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Chapter 2
Corinthian church demonstrated humility
1 Πάντες τε ἐταπεινοφρονεῖτε μηδὲν ἀλαζονευόμενοι, ὑποτασσόμενοι μᾶλλον ἢ ὑποτάσσοντες, ἥδιον διδόντες ἢ λαμβάνοντες. τοῖς ἐφοδίοις τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀρκούμενοι,
καὶ προσέχοντες τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ ἐπιμελῶς ἐνεστερνισμένοι ἦτε τοῖς σπλάγχνοις, καὶ τὰ παθήματα αὐτοῦ ἦν πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ὑμῶν. 		And you were all humble and free from arrogance, yielding rather than demanding submission, more glad to give than to receive, and content with the provisions which Christ supplies.

And giving heed to His words, you laid them up diligently in your affections, and His sufferings were before your eyes.
2 οὕτως εἰρήνη βαθεῖα καὶ λιπαρὰ ἐδέδοτο πᾶσιν καὶ ἀκόρεστος πόθος εἰς ἀγαθοποιΐαν, καὶ πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου ἔκχυσις ἐπὶ πάντας ἐγίνετο· Thus a profound and rich peace was given to all, and an insatiable desire of doing good.
And a full outpouring of the Holy Spirit fell upon all;
3 μεστοί τε ὁσίας βουλῆς, ἐν ἀγαθῇ προθυμίᾳ μετ' εὐσεβοῦς πεποιθήσεως ἐξετείνετε τὰς χεῖρας ὑμῶν πρὸς τὸν παντοκράτορα θεόν, ἱκετεύοντες αὐτὸν ἵλεων γενέσθαι, εἴ τι ἄκοντες ἡμάρτετε. and, being full of holy counsel, in excellent zeal and with a pious confidence you stretched out your hands to Almighty God, supplicating Him to be merciful, if you had inadvertently committed any sin.
4 ἀγὼν ἦν ὑμῖν ἡμέρας τε καὶ νυκτὸς ὑπὲρ πάσης τῆς ἀδελφότητος, εἰς τὸ σώζεσθαι μετ' ἐλέους καὶ συνειδήσεως τὸν ἀριθμὸν τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν αὐτοῦ. You had a struggle day and night for all the brotherhood, that with mercy and conscience the number of elect might be saved.
5 εἰλικρινεῖς καὶ ἀκέραιοι ἦτε καὶ ἀμνησίκακοι εἰς ἀλλήλους. You were sincere and harmless and free from malice one toward another.
6 πᾶσα στάσις καὶ πᾶν σχίσμα βδελυκτὸν ἦν ὑμῖν.
ἐπὶ τοῖς παραπτώμασιν τῶν πλησίον ἐπενθεῖτε· τὰ ὑστερήματα αὐτῶν ἴδια ἐκρίνετε. 		Every sedition and every schism was destestable to you.
You mourned over the transgressions of your neighbours: you considered their shortcomings to be your own.
7 ἀμεταμέλητοι ἦτε ἐπὶ πάσῃ ἀγαθοποιΐᾳ, ἕτοιμοι εἰς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθόν. You were without regret about any well-doing, but were ready for every good work.
8 τῇ παναρέτῳ καὶ σεβασμίῳ πολιτείᾳ κεκοσμημένοι πάντα ἐν τῷ φόβῳ αὐτοῦ ἐπετελεῖτε·
τὰ προστάγματα καὶ τὰ δικαιώματα τοῦ κυρίου ἐπὶ τὰ πλάτη τῆς καρδίας ὑμῶν ἐγέγραπτο.
Being decorated with a virtuous and honourable lifestyle, you 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.
Summary
In this passage, Clement draws a vivid portrait of Corinth’s golden past, characterized by mutual submission, deep internal peace, radical generosity, and profound communal harmony.

He paints this picture intentionally to serve as a mirror for the current rebels: the very church that once abhorred all factionalism (πᾶσα στάσις καὶ πᾶν σχίσμα βδελυκτόν) and prized humility (ἐταπεινοφρονεῖτε) has now fallen into the trap of self-assertion and division.

Clement highlights the interiority of their former faith—their devotion was not outward performance, but Christ’s words treasured in their inner depths (ἐνεστερνισμένοι) and God’s laws inscribed upon their hearts (ἐπὶ τὰ πλάτη τῆς καρδίας).
Significant Greek Expressions
ἐταπεινοφρονεῖτε (You were humble-minded): From tapeinophrosynē, a signature early Christian virtue. Clement places humility at the forefront of his ecclesiology—the antithesis of alazoneia (boastfulness or arrogance) which caused the schism.

ἥδιον διδόντες ἢ λαμβάνοντες (More gladly giving than receiving): An explicit echo of Jesus’s logion recorded in Acts 20:35 (μακάριόν ἐστιν μᾶλλον διδόναι ἢ λαμβάνειν), demonstrating how early sub-apostolic writers drew upon oral or written gospel traditions to construct moral standards.

ἐνεστερνισμένοι ἦτε τοῖς σπλάγχνοις (Laid them up in your inner parts / hearts): Uses ensternizomai (from sternon, chest/breast) alongside splanchna (bowels/inward affection), vividly depicting Christ’s teachings as profoundly internalized in the core of their emotional and spiritual life.

ἀκόρεστος πόθος εἰς ἀγαθοποιΐαν (An insatiable longing to do good): Akorestos (unquenchable/insatiable) combined with agathopoiïa (doing good works) frames Christian benevolence not as a begrudged obligation, but as a burning, unquenchable passion.

ἀριθμὸν τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν (The number of His elect): Reflects early Christian eschatological thought where intercessory prayer (ἀγὼν... ἡμέρας τε καὶ νυκτός) actively serves the divine purpose of gathering and preserving the full count of God’s chosen people (eklektoi).

ἀμνησίκακοι (Harboring no malice / unforgiving of evil): From amnesikakos (literally "forgetful of wrongs"), a key patristic term for readiness to forgive personal offenses without nursing grudges or seeking revenge.

ἐπὶ τὰ πλάτη τῆς καρδίας ὑμῶν ἐγέγραπτο (Written upon the tablets of your heart): A direct allusion to Proverbs 3:3 and 7:3 (LXX) as well as 2 Corinthians 3:3, contrasting dead external legalism with the living law of Christ inscribed upon human hearts (platē tēs kardias).