| Устная информация касалась также проблем разделения в церкви; кровосмешения; тяжб в гражданском суде; безнравственности; поведения женщин, которые пророчили в церкви с непокрытой головой; осквернения вечери Господней, а также отрицания воскресения из мертвых (гл. 1–4; 5; 6; 12; 15). Более детальное обсуждение переписки с коринфянами и восстановление нескольких посещений Павла см. во Введении ко 2 Кор. См. также статью «Читая послания». Первое послание к Коринфянам представляет собой самый длинный пасторский документ в Новом Завете и служит важным ключом, раскрывающим толкование трудных пастырских проблем. Оно включает кардинальные ответы на многие жгучие проблемы, которые и ныне, в той или иной мере, возникают в Церкви. Дополнительная литература Prior D., The Message of 1Corinthians, BST (1VP, 1985). Carson D. A., Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1Corinthians 12–14 (Baker Book House, 1987). Carson D. A., The Cross and Christian Ministry: An Exposition of Passages from 1Corinthians (IVP/UK/Baker Book House, 1993). Morris L., The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, TNTC (IVP/UK/Eerdmans, 1985). Fee G. D., The First Epistle to the Corinthians, NICNT(Eerdmans, 1987). Содержание 1:1–3 Авторы и адресаты 1:4 – 4:21 Христианский подход к служению в церкви 1:4–9 Благодарение за полноту благословения Христова 1:10–17а Опасность разделения Церкви на почве поклонения христианским учителям 1:17б–2:5 Призыв хвалиться в Господе, а не гордиться человеческой мудростью 2:6– 16 Мудрость, раскрытая Духом 3:1–23 Насущные проблемы коринфян 4:1 –5 Служение и дух критицизма 4:6– 13 Служение и социальный статус служителя 4:14–17 Апостол Павел как духовный отец коринфян 4:18–21 Выбор, который предстоит коринфянам 5:1 – 6:20 Моральные и этические проблемы 5:1–8 Распутное поведение и свод церковных правил 5:9–13 Осуждение Церковью поведения верующих 6:1–8 Судебные тяжбы среди верующих 6:9–20 Против вседозволенности 7:1–40 Проблемы брака 7:1–6 О браке 7:6,7 Дар безбрачия и брака |
| The same Prophet Hosea, proclaiming the name of God and addressing the chosen people, says: “for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee” (Hosea 11:9). God defines Himself as such, which means that holiness is one of the most important definitions of God (Cf., Leviticus 11:44–45; 19:2; 20:3, 7, 26; 21:8; 22:2, 32. Jesus of Navi [Joshua] 24:15, 19. 1 Kings Samuel] 2:2, 10; 6:20; 2 Kings Samuel] 22:7; 4 Kings Kings] 19:22. 1 Paralipomena Chronicles] 16:10, 27, 35; 29:16. 2 Paralipomena Chronicles] 6:2; 30. 27. Tobit 3:11; 8:5, 15; 12:12, 15. Judith 9:13; Job 6:10; Psalms 2:6; 3:5; 5:8; 10 14 15 17 19 21 23 26 27 32 42 45 46 47 50 64 67 70 76 77 54; 78 88 97 98 5, 9; 101 102 104 42; 105 110 137 144 21; Proverbs 9:10; Wisdom of Solomon 1:5; 9:8, 10, 17; 10:20. Wisdom of Sirach 4:15; 17:8; 23:9–10; 43:11; 47:9, 12; 48:23. Esaias [Isaiah] 1:4; 5:16, 19, 24; 6:3; 8:13; 10:17, 20; 11:9; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19, 23; 30:11–12, 15; 31:1; 37:23; 40:25; 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14–15; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 52:19; 54:5; 55:5; 56:7; 57:13, 15; 58:13; 60:9, 14; 63:10–11; 65:11, 25; 66:20. Jeremias [Jeremiah] 23:9; 31:23; 50:29; 51:5. Baruch 2:16; 4:22, 37; 5:5; 20:39–40; 28: 14; 36:20–22; 39:7, 25. Ezekiel 43:7–8; Daniel 3:52–53; 4:5–6, 10, 14–15, 20; 5:11; 9:16, 20, 24. Joel 2:1; 3:17; Amos 2:7. Abidias 1:16. Jonas 2:5, 8; Michaias [Micah] 1:2; Abbacum [Habbakuk] 1:12; 2:20; 3:3; Sophonias [Zephaniah] 3: 11–12; Zacharias [Zechariah] 2:13; 2 Maccabees 8:15; 14:36; 15:32; 3 Maccabees 2:2, 11, 16; 5:8; 6:1–2, 4, 17, 26; 7:8; 2 Esdras 14:22; Matthew 1:18, 20; 3:11; 12:32; 28:19. Mark 1:8, 24, 29; 12:36; 13:11; Luke 1:15, 35, 41, 49, 67, 72; 2:25–26; 3:16, 22; 4: 1, 34; 11:13; 12:10, 12. John 1:33; 7:39; 14:26; 17:11; 20:22; Acts 1:2, 5, 8, 16; 2:4, 33, 38; 3:14; 4:8, 25, 27, 30–31; 5:3, 32; 6:3, 5; 7:51, 55; 8:15, 17–19, 39; 9:17, 31; 10:38, 44–45, 47; 11:15–16, 24; 13:2, 4, 9, 35, 52; 15:8, 28; 16:6; 19:2, 6; 20:23, 28; 21:11; 28:25. 1 Peter 1:12, 15–16; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 2:20; 5:7. Jude 1:20; Romans 5:5; 9:1; 14:17; 15:13, 16; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 3:17; 6:19; 12:3; 2 Corinthians 6:6; 13:13. Ephesians 3:5; 4: 30; 1 Thessalonians 1:5–6; 4:8; 2 Timothy 1:14; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 2:4; 3:7; 6: 4; 9:8, 14; 10: 15; Revelation 3:7; 4:8; 6:10; 15:3–4; 16:5). |
