The Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

The Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

The heavens revolve by His arrangement and are subject to Him in peace.

Day and night complete the revolution ordained by Him, and neither interferes in the least with the other.

Sun and moon and the starry choirs, obedient to His arrangement, roll on in harmony, without any deviation, through their appointed orbits.

The earth bears fruit according to His will in its proper seasons and yields the full amount of food required for men and beasts and all the living things on it, neither wavering nor altering any of His decrees. The unsearchable decisions that govern the abyss and the inscrutable decisions that govern the deep are maintained by the same decrees. The basin of the boundless sea, firmly built by His creative act for the collecting of the waters, does not burst the barriers set up all around it, and does precisely what has been assigned to it. For He said: “Thus far shalt You come, and Your billows shall be turned to spray within You.”

The seasons spring, summer, autumn, and winter make room for one another in peaceful succession.

The stations of the winds at the proper time render their service without clashing with one another.

Ever-flowing springs, created for enjoyment and for health, without fail offer to mankind their life-sustaining motherly breast.

The smallest of the animals meet in peaceful harmony.

All these creatures the mighty Creator and Master of the universe ordained to act in peace and unity, thus benefiting the universe, but most abundantly we who have taken refuge under His mercies through our Lord Jesus Christ; to whom be the glory and majesty forever and evermore. Amen.

Take care, beloved, that His blessings, numerous as they are, do not turn to our condemnation, in case we do not, through a life unworthy of Him and with perfect unity do what is good and pleasing in His sight. For somewhere it is said: “The Spirit of the Lord is a lamp that searches the deep recesses of the heart.” Let us consider how near He is to us, and that nothing of our thoughts, nor anything of the conversations we have with one another, is hidden from Him.

It is right, therefore, that we should not desert the ranks His will has assigned to us.

It is better to offend unreasoning men, who are conceited and arrogantly indulge in boastful speech, than God. Let us reverence the Lord Jesus Christ, whose Blood was sacrificed for us.

Respect our officials, honour the elders; raise the young in the school and discipline of the fear of God; guide our women in all that is good. Let these exhibit lovable and chaste manners, show forth a sincere and gentle disposition; without partiality let them perform their works of charity, and with a pure intention bestow them equally on all that fear God in holiness.

Our children must have their share of a Christian upbringing; they must learn how effective with the Lord is a humble frame of mind, what holy love can accomplish with God, how honourable and excellent is the fear of Him, and how it brings salvation to all who in this fear lead holy lives with a pure heart.

For He is the searcher of thoughts and desires. His breath indwells in us, and when it pleases Him, He will take it away. To all these precepts the faith in Christ gives stability.

For He Himself, through the Holy Spirit, calls us to Him as follows: Come, children, listen to Me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

For the man that desires life, that loves to see good days, restrain your tongue from evil speech, and your lips from speaking guile: turn away from evil and do what is good.

Seek peace and go in pursuit of it.

The eyes of the Lord rest upon the righteous, and His ears attend to their petition. But the frown of the Lord is upon evildoers, to extirpate the memory of them.

“The good man cried aloud, and the Lord heard him and delivered him from all his afflictions.” “Many are the plagues of the sinner, but mercy will encompass those that hope in the Lord.” The all-merciful and beneficent Father has compassion on such as fear Him; willingly and with tender care He bestows His graces on such as approach Him with an upright heart.

Therefore, let us not be double-minded, and let not our soul fall into deception, seeing His gifts are all-surpassing and glorious.

May the Scripture text never apply to us that says: “Wretched are the double-minded who doubt in their heart and say: We have heard these things even in the days of our fathers; but mark you, we have grown old and nothing of all this has happened to us!” You fools! Compare yourselves to a tree. Take a vine: first it sheds its foliage; then it puts forth a bud; then a leaf; then a flower; and after that, an unripe grape; finally, there is a bunch of fresh, ripe grapes. You see, it takes but a short time to bring the fruit of the plant to maturity. In truth, His will is accomplished quickly and suddenly.

As also the Scripture testifies when it says: “He will come quickly and will not tarry; and suddenly the Lord will come to His temple, the Holy One, for whom you are looking.” Let us consider, beloved, how the Master continually calls our attention to the future resurrection, the first fruits of which He has made the Lord Jesus Christ by raising Him from the dead.

Let us consider, beloved, the kind of resurrection that occurs at regular intervals. Day and night give us examples of resurrection. The night sleeps, the day rises; the day departs, the night comes on. Let us take the example of the crops.

How and in what manner does the sowing take place? The Sower goes out and puts each of the seeds into the soil.

