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BUT let us see what else follows. In writing to the church of Corinth,
he whom we spoke of above, the instructor of all the churches viz. Paul,
speaks thus: "The Jews," says he, "seek signs, and the Greeks ask for
wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block, to
the Gentiles foolishness: but to them that are saved, both Jews and Greeks,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." O most powerful teacher
of the faith, who even in this passage, when teaching the Church thought it
not enough to speak of Christ as God without adding that He was crucified
on purpose that for the sake of the open and solid teaching of the faith he
might proclaim Him, whom he called the crucified, to be the wisdom of God.
He then employed no subtilty or circumlocution, nor did he when he preached
the gospel of the Lord blush at the mention of the cross of Christ. And
though it was a stumbling-block to the Jews, and foolishness to the
Gentiles to hear of God as born, God in bodily form, God suffering, God
crucified, yet he did not weaken the force of his pious utterance because
of the wickedness of the offence of the Jews: nor did he lessen the vigour
of his faith because of the unbelief and the foolishness of others: but
openly, persistently, and boldly proclaimed that He, whom a mother had
borne, whom men had slain, the spear had pierced, the cross had stretched--
was "the power and wisdom of God, to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the
Gentiles foolishness." But still that which was to some a stumbling-block
and foolishness, was to others the power and wisdom of God. For as the
persons differed, so was there a difference of their thoughts: and what a
man who was void of sound understanding, and incapable of true good,
foolishly denied in unbelief, that a wise faith could feel in its inmost
soul to be holy and life giving.
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