DISCOURSE TWENTY-FOUR on 2 Corinthians 11:13. To do something just for the sake of appearance is to do it in the way of the devil. - Harm from envy.

DISCOURSE TWENTY-FIVE on 2 Corinthians 11:21. To do something just for the sake of appearance is to do it in the way of the devil. - Harm from envy.

DISCOURSE TWENTY-SIX on 2 Corinthians 12:1. Self-praise is not beneficial. - With the increase of suffering for Christ, consolation also increases. - Alexander, recognized as the thirteenth god by the senate. - The coffins of martyrs are more splendid than the royal palaces.

DISCOURSE TWENTY-SEVEN 2 Corinthians 12:11. The Apostle praises himself for the salvation of his disciples. - The versatility of apostolic love. "Nothing is more useless than a man who does not know how to love. - Envy is an intolerable evil.

DISCOURSE TWENTY-EIGHT 2 Corinthians 12:16-18. Protection from suspicions of greed. - The teacher condoles for the misfortunes of the students. - Virtue is terrible for its opponents.

DISCOURSE TWENTY-NINE on 2 Corinthians 13:1. Various types of "infirmity". - Praise of Paul. - How fame is achieved.

THIRTIETH DISCOURSE on 2 Corinthians 13:10. The Holy Spirit is of one essence with the Father and the Son.

Discourses on the Epistle to the Galatians

DISCOURSE ONE The Motivation for Paul to Write an Epistle. – Paul was called by Christ Himself. – The authority of the Son and the Holy Spirit is one and the same. – Resolution of the Objection of the Anomoeans. – Against the Anomaeans and Arians. – Against Judaizer Christians. – The question of whether Christians should be circumcised. – Paul's humility.

CONVERSATION 1

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy the brother, of the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints throughout Achaia: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercy and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions, that we also may be able to comfort those who are in all affliction with the consolation with which God comforts us!" (2 Corinthians 1:1-4).

