I' i^. Mtl ^»^^ AND iOEHMER'SllYES OF THE Twin-brothers IaldEs BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME PROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF Henrg HI. Sage 1891 ' 5901 'he date show&when this volume was taken. H0-z^^mrMQ^ USE iSooks , not needed, y for; instruction or re- seareli are returnable withip 4 weeks. Volumes of periodi- cals and of pamphlets are held in the library -as ,much' as possible. For special purposes • they are given out for ^ limited time. Borrowers should not use their library privileges tqr the ben e- fit of other per.«ons. Books not needed during recess periods shoiUd be returned to the library, or arrange- ments made for their return duriiig borrow- er'sabs^nce, if wanted. B6oks^ needed by more' thaH one pdrsori are held on the reserve list; ; : . \ t Books of specialttt value and gift books,!, when the giver wishes^- it, are not allowed to circulate. * r Cornell University Library BS2675 .V14 1883 Juan de Valdes' Commentaiy upon St. Pa olin 3 1924 029 294 019 \/\f )h3 JUAI^ DE YALDES' COMMENTARY trpON ST. PAUL'S FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CHURCH AT CORINTH: NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME TRANSLATED FROM THE SPANISH, HAVING NEVER BEFORE BEEN PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH. By JOHN T. BETTS. APPENDED TO WHICH AEE THE LIVES OF THE TWIN BROTHERS, JUAN AND ALFONSO DE YALDES. By EDWAED BOEHMEE. WITH INTRODUCTION BY THE EDITOR. ^ LONDON: TEUBNEE & CO., LUDGATE HILL. 1883. [All riffJUs reserved.] The Second Title Page is a reproduction in English of the old Spanish original, printed in the year 1557, and published by Ju^n Perez, who employed the same device of the letter "^ for his edition of the Spanish New Testament, published in 1556. The same device was employed by Orespin, the printer of Geneva, in other works acknow- ledged to be those of Perez. A FAMILIAR AND COMPREHENSIVE COMMENTARY OR EXPOSITION OP ST. PAUL'S FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CHURCH AT CORINTH, VERY USEFUL FOR ALL WHO LOVE CHRISTIAN PIETY. Composed by JUAN DE VALDES, JL PIOTTS AND SINCERE THEOLOGIAN. g The Exposition of Thy Word enlightens, it gires understanding to the simple. Psalm OXIX. 130. At Venice in the house of Judn Philadelpho M. D. L. VIL BAU.ANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. EDINBURGH AND LONDON TO Eijt J^allofaet) Mtrriat^ OF LUIS USOZ I KIO, OF BENJAMIN BARRON WIFFEN AND OP FERNANDO DE BRUNET, THE THREE CHRISTIAN FRIENDS, WHO, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTDRT, FIRST COMBINED TO REPUBLISH THE WORKS OF THE OLD SPANISH BEEORMBRS, " LOS REFORMISTAS ANTIGITOS BSPASOLES," ' REHABILITATING THEIR FAIR FAME AMONGST SPANIARDS AND SCHOLARS ; THIS THEY DID, TO THE GLORT OF GOD, TO THE WELFARE OP HIS CH0RCH AND OP SPAIN, IN THE VINDICATION OP DIVINE TROTH, SUPPRESSED FOB AGES, AND APPARENTLY CRUSHED OUT BY THE UNHALLOWED INQUISITION. MAGNA EST VERITAS ET PR.5BVALBBIT. Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029294019 ISioorapbical motice. Forasmuch as JuIn Perez de Pineda, in the following Preface, makes himself the eulogistic Biographer of Juan de Vald^s, the Eeader will be assisted, by the knowledge of Perez' life and character, in weighing the value of his testimony, which is that of a contemporary presumptively moving in the same social sphere. Perez was born, towards the close of the fifteenth century, at Montilla in Andalusia, and died in the year 1567, at Paris. He was Secretary of Legation at Eome, the Duke of Sesa being Ambassador, representing Charles V. at the Papal Court, and Clement VII. being Pope, in the year 1527, which was that in which Eome was sacked by the Emperor's army. Perez' station sufficiently indi- cates the ability of the young diplomatist. Perez, as a Churchman, was Prior of Osma, whilst dis- charging the diplomatic duties above mentioned ; he sub- sequently presided over the College of Doctrine at Seville, the high school of that city, where he remained imtil the terrors of the Inquisition drove him into exile. Perez, as a Protestant Minister of the Gospel, preached in Switzerland, Germany, and Prance, zealously and ably working as an Evangelist. Perez, as an Author, in exile published, his own ver- viii BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. sion of the Psalms and of the New Testament, translated out of Hebrew and Greek into Spanish, His pen was very prolific ; his Catechism, his short treatise upon Doc- trine, " commended to every Christian for its usefulness," and his Letter of Consolation addressed to the then suffer- ing Spanish Martyrs, are here mentioned, whilst many others are not so. It was in the years 1556 and 1557, those in which he published his translation of the Psalms and of the New Testament, that he published these Com- mentaries of Valdds, upon the Epistle to the Eomans and upon the First Epistle to the Corinthians, in Spanish, under the circumstances narrated in his Preface to the Eomans. Perez' name as a consistent Christian was ever honoured. The last four years of his life were passed in France, and some of the time under the roof of Een^e, the Dowager Duchess of Ferrara, Calvin's friend and pupil. See Bibliotheca Wiffeniana, by Dr. Boehmer, vol. i., 1883. BeMcator^ Xetter bi^ 3uan peres, To HIS MOST Serene and most Christian Majesty, Maxi- milian, King op Bohemia, Archduke op Austria, &c., TO whom he wishes health and peace in Jesus Christ. All true happiness and bliss, most Christian King, comes to us from cherishing love to God's laws, from our sub- mission to them, and from our personal regulation in everything by them. For since the human mind is so blinded and so corrupted through the first man's sin, in whom we have all sinned, it is impossible for man to attain of himself to do anything rightly, whence true happiness may result to him. If our first parents, having at creation been made by God faultless and upright, fell afterwards into so many evils as are those which we ex- perience in common, by erring from the commandment which had been given them ; what will happen, now that all we, their descendant^, are become corrupt, and go on daily becoming more so ? For if they, who were perfectly free, could not, for that they had departed from God's commandment, remain in the state of happiness in which they had been created, how shall their children ever be able to attain to it, without taking the commandment as their guide in everything, and without holding it in singular affection, since the children now want that freedom and uprightness which the parents then had? How many pitfalls will they not find obstructing their path, who leave the rule of God's law, which is the true light that shows the proper and right way to serve Him well, and shows the dangers that are incident to its desertion ? X DEDICATORY LETTER. God has promised the richest and most abundant bless- ings to the lovers of His law. But to those who despise it, and take no counsel from it in relation to what they have to do, He has by the very law itself denounced great calamities, and varied and sad disasters, with which the world teems, though men live ignorant of the causes why they are sent. Men feel the evils and God's chastise- ments acutely ; but they attribute them to other sources than those from which they really proceed. Hence it comes to pass that because the true causes are not known, they go on in a course of aggravation, and thus the wrath of God waxes continually more and more against them ; and the longer it lasts the stronger does it become, and the harder to be borne. True it is, thg,t it frec[uently occurs to us to see great prosperity and successful results among those who disre- gard God's law, who do not reverence His words, who neither fear His menaces nor His judgments. The heathen kingdoms ! what prosperity attends them ! they sail like a ship before the wind, and as though God had fixed His eyes upon them to grant them many more blessings in this life than they either knew of or desired. And in many of those kingdoms where Christianity is professed, but where God is less known, and His laws are not held in the respect due to them, but where laws that are opposed to His are proudly upheld, what prosperity at- tends them, how everything falls out to their wish, and in what contentment and security do they live ! Men hold this to be a mark of God's favour, but it is in truth a certain proof of His wrath and a manifest token of His indignation against such nations. For in this instance, God treats them, and deals with them, as does the doctor, with a patient whose life is despaired of, after the develop- ment of symptoms that prognosticate death, and when the malady has already got the mastery, and will not leave him until it have cut him off in his career ; the physician then allows him to indulge in anything he may be in- DEDICATORY LETTER. xi clined to, even though it be injurious to him. "Pour forth Thy wrath, Lord, says the Prophet, v{pon the natioris that know Thee not, and wpon the kingdoms that call not upon Thy name." The wrath that comes from heaven, hidden and concealed under the mask of prosperity, is much more dangerous and much more to be feared than that -which comes unveiled, for its pleasing outward form and the delight it excites in those to whom it is sent, lulls them powerfully to sleep. For seeing that they are prosperous, and that their desires are fulfilled, they think that God is kindly disposed towards them, and they vainly persuade themselves that they fail in nothing He requires and demands of them by His law ; nay, they fully believe in their own minds that He, withholding their desert, remains — after all He has done for them — deeply indebted to them. And thus they come to be still more hegligent, and to bury themselves as it were in a profound f orgetf ul- ness of God, wholly disregarding their obligations to Him as their Creator, and to His providence in relation to all their necessities. So that all that betides such people, whether prosperous or whether adverse, proceeds from the fearful wrath of God, and is the beginning of a more serious fall and of a greater desolation, to the intent that that may be executed upon them which the Prophet, with fervent zeal and a divine spirit, invokes. But in countries where God's precepts and commands are observed, and where the king is zealous of God's glory, and loves justice and truth, for this reason's sake all that betides him, of whatever character it may be, is as a bed sown with most precious seed, and like a haryest where the most abundant crops are gathered in. If prosperity and peaceful times be theirs, it serves as a season to hear tranquilly a preached Gospel, and to provide for the dis- charge of the admonitions which it enjoins, and of every- thing wherewith God, through its instrumentality, is pleased to be served. And if overtaken by trials and adversities, they are wont to work out greater good for xii DEDICATORY LETTER. those who suffer them, and they are a certain proof that God has them in remembrance, and that He treats them as His own people, since He thus visits them. For it commonly happens to those who reverence what God commands, and who make it their study and heart's desire to serve Him, in obedience to His will, that all that betides them, howevdr grave and calamitous it may be, works, as the apostle says, to their welfare and well- being. Of the many kings there were in Israel, the few amongst them, who strove to reign to the glory of Him who had made them kings, were greatly afflicted; but God, by the agency of afflictions, wrought out great pros- perity for them. For at the period of their greatest depressions and of their greatest straits, when it appeared that there was no remedy, and that all human help failed, then God revealed Himself to them, and showed them the light of His countenance, so that they remained con- firmed in the right, and more strengthened against the things wherewith they were afflicted ; and herewith He prospered them, and made their kingdoms flourish, and gave them illustrious and glorious victories, so that it was thus known by them, that God was He who was their defender, that it was He who guarded them and fought for them. Their very enemies were thus frequently constrained to confess that the God of Israel was the true God, and that blessed were the people who served Him. It is peculiar to God, that to them who seek Him with singleness of heart, ' He puts Himself in their way, and presents Himself to them, that they be not greatly wearied in seeking Him. And in relation to those who desire and seek to glorify Him, He takes them in charge Himself, and works out their welfare and their glory. And hence it is that the good and holy kings whom the children of Israel then had, in proportion as they, on the one hand, were solicitous in striving to promote the glory of God in the kingdoms over which they presided, so, on the other, were they DEDICATORY LETTER. xiii favoured by God equally and even more, for He lavished upon them gifts exceeding all they desired or could ask. Whilst reversely, all the ills and calamities that befel God's people originated in the neglect and contempt mani- fested in the then ruling monarch, who failed to cherish the solicitude and zeal which was due to the divine religion. Whence it canje to pass that as the people are naturally inclined to self-rule (or rule imposed by them- selves), and secretly abhor heavenly rectitude and truth, they ceased to serve God after the mode ordained by the law and declared by the prophets, and went up the moun- tains and other high places to sacriiice, against the ordi- nance of the law. And instead of serving God, who had wrought them so many benefits, and who had brought them up out of Egypt with a mighty arm, and who, for their freedom's sake, had wrought such destruction upon Pharaoh and upon his vassals, they made themselves the servants of idols and of deities which they carved out for themselves after their imagination, and which they manu- factured after the suggestions of their blind judgments. This is the reason why God then gave them to be a prey to their enemies, for they were -weaker than they; and the kings by whom they were ruled perished wretchedly. Hence it was that they were carried away captive to Babylon. Hence the slaughter of so many thousands wrought by the hands of Moses and of the Levites in the desert. Hence the loss of the ten tribes who to this day have disappeared. Hence likewise many other cala- mities came upon the people. Whence it is manifest, that the stability and prosperity of a kingdom, and the strength of the king who rules it, consists, not in having his cities well furnished with provisions, not in having -them surrounded with thick and lofty walls, not in their being mounted with numerous and powerful artillery, not in having made compacts with divers and mighty princes, but in having God to be propitious and gracious, and in the king's being obedient to Him, and in showing ' Him xiv DEDICATORY LETTER. honour, by publicly maintaining that which is ordained and commanded by His law. In the kingdoms where this shall prevail the most, there will be the greatest strength, and they shall be most invincible and most formidable to enemies, even though those enemies be numerous, very brave, and very valiant. How much stronger and mightier was Sennacherib, the impious king of the Assyrians, than Hezekiah, the king of God's people ; with how great and powerful an army did he lay siege to Jerusalem, where Hezekiah reigned, for every one of those who were within the besieged city, he had more than a hundred veteran and most experienced warriors, provided with everything needed to raze the city to the earth, to destroy it, and all its inhabitants. The disproportion of forces between the two kings forbad comparison. The one very strong and brave, and the other exceedingly weak; the one with a very powerful army, the other having but few under his command and they unarmed ; the one well versed in warlike strategy, and the other in- experienced ; the one glorious by the many victories that he had attained, the other never having got one ; but the issue of the war well proved which was the stronger, and wherein the king's strength and that of the kingdom con- sisted. Hezekiah had been very zealous of the glory of God, for as soon as he was instituted king, he strove be- yond everything else to restore the divine religion, and to purify the kingdom from every form of idolatry that had been introduced by, or consented to, by his predecessors. He ordered that God should be honoured and worshipped according to His law, and in relation to this, his diligence knew no bounds. In Him alone had he placed all his confidence, and he held God to be his strength and his defence, which he declared in worshipping , Him conform- ably with His law; hence it is that Holy Scripture honours him with a very illustrious title, worthy of his works and of his zeal, when it states, that " he ever trusted in the God of Israel," When necessity came, he availed DEDICATORY LETTER. xv .himself of God's protection, and asked help against his enemy Sennacherib, and God succoured him marvellously. He sent His angel from heaven, and in one night he slew of the enemy's army one hundred and eighty-five thousand valiant soldiers. Whereby the hostile king was con- strained to raise the siege, and to flee deserted and alone, leaving the victory on the side of Jerusalem. God full well proved to His servant, that such services as those which Hezekiah had rendered Him, when Hezekiah made it his study to worship God as He had commanded, and strove to make all his vassals do the same, were accept- able to Him. Such are the favours which they receive, who make God their strength and confidence, who worship Him, and cause Him to be worshipped as He ordains and commands by His Law. It is both becoming and neces- sary for a Christian king, who governs God's people, and who is, as it were, their captain and guide, instituted for the purpose of ruling them well, to be well instructed in the use of arms, both for his own defence and that of his people ; but it is more necessary for him to be well versed in the sacred Scriptures, thereby to know the will of God, and how He is to be worshipped acceptably, and how he is to govern his kingdom to the glory of God who gave it him, and ever to keep the Book of the Law open before his eyes' and to constantly meditate upon it. In doing this the king strengthens himself, and renders himself prudent and dexterous, he becomes successful in the wars which he undertakes for the defence of his kingdom, and ever comes forth victorious out of them. King David ! what great and what numerous victories did he achieve, what great and mighty enemies did he reduce to vassalage through his great zeal for the glory of God and through his study of God's law ! He states' it himself, that he attained all his prudence, all his strength, all his virtue, wisdom, and dexterity, from his love to the command- ments of God, from the great affection in which he held them, and from his regulating himself by them, both in xvi DEDICATORY LETTER. what concerned himself and those who belonged to him. How sagacious, how prudent was Moses, through his being faithful to God and retaining his zeal for Him, in his rule over such a numerous host. of hard-hearted, stiff-necked people throughout the desert. That great. captain, Joshua ! what nations, what kings he subdued, by keeping, as he was ordered to do, the Book of God's Law ever before his eyes, by meditating upon it day and night, and by his regulating himself thereby in everything that he did in the rule and government of the people which was com- mitted to his charge. Finally, that this solicitude and carefulness to worship God as He commands, and to cause Him to be, worshipped by the line and plummet of His Word, is the source whence flows every good, temporal and spiritual, in kingdoms, is well shown, most Christian king, in that God has created and prepared your Highness from tender youth for Eoyal and Christian administration, in that He has from the beginning given you that which is most required in order to administer well, which is the love of His Law, His fear and His knowledge. His love and His faith, and a great desire to serve Him, and to promote His glory, as did those holy kings of former times, whose goodness and holiness you, by the divine clemency, emulate, and God having endowed you with this and with many other gifts calculated to promote its attain- ment, the odour of which, universally diffused, is so ex- ceedingly sweet that it captivates by its love and allures by its sweetness, not only those who have seen and spoken to your Majesty, but likewise those who have never seen nor spoken to you. Our Spain remains charged with this sweet odour, and knows in its affection no bounds, since it witnessed your humanity, your equity, your Christian piety and affability, with many other gifts worthy of regal majesty. Moved then by so many just motives, and recognising that Christian matters, worthy of the name and administration of a Christian king, one who is so both titularly and really, do concern your Majesty, to whom' DEDICATORY LETTER. xvii God has borne such witnessings of His favour and of His love, I have sought to do your Majesty service by dedicating to you this Commentary upon St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians, in which is contained a brief, truthful, and Christian exposition of God's words which have been spoken to us in it by the mouth of His Apostle. Which, forasmuch as they are proper for every Christian, are much more so for your Highness, as well because you hold them in singular affection and have been reared under their influence, as because divine goodness has imposed upon you the obligation in reference to two things con- nected with the kingdoni which God has committed to your charge. The one, that you should be in it as a sun, which by its presence shall consume, whatever shall rise up in it opposed to, or contrary to, the Law of God and the Gospel of His Son ; and the other, that by your example of Christian piety you may favour virtue, and everything that God approves and commands, by the which He wills that they who glory in the Christian name, manifest themselves to the world to be His ; now this is accomplished by their continuous study of God's Word and their right apprehension of it. My motive for doing so has likewise been in order that they who are attached to your Majesty by the numerous and Christian virtues with which God has adorned you, may likewise by your example be won to read, love, and obey God's Word, which works out such benefits to those who love and obey it, and renders them so beloved and favoured of God and so endeared to men; and in order that they may know that if the odour of Christian virtues be -so sweet and delightful, how much more will the virtues themselves be so, and how much more will that be so, which begets them in the human mind, m«., the simple and pure understanding of, and obedience to, God's Word. To which end may God deign to vouchsafe His Holy Spirit to your Majesty, in order that you may be strengthened in all that is good, and that you may be xviii DEDICATORY LETTER. enabled to exercise your graces legitimately, so that you may glorify Him in everything, and that after a long life speut in presiding over your temporal kingdom, you may then reach the heavenly one, where may you enjoy never- ending bliss with Jesus Christ our only and true Eedeemer and Lord. ^0 tbe Cbristian 1Reat)cr. It is peculiar to the profession of the Christian religion to promote our neighbour's piety and usefulness. And because it is our sincere desire to aid, by this our work, those who seek to be assisted by the knowledge of the truth and to persevere in fellowship with those who obey it, and who have set all their love and aflFection upon it, we have therefore endeavoured, as something calcu- lated to promote this end, to present them the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, with a concise, faithful, and condensed exposition, such an one as has not hitherto been seen or published. It is assuredly no less useful than necessary to every Christian. For it is assumed that but few are prepared as learned theologians to ascend the pulpit to preach to the people, whilst many — indeed, I say that all who bear the Christian name — are bound to follow Christ and to be His disciples, which is brought about by the right understanding of His Word. He that despises it, and is but little concerned to understand it, saying, " I am no preacher : I am no theologian," shows himself thereby to be no Christian either, and that if he have aught of the Christian, it is merely the name and reputation. The man calling him- self a Christian, who shall confess that he has not to follow Christ and to be His disciple in order to be saved, will also grant that Christ's words do not affect him, and that it is immaterial whether he know or understand them or not. If all Christians be not bound to dispute in schools and to sustain theses in public, they all, however, XX TO THE CHRISTIAN READER. are bound to be instructed, that they may know well what God requires of them, and be able to defend themselves against the works of the devil, and against those of all them, who are in league with him ; since the Christian's life is a perpetual warfare, in which he who conquers is crowned with glory, whilst he who is vanquished remains for ever deprived of it. Christian theology was not written for those only who have graduated, and who publicly profess themselves to be theologians, but likewise for those who publicly profess themselves to be Christians, and have received baptism, which is the door by which they were admitted to become so. The Apostle St. Paul did not address his .Epistle to the Eomans, to the theo- logians, preachers, who were at Eome, but to all those at Eome who were Christians, and believed in Christ, through their having heard and received His G-ospel, in order that they all, with it, might receive legitimate and faithful in- struction in that which the Gospel designs, and that thus their life might be conformed with that of its Author, who brought it from heaven, and who commanded that it should be taught to men. Neither wrote he this Epistle to those at Corinth who were eminent in authority and learning above others, but to all the Christians who were at Corinth, to small and great, high and low, ignorant and wise. And if the Epistle belonged to all, forasmuch as it was addressed to all, so likewise did the understanding of it belong to all. For the Apostles wrote not that they might not be understood, but that their writings being understood, men should get from them the fruit which God the Lord purposed, who commanded the Apostles to write them and who inspired them to do so. And if these Epistles were sent to men of those days, because they were Christians, and stood in need of counsel how to regulate themselves suitably in the service of God, and that it behoved them, and they did attain, to understand them ; for the same reason, though it be granted that they have not been sent to men of the TO THE CHRISTIAN READER. xx; present time, it is likewise the duty of these latter to endeavour to understand them, in order that by their means they may be helped in all Christian service and duty. For Christians of the present day profess no other faith, hold no other God, or other baptism, nor are they called to possess any other inheritance, nor any other bliss, than those of former days ; nor do they combat with other enemies than those which they of that time encountered ; and against these as being now older, and more dexterous and more experienced in fight, the Christian has much greater need of the defensive armour which the Christians of that period employed, which is the Word of God, known and understood ; this is the two-edged sword with which the enemy is smitten, and the defensive armour and broad shield upon which are received the fiery darts he is wont to discharge. And since Christ is common to us all, and is the Eedeemer of us all ; whom we follow as our pattern and example, so likewise does it behove us all to under- stand His will, which is made known and declared to us by His Word, spOken by the mouth of His Apostles, prophets, and evangelists, in order that we all may by this way constitute an entire body, and may live together in the bonds of peace and love, as the profession of our most holy and heavenly religion requires. The uses of this Epistle are both varied and great. From it is learned what ministers of the Gospel should be ; by what spirit they have to be animated and regulated, that they may truly be that to which they are called, and correspond to their call ; and what feeling should be cherished towards them. By it is shown with what readiness men desert Christian duty because they dislike evangelical doctrines, which is the doctrine of the Cross, whereby their inward lusts are mortified. It also teaches with what diversity of gifts the Church is edified and ruled — I mean the multitude of those who agree and concur in the doctrines of truth and in all therein inculcated. There are in it likewise rules and precedents for restoration to the obedience of truth, xxii TO THE CHRISTIAN READER. of those who have departed, or are about to depart, from the unity of thp Church, by giving ear to false prophets. It contains an admirable, fully comprehensive, and most sound exposition of that article of our faith, the resurrec- tion of the dead — a subject of the highest importance to every Christian. There are, besides these, innumerable other topics in this Epistle worthy of the apostolic spirit, pregnant with great consolation and edification which are then enjoyed, when they are read and are understood, the Holy Spirit having been first invoked to that end ; for it is He that gives understanding to the children, and opens to them the door of His Word, that they may extract the blessings and spiritual sustenance there is in it, by which they are upheld and maintained in the right way. In the meanwhile, friendly reader, in its perusal, especially avoid curiosity and strive thine utmost to be devout. Eead with humility the words of humility, that the Spirit of grace may find room to dwell in thee, and that thou mayest thus come to be of those who are taught of God, who aim in every thing to have their mind and life con- formed with the truth, which He Himself reveals to them and discovers to them by His Word. In this manner thou wilt come to be no speculative Christian, but a prac- tical imitator of Christ, whose bliss thou wilt after this life for ever enjoy with Him in His kingdom. THE ARGUMENT UPON ^be ifirst jEpistle of St. Paul to tbe Cburcb at Corintb. St. Paul having preached the Gospel at Corinth, and (it) having been accepted by many, whilst they, who accepted it, received many gifts of the Holy Spirit, of those out- ward sifts which in those times were communicated to believers, it came to pass that when St. Paul had left Corinth, that certain persons, assuming the title of Apos- tles, came to disf gure and to destroy that which he had built up ; spreading amongst these Corinthians parties and factions, and certain notions antagonistic to the Gospel ; whereby they had become licentious in many things and even vicious in many others. And it seems that, recognising this in themselves, but not knowing what remedy it was expedient for them to adopt, in order to reform themselves, and to bring them back into the condition in which St. Paul had left them, they sent to St. Paul a deputation of three persons, selected from amongst themselves, to thoroughly inform him, by their letters, of which this deputation were the bearers, of what they desired to learn from him to bring about their reformation. St. Paul appears to have been much pleased with these xxiv THE ARGUMENT. men, and to have sent this Epistle by way of reply to what they had reported, and to the letters which they had brought with them. And thus in the four first chapters he reproves them in all that affects the parties and factions which existed among them, and he admonishes them as to the esteem in which they were to hold them who are Apostles. In Chapter V. he reproves them in relation to a crime into which one amongst them had fallen, and tells them how they should regulate themselves with such persons. In the commencement of Chapter VI. he rebukes them in relation to the law-suits which they instituted against each other. And leaving this, he turns to the vice of carnality, in which it seems that the Corinthians sinned more than in anything else, for they held that simple fornication was not evil, whilst St. Paul condemns it. In Chapter VII. he proceeds to speak of marriage, suggesting it as the remedy against fornication. In Chapter VIII. he speaks in reference to the eating, or to the, not eating, of things sacrificed to idols. In Chapter IX. he occupies himself in speaking of Christian liberty and of his Apostleship, until nearly the end of the chapter, when reverting to speak ' of eatino- that which had been sacrificed to idols,' he exhorts and animates these Corinthians to mortification : and seeking to make his exhortation more effective, He begins in Chapter X. to terrify them by the example of the Jews, who came forth out of Egypt, but who never entered the promised land. And here he admonishes them of the way in which they should regu- late themselves when eating with unbelievers, and when eating that which had been sacrificed to idols. In Chapter XI. he reproves them in relation to two disorderly acts which they had practised in their con- gregations or assemblies. The one, as to women prayinw ■ and the other, as to the commemoration of Christ's death by the representation of His last Supper. And he tells THE ARGUMENT. xxv theiH how they ought to regulate themselves in both these things-. In Chapters XII., XIII. and XIV., his design is to declare his preference amongst outward gifts of that of the Holy Spirit, of the gift of Prophecy to the gift of tongues, and above all to prefer that of Charity, and to demonstrate its effects. In Chapter XV. he speaks against those who doubted of the resurrection of the dead, and tells them the mode in which he understood it. And in the last chapter he deals with private matters. This is summarily all St. Paul's design in this Epistle, in which although there are many things that only con- cerned those to whom they were written, there are also some others which concern these times generally and each one of us particularly, so that it may well be said, that the whole Epistle is most profitable for those, who, divested of all curiosity, shall take for their guide through- out it the Holy Spirit, who animated St. Paul at the time he wrote it, and who shall have some experience of that, which St. Paul, as a good Apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ, here treats. As to the place whence this Epistle was sent, whether it were from Philippi or from Ephesus, I hold its verifica- tion to be unimportant, but I am, however, least disposed to believe that it had been sent from Philippi, as is stated in the Greek books. THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE CHURCH OF GOD AT CORINTH, TRANSLATED FAITHFULLY FROM THE GREEK INTO SPANISH, AND EXPOUNDED, AS EAR AS POSSIBLE, IN HAEMONY WITH WHAT ST. PAUL APPEARS TO HAVE DESIGNED. CHAPTEE I. I. 1-3. — Paul, called to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, and Sosthenes the bro- ther, U7ito the Church of God which is at Corinth, to the sanctified by Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours : Grace be unto you, and peace from God the Father, our Lord, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. This is St. Paul's ordinary salutation, he asks God to communicate His grace and peace to those persons to whom he writes. In saying, " hy the will of God," he means that he was called to be an Apostle, not by his own ambition, nor by A 2 I. CORINTHIANS I. 1-3. the caprice of those who called him, but because such had been the will of God. Where he says, " aTid Sosthenes the hrother," he means, that the epistle was issued jointly by them both, by St. Paul and by Sosthenes, whom he calls brother ; which is the same as though' he should call him Christian. And St. Paul, in uniting with his own authority that of Sos- thenes, who appears not to have been an Apostle, evinces his Christian modesty. Sometimes St. Paul says, " Church of God" because those, who belong to it, are called and congregated by the will of God. And at other times he says, " Church of Christ" because the call is by Christ, and the congregation is in Christ, He and they being one body ; He is the head, and they are the members. Those, who are not members of Christ, do not belong to the Church of Christ, nor to the Church of God. The members of Christ are they, who, making the righteousness of Christ their own, have died on the Cross with Christ, are luried by baptism with Christ, and have begun to rise again with Christ. By the expression, " them that are sanctified hy Christ Jesus," he means, that because they were members of Christ, God held them to be saints, and He acknowledged them as such. And in saying, " called to be saints" he means, the same as called to be Christians, because, as it is said in the Epistle to the Eomans, in the primitive church Christians were called saints. Where it is also said that the Holy Scriptures are wont to call him a saint, whom God elects, and takes for Himself, to employ him in His service. By the words, " with all that in every place call," &c., he means, that he wrote not only to the Christians, who were in Corinth, but likewise to aU who were scattered through- out the world. As to the invocation of the name of Christ, I refer to what is said upon the Epistle to the Eomans, Chapter X., [13 v., p. 186]. By, " loth theirs and ours," he means, as'well those Chris- /. CORINTHIANS I. 4-6. 