Commentary on 1 Corinthians (Super I Epistolam ad Corinthios Lectura)

Above, the Apostle had rebuked the Corinthians for negligence of judgment; here he rebukes in them certain other sins concerning judgments. And first, as to the judges before whom they litigated; second, as to the judgments themselves, there: *now indeed altogether*. Concerning the first he does three things. First he argues against them concerning disorder; second he assigns the reason for the rebuke, there: *do you not know*; third he applies a remedy, there: *secular judgments therefore*.

He says therefore first: thus you are negligent in judging your own, but nevertheless you are presumptuous in undergoing the judgments of unbelievers, and this is what he says: *does* someone *dare*, that is, presume, *any of you having a matter*, namely a secular one, *against another, to be judged before the unjust*, that is, to undergo the judgment of unbelievers, *and not before the saints*, that is, before the faithful, who are sanctified by the sacraments of the faith. For this is disordered in many ways. First indeed, because by this the authority of the faithful is derogated; second, because the dignity of the faithful is derogated as to this, that they undergo the judgments of unbelievers; third, because by this occasion is given to unbelieving judges to despise the faithful, whom they see disagreeing among themselves; fourth, because by this occasion is given to unbelieving judges to slander and oppress the faithful, whom they hold in hatred on account of the faith and the diversity of rite. And therefore it is said in Deut. 1:15f: *I took from your tribes wise and noble men, and I commanded them, saying: hear them, and judge what is just*. And in the same book, 17:15: *you shall not be able to make king a man of another nation, who is not your brother*.

But this seems to be against what is said in 1 Peter 2:13: *be subject to every human creature for God's sake, whether to the king as excelling, or to governors as sent by him*: for it pertains to the authority of the prince to judge concerning his subjects. It is therefore against divine law to prohibit that one stand by his judgment, if he be an unbeliever. But it must be said that the Apostle does not prohibit that the faithful, established under unbelieving princes, appear before their judgment, if they are summoned, for this would be against the subjection which is owed to princes; but he forbids that the faithful should not voluntarily choose the judgment of unbelievers.

Then, when he says *do you not know*, etc., he assigns the reason against that which they were doing, taken from this, that they were derogating from the authority of the saints. And first as to the authority which they have over worldly things; second as to the authority which they have with regard to super-worldly things, that is, over the Angels, there: *do you not know that we shall judge Angels?* He says therefore first: judgment before unbelievers is disordered, because the faithful have the authority of judging: *do you not know that the saints shall judge this world*, that is, concerning the worldly men of this world? This indeed is fulfilled in three ways.

First indeed according to comparison, namely according as not only the good shall judge the wicked, and the saints the worldly; but also according as the good shall be judged by the better, and the wicked shall judge the worse, according to that saying of Matt. 12:41: *the men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it*. Second, they shall judge by approving the sentence of the judge, namely Christ, and this will properly belong to the just, according to that saying of the Psalm: *the just man shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge*. Hence it is said in Wisdom 3:8: *the saints shall judge nations*. In a third way, through the pronouncing of the sentence. And this will belong to the apostles and those like them, who, having despised the things of the world, clung to spiritual things alone. For the spiritual man judges all things, as was said above, 2:15. Hence also it is said in Matt. 19:28: *you who have followed me, shall sit upon seats, judging the twelve tribes of Israel*. And in Ps. 149:6f it is said: *two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance upon the nations*. This pronouncing of the sentence, however, is understood not as vocal, but as spiritual, insofar as through the higher saints the lower, or even sinners, will be illuminated by a certain spiritual illumination, as to what punishments and what rewards are owed to them: just as even now men are illuminated by Angels, or even the lower Angels by the higher.

Second, from this that has been said, he argues to his purpose, saying: *and if the world shall be judged in you*, that is, through you, that is, worldly men, *are you unworthy* to judge concerning *the smallest* matters, namely concerning secular affairs? Luke 16:10: *he who is unjust in that which is little, shall be unjust also in that which is greater*.

