A Matter Of Judgements

Mihi autem pro minimo est, ut a vobis dijudicer, aut ab humano die. Quos in tantis vitiis reprehendit, miserum dicit ab his se judicari; quippe cum nec a justis judicandum se sciret. Aut ab humano die, hoc est, quia nec a legibus mundo creditis judicandus erat. Supergressus enim humanam justitiam, coelesti justitiae studebat, sicut dicit Dominus: Nisi abundaverit justitia vestra plusquam scribarum et pharisaeorum, non intrabitis in regnum Dei. Humanum ergo diem cum dicit, significat et divinum; in quo judicaturus est Christus, quia sicut jurisconsulti seu pontifices, quos vocant sacerdotes, certos dies quibus judicatur, decreverunt; ita et dies Domini definitus est, quo judicaturus est mundum. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 17.203a-b

To me it is little that I am judged by you, or by man's day... 1 He admonishes those steeped in vice, saying that it is wretched that he should be judged by them, for certainly he knows he is not judged by the righteous there. 'Or by man's day' means that he would not be judged by the laws of the world either, for he was eager for the heavenly justice which far surpasses human justice, as the Lord says, 'Unless your righteousness far exceeds the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.' 2 Therefore when he speaks of man's day, he points to the Divine day on which Christ shall judge, because just as juriconsults or pontiffs, whom they call priests, decreed certain days for judgement, so there is a set day of the Lord on which the world shall be judged. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 4 1 1 Cor 4.3 2 Mt 5.20

Bodies And Members

Oὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι τὰ σώματα ὑμῶν μέλη Χριστοῦ ἐστιν; ἄρας οὖν τὰ μέλη τοῦ Χριστοῦ ποιήσω πόρνης μέλη; Τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν ἐ τῆς ἁγνείας, Χριστοῦ μέλη μεμενηκότα, μεθέξους πάντως τῆς παρ' αὐτοῦ ζωῆς τε καὶ δόξης μετα σχηματίσει γὰρ τὸ σῶμα τῆς ταπεινώσεως ἡμῶ σύμμορφον τῷ σώματι τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ. Εἰ δὲ δὴ γι νοιτο πόρνης μέλη, πῶς ἂν λάβοι τὸν μετασχημα σμὸν καὶ τὴν τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν συμμορφίας λαμπρότητα νοητήν; Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τὴν Πρωτάν Ἐπιστολήν Παύλου Πρὸς Κορινθίους, Ἐκλογαι Source: Migne PG 74.827a

Do you know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I take the members of Christ and make them members of a whore? 1 If the members of our body are pure they shall remain members of Christ, and we shall participate in His life and His glory, for He shall transform the body of our humility so that it conforms with His glorious body. 2 But if they become members of a whore, how will it be possible for them to be transformed and spiritually conformed with Him? Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the First Letter to the Corinthians, Fragment 1 1 Cor 6.15 2 Phil 3.21

Speech And Power

Καὶ γνώσομαι οὐ τὸν λόγον τῶν πεφυσιωμένων, ἀλλὰ τὴν δύναμιν. Τίς ἡ ὄνησις λέξεως λαμπρᾶς ἐχούσης τῶν ἀγαθῶν οὐδὲν , ὁποία ἡ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐστίν; Ἡ δέ γε τῆς θεοπνεύστου Γραφῆς ἁπλῆ μὲν ἔστι καὶ κατειθισμένη, πλουσίως γε μὴν ὀνίνησι καὶ ἀποφέρει λαμπρῶς εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθῆ τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν ὄντος Θεοῦ· ἀποτελεῖ δὲ πρὸς τοῦτο καὶ παντα άξια τοῦ πράγματος ἐπιμελητάς· οὗ δὴ γεγονότος, καταπλουτήσειεν ἄν τις καὶ τῶν διὰ Πνεύματος χαρισμάτων τὴν ἀξιόληπτον χάριν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐν λόγῳ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν δυνάμει. Τὸ δὲ ἐ ἐν δυνάμει νοήσεις, εἱ μὲν ἐπ ' αὐτῶν φέροιτο τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων, ὡς ἐν ἰσχύῖ τε καὶ ἐνεργείᾳ τῇ διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος, καθ ' ἦν εἰσι καὶ θαυματουργοί. Εί δ᾽ ἐφ᾽ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν, ὡς ἐν δυνάμει ζωῆς τῆς ἁγίας καὶ εἰλικρινοῦς ἐκδέξῃ τὸ εἰρημένον. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τὴν Πρωτάν Ἐπιστολήν Παύλου Πρὸς Κορινθίους, Ἐκλογαι Source: Migne PG 74.868c

And I will not know the speech of those who are puffed up, but power. 1 The usefulness of splendid oratory, if it has nothing good in it, how is it but a thing of the Gentiles? The oratory of the inspired Scriptures is certainly simple and common, but it profits most abundantly, and it bestows a true understanding of the Divine nature, and then it produces those who care for every good work, who have not become so but by being enriched through the desirable grace of the Holy spirit. For the kingdom of heaven is not a matter of words but acquired by virtue. However if the Apostle speaks of 'power' regarding the saints you should understand it as referring to the fortitude and strength by which,  through the Spirit, miracles are brought forth. And if 'power' is spoken of in reference to us, you should think it is said of the power of a holy and pure life. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the First Letter to the Corinthians, Fragment 1 1 Cor 4.19

