ACC ~ 1 Corinthians 1 v17 - 19

OVERVIEW:

Not everyone who baptizes is competent to preach the gospel (AMBROSIASTER). Preaching is a gift given to few, and it must not be confused with eloquence, which is superficial (THEODORET OF CYR). The truth of the message does not depend on the cleverness of the messenger; otherwise fishers would not be chosen to preach (AMBROSIASTER). The power of the cross is not recognized by those who are perishing (CHRYSOSTOM).

1:17 | Sent to Preach the Gospel

WHY FISHERS WERE CHOSEN TO PREACH. AMBROSIASTER: Because it is a greater thing to preach the gospel than to baptize, Paul says that he was sent to do the former, not the latter. Not everyone who baptizes is competent to preach the gospel, for the words used at baptism are an established formula. When Cornelius became a believer, the apostle Peter gave orders that he should be baptized along with his household, but he did not bother to do it himself when he had his assistants standing by. It was because Christian preaching does not need elaborate refinement of verbal expression that fishers, who were uneducated, were chosen to preach the gospel. In that way the truth of the message would be its own recommendation, and it would not depend on the cleverness or ingenuity of human wisdom. The false apostles were doing just that, and moreover they were omitting the things which the world does not believe, like the virgin birth of Christ and his resurrection from the dead. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

PAUL’S APOSTOLIC OFFICE TOOK PRECEDENCE. PELAGIUS: Paul did not usurp the functions of the lower offices when he was able to exercise the higher ones. It would be as if nowadays a bishop or even a priest were to do the work of a deacon. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 1.

1:17b | Not with Eloquent Wisdom

THE CROSS STANDS CONTRARY TO HUMAN WISDOM. CHRYSOSTOM: If human wisdom is at war with the cross and fights against the gospel, it is not right to boast about it. Rather, we should recoil in shame. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 3.7.

PREACHING IS A GIFT. THEODORET OF CYR: Anyone can baptize if he is a priest, but preaching is a gift given to few, and it must not be confused with mere eloquence, which is purely superficial. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 169.

1:18 | Folly to Those Who Are Perishing

A DIVINE DEFENSE AGAINST THE DEVIL. ORIGEN: Who was capable of destroying the plague of ignorance, darkness and destruction? Not a prophet, nor an apostle, nor any other righteous man. Rather there had to be a divine power coming down from heaven, capable of dying on behalf of us all, so that by his death there might be a defense against the devil. COMMENTARY ON 1 CORINTHIANS 1.6.8-12.

THE MADNESS OF REJECTING GOOD MEDICINE. CHRYSOSTOM: The power of the cross is not recognized by those who are perishing, because they are out of their minds and act like madmen, complaining and rejecting the medicines which bring salvation. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 4.1.

1:19 | Destroying the Wisdom of the Wise

THWARTING THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER. AMBROSIASTER: By doing this, God shows that actions speak louder than words. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

FOOD FOR DECEPTION. THEODORET OF CYR: Paul speaks about the wisdom of this world and not merely the eloquence, for God has given it also. It was God who divided the languages and gave each one its own character. It was he who gave the Greek language its splendor. But those who abuse these gifts have prepared food for deception and have preached false tales. What Paul objects to is not their eloquence as such but the false teaching which lies behind it. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 170-71.