Thomas Aquinas Commentary 2 Corinthians 11:1-3

"Would that ye could bear with me in a little foolishness: but indeed ye do bear with me. For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you [as] a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ." — 2 Corinthians 11:1-3 (ASV)

After defending himself against the false charges made by the false apostles, the Apostle, in order to refute them and make his own testimony more honorable, now commends himself to the Corinthians. In this, he does two things. First, he gives the reason for his self-commendation; second, he makes the commendation (verse 21b). Regarding the first point, he does three things. First, he asks that they bear with his foolishness; second, he states why he must commend himself so as not to seem foolish (verse 2); third, he suggests that, even if he is foolish, they should bear with it (verse 16). Regarding this first point, he does two things. First, he mentions his desire so that his request may be easier to grant; second, he makes the request (verse 1b).

The Apostle’s desire is that the Corinthians bear with him as he commends himself; therefore, he begins with an expression of desire: I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. It should be noted that moral precepts deal with actions that, being particular and variable, cannot be confined to a single general rule without exceptions. Sometimes it is necessary to do something as an exception to the common rule in a specific case that arises. When something is done this way, wise people who consider the reason for it are not troubled and do not think it was done foolishly.

For example, the moral precept forbids killing, but sometimes it is necessary to kill evil men. When this is done, the wise commend it or do not think it was wicked, but the undiscerning and less wise, not considering the reason for the action, are disturbed and think it was foolish. So when the wicked are killed, fools and heretics condemn it, saying it was a wicked thing to do. Therefore, because the common law is that a man should not commend himself, as it says in Proverbs 27:2, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips,” it could happen in some case, as an exception to this common rule, that a man commends himself and acts praiseworthily. Nevertheless, the undiscerning regard it as folly.

Since the Apostle was confronted with a case in which he should commend himself, he urges them not to attribute it to his foolishness, saying, I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. He says little because if he were to commend himself without cause, it would be the utmost folly. On the other hand, if he commended himself for an entirely urgent reason, then there would be no folly involved. But because he is commending himself for a reason that is not altogether urgent, since he could refute the false apostles in some other way, and because he is commending himself very much, there seems to be some folly there. That is what he means by a little foolishness, as he says elsewhere, “I have been a fool! You forced me to it” (2 Corinthians 12:11).

But even if I am foolish, you should bear with me. They should do this because followers should uphold their leaders and vice versa: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2); “Forbearing one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).

Then, by saying I feel a divine jealousy, he shows the need for this commendation. In this, he does three things. First, he shows that this kind of commendation springs from zeal, to exclude foolishness. Second, he says that this zeal is not irregular, to avoid indiscretion (verse 3). Third, he rejects their excuse (verse 4). Regarding the first point, he does two things. First, he mentions the holy zeal he has for them; second, he explains the cause of this zeal, which is that his office obliged him (verse 2b).

His zeal, therefore, is holy, because I feel a divine jealousy for you; that is, I love you fervently with the jealousy of God, for God’s honor, not mine. It should be noted that jealousy, when taken to mean the same as zeal, is nothing more than a good or evil movement of the spirit regarding the state of one’s neighbor, and it implies a fervent love. Consequently, zeal is an intense love that does not permit any sharing of the beloved. If it does not permit any sharing of an evil, such as a vice or some imperfection, but wishes to have the beloved exclusively, then the zeal is good and the jealousy is good. Thus it says in 1 Corinthians 12:31, “But earnestly desire the higher gifts”; and “For a good purpose it is always good to be made much of” (Galatians 4:18); “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts” (1 Kings 19:10); “For zeal for your house has consumed me” (Psalms 69:10).