Servants And Dispensers

Ita nos existimet homo, ut ministros Christi, et dispensatores mysteriorum Dei. Hoc signifiacit, quia minus de illo sentiebant aliqui Corinthiorum, sed ut homo hoc de illo sentiret, quod et Deus, qui illum elegerat; ideo ministros Christi ait, et dispensatores mysteriorum Dei. Quando enim non verborum strepitu, neque humana sapientia nitebatur intelligi; debuit sacramentum Christi dispensare, in quo non verba, sed virtus fulgebat: non per quod homo, sed Deus gloriosus videretur; collega enim piscatorum, non aliter quam illi, Christum praedicabat. Cum ergo ministrum se Christi et sacramentorum Dei probat, pseudoapostolos notat, et abnegat Christi esse quod tradunt, per id quod discordarent a traditione apostolica. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 17.202b-c

Let a man think of us as servants of Christ, and dispensers of the mysteries of God. 1 This signifies that some among the Corinthians thought little of him, but a man should think this of him, that God chose him. Therefore he says, 'ministers of Christ, and dispensers of the mysteries of God.' For it was not with the cry of words nor with human wisdom that he was striving to be understood, for the mystery of Christ should be dispensed where power blazes forth and not words, and where the glory of God and not man appears, since as a colleague of fishermen and nothing else he preached Christ. Therefore when he asserts himself to be a servant of Christ and the mysteries of God, he refers to false apostles, and denies they can give the things of Christ, because they are in disagreement with the Apostolic tradition Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 4 1 1 Cor 4.1

Inheriting The Kingdom

Ὅτι σάρξ καὶ αἷμα βασιλείαν Θεοῦ κληρονομή και οὐ δύνανται. Συνίστησι τὸ τῆς ἀναστάσεως και διὰ τούτου μυστήριον. Ἕως μὲν γὰρ ἐστι ἡ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον σάρξ καὶ αἷμα, τουτέστι θνητὸν καὶ φθαρτὸν, Θεοῦ βασιλείαν, τουτέστι τὸ εἶναι δηνεκῶς, οὐκ ἂν δύναιτο κληρονομεῖν. Πᾶσα δὴ οὖν ἀνάγκη καταπίνεσθαι τὴν φθορὰν καὶ ἀφανίζεσθαι τὸ εὐμάραντον, μεταπλάττεσθαι δὲ πρὸς ἀφθαρσίαν αὐτὸ, καὶ θείᾳ τινὶ καὶ ἀποῤῥήτῳ δόξῃ καταφαιδρύνεσθαι κληρονομήσει γὰρ τότε τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ βασιλείαν. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τὴν Πρωτάν Ἐπιστολήν Παύλου Πρὸς Κορινθίους, Ἐκλογαι Source: Migne PG 74.912b

For flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 1 With this he understands the mystery of the resurrection. While the human body is flesh and blood, that is, mortal and corruptible, it cannot inherit the kingdom of God, which is immortal. Therefore it is necessary for corruption to be absorbed and for whatever is fallen to be taken away. Thus being turned into what is incorruptible it is illuminated with a certain Divine and ineffable glory, for then it shall possess the kingdom of God. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the First Letter to the Corinthians, Fragment 1 1 Cor 15.50

The Wisdom Of Words

Non in sapientia verbi, ut non evacuetur crux Christi. Quia praedicatio christiana non indiget pompa et cultu sermonis, ideoque piscatores homines imperiti electi sunt, qui evangelizarent; ut doctrinae veritas ipsa se commendaret, teste virtute; ne hominum versutia et calliditate humanae sapientiae acceptabilis videretur, non veritate, sicut disciplinae ab hominibus inventae, in quibus non ratio, non virtus, sed verborum quaeritur compositio: ac per hoc gloriam suam quaerit, qui fidem Christi verbis exornare vult. Obscurat enim illam splendore verborum, ut non illa, sed ipse laudetur; sicut et pseudoapostoli, ne stulti viderentur prudentibus mundi, in sapientia hominum Christum praedicabant duplici genere; ut eloquentiae studerent, et ea quae mundus in nobis stulta judicat, evitarent: ut neque incarnatum Dei Filium, et de Virgine natum docerent, neque carnis futuram resurrectionem; quia mundi istud sapientia et ratio stultum judicat: ac per hoc Apostolus non se in sapientia hominum dicit Christum praedicare; ne evacuetur, inquit, crux Christi; quia qui in sapientia hominis Christum annuntiat, negat veritatem praedicationis. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput V Source: Migne PL 17.188a-c

Not in the wisdom of words, that the cross of Christ not be emptied. 1 Because Christian preaching does not need the pomp and the cult of oratory, and therefore simple fishermen were chosen to evangelise, so that the teaching of truth might commend itself by the witness of power, lest human cunning and the cleverness of human wisdom seem to make it acceptable, not the truth, as it is in the disciplines of men in which there is no reason nor virtue but the arrangement of words is sought and through this a man who wishes to adorn the faith of Christ with words seeks his own glory. For the splendour of words obscures it, so that the speaker and not it is praised, and so it is with false apostles, who lest they seem fools according to the world's wisdom preach Christ with the wisdom of men in two ways, so that zealous for eloquence they avoid the things which the world judges foolish among us, and so they teach neither the incarnation of the Son of God, nor the Virgin birth, nor the future resurrection of the flesh, because the wisdom and reason of the world judges these things to be foolish. Because of which the Apostle says that he does not preach Christ with the wisdom of men, lest the cross of Christ be emptied, because he who announces Christ with the wisdom of men denies the truth of the preaching. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 5 1 1 Cor 1.17

