Chapter 49
Love bring unity
| 1 Ὁ ἔχων ἀγάπην ἐν Χριστῷ ποιησάτω τὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ παραγγέλματα. | Let the one who has love in Christ perform the commandments of Christ. |
| 2 τὸν δεσμὸν τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ θεοῦ τίς δύναται ἐξηγήσασθαι; | Who can describe the bond of the love of God? |
| 3 τὸ μεγαλεῖον τῆς καλλονῆς αὐτοῦ τίς ἀρκετὸς ἐξειπεῖν; | Who is able to explain the majesty of its beauty? |
| 4 τὸ ὕψος, εἰς ὃ ἀνάγει ἡ ἀγάπη, ἀνεκδιήγητόν ἐστιν. | The height into which love leads is unexpressible. |
| 5 ἀγάπη κολλᾷ ἡμᾶς τῷ θεῷ, ἀγάπη καλύπτει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν, ἀγάπη πάντα ἀνέχεται, πάντα μακροθυμεῖ· οὐδὲν βάναυσον ἐν ἀγάπῃ, οὐδὲν ὑπερήφανον· ἀγάπη σχίσμα οὐκ ἔχει, ἀγάπη οὐ στασιάζει, ἀγάπη πάντα ποιεῖ ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ· ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ ἐτελειώθησαν πάντες οἱ ἐκλεκτοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ, δίχα ἀγάπης οὐδὲν εὐάρεστόν ἐστιν τῷ θεῷ. |
Love unites us with God; love covers a multitude of sins; love endures all things, is patient in all things. There is nothing coarse in love, nothing arrogant. Love has no divisions, love makes no seditions, love does all things in harmony. In love all the elect of God were made mature; without love nothing is pleasing to God; |
| 6 ἐν ἀγάπῃ προσελάβετο ἡμᾶς ὁ δεσπότης· διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην, ἣν ἔσχεν πρὸς ἡμᾶς, τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἔδωκεν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν ἐν θελήματι θεοῦ, καὶ τὴν σάρκα ὑπὲρ τῆς σαρκὸς ἡμῶν καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν. |
in love the Master received us. Because of the love He had for us, Jesus Christ our Lord gave His blood for us by the will of God, and His flesh for our flesh and His life for our lives. |
Summary
In Chapter 49, Clement composes a profound, poetic hymn to divine and Christian love (agapē), drawing deeply on the imagery and theology of 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John. He begins by establishing that anyone who possesses the love of Christ must keep Christ’s commandments, though the grandeur, beauty, and transcendent height to which agapē elevates the soul remain ultimately indescribable.
Clement then enumerates the transformative powers and essential marks of Christian love:
Union and Forgiveness: Love binds believers closely to God (κολλᾷ ἡμᾶς τῷ θεῷ) and covers a multitude of sins (echoing 1 Peter 4:8 / Proverbs 10:12).
Patience and Unselfishness: Love endures all things and exercises long-suffering; it contains no arrogance (ὑπερήφανον) or vulgarity (βάναυσον).
Harmony and Peace: Most critically for the situation in Corinth, love knows no schism (σχίσμα οὐκ ἔχει) and does not incite rebellion (οὐ στασιάζει). Instead, love accomplishes all things in pure concord (ὁμόνοια). Without love, no human deed is pleasing to God.
Finally, Clement grounds this call to love in the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. Driven by His immense love for humanity and in accordance with the Father’s will, the Master (δεσπότης) took us to Himself and gave His blood for us, His flesh for our flesh, and His life (ψυχή) for our lives.
Significant Greek Expressions
Ὁ ἔχων ἀγάπην... ποιησάτω τὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ παραγγέλματα (Let the one who has love do the commandments of Christ): Connects agapē directly with active ethical obedience (cf. John 14:15, 15:10, 1 John 5:3). Love is not mere sentimentality or emotional warmth, but a disciplined adherence to Christ’s teachings.
ἀνεκδιήγητον (Inexpressible / beyond description): Adjective anekdiēgētos (cf. 2 Corinthians 9:15). Highlights the transcendent, divine quality of agapē, which elevates human nature beyond its natural limitations into communion with God.
ἀγάπη καλύπτει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν (Love covers a multitude of sins): Direct echo of 1 Peter 4:8 (and Proverbs 10:12). In the context of church conflict, agapē manifests as reciprocal forgiveness and mercy, shielding the community from destructive malice.
σχίσμα οὐκ ἔχει, ἀγάπη οὐ στασιάζει (Love has no schism, love does not incite rebellion):
Schisma: cleft, tear, division.
Stasiazō: to revolt, form a faction, engage in sedition.
The theological antithesis to the Corinthian situation. Clement demonstrates that factionalism (stasis) and schism (schisma) are fundamentally incompatible with agapē; where true love reigns, rebellion cannot exist.
ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ (In concord / unity of mind): A classic Clementine term combining homos ("same") and nous ("mind"). Love produces harmonious alignment of purpose across the entire corporate body.
τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἔδωκεν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν... τὴν σάρκα ὑπὲρ τῆς σαρκὸς ἡμῶν (He gave His blood for us... His flesh for our flesh): Uses hyper ("on behalf of" / "in the place of"). A strong formulation of substitutionary atonement, emphasizing the physical reality and total self-giving of Christ’s incarnation and sacrifice (sartx, haima, psychē) as the ultimate pattern and source of Christian love.