But if it does not allow a sharing in something excellent or in some worldly prosperity, because someone wants it all for himself, then the zeal is evil and the jealousy is evil. A person is sometimes jealous for his wife, to keep her for himself. This is how the Apostle was jealous on behalf of his people, whom he saw prepared for a fall and, although betrothed to Christ, wished to be prostituted to the devil. Consequently, he would not permit Christ, the true spouse, to suffer their being shared with the devil; therefore he says, a divine jealousy. It is as if to say: Not for me but for Christ, who is the spouse: “He who has the bride is the bridegroom” (John 3:29); “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts” (1 Kings 19:10).

Then he shows from what source the responsibility to be zealous arose, when he says: for I betrothed you to Christ to present you as a pure bride to her one husband. It is as if to say: It is proper for me to be jealous for you with the jealousy of God, because I am the groomsman of this wedding between you and Christ. That is, I effected the betrothal made by faith and charity: “I will betroth you to me in faithfulness” (Hosea 2:20). Therefore, it is my duty to protect you. So whoever converts people by faith and charity betroths them to Christ.

I have betrothed you, he says, not to many, because she who adheres to many is defiled—“You have played the harlot with many lovers” (Jeremiah 3:1)—but to one husband, Christ, who is a perfect man filled with virtues: “The Orient is his name” (Zechariah 6:12, Vulgate). Christ is called one husband because he is unique both in his manner of conception (and birth) and in the fullness of his grace: “One man among a thousand I found” (Ecclesiastes 7:28). To that one husband, he says, I have betrothed you to present you as a virgin.

Note that he passes from the plural, I have betrothed you, to the singular, to present you as a pure bride, thus showing that from all the faithful is formed one body and one Church, which should be a virgin in all its members. For in all, virginity is taken for bodily integrity and chastity for mental integrity; for sometimes a person is a virgin in body but not chaste in mind. Thus the Church shows herself a virgin when she perseveres in the faith and the sacraments without being corrupted by idolatry and unbelief: “At the head of every street you built your lofty place and prostituted your beauty” (Ezekiel 16:25). She shows herself chaste when, persevering in the sacraments and in the faith of Christ, she presents herself pure in body and in work: “That he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27).

But because the Corinthians could say, “It is not necessary for you to protect us, and your zeal is not reasonable, because we can take care of ourselves very well,” he reveals the cause of his zeal, saying, but I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray and corrupted. Here it should be noted that in paradise Adam and Eve were married, but Eve was corrupted by the serpent, not with violence, but with craftiness, in that he promised something false and urged something wicked. It was false when he said, “You will be as gods” (Genesis 3:5), and “No, you will not die” (Genesis 3:4), even though they did incur guilt as a result. It was wicked when he persuaded her to transgress and ignore God’s command.

Speaking according to this likeness, the Apostle says that the Church is like Eve. The devil has sometimes persecuted the Church openly through tyrants and powerful rulers, acting then “like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour,” as it says in 1 Peter 5:8. At other times, he molests the Church in secret through heretics who promise the truth and pretend to be good, acting then as the serpent deceived Eve with his subtlety by promising false things.

Therefore he says, I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve, casting her out of paradise, by his cunning with false promises—“Adam was not deceived, but the woman” (1 Timothy 2:14)—so, that is, by similar deceptions of heretics, your thoughts, or senses, will be led astray. He says your senses because just as in a natural marriage a spouse takes precautions against his bride being corrupted carnally, so in this spiritual marriage the Apostle fears that the senses of the heart will be spiritually corrupted: “Bad company ruins good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). These are the spiritual senses referred to in Wisdom 1:1: “Think of the Lord with uprightness”; and “Do not be children in your thinking” (1 Corinthians 14:20).

They are led astray, he continues, from what he calls a sincere and pure devotion to Christ, or the simplicity that is in Christ. That which is simple lacks composition. The false apostles, however, formed one sect combining Judaism and the Gospel, commanding that the ceremonies of the Law be observed along with the Gospel. Therefore, those who are seduced by the false apostles and observe those ceremonies along with the Gospel fall from the simplicity of Christ. This is what the Apostle feared for the Corinthians: “The integrity of the upright guides them” (Proverbs 11:3).