Chapter 3
Corinthian church has lost its humility
| 1 Πᾶσα δόξα καὶ πλατυσμὸς ἐδόθη ὑμῖν, καὶ ἐπετελέσθη τὸ γεγραμμένον· Ἔφαγεν καὶ ἔπιεν, καὶ ἐπλατύνθη, καὶ ἐπαχύνθη, καὶ ἀπελάκτισεν ὁ ἠγαπημένος. | All glory and growth were given unto you, and that was fulfilled which is written, “My beloved ate and drank and was enlarged and grew fat and kicked.”{Deut. 32:15} |
| 2 ἐκ τούτου ζῆλος καὶ φθόνος, καὶ ἔρις, καὶ στάσις, διωγμὸς καὶ ἀκαταστασία, πόλεμος καὶ αἰχμαλωσία. | Out of this came jealousy and envy, discord and sedition, persecution and tumult, war and captivity. |
| 3 οὕτως ἐπηγέρθησαν οἱ ἄτιμοι ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐντίμους, οἱ ἄδοξοι ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐνδόξους, οἱ ἄφρονες ἐπὶ τοὺς φρονίμους, οἱ νέοι ἐπὶ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους. | So people were stirred up, the dishonoured against the honourable, the disreputable against the reputable, the foolish against the prudent, the young against the old. |
| 4 διὰ τοῦτο πόρρω ἄπεστιν ἡ δικαιοσύνη καὶ εἰρήνη, ἐν τῷ ἀπολιπεῖν ἕκαστον τὸν φόβον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐν τῇ πίστει αὐτοῦ ἀμβλυωπῆσαι, μηδὲ ἐν τοῖς νομίμοις τῶν προσταγμάτων αὐτοῦ πορεύεσθαι, μηδὲ πολιτεύεσθαι κατὰ τὸ καθῆκον τῷ Χριστῷ, ἀλλὰ ἕκαστον βαδίζειν κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ τῆς πονηρᾶς, ζῆλον ἄδικον καὶ ἀσεβῆ ἀνειληφότας, δι' οὗ καὶ θάνατος εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον. | For this reason, righteousness and peace are far away, while each man has forsaken the fear of the Lord and become nearly blind about the faith of Him, neither walking in the laws of His commandments nor living according to that which belongs to Christ, but each one proceeds according to the lusts of his evil heart, having taken up an unrighteous and ungodly jealousy, through which also death entered into the world. |
Summary
Moving into 1 Clement 3.1–3.4, Clement reaches the critical turning point in his rhetoric. Having established the radiant beauty of Corinth’s past peace and order (Chapters 1–2), he now shifts to the tragic cause of their present collapse: self-indulgent prosperity leading to jealousy, arrogance, and rebellion.
In this passage, Clement diagnoses the root cause of the Corinthian crisis. Drawing on the prophetic song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32, he explains that material abundance and spiritual renown led to complacency and self-satisfaction (ἐπλατύνθη, καὶ ἐπαχύνθη), which erupted into rebellion (ἀπελάκτισεν).
This moral complacency gave birth to envy (ζῆλος) and factional rivalry (στάσις), destroying the healthy ecclesiastical hierarchy: the young and foolish revolted against the honorable elders (πρεσβύτεροι). Clement concludes that when believers abandon the fear of God and walk according to their own desires, they adopt the very envy through which death entered the human race.
Significant Greek Expressions
Ἔφαγεν καὶ ἔπιεν... καὶ ἀπελάκτισεν ὁ ἠγαπημένος (The beloved ate and drank... and kicked): A direct citation of Deuteronomy 32:15 (LXX) concerning Israel (Jeshurun). Clement applies this OT metaphor of a pampered horse kicking its master to the Corinthian church, showing how comfort and pride breed rebellion against divine order.
ζῆλος καὶ φθόνος, καὶ ἔρις, καὶ στάσις (Jealousy and envy, and strife, and schism): A chain of vices detailing the trajectory of communal decay. Zēlos (unhealthy envy/zeal) is identified throughout 1 Clement as the primary demonic force that destabilizes covenants and destroys communities.
οἱ νέοι ἐπὶ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους (The young against the elders): Pinpoints the socio-ecclesial nature of the Corinthian coup: younger, arrogant agitators overthrew the established, ordained presbyters (presbyteroi).
ἐν τῇ πίστει... ἀμβλυωπῆσαι (Grown dim-sighted in faith): Uses amblyōpeō (to be dim-sighted or weak-sighted), a vivid medical metaphor depicting moral decay as a loss of spiritual vision and discernment.
πολιτεύεσθαι κατὰ τὸ καθῆκον τῷ Χριστῷ (To conduct oneself as is fitting for Christ): Uses politeuomai (to live as a citizen / fulfill civic and moral duty) alongside kathēkon (that which is appropriate/duty), emphasizing that Christian life requires living in alignment with heavenly citizenship.
ζῆλον... δἰ οὖ καὶ θάνατος εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον (Jealousy... through which also death entered into the world): Echoes Wisdom of Solomon 2:24 ("Through the envy of the devil death entered into the world"), framing human jealousy as a continuation of Satan’s original downfall and primordial deception.