Christ gives his peace; church of God; crucified Christ preached
to you.” (John 14:27) Then how is the giver of peace not truly God, giving it to the worthy as his own good?
From the First Letter to the Corinthians.
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and brother Sosthenes, to the church of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:1–2) Notice: after saying to the Romans, “All the churches of Christ greet you,” (Romans 16:16) when he writes to the Corinthians he says the church is God’s.
“I mean this: each of you says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ or ‘I belong to Apollos,’ or ‘I belong to Cephas,’ or ‘I belong to Christ.’ Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized into Paul’s name?” (1 Corinthians 1:12–13) So if Christ has not been divided, all things are his and all are his. And if he himself was crucified for us, and we were baptized into his name, we clearly owe ourselves to him. And we belong not to one human among us, but to God. Therefore Christ, the one over us, is God.
“Since Jews ask for a sign and Greeks seek wisdom, we proclaim Christ crucified — a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Greeks.” (1 Corinthians 1:22–23) Would not anyone at all confess that the gospel proclamation calls people across the whole earth to true knowledge of God? Then how, or from where, is this doubtful? How, then, do the mystagogues proclaim Christ crucified? As one of us who endured death on a cross, so that the world’s faith is practiced toward a human? By no means. We have believed in the living God and
Greek
ὑμῖν.» εἶτα, πῶς οὐ Θεὸς ἀληθῶς ὁ τῆς εἰρήνης δοτὴρ καὶ ὡς ἴδιον ἀγαθὸν τοῖς ἀξίοις διδοὺς αὐτήν;
Ἐκ τῆς πρὸς Κορινθίους πρώτης.
«Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ καὶ Σωσθένης ὁ ἀδελφὸς τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ.» ἐπιτήρησον ὅτι Ῥωμαίοις προειρηκώς· «Ἀσπάζονται ὑμᾶς αἱ ἐκκλησίαι πᾶσαι τοῦ Χριστοῦ,» Κορινθίοις ἐπιστέλλων Θεοῦ φησὶν εἶναι τὴν ἐκκλησίαν.
«Λέγω δὲ τοῦτο, ὅτι ἕκαστος ὑμῶν λέγει· Ἐγὼ μέν εἰμι Παύλου, ἐγὼ δὲ Ἀπολλῶ, ἐγὼ δὲ Κηφᾶ, ἐγὼ δὲ Χριστοῦ. μεμέρισται ὁ Χριστός; μὴ Παῦλος ἐσταυρώθη ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, ἢ εἰς τὸ ὄνομα Παύλου ἐβαπτίσθητε;» οὐκοῦν εἰ μὴ μεμέρισται ὁ Χριστός, πάντα αὐτοῦ καὶ πάντες αὐτοῦ. καὶ εἰ αὐτὸς ἐσταυρώθη ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, καὶ εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐβαπτίσθημεν, αὐτῷ δηλονότι κεχρεωστήμεθα. ἐσμὲν δέ, οὐκ ἀνθρώπου τῶν καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἑνός, ἀλλὰ Θεοῦ. Θεὸς ἄρα Χριστὸς ὁ ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς.
«Ἐπειδὴ καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι σημεῖον αἰτοῦσι καὶ Ἕλληνες σοφίαν ζητοῦσιν, ἡμεῖς δὲ κηρύσσομεν Χριστὸν ἐσταυρωμένον, Ἰουδαίοις μὲν σκάνδαλον, Ἕλλησι δὲ μωρίαν.» ἆρ᾽ οὖν οὐχὶ πᾶς ὁστισοῦν ὁμολογήσειεν ἄν, ὅτι καλεῖ πρὸς θεογνωσίαν τὴν ἀληθῆ τοὺς ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν τὸ κήρυγμα τὸ εὐαγγελικόν; εἶτα πῶς ἢ πόθεν τοῦτο ἀμφίβολον; πῶς οὖν ἄρα κηρύττουσιν οἱ μυσταγωγοὶ Χριστὸν ἐσταυρωμένον; ἄρα ὡς ἕνα τῶν καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς, τὸν ἐπὶ σταυροῦ θάνατον ὑπομείναντα, καὶ εἰς ἄνθρωπον ἡ τοῦ κόσμου πίστις πράττεται; μὴ γένοιτο· πεπιστεύκαμεν δὲ Θεῷ ζῶντι καὶ