When they fall into the soil, they are dry and bare, and decay.

But once they have decayed, the Master’s wondrous Providence makes them rise, and each one increases and brings forth multiple fruit from the one.

He who has instructed us not to lie will, for that reason, be Himself all the less capable of lying.

For nothing is impossible to God except being untrue to Himself.

Let, then, our faith in Him be reignited in us, and let us understand that all things are within His reach.

By one word of His majestic command, He established the universe, and with one word, He can destroy it. Who shall say to Him: “What have You done?” Or “Who can resist His mighty strength?” When He wills and as He wills, He can do all things, and nothing once decreed by Him can cease to exist.

All things are face to face with Him, and nothing is hidden from His counsel, since the “heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.”

One day speaks out to the next, and one night imparts knowledge to the next. There is not a word, there is no speech, nor is its voice heard.

Since then all things are seen and heard, let us stand in awe of Him, and abandon accursed desire after impure deeds: thus, shall we by His mercy find shelter from the judgment to come.

Indeed, where can anyone of us flee from His mighty hand? What world is there to receive anyone deserting His army? For somewhere the Writing says: “Whither shall I go, and where can I hide from His face? If I should mount to heaven, You are there; if I should depart to the ends of the earth, Your right hand is there; if I should lie down in the abyss, Your Spirit is there.” To where can a man depart, or to where can he run away from Him who embraces the universe? Let us, then, approach Him in holiness of soul, raising pure and unsullied hands to Him, loving our forbearing and compassionate Father, who has made us His chosen portion.

“His People Jacob became the portion of the Lord, and Israel His apportioned inheritance.” And in another passage, it says: “Behold, the Lord made His own a people from among the nations, just as a man reserves to himself the first fruits of his threshing floor.”

And from that nation shall come forth the Holy of Holies. Since, then, we are a holy portion, let us do all that makes for holiness, fleeing slander, foul and impure embraces, drunkenness and revolutionary desires and abominable passions. “For God,” it is said, “resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Let us therefore associate with those on whom divine grace has been bestowed; let us with humble minds put on the livery of unity, be self-restrained, keep ourselves free from all backbiting and slanderous talk; and let us seek justification by actions, and not just words.

For it is said: “He who speaks much is bound to hear much in return; or does the idle talker imagine he is always right? Blessed is the woman-born that is short-lived. Do not become a wordy babbler.” Let our praise rest with God, and not spring from ourselves; for God hates those that praise themselves.

Let the testimony to our good conduct be given by others, just as it was given to our fathers, those righteous men.

Arrogance, stubbornness and self-righteousness belong to those who are cursed by God; gentleness and humility and meekness with those who are blessed by God.

Let us, then, cling to His blessing, and study the ways and means of securing this blessing.

Let us think back to what happened from the beginning.

For what reason was our father Abraham blessed? Was it not that he did what was right and lived up to the truth, enabled by faith? With confidence, because he knew what was in store, Isaac cheerfully let himself be led to the altar.

Jacob was humble enough to leave his country because of his brother, and went to Laban and lived in servitude; and the twelve tribes were given to him.

Whoever considers these details without bias will appreciate the splendour of the gifts conferred by Jacob. The men that served the altar of God can trace back to Jacob, as all priests and Levites come from his line.

To him, too, the Lord Jesus can trace His origin according to the flesh; to him kings and rulers and princes after Juda.

Nor are his other tribes in slight esteem, since God had promised: “Your posterity shall be as numerous as the stars of heaven.” Consequently, all were honoured and made great, not through themselves or their own works or the holy lives they led, but through His will.

So, we too, who have been called by His will in Christ Jesus, are justified not through ourselves, or through our wisdom or understanding or righteousness or any works we perform in holiness of heart, but through the faith by which Almighty God has justified all men from the beginning of time. To Him be the glory forever and evermore. Amen.

What, then, are we to do, brethren? Shall we rest from doing good, and give up love? May the Master never permit that this should happen, at least not to us; but let us be eager to perform every good work with perseverance and readiness.

Why the Creator and Master of the universe Himself exults in His works. Thus, by His transcendent might He surely established the heavens, and by His incomprehensible wisdom He beautifully ordered them.

The earth He separated from the water now encircling it and firmly grounded it on the unshakable foundation of His own will; the creatures which live and move in it He bade come into existence by His own command.

Finally, the most excellent and greatest being, man, He formed with His sacred and faultless hands and by His highly exalted Spirit, in the likeness of His own image.

