Chapter One

¹ Argument of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Corinth is a city of Greece; and at that time it abounded in wealth, and in wisdom, and in the other advantages. In this city Paul suffered many things. For Christ, appearing to him there, said, Be not silent, but speak, for I have much people in this city. The devil, therefore, seeing so great and populous a city laid hold of by the truth, divides the people; and some became self-appointed teachers, while of the multitude … [those] who were able to serve them for patronage.[1] And thus, vying with one another in ambition, they administered the Church. This, then, was grievous. And there was another thing: that a certain man, having consorted with his own stepmother, not only was not rebuked by the others, but even drew a following and was puffed up over the outward wisdom. And yet another thing again: out of fear of those supposedly more perfect, some out of gluttony were eating things sacrificed to idols, and reclining in the temples, were harming many. And others, quarrelling with one another over money, went to law before those outside the Church. And others, eating by themselves in the assemblies, did not share with those in need. And still others thought great things of themselves over the spiritual gifts.

² He writes back, then, in turn, not only concerning the things about which they had written, but also concerning the things about which they had not written, having learned all with exactness. Since, then, the greatest of all the rest was that there were schisms in the Church, and this was begotten of high-mindedness, he first pulls down the high-mindedness; wherefore he thus begins.

³ Chapter One. Paul, a called apostle. Observe the prologue, which at once lays hold of the false teachers.

⁴ Of Jesus Christ. Christ is the teacher; how then do you enroll men as teachers for yourselves?

⁵ By the will of God. Because he did not say, “It was because we were worthy,” but, He willed it, and so he saved and called. So that now also he wills me to be your apostle; and how is it that you want other teachers? Are you then without responsibility? And note the διά (“through”) set with reference to the Father.

⁶ And Sosthenes the brother. Out of modesty he joins to himself one far inferior; and this for the shaming of the high-minded Corinthians, who looked down upon all.

⁷ To the Church of God which is in Corinth. Not of this man or of that, but “of God.” How then do you have men as patrons? And if you are indeed a Church, you ought by all means to be united. For the very name of “Church” is indicative of union.

⁸ To those sanctified in Christ Jesus. Not in any man, but in Christ were you sanctified—through baptism, that is, and not through wisdom or wealth, on which you pride yourselves.

⁹ Called saints. Even the very believing was not your own, but, being called by God, you thus obeyed and believed. So that faith too has its beginning from God. For had he not called, you would not have believed.

¹⁰ With all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not to you Corinthians alone, he says, may grace and peace be, but also to “all who call upon the name of Christ,” not of this man or of that.

¹¹ In every place, both theirs and ours. He makes mention of the believers in every place, that he may show that all the faithful are one Church, wherever they may be. And how is it that you, being in one city, are divided? And a second time he added “ours.” For having said “of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and inserting in the middle “in every place,” he again took it up and said, “both our Lord and theirs,” that he might show him to be the common Master. But some understand it thus: “in every place, both theirs and ours”—that is, In which we also are, and they.

¹² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. From God are grace and peace. Both formerly, when, being at war against him, through his grace we were brought to peace; and now too I ever pray that these may be present to you from God, that you may fall away neither from his grace nor from peace, as men rising in faction against one another. How then do you assign yourselves to men, and seek from them grace and approval, as from teachers?

¹³ And of the Lord Jesus Christ. For the things which the Father gives, these the Son also gives. For this is indicative of the equality in both.

¹⁴ I give thanks. He trains us to be thankful; and in every Epistle, but more seasonably now, he employs thanksgiving. For thanksgiving is made over grace; and grace is no debt, nor a recompense. And this pulls down the conceit of the Corinthians.

¹⁵ To my God. Out of much love he makes the common God of all his own.

¹⁶ Always concerning you, for the grace of God. Through this he trains the Corinthians to be themselves always thankful to God, and not [to credit] their own achievements. “For the grace of God,” he says, not for your works, do I give thanks.

¹⁷ Which was given you in Christ Jesus. That is, through Christ Jesus, not through this man or that. So then, why do you give heed to men?

¹⁸ That in everything you were enriched in him. Again, instead of, through him. When, therefore, there is both wealth, and the wealth of God, and that in everything, and through the Only-begotten himself, how is it that you, being unthankful, enroll men as teachers for yourselves?

¹⁹ In all speech and all knowledge. There is speech without knowledge, as when one utters vain things devoid of meaning; and there is knowledge without speech, when one understands lofty things but has no faculty of interpretation. But for both to run together is to be able both to understand and to speak.

