John Calvin Commentary 1 Corinthians 11:2

"Now I praise you that ye remember me in all things, and hold fast the traditions, even as I delivered them to you." — 1 Corinthians 11:2 (ASV)

Now I praise you. He passes on now to another subject—to instruct the Corinthians about what decorum should be observed in the sacred assemblies. For as a person’s dress or gesture can in some cases disfigure, and in others adorn them, so all actions are enhanced by decorum and spoiled by the lack of it.

Much, therefore, depends upon decorum (τὸ πρεπον), and that not merely for securing gracefulness and beauty for our actions, but also to accustom our minds to propriety. While this is generally true for everything, it holds especially true for sacred things. For what contempt, and eventually, what barbarism will result, if we do not preserve dignity in the Church by conducting ourselves honorably and becomingly?

Hence, he prescribes some things connected with public order, by which sacred assemblies are made honorable. But to prepare them further for obedience, he initially commends their past obedience, since they observed his ordinances. For since he had begotten that Church to the Lord (1 Corinthians 4:15), he had delivered to them a certain system by which it was to be governed. By retaining this, the Corinthians gave reason to hope that they would also be teachable in the future.

It is surprising, however, that while he now gives them this commendation, he had previously blamed them for many things. Indeed, if we consider the state of the Church as previously described, they were far from deserving this praise. I answer that some were infected with those vices he had previously reproved—indeed, some with one vice, others with another—but, in the meantime, the form which he had prescribed to them had been retained by the entire body.

For there is no inconsistency in saying that very many sins of various kinds are prevalent among a particular people—some cheating, others plundering, some envying, others quarrelling, and another class guilty of fornication—while, at the same time, regarding the public form of the Church, the institutions of Christ and his Apostles are maintained.

This will appear more clearly when we come to see what Paul means by παραδόσεις (traditions), and independently of this, it is necessary to speak of this word to reply to Papists, who arm themselves with this passage to defend their traditions. It is a common maxim among them that the doctrine of the Apostles consists partly of writings and partly of traditions. Under this second department, they include not merely certain foolish superstitions and puerile ceremonies with which they are stuffed, but also all kinds of gross abominations, directly contrary to the plain word of God, and their tyrannical laws, which are mere torments to people's consciences.

In this way, there is nothing so foolish, nothing so absurd—in short, nothing so monstrous—as not to find shelter under this pretext and be painted over with this varnish. Therefore, when Paul mentions traditions here, they seize upon this little word, as they are accustomed to do, with the aim of making Paul the author of all those abominations, which we refute by plain declarations of Scripture.

I do not deny that there were certain traditions of the Apostles that were not written down, but I do not admit that they were parts of doctrine or related to things necessary for salvation. What then? They were connected with order and government. For we know that every Church has liberty to establish for itself a form of government that is suitable and beneficial for it, because the Lord has not prescribed anything specific.

Thus Paul, the first founder of the Corinthian Church, had also established for its regulation pious and fitting enactments—that all things might be done decently and in order, as he afterwards enjoins (1 Corinthians 14:40).

But what has this to do with those silly, trivial ceremonies seen in Popery? What has it to do with a worse-than-Jewish superstition? What has it to do with a tyranny worthy of Phalaris, by which they torture miserable consciences? What has it to do with so many monstrous rites of idolatry?

For the foundation of all proper enactment was this: to observe the moderation that Paul used—not to compel people to follow their enactments while, in the meantime, contriving everything that might strike their fancy, but to require that they should be imitated, insofar as they are imitators of Christ.

But now, after having had the audacity to critique everything according to their own whim, to demand obedience from all is exceedingly absurd. Furthermore, we must know that Paul commends their past obedience to make them teachable also for the future.