Elisha’s spirit-presence and the new unleavened lump (1 Cor 5)
Such was Elisha. Even when he was not present in the body, he went along with Gehazi in the spirit and said to him: “Was not my heart with you when he took the two talents of silver and the garments from Naaman the Syrian?” (2 Kings 5:26). Did Elisha then have this gift, while Paul, the apostle of Christ who was zealous for the greater gifts—and above all that he might prophesy—did not have such a gift? I declare, and I speak with confidence, that Paul was not only an apostle but also a prophet. He was such when he said: “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents” (2 Timothy 3:2); for he said these things not as an apostle but as a prophet. And he says: “The Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith” (1 Timothy 4:1). Which Spirit? As if he were saying: the Spirit in me. Having this gift, then, even if he was absent in the body, wherever he wished he was present in the spirit; for he was not alone present in the spirit, but the power of Jesus was also present.
Clean out the old leaven, then, that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ our Passover has been 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 Corinthians 5:7–8).
The one who has put off the old man with his deeds and has nothing of the old leaven in himself, but has made a new lump according to Christ Jesus, has kept the feast of unleavened bread. Then after the feast of unleavened bread the new leaven appears. Jesus the Christ is the new leaven. Let us therefore first eat unleavened bread, abstaining from every malice and wickedness. Teaching about these things the apostle says: “Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened.” Something of this sort happens among the Jews: when the day of unleavened bread dawns, they clean out all old leaven, searching every place of the house lest leaven be found there. In the same way you also examine the storehouses within yourself lest leaven be there somewhere, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. Since in Corinth some were holy and others were not such but sinners—as we said earlier in the preface of the letter—on account of the praiseworthy ones he says “as you are unleavened.” For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. Seeing that according to the law of Moses the Passover comes first and the lamb is slain, and then after the lamb they eat unleavened bread, for this reason he said: Already the Passover has been sacrificed—Christ. 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—sincerity according to the way of life, truth according to knowledge; for in both the true unleavened bread is characterized.
I wrote to you in the letter not to associate with the sexually immoral—not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I write to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is sexually immoral or greedy or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or a robber—not even to eat with such a one (1 Corinthians 5:9–11).
Some have supposed from this saying that before the former letter to the Corinthians another letter had been written by the apostle which is not now preserved; and that he wrote to them not to associate with the sexually immoral, so far as the present wording goes. But having heard that the Corinthians were disturbed, thinking he meant they must not associate even with the immoral of the world—which is impossible, for one who lives in the world cannot avoid dealing with Gentile coworkers, traders, and others of that sort—he clarifies, they say, what had then been left out: I do not mean the immoral of this world, but those who are named brothers yet are not honorable. Those who do not wish there to have been another letter before this one will say that this wording refers to
Greek
