Cross as trophy; true folly and wisdom; Christ crucified (1 Cor 1:18–31)
able to take on dying for all, with a kind of public display, so that through that death a trophy might be raised against the devil. For those who triumph in the world are accustomed to set up trophies against the conquered in the manner of a cross. So the cross of Christ is a trophy against Satan; therefore he says, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross”—for the one who has come to know what the power of the cross is: that I was freed from evils through that One who died to rescue me from death—“except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.” It is a great good that the world has been crucified to me; through what did this good come to me? Through the cross of Christ. It is a great good for me to be crucified to the world; for if I died to the world, I have been crucified to the world with Christ; but if I live in sins, I have not yet been counted worthy of the good that belongs to the cross. At the same time let us also prepare for trials and for martyrdoms, knowing that whoever denies him has no salvation.
On 1 Corinthians 1:19–21: “For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will set aside.’ Where is the wise? Where the scribe? Where the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased through the folly of the preaching to save those who believe.” Origen: it is not the same to be wise and to be wise in this age; for without such an addition the word covers true wisdom. You will understand folly likewise: it is not the same to be a fool and to be a fool in this age; for without the addition “in this age” one is truly a fool. We who believe the words of wisdom are therefore commanded to become fools in this age; for so we seem to people when we believe in Christ Jesus crucified, and believe the resurrection of bodies, and believe that we shall live—not only that those now on earth will later be in the heavens, but that if we sin we shall be handed over to eternal fire. Such we seem to people…
On 1 Corinthians 1:23–31: “but we preach Christ crucified, a scandal to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God… For consider your calling, brothers, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many powerful, not many of noble birth; but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the of low birth of the world and the despised, and the things that are not, to abolish the things that are, so that no flesh may boast before God. And from him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’” Origen: we received power from believing in Jesus Christ crucified; and as far as we fall short in that faith, so far we fall short in the power of having in ourselves the things that come from God. And if you want to understand “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and set aside the discernment of the discerning,” picture for me someone very formidable in heretical arguments—say Marcion or Basilides—who seeks with such force for the heretical case that not just anyone can stand against him; then picture someone competent according to the truth, whom God also made competent as a minister of