Understanding and the Animal Man

Tὸ γὰρ πνεῦμα πάντα ἐραυνᾷ, καὶ τὰ βάθη τοῦ θεοῦ. Βάθη τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ἱερῶν Γραμμάτων ἡ κεκρυμμένη καὶ ἀπόθετος γνῶσις, ἢς εἰδὸς τὸ Πνεῦμα ταῖς τῶν ἁγίων ἀποκαλύπτει ψυχαῖς, θεῖον τινα νοῦν ἀποφεῖνον τὸν αὐτοῖς. Ψυχινὸς δὲ ἄνθρωπος οὐ δέχεται τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ θεοῦ, μωρία γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐστιν, καὶ οὐ δύναται γνῶναι... Ψυχινός ἐστιν ὁ κατὰ σάρκα ζῶν καὶ μήπω τὸν νοῦν φωτισθεὶς διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἀλλὰ μόνην τὴν ἐμφυτον καὶ ἀνθρωπίνην σύνεσιν ἔχων, ἤν ταῖς ἀπὰντων ψυχαῖς ἐμβάλλει ὁ Δημιουργός. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τὴν Πρωτάν Ἐπιστολήν Παύλου Πρὸς Κορινθίους, Ἐκλογαι Source: Migne PG 74.865b-c

For the Spirit scrutinises everything, even the depths of God... The depths of God are the secret and hidden meanings of Holy Scripture, which the Spirit reveals to those who have holy souls, making a certain Divine mind dwell in them. But the animal man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, because it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand... 1 An animal because of his living according to the flesh and not yet having a mind enlightened by the Holy Spirit, but only having the innate human understanding, which is sent into every soul by the Creator. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the First Letter to the Corinthians, Fragment 1 1 Cor 2.14

The First And Second Man

Ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος ἐκ γῆς χοϊκός, ὁ δεύτερος ἄνθρωπος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ. Ὁ πρῶτος, φησὶν, ἄνθρωπος, τουτέστιν Ἀδὰμ, εἰς ψυχὴν πεποίητο ζῶσαν, τουτέστιν γεώδης καὶ σαρκικός· ὃ γε μὴν δεύτερος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ γέγονε σὰρξ ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, κατὰ τὰς Γραφὰς ἀλλ' ἡ ... καὶ ὁ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἐπαάνω πάντων, κατὰ τὴν Ἰωάννου φωνήν. Οὐκ οῦν ἄμφω μὲν ἤστην, ὡς ἔφην, ἐν γηῖνοις σώμασιν, οὐ μήν καὶ ἐν ἴσοις ἔτι κατὰ γε τὴν γνώμην ἤτοι τὸν τῆς ζωῆς τρόπον· ἤν μὲν γὰρ ὁ πρῶτος ἐν φρονήματι σαρκικῷ, πνεῦμα δὲ ζωοποιοῦν ὁ δεύτερος καὶ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ. Καὶ ὥσπερ ἐφορέσαμεν τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ χοῖμοῦ, τουτέστι τὴν πρὸς Ἀδὰμ ὁμοίωσιν, καὶ παθῶν ἠττώμενοι καὶ ἀσθηνοῦντες εἰς ἁμαρτίας, καίτοι τῆς φθορᾶς ὑπενηνεγμένοι ζυγοῖς, οὔτω φορέσομεν καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου, τουτέστι Χριστοῦ· καὶ φιλοσαρκίας ἀμείνους καὶ τοῦ πλημμελεῖν ἐθέλειν ἔτι γεγενημένοι, καὶ αὐτὸν ἤδη νενικηκότες τὸν πάλαι δεινὸν καὶ δυσάντητον καὶ ἀγρίως καθ' ἡμῶν τυραννήσαντα θάνατον. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τὴν Πρωτάν Ἐπιστολήν Παύλου Πρὸς Κορινθίους, Ἐκλογαι Source: Migne PG 74.909d-912a

The first man from earth, earthly, the second man from heaven. 1 The first man, he says, that is, Adam, was made with a living soul, that is, with one earthly and carnal, and the second was from heaven. For even if the Word of God was made flesh, according to the Scriptures, yet He was from heaven, and superior to everything, as John says. 2 Thus both were, as I say, in earthly bodies, but they were not equal in mind or in way of life, for the first was amid carnal affections, and the second was a living spirit and from heaven. And as we have borne the image of earth, that is the likeness of Adam, bound up in the infirmity of passions and sins and subject to the yoke of corruption, so we should bear the image of heaven, that is, Christ, being made superior in will to lusts and sinning, and finally conquerors of that old and terrible and oppressive and cruel tyrant death. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the First Letter to the Corinthians, Fragment 1 1 Cor 15.47 2 Jn 3.31

Escaping The Mouth

Ἔξεστιν ἐμπεσόντα τινὰ εἰς τοῦ θηρὸς στόμα, τοῦ διαβόλου φημὶ, ἀπολυθῆναι τούτου διὰ τῆς μετανοίας, καθάπερ λελύτρωται καὶ ἐῥῥύσθη ὁ ἐν Κορίνθῲ προφθαρεὶς τῇ μητρυιᾷ ἐκ φάρυγγος τοῠ ἐχθροῦ, πρὶν τῆ περισσοτέρᾳ λύπῃ καταποθεῖ, καὶ εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν χωρήσῃ τοῦ θηρίου διὰ τῆς ἀγεννσυς δυσθυμίας, καὶ τῆς ἀπογνώσεως. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΣΙΒ’ Ιγνατιῷ Ἀνθυπατῳ Source: Migne PG 79.161a

