Толкование 1-ое послание к Коринфянам ап. Павла 14 глава 0 стих - Экзегет

He gave them tongues as a sign that the mystagogues of the world would preach the gospel proclamation (that is, the saving proclamation) in every tongue and every nation. Though the men were Galileans and were raised 186 in Judea, Hebrews descended from Hebrews, they spoke in the tongues of Medes, Parthians, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Cappadocians, and Egyptians. They accomplished this by the activity and grace of the Spirit. As it is written, “Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them,” and so on. Now what they did was a way of furthering God’s plan of salvation, but not everyone understood this. Once they began to speak in other tongues, they made the grace of the Spirit into a kind of show and took the sign as an opportunity for boasting. They neglected their duty to speak the message of the holy prophets to the crowds and counsel them with the evangelical dogmas, as these were long proclaimed from above. They were proud only of their ability to speak in tongues and thought that they should strive for this alone. That was what they wanted the most.

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He disabuses them of the idea that speaking in tongues is more glorious than interpreting 188 the words of the prophets. Once we have in ourselves faith, hope, and especially love for God and the brothers, which is the fulfillment of the entire law, then let the rest be added as well. Then—then!—will be just the right time for us to be filled with God’s graces and enriched by the gifts of the Spirit! I am referring to the ability to prophesy, that is, to interpret the words of the prophets. After all, once the Only Begotten became man, once he suffered and rose and accomplished the oikonomia for us, what prophecy could still be needed? What deeds could still be foretold? Therefore, the term prophesying in this passage could have no other meaning than the ability to interpret prophecy. When we elucidate a passage for our hearers as best we can, confirming our interpretation by comparing it with the truth, then we will be correct and error-free interpreters of the most beautiful things. Now the one who speaks in tongues, he says, does not speak to other people but to God. Why is that? “For nobody understands them,” he says. So, for example, if one of the disciples happens to receive the ability to speak in the language of the Medes and another receives the ability to speak in the language of the Elamites, 190 and the men I am talking about want to converse in the Jewish synagogues or with the Greek flocks, who would understand them? What would be the benefit of such a conversation? No one would understand them except for God alone, who knows everything, “since they are speaking mysteries to the Spirit,” he says. Notice how the one who speaks to God speaks to the Spirit. Therefore, the Spirit is God. Now “those who speak in a tongue speak to God,” he says, “and not to other people.” But “those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.” He understands the term prophesying here to mean interpreting the words of the prophets, by which the message of encouragement is confirmed and the mind of the catechumens is led to the truth of Christ. So he adds further clarification that interpreting the words of the prophets is incomparably better than speaking in a tongue. “Those who speak in a tongue,” he says, “build up themselves.” That is because no one else understands them. But those who employ the words and predictions of the holy prophets as evidence “build up the church.” Therefore, prophesying is greater. It has the utmost renown and brings glorious hope since it is obviously better to build up the church than to speak only to oneself in a tongue. 192

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When those who received the gift of tongues became more proud than they ought, they took the sign as an opportunity for boasting and they neglected the proclamation of the gospel. They were proud, as I said, only of their ability to speak in tongues and thought that they should strive for this alone. Paul teaches that the duty of speaking the message of the holy prophets to the crowds and counseling them with the evangelical dogmas is better than speaking in tongues.188 Once we have in ourselves faith, hope, and love for God and the brothers and we prize those virtues above all, which is what the entire law commands, then I will be amazed by the gifts of the Spirit. I am referring to the ability to prophesy, that is, the ability to interpret the words of the prophets. After all, once the Only Begotten became man, once he suffered and rose again and fulfilled the oikonomia for us, what prophecy could still be needed? What deeds could still be foretold? Therefore, the term prophesying in this passage could have no other meaning than the ability to interpret prophecy. When we elucidate prophecies as best we can for our hearers, then we will be correct and error-free interpreters of the most beautiful things.For example, if one of the disciples happens to receive the ability to speak in the language of the Medes, and another receives the ability to speak in the language of the Elamites, and then they speak with the Greeks or the Jews, 190 who would understand them? What would be the benefit of such a conversation? No one understands them except God alone, who knows everything, “since they are speaking mysteries to the Spirit.” Now if the one who speaks to God speaks to the Spirit, then the Spirit is God.Now “those who speak in a tongue build up themselves,” since they are the ones who understand what they are saying. But those who explain the words of the prophets and employ their predictions as evidence “build up the church.” Therefore, prophesying is greater since it is better to build up the church than to speak only to oneself in a tongue. 192