1. It is proper first to consider why the Apostle adds the second to the first epistle, and why he begins it with an indication of God's mercies and consolation. So, why does he write the second epistle? For in the first he said: "I will come to you, and I will try not the words of the proud, but the power" (1 Cor. 4:19), and at the end of it again in milder words he promised the same thing, saying: "I will come to you when I have passed through Macedonia; for I am going through Macedonia. And with you, perhaps, I will live, or I will spend the winter" (1 Corinthians 16:5,6), meanwhile, after that, a long time passed, and he did not yet come, even the appointed time had already passed, and he was still gathering and delaying, being restrained by the Spirit for other things much more necessary, he therefore thought it necessary (to write) a second epistle, which would not have been necessary if he had not delayed a long time. However, this was not the only reason, but also the fact that after the first epistle the Corinthians became better. It was the one who had committed fornication, whom they had formerly applauded and was proud of, that they cut off and completely excommunicated the faithful from the Church, as is evident from the following words of the Apostle: "But if anyone has grieved, he has not grieved me, but in part, not to say much, and all of you. For such a chastisement from many is sufficient" (2 Corinthians 2:5, 6). And further, continuing his epistle, (the Apostle) again points to the same thing when he says: "For the very fact that you were grieved for God's sake, see what diligence has produced in you, what apologies, what indignation [against the guilty], what fear, what desire, what zeal, what chastisement! In all things you have shown yourselves pure in this work" (7:11). In the same way, the alms which he asked of them they began to collect with great zeal, wherefore he said: "I know your diligence, and I boast of you before the Macedonians, that Achaia has been prepared since last year" (2 Cor. 9:2). And Titus, whom the Apostle sent, they received with all favor, to which he points out again with the words: "His heart is greatly disposed towards you, at the remembrance of the obedience of all of you, as you received him with fear and trembling" (2 Corinthians 7: 15). For all these reasons, he writes the second epistle. And it was necessary that he should reproach those who had sinned then, so he should now praise those who had reformed and receive them in his favor. For this reason the whole of this Epistle is devoid of threats and reproaches, with the exception of only a few passages towards the end of the epistle, which were necessary because among the Corinthian Christians there were some of the Jews who spoke highly of themselves and condemned Paul as a boastful man who did not deserve any respect. Thus they said: "In the epistles he is strict and strong, but in private presence he is weak, and [his] speech is insignificant" (2 Cor. 10:10), that is, when he comes, he is worthless, because this (is the meaning of the words): "In his personal presence he is weak" [the coming of the body is weak]; but when you have departed, you exalt yourself highly in your epistles, which (mean the words): "In the epistles he is strict and strong" [the epistles are heavy]. And in order to show themselves worthy of respect, they pretended to be uncovetous, as the Apostle hints at with the words: "That in what they boast, they may be [the same] as we are" (2 Cor. 11:12). At the same time, having the gift of speech, they were greatly exalted by this, wherefore (the Apostle) calls himself ignorant, showing that he is not ashamed of it, and does not consider (the gift of speech) to be some great gain, but, on the contrary, counts it as nothing. And since it was natural for some of the believers (hearing such comments about the apostle) to hesitate in their trust in him, he, first praising the faithful for what they had corrected, and putting to shame the madness of the proud who demanded the observance of the Jewish rites, because it was no longer the time to fulfill them, then he reproaches them for this. This, then, seems to me to be the reason for this epistle, as anyone can see from a little reading of it. Let us now turn to the beginning of the Epistle, and examine why (the Apostle), after his usual greeting, began the Epistle by pointing to the mercies of God. First of all, we must make a remark about the very beginning, and find out why he here adds Timothy to himself, saying, "Paul, by the will of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, and Timothy a brother" (v. 1). Meanwhile, in the first epistle he promised to send him to them, and he urged them, saying: "If Timothy comes to you, see that he is safe among you" (1 Cor. 16:10). How then does he say at the beginning that he is with him? This is because (Timothy), having come to them, according to the promise of the teacher ("For this reason I have sent to you," wrote Paul, "Timothy, who will remind you of my ways in Christ" [for he sent to you, Timothy, who will remember to you my ways in Christ] – 1 Cor. 4:17), and having corrected all that had been commissioned, he turned back, since when he sent him, (the apostle) punished: "See him off in peace, that he may come to me, for I am waiting for him with the brethren" (1 Cor. 16:11).