It is possible for one who has fallen into the mouth of the beast, I speak of the devil, to be released through repentance, as he was released and delivered from the jaws of the enemy who in Corinth associated with his step mother, 1 before he was absorbed by an excess of sorrow and a weak soul in despair and torment was engulfed by the bestial belly. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 212, to Ignatius the Proconsul 1 1 Cor 5.1

Corruption And Cleansing

Nescitis quia modicum fermentum totam massam corrumpit? Ita et peccatum unius, quod cognitum non arguitur, multos contaminat; immo omnes qui norunt, et non devitant, aut cum possint arguere, dissimulant. Non enim sibi videtur peccare, quando a nullo corripitur aut vitatur. Expurgate vetus fermentum, ut sitis nova conspersio. Hoc duplici genere accipiendum est, quia est et fermentum humana doctrina, dicente Salvatore: Cavete a fermento Pharisaeorum, id est a doctrina. Et ad malam ergo doctrinam cavendam, et ad hanc causam dictum est, quia eiecto fornicatore, vetus fermentum eiicitur. Ideo autem vetus quia antiqui erroris peccatum est. Nova autem compositio, Christi doctrina est. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput V Source: Migne PL 17.209a-c

Do you not know that a little leaven corrupts the whole mass? 1 Thus even one sin, which is known and not disputed, infects many. Indeed all who know and do not admonish it or dispute it when they are able to do so, they lie. For it does not seem a sin to a man when he is not corrected nor condemned by anyone. Clean out the old leaven that you may be a new lump. This must be understood in two ways, because there is a leaven of human teaching, concerning which the Saviour says: 'Beware the leaven of the Pharisees.' 1 That is, beware their teaching, and therefore it is a warning against wicked teaching, and for this reason it was said, because with the ejection of the fornicator, the old leaven is ejected. Therefore it is old because it is the sin of the old error. But the new lump is the teaching of Christ. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 5 1 1 Cor 5.6 2 Mt 16.11

Wisdom And Foolishness

Scriptum est: Quia mundus in Dei sapientia, per sapientiam Deum non congnovit: placuit Deo per stultitiam praedicationis salvos facere credentes. Mundus sapientiam habuit, per quam Deum non potuit cognoscere positum in sapientia sua. Sapientia mundi fuit ratio humana, secundum visibilium rerum naturam et elementa hujus mundi formata. Sapientia Dei fuit ejus ineffabilis majestas, et incomprehensibilis bonitas. Erat et prudentia mundi circa commoda carnis diligens circumspectio. Sapientia ergo mundi quae humana ratione incedit, negat fidem; prudentia autem mundi quae carnis tantum commoda quaere docet, et vitare incommoda, destruit bonam operationem. Propterea sapientiam mundi stultam reputat Deus, et prudentiam judicat inimicam, quoniam illa veritati adversatur, ista dilectioni. Propterea utramque destruxit Deus: sapientiam, per stultitiam; prudentiam, per insaniam. Quasi enim, stultitam quaedem Dei fuit secundum humanum sensum, quod ad abjecta et indigna sibi se humiliavit. Insania autem reputata, quod sine necessitate tam dura susinuit. Et tamen qui in sapientia sua cognosci non potuit, quasi in stultitia agnita est, quoniam qui in sua celesitudine manes non potuit comprehendi, in sua humilitatione coepit agnosci. Quasi enim in sua sapientia Deus fuit, quando in eo quod ipsum decere videbatur, permansit; sed ibi agnitus non est, donec quasi desipuit et indigna suscepit. Ibi autem sapientiam mundi destruxit, ubi se in eo quod stultum mundo videtur, demonstravit, ut disceret homo supra rationem mundi esse quod videbat in natura hominis Deum apparere. Deinde autem quasi per insania Deus prudentiam carnis evacuavit, quando contra ejus existimationem agens carnem suam, sine retractione ad poenas et tormenta exposuit, et sic eam ad incorruptionem resurrectionis eduxit, ostendens quod non parcendo, sed castigando et persequendo carnem servare oportet. Sic ergo quia in sapientia sua per sapientiam mundus non cognovit Deum, placuit Deo per stultitiam praedicationis salvos facere credentes. Stulta enim videbantur quae dicebantur, sed tamen per haec demonstrata magis sunt stulta quae probabantur et amabantur. Quae probabantur ratione stulta, et quae amabantur dilectione insana; illa sine veritate, ist sine utilitate. Stultum enim fuit supra carnis sensum veritatem Dei pertinaciter non recipere, et insania fruit propter carnis commodum detrimentum animae patienter sustinere. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I, Tit CXCVII De sapientia Dei et mundi Source: Migne PL 177.586a-587a