| If anyone would seem to be unsuccessful, it would seem to be Paul. Paul’s character is as far from commanding as one could get. Why would anyone listen to his message about Jesus being the Son of God, the messiah? In fact, even Aristotle, in his Rhetoric , says that a man must have strong character in order to be persuasive (1.2). Yet, for St. Paul, it is this weakness that demonstrates that God is in control. Through weakness, God rules Paul argument starts by simply saying, But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. (2 Corinthians 4:7 RSV) In the ancient world, it was common to store precious jewels in pots made from clay. A primitive safe, if you will. Of course in this case, the earthen vessels is a metaphor for us and our bodies. Bodies that breakdown, get sick, and, eventually, die. The treasure we carry is the Gospel, handed down from apostle to bishop, from bishop to priest, from priest to you, and from you to the entire world. Paul’s argument is that the power of the Gospel is in the message itself, not the one who bears the message. His proof? Himself! Look at how weak he is! In other words, there’s nothing about how Paul preaches, or in his mannerism, that makes the Gospel powerful. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 RSV) The power is the message itself. The Orthodox Church is an earthen vessel In fact, all through history, the Orthodox Church has shown itself to be nothing but an earthen vessel. Hardship after hardship has afflicted us. 1. The Romans, in the great Diocletian persecution, persecuted us. 2. Great heresies have threatened to tear us apart – Gnostics, Nestorians, and Monophysites. 3. Orthodox peoples faced great threats from the Persians and then the Ottomans. 4. In modern times, Orthodox peoples faced the threat of Communism. 5. Now, in our own time, we face the threat of secularism, which takes our children away. |
| Wisdom from Saint Paul “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Phil 1:21 “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me.” Galatians 2:20 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice” Philippians4:4 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.” Romans 8:18 “Love is patient and kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs… Love never fails… These three things remain: Faith, Hope and Love. The greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8,12 “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content… For I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil 4:11,13 “We do not live to ourselves and we do not die to ourselves. If we life we live to the Lord, and if we die we die to the lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” Romans 14:7-9 Wisdom from Saint Peter Jesus asked, “But who do you say that I am?” And Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you Simon, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it, and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Mt 16:16-19 “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with gentleness and reverence.” 1 Peter 3:15 Just as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. 1 Peter 1:15 “Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Pet 1:5-8 |
| The Need For Attention and Remembrance “Observance” denotes the need to pay attention and to remember. Six times during the Divine Liturgy the priest or deacon is giving the exhortation “Let us be attentive.” God doesn’t want us to just show up at church and habitually say and do the rites while our minds are occupied with work, grocery lists, or a recent argument with our spouse. Such worship is not “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24). God desires we focus on what every word said and every gesture made alludes to within the Divine Liturgy (and other worship services). This takes discipline on our part, but it is through discipline we become righteous sons and daughters of our Father (Hebrews 12:4-11). Observing the Divine Liturgy disciplines us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). It is only by being attentive we will gain understanding (Proverbs 4:1, 20; 5:1; 7:24; 22:17), find God’s direction for us (Exodus 23:20-21), and enjoy His blessing (Deuteronomy 7:12-13; 28:13). Attending to the teachings of the Church both through Scripture (2 Peter 1:19) and Tradition (Hebrews 2:1) keeps us from drifting into heresy. A good Biblical definition of observance, that we should remind ourselves of as we enter a church, is: “Mortal, look closely and listen attentively, and set your mind upon all that I [God] shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you” (Ezekiel 40:4; see also Isaiah 28:23; 34:1). The Bible is filled with exhortations to not only attend but to also remember. We need to continually be reminded of: who God is, how God has saved us, the miracles which attest to God’s love for us, the commands God taught us, the saints of old who inspire us, and also remember those that need charitable aide or divine intervention. The high point of the Divine Liturgy is when we observe the sacrament of communion, which was commanded by God to be done “in remembrance” of Christ (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25). Orthodox worship services, particularly in its litanies and hymns, are specifically designed to help us remember. |
