[1] Gr. "μη οντα"=lit. non-existent"

CONVERSATION 6

"And when I came to you, brethren, I came to declare to you the testimony of God, not in the excellence of word or wisdom, for I determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:1-2).

1. Nothing can compare in activity with Paul's soul, or rather, not with his soul, for he did not achieve it himself, but with the grace that worked in him and conquered all things. And what has been said before was sufficient to bring down the pride of those who exalted themselves in their wisdom; even a part of what was said was enough. But in order to make the victory more glorious, he continues his speech, trampling on his opponents who have already been defeated. See: I have brought forth a prophecy: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise: I have shown the wisdom of God in that God has overthrown outward wisdom by seeming foolishness; he explained that the foolishness of God is wiser than man; he pointed out that God not only taught the unlearned through people, but also called the unlearned; and now he proves that the very object of the sermon and the method of preaching could have confused others, but they did not. Not only, he says, are the disciples simple people, but I also preach. "And I, brethren," again he calls them brethren, in order to soften the severity of his speech, "came to declare to you the testimony of God, not in the excellence of the word." But, tell me, if you wanted to come with a lofty word, could you? I, he says, if I wanted to, I could not: but Christ, if He had willed, could (send); but He did not want the victory to be made more glorious. For this reason, proving above that it was the work of Christ and His will that the word should be preached with such simplicity, he said: "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in the wisdom of the word" (1 Corinthians 1:17). And the will of Christ is much more important, incomparably more important than the will of Paul. Thus, he says, it is not with lofty words or eloquence that I proclaim the testimony of God. He did not say, "preaching," but, "the testimony of God," which could also be displeasing, since he preached everywhere about death; wherefore he added, "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." He says this because he was completely alien to external wisdom, as he said above: "He did not come in the excellence of the word." There is no doubt that he could have had this; He whose garments raised the dead and whose shadow healed diseases could all the more assimilate eloquence in his soul. The latter is also characteristic of students, and the former is above all art. Consequently, whoever knew what was higher than art could know what was inferior. But Christ did not allow this, because it was not useful. Wherefore Paul rightly says, "For I determined to know nothing," because I also desire the same thing that Christ desires. It seems to me that the Apostle converses with him (the Corinthians) much more simply than with others, in order to bring down their pride. Thus the words, "For I determined to know nothing," are spoken in contrast to outward wisdom. I have come to you, he says, not to weave syllogisms and sophisms, or to say anything of the kind, but only to proclaim that Christ is crucified. Those (the wise men) talk much and make long discourses on innumerable subjects, forming judgments and inferences, and weaving a thousand sophisms: but I have come to you to speak of nothing else but that Christ was crucified, and surpassed them all, which is an ineffable sign of the power of Him who is preached. "And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in great trembling" (1 Corinthians 2:3). Here is another important circumstance. Not only believers are simple people, not only the preacher is a simple person, not only is the method of teaching full of simplicity, not only the very subject of the sermon can be confusing, since this subject is the cross and death; but at the same time there were other obstacles, namely dangers and intrigues, daily fear and persecution. By infirmity he often calls persecution, as for example, "And the infirmities of my flesh ye have not despised" (Galatians 4:13-14); and again: "If I ought to boast, I will boast in my weakness" (2 Corinthians 11:30). About what infirmity? The pagan "ruler of king Aretas kept watch over the city of Damascus to seize me" (v. 32). And again: "Wherefore I am pleased in infirmities," and in which I explain, he further explains: "in offenses, in wants, in oppressions" (2 Corinthians 12:10). He says the same thing now; having said, "And I was with you in weakness," he does not stop there, but to show it. that by weakness he means dangers, he adds: "both in fear and in great trembling." What is this? Was Paul also afraid of dangers? Yes, I was afraid, and I was very afraid. For although he was Paul, he was still a man. And this is not Paul's fault, but the weakness of (human) nature, and at the same time the praise of his will, if he, even fearing death and wounds, under the influence of fear, did not do anything unworthy. Therefore, those who say that he was not afraid of wounds, not only do him no honor, but also greatly humiliate his dignity. If he had not been afraid, what firmness, or wisdom, would there have been in enduring adversity? And I am amazed at him because although he feared, and not only feared, but trembled with calamities, nevertheless he always struggled with glory and did not weaken in any danger, purifying the world and everywhere, on earth and sea, sowing the seeds of preaching. "And my word and my preaching are not in the persuasive words of human wisdom" (v. 4), i.e. it is foreign to external wisdom. But if the preaching had nothing sophistic in it, and the people who were called were simple, and the one who preached was the same, and there was persecution, fear, and trembling, tell me, how was the victory won? Divine power. Therefore, having said: "My word and my preaching are not in the persuasive words of human wisdom," he adds: "but in the manifestation of the Spirit and power."

