Fragments on 1 Corinthians

1He did not set this forth merely, but to demonstrate that it is God's will that all be called from Christ and that the apostles be so. He arranges himself as being known to the Corinthians, and he restrains the pride of those puffed up by words. He connects the badly occurred division to a single church, calling these from God; and he proposes unity in Jesus Christ, not in so-and-so and so-and-so. It must be observed how, in a few words, he often remembers Jesus Christ, teaching from the prefaces that it is fitting to be named from no other, but from our Lord Jesus Christ, and healing the wound caused by the divisions of different names through the continuous memory of Jesus Christ.

He says, 'Sanctified in Jesus Christ.' It is not man who has sanctified you, but God in Christ. For if he says one calls upon a man, he is named from this; but if Jesus Christ, he is named from Him whom he calls upon. And it is well with all those who call upon Him; for it is not you alone, but all who believe everywhere call upon Christ, and are named from Him, not from men. Therefore, do not alone welcome an impious novelty by introducing it. And he did not say 'with all those calling the name,' but 'to those calling upon Him,' showing God who shows the Son of God; for someone calls upon God in every place, both theirs and ours. If every place is one calling upon Jesus Christ, imitate the many, but do not alone do something strange apart from the others. Theirs and ours is joined to the Lord; instead of saying 'we the writers and you the enjoyers of the letters,' we have one Christ.

Concerning the restoration of the things set forth: for if grace is from our Lord Jesus Christ and not from men, he says, it is fitting to be named from Him. He persists in this same point. For if wealth is from Him, and if knowledge is from Him, why do you assign the name of teacher to one, the name of baptizer to another, the name of leader to another, and as if another were the provider? Therefore he says, 'leading before you'; for what do you have that you did not receive? And if indeed you received, why do you boast as if you had not received?

He says, 'in every word.' Since it is a word of wisdom and a word of knowledge, and many words of gifts, therefore he says: in every word and in all knowledge. Since there are also many distinctions of knowledge, he says in all knowledge. It was written to the Greeks, those who had not received the old and the new, and those possessing knowledge on both sides; just as the testimony of Christ was established in you. Regarding those begging for establishment, they are already incomplete. Thus he showed that they need correction, giving thanks for what they received, but being corrected for what they did not fulfill.

Faithful is God, through whom you were called. Since he said, 'God will establish,' he proceeded: Faithful is God—for God is true, being able to provide these things—through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, not into a fellowship of man, but into the fellowship of His Son. Why, abandoning being named from the Son into whose fellowship you were called, are you being named from men? And again, that which lies through Him is upon the Father, not only upon the Son. And it is not a degradation to the Father, since through Him we are called into the fellowship of His Son; for it has not been written concerning the Romans that through Him and from Him and into Him are all things. Already God, because of that which is from Him which is greater than Himself, and because of that which is through Him which is lesser than himself—just as regarding the person lying upon the same, he does not make Himself both lesser and greater, so also he does not degrade the Son by that which is said through Him upon Him. When he met the contest toward Him so as to persuade that it is not from...

2He remembers being named by men, from the very beginning of the contests of the name of Jesus Christ, from which all ought to be called. He does not complain about what is currently being said regarding dogmas, nor does he complain to them about this, but rather about what we have said before and what he demonstrates hereafter.

He asks: Are you not heirs with Christ, with whom he shared you, the believers? For he did not say, 'Christ was shared,' but rather, 'did Christ not share with you?' The argument demonstrates this, for he says: Was not Paul crucified for us? The Christ died for the salvation of the world, but none of us. From this, he shows that some intended to be named after the one who was baptizing them. This good thing, which the Savior also commanded and which brings salvation, became a burden to me, he says, if you were intending to be called from me, the one baptizing.

How then are we to understand that Christ did not send me to baptize, but to evangelize? Since even one who is not an apostle baptizes, yet the dignity of the apostles was held by few, and without being evangelized and being baptized, one could not be baptized, he says; I was sent to evangelize, for this is the preceding thing, not to baptize. It is therefore left here, by implication, that 'I was not previously sent to baptize.' Thus also elsewhere when he says: Does God not care for the oxen? Not because he does not care; for even in the Law, Moses says concerning oxen, truly concerning those who serve the farmers. And David says: Lord, you will save men and cattle, just as God has multiplied your mercy. And Solomon says: The righteous man has pity on the souls of his cattle, how much more God? But what is it that he says? That previously God does not care for the oxen. And here, by ellipsis, it is as if he said, 'that Christ did not send me to baptize.'

Moving to another fault and coming to another correction, not having completely set aside the first, he has used the second as a prelude. For the first was that Christ did not send me to baptize, regarding the fact that each of you says: 'I am of Paul,' or 'I am of Apollos'; the second is the word not in wisdom, the beginning of another administration. Thus, evangelizing has been set as the end of the first matter and the beginning of the second, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied.

The proclamation declares that the power of the cross is not displayed. Concerning the word of the cross, it does not speak of the mere utterance or the sound, but of the power; for while the work appears to be weak, the cause, when sought, is revealed to be a great mystery. To us who are being saved, it is the power of God. Since Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and some desire to receive the word of God through Him, it must be observed that regarding the cross, the word speaks of the power of God.

For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise.' Even though the apostle is himself credible in his teaching—for he had Christ speaking within himself—he has also made use of the testimony of the Old Testament, producing a more certain certainty for the disciples. Having used the testimony, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,' he proceeds as if upon what has already been agreed, saying: Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? The wisdom of the Greeks, and the scribe of the Jews.

He mentions two wisdoms: one is the harmony observed in the created things, and the other is the wisdom according to which men, being rational, become intelligent. Since, he says, through the understanding coming to us we did not know God, nor through the wisdom observed in the created things, God was pleased to save those believing through the foolishness of the proclamation. Great is what he says, which is not shown to those passing by simply; for the power of God and all-wisdom demonstrates itself in this way.

The magnitude and the beauty of the world, he says, being immeasurable and ungraspable, did not persuade you to know God; rather, leaving the Maker, you worshipped these things through which it was necessary to know their Maker. God, showing the excess of His own power—whom creation did not persuade but even struck—enlightened the world through the agreed-upon weakness of the cross.

For showing the absurdity of those who have been emboldened in rationality and think to adorn piety through eloquence, he says that we must not answer not only those seeking wisdom among the Greeks, but also those Jews who ask for signs—the signs of the Spirit, and the wisdom of the words of external education. If they do not even ask for the wonders of the Spirit, it would have been fitting to give them the things of external wisdom—for not...

3They attempt to give, yet they ask in bad faith; the word is cast out entirely as one attacking the glory of the cross. But we preach Christ crucified and the following. It is evident that he says Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God according to the logic of the cross, as being superior; for the word of the cross is foolishness to those being destroyed, but to us being saved it is the power of God.

He demonstrates this more clearly after saying: to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, he brought Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God; because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Who would dare say the Word God is the weakness of God, and the foolishness of God regarding the crucified Christ? God the Word is powerful as the Father, not a power as a part fulfilling the essence of the Father, and likewise wise; since that which the visible creation, or angels, or archangels, or patriarchs, or prophets, or the law through Moses, or the voices from the midst of the fire brought to the people—which could not forgive the choice of the ungrateful—this, the foolishness of the cross, prevailed.

Therefore, Christ crucified is the power of God and the wisdom of God, more incomparable to all the economy and more reliable than all creation. And this is the power of the one who dispensed and perfected, having saved men through nothing and having brought them into faith in him.

Since the Jews test the Spirit of God, but it is to be granted to the believers, it is also necessary to answer the Greeks who think they can order piety by rationality; then he teaches how the preaching seems to be foolishness. For they seek signs and wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, the power of God and the wisdom of God, and we promise salvation from the crucified one to those who believe.

It is not right to say the Word God is the weakness of God, but rather the cross of Christ; for the Word is powerful as the Father, not a power as a part fulfilling the essence of the Father. So also the Son is wise as the Father.

Not by angels, nor by law, nor by prophets, but because God forgives according to the choice of the ignorant, this thing which seems to be the foolishness of the cross has power. The crucified Christ is proclaimed as the power and wisdom of God, having been seen as stronger and more enduring, having saved those who believe. 1 Cor 1:26 The fleshly element was added, opposing the spirit, and the following things similarly give out according to the common. 1 Cor 1:29 So that no flesh may boast before Him; that is, so that the achievement of the preaching is not written upon the advantages of those at home. But he said 'flesh' and not 'soul', belittling human boastings. And why 'before Him' and not 'before men'? Because the boasting upon our own advantages was set in opposition to the boasting upon God. For what was necessary to write upon God, they were writing upon men. Therefore he said 'before Him'; for boasting occurring before Him, He who sees all, was impious. And that he said 'before Him' and not 'in the presence' is shown by this whole hypothesis; for those boast in words and in baptizing, and make the word about other things. 1 Cor 1:30

But of Him you are. All similarly say now that it has been said according to the being saved, not according to the logic of creation, as it is said elsewhere: those who were not born of blood nor of the will of the flesh, but of God. If therefore it is of Him, how shall we boast in our own advantages? But it is in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom and sanctification and redemption; not the wisdom of men saved—for it was wandering—but He Himself has become wisdom for us unto the knowledge of God; not the understanding of men snatched away, but Jesus having been crucified. Not men redeemed, so that the boasting may be from the Savior, not from the saved. 1 Cor 2:3–4 I was always afraid lest you be puffed up by outward training, since I did not use the persuasive wisdom. And in weakness, he says, the weakness from persecutions—for this is his custom to say everywhere—in weakness and in fear and in trembling, the weakness of those from whom I was persecuted. I demonstrated the fear and the trembling concerning you, I was all humble, so that you might be taught by this and not be puffed up. Since he said: 'my word, so that the opposite might not glory'.

