Chapter 24
The resurrection examples
| 1 Κατανοήσωμεν, ἀγαπητοί, πῶς ὁ δεσπότης ἐπιδείκνυται διηνεκῶς ἡμῖν τὴν μέλλουσαν ἀνάστασιν ἔσεσθαι, ἧς τὴν ἀπαρχὴν ἐποιήσατο τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστήσας. | Let’s consider, dear friends, how the Master keeps showing us the coming resurrection where He made the Lord Jesus Christ the first fruit when He raised Him from the dead. |
| 2 ἴδωμεν, ἀγαπητοί, τὴν κατὰ καιρὸν γινομένην ἀνάστασιν. | Let’s look, dear friends, the resurrection which occurs in a regular pattern. |
| 3 ἡμέρα καὶ νὺξ ἀνάστασιν ἡμῖν δηλοῦσιν· κοιμᾶται ἡ νύξ, ἀνίσταται ἡ ἡμέρα· ἡ ἡμέρα ἄπεισιν, νὺξ ἐπέρχεται. |
Every day and night shows us the resurrection. The night falls asleep and the day arises; the day departs and the night returns. |
| 4 λάβωμεν τοὺς καρπούς· ὁ σπόρος πῶς καὶ τίνα τρόπον γίνεται; | Let’s consider the crops: how and in the way the sowing occurs. |
| 5 ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων καὶ ἔβαλεν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἕκαστον τῶν σπερμάτων, ἅτινα πεσόντα εἰς τὴν γῆν ξηρὰ καὶ γυμνὰ διαλύεται· εἶτ' ἐκ τῆς διαλύσεως ἡ μεγαλειότης τῆς προνοίας τοῦ δεσπότου ἀνίστησιν αὐτά, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἑνὸς πλείονα αὔξει καὶ ἐκφέρει καρπόν. |
A farmer goes forth and throws the seeds on the ground. After falling into the dry and bare ground, each of these seeds decay. Out of their decay, the majesty of the Master’s providence raises them up. From the one seed more grow and produce fruit. |
Summary
In Chapter 24, Clement turns directly to the defense of the future bodily resurrection (ἡ μέλλουσα ἀνάστασις), bridging the theological gap between the delay of divine fulfillment discussed in Chapter 23 and the ultimate hope of the believer. He grounds this future expectation in two primary pillars: The Historical Christological Anchor: Christ’s own resurrection serves as the historical "firstfruits" (ἀπαρχή) guaranteeing the future resurrection of believers.
Natural Analogies / General Revelation: Clement draws on natural cycles to show that resurrection is an ongoing principle woven into creation itself. He highlights the diurnal cycle of day and night (ἡμέρα καὶ νύξ) and the agricultural process of seed sowing (ὁ σπόρος), where decay and dissolution are necessary precursors to new, multiplied life.
Natural Analogies / General Revelation: Clement draws on natural cycles to show that resurrection is an ongoing principle woven into creation itself. He highlights the diurnal cycle of day and night (ἡμέρα καὶ νύξ) and the agricultural process of seed sowing (ὁ σπόρος), where decay and dissolution are necessary precursors to new, multiplied life.
By demonstrating that life repeatedly emerges from death in the ordinary course of nature through God’s providence (πρόνοια), Clement seeks to eliminate the Corinthians' intellectual skepticism regarding bodily resurrection, reinforcing that the same God who orders the cosmos operates with total sovereign power over mortality.
Significant Greek Expressions
τὴν ἀπαρχήν (The firstfruits): A crucial Paulinism (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23). Aparchē refers to the first sacrificial portion offered to God, which consecrated and pledged the coming harvest. Christ’s resurrection is not an isolated miracle, but the pledge of the church’s ultimate transformation.
τὴν κατὰ καιρὸν γινομένην ἀνάστασιν (The resurrection taking place at its appointed season): Uses kata kairon (in due time / according to season). Clement argues that resurrection is not an arbitrary breach of nature, but a seasonal, orderly rhythm established by the Creator.
κοιμᾶται (Falls asleep): The verb koimaō is standard early Christian terminology for sleep, used here metaphorically for night, foreshadowing its frequent New Testament application to death (e.g., 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14).
ξηρὰ καὶ γυμνά (Dry and bare): Describes the seeds before burial in the soil, echoing Paul’s seed metaphor in 1 Corinthians 15:37 (γυμνὸν κόκκον).
ἐκ τῆς διαλύσεως (Out of dissolution / decay): From dialysis (dissolution, breaking up, decomposition). Clement stresses that physical breakdown is not the end of existence; rather, dissolution is the very medium through which divine power reconstitutes life.
ἡ μεγαλειότης τῆς προνοίας (The greatness of His providence): Couples megaleiotēs (majesty, greatness) with pronoia (providence, forethought). Reaffirms that the transformation from seed to fruitful harvest is an ongoing act of sovereign divine care.