²⁰ Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. The “even as” stands for “through which.” Through the speech, he says, and the knowledge, in which you were enriched, the testimony was confirmed in you—that is, the testimony of Christ. For not through the outward wisdom did you receive the preaching, but through the signs and the gifts of which you were counted worthy.

²¹ So that you come behind in no gift. If they had the gifts unfailing, how does he later call them carnal? It may be said, then, that they were neither all spiritual nor all carnal; and so the things he now says, he says to the spiritual, while those things [he says] to the carnal. Or, that in the beginning it was likely they obtained all the gifts, but later grew slothful and lived according to the flesh.

²² Awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here he strikes fear into them, reminding them of the second coming of Christ. For if Christ is to be revealed, how is it that you have other patrons? And he shows also that, along with the gifts, there is need of the rest of virtue too. For in that day the gifts profit no one, unless he have also a virtuous life. And by saying “revelation” he makes it plain that even now he is present, but hidden; and then he will be revealed.

²³ Who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. In saying “will confirm,” he shows them to be wavering; and in saying “blameless,” he shows them to be subject now to charges. And he is many times mindful here of the Lord Jesus Christ, as often as in no other Epistle. So that through this he reminds the Corinthians by whom they were saved, and by whose name they are called. For they are Christians from Christ, and not from the name of any other man.

²⁴ Faithful is God, by whom you were called to the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. That is, true is God. And if true, he called us to the fellowship of his Son—that is, so as to glorify us together with the Son in his kingdom; it is plain that he will fulfill what he promised. And you were called, he says; you did not come forward of yourselves. How then are you high-minded, as over your own works? And note here, more clearly, the “by whom” set with reference to the Father.

²⁵ Now I exhort you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Since he is about to discourse with them rather sharply, taking it beforehand, he says he exhortes them through Christ; that is, It is not I who suffice for the entreaty, but I take along with me the name of the Lord, from whom you are called Christians; yet, having insulted this name, you have chosen to be called from men. Let this, then, put you to shame.

²⁶ That you all say the same thing, and that there be no schisms among you. What is it that I exhort? That you, he says, may all be in agreement, and not be divided. For that which is divided seems indeed to become many instead of one, yet neither did it become many (for what use is there in many fragments?), and it has destroyed the one. Most forcibly, then, he called schisms the things being done among them.

²⁷ But that you be fitly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. Since he had said above, “That you all say the same thing,” lest they should suppose the concord to be only as far as words, he adds that it is also “in the same mind”—that is, That you may also think the same things. And since many agree in this matter but not in that, on this account he added “fitly joined together”—that is, perfect, in agreement in all matters. And since many are united as to their thoughts but stand apart as to their judgment (for when we have the same faith, but are not knit together in love, we think the same things, yet stand apart in judgment), on this account, having said “in the same mind,” he added, “and in the same judgment”; that they may stand apart neither in faith nor in judgment.

²⁸ For it was declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe. That they might not deny it, nor that he might set them at war with these, he brings forward those whom he called upon as witnesses; and lest he himself should seem to be inventing, he adduces testimony for them. And he did not say “by Chloe,” but “by those of Chloe”—that is, by those of the household of Chloe. Now there was in Corinth a woman so named, Chloe. And he still names them brethren; for if the sin be manifest, nothing hinders his still calling them brethren. But he did not tell them who they were that had spoken, but set forth the whole household, that he might not set them at war with those persons.

²⁹ That there are contentions among you. He reports the matter from those there, using the milder word “contentions.” But when he speaks from his own term, he calls them schisms, which is far worse than contention.

³⁰ Now I say this, that each of you says: I am of Paul, and I of Apollos. He does not say a part [of you], but each of you. Yet they were not saying this; rather, he himself thus shapes the discourse, that he may show that, if to say “of Paul” makes them liable, much more to say “of others.”

³¹ And I of Cephas. Not exalting himself above Peter by placing him later, but rather honoring him the more; just as indeed he has placed Christ too last. For in matters not fit to be set first, he made mention of his own person.

³² And I of Christ. He does not bring this charge, that they say “And I of Christ,” but that not all say this. Rather, he set down this also of himself, wishing to make the accusation weightier, and to show that even Christ was assigned to one party, even if they were not doing this.