For this is what God says: “Let us create man according to our own image and likeness.” And God created man; male and female He created them. And then, when He had finished all these things, He praised and blessed them and said: “Increase and multiply.” Let us realize that everywhere holy men were adorned with good works, and that the Lord Himself rejoiced at having honoured Himself by good works. With this pattern before us, let us unhesitatingly submit to His will: with all our strength let us achieve the work of righteousness.

The good workman with assurance receives the bread of his labour; the slack and slothful cannot look his employer full in the face.

It is our duty, therefore, to be prompted to do good; for on Him depends everything.

Indeed, He says to us by way of warning: “Here comes the Lord, and with Him comes the reward He makes, to pay each one according to His work.” He urges us on, therefore, to trust in Him with all our heart and not to be slack and indolent in any good work.

Let Him be our boast and the ground of our confidence; let us be subject to His will.

Let us consider the vast multitude of His angels and see how they stand in readiness to minister to His will.

For the Scripture says: “Ten thousand times ten thousand stood ready before Him, and thousand times one thousand ministered to Him,” and cried out: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole creation is replete with His splendour.” And so, we too, being moved by our conscience with one accord, should, as with one voice, cry out to Him earnestly, so that we may participate in His great and glorious promises.

For it is said: “Eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and the heart of man has not conceived what He has prepared for those that await Him patiently.”

How blessed, beloved, and marvellous are the gifts of God! Life with immortality; honour in righteousness; truth with boldness; faith with confidence; continence with holiness! And all these blessings even now fall within our spiritual comprehension! What, then, are the things that are prepared for those who wait patiently! The Creator and Father of the ages, the All-holy, alone grasps their number and beauty.

Let us, therefore, exert ourselves to be found in the number of those who patiently wait for Him, so that we may share in the promised gifts.

But how, beloved, can this be done? If our mind is faithfully fixed on God; if we seek out what is pleasing and acceptable to Him; if we carry out what His irreprehensible will demands, and follow the way of truth, by ridding ourselves of every vice and wickedness, of avarice, strife, malice and fraud, gossip and slander, hatred of God, pride and arrogance, conceit and inhospitality.

For those who practice these things are hateful to God; and not only those that do such things, but also those that countenance them.

For the Scripture says: “But to the sinner God said: ‘Why do you speak of My ordinances and why do you have My covenant on your lips? You hated discipline and paid no attention to My words. Whenever you saw a thief, you ran along with him; and with adulterers you threw in your lot.

Your mouth brimmed over with malice, and your tongue wove treacherous plots. There you sat backbiting and laying a snare for your very brother.

This you did, and I kept silent.

You transgressor, supposed that I should be like you! I will set you face to face with yourself and show you who you really are.

Now, take my words to heart, you who are forgetting God; or else He will, like a lion, carry you off with no one to rescue you. A sacrifice of praise will honour me, and that is the way in which I will show him the salvation of man.”

This, beloved, is the way in which we found our salvation, Jesus Christ, the High Priest who offers our gifts, the patron and helper in our weakness. It is through Him that we look straight at the heavens above.

Through Him we see God’s faultless and transcendent countenance as in a mirror. Through Him the eyes of our heart were opened.

Through Him our darkened and uncomprehending spirit springs out like a flower, reaching toward God’s wondrous light.

Through Him the Master was pleased to let us taste that immortal knowledge that never fades.

For, being Himself the radiance of His splendour, He towers as much above the angels as the title He has inherited is superior to theirs.

For thus the Scripture says: “He appointed winds to be His angels, and fiery flames His ministers.” But about His Son the Master spoke thus: “You are my Son: this day have I begotten You. Ask of me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the vast, wide earth for Your possession.” And again, He says to Him: “Be seated at my right hand, until I make Your foes a footstool for Your feet.” Now, who are the foes? The wicked and those who run contrary to His will.

Let us, then, brethren, do a soldier’s duty in absolute earnest under the banner of His perfect commands. Let us observe those who are soldiering under our commanders, and see how punctually, how willingly, how submissively they execute the commands!

Not all are prefects, or tribunes, or centurions, or lieutenants, and so on; but each in his own rank executes the orders of the emperor and the commanders.

The great cannot exist without the small, nor can the small without the great.

The usefulness lies in the diversity, and in the organic unity that binds all the parts together.

Let us take, for example, our body. The head is nothing without the feet, and the feet are nothing without the head.

The most insignificant members of our body are necessary and valuable to the whole body; in fact, indeed they breathe and live together in common subordination, so that the whole body may be saved.

Therefore, let the whole of our body be saved in Christ Jesus, and let each submit to his neighbour, in accordance with the purpose of the gift of grace bestowed upon him.

(To be continued)