Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

16 September 2024

Those who wish to be saved should meditate on the cross of Christ, they should cling to the cross, they should carry their cross, mortifying their bodies (that is, concupiscence), and they should follow Christ in this world, who was once in the world. And now that he lives in eternity, they should follow him outside this world to live in eternity. And this is the singular and most true theorem of all religion: either we remain in this world, or we flee the world. The wisdom of worldly philosophy does not proclaim this; nor do the commentaries of the philosophers contain this.…

For now Christ is no other than God and the most blessed Son of God in eternity. He was crucified for us, and then and now he was all-powerful and all-knowing. In him alone people ought to place all their wisdom, strength, and glory; they should boast in him alone. And thus God chooses things that are foolish, impotent, ignoble, contemptible, and things that are not, lest people think that they might boast in wisdom, power, nobility, and honor. But they should ascribe the only cause for boasting to God alone, and pay attention to him alone.

        Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples