That, according as it is written,
He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.
All Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 1:31 Go To 1 Corinthians 1
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. He is quoting not the words but the sense of Jeremiah 9:23. So Ambrose, Theophylact, Anselm, St, Thomas. In Jeremiah the passage runs: "Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his Wisdom of Solomon , neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me." This it is to glory in the Lord. Jeremiah is speaking of liberation from the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, and from the slaughter of the Chaldeans, which were then threatening the Jews. In other words, then, he says: The Jews glory in counsels of their wise men, in the strength of their soldiers, in the riches of Jerusalem, as though these would make them secure against the Chaldeans; but they err, for their true glory is to know and understand God, that Isaiah , His Providence, an that it is He alone who worketh mercy, and mercifully sets free whom He will, and not the Wisdom of Solomon , might, or riches of man. Moreover, He alone inflicts just punishment on whom He will, and no wise, mighty, or rich man can set free from this—even as, O Jews, He will inflict it on you, and will bring it to pass, that death (that Isaiah , the Chaldeans, shall bring death upon you) shall climb up into your houses, though your windows, and slay all your little ones.
The Apostles rightly adapts this passage to those who were calling others, or who had been called to Christianity, that no one may attribute the grace of Christ to himself, his virtues, or the gifts of nature, but only to Christ, and consequently his tacit exhortation is: "Do not, O Corinthians, glory in yourselves, or in Paul, or in Apollos, your teachers, but in the Lord alone." For this is what in the beginning he proposed to prove, and therefore all that is here said must be referred to it. Anselm says: "That man glories in the Lord only who knows that it is not of himself, but of Him, not only that he Isaiah , but also that it is well with him." Again that glories in the Lord who, if he has anything which makes him pleasing to God, holds that he has received it, not because of his own Wisdom of Solomon , power, good works, talent, or merits, but merely through the grace of God. Thirdly, he who in all that he does seeks not his own glory, but that of the Lord.
S. Bernard wrote a noteworthy sermon on these words of the Apostle; see also Sermon25 on Canticles. He says: "Moreover, the whole glorying of the Saints is within and not without, that Isaiah , not in the flower of grass, or the mouth of the vulgar, but in the Lord; for God alone is the sole judge of their conscience, Him alone they desire to please, and to please Him is their only real and chief glory." And Sermon13on Canticles: "Brothers, let none of you desire to be praised in this life. For whatever favour you gain for yourselves here which you do not refer to Him, you steal from Him. For whence, thou dust that perishest, whence comes thy glory?" And in his Sentences: "The Apostles knew that glory properly belongs to the Creator, and not to the creature. But he also knew that the rational creature so seeks after glory that it can scarcely or perhaps never overcome this desire, just because it was made in the image of the Creator. Therefore he gave the most wholesome advice when he said: "Since you cannot be persuaded not to glory, let him that glorieth glory in the Lord."" Let us, too, say in company with the Psalmist, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give the praise," and with the four and twenty elders who cast their crowns before the throne, "Blessing and honour and glory and power be unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever" ( Revelation 5:13).
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