Chapter 29
Approach God in holiness
| 1 Προσέλθωμεν οὖν αὐτῷ ἐν ὁσιότητι ψυχῆς, ἁγνὰς καὶ ἀμιάντους χεῖρας αἴροντες πρὸς αὐτόν, ἀγαπῶντες τὸν ἐπιεικῆ καὶ εὔσπλαγχνον πατέρα ἡμῶν, ὃς ἐκλογῆς μέρος ἡμᾶς ἐποίησεν ἑαυτῷ. | Therefore, let’s approach Him in holiness of soul, lifting up to Him pure and undefiled hands, with love toward our gracious and merciful Father who made us part of His elect. |
| 2 οὕτω γὰρ γέγραπται· ὅτε διεμέριζεν ὁ ὕψιστος ἔθνη, ὡς διέσπειρεν υἱοὺς Ἀδάμ, ἔστησεν ὅρια ἐθνῶν κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων θεοῦ. ἐγενήθη μερὶς κυρίου λαὸς αὐτοῦ Ἰακώβ, σχοίνισμα κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ Ἰσραήλ. |
For thus it is written: "When the Most High divided the nations, when He scattered the sons of Adam, He established the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God. His people Jacob became the portion of the Lord, Israel is the allotment of His inheritance" {Deut. 32:8-9}. |
| 3 καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ τόπῳ λέγει· Ἰδού, κύριος λαμβάνει ἑαυτῷ ἔθνος ἐκ μέσου ἐθνῶν, ὥσπερ λαμβάνει ἄνθρωπος τὴν ἀπαρχὴν αὐτοῦ τῆς ἅλω· καὶ ἐξελεύσεται ἐκ τοῦ ἔθνους ἐκείνου ἅγια ἁγίων. |
Also in another place it says, "Behold, the Lord takes for Himself a nation out of the midst of the nations just as a man takes the first fruits from his threshing floor. And the holy of holies will come forth from that nation" {Deut. 4:34; 14:2}. |
Summary
In Chapter 29, Clement turns from the terrifying reality of divine omniscience and inescapable judgment (Chapter 28) to a warm, worshipful call to draw near to God. He grounds this approach in cultic purity and election theology: because believers have been chosen as God’s special portion, their posture toward Him must be one of holistic sanctification and childlike love toward a gentle Father (ἐπιεικὴς καὶ εὔσπλαγχνος πατήρ).
To justify his assertion that the Church is "an elect portion" (ἐκλογῆς μέρος), Clement weaves together Old Testament covenantal texts:
Deuteronomy 32:8–9 LXX: Clement cites the Septuagint reading ("according to the number of the angels of God" / κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων θεοῦ) to establish that while God governed all gentiles through angelic administration, He set apart Israel as His own direct inheritance (σχοίνισμα κληρονομίας).
Composite Prophetic/Pentateuchal Synthesis: Drawing on themes from Deuteronomy 4:34, Numbers 18, and prophetic promises, Clement illustrates how God extracts a holy people from among the nations like the prized firstfruits of a harvest (ἀπαρχὴ τῆς ἅλω), from which the ultimate sacred reality (ἅγια ἁγίων) emerges.
Through this typological shift, Clement reassures the Corinthian Christians that they now inherit the elite status of Israel as God’s chosen possession—a reality that demands unity, reverence, and freedom from factional strife.
Significant Greek Expressions
ἐν ὁσιότητι ψυχῆς (In holiness of soul): Pairs hosiotēs (piety, personal holiness, devoutness) with psychē. Clean conduct must stem from interior devotion, not superficial compliance.
ἁγνὰς καὶ ἀμιάντους χεῖρας (Pure and undefiled hands): Mirrors Pauline prayer language (cf. 1 Timothy 2:8: "lifting holy hands") combined with cultic purity vocabulary (amiantos, untainted/undefiled). The physical gesture of prayer must reflect a conscience unpolluted by stasis (schism) or immorality.
ἐκλογῆς μέρος (An elect portion): Combines eklogē (selection, election) with meros (share, portion). Clement directly applies Israel’s historical privilege of election to the Church.
σχοίνισμα κληρονομίας (The cord of His inheritance): Uses schoinisma (literally a measuring line or measuring cord used to demarcate land plots). Denotes a measured, allotted territory reserved exclusively for God.
τὴν ἀπαρχὴν... τῆς ἅλω (The firstfruits of the threshing floor): Cites an agricultural metaphor (aparchē, firstfruits; halōn, threshing floor). The chosen nation/people are taken out as the consecrated best portion of the global human harvest.
ἅγια ἁγίων (Holy of Holies / Most Holy): Uses the superlative Hebrew idiom (qodesh haqodashim rendered into Greek) to describe the sanctuary or holy essence coming forth from God’s chosen people, emphasizing the supreme sanctity of the Christian calling.