Lectio 3 Lecture 3 Corpus est Deo The body is for God 6:13 Esca ventri, et venter escis: Deus autem et hunc et has destruet: [n. 295] corpus autem non fornicationi, sed Domino: et Dominus corpori. [n. 297] 6:13 Meat for the belly and the belly for the meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. [n. 295] But the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord: and the Lord for the body. [n. 297] 6:14 Deus vero et Dominum suscitavit: et nos suscitabit per virtutem suam. [n. 300] 6:14 Now God has raised up the Lord and will raise us up also by his power. [n. 300] 6:15 Nescitis quoniam corpora vestra membra sunt Christi? Tollens ergo membra Christi, faciam membra meretricis? Absit. [n. 302] 6:15 Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of a harlot? Never! [n. 302] 6:16 An nescitis quoniam qui adhaeret meretrici, unum corpus efficitur? Erunt enim (inquit) duo in carne una. [n. 304] 6:16 Or know you not that he who is joined to a harlot is made one body? For they shall be, he says, two in one flesh. [n. 304] 6:17 Qui autem adhaeret Domino, unus spiritus est. [n. 305] 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. [n. 305] 6:18 Fugite fornicationem. Omne peccatum, quodcumque fecerit homo, extra corpus est: qui autem fornicatur, in corpus suum peccat. [n. 306] 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man does is without the body: but he who commits fornication sins against his own body. [n. 306] 6:19 An nescitis quoniam membra vestra, templum sunt Spiritus Sancti, qui in vobis est, quem habetis a Deo, [n. 309] et non estis vestri? [n. 310] 6:19 Or know you not that your members are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God: [n. 309] and you are not your own? [n. 310] 6:20 Empti enim estis pretio magno. Glorificate, et portate Deum in corpore vestro. 6:20 For you are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear God in your body. 297. Supra Apostolus tripliciter reprehendit Corinthios circa iudicia, nunc autem redit ad reprehendendum peccatum fornicarii, cuius supra V, 1 mentionem fecerat, et in cuius iudicio Corinthii negligentes erant; improbat autem fornicationem quatuor rationibus, quarum 297. After rebuking the Corinthians about lawsuits, the Apostle now returns to reprehending the sin of fornication, which he mentioned above (1 Cor 5:11) and in the judgment of which the Corinthians had been negligent. He condemns fornication for four reasons: prima sumitur ex divina ordinatione; the first of which is taken from God’s ordinance; secunda ex unione ad Christum, ibi an nescitis quoniam corpora, etc.; second, from one’s union with Christ, at know you not that your bodies; tertia ex corporis inquinatione, ibi fugite fornicationem; third, from bodily defilement, at flee fornication; quarta ex gratiae dignitate, ibi an nescitis, et cetera. fourth, from the dignity of grace, at or know you not that your members. Circa primum duo facit. In regard to the first he does two things. Primo ponit divinam ordinationem; First, he presents God’s ordinance; secundo ordinationis finem, ibi Deus enim, et cetera. second, the end of the ordinance, at now God has raised. 298. Circa primum considerandum est quod aliqui argumentum suae lasciviae sumunt ex ordinatione Dei. Qui enim fornicantur, utuntur suo corpore ad usum a Deo institutum. Sed hoc excludit, dicens quod esca est ordinata ad ventrem, et venter ad escas, corpus autem hominis non fornicationi, id est, non est ordinatum ad fornicandum, sed Domino, id est, ad hoc est ordinatum, ut sit Domini nostri Iesu Christi, et Dominus corpori, id est, Dominus Iesus Christus ad hoc datus est hominibus, ut humana corpora suae gloriae conformet, secundum illud Phil. III, 21: reformabit corpus humilitatis nostrae, configuratum corpori claritatis suae. 298. In regard to the first it should be noted that some take their argument for lascivious conduct from God’s ordinance. For those who fornicate use their body for a use established by God. But he excludes this, saying that food is ordained to the stomach and the stomach to food, but the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, i.e., it had been ordained to this, namely, that it be for the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord for the body, i.e., Jesus Christ was given to man in order that human bodies be conformed to his glory: he will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body (Phil 3:21). 