It is written, 'Because in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save believers.' 1 The world had its wisdom, through which, established in it own wisdom, it was unable to know God. The wisdom of the world was human reason which was fashioned for visible things and the elements of this world. The wisdom of God was His ineffable majesty and incomprehensible goodness. The prudence of the world was for the affectionate care of the flesh. Therefore the wisdom of the world that is given to human reason denies faith, for the prudence of the world teaches that one should seek only the comforts of the flesh and avoid its harm, whence it ruins good work. Therefore God reckons the wisdom of the world foolishness and judges prudence to be an enemy, since the former is averse to truth, the latter to love. Whence God overthrew both, wisdom by foolishness and prudence by madness. For according to human understanding it was by a certain foolishness of God that He lowered Himself to an abject and unworthy state. And it was reputed madness that without necessity He endured such trials as He did. And yet He who was not able to be known in His own wisdom, was as by foolishness known, because He who  in His heaven cannot be comprehended began to be known in His humiliation. For He was as God in His own wisdom when He seemed to do what befitted Him, but because of that He was not known, until He, as one acting unreasonably, took up an unworthy state. And thereby He destroyed the wisdom of the world when in what seemed foolish to the world He revealed Himself, so that man might learn of the reason beyond the world, since He saw God appear in the nature of man. Finally as by madness God emptied the flesh of prudence when against its judgement He took up the flesh and exposed Himself without excuse to punishment and torment, yet by that He led it to the incorruption of resurrection, showing that it is not by being spared but by beatings and persecution that one should care for the flesh. Therefore because in its own wisdom the world did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save believers. For what the preachers say seems foolish, yet by these things the things that men have approved and loved were demonstrated to be more foolish. What they approved in reason was foolish, and what they loved with delight was madness, for the former was without truth, the latter without usefulness. For it was foolish under the understanding of the flesh to stubbornly refuse the truth of God, and insane because of the advantage to the flesh to patiently suffer the ruin of the soul. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chapter 197, On The Wisdom of God and the World 1 1 Cor 1.21

Apostles And Servants

Quid igitur est Apollo? Quid vero Paulus? Ministri ejus, cui credidistis. Ut quia ministri sunt spes in his non sit, sed in Deo, cujus ministri sunt. Illi enim gratiarum actio deferenda est, cujus donum est; hi vero servi, quos etiam invitos oportet. Numquid non Moyses coactus est ire ad Pharaonem; et Jonas invitius missus est praedicare Ninivitis, et Ananias contradicens missus est Saulo manum imponere? Et unicuique sicut Dominus dedit. Id est, sicut voluit, et scivit?, divisit singulis efficia ministerii Ego plantavi, Apollo rigavit, sed Deus incrementum dedit. Plantare est evangelizare, et ad fidem attrahere: rigare vero, baptizare solemnibus verbis: peccata autem dimittere, et Spiritum dare, Dei solius. Si ergo effectum salutis Deus dat, nulla gloria in hac re hominis est. Scimus enim et Spiritum sanctum sine manus impositione datum a Deo, et non baptizatum consecutum remissionem peccatorum. Numquid non hic invisibiliter baptizatus est, quanod baptismatis consecutus est? Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput I Source: Migne PL 17.198c-199a

What, then, is Apollos? What Paul? His servants, of the One you have believed in...1 So that because they are servants there should be no hope placed in them but rather in God whose servants they are. To Him thanksgiving should be given, to Him who gives the gift. They are servants, and even if they are unwilling. Did not Moses go under constraint to Pharaoh? Was not Jonah unwilling when he was sent to preach to the Ninivites? And did not Ananias protest when he was sent to place his hands on Saul? 2 And as the Lord gives to each one... That is, as He wishes and knows, He distributes to each one useful services. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth... To plant is to evangelise, and to draw to the faith. To water is to baptise with solemn words. But to forgive sins and to give the Spirit belongs to God alone. If therefore God gives the reward of salvation, there is no glory in it for a man. For we know the Holy Spirit has been given by God without the placing on of hands, and that forgiveness of sins has been given without baptism. Is it not that he has been baptised invisibly when that which belongs to baptism follows? Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 1 1 1 Cor 3.5 2 Exod 3.18-4.17, Jonah 1.1-3, Acts 9.10-19

From Whom Is Everything

Nobis tamen unus Deus Pater, ex quo omnia, et nos in illo... Omnia enim ex illo quaeque sunt, ubicumque sunt. Cum autem dicit: Et nos in illo, discrevit nos a caeteris, qui cum ex illo sint, non tamen sunt in illo, dum adhuc non credunt. Et unus Dominus Jesus, per quem omnia, et nos per ipsum. Omnia enim ex Patre quidem, sed per Filium creata sunt. Sed cum dicit: Et nos per ipsum, reformatos nos per ipsum, per quem creati fueramus, significat in Dei cognitione; quia facti per ipsum cum caeteris, post stuporem mentis et ignorantiae nos per ipsum agnovimus mysterium unius Dei. Unum ergo Deum Patrem dixit, et unum Dominum Jesum Filium ejus; ut quia Deus non potest non esse Dominus, similiter et Dominus intelligatur esse et Deus, unum esse Deum et Dominum demonstraret, modum unius principii conservando. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 17.227a-b

But to us God the Father is one, from whom is everything and we in Him... 1 Everything is from Him, whatever they are and wherever they are. But when he says: 'And we in Him,' he distinguishes us from others, who when they are from Him are yet not in Him while they do not yet believe. 'And one Lord Jesus through whom is everything and we though Him.' Certainly everything is from the Father but created through the Son. And when he says: 'And we through Him' it means us renewed through Him, through whom we had been created, in the knowledge of God, because made through Him with others, after the stupor of the mind and ignorance, through Him we come to know the mystery of the One God. Therefore he says that God the Father is one and one is Lord Jesus Christ His Son, for it is not possible  that God is not Lord, and likewise the Lord should be understood to be God, whence he demonstrates One God and Lord, in maintaining the way of one beginning. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 8 1 1 Cor 8.6