2. And so, since (Timothy) returned to his teacher, and (the Apostle), having corrected with him what was necessary in Asia ("In Ephesus," he says, "I will abide until Pentecost" – 1 Cor. 16:8), went over again to Macedonia, it is natural that he mentions (Timothy) as already with him, because he had brought the former epistle from Asia, and the present is from Macedonia. And he put (Timothy) with him, in order to show him more respect, and to show in himself a deep humility, because although (Timothy) was inferior to him, love unites everything. That is why he everywhere equates him with himself, and says of him: "As a son to his father, he served me [as a child of a father, he worked with me]" (Philippians 2:22); then: "For he does the work of the Lord, as I do" (1 Cor. 16:10); and here he calls him "brother". Thus he represents him in all respects worthy of the respect of the Corinthians, and the more so since, as I have said, he had already been to them, and had shown the experiments of his virtues. "The Church of God which is in Corinth." (The Apostle) again calls the Corinthians the Church, wishing thereby to gather and unite all of them into one. Otherwise, there can be no one Church where its components are divided among themselves and are at enmity with each other. "With all the saints in all Achaia." With these words (the Apostle) also gives preference to the Corinthians, when through the Epistle written to them he greets all the others, and together he urges the whole Church gathered together to peace and harmony. By naming the saints, he shows that this greeting does not belong to the unclean. But why does (the Apostle), writing here to the main Church, write together with it to all the others, while he does not always do so? Thus he did not send the epistles to the Thessalonians at the same time to the Macedonians; in the same way, when he wrote to the Ephesians, he did not address all Asia at the same time; and the Epistle to the Romans is not sent together to the rest of the inhabitants of Italy. But here he does the same thing as in the epistle to the Galatians. And this epistle he sends not to one, nor to two or three cities, but to all who dwell in that country in general, when he says: "Paul the Apostle, [chosen] not by men, nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead, and all the brethren who are with me are with me to the churches of Galatia: grace to you and peace" nor by man, but Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead, and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace] (Gal. 1:1-3). Likewise, he wrote one epistle to the Jews for all, not dividing them into cities. What is the reason for this? It seems to me that the reason for this was the general diseases that prevailed there. For this reason he sends a common message to all, that all demanded a general correction. After all, all the Galatians suffered from the same disease, and the Jews. I think the same about the Corinthians. And so, having gathered all together, and having made a common greeting, according to his custom, to greet all, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 2), listen to how, according to the subject he has chosen, he begins the epistle: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercy and the God of all comfort" [Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Father of mercies and God of all pleasures] (v. 3). But what is the conformity here, you will say, with the chosen subject? Closest. Look. The Corinthians were greatly grieved and troubled that the apostle did not come to them, although he had promised to come, but had spent all this time in Macedonia, and seemed to prefer others to them. So, with this anxiety in mind, he tells them the reason why he did not come. However, he does not immediately open it, and does not say: "I remember that I promised to come, but I have been delayed by the sorrows that have befallen me, therefore forgive me, and do not accuse me of any contempt or negligence towards you," but leads to it in another way, much more majestically and with greater conviction, trying beforehand to comfort them, so that they will no longer ask the reason, why he didn't come. And he does this in the same way as if a man, having promised to come to his friend, and having overcome very many calamities, having come, said: "Glory to Thee, O God, that Thou hast shown me my beloved friend! Blessed art Thou, O Lord, from what troubles Thou hast delivered me!" Such a doxology of the one who has come is at the same time an excuse before him who intends to accuse him, and does not allow the latter to complain about the delay of the former. He is already ashamed to summon to judgment the one who brings thanks to God for deliverance from so many evils, and to demand from him an account of his slowness. Wherefore (the Apostle), beginning his speech with the words, "Blessed be the God of mercies," points to his deliverance and deliverance from great calamities. In the same way, David does not everywhere call God in the same way, nor does he derive His names from the same attributes; but when he discusses war and victory, he says: "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength! The Lord is my stronghold" (Psalm 17:2,3); but when he remembers his deliverance from the sorrow and darkness that has overtaken his soul, he says: "The Lord is my light and my salvation" (Psalm 26:1). Sometimes He borrows His names from His love for mankind, sometimes from His righteousness, sometimes from His impartial judgment - according to the circumstances in which He found himself. In the same way, Paul here at the beginning of the Epistle calls (God) from the side of His love for mankind, saying: "The God of mercies," i.e. He who manifested such great mercies that He brought us out of the very gates of death.

3. Truly, to have mercy in this way above all is peculiar and akin to God. That is why he calls Him the God of bounties. But note here also the humility of Paul. Enduring troubles for the sake of preaching, he does not say that he is worthily saved from them by God, but for the sake of God's mercies. But he said this even more clearly below. And now, continuing his speech, he says: "He who comforts us in all tribulation" [comfort us in all tribulation]. He did not say, "Who does not allow us to fall into sorrows, but comforts us in sorrows," because this both shows the power of God and strengthens the patience of those who sorrow. "Out of tribulation," he says (in another place), "comes patience [tribulation worketh patience] (Rom. 5:3)[1]. This was also expressed by the prophet in the words: "In distress Thou didst give me space" (Psalm 4:2). He did not say, "Thou didst not suffer me to fall into tribulation," or "Thou didst immediately dispel the tribulation," but, "In the continuance of the tribulation, Thou didst spread me," that is, He gave me great coolness and rest. The same thing happened with the three youths. He did not forbid them to be cast into the furnace, and when they were cast down, He did not quench the flame; but when the furnace was blazing, he gave them coolness.