Смотрите, вот Павел ясно говорит, что говорящий на языках беседует с Богом (Θεώ διαλέγεσθαι). Затем, показывая Духа Богом, он тут же прибавляет: «Духови же глаголет тайны . Как же не будут виновны в хуле дерзающие причислять Духа к творениям?

 Значит, Дух — Бог и от Бога, если глаголющий Ему беседует с Богом.

Since it was unusual and truly a gift from God that men who were Hebrew could speak in the language of other people, and so that no one may think that the apostle was foolishly discounting what happened and saying that the gift given through the activity of the Spirit was nothing, he approves of it and says, “Now I would like all of you to speak in tongues.” But he abruptly and decisively cuts short any eagerness for this gift and transfers it to a better one by immediately adding, “but even more to prophesy.” He is thereby saying in the clearest way possible that the one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in a tongue. Then he shows that it is not altogether useless for those who have it and for their hearers when he adds, “unless someone interprets,” that is, unless there is always someone there to interpret for the catechumens. 194Since it was unusual and truly a gift from God that men who were Hebrew could speak in the language of other people, and so that no one may think that Paul was rejecting the gift of tongues and saying that the gift given through the activity of the Spirit was in vain (since it was given as a sign to unbelievers), he approves of it and adds, “Now I would like all of you to speak in tongues.” However, he says that prophesying is better than speaking in a tongue, except that even speaking in tongues can bring some benefit to the hearers if there is always someone there to interpret for the catechumens in a language that the catechumens know how to speak and understand. 194

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Since it was unusual and truly a gift from God that men who were Hebrew could speak in the language of other people, and so that no one may think that Paul was rejecting the gift of tongues and saying that the gift given through the activity of the Spirit was in vain (since it was given as a sign to unbelievers), he approves of it and adds, “Now I would like all of you to speak in tongues.” However, he says that prophesying is better than speaking in a tongue, except that even speaking in tongues can bring some benefit to the hearers if there is always someone there to interpret for the catechumens in a language that the catechumens know how to speak and understand. 194

He says that there is absolutely no example of a rational or human creature that is without language. But if someone does not happen to know the meaning of another’s words and they do not know each other’s language, they will be foreigners to one another, even though they speak their own languages correctly. Therefore, those who want to teach others 196 must produce speech that is comprehensible to their hearers.

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Some who regularly went to church possessed the ability to speak in tongues by the activity of the Spirit. Now in church, one should offer prayers and, more importantly, make petitions and sing psalms in the language of those present, but they did not do so. They took pride only in the gift of tongues and did not offer prayers or psalms. Paul teaches that if the hearers do not know the language in which the possessor of the gift is speaking, there is no benefit from this activity. After all, there are multitudes of nations and many human languages, and there is no example of a rational or human creature that is without language.If someone does not happen to know the meaning of another’s words and they do not know each other’s language when one speaks, they will be foreigners to one another, even though they speak their own languages correctly. Therefore, those who want to teach others must produce speech that is comprehensible 196 to their hearers. If the utterance is meaningless and the language is unknown, then they have labored in vain and assaulted the hearing of the learner with a pointless cacophony.He says that those who want to teach must speak words that are comprehensible to the hearers or else they labor in vain. That is because the one who speaks only in tongues does not edify the church.

