Chapter 7
The cure for jealousy is repentance
| 1 Ταῦτα, ἀγαπητοί, οὐ μόνον ὑμᾶς νουθετοῦντες ἐπιστέλλομεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑαυτοὺς ὑπομιμνήσκοντες· ἐν γὰρ τῷ αὐτῷ ἐσμὲν σκάμματι, καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς ἡμῖν ἀγὼν ἐπίκειται. |
We write these things, beloved ones, not only to admonish you, but also to remind ourselves.
For we are in the same arena, and the same contest awaits us. |
| 2 διὸ ἀπολίπωμεν τὰς κενὰς καὶ ματαίας φροντίδας, καὶ ἔλθωμεν ἐπὶ τὸν εὐκλεῆ καὶ σεμνὸν τῆς παραδόσεως ἡμῶν κανόνα, | Therefore let us forsake empty and vain thoughts; and let us conform to the glorious and honourable rule of our tradition; |
| 3 καὶ ἴδωμεν, τί καλὸν καὶ τί τερπνὸν καὶ τί προσδεκτὸν ἐνώπιον τοῦ ποιήσαντος ἡμᾶς. | and let us see what is good and what is pleasant and what is acceptable before the one who made us. |
| 4 ἀτενίσωμεν εἰς τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ γνῶμεν, ὡς ἔστιν τίμιον τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν ἐκχυθὲν παντὶ τῷ κόσμῳ μετανοίας χάριν ὑπήνεγκεν. | Let us look fixedly on the blood of Christ and understand how precious it is unto His Father, because being shed for our salvation it won for the whole world the grace of repentance. |
| 5 διέλθωμεν εἰς τὰς γενεὰς πάσας, καὶ καταμάθωμεν ὅτι ἐν γενεᾷ καὶ γενεᾷ μετανοίας τόπον ἔδωκεν ὁ δεσπότης τοῖς βουλομένοις ἐπιστραφῆναι ἐπ' αὐτόν. | Let us review all the generations in turn, and learn how from generation to generation the Master has given a place for repentance to those who desire to turn to Him. |
| 6 Νῶε ἐκήρυξεν μετάνοιαν, καὶ οἱ ὑπακούσαντες ἐσώθησαν. | Noah preached repentance, and they who obeyed were saved. |
| 7 Ἰωνᾶς Νινευίταις καταστροφὴν ἐκήρυξεν· οἱ δὲ μετανοήσαντες ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασιν αὐτῶν ἐξιλάσαντο τὸν θεὸν ἱκετεύσαντες καὶ ἔλαβον σωτηρίαν, καίπερ ἀλλότριοι τοῦ θεοῦ ὄντες. | Jonah preached destruction to the men of Nineveh; but after repenting of their sins, they made atonement to God by their supplications and received salvation, even though they had been strangers from God. |
Summary
In Chapter 7, Clement pivots from historical warnings against envy (ζῆλος) to an earnest pastoral appeal for mutual repentance (μετάνοια). He intentionally places the church at Rome alongside the church at Corinth, noting that both face the same spiritual battle (ἀγών).
To overcome division, Clement calls the believers back to the foundational standard of Christian truth—"the glorious and venerable rule of our tradition" (ὁ κανὼν τῆς παραδόσεως ἡμῶν). He anchors this call in a soteriological focus: contemplating the sacrificial blood of Christ (τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ), which secured "the grace of repentance" (μετανοίας χάριν) for all humanity. He then illustrates God’s eternal willingness to extend mercy by citing Old Testament examples of repentance among both the elect (Noah) and Gentiles outside the covenant (the Ninevites).
Significant Greek Expressions
ἐν γὰρ τῷ αὐτῷ ἐσμὲν σκάμματι (For we are in the same arena): Uses skamma (literally the dug-out trench or pit where wrestlers and jumpers competed in Greek athletic games). Clement employs this athletic metaphor to establish solidarity: Rome and Corinth share the exact same arena of moral and spiritual struggle (agōn).
τῆς παραδόσεως ἡμῶν κανόνα (The rule of our tradition): A key early phrase combining kanōn (rule, measuring rod, standard) with paradosis (apostolic tradition/handed-down teaching). It denotes the recognized rule of faith (regula fidei) delivered by the apostles, against which factional novelty must be measured.
ἀτενίσωμεν εἰς τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ (Let us fix our eyes upon the blood of Christ): Uses atenizō (to gaze intently, fix one’s gaze upon). Clement places the objective reality of Christ’s sacrificial atonement at the center of moral restoration—beholding the cross inspires humility and renders corporate division unthinkable.
μετανοίας χάριν (The grace of repentance): Frames repentance not as a burdensome legal requirement, but as a divine gift of grace (charis) granted through the shedding of Christ’s blood.
ὁ δεσπότης (The Master / Sovereign Lord): Clement’s preferred title for God the Father throughout 1 Clement (despotēs), emphasizing God’s absolute sovereignty, cosmic authority, and supreme lordship over creation and redemption.
μετανοίας τόπον ἔδωκεν (Gave a place of repentance): Echoes Hebrews 12:17 (μετανοίας τόπον). Affirms that God continuously provides a temporal window of opportunity (topos) for sinners to turn back (epistrephō) to Him.
καίπερ ἀλλότριοι τοῦ θεοῦ ὄντες (Even though they were strangers to God): Refers to the Ninevites as allotrioi (foreigners/strangers outside Israel’s covenant). Clement emphasizes that God’s mercy upon repentance is universal, extending even to those outside the original covenant promise.