| Incarnation refers to Jesus Christ coming «in the flesh.» The eternal Son of God the Father assumed to Himself a complete human nature from the Virgin Mary. He was and is one divine Person, fully possessing from God the Father the entirety of the divine nature, and in His coming in the flesh fully possessing a human nature from the Virgin Mary. By His Incarnation, the Son forever possesses two natures in His one Person. The Son of God, limitless in His divine nature, voluntarily and willingly accepted limitation in His humanity in which He experienced hunger, thirst, fatigue – and ultimately, death. The Incarnation is indispensable to Christianity – there is no Christianity without it. The Scriptures record, «Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God» (I John 4:3). By His Incarnation, the Son of God redeemed human nature, a redemption made accessible to all who are joined to Him in His glorified humanity. The Holy Spirit is one of the Persons of the Holy Trinity and is one in essence with the Father. Orthodox Christians repeatedly confess, «And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified.» He is called the «promise of the Father» (Acts 1:4), given by Christ as a gift to the Church, to empower the Church for service to God (Acts 1:8), to place God " s love in our hearts (Romans 5:5), and to impart spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:7–13) and virtues (Galatians 5:22, 23) for Christian life and witness. Orthodox Christians believe the biblical promise that the Holy Spirit is given through chrismation (anointing) at baptism (Acts 2:38). We are to grow in our experience of the Holy Spirit for the rest of our lives. Sin literally means to «miss the mark.» As St. Paul writes, «All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God» (Romans 3:23). We sin when we pervert what God has given us as good, falling short of His purposes for us. Our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1, 2), leaving us spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1). To save us, the Son of God assumed our humanity, and being without sin «He condemned sin in the flesh» (Romans 8:3). In His mercy, God forgives our sins when we confess them and turn from them, giving us strength to overcome sin in our lives. «If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness» (I John 1:9). |
| First of all, the miraculous pool in Jerusalem is a distant prototype of our Christian Baptism, in which we are immersed in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, being healed from sins according to our faith or that of our sponsors. While an angel of the Lord descended into the pool in Jerusalem only from time to time, healing a single person, the Life-Giving Lord Himself, the Holy Spirit, descends into the baptismal font, sanctifying the water and granting to all who are baptized the remission of sins and the grace that renews and quickens our nature. Without this grace, we would have been forever cut off from the face of God, since God – Who is pure Spirit – abhors every sinful impurity. The Lord’s healing of the paralytic represents all of humanity, which had been in spiritual infirmity for thousands of years. Before the Savior’s coming into the world, nothing could heal man from sin and death: neither pagan wisdom, nor the true knowledge of God and piety preserved by the chosen Jewish people. In the words of Holy Scripture, all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The paralytic at the pool by the sheep market had no man (John 5:7) who could put him in the saving water; thus, the human race, paralyzed by sin before Christ’s coming, did not have this Man (John 18:17), the New Adam, the Heavenly Man (1 Corinthians 15:45,48), the only true Physician of soul and body. One can pay attention to the fact that the unfortunate paralytic suffered for thirty-eight years – that is, almost forty years – and that the number “forty” in Holy Scripture indicates fullness and perfection. It was precisely when the fulness of the time was come, that God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (Galatians 4:4-5). The miraculous pool by the sheep market where lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered (John 5:3) was called “Bethesda,” which translated from the Hebrew means “house of mercy.” One can see here a prefiguring of the New Testament Church of Christ, that true “house of mercy,” where the saving and sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit acts among the new people of God. Finally, the Savior’s words to the man he healed – Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more (John 5:14) – reveal that sin is the sole cause of our sicknesses. |
| Pascha is the feast of universal redemption. Our earliest sources for the annual celebration of the Christian Pascha come to us from the second century.[ 3 ] The feast, however, must have originated in the apostolic period. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to imagine otherwise. The first Christians were Jews and obviously conscious of the Jewish festal calendar. They scarcely could have forgotten that the remarkable and compelling events of Christ " s death, burial and resurrection had occured at a time in which the annual Passover was being observed. These Christians could not have failed to project the events of the passion and the resurrection of Christ on the Jewish festal calendar, nor would they have failed to connect and impose their faith on the annual observance of the Jewish Passover.