3 tians, who were in certain places, as those who were in other places, whether they were Gentiles or whether they were Jews. By "grace," it has already been stated that he means the continuous favour of God, just as by "peace" he means happiness in general. By the expression, "from God our Father," &c., he means, that this grace and this peace should come to them from God, who is the Father of Christians, by regeneration, and from Christ, who is the- Lord of Christians, by the redemp- tion which He wrought out, in shedding His blood, where- by He has redeemed them from the tyranny of death. I. 4-6. — I thank my God always on your be- half, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ, that in everything ye are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ is confirmed in you. St. Paul is wont to begin his epistles by praising those to whom he writes ; and those most, in whom, he had most to reprove. And thus here he praises the Christians of Corinth, not for that which they had of their own, but for that which they had through God's munificence. Had he praised them for that which they had of their own, he would have made them proud, but in praising them for that which they had of God, he humbled them. And thus it is certain that man is always puffed up by consideration and remembrance of his own personal virtue, and also that he is ever humbled by consideration and remembrance of the favour and grace which God exercises towards him. From which it may well be gathered that when a man is praised, and that he is proud of being so, he recognizes his own virtue in connection with that for which he is praised. And that, when the same man, being praised, humbles himself, he recognizes God's munificence in con- 4 I. CORINTHIANS I. 4-6. nection witli that for which he is praised. And here I understand, that the favour shown by God, to those whom He elects and takes for Himself, in endowing them with spiritual gifts, is great ; and that the highest favour He shows them, is when He makes them apprehend that those gifts emanate from Himself, because, with this apprehen- sion, their remembrance not only does not make them proud, but it humbles them. And those, who have divine gifts, hut do not recognize them as gifts of God, given graciously and liberally, incur the peril of bein^ lost with them. By, " the grace of God which is given you," he means, through the liberality which God exercises towards you. He has exercised His liberality in pardoning you all your sins; and He exercises His liberality by enriching you with spiritual gifts. And in saying, " by Him," he means, that all riches came to them from Christ, which riches he points out, saying, " in all utterance and in all knowledge," whence it is to he understood that the pecutiar riches of the Christian are to know God, and to know Christ, and to know spiritual things. And this I understand to be what St. Paul calls " all know- ledge;" whilst to know how to express in words, that which he knows and relishes of God, of Christ, and of spiritual things, this I understand to be what St. Paul calls " all utterance ; " not denying that this may be understood of the external gifts which those Christians had, some of certain kinds and others of other kinds. And by the expression, " even as the testimony of Christ is confirmed in you," I understand him to say, that as they had the testimony which Christ came to bring to the world, inwardly confirmed in them, so also were they rich in all utterance and in all knowledge. / understand the testimony of Christ to he to the indulgence or general pardon, or remission of sins, which He published in the world on God's behalf, establishing it, and confirming it with His bloftd. And then do I understand that this testimony of /. CORINTHIANS I. 7-9. 5 Christ is confirmed in the man, when he finds such peace of conscience, that he could, without fear, dare to appear before God; he knows that God has pardoned him his sins, and that God holds and esteems him as holy and just ; because, then he comes to know that the testimony of Christ is true ; and, in this manner, is it confirmed in every man who believes ; and, by this confirmation, they come to be rich in all utterance and in all knowledge. I will not contend with him, who shall affirm that this confirmation of the testimony of Christ was external, by external gifts. I. 7-9. — So that ye fall short in no gift ; wait- ' ing for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ : vpho shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye have been called unto the fellowship of Jesus Christ our Lord. This depends upon the foregoing, just as though he had said : you, having the confirmation of -the testimony of Christ, and being rich in all utterance and in all know- ledge, come to be endowed with all the gifts which God bestows with His Holy Spirit. So that it but remains for you to await the day of judgment to be completely per- fected in body and soul. By the expression, " so ihat ye fall short in no gift" he means, that all God's gifts, the inward and the outward, were in the Church of Corinth. By, "the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ" he understands, that Christ has been hidden throughout the term of this present life, so that He shall not be seen or known by men of the world, nor even by Christians, but in part. At the day of judgment He shall so discover Himself, that all men shall see and know Him, for they shall see in His Church and in His 6 I. CORINTHIANS I. 7-9. Majesty, a spectacle, whereat the wicked shall be terrified, and the righteous shall rejoice ; for that the wicked will have dreaded that day, and the righteous will have desired it. Whence it is clearly to be understood, that to dread the day of judgment is an indication of ungodliness and of infidelity, whilst to long for it is an indication of god- liness and of justification. For it is a fact that the wicked and unbelieving dread it, whilst the pious and just long for it. By that, " who shall also confirm you," it appears to be his aim to animate them by the assurance, that the same Christ, whose revelation they longed for, would confirm them until that day. By, " blameless," he does not mean without any defect, but without such defect as might deprive you of your hope. By, " the day of our Lord," he means the day of judg- ment, which he well calls the day of our Lord Jesus Christ ; since in that day He will reveal to all His glory. His Majesty, and His Divinity, hidden from the minds of so many. And wishing to give them still greater assurance of this His perseverance, he says, " God is faithful by whom ye were called," meaning, you already know that you have been called of God to be members of Christ, since He has admitted you to the fellowship of His sufferings, in order to admit you to the fellowship of His joy. Now know, that one of the perfections existing in God is the faithful- ness with which He keeps that which He promises. And knowing this, you may be assured, that He, to fulfil His word, will in you make His calling sure. So that you may securely await the revelation of Christ ; and may hold it for certain that Christ Himself wUl preserve and keep you blameless until the day of judgment ; your being blameless consisting in what He has paid on your account, all your sins having been punished in Him. Here it appears that a Christian might doubt, saying : I, having heard of and seen some, who, separated themselves from Christ, having been called to the fellowship of Christ, I. CORINTHIANS I. 7-9. 7 amongst -whom I place as first Judas, how, with my call- ing and with the faithfulness of God, can I be assured of my perseverance in Christ's fellowship, so as to be held blameless in the day of judgment ? I understand, that it might be replied to the person who should thus doubt, that Judas, together with those who, separated themselves from Christ, had another kind of calling to that which St. Paul had in conjunction with those, who, by the faith- fulness of God, do not separate from Christ. And if he should reply, saying : How shall I know if my vocation be of the kind St. Paul had, and not like that of Judas ? I shall answer him: That he may have two leading criteria, — the one, peace of conscience, which is the effect of faith, which I hold for certain Judas never possessed, nor did any of those who separated themselves from Christ. And the other, the true knowledge of God and of Christ, comparing it with that which St. Paul had, which it is certain Judas never had, nor have they who separate themselves from Christ; because, as St. Paul says in the following chapter: If they had had it, they would not have crucified Christ, and if those, who separated from Christ, had had it, they would not have separated them- selves. So that they, who experience the peace of con- science, and have the knowledge of God and of Christ that St. Paul had, may feel well assured that their calling is of the kind that St. Paul's was ; and that, as well by their calling, as by the faithfulness of God, they may be certain, that they will be preserved blameless until the day of judgment. And the knowledge which St. Paul had of God and of Christ is evident from what he writes in his Epistles. For the man, who shall desire to recognize among the elect those who have a call like that of Judas, and those who have one like that of St. Paul, I shall give a most efficacious mode of recognition in the total morti- fication of all that is of the flesh and is of the world, or in the striving to attain it, and the setting the heart upon its attainment. Where he says, "/all short of," the Greek 8 /. CORINTHIANS I. lo. ■word properly signifies " destitute." And where he says "blameless," the word signifies faultless. I. I o.— Therefore I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divi- sions among you ; but that ye be perfectly united, of the same mind, and of the same judgment. Here St. Paul approaches one of those things at which he aims in this Epistle, which is to banish from amongst the Corinthians the feuds and factions into which they were divided, as he presently will declare, and to cause them' to be united in love and charity ; and, hence it is that he begins by saying, " therefore I beseech you, brethren," as if he should say : Now, because you have had so many gifts, and expect to have still greater at the resurrection of the just, I beseech you, while you are in this present life, to attend to the obligation of Christians in maintaining amongst yourselves great union, much love, and much charity. I think the Apostle's meaning in the expression, " 6y the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" to be the same as though he had said, by the obligation of Christian piety. And I understand that the consideration of this obliga- tion by Christians is much more powerful than the con- sideration of the Law, by those, who call themselves Christians. The words, "that ye all speak the same thing," are rendered perfectly intelligible by what he says afterwards, " that some say, I am, of such an one," and others, " / am of such another." By " divisions," he means discords, factions, and parties. Where he says, "perfectly united," the Greek word signifies completeness of members. And it appears that St. Paul, in suggesting that all we Christians are members /. CORINTHIANS I. ii, 12. 9 of Christ, meant to say, you are members, sound and entire, "wanting in nothing. I think that by the words, "same mind," and "same Judgme'ht," he means the same thing, and what he says is : Since you are members of the same body, see to it, that there be ii^ you but one will and one opinion ; and one tongue with which that will and that opinion be ex- pressed. I. II, 12. — For it hath, been signified unto me of you, my brethren, by them of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I mean, that each one of you saith, I indeed am of Paul ; and I of Cephas ; and I of Christ. As if he had said; I say this, because those of the household of Chloe have told me, have informed me, that there are contentions amongst you, some glorying in one master or preacher, and others in another. So that whilst the whole scope of Christianity is union, you convert it into disunion and contention, making factions and parties. By those " of Chloe," he means those who had notified it and told him of it. Whether Chloe were woman or man signifies little to the understanding of what St. Paul means. With regard to, " / indeed am of Paul," by what he says in the fourth chapter, it clearly appears, that these were not the persons whose names were made the sub- jects of their discords, but that St. Paul, in order not to name others, named these. Here I think that the words, " and I of Cephas, and I of Christ," have been added since St. Paul wrote ; because it appears that it was not St. Paul's intention to mix up the name of Christ with his own and those of others ; for when he comes to repeat this, in the third chapter, he only names Paul and Apollos. lo /. CORINTHIANS I. 13. And in the fourth chapter he does not say that he has put as an example all the names introduced here, but only those of Paul and ApoUos ; but this is of little importance. It is important to understand here how alien it is to the Christian spirit to he called after the names of men, however perfect they may be, and how all Christians shoi^ld hate it. I. 13. — Is Christ divided ? Has Paul perad ven- ture been crucified for you ? or have ye been bap- tized in the name of Paul ? These words appear to be spoken -with some indigna- tion, upon consideration of the divisions that there were amongst them. When saying, " Is Christ divided ? " he means, that those, who call themselves Christians then divide Christ, when they have divisions amongst them- selves ; for, inasmuch as they are members of Christ, it appears by their being divided amongst themselves, that Christ is divided. The words, "has heen crucified for you" are virtually, as if he had said: If God had executed His justice upon Paul, causing him to die on the cross out of love for you, as He has executed it upon Christ, you would have been justified in taking Paul's name upon you ; but since He has. not executed it upon Paul, but upon Christ, give up the name of Paul, and 'take that of Christ. By, " have ye been baptized ? " it appears that these Corinthians gloried in the names of those who had bap- tized them ; whereas, they ought to have gloried in the name of Christ only, in whose name they had been bap- tized. And I understand that not all they, have been baptized in the name of Christ, who have received the water of baptism, but all they have been so, who, as believers, have received the water of baptism, for they are members of Christ, and they are Christians. I. 14-16. — I thank God that I have baptized none of you save Crispus and Gaius, lest any should /. CORINTHIANS I. 14-16. 11 say lie has been baptized into my name. And I have also baptized the household of Stephanas ; besides, I know not whether I have baptized any other. For Christ has not sent me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel. From all this it appears that these Corinthians took occasion for their dissensions from the names of those who baptized them. Whence I shall not refrain from ohserving that discord is so annexed to ceremonies and to external works, that even baptism, being as it is a divine ordinance, has caused discord amongst the baptized themselves. I shall indeed state that the blame is not to be attributed to faultiness in the ceremonies, but to faultiness in those who glory in them. Had the Corinthians not prided themselves upon being baptized, but upon their being baptized in the name of Christ, they would have been satisfied with the name of Christ, calling themselves Christians, and they would neither have cared to say : I am of Paul, nor I of ApoUos. By St. Paul's expression, " lest any should say,'' he de- clared that the cause why he was thankful that he had not baptized any, was, that no one, pretending to have been baptized in his name, could take upon himself St. Paul's name, and call himself a Paulite. By saying, "for Christ hath not sent me,'' he means, because my proper office and my delegation for which I have been sent by Christ, and for which I have been called an Apostle, is not to baptize, but to evangelize, to preach the Gospel. And if any one should say : Tell me, Paul, if Christ sent thee not to baptize, why hast thou baptized ? he shall be answered ; that to baptize there is no need for a special legation; for baptism does not devolve exclusively upon those sent by God to that end ; but to preach the Gospel, a special delegation of God is needed. I mean to say, that for baptism to be efficacious in the person baptized, it is not necessary that he who 12 I. CORINTHIANS I. 17. baptizes be sent to baptize, as it is necessary for the preach- ing of the Gospel to be efficacious in those who hear it, that he who preaches be sent to preach the Gospel; for the things resolve themselves thus ; that the efflcacy of laptism is in theperson baptized, whilst the efficacy of evangelization is in the evangelist ; for it is necessary that he be sent of God, and that he have the Spirit of God. I understand that baptism is then efficacious in the person baptized, when there is in him the faith which the Gospel demands, which leads him to the confession and profession which is made in baptism. And that the preaching of the Gos- pel is then efficacious on the part of him who preaches it, when what he utters are the words of God. I mean to say when he who preaches is properly and particularly in- spired by God to speak what he says, so that his words are not his own, but the words of God ; and the efficacy consists in that the words work the effect, for which God inspired the evangelist. I. 1 7. — Not with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ be made of none effect. Here Sfc. Paul begins to treat another infirmity which, it appears, these Corinthians had ; this was esteem for the wisdom of the world. He goes on to speak against this infirmity, in these first chapters, with the intent to eradi- cate it and to extirpate it from Christians, as beinc dangerous and pernicious, since it is always accompanied with curiosity and with self-esteem ; which, in the Chris- tian, are two vices, so much the more hurtful, because at times, or rather almost always, they decorate themselves with the assumed garb of zeal and of piety. And this desire of knowledge, by the associations which it brings, is pernicious and dangerous, to such a degree, that it injures even in the reading of Holy Scripture, when the reader is not very guarded, lest he be prompted by curiosity or by self-esteem. /. CORINTHIANS I. 17. 13 And I understand that a man reads Holy Scripture with curiosity when he does so solely with the view of acquir- ing knowledge. And I understand that a man-reads Holy Scripture with self-esteem when he reads in order to be able to talk about it, and to report upon it to others. And should some one say to me, " With what purpose have I then to come to read Holy Scripture ? " I shall answer him : "For the ptcrpose of personal edification, reading it at times, for your consolation under tribulation and afflic- tion ; and at other times, to awaken in your mind fresh desires after God, and to conceive fresh views of spiritual and of divine things ; and again, in order that the same reading may be to you as a concurrent testimony of what God shall give you inwardly to feel and to Jcnow within your own soul." And this is an exceedingly great advantage in reading Holy Scripture, that the man in doing so ascer- tains the extent to which his feelings and his experience concur with those of persons who possessed the Holy Spirit. He confirms himself in what he experiences and in what he Tcnows, and he developes himself in the one and in the other, experiencing the greatest satisfaction both in the one and in the other. It is tantamount to saying, I feel that Christ, in slaying His flesh on the Cross, slew that of all who are His members, for I feel mine to be dead, or almost dead, as is stated in my commentary upon the seventh chapter of the Epistle to the Eomans. And in reading that St. Paul felt thus, I am confirmed in my own experience, it increases in me, and I enjoy it. In the same manner I know by experience that the wisdom of the world — I mean to say that, which men know as men, without the Holy Spirit — is prejudicial to the Christian. And reading, in these chapters, that St. Paul recognized this same thing, I am confirmed in my own knowledge, it is increased in me, and I enjoy it. I make this observa- tion in order that it may be understood that a mere desire 14 /. CORINTHIANS I. i8. to know is so injurious that it works harm even in holy things. And, returning to St. Paul, I understand that by the expression, " not with wisdom of words," he means to say, God sent me to preach the Gospel, and this with no dis- course, adorned with science and human wisdom; and this lest the Cross of Christ should come to be made of none effect, were I to preach the Gospel after such fashion ; for men would attribute the effect of my preaching or evangelisation, not to the power which there is in the Cross of Christ, but to the power of my words. And I understand that the power of the Cross of Christ consists in men being brought to accept the righteousness of Christ for their own. They are effectively crucified with Christ, and have died with Christ. They inwardly ex- perience justification in peace of conscience. They ex- perience death, loth in body and mind, by the mortifica- tion of their affections and appetites, which are after the flesh and after the world ; for in proportion as their faith is progressively developed, so likewise is their incorporation into Christ effectively increased ; and as their incorpora- tion into Christ increases, so likewise does their peace of conscience increase, with the progressive mortification of their affections and appetites. The expression, "not with wisdom of words," is synony- mous with "no learned discourse." The Greek word "Kevcodrj" signifies "lest it be made void," and it all amounts to the same thing. By the expression, " the Cross of Christ," is to be under- stood the preaching of the Cross of Christ ; and under this word " Cross," St. Paul understands all that savoured of humiliation and ignominy, of affliction, of misery, and of prostration in Christ. I. 1 8. — For (the preacLiug of) the word of the Cross is to them that perish, foolishness ; but unto us, who are saved, it is the power of God. I. CORINTHIANS I. i8. 15 As if he should say: I state that Christ sent me not to preach the Gospel with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ should be disparaged ; for, under- standing, that men of the world hold the Cross of Christ to be foolishness, which we know and feel to be the power of God, whatever good effect might be produced when preached with wisdom of words, they would at- tribute it, not to the power of the Cross, but to the power of the wisdom of words. By " the word of the Cross," he means the preachiry of the Cross. And he calls the wicked, "them that perish." For by the sin of infidelity they deprive themselves of the glory of the resurrection ; and to such, he says, that the preaching of the Cross is "foolishness." Because it actually is so, that those, who do not belong to Christ, not only are mad- dened with the preaching of the Cross of Christ as a foolish- ness that crazes them ; hut it indeed appears to them some- thing ridiculous, extravagant, and foolish, to say that God, in chastising Christ upon the Cross, chastised me, and that by Christ's slaying His flesh on the Cross He slew mine. And let men feign and dissimulate as much as they will, if they do not feel the peace of conscience above spoken of, and if they do not know mortification of the flesh, they will never cease to hold the preaching of the Cross of Christ to be foolishness, of which St. Paul says : " It is the power of God," but only to us who are saved. He means to say, to those of us who obtain salvation through Christ; it incorporates us into Christ, making us members of Christ. And because incorporated, marvellous thing, we experi- ence peace in our consciences, and we both experience and find mortification in our affections and in our appetites. And thus we recognize how mighty is the work of God within us, since simply by believing, we feel and recognize these two most efficient and omnipotent results in our minds and in our bodies. I understand that St. Paul's meaning here, where he says, " that the preaching of the Cross is the poiver of God," to i6 ■ /. CORINTHIANS I. 19. be the same as where he previously says to the Eomans that " the Gospel is the power of God." Let those, who are wholly devoid of any feeling and of any knowledge of these effects of incorporation into Christ, hold themselves to be strangers to Christ. I. ig. — For it is written, "J will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." (Isaiali xxix. 14.) St. Paul understands that what God spoke by Isaiah, " That He would cause the wise and prudent to remain without wisdom, and without understanding," is fulfilled in Gospel times; for so it is, in matters connected with the Gospel, the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the prudent, is lost ; for when they presume to understand and to know the subjects involved in Christianity, by their own mere wisdom and prudence, they are unable to do so ; and with all their wisdom, and with all their prudence, they remain, but as brutes (without discourse of reason). So that by the Cross of Christ, God has destroyed and prostrated to the dust the wisdom and intelligence of the worldly wise. These words, as opposed to human prudence, are worthy of consideration ; for human prudence desires and presumes to know and to understand, whilst God subverts and anni- hilates all their wisdom and all their understanding. And I think that the passage in Isaiah is but the same sentence twice repeated, in varied expression. I. 20. — Where is the wise ? where is the man of letters ? where is the philosopher of this age ? hath not God peradventure made foolish the wisdom of this world ? St. Paul, by thus triumphantly writing down human prudence and the wisdom of men unregenerated by the /. CORINTHIANS I. 20. 17 Holy Spirit, and treating them as incapable of understand- ing the preaching of the Cross of Christ, means, as I understand it, to say, there is no wise man, no man of letters, no astrologer,^ or cosmographer, (natural philo- sopher), who is equal to the apprehension of this Christian doctrine. And he says, that God has thereby made the wisdom of the world foolish, for that He has set that before it, which is not attainable by science, but is only so by experience. And thus the worldly wise are prac- tically crazed, when they hear it preached, that Christ was chastised for that for which they who believe in Him had to be chastised ; and that Christ in slaying His flesh upon the Cross, slew therewith the flesh of all those who believe in Him. This is one way of rendering the wisdom of this world foolish. And there is yet another still more striking ; it is this, that any one of those, who believing, inwardly feels and knows the effects of the Cross of Christ upon himself, knows more than do all the worldly wise taken together; and this not only in things of the Holy Spirit, but even in many things peculiar to the world. So that God, by making the ignorant wise,, confounds the wisdom of the wise ; and thus befools the wisdom of this world. Our Lord Jesus Christ was occupied with this consideration when He said : " / thank Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudeTvt, and hast revealed them unto babes and to the ignorant." This very thing is confirmed by what passed between our Lord Jesus Christ and Nico- demus in John iii. ; where it appears, that Mcodemus, a man worldly wise, and a master in Israel, could not com- prehend Christian regeneration, however much Christ spoke to him about it, — a subject that any regenerate man understands, let him be as ignorant as he may. The apostle understands "by the wise, by the man of letters, ^ Valdda wrote this Commentary in the early part of the sixteenth century, when astrology was esteemed a science. — Editor. B ig /. CORINTHIANS I. 21. and hy the philosopher of this age," the same character. And I understand that the man designated as " the philosopher of this age" means one who professes astrology, cosmo- graphy, and natural philosophy. The words, " made foolish" are tantamount to, whom He has befooled, and leaves silly, stultified and stupid. I. 21. — For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save believers. Having stated that God has turned the wisdom of this world into folly, he now proceeds to tell the mode in which God has effected it, and the reason which moved Him to do so. Where I understand him to state, that God, seeing men had not recognized Him in things stamped with divine wisdom, recognizing God by His wisdom ; as though he should say : not recognizing Him as wise in His works, wherein His wisdom is evident. He determined to save those who believe, from the error of this life, and from eternal death ; and this by preaching to them, not upon learned or scientific subjects, but upon those which are peculiarly foolish and absurd, for to human wisdom all that concerns the Cross of Christ really is so. So that where he says, " in the wisdom of God," he means, that wherein God works with manifest wisdom, viz., in that wherein human wisdom discovers God's wisdom, as is done in creation, and in His upholding of all things. And in saying, " hy wisdom," he means, by that which involves wisdom in God. By " the world," he means men of the world, they who are unregenerated by the Holy Spirit. And by saying " to save," he means, to set them free from the ignorance in which other men are, to set them free from the tyranny of the world, to set them free from /. CORINTHIANS I. 21. 19 the tyranny of evil spirits, and to set them free from the tyranny of death. And here it is right to observe, that St. Paul does not contradict himself, by stating here that the world has not known God, he having stated in Eomans i. that the " Gentiles knew God : " for here he speaks of the know- ledge of God springing from godliness, whilst there he speaks of the knowledge which springs from human wis- dom. The knowledge which springs from godliness, men of the world never reach, whilst that which springs from human wisdom is of easy attainment ; but as it neither makes those who attain it either godly or righteous, the knowledge which they attain is inefficient ; and thus they come to be lost. Where if any one should say, " If it be, as St. Paul fre- quently states, that men cannot attain to know God, why are they to be blamed, rebuked, and threatened because they do not know Him ? " He shall be answered that Scripture, speaking with men as unto men, who think and believe that they are able by their wisdom to know God, and even to love Him, it blames them, it rebukes them, it threatens them, because they do not do that which they think they can do, and herein their error consists. Por so it is, that were they to think that they could not, by that very fact they would be able to do it. So that the impossibility upon their part consists in that they think they can, and by this very circumstance they come to be blamed, rebuked, and threatened ; and reasonably so, too. That word " believers " is used antithetically to " the wise and to the learned." God, who in His wisdom, was not known by His wisdom exercised upon His works, determined to save, neither those who are the wise nor the learned, but those of every class and condition, who credit that which has" been declared, published, and certified by God and by His authority. 20 I. CORINTHIANS I. 22-24. I. 22-24. — For the Jews require a sign, and tlie Gentiles seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified ; (preaching) unto the Jews a scandal, and unto the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them, who are peculiarly called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. As if St. Paul had said : The effect which I have de- clared the preaching of Christ to have, in making some foolish, and in making others wise, I understand to pro- ceed from this ; that the Jews being accustomed to see signs and miracles in the heavens and in the earth, when you place Christ before them, they immediately ask you to confirm what you state by some miracle. Whilst the Gentiles, unaccustomed to believe, but accustomed to know, when you preach the Cross of Christ to them, they immediately say to you, Prove to me what you state by demonstration. And we, preaching Christ, that He was put to death as a malefactor, and not preaching Him as risQn, but as crucified, it comes to pass that our preaching is a scandal to the Jews, and foolishness to the Gentiles ; Christ being a stumbling-block to the former, and folly or madness to the latter ; for the former, holding the preach- ing of the Cross to be a scandal, stumble at it, and the latter, holding the same preaching to be folly and extrava- gance, are crazed by it. And St. Paul proceeds to say : It is marvellous that the same preaching of Christ crucified, which is a stumbling- block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles, is so efficacious in those, who are called to the grace of the Gospel, both Jews and Gentiles, that they recognize in it the power of God, and the wisdom of God. So that, just as in preaching Christ crucified, we preach scandal to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles, so also, by the same preaching, to those who have ceased to be Jews and who have ceased to be Gentiles, we preach the power of God, and the wisdom of God. /. CORINTHIANS I. 22-24. 21 From all this thus understood, I think that where he says, " they ask a sign," he means, that it is peculiar and natural to the Jew to ask for and to desire miracles. Whence it is to be understood that he has a Jewish mind, who asks for or desires to see miracles in confirmation of the Christian faith. And I understand that where he says, "they seek wisdom," he means, that it is peculiar and natural to the Gentile to desire to know. Whence it is to be understood, that those who strive to comprehend the doctrine of the Cross of Christ by human wisdom have Gentile minds. And I understand, that they preach Christ crv^ijied, who preach how efficacious the Cross of Christ is in helievers ; in whom, in proportion as their faith increases, so likewise does their peace of conscience increase, coupled with increased mortification of all thai is carnal and worldly. In the passage, " a scandal to the Jews, and foolishness to the Greeks," I understand that the words, " we preach," have to be supplied. Where it is to be understood that those preachers, who neither scandalize the Jews, nor craze the Greeks, do not preach Christ crucified. Where he says, " called," he means to the grace of the Gospel. And by " the power of God, arid the, wisdom of God" he means, that they do not know Christ, who do not recog- iiize in Him the power of God, and the wisdom of God. And I understand that the Christian recognizes the power of God in Christ, when in proportion as he increases in the faith that accepts the general pardon that the Gospel publishes, and in proportion as he becomes incorporated into Christ, so do peace of conscience, mortification of the mind and of the body, and knowledge of the righteousness of God, go on to increase within him. And I understand that the Christian recognizes the wisdom of God in Christ, when he understands by his own experience with what wisdom God controlled this Christian doctrine, having defined it in the best possible manner, having worked it 22 I. CORINTHIANS I. 25. out in. the best possible manner, and more in the interest of those who have to be saved, than could have been devised or imagined by all human wisdom concentrated. They, who recognize nothing of this wisdom and power of God in Christ, may well hold themselves as strangers to God, and as strangers to Christ, neither knowing God, nor knowing Christ. I. 25.- — Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men ; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. As if St. Paul had said : It is not astonishing that the preaching of the Cross of Christ produces this marvellous effect upon those who believe, by making them wise and mighty, since it is true, that that which to human wisdom appears foolishness in God, as does the preaching of the Cross, utterly transcends all the wisdom of all the men in the world. And that which to human wisdom appears weakness in God, as does the Cross of Christ, infinitely exceeds in strength all the power and all the energy of all the men of the world. Whence I understand, that the men, who do not find in the Cross of Christ this wisdom, nor in God this strength, are not incorporated into Christ, belief being with them speculation or habit, and neither revelation nor inspiration. In saying " the foolishness of God," he means the Cross of Christ, which to human wisdom appears to be folly in God. And by the expression, " the weakness of God," he means, that very Cross of Christ which, to human wisdom, ap- pears weakness ih God, — something low, vile, and mean ; which I understand to be more powerful than men, because to those, who by belief are incorporated into it, it gives them the spirit and power with wliich they may conquer themselves, and with which they may conquer the world, enabling them to overcome, and to slay their I. CORINTHIANS I. 26-29. 23 own affections and their own lusts, and to despise the honour and esteem of the world. I understand, like- wise, that this same Cross of Christ is wiser than men, because it makes those, who by belief are incorporated into it, wiser in the true wisdom than all the men of the world. And this very thing which I here write, scan- dalizes all those who have Jewish minds, and crazes those who have Gentile minds, because man cannot appro¥e that which he does not grasp and understand ; and his approval is necessarily relative to his apprehension and knowledge; and what he does not understand, for that very reason he condemns and avoids, as really injurious to him, although what he does not understand be God's purest truth. I. 26-29. — See well to your calling, brethren, for there are not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble : but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound them who are mighty ; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. By these words, I understand that St. Paul desires to prove that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God; for this it was, coupled with the wish to make the Corinthians understand that God is the enemy of what the world prizes and esteems, proved by what the Apostle saw amongst themselves, that led him to say, The world prizes and esteems wisdom, power, and rank, all which God despises. And that it is so, says St. Paul, you may, brethren, consider by what you see amongst yourselves, of whom there are not many wise according to the flesh. 