哥林多前書講道集 第 6 章

'And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.'

'For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.'

Nothing is more full of contest than the soul of Paul; or rather, not his soul—

for it was not he himself who discovered these things—

but nothing is equal to the grace working in him, which prevailed over all things.

Now the things said before were indeed sufficient to cast down the arrogance of those who boasted in their wisdom—or rather, even a part of what was said sufficed.

But that his triumph might be the more brilliant, he presses on further with what he has said, trampling upon his prostrate adversaries.

He brought forward the prophecy which says, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise.'

He showed the wisdom of God, that through what seemed to be foolishness He brought to nought the philosophy that is from without; he showed that the foolishness of God is wiser than men; he showed that not only did He teach through unlearned men, but He also called the unlearned.

Now he shows that both the very thing preached and the manner of the preaching were of a kind to cause disturbance, and yet caused no disturbance.

'For not only the disciples,' he says, 'are unlearned, but even I who preach.'

'And I, brethren' (again he sets down the name of brethren, smoothing the roughness of his discourse), 'came not with excellency of speech, declaring unto you the testimony of God.'

For tell me, even if you had wished to come with excellency, could you have done so? As for me, even had I wished it, I could not have;

but Christ, had He so willed, could have done it.

Yet He did not will it, that He might make the trophy more brilliant.

Wherefore also, showing above that it was His work and His will that the word should be preached thus, in an unlearned manner, he said:

'For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words.'

And it is a far greater thing, yea, immeasurably greater, that Christ willed this, than that Paul willed it.

'Not, therefore, making a display of eloquence,' he says, 'nor armed with the words of them that are without, do I declare the testimony of God.'

And he said not 'the preaching,' but 'the testimony of God'—which also [is fitting].

For he went about preaching death;

'For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.'

And this he said, that he was wholly without part in the wisdom that is from without, just as he also said above:

'I came not with excellency of speech.'

For that it was possible for him to possess this also is manifest.

For he whose very garments raised the dead, and whose shadows drove away diseases, could much more readily have received the gift of eloquence in his soul.

For the one belongs to disciples, but the other surpasses all art.

He, therefore, who knew the greater things that are beyond all art, would much more have been able to compass the lesser.

But Christ suffered it not.

'For I determined not to know anything.'

For I too will this very thing which Christ also wills.

But to me it seems that he discoursed with them even more humbly than with the others, in order to abate their arrogance.

The phrase, then, 'I determined to know nothing,' was spoken in contradistinction to the wisdom that is from without.

For I came not weaving syllogisms nor sophistries, nor saying anything else to you than that Christ was crucified.

For those men say ten thousand things, and discourse concerning ten thousand matters, winding out long double-courses of words, framing reasonings and syllogisms, putting together ten thousand sophistries;

but I came to you saying nothing else than that Christ was crucified, and I outstripped them all—which is an unspeakable token of the power of Him who is preached.

'And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.'

This again is another head.

For not only were those who believed unlearned, nor only was the one who spoke unlearned, nor only was the manner of the teaching full of unlearnedness, nor only was the preaching itself sufficient to cause disturbance;

for a cross and death was that which was proclaimed;

but along with these there were also other hindrances: the dangers and the plots and the daily fear and the being driven about.

For in many places he calls persecutions 'weakness,' just as also elsewhere:

'And my weakness which was in my flesh ye despised not;'

and again, 'If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things that concern my weakness.'

Of what kind? 'The governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes guarded, desiring to apprehend me.'

And again, 'Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses.'

Then, saying of what kind, he added:

'In injuries, in necessities, and in distresses.'

For having said, 'And I was with you in weakness,' he did not stop there, but, making clear that by 'weakness' he means the dangers, he again added:

'And in fear and in much trembling I was with you.'

What sayest thou? Did even Paul fear dangers? He feared, and was exceedingly afraid;

for though he was Paul, yet he was a man.

But this is no reproach to Paul; rather it is a weakness of nature, but a commendation of his purpose, that even while fearing death and stripes, he did nothing unworthy on account of that fear;

so that those who say he did not fear stripes not only fail to magnify him, but even greatly curtail his praises.