³³ Is Christ divided? Have you cut Christ in pieces? Have you parted his body? The word is full of indignation. But some understood “Is Christ divided?” thus: Did he distribute among men the Church that was divided, that, taking one portion, he should give the others to them?

³⁴ Was Paul crucified for you? He does away with the absurdity being done among them, and makes mention of his own name, that he might not seem out of envy to make mention of others’ names. And he did not say, Did Paul fashion you, or make you? but, what is far greater, declaring his ineffable love for man, he brings the cross into the midst. And he did not say, Did Paul die? but, “Was he crucified?”—showing the seeming dishonor of the death.

³⁵ Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? I too baptized many, he says, but into the name of Christ. And he says this since this also became a cause of schism, namely, to be called after those who baptized. Yet this is not what is in question, who it was that baptized, but into whose name he baptizes; for it is he that forgives the sins, not the one baptizing.

³⁶ I give thanks to God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius. Why do you think great things, he says, over baptizing, when I rather give thanks that I did not do this? And he says these things not to overthrow the power of baptism, but their arrogance, which they had over it. For baptism is a great thing, but to baptize is not great.

³⁷ Lest anyone should say that I baptized into my own name. Not that they were saying this concerning those men, but, I fear, he says, lest the disease should advance to this. For if, when imperfect men baptized, a heresy arose, perhaps, had I the herald baptized, some might with show of reason have ascribed the baptism to me.

³⁸ And I baptized also the household of Stephanas. All those in his house, that is. And he was a great man in Corinth, and most notable.

³⁹ Besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. So little, he says, is baptizing a matter of eagerness to me, that I do not even remember whether I baptized any other. How then do you exalt yourselves over this?

⁴⁰ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. For the more laborious task, and the one needing a soul of iron, was the preaching of the gospel. For to win over a man, and to remove him from doctrines firmly fixed, and that amid dangers, [belongs] to a great and noble soul. But to receive one ready and to baptize him would belong to anyone holding the priesthood. And if he was not sent to baptize, how did he baptize at all? He was not sent for this as his chief charge; yet he was not hindered from doing it. For he was sent for the greater work, but from the lesser he was not hindered. “Not in wisdom of speech”—that is, in eloquence and fine phrasing—lest the cross, or rather the preaching concerning the cross, be made empty and suffer diminishment. For this is the “be made empty”—that is, be found useless and void. For if the apostles had preached in wisdom of speech, some might have said that they persuaded through the plausibility of their words, and not through the power of what was preached; and this too would have been an emptying and a harm to the Crucified. But now, having preached in plain manner, they show the power of the Crucified to have wrought the whole. And the cross is wholly made empty in this way: suppose you should dispute with a Greek concerning some one of the divine things that surpass comprehension; if, then, I should undertake to demonstrate these to him from syllogisms and the outward wisdom, I shall be powerless—for no reasoning can establish them—and so my weakness will appear to be the weakness of the preaching, and thenceforth the cross is made empty, appearing as something vain and void.

⁴¹ For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness. Since there were certain unbelievers in Corinth who mocked the cross and said: It is truly folly to preach a crucified God. For if he were God, he would have defended himself when crucified; but he who could not thrust off death, how could he rise from the dead?—it was likely that the faithful would set themselves against these by their own wisdom. He says, therefore: Be not astonished. For to those who are perishing the things given by God for salvation seem foolishness. And by “word of the cross” he means the preaching of the cross—that is, of Christ crucified.

⁴² But to us who are being saved it is the power of God. To us, he says, who have not perished but are being saved, it is the power of God. But the cross displays also wisdom: power, in that by death it loosed death—for it is an abundance of power to conquer while falling; and wisdom, in that by this very means it saved those who had perished.

⁴³ For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the prudent I will set at nought. Having called the unbelieving wise men “those who perish,” he establishes this from Scripture. For it said, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise”—of those outside—that is, I will show it to be profitless, which is no part of wisdom; and the understanding of those who seem to understand and perceive, I will set at nought.

⁴⁴ Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? He spoke the words of Scripture; now, then, he brings also the proof from facts. And he convicts the Greeks in saying “Where is the wise?”—that is, the philosopher; and the Jews in saying “Where is the scribe?” And he named “disputers” those who entrust all things to reasonings and inquiries. For none of these saved us, but the fishermen drew us out of error. And “God made foolish the wisdom” stands for, He showed it to be inoperative.