Then, when he says *do you not know*, etc., he argues to the same point from the authority of the saints over the Angels. And first he states it, saying: *do you not know that we*, namely the faithful of Christ, *shall judge Angels?* This indeed can be understood of the evil Angels, who will be condemned by the saints, by whose power they have been conquered. Hence the Lord, Luke 10:19, says: *behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents, and upon all the power of the enemy*. And in Ps. 90:13: *you shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk*. This can also be understood of the good Angels, very many of whom will be found, in a certain comparison, inferior to Paul and those like him. Hence significantly he does not say: *you shall judge*, but *we shall judge*. Although it can also be said that, as a consequence, if the saints shall judge men good and evil, there will be judgment concerning the good Angels also, whose accidental reward is increased from the reward of the saints who are illuminated through the Angels, and also concerning the evil Angels, whose punishment is increased from the punishment of the men seduced by them.

Second, he argues to his purpose, saying: *how much more shall we be fit to judge secular matters*, namely judgments: for he who is fit for greater things, is much more fit for lesser things. Hence also the lord, to whom he had entrusted five talents, afterward entrusted one, as is found in Matt. 25:28.

Then, when he says *secular judgments therefore*, he applies a remedy against their fault. And first he sets forth the remedy; second he explains it, there: *I say this to your shame*. He says therefore first: therefore, since the saints shall judge this world, if you have secular judgments among you, which nevertheless you ought not to have, *appoint those who are contemptible in the Church* to judge, rather, namely, than that you be judged before unbelievers. Hence also it is said in Ps. 140:5: *the just man shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head*. And it is said in Ecclesiastes 9:4: *better is a living dog than a dead lion*.

Then, when he says *I say this to your shame*, he explains in what sense he said the foregoing. For someone might believe that, according to the letter, the more contemptible were to be chosen for judging; but he excludes this, saying *I say this to your shame*. As if he were to say: I did not say this that it should be done so, but that I might make you ashamed, namely by that confusion which brings grace and glory, as is said in Ecclesiasticus 4:25. For the contemptible in the Church would have to be chosen for judging, if wise men were not found among you, which would be shameful for you. Hence he adds: *is it so that there is not among you any wise man, who can judge between brother and brother, but brother contends with brother in judgment, and this before unbelievers?* Rather, however, than that you should do this, you ought to appoint the contemptible, who are in the Church, to judge and to supply the defect of the wise, which nevertheless does not exist among you, according to that which he had said above in chapter one: *you were made rich in him, in every word and in every knowledge*.

Or otherwise, from that place *secular*, etc. For he had said that the saints are fit to judge secular matters, and therefore he wishes to show through whom secular judgments ought to be exercised, namely through the contemptible who are in the Church. He calls contemptible, however, those who are wise in worldly matters, by comparison to those who are wise in divine matters, to whom reverence is to be shown, who are not occupied in temporal matters, so that they may be free for spiritual things alone. And this is what is added: *I say this to your shame*; according to another reading: *to your reverence*. Hence also the apostles said, Acts 6:2: *it is not right that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables*.

Afterward, however, he returns to that which he had rebuked above, namely that the Corinthians were litigating under unbelieving judges, saying: *is it so that there is not among you any wise man*, namely in temporal matters, whom above he called contemptible. Hence the rest are not changed from the first exposition, which nevertheless seems to be more literal.