Death And Revival And Judgement

Sicut enim in Adam omnes moriuntur, ita in Christo omnes vivificabuntur. Hoc dicit, quia sicut Adam peccans mortem invenit et omnes ex ejus origine tenuit, ut dissolvantur: ita et Christus non peccans, et per hoc vincens mortem, quia qui non peccat, vincit mortem, quia mors ex peccato, omnibus qui sunt ex ejus corpore, acquisivit vitam, id est, resurrectionem. Quamvis ergo generalem tribuerit resurrectionem, ut sicut in Adam omnes sive justi sive injusti moriuntur; ita et in Christo omnes tam credentes, quam diffidentes resurgant, licet ad poenam increduli; tamen vivificari videntur; quia corpora sua recipient, jam non morituri, sed passuri poenam in eis sine fine: quod credere noluerunt. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput XV Source: Migne PL 17.263d-264a

For as all die in Adam, so all shall be revived in Christ. 1 He says this because Adam found death in sin and so all who are bound to his beginning perish, and thus Christ who does not sin, by this conquers death, because He who does not sin, conquers death because death comes from sin. So for all who are part of his body, He has acquired life, that is, the resurrection. Although, then, He shall give the general resurrection to all, since as all die in Adam, whether they are just or unjust, so all who believe in Christ and all who do not shall rise, yet the disbelievers will rise to punishment, though they appear to be restored to life. For they will receive their bodies and die no more, but they will suffer punishment without end, because they would not believe. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 15 1 1 Cor 15.22

Apostles And Spectacles

Puto enim quod Deus nos apostolos novissimos ostendit, quasi morti destinatos. Hoc personae suae deputat, quia semper in necessitate fuit, persecutiones et pressuras ultra caeteros passus, sicut passuri sunt Enoch et Elias, qui ultimo temporte futuri sunt apostoli. Mitti enim habent ante Christum ad praeparandum populum Dei, et muniendas omnes Ecclesias, ad resistendum antichristo, quos et persecutiones pati et occidi lectio Apocalyspsis testatur. Horum ergo tempus suo tempori comparavit Apostolos dicens: Quasi morti destinatos, ad hoc enim venturi sunt, ut occidantur. Quia spectaculum facti sumus huic mundo, et angelis et hominibus... Quia erunt spectaculum et Enoch et Elias usque adeo, ut corpora eorum in platea projiciantur in conspectu totius populi infidelis; ita et apostoli spectaculum facti sunt, quia publice ridebantur, positi ad injuriam et mortem quam passi sunt. Mundum autem, angelos et homines dixit; quia et anglei mali sunt, dicente David in psalmo septuagesimo septimo: Vexabat illos per angelos malos, et homines mali and increduli; his apostolorum injuriae oblectamento sunt. Mundus autem idcirco infidelias dicitur, quia visibilia sequitur. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 17.204d-b

I think that God shows us to be the last Apostles, as men appointed to die. 1 He attributes this to his own person, because he was always in need and suffered persecutions and pressures beyond all others, as Enoch and Elijah shall suffer, who in the last time shall be Apostles. 2 For being sent before Christ they must prepare the people of God and the walls of all the Churches to resist the Antichrist, they who then shall suffer persecution and be killed, as the book of the Apocalypse bears witness. Therefore the Apostle compares his own time to these, saying: 'As men appointed to die,' for to this they will come, that they be slain. We are made a spectacle to this world, even to angels and men... Because Enoch and Elijah shall be a spectacle, even so much so that their bodies shall be cast into the street in the sight of all the faithless people, so even the Apostles were made a spectacle, because they were publicly ridiculed, and given over to injury, and even to the deaths which they suffered. He speaks of the world and of angels and men, because there are wicked angels, with David saying in the seventy seventh Psalm: 'He distressed them with wicked angels,' 3 and men are wicked and unbelieving, and to these the injuries of the Apostles are a delight. He speaks of the world for unfaithfulness, because it follows visible things. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 4 1 1 Cor 4.9 2 The two witnesses of Apoc 11.3 3 Ps 77.49