[ 4 ] St. Paul seems to indicate as much when writing to the Corinthians, " purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth " (1 Cor 5.7-8).[ 5 ] The early Church rejoiced in the event of the Resurrection. The new and principal day of worship of the Christians was the first day of the Jewish week, i.e., the day in which the Lord was raised from the dead. They assembled on that day[ 6 ] to celebrate the Eucharist, through which they proclaimed the Lord " s death and confessed his resurrection.[ 7 ] Eventually they gave this day a Christian name, the Day of the Lord (Rev 1.10). It would be hard to imagine that the Christians of the first century would not have projected and connected in some new and significant way their weekly celebration of the sacred events of Christ " s death and resurrection on the annual observance of the Passover. Another point of interest in this connection is the emergence of the paschal fast and vigil. |
| In the Gospel of John we see not only faithlessness on the brothers’ part, but a condescending view that would be inexplicable had they been younger, and quite understandable if they were older and saw in the Lord Jesus’s actions a violation of what they considered to be the necessary order: His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him (Jn. 7:3-5). That is, the Scriptures more likely point to Jesus’s brothers as older relatives, who therefore could obviously not have been the children of Mary. The Church historian Eusebius of Caesarea presents the opinion that they were the children of St. Joseph from his first marriage. In fact, if Joseph was a pious widower, it would well explain also why after the story of the Lord’s childhood, Joseph is no longer mentioned in the Gospels; most likely he was considerably older than Mary and had died by that time. However, we might well pay attention also to another fact—the amazing turnaround that occurs in the Lord’s brethren. At first we see unbelieving men, even disagreeable; and later these same men turn up in the Church as its heralds. In the Acts we see them praying with the entire Church, and the holy Apostle Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians mentions them along with the Apostles (cf. 1 Cor. 9:5). St. James the brother of the Lord, recalled several times in the Scriptures (Gal. 1:19; Acts 12:17; 15:4-29; 21:18), is the author of one of the New Testament Epistles. Another epistle, that of the holy Apostle Jude, was also written by one of the Lord’s brothers. What could have brought on such a change? Unbelieving people put forth various theories in order to at least somehow explain the disciples’ unshakeable faith in the Lord’s resurrection. All the skeptics in one way or another suppose that the disciples could not make peace with their Leader’s terrible death; and so, finally, they upheld the strange belief that He had resurrected. |
| 5) Thus spiritual life could be defined as ‘life in Christ’. Let us dwell on this for a moment. This phrase has been used as the title of a book by St. Nicholas Cabasilas about the Sacraments. Echoing him, the great wonderworker, St. John of Kronstadt, who was a married priest living in Russia and who reposed in 1905, gave a similar title to his ‘spiritual diary’ when he was asked to publish it. An almost contemporary author called one of the books where he shared his spiritual insights His – that is, Christ’s – Life is Mine. To be ‘in Christ’ means to be incorporated into His actual Body, and to be anointed with His Spirit – Christ means ‘the Anointed One’ – and adopted as a child of His Heavenly Father. Christian faith is not only saying ‘yes’ to the Creed. It means ‘putting on Christ’ [Gal. 3:27]. How? By Baptism, which, precisely, is preceded by a confession of faith. We easily take this great gift for granted, but those who are converted in the mission field or as adults can tell us from their experience that it is a passage from darkness to light, from death to life. We sometimes forget that at Baptism the priest said over us, ‘Thou art washed, thou art sanctified, thou art justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.’ These magnificent words, borrowed from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, can seem like a mere ritual formula if we neglect to actualize the divine gift of grace in our life. The seed of spiritual life has been sown in us. We ‘are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints’ Cor. 1:2]. That is our task. 6) If we are certain that we ‘have found the true faith’, we have nothing to fear from the plethora of spiritual paths around us, even though it seems confusing. ‘For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind’ Tim. 1:7]. If we remain faithful, and continually enrich our experience and knowledge of the Church’s life and teaching, we will be all the better fitted to help our contemporaries. The basic question is always: What do you think of Christ? St. John reminded his correspondents that ‘By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ is [the divine Lord] come in the flesh is not of God: John 4:2]. |
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