|
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: seattle, wa
Posts: 9,337
|
So Clement of A tells us that Clement of R began as our text begins:
Quote:
|
Moreover, in the Epistle to the Corinthians, the Apostle Clement also, drawing a picture of the Gnostic, says: "For who that has sojourned among you has not proved your perfect and firm faith? and has not admired your sound and gentle piety? and has not celebrated the munificent style of your hospitality? and has not felicitated your complete and sure knowledge? For ye did all things impartially, and walked in the ordinances of God;" and so forth.
|
Here is the same section in 1 Clement chapter 1:
Quote:
For who that had sojourned among you did not approve your most
virtuous and steadfast faith? Who did not admire your sober and
forbearing piety in Christ? Who did not publish abroad your
magnificent disposition of hospitality? Who did not congratulate you
on your perfect and sound knowledge?
1Clem 1:3
For ye did all things without respect of persons, and ye walked after
the ordinances of God, submitting yourselves to your rulers and
rendering to the older men among you the honor which is their due.
On the young too ye enjoined modest and seemly thoughts: and the
women ye charged to perform all their duties in a blameless and
seemly and pure conscience, cherishing their own husbands, as is
meet; and ye taught them to keep in the rule of obedience, and to
manage the affairs of their household in seemliness, with all
discretion.
1Clem 2:1
And ye were all lowly in mind and free from arrogance, yielding
rather than claiming submission, more glad to give than to
receive, and content with the provisions which God supplieth. And
giving heed unto His words, ye laid them up diligently in your
hearts, and His sufferings were before your eyes.
1Clem 2:2
Thus a profound and rich peace was given to all, and an insatiable
desire of doing good. An abundant outpouring also of the Holy Spirit
fell upon all;
1Clem 2:3
and, being full of holy counsel, in excellent zeal and with a pious
confidence ye stretched out your hands to Almighty God, supplicating
Him to be propitious, if unwillingly ye had committed any sin.
1Clem 2:4
Ye had conflict day and night for all the brotherhood, that the
number of His elect might be saved with fearfulness and intentness of
mind.
1Clem 2:5
Ye were sincere and simple and free from malice one towards another.
1Clem 2:6
Every sedition and every schism was abominable to you. Ye mourned
over the transgressions of your neighbors: ye judged their
shortcomings to be your own.
1Clem 2:7
Ye repented not of any well-doing, but were ready unto every good
work.
1Clem 2:8
Being adorned with a most virtuous and honorable life, ye performed
all your duties in the fear of Him. The commandments and the
ordinances of the Lord were written on the tablets of your hearts.
1Clem 3:1
All glory and enlargement was given unto you, and that was fulfilled
which is written My beloved ate and drank and was enlarged and
waxed fat and kicked.
1Clem 3:2
Hence come jealousy and envy, strife and sedition, persecution and
tumult, war and captivity.
1Clem 3:3
So men were stirred up, the mean against the honorable, the ill
reputed against the highly reputed, the foolish against the wise, the
young against the elder.
1Clem 3:4
For this cause righteousness and peace stand aloof, while each
man hath forsaken the fear of the Lord and become purblind in the
faith of Him, neither walketh in the ordinances of His commandments
nor liveth according to that which becometh Christ, but each goeth
after the lusts of his evil heart, seeing that they have conceived an
unrighteous and ungodly jealousy, through which also death entered
into the world.
|
I don't know how much more of this nonsense was cited but Clement of A says that shortly thereafter we jump all the way to what is now split between chapter 9 and 17:
Quote:
Then more clearly: "Let us fix our eyes on those who have yielded perfect service to His magnificent glory. Let us take Enoch, who, being by his obedience found righteous, was translated; and Noah, who, having believed, was saved; and Abraham, who for his faith and hospitality was called the friend of God, and was the father of Isaac." "For hospitality and piety, Lot was saved from Sodom." "For faith and hospitality, Rahab the harlot was saved." "From patience and faith they walked about in goat-skins, and sheep-skins, and folds of camels' hair, proclaiming the kingdom of Christ. We name His prophets Elias, and Eliseus, and Ezekiel, and John."
"For Abraham, who for his free faith was called ' the friend of God,' was not elated by glory, but modestly said, 'I am dust and ashes.' And of Job it is thus written: ' Job was just and blameless, true and pious, abstaining from all evil.'" He it was who overcame the tempter by patience, and at once testified and was testified to by God; who keeps hold of humility, and says, "No one is pure from defilement, not even if his life were but for one day." "Moses, 'the servant who was faithful in all his house,' said to Him who uttered the oracles from the bush,' Who am I, that Thou sendest me? I am slow of speech, and of a stammering tongue,' to minister the voice of God in human speech. And again: ' I am smoke from a pot.'" "For God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble."
