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Clement of Rome

1 Clement

First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

About this book

This Division Is Worse Than the One in Paul’s Time

Chapter 47

1 Take up the epistle of the blessed Paul the Apostle. 2 What did he write first to you in the beginning of the Gospel? 3 Truly he instructed you in the Spirit concerning himself and Cephas and Apollos,⁠ because even then you had formed factions. 4 Yet that forming of factions brought less sin on you; for you were partisans of highly reputed Apostles, and of a man approved in their sight. 5 But now note who they are that have led you astray and diminished the glory of your renowned love for the brotherhood. 6 It is shameful, dear friends, yes, utterly shameful and unworthy of your conduct in Christ, that it should be reported that the very steadfast and ancient Church of the Corinthians, for the sake of one or two persons, is rebelling against its presbyters. 7 And this report has reached not only us, but those also who differ from us, so that you even heap blasphemies on the Name of the Lord because of your folly, and also create danger for yourselves.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Corinthians 1:12 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 47:3

New Testament · Early Christian

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Summary

In 1 Clement, the author tells the church in Corinth to reread the first letter Paul sent to them, where he criticized their divisions, showing how Clement used the text of 1 Corinthians as authoritative scripture.

Passages

1 Corinthians 1:12

New Testament
10 I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree together, to end your divisions, and to be united by the same mind and purpose. 11 For members of Chloe’s household have made it clear to me, my brothers and sisters, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each of you is saying, “I am with Paul,” or “I am with Apollos,” or “I am with Cephas,” or “I am with Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Paul wasn’t crucified for you, was he? Or were you in fact baptized in the name of Paul?
55–57 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Corinthians

Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 47:3

Early Christian · First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
1 Take up the epistle of the blessed Paul the Apostle. 2 What did he write first to you in the beginning of the Gospel? 3 Truly he instructed you in the Spirit concerning himself and Cephas and Apollos, because even then you had formed factions. 4 Yet that forming of factions brought less sin on you; for you were partisans of highly reputed Apostles, and of a man approved in their sight. 5 But now note who they are that have led you astray and diminished the glory of your renowned love for the brotherhood. 6 It is shameful, dear friends, yes, utterly shameful and unworthy of your conduct in Christ, that it should be reported that the very steadfast and ancient Church of the Corinthians, for the sake of one or two persons, is rebelling against its presbyters.
90–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Clement of Rome, 1 Clement

References

“... That text includes an invitation to its implied audience to “take up the letter of the blessed apostle Paul” (1 Clem 47.1). “What did [Paul] write to you first in the beginning of the gospel?” Clements then asks. “Truly he wrote to you in a spiritual manner concerning himself and Cephas and Apollos, since even at that time you had divided yourselves into factions.” Here Clement apparently was referring to 1 Cor 1:12, where the apostle Paul described how each of the Corinthians had identified themselves with either him or Apollos or Cephas or Christ. This reference clearly indicates that Clement assumed that his Corinthian audience both knew at least one of Paul’s letters and recognized his and its authority, even decades after Paul’s death. ...”
Jonathan E. Soyars, The Shepherd of Hermas and the Pauline Legacy, NovTSup 176 (Leiden: Brill, 2019), 46.

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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1 Corinthians 1:12 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 47:3

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