a new covenant, showing all those things to be folly on which the deceived man relied. So he destroys their wisdom—not that of the truly wise, Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Solomon; he destroys seeming wisdom, not the true. And how “in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom”? The wisdom of God is in law and prophets; the world did not know Christ preached in law and prophets. Therefore at the end of the ages he sent Jesus Christ to be crucified for the human race, so that by the folly of the preaching those who believed in Jesus Christ crucified might believe. And he added “according to the flesh” to “not many wise,” knowing there are differences among the wise: some wise according to flesh, some according to spirit; and wise according to flesh are those who have practiced only little phrases and dress up whatever is not truth as if it were truth
Greek
δυναμένην ἀναδέξασθαι ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀπο θανεῖν μετά τινος παραδειγματισμοῦ, ἵνα δι' ἐκείνου τοῦ θανάτου τρόπαιον γένηται κατὰ τοῦ διαβόλου. καὶ γὰρ εἰώθασιν <οἱ> ἐν κόσμῳ θριαμβεύοντες τοὺς πολεμ<ί>ους ἐν τρόπῳ σταυροῦ τιθέναι τὰ τρόπαια κατὰ τῶν νικωμένων. ἔστιν οὖν ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ χριστοῦ τρόπαιον κατὰ τοῦ Σατανᾶ· διὰ τοῦτο λέγει Ἐμοὶ δὲ μὴ γένοιτο καυχᾶ θαι εἰ μὴ ἐν τῷ ταυρῷ τῷ ἐγνωκότι τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ σταυροῦ τίς ἐστιν· ὅτι ἠλευθερώθην ἀπὸ τῶν κακῶν δι' ἐκεῖνον ἀποθανόντα ἵνα με ῥύσηται ἀπὸ τοῦ θανάτου· Εἰ μὴ ἐν τῷ ταυρῷ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰη οῦ Χρι τοῦ, δι' οὗ ἐμοὶ κό μο ἐ ταύρωται κἀγὼ τῷ κό μῳ· μέγα ἀγαθὸν ὅτι ἐμοὶ κό μο ἐ ταύρωται· τοῦτο τὸ ἀγαθὸν διὰ τίνος μοι γέγονεν; διὰ τοῦ σταυροῦ τοῦ χριστοῦ. μέγα μοι ἀγαθὸν τὸ ἐμὲ ταυρωθῆναι τῷ κό μῳ· εἰ γὰρ ἀπέ θανον τῷ κόσμῳ, ἐσταύρωμαι τῷ κό μῳ μετὰ τοῦ χριστοῦ· εἰ δὲ ζῶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις, οὔπω ἠξιώθην τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τοῦ κατὰ τὸν σταυρόν. ἅμα δὲ καὶ ἑτοιμαζώμεθα πρὸς πειρασμούς, πρὸς μαρτύρια, εἰδότες ὅτι ὃς ἂν ἀρνήσηται σωτηρίαν οὐκ ἔχει. 7 i 19–21 [γέγραπται γὰρ Ἀπολῶ τὴν οφίαν τῶν οφῶν καὶ τὴν ύνε ιν τῶν υνετῶν ἀθετή ω. Ποῦ οφό ; ποῦ γραμματεύ ; ποῦ συνζητητὴς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου; οὐχὶ ἐμώρανεν ὁ θεὸς τὴν οφίαν τοῦ κόσμου; ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔγνω ὁ κόσμος διὰ τῆς σοφίας τὸν θεόν, εὐδόκησεν ὁ θεὸς διὰ τῆς μωρίας τοῦ κηρύγματος σῶσαι τοὺς πιστεύοντας.] [Ὠριγένους] Οὐ ταυτόν ἐστιν εἶναι σοφὸν καὶ ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ εἶναι σοφόν· τὸ μὲν γὰρ χωρὶς τοιαύτης προσθήκης περιέχει τὴν ἀληθῆ σοφίαν. παραπλησίως δὲ νοήσεις καὶ μωρίαν· οὐ ταυτόν ἐστι μωρὸν καὶ μωρὸν ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ· ὁ μὲν γὰρ χωρὶς προσθήκης τῆς «τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ» ἀληθῶς ἐστι μωρός. καὶ ἡμεῖς τοίνυν οἱ πιστεύοντες τοῖς λόγοις τῆς σοφίας κελευόμεθα ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ γενέσθαι μωροί· τοιοῦτοι γὰρ δοκοῦμεν εἶναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις πιστεύοντες εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐσταυρωμένον, καὶ πιστεύοντες ἀνάστασιν σωμάτων, πιστεύ οντες δὲ ὅτι ζησόμεθα οὐ μόνον οἱ νῦν ὄντες ἐπὶ γῆς ὕστερον ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ ἂν ἁμαρτάνωμεν πυρὶ αἰωνίῳ παραδοθησόμεθα. τοιούτους ἡμᾶς δοκεῖν εἶναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις .... 