⁴⁵ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom knew not God, that is, those who [pursue] the things of the world (seeking, that is, through the wisdom that lies in eloquence), it pleased God through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe. The Greeks might indeed have had as teacher the wisdom of God, contemplated, that is, in the creatures; but they knew not God through the wisdom that lies in diction. There is no need, then, of such wisdom.

⁴⁶ Since both the Jews ask for a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we [preach] Christ crucified. Paul wishes to show that through contraries God wrought the contrary effects; and he says: Whenever I say to the Jew, Believe, at once he seeks signs; but we preach Christ crucified, which is so far from being a display of signs that it is even [a display] of weakness, so far as appears; and yet by this seeming weakness he is led on to faith. Again: the Greeks seek wisdom from us, but to them too we preach the cross, which in both respects seems to be folly; yet thus too they are persuaded. The Jews, he says, have the Crucified as a stumbling-block; while the Greeks deride the mystery as folly, because it is by faith alone that the crucifixion of God is apprehended, and because it is not adorned with fine phrasing.

⁴⁷ But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. To the unbelieving Jews, he says, Christ is a stumbling-block; and to the unbelieving Greeks he seems folly, because the things they seek they do not find in him. But to the called Jews and the called Greeks—that is, to those called by God—Christ is found to be both. For what do you seek, O Jew? Signs? Behold, Christ is the power of God. And you, what do you say, O Greek? You seek wisdom? You have Christ, who is the wisdom of the Father.

⁴⁸ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. He names the cross “foolish,” as it seems thus; yet it is wiser than men. For the philosophers busied themselves about cold and profitless things; but the cross saved the world. And it seems weak too, as Christ was crucified out of weakness; but it is stronger than men, not only because, though countless men wished to quench this name, it rather flourishes, but also because through the seeming weak the strong devil was bound. And you may understand these things also thus: that in the case of God the supremely-wise is called unwise, that is, foolish; and the supremely-strong, weak; just as his super-luminous brightness too is called darkness and gloom.

⁴⁹ For behold your calling, brethren, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. Examine, he says, and search out those called to the faith, and you will find that not many are wise according to the flesh—that is, according to appearance. But he did not say that no one is wise, but, “not many.” For there were wise men also in the faith, as the Areopagite, as the proconsul, and others not now known by name. And mighty men also and noble believed. On this account, then, he said of all, “Not many.” So then, behold the power of the preaching, how it taught such unlettered men doctrines so wise, and how the outward wisdom is shown to be a useless thing.

⁵⁰ But God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame the wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the strong. For it is a shame to the Greeks, when they see the craftsman in the marketplace philosophizing beyond them, and the weak man putting to shame those in positions of power.

⁵¹ And God chose the base things of the world and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nought the things that are. Those who are reckoned to be nothing, these he names “the things that are not”; and “the things that are,” those who seem to be something. That he might therefore show these to be idle and useless, he chose those others. For this is the greatest shame to the renowned, that he made the despised to shine, and the renowned to fail.

⁵² That no flesh should boast before God. For this reason, he says, God did these things: that he might lay low the conceit and arrogance of those who mind the things of the world, and persuade them to refer all things to him, and not to boast before him. How then do you, O Corinthians, exalt yourselves over this?

⁵³ But of him are you in Christ Jesus. Do not understand the “of him” to be said concerning the bringing into being, but concerning the bringing into well-being. And what he says is of this kind: You became children of God, and are of him, having become his sons in Christ—that is, through Christ. And since he said, “He chose the base things,” he shows that they are more noble than all.

⁵⁴ Who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. That is, He made us prudent, and righteous, and holy, and free. For this is redemption, the recall from captivity. And just as, having chosen the base, he made them noble, setting them as sons of God, so also [he made] the foolish wise, having become to us wisdom. Why then did he not say that he made us wise, but “He was made to us wisdom”? To display the loftiness of the gift. And having said great things concerning the Son, he adds the “from God,” that no one may suppose [the Son to be unoriginate], but may run up to the cause, the Father. And observe the order: first he made them wise, having freed them from error and taught them the knowledge of God; and then righteous, having granted forgiveness of sins; then having also sanctified them through the Holy Spirit; and thus he wrought a complete deliverance from all evils, and made us free, and consecrated to himself.

⁵⁵ That, as it is written: He that boasts, let him boast in the Lord. All these things, he says, came to pass, that no one might reckon himself to be something, nor boast in himself, or in any other, but in God, who bestowed such things on us. How then are you puffed up both over yourselves and over men as teachers?