For if he did not fear, what fortitude or what heavenly wisdom was there in bearing the dangers? For this is why I marvel at him, that though fearing—and not simply fearing, but even trembling at the dangers—he ran his course continually being crowned, and yielded in none of the dangers, purging the whole world, and everywhere over land and sea sowing the preaching.

'And my speech and my preaching was not in persuasive words of human wisdom.'

That is, not possessing the wisdom that is from without.

If, then, the preaching had nothing artfully contrived, and those called were unlearned, and he who preached was of such a sort, and there was persecution besides, and trembling and fear—how, tell me, did they prevail? By divine power.

Wherefore, having said, 'My speech and my preaching was not in persuasive words of human wisdom,' he added:

'But in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.'

Sawest thou how the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness stronger? For the unlearned, preaching such things, though bound and driven about, prevailed over those who drove them.

Whence? Was it not from His granting faith through the Spirit?

For this also is a confessed demonstration.

For who, tell me, seeing the dead raised and demons driven out, would not have accepted it? But since there are also deceitful powers, such as those of sorcerers, he did away with this suspicion as well.

For he said not simply 'of power,' but first 'of the Spirit,' and then 'of power';

showing that the things done were spiritual.

It is, therefore, no diminishment that the preaching was proclaimed not through wisdom, but rather it is its greatest ornament.

This, at any rate, most of all shows it to be divine, and to have its roots from above, out of the heavens:

'That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.'

Do you see how clearly, through all these things, he showed how great is the gain of unlearned simplicity, and how great the harm of worldly wisdom? For the one proclaimed His Cross, while the other proclaimed the power of God;

the one, besides finding nothing of what is needful, disposed men to boast in themselves; the other led them both to receive the truth and to glory in God.

Again, wisdom would have persuaded many to suspect that the doctrine was of human origin;

but this simplicity clearly showed it to be divine and to have come down from heaven.

Now whenever the demonstration is made through wisdom of words, oftentimes even the more worthless prevail over the more upright, being more skilled in speaking, and falsehood outruns the truth.

For the Holy Spirit neither comes upon an unclean soul, nor, having come, can it ever be overcome, though all the force of eloquence should assail it.

For the demonstration made through works and signs is far clearer than that made through words.

But perhaps someone of them might say: If the preaching must prevail, and needs no words lest the Cross be made void, why then are the signs now withheld? Why, you ask? You say it as one who disbelieves, and who does not even accept that they took place in the days of the apostles—or are you truly seeking to learn? For if you disbelieve, I will first take my stand against this.

For if signs did not take place then, how was it that men who were driven and persecuted and trembling and bound, who had become the common enemies of the whole world, exposed to every kind of ill-treatment, and possessing nothing of their own to attract—no eloquence, no distinction, no wealth, no city, no nation, no race, no profession, no glory, nor any other such thing, but on the contrary all the opposites: obscurity, meanness, poverty, hatred, enmity—and standing against whole populations, and proclaiming such things, nevertheless persuaded them? For the commands entailed great toil, and the doctrines involved dangers;

and those who heard and were about to be persuaded had been reared in luxury and drunkenness and much wickedness.

Whence, then, did they persuade them? Tell me;

whence did they gain their credibility? For, as I said before, if they persuaded men without signs, the wonder appears far greater.

Do not, then, make the fact that signs are not now taking place a proof that they did not take place then.

For both then they took place profitably, and now profitably they do not take place.

But the fact that men are persuaded by word alone does not compel the preaching now to be in wisdom.

For those who at the beginning sowed the word were unlearned and untaught, and spoke nothing of their own, but the things they received from God, these they delivered to the world;

and we ourselves now do not bring in things of our own, but the things we received from them, these we speak to all.

And even now we do not persuade from syllogisms, but from the divine Scriptures; and from the signs of that time we furnish the proof of the things we say.

And these men too at that time persuaded not by signs alone, but also by discoursing;

and it was the signs and the testimonies from the Old Testament Scripture that made their words appear stronger, not the cleverness of what was said.