299. Sed contra hoc videtur esse quod sicut venter ordinatus est a Deo ad usum ciborum; ita quaedam membra humani corporis sunt ordinata a Deo ad usum generationis, quibus fornicatio exercetur. 299. But against this seems to be the fact that just as the stomach is ordained to the use of food, so certain members of the human body are ordained by God to be used for generation, i.e., the members by which fornication is performed. Sed attendenda est differentia quantum ad duo. Primo quidem quod Apostolus supra locutus est de uno corporis membro, scilicet de ventre, hic autem loquitur de toto corpore, quod sicut non est ordinatum ad fornicandum, ita nec ad escas sumendum; sed potius usus escarum est propter corpus, corpus autem propter animam, a qua percipit vitam secundum eius conditionem. Et quia omnia ordinantur in Deum sicut in finem, ideo corpus debet esse subiectum Domino et ei dedicatum. But attention must be paid to the difference between the two. First, the Apostle spoke above about one member of the body, namely, the stomach, but here he is speaking about the entire body, which is not ordained to fornication any more than it is ordained to eating food; rather, food is used for the benefit of the body and the body exists for the sake of the soul, from which it receives life according to its condition. And because all things are ordered to God as to an end, the body should be subjected to the Lord and dedicated to him. Et quia supra locutus est de usu escarum in communi absque inordinatione, fornicatio autem est usus inordinatus ex membro fornicatoris. Unde nec ipsa membra sunt propter fornicationem, sed propter usum generationis ordinata ratione, cui omnia membra corporis deservire debent, sicut etiam venter non propter crapulam et ebrietatem, sed propter convenientem usum ciborum. And because he spoke above about the eating of food in general terms without disorder, but fornication is a disordered use of the member used in fornication. Hence, the members exist not for fornication, but for generation ordained by reason, which the members of the body should serve, just as even the stomach is not for gluttony and drunkenness, but for the proper use of food. 300. Deinde, cum dicit Deus vero, etc., ponit finem ordinationis praedictae. 300. Then when he says, now God has raised up, he indicates the end of the above-mentioned ordination. Et primo ponit quid Deus circa Dominum fecerit, dicens Deus vero et Dominum, scilicet Dominum Iesum Christum, suscitavit a mortuis, a quo ipse Christus petit in Ps. XL, v. 11: tu autem, Domine, miserere mei, et resuscita me. Deus autem est et Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus, unde et ipse Christus, qui est Filius Dei, se suscitavit, et sua virtute resurrexit, secundum illud Ps. III, 6: ego dormivi, et soporatus sum, et exsurrexi, quia Dominus suscepit me; et II Cor. ult.: si crucifixus est ex infirmitate, sed vivit ex virtute Dei. First, he indicates what God had done in regard to the Lord, saying, now God has raised up the Lord, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ, from the dead, from whom Christ himself petitions in a psalm: do you, O Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up (Ps 41:10). But God is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; hence Christ himself, who is the Son of God, also raised himself and arose by his own power: I will lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the Lord sustains me (Ps 3:5), and: he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God (2 Cor 13:4). Secundo ponit quid circa nos facturus sit, dicens quod nos suscitabit Deus per virtutem suam, per quam scilicet Christum suscitavit, secundum illud Rom. VIII, 11: qui suscitavit Iesum Christum a mortuis, vivificabit et mortalia corpora vestra. Second, he indicates what he will do in regard to us saying, and will raise us up also by his power, by which he also raised up Christ, as it is said: he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies (Rom 8:11). 