After the Apostle rebuked the Corinthians for going to law before unbelieving judges, he here rebukes them concerning the judgments themselves. And about this he does two things. First he sets down in what they were sinning concerning judgments; second he makes plain what he had said, at the words *or do you not know*, etc. Concerning the first he does two things. First he rebukes in them, concerning judgments, that which is lawful but not expedient; second, that which is altogether unlawful, at the words *but you*, etc. Concerning the first he does two things: first he sets down the rebuke; second he removes the excuse, at the words *why do you not rather*, etc. He says therefore first: it was said, that brother goes to law with brother, that it is not only evil that you contend before unbelievers, but *now indeed*, after your conversion, it is altogether *a fault among you*, that is, it is reckoned to you as a fault, *that you have lawsuits with one another*, among whom, that is, there ought to be peace: because, as it is said in 2 Tim. 2:24, *the servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle toward all*. It appears, however, from this, as the Gloss of Augustine says here, that it is a sin to have a lawsuit against anyone; but this seems to be false: because if it is a sin to have a lawsuit, it seems to follow that it is likewise a sin to appoint judges, since this would be to give occasion to those who have lawsuits, whereas it is said in Deut. 1:16: *hear them, and judge what is just*, and afterward it is added, *because it is the judgment of God*. This is resolved in the Gloss: that it is permitted to the weak to seek back their own goods in a lawsuit, but not to the perfect: to whom it is permitted to seek their own goods, but not in a lawsuit. Now here it must be known that a certain thing is unlawful to the perfect, and a certain thing to all. The perfect indeed have no property of their own, according to Matt. 19:21: *if you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and come, follow me*; and therefore it is not lawful for them to seek things back in a lawsuit as their own, since it is not lawful for them to have anything as their own, though it is lawful for them to seek back in a lawsuit those things which are common. For in doing this they do not sin, but rather merit. For it is a work of charity to defend or recover the goods of the poor, according to Ps. 81:4: *rescue the poor, and deliver the needy out of the hand of the sinner*. But a lawsuit against someone is unlawful to all as regards three things. First indeed as regards the cause from which someone has a lawsuit, namely from cupidity and avarice. Whence, in Luke 12:13, when a certain man from the crowd had said to the Lord: *tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me*, the Lord said: *who has appointed me a judge to divide between you?* Afterward he adds: *see and beware of all covetousness*. Second, as regards the manner of the lawsuit, namely because they pursue the lawsuit with contention and to the detriment of peace; for as it is said in James 3:16, *where there is envy and contention, there is instability and every evil work*. And this the Apostle appears to rebuke in them, as is clear from what he said above: *brother goes to law with brother*. Third, from the perversity of the judgment, as when someone proceeds unjustly and fraudulently in a lawsuit, according to Is. 10:2: *that they might oppress the poor, and do violence to the cause of the humble of my people*. And this too the Apostle rebukes in them, as is clear from what he adds: *but you do injury*. Fourth, on account of the scandal that follows. Whence the Lord also commands, in Matt. 5:40: *he who wishes to contend with you at law, and take away your tunic, let go to him your cloak also*. From charity, however, it is lawful to seek back one's own goods in a lawsuit. Whence Gregory says in the Morals: *when necessity imposes on us care of goods, some, while they seek them back, are only to be tolerated: some, however, while charity is preserved, are to be prevented*, namely lest, seizing what is not their own, they destroy themselves. Then when he says *why do you not rather*, etc., he removes the excuse. For they could say: necessity leads us to have lawsuits, namely so that we may resist the injuries and frauds of others; but he excludes this, adding, as regards the first, *why do you not rather accept injury*, namely manifest injury, that is, by patiently enduring it, according to what the Lord says, Matt. 5:39: *if anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other also*. But as regards the second he adds *why do you not rather suffer fraud*, that is, deceitful seduction, according to Matt. 5:41: *if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two more*. But, as Augustine says in the book On the Sermon of the Lord on the Mount, these precepts of the Lord are not always to be observed in the execution of the deed, but are always to be held in the preparation of the mind, namely that we be ready rather to do or endure this, than to do anything against fraternal charity. Then when he says *but you*, etc., he rebukes in them that which is altogether unlawful. And first he charges them with manifest injustice, when he says *but you do injury*, namely by speaking manifestly against the justice of others, either in a lawsuit or outside a lawsuit. Ecclus. 