2. Do you see how "the foolish things of God are wiser, and the weak things of God are stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:25)? Simple preachers, being constrained and persecuted, defeated the persecutors. Why? Was it not because they inspired faith by the Spirit? This is what the manifestation (of the Spirit) means. Who, tell me, will not believe, seeing the resurrection of the dead and the casting out of demons? But since there are false powers, such as magical ones, the Apostle removes this thought as well; he does not simply say: powers, but before – the Spirit, and then – powers; by this he expresses that all that is done is done by the Spirit. Thus it is not a humiliation for preaching that it is proclaimed without the aid of wisdom, but on the contrary the greatest adornment. This especially proves that it is divine and has a supreme celestial origin. That is why he adds: "That your faith may be established, not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God" (v. 5). Do you see how clearly he represents the great benefit of simplicity and the great harm of wisdom? The latter humiliated the cross, and the former proclaimed the power of God; the latter caused people not to know what was due and boasted of themselves, and the former disposed to accept the truth and boast in God; wisdom made many believe that the doctrine (apostolic) was human, and simplicity clearly expressed that it was divine and came down from heaven. When the proof is made up of wise words, then often even the unworthy, being stronger in word, gain the upper hand over the worthiest, and falsehood takes the place of truth. But here it is not so: the Holy Spirit does not enter into an unclean soul, and having entered cannot be defeated, even though all the power of eloquence rises up against him, since the proof by works and signs is much clearer than the proof by words. But perhaps who will say: if preaching must conquer and has no need of the power of the word, let not the cross be abolished, then why have the signs ceased now? Why? Do you not believe and think that they did not exist in the time of the apostles, or do you really want to know when you say this? If you do not believe, then I will stop here first. If there were no signs then, how is it that the apostles, being persecuted, oppressed, feared and fettered, being common enemies of all, and hated by all, having nothing attractive in them, neither eloquence, nor nobility, nor riches, nor fame in the city, in the people, in birth, or in art, and nothing else of the kind, but having everything contrary to this, ignorance, ignorance, poverty, simplicity, and humiliation, and moreover rebelling against whole nations and proclaiming such truths—how did they produce conviction? Their rules were not easy, their dogmas dangerous, and their listeners, who had to be persuaded, were given over to voluptuousness, drunkenness, and great impiety. How did they persuade, tell me? How did you gain trust? If, as I have said before, they have persuaded without signs, then this is an even greater sign. Therefore, from the fact that there are no signs now, do not conclude that they did not exist then. At that time it was useful to be one, but now it is useful not to be. However, from the fact that persuasion is now produced by a single word, it does not follow that now preaching depends on wisdom. Just as the original sowers of the word were simple and unlearned, and spoke nothing of their own accord, but what they received from God, they also taught to the world, so now we do not offer our own, but what we have received from them, that we proclaim to all. And now we convince not by inferences, but by the testimony of the divine Scriptures, and by the signs of that time we inspire to believe what is proclaimed. Incidentally, the Apostles also persuaded at that time not only by signs, but also by conversations; only their words received more power from the signs and testimonies of the Old Testament Scriptures, and not from the art of eloquence. How, you will say, were signs then useful, and now they have become useless? Suppose," I address a Gentile, and therefore call a supposition that which is certain to be, let the unbeliever admit for a while, for example, that Christ will come. Therefore, when Christ comes, and all the angels with Him; when He appears as God, and all things submit to Him, then will not the Gentile also believe in Him? Of course, he will worship Him and call Him God, even if he is an extremely stubborn man.

3. Who, seeing the heavens open, Christ coming in the clouds, and all the host of the powers on high around Him, flowing rivers of fire, and all who stand before Him with trembling, will not worship Him and acknowledge Him as God? But, tell me, will this worship and acknowledgment replace faith for the pagan? No. Why? Because it is not faith; this is a consequence of the necessity of a majestic spectacle; In this case, it is not one's own decision, but the greatness of the contemplated that carries the soul away. Consequently, the clearer and more striking the signs, the less faith there is, and therefore the signs are not performed now. To be convinced of the truth of this, listen to what Christ says to Thomas: "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (John 20:29). Consequently, the more obvious the sign, the less the dignity of faith. It would be the same if signs were performed now. That then (after the coming of Christ) we will no longer know Him by faith, Paul explained in the words: "For we walk by faith, and not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). Just as then faith will not be imputed to you because of the obviousness of the object, so now it would not be imputed if the same signs were performed as before. After all, faith occurs when we accept what cannot be comprehended in any way, by any reasoning. Thus, God threatens hell, but it is invisible; if it had been visible, it would have been the same again. However, if you want signs, you can still see them, although not of this kind, namely, the fulfillment of innumerable prophecies about a multitude of events, the conversion of the universe, the wisdom of the pagans, the change of coarse morals, the progress of piety. What are these prophecies, you say? After all, all these predictions were written after the events? When, tell me, where, by whom, and for how many years? Over fifty, or over a hundred? This means that absolutely nothing has been written for a hundred years.

