Texts in Conversation
In 1 Clement, the author praises the Corinthians for preferring to give, an idea that Paul quotes in Acts 20 as a saying of Jesus, though no gospel records it. Clement likely knew it as a common Christian saying and did not take it from Acts.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Acts 20:35
New Testament
32 And now I entrust you to God and to the message of his grace. This message is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have desired no one’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine provided for my needs and the needs of those who were with me. 35 By all these things, I have shown you that by working in this way we must help the weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 2:1
First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
Early Christian
1 And you were all humble in mind and free from arrogance, yielding rather than demanding submission, more glad to give than to receive, and content with the provisions that God supplied. And giving heed to His words, you stored them up diligently in your hearts, and His sufferings were ever before your eyes. 2 Thus, a deep and abundant peace was given to all, along with an insatiable desire to do good. An abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit also came upon all. 3 And, being full of holy counsel, with excellent zeal and devout confidence, you stretched out your hands to Almighty God, pleading with Him to be merciful if you had sinned unknowingly.
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Notes and References
“... Carlyle notes three possible citations of Acts. Two of these, which he rates only as ‘d’, may be dismissed at once. As Carlyle notes, the observation that it is preferable to give rather than to receive, found in similar forms at 1 Clem. 2. 1 and on the lips of Paul at Acts 20. 35, may depend either on an otherwise unrecorded saying of Jesus, or on Clement’s use of an early Christian commonplace. Thus there is no good reason to posit the dependence of 1 Clement on Acts in this instance. ...”
Gregory, Andrew F.
The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers
(p. 140) Oxford University Press, 2005
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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