Clement of Rome, The Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, ed. Kirsopp Lake, 14

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[1] Ὥστε, ἀδελφοί, ποιοῦντες τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν θεοῦ ἐσόμεθα ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῆς πρώτης, τῆς πνευματικῆς, τῆς πρὸ ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης ἐκτισμένης. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ποιήσωμεν τὸ θέλημα ¹ κυρίου, ἐσόμεθα ἐκ τῆς γραφῆς τῆς λεγούσης: Ἐγενήθη ὁ οἶκός μου σπήλαιον λῃστῶν. ὥστε οὖν αἱρετισώμεθα ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῆς ζωῆς εἶναι, ἵνα σωθῶμεν.

[2] οὐκ οἴομαι δὲ ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ὅτι ² ἐκκλησία ζῶσα σῶμά ἐστιν Χριστοῦ: λέγει γὰρ ἡ ³ γραφή: Ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἅνθρωπον ἅρσεν καὶ θῆλυ: τὸ ἄρσεν ἐστὶν ὁ Χριστός, τὸ θῆλυ ἡ ἐκκλησία: καὶ ἔτι ⁴ τὰ βιβλία καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι τὴν ἐκκλησίαν οὐ νῦν εἶναι λέγουσιν ⁵ ἀλλὰ ⁶ ἄνωθεν. ἦν γὰρ πνευματική, ὡς καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἡμῶν, ἐφανερώθη δὲ ἐπ̓ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν, ἵνα ἡμᾶς σώσῃ.

[3] ἡ ἐκκλησία δὲ πνευματικὴ οὖσα ἐφανερώθη ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ Χριστοῦ, δηλοῦσα ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἐάν τις ἡμῶν τηρήσῃ αὐτὴν ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ καὶ μὴ φθείρῃ, ἀπολήψεται αὐτὴν ἐν τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ: ἡ γὰρ σὰρξ αὕτη ἀντίτυπός ἐστιν τοῦ πνεύματος: οὐδεὶς οὖν τὸ ἀντίτυπον φθείρας τὸ αὐθεντικὸν μεταλήψεται. ἄρα οὖν τοῦτο λέγει, ἀδελφοί: τηρήσατε τὴν σάρκα, ἵνα τοῦ πνεύματος μεταλάβητε.

[4] εἰ δὲ λέγομεν εἶναι τὴν σάρκα τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα Χριστόν. ἄρα οὖν ὁ ὑβρίσας τὴν σάρκα ὕβρισεν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν. ὁ τοιοῦτος οὖν οὐ μεταλήψεται τοῦ πνεύματος, ὅ ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός.

[5] τοσαύτην δύναται ἡ σὰρξ αὕτη μεταλαβεῖν ζωὴν καὶ ἀφθαρσίαν κολληθέντος αὐτῇ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου, οὔτε ἐξειπεῖν τις ⁷ δύναται οὔτε λαλῆσαι ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ κύριος τοῖς ἐκλεκτοῖς αὐτοῦ.

The Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. Clement of Rome. ed. Kirsopp Lake. London. 1912.

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Current edition First1KGreek

Epistula II ad Corinthios (Greek) (Clement of Rome. The Apostolic Fathers, Volume 1. Lake, Kirsopp, editor. London: William Heinemann Ltd.; New York: The Macmillan Company, 1912.)

Translations (1)

The Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians Perseus (Clement of Rome. The Apostolic Fathers, Volume 1. Lake, Kirsopp, editor. London: William Heinemann Ltd.; New York: The Macmillan Company, 1912.) — 14 focus

[1] Thus, brethren, if we do the will of our Father,¹ God, we shall belong to the first Church, the spiritual one which was created before the sun and moon; but if we do not the will of the Lord, we shall fall under the scripture, which says, My house became a den of brigands. Therefore let us choose to belong to the Church of life, that we may win salvation.

[2] Now I imagine that you are not ignorant that the living Church is the body of Christ. For the scripture says, God made man male and female; the male is Christ, the female is the Church. And moreover the books and the Apostles declare that the Church belongs not to the present, but has existed from the beginning; for she was spiritual, as was also our Jesus, but he was made manifest in the last days that he might save us;²

[3] and the Church, which is spiritual, was made manifest in the flesh of Christ, showing us that if any of us guard her in the flesh without corruption, he shall receive her back again in the Holy Spirit. For this flesh is an anti-type of the Spirit; no one³ therefore who has corrupted the anti-type shall receive the reality. So, then, he means this, brethren: Guard the flesh, that you may receive the Spirit.

[4] Now if we say that the flesh is the Church, and the Spirit is Christ, of course he who has abused the flesh, has abused the Church. Such a one therefore will not receive the Spirit, which is Christ.

[5] So great a gift of life and immortality has this flesh the power to receive, if the Holy Spirit be joined to it, nor can any man express or speak of the things which the Lord hath prepared for his elect.

Notes on the current edition

The Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

1. Jer. 7, 11; Mt. 21, 13

2. Eph. 1, 23.

3. Gen 1, 27

4. e)/ti C, "and moreover" (e)/ti) S.

5. le/gousi om. C. Some such sord is necessary to the grammar of the sentence, and is implied by S, but shether it sas le/gousi or fasi/, and its exact place in the sentence is of course uncertain. S also adds "of the prophets" after "the books."

6. I Pet. 1, 20

7. I Cor. 2, 9

Clement of Rome The Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians 14

ed. Kirsopp Lake

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