24 /. CORINTHIANS I. 26-29. The carnally wise are they, who know that, which human letters and human prudence teach. And he says, " according to the flesh," by way of contrast to the wisdom which is according to the Spirit, in which latter there were at Corinth many who were wise. As though he should say, "Would you see that what I state is fact, viz., that the preaching of the Cross of Christ, which is -iitld to be folly and weakness in God, is wiser and mightier ...aH- the whole human race, consider it by what you see experimentally amongst yourselves ; for not many wise, nor many mighty, nor many noble, have been called to the grace of the Gospel; nay, purposing to show the wisdom and power of the preaching, which appears to men to be folly, drivelling, and weakness, God has chosen things, which the world holds to be foolish, silly and weak, vile a,nd despised, to put to shame the worldly wise, the mighty, and the noble, who see that with reference to God's gifts they are excluded and rejected; whilst they also see the men, whom they hold to be ignorant, weak, vile, and contemptible, admitted to their enjoyment. And God has done this, that no flesh may arrogate to itself any part of this Christian matter, by attributing God's election to human prudence, power, or nobility. This echoes the meaning of St. Paul's words. Whence I understand that he calls them, " vnse according to thejlesh," who are wise, not by the Holy Spirit, but by the spirit of man, whilst I understand that there were in Corinth many wise, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. And that which I understand of wisdom I understand too of power, of rank, or nobility. There were indeed in Corinth many mighty after the Spirit of Christ, and there were many noble after the Spirit of Christ, but there were not many mighty nor many noble after the flesh, according to what constitutes might and nobility in the opinion of men of the world. Where it is to be understood, that in saying " there are not many," he means that there were some. Where he says, " to confound the wise," he suggests the /. CORINTHIANS I. 26-29. 25 fact that the greatest shame and confusion that can betide the man who is worldly wise, is to see one, whom the world esteems both foolish and ignorant, to be able to discourse of divine things in a more elevated and profound manner than he can either speak of them, or attain to understand them. The same thing occurs to the mighty of the world, who are confounded when they see that God rejects them, and chooses those who are weak. I aflrm the same thing of the noble. By saying " that which is not" he understands, that which the world esteems so little, as if, in fact, it did not exist at all. And by the words, " to bring to nought things which are" he means, that God, in choosing that which appears to men pf the world as scarcely to have an existence, thereby destroys that, which appears to these same men to be of great account. And by saying " that no flesh should glory in His pre- sence" he means, that the purpose which God has in elect- ing ignorant men, who have but little influence, who are vile, and who even appear utterly insignificant, is, that in making them by His Holy Spirit wise, mighty, and noble, and in giving them standing, they may not have wherein to glory in their own wisdom, or in their own power, or in their own nobility, nor' even in their station, but that they only glory in the favour of God, for that in incorporat- ing them into Christ, He has given them wisdom, power, nobility, and station. The term "no flesh" is idiomatic and peculiar to Holy Scripture. It is equivalent to " no man upon earth." The devout Christian, who shall well consider these words of St. Paul, will, I am sure, so abhor the wisdom, the power, the nobility, and the station which is after the flesh, that he will not only not strive to attain it, but neither will he desire it, and, moreover, not possessing it should he be able to attain it, he will even renounce and despise 26 I. CORINTHIANS I. 30, 31. that which he has ; being solely attent that his wisdom shall be that, which is attained by the Holy Spirit ; that his power be that, which is derived by incorporation into the Cross of Christ ; and that his nobility shall be that, which is conferred by God, for believers are God's children. He will take his stand and he will value himself upon these things, and upon no other ; no, not even upon the wisdom which is gained by the study of the Holy Scrip- tures, when studied from motives of curiosity, in the exercise of human prudence and of human ability. I indicate this, as a most dangerous thing, baving, as it has, the appearance of piety and of holiness. I. 30, 3 1 . — But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who is made unto us the wisdom of God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption : that according as it is written, he that glorieth let him glory in the Lord. [Jer. ix. 23.] St. Paul concludes his arguments, with which it has been his especial design to prostrate to the earth, and to abase, that which the world prizes and exalts, and princi- pally human wisdom, in order to exalt that which God prizes and exalts, and principally the foolishness of the Cross of Christ; by saying, that what the Corinthians were, they were by Christ, it having been communicated to them by Christ, just as light is communicated to us by the sun. Whence in saying, " of Him are ye," he means, and you, by the operation of God, are incorporated into Christ. So that when he says, " in Christ Jesus'' understand him, as meaning the incorporation into Christ which is by faith ; and faith being the gift of God, it readily follows, that those, who are incorporated into Christ, are so by the favour of God. And in saying, " who is made unto us," he means, that Christians, incorporated by faith into Christ, obtain from I. CORINTHIANS I. 30, 31. 27 God wisdom, that which is Christ's being communicated to them, for in being members of Christ, they are wise with the wisdom wherewith Christ is wise; and they obtain righteousness, that which is Christ's being com- municated to them, for in being members of Christ, they are righteous as Christ is righteous ; and they obtain sanctification, Christ's holiness being corrimunicated to them, for that in being members of Christ, they are holy as Christ is holy; and they obtain redemption, Christ's redemption being communicated to them, for in being members of Christ, they are redeemed from the tyranny of death, as Christ is free. They, who actually feel that this is so, that, incorporated into Christ, God makes them wise, just, and holy, and redeems them from eternal death, seek to grow in faith, to grow into incorporation with Christ, and thus to grow in wisdom, in righteousness, in holiness, and in redemption, renouncing all other wis- dom, all other righteousness, all other holiness, and all other redemption. They, who do not feel that this is so, not having any experience of it, strive to attain their various kinds of wisdom, of righteousness, of holiness, and of redemption, and in the end remain befooled. And they, who partly feel it, and partly do not feel it, walk halting with both feet ; and until they determine to renounce the wisdom which is of men, and is obtained by men, and the righteousness, holiness, and redemption which are acquired by human industry and skill, they never succeed in obtaining through Christ the wisdom, righteousness, sancti- fication, and redemption which is by the gracious gift of God. This, he says, God has thus ordained, in order that men may not obtain wisdom, righteousness, holiness, or re- demption, but through Christ ; in order that when a man should seek to glory in being wise, just, and holy, he should not glory in his own virtue, but should glory only in the favour of God, who, by incorporating him with Christ, has given him Christ's wisdom, Christ's righteous- ness, Christ's holiness, and Christ's redemption. 28 /. CORINTHIANS I. 30, 31. By saying, " is made unto us the wisdom of God," he means, that our becoming wise, is derived of God through Christ. So that when he says, " the wisdom of Gfod," he means, the wisdom that proceeds and comes from God. Here, I understand, that when men glory in themselves, or in other men, they puff themselves up with pride ; and that when they glory in God, they humble themselves. They, who glory in themselves, or in the creatures, witness con- cerning themselves, that they neither understand their own mode of existence, nor that of the creatures. And I understand that their being puffed up arises from this ignorance, whilst they, who glory in God, witness con- cerning themselves, that they know themselves, and that they know God. And I understand that self-humiliation proceeds from this knowledge. /. CORINTHIANS II. 29 CHAPTER II. 11. I. — And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. Having in the preceding chapter, at great length, humhled human wisdom and exalted divine wisdom, that which is attained by incorporation into Christ, he now illustrates what he has said in the last chapter : that God had sent him to preach the Gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ should thereby be dis- paraged, and he here proceeds to say that, fulfilling his divine mission, he had simply preached Christ at Corinth, without studied composition of words, or of human wisdom. So that in saying, " when I came to you," he may mean, when first I came to you to preach the Gospel. In saying, " loith excellency of speech," I think he means with rhetorical art. And by the expression, " or of wisdom," I think him to mean, or with the knowledge of human Philosophy. It may also be, that he may mean the wisdom, of which he says afterwards that he spoke among the perfect. And I understand the expression, " declaring unto you the testimony of God" to he the, same as if he had said, manifesting to you the indulgence or general pardon, which God has wrought for all men, hy punishing in the flesh of Christ all the sins of all men. So that " the testimony of God" is tantamount to his having said, that which is testified on the part of God. 30 /. CORINTHIANS II. 2. 11. 2. — For, when amongst you, I held that I knew nothing, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Because one might have said : Thou earnest neither with rhetorical eloquence, nor with human philosophy, because thou didst not possess them : and thou camest, not ex- hibiting divine wisdom, because thou hadst it not : I un- derstand St. Paul to say here, that it was not because he did not possess distinguished eloquence, or could not like- wise show divine wisdom, but because he knew that it was the will of God that he should preach the Gospel without studied eloquence, he made it a point, while amongst them, of knowing nothing else but Jesus Christ. And further exalting Christ, he sajs," aTid Him cruci- fied," meaning, that if he attached importance to the fact of his knowledge of Christ risen from the dead, he might even in that show wisdom : but studiously attach- ing importance but to the knowledge of Christ and Him crucified, he could make no show of wisdom. St. Paul well knew Christ raised from the dead and glorified, and he also preached Him risen and glorified ; but he did not preach the divine wisdom that there is, and which he knew to be, in this resurrection and glorification, because his special ministry consisted in preaching Christ cruci- fied : which preaching comprehends the remission of sins. Where it is especially to be understood that the duty of the Evangelical preacher is to persuade himself to know no other thing in this world but Christ crucified, since it is his proper office to publish the indulgence or general pardon made to men, confirmed by the blood of Christ, which He shed on the Cross ; his duty is to preach noth- ing else but Christ crucified ; and hence it is well for him to be persuaded that he knows nothing beyond this. And I understand that they know Christ crucified, who know by experience the power of the Cross of Christ, for that in Christ, when hanging on the Cross, God punished the sins of all men, and for that in slaying His own flesh /. CORINTHIANS II. 3-5. 31 on the Cross, Christ slew that of all men. It is indeed true, that they only enjoy the one or the other, who, by a lively faith, are incorporated into Christ, who, feeling peace of conscience, know that Christ on the Cross was punished for their sins ; and who, feeling mortification of the flesh, know that Christ, in slaying His on the cross, slew theirs too. Those who are determined to know nothing but this, preach nothing but this ; and preaching nothing but this, they rightly preach the Gospel of God, the for- giveness and general pardon which is announced by it. IT. 3-5. — And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with persuasive words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power : that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. St. Paul, speaking to the Corinthians of the manner in which he had conducted himself with them and amongst them, skilfully goes on to show, that the preachers (minis- ters) who they then had, since they did not conduct themselves as he had conducted himself, were not good preachers ; nay, that they were not preachers, but de- ceivers. He says that the manner in which he had con- ducted himself, was in weakness. Where I understand him to mean : Whilst I was amongst you, I purposed to show myself weak and infirm, to show myself full of fear and of trembling, not because there was weakness or infir- mity in me, nor because there was in me fear or trembling ; but because it was necessary to accommodate myself to your capacity, I showed myself to you, such as it was necessary for you that I should show myself. He adds, " and my speech and my preaching!' as if he had said : And not only I showed myself such as I state in my conversation, but even in my speech, and in my 32 /. CORINTHIANS II. 6. ministrations, I did not use those words with which orators are accustomed to persuade men what they desire ; but I sought to confirm my ministry, by exhibiting in it both Spirit and power. And I understand that St. Paul demonstrated " Spirit " in his preaching, by giving the Holy Spirit to those who accepted it. And I understand that he demonstrated "power," by working miracles. It may also be, that he means his preaching had con- sisted in demonstrating spiritual life, and in demonstrating the power of God: and in such case the demonstration would consist in placing it before the eyes of the hearers. And by saying, " that your faith should not stand," I understand him to say, my intention herein has been to make your faith not to stand in the wisdom of ,men, as it would stand had mine been an attractive ministry, sug- gested by human wisdom ; but that it should stand only in the power of God, your faith being attributable not to my having skilfully persuaded you into it, but to God's having powerfully drawn you to it ; He having planted you in it, by the simple preaching of the Gospel, which is the power of God ; for that with it, and by it, God shows how powerful He is in justifying the wicked, which is what no other than God can do. And it is already pre- viously declared in the ist chapter of the Epistle to the Eomans, that this demonstration of the power of God, only concerns those who inwardly experience it : that others do not know it, because they do not feel it. II. 6. — Howbeit, we speak wisdom among the perfect; yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the princes of this age, who come to nought. It seems that one might have said to St. Paul : Since you have not preached human wisdom to us, why have you not preached divine wisdom to us ? since, as you have said, that we in being members of Christ, are wise with the wisdom that is in Christ. To this St. Paul replies, that /. CORINTHIANS II. 7, 8. 33 the Gospel has indeed His wisdom ; but that it is of sucl^ a nature that it is not preached, save where it is practised, and even then not to all, but only to the perfect; and hence, although he was accustomed to discourse about it with the perfect, he had not discoursed about it with them, because, not being perfect, they were incapable of receiv- ing it. And desiring to declare what this wisdom was, he says, first, " that it is not of this age," he means it is not human prudence ; " neither is it of the princes of this age," by whom, he means, them, who attend to human philo- sophy, for these are they, whom I understand him to call the princes of this world ; for in this world, they are its princes, whose occupation is the most exalted. And by the expression, " the princes of this world, who come to nought," he means that Isaiah's words, quoted in the preceding chapter, "/ will destroy the wisdom of the wise," are applicable to them. II. 7, 8. — But we speak the wisdom of God, which is in mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages iinto our glory, which none of the princes of this age knew. St. Paul proceeds to set forth as far as it is practicable to do so by speech, and to the greatest possible extent, what that wisdom was, which he spoke amongst the per- fect ; and however well he sets it forth, only so much is apprehended from his words, as is exactly relative to the reader's attainment in that perfection, which they pos- sessed, with whom St. Paul spoke of this wisdom. Where, seeing that St. Paul would not communicate this wisdom to the imperfect Corinthians, because it is food for the perfect, I esteem it to be great presumption that we, who are imperfect, should desire to understand it ; how much more so that we should desire to describe it ; and there- fore I shall content myself with stating here what I under- c 34 /. CORINTHIANS II. 7, 8. stand of the words of St. Paul, remitting the intelligence of the things wherein this wisdom distinctively consists to the perfect, for whom it is designed. And returning to the words of St. Paul, I understand that having stated what he spoke amongst the perfect was not of the wisdom of this age, he goes on to say that he spoke of the wisdom of God. And adding " in mystery," he means, that this wisdom of God is not that which is discovered and manifested to those who wish to consider it. because it is peculiar to it, that it is not to be understood by consideration, but by secret revelation. And wishing to exalt the secret or mystery the more, he says, " the hidden : " as if he said, I state that this wisdom is that which is hidden to such a degree that it cannot be penetrated into, or seen with the eyes of human prudence. To magnify this wisdom of God the more, and to some- what open the door to its apprehension, he says " which God ordained" meaning, that this wisdom of the perfect, thus secret and hidden, was ordained by God from the beginning, to our glory, to ours who believe, being hidden and concealed from all the worldly wise. "Where, in de- claring that this wisdom of the perfect, was ordained by God before the world, and that it was ordained for the glory of Christians, I think that if the wisdom of the per- fect, of which St. Paul spoke, was of the nature of that which we have above discussed, stating the mode in which Christ is made to us the wisdom of God, with all that is connected with it, all which, as St. Paul says, redounds to our glory; for it is the greatest glory for perfect Christians to recognize the wisdom of God in the Cross of Christ, in which all other men recognize foolishness and insanity. This I say, not professing to have rightly ascer- tained wherein this wisdom distinctively consists, because this is not my province, but in some sort to conjecture wherein it consists, remitting it to the perfect to ascer- tain wherein it does consist, and thereby to recognize it. /. CORINTHIANS II. 9. 35 11. 8. — For had tliey known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. St. Paul confirms what he has said that the wisdom of which he spoke amongst the perfect, is unknown hy the worldly wise, by adding, that if it had been of such a nature that they could have understood it, they would not have fallen so rashly as they did when they crucified Christ, meaning, that they, who crucified Him, were the wise of this world. Where I understand two things. The one, that this wisdom of the perfect consists in the knowledge of what we men attain of God through Christ, as well in this present life as in the life eternal ; and the other, that when St. Paul calls Christ, " the Lord of glory," he means, that He is the Lord of that glory which he has said comes to Christians. By this wisdom, he, shows that the wisdom of which he spoke among the perfect, apper- tains to the Being and to the Divinity of Christ, and (as I have said) to what we men attain of God through Christ. So that in saying, " had they known it," he means th^ wisdom of the perfect. And that in saying, " they would not have crucified Christ, he means, that in knowing the wisdom, they would have known Christ ; and hence they would not have crucified Him. And in saying " the Lord of glory," he alludes to what he has said before " unto our glory" that this wisdom of the perfect has been ordained of God to the glory, to the satis- faction, and to the joy of Christians : and that Christ is the Patron and Lord of it, for that they who attain it, do so through Christ, just as it is through the sun, that the sun is seen by those who see it. II, 9. — But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him " (Is. Ixiv. 4). 36 /. CORINTHIANS II. lo. St. Paul confirms two of the statements which he has made with this authority of Isaiah. The one, that this wisdom of the perfect is concealed, is secret, and hidden, since it thus comprises things which eye has never seen, nor ear heard tell, and which no man has ever imagined. Where we have to consider the expansion of the pro- phet's words ; for he first places sight, then hearing, and afterwards thought : as if he said, not only have they not been seen as other external objects are seen, but neither have they even been heard of as inward sensations, of which men discourse ; and moreover they have not been contemplated or devised, as have many things that are neither seen nor heard. The other statement that he confirms by these words of Isaiah, is, that God had ordained this wisdom before all ages, unto the glory of perfect Christians. So that these words in Isaiah, " God hath prepared," are equivalent to those before used by St. Paul, " God hath ordained : " and it is the same where Isaiah says, "for those who love Him" and where St. Paul says, "for our glory" for to prepare and to ordain mean the same thing : since we, who are Christians, are they, who love God, feeling that He has first loved us, giving us to Christ, and drawing us to Christ. II. lo. — But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit. Having shown, by the words of Isaiah, how secret is this wisdom of the perfect, since human prudence has not apprehended it, no, not even in thought, he goes on to say, that perfect Christians know it by revelation, God reveal- ing it to them by His Spirit. He means that Christians know this most secret and hidden wisdom, by God's com- municating it to them by His Holy Spirit. I do not understand by the words, " unto us" that he means to Christians generally, since those of Corinth who were Christians, did not attain it, but only and distinctively 7. CORINTHIANS 11. lo. 37 to those Christians who were perfect, to those who were renewed in their minds by Christian regeneration, by which they are born children of God, who are transformed in their bodies by the mortification of all the affections and of all the appetites which are after the flesh and after the world, so that they proceed to lay aside the image of Adam, and to recover the image of Christ and the image of God. In saying, " hath revealed," he shows that this wisdom of the perfect is attained by revelation, the Holy Spirit revealing it to those to whom it is communicated. So that this wisdom- does not consist in feelings, or in the relish of things spiritual and Christian, even as I previously have thought, and have also written, but peculiarly in revelation. I mean to say, that St. Paul does not here refer to the wisdom which Christians obtain by experience, feeling incorporation into Christ by peace of conscience, and feeling death with Christ by the morti- fication or the deadening they find in their flesh immedi- ately that they believe, but that he means the wisdom which Christians attain by revelation, God revealing it to them by His Holy Spirit, as, for instance, the Being and the Divinity of Christ, He being regarded, as He is, the Word of God, and, as He is, the Son of God, and the per- ception of the presence of God, and the knowledge of the blissful state of life eternal, that which shall be after the resurrection of the just, and of the renewing of all things. Where I understand that since they alone comprehend this language, who know these things only by revelation, it is suitable to reason about and to discourse of it amongst those, who, being perfect, either have it and com- prehend it by revelation, or are so well disposed by other Christian feelings and knowledge, that in speaking to them about these secrets, they are capable of understand- ing them. This is what I at present comprehend con- cerning this wisdom of which St. Paul reasoned amongst the perfect. As to what he understood as to each of these 38 /. CORINTHIANS II. lo. things, or as to others that I have not mentioned, I defer to what those persons may consider and may say, to whom God, by His Holy Spirit, shall have revealed that which He revealed to St. Paul; considering it and conversing upon it with each other, making it their boast and glory that God has hidden these treasures, in order that they may enjoy them in this present life by revelation, and in the life eternal by entire and perfect vision. il. lo. — For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. As if he had said: And do not marvel at this, for so it is, that God, in having communicated His Holy Spirit to us, has discovered to us all His secrets ; for the Holy Spirit searcheth all things, it comprehends them all, and it understands them all, and not only those which are, as might be said, superficial, and which are, as it were, on the surface, but also the profound, which are, as it were, in the depths. Here I understand that they, who apply themselves to the investigation of the secret things of God, without God's Spirit, are in the pre- dicament of those, who examine the perfection of objects without the light of the sun. And that they who apply themselves to the investigation of the secret things of God, having God's Spirit, are in the predicament of the man, who examines the perfection of objects with the light of the sun. I mean to say, that he will be no less deceived in the things of God, who seeks to investigate them without the Spirit of God, than the man who sets himself to examine the perfection of objects without the light of the sun. And that he who applies himself to the investiga- tion of the secret things of God, with the aid of God's Spirit, has no less satisfaction, than the man, who examines the perfection of objects in the light of the sun. II. II. — For what man hath known the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him ? /. CORINTHIANS II. it. 39 even so the things of God hath no naan known, but the Spirit of God. By a most cogent example, one that everybody can understand, he proyes two things : the one, that they, who, as he has said, possess the Spirit of God do investigate the secrets of God. And the other, that they, who do not possess this Spirit, understand nothing of the things that are of God : and thus he says, that just as there is no man who can know, or can understand, the inward mind of another, save that man's own spirit ; so neither is there any man, who either can understand or know the secrets of God, unless he possess God's Spirit. So that all they, who seek to understand the secrets of God by human prudence, are shut out from this knowledge of them. And I understand that they are shut out, not only from the ability to understand them by themselves, but even from the ability of understanding them, when set forth and expounded by others, who, through the Spirit of God, do understand them. By "the things of a man," he means his designs, his purposes, his intentions, and his movements. By "the spirit of a man," he means every man's mind, which is so close in its matters that it scarcely under- stands itself; how much less does it allow itself to be understood by others ? By saying " which is in him," he means, the spirit which is in the man himself. By " the things of God," he means God's works in pro- vidence, God's peculiar mode of Being, and the substance of things that are spiritual and divine; for since man with his human prudence is as incapable of understanding the things of God, even when helped by other men, as one man is incapable of knowing another man's mind, human prudence would do well to desist from pretending to un- derstand the secrets of God, and should devote itself to the adoration of that which it cannot fathom. 40 /. CORINTHIANS II. 12, 13. 11. 12, 13. — Now, we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which proceeds from God ; that we may know the things that are given to us of God, which things also we speak, not with words taught by man's wisdom, but with words taught by t,he Holy Spirit ; verifying spiritual things with spiritual (words). As if he had said : Since then, that I have not the spirit of the world, but the Holy Spirit, with which I know the reality and the value of that which God has given me, it indeed follows that I know the things of God, to which they are admitted, who have the Spirit of God, and from which they are excluded who do not possess it. He after- wards says that he spoke about these same things which he knew by the Spirit of God, not with the words of human prudence, but with those of the Holy Spirit ; and thus in saying "we," he means himself. And by, " the spirit of the world," I think that he means human prudence, for precisely as the Spirit of God is wholly divine wisdom, so the spirit of the world is wholly human prudence : this is what the world prizes, esteems, and extols, knowing nothing better than it. They, who know the wisdom of God by the Spirit of God, despise and think lightly of human prudence. When he says, " that we may know the things," it is to be observed that St. Paul felt, what we frequently have stated, that God's favour to man is great when He bestows a gift upon him : but that the greatest He confers upon man, is when God at the same time that He imparts the gift, causes the man likewise to know that the gift is from Him, that it is He who gives it ; since from these words it appears, that St. Paul himself felt that God first gives us the things, and after having given us them. He gives us His Holy Spirit, with which we recognize them, and I. CORINTHIANS II. 12, 13. 41 know them to be His : we know them to be what they are, and also what they are worth ; and we then know the manner in which we are to employ them. And here man's incapacity to understand the things of God has to be considered, since even when in possession of God's gifts, he is unable to recognize them, unless the Spirit of God teach him how to do so. The expression " given us," inadequately renders the Greek word ■xapia-devra, which means freely given. By the words, " which things also," he means, we not only recognize the things which God has given us by the Spirit of God Himself, but we even speak about them> by the Holy Spirit Himself, who furnishes us with the words with which we may express them, it being His will that we should not speak of them in words suggested by human prudence. In relation to which I understand that identically the same spiritual thing is efficacious in the mouth of one, who speaks of it in spiritual words ; and spiritual words are those which have been inspired by the Holy Spirit, whilst I understand that the very same thing is inefficacious in the mouth of another, because he speaks of it in human words ; and human words are those which have been suggested by human prudence. I under- stand that just as a spiritual thing spoken in spiritual words is powerful amongst some persons, and edifies them; so likewise it is fruitless amongst others, and scandalizes them. "Man's wisdom" is synonymous with "human pru- dence." The words, " taught by the Holy Spirit" are synony- mous, with those, which the Holy Spirit inspired. And by that expression, " verifying spiritual things," I understand him to mean, that since he spoke about the things which God had given him, in words inspired by the Holy Spirit, it came to pass that spiritual matters placed in his mouth, were treated as they should be, since he expressed them in spiritual words. And I have already 42 /. CORINTHIANS II. 14- said that he calls those spiritual words which the Holy Spirit inspires, which are so far spiritual words, as they are inspired by the Holy Spirit. By the word "verifying," he means confirming and verifying by comparison. And it is ever to be understood, that St. Paul in saying what he did, skilfully discovers the baneful conduct of those, who, in acting contrarily, ruined the minds and the habits of them at Corinth. II. 14. — But the animal man receive th not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolish- ness unto him ; he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged. St. Paul here records a terrible sentence against human prudence, by stating that it is incapable of understanding the things of God, because it judges them, and examines them with human judgment; whilst they require to be judged and examined with the Holy Spirit. By " the natural man " [in Valdes' Spanish version, " el hombre animal ; " and in the Vulgate, " animalis auteni homo "], he means, animal man, man unregenerate by the Holy Spirit. And by saying " receiveth not," he means, man is incap- able, he wants capacity wherein to receive them ; he can by no means comprehend them. And enlarging still more upon the incapacity of animal man, he says, "for they are foolishness unto him," meaning, that the reason why he is incapable of understanding the things of the Spirit of God, is, because he holds them to be folly, something senseless and absurd ; and still more, because he becomes deranged by them, he acts incohe- rently, he raves ; and by how much the more he labours to understand them, the more does he render himself incapable of understanding them, the more does he become I. CORINTHIANS II. 15. 43 deranged, the more incoherently does he act, and the more does he rave. And St. Paul enlarges still more upon the incapacity of animal man in spiritual matters, by saying, "he cannot understand them ; " and attaches the impossibility to the fact that " thei/ are spintually judged" or examined ; mean- ing that the animal man cannot know spiritual thing's, for he has not the Holy Spirit, but a human spirit, and they are not understood by the spirit of man, but by the Holy Spirit. Were men, ■when they constitute themselves judges lof the things that are of the Spirit of God, or whether they be the Spirit of God, to judge themselves ; and in the first place to examine themselves, in order to see whether it is their province, as spiritual persons, to make that examination, because they are such ; or whether it is not their province, because they are animal, peradventure they would either not examine them, remitting the exam- ination to spiritual persons, or, if they were to examine them, they would be more modest and more temperate than they are, either in their examinations or in their judgments. But this is the point, the animal man ought to conduct himself as an animal man, and let the spiritual man con- duct himself as a spiritual man, in order that the conduct of the spiritual man may be illustrated by the conduct of the animal man, and that the conduct of the animal man may be condemned by that of the spiritual. II. 15. — For he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. Having stated the nature and peculiarity of the animal man, he now states the nature and peculiarity of the spiritual man, which are — that he judges, that he discerns, and that he examines all things, knowing the mode of being peculiar to them all, but that he cannot be judged 44 /■ CORINTHIANS II. 15. in his matters by any worldly man. And, effectively, these two privileges of the spiritual man are exceedingly great. In relation to the man's privileges, it is to be understood, that they are greater or less in proportion as he is more or less spiritual, in proportion as God's Spirit has been more or less communicated to him. If there be much of the Spirit, the privileges are greater ; and if there be less of the Spirit, the privileges are less, the judgment in everything is small, and it affects him but little that he be judged by no man of the world. So that in saying " he that is spiritual," he means the spiritual man in contrast with the animal man. And where he says "judges," he means, discerns, ex- amines, and knows. And in saying "all things," he means, not only the inward and spiritual, but the outward and corporal like- wise. It is indeed a fact, that the spiritual man, even in worldly and external things, has much better judgment than any other man, a mere worldly one, because his own spirit, being enlightened by fellowship with God's Spirit, is of a higher range, is more sound, and is clearer than that of any one of those, who are without the Spirit of God. And in saying, " yet he himself (is judged) of no one," he means, by no one of those who have not the same Spirit of God, for they who have this Spirit recognize each other, in a greater or less degree, relatively to the amount of the Spirit of God, which they possess. I mean to say, that he who has much, knows much of those who possess the same Spirit; whilst he who has little, knows but little about them. So that the judgment or the knowledge corresponds with the amount of the Spirit. The expression, " is judged of no man," is tantamount to saying that he is not known by his works, by his habits, or by his words. And it is indeed a fact that the more a man, without /. CORINTHIANS II. i6. 