4Presenting this, which is eloquence, he says: my preaching is not in persuasive words of wisdom, because wisdom is not of words but of divine knowledge, of spirit and power. Since indeed the Holy Spirit provides the word of wisdom and also performs wonders, he said: in the demonstration of spirit and power; for that which is called not yet a demonstration, but the wonder possesses the demonstration.

He shows that he did not preach relying on any human ability; for he was in weakness and fear and trembling and in such things, as if he were in persecutions and afflictions. Because merely speaking, he did not overcome those using wisdom and trusting themselves in the word, but performing powers he showed the strength of God, and from there the preaching was well brought forth: but in the demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might not be in human wisdom but in the power of God.

This is not in things considered estimable, but in those perfect according to piety. And in the perfect, he says, not indeed to the perfect ones, for one speaks to those happening to be present and often receives many contradictions, but he who introduces the saving word to the perfect and pious does not speak as if depositing and treasuring the words in their souls.

If it was hidden, it is clear that it was not of calculations to find it, but truly it was of God to reveal it. And the demonstration of not knowing, instead of saying: for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. And he calls the ones concerning Pilate and Herod 'rulers', but the incarnate God 'the Lord of glory'.

This use is not carried out for these rhetoricians in the old way, but signifying the same with other words; for Isaiah says: Lord, who believed our hearing? and to whom was the arm of the Lord revealed? and who will recount his origin? and Moses: the secret things belong to the Lord our God. But the secret of God, clearly, both eye and heart he has pierced. One must not think, however, that God strictly revealed the mystery to some and allowed others to perish in ignorance, but it is necessary to know and be convinced that by his foreknowing power he provided to each, measuring according to merit, that which is for their benefit; for he foresees each.

The depths of God have spoken his deepest things, which have surpassed us in administration. Through these things he shows that he searches, not as one ignorant but as one who knows. Since some say the Spirit is the Father and others the Son, one must speak regarding each separately. It is impossible to say the Father; for he says we received not the spirit of the world but the spirit from God, and no one of it is the Father; for if it were spoken about God, from whom is God? As for the Son, it is possible to suppose him, but to be that about whom the Word is not possible; for who would say the God-Word searches so that he might learn the things of God? If they said the Son is being taught, how would he not have known from the following that just as the spirit in him knew things as a human spirit, so also the Spirit of God. Apart from this, the Holy Spirit is shown throughout the whole field. It should be noted that the Holy Spirit he says is from God, but the unclean one he did not say is from the world but is of the world; for the Paraclete is not a part of God, whereas the devil, according to having come to be, is a part of the creation. But the Holy Spirit is from God.

Not so that he might show, as the spirit in us is better than us, so also in God the spirit is better than him, immediately saying: for what man knows the things of the man except the spirit in him? But what is in God? For the one in him shows a part being the fullness of the man, but the one from him shows the cause. It should be noted that God and the Holy Spirit are two persons, but man and the spirit in him are not two persons but one man. Thus, showing the exact identity of the Father and the Spirit according to knowledge, he compared the knowledge of the spirit in us to the knowledge of the Father and the Spirit, so that it might be shown that in us, in the one and the same spirit, which is the soul and the mind, there is no discord of union; we know what we know, and so also in Father and Holy Spirit there is no discord of knowledge but identity. In order that we might know the things granted to us by God, the Spirit having given, the mind having grasped. And we speak. Again he shows another thing; not only says, not...

5We find the things revealed to us within our own reasoning, but we also proclaim them; we do not decorate them with words, but rather we compare spiritual things to the spiritual, understanding those revelations by the power of the Spirit and proclaiming them in their proper order. We compare spiritual things to the spiritual because when the second revelation serves as an interpretation and a clarity of the former, those receiving the revelations compare the later things to the first, and finding the same, they receive a greater full-knowledge of the revealed truth.

God and the Holy Spirit are two persons, but man and the spirit in him are not two persons, but one man. He says this because just as there is no disagreement of knowledge within a man, so also the knowledge of the Father and the Spirit is one; for this reason, the Spirit would not have inquired as if he were ignorant. Furthermore, regarding the man, the Spirit in him spoke, but regarding the Holy Spirit, he did not say 'the one in God' but 'the one from God.' There is a great difference between the one within him and the one from God, for the one in him is the fullness of the man, while the one from him shows the cause.

Precisely, the Holy Spirit from God spoke as a living and subsistent essence, but the unclean of the world spoke as its completion of essence; for the devil is a part of its creation according to how it came to be. However, we do not find the things revealed to us to be decorated by mere reasoning, but we compare spiritual things to the spiritual when the second revelation becomes an interpretation and a clarity of the first teaching, vision, or wonder. The later things are compared to the first and the same are found. We receive the greatest full-knowledge of the truth from this harmony. This is made manifest by those who compare opposites, and also by those who distinguish and separate; yet the former is better. 1 Cor 2:14-15 A natural man does not receive...

Concerning the Spirit. He calls the one who adheres to familiar reasonings 'psychic.' it is foolishness to him. Such is the depth of the spiritual revelation that it appears as foolishness to the wise of this world; in this way, the revelation of God is uncontainable to them. For, demonstrating power through the grace of the Holy Spirit, he reproves the clever man, not by cleverness but by the strength of wonders. The spiritual ones do not overturn reasonings with reasonings, but receiving the mind from God and the revelation from there, they discourse, so that the one opposing does not refute reasonings, but opposes the knowledge of God. Because of this he says: for who has known the mind of the Lord, who will instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ, which is the knowledge.

He calls 'psychic' the one adhering to familiar reasonings, or the one sick with the reasonings of the soul and not being strong concerning the knowledge of the truth, just as he calls 'fleshly' the one sick concerning fleshly desires and a slave to pleasures. Thus, the psychic is not able to be receptive to the truth, but has so corrupted the soul as to regard the economy of God and the grace as foolishness. And, being unable to know that he is being examined spiritually, the psychic man, seeking clever reasonings, regards the cross as foolish and, having lost faith, is pushed away from the preaching; and not rejecting the wonders of the Spirit, he is no longer able even to perceive that he is being refuted by the power and wonder of the Spirit against the truth; for 'to examine' reveals the precise and is to refute thoroughly. But the spiritual man, who has come to possess the Spirit through whom he demonstrates signs, refutes all those who refute poorly, while he himself is refuted by nothing. Furthermore, believing the word, he sets forth things from the old and says (1 Cor 2:16): 'He will instruct.' We have the mind.

6Of Christ our God. If men do not grasp the mind of God to know, how much less will they grasp the mind of us who possess the mind and wisdom of God. 1 Cor 3:1–3 Those unfaithful follow miracles rather; therefore I spoke a word to you, not indeed the perfect wisdom which is hidden, the administration concerning the passion which only perfect believers receive.

He still calls the teaching concerning ethics and the believing through signs 'milk' in a figurative sense, but the proclamation of the divine dogmas is 'meat'. Light commands can be milk, such as honoring father and mother, and not committing adultery, and the like, and 'come here, follow me'. Then, having said, 'You are fleshly, and walk according to man', he says that you honor things in man and do not seek the things of God. 1 Cor 3:5 Instead of being equal according to the ministry. 1 Cor 3:6–10

The things spoken to him were as if concerning agriculture, and the others as if concerning building. He himself said he has planted and has given the beginning and has laid the foundation of God. He exhorts those building after him at the foundation, so that they do not work the building in vain. And he calls the foundation the faith and the proclamation. 1 Cor 3:11–15

Christ is not called the foundation of the creation, as the Arians falsely contend, but of the faith; for Christ was proclaimed, and every building happens upon him as the foundation. While some are teaching one faith and proclaiming the evangelical life, for us it is to make ourselves either precious stones or wood or grass or a reed. When therefore he says, 'Let each one let him see how he builds', he means not according to life, but according to what? For no one is able to lay a foundation other than the one lying there.

The one teaching proclaims Christ and gives his commands; therefore it is to be separated either by gold because of purity, or by grass because of weakness. If therefore he commands that each one let him see, it is toward those wishing to be named among those baptizing or teaching. If anyone's work remains which he built up, you see that the builder builds well; but that does not remain according to a change of human choice at times. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, and so as through fire. It is surpassing.

For it is to be read this way: if anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, and it will be as through fire; so that he will be burned and suffer loss as through fire, yet he himself will be saved, for the more grievous deviation did not occur through him. It has been said by the transcendent so that it might be thus: if anyone's work remains, he will receive a reward, but he himself will be saved. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss and be burned as through fire. How then will he be saved if the work he built is burned? Thus, as he is judged as through fire, did he fail to leave behind those coming for correction or the reminding of those sinning, according to Ezekiel?

Again, he turns to those who trust in their own wisdom. For while he calls the believers the temple of God, he also says that one destroys the temple of God. He will declare the following to those who trust in words. If anyone thinks to be wise in this present age, let him become a fool. For why then does the one trusting in external wisdom destroy the temple? If you are a temple of God, you owe it to have one who teaches and reveals; but if, having left the Inhabitant, you have used your own understanding, you no longer make a temple, but you destroy it.