9:17: *let not the injury of the unjust be pleasing to you*. Second, deceitful deception, when he adds *and you defraud*, Prov. 12:5: *the counsels of the wicked are deceitful*. Third, he aggravates both, when he adds *and this to brothers*, that is, to the faithful, to whom we ought most of all to do good, according to Gal. ult.: *while we have time, let us work good to all; but especially to those of the household of the faith*. And therefore against certain ones it is said in Jer. 9:4: *every brother will utterly supplant, and every friend will walk deceitfully*. Then, when he says *or do you not know*, etc., he makes plain what he had said. And first, as regards that which is altogether unlawful; second, as regards that which is lawful but not expedient, at the words *all things are lawful for me*. Concerning the first he does two things. First he raises the question; second he settles it, at the words *do not err*, etc. He says therefore first: I said that you do injury, and defraud, which is to commit iniquity, but *do you not know that the unjust will not possess the kingdom of God*? As if to say: you seem not to know this, since you do not depart from iniquity, whereas nevertheless it is said in Ps. 6:9 and Matt. 7:23: *depart from me, all you who work iniquity*. Then, when he says *do not err*, etc., he settles the truth. And first he shows the danger that threatens the unjust; second he shows how they themselves escaped this danger, so that they might fear to fall into it again, at the words *and this indeed you were once*, etc. He says therefore first: *do not err*, which he says pointedly, because concerning the impunity of sins some erred in many ways, according to Wis. 2:21: *and they thought, and they erred*. For some philosophers erred, believing that God has no care of human affairs, according to Zeph. 1:12: *the Lord will not do good, and he will not do evil*. Some, however, believing that faith alone is sufficient for salvation, according to John 11:26: *he who believes in me shall not die forever*. Some, however, believing that they are saved through the sacraments of Christ alone, on account of what is said in Mark ult.: *he who believes and is baptized shall be saved*, and John 6:55: *he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life*. Some, however, on account of works of mercy alone, think that they sin with impunity, on account of what is said in Luke 11:41: *give alms, and behold all things are clean for you*. Nor do they understand that all these things without charity do not profit, according to what is said below in 13:2 ff.: *if I have all faith, and distribute all my goods to feed the poor, but have not charity, it profits me nothing*. And therefore he adds that sins contrary to charity exclude from the kingdom of God, into which charity alone introduces, saying *neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers* (of whom it is said in Heb. ult.: *fornicators and adulterers God will judge*), *nor the effeminate*, that is, men suffering womanish things, *nor those who lie with males*, as regards those acting in that vice, of whom it is said in Gen. 13:13: *the men of Sodom were most wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly*, *nor the covetous, nor thieves* (of whom it is said in Zech. 5:3: *every thief, as it is written, shall be judged*), *nor the drunken, nor the reviling, nor the rapacious shall possess the kingdom of God*. For it is said in Is. 35:8: *it shall be called the holy way, the unclean shall not pass through it*. And Apoc. 21:27: *nothing defiled, or that works abomination, shall enter into it*. And it is to be noted that here he enumerates the same vices which he had set down in the preceding chapter. He adds, however, certain ones under the genus of lust, namely adultery and the vice against nature, and under the genus of injustice, theft. Then, when he says *and these indeed*, etc., he shows how they escaped the aforesaid danger. And first he recalls their past state, saying *and indeed you were once*, namely fornicators and serving idols, etc., and therefore he specially recalls these vices, because they had abounded in them, according to Eph. 5:8: *for you were once darkness, but now light in the Lord*. Second he shows how they were inwardly freed from these, saying *but you are washed*, namely by the power of the blood of Christ in Baptism, according to Apoc. 1:5: *he washed us from our sins in his own blood*. But *you are sanctified*, consecrated by grace through the power of the blood of Christ, according to Heb. ult.: *Jesus, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside the gate*. But *you are justified*, unto the state of justice and virtue, according to Rom. 8:30: *whom he called, these he also justified*. The cause of these benefits, however, is added. And first on the part of the humanity of Christ, when he says *in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ*, that is, in faith and invocation of the name of Christ, according to Acts 4:12: *there is no other name given under heaven to men, in which we must be saved*. Second on the part of the divinity, when he adds *and in the Spirit of our God*, according to Ezek. 37:5: *behold I will send into you the spirit, and you shall live*. Because therefore you have been freed by so powerful a power, you ought not to return to the same things.

