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1 Clement

First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

About this book

Keep Doing Good Works

Chapter 33

1 What then must we do, brothers and sisters? Must we idly abstain from doing good, and abandon love?⁠ May the Master never allow this to happen to us; but let us hurry with earnestness and zeal to accomplish every good work. 2 For the Creator and Master of the universe Himself rejoices in His works. 3 For by His supremely great might He established the heavens, and in His incomprehensible wisdom He set them in order. And He separated the earth from the water that surrounds it, and He set it firm on the sure foundation of His own will; and He commanded the living creatures that walk on it to exist by His decree. Having first created the sea and the living creatures in it, He enclosed it by His own power. 4 Above all, as the most excellent and greatest work of His intelligence, with His sacred and faultless hands He formed man as the imprint of His own image. 5 For thus says God “Let us make man according to our image and according to our likeness.”⁠ And God made man; male and female He made them. 6 So having finished all these things, He praised them and blessed them and said, “Increase and multiply.” 7 We have seen that all the righteous were adorned in good works. Yes, and the Lord Himself, having adorned Himself with worlds, rejoiced. 8 Since, then, we have this pattern, let us conform ourselves with all diligence to His will; let us do the work of righteousness with all our strength.

Texts in conversation

Compare Romans 6:1 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 33:1

New Testament · Early Christian

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Summary

In 1 Clement, the author says people are made right with God through faith and then asks whether they should stop doing good, the same turn Paul makes in Romans, where being right with God by faith is no excuse to go on sinning.

Passages

Romans 6:1

New Testament
1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? 2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection.
55–58 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Romans

Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 33:1

Early Christian · First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
1 What then must we do, brothers and sisters? Must we idly abstain from doing good, and abandon love? May the Master never allow this to happen to us; but let us hurry with earnestness and zeal to accomplish every good work. 2 For the Creator and Master of the universe Himself rejoices in His works. 3 For by His supremely great might He established the heavens, and in His incomprehensible wisdom He set them in order. And He separated the earth from the water that surrounds it, and He set it firm on the sure foundation of His own will; and He commanded the living creatures that walk on it to exist by His decree. Having first created the sea and the living creatures in it, He enclosed it by His own power.
90–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Clement of Rome, 1 Clement

References

“... Carlyle found that there was one passage (1 Clem. 35. 5–6 // Rom. 1. 29–32, ‘a’) where it was ‘practically certain’ that Clement drew on Romans; another (1 Clem. 33. 1 // Rom. 6. 1, ‘b’) where it was ‘most probable’ that he wrote ‘under the impression of . . . Romans’ [...] As Carlyle observes, the thought but not the vocabulary of these passages is closely related. Each is placed in the context of justification by faith; each argues that justification is not an excuse for sin, but an impetus for appropriate ethical living. It seems difficult not to conclude that at this point Clement is very probably dependent on Romans. ...”
Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett, eds., The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 149–150.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Romans 6:1 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 33:1

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