If anyone thinks to be wise among you, it is those being harmed and deceived by external education, for he commanded, having said among you. Regarding those who have been catechized and have received the word of knowledge within themselves, and have not strayed from the teaching, he calls them temples of the Holy Spirit and immovable houses of the indwelling Spirit. But those who have done something worthy of the energy of the Spirit, he calls these spiritual, just as we call those who have made a display of art and rhetoric 'rhetorical' and 'technical.'

Therefore, those receiving a different teaching from external wisdom, these have destroyed their own reasoning, corrupting the faith, which is the temple of the Spirit. Consequently, God threatens that these will be destroyed, because having abandoned the indwelling Teacher, they wandered regarding external wisdom, which is sufficient to provide a supply of deception. Through this, by which he forbids the wisdom of this world from being sufficient for deception, he commanded those being struck by reproof. Commanding that external wisdom not be received, he teaches not to boast upon wise men.

7For this boasting is cheap, where everything belongs to you: the apostles—for they were sent for the sake of those being helped—the world, which has become yours for enjoyment, your life, as those being saved, and death; for if the things of death were not fearsome, the things of the coming life would not have been prepared. For by the same logic, the present and the future are spoken of; for those who despise the present things think they attain the future things.

Therefore all these things said of you, that you yourselves have become Christ's, and that those belonging to Christ please God, are all through you. How and in what way? That you yourselves have become Christ's, and in order to show that those belonging to Christ please God, he added: Christ is God's.

It is sufficient for us to be esteemed as servants of Christ, though from us some are named slanderers. You see us as servants of God, but what servant is faithful? Do not seek it—for this is in danger among you—and it is not worthy for teachers to be judged by students. Why does he say these things? Because he realized that some of the teachers were being punished by them as unworthy, while the worthy were being reviled, whence he foresaw schisms coming among them. Therefore he more vehemently accuses, hurrying to restrain the passion.

So that he might not seem to say these things as if being contemptuously despised, he says this only once: do not think that I send these things on my own behalf; for I do not conduct myself in such a way that I be interrogated by you; for I consider this unworthy toward you and toward every man. He calls man a human day, signifying the temporary and ephemeral nature of human life.

Then, because it seems great to say 'I have said nothing against myself,' he added 'but I have not been acquitted by this'; for one who has stumbled through ignorance is not to be struck in the conscience. Furthermore, not failing to do something justifies, but doing rightly perfects virtue. And it is likely that he said this with moderation: therefore do not judge me greater or less than you, but wait for the Judge. This serves the whole purpose of making sober those who wish to be named this or that, or not to be named this or that; for in judging these things, it is the one both worthy and unworthy.

Therefore, do not think highly of yourselves, but wait for the Judge; for while a corrupted character may deceive you, the one who illuminates the secrets of darkness will not let anything hidden escape him. He said these things because much happened among them through deception and they were honored unworthily. Those being honored were not entirely good, but their virtue reached only to the appearance, while those who were naturally good were being overlooked; for he would not have said these things.

He presents himself and Apollos, silencing the faces of those demanding honor and being called disciples by them, so that you might take from us a pattern and a following to approach teachers moderately. And do not think beyond what is written concerning us, but consider us servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God, and do not dishonor the former, but honor the latter. He clarified their opinion more clearly in these things; for he who is named by that other and yet circumscribes that other, is puffed up by the former but has the character of the latter.

You, who desire to be called by this one or to leave that one, who distinguishes? Do you not wait for the Judge? You, the obedient one, wait for the Judge, yet you subject the teacher to your own judgment? Who distinguishes you, the common people, regarding those things about which you think or act, that you dare to distinguish others and these people teachers? Is it not the Lord? If then you, the disciple, wait for the Lord as Judge, how do you subject the teacher to your judgment, calling the one worthy and the other unworthy? Why do you think you have an advantage which you do not have or have not received? But he speaks of the surpassing understanding through which it is possible both to judge and to test teachers. Even if you received understanding from God, it is necessary to offer glory to God who gave it, not to think greatly of yourself and to be puffed up as if an advantage were being presented to you as your own possession.

It is not that they had such things, but they show that they were spreading falsehoods about themselves, thinking they were filled with all knowledge as a remainder to judge even teachers. Already the gifts have become a reality for you, and not always a thing to be desired. That which is apart from us shows that you have already reached the state of reigning without us, and indeed it is a loss through the midst.

8Having shown his disposition concerning them, he says that in order that we also might reign with you, it is evident that they consider their own achievements as their own good. He does not read 'you have reigned and become rich' merely as a question, so that what was spoken might be in character for those who have already been disciplined.

For as I see, if you have become rich and have reigned without us, we have become the very last and most abominable, enduring all things. To men, he says, as they see our evils, but to angels, as they marvel at our standing The same applies to these things. Those teaching you in contempt and in poverty, as being considered fools by the world, yet you, the taught ones, desire to be in the wealth and honors of Christ. He says these things to show that in spiritual gifts there is no student superior to the teacher.

We endure all things through Christ, and until now we humble ourselves. And how is it possible for you, living in the flesh, to be preferred by God over those who are laboring, being persecuted, being reviled, and being struck? He instructs through all these things how the Christian must be and how he must humble himself. Instead of the scraps, as if having been taken as refuse and filth from a house having been cleaned, we have become being despised by all, and we are the refuse of all, having set ourselves before all men through Christ. The 'wiping' is said to be the cloth which wipes the sweat of the laborer and removes the sickness lying upon him. Having strongly cleansed through the first things, he exhorts through these to win the power of salvation through the astringents and the sweet things.

By calling himself father, and those others pedagogues from whom they were called, he shows that he has a more genuine disposition toward them than the others, and that as being admonished by a father, they ought not to be indignant. In not being arrogant toward anyone and in becoming imitators of me, and in not being called by anyone but by Christ. See that those things said to him—we the weak, you the strong, and all the other things—were said toward the purpose of some being puffed up.

I will come to you quickly, if the Lord wills, and I will know not the words of those naturally gifted, but the power. Through this power he says he also reproves strongly, and he himself testifies to the suitability for restoration by threatening his own presence. For as if they were appearing humbled, he promises his presence, being corrected by the word before the presence. But he added 'if the Lord wills'; because of indignation he was driven to say that he would come, but because of reverence he was reminded to add the most beautiful addition, 'if the Lord wills'. And here he reveals what he previously had veiled so as not to reprove too harshly. For the kingdom of God is not in word, as is evident to the well-trained; for the apostles did not teach and preach without word. It is also evident from these things that what was said regarding some being naturally gifted was that we are weak and you are strong.

He promises his presence so that, if we arrive, we may correct ourselves. Therefore, because of indignation he was compelled to say 'I will come', but because of reverence he added 'if the Lord wills'. It became clearer from these things also that he is indignant toward those boasting in the wisdom of this world; for he does not intend to reproach the common man with words. He proclaimed this to all of them.

Since the restoration is twofold—one way through exhortation to the persuadable, and another way through force and necessity to the hard-hearted—he has acted philanthropically toward this faction of them, so that, repenting, they might correct themselves. He spoke of a rod, the necessary power of the Spirit, which Paul used according to Elymas and against Paul himself. It was not because he had the manner of speaking of a woman, but because he was respectable; and they did not grieve because he had a father's woman, but they were indignant because he was well-trained. For their grief either separated the fornicator from remaining, or it cut off the impropriety of the matter and brought him back. He did not simply work but had worked; for he did not fall having been seized, but used the work of evil. And he says to be present in spirit, agreeing and judging with him—but the spirit is...

9He says 'gift'—having been gathered together with the power of Christ. Those who were puffed up because of the one who committed fornication were part of the whole, but he calls all to be gathered together for the condemnation of the fornication. They said it was the spirit, not the soul, but the gift.

He does not allow one to be moved by glory without reason, and he brings forward the cause of the wrath, because not only fornication, but such things are heard among you as are not even among the Gentiles. And think greatly that you have been adorned with the wisdom of the world. It is necessary to mourn over him because he has not even dared to make fornication common to others. For this mourning either separated the fornicator, who remained in fornication, or it separated the impropriety itself and brought the man back, so that the spirit might be saved.

He did not say 'not having worked' but 'having worked it out,' even so that by this it might appear that, having used much endurance, he worked out the evil, and was not snatched away by sin, so that he might have a defense. Indeed, the apostle alone was sufficient to condemn him, but he wants the Corinthians to be in agreement with him, so that he might thus build up, being separated from the fellowship of the lawless, especially those nurtured in instruction.

He does not do this as one subjecting him to the authority of Satan—for if he were inflating this by doing so, he would be puffing up Satan—but because we have become accustomed to assigning all the difficult things of life to Satan, such as diseases, sorrows, griefs, and other trials, just as the apostle himself says: 'A thorn of Satan was given to me, so that he might lash me.' In this very way, he now commands him to hand him over to Satan, which is to say, to the difficulties of life.

He delivers him to the harms of life; for this is for the destruction of the flesh, not for the destruction of the soul, so that, being awakened by the things happening to the body, he might repent and the spirit within him, which is the gift, might be saved. For he does not speak here of the soul as being of the flesh, but...

Standing, with the soul alone being saved. Regarding 1 Corinthians 5:6, you see that they were boasting over him, not paying attention to the impropriety of the fall, but being puffed up by his conceit. For they were boasting over him, not paying attention to his fall but being puffed up by his upbringing. He commands him to be expelled, so that the others, joining with him in sinning, might not be incited shamelessly.

In 1 Corinthians 5:7, he calls sin an old leaven, with which the old man was leavened together. He moves the type to the truth; for the unleavened things among the Jews, not having been leavened with old leaven, represent the new men, not having been leavened with the sins of the old man. The lamb being sacrificed among the Jews revealed the passion and the cross as a mystery of the economy. And he says the following: since the leaven is more complex, but the unleavened is simpler.

In 1 Corinthians 5:8, he admonished in this way, as if he were saying: not in an evil and bad life, but in a life not having mixture with that old leaven; for this is in unleavened bread, sincerity and truth. Regarding 1 Corinthians 5:9–10, he wrote not in another letter, but in this one. Because of this, he does not forbid those outside from eating, since if he were turning away all such people, the preaching would be hindered; for all such people, as it is said, are among the Gentiles whom it happened to benefit from the fellowship of those having believed. He therefore shows to strike those at home who sin, and to exhort those who have been rebuked.

In 1 Corinthians 5:9, 13, 'What I wrote is not of another letter but of this,' for he says: 'But now I have written to you.' And 'to purge the evil one from among yourselves' is a voice of Moses, which Paul repeats. He remembers a saying in the old text, showing that not only are they benefited as if being freed from some plague, but such a thing is not a novelty; rather, it also seemed good to the Lawgiver to cut off such people. In 1 Corinthians 5:12, certainly he said this; for those...

10A person becomes a judge of their own household, not of others. But God is the judge of all, since He is the master of all.

He reproaches them because the holy ones, who are able to judge, were judging against them by the unbelievers. Having said, 'You judge those within, but God judges those without,' He now subjects the whole world to the judgment of the holy ones. For in this life, they examine the lives of the faithful for their restoration, but for the judgment of the world, they entrust it to God, not for the restoration of the sinful ways, but for their exposure and condemnation. The twelve apostles judge the twelve tribes as Jews from among Jews, from whom they believed the prophets, even if they were unbelieving and for this reason turned away from Christ. The other holy ones, that is, the Gentiles, condemn those who did not turn from idols but believed in the true God. Thus there is no disagreement between the evangelist and the apostle, for Christ spoke in both; for it is written: a Queen of the South will rise and condemn this generation, and men of Nineveh will arise and condemn you.

Did He not say, 'And the world is judged by you'? Now He does not speak of angels according to nature, but of the ministers, the priests, the teachers of the people, who are likely to be judged by the holy ones as those handing down things concerning Christ. For having said, 'Is it not about practical matters?', He showed that He did not speak concerning natural angels, but concerning those having an angelic role and performing spiritual works. If He spoke strictly of angels, it would be clear He meant those who have turned away and fallen from God. Yet priests were called angels according to Malachi, saying: 'The lips of a priest shall preserve knowledge, and they shall seek law from his mouth, for he is an angel of the Lord of powers.' Therefore, we judge these priests who led the people astray, just as those who began heresies and turned away from the teaching of Christ.

The least of the church is more contentious than the unbeliever. However, it seems the apostle leaves this out, which is clear: that the greater matters must be guarded by the perfect. You seem defeated by the devil, not only in judging the unbelievers, but also...

He holds judgments with one another. Regarding the single energy of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, he spoke to the righteous, teaching the oneness of essence. He does not speak concerning a person, but concerning a matter from the subordinate; for the word is about these things: foods for the stomach, and the stomach for the foods, but God will abolish both this and that.

He does not speak concerning a person, but concerning an absurd matter and a passion. Yet, speaking about himself, he exhorts the others to self-control. Knowing that the stomach is the cause of their greed—for many dare all things because of the pleasures of the stomach—he teaches that it is unseemly to serve the stomach. We know that foods are for the stomach. It has been set apart from these things, yet nonetheless God will abolish these temporary things; for after the resurrection, when immortality is given, the need for surplus foods is lacking. Why then do you strive for temporary things, from which sexualities and pleasures are absurd?

For it is clear that foods and eating are temporary. But the body has been set apart not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body; and the body would not be temporary, but it will be raised into incorruption according to the type of Christ. He says body and members of Christ, the body of those having believed and having been baptized.

Therefore, if anyone sins in feeding or in defiling the body, he fulfills the need for it and for the honor of the body; but the one clinging to a prostitute, making one body with her, insults and dishonors his own body. The clothes and the world are outside of the body; therefore, the one doing these things outside of the body sins, whether one is slandering or lying to others, causing loss and seizing, or someone commits adultery with another woman; but the one committing sexual immorality insults himself, passing into the harm from the deed. Whatever then a man sins, he indeed sinned, but not into his own body, nor did he dishonor his own flesh like the one committing sexual immorality.

And indeed, the one who stains the hand with blood, a murderer, sins into his own body, and the slanderer stains the tongue as if with blood through slanders; but the one committing sexual immorality, he says, baptizes his whole self into...

11Fornication is filth. Paul, therefore, by many inferences, grasped the idea that other sins exist outside the body. Others say that this sin has the explicit meaning of the mind, because he who fornicates sins against his own body; that is, against the constitution of his own body and against the human construction itself, and against the principles of our generation, as if he were saying: stop, thus through unlawful mixture you insult the workshop of nature from which even your own body has been defiled.

Others, out of zeal for Paul, say it is better to demonstrate the sin of fornication. Having said earlier, 'Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ,' and having shown from this that he who fornicates fails regarding the members of Christ, he thus shows that every sin follows in this way: for the slanderer, the robber, or the covetous man has sinned against a man whom he slandered or wronged, but he who has fornicated against his own body sins, which is a member of Christ. For as soon as one is completed into the body of Christ through the adoption of the Spirit, he would be accused not only of fornication but also of impiety, as making the members of Christ the members of a prostitute, and insulting his own body as if it were the temple of Christ.

Therefore he also proceeds: 'Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit in you, of whom you have from God?' For the sin of fornication regarding the body is as if you sin against the temple of God, and the Holy Spirit flees. This is not because the other sins lack direction—for all have a fall from the kingdom—but because in view of what lies ahead, he strove to make the fornication of all appear more severe, desiring to uproot the passion by cutting it off at the root, as sinning more impiously among the Corinthians; for entirely, he says, fornication is heard among you and the following. He who fornicates is also responsible for impiety, for having insulted his own body, he defiled the temple of the Holy Spirit.

And he says these things because some were fornicating contemptuously, regarding fornication as a small slip or no slip at all, not even remembering Moses in his Decalogue. But the salvation blood of Christ, which he gave as a ransom for us, is honor. Glorify therefore God not only in the gift but also in...

Regarding the body, so that both nature and choice and gift may glorify God. Indeed, glorify God in your body and in your spirit. Do this not only in the gift but also in the body, so that both nature and choice and grace may glorify the Benefactor through harmony. Others, however, the spirit has taken the soul.

These things he wrote to the lot, for from him also it was written to the apostle. He forbade fornication as lawless, but he permitted the fellowship of marriage as godly and free from fornication, and he commended self-control as more perfect. He teaches that those joined in marriage master one another rather than themselves. It is a good debt to those living together, when they know to pay to one another as a debt according to this same harmony. The apostle used such an economical descent so as to cut off fornication, the worst disease, by teaching that those joined in marriage master one another rather than themselves.

Since he said they are to be slaves to one another, he follows this by saying that they ought not to deprive one another, unless it be according to godly harmony, so that they may not become causes of the fornication of others, nor destroy the mastery over one another by dividing against the wills of others. Sympathizing with the nature of the body, I say how you ought to come together again, since I do not altogether say this while excluding your self-control; for I wish all to be in self-control just as I am.

To the widows and to the unmarried men who have not practiced virginity, he advises practicing self-control; but if they were overcome by the flesh, let them marry, showing that self-control is great. However, he permits marriage as a good bond. Regarding the woman not separating from her husband, he was not speaking of those separating and returning to Christ. Or let her be reconciled to her husband, or let her remain unmarried, as is shown concerning those dividing because of some strife. Above, concerning separation, he spoke of that through self-control; here, of that happening through contention. Then he said: Not I, but the Lord; for there is something which the apostle says from himself, but not all things the Lord says through himself. He says, however, that I command you now, what the Lord commanded in the Gospels concerning the married, having said what God...

12A man has joined them, let not one separate. In accordance with these things, if even if one is separated, let him remain unmarried, according to what was said to them by the Lord: if anyone marries one who is already married, he commits adultery, and that woman also if she is married to another.

He does not speak as one opposing the law, saying, 'I, not the Lord,' but rather that for some the Lord spoke by himself, while for others it is now first said by the apostle concerning the separation of the unbeliever, teaching that unbelief does not prevail over faith, but the faith of the one who is joined sanctifies even the unbeliever. He does not say that the unbeliever is to take a spouse, but to endure the unbeliever. The children are holy, not defiled or by the unbelief, for the faith of the parents overcomes them more than the unbelief.

To one God has distributed the salvation, and to another to be saved, assigning to each his own portion. He does not say that each is to have an unbeliever as God has distributed, but to endure the unbeliever. Circumcision is not good for its own sake, but because it is a commandment of God, and uncircumcision is a creation of God, not a reward for the uncircumcised.

He says these things concerning the slave: do not strive for temporary freedom, but even if you are able, rather use the slavery; for the reward is greater when, being occupied with the slavery of men, one does not neglect to please God. Let each one remain in that state in which he was called: the slave in his slavery not complaining, and the free man not being arrogant, for there is no difference before God. The faithful slave has nothing less than this free man; for before God, a slave is seen as a free man and by Him is freed. This is shown by the fact that the one released from the master is the master's freedman, and that he is freed from the master; and the one called free into the faith will have nothing more than the slave, but similarly to him he is a slave of Christ.

