1 Corinthians 3:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Therefore, if you boast in external wisdom, it not only means nothing, as has already been proved, but also hinders us in the knowledge of spiritual things.

If you boast in spiritual knowledge, you are still very imperfect even in this and stand among the last. Therefore he says, "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men."

He did not say, "I did not speak," lest they think this came from envy. Instead, he casts down their arrogance in two ways.

First, they do not know spiritual things perfectly. Second, they themselves are the cause of this ignorance. To these he adds, third, that even now they still cannot know them.

If they could not at the beginning, perhaps this depended on the nature of the matters themselves. Yet even this excuse, as he has shown, they cannot offer.

They did not fail to receive lofty truths because they could not receive them, he says, but because they were fleshly.

At the beginning, however, this was not yet so blameworthy. But not to have attained knowledge of perfect things over such a long time is a sign of extreme negligence.

The Apostle reproves the Hebrews for the same thing, but not with the same force. They, he says, were such because of sorrowful circumstances, but these because of their corrupt inclinations.

The two cases are not the same. To the former he speaks the same truths for edification. To the latter he speaks them to awaken them.

To these he says, "Even now you are not able." To the former he says, "Therefore, leaving the elementary doctrine of Christ, let us press on to perfection."

And again, "We are confident of better things concerning you, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this way" (Heb 6:1, 9).

But how does he call fleshly those who received so many gifts of the Spirit and whom he praised so highly at the beginning of the epistle?

In the same way those were fleshly to whom the Lord said, "Depart from Me; I do not know you, you workers of lawlessness" (Mt 7:23), although they cast out demons, raised the dead, and uttered prophecies.

Consequently, even one who performs signs can be fleshly. Thus God also acted through Balaam and revealed the future to Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar.

Caiaphas prophesied, not knowing what he said. Others cast out demons in His name, although they themselves were not with Him.

All this happens not for those who perform it, but for others. Often it was accomplished even through the unworthy.

And why is it surprising that this happens through unworthy men for others, if God also acts through saints for others?

Thus Paul says, "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or life, or death, all are yours" (1 Cor 3:22). And again: "He gave some as Apostles, some as prophets, and some as pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of ministry" (Eph 4:11-12).

If this were not so, all would fall into perdition unhindered. It happens that rulers are evil and incontinent, while those under them are good and continent.

Laymen live piously, while priests live wickedly. If grace always sought the worthy, there would be neither baptism, nor the celebration of the Body of Christ, nor offerings.

But now God acts even through the unworthy, and the grace of baptism suffers no harm from the life of the priest. Otherwise the one receiving it would also suffer harm.

Although this happens rarely, nevertheless it happens. I say this so that no one among those present, observing the life of the priest, may be scandalized concerning the mysteries performed by him.

Man contributes nothing in them from himself. Everything is the work of the power of God. God acts upon you in the mysteries.

"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to fleshly men. I fed you with milk and not with solid food, for you were not yet able."

He had said above, "the spiritual man judges all things," and again, "he himself is judged by no one," and again, "we have the mind of Christ."

So that they might not think he said these things from vainglory, and so that he might cast down their pride, see what Paul says.

I kept silence, he says, not because I was unable to tell you anything more, but because you are fleshly.

"Nor are you able even now." Why did the Apostle not say, "You do not wish," but, "You are not able"?

He set the latter in place of the former, since they were unable because they did not wish. This serves as an accusation against them and as a defense for the teacher.

On the contrary, they valued more highly the preaching distinguished by eloquence (Acts 14:18). Perhaps the Apostle partly had this in mind when he called the Corinthians carnal.

In general, however, the Corinthians were carnal because of their sinfulness.

They were also carnal because not all of them at once received Christianity in the full breadth of its teaching and holiness of life.

But so that this might not seem a humiliation to the newly converted, the Apostle calls them babes in Christ.

He says that, in keeping with their new beginning in the Christian faith, he offered them teaching proportionate to their weak capacity.

In this he acted like a tenderly loving mother, or like a very experienced tutor.

The Corinthians' shortcomings were envy, disputes, and divisions. For their sake the Apostle called them carnal.

This is clear from the following reference to disputes about the superiority of teachers of the faith. These disputes arose from the Greeks' customary attitude toward teachers.

St. John Chrysostom here resolves the question: "How does the Apostle call the Corinthians carnal, when they had so many spiritual gifts and he himself praised them so much at the beginning?"

