in the sense that He delights in contemplating them.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:11

  He shows the perfect knowledge of the Spirit in the subsequent words as well. For just as the human spirit knows what is in man, so, he says, the Spirit of God knows what belongs to God. From this we learn, among other things, that the Spirit is not of a different essence compared to the Father, just as the spirit of man is not different compared to the man.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:12

  He called the spirit of this world human wisdom. It is not this wisdom that we received, lest it render our preaching vain and useless; no, our teacher was the Spirit "from God," that is, a being consubstantial with God, proceeding from His essence. The Spirit, he says, is light, and this very light we have received, so that, being enlightened by it, we might know what was hidden until now. What is this? "That which is given to us by God," that is, everything that pertains to the dispensation of Christ, namely: how He died for us, how He made us children of God, how in Himself He also seated us at the right hand of the Father. Consequently, those who do not have the Spirit do not know those mysteries.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:13

  We, he says, have all the more wisdom in comparison with the Greek sages, in that they were instructed by men, whereas we speak by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. That is, if any spiritual questions arise, we judge them, that is, we resolve them by means of other spiritual teachings or narratives. So, for example, the spiritual question: did Christ rise from the dead? We discuss and resolve on the basis of another spiritual teaching, namely the narrative of Jonah. In a similar manner, another question: how could a Virgin give birth? is resolved by the barrenness of Sarah, Rebekah, and Elizabeth, who conceived not according to the laws of nature, since conception depends on the power of the womb, and likewise by the fact that Eve came from Adam without seed, as well as by other cases considered in relation to the coming of man into the world. However, the words "comparing spiritual things with spiritual" you may also understand thus: discussing and resolving spiritual questions together with spiritual people, for they alone can understand them. Therefore he adds what follows.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:14

  The natural man is one who relies in everything on his own reasoning and does not think that he needs higher help, and one who does not wish to accept anything by faith, and considers everything that cannot be proved to be foolishness. So then, the one who thinks that everything occurs by the natural order, and admits nothing supernatural, he calls natural, that is, governed by nature: for his soul occupies itself only with the economy of nature. And just as the bodily eyes, beautiful in themselves and exceedingly useful, cannot see anything without light, so too the soul, having been made capable of receiving the Holy Spirit, cannot without Him contemplate divine things. That is, he does not understand that such matters require faith and cannot be grasped by reason; for this means "these things must be judged spiritually," that is, they have their proofs in faith and in the Spirit.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:15

  The spiritual man, he says, knows all things; he knows that everything here is temporary, while the future is permanent; he knows that he will receive salvation, and that the unfaithful will be punished. Therefore he also exposes them, "yet he himself is judged by no one," that is, they cannot expose him, for the one who sees perceives both his own things and those belonging to the unseeing; on the contrary, they, like blind men, see neither their own things nor those that belong to him.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 2:16

  He calls the spiritual mind the mind of the Lord. The word "judge" (συμβιβάσει) stands in place of: correct (διορθώσεται). Having said above: "no one can judge about the spiritual," he now proves that he said this rightly. "For who has known the mind of the Lord" so as to venture to "judge" it, that is, to correct it? For if no one can even know the mind of the Lord, and such is the mind of the spiritual man, then all the more can no one teach him or correct him. Do not be surprised, he says, that I called the spiritual man and his mind the mind of the Lord. All of "we have the mind of Christ," that is, everything that we know has been revealed to us by Christ, and our understanding (τον νουν) concerning divine things we have from Christ; in other words: the knowledge that we have about spiritual matters of faith, we have from Christ, so that truly no one can judge us. Some, however, called the Father the mind of Christ, while others called it the Spirit.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

  In the mysteries of Christ, he says, you are still infants, therefore I gave you milk to drink, that is, the simplest teaching, and did not offer you solid food, that is, more perfect teaching. Why? Because you were not yet able (to receive it). And to bring down their pride, he adds: "and even now you are not able," for you still think about fleshly things. Do you see: they are not able to receive such teaching because they do not want to be spiritual, but remain fleshly.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 3:1

  Above he was bringing down the pride of the Corinthians in worldly wisdom; but, lest they say: we boast not in that, but in spiritual wisdom, he now shows that even in our wisdom they had not attained perfection, but still remained imperfect, and he says that they had not yet heard anything about more perfect subjects. He well said "I could not," lest they think that he did not speak to them about more perfect things out of envy. The reason I could not speak to you as to perfect ones is that you are still occupied with fleshly things. But how did they, being fleshly, perform signs? Indeed, they were such, as was also said in the beginning. But it is possible both to work signs and at the same time to be fleshly, like those people who cast out demons in the name of Christ. For signs are for the benefit of others and therefore are often performed even through the unworthy.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 3:3

  Everything that was said above, he spoke to the leaders who prided themselves on their wisdom and nobility, but now he turns to the subordinates and says: I rightly call you carnal, because among you there is envy, strife, and divisions. He could have accused them of fornication and many other vices as well; but since divisions and strife had especially intensified among them, he mentions these. It is important to note that everywhere he joins envy with strife. This is because from envy come strife, and from strife come divisions. But if all these disorders exist among you, then "are you not walking according to human custom?" that is, are you not thinking in a carnal, human, and earthly manner?

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 3:4

  He designates by the names of Paul and Apollos the distinguished men and teachers among the Corinthians.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 3:5

  And even this, he says, small service we do not have of ourselves, but received it from the Lord, each in his own measure.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 3:5

  Having put forward his own and Apollos's name, he faithfully achieves his purpose. He reasons as follows: if we are nothing, then what is to be said of your teachers? We, he says, are "servants," and not the very root and source of blessings — that source is Christ. Therefore we ought not to be puffed up, since we have delivered to you blessings received from God; for all things belong to Him, the giver of blessings. He did not say: we are evangelists, but: "servants" — this is because evangelism encompasses only teaching, whereas service includes deeds as well.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 3:6

  I, he says, was the first to sow the preaching; but Apollos, by his constant teaching, did not allow the seed to wither from the heat of the temptations of the evil one, but God made you grow.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 3:7

  Look how, by humbling himself and Apollos, he makes bearable the humbling of the wise and rich leaders of the Corinthians, teaching that He attributes to Himself all the blessings bestowed upon us.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 3:8

  It could easily have happened that those who labored more than others in matters of faith would have become careless upon hearing that all is one; therefore he immediately explains his expression and says that all is one only in relation to their powerlessness to do anything without the help of God who gives the growth. But as for recompense, each one will receive a reward according to his own labor. He did not say: according to his own work, but: "according to his own labor," for what does it matter if someone did not even accomplish the work? At least he labored.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 3:8

  They can do nothing without the help of God; in this respect they are one; so how can you exalt yourselves over one another, when you are one?

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 3:9

  Having said above: "I planted," he continues the comparison, and calls them a field. If you are a field and a building, then you should be called by the name of the Master, and not of the plowmen or builders, and, as a field, you should be enclosed by a wall of unanimity, and as a building, you should be in unity among yourselves, and not in division.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 3:9

  We teachers are fellow workers of God, cooperating with God in the salvation of people, and not the authors or givers of salvation. Therefore one must neither despise us, for we are fellow workers of God, nor boast in us, for all things are God's.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 3:10

  Above he conversed with them about unity, and now he speaks about the way of life, calling the deeds of each person a building.

  Commentary on 1 Corinthians