45 the Spirit of God, strives to know and to understand the things of a spiritual man, so much the less does he under- stand them ; and when he seeks to imitate them, then he utterly loses himself. II. 16. — For who hath ever known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him 1 But we have the mind of Christ. St. Paul confirms by these words two of the things that he has stated. The one, that the animal man knows not the things that are of the Spirit of God ; he does not penetrate them, nor is he capable of comprehending them. And the other, that the spiritual man judges, knows, and understands all things. In saying "who hath ever known," which are Isaiah's words in xl. 1 3, he means, since it is a fact that no man has ever known the mind of God, — that is to say, God's design in His works, — it well follows, that the animal man is incapable of understanding the things that are of the Spirit of God. That question, " that he should instruct Rim ? " derides man's judgment; as though he had said, what man is there on earth, who so thoroughly knows God's designs in His works, as to enable him to counsel God in them, sug- gesting to Him that He should preferentially do them one way rather than another ? The arrogance of the human mind is indeed so presumptuous, that it not only pretends to know God's designs in His works, but it even goes beyond this, and pretends to correct and to mend them ; and from the very fact that it pretends to do this, it wit- nesses concerning itself, that it neither knows them, nor understands them. St. Paul, in saying " hut we have the mind of Christ," means, that since it is a fact, that perfect Christians have Christ's mind, he means to say Christ's [animo] Spirit, with which they know, and understand, and judge, as 46 I. CORINTHIANS II. i6. Christ knows, understands, and judges ; it indeed follows that they, who are spiritual, know, understand, and judge all things. Here I could wish that every one should think, that he will understand, enjoy, and enter into that which St. Paul, in these words, designs that man should understand, enjoy, and enter into, to the extent in which he shall possess the mind of Christ, being conformed in [animo] spirit to Christ, who is the very image of God. I would fain that man should think thus, in order that when desirous of understanding, enjoying, and entering into, these words of St. Paul, and that neither recognizing nor finding the mind of Christ, nor the Spirit of Christ in himself, he may attain personal conviction that words are inadequate, and so are the expositions of men, were they more perfect than angels, to enable him to comprehend them, unless he first divest himself of Adam's ipind and of the world's spirit, and that he clothe himself with Christ's mind and with the Spirit of Christ. But I should express myself better were I to say, unless he first commend him- self to God, entreating Him to strip him of all that belongs to Adam, and to clothe him with all that he can have of Christ, for this is the proper way to understand the things that are of the Spirit of God, which these words of St. Paul are, and which the animal man, the man unregenerate and unrenewed by the Holy Spirit, is utterly and absolutely incapable of understanding. 7. CORINTHIANS III. 47 CHAPTER III. III. I. — And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. St. Paul shows, by these words, that his purpose in what he has stated in relation to the wisdom of the per- fect, has been to exculpate himself with them of Corinth, in having, whilst among them, refrained from speaking to them of the wisdom which God communicates to those, who are members of Christ, rendering them wise with the •wisdom which is in Christ. Hence he says, " And I, brethren, could not speak unto you," as if he had said, granted that I, in having Christ's mind, possess the wisdom of Christ, I have not commu- nicated it unto you on account of your inability to receive it, for which reason I was constrained to speak to you, not as unto spiritual persons, since you were not such, but as unto carnal. And expounding what he understands by " carnal," he says, " as unto babes in Christ," he means, you men were beginning to divest yourselves of Adam, and to put on Christ, you were beginning to lose the spirit of Adam, and to recover the Spirit of Christ. The spirit (the mind) of Adam is the image and likeness of Adam, whilst the mind or Spirit of Christ is the image and likeness of Christ; and Christ is the very image and likeness of God. St. Paul, in saying "as unto carnal," and not "as unto ani- mal," men, as he has above said, distinguishes, as I consider. 48 /. CORINTHIANS III. i. between three classes of men. The first, he calls animal, the second, he calls carnal, and the third, he calls spiritual. Of the spiritual, he has stated that they judge all things, being themselves judged of no one. Of the carnal, he says that they are incapable of receiving the wisdom of the perfect, being capable of receiving but the wisdom of the imperfect. And of the animal, he has stated that they are wholly incapable of receiving anything connected with the Spirit of God. What persons St. Paul understands by spiritual, and by animal, we have already stated. It appears, that what he understands by carnal persons are those, who have ceased to be animal, and who, having begun to be spiritual, have not stripped off enough of the animal, nor have they put on enough of the spiritual, to warrant their being treated as spiritual, or called spiritual. I understand that St. Paul calls such persons " carnal," for that the lusts of the flesh even yet partly live in them : as well those that are of the mind, such as ambition, and self-esteem, with curi- osity, as those that are of the body, and which are peculi- arly connected with the five bodily senses. And I understand that in them, who are in this pre- dicament, the liveliness of the lusts of the flesh renders them incapable of receiving spiritual things, just as a man who issues from a dark chamber, is rendered incapable of enduring much sunlight on account of the weakness of his optic nerve ; or as a convalescent is rendered incapable of taking the food which the hale feed upon, and this be- cause of the weakness of his stomach. So that the animal man is, in reference to spiritual things, in the same pre- dicament as is a man, who is very sick, in reference to the diet of those who are in sound health, although they are but convalescent ; whilst the carnal man is, with refe- rence to the wisdom of the. perfect, as the convalescent, with reference to the food enjoyed by the hale and sound ; and the spiritual person is with reference to the wisdom, /. CORINTHIANS III. 3. 49 that God reveals by His Spirit to those who are spiritual, in the predicament of a man in the finest health with' reference to diet, to whom all dishes are good, when used without abuse. III. 2. — I have fed you with milk, and not with meat : for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, nay, not even now are ye able, for ye are yet carnal. Having stated, that he had spoken to these Corinthians as unto babes, he says that as such he fed them with milk, and not with meat, not with anything that had to be masticated, for that they were as yet too young for it. And by saying, " nay, not even now are ye able," he shows that they were still the same as when he was amongst them, as to their being unable to receive the wisdom of which he discoursed among the perfect, which he calls " meat ; " calling that " milk," of which he discoursed among those who were yet carnal. And if it appears, that what St. Paul states in this Epistle is milk, since he addressed it to these, speaking of whom he says, " ye are yet carnal," we may well conceive what those things were, upon which he conversed with the perfect, to whom he gave meat ; nay, I think that only they can conceive of it, who taste it and know it, being themselves perfect; since it indeed is of such a nature, that it never entered into the heart of man to conceive of it, as St. Paul has stated in the second chapter. In stating, " ye are yet carnal," he shows that the im- possibility of their receiving the wisdom of the perfect consisted in their being carnal, and he proved it by saying- Ill. 3. — For whereas there are among you envy- ing, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and do ye not walk as men ? 50 /. CORINTHIANS III. 3. St. Paul shows here that he called these Corinthians carnal on account of their prejudices, of their contentions, and of the factious parties which divided them, each one pulling to his own side ; and St. Paul's expression " whereas there are " assumes that there were these divisions amongst them. Just as St. Paul speaks of walking after the Spirit, mean- ing thereby a life spent in obedience to the motions of the Holy Spirit, being ever on the alert to feel them, and to recog- nize them, without ever being in an indolently neglectful state ; so does he likewise speak of " walking as do men," meaning thereby, a life spent in obedience to the motions of the flesh, following them in forgetfulness of, and indiffer- ence to, the obligation of Christian piety, as did these Corinthians, as well upon the part of those who led as of those who followed, amongst all of whom, as St. Paul here states, there were heartburnings (zelo) which is tanta- mount to envy ; there was contention, and there were factious parties, into which they were drawn by their affections which still lived in their flesh. And whilst they followed after them, St. Paul understands that they lived and walked as do men. And if the envious, the contentious, and the factious are carnal, and the carnal be incapable of receiving the wisdom of the perfect, let each one of us place his hand on his heart, and examine himself a little, how he is affected by envy, by contention, and by party prejudice, and thus he will learn what share he has in the wisdom of the perfect. Nor will it avail to self-disculpation of envy, to say, I envy such an one because he knows the Holy Scriptures better than I do. Nor will it avail to self-disculpation from contention, to say, I contend for Christian truth, for the true understanding of Holy Scrip- ture. Nor will it either avail to disculpate factious tendencies, to say, I follow such an one and not such another, for I was first brought by him to perception of the light of divine truth. I say that it will not avail a 7. CORINTHIANS III. 5. 51 mau thus to disculpate himself from envy, contention, and party prejudice hy throwing a cloak like this over it, for I understand that these Corinthians might have dis- culpated themselves in the same manner, since it appears that their envyings, strifes, and divisions originated in pre- tensions to piety ; but St. Paul did not hold them discul- pated ; for he iuculpates them, saying, " ye walk as do men." III. 4. — For while one saith, I am of Paul ; and another, I am of ApoUos ; are ye not carnal ? St. Paul declares that the party prejudices of these Corinthians were due to the fact that some gloried in one minister or teacher, whilst others gloried in another ; and thus they came to be envious, and to strive, — some extolling one, whilst others extolled another. Or con- trariwise,, some disparaging one, whilst others disparaged another. These very party prejudices, which engender envyings and contentions, are seen to be very rife in our days, and they, who profess to be spiritual, cherish' these factious prejudices more than men of the world, and besides, they cherish other hidden ones, garbed as it were in some sort with religion and piety, which is the more pernicious as it is mortally opposed to Christianity, which is all love and charity, all union and concord. III. 5. — Now then, who is Paul ? and who is ApoUos ? but ministers, by whom ye have believed, even as the Lord hath given to every man ? As if he had said ; yours is a most flagrant error, for whereas you have to make your boast in God, and where- as you have to glory in Christ, who have planted you in the faith wherein you stand, you glory in the ministers, through whom you have believed ; meaning, if these men in whom you pride yourselves, and whom you follow, had given you, by their own power, the faith which you possess, you would have had occasion to glory in them ; 52 /. CORINTHIANS III. 6-8. but they being nothing more than God's ministers, through whose instrumentality you believe, it is a most flagrant error on your part to attribute that to the ministers, which you should attribute to God. St. Paul will declare in the following chapter that neither Paul nor ApoUos were the men in reference to whom these Corinthians formed their divisions. The passage, " even as the Lord hath given to every man," appears somewhat imperfect, although it is to be under- stood that it depends upon, " ye have Relieved" and that it means. And every one of you believes, just so much as God has given him faith ; that he, to whom God has given much faith, believes much ; and that he, to' whom God has given littlp faith, believes little. So that faith does not depend upon the ministers, who preach the Gospel of the general pardon or indulgence, but upon God, who communicates faith according to His plea- sure and to His will. III. 6-8. — I have planted, ApoUos has watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither is lie that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God, that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one : and every one shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. I understand that St. Paul conceived of the interests involved in Christianity as of a garden that is watered, where the gardener plants and waters, and God gives the growth and the increase to that which is planted and watered. And thus he says that they are men, who plant and who water, being, however, sent of God to plant and to water; but that God is He, who causes that which is planted and that which is watered to increase and to grow. Whence I have gathered that to plant and to water is 7. CORINTHIANS III. 6-8. 53 of small consideration, whilst to increase is of great con- sideration. In saying, "/ have planted," I understand him to state, It was I, who first preached the Gospel to you, implanting in you the faith with which you received it. In saying, " Apollos has ivatered," he means, Apollos is he, who, after that you had received faith, revived it in your memories. In saying, " God gave the increase," he means, God is He who hath given doth give and will give, growth and increase to the faith which I have planted, and which Apollos has watered. In saying, " now he that planteth and he that watereth are one," he means, that one is as much the minister of God as is the other. By that, " and every one shall receive his own reward," his meaning appears to be that God will reward him that plants, and him that waters, accordingly as they shall have laboured in planting and in watering, meaning that God's reward will not correspond with the quality of thing produced. I mean to say, in the thing planted and in the thing watered ; but it will correspond with the labour and fatigue which he who plants shall put into the work of planting, and he who waters, into the watering. And here considering, that he who plants, and that he who waters, are persons already regenerated and renewed by the Holy Spirit ; in whom, as I have stated in my com- mentary upon the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Eomans, the freedom of the will wrought in them by the Holy Spirit, through regeneration and renewal, has amongst other things to be taken into consideration, I do not find it improper to state, that persons, already regenerated and renewed by the Holy Spirit, will increase or diminish their glory inwardly in the present life, and in the life eternal, both outwardly and inwardly, in propor- tion as they shall have worked little or much in the Christian field of labour. 54 /. CORINTHIANS III. g. So that glory will be given them of free grace, and liberally, without any reference to deserts, and the more or less glory will have relation to much or little work. I think that St. Paul felt thus, and that it is in harmony with many statements in the Gospel, and that it is pecu- liarly in accordance with the parable of the talents. I now feel this to be so, remitting my judgment, however, to that of those who see better. III. 9. — For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. Having stated that they who plant, and that they who water, shall be rewarded by God, according as they shall have worked in planting and in watering, he proceeds to say, "for we are GocPs labourers ; " he means, we being, as we are, God's labourers in this husbandry', and in this spiritual building which He erects among you, we shall be rewarded by God, according as we shall work in it; for they who farm land, and they who erect buildings, are wont to recompense their labourers, who assist them to work the land and to build, in proportion as they toil in cultivation and in building. So that in saying " labourers," he does not mean master farmers nor master builders, but regular labourers, who depend upon their master, and bring nothing to the work but their bodily labour. And St. Paul rightly stvles Christians God's husbandry and building, for they are His portion, which He has taken for Himself in this present life. And God is He, ^yho rules and governs them by His Holy Spirit. III. 10, II. — According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he /. CORINTHIANS III. lo, ii. 55 buildeth thereon, for other fountiation can no man lay, than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. I understand these words to correspond with what he has stated, " ye are a building of God." And I understand that, maintaining the comparison, he says, " you are the building of God," and I am he who, by God's order, have laid the iirst stone in this building. Where not according to my knowledge or judgment, but as God has taught me by His Spirit, I have acted as a wise master builder, lay- ing the right foundation for the building, there being no other foundation than that which I have laid, which is Jesus Christ; it remains that the workmen, who shall come to build on this foundation, look well to it, that what they erect shall harmonize with the foundation, and be worthy of the foundation. Where he says, " according to the grace," he manifestly attributes to the favour of God, his having known how to lay the good foundation, and that he does not attribute it to himself. In saying, " as a wise master builder," it appears that he attributes to himself his being more than a labourer, which I understand him to be through the Apostolate. By what he here says, " buildith," the Greek signifies to erect upon the foundation, which is equivalent to building upon. In saying that the foundation " is Jesus Christ," he understands, that the first thing which is to be propounded to those who are to be God's building, is, that they make God's justice executed upon Christ their own, by giving credit to that which is published in the Gospel, concerning the forgive- ness or general pardon which God has granted to all men, in chastising in Christ the sins of all. This is the foundation of God's building, and where this foundation is not laid,.the building is nx)t God's, but man's ; and thus it is not divine, but human ; it is not spiritual, but carnal. Some combine that, " according to the grace of God which S6 I. CORINTHIANS III. 12, 13. has been given me," with the preceding passage, under- standing St. Paul to state that these Corinthians were God's building, according to the grace which God had given to St. Paul. I have combined it with the following one, it appearing to me much fitter, whilst it does not prejudice them, who combine it with the preceding one. III. 12, 13. — Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, v^ood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire ; and. the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. All this is said in reference to those who misguided these Corinthians, and it even menaces them with the revelation of all things, which wiU take place at the day of judgment ; he says that the resplendent light and fire of that day will give testimony to the doctrine of every one of the labourers who work upon God's building — if it shall be good, and worthy of the foundation, it will resist the fire, and will abide safely ; if it shall want in solidity, and be unworthy of the foundation, it will be unable to resist the fire, and will perish. By " gold, silver, and precious stones" I understand that which is well bui^ —which consists of what he, who builds upon faith in Ch. st, who is the foundation, builds up of trust in God and of love to God, builds up of mortification of the affections and appetites, builds up of contempt of the world, and of contempt of self, builds up of humility of patience, and of endurance in tribulations and in adver- sity, and builds up of union with God, and of union with Christ and with the members of Christ, and of peace and of love with all men. By " wood, hay, and stubble," I understand the worthless building. And because I understand, that though vain and worthless, it is building, I am sure that it does not I. CORINTHIANS III. 12, 13. 57 consist of false doctrine, opposed to the foundation, for in that case it would not be building ; but that which distinc- tively consists in fruitless devotions, which have in them- selves no reality, nor any substance, save such as men impute to them, which are unworthy of the foundation, and whence therefore the building takes no increase, but they are not contrary to the foundation, and for that reason they neither take from it, nor do they demolish it. And by fruitless devotions I do not understand those which are contrary to Christian truth, and are unworthy of Christ, for these two destroy the foundation, but those which are of such a nature that they neither increase the building, nor demolish the foundation. In saying, "for the day shall declare it," he under- stands the day of judgment, in which the works of all God's labourers shaU be made manifest. And in saying, " it shall be revealed by Ji/re," he under- stands that there shall in that day be a fire which will discover and manifest the works of every one of the labourers, as well by its brilliancy as by its intensity, which shall burn up and consume all that is wood, hay, and stubble, refining and purifying all that is gold, silver, and precious stones. So that St. Paul's meaning may be that the fire of the day of judgment will render the work conspicuous of those workmen, who shall have built upon^jlihe foundation of Christ, in harmony with that foundafTion ; and that the same fire will bring confusion upon the work of those workmen, who, upon the same foundation, shall not have built in harmony with the foundation. In saying " the work," he means the building. As to the nature of the fire that will produce this effect at the day of judgment, I remit myself to the considera- tion of those, who profess to understand it wholly, and to explain it fully, whilst I content myself with the knowledge that this effect will be brought about by fire. S8 /. CORINTHIANS III. 14, i5- III. 14, 15. — If any man's work shall abide, for that which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suflfer loss, but he himself shall be saved ; yet so as by fire. St. Paul having stated, that the fire of the day of judg- ment will prove the work which God's labourers shall have wrought, which is the same as though he had said, will prove the result of the servants' trading with their talents, proceeds to say what the issue of the trial will be. And he judicially declares, that that workman will be rewarded by God, whose work, resisting the fire, shall be found to be solid and firm ; and that although that work- man will not be condemned by God, whose work, unable to resist the fire, shall pass off in smoke ; still that he will escape, but like one who escapes from fire. I understand this to be the meaning of these words, which, through their being somewhat confused, have given occa- sion for much discussion amongst those who have striven to understand them. In saying, " if any man's work shall abide," he means, if there shall be any one, whose work, which, through its being of gold, silver, and precious stones, shall remain safe and sound, resisting the fire, he shall be rewarded. And, as to the reward, the same is to be understood as that which I have just previously stated. Upon that passage (in verse 8), " every man shall receive his own reward," these words in the Greek text might have another meaning, which is this : that that which is built shall be rewarded ; although that which I have adopted, viz., that the builder be rewarded, is to me more satis- factory. And in saying, "if any man's work sltall he burned," I understand, if there shall be any man, whose work, which through its being wood, hay, and stubble, and its inability to resist the fire, shall perish in it — the work I. CORINTHIANS III. 1 6, 17. 59 shall suffer damage, or the building shall be consumed or burnt. And as to what he says, " he himself shall he saved," speaking of the builder, I understand St. Paul's aim to be that which I have stated, viz., that he who builds up wood, hay, and stubble, is not opposed or contrary to Christ, since he builds upon Christ, though he contrasts with the good building, since he builds up the wood, hay, and stubble of vain (fruitless) devotions, which, as I have said, consist in men's fancies and opinions, — in dreams and in visions, which perish ; but the workman does not perish, he is saved by faith in Christ. But by the words, " yet so as hy fire," he means, saving himself, but yet like one who passes through the fire. So that it is just as though he should say : He is to be saved, but by passing first through the fire which will burn up his building ; as when a man has escaped from the hands of brigands, and says, I have escaped, but as one who escapes from the hands of brigands, meaning, with that loss and with that damage and injury which they are wont to incur, who escape from the hands of brigands. This is what I at present understand by these words of St. Paul, neither prejudicing nor condemning that which others understand, and I shall retain this opinion, until that I see another better. III. 16, 17. — Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you \ If any one then defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy ; for the temple of God is holy, the which are ye. I do not think that this passage, like the preceding one, attaches itself to those who labour upon and are engaged in erecting God's temples, but properly to every one of those who are built ; each one being God's temple ; and I understand that St. Paul, addressing his words to 6o /. CORINTHIANS III. i8. them, admonishes them not to corrupt themselves with bad habits or vices, assuring them that God will destroy the man who shall pollute or corrupt himself. And the better to enforce his admonition, I understand him to say to them, Know ye not that ye are the temple of God ? meaning, if you do not sufficiently respect yourselves to stand aloof from things improper for you, respect the fact, that you are the temple of God, for that God's Spirit dwells in you ; and know, he that shall pol- lute, profane, or violate his mind or his body, which is the temple of God, God Himself shall pollute it, pro- fane it, violate it, in him, avenging upon him the insult done the Holy Spirit, that dwells in him. And in saying, "for the temple of God is holy" I under- stand him to mean, I tell you not to pollute yourselves with bad habits and vices, for that you are the temple of God, and that the temple of God having to be preserved holy, you must needs keep yourselves holy, neither pollut- ing, nor profaning, nor violating your minds or bodies, in any way whatever. Here I hold a man to be the temple of God in propor- tion as the Spirit of God dwells in him. They, who have not God's Spirit as an indwelling occupant, are not the temple of God. And I likewise hold, that the Christian, who has the Spirit of God, is His temple, and that it behoves him to live upon his guard, neither to pollute himself with the vices of the body, nor with affections or sentiments of the mind, considering that he is under obligation to keep him- self holy, since it is fitting that the temple of God be holy, be pure, and be clean. The word rendered in the first instance "defile" and afterwards " destroy" is the same word, ^deipa, in Greek, which has both significations. III. 1 8. — Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thiuketh (himself) to be wise as I. CORINTHIANS III. i8. 6i this world goes, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. I hold this to be a general admonition, as well for these Corinthians, who professed to be wise, as for those, who desired to be wise, to all of whom I understand St. Paul to say, that they should not deceive themselves by think- ing to acquire divine wisdom, in the way and by the means, in which human wisdom is acquired ; for the way and the means are very different ; it being a fact that wis- dom, in human and temporal things, is attained by study, by diligence, by exercises, and with much curiosity, and especially with the desire upon the part of the man to get wisdom, and to be held, and to be esteemed wifee ; whilst divine wisdom is attained without study, without dili- gence, without exercises, and without curiosity, and espe- cially without desire upon the part of the man to get , wisdom, or to be held or esteemed wise, but foolish. And thus it is certain, that man, in striving to know God, and to know Christ (wherein all divine wisdom consists), in the way and by the means in which he strives to know human things, wholly disqualifies himself for the attain- ment of that which he desires ; whilst proceeding by the foolish way, which consists in not desiring to be wise, he comes to know God, and to know Christ ; and, with the possession of this knowledge, he transcends all the rest of mankind in wisdom. So that St. Paul in saying, " let no man deceive himself," means, in thinking to attain divine wisdom, in the way and' by the means, in which human wisdom is attained. And in saying, " if any man among you thinketh himself to he wise," he means, if there is any one among you, who pretends or thinks himself to be wise in this present life, let him make himself a fool, let him neither desire to be wise, nor to understand, more than he shall be obliged to be wise and to understand ; and thus he shall come to be wise. Some combine the expression " as this world goes" with 62 7. CORINTHIANS III. 19. what precedes, as I have combined it; whilst others com- bine it with what follows, meaning, if there be any one among you, who pretends to be wise, let him become a fool, as far as this world is concerned, and thus he will come to be wise. I prefer to combine it with what pre- cedes, as I have expounded it, because I understand it not to be adequate for a man to make himself a fool in this world's matters, in order to attain divine wisdom, but it is likewise necessary that he make himself a fool in divine things : nay, it is in these things that he has to show his folly, by mortifying the curiosity which men are wont to associate with them, in seeking to know and to understand them by their own ability and judgment : and by striving to understand only so much of them as God shall be pleased to reveal and to discover by His Holy Spirit. Human prudence calls this mortification of man's curi- osity in knowing andunderstanding the things of God, folly, and, so far as it is concerned, it is right, for it appears to be a thing even more than foolish and silly, that a man should think to come to know, whilst he does not seek to know. The Holy Spirit calls this very mortification wisdom, for He understands that God allows Himself to be known, and Christ allows Himself to be known, by them, who do not seek to know, and thus they come to be wise. Por it is indeed true that all the wisdom that can be attained in this present life consists in knowing God, and ia knowing Christ. III. 19. For tlie wisdom of this world is foolish- ness with God. I think him to mean that the man will sacrifice but little who, to attain divine wisdom, shall turn fool and simpleton ; for divine wisdom so far transcends human, that not only does God not hold man's wisdom to be such, but He indeed holds it to be mere foolishness and idiocy ; as such He judges it, as such He treats it. By, " the wisdom of this world," I understand all that I. CORINTHIANS III. ig, 20. 63 men know and understand, and can know and understand by themselves and by the aid of other men ; . and this as well in divine things as in human things ; but men evince beyond all comparison greater stupidity and folly in what they know as men of divine things, than in what they know of human things, in which it appears that they have some jurisdiction, having none whatever in divine things. They, who at all experimentally participate in that divine wisdom, which is inspired and not taiight, know this to be the fact, for it is a matter of experience, and not of knowledge, it is one of ^idence, and not of opinion. And hence it is that the wisest man in the world is worse than a beast when in the presence of one of these divinely wise. And if lower than a beast when in the presence of, or in contact with, one of these, being but a man, what can we think he wiU be, in the presence of, or in contact with God ; but as St. Paul says, a very idiot and fool ? So that by, "worldly wisdom," St. Paul may mean all that men, as men, can attain to know by their prudence and reason, by their judgment and sense. And by, "foolishness," he understands the opposite of wisdom, and he authoritatively declares that God holds that to be folly, which men of the world hold to be wisdom. III. 19, 20. For it is written, " God taketh the wise in their own craftiness." And again, ' ' The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." "With these two authorities — the first of which is in Job V. 13, and of which the second is from Psalm xciv. 11 — does St. Paul confirm what he has stated, that God holds that to be folly which men of the world hold to be wis- dom ; as though he should say. Would you wish to see that this is so ? see it proved by that passage in Job, where he says that " God is wont to take the wise in their own 64 1. CORINTHIANS III. 21-23. craftiness." He means, to make them appear beasts in those things, which they hold to be the acutest, the wisest, and the most excellent. Contemplate it likewise in what David says : " The Lord hnoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vanity." Now, if their thoughts be vanity, their knowledge will also be vanity. By what he here says, " taketh" the Greek word pro- perly signifies to seize by laying hands on, to arrest a man when fleeing or running away. So that Paul says that God avails Himself of the craftiness of the wise to arrest and take them in their own clever devices, putting them to shame in them, with them, and by them. III. 21-23. Therefore, let no man glory in men. For all tilings are yours ; whether Paul, whether ApoUos, whether Cephas, whether the world, Avhether life or death, whether things present or things to come, all are yours ; and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's. As though he should say, and since it is so, that a man, in order to be wise, has to make himself a fool and simpleton, for that all, that men know as men, is before God folly; let no man amongst you be vainglorious, as being more instructed one man than another, but let him only esteem and glory in what he shall be taught by the Spirit of God Himself. And in saying, "for all are yours" he means, What avails it to go on saying, I am of such an one, and I of such and such another ? since it is a fact, that forasmuch as you have the Spirit of God dwelling in you, and that you are the temple of God, you not only are neither of this person nor of that, but all things are yours, God having ordained that they all shall serve you. The' mode in which St. Paul understands that all thincfs serve the Christian, who is a temple of God, having the Spirit of I. CORINTHIANS III. 21-23. 