Parts Of The Body

Sed multo magis quae videntur membra corporis infirmiora esse, necessariora sunt. Manifestum est, quia quamvis aliquis dignitate sublimis sit, si subjectus tamen defuerit, qui obsequiis suis illum faciat gloriosum, ipsa dignitas contemptibilis erit, officium enim est, per quod dignitas constat. Tale est si imperatori desit exercitus. Quamvis ergo magnus sit imperator, necessarium tamen habet exercitum; membrum est enim corporis, ante se habens tribunos, comites, et magistros. His omnibus inferiores sunt milites, et magis necessarii sunt, sicut membra corporis, quae cum inferiora videntur, plus utilia sunt; sine oculis enim manus operatur, et pes ambulans victum quaeritat. Et quae putamus ignobiliora esse membra corporis, his abundantiorem honorem circumdamus. Similis est sensus, quia qui putantur sine dignitate esse, inveminus in eis quod laudemus, sicut et in membris vilioribus, quod plus nobis placeat, quam quod in caeteris invenimus. Quo enim honore dignae sunt manus, quando quod volumus, tenemus. Vel pedes, cum quibus quo volumus, imus. Propterea et nos addimus eis honorificentiam, ut puta pedibus; quos quia humiles sunt et sine dignitate, calceamentis ornamus. Et quae inhonesta sunt nostra, abundantiorem honorem habent. Manifestum est quia pudenda nostra, quae turpia videntur, dum aspectus publicos vitant, honestate se contegunt, ne per irreverentiam horreant. Simili modo et quidam fratum, cum sint egestate et habitu inhonesti; non tamen sunt sine gratia, per quam membra sint corporis nostri: nam solent succincti vesticula tetrica, nudo pede, incedere. Cum ergo videantur contemptibiles, magis honori sunt; quia solent vitam habere mundiorem. Quod enim hominibus videtur despectum, solet a Deo pulchrum judicari. Quae autem honesta sunt nostra, nullius egent. Apertum est quia caput non eget, neque facies, neque manus, ut his addatur per quod decorentur: ita et fratribus, in quibus studium peritiae, et conversationis viget honestas, nihil est quod a nobis additur; debit enim illis redditur honor. Despectis vero vel humilibus exhortatio necessaria est, per quam addatur illis aliquis honor, ut fiant utiles: si quominus, ipso contempu negligenties circa se erunt, in quibus proficiendum est. Sed Deus temperavit corpus, ei cui deerat, abundantiorem tribuendo honorem; ut non sit schisma in corpore, sed pro invicem sollicita sint membra. Sic dicit a Dei moderatum humanum corpus, ut omnia membra ejus necessari sint; ac per hoc pro se invicem sollicita, quia aliud sine altero esse non potest: et quod inferius putatur, magis necessarium est; sicut et de fratribus expositum est, vel disputatum, quia nullus debet velut inutilis despici. Et si quid patitur unum membrum, compatiuntur omnia membra. Hoc de membris corporis carnis ambiguum non est; quia si oculus, aut pes, vel manus capiatur aegritudine aliqua infirmitatis, totum corpus condolet: ita et nos docet condolere fratribus, si aliquid hujusmodi, aut necessitatis emersit. Sive glorificatur unum membrum, congaudeant omnia membra. Manifestum est quia laetum est caput sive caetera membra, si pedes fuerint accurati vel sani. Sic debemus et nos alacres fieri, si fratrem aliquem viderimus cultorem Dei, et auctum honestate morum, hoc est, sanum esse consilio. Vos autem estis corpus Christi et membra de membro. Ostendit aperte nostram se causam per membrorum carnalium rationem tractasse; quia non omnes possumus eadem, sed singuli pro qualitate fidei et gratiam habemus concessam. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput XII Source: Migne PL 17.248b-249c

But much more necessary are the parts of the body that seem to be weaker. 1 It is manifest that although someone may have the highest dignity, if however he lacks what is subject to him, that which makes obeisance to that glory, that dignity shall be contemptible, for it is by the office that dignity stands. So is it is if an emperor lacks an army. Although the emperor may be great, it is yet necessary he has an army; it is a member of his body. Before him he has tribunes, and counsellors and magistrates, and to all these the soldiers are inferior, and they are more necessary, for as members of the body, though they seem inferior, they are more useful. For without the eyes the hand can act and the foot by walking seek food. And what are thought to be ignoble parts of the body, we surround these with greater honour. The sense is similar, because they who are thought to be without dignity, when we find in them what is worthy of praise, since it is found in more vile members, it should please us more than to find it in others. What honour is the hand worthy of with which what we want we seize! Or the feet with which where we wish to go, we go! Besides, that we do add honour to them, consider the feet, which though they are lowly and without dignity, we adorn with shoes. And what is unseemly has more abundant honour. Manifestly our private parts, which because they seem to be vile, are hidden from public view, being covered by modesty lest shamelessness offend. In like manner certain brothers, when they are needy and clothed poorly, are not however without grace, by which they are members of our body, for they are accustomed to bind their loins with dirty cloths and to walk with bare feet. When, therefore, they seem to be contemptible, more is their honour, because they strive to have a cleaner life. For what seems despicable to men, is often adjudged fair by God. But God has ordered the body so that to that which is lacking more abundant honour be given, by which there may not be division in the body, but the members may have care for one another. So it is said that the human body is arranged by God so that every one of its members is necessary and that by this each part has care for one another, because one without the other cannot be, and what is deemed inferior is more necessary, as has been explained concerning brothers, or argued for, because no one should be despised as useless. And if one member suffers, so every member suffers. This is not obscure when related to bodily members, because if the eyes or the foot is gripped by some ailment of infirmity, all the body suffers with it. Thus we are taught to suffer with our brothers, if something like this, or of need, has befallen them. And then if one member is glorified all the members rejoice with it. Manifest it is that the head is glad, and the other members also, if the feet are functioning and healthy. So even we should be cheerful if we see a brother reverent before God, and grown in virtuous conduct, that is, if he is of healthy mind. You are of the body of Christ and each members of it. He openly shows why he has developed this account of us as bodily members, because we are not all the same, but each according to the manner of his faith has been given grace. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 12 1 1 Cor 12.22