Instead of living unworthily and without freedom through needs while healing people, you leave the true Master, in whose blood you were purchased. Grace does not know the difference between slavery and lordship. Therefore do not flee the slavery as if unworthy of faith; for you have nothing less than those in faith because of this. And if it is possible for you to attain freedom, let it be more of a care to you so that...

If you are able to use more, do so by exercising care within the freedom from evil. He demonstrates that neither does the free person in Christ possess more because of this, nor is the slave diminished; rather, it is for this reason that the situation is reversed. For the one called a slave in the Lord is a free person from the master, and likewise, the free person called a slave is Christ's. Regarding the test of the Christ speaking in me, he says: 'Do I not have a command?' For who would accept it if he were saying what the Lord had not commanded him? But it is clear that he is not saying this to teach a command concerning virginity, but rather that he did not receive from God the command for you to be virgins, but rather to give an opinion and to advise that virginity is good and useful.

Therefore, as one who advises, I think he calls it good and places the choice of embracing it upon those who hear. Since the matter is pleasing to God, just as the Lord said that certain people made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom, he calls virginity a form of eunuchism because it is inactive. He says, therefore, that he does not have a command, but he persisted in his opinion, saying, 'Let him who is able bear it.' After calling himself faithful, he shows that he speaks faithful things worthy of a command. I think that he says virginity is good not out of hesitation, but to secure that it is not regarded as a command.

He showed that he introduces virginity not as a condemnation of marriage, but that through concern for holy things, virginity is introduced, as marriage fills the flesh with pains and labors. He showed that he introduces virginity not as a condemnation of marriage, but as a release for those caring for worldly affairs. Having said, 'I have concern for you,' he introduces virginity through concern for the holy, not as a condemnation of marriage. He gives another reason for which he prefers virginity, showing everywhere that he prefers holiness over the condemnation of marriage; for the world is at its end, and it is necessary to know that what we have, we do not have—for we are leaving these things—so that those who have may be as those who do not have. If it is good for those who have to act as those who do not have, how much more for the virgin not even to approach marriage? And those using this world as if not using it cast out the immeasurable enjoyment through this, but the need.

13It leaves behind. For the creation of the world's form shows that it is not the world itself that passes away, but rather the form of present life is being transformed, from corruption to incorruption: the cities, the walls, the laws, the agriculture, and the crafts. For these are like a certain form superimposed upon this life which undergoes change. Through this, the brevity of human life is made manifest, so that men might come to repentance, having wasted their lives and having despised the end of temporary things. And if it is good for those who possess marriage to have it as those who do not possess it, how much better is virginity? Let neither the sorrows of this life cast you down, nor let the things that seem like joys over-exult you; for all things here are temporary and do not stand. Form and a certain shape—like the cities, laws, agriculture, crafts, and trades of the world, of which there is much need—being changed from corruption into incorruption, shows therefore that not the world passes away, but the present form of the world.

He showed through this why he said, 'But I desire for you,' so that you might not empty your cares in things that do not remain. The following demonstrates this even more clearly. He provided the reason for which virginity is preferred to marriage; not because of the bed or the abstaining from the bed, but because the mind, which is filled with the cares of marriage, is occupied in godliness. I want you to be without anxiety, so that you might not empty your cares by being distracted by the needs of life that do not remain. Therefore also virginity is preferred to marriage, not because of the abstaining from the bed, but because it occupies the mind in piety.

Some suppose that he says he is acting unseemly regarding himself, whereas if anyone thinks he acts unseemly regarding his own virginity, it is not so. The following demonstrates this: for he says, 'So that he who divorces does well, and he who does not divorce does better.' But no one divorces himself, but is given by another.

It is better for this blessed one to remain in this state, for the one is for bodily rest, but the other is for a more perfect piety. This is stated for comparison: it is indeed blessed if she is married and has the protection of a man, but more blessed if, casting aside marriage, she is not married but occupies herself with God.

Since the Corinthians were eating things sacrificed to idols, saying that to us it is nothing to eat things sacrificed to idols—for we sanctify them by the name of Christ and eat—he shows that they alone will not be equal to the wise in knowing this, and says: we know that we all have knowledge. Thus, what you know, I know; but what you suffer, I do not suffer. This, that you know and I know, is not what must be considered; but what I know, that it is necessary not to eat because of the weak, this you do not know, but I know. Why then are you puffed up by a knowledge that does not possess as much as my knowledge? He proceeds: if anyone thinks he knows something among you, he has not yet known as it is necessary to know. Immediately, what I know, you do not yet know. But if anyone loves God, he has been known by Him. We, as far as we have become accustomed as humans to know, do not yet know anything. And what is the blessed thing? To love God and to be known by Him, not because He ignores those not loving, but because He makes the lovers His own; for knowledge is taken even unto making one's own, just as ignorance is unto making one a stranger, such as that which was said by the Lord, 'You went away, I never knew you.'

Since the Corinthians were saying: there is no idol, therefore we do not consider the sacrificial things, eating in the name of Christ rather than being harmed, he shows that not they alone as wise will be equal to this, but also others, that there is nothing sacred; so that what one knows, one knows, but what one suffers, one does not suffer. Such knowledge indeed puffs up and harms, if you know your own things, not to mention the other, that love builds up, for it is necessary for you because of love.

14Lest a weak brother eat in an idol, so that he himself might be struck. He who thinks he knows something knows nothing; for he did not know that others were being harmed by this knowledge. Even if we think we know something, we do not yet know anything. But the blessed thing is to love God and to be known by him, which is to belong to him; for no one is truly ignorant, but the ungodly are said to be ignorant.

Having forewarned that there is no God but one, so that the Son might not be cast out from divinity, the Father brought him forth; for truly there is no other Father but one. Likewise, there is no other Son who is God but one. If one Lord is said of the Son, the Father is not lesser, which makes it clear that it is also as one God said of the Father. Neither is the God less, nor the Son. What is from him declares not the essence—for the creatures are not from the essence of God—but it declares that from which the will of the Father is shown.

Then, having said 'we in him' as well, he gives us to perceive what is lacking in the word: that 'but one God in us,' and we hope in him. Again, the word lacks 'and we through him'—for it lacks 'that we are called' or 'that we shall be saved'—for he does not say that through him we came to be, having said that all things encompassed him and us; but he says all things that came to be, while we speak of the things being dispensed and being saved. That which is made right for you is nothing, but that which harms the weaker is great.

What kind of knowledge? That one is God and there is no idol in the world. He who does not have this knowledge, that one is God and there is no idol in the world, thinking he eats something offered to idols, is struck. And your own knowledge harms the weak; for many even of those who have believed have not yet understood that there is no food offered to idols, and these are harmed by the believing one who eats. And that which is made right from eating is not great, but that which harms the weaker is heavy.

I do not say that I shall not eat food offered to idols, but not even meat, if on this account the brother is stumbled, for he did not have authority in those things, such as to write among them, to endure any weight. He prepares this through many things, and first he remembers his own command, to show the reasons why he took meat lawfully, and if he had wished to take it, just as with the others from whom they took. I also, he says, from...

I am an envoy and I possess my own authority, and I am not under anyone who forces me or prevents me from taking it; for even if the other apostles possess more than I regarding becoming with Christ, I am not deprived of this. Regarding those asking me if I am an apostle, this is my defense, which is your own seal and teaching. Do I not ordain as an apostle? Do I not legislate for the churches? Am I not taught by others? I indeed have authority, but I do not use it excessively, so that I might not cause some little-believers to stumble.

This is the confirmation and the proof. It shows that it has been legislated for those who serve, whether by altars or by the gospel, to live from these things. By mentioning a wife and adding a sister, he showed what is fitting, modest, and pure for one living in common, whether she was a wife or not, clearly showing that women also lived in common with Peter and others, desiring their teaching. He does not slander these things—may it never be—but shows the excess of his own precision regarding his life, warning the Corinthians not to live without caution, so that they might not become a stumbling block to others.

Was it forbidden to do these things only to us, which are also done to others? He placed Barnabas as a fellow-worker, so that he might not seem to magnify himself as the only one succeeding. I do not speak my own words; does not the law also say these things? I did not write this so that I might gain something from you, may it never be. It is nothing great, if an idol-sacrificed morsel is taken for the sake of your brother; for I also enslaved myself to things to which I am not subject, in order to benefit many.

He says Jews are those who are by nature of the Israelite race, but under law are those who are not of their race, namely those using the law of the Jews and having become proselytes. He says the Greeks are lawless, those who are not under the law of Moses. He did not say to the Greeks, 'I became a Greek,' because he could not endure pretending to be Hellenism. Therefore, he calls lawless those who turned from the Gentiles. I thought the Greeks were not under law and I held the opinion, in order to save them from the Jewish things. Thus he was giving to all the primary principle of bringing himself along, so that being caught with them, he might win a few to himself.

15Let him take part; for people do not join together with those in whom there is no agreement, but with those who join together in part. Since it also seems that the gospel does not use law, I have imitated its administration, so that I may participate in that which it intends to administer. Since it also seems that the gospel uses law, I have imitated its administration; for what that one said, this I administer.

He does not say that one of us is preferred—for if people had not recognized themselves by looking toward the difficult thing—but rather that the image has been taken up by the nations in response to what was said to him. All, he says, as if they are contending in this stadium of life: Jews according to law, Greeks according to error, but one is the word of the truth, the one winning and receiving the prize. Therefore run so that you are not left behind with the others.