"David too, of whom the Lord, testifying, says, 'I found a man after my own heart, David the son of Jesse. With my holy oil I anointed him.' But he also says to God, 'Pity me, O God, according to Thy mercy; and according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgression, and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee only did I sin, and I wrought evil in Thy sight "
|
and then Clement of A's text of Clement of R jumps to 1 Clement 21:
Quote:
|
For He saith in a certain place, The Spirit of the Lord is a lamp searching the closets of the belly.
|
at this point I am going to need to put the texts side by side so you can see that 1 Clement is really a loose paraphrase of what is in Clement of A
| Clement of A |
1 Clement ch 21 |
| Thus the Lord draws near to the righteous, and none of the thoughts and reasonings of which we are the authors escape Him -- I mean the Lord Jesus, |
Let us see how near He is, and how that nothing escapeth Him of our thoughts or our devices which we make. |
| the scrutinizer by His omnipotent will of our heart, |
It is right therefore that we should not be deserters from His will. |
| |
Let us rather give offense to foolish and senseless men who exalt themselves and boast in the arrogance of their words, than to God. |
| |
Let us fear the Lord Jesus |
| whose blood was consecrated for us. |
whose blood was given for us. |
| Let us therefore respect those who are over us, and reverence the elders |
Let us reverence our rulers; let us honor our elders |
| let us honour the young, and let us teach the discipline of God |
let us instruct our young men in the lesson of the fear of God. |
| For blessed is he who shah do and teach the Lord's commands worthily; and he is of a magnanimous mind, and of a mind contemplative of truth |
|
| Let us direct our wives to what is good |
Let us guide our women toward that which is good |
| let them exhibit," says he, "the lovable disposition of chastity |
let them show forth their lovely disposition of purity |
| let them show the guileless will of their meekness |
let them prove their sincere affection of gentleness |
| let them manifest the gentleness of their tongue by silence |
let them make manifest the moderation of their tongue through their silence |
| let them give their love not according to their inclinations, but equal love in sanctity to all that fear God |
let them show their love, not in factious preferences but without partiality towards all them that fear God, in holiness |
| Let our children share in the discipline that is in Christ; let them learn what humility avails before God |
Let our children be partakers of the instruction which is in Christ, let them learn how lowliness of mind prevaileth with God |
| what is the power of holy love before God, how lovely and great is the fear of the Lord, saving all that walk in it holily |
what power chaste love hath with God, how the fear of Him is good and great and saveth all them that walk therein in a pure mind with holiness. |
| with a pure heart: for He is the Searcher of the thoughts and sentiments, whose breath is in us, and when He wills He will take it away |
For He is the searcher out of the intents and desires; whose breath is in us, and when He listeth, He shall take it away |
| "Now all those things are confirmed by the faith that is in Christ. 'Come, ye children,' says the Lord, ' hearken to me, and I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man that desireth life, that loveth to see good days?' |
Now all these things the faith which is in Christ confirmeth: for He Himself through the Holy Spirit thus invite thus: Come, my children, hearken unto Me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life and loveth to see good days? |
| Then He subjoins the gnostic mystery of the numbers seven and eight. |
|
| Stop thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good. Seek peace, and pursue it.' |
Make thy tongue to cease from evil, and thy lips that they speak no guile. Turn aside from evil and do good. Seek peace and ensue it. |
| For in these words He alludes to knowledge (gnosis), with abstinence from evil and the doing of what is good, teaching that it is to be perfected by word and deed. |
|
| The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are to their prayer. But the face of God is against those thai do evil, to root out their memory from the earth. The righteous cried, and the Lord heard, and delivered him out of all his distresses. Many are the stripes of sinners; but those who hope in the Lord, mercy shall compass about |
The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are turned to their prayers. But the face of the Lord is upon them that do evil, to destroy their memorial from the earth. The righteous cried out, and the Lord heard him, and delivered him from all his troubles. Many are the troubles of the righteous, and the Lord shall deliver him from them all. And again Many are the stripes of the sinner, but them that set their hope on the Lord mercy shall compass about. |
| A multitude of mercy," he nobly says, "surrounds him that trusts in the Lord. |
|
| |
1 Clement 36 |
| |
Through Him let us look steadfastly unto the heights of the heavens; |
| through Him we behold as in a mirror His faultless and most excellent |
|
| visage; |
|
| For it is written in the Epistle to the Corinthians, "Through Jesus Christ our foolish and darkened mind springs up to the light. By Him the Sovereign Lord wished us to taste the knowledge that is immortal. |
through Him the eyes of our hearts were opened; through Him our foolish and darkened mind springeth up unto the light; through Him the Master willed that we should taste of the immortal knowledge |
etc,
|
04-19-2012, 07:06 PM