Resurrection And Witness

Invenimur autem et falsi testes Dei, quia testimonium diximus adversus Deum, quod suscitaverit Christum, quem non suscitavit. Qui asserit quod Christum Deus a mortuis suscitavit, falsus est testis, si non est factum; virtutem tamen Dei praedicat, non utique ut inimicus, qui tam admirabile factum virtuti ejus ascribit. Quod si verum est, quia excitavit Christum a mortuis, quid huic dicendum est, qui et testis contra Deum falsus est, et opus ejus stultitiam asserit? Nam si mortui non resurgunt, neque Christus resurrexit. Quod si Christus non resurrexit, vana est fides vestra; adhuc enim estis in peccatis vestris. Ergo et qui dormierunt in Christo, perierunt. Terret illos, ut quia nemo sibi male vult, doleat illis hoc coepisse credere, quod contra ipsos est. Quis enim peccata sibi remissa nolit audire? Ergo et qui dormierunt in Christo, perierunt. Addit ad terrorem, quia charorum suorum excessum nolunt aestimare perditionem. Qui enim sub hac spe de saeculo exierunt, sive occidi non timuerunt; quia resurgere exemploe Christi credidrunt, et non est verum, perierunt. Hoc illis dicit, quod amore suorum defunctorum nolunt audire; ut illis amputet, quod prius per errorem volebant audire. Si in hac vita tantum in Christo sperantes sumus, miserabiliores sumus omnibus hominibus. Manifestum est quia et in hac praesenti vita et in futura speramus in Christo; nec enim hic deserit servos suos Christus, sed dat illis gratiam, et in futuro erunt in gloria aeterna. Si autem futurae vitae spes non esset, omnibus hominibus, quod dixit, miserabiliores essemus. Ut quid enim jejunia, vigiliae, exitus, munda vita, justitia, misericordia, mores; si pro his nulla merces erit in futuro? Increduli autem vel hac vita fruuntur. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput XV Source: Migne PL 17.263a-c

But we are found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God, that He rose Christ, whom He did not raise.1 He who asserts that God rose Christ from the dead is a false witness if it were not done. However he preaches the power of God, not as an enemy, who ascribes it to the wonderful act of His power. Which if it is true, that He raised Christ from the dead, what must be said to the one who is a false witness against God, and who asserts his work to be nonsense? For if the dead do not rise, nor did Christ. If Christ did not rise, then your faith is vain, and you are still in your sin. He terrifies them because no one wishes evil for himself, and he grieves them because they have begun to think this which is opposed to them. Who does not wish to hear his sins are forgiven? And therefore they who sleep in Christ have perished. He adds to terror, because they do not wish to think that their dear ones have perished. For they who have passed from this world in this hope, did not fear to be killed, since they believed in the example of the resurrected Christ, which if it is not true, then they have perished. He says this to them, which they do not wish to hear, because of their love of their deceased. If in this life alone we have hope in Christ, we are the most wretched among all men. It is manifest that both in this present life and in the future we hope in Christ, for Christ does not abandon His servants, but He gives grace to them, and in the future eternal glory. But if there is no hope of future life, then among all men, he says, we would be the most wretched. For what then are fasts, vigils, exile, a pure life, righteousness, mercy, and death, if for all these there is no reward in the future? Those who do not believe exult in this life. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 15 1 1 Cor 15.14

Fools To The World

Nos stulti propter Christum Verum est quia amantes Christum, stulti sunt mundo. Vos autem prudentes in Christo. Qui prudens in Christo judicatur a perfidis, non recte asserit Christum. Denqiue Mercion, quia negat Filium Dei, et incarnari Deum potuisse, prudens est mundo, et Photinus, quia non fatetur, Christum per id quod natus est, Deum, sapiens videtur mundanis. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 17.205b

We are fools for Christ. 1 It is true that the lovers of Christ are fools to the world. 'But you are wise in Christ.' 1 He who is wise in Christ is judged by the faithless not to speak correctly about Christ. So Marcion, because he denies the Son Of God and that God was able to be incarnate, is wise to the world, and Photinus, because he does not say that Christ was born so, seems to be wise to the worldly. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 4 1 1 Cor 4.10

Death And The Greater Life

Cum essem parvulus, quasi parvulus loquebar, quasi parvulus sapiebam, quasi parvulus cogitabam: at ubi factus sum vir, ea quae parvuli erant destruxi. Hoc dicit, quia exeuntes sancti de hoc mundo, plus necesse est inveniant, quam nunc putant, sicut Joannes Apstolus de Salvatore dixit: Tunc videbimus illum, sicut est. In hac ergo vita parvuli sumus ad comparationem futurae vitae; quia sicut vita haec imperfecta est, ita et scientia. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput XIII Source: Migne PL 17.253a-b

When I was a little child, I spoke like a little child, I knew as a little child, I thought as a little child, and when I become a man, the things of the child passed away. 1 He says this because those who are holy, going out from this world, will inevitably encounter more than they now think, as the Apostle John said about the Saviour: 'Then we shall see Him as He is.' 2 Therefore in this life we are children compared to the future life, because as this life is flawed, so is its knowledge. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 13 1 1 Cor 13.11 2 1 Jn 3.2

Bearing The Image

Igitur sicut portavimus imaginem illius terreni, portemus et imaginem hujus coelestis. Hoc est, sicut formam habuimus mortalitatis per peccatum Adae, servi peccati facti: ita et formam habeamus vitae per justitiam salvatoris, facti servi justitiae, non mundi, sed Dei; dum ea agimus, quae immortalitate digna sunt. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput XV Source: Migne PL 17.270a-b

Therefore as we have borne the image of the earthly man, let us bear the image of the heavenly man...1 That is, as we had the form of death through the sin of Adam, made servants of sin, thus we should have the form of life through the righteousness of the Saviour, being made servants of righteousness, not of the world, but of God, while we do those things which are worthy of immortality. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 15 1 1 Cor 15.49