What great thing, he says, if you exercise self-control over the flesh for the sake of the brother? Everything must be exercised by the one contending, from passion, from glory, and from all the rest; those indeed so that they might receive a perishable crown, but we an incorruptible one. He did not say this simply, but correcting those making it their business to philosophize for the sake of gluttony, supposing that the sacrificial food is not sacrificial food. He did not say this simply, but correcting those making it their business to eat the sacred things without distinction in faith.

The divinely inspired Paul brings the future truth into the midst by pre-figuring the types and the shadows from the old, so that he might bring the Corinthians to sobriety from the old tradition. For he says: those baptized into Moses, who was a type of Christ, in the cloud and in the sea, and having eaten the manna, the spiritual food, and having drunk from the rock the spiritual drink, were destroyed in the wilderness, turning toward outbursts, and fornication, and idolatry, because they insulted the type and the shadow; why then should not those sinning into the truth itself suffer? Since they were saying: 'To me, an idol is nothing; for I thank and I eat,' this, he says, is to test. For what he did not command...

By what you do, you are testing rather than believing. He says this to those saying, 'To me, there is no idol; for I thank God and eat.' This is to test. For whatever the Lord has not commanded, when you do it as one believing in Him, you are testing rather than believing.

He says that the arrival of Christ has reached you, with which there shall no longer be commandment, nor law, nor prophets; for he says they are ends, not the end of the last generation at which the fulfillment of the world shall be, but the final political order in Christ, upon which the fullness of the ages shall meet. Because of all these things, this one was being prepared. He came for the purpose for which he was being prepared; for all things which he spoke regarding turning them away from idolatry were being said and prepared.

From this it is evident that those who believed in Him endured a certain displeasure from the citizens. He says that they were to be tested in such a way as to endure. Do not look at the idols as if they existed, but look at the mind, through which they sacrifice to demons and not to God; for what is happening becomes as a denial of God. Since it was written that God said through Moses to them, 'You have made me jealous over not-gods, you have provoked me in their idols,' and the Corinthians were eating sacrificially to idols, he says: Do we provoke the Lord? Or are we stronger than He? He showed through this that the Lord does not want us to eat sacrificially to idols. Therefore, he says, do not want what the Lord does not want, as if you were stronger or more wise than He. Or do we move Him to zeal and provoke Him? For it is said by Moses: 'You have made me jealous over not-gods, you have provoked me in their idols.' He says these things because the Corinthians were eating sacrificially to idols.

Since it was likely that they were being precise and no longer dared even to buy food for fear of hearing, 'You bought idol-meat,' he consoles that fear. He speaks of a conscience, not the conscience of the one knowing that there is no idol, but the conscience of the one seeing the one buying...

16An idol-devoted person, thinking that something is an idol. For eating belongs to the Lord, since both the earth and all that fills it are His. Do everything in a way that preserves things, so that God may be glorified through you and no one is made to stumble. Do not become a cause of stumbling for Jews and Greeks by avoiding them to prevent the scandal of your bad conduct, nor for the church of God by causing the weak to stumble.

He exhorts now, even though they have already believed, so that they might be persuaded in the rest of what he says. He says 'exhorts' rather than 'accepts,' in order that he might confirm the exhortation in them from then on. But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ. If someone takes this impiously, it is according to His divine nature; but if piously, it is according to His economy. For the word is not about what has come to be now—for behold, the man did not make the woman—nor is it about the order in which Paul used it for this purpose, but solely regarding subordination. It is not because of a difference in nature, and entirely, the divinity of the Only-Begotten is not taken as being subject now, but the economy, having a closer relation to the man and the woman according to nature.

Since the Arians say: just as Christ is the head of the man because he is his creator, so God is the head of Christ because He is His creator, they seem to be ignorant of the following: that the man is the head of the woman. And neither is he her creator, yet he is consubstantial with her; and by the same logic, we find ourselves consubstantial with Christ. In this way, they babble about everything to everyone. For 'head' here is spoken in the authoritative sense, not in the creative sense; so that he who has Christ as ruler and head, if he sins, insults his own ruler. According to this logic, being subject to Christ, we are also made subject to God and the Father, because God is the head of Christ.

He says 'to prophesy' to mean 'to interpret the prophets.' That is, in this is the difference between the prophets of old and the new: the former prophesied more generally about the fall of the Jews, the calling of the Gentiles, and the incarnate presence of Christ, while the latter speak specifically, like Peter Ananias.

Man is the image of God in soul, but not in body. For if it were by one of these, the woman also would have been called the image of God, possessing the same type of body and the same soul as the man. But if the woman, possessing the same nature, is not called the image of God to the man in soul and flesh, it is evident that man is the image of God according to the original. When the discourse concerns irrational things, the woman is the image of God; but when the examination concerns man in relation to women, the man alone is the image. For the male and female in humans prevail over those in the earth, the sea, and the air, but the man is the image of the woman, and no man is the image of the woman on the earth. Just as no one rules God among existing things, so no man rules over the man on the earth.

We understand the truth of the nature of these things. The man is the image of God, not according to body or soul, but according to the original; for he has the woman in subjection along with the others, and just as no one rules God among existing things, so no man rules over the man on the earth. Just as the man who obeys the leader well is the glory and praise of God, so also the woman is the glory of the man, having been well subjected to him.

Regarding the rough and difficult thing of women, the apostle says, looking together at the fact that God has even sent angels to us. Some say that certain angels are the priests of the church, and through them women cover themselves as if not having received the freedom to rule. Perhaps he said this because even women were prophesying from the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit is working, it is necessary for the ministers to be as angels, and therefore it is necessary for the woman to be covered.

It is not from old custom, but from what he tested according to them. And those who cut the old hair partially, cutting more than was necessary, the cutting of the woman was always disapproved. He speaks of factions, not those in doctrines, but those in customs and types. He indicts them that, coming together as for the communion of the holy body, they do not wait for one another, but some, being distracted and lagging behind, the poor ones, not waiting for the others, but through gluttony of the Lord's supper, were neglecting the others...

17They were hastening to their own banquets, which they were performing with great expense in the church, as if they were rebuking those who had no need, because while others were hungering, they themselves were feasting; for envying the fellowship, they deprived others of their own sight.

Concerning 1 Cor 12:1–2, he now speaks of the energies of the Holy Spirit, which he distributes to each according to his merit, such as to one to evangelize, and to another to prophesy, and to another something else. But through the phrase 'you are led toward the idols,' he demonstrates the greatest difference between prophecy and divination. For in the idols, the possessors do not act soberly by the impure spirit, but are carried up by an impure spirit, proceeding by a non-voluntary will; for this is made clear by the words 'you are led' and 'you are being brought along.' He says, therefore: you know the energy of the impure spirit from which you suffer, but the energy of the Holy Spirit possesses the pure energy. Consequently, the diviner darkens the soul and does not know what he says, but the prophet's soul becomes brighter, and having learned what he did not know, he speaks the things revealed to him. The demon, as an enemy, darkens the soul, but the Spirit, as a benefactor, enlightens the soul as it approaches, which he leads upward.

Regarding 1 Cor 12:3, for all blasphemies against Christ are worked by the evil one who thunders at the soul. This, therefore, he says, to secure those who claim to be God-bearing and who speak against Christ. Since even the legion and the Pythia were naming the Lord Jesus, we do not say that he who says this speaks perfectly—for there are many lords called righteous—but rather he lacks the confession of the lordship and sovereignty of Christ over all. Perhaps they said this while being tested, as the devil had brought him to the mountain. Therefore, he does not receive their testimony as if they were unworthy and being tested.

Regarding 1 Cor 12:8–10, the word of wisdom is to understand the things spoken in wisdom of God in prophets and evangelists and to present them to those hearing; the word of knowledge is the revelation...

The height of those hidden things, which one learns in the first place from grace without even knowing, and he says: faith is merely to believe the proclamation; for it is not simply hearing this that constitutes faith, but to receive the things spoken with faithfulness. Discernment of spirits exists because divination has imitated prophecy in that the Holy Spirit seems to foretell in the same way, and He has granted the discernment of these things so as not to be led astray.

Regarding 1 Cor 12:12, he depicts Christ as being composed of many members from the whole body, thereby showing the church through Christ; for since it has been said that Christ is the head of the church and the church is the body of Christ, and He named the church Christ, He shows the lesser from the greater. Regarding 1 Cor 12:14, he says this so that the more humble ones are not overlooked in the church; for even if someone is lesser by nature, he contributes to the commonality of the church. Regarding 1 Cor 12:27, he did not say members from members, but many members from one member; for the head is a member of the whole body. He did not say from members, but from a member; for the head is one member, who is Christ, the head of the church. Since he mentions members and a body, he begins from the more honorable of the other members after the head, namely the apostles. And 'prophet' he says refers to those in the church, not those in the Law. Third, 'teachers'. Do not marvel if a teacher is set before those performing healings and powers; for the signs are so that knowledge may be believed, and knowledge is provided through the teachers. 'Will take hold of'—he says this elsewhere: the one presiding with zeal. 'Governments' refers to the ecclesiastical administrations.

Christ is the head of the church, and by 'member' he says the apostles are second members. He says not those in the Law, but those of the church. Because of this, he shows that they thought highly of the gift of tongues, but also in the other gifts. He shows therefore that the greatest is love; for those indeed are gifts and...

18Those gifts are given to the unworthy for the building up of the church, but the achievement of love belongs to the pious man. Therefore he says: lay hold of the better gifts. And I show you a way that leads you to the enjoyment of the superior gifts, namely the way of love; for the one loving fulfills the law. And the one fulfilling the law is well-pleasing. And the one being well-pleasing receives a spiritual gift.