In this passage he uses the term “spirit” to refer to the grace given by the Spirit, that is, the ability to speak in tongues. If, he says, I pray prayers in church with the spirit, that is, employing the tongue given by the Spirit, my mind will remain unfruitful. I should pray earnestly and ask God for those things that pertain to salvation. I should not pride myself in speaking in a tongue 198 or concentrate only on speaking in a tongue, since my mind is unfruitful and it derives no benefit from such ambition.
When I sing psalms in a tongue, if I want to be approved and make use of a tongue given by the Spirit and earnestly try not to leave my mind unfruitful but raise up my mind within myself, as it were, then I must sing the psalm no less with my mind as well—that is, I must understand the meaning of the psalm in detail and not allow the words of the prophecy to go unexamined. Therefore, it is better to desire to prophesy or interpret the Holy Scriptures in church than simply to make use of tongues. 200

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“Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret,” since speaking in tongues by itself would not have the power to build up the church. Here he uses the term spirit to refer to the grace given by the Spirit, that is, the ability to speak in tongues. 198The meaning of this passage is not entirely clear. Yet I will attempt to explain it as best I can. If I want to pray in a tongue, that is, if I want to be approved when I speak in a tongue and to try earnestly not to leave my mind unfruitful, if I want to be someone who does not only speak in a tongue but also rouses my mind within myself when I sing a psalm in a tongue, then I must sing the psalm no less with my mind by understanding the meaning of the psalm and the prophecy, and I must not allow their words to go unexamined. That is because if I should speak empty words, then “I am a noisy gong.” Therefore, it is better to prophesy or to interpret the divine Scriptures in church than simply to make use of tongues. What then will be better? “I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also.” He uses the term “spirit” here to refer to the gifts given by the Spirit. It is his goal to use as many considerations as he needs in order to show that speaking in a tongue is useless unless it is accompanied by the ability to explain the words of the prophet to others. Therefore, he adds additional considerations by which one may see clearly what he is saying. 200

When you yourself speak in a tongue, he says, but someone in the rank of the laity does not know your language, how can that person supply the “Amen” in their own thanksgiving or prayers so that what seems to be lacking in completeness on the part of the priests may be supplied by the laity and God may receive “the small along with the great,” as it were, in the unity of the Spirit?

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When you yourself speak in a tongue, he says, but someone in the rank of the laity is ignorant of your language, how can that person supply the “Amen” to their own thanksgiving or prayers? Everyone knows that there is a custom in the church that the prayers of the presiders and the prayers of those under them come to an end at the same time. The people supply the “Amen” for those who pray to God on their behalf, adding the conclusion to the priest’s words. That way whatever seems to be lacking in completeness on the part of the priests may be supplied by the laity and God may receive “the small along with the great,” as it were, in the unity of the Spirit. For the laity under the priests’ supervision believe that their own prayers will be received when they unite them to the prayers of the priests. This was the reason God commanded even humble offerings to be brought to the altar of burnt offerings, so that what is modest may be combined with what is complete and may become acceptable to God, since we are all one in the Lord. So, he says, when you speak in a tongue (since that is what “say a blessing with the spirit” means), how can those who do not know what you are saying “say the ‘Amen’ in 202 their own thanksgiving?” You yourself may act rightly, at least when it comes to your intentions, but “the other person is not built up.” We must do everything for the sake of building up and benefiting the brothers. {You who speak in a tongue, that is, say a blessing with the spirit, act rightly in your intentions, but the other person is not built up. Everything must be done for the benefit and edification of the brothers.}

Итак, коль скоро приемлющие Духа Святого пророчествуют, имея Бога в себе, и потому служат предметом удивления, как же Он будет творением, а не, лучше сказать, относительным    причастием (μετάΛηψις σχετική) высшей всех прочих сущностей сущности, естественно (φυσικώς) распространяющимся от Отца чрез Сына на способных Его принять, подобно тому, как тепло от огня распространялось бы в некоем физическом теле?