τοιοῦτος ἦν Ἐλισσαῖος· εἰ γὰρ καὶ μὴ παρῆν τῷ σώματι, πνεύματι συναπῆλθεν τῷ Γιεζῇ καὶ φησὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν Οὐχὶ ἡ καρδία μου ἦν μετὰ οῦ ἡνίκα ἔλαβε τὸ διτάλαντον τοῦ ἀργυρίου καὶ ἔλαβε τὰς τολὰ ἀπὸ Νεμὰν τοῦ Σύρου; ἆρ' οὖν Ἐλισσαῖος μὲν ταύτην τὴν χάριν εἶχεν, Παῦλος δὲ ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀπό στολος ὁ ζηλῶν τὰ χαρί ματα τὰ μείζονα, μᾶλλον δὲ ἵνα προφητεύῃ, οὐκ εἶχεν τοιαύτην χάριν; ἀλλ' ἀποφαίνομαι καὶ τεθαρρηκότως λέγω ὅτι ἦν Παῦλος οὐ μόνον ἀπόστολος ἀλλὰ καὶ προφήτης· τοιοῦτος ἦν ὅτε φησὶν Ἔ ονται οἱ ἄνθρωποι φίλαυτοι, φιλάργυροι, ἀλαζόνε , ὑπερήφανοι, βλά φημοι, γονεῦ ιν ἀπειθεῖ · ταῦτα γὰρ οὐχ ὡς ἀπόστολος ἀλλ' ὡς προφήτης εἶπεν. καὶ Τὸ πνεῦμα δέ φησιν ῥητῶ λέγει ὅτι ἐν ἐ χάτοι καιροῖ ἀπο τή ονταί τινε τῆ πί τεω . ποῖον δὲ πνεῦμα; ὡσεὶ ἔλεγεν Τὸ ἐν ἐμοὶ πνεῦμα. ἔχων οὖν ταύτην τὴν χάριν, εἰ καὶ ἀπῆν τῷ σώματι, ὅπου ἐβούλετο παρῆν τῷ πνεύματι· οὐ μόνος γὰρ παρῆν τῷ πνεύματι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ δύναμις Ἰησοῦ. 25 v 7–8 [ἐκκαθάρατε οὖν τὴν παλαιὰν ζύμην, ἵνα ἦτε νέον φύραμα, καθώς ἐστε ἄζυμοι. καὶ γὰρ τὸ πά χα ἡμῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐτύθη Χριστός. ὥστε ἑορτάζωμεν, μὴ ἐν ζύμῃ παλαιᾷ μηδὲ ἐν ζύμῃ κακίας καὶ πονηρίας, ἀλλ' ἐν ἀζύμοις εἰλικρινείας καὶ ἀληθείας.] [Ὠριγένους] Ὁ ἀποθέμενος τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον ὺν ταῖ πράξε ιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τῆς παλαιᾶς ζύμης <οὐδὲν> ἔχων ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἀλλὰ καινὸν φύραμα ποιήσας τὸ κατὰ Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν, οὗτος πεποίηκε τὴν τῶν ἀζύμων ἑορτήν· εἶτα μετὰ τὴν τῶν ἀζύμων ἑορτὴν ἡ νέα ζύμη φαίνεται. Ἰησοῦς ὁ χριστός ἐστιν ἡ νέα ζύμη. ἐσθί ωμεν οὖν πρῶτον ἄζυμα, ἀπεχόμενοι πάσης κακίας καὶ πονηρίας. περὶ τού των ὁ ἀπόστολος διδάσκων φησὶν Ἐκκαθάρατε οὖν τὴν παλαιὰν ζύμην, ἵνα ἦτε νέον φύραμα, καθώς ἐστε ἄζυμοι· οἷόν τι παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις γίνεται, ἐὰν ἐπιφώ σκῃ ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ τῶν ἀζύμων, ἐκκαθαίρουσι πᾶσαν παλαιὰν ζύμην, πάντα τόπον τῆς οἰκίας περιαθροῦντες μή ποτε ζύμη ἐκεῖ εὑρεθῇ, οὕτως καὶ σὺ τὰ ἐν σοὶ ταμιεῖα κατανόησον μή που ζύμη ἐκεῖ, ἵνα ἦτε νέον φύραμα. καθώς ἐστε ἄζυμοι. ἐπεὶ ἦσαν ἐν Κορίνθῳ οἱ μὲν ἅγιοι οἱ δὲ οὐ τοιοῦτοι ἀλλ' ἁμαρτωλοὶ καθὰ ἐν προοιμίοις τῆς ἐπιστολῆς φθάσαντες ἔφαμεν, διὰ τοὺς ἐπαινετούς φησι καθώς ἐστε ἄζυμοι. καὶ γὰρ τὸ πά χα ἡμῶν ἐτύθη Χριστός· ὁρῶν ὅτι κατὰ τὸν Μωσέως νόμον πρῶτον τὸ πά χα γίνεται καὶ θύεται τὸ πρόβατον, εἶτα μετὰ τὸ πρόβατον ἄζυμα ἐσθίουσι, διὰ τοῦτο εἶπεν Ἤδη τὸ πά χα τέθυται Χριστός· ὥστε ἑορτάζωμεν, μὴ ἐν ζύμῃ παλαιᾷ μηδὲ ἐν ζύμῃ κακίας καὶ πονηρίας, ἀλλ' ἐν ἀζύμοις εἰλικρινείας καὶ ἀληθείας. εἰλικρινείας, κατὰ τὴν πολιτείαν· ἀληθείας, κατὰ τὴν γνῶσιν· ἐν γὰρ ἀμφοτέροις χαρακτηρίζεται τὰ ἄζυμα τὰ ἀληθινά. 26 v 9–11 [ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ μὴ συναναμίγνυσθαι πόρνοις, καὶ οὐ πάντως τοῖς πόρνοις τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἢ τοῖς πλεονέκταις ἢ ἅρπαξιν ἢ εἰδω λολάτραις· ἐπεὶ ὀφείλετε ἄρα ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελθεῖν. νῦν δὲ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν μὴ συναναμίγνυσθαι ἐάν τις ἀδελφὸς ὀνομαζόμενος ᾖ πόρνος ἢ πλεονέκτης ἢ εἰδωλολάτρης ἢ λοίδορος ἢ μέθυσος ἢ ἅρπαξ, τῷ τοιούτῳ μηδὲ συνεσθίειν.] [Ὠριγένους] Ὑπέλαβον τινὲς ἐκ τούτου τοῦ ῥητοῦ ὅτι πρὸ τῆς προτέρας πρὸς Κορινθίους ἐπιστολῆς ἐγέγραπτο ἄλλη τις ἐπιστολὴ τῷ ἀποστολῷ ἥτις νῦν οὐ σώζεται· καὶ ἔγραψεν αὐτοῖς μὴ συναναμίγνυσθαι πόρνοις ὅσον ἐπὶ τῇ προκειμένῃ λέξει, ἀκούσας δὲ Κορινθίους τεταράχθαι, οἰομένους λέγεσθαι μὴ συναναμίγνυσθαι πόρνοις μηδὲ τοῖς τοῦ κόσμου–ὅπερ ἀδύνατόν ἐστιν, ἐν τῷ βίῳ ὄντα μὴ ὁμιλεῖν ἐθνικοῖς συνεργοῖς, πραγματευταῖς, καὶ τοιούτοις τισὶν ἑτέροις–σαφηνίζων, φασί, τὸ τότε παραλελειμμένον Οὐ περὶ πόρνων λέγω, φησί, τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἀλλὰ περὶ τῶν ὀνομαζομένων μὲν ἀδελφῶν οὐκ ὄντων δὲ σεμνῶν. οἱ δὲ μὴ βουλόμενοι ἐπιστολὴν ἑτέραν εἶναι πρὸ ταύτης ἐροῦσι ταύτην τὴν λέξιν ἐπὶ
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)
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