65 God, a resident ■within him, we have stated (in our com- mentary) upon the eighth chapter of Eomans. The design which he here has in enumerating these things, saying "whether Paul, &c.," I understand to be, because he especially rebukes these Corinthians for having taken upon them the names of those who had been their ministers. Where I think that of Cephas, which is the same as Peter, to have been interpolated, precisely as I understand those of Cephas and of Christ to have been so in the first chapter. That, " whether the world," is an instance of hyperbolical amplification betokening fervour of mind. Where he that wiU fully consider the passage, word for word, shall be able to state that the world is the property of those Christians who form the temple of God, since it ministers to their edification, — and this in a thousand ways. Life is one of these, because in life they increase in mortification and in vivification, relatively to which I understand the glory of the resurrection will correspond. Death is one of these, because by it they pass to the life eternal, and to the glory of the resurrection. Things present and things to come are also of these, for in availing them- selves of opportunities and of occasions, they are trans- formed more and more into the image and likeness of God and of Christ. Whilst on this, should any one ask me, say- ing, " Dost thou believe that St. Paul, when he wrote these things, had the design thou hast stated?" I would reply as I have said, that I believe them to be hyperbolical am- plifications that indicate fervour of spirit ; but I will say further, that supposing St. Paul had not that design, the Christian, who contemplates it, can hold it, for it. is a fact that all that has been stated is true. In saying " ye are Christ's," he means, since it indeed is a fact that all things are yours, you are only Christ's ; for in being incorporated into Him, you are His members ; having been redeemed and extricated by Him from the tyranny of the world, from that of the devil, and from E 66 /. CORINTHIANS III. 21-23. that of the flesh ; and having been qualified by Him for liberation from the tyranny of death, it were a great shame that you should pride yourselves upon being any other's than Christ's, by assuming any other appellation than that of Christian. This Christian dignity is only understood by those, who consciously know it to be their own, who find out that they take precedence of all others, and that they are only inferior to Christ. They, who are inwardly unconscious of this, willingly glory in men, and assume men's names. These are inferior to every- thing, — to men, to the world, to life, to death, to things present and to things to come, for the abjectness and slavery to which those anxious wretches are subject, are heightened by all these. And St. Paul in saying, " Christ is God's," means, that just as they, who are Christ's, acknowledge dependence upon no one but Christ, so likewise Christ acknowledges dependence upon no one but God. So that we being Christ's and Christ being God's, we, in being members of Christ, come also to be God's, and to depend upon God, but mediately through Christ ; just as we enjoy the light of this world, which is God's, mediately through the sun. I frequently avail myself of this comparison, because it appears to me well to express and to explain this secret as to the mode, in which St. Paul understands, that we, who are members of Christ, obtain everything of God, through Christ. /. CORINTHIANS IV. 67 CHAPTER IV. IV. I, 2. — Let a man so accouut of us as of ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. Any one of those who preached at Corinth might have said to St. Paul : Come now, Paul, since it is not thy will that these esteem us because we baptize them, nor be- cause we preach unto them, neither wouldest thou that they esteem us for our attainments, tell us briefly in what estimation wouldest thou that they should hold us ? I understand that St. Paul repKes, by stating what might be alleged in opposition to this, saying, that the estimation in which Christians ought to hold those who are Apostles, and those who are doctors in the Church, is that of Christ's ministers, that they continue what Christ commenced, and they continue it in the name of Christ, and as members of Christ, and " stewards of the mysteries of God ; " for in conjunction with preaching forgiveness of sins, and with preaching the Kingdom of God, after the manner in which Christ preached both the one and the other, they distribute and apportion the mysteries of God to those who accept the preached Gospel, according to each one's capacity. And I understand that a good portion of the mysteries of God, which the Apostles dispense or apportion amongst them who accept the grace of the Gospel, consists in tell- ing them, that which indeed is so, viz., that a man's mor- tification is in proportion to his faith ; and that his vivifi- 68 I. CORINTHIANS IV. /, 2. cation is in proportion to his mortification ; and that his love is in proportion to his vivification ; and that his union with God is in proportion to his love to God ; and that his conformity with the will of God is in proportion to his union with God ; and that his Christian piety is in proportion to his conformity to the will of God, resting satisfied with all that God does, wholly approving of it, and holding it all to be holy, just, and good. And, more- over, that a man is relatively dead to himself and to God, in proportion as he is incorporated into Christ ; for Christ in slaying His flesh upon the cross, slew the flesh of all them who are His members. And that a man's peace of conscience is relative to what he inwardly experiences of this death ; and that he is righteous in proportion as he feels peace of conscience; and that he holds God to be righteous, knowing God's inherent righteousness, in pro- portion as he is righteous himself. Besides these mysteries of God, which they, who are Apostles and doctors in the Church of God, dispense and apportion to those who believe, to every individual accord- ing to his capacity, there are others more intrinsic and more hidden, such as Christ's peculiar mode of Being, and the peculiar Being of God ; and the state of the right- eous in the life eternal and after the resurrection : in which things their glory and their happiness will properly consist, and in which the renovation of things created, after the resurrection of the just, will consist. Such are my views of the nature of the mysteries of God. And I understand that the good steward then distri- butes them faithfully, when he disregards flesh and blood in his distribution and repartition of them. I mean his own affections, regarding neither his own appetites, nor the favour of the world, nor his own self-love, as he would do when he should give more of them to some than to others, disregarding the Christian perfection 'or imperfec- tion possessed by them, but being influenced by other outward bodily and worldly qualities. And when he I. CORINTHIANS IV. 3. 69 should give and publish them, not for the Christian edi- fication of those who might receive them, but in order to be held and esteemed of them as very perfect, and very richly endowed with God's gifts and mysteries. So that the Apostle and Christian doctor are the faithful stew- ards of God's mysteries, when they divide and dispense them having regard only to God and to Christ. And they are then unfaithful stewards, when they distribute and divide them having regard to men and having regard to themselves. This is what I understand by these words of St. Paul, and they bear this construction, " Let .every one entertain with reference to us Apostles, this opinion, that we are ministers and servants of Christ, and that we are stewards of the mysteries of God, and of whom that is required, which is so in a steward, to whom the expenditure of his master's money has been committed, viz., fidelity." So that in saying, " moreover it is required," he may mean, what is required in an Apostle in order that he may be perfect,, and such as he ought to be, beyond the mystery of Christ and the dispensation of the mysteries of God, is, that he be found faithful in his stewardship, having dispensed and distributed the mysteries of God faithfully ; having, as has been stated, no respect for either man or self, but only for God and for Christ, to the praise. of the glory of God and of Christ. IV. 3. — But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judg- ment : yea, I judge not mine own self. For I indeed know of nothing against myself; yet am I not hereby justified : but He that judgeth me is the Lord. It appears that the Preacher at Corinth might reply to St. Paul's arguments, by saying. Well, Paul, since thou 70 I. CORINTHIANS IV. 3. wishest that we should not be esteemed aught beyond being ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God, may we be allowed to strive to be esteemed faithful stewards ? To this it appears that St. Paul replies, indicating by personal example what it seemed to him they severally ought to exemplify in themselves, that is, to make no effort to be judged faithful or unfaithful stewards, in the eyes and in the esteem of men, but in the eyes and esteem of God ; and thiis he says, I can only say this of myself, that I am indifferent as to the judgment you can form of me, in judging me to be a faithful or unfaithful steward ; for judgment in this matter is so recondite that I assure you I should not know how to judge myself, as to whether I had dispensed these mysteries of God well or ill ; for although it be true that I , do not know myself to have ill dispensed anything, still I do not on this account find my stewardship justified, it being a thing so hid that mere man is unable to penetrate it, conformably with what the Psalmist says, in Ps. xix. 12, " Who can understand his errors ? " wherefore, remitting judgment to God, to whom my fidelity in my stewardship is known, for to Him alone have I had regard in it, I utterly disregard the judgment man may form of me. And it appears to me that you ought every one of you to do the same. In saying "de humano dia," dv9pmTrivri<; 7]fiepa<;, rendered in the received version, " or of man's judgment," he is to be understood to mean the judgment of [a being so epheme- ral as] man. In saying "for I know of nothing against myself," he means, I have nothing upon my conscience, convicting me of having been a bad steward. And in saying, " yet am I not hereby justified" he means, as to being a faithful or unfaithful steward. St. Paul found himself incapable of forming such judgment, although he possessed the Spirit of God, guided by which, as I have hereinbefore stated, the spiritual person judgeth all things, I. CORINTHIANS IV. 3, 4. 71 he ought to have found himself competent to judge thii. likewise. In pointing out the fact that he was incom- petent to do so, he shows how difficult a thing it is for a man to judge himself to be justified by his works, so as to pretend to stand justified by them before God. The spiri- tual man indeed judgeth all things, but when he comes to sit in judgment upon his own works, let him distrust the judgment he forms, knowing the difference there is between God's judgment and that of man's, however spiritual he may be. St. Paul held himself to be justified, before God by (his) acceptance of the Gospel, but he did not hold himself to be justified by his right administration of his stewardship. Adopting this view, which is sure and true, the opinions of those who make light of the ienejit of Christ, run wild ; they are contrary to it, they utterly misapprehend it, and do St. Paul injustice, understanding him to state here, that he did not know himself to be justified before God, nor accepted of Him. I hold such persons by these their views to disparage " the benefit of Christ," for they deprive man of peace of conscience, with which and by which " the benefit of Christ is felt." He cannot have peace of con- science, who does not know himself to be justified before God, and accepted of Him, it being, a fact that peace of con- science springs from this knowledge, whilst from peace of conscience springs the knowledge of " the benefit of Christ." I understand that these persons do St. Paul injus- tice, because in depriving him of the personal conscious- ness of his being justified before God, and accepted of Him, they deprive him of peace of conscience, and by that very circumstance of the knowledge of " the benefit of Christ," of Christ Himself, and of God, a thing repugnant and directly opposed to all that is seen in St. Paul ; in whom we recognise much assurance of his justification, by incorporation into Christ, great peace of conscience, with great knowledge of "the benefit of Christ," of the Being of Christ, and of the Being of God. 72 I. CORINTHIANS IV. 5. And here the perversity of men is worthy of considera- tion, for they being unable, either hy their worles, or hy their own modes of Justification, to be assured that they are in a state of grace with God, or that they are justified before God, or acce^pted of Sim, which assurance compre- hends all Ch'istiandty, forasmuch as a man is but to that extent Christian in which he possesses this assurance, they have encountered these words of St. Paul, which, wholly misunderstanding, they have so rendered, that not con- tented with defending and concealing their want of as- surance, by showing that it does not spring from infidelity but from humility, they have gone on to stigmatize and to condemn assurance as temerity, declaring it to be im- possible for a man to be assured that he is in a state of grace, justified before God and accepted of Him : and they do not consider {reflect) that a man incorporated by faith into Christ, and made a member of Christ, makes the righteousness of Christ, and the innocency of Christ, his own. This is indeed a fact, that the more men strive after godliness, who are without a calling thereto, the wider do they stray from it ; and it is likewise true, that the more human prudence seeks to understand the things which are peculiar to the Spirit of God, so much the less does it comprehend them, so much the more does it remain in the dark and illuded, because, as has been said, God, by the Cross of Christ, has made human prudence foolish. IV. 5. — Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will bring to light both the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart : and then shall every man have praise of God. As if St. Paul should say : Since it is a fact, that even I myself am unequal to form a judgment concerning myself, it will be well that from this day forward ye cease /. CORINTHIANS IV. 5. 73 to judge each other, examining each other's matters ; ■wait patiently until Christ come to judge, for then He will clear up that which is now obscure, bringing to light the counsels and designs which men shall have had in their affairs, and then likewise the praise shall come to the person commended, not from man but from God. Where he says, "until the Lord come," I understand him to expound his previous expression, " before the time," understanding, that all the judgments which some of us men form of other men, before Christ's coming, are pre- mature and rash. And where he says, " will make manifest the counsels of the heart," I understand him to expound his previous statement, that the Lord "will hring to light the hidden things of darkness." So that he calls the counsels of men's hearts the hidden things of darkness ; and I understand that he calls them hidden, because man never discovers clearly what he thinks ; he ever acts dissemblingly and secretively. And I understand that he calls men's hearts darkness, because they are so charged with obscurity, that man himself does not know what he has in his own heart. Holy Scripture teems with this darkness of the human heart ; though the more it asserts and declares it, the less are men inclined to believe it, whilst they are but men ; they indeed believe it when they cease to be men, and begin to be more than men, ceasing to be children of Adam, and beginning to be children of God, by Christian regeneration ; for then, when they begin to know God, they begin to know themselves, and thus they begin to discover the darkness of their own hearts, and they thus begin to believe what Holy Scripture states concerning them ; and they realise what a man might experience who had been born and reared in a dark cavern, where no ray of light could enter, who never could know himself to be in darkness until he should first see some little light, and in proportion as the light in the cavern should be in- 74 I. CORINTHIANS IV. 6. creased, so would his knowledge of the darkness in which he had been increase also. IV. 6. — And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself, and to ApoUos, for your sakes ; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written ; that no one of you be puffed up for the one against another. From this statement of St. Paul's, it appears that these Corinthians did not say, I am of Paul, nor am I of Apollos, but that they had other names of other ministers or doctors, of whom they did- boast; for St. Paul here says that he has given an illustration in his own person, and in that of Apollos, for the use of these Corinthians, as well of the ministers and doctors as of their hearers, and of those whom they taught, in order that they should not esteem the ministers of the Gospel beyond that, which he has stated as the degree, in which they ought to be esteemed ; and likewise in order to bring it to pass that one Christian should not glory in a minister or Apostle to such extent as to puff himself up against another Christian. In saying, " these things have I transferred in a figure," let him be understood to say, these things have I adduced by way of metaphor or example ; so that it is tantamount to his saying, I have brought them forward by way of illustration. In saying " that they should not think of men above that which is written," he means, that that which they had to learn, iDy him and by Apollos, was, neither to glory in, nor to esteem the Apostles, as anything more than ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God, as he had but just previously stated, and I understand that the writing, he refers to, is this statement of his. In saying, " no one of you," he means, of those who had been indoctrinated and taught. I. CORINTHIANS IV. 7. 75 And in saying, "for the one," he means, in order to favour certain other ministers and doctors. And when he says " he puffed up," he means, inflated with pride. And in saying, "against another," he means, against some other of them who had been indoctrinated and taught. This mode of apprehending it concurs with the metaphor or illustration, having relation to all that has been stated up to this point, reprehending the party prejudices of those Corinthians, and stating the sentiments (feelings) that ought to be entertained towards ministers and towards those who teach the Gospel and Christian life. So that St. Paul means, I have transferred by way of figure and exemplification in myself and in ApoUos, saying what you say, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, in order to show you that it is not right of you to use these appella- tions, which are contrary to Christian life. And I have transferred, by way of figure, to myself and to Apollos, the estimation which ought to be cherished towards those, who preach and to those who teach Christian life, by way of admonishing you, that you should not esteem the minister or doctor more than he ought to be esteemed. As to what might here be, said upon that which is passing in our time with reference to these party names, and with reference to the estimation in which they desire to be held, who are neither Apostles nor doctors, I leave to the consideration of those persons, who relish spiritual things. IV. 7. — For who is he that judgeth thee ? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive ? now, if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it ? It appears that these words affect those who preached at Corinth ; to every one of whom, as self-elated with the 76 /. CORINTHIANS IV. 8. gifts -which they had received from God, and which they abused, does it appear that St. Paul says, " who jvdgeth thee'' meaning, why dost thou consent to man's sitting in judgment upon the extent of thy knowledge in spiritual things, or upon that of thy divine endowments ? And in saying " what hast thou that thou didst not receive ? " he means, since it is a fact that what thou hast, and whereof thou gloriest, is not thine, but God's, who of His grace and bounty hath given it to thee ; wherefore hast thou to boast and be vainglorious of it, as though it were properly thine own, and had been acquired by thy virtue, or by thy merits ? To which should a Corinthian reply to St. Paul, saying, I do not pride myself upon my own virtue, but I do glory in God's favour shown me, and in God's bounty exercised upon me; I think that St. Paul would rejoin, Instead of presumptuously and vainly boasting and priding thyself in the presence of men, aiming at the attainment of their honour and esteem, thou witnessest against thyself, that thou dost not recognize thy gifts as emanating from God's bounty, but from thine own virtue, thinking that God has been moved by thy merits to confer them upon thee ; for it is well certain that if thou wouldest recognize what thou hast, as emanating solely from God's bounty, thou wouldest by that very circumstance be humbled to hold thyself to be a low, base, and mean creature, and thou wouldest seek and wouldest rejoice to be treated and held as such. Por this is the effect wrought upon man when he recognizes his gifts as conferred by God, and this is a general rule, that man never prides him- self upon or is vainglorious, but of those things to which he knows or thinks that he personally contributes ; feelinc himself humbled and lowered by all others; excepting when his boasting and his glorying result in the glory of God, as did the boastings of St. Paul. IV. 8. — Now you are full, now you are rich, ye reign as kings without us : and I would to God 7. CORINTHIANS IV. 8. 77 you may reign, that we also may reiga with you. I understand these words to he used ironically, and that they are applied to all these Corinthians, as well to the teachers as to the taught, in saying to whom, " you are now full," or filled to satiety, he means, you already have so many spiritual gifts that you desire no more. And I think his meaning to he the same where he says, " you are now rich," or enriched. In saying " you reign as kings without us," he means, you are in the kingdom of God without our exhortations and without our admonitions ; you have attained peace of conscience and Christian liberty, and are ruled and swayed by the Holy Spirit. And here it is implied, that Christians, because they are members of Christ, are kings, and that they actually reign. By saying, " and I would to God that you may reign," he shows, that he does not mean that they did reign, that they were full to repletion, or that they were enriched, but that they persuaded themselves they were so, and herein lies the irony, for that he said one thing and meant another. And in saying, " that we also may reign with you," I understand him to say, Fain would I have it, that you should reign, for were you to reign, it would necessarily result that I likewise should reign with you, considering that you, led to Christ by my preaching, already reign with Christ. St. Paul, indeed, reigned with Christians as perfect as himself, but he did not reign with these Corin- thian Christians, who were imperfect, with whom he desired to reign, nay, he wished that they might reign with him. And I have-already stated that the Christian's kingdom consists of, or comprehends, peace of conscience. Christian liberty, and the rule and government of the Holy Spirit ; they who possess this are kings in spirit, and actually reign. 78 . /. CORINTHIANS IV. g. IV. 9. — For it appears to me that God hath set us, the last of the Apostles, forth, as m'-.i condemned to death : for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. St. Paul, persevering in his ironical strain, says, I desire that you may reign, in order to reign with you, for to my view God has made us Apostles, whom He has last called, to be exposed, as a spectacle, to which the eyes of every creature on earth might be directed as a spectacle, both miserable and abject. N"either is it the Apostle's meaning that this was so, but he means that these Corinthians thought it to be so, because their teachers and ministers persuaded them that it was so. In saying, " us, the last of the Apostles," he means, those who had last been called to Apostleship, as distinguished from those who had been called whilst Christ lived here upon earth, and had had personal intercourse and converse with Him. In saying, " hath set forth," he means, to expose as a spectacle. In saying, "for we are made a spectacle," I understand ];im to expound what he has said, " men condemned to death,'' as though he had said, I say that God hath exposed us as men appointed to death, meaning, that our position in this world is like that of men in the amphi- theatre, who, being appointed to death, are exposed to the wild beasts in the arena as sport for the spectators. I mean to say, that just as all they who are present in the amphitheatre, keep their eyes fixed upon such a man, con- templating him as a miserable and pitiful object ; so like- wise, all they who are present in the amphitheatre of this world, both angels and men, keep their eyes fixed upon us, contemplating in us, miserable and pitiful objects. I have already said that St. Paul does not state this, because it was so, but in order to censure these Corin- I. CORINTHIANS IV. lo. 79 thians, for that they, priding themselves upon and esteem- ing their ministers, who taught them various branches of worldly wisdom, and who made them denominational, despised and contemned St. Paul, and those who were like him, as though he and they were such people, as he here represents. The amphitheatre was the place, where these scenes were presented, and where the people crowded to witness them. IV. 10. — We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise througli Christ ; we are weak, but ye are strong ; ye are illustrious, but we are despised. As though he said, since you, in your opinion, and with your varied worldly wisdom, think that you reign, and that we are made a gazing-stock in the world's amphi- theatre, it follows, that we are held and adjudged to be fools, ignorant know-nothings, whilst you, who blend worldly wisdom with Christ, are not held to be fools, but, on the contrary, are held and adjudged to be wise and prudent. And it actually is so, that when a person, enlightened by the Spirit of Christ, blends human wisdom with the Spirit, he is judged and held by persons who also possess Christ's Spirit, to be vain, and even insane, for he indeed is so; but he is held by all the rest of mankind to be exceedingly wise and exceedingly prudent. That such is • the fact might be shown in certain persons as examples, but it is not well to reproach individuals. It suffices that we here understand that they who preach, and that they who receive Christ simply, are held by the world to be fools; and that they who preach, and that they who receive Christ, with a commixture of human wisdom, are held by the world to be wise. Some are fools for Christ's sake, whilst others are wise 8o I. CORINTHIANS IV. lo. through Christ. Where it is worthy of consideration, that they, who are fools, are so for Christ's sake, because they preach and accept Christ as it behoves them. And that they, who are wise, are not so for Christ's sake, but through Christ, having acquired their reputation for wis- dom not by the will of Christ, but by their own baseness, availing themselves of Christ, not for Christ's glory, but for their own glory. So that in saying, " we are fools for Christ's sake," he means, we are esteemed fools for preaching and teaching Christ. And in saying, "you are wise through Christ," he means, you are esteemed wise, for the part you take in Christ. I understand that passage, " we are weak, hut ye are strong" to have reference to Christian liberty. So that St. Paul says, we, veiling our Christian liberty, in order that we may offend no one, are held to be weak in faith, for you judge us to be so ; whilst you, who make it your aim to be held to be strong in faith, make a great show of your Christian liberty. By that, "ye are illustrious, hut we are despised," I understand him to say, you, by conforming yourselves to this world, seek to be held as wise and strong, and being held by men to be such, you are amongst them dis- tinguished and illustrious, for they admire wisdom and power; whilst we are content to be held as fools and weak; and being held to be such, we are obscure and vile, for worldly men, and even imperfect Christians, hold folly and weakness to be obscure and vile. From these words of St. Paul, we readily gather that the ' marks of the true Apostle, and of the true and perfect Christian, are folly, as the world deems it, in speaking of the things of Christ; are weakness in the use of Christian liberty and are dishonour; for they, who simply preach, and they, who simply accept Christ, are held to be fools, to be weak, and to be dishonoured. Furthermore from these same words we may gather that I. CORINTHIANS IV. 11-13. 8r the marks of the false Apostle, and of . the mean and im- perfect Christian, are wisdom, in speaking of the things of Christ, freedom in the use of Christian liberty, and the craving to be held to be illustrious and distinguished. The ability and the dexterity with which St. Paul rebukes these Corinthians throughout all this discourse are not to be lost sight of, wherein he shows them how widely they had strayed from the good way in which he had put them. IV. 11-13. — Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place ; and labour, working with our own hands : being reviled, we bless : being persecuted, we suffer it : being defamed, we entreat : we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. It seems that St. Paul aims by these words to show that his statement, that he and his companions were in disrepute with the world, was borne out by experience. And thus he says, that on the one hand they suffered from want of food and clothing, and that on the other they were persecuted, reviled, maltreated, and despised. And it is indeed a fact that the more nearly a man is united to God the more is he persecuted, reviled, mal- treated, and despised of men; even as instanced in the person of the Son of God, of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who, being the person most intimately united with God, was of all who have been upon earth the most persecuted, the most reviled, the worst treated, and the most despised. That, "we have no certain dwelling-place," is to be re- ferred to forced flight from the persecution of men. The Greek word acnaTem signifies " a wandering from place to place, without resting anywhere." 82 /, CORINTHIANS IV. 14. That, "we labour working with our own hands" is to be weighed, in order to consider that St. Paul prided him- self upon getting his living by his manual labour. In saying " we bless" he means, not only do we not revile those who revile us, but on the contrary we speak well of them. We have spoken of suffering under persecutions in our commentary upon the Eomans, Chapter V. In saying "we entreat," I think that he means, we entreat that they should not defame us. And it is a mark of great mortification, when the man that is defamed is only induced to entreat, that they should not defame him. And here I understand it to be very great perfection upon the part of the man defamed, when he can rejoice in being so, and when he passes lightly through it. And I understand it to be no less perfection, when the man defamed, conscious of the defamation being false and slanderous, does not avenge it, does not disculpate him- self, does not defend himself, but only remits himself to entreat of the reviler that he cease to revile him ; — now to revile is tantamount to defame, to insult, to vilify. The word " offscouring," rendered by the Greek word ■jrepiylrrjfia, is synonymous with "filth" and means the vilest thing, destitute of all consideration, and valueless. And they are such in the eyes of the world, who preach the Cross of Christ, and who take up the Cross of Christ, with that purity and with that sincerity with which it must needs be preached, and with which it must be taken up. For the obloquy of which St. Paul here speaks is annexed to the Cross of Christ. Now the world seeks honour, seeks glory, and seeks ambition; they who mix up ambition, glory, and this world's honour with the Cross of Christ, are like men who go to a funeral in a court dress. I v. 14. — I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I admonish you. /. CORINTHIANS IV. 15, 16. 83 St. Paul declares it not to have been his intention to put these Corinthians to shame in this preceding state- ment, by the consideration of the similarity that existed between him and them, as they might have thought that it had been. And he says that it had only been his in- tention to admonish them, indicating the course they ought to follow. And he says, " as my beloved children," in order partly to mitigate the grief which what he previously had said might cause in their minds ; his mode of rebuke being so vehement and powerful, addressing them ironically, which is brought home to the mind very acutely, when it pro- ceeds from the greater to the less, from a superior to an inferior. IV. 15, 16. — For though ye have ten thousand • instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers ; for in Christ Jesus I have "begotten you through the Gospel. Wherefore, I beseech you, be ye imitators of me. Having called them children, he now proceeds to state what this filiation is. And in the first place he says, "for though ye have ten thousand instructors^ meaning, I state that you are my children, for though you have many, who have served as your tutors in Christianity, instructing you as to your mode of life and carriage, both inward and outward, you have not many fathers, who have begotten you in Christ, like myself, who, by preaching the Gospel unto you, have begotten you in Christ, leading you to become members of Christ, regenerated by spiritual re- generation. And by saying, "wherefore, I beseech you," he means, since it is a fact that you are my children, I, as your father, beseech you to have your life and converse amongst men as you see me live and converse amongst 84 /. CORINTHIANS IV. 17. . them. Whereby I understand St. Paul to invite these Corinthians to imitate him, meaning in those things of which he had spoken, marking the difference there was between himself and them. By saying " instructors in Christ," I understand doctors or masters, who instruct you in Christianity. And an instructor is almost the same as a tutor, but the posi- tion of a tutor is more distinguished than that of an in- structor. And I understand there is the same difference between the father and the instructor that there is between an Apostle and a doctor, the Apostle being the father, for that he, by preaching the Gospel, brings men to Christian regeneration, so that they are to him his children; whilst the doctor or master occupied in instructing the already regenerate, performs the office of pedagogue. In the same manner I understand, that the father is he that plants, and that the instructor is he that waters. St. Paul was the father of these Corin- thians, he having converted them to Christ by his preach- ing ; whilst they were instructors who presumed to in- struct these Corinthians, after that St. Paul had preached to them. The expression, " through the Gospel," is tantamount to through the preaching of the Gospel. IV. 17. — For this cause have I sent unto you Timothy, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall remind you of my ways, which are in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church. As though he had said: I being desirous that you imitate me, and that you should not imitate those whom you do imitate, who make you sectarian (denominational), and cause you to relax in duty by their worldly wise precepts, I have resolved to send Timothy unto you, who, on the /. CORINTHIANS IV. 17. 85 one hand, shall bring what you have seen in me to your remembrance ; and who, on the other hand, shall report my method of teaching, in all the places and in all the churches where I do teach. So that in saying "for this cause," he means, that you may be followers of me. This Timothy, as may be gathered from St. Paul, was the person whom he most loved, finding him most con- formed to his will. And in order that they might give him credit, he says, " who is my beloved son." And adds, " moreover faithful in the Lord," as though he had said : He is my son, for I have led him to Christ ; and he is my beloved, because he loves Christ ; and he is faithful, for he is a good Christian. Prom his sayjng "in the Lord" I understand him to make a diflerence between those who are faithful for their own sakes, and who are so to themselves, and be- tween those who are faithful for Christ's sake and to Christ ; they who love themselves are faithful to them- selves ; whilst they who love Christ are faithful to Christ, having respect but for Christ. In saying, " who shall remind you" it seems that he charges them with having forgotten what he had taught them. In saying, " my ways which are in Christ" he means, my manner of preaching, as he himself declares, saying, " as I teach everywhere," as though he had said, I tell you that Timothy shall bring to your memory my ways which are in Christ, for he shall tell you my method of teaching everywhere, and in all the churches where I go. And in saying, " / teach" it appears that he means, that he was especially and particularly desirous that they should follow him in doctrine ; as well that they should teach what he taught, as that they should live, as he taught them how they should live. And here I understand, that St. Paul had not only the gift of Apostleship to bring men to Christ, but that he 86 I. CORINTHIANS IV. 18-20. likewise had the gift of doctrine to guide and put thosd in the right way who came to Christ ; and I think that the concurrence of such exalted gifts in St. Paul has re- sulted in his having individually better illustrated the Gospel, and in his having thrown greater light upon Christianity, than all they have done, who have written up to this day, all taken together. , Nay, I think that since Christ, no one has understood Christianity as he understood it : at least if any one has understood it as he did, he has not demonstrated it, and thus we are without proof of it. IV. 1 8-20. — Now some are puflFed up, as though I were not coining to you. But I will come to you quickly, if the Lord will ; and will know, not the speech of them who are puffed up, bi>t their power. For the Kingdom of God does not consist in word, but in power. This is a dignified menace, which seems principally to concern them, who taught at Corinth : though it indeed affects them likewise, who, having been taught, professed to know ; such profession is ever prejudicial to the Chris- tian, for it induces him to relax, it engenders conceit, and it carries him away with ambition and self-esteem, even in spite of himself. Hence, therefore, it is safe for the Christian, that his principal profession be, to bear the Cross of Christ, just such as Christ Himself shall lay on him. And beyond that, to profess to know nothin" else but Christ crucified. In saying " some are puffed up," he means, they are in- flated with pride. And in saying " some," St. Paul shows his modesty, in his unwillingness to name them. And in saying, " as though I were not coming to you," he shows, that if these inflated ones had thought that he had been about to return to Corinth, they would not have been puffed up. In saying " / will know, not their speech," he means /. CORINTHIANS IV. 18-20. 