Because he saw them desiring those who possess the gifts, but not warming the love, he teaches that love is the most supreme good; for those gifts are such that even to the unworthy they were given for the building up of the church, but the achievement of love is the own property of the pious man. So he says the way of love leads us to the enjoyment of the superior gifts; for what is higher than the gift of love which fulfills all the law?

And what tongue of angels, with whom there is no chest, no larynx, no tongue, no voice? But rather, as Moses says in Deuteronomy, God set limits of nations according to the number of the angels of God—and clearly He set them when He divided into tongues those attempting to build the tower—because they no longer guarded a common concord but, as if they were made strangers to one another by the changes of language, angels were set, so that each might guard the nation to which he was entrusted, and nothing might be consumed or perish. Because of this, he calls the difference of languages the tongues of angels.

And it must be known that just as David says 'bread of angels' not as something for eating, so also 'tongues of angels' is not for speaking; for this too is as ministering to the decree of God. Human language is that which is trained—for this is acquired, unlike the natural kind—but the language of angels is that which is divided into many by nature. I have become a sounding bronze or a clanging cymbal.

From here it appears that he calls the alternation and difference of languages the tongues of angels; for the one speaking in other tongues to those who do not know them is like a cymbal producing only a sound, without any meaning being shown. He calls human language rhetorical, grammatical, philosophical, intellectual, compositional, technical, and dialectical. But what tongue is it among angels, with whom there is no chest, no larynx, no voice, nor anything else bodily?

Regarding the tongues, he speaks of the differences of languages which the angels established according to the dispersion at the tower, so that each might guard what was entrusted to a nation. Just as we understand a bread of angels to be that which is provided through the command of the angels—not that the angels were eating, but that the angels were commanded to provide—so also the tongues of angels are the differences of languages which angels established. He spoke of the differences of languages as the clanging of a bronze trumpet and a cymbal; for when someone does not know what is being spoken in another language, the speaker is to him like a meaningless cymbal, and the meaning is not made manifest.

Everything that is unknown is called a mystery, but it is revealed by the power of the Spirit. This is one mystery, as he says elsewhere: 'For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery,' and again, 'Behold, I say a mystery to us.' After a little while he teaches what love is, where he says: 'Love is patient' and the following. Therefore, to show mercy is one thing and to love is another, yet even to give one's substance to the poor and to give oneself up for martyrdom—if this happens through word alone regarding love, it falls into vanity and empty ambition. Therefore, whether we give because of love for the receiver, or because we are giving on behalf of the God who commanded, and whether we bear witness because of love for the Lord, this we must endure. Love never fails, that is, it never slips into sin. The partial is done away when the whole knowledge is given; for we know but a little of the many things still hidden.

As he says, when I was a child, I had the thoughts of an infant, but having passed into a mature man, I have the mind; no longer merely knowing the father as father, but also what kind of father he is. In the same way, that I know now in part, this I shall learn in the perfect time. And what now is as if in a dim mirror, this I shall know clearly in the time. He did not say 'I will know the mysteries then,' which would follow, but 'I shall be known'; for the one who is known by God and made His own, such a one attains the direct sight of the mysteries. Lest all knowledge being revealed to us, there remains to us the believing that all knowledge shall be revealed to us.

19They believe in order to hope, but necessary love is to hope so that we do not fall from hope. Therefore he said: love is greater than this; for through love the law is fulfilled.

For if one does not interpret, but only speaks in a tongue and does not manifest the power, as one not possessing this gift of interpretation, he speaks mysteries indeed—for the Spirit provides tongues—and he utters mysteries through the tongues, but he does not build up the church, not understanding what he says. He who speaks in a tongue builds himself up, knowing that what he did not already utter was intelligible; it was a grace of the Holy Spirit in him and he was building up. Just as one speaking in tongues and interpreting is not less than the prophet. Zeal for the prophecy more than the other gifts, he says. And this he said: for to each according to his administration the gifts were given, and in them was what he wished to zealously seek and receive.

But when some speak in tongues, no listener understands. However, even if the things spoken are indistinct to men, the one speaking in the spirit is speaking mysteries—for the Spirit provides mysteries through tongues—the one prophesying benefits those who hear, for he speaks clearly to them. The grace is greater if the one speaking in tongues also receives to interpret; for perhaps he did not obtain both. Just as one speaking in tongues and interpreting is not less than the prophet.

What good would I be to you, he says, if I cannot speak to you about what God has revealed to me, or what he himself knew and understood, or what he learned through the prophets, or what he knew to advise or teach you? If I speak about these things and you do not understand, What good would I do youu? Observe, for he says, that even in the pipes and lyre, if the sounds are not distinguished, the piping or the lyre-playing is blended together. Nothing is without sound, clearly, a kind of human. He speaks the various gifts of the Holy Spirit spiritually.

If, he says, I speak in a tongue which I do not know, not even knowing its power, I am convinced that I have an unfruitful mind, not having the power of the things said. Let him pray so that he may obtain a double grace, to speak in tongues and to interpret these.

To be a tongue is an operation of the Holy Spirit, but for the mind it becomes fruitlessness because of the inability to understand or be benefited by what is being said. Therefore, he says, this must be done by me: to make clear what is supplied to me through the Spirit for the building up of those hearing, so that the mind is not fruitless by lacking the power of the words. Because if I give thanks with a tongue but no one can understand or benefit from what is said, the listener does not give the 'Amen'. He calls the 'layman' like a soldier who has not yet been baptized. He speaks of clarity of mind and common language. Strive to be perfect, to understand the Scriptures.

It must be noted that the Jews, being required, where God spoke to them in many tongues, they were disobedient and have nothing to show; but we demonstrate that when the Holy Spirit came and distributed tongues, the disobedient Jews were saying, 'They are drunk on sweet wine.' Thus, tongues are a sign not for the believers but for the unbelievers, and prophecy is not for the unbelievers but for the believers. Thus, tongues build up when the hearer learns that the speaker speaks a tongue he did not know; yet he does not receive the building up of the benefit of spiritual teaching because of the lack of understanding, so that no progress is made. For prophecy is for those coming, but regarding these things, the one who happens to be there is not the unbeliever but the faithful one.

The unbeliever has need of the one not knowing the tongue used, and of the one demonstrating that it is the Spirit of God in him. Thus, the tongue was a wonder, but prophecy is a wonder from its outcome, not in the speaking itself. Unbelief is said in two ways in the Divine Scripture: the true unbelief is that of the Greeks, and the little faith is that of the pious. He calls the Greek 'unbelieving', and the 'layman' the soldier who has not yet been baptized; for then they did not say 'catechumens' or 'unbaptized'. He calls them 'Law-abiding' like the other prophets, because they lived according to the Law. What was said to Isaiah then applied when the Spirit descended upon the apostles, and they spoke in tongues and the Jews mocked. It is clear that tongues benefit when the hearer knows that the speaker speaks a tongue he did not know nor learned from men; nevertheless, the matter does not benefit the...

20The listener is called an auditor because he does not perceive. Prophecy is given to the faithful, speaking of things to come, to those who do not believe by chance but who are faithful. The sign is given to the unbelieving so that he may believe what he sees, but prophecy is given so that he may confirm what is said and bless the Lord. The Greek is called an unbeliever, and the one being catechized is called a fool; and there are places where even the little-believing is called an unbeliever.

Each one, through which grace he has from God, let him build up the church by this. Having said this, he taught that one speaks by the Holy Spirit when he wishes to speak and is silent just as the prophets, not indeed those restrained by an unclean spirit; for they, even when they do not wish to speak, speak things they do not know. Through these things he shows that the Holy Spirit revealed mysteries to the souls, and that to be enlightened there, it was revealed to men, not like in the divinations where the diviner does not know what he utters. Therefore he gave back that first thing which he was saying, that when you were Gentiles toward the mute idols, as you were being led away.

Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others discern who have the gift of discerning spirits. If to another it is revealed while sitting, let the first be silent, as it is in them sometimes to be silent and sometimes to speak. And the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. Do not fear, he says, if you keep silent as if rejecting the Spirit; for he knows that the gifts are to be subject to one another. It is manifest that those having the gifts of the discerning of spirits should use them, so that the church may receive building up and not trouble from all speaking at once.

I say not something foreign, he says, but what I preached. And not only did I preach, but you did not receive, but what also you received. And you did not receive in vain or without foundation, but in which you are being saved. He says that he is about to say that he made known to you that the Lord Jesus died for us; by what word is this gospel, so that the resurrection may be believed; for Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection, having died for us. For if death were not to be abolished, the Savior would not have become man, unless in vain he returned.

You received it, instead of 'except that you believed in vain'; for I say that if you do not hold fast, it is evident that you believed in vain. The word of the gospel is the resurrection from the dead, the beginning of which is Christ. For if God did not intend for death to be taken away, He would not have become human. Therefore, if you do not hold fast to what you heard but have rejected it, it is clear that you believed in vain. The term 'instead of' stands for 'but'.

Regarding 1 Cor 15:3, 'In the first place' means 'before all things'; I delivered this to you. 'In the first place' means 'before all things'. I did not deliver a mere argument of my own, but what I received from the Scriptures. It was confirmed by eyewitnesses, that Christ, having died, rose and called him from heaven. Regarding 1 Cor 15:4, how was He buried, if He did not have flesh, according to the heretics? Regarding 1 Cor 15:6, 'instead of' means 'more than'.