Then, when he says *all things are lawful for me*, etc., he makes plain what he had said about the prohibition of judgment, showing in what sense he rebuked it, namely that he did not rebuke it as altogether unlawful, but as inexpedient and harmful. And about this he does two things. First he proposes what he intends; second he assigns the reason, at the words *food for the belly*, etc. Concerning the first he does two things. First he proposes what he had rebuked as being lawful, but not expedient, saying *all things are lawful for me*. Now those things are called lawful which a man is not prohibited from doing; but prohibition is twofold, one of coercion, the other of precept, and according to this some have understood that those things are lawful which are not forbidden by any compelling necessity; and therefore, since the free choice of man is by nature free from coercion, they understood the Apostle to say in this sense: *all things are lawful for me*, namely because they are subject to the free choice of man, whether they be good or whether they be evil, according to Ecclus. 15:18: *before man is good and evil, life and death, whatever he shall choose shall be given to him*. But this manner of speaking is foreign to sacred Scripture, in which it is said that those things are not lawful which are forbidden by divine law, according to Matt. 14:4: *it is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife*. And therefore what the Apostle here says, *all things are lawful for me*, cannot be understood absolutely, but is to be taken as a fitting distribution under this sense: all things are lawful for me, namely those which are not forbidden by divine law. And this can be referred to three things: first indeed to what he had said about lawsuits, namely that it is lawful for each one to seek back all his own goods in a lawsuit, since this is not forbidden by divine law. In another way it can be referred to what he is about to say below in 8:8 about the indifferent use of foods, so that the sense is: it is lawful for me to eat all foods, according to Titus 1:15: *all things are clean to the clean*. Third it can be referred to what he is about to say below in 9:4 ff., about receiving expenses, so that the sense is: *all things are lawful for me*, namely to receive for the necessity of life, just as to my fellow apostles. He adds, however, *but not all things are expedient*. Now that is said to be expedient which is without impediment to the attaining of the end. But it happens that something does not totally exclude the end, yet brings some impediment, just as marriage does not exclude a man from the kingdom of God, yet it brings an impediment, because, namely, as he says below in 7:34, *the woman who is under a husband thinks how she may please her husband*. Whence, in Matt. 19:10, the disciples say: *if the case of a man with his wife is so, it is not expedient to marry*. Thus therefore to fornicate is neither lawful nor expedient, because it totally excludes the end, which is eternal life; but marriage is lawful, but not expedient. According, therefore, to this manner, to seek back one's own goods in a lawsuit, to use all foods indifferently, to receive expenses from those to whom one preaches, is indeed lawful, because it is not against justice, nor is it forbidden by any law; yet it is not expedient, either because peace toward one's neighbor is impeded, or some scandal is generated for the weak, or some occasion of reviling is afforded; whence Ecclus. 37:31: *not all things are expedient for all*. In another way it can be understood not absolutely, but under a condition, so that the sense is: I said that neither fornicators, etc., will possess the kingdom of God, and therefore they are not lawful, because they exclude the end; but if all things were lawful for me, not all things are expedient, because through them an impediment is afforded to human life. Whence in the person of the wicked it is said in Wis. 5:7: *we were wearied in the way of iniquity and perdition, and we walked difficult ways*. Second he shows that what he rebuked above is harmful, saying *all things are lawful for me*, as was explained above, *but I will not be brought under the power of any*, namely of man. For he who uses that which is not expedient, whether lawful or unlawful, is in a certain way brought under the power of some thing, or of some man. Of a thing indeed, because he who loves some thing too much becomes in a certain way the slave of that thing, according to Rom. ult.: *such as these do not serve Christ the Lord, but their own belly*. But of a man, because while someone does what is not expedient, he is in a certain way subjected to the judgment of others, and especially he who seeks back his own goods in a lawsuit is subjected to the power of a judge. Below in 10:29: *for why is my liberty judged by another's conscience?* Then, when he says *food for the belly*, etc., he assigns the reason for what he had said. And first why all things are lawful, saying *food for the belly*, namely is owed, so that, namely, being digested in the belly, it may pass into nourishment for the whole body. *And the belly for foods*, namely it serves for receiving and digesting them. Since, therefore, by God's ordination the belly is intent on receiving foods, and foods are appointed for this, that they be placed in the belly, according to Gen. 1:29 f.: *behold I have given you every food, and to all living things, that they may have it to eat*, it is not unlawful that a man seek back his own goods, or that a preacher receive wages on account of the necessity of food, or even that a man use all foods. Second, at the words *but God*, etc., he assigns the reason why not all things are expedient. For it is not expedient that a man suffer any detriment in that which is never corrupted, namely in the heavenly kingdom, on account of that which is corrupted; and this happens with food and the belly. For after this life the use of foods and of the belly will cease, because the bodies of those rising again will be preserved without food, God bringing this about. And this is what he means: *but God will destroy*, that is, will cause to cease, *this*, namely the belly, not indeed as regards its essence, but as regards the effect which it now has; *and these*, namely foods, as far as they pertain to man's use, because in the resurrection men will be like the Angels in heaven, as it is said in Matt. 22:30.