87 when I shall be amongst them, I will examine upon what the pride of these proud ones is based, not examining their Christian and spiritual utterances, but what they effect by them ; as though he said, I shall not act as you do, who appreciate men by their oratory, thinking that the man who speaks well, speaks under divine inspiration and impulse ; but I shall do that which is right, in weigh- ing the power of their utterances, the degree in which they shall have influenced the mortification and vivifica- tion of the minds of their hearers ; for the divine inspira- tion with which a man is moved to speak, is gauged by the power, by the virtue, and by the efficiency of the words spoken. Where it appears to me, that St. Paul's views concur with what we have stated in [our commentary upon] Eomans, Chapter X., that although a passage may at one time have been the word of God, having been inspired by God, it is not the word of God at another time, when he that utters it has not been inspired of God to speak it. It is said there, that as for man's word to be such, it must be spoken by man, so for God's word to be such, it is necessary that God speak by him who speaks, and that he be moved to speak by His Spirit. He that is not inspired by God to speak, will with greater truth be said to speak human words than divine. The Prophets, whom God sent, spoke in the name of God, and God spoke by them. And it is thus that Isaiah says in the first chapter of his prophecy, " Hear, heavens, and give ear, earth: for the Lord speaks;" the prophet himself, he that spoke, being inspired and moved to do so by God's Spirit that dwelt in him. But the false prophets, who, to obtain a hearing they could not otherwise obtain, took and usurped the words of the true prophets, and pretended to foretell the future to the people, they, being neither inspired nor sent of God to prophesy, did not speak the words of God. Por God Himself says " that they ran, hut that He had not sent them." Not having sent theili, then, God had not given 88 I. CORINTHIANS IV. 18-20. them His word ; and not having given it to them, He did not inspire them to speak it ; and thus they were inspired to speak by their prudence, by their flesh, or by the deviL For neither being God's ministers, nor sent by Him, they necessarily were those of the devil ; they indeed said with the lips, " thus saith the Lord" in order to appear to be God's prophets ; but their own heart gave them the lie, for they did not believe it to be so, for God was neither he that inspired them, nor he that sent them. So that what they announced was the image and representation of the words of God, with their own lies and deceits blended with them, like the devil, who used passages of Scripture as a mode of lying and battling against Christ. It is then necessary, that he, who speaks upon the part of God, speak, as says St. Peter, in his first general Epistle iv. 10, II, "according to the oracles of God" and that he have His Spirit, and that he be inspired by God Himself to speak. When the words of God are preached and announced in this manner, and with these conditions, they necessarily produce two effects upon the hearers, accord- ing to the disposition they severally possess. It softens some, it hardens others ; it absolves some, it condemns others ; it opens heaven to some, and it shuts it to others. iBy it, some are spiritually edified, whilst others are scan- dalized and offended. To them who have a Jewish frame of mind, it is a scandal; whilst to those who have a Gentile frame of mind, it is, as has been previously stated folly. Those who believe and receive it, receive there- with liberty of conscience, and emancipation from the slavery of sin ; whilst they, who by unbelief exclude it from their hearts, shut up heaven against themselves, and remain hardened in their sin. These effects are not realised when the words preached are not God's, and that they who preach them are not inspired by God, they but leave the man where they find him, or rather render him worse. Finding him asleep in sin, they leave him asleep, or cast him into profounder I. CORINTHIANS IV. 18-20. , 89 slumber ; is he blind ? they leave him blind, or intensify his blindness ; do they find him far from God ? he is placed by them even farther off, for if they operate at all, this is their tendency. On the other hand, that which they teach man is not directed to the glory of God, nor to obedience to His law, but to things that man likes, in which he delights, and in which his corrupt affections remain entire and alive. The whole of the temple erected here is a carnal structure, although it may be imposing and wear an air of great sanctity. In this temple there is no mortification of affections and appetites, but the vivification of the old Adam, and of all that is of the flesh and of the world. Wherefore let every one see well to it, what words he speaks, and with what spirit he utters them; whether they be God's,' or whether they be not, or whether they be the words which God spoke by others ; whether he be inspired of God to speak them, or whether he profane them by speaking them, being inspired to do so by his own carnal prudence, vainglory, ambition, interest, or by any other spirit which is not of God. So that it may be known whether inspiration be of God or not, by the effect it produces ; that being the fact, which God says by Isaiah, the word which shall proceed from His mouth shall not return unto Him void, hut shall accomplish that whereunto He sent it. And because St. Paul knew that this is so, I understand that he would not examine these Corinthians by their words, which might indeed be good, having been God's word in other men's mouths, but by their virtue, by their power, and by their efficiency, and especially by the effect which they would have wrought upon the hearers; for this is the proof by which he would know whether they spoke, taught by man's prudence, or divinely inspired, and whether they spoke by human prudence or by the Holy Spirit ; and hence one might conjecture what the inspira- tion "was with which they spoke. 90 7. CORINTHIANS IV. 21. Whence it may well be gathered that the words of those who preach and of those who teach, not being inspired to the work, are without any virtue or ef&cacy whatever ; and that it is by the effects which the word produces, that it is known, whether he, who has spoken, has been inspired by God, or moved by his own spirit. In saying "for the Kingdom of God," he means, I shall examine not the words of these inflated persons, but the power ; for I understand the Kingdom of God to mean the province of the Holy Spirit, who sways and governs those who are in the Kingdom of God, and are kings in the world, and that it does not consist in knowing how to speak, but in the effect wrought by their speech. He alone speaks to the point in things pertaining to the King- dom of God, who is inside the Kingdom of God, although they who are outside it occasionally hit the mark ; but this also is truth, that the testimony borne to those who speak being in the Kingdom of God, they speaking by in- spiration of the Spirit of God, and not by their own spirits, is the effect produced by their words. So that, what St. Paul sought to know amongst these, was not as to whether they were Christians or not, but whether they had, or had not, the gift of Apostleship and doctrine, which, as has been said, was to be known not by their words but by the virtue, the power, and the efficiency of their words. IV. 21. — What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness ? As though he should say : If you wish that I come not with threatening and reprimand, correct in your midst, that, wherein you, during my absence, have corrupted and depraved. For if you act thus, my visit will be wholly an affectionate one, altogether gentle and loving. I. CORINTHIANS IV. 21. gx I understand him to say " with a rod," meaning thereby with reproof and with menaces ; for these are, in my opinion, the rod with which the Apostles chastised : and these are indeed peculiarly the Christian rod. " The spirit of meekness" is equivalent to his saying with a meek, benign, and peaceful mind, such as becomes that of the Apostle or doctor, with persons, who, being evange- lized and taught, either discharge Christian duty, or if they fail to do it, being corrected, revert to its perfor- mance. I shall not desist from asserting this, though I have present to my mind what St. Peter did to Ananias and to Sapphira his wife, as we read in Acts v. And I, recollecting what St. Paul did with that Elymas the magician, as we read in Acts xiii., have a notion that this Apostolic rod consisted in some efficient power, with which they chastised those whom they desired to chastise ; it being the Spirit of God that chastised them, and not the Apostles. And peradventure the Church has lost this power of chastisement, since it tas availed itself of what is popularly styled the secular arm. And this might have happened thus, even as iti does in every- thing else, that when we seek to avail ourselves of creature favour, we lose the favour of God : when we attend to the flesh, we miss the Spirit : when we seek our justifica- tion by our own works, we lose faith : and when we attend to the world, we sever ourselves from God : nay, God severs Himself from us. 92 /. CORINTHIANS V. CHAPTER V. V. I, 2. — It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication, as is not so much as even named among the Gentiles, that one have his father's wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he, who doth this deed, might be taken away from among you. It appears that that, which ordinarily happens, had oc- curred amongst the Christians in Corinth : the flesh, break- ing loose into licentiousness in some things, proceeded to act licentiously in other things. These Corinthians had in- dulged in prurient cravings to know, had prided themselves, and vaunted themselves, in so doing, as also in passionate sectarianism, and getting on by degrees it seems that they gave themselves up to dissolute fleshly vices. To such a pitch that one of them kept his stepmother as his mis- tress, which fact, when brought to St. Paul's knowledge, not only excited his indignation against that man, but against the other Christians also, because they permitted him to associate with them. In saying, "actually reported," he means, the thing has been done in your midst, that there has actually been a man, who perpetrated such a thing. In the expression, " such as w not so much as named even among the Gentiles^' it is not to be understood that such an event had never occurred, or had never been practised, but that it was very unusual, and held to be so hideous that they did not mention it. I. CORINTHIANS V. 3-5. 93 And by saying, " ye are puffed up," he refers to what has been previously stated, that they vaunted themselves in their doctrines of human prudence. And in saying, " that he might be taken away from among you," he means, that if they, knowing that man's ca,se, had bewailed it, they would have grieved, and would have felt as they ought to have done, under such circumstances: they would not have kept his company, nay, they would have striven to sever him from their society as something pestiferous, that he might not infect those who were sound. V. 3-5. — For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath done this deed ; in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ye being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus, It is difficult to apprehend these words rightly, and the difficulty arises as much from the somewhat confused order of the words, as from our having no record of the usages amongst Christians of those times, when they sought to exclude any vicious person from their company. I think what St. Paul here means authoritatively to declare, is this : I would that ye had wept over this evil^ so that you should have excluded a man so vicious from your fellowship ; for I, although absent from you in body, nevertheless as present with you in mind, have judged, determined, and deliberated, just as though I had been present with you, that, you having, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, assembled upon this m'atter, you, with my spirit, which is present, as is proved to you by this 94 /. CORINTHIANS V. 3-5. letter, and therewith likewise the power, the virtue, and the efficacy of our Lord Jesus Christ, concert to deliver this man, who has committed such an abominable act, over to Satan, that he may there slay his flesh, and that the spirit may thus attain salvation in the day of judgment. This is the purport of these words, in which I under- stand the expression, "present in spirit," to mean, that he was present with them in mind, ever having them in his memory ; although this might refer to the spiritual union which Christians have amongst themselves, being, as they are, members of one and the same body, and partaking as they do of one and the same spirit. I likewise understand that by saying, " in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," he means as Christians invoking the name of Christ. And I understand that by saying, " and my spirit," he means, and this my deliberation. In saying, " and with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ," he means, that they, when congregated, needed, in addition to their judgments, and the judgment or deliberation of St. Paul, that Christ's power should concur, to give their deliberations force and efficiency, they meeting together in His name, and because He is there. I again repeat, it appears to me that I thoroughly un- derstand all this, but I do not understand what he means " hy delivering such an one unto Satan" though I assuredly do think, that by Satan he understands the evil spirit, the enemy of the human race. And that he means, that as they, who are in the bonds of Christian unity, are moved, ruled, and swayed by the Holy Spirit, so they, who are not included in it, are ruled, moved, and swayed by the evil spirit, whord St. Paul calls Satan. So that in saying, " he delivered unto Satan" he may mean be severed from union with the Holy Spirit, and be delivered up to the tyranny of the evil spirit ; but I do not understand in what mode the death of the flesh should /. CORINTHIANS V. 3-5. 95 result from this severance from Christian union, or what we ought to understand by mortification of the flesh, unless it were that such a man, knowing that the vivacity of his flesh had brought him to such extremity that he was rejected and severed from Christian union, should devote himself to mortify and even to slay his flesh ; but this does not greatly satisfy me, for I have been taught experimen- tally, that faith, though weak, and union with God, though slight, are more efficient to mortify and even to slay all the affections and air the lusts of the flesh, than man's varied exercises ^ wrought in order to mortify them and to slay them. But peradventure this is a particular favour of God, in which St. Paul thought this vicious man took no part ; and this conception of it might pass, but that which I understand least of all is the expression, " in order that the spirit may be saved." I perfectly understand that by " the day of the Lord Jesus," he means the day of judg- ment. But I do not understand why he says the spirit, and not the whole man ; nor do I understand whether St. Paul by spirit means the mind of the Corinthian, or the spirit which God had communicated to him. In things , wherein I have to deal with conjecture, I wholly lose my- self. I have already stated what I understand and what I do not understand, and I leave to them who are more spi- ritual, the consideration both of the one and of the other. It appears to me that there are here two things worthy of consideration. The one is with what reflection, with what circumspection, and with what mature and spiritual counsel, these Christians moved when about to excom- municate an individual from their fellowship; or, to express myself better, to pronounce and declare him excommuni- cated, he having first left their society, for that, having ceased to live after the Spirit, he lived after the flesh. And the other is the reason why these Christians excom- municated from their body those whom they did excom- ^ The exercitia, the penitential exercises practised in the Romish Church. 96 I. CORINTHIANS V. 6, 7. municate, for I see that it was not from temporal interest, but spiritual. V. 6, 7. — Your glorying is not good : know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump ? Purge out, therefore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For Christ our Passover hath' been sacrificed for us. As though St. Paul had said : It is not well that you, having the infectious disorder which you have amongst you, should be intent upon glorifying yourselves about anything, since that may be wrought in you which is wrought in a great mass, I mean, that just as a great mass is leavened with but a little leaven, so you all may be corrupted by intercourse with this vicious man. Where- fore it will be well that since up to the present time you, having received the grace of the gospel, are unleavened, that is, a lump without leaven, be attent to purge out all that remains in you of the old and ancient leaven, that is, of the old man, of Adam and of the flesh, that you may keep yourselves a new mass to life eternal. So that, " 63/ the old leaven," he may mean the carnal affections and appetites which, through man's depravity, live and reign in him, and begin to die with regeneration. In saying, " that ye may he a new lump" he may mean that you preserve yourselves to be a new lump without the leaven of affections and lusts, so that the being un- leavened corresponds with the condition into which man is broiight by Christian regeneration. He, after having spoken of the lump and of unleavened bread, now comes to the point, and speaks of the Christian Passover, because the paschal lamb was eaten with unleavened bread, because at the time that the children of Israel came forth from Egypt (for then it was that that Passover was instituted, and it was so in memory of that Exodus) they were un- /. CORINTHIANS V. 6, 7. 97 able, through the hurry in which they found themselves, to wait to knead their flour and to leaven the mass of dough, they carried the flour in the pockets of their skirts and afterwards they made their bread, and without leaven- ing it, they baked it over ashes', and with this bread did they eat the paschal lamb. Well, I revert to state that St. Paul, in connection with his having spoken of unleavened bread, now proceeds to say, "for our Passover," as though he should say : You ought to strive to be unleavened, since you see that Christ, who is our Passover, has been sacrificed for us ; it is right that we should think about eating Him, being un- leavened, free from the leaven of carnal affections and appetites, and of the world. And in saying, "for us," I understand that the Apostle means,we had to be sacrificed ourselves, and that Christ has been sacrificed. He may likewise mean, Christ has been sacrificed in order that we might have confidence; in the first place, He has proclaimed to us the remission of sins, and afterwards He was sacrificed, in order that we micht have whereon to rely, wherein and whereon we might lay the basis of our faith. The Gospel proclaims to us the indulgence or general pardon offered by God, which they enjoy who believe it, whilst He Himself facilitates belief, by showing that Christ was sacrificed for those who believe. I understand, him to call Christ " our Passover," for just as in Egypt the angel of the Lord, who slew the first-born of the Egyptians, when he came to the house of a Jew, seeing it marked with the blood of the lamb, passed over it without entering it, for which reason the feast, held by the Jews in commemoration of that event, was called the Passover, which signifies past over, so it will come to pass at the day of judgment, that the angel of God, the executor of God's wrath upon the wicked, when he shall come to one of us, seeing him marked with the blood of Christ who was sacrificed for us, he shall pass over him without G 98 I. CORINTHIANS V. 8. touching him. And I understand that on that day all they will be found to be marked with the blood of Christ, who, accepting the indulgence and general pardon pub- lished in- the Gospel, and relying upon the blood which Christ has shed, shall have departed this present life, relying upon the word of God published in the Gospel, and upon the blood, which Christ, who is the Christian Pass- over, shed, when nailed to the cross. And I understand that the Passover is not periodical, as were the Jewish feasts, but perpetual and continuous, because we have the blood which Christ has shed for us ever present in our memories. There may peradventure be more of my imagination than of St. Paul's purpose in what I have stated. I say this that it may pass for what it is worth. V. 8. — Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness : but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. He means, since Christ is indeed our Passover, and has been sacrificed for us, it is for us to celebrate this Pass- over, living not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. The Jews celebrated their Passover, which fell on a given day in March, in memory of the blood of the lamb, which was the token given to the angel of God, that he, when in Egypt, should pass over them without doing them damage. And they celebrated it not with leavened bread but with unleavened. And Christians celebrate their Passover, which falls on the day they experience Christian regeneration, and continues till the day of resurrection, in commemoration of the blood of Christ, which will be the token at the day of judgment, for God's punishment to pass by them, without touching them ; and they cele- brate it with bread not leavened, — I mean, without the affections and lusts which they inherit from the old 7. CORINTHIANS V. 9-13. 99 Adam, and which consist in malice and wickedness, but with unleavened bread, or bread without leaven. I mean, with the mortification of their affections and lusts, for that they retain the sincerity and truth which they in- herit, by regeneration, of the new Adam, Jesus Christ our Lord. The expression which he here employs, " let us keep the feast," is used to render the Greek word eopTa^co/Mev, which signifies, " let us feast," meaning, let us joy and rejoice in our Passover. And in order that our joy and rejoicings be worthy of the Passover, he says, "not with the old leaven," meaning, that there should not be in our joy and rejoicing any commixture either of affection, or of lust of the flesh, or of the world. And by saying, " with the unleavened bread," he means, let us joy and rejoice in this our Passover, without mingling aught that is carnal or worldly, but solely with that which' is pure and clean; and I understand that he uses the terms " sincerity'' together with love and fidelity, as synonymous with " truth," because he that loves God and is faithful to Him, maintains himself in the truth to which he is pledged. Here it is worthy of consideration, that St. Paul under- stands, that the Christian's whole life is a continuous Pass- over, in which he is to joy and rejoice in memory of the Paschal Lamb, Jesus Christ our Lord, sacrificed for us ; and that nothing carnal or worldly is to enter into com- bination with this joy and rejoicing, but only that which springs from Christian regeneration, which, with reference to the body, is purity and cleanliness, and with reference to the soul, love, fidelity, and truth. They, who think to celebrate the Christian Passover with fleshly and worldly objects, may know, that they do not celebrate the Christian Passover, but a Jewish one. V. 9-13. — I wrote in the epistle unto you not to be intimate with fornicators : yet not altogether 100 /. CORINTHIANS V. 9-13. to separate from tlie fornicators of this world, or from the covetous, or extortioners, or from idolaters ; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company with any man that is called a brother, if he be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extor- tioner; with such an one, no not to eat. For what have I to do with judging them that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Put away then that wicked person from among you. St. Paul throughout this passage speaks so confusedly, that it is scarcely possible to understand what he means. True, indeed, it is his purpose to admonish these Corin- thians, that they should not permit any one to associate with them, who bore the title of Christian, or made pro- fession of Christianity, if his habits were heathenish ; for it is such persons as these, who destroy and deprave the holy intercourse of good Christians, for that being admitted into continuous Christian intercourse, they render those vicious, who inadvertently admit them to familiarity, supposing them to be Christians, — a fault which is avoided, when con- versing with them who are not Christians, and who make no profession of being such; because Christians, who main- tain relations with them, are ever upon their guard, fearin" lest they should be corrupted and depraved ; whence it is easily inferred, that it is more injurious to maintain intercourse and relations with those, who, being destitute of the Spirit of Christ, profess to have it, than with those who do not possess it, and who make no profession of having it. And I understand it to be so much the more injurious, for though intercourse with the vicious greatly' conduces to lead those into personal vices, who incau- I. CORINTHIANS V. g-13. loi tiously hold relations with them, still intercourse with those, who but profess to have the Spirit, leads them astray from Christ, who were seeking Him, to follow after Moses, leading them also to believe that they are on their way to Christ. Of such instances, would to God, that we had in the world fewer examples. Proceeding to St. Paul's words, where he says, " / lurote in the epistle unto you," it appears that he declares him- self to have written some other letter than this to them, in which it seems that he had enjoined them, in a general manner, not to associate with vicious men. And by saying "for then must ye need^," it appears that he states by way of exposition of what he had written, that he did not mean that they should generally abstain from intercourse with all kinds of vicious men, fc^ that to do this, they would have to go out of the world — the world being, as it is, full of bad men. And in saying, "but now I have written unto you," he declares his intention to have been to tell them, that they should not impede their career by associating with a man, holding the title of a brother, which is tantamount to a Christian, who has heathenish habits, being car- nally vicious, being a covetous person, being an idolater, or being given to insult and to injure men. The expression " with such an one, no, not even to eat together ! " is a very forcible one ; for it appears that St. Paul would not have a Christian sit at the same table with a man calling himself a Christian, if he be a vicious man. Whereupon, should any one doubt, saying, St. Paul exhorts me to imitate him, and admonishes me to imitate Christ : he says of himself, that he made himself all things to all men in order to gain them ; whilst I read of Christ that He ate and drank with publicans and sinners ; well now, since the facts are such, why does he now tell me that I am not even to eat with a vicious Chris- tian ? I understand, that there are two things which may be stated in reply to this : The one, that St. Paul is I02 I. CORINTHIANS V. 9-13. Speaking with imperfect men, to whom that was neither suitable nor safe, which was safe for him, who was perfect, and which was safe for Christ, who was most perfect, nay, perfection itself : and the other, that Christ held inter- course with those, who professed to be bad, in order to gain them ; and that St. Paul, imitating Christ, did the same thing, with the same intent ; and that St. Paul does not here prohibit intercourse with the vicious, generally, but with those, who, calling themselves Christians, are vicious. So that it is safe for a Christian to imitate Christ, and to imitate St. Paul, in lowliness, in humility, in obedience, in sincerity, and in meekness ; and as to the rest, only to imitate that, to which he shall be inspired by the Holy Spirit. In saving, " what have I to do with judging," he means, I merely tell you to avoid intercourse with those who call themselves Christians, but who are vicious, for I under- stand it to be neither your province, nor mine, to judge those who are not Christians, whether they be vicious or not. So that by " them who are without," he understands those who do not bear the title of Christians. In saying " them that are within," it appears that he assumes it to be an established fact that certain Christians know the vices of others, their fellow-(Christians). So that by sayino- " them that are within," he means Christians. Afterwards he says, " hut them that are without, Godjudgeth," meaning, that the judgment of those who are not Christians, we are to leave to God, since it is He that judgeth them. And finally he concludes, by saying "put away therefore from among yourselves that wicked person^' meaning : Since it is a fact that it is your duty to judge them who call " themselves Christians, but who are vicious, and that you see that this man of whom I have spoken to you is so vicious, put him out of your social circle, even as I have told and commanded you. /. CORINTHIANS VI. 103 CHAPTER VI. VI. I. — Dares any one of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints 1 ' Here I understand that he proceeds to rebuke the Corinthians for their litigation in time past, that they had striven in law-suits, and had ceased to settle differences amongst themselves, and that they had brought their legal controversies before judges, who were not Christians. "Where it certainly ought to be observed, that Chris- tianity, even in the days of St. Paul, had begun so to decline, that there were Christians who instituted law- suits against their fellow- Christians, they having at the outset, and when the G-ospel was first preached, resigned all that they possessed. The Greek word irpayfia [rendered in the Spanish version, pleyto] is a thing in dispute, a ground of suit, or something like it. In saying " before the unjust" he means before Gentile judges. In saying " before the saints," he means before Christian judges. And thus throughout the whole passage he appears like one astonished, and says : Is it possible, that there can be a Christian amongst you, who, having any difference or legal controversy with another Christian, dares to go before a Gentile judge, and does not dare to go before a Christian judge ? VI. 2, 3. — Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world ? and if the world shall be judged 104 I- CORINTHIANS VI. 2, 3. by you, are ye unworthy to judge in wholly inferior matters ? Know ye not that we shall judge angels ? not merely things that pertain to this life ? St. Paul, in seeking to persuade these Corinthians that it was less evil to prosecute suits, or to litigate, hefore Christian judges than before Gentile judges, reasons with them thu's : Since it is a fact, of which you are aware, that the saints, or Christians, have to judge the world, and that the world is judged by you, for that you are saints and Christians, why do you judge yourselves to be un- worthy to judge between one Christian and another upon those petty and transitory things ? And to give increased weight to his persuasion, he seems to say : Since, as you know, we have to judge angels, why shall we disqualify ourselves from adjudicat- ing upon these things which but pertain to outward bodily life ? Where I do not understand, to my own satisfaction, in what mode we, saints or Christians, have to judge the world, unless it be, as is commonly said, that the ungodliness of worldly men will be condemned by the holiness of Christ's saints ; but this mode of judging does not argue dignity, though it does perfection. " By you the world is judged." Although that indicates time present, for the holiness of Christian saints even now condemns the world, yet I understand it to mean but the ■ same, as what the Apostle has stated, viz., that the saints shall judge the world. In saying, " of wholly inferior matters,'' he means, to judge of low vulgar things, which they all necessarily are, that pertain to outward bodily life. Others, by " wholly inferior matters," understand the tribunals in which the judgments are delivered, and would have St. Paul say, You, who are to be members of the divine tribunal ap- pointed to judge the world, do you hold yourselves to be unworthy to be members of these human tribunals 1 but I do not approve of this view. I. CORINTHIANS VI. 4-6. 105 I do. not know what St. Paul meant by that passage, " Know ye not that we shall have to judge angels,'' though I do know what they understand by it, who profess that they perfectly understand it, but that most assuredly does not satisfy me. ' The expression " things that pertain to this life" is rendered in the Greek by a single word ['yStwrt/ca], which means things affecting this life. VI. 4-6. — If then ye have to judge things per- taining to temporals, appoint those as judges who are least esteemed in the church. I speak it to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man amongst you ? no, not one that shall be able to judge between brethren : but one brother goeth to law with another brother, and this before un- believers ? As though he should say : Since it is a fact that our dignity is as exalted as I have stated, that we are worthy to sit in judgment upon eternal things, how much more shall we be so upon temporal matters ? My judgment then is, that when there shall arise anything amongst you that may have to be investigated judicially, that you yourselves should elect, from amongst yourselves, them whom you esteem least, in order to adjudicate upon and settle such a matter. Where it appears, that he under- stands the judgment of an undistinguished Christian to be superior to that of a person of mark not a Christian. And by adding, "/ speak it to your shame," he shows that in saying, '' appoint those who are least esteemed" he did not say so because he wished them to carry it out, but to put them to the blush, since they held themselves so lightly, that they did not think they had amongst them individuals, who were ec[ual to adjudicate upon those differences. Wherefore he adds, " is it so, that there is not a wise man io6 /. CORINTHIANS VI. 7. 8. amongst you ? " meaning : What, are you not ashamed, that there should not be in your church even one person with adequate wisdom and knowledge to remedy this, but you must needs consent that one Christian implead, or go to law with, another Christian ; and what is worse, that you should submit to be dragged before Gentile judges ? VI. 7, 8. — Now therefore, there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with, another : why do ye not rather suffer wrong ? why do ye not rather allow yourselves to be defrauded ? Nay, you wrong and defraud, and do this to your brethren. As though he should say : Yea, from the very fact that you allow yourselves to be overcome by your inordinate desires, so that you litigate with and implead each other, you show that you fail to discharge the obligation of Chris- tian piety, which requires not only that you should not go to law with each other, but that to avoid going to law with and impleading each other, you should submit to be wronged and defrauded. And he adds, and what worse is, you yourselves are they, who wrong and who defraud ; and the matter is aggravated still more, for you wrong and defraud the brethren, Christians, — conduct wholly disgraceful and unworthy of Christians; nay, entirely alien to them. From all which it is to be gathered, that it is St. Paul's opinion that Christians should rather allow them- selves to be defrauded and wronged, than to go to law and to institute law-suits. And this harmonizes with the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, who desires, that in dealing with the man, who would take our coat and bring us into a suit respecting it, we should let him have our cloak too, rather than go to law with him. It is, moreover, to be inferred that the Christian by going to law deviates from the obligation of Christian piety. That he then fails more when he impleads another /. CORINTHIANS VI. 9-1 1. 107 Christian, and still more signally when he brings his suit before a judge who is not a Christian. That it is a less evil for one Christian to implead another Christian if it be before a Christian judge; but it is a much less evil for a Christian to implead another, who is not a Christian, before any judge whatever ; whilst the surest and safest course is not to go to law at all,, for anything, with any man of the world, and before any judge whatever. This is what St. Paul understood when he said, " How therefore, there is utterly a fault among you, lecause ye go to law." I will add this, that I call him a Christian, who has the Spirit of Christ, because, as is said in Eomans viii. 9 : " Mow, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is not Christ's, he is not a Christian." This is what St. Paul says, and it is a fact. VI. 9-1 1. — Know ye not that the unjust shall not inherit the Kingdom of God ? Be not deceived ; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the Kingdom of God. And such were some of you : but ye have been washed, but ye have been sanc- tified, but ye have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. Taking occasion from what he said, " you wrong," he pro- ceeds to say : Since you seek as children of God to inherit the Kingdom of God, and that you know that it is not theirs who injure others, be upon your guard not to injure any one, in order that you may not fall short of that in- heritance at which you aim. This is to be understood thus, for in the Greek " the wronger and his wrong " are rendered by the same io8 /. CORINTHIANS VI. 9-1 1. word, aBiKoi; and aSiKia, so that to be " unjust," or a wrong-doer, consists in doing injury and damage to others. In saying " neither fornicators," I understand that in amplifying upon what he has said, to wit, that the unjust, and they who do wrong, shall not inherit the Kingdom of God, he reverts to treat of a topic, laid aside for a while, whilst he spoke of law-suits, that of the carnal vices : and thus he says and affirms, that men, prone and addicted to the vices here mentioned, shall not inherit the Kingdom of heaven ; whilst it is to be understood that, under the category here given, are comprised all that are associated with, and that pertains to, them. Where I indeed marvel, that these Corinthians, having accepted the grace of the Gospel, and having received from God so many gifts, both outward and inward, should have had their worldly and carnal affections and lusts so lively, that St. Paul should have had occasion to address to them these exhortations and admonitions. And I mar- vel so much the more, for that I understand, as I have elsewhere said, that faith and the Holy Spirit mortify in man all that is worldly and carnal ; mortification corre- ' sponding with faith and with the Holy Spirit. St. Paul in saying, " and suck were some of you',' shows, that they no longer were so, whilst he evinces fear, lest they revert to become so. Where the consideration suggests itself, since God did not reject such men as these, either from His grace or from His Gospel, nay, that He admitted them both to the one and to the other, no man upon earth, however disso- lute he may be, is warranted to hold himself incapacitated or disqualified from participating in God's grace and in that of the Gospel. In saying, " hut ye have leen loashed" he means, that they, through faith and through baptism, had been cleansed from those vices. I understand that faith and baptism had mortified, or had at least deadened in them, the affec- I. CORINTHIANS VI. 12. 