Commentary on 1 Corinthians

Severian of Gabala (d. 425)

The wise man is the Greek, the scribe is the Jew.

One should not think that God has indiscriminately revealed the mystery to some and allowed the rest to perish in ignorance. Rather one should know and be persuaded that by the foreknowledge of his power God prepared the right thing for each person according to his deserts, for he foresees what each one will choose even before it happens.

God and the Holy Spirit are two persons, whereas a man and the spirit in him are not two persons but one man. What Paul means is that just as in the man there is a cohesion in knowing, so the knowledge of the Father and the Spirit is one. What the Spirit searches is therefore already known to him.

By "milk" Paul means moral teaching and miracles. Solid food, by contrast, is the proclamation of the doctrines of God.

It is clear from this that what was being said was that Paul and his companions were weak, while the Corinthians were strong.

Paul promises to come, so that the Corinthians can prepare themselves for correction. On the one hand he was forced by his irritation to say "I shall come," but on the other hand he added "if the Lord wills," because of his sense of dependence on God.

See also

• More works by Severian of Gabala

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