Above, the Apostle rebuked the Corinthians in three ways concerning judgments; now, however, he returns to rebuking the sin of the fornicator, whom he had mentioned above at V, 1, and in whose judgment the Corinthians had been negligent. He condemns fornication, moreover, by four arguments: the first is taken from the divine ordination; the second from union with Christ, at the words "or do you not know that your bodies," etc.; the third from the defilement of the body, at the words "flee fornication"; the fourth from the dignity of grace, at the words "or do you not know," and so forth.

Concerning the first he does two things. First he sets down the divine ordination; second, the end of that ordination, at the words "For God," and so forth.

Concerning the first it must be considered that some take an argument for their lasciviousness from the ordination of God. For those who fornicate use their body for a use instituted by God. But he excludes this, saying that food is ordained for the belly, and the belly for foods, but the body of man is not for fornication—that is, it is not ordained for fornicating, but for the Lord—that is, it is ordained for this, that it may belong to our Lord Jesus Christ; and the Lord for the body—that is, the Lord Jesus Christ was given to men for this, that he might conform human bodies to his glory, according to that saying of Phil. III, 21: "he will reform the body of our lowliness, conformed to the body of his brightness."

But against this it seems to be that just as the belly is ordained by God for the use of foods, so also certain members of the human body are ordained by God for the use of generation, by which fornication is carried out. But a difference must be attended to as to two points. First, indeed, that the Apostle above spoke of one member of the body, namely the belly, but here he speaks of the whole body, which just as it is not ordained for fornicating, so neither for taking food; but rather the use of foods is for the sake of the body, and the body for the sake of the soul, from which it receives life according to its condition. And because all things are ordained to God as to an end, therefore the body ought to be subject to the Lord and dedicated to him. And because above he spoke of the use of foods in common without disorder, but fornication is a disordered use arising from the member of the fornicator. Hence not even those members themselves are for the sake of fornication, but are ordained by reason for the sake of the use of generation, to which all the members of the body ought to be of service, just as also the belly is not for the sake of gluttony and drunkenness, but for the sake of the fitting use of foods.

Then, when he says "But God," etc., he sets down the end of the aforesaid ordination. And first he sets down what God did concerning the Lord, saying that God also "raised up the Lord," namely the Lord Jesus Christ, from the dead, from whom Christ himself asks in Ps. XL, v. 11: "But you, O Lord, have mercy on me, and raise me up." Now God is both the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; hence also Christ himself, who is the Son of God, raised himself up, and rose by his own power, according to that saying of Ps. III, 6: "I slept, and took rest, and rose up, because the Lord sustained me"; and II Cor., last chapter: "if he was crucified out of weakness, yet he lives by the power of God."

Second he sets down what he is going to do concerning us, saying that God will raise us up "through his power," namely the power by which he raised up Christ, according to that saying of Rom. VIII, 11: "he who raised up Jesus Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies." And it must be noted that above, speaking of foods and the belly, which pertain to the use of animal life, he said that they would be destroyed by God; but now, speaking of the body and the Lord, he makes mention of the resurrection, because, namely, when animal life ceases, the nature of the body will be reformed into something better. Hence it is clear that the body is not to be used for fornication, which impedes future incorruption, according to that saying of Gal., last chapter: "he who sows in the flesh will also reap corruption from the flesh."

Then, when he says "do you not know," etc., he sets down the second argument, which is taken from the affinity of the human body to Christ, which is as follows: the members of a man who fornicates are the members of a harlot; but the members of a man are the members of Christ; therefore through fornication the members of Christ become the members of a harlot, which is unfitting. Concerning this he does four things.