He answered: "In exactly the same way as those were carnal of whom the Lord said, 'Depart from Me, I do not know you, you workers of iniquity' (Mt 7:23).

Therefore even one who performed signs could be carnal. If grace always sought the worthy, there would be neither Baptism, nor the consecration of the Body of Christ, nor offerings.

God acts even through the unworthy, and the grace of Baptism suffers no harm from the life of the priest.

Man contributes nothing of himself in them, that is, in the mysteries. All this is the work of God's power. He acts upon us in the mysteries."

The Apostle unfolds further this view of Christ's ministers as instruments of divine providence.

Leaving aside the perfection of Apollos, or of anyone else, Saint Paul takes up one point alone. Why did he himself not offer lofty truths among them?

He explains that he truly did not offer them. But the reason for this was not in him, but in them themselves.

I could not, he says, proclaim lofty truths to you as to spiritual men when you were fleshly. I could not speak to you as to perfect men when you were infants.

We proclaim the highest wisdom, but to the perfect (1 Cor 2:6). Whether someone appears such immediately after baptism or ascends gradually to such perfection, we do not proclaim higher truths while he remains imperfect.

This is our rule: to measure spiritual conversations according to the spirituality of the hearers (1 Cor 2:13). Thus we do not waste the labor of sowing and the seeds when the field is not prepared to receive and grow them.

My apostolic duty obliged me to act as I acted among you. "I kept silence not because I was unable to tell you anything more, but because you are fleshly" (Chrysostom).

In what sense fleshly? In the sense that they had not yet completely detached themselves from fleshly and natural ways of thought and aims.

They had already believed and received baptism. They had come alive in spirit. Yet fleshly and natural-minded thinking still lived in them and intruded into the spiritual realm.

This is seen even in their use of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit.

"The Apostle called the Corinthians fleshly because they were attached to this life, sought what is glorious according to human opinion, and gave attention to wealth and eloquence," that is, to external advantages (blessed Theodoret).

The Apostle called them fleshly. But to show that this fleshliness was not the same as that of the unbaptized, he adds that they are infants in Christ.

The unbaptized do not even have the first beginning of spiritual life. The Corinthians do have it. They have already been reborn in spirit.

But the new man born in them is still in infancy. Around him the manifestations of fleshly and natural life still break through.

These must diminish and come entirely to an end, while the new man must grow and become mature.

"Since what was said, that they were fleshly, could wound them, he softens the blow by a certain likeness and says, 'as to infants in Christ.' That is, you are still fleshly, as newborn and imperfect" (Theodoret).

If Saint Paul, after living with them for a year and a half, could not bring them to perfection in the spiritual life, one must acknowledge something as beyond doubt.

External cultivation, the polish of life, and the refinement of worldly manners and tastes, by which the Corinthians were distinguished, serve as the greatest obstacle to Christian perfection.

They hold back those who are zealous for it by fleshly concepts and views. In others they extinguish even the very zeal for it.

Saint Chrysostom also resolves here the question of how they had so many spiritual gifts, as is mentioned below. After resolving it, he makes an application to those who perform the mysteries.

This is edifying to remember at all times. "But how does he call fleshly those who received so many gifts of the Spirit and whom he praised so highly at the beginning of the epistle?"

"In the same way those were fleshly to whom the Lord said, 'Depart from Me, I do not know you, you workers of lawlessness' (Mt 7:23), although they cast out demons, raised the dead, and uttered prophecies."

"Consequently, even one who performs signs can be fleshly. Thus God also acted through Balaam and revealed the future in a dream to Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar."

"Caiaphas prophesied, not knowing what he said. Others cast out demons in the name of Christ, although they themselves did not belong to Christ. All this happens not for those who perform it, but for others."

"Often it was accomplished even through the unworthy. It happens that rulers are evil and incontinent, while those under them are good and continent."

"Laymen live piously, while priests live wickedly. If grace always sought the worthy, there would be neither baptism, nor the celebration of the Body of Christ, nor offerings."

"But now God acts even through the unworthy, and the grace of baptism suffers no harm from the life of the priest. Otherwise the one receiving it would also suffer harm."

"Although this happens rarely, nevertheless it happens. I say this so that no one among those present, observing the life of the priest, may be scandalized concerning the mysteries performed by him."

"Man contributes nothing in them from himself. All this is the work of the power of God. He acts upon you in the mysteries."