How then, he says, were the signs profitable then, and now are not profitable? Let us suppose, for the sake of argument (for my contest is for the present with the Greek;

and therefore I speak by way of supposition of that which will certainly come to pass)—let us then suppose, for the sake of argument, and let the unbeliever consent to believe, even if only in the way of concession to what is said, namely that Christ will come;

when, therefore, Christ shall come, and all the angels with Him, and He be shown to be God, and all things subjected to Him, will not even the Greek believe? It is plain that he will,

and will worship, and will confess Him God, even though he had been ten thousand times unyielding.

For who, seeing the heavens opened, and Him coming upon the clouds, and all the host of the powers above encircling Him, and rivers of fire drawn along, and all standing by and trembling, will not worship and account Him God? Then, tell me, will that worship and that knowledge be reckoned to the Greek for faith? By no means.

Why so? Because this is not faith;

for necessity produced it, and the manifest splendor of the things seen, and the matter is not one of free choice, but from the greatness of the things beheld the powers of the mind were drawn along.

Therefore, the more manifest and compelling the things done, so much the more is faith diminished;

for this reason signs do not now take place.

And that this is so, hear what He says to Thomas:

Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Therefore, the more manifestly the sign is demonstrated, so much the more is the reward of faith diminished.

So that even if signs were now taking place, the same thing would come about.

For that then we shall no longer know Him through faith, Paul made plain when he said:

For now we walk by faith, not by sight.

As, therefore, then the matter is not reckoned to you who believe, because of its manifestness;

so also now, if signs were taking place such as those of former times.

For whenever we accept things that are in no way whatsoever to be found by reasonings, then it is faith.

For this reason too hell is threatened, but is not made manifest;

since, if it were made manifest, the same thing would happen again.

But in another way too: if you seek signs, even now you shall see signs, though not such as those—the countless predictions concerning countless matters, the conversion of the whole world, the philosophy of barbarians, the transformation of savage manners, the increase of piety.

And what predictions? he says;

for all the things foretold were written after those events.

When, and where, and by whom? Tell me;

and how many years before? Do you mean fifty, or a hundred? Well then, before the hundred years they had nothing at all in writing.

How then did the world hold fast the doctrines and all the rest, if memory did not suffice? And whence did they know that Peter was crucified? Whence did it occur to them to foretell to later generations such things as that the Gospel would be preached everywhere in the world, that the Jewish observances would cease and not return again? And those who had given up their own lives for the preaching, how could they have borne to see the preaching being corrupted? And how would those who wrote have been believed, if the signs had ceased? And how would the things written have reached even into the land of the barbarians and of the Indians, and to the very ends of the ocean, if those who spoke were not credible? And who were the writers, and when, and where? And for what purpose did they write? Was it to win glory for themselves? How then did they inscribe the books with others' names? But was it to establish the doctrine? As true, or as false? For if they were attending to it as false, it was not even likely that they would approach it;

but if as true, there was no need of fabrications, as you assert.

And in another way too, the predictions are of such a kind that up to the present time the things spoken cannot be forced by lapse of time.

For that Jerusalem should be destroyed came to pass many years ago.

But there are also other predictions which extend from that time down to His coming, which you may test as you please;

such as: I am always with you, even unto the consummation of the age;

the saying: Upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it;

the saying: This Gospel shall be preached unto all the nations;

the saying: It shall be told wherever the Gospel is preached, what this woman also did;

and many others still more than these.

Whence, then, comes the truth of this prediction, if it were a fabrication? How is it that the gates of hell did not prevail against the Church? How is Christ always with us? For unless He were with us, the Church would not have prevailed.

How has the Gospel been extended everywhere in the world? And competent too to testify to the antiquity of the Books are even those who have spoken against us—Celsus and his followers, and the man of Batanea who came after him;

for surely they did not contradict things composed after their own time;

and in another way, the whole world too, having received it with one accord.

But had not the grace of the Spirit been present, such great harmony would not have come to pass from the ends of the earth to its ends; rather, those who fabricated would quickly have been detected, and such great achievements would not have been established out of fabrications and falsehood;

or do you not see the whole world having come over? the error extinguished? the philosophy of the monks shining brighter than the sun? the choirs of virgins? the piety among the barbarians? all men serving under one yoke? For these things were foretold not by us only, but also from of old by the prophets.