First he states the major, saying, "Or do you not know that your bodies are the members of Christ?" As if to say: you ought not to be ignorant of this, because whoever you are who have been regenerated in Christ, you have been made members of Christ, according to that saying below at XII, 27: "you are the body of Christ, and members of a member." And this is so not only with regard to souls, which are justified by him, but also with regard to bodies, which will be raised up by him, as has been said.

Second he sets down the conclusion, saying, "Taking, then, the members of Christ"—that is, rightly withdrawing them from the service of Christ, to which they ought to be assigned (according to that saying of Rom. VI, 13: "that you present your members as weapons of righteousness to God")—"shall I make" them, namely those same members, "to be the members of a harlot" by fornicating? "God forbid": for this is a horrifying sacrilege. Hence it is said in Mal. II, v. 11: "Judah has profaned the sanctification of the Lord which he loved, and has had the daughter of a strange god."

Third he sets down the minor, saying, "Or do you not know that he who cleaves to a harlot"—namely by fornicating—"is made one body"? Namely through unclean commingling. And to prove this, he brings in the authority of Genesis, saying: "for," Scripture "says," namely Gen. II, 24: "the two"—namely man and woman—"shall be in one flesh," that is, through carnal mixture they are made one flesh, and thus the members of the one become the members of the other. For these are the words of Adam speaking of husband and wife, which the Apostle here refers also to fornication, because according to the species of nature the acts of both do not differ.

But it must be understood that, as the Philosopher says in the book On the Generation of Animals, in the male is the active principle of generation, in the female is the passive. And just as in a plant, whose life is principally ordained to generation, there is always one body in which both principles are united, so in animals, which are ordained to higher acts of life, there is not always one body having these two principles, but out of two there is made one in the act of generation. Which indeed is not the man's alone, because, as is said below in chapter VII, 4, "the husband does not have power over his own body, but the wife."

Fourth he proves the minor, saying, "but he who cleaves to the Lord," etc., namely through faith and charity, "is one spirit with him," because, namely, he is united to him by a spiritual unity, not a bodily one. Hence also it is said in Rom. VIII, 9: "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his"; and Jn. XVII, 21 and following: "that they may be one in us, as we are one," namely through the connection of the spirit: and because the body is in service to the spirit, it follows that our bodies too are the members of him to whom we are united through the spirit, not indeed by carnal conjunction, but spiritual.

Now from the two aforesaid arguments one argument can be forged, namely, that because our body is not assigned to fornication, but to the Lord—in this way, namely, that our members are the members of Christ, as he afterward explains—we should not make them the members of a harlot by fornicating.

Then, when he says "flee fornication," etc., he sets down the third argument, which is taken from the defilement of the body. First he sets down the intended conclusion, saying "flee fornication." Where it must be noted that the other vices are overcome by resisting, because the more a man considers and dwells upon particulars, the less he finds in them wherein to delight, but is rather made anxious; but the vice of fornication is not overcome by resisting, because the more a man there thinks upon the particular, the more he is inflamed; but it is overcome by fleeing, that is, by totally avoiding unclean thoughts and any occasions whatsoever, as is said in Zech. II, 6: "flee from the land of the North, says the Lord."

Second he assigns the reason, saying, "every other sin whatsoever a man commits," and so forth. For evidence of this it must be known that certain sins are not consummated in carnal delight, but in spiritual delight alone, and so they are called spiritual vices, such as pride, avarice, sloth; but fornication is completed chiefly in carnal delight, and according to this it could be understood what is said here, "every sin whatsoever a man commits is outside the body," because, namely, it is completed apart from the delight of his own body. "But he who fornicates sins against his own body," because, namely, his sin is consummated in the flesh.

But contrary to this exposition it seems to be that the sin of gluttony also is consummated in the delight of the body. To which it could be said that the sin of gluttony is contained under lust, insofar as it is ordained to it, according to that saying of Eph. V, 18: "do not be drunk with wine, in which is lust." But it can better be said that the Apostle does not say "he who fornicates sins by his own body," which would fit the first exposition; but "sins against his own body," that is, against his own body, by corrupting and defiling it apart from the use of reason. Hence also Apoc. III, 4: "you have a few names in Sardis, who have not defiled their garments," that is, their body; and Apoc. XIX, 4: "these are they who have not been defiled with women."