On the other hand, these predictions are such that even up to the present time nothing has been able to change what was predicted. Thus, the destruction of Jerusalem took many years. There are other prophecies which, from the time of their utterance, will be valid until His coming, as you can see, if you wish, from the following: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20); "Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (16:18); "this gospel will be preached to all nations" (24:14); "Wherever this gospel shall be preached, it shall be said also of what she has done" (26:13), and very many others. Why do these predictions turn out to be true if they were fictitious? Why did not the gates of hell prevail against the Church? Why is Christ always with us? After all, if He had not been with us, the Church would not have won. Why did the gospel spread throughout the world? The antiquity of our books can be testified to even by those who spoke against us, such as the successor of Celsus and Vataneotus (Porphyry), who was after him – they certainly did not refute what was written after them – and also by the whole universe, which unanimously accepted this teaching. If it were not for the grace of the Spirit, there would not have been such a unanimous acceptance of Him from the ends of the earth to the ends, but the perpetrators of the inventions would soon have been exposed, and such great deeds would not have been accomplished with the help of fabrications and lies. And now do you not see how the whole universe has been converted, error has been exterminated, the wisdom of the monks shines brighter than the sun? Do you not see the hosts of virgins, the piety among the barbarians, and all who humble themselves under the same yoke (of Christ)? This is not only foretold in our books, but from ancient times by the prophets; And of course you cannot reject their predictions, because their enemies also have their books, and, through the zeal of some pagans, they have been translated into Greek. They contain many prophecies and indications that he who is to come is God.

4. Why then does not everyone believe now? Because our deeds are not good, and we ourselves are the reason for this; I turn the word to ourselves. And then they were converted to faith not only by signs, but many of those who were converted were also attracted by life (of believers). "Thus," it is said, "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). At that time, everyone "had one heart and one soul; and no one called any of his possessions his own, but they had all things in common, and to each was given what he had need of" (Acts 4:32,35), and they lived the life of angels. If it were the same now, we would turn the whole universe without signs. Therefore, those who wish to be saved, let them listen to the Scriptures; here they will find both these and even higher virtues. And the teachers themselves abounded in them, spending their lives in hunger, thirst, and nakedness. We want to live in luxury, in bliss and pleasure; but they did not live like this, but said: "Even to this day we endure hunger and thirst, and nakedness, and beatings, and wandering" (1 Corinthians 4:11). One of them traveled from Jerusalem to Illyria, another to the country of the Indians, a third to the country of the Moors, another to other parts of the world; but we do not even dare to leave our fatherland, we seek luxury, splendid dwellings, and all other riches. Who among us has ever suffered hunger for the word of God? Who was in the wilderness? Who undertook the long journey? Which of the teachers, living by the work of his hands, helped others? Who was subjected to daily death? That is why those around us are also negligent. Soldiers and generals, when they endure hunger, thirst, death, and all calamities, then they conquer the cold, and the dangers, and all like lions, and do valiant deeds; and then, if abandoning such wisdom, giving themselves up to bliss, becoming addicted to earthly goods, and engaging in buying and selling, are conquered by enemies, it would be utterly insane to seek the cause of this change. In the same way we must reason about ourselves and those who were before us: we have become the most pampered of all, having cleaved to the present life. If there is a man who has in himself even a little of the ancient wisdom, then he, leaving the city and the marketplaces, not wishing to deal with people and correct others, withdraws to the mountains; And if anyone asks him about the reason for his removal, he gives a disrespectful answer: "I," he says, "depart in order not to destroy myself and not to become incapable of virtue."

Shameless and evil people can look at signs with deceitful thoughts; and a pure life can with great power stop the mouth of the devil himself. I say this to my superiors and subordinates, and above all to myself, that we lead a praiseworthy life, correct ourselves, and despise all that is present. Let us despise possessions, but not hell; let us despise glory, but not salvation; let us labor and endure here, so that we may not be tormented there. Thus let us fight against the pagans; so let us draw them into captivity, which is more excellent than freedom. However, this is often and incessantly said by us, only rarely fulfilled. But whether it is fulfilled or not, it is our duty to constantly remind of this, for if some, in order to deceive others, speak so many fascinating speeches, how much more should those who lead to the truth not grow weary in proclaiming what is useful. If those who deceive use so much effort to attain their ends, squander their possessions, have recourse to the art of eloquence, are exposed to dangers, and are themselves in the forefront of all, how much more must we, who deviate from error, endure dangers, and death, and all things, so that, benefiting ourselves and others, and remaining invincible from our enemies, we may be vouchsafed the promised blessings, grace and love for mankind (our Lord Jesus Christ, With Whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, dominion, honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen).