Regarding 1 Cor 15:8, an abortion is that which is cast out in the womb before being formed and receiving the time due to it, which also cannot live. Just as in the womb infants are being formed, so in the Law souls were being pre-formed toward piety, and were born of water and Spirit. But Paul persecuted the church without being formed in the Law toward perfection—for he did persecute—therefore he called himself an abortion, and he brings this forth further: because I persecuted the church of God. Infants cast out before being formed in the womb are called abortions. Since in the Law souls were being pre-formed toward piety and were born of water and Spirit, but Paul, as one not having been formed in the Law, persecuted the church, therefore he rightly names himself an abortion.

Regarding 1 Cor 15:9–10a, 'least among the apostles', since he did not persecute them but, having believed, he persecuted. Being a persecutor, he happened to receive such grace according to the foreknowledge of God, so that he labored more than the others. Regarding 1 Cor 15:10b, 'not in vain did I receive much grace', but I used it for the sake of the preaching, laboring more than all of them. 'Instead of' means 'not in vain did I receive the grace'; for I have labored.

Regarding 1 Cor 15:12–13, it is not possible that Christ rose and the rest do not; but, to speak in agreement, if for nothing Christ died and rose, then through nothing is our resurrection. Regarding 1 Cor 15:14–18, he says, if Christ has not been raised, then in vain.

21You have believed that the sins of him who forgives are pardoned, even if he has not been raised. But if Christ is raised, just as he indeed is raised, it is evident that the sins are also pardoned, and the resurrection of the dead shall be.

For this reason, we are to be pitied, because we do not inherit the good things of this life. For if we despise the good things of the present life and voluntarily humble ourselves in poverty, temperance, and other things, hoping for other things, how are we not to be pitied, since we inherit the opposites of those things we hope to inherit? He only added to show that piety is a good of the present life. For in this life we serve with piety, and in that life we enjoy the rewards.

Paul asks what kind of death they say the Savior endured, or what kind of resurrection. If either seems so, it is merely an opinion of Christians; but if death is true, then his resurrection is also true. Let them say what kind of death or what kind of resurrection. Is it death by taking on flesh? Surely the Lord had flesh; and if he had flesh, he also died. And if he died, Christ has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep having been raised; therefore our own bodies are also raised.

But what kind of death shall I consider? Is it to die to sins? But he himself says: the ruler of this world comes, and in me he has nothing. Even if he died as a sinner and the death of sin, because he took away the sin of the world, by this word he has not risen until today; for he is always a sinner in taking away the sin of the world. But what kind of resurrection does Paul say of the Lord? Is it a deliverance from the flesh? Surely he had flesh. But a deliverance from sins? The same word will be said as before; and if Christ is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, it is a necessity that whatever resurrection we give to ourselves, we must also give to the Savior.

What kind of resurrection, then, do we receive? Is it a deliverance from the flesh? Surely the Lord also had flesh. But a deliverance from sins? Surely the Lord also had flesh from which he was delivered. Thus, from every direction, there is the following of the apostolic utterances and power. If the resurrection is of the soul, and its resurrection is understood as a deliverance of the flesh or of sins, how would those who have fallen asleep in Christ be lost, if they were righteous? For if they are in Christ, they are not sinners; and if it is a deliverance from the flesh, the soul is immortal and would not be lost. Do you see that concerning our flesh he says, that which sleeps in Christ, when we die: 'It is good for the one departing'?

Let those who receive these words say through which man death comes, or what kind of death. Is it through Adam? But the soul sinned, while the body was condemned. Furthermore: just as in Adam all die, and so on. He speaks according to the decision regarding the matter; not all are said to have died, for Enoch and Elijah live, and some are found living upon the earth.

22At the presence of the savior, he spoke regarding the decision and the necessity, since not all died like Enoch and Elijah; some will be found even living at the presence. Regarding Adam, he says 'in Adam' instead of 'through Adam', just as in Christ he says 'through Christ'. In Adam we die, clearly according to the body, and in Christ we shall be made alive, clearly according to the body; for if souls lived before Christ, and after Christ these alone live again, what is the excess of the economy?

Regarding the rank, he says righteous and unrighteous; he does not say the ones of Christ privately—he does not say the faithful here—but all, because all are of Christ. At his presence there will be the resurrection of all, when also the end occurs, the being baptized by both death and the devil; for this is the end of the world. Regarding the kingdom, he says not his own, but that which the evil one seized, having cast down Adam and those from him. But this he hands over to the Father; he will not be a stranger to it, for the Son co-reigns with the Father.

To rule is not an indication of a deadline but of an appointment, as if someone says: I must live uprightly until I achieve righteousness. He does not say that having achieved it I shall no longer live in righteousness, but that righteousness must be achieved through upright zeal. In the prophets also, 'until' is not necessarily a deadline but a limit, as in the Old Testament where he says: I am, I am until you grow old. He does not say that old age is the limit of his being, but that even if you grow old, I am—not a relative of yours but always being. Thus also now the 'until' signifies the end. What he says is this: his kingdom will not be interrupted in the middle, nor will the believers be taken away until what he set forth is achieved, and having achieved it, he will reign continuously.

If the bodies, he says, remain dead and do not rise, why are we baptized for these dead as if rising and being judged, receiving forgiveness of sins so as not to be judged? As much as I fought with beasts upon a man, God saved me. The Greeks argue that a seed divided no longer grows. Therefore also a man, having his foot cut off or his body entirely amputated, is no longer raised. They are ignorant that it was not nature producing nature that was set forth, but the power of the one who made it; that is, who gave the seed its growing nature and its generative power? Is it not God? Who is the one making the seed die first, and then rise? Is it not God?

23Therefore, having given the seed-power to the grain, He gave the strength of resurrection to our own bodies. This was not so that we received a body similar to the fruits and to men, but so that I might demonstrate the creative power.

It is not as the rising of other flesh; for a pattern has been used. He speaks of celestial bodies, the sun and the moon, and shows the things following. So also is the resurrection of the dead. You see that the first things were a pattern; but now that which is the pattern has been given. Regarding celestial bodies, he speaks of the sun and the moon.

He speaks of a psychic body as that which was killed by the sin of the soul, but a spiritual body as that which is raised by the power of the Spirit. This will no longer live according to the weakness of the soul, which is not sufficient to preserve the constitution of the body, but according to the power of the Spirit, which transfers it into immortality. Moses says this: the one who became a living soul, and the second man into a life-giving spirit. This is what the Gospel says; for that which is born in it is from the Holy Spirit.

From the earth is the man according to nature, but earthly according to choice. But concerning Christ he says from heaven: it does not become incorporeal through similarity or through resurrection. Those concerning Valentinus and Marcion, and those from Photius and Apollinaris, allow this, but the explicit word reproves them all. For I ask: did the one from earth, the earthly one, have a soul or not? They will not deny it. And did the Lord from heaven have a body from earth? Again I ask: why does he say the first man from earth is earthly, but the Lord is from heaven?

After these things: as the earthly is, so are the earthly ones; or is it evident that because the one is from earth by nature, and the earthly is by choice? Coming to 'as the earthly is', and accusing those who have not lived well, he no longer remembers the nature nor the one from earth, and he no longer says the Lord is from heaven but celestial; again, the spiritual ones were also from earth. As the earthly is, so are the earthly ones, and as the celestial is, so are the celestial ones. And it is necessary, if anyone were to deny that the Lord from heaven took on flesh, since the celestial ones also took on bodies from heaven, because as the earthly is, so are the earthly ones, and thus what is understood is not established at all.

24Otherwise it is not so. He spoke of nature, from which both those from this earth and the heavenly ones and those called earthly come; but no longer are both of them earthly. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to this: that the Lord from heaven is not called 'the heavenly ones,' and the heavenly ones from earth are not 'the Lord from heaven.' He speaks of an image of the earthly, namely the earthly conduct, and an image of the heavenly, namely the heavenly citizenship, so that instead of having imitated the disobedience of Adam, we might imitate also the obedience of the Son of God, having obeyed.

Many of the heretics draw others toward this regarding the resurrection through much folly. For he did not say that flesh and blood do not rise, but rather that they will not inherit the kingdom of God. He excluded the kingdom of the Son of God, not the grace of the resurrection. Therefore, what he says is this: that flesh, being flesh, does not inherit, and blood, being blood, does not inherit; for as long as flesh is flesh, it is corruptible. But having put on incorruptibility, having laid aside the weakness of the flesh, it becomes something else, that is, incorruptible. He proved what he had said before this, for he calls the kingdom incorruption, but calls the mortality in this age corruption. Thus, the opposite of the opposites does not inherit.

He made it manifest that many are trumpets, for having remembered the last, he understood also the first. And the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. If the dead are incorruptible and they themselves shall be changed, it is manifest. What is the need, if we also shall be changed? Or, at any rate, he said that the incorruptible is common to all, while the 'we shall be changed' alludes now to the change into something better; therefore he also said this concerning the righteous.

Having said this and having shown the body, he hemmed in the heretics who say there is no resurrection of the flesh but of the soul. For these also blaspheme concerning the divine economy, thinking that Christ was taken up not in truth but in a phantom, which is senseless. For if he did not have flesh, what is it that died and was buried and was raised? And if these things were a phantom, then surely we also die in a phantom. The incorruptible is indeed common to those who shall be raised, but the changing alone is the particular property of the saints, which shows the change into something better. As for the 'we', it is superfluous, unless he intends to signify concerning the saints, instead of those righteous around us, just as elsewhere, having said 'we', he signified the saints around him, the living ones. The collection is called a collection for the encouragement of the poor.