Chapter 33
Let us continue to do good
| 1 Τί οὖν ποιήσωμεν, ἀδελφοί; ἀργήσωμεν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγαθοποιΐας καὶ ἐγκαταλίπωμεν τὴν ἀγάπην; μηθαμῶς τοῦτο ἐάσαι ὁ δεσπότης ἐφ' ἡμῖν γε γενηθῆναι, ἀλλὰ σπεύσωμεν μετὰ ἐκτενείας καὶ προθυμίας πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἐπιτελεῖν. |
What will we do, brothers? Shall we idly refrain from doing good and forsake love? May the Master forbid that this should happen, at least to us. Instead, let’s hurry with eagerness and zeal to accomplish every good work. |
| 2 αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ δημιουργὸς καὶ δεσπότης τῶν ἁπάντων ἐπὶ τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ ἀγαλλιᾶται. | For the Creator and Master of the universe Himself rejoices in His works. |
| 3 τῷ γὰρ παμμεγεθεστάτῳ αὐτοῦ κράτει οὐρανοὺς ἐστήρισεν καὶ τῇ ἀκαταλήπτῳ αὐτοῦ συνέσει διεκόσμησεν αὐτούς· γῆν τε διεχώρισεν ἀπὸ τοῦ περιέχοντος αὐτὴν ὕδατος καὶ ἥδρασεν ἐπὶ τὸν ἀσφαλῆ τοῦ ἰδίου βουλήματος θεμέλιον· τά τε ἐν αὐτῇ ζῶα φοιτῶντα τῇ ἑαυτοῦ διατάξει ἐκέλευσεν εἶναι· θάλασσαν καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ ζῶα προετοιμάσας ἐνέκλεισεν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμει. |
For by His infinitely great power He established the heavens, and by His incomprehensible wisdom He set them in order. He separated the land from the water that surrounded it, and He set it firmly on the sure foundation of His own will. He commanded the living creatures which live upon it to come into existence by His decree. Having created the sea and the living creatures it, He enclosed it by His own power. |
| 4 ἐπὶ πᾶσι τὸ ἐξοχώτατον καὶ παμμέγεθες κατὰ διάνοιαν, ἄνθρωπον, ταῖς ἱεραῖς καὶ ἀμώμοις χερσὶν ἔπλασεν τῆς ἑαυτοῦ εἰκόνος χαρακτῆρα. | Beyond all things, as the most excellent and greatest work of His intelligence, with His sacred and faultless hands, He formed mankind in the pattern of His own image. |
| 5 οὕτως γάρ φησιν ὁ θεός· Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν ἡμετέραν· καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς. |
For God said this: "Let us make man according to our image and after our likeness. And God made man; He made them male and female" {Gen. 1:26-27}. |
| 6 ταῦτα οὖν πάντα τελειώσας ἐπῄνεσεν αὐτὰ καὶ ηὐλόγησεν καὶ εἶπεν· Αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθύνεσθε. | After He finished all these things, He praised and blessed them and said, "Increase and multiply" {Gen. 1:28}. |
| 7 εἴδωμεν,[1] ὅτι ἐν ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς πάντες ἐκοσμήθησαν οἱ δίκαιοι, καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ κύριος ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς ἑαυτὸν κοσμήσας ἐχάρη. |
We have seen that all the righteous were clothed in good works. Yes, even the Lord Himself clothed Himself with His good works and rejoiced. |
[1] Alt. text: ἴδωμεν
| 8 ἔχοντες οὖν τοῦτον τὸν ὑπογραμμὸν ἀόκνως προσέλθωμεν τῷ θελήματι αὐτοῦ· ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος ἡμῶν ἐργασώμεθα ἔργον δικαιοσύνης. |
Therefore, since we have this pattern, let’s unhesitatingly conform ourselves to His will. Let’s do the work of righteousness with all our strength. |
Summary
In Chapter 33, Clement addresses the immediate moral objection that arises from his profound declaration of unmerited justification by faith in Chapter 32: If we are justified solely by faith and not by works, should we abandon good deeds and love? Anticipating Paul’s famous rhetorical question in Romans 6:1, Clement emphatically rejects antinomianism (μηθαμῶς!—"By no means!").
To establish the absolute necessity of good works, Clement grounds human activity in divine imitation. He presents God Himself as the ultimate supreme Worker, who rejoices in His own creative acts (ἐπὶ τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ ἀγαλλιᾶται). Clement surveys the cosmic acts of creation:
Cosmic Foundations: The heavens established by supreme power (κράτει), ordered by unsearchable understanding (συνέσει), and the earth set upon the secure foundation of God’s will.
Anthropological Apex: The creation of humanity (ἄνθρωπος), crafted by God’s holy and blameless hands as the bearer of the divine image (χαρακτῆρα), crowned with the blessing of fruitfulness.
Because all the righteous—and indeed the Lord Himself—have adorned themselves with good deeds, Clement provides a key Christological/Theological paradigm: God’s own creative work serves as an exact pattern (ὑπογραμμός). Believers are thus called to draw near to His will without hesitation (ἀόκνως) and labor with all their strength (ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος) to produce works of righteousness.
Significant Greek Expressions
ἀργήσωμεν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγαθοποιΐας; (Shall we be idle / cease from doing good?): Verb argeō means to be idle, inactive, or unemployed. Agathopoiias (well-doing, practice of goodness) is a core New Testament dynamic (cf. 1 Peter 4:19). Clement asserts that justification by faith must never result in moral or spiritual inertia.
σπεύσωμεν μετὰ ἐκτενείας καὶ προθυμίας (Let us hasten with intensity and readiness): Combines speudō (to hurry, press forward, strive eagerly) with ekteneia (fervor, earnestness, intensity) and prothymia (eagerness, willingness). Clement calls for vigorous, active intentionality in performing good deeds.
ὁ δημιουργὸς καὶ δεσπότης τῶν ἁπάντων (The Creator and Master of all): Reappears as a primary Clementine title for God (dēmiourgos and despotēs). Clement connects soteriology directly back to creation theology: the God who redeems us through faith is the same God who fashions the physical universe through work.
τῷ παμμεγεθεστάτῳ... κράτει (By His all-surpassing / greatest power): Superlative adjective pammegestatos (immense, supreme, all-great) paired with kratos (sovereign force, dominion). Highlights the absolute cosmic magnitude of divine creative power.
ταῖς ἱεραῖς καὶ ἀμώμοις χερσὶν ἔπλασεν (Fashions with His holy and blameless hands): A anthropomorphic image drawing on Genesis 2:7 LXX (plassō, to mold/shape). Clement frames the creation of humanity as an act of intimate, sacred craftwork, establishing human dignity and moral purpose.
χαρακτῆρα (The imprint / impress / duplicate image): Charaktēr refers to the distinct mark, impression on a coin, or exact representation (cf. Hebrews 1:3). Humanity is not merely a vague reflection, but the distinct physical/spiritual stamp of God’s image (eikōn).
ἐκοσμήθησαν (Were adorned / beautified): From kosmeō (to order, arrange, adorn, deck out). Clement treats good works as spiritual adornments or royal garments worn by the righteous and God Himself.
ὑπογραμμόν (Pattern / Model / Example): Hypogrammos literally refers to a copy-head or trace-pattern used by schoolteachers to teach children how to write letters by tracing over them (cf. 1 Peter 2:21). Creation itself—and God’s joyful labor within it—serves as the exact template over which believers are to trace their daily lives.