Chapter 35
God’s gifts are wonderful
| 1 Ὡς μακάρια καὶ θαυμαστὰ τὰ δῶρα τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀγαπητοί. | Dear friends, how blessed and wonderful are the gifts of God! |
| 2 ζωὴ ἐν ἀθανασίᾳ, λαμπρότης ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, ἀλήθεια ἐν παρρησίᾳ, πίστις ἐν πεποιθήσει, ἐγκράτεια ἐν ἁγιασμῷ· καὶ ταῦτα ὑπέπιπτεν πάντα ὑπὸ τὴν διάνοιαν ἡμῶν. | Life with immortality! Splendor with righteousness! Truth with boldness! Faith with confidence! Self-control with holiness! All these things fall within our understanding. |
| 3 τίνα οὖν ἄρα ἐστὶν τὰ ἑτοιμαζόμενα τοῖς ὑπομένουσιν; ὁ δημιουργὸς καὶ πατὴρ τῶν αἰώνων ὁ πανάγιος αὐτὸς γινώσκει τὴν ποσότητα καὶ τὴν καλλονὴν αὐτῶν. |
What then are the things being prepared for those who patiently wait for Him? The Creator and Father of the ages, the all-holy One Himself knows their amount and their beauty. |
| 4 ἡμεῖς οὖν ἀγωνισώμεθα εὑρεθῆναι ἐν τῷ ἀριθμῷ τῶν ὑπομενόντων, ὅπως μεταλάβωμεν τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων δωρεῶν. | Therefore, let’s strive to be found among the number of those who patiently wait for Him, so that we may share in His promised gifts. |
| 5 πῶς δὲ ἔσται τοῦτο, ἀγαπητοί; ἐὰν ἐστηριγμένη ᾖ ἡ διάνοια ἡμῶν πιστῶς πρὸς τὸν θεόν, ἐὰν ἐκζητῶμεν τὰ εὐάρεστα καὶ εὐπρόσδεκτα αὐτῷ, ἐὰν ἐπιτελέσωμεν τὰ ἀνήκοντα τῇ ἀμώμῳ βουλήσει αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀκολουθήσωμεν τῇ ὁδῷ τῆς ἀληθείας, ἀπορρίψαντες ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν πᾶσαν ἀδικίαν καὶ πονηρίαν, πλεονεξίαν, ἔρεις, κακοηθείας τε καὶ δόλους, ψιθυρισμούς τε καὶ καταλαλιάς, θεοστυγίαν, ὑπερηφανίαν τε καὶ ἀλαζονείαν, κενοδοξίαν τε καὶ ἀφιλοξενίαν. |
But how can this be, dear friends? If our mind, through faith, is fixed on God; if we search for those things that are well-pleasing and acceptable to Him; if we accomplish things according to his faultless will; and if we follow the way of truth, removing from ourselves all unrighteousness, lawlessness, covetousness, strife, malice, deceit, gossip, slander, hatred of God, pride, arrogance, vanity, and inhospitality. |
| 6 ταῦτα γὰρ οἱ πράσσοντες στυγητοὶ τῷ θεῷ ὑπάρχουσιν· οὐ μόνον δὲ οἱ πράσσοντες αὐτά, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ συνευδοκοῦντες αὐτοῖς. | Those who do these things are hateful to God - not only those who do them, but also those who recommend them. |
| 7 λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφή· Τῷ δὲ ἁμαρτωλῷ εἶπεν ὁ θεός· Ἱνατί σὺ διηγῇ τὰ δικαιώματά μου, καὶ ἀναλαμβάνεις τὴν διαθήκην μου ἐπὶ στόματός σου; | For the scripture says, “But to the sinner, God has said, ‘Why do you recite My statutes and take My covenant on your lips? |
| 8 σὺ δὲ ἐμίσησας παιδείαν καὶ ἐξέβαλες τοὺς λόγους μου εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω. εἰ ἐθεώρεις κλέπτην, συνέτρεχες αὐτῷ, καὶ μετὰ μοιχῶν τὴν μερίδα σου ἐτίθεις. τὸ στόμα σου ἐπλεόνασεν κακίαν, καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα σου περιέπλεκεν δολιότητα. καθήμενος κατὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου κατελάλεις, καὶ κατὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς μητρός σου ἐτίθεις σκάνδαλον. |
You hated instruction and threw away my words behind you. If you saw a thief, you would join with him; and with adulterers, you would take part with them. Your mouth multiplied wickedness and your tongue spun deceit. You sat down and spoke against your brother; you laid a stumbling block in the way of the son of your mother. |
| 9 ταῦτα ἐποίησας, καὶ ἐσίγησα· ὑπέλαβες, ἄνομε, ὅτι ἔσομαί σοί ὅμοιος. |
When you did these things, I kept silent. You thought, unrighteous man, that I was something like you. |
| 10 ἐλέγξω σε καὶ παραστήσω σε κατὰ πρόσωπόν σου. | I will convict you and reprove you face to face with yourself. |
| 11 σύνετε δὴ ταῦτα, οἱ ἐπιλανθανόμενοι τοῦ θεοῦ, μήποτε ἁρπάσῃ ὡς λέων, καὶ μὴ ᾖ ὁ ῥυόμενος. | Consider these things, you who have forgotten God, lest He should seize you as a lion does, and there is no one to rescue you. |
| 12 θυσία αἰνέσεως δοξάσει με, καὶ ἐκεῖ ὁδός, ᾗ δείξω αὐτῷ τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ θεοῦ. | The sacrifice of praise will glorify Me, and that is the way I will show the salvation of God to him’” {Ps. 50:16-23}. |
Summary
In Chapter 35, Clement marvels at the vastness of God’s present spiritual blessings and future eschatological rewards, building directly on the quotation of 1 Corinthians 2:9 / Isaiah 64:4 at the end of Chapter 34. He enumerates the gifts already accessible to human understanding: eternal life, righteousness, truth, faith, and sanctified self-control. However, the ultimate glory and beauty (ποσότης καὶ καλλονή) of the future gifts reserved for those who endure remain known only to God, the "Creator and Father of the ages" (ὁ δημιουργὸς καὶ πατὴρ τῶν αἰώνων).