CONVERSATION 7

"But we preach wisdom among the perfect, but the wisdom not of this world, nor of the powers of this world that pass away, but we preach the wisdom of God, which is secret, hidden, which God ordained before the ages for our glory" (1 Corinthians 2:6-7).

1. For the sick of the eyes, darkness seems better than light; therefore they like to be in darker dwellings. The same thing happened with spiritual wisdom: the wisdom of God seemed foolishness to the pagans, but their wisdom, which is indeed madness, was considered wisdom by them. It also happened to them, as if someone, knowing the skill of the helmsman, promised to sail across the boundless sea without a ship and sails, and tried to prove by his reasoning that this was possible, and another, completely inexperienced, embarking on a ship and entrusting himself to the helmsman and navigators, would thus sail safely. The seeming ignorance of the latter would be wiser than the wisdom of the former. The ability to steer the wheel, of course, is excellent; but when it promises too much, it becomes madness; so is all knowledge that does not remain within its limits.

In the same way, external wisdom would be wisdom if it received the Spirit; but since she had appropriated everything to herself and thought that she had no need of higher help, she became madness, although she seemed wise. Wherefore Paul, having rebuked it beforehand by his very works, afterwards called it foolishness, and called the wisdom of God foolishness beforehand, according to the opinion of the Gentiles, and then he proves that it is true wisdom, and after the proofs it is very easy to shame the adversaries, and says, "Wisdom is spoken in the perfect." If I, who am considered a madman and a preacher of madness, have conquered the wise, then the wisdom that has conquered is not foolishness, but the most perfect wisdom, and so much more excellent than external wisdom that it seems foolishness. Having first called it as the pagans then called it, and having proved its superiority by its very works, and having denounced them of extreme madness, he then calls it by its proper name, and says: "But wisdom we preach among the perfect." Wisdom he calls preaching and the method of salvation by means of the cross; but He calls the believers perfect. Truly perfect are those who know that everything human is very weak, despise all this, and are convinced that it serves them for nothing; and such are the believers. "But the wisdom is not of this world."

And he calls them the powers of this world, because their power does not extend beyond the present age: therefore he adds: transitory, and thus proves the insignificance of external wisdom, both by its very property and by the quality of those who possess it. Having proved that it is false and insane, that it cannot discover anything, that it is powerless, now he shows that it is also short-lived. "But we preach the wisdom of God, which is hidden." What secret? Christ said: "Whatsoever ye hear in your ear, preach on the housetops" (Matt. 10:27). Why then does Paul call it a mystery? Because neither the angel, nor the archangel, nor any other created power knew it before it was revealed. That is why the Apostle says: "That now the manifold wisdom of God may be made known through the Church to the principalities and powers in heaven" (Ephesians 3:10). God so honored us that they also heard it with us; and in relation to our friends, we consider it a sign of our friendship with them that we do not reveal the secret to anyone before them. Let those who boast of preaching, indiscriminately offer the pearls of doctrine to all, throw holy things to dogs and swine, and moreover with excessive wisdom, hearken to them. The mystery does not admit of embellishment, but as it is, it is precisely proclaimed; it will no longer be a divine mystery and uncorrupted, if you add something of yourself to it. It is also called a mystery because we do not contemplate in it what we see, but we see one thing and believe another. Such is the property of our sacraments. I look at them differently, otherwise I am an infidel. I hear that Christ is crucified, and I marvel at His love for mankind; the unbeliever hears it, and considers it powerlessness. I hear that Christ has become a slave, and I marvel at His providence; the unbeliever hears it, and considers it a disgrace. I hear that Christ died, and I marvel at His power, how He, having undergone death, was not restrained by it, but still destroyed death; the unbeliever hears, and attributes it to His weaknesses. When he hears about the resurrection, he calls it a fable; and I, being convinced of this by the very events, worship the economy of God. Hearing about baptism, he imagines only water; and I see not only the visible, but also the invisible cleansing of the soul, accomplished by the Spirit. He thinks that my body has only been washed; but I believe that the soul has also become pure and holy, and I represent the sepulchre, the resurrection, the sanctification, the justification, the redemption, the adoption, the inheritance, the heavenly kingdom, the gift of the Spirit, since I look at the things seen not with mere sight, but with spiritual eyes. It is said about the body of Christ, and I understand it differently, but I am an unbeliever.