Or otherwise, according to Augustine, here in the Gloss, "he who fornicates sins against his own body," because his soul in that act is totally subjected to the flesh, so that he cannot think of anything else there. Hence in Ps. XXXI, 9 it is said: "do not become like the horse and the mule, which have no understanding."

Or otherwise: "he sins against his own body," that is, against his wife, who is called the body of the husband, against whom the other sins are not so directly committed as the fornication of the husband. Hence also in I Thess. ch. IV, 4 it is said: "that each of you know how to possess his vessel in sanctification," that is, his wife.

Or according to Augustine it can be understood of spiritual fornication, by which the soul cleaves through love to the world, and withdraws from God, according to that saying of Ps. LXXII, 27: "you will destroy all who fornicate away from you." The sense, therefore, is: "he who fornicates," withdrawing from God on account of love of the world, "sins against his own body," that is, through bodily concupiscence. But every other sin, for instance one which a man commits out of forgetfulness, or out of ignorance, or negligence, is "outside the body," that is, outside bodily concupiscence.

Then, when he says "or do you not know," etc., he sets down the fourth argument, which is taken from the dignity of grace, which indeed arises from two things, namely from the grace of the Holy Spirit, and from the redemption of the blood of Christ. Concerning this, then, he does three things.

First he sets forth the dignity of our body, which it has from the grace of the Holy Spirit, saying "or do you not know," as if to say, you ought not to be ignorant, "that your members"—namely the bodily ones—"are the temple of the Holy Spirit"? Just as above at III, 16 it was said: "do you not know that you are the temple of God." And he assigns the reason for this, adding, "who is in you." Now a temple is called the house of God; therefore, because the Holy Spirit is God, it is fitting that in whomever the Holy Spirit is, he should be called the temple of God. Now the Holy Spirit is indeed principally in the hearts of men, in whom the charity of God is poured out through the Holy Spirit, as is said in Rom. V, 5. But secondarily he is also in the bodily members, insofar as they carry out works of charity. Hence in Ps. LXXXIII, 3 it is said: "my heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God." And lest they should ascribe this dignity to themselves, he adds, "whom you have from God," not from yourselves. Hence Joel II, 28: "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh"; and Acts V, 23: "he has given his Spirit to those who obey him."

Second he sets down the dignity which our bodies have from the redemption of the blood of Christ, saying, "and you are not your own, but Jesus Christ's," according to that saying of Rom. XIV, 8: "whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord's"; II Cor. V, 15: "he who lives, let him no longer live for himself." He assigns the reason for this, saying, "you have been bought at a great price," and therefore you are the servants of him who redeemed you from the servitude of sin. Hence below at VII, 22 it is said: "he who was called free is the servant of Christ; for you have been bought at a price"; and in Ps. XXX, 6: "you have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth." Now the price of redemption is called great, because it is not corruptible, but has an eternal power, since it is the blood of God himself, the eternal one. Hence I Peter I, 18 and following: "you have been redeemed from your vain manner of life, not with corruptible things like gold or silver, but with the blood of the lamb, unspotted and undefiled, Jesus Christ."

Third he draws the intended conclusion, saying, "glorify, therefore, and bear God in your body." For because your members are the temple of God, nothing ought to appear in your body except what pertains to the glory of God, and this is to glorify God in your body, because in Ps. XXVIII, 9 it is said: "in his temple all shall speak his glory." Exodus, last chapter, it is said: "the cloud covered the tabernacle of the testimony, and the glory of the Lord filled it." But because you are not your own, but are the servants of God, your body ought to bear God, just as a horse or another animal bears its master. Hence in Ps. LXXII, 23 it is said: "I have become like a beast of burden before you." But our body bears the Lord, insofar as it is assigned to divine ministry. Thus, then, a man ought to avoid sinning against his own body by fornicating, which is against the glory of God, and against the ministry which our body owes to God.