Clement turns this doxological reflection into a practical moral exhortation, asking how believers can ensure they are found among those who receive these promised gifts (μεταλάβωμεν τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων δωρεῶν). The answer lies in a resolute mindset fixed on God, actively pursuing what is pleasing to Him, and discarding a comprehensive list of vices—ranging from greed (πλεονεξία) and strife (ἔρεις) to pride (ὑπερηφανία), slander (καταλαλιά), and host-refusal (ἀφιλοξενία).
To seal his warning against those who practice or condone such behaviors (οἱ πράσσοντες... καὶ οἱ συνευδοκοῦντες), Clement quotes Psalm 49:16–23 LXX (Psalm 50:16–23 MT) at length. He warns that hypocritical lip-service to God’s covenant is useless if accompanied by lawlessness, slander against one’s brother, and participation in evil. Only the "sacrifice of praise" (θυσία αἰνέσεως) and a life walking in the path of truth lead to divine salvation.
Significant Greek Expressions
ὁ δημιουργὸς καὶ πατὴρ τῶν αἰώνων (The Creator and Father of the ages): Combines Clement’s signature title for God (dēmiourgos) with a majestic temporal title (patēr tōn aiōnōn). Frames God not only as the Architect of physical space but as the sovereign Ruler over all eras of salvation history.
ἐστηριγμένη... ἡ διάνοια (The mind / understanding having been firmly established): Perfect passive participle of stērizō (to fix firmly, establish, render immovable). Clement stresses that spiritual stability against factional drift requires an intellectually and spiritually grounded mind anchored in faith toward God.
ἀπορρίψαντες (Having cast off / thrown away): Aorist active participle of aporriptō (to throw away, toss aside with force; cf. Acts 27:43). Suggests a decisive, immediate renunciation of moral vices as incompatible with membership in God’s elect nation.
ἔρεις, κακοηθείας τε καὶ δόλους, ψιθυρισμούς (Strife, malice, deceit, whisperings): A vice list heavily reflecting Paul’s polemical vocabulary (cf. Romans 1:29–30, 2 Corinthians 12:20). Ereis (strife/factions) and psithyrismoi (secret gossip/whispering) directly target the covert factional scheming destabilizing the Corinthian presbytery.
ἀφιλοξενίαν (Hospitality-lacking / inhospitableness): Negative form of philoxenia (love of strangers / hospitality). In the early Church, hospitality was a primary bond of regional communion and itinerant ministry; Clement views a lack of hospitality as a fundamental breakdown of covenantal love.
οἱ συνευδοκοῦντες αὐτοῖς (Those who approve / give consent to them): Present participle of syneudokeō (to join in approving, give moral assent to; cf. Romans 1:32). Clement warns that passive bystanders who tolerate or validate the schismatic leaders share in their divine condemnation (στυγητοὶ τῷ θεῷ).
ἐτίθεις σκάνδαλον (You laid a stumbling-block / trap): Uses skandalon (a cause of falling, snare, trap). Applied in the Psalm quotation to internal family/ecclesial betrayal—speaking against one’s brother and setting traps for fellow believers.
θυσία αἰνέσεως (A sacrifice of praise): Cultic terminology (thysia aineseōs, translating Hebrew todot) transferred to Christian worship and life (cf. Hebrews 13:15). God is glorified not through empty ritual compliance or factional boasting, but through genuine thanksgiving and obedience.