301. Et est advertendum, quod supra de escis et ventre loquens, quae pertinent ad usum animalis vitae, dixit eas a Deo destruendas; nunc autem loquens de corpore et Domino, facit mentionem de resurrectione, quia scilicet animali vita cessante natura corporis in melius reformabitur. Unde patet quod non est utendum corpore ad fornicationem, quae impedit futuram incorruptionem, secundum illud Gal. ult.: qui seminat in carne, de carne et metet corruptionem. 301. It should be noted that when speaking above about food and stomach, which pertain to the use of animal life, he said that they would be destroyed by God; but now, speaking of the body and of the Lord, he makes mention of the resurrection, because when animal life ceases, the nature of the body will be transformed into something better. Hence it is clear that the body should not be used for fornication, which impedes future incorruption according to Galatians: he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption (Gal 6:8). 302. Deinde, cum dicit nescitis, etc., ponit secundam rationem, quae sumitur ex affinitate humani corporis ad Christum, quae talis est: membra hominis fornicantis sunt membra meretricis; sed membra hominis sunt membra Christi; ergo per fornicationem fiunt membra Christi membra meretricis, quod est inconveniens. 302. Then when he says, know you not that your bodies, he presents a second reason, which is taken from the human body’s affinity to Christ, namely: the fornicating man’s members are the prostitute’s members, but a man’s members are Christ’s members. Therefore, by fornicating, Christ’s members become the prostitute’s members, which is unbecoming. Circa quod quatuor facit. Primo ponit maiorem, dicens an nescitis quoniam corpora vestra sunt membra Christi? Quasi dicat: hoc non debetis nescire, quia quicumque estis regenerati in Christo, membra Christi estis effecti, secundum illud infra XII, 27: vos estis corpus Christi, et membra de membro. Et hoc non solum quantum ad animas quae ab eo iustificantur, sed etiam quantum ad corpora quae ab eo resuscitabuntur, ut dictum est. In regard to this he does four things: first, he presents the major, saying, know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? As if to say: you should not be unaware of this, because all of you reborn in Christ have become members of Christ, as it says below: now you are the body of Christ and members of member (1 Cor 12:27), and this not only as to souls justified by him but also as to bodies, which will be raised up by him, as has been stated. 303. Secundo ponit conclusionem, dicens tollens ergo membra Christi, id est, iuste subtrahens servitio Christi, cui debent deputari (secundum illud Rom. VI, 13: exhibeatis membra vestra, arma iustitiae, Deo), faciam, scilicet eadem, membra meretricis esse fornicando? Absit: hoc enim est horrendum sacrilegium. Unde dicitur Mal. II, v. 11: contaminavit Iudas sanctificationem Domini quam dilexit, et habuit filiam dei alieni. 303. Second, he presents the conclusion, saying, shall I then take the members of Christ, i.e., remove them from the service of Christ to whom they should be dedicated, as it says in Romans: yield your members to God as instruments of righteousness (Rom 6:13), and make them the members of a harlot by fornicating? Never! For this is a horrible sacrilege. Hence it says: Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord which he loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god (Mal 2:11). 304. Tertio ponit minorem, dicens an nescitis quia qui adhaeret meretrici, scilicet fornicando, unum corpus efficitur? Scilicet per immundam commixtionem. 304. Third he presents the minor premise, saying, or know you not that he who is joined to a harlot, namely, by fornicating, is made one body? Namely, by an unclean union. Et ad hoc probandum, inducit auctoritatem Genesis, dicens: inquit, enim Scriptura, scilicet Gen. II, 24: erunt duo, scilicet vir et mulier, in carne una, id est, per mixtionem carnalem una caro efficiuntur, et sic membra unius fiunt membra alterius. Sunt enim haec verba Adae de viro et uxore loquentis, quae Apostolus hic etiam ad fornicationem refert, quia secundum speciem naturae non differunt utriusque actus. To prove this he appeals to the authority of Genesis, saying, he says, namely in Genesis, they shall be . . . two (Gen 2:24), namely man and woman, in one flesh, i.e., by the carnal union they are made one