8 i 23–31 [ἡμεῖς δὲ κηρύσσομεν Χριστὸν ἐσταυρωμένον, Ἰουδαίοις μὲν σκάνδαλον ἔθνεσιν δὲ μωρίαν, αὐτοῖς δὲ τοῖς κλητοῖς, Ἰουδαίοις τε καὶ Ἕλλησιν, Χριστὸν θεοῦ δύναμιν καὶ θεοῦ σοφίαν. ... Βλέπετε γὰρ τὴν κλῆσιν ὑμῶν, ἀδελφοί, ὅτι οὐ πολλοὶ σοφοὶ κατὰ σάρκα, οὐ πολλοὶ δυνατοί, οὐ πολλοὶ εὐγενεῖς. ἀλλὰ τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεός, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τοὺς σοφούς, καὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεός, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τὰ ἰσχυρά, καὶ τὰ ἀγενῆ τοῦ κόσμου καὶ τὰ ἐξουθενημένα ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεός, καὶ τὰ μὴ ὄντα, ἵνα τὰ ὄντα καταργήσῃ, ὅπως μὴ καυχήσηται πᾶσα σὰρξ ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ. ἐξ αὐτοῦ δὲ ὑμεῖς ἐστὲ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, ὃς ἐγενήθη σοφία ἡμῖν ἀπὸ θεοῦ, δικαιοσύνη τε καὶ ἁγιασμὸς καὶ ἀπολύτρωσις, ἵνα καθὼς γέγραπται ὁ καυχώμενο ἐν κυρίῳ καυχάθω.] [Ὠριγένους] ∆ύναμιν ἐλάβομεν ἀπὸ τοῦ πιστεύειν εἰς Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐσταυρωμένον· καὶ ὅσον λείπομεν ἐν τῇ πίστει <ταύτῃ>, τοσοῦτον λειπόμεθα ἐν τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ. εἰ δὲ θέλετε νοῆσαι τί ἐστιν ἀπολῶ τὴν σοφίαν τῶν σοφῶν καὶ τὴν σύνεσιν τῶν συνετῶν ἀθετήσω, νοήσατέ μοι πάνυ γενναῖον ἐν τοῖς αἱρετικοῖς λόγοις, φέρε εἰπεῖν Μαρκίωνα ἢ Βασιλείδην, καὶ οὕτω μετὰ δυνάμεως ζητοῦντα ὑπὲρ τῶν αἱρετικῶν λόγων ὥστε μὴ τὸν τυχόντα δύνασθαι αὐτῷ ἀντιστῆναι· εἶτα νοήσατέ τινα ἱκανὸν κατὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν λέγοντα ὃ καὶ ἱκάνω εν ἡμᾶ διακόνου καινῆ διαθήκη , καὶ δεικνύντα πάντα ἐκεῖνα μωρίαν ἐφ' οἷς ἐπεποίθει ὁ ἠπατημένος. ἐκείνων οὖν τὴν σοφίαν ἀπόλλυσιν, οὐ τῶν ὄντως σοφῶν, Ἠσαΐου, Ἱερεμίου ἢ Σολομῶντος· τὴν δοκοῦσαν ἀπόλλυσι σοφίαν, οὐ τὴν ἀληθῆ. Πῶς δὲ καὶ Ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔγνω ὁ κόσμος διὰ τῆς σοφίας τὸν θεόν; ἡ σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν νόμῳ καὶ προφήταις ἐστίν· ὁ κόσμος οὐκ ἔγνω ἐν νόμῳ καὶ προφήταις κηρυσσόμενον τὸν Χριστόν. διὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ υντελείᾳ τῶν αἰώνων ἔπεμψεν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν σταυρωθησόμενον ὑπὲρ <τοῦ> γένους τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἵνα τῇ μωρίᾳ τοῦ κηρύγματος πιστεύσωσιν οἱ πιστεύσαντες εἰς Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐσταυρωμένον. Προσέθηκε δὲ τ<ῷ> Οὐ πολλοὶ σοφοὶ τὸ κατὰ σάρκα, εἰδὼς ὅτι τῶν σοφῶν εἰσὶ διαφοραί, καὶ οἱ μέν εἰσι σοφοὶ κατὰ σάρκα οἱ δὲ κατὰ πνεῦμα· καὶ κατὰ σάρκα εἰσὶ σοφοὶ οἱ λεξείδια μόνα μεμελετηκότες καὶ καλλωπίζοντες ὅ τι ποτ' οὖν ὡς ἀλήθειαν
About this text
Origen of Alexandria, Fragmenta ex commentariis in epistulam i ad Corinthios (Greek).
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 14 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.