For surely you will not lay hold of those predictions too as objectionable;

for the Books are in the hands of our enemies, and were translated into the Greek tongue by Greeks who took pains over it.

Many things indeed these too foretell concerning these matters, showing that He who was to come would be God.

How then do not all believe now? Because things have gone on to the worse, and of this we are the cause;

for the discourse is henceforth directed to us also.

For surely then too they believed not by signs alone, but many of those who came over were led on also from the manner of life.

For, Let your light shine, He says, before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

At that time, therefore, the heart and soul of all was one, and no one said that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common, and distribution was made to each according as anyone had need, and they lived an angelic life.

And now too, if this should come to pass, we shall convert the whole world, even without signs.

For the present, let those who wish to be saved give heed to the Scriptures;

for there they will find both these things and achievements yet greater than these.

For the teachers themselves surpassed the deeds of those men, passing their lives in hunger and thirst and nakedness.

But we desire to enjoy much luxury and repose and freedom from care;

not so those men, but they cried out, 'To this present hour we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffeted and have no certain dwelling place.'

And the one ran from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum, another to the land of the Indians, another to the land of the Moors, and yet another to other parts of the inhabited world;

but we do not so much as dare to go out of our own country, but seek luxury and splendid houses and every other kind of abundance.

For which of us ever suffered hunger for the word of God? Which of us was ever in a desert? Which set out on a long journey abroad? Which of the teachers, living by the labor of his own hands, gave aid to others? Which endured a daily death? From this cause those who are with us also grow more slothful.

For if a man had seen soldiers and generals wrestling with hunger and thirst and death and all terrors, bearing frost and dangers and everything like lions, and prevailing;

and then afterward saw them relax that noble self-discipline,

and become softer, and lovers of money, and devoted to business dealings and petty trafficking, and overcome by their enemies, it would be the height of folly to seek the cause of these things.

Let us then reckon this both concerning ourselves and concerning our forefathers;

for we have indeed become weaker than all, nailed as we are to the present life.

And if anyone is found retaining a trace of the ancient self-discipline, forsaking the cities and the marketplaces and the moving about in society and the ordering of others' lives, he betakes himself to the mountains;

and if one should ask the reason of his withdrawal, he finds a pretext that admits of no pardon.

'For lest I perish,' he says, 'and lest I become duller in virtue, I flee away.'

And how much better it is for you to become somewhat duller and to gain the others, than, while remaining on the heights, to look on unmoved as your brethren perish? When therefore some are careless of virtue, and those who do care for it withdraw far from the battle line, whence shall we take our enemies captive? For even if there were signs now, who would be persuaded? Or which of those outside would give heed to us,

when wickedness so abounds? For our upright life seems more worthy of credence to the multitude.

For signs, coming from shameless and wicked men, will incur even an evil suspicion;

but a pure life will be able, and that with great abundance,

to stop the mouth even of the devil himself.

These things I say both to rulers and to those who are ruled, and before all to myself, that we may exhibit a life worthy of admiration, and, having set ourselves in array, may despise all present things.

Let us despise money, and let us not despise hell;

let us overlook glory, and let us not overlook salvation;

let us endure toil and labor here, that we may not fall there into punishment.

In this way let us wage war against the Greeks, in this way let us lead them captive with a captivity better than freedom.

But these things are indeed said by us continually and often, yet they come to pass but seldom.

Nevertheless, whether these things come to pass or do not come to pass, it is right through such words to keep reminding you continually.

For if some deceive by their fair speech, much more is it right for those who lead men back to the truth not to weary of speaking what is profitable.

For if the deceivers make use of so many contrivances—

for indeed they spend money, and bring forward arguments, and endure dangers, and make a display of patronage—

much more must we, who lead men away from deceit, endure both dangers and deaths and all things, that having gained both ourselves and others, and having become unconquerable by our adversaries, we may attain the good things that have been promised, by the grace and love toward mankind, and so forth.