flesh, and so the members of one become the other’s members. For these are Adam’s words about husband and wife, which the Apostle here relates to fornication, because there is no specific difference between the two acts. Est autem intelligendum, quod, sicut dicit Philosophus in libro de Generatione animalium, in masculo est principium activum generationis, in foemina est passivum. Et sicut in planta, cuius vita principaliter ordinatur ad generationem, semper est unum corpus, in quo utrumque principium unitur; ita in animalibus quae ordinantur ad altiores actus vitae, non semper est unum corpus habens haec duo principia, sed ex duobus fit unum in actu generationis. Quod quidem non est tantum viri, quia, sicut infra cap. VII, 4 dicitur, vir non habet potestatem sui corporis, sed mulier. But it should be noted that, as the Philosopher says in the book, On the Generation of Animals, the active principle of generation is in the male, and the passive in the female. And just as in a plant whose life is ordained chiefly 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 with these two principles, but one is made from two in the act of generation. In the case of humans, it is not only the man’s body, because as it says below: the husband also has not power of his own body: but the wife (1 Cor 7:14). 305. Quarto probat minorem, dicens qui autem adhaeret Domino, etc., scilicet per fidem et caritatem, est unus spiritus cum illo, quia scilicet unitur ei unitate spirituali, non corporali. Unde et Rom. VIII, 9 dicitur: si quis Spiritum Christi non habet, hic non est eius; et Io. XVII, 21 s.: ut sint unum in nobis, sicut nos unum sumus, scilicet per connexionem Spiritus: et quia corpus deservit spiritui, consequens est ut etiam corpora nostra, membra eius sint, cui per Spiritum unimur, non quidem carnali coniunctione, sed spirituali. 305. Second he proves the minor premise, saying, but he who is joined to the Lord, namely, by faith and charity, is one spirit with him, namely, because he is united to him in a spiritual, not a bodily, unity. Hence it says: anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him (Rom 8:9), and: that they may be one in us, as we are one (John 17:21), namely by a connection of the Spirit. And because the body serves the spirit, it follows that our bodies too are members of him to whom we are united by the Spirit, not of course, by a bodily but by a spiritual union. Potest autem ex praemissis duabus rationibus una ratio conflari, ut scilicet quia corpus nostrum non est deputatum fornicationi, sed Domino, hoc scilicet modo quod membra nostra sunt membra Christi, ut postmodum exponit, non faciamus ea membra meretricis fornicando. From the two reasons given above one reason can be formed, namely, that because our body is not destined for fornication but for the Lord in such a way that our members are Christ’s members, as he explains later, we should not make them members of a prostitute by fornicating. 306. Deinde, cum dicit fugite fornicationem, etc., ponit tertiam rationem, quae sumitur ex corporis inquinatione. 306. Then when he says, flee fornication, he presents a third reason, which is taken from the body’s contamination. Primo ponit conclusionem intentam, dicens fugite fornicationem. Ubi notandum quod caetera vitia vincuntur resistendo, quia quanto magis homo particularia considerat et tractat, tanto minus in eis invenit unde delectetur, sed magis anxietur: sed vitium fornicationis non vincitur resistendo, quia quanto magis ibi homo cogitat particulare, magis incenditur; sed vincitur fugiendo, id est, totaliter vitando cogitationes immundas, et quaslibet occasiones, ut dicitur Zach. II, 6: fugite de terra Aquilonis, dicit Dominus. First, he presents the conclusion, saying, flee fornication. Here it should be noted that other vices are overcome by resisting, because the more a man considers and deals with particulars, the less will he find in them anything in which to take delight, but more to be cautious about. But the vice of fornication is not overcome by resisting, because the more a man considers the particular case the more is he inflamed; but it is overcome by fleeing, i.e., by avoiding entirely all unclean thoughts and all occasions whatsoever, for it is said: flee from the land of the north (Zech 2:6).