109 tions and lusts by which they were carried away into those vices. And where he says, " hut ye have been sanctified" he means, that God had made them holy by giving them His Holy Spirit. And by saying, " tut ye have been justified," he means, that having been incorporated into Christ, God held and esteemed them as just. This washing, this holiness, and this justification came to them, he says, in and through the name of the Lord Jesus, meaning that they had given credit to the indul- gence and general pardon granted by God, which is preached in Christ's name. And he likewise says, that this had come to them " by the Spirit of our God" meaning, that God had given and communicated His Spirit to them, who, dwelling in them, cleansed them, sanctified them, and justified them. I mean to say, it maintained in them the cleansing, the sanctification, and the justification which they had attained in (and through) the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who alone confers purity, sanctification, and justification. VI. 12. — All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not profitable ; all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any one of them. St. Paul designs by these words to say, that the Chris- tian's eye should not be directed to that which is lawful for him, but to that which is profitable for him. And that for this reason he should not allow any one of his affections, or any one' of his passions, to get the mastery over him. As though he should say : It was all very well for the Jews, having a servile spirit, to occupy themselves in examining what they were allowed to do, because such inquiries are peculiar to slaves, but it is not at all the right thing for us Christians, who are children, to occupy no I. CORINTHIANS VI. 12. ourselves in examining what we are allowed to do, but what it is profitable for us to do; for children should see to it that they do their duty as children, not to study what they may do under the paternal roof, but what filial duty requires them to do, and what it is profitable for them to do; their advantage consisting, in their regulating themselves by their father's will, and in being upon their guard not to allow themselves to be swayed by any affec- tion or passion that might lead them to disobey their father, and thus move him to disinherit them. So that St. Paul may be understood to say, although all things are lawful for me, since all things are not pro- fitable for me, it is not well for me to fix my attention upon what is lawful for me, but upon what is profitable for me, upon that which conduces to my Christian edifica- tion. And he repeats : Granted that all things are allowed me, it is not well for me to avail myself of this license, little or much ; because it might come to pass that, in availing myself of it, I might become subject to my affec- tions and passions, and thus I should be brought to lose my purity, my holiness, and my righteousness. As in the instance of a man, who, having been very ill, but having afterwards perfectly recovered, might say, I may now eat anything, but since all that one may eat is not good for the body, I desire to bridle my appetite, for it might happen that, in eating something unprofitable, I might be led to eat so much of it as should bring my old disorder back upon me. This is what I understand by these words ; and as to the nature of the things of which St. Paul says that they were all lawful for him, and as to the manner in which he was licensed to employ them, whether it were by the abroga- tion of the law, which he so persistently preached, or whether it were by anything else, I remit myself to the judgment of persons, who, possessing the spirit that St. Paul had, possess likewise the thoughts and feelings by which the Apostle was animated. /. CORINTHIANS VI. 13, 14. m VI. 13, 14. — Meats for the belly, aud the belly for meats : but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord : and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by His own power. That which may be gathered from these words is, that there were some in the Church of Corinth, who converted Christian hberty, which is wholly spiritual, into carnal liberty, and persuaded themselves that simple fornication was allowed them. They meant to say, that there was nothing bad or prejudicial to the spirit in it, just as there is nothing bad or prejudicial to the spirit in eating and drinking what is needed for the sustenance of the body. And it appears that they were of opinion, that just as God had ordained meats for the belly and the belly for meats, so had He also ordained the bodies for fornication. St. Paul continues to inveigh against this false persua- sion, and against this bad opinion to the end of this chap- ter, employing every argument in his power to dissuade them from simple fornication, and to extirpate it from amongst Christians, because it is injurious and pernicious to the spirit ; for I understand that there is nothing whereby the flesh inflates itself more against the spirit, nor whereby the spirit is more prostrated, than by coition under any circumstances whatever. I understand then, that St. Paul, in speaking with these Corinthians, reasons thus ; I grant what you state, that meats are ordained by God for the belly, and that the belly is ordained of God to receive the meats, and by His ordinance to discharge them; but, mark it well, this analogy does not hold in reference to the body and to fornication, for your bodies have not been ordained by God for forni- cation, but for Christ, in order that you may be members of Christ ; and Christ' is ordaiued of God for your bodies, 112 I. CORINTHIANS VI. 15-17. in order to raise them again. And I understand that St. Paul establishes this dissimilitude between the belly and meats, and between fornication and the body, herein, that God will destroy the belly and the meats, and that God Himself will raise up our bodies. It is thus that I understand these words of St. Paul ; and I understand him to say, that God shall destroy the belly and meats, because at the resurrection of the just there will be no occasion to use the belly or meats ; the belly as a part of the body will be raised again, but there will be no occasion for its use. I understand likewise, that St. Paul, in seeking to con- firm their faith in the resurrection, says, " by His (God's) own power," meaning, that just as God by His own power raised Christ, so will He, by His own power, raise up the bodies of the members of Christ. Let the corollary from this passage be, that as there is not the analogy between the body and fornication that there is between meats and the belly, the Christian ought under no circuOistances to practise fornication ; since the end for which his body was created was not for fornica- tion, but to be Christ's ; and it is his duty to treat it, not as his own property, but as Christ's ; not as an object to be destroyed by fornication, but as that which has evermore to be with Christ. VI. 15-17. — Know ye not that your bodies are members of Christ ? Ceasing therefore to be mem- bers of Christ, shall I make them the members of a harlot ? No, no. What, know ye not that he who is joined to a harlot is one body ? for the twain, saith He, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit with^^Him. Another persuasion against simple fornication, in which he speaks to this effect : your bodies, as you have heard. /. CORINTHIANS VI. i8. 113 are members of Christ, and that by God's appointment; now since such is the fact, consider yourselves whether it be right that your bodies should cease to be members of Christ, by your making them members of the harlot with whom you have connection. And because a man might say, I know that it does not follow that I sever myself from Christ, nor do I cease to be His, by connecting myself with a harlot, St. Paul adds, that just as he who connects himself with, and is united to, God, causes himself to have one and the same spirit with God, for that God dwells in him, and he dwells in God; so likewise he that unites himself with and has connection with a harlot, causes himself to have one body with her, for he is connected with her, and she is connected with him. To establish this union between the man and the harlot with whom he has connection, he quotes the scriptural statement made in reference to marriage in Genesis ii. 24. Where it says, " the two shall be one Jlesh,'' I think that it means, not only in conformity of mind, but likewise in the jurisdiction they reciprocally have over each other's body. So that they constitute one and the same mind, and one and the same body. But the apprehension of the mode in which St. Paul understands this, which is spoken of marriage, to be equally applicable to simple fornication, is beyond my grasp. VI. 18. — Flee fornication, every sin that a man doetli is without the body, but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. This is another persuasion against simple fornication. "Where St. Paul means that fornication is, amongst vices, the only one that damages the body of the fornicator, for, as he has stated, by fornication the man ceases to be a member of Christ, and makes himself a member of the H •114 /. CORINTHIANS VI. 19, 20. harlot with -whom he fornicates, wherein he gravely offends against his own body. And here I do not think that St. Paul means that a man, falling through weakness into an act of fornication, wholly ceases to be a member of Christ, becoming wholly a member of the harlot ; but that the fruit reaped by one, who addicts himself to fornication, is, that he ceases to be a member of Christ, and that he constitutes himself a member of the harlot, and that he exposes himself by these misdeeds to bodily danger. VI. 19, 20. — What, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom ye have as a gift from God, and that ye are not your own ? for ye have been bought with a price : therefore glorify God with your body and with your spirit, which are God's. He concludes his persuasives against simple fornication, by saying: Since thus it is, that the body of every one of you is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you, whom you have received by the distinguishing gift of God, and that indeed you are not your own to such an extent as that you may dispose of your bodies at your pleasure, since that Christ has bought you at the price of His blood, which He shed for you, it is wrong of you to exercise your bodies in fornication, — a thing so unworthy and so contrary to the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you, and whose temples you are, just as if you had not been bought, and as though you were your own. Whilst the most correct thing (you can do) is to aim at illustrating the glory of God with your bodies, by em- ploying them about those things which you, every one of you, throiigh God's gifts possess, and which you know should, in deference to God's will, be exercised in evange- lising, in teaching, in prophesying, &c. /. CORINTHIANS VI. 19, 20. 115 It is also most proper that you endeavour to illustrate the glory of God with your spirit, by increasing the strength of your faith, by perseverance, by assurance, and by hope, and by the fervour of charity, and similarly by the know- ledge of God and of Christ. And in adding, " which are God's," it appears that he means, so much the more is it your duty to do this, since your body and your spirit or mind, are not even your own, but God's ; and since they are God's, it is right that you should employ them to the glory of God. Thus does St. Paul desire that the Christian should ever steadily occupy body and mind in promoting the glory of God. And I understand this to be the Christian's duty ; and I understand that he, who shall be thus occupied, will forget simple fornication, together with everything else that gratifies the flesh, for it is well seen that the flesh is prostrated by this occupation, which continued goes on to mortify the body. I mean that it does so when the occupation and its continuance are suggested by inspiration ; for when it has been taught or springs from human industry, I do not think that it does produce this effect. ii6 7. CORINTHIANS VII. CHAPTER VII. VII. 1-4. — Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me, It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence ; and similarly the wife to the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband : and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. It appears that these Corinthians having sent to con- sult St. Paul upon certain subjects, they had, amongst others, desired to get his opinion concerning marriage ; in reply to which, it appears that he first gives his own judgment, which is this, that it is good for a man to be without a wife under any circumstances whatever, but he does not here supply the reason which led him to form this judgment, or this opinion: but continuing to speak on this subject, he deals with it in the following manner. He says that were men without wives, and that were women without husbands, there would be much fornication, which brings in its train the improprieties already alluded to, whence it is well that every man have his wife, and that every woman have her husband. So that neither the man be driven to seek after other women, nor the woman after other men. Where it is worthy of consideration, that the Apostle does not permit. /. CORINTHIANS VII. 5. 117 or counsel marriage, in order that the human race may not fail, which it indeed would, were men all Christians, and that they fled fornication as injurious, and matri- mony as perplexing and entangling: but he permits it and he counsels it, to avoid the impropriety of forni- cation. What St. Paul's design in doing so may have been, I shaU leave for their consideration, who shall have the Spirit which the Apostle had, and who shall comprehend Christianity as the Apostle comprehended it. In that " lei the husbaTid render the wife" I understand him to say let the married couple agree, that they concur in mutual love. And in saying "the wife hath not power of her own body," I understand him to say that they are one and the same body. So that in these two clauses St. Paul declares how he understands Holy Scripture, where it says that the two are one flesh. VII. 5. — Defraud you not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and to prayer, and come together again, that Satan tempt you not through your incontinency. St. Paul counsels the married couple that neither should withhold the body from the other : he describes such withdrawal as a fraud, and says that they should only defraud each other to some extent, when both acquiesce and consent to it, for a while and not perma- nently. And he means that this separation or depriva- tion should be with a view to devote themselves to fast- ing and to prayer, meaning that leisure and place should be had in order to pray and to fast. Prom which it seems that the Apostle held that these two things, fasting and ii8 /. CORINTHIANS VII. 5. prayer, were obstructed by the consummation of marriage. And it is a fact that fasting is obstructed by it, inasmuch as fasting consists in abstinence from all that delights the flesh. The consummation of marriage involves intemper- ance and carnal delight. And prayer is obstructed by the consummation of marriage, for prayer consists in raising the mind to God, whilst the act of marriage clouds the mind by carnality. It is indeed true that a person may have attained to such mortification of everything carnal, as to have the mind disengaged whilst in the consumma- tion, so as not to frustrate prayer or fasting. And it may also possibly happen that a person may be naturally so disgusted with this consummation, that exercising it bodily, with the mind disengaged, there may be no im- pediment to either prayer or fasting. But I understand St. Paul here as speaking with those who were imper- fect, who had not attained to mortify the flesh, and who enjoy coition. And thus, I understand that these words are addressed to these imperfect ones, for these Corinthians with whom St. Paul discoursed were such of whom he said, "ye are yet carnal." That expression, " and come together again" is simply to be understood, separate yourselves (et?) in order to devote yourselves to fasting and to prayer ; and afterwards should you desire it, return to be reunited. And by saying " that Satan tempt you not" he means, I tell you that you should return to be reunited, because it might happen that whilst you were separated, the enemy of the human race might avail himself of your inconti- nence, might tempt you ; and tempting you, might over- come you, so as to lead the husband to seek another woman, or the wife to seek another man. And thus you would have failed to attain the end you had in marriage, which is to avoid fornication, — a thing so opposed to the Christian Spirit. I have already stated that Satan is a Hebrew word which signifies adverse or inimical ; and Holy Scripture /. CORINTHIANS VII. 6, 7. 119 is wont to designate hj that name the evil spirit, the enemy of the human race, and that most opposed to the Holy Spirit. VII. 6, 7. — But this I say by permission, and not of commandment. For I would that all men were even as I myself am ; but every man hath his proper gift of God ; one after this manner, and another after that. Some refer these words but to the foregoing. And I understand that St. Paul says : This which I have stated that you should revert to be united again, I do not say it by way of command, constraining you to do so ; but I say it by way of permission, allowing you to do so, be- cause of your incontinence ; for had I not known of your proneness to incontinency, I should be glad that you should be separate, even as I am separate, and that you should not be reunited ; but considering that there are those amongst you who have not received the gift of self- control from God, I am content that you come together again. This is one of the passages of St. Paul, from which they gather that he was married. I do not say that he had been married, nor that he had not, because it is of little im- portance, but I do say it appears that these words rather relate to all that has been stated upon the subject of marriage, as though St. Paul had said, What I have said, let every man have his own wife, and every woman her own husband ; I have not said it imperatively or by way of command that they should do so, but permissively, that those who wish to do so may do so. And he adds, "for I would that all men were even as my- self," meaning, were it possible, I could wish that every Christian should live (single), without a wife, even as I do : but knowing as I do that God's gift of the grace of 120 /. CORINTHIANS VII. 8, 9. self-control is needed for single life to be profitable, and that it cannot be so at man's will, nor by human or -worldly- interests ; and knowing too that there are those who do not possess the gift of chastity or continence, I am content that he marry, to whom God has not given the power of living without a wife. Whence we may gather that the Christian, ere he thinks of living without a wife, should see whether he be endowed by God with the grace to do so. What I 'here say of the Christian man, I also say of the Christian woman : and this harmonises with what is stated in Matt. xix. 12, where Christ, speaking on this very subject, said, " ITe that can receive this, let him receive it," meaning, he that can live without marriage, let him not marry; however he does not say that the power is in man, but in God ; and that it is not dependent upon man's will or "man's interests, but on God's grace. In saying " one after this manner, and another after that," he means, that some have God's grace in one mode, and others in another : some to live unmarried, and others to live holily in marriage. VII. 8, 9. — I say therefore to the unmarried and to -wido-ws, it is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they are incontinent, let them marry : for it is better to marry, than to burn. As though the above had been addressed but to young men and to young women, he proceeds here to speak to unmarried men and to widows, and says that it is well for them not to marry, just as St. Paul himself was un- married ; but upon condition that they live chastely, for if so be that they cannot live chastely, it is well that they marry. And because a man might say, it is a small matter that I be tempted to incontinence, for I will combat it, it appears that St. Paul says, ■' it is better to marry than to /. CORINTHIANS VII. lo, ir. 121 hum," meaniiig, I say that they, who are thus incontinent, should marry, for I understand marriage to be the less evil, in which the carnal appetite is kept alive by exer- . cise, than that of continence, when he that would live continently has not the grace of God to do so ; for in the continuous struggle which he has with his flesh, which inwardly burns, he afflicts and torments himself to such a degree, that marriage would be for him preferable. They, who are married, do not feel the fire with which the car- nal passion burns ; nor do they feel it, who carry out the promptings of their appetites. Still less do they feel it, who are by nature of a phlegmatic temperament, whilst they feel it, though but little, who live continently, having God's grace given them to that end, it being God's will that they should live so, and I class the Apostle amongst them. Whilst they feel it very much, who desire to live con- tinently, but have not God's grace to do so, in whom, whilst they struggle with the carnal appetite, in seeking to resist it, the fire of concupiscence increases to such a degree, that it burns and consumes them, and these are they of whom St. Paul says, it is better that they marry, than that they burn. Some understand St. Paul to say that it is better for the incontinent to marry, than that they should not, lest that, through their incontinence, they should surrender themselves to fornication, and be brought by it to be burned in hell fire. VII. 10, II. — And unto the married, I give charge, yet not I, but the Lord : that the wife be not divorced from her husband : but and if she be divorced, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband : and that the husband leave not his wife. Combining these words of St. Paul with what we find in St. Matt, chapters v., vii. and xix., we may under- 122 /. CORINTHIANS VII. 12-14. stand what constancy there ought to be in marriage between Christians, upon which subject I remit myself to the sentiments generally held in reference to it. That expression " yet not I, hut the Lord," is worthy of being weighed, in order that it may be seen what differ- ence it was St. Paul's wish that Christians should miake between what he said unto them as Paul, and what he said unto them by Christ's ordinance ; whence it may be inferred, that those who do not like to do so do not imitate St. Paul, and therein they do not imitate Christ. It is also worthy of some consideration that, in speak- ing of the wife, he says, " let her not le divorced;" and he imposes a penalty on her if she be divorced. And in speaking of the husband, he says, " let him not leave his wife,'' whilst he imposes no penalty on him if he should leave her : it is quite true that he incurs the same penalty as the wife, but St. Paul does not repeat it. VII. 12-14. — But unto the others, say I, not the Lord, If any brother hath an unbelieving wife, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not leave her. And the woman, who hath an unbelieving husband, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving hus- ' band is sanctified by the believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the believing husband. This ordinance of St. Paul's is now no longer observed by the Church, conduct to which it seems they have been emboldened, by his saying " it is I who say, and not the Lord," where , their argument deserves consideration, who hold it to be impious to say, that it is right, that that, which had been ordained in the Church at certain peripds, should be changed at others. In saying " if any brother," he means if any Christian. 7. CORINTHIANS VII. 14-16. 123 And in that expression " if any woman," we are to under- stand any Christian woman. And by saying "is sanctified," I understand that he aims at providing a ' remedy against the pretext, with which the Christian husband justified his abandoning his unchristian wife ; or on the other hand, the husband, from saying, that he should leave his wife, she not being a Christian, because they differed in their views, and that thus the marriage was null ; and the woman likewise from saying the same thing, when seeking divorce from her hus- band. Whom St. Paul desires not to do so, assuring them that the holiness of the one renders the other holy ; but it is to be understood as to married life, that it is legal. So that the sanctification serves to legalise the marriage. VII. 14-16. — Else were your children unclean, but now are they holy. But if the unbeliever depart, let him depart. A brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God hath called us to peace. For what knowest thou, wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband ? Or how knowest thou, man, whether thou shalt save thy wife ? As though he should say: Were it not so, that the holiness of one of the married couple hallows and legalises the marriage, it would come to pass that your children would be illegitimate ;• but since it is a fact, as has been stated, that the holiness of the one hallows the other, it is brought about that your children are not unclean, as are those children whose parents are no Christians ; but they are holy, like those children whose parents are Christians. And it is to be understood that their being unclean consists in that the marriage, in being an unchristian one, is illegal, and thus the children are illegitimate; and that their being holy consists, in that the marriage being a Christian one, it is legal, and thus the children are legitimate. 124 /. CORINTHIANS VII. 17. By saying " in such cases," he means, that in these out- ward things, and which but constitute an external policy, "neither brother nor sister is under bondage" he meaning the Christian brother, or Christian sister; and they would be subject to bondage were the Christian husband un- able to rid himself of the unchristian wife, who would fain leave him. The same holds with the Christian wife. In saying, " but God hath called us to peace'' I think that he means, but if the unbelieving man is unwilling to separate, it is not well to leave him ; and if he wish to separate, it is not well to constrain him to remain, in order to avoid contention ; for it is a fact, that God, in having called us to the grace of the Gospel, has called us to live in peace with all men. And were we to leave those, who are content to be with us, or were we to force ourselves upon those, who would fain leave us, we could not live in that peace to which God has called us. In saying "for what knowest thou, wife" it appears that he would facilitate to believers their remaining with unbelievers in reference to what might result therefrom, that the believer might convert the unbeliever. Now indeed as faith, in the majority, is but a matter of opinion, it is rather to be feared that the unbeliever should pervert the believer, than to be hoped that the believer should convert the unbeliever. And reasonably so too, for that which is based but upon opinion is never either solid or stable in itself. VII. 17. — But as God has distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk, and so ordain I in all the Churches. This passage appears somewhat defective. This may be assumed to be the conclusion of all that he has stated in this chapter, remitting himself throughout it to that share of God's gifts which each one shall have received, and to I. CORINTHIANS VII. i8, 19. 125 the vocation which he shall have from God ; but f oras- nmch as there are amongst the things which he speaks at his own instance, some which he speaks by Christ's com- mand, I think it is better referred to that which imme- diately precedes, and thus I understand that St. Paul in seeking to bring what he said about the separation or the non-separation of the married couple to a conclusion, and seeking to pass on to that which he was about to state, he delivered a general judgment, saying that every Christian should look to the gifts which he has received from God, and to the vocation which he has from God, and thus regulate his mode of life conformably therewith. And this he declares to be a general ordinance for all the Churches. Where I understand that he authorises the believing husband to leave the unbelieving wife, although she may wish to stay with him, he finding himself unable to hold intercourse with her without self-depravity, or that he knew himself to be called of God to something with relation to which the wife would be an obstacle. That which I say of the husband I equally understand of the wife. So that in saying,. " but lei each one," this is tantamount to his saying, but it will be better that every Christian Idok to his share in the distribution of God's gifts, and that he contemplate the end whereunto God has called him. And thus let him walk, thus let him converse, thus let him regulate and order his mode of life, neither binding nor restraining himself by these my admonitions which I would fain have applied by the rules of each man's vocation, and with the share of God's gifts that each one shall receive. And here the difference may be recognised which there is between those who ordain as Apostles and those who ordain as men. VII. 18, 19. — Is any called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised : Is any called 126 /. CORINTHIANS VII. i8, 19. in uncircumcision 1 let liim not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. St. Paul aims by these words to persuade Christians, upon their being called to the grace of the Gospel, not to be moved by any light motive to change their condition or manner of living ; but that they should abide and persevere in that condition and in that manner of living in which God's call comes to them, until God Himself show them some other wherein He would employ them, and that He bring before them that thing wherein He would employ them ; and it is by doing this, that he is kept assuredly in the way in which he has to walk by night, until the dawn rise upon him, concerning which I have occasionally spoken elsewhere. The meaning of these words is, if any one shall be called by God to the grace of the Gospel, being a Jew and circumcised, let him not think that circumcision will render him less acceptable to God, or that he is thereby brought under obligation before God to do more. And similarly, if another shall be called of God to the grace of the Gospel, not being circumcised, let him not think that his uncircumcision will render him less acceptable to God, or that he will be less favoured of God. For it is certain that circumcision does not please God, neither does uncircumcision please Him, but that alone which does please Him is the keeping of His com- mandments. The expression, "let him not become uncircumcised," is the rendering of the Greek, which suggests an apparent growth of the prepuce of the circumcised person. And in that, "let him not he circumcised," it appears that St. Paul aims at correcting the ignorance of some of these Corinthians who, being circumcised, sought to have I. CORINTHIANS VII. 20-24. 127 the prepuce, and of others who, being uncircumcised, circumcised themselves. In saying, " but the keeping of the commandments of God," I do not think that he especially refers to the decalogue, but to that which is the will of God, which, as I have elsewhere said, is Law to the Christian, however he may apprehend it. It is moreover to be understood that the keeping of the commandments of God is something for him who has been called to the grace of the Gospel, whereby he pleases God, not doing so either by circum- cision or by uncircumcision, but in a life conformed to the will of God. VII. 20-24. — Let every man abide in the calling wherein he was called. Hast thou been called being a bond-servant ? grieve not about it : but if thou canst be free, prefer it. For he that is called in the Lord being a bond-servant is the Lord's freeman : likewise also he that is called being free is Christ's bond-servant. You have been bought with a price, do not make yourselves the bond- servants of men. Brethren, let every man wherein he has been called, therein abide with God. St. Paul, by making a broad decision, expresses him- self more fully in relation to what he has above stated. Wherein I understand, that just as human laws do not permit, that what any one does, ere he attain years of dis- cretion, be valid, considering that he is moved thereto by impulse of affections and of passions, and not by discourse of prudence or of reason ; so neither do the laws of the Spirit permit any one at the beginning of his vocation, in which he is but as a child, nor even subsequently, when he is but as a youth, to make any change of personal condition, until that, arrived at years of discretion in spiritual matters, he be enabled to elect by mature 128 I. CORINTHIANS VII. 20-24. counsel, and not by that of human prudence or of human .reason, but by that of the Holy Spirit, that which shall be conformable to the will of God; following not those fervent impulses of the spirit, which bring a combination of the flesh and of the world, but the quiet motions of the Spirit, which come without any combination of the flesh or of the world. And this harmonises with what is written in the first Book of Kings xix. 1 1, 12, when Elijah was told that God was not in the great wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in 'the fire, but in the still small breeze which came after that the great wind, the earthquake, and the fire had passed. And this is narrated, in order that those persons, to whom God communicates His Holy Spirit, may know that God is not in the first impulses, nor in the first emo- tions which they feel, however spiritual they may appear ; but that He is in those quiet and subdued emotions which follow those, that were characterised by disturbance and commotion. And St. Paul, reverting to say, " let every man abide in the same vocation," aims, as I understand, at the repression in those, who are but children in the Spirit, of disturbing impulses, and especially those which involve change of con- dition or style of life ; and thus he says, let not him that is called of God think of changing his condition or style of life, pretending thereby to please God, or to dispose himself thereby the better to serve Him ; but let him thus think; has God called me, being a bond- servant ? I will endeavour to discharge my duties as a bond-servant ; has God called me being a freeman? I shall not seek to become a bond-servant, but I shall endeavour to persevere in that state in which God has called me, until that God Himself cause me to pass from this to another. And this is that which is surest and safest for every one that has been called, that he respond with his mind to God ; and as to the disposition of his body, that he follow out God's will in relation thereto, and that he perform there- /. CORINTHIANS VII. 20-24. 129 with those motions which the Holy Spirit shall prompt. As to the countersigns hy which a man is to recognize his call, with assurance concerning it, I remit myself to what is stated in my Commentary on Eomans VIII. In that expression "but if thou canst be free, prefer it," I, after repeated consideration, understand St. Paul to say, if thou art a bond-servant, do not strive to become free; but were it practicable for thee to attain freedom, avail thyself of the opportunity, and enjoy it ; and I now think that this view harmonizes better with what follows, and with aU St. Paul's argument, wherein he says, let the bond-servant not only not entertain the desire to make himself free, but if he could not be free himself, let him rather acquiesce in being a slave. And he appears thus to close the door against every design that the Chris- tian called in slavery may have, in seeking to emancipate himself from slavery and to attain freedom. And it seems, that by way of consoling the slave, he says to him, " For he that is called in the Lord," as though he should say, and be of good cheer all who are Christians, being likewise slaves, for if slaves in their bodies they are free in their minds : they are man's slaves as to the body, but they are the Lord's freemen as to the mind. So that in saying "the Lord's freemen," he means Christ holds him to be free, that, as far as Christ is concerned, he is a freeman. The Greek word for freeman [uTreXev- 0epo<;, libertus] is tantamount to emancipated, that Christ has emancipated him, and of a slave has made him a freedman. Without Christ, he was the slave of sin and of death, and in Christ, he has attained liberty. And I understand, that in announcing this liberation he adds, " i/ou have been bought with a price," which I understand to be peculiar to all Christians, whom it appears St. Paul generally admonishes, that since they have been redeemed, with the price of the blood that Christ shed on the Cross, from the tyranny of the world, of the devil, of their own flesh, and of death ; in which I 130 I. CORINTHIANS VII. 35-28. their liberty consists, that they are free and not slaves, and that they should not make themselves the servants of men, some saying, I am of Paul, whilst others say, I am of Apollos, — a thing unworthy of free men, bought at so great a price, and introduced into so great a liberty, and into a service so worthy as is that of Christ. So that, " do not make yourselves the bond-servants of men," may be considered as attaching itself to the subject treated of in the first chapters of this Epistle. And thus he concludes that every Christian does well to persevere in that state in which he has been called of God. So that neither the servant nor slave strive after liberty, nor the freeman seek to enslave himself. The expression, " with God," is synonymous with, in the presence of and before God. And here we are to recollect, that in St. Paul's days there were many Christians, who were slaves to Gentiles, and even to other Christians, who aimed at acquiring their freedom, whence there arose difficulties. St. Paul represses this their longing by telling them to be contented whilst retaining the condition in which they had been called. VII. 25-28. — Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord : yet I give them my opinion as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. 1 think therefore that this is good for the present necessity, I say, that it is good for a man to be so. Art thou bound unto a wife ? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife ? seek not a wife. But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned, and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned : nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh : but I would act tenderly with you. This is almost the same as that which he has said in 7. CORINTHIANS VII. 25-28. 131 the beginning of this chapter, save that he here specially names virgins. Indeed it is easily to be seen that St. Paul was of this opinion, that it is better for the Christian to be free from the matrimonial bond, whilst it is admitted that there is nothing wrong in marriage. Where he says, " r give them my opinion," the Greek yveo/jLTjv Be SiBm/lli, means I counsel them, and is tantamount to " I advise them." In saying, "as one that hath obtained," I understand him to give authority to his counsel, to his judgment, or to his opinion, since God had been merciful to him in calling him to the grace of the Gospel, that he should be a faithful minister of Christ, and a faithful dispenser of the mysteries of God. In saying, " I think therefore that this is good" I under- stand him to mean, although I have nought in command from Christ, yet, considering the present necessity, I con- sider this my present suggestion to be good, " that it is good for a man to be so," that is, unmarried. Wherein the then present necessity actually consisted, in reference to which it appeared to St. Paul to be good that a man should not marry, although it may be surmised, yet it may be difficult to determine. But I will say this, that I should never contend with any one who would say^ that'* just as it seemed good to St. Paul under the then press- ing necessity of his times, that Christians, who could live without marriage, should not marry; so it might seem good in these days, and under the present necessity, that Christians should marry; only I would say to him that I would fain see as much of the Spirit in him that coun- sels marriage, as I see in St. Paul, who then counselled virginity and continence. In saying, "but such shall have trouble in thefesh," he means, that they who should marry will have trouble in the flesh, for that in keeping the carnal appetite alive by exercising it, they will be tempted and molested more frequently than they would wish, or than would be good 132 /. CORINTHIANS VII. 29-31. for them. Where it 13 to be observed, that having pre- viously said that they, who, without having the grace of chastity and without being naturally continent, do not marry, burn, he now proceeds to say that they, who do marry, have tribulation or affliction in the flesh, and I understand that it is incomparably more intolerable to burn, than to suffer affliction in the flesh. I think that if a Christian, commending himself to God, shall seek to mortify his carnal appetite by marriage, he shall attain self-mastery in a shorter period than another, who shall seek to mortify it in celibacy. For I understand that the affections and appetites are mortified more quickly and more truly with opportunities for their exercise than without them ; nay, that with opportunities they are truly mortified, whilst without them they but lie torpid. I mean to say that mortified with oppor- tunities of indulgence, they are not revived by oppor- tunities, and that when they lie torpid through the absence of opportunities, they are revived when oppor- tunities present. In saying, " but I would act tenderly with you," he means, you in marrying will have trouble in your flesh, but I shall not blame you on that account, for I shall be content that you select that (condition) which shall the better satisfy you. He may likewise mean, I however provide the proper remedy for them who shall need it. VII., 29-3 1. — But this I say, brethren, the time is short. It remaineth that both they that have wives, be as though they had none : and they that weep, as though they wept not : and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not : and they that buy, as though they possessed not : and they that use this world as not abusing it : for the fashion of this world passeth aM^ay. /. CORINTHIANS VII. 29-31. 133 St. Paul's design in these words seems to be to refer everything to the mind, as though he should say : I wish, brethren, to advise you in this matter, that it imports little whether a man marry, or whether he do not marry ; but that which does import, is that we be brought to consider how short is the period that we have to remain in this present life. And considering this, let us conduct our- selves as though it were lent us, holding lightly all that we experience in it, and as to the body without exercising the mind upon it ; reducing ourselves down to such self- mortification, and to such self-abnegation, that being mar- ried indeed in the body, our minds may be as it were as un- compromised by marriage, as are theirs who do not know what marriage is. And that in weeping, we may weep with the eyes of the body, and not with the eyes of the mind : so that in weeping, we may not weep, and that in rejoicing in the things of this world, we may enjoy with the outward senses and not with the inward, so that in enjoyment we may not enjoy, not relishing the enjoyment : and that in buying we may be so disenamoured and so wanting in affection to the things we purchase, that we may possess them, as though we possessed them not. And finally that in using the things of this world, we have our minds so disengaged and so detached from them,, that their use being reserved for the body, and not for the mind, we may use them as though we used them not. "Where this has to be considered, that a Christian is never to hold himself perfect until he arrive at the state here spoken of by St. Paul; which reduces itself to this, that in dealing with, and in using the things of this present life, it is the body which has to deal with them, and that has to use them, the mind being reserved from having aught to do with them; so that their use be restricted to the body, leaving the mind disengaged. They, who use these outward things with but a bodily enjoy- ment, and not a mental one, are neither greatly elated by their possession, nor depressed by want of them, when 134 I- CORINTHIANS VII. 32-34. absent. Whilst they who use them with (a conscious fruition of) both body and mind, use them passionately and insolently ; and are impatient if deprived of them. Whence it may well be gathered that a man's perfection is relative to his attainment of this self-mortification and of this self-abnegation. I think that he means the same when he says, "for the fashion of this world passeth away," that he does when he says the' time is short, and I think that by both he refers to the fact that the day of final judgment is at hand. And we have already said, it. appears that St. Paul thought that the day of judgment would happen in his lifetime. In saying, " the fashion of this world," it seems he means, that all that is connected with this world is rather appa- rent than real. VII. 32-34. — But I would have you without care. The uumarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord : but the married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. There is difference also between the wife and the virgin : the unmarried careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy, both in body and in spirit: but the married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. St. Paul repeats his preference of their condition who are unmarried, to that of those who are married. And laying down wherein the advantage consists, it seems it may be understood that the difference which St. Paul holds there is between the state of the married and the un- married, consists in the greater or less solicitude felt as to things affecting this present life. So that the advan- tage -does not consist in the condition itself, but in that /. CORINTHIANS VII. 32-34. 135 the one is more free than the other : whence it is readily to be inferred that the condition of the married free from solicitude, will be better than that of the unmarried with solicitude. In saying,' " therefore I would," he means, and since the ' fashion of this world passeth away, what I could desire in relation to you, is, that you should free yourselves from care and from anxiety about things of this present life, in order that you may thus be enabled the more freely to set your love and affections upon things affecting the life eternal. In saying, " there is a difference," it appears that he means, that as between the wife and the virgin they differ greatly: and he establishes the distinction or difference by saying, " the unmarried woman careth," constituting it in greater or less carefulness as to things. of the present life. In saying, " that she may he holy" he means, that the unmarried woman careth that she may be holy both in body and in mind. And I understand that sanctity of the body consists, in executing with its members, the motions and inspirations of the Holy Spirit. And that sanctity of the mind consists in the election of God, and in following thereafter obediently the calling of God, which is wrought by the Gospel of reconciliation. If it shall appear to any one that St. Paul greatly dis- favours the married state, let him recollect that the Apostle has said, " I suppose therefore that this is good for the present necessity." And he will thus attribute the disfavour to the necessity of those days, the which I have already stated, that I do not know wherein it properly con- sisted ; it may possibly be that it might consist in what he afterwards states, " the time is short" and in what he afterwards says, "for the fashion of this world passeth away." So that the necessity may be involved in the shortness of the time, conformably with what is stated in the preceding part of this chapter. 136 I. CORINTHIANS VII. 35. VII. 35. — And this I say as being profitable for you, not that I would cast a snare upon you, but that you may attend upon the Lord becomingly and assiduously, without being diverted from so doing. These words involve difficulty, and so much that scarcely can it be understood what it is the Apostle desired to convey by them. Where I understand that he, having so greatly preferred virginity and continence to matrimony, corrects Vimself, saying, I do not intend to bind them by what I have stated to refrain from marriage, but only to set that before them which is most useful and most profitable for them. And I understand that in seeking to declare wherein the advantage peculiarly consists, he says : virginity and continence is in the presence of Christ so seemly and such an act of devotion to God, that they are never led away from Him. And I think that St Paul understands this not being led away to consist in what he has above stated, that the virgin and the continent attend but to the things of God and of Christ. This is what I under- stand by these words, remitting myself to a better appre- hension of them. In saying, " not to cast a snare upon you," he means, not to impose virginity nor continence upon you, so that you should think, that you, by marriage, sever yourselves from God or from Christ. And by saying, " lecomingly and assiduously," he means, in that which looks well in Christ's eyes, and is peculiar to persons, who, by imitating Christ, gradually recover the image of God, wherein consist Christian exercise and Christian duty. And by what he here says, "assiduously," the Greek word means an assessor, one well matched to work with another, he means, one attached and studiously devoting himself to God. /. CORINTHIANS VII. 36. 137 By saying, " without being diverted," he means, witliout their ever being led away from Christ, wherein he greatly commends the utility of that which is seemly and very devoted or well matched, which is involved in evangelical and Christian virginity, and in continence, since they are never diverted or led away from Christ. Where I do not think that St. Paul understands that either virginity or continence have this property in them- selves, but that they are suitable means whereby the Christian, being a member of Christ, is united to Clirist by faith and by love, and is not disunited from Christ, as is the whoremonger by making himself the member of a whore, and as the husband is distracted by striving to satisfy and to please his wife. VII. 36. — But if any man think that he have whereof to feel ashamed respecting his virgin (daugliter), if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require.let him do what he wlII, he sinneth not : let them marry. This passage also involves difficulty. By it I under- stand, that St. Paul, in speaking of those who have daughters, sisters, or female relatives on their hands, says, that were such an one to think that he should incur disgrace by keeping his virgin or unmarried girl beyond the period during which they ordinarily remain so, and finds himself constrained to marry her, let him marry her, for he does not do wrong in giving her in marriage. In saying, "have whereof to feel ashamed," he means the disgrace and dishonour usually incident in such cases, as though he should say : He that cannot rely upon his maid living chastely, let him give her in marriage. By the passage, " if she pass the flower of her age" in the Xxreek, if she pass her prime, getting beyond a mar- riageable age. 138 7. CORINTHIANS VII. 37, 38- In saying " he sinneth not" the Apostle means he that marries the maid committed to his charge does not act ■wrongly, nor does he err in so doing. In saying " let them marry" he seems to speak gene- rally, let those girls whose chastity is doubtful marry. VII. 37, 38. — Nevertheless, lie that standeth steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well. So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well : but he that giveth her not in marriage, doeth better. St. Paul adds to. the foregoing, that just as he does not sin, who marries his virgin (daughter), fearing lest dis- grace attach to him if he keep her unmarried ; so like- wise he does well, who, being free from such fear, does not marry her. And he then comes to this conclusion, that he that marries his virgin (charge) does well, but that he that does not give her in marriage does better. Wherein St. Paul shows clearly that he held the virgin state to be much better and more Christian than the married, disregarding the suggestions of human prudence, which might be enforced, by saying, that were all men to follow his advice and his views, they would not marry, and that with the cessation of marriage the human race would cease. For he knew well that Christianity is not embraced (apprehended) by all men, neither is it practicable for all Christian men to live without marriage, it being only for them to do so, who have received to that end a special gift from God. Where we may weigh this consideration, that human prudence might argue in the same manner against Christ, by saying that were all men to deny themselves, and to disengage themselves from self, and were they to bear I. CORINTHIANS VII. 39, 40. 139 their cross of injuries and insults, that which would be offered to them in a course of self-abnegation, in following Christ and by imitating that which is imitable in Him, by that very supposition it will come to pass that the world will cease to be the world. And similarly human prudence may be answered by Christ, that Christianity is the affair but of few, and that there is no reason to fear that the world will, through imitation of Christ, cease to be the world, for there will ever- be more men who will follow the world than of those who will follow Christ. And this consideration will hold in all Christian matters, which are subject to be thus disputed and calumniated by human prudence. And I shall not here refrain from stating this, that the greatest damage that has accrued to Christianity, has in my opinion, arisen from men's having desired to treat it as affecting the many, whilst it is the concern but of few, and indeed of but very few. God wills that it concerns them whom He calls, them whom He elects and sets apart for Himself ; whilst men desire that it shall concern them whom they call, and whom they would fain introduce into Christianity, they destroy it and they ruin it ; but it is not for me to correct this. VII. 39-40. — The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth : but if her husband die, she is at liberty to marry whom she will, only in the Lord. But she will be happier if she so abide, after my judgment : and I think also that I have the Spirit of God. Having spoken of virgins, he proceeds to deliver his opinion in relation to married women and to widows. And thus he states that the wife is bound by the mar- riace law as long as her husband lives : but that, if her husband is dead, she is freed from the marriage law, so I40 /. CORINTHIANS VII. 39, 40. that she can marry, without committing adultery, with any other man she pleases, provided the marriage be a Christian one : but he says that it will be better for her to remain a widow, without marrying again. And he says that this is his opinion: and intending to give his opinion authority in order that it might be held to weigh more than the opinion of a mere man, he afJ&rms that he has the Holy Spirit, meaning : " Since then that I, who have the Spirit of God, think thus, you may rest well assured that it is in conformity with the will of God." So that in saying " hy the law," he means the marriage law, which I understand to consist in a man's leaving his father and mother for the wife whom he elects and takes to himself : and that he give himself up to her so entirely and so wholly, that he make himself one with her. That which I state in reference to the man I likewise state in reference to the woman, for I understand that this union realizes that which is declared in Holy Scrip- ture : the two shall be one flesh. So that the marriage law obliges the husband to identify himself with his wife ; and the same law obliges the wife to identify herself with her husband, forming but one body and one mind out of the two bodies and the two minds, both seeking with their minds one and the same thing, and both executing with their bodies one and the same thing. By saying, "provided only that it be in the Lord," he means, with the reservation that she marry a Christian, and that she marry as a Christian, not from avarice, not from ambition, nor from vice, but from the motive stated by St. Paul in the beginning of this chapter, to avoid acts of fornication. In saying, " but she will be happier," he means she will live with greater satisfaction, with greater contentment, and with greater spiritual wealth. In saying, " if she so abide," he means if she do not marry again. /. CORINTHIANS VII. 39, 40. 141 By saying, " afier my judgment" he means according to my view of it, in my opinion. And here we have to note the modesty with which so great an Apostle speaks, in order to consider the rashness of those, who , counsel in matters of religion and of the Spirit, with as great severity as though their counsels had come down from heaven, and as such would they have them accepted, esteemed, and carried out, although they are themselves perfectly con- scious that they are in no wise warranted" to state what St. Paul adds, " and I think also that I have the Spirit of God." Where I do not understand that in saying " / think," that he casts any doubt upon the fact, for he was previously perfectly assured of it, having the inward ex- periences and intimations vouchsafed by the Holy Spirit : , and having likew.ise the outward effects, which manifested themselves in them whom he brought to the obedience of .the faith by his preaching, as also by the outward gifts which he possessed : but I understand it to be a mode of expression analogous to my saying, it is of great use in learning the Greek language, that he, who teaches it, should know it well himself : and wishing that this my statement should be accepted, that I should add, for I think that I also know the Greek language. From all this chapter it is clearly to be gathered that St. Paul held the state of continence or virginity to be more useful and advantageous to the Christian than that of marriage : and that he likewise held that a man needed the especial gift of God to live out of the pale of matri- mony. So that it is not given to all to live unmarried : whilst it is given to all to live married, wherein a man may live in a Christianlike manner, if he but bring himself to live in it, as though he were out of it : to carry out and to do the things connected therewith, not with the mind, but with the body only. 142 /. CORINTHIANS VIII. CHAPTEE VIIT. VIII. I. — Now as to things sacrificed unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Know- ledge puflFeth up : but love edifieth. Ceasing to speak of marriage, aijd of refraining from marriage, he proceeds to speak of eating, and of refrain- ing from eating : for it appears that there were in Corinth some, who were of opinion that the Christian was not per- mitted to eat of meat sacrificed to idols, and accordingly they did not eat of it, and they condemned those who did. Whilst others were of opinion that forasmuch as that meat was neither better nor worse than other kinds of meat, one might be permitted to partake of it : accordingly they ate of it, and laughed at those who did not. St. Paul then, proceeding to treat of this, rebukes, in the first place, the self-esteem of those who, knowing that that meat had nothing more in it than other kinds of meat, ate of it, and laughed at those who did not do so. And he reproves them, by saying " we know that we all have knowledge," as though he should say, I am well aware that we all, who are advanced Christians, know that we possess the knowledge which we ought to have in reference to things sacrificed to idols : but mark you, the knowledge of those things is more likely to injure than to benefit, because man is puffed up by the knowledge. And observe, moreover, that it is love which edifies the Christian. And I understand that St. Paul, in saying this, means, since then you, as Christians, have to avoid self-inflation and /. CORINTHIANS VIII. 2, 3. 143 pride, and have to apply and to attach yourselves to Christian edification, do not pride yourselves upon know- ledge, for that will puff you up; but make love your boast, for that will edify you, for that will further your being built up into that Christian edifice, of which Christ Him- self is the foundation. That expression, " we all have," I do not understand to be general, because, had all possessed it, St. Paul would not have had to contrast, nor say as he does a little further on (ver. 7), " howbeit there is not that knowledge in all men." And I understand it to be peculiar to those only who were like St. Paul, or who followed what St. Paul followed. I understand the inflation of those, who have or attain to the knowledge of things, to consist in their self-esteem and vainglory. And I understand the edification of those, who possess love, to consist in the mortification and in the vivification wherewith man renders himself very like to Christ, and very like to G-od. That which is here rendered knowledge is translated by some science ; and both meanings are comprised in the Greek word; but it appears to me that St. Paul almost always uses it signifying knowledge ; and there is between science and knowledge, as viewed by me, the difference that there is between hearing and seeing. I mean to say, that just as sight, whether obtained by evidence or by experience, is more effective than hearing, so likewise that which a man knows, whether by inspiration or by ex- perience, is more effective than that which he knows by his having learned it from others : it is indeed true, that they, who in translating, render it science, mean knowledge. VIII. 2, 3. — And if any man thinks that he knows any thing, he knows nothing yet, as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of Him. 144. I- CORINTHIANS VIII. 4-6. I understand that St. Paul is in these words the expositor of his preceding statement, that " knowledge puffeth up, whilst love edifieth." And, accordingly, I un- derstand that he, in speaking of the man who is puffed up, says that if any man thinks that he knows anything (and herein the swelling conceit consists), he, by that very fact, testifies concerning himself that he has not yet arrived at the attainment of the true knowledge of things. Where I think that St. Paul means, that when a man has arrived at the attainment of this true knowledge, he does not inwardly think that he does know anything ; for, as he progresses in the attainment of knowledge, he likewise attains to the discovery of a mine of things of which he is ignorant ; and thus he thinks that he knows nothing. I understand, too, that he, in speaking of the man that is edified by love, says that the man who loves God is known of God, meaning that the love which edifies is the love of God. And that the edification consists in God's knowing the man who loves Him, whom He favours and enriches with gifts, both spiritual and divine. The expression is rife in Holy Writ that God knows those, of whom He approves, and whom He holds to be His own, and whom as such He favours. Thus David says in Psalm i. 6, " The Lord knoweth the way of the just." And in 2 Timothy ii. 19, St. Paul says, " The Lord knoweth them that are His." VIII. 4-6. — As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are sacrificed unto idols, we know that idols are nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For though there be some that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth (as there are gods many, and lords many) ; to us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things proceed, and we are in Him ; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him. I. CORINTHIANS VIII. 4-6. 145 St. Paul here lays down his opiniou as to eating, or as to refraining from eating, of those things which had been sacrificed to idols, he holds that they might be eaten : and to prove this, he declares ■ that idols are wholly destitute of Deity, and that consequently the various kinds of flesh or meat which had been sacrificed to them had nothing more in them than in other meats, save in the notions of men. Afterwards he says that for the sake of the notion, a man should refrain from eating such meat; but let him not think that his eating or his not eating them, in any wise affects this consideration. Just as though there should arise a controversy in our time as to whether a Christian were allowed to eat or not to eat meat, killed with the ceremonies practised by the Jews when they slay it, and that a person of authority should say that it is allowed ; but that, in order not to scandalize those, who think it not to be allowed, it is well that they, who know it to be allowable, for that such meat has nothing more of tlie divine in it than other meat, should still not desire to eat it. In saying, "we know that an idol is nothing in the world," he means, now we, who have a truthful knowledge of things, know that this of idols is vanity, mere wind, and peculiarly a creation of man's imagination. When he says, " for though there be some that are called gods," he means, although there be those that human blindness calls gods, placing some in heaven, and others upop earth. And he proceeds, " as there be gods many," meaning, as we commonly see that there are many, whom men of the world call gods, and that there are many others, whom the same men call lords ; it is a matter of indifference, since we know but one God, who is the common Father of all, and especially ours, who are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and since we know but one Lord, who is Christ, to whom we owe our regeneration, we need not look to it whether the meat have been sacrificed to idols or not, since we do not hold them to be either gods or lords. K 146 /. CORINTHIANS VIII. 4-6. By " lords many," I think St. Paul to mean those whom the Gentiles called heroes, elevating them ahove men, and yet not making them the equals of their gods. I understand that expression, "from whom all things jproceed" to refer to creation. And by that, " and we in Him," to import relation to the upholding of all things : G-od of His goodness creates all things, and by His ad- mirable providence He upholds them all, demonstrating His omnipotence and His wisdom in the one and in the other. Where I understand that piety consists in the know- ledge of this : the pious man knows it, and he that does know it, is, by that very fact, pious. I understand that passage, " hy whom are all things," to refer likewise to the creation of all things, forasmuch as God created them all by His Word. Thus the Scripture saith (Gen. i. 3), God spake, " Let it he, and it was." And thus David saith (Ps. xxxiii. 6), " By the word of the Lord were the heavens made ; " and in another place (in ver. 9), "He commanded, and they stood fast." And this Word clad Himself in flesh, as says St. John (chap, i.), " And the Word was made flesh',' having stated just previously that " All thing's were made hy Him." That expression, "and we hy Him," is to be referred to regeneration, to adoption, and to justification, for that we all, in being members of Christ, are regenerated, are children of God, and are just, experiencing regeneration in the renewal and change of our minds, and experiencing adoption in the continued favour of God, and experiencing justification in peace of conscience. They, who have not these sentiments, cannot say, in speaking of the Father, what St. Paul says, "from whom all things proceed, and we hy Him ; " for in point of fact they do not feel it to be so : nor can they say, speak- ing of Christ, " ly whom are all things, and we hy Him ; " for in point of fact they do not feel it to be so; that feeling being reserved for them, who experience regenera- /. CORINTHIANS VIII. 7, 8. 147 tion, who experience adoption, and who experience justi- fication. VIII. 7, 8. — Howbeit there are they, who have not this knowledge ; for some, to this hour with conscience of the idol, eat of it as a thing offered unto an idol, and their conscience being weak, is defiled. But meat commendeth us not to God : for neither if we eat shall we have more (of divine favour) ; neither if we eat not, shall we have less. St. Paul contends, that since all the Christians, who were at Corinth, had not attained to such a knowledge of things, as to believe that because the idols were nothing, therefore that which had been sacrificed to idols was nothing, they, who had attained this knowledge, should not avail themselves of it, since it did not at all affect them. Here, in saying " there are they, who have not this know- ledge" he does not contradict his previous statement " that we all have knowledge." For in the previous statement he means, that . there is in all true and perfect Christians, true and perfect know- ledge of things ; whilst in the latter, he means, that there is not this knowledge in aU, who call themselves Christians, there being some weak- and infirm of faith, who are desti- tute of it; concerning whom he says, "for there are some that to this hour," meaning, not only is it so, that all do not possess the true knowledge, but there are some so weak, " that they do eat of that which has been sacrificed to idols," with conscience of the idol, he means that they think the idol is somewhat, or to some extent divine. Where I think him to mean, that although some thought that the idol was something, yet seeing that other Christians ate of the meats sacrificed to idols in order not to appear weajj, and not to show their infirmity;^ whence that re- ^ (they did so likewise.) Words needed in the text to make sense. —Ed. 148 I. CORINTHIANS VIII. 9-11. suited of which St. Paul adds " that their conscience leing weak" meaning that they, not having made up their minds that the idol was nothing, nay, being in doubt respecting it, which constituted their weakness, it came to pass that their consciences were defiled, in that they did that, which they thought they were not allowed to do. And here that is apposite which is stated in Eomans xiv. St. Paul, in saying " oneat doth not commend us," appears to have two designs. The one, to censure the use of those meats by those who had the knowledge ; and the other, to assure those who had not the knowledge, that they would not be less acceptable to God if they did not eat of those meats. As though he should say : "Well, since it is a fact, that to partake of these meats does not make us more acceptable, nor more pleasing to God, which we witness experimentally, for neither they who eat them attain greater favour of God by partaking of them, neither are they, who refrain from eating them, bereft of the favours of God, it will, on account of the inconvenience that attends the eating of them, be better to leave them. So that when he says, " neither if we eat shall we have more," he means, of the favour of God by rendering our- selves acceptable to God. And when he says, " neither ifive eat not shall we have less," he here also means, of the favour of God, from our making ourselves acceptable to Him. ; In fact, St. Paul clearly shows how little the doing of any- thing, or the leaving of anything, that is in man undone, avails before God. Whilst those things greatly avail which man has by special gift from God. VIII. 9-1 1. — But take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling-block to them that are weak. For if any man see thee, who hast knowledge, sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat that which has been /. CORINTHIANS VIII. 12. 149 sacrificed to idols ; and through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died. St. Paul perseveres in reproving the use of knowledge by those -who are strong in faith, on account of the pre- judice which thereby resulted to the weak and infirm in faith ; he tells them to beware, lest they, by their know- ledge, injure the Christian who is without knowledge. " JBy your liberty," he means, your faculty acquired by knowledge. He then propounds the mode in which the liberty of some persons is a stumbling-block to others, by saying, "for if any man shall see thee." By "the temple of the idol," he means, the place or table where those meats sacrificed to idols were eaten. By saying, " eviboldened to eat" he means, persuaded, incited, and irritated, to eat that which he sees thee eat. And by saying, " shall the brother perish," he means, and hence it shall come to pass, that by the knowledge where- with thou comest to eat that which had been sacrificed, thou shalt be instrumental in the condemnation of the brother who is weak in faith. And that expression, "for whom Christ died," is very powerful, as though he should say, Christ died to save him, and thou carest so little about it, that thou, for the sake of an empty personal gratification and satisfaction, leadest him to condemnation. VIII. 12. — But when you thus sin against the brethren, and that you wound their weak con- science, you sin against Christ. As though he should say : Since it is a fact that Christ died to save him whom thou condemnest, or causest to perish, it truly follows, that in sinning against the Chris- tian, and in wounding and hurting his conscience, thou comest to sin against Christ Himself, for that thou obstmctest His work. I50 I. CORINTHIANS VIII. 13. In saying, "against the brethren," he means, against Christians. And in speaking, '' of wounding their con- science," he means, in causing them, who have weak and infirm consciences, to do things, whereby they hold them- selves to be lost, and to be condemned. St. Paul styles those infirm, and weak in faith and in conscience, whom we call superstitious and scrupulous. So that just as superstitions and scruples are always based upon self- esteem and upon self-love, so also infirmity and weakness of faith has the same basis. By the mortification of self- esteem, and by the extirpation of self-love, man is freed from superstitions and from scruples, and remains strong and sound in faith and in conscience. Whence it may readily be gathered, that where there are superstitions and where there are scruples, there are weakness and infirm- ity of faith, attended also by self-esteem and by self- love. VIII. 1 3. — Wherefore if meat make my brother to stumble, I will never henceforth eat flesh, lesfc I make my brother to stumble. As though he should say : Since I know that in sinning against a Christian, I sin against Christ Himself, I have inwardly determined, in order not to scandalize my brother, any Christian whatever, that I will not only cease to eat meat sacrificed to idols, but every other kind of meat also • and that not only for a given period, but for all the days of my life. Wherein the scandal peculiarly consists, and how every Christian ought to conduct himself in this matter, I have already declared my sentiments upon [in my commentary] the fourteenth chapter of the Epistle to the Komans, to which I remit myself, because St. Paul here treats the same subject which he has dealt with there. /. CORINTHIANS IX. 151 CHAPTEK IX. IX. 1-3. — Am I not an Apostle ? am I not free ? What, have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord ? What, are not ye my work in the Lord 1 If I be not an Apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am so to you : for the seal of mine Apostleship are ye in the Lord. This is my defence against them, who calumniate me. I understand that St. Paul begins here to dispose of two things, which were said of him by those who wished him ill. The one being, that there was no wonder that he should so greatly take the part of the superstitious, for that he had not himself arrived at the attainment of Christian liberty; and the other, that thefe was no wonder that he should not have exercised the power practised by the other Apostles in the countries in which they preached, for that he was not of the number of the twelve. I understand him to settle these two things in this chapter, by affirming that he was an Apostle, and that he could exercise the power which the other Apostles practised, and that he had come to the attainment of Christian liberty, and that he could exercise it as well as the others. In saying, " am I not free ? " he means, in reference to Christian liberty, to be able to exercise it. In saying, " have I not seen Jesus Christ ? " he alludes to the vision which the Apostle had, when our Lord appeared to him on the road near Damascus. In saying, " my work in the Lord," he means, that which I have done for the glory of 152 I. CORINTHIANS IX. 4-6. Christ. In saying, "for the seal of mine Apostleship," ,h.e, means, I maintain, that to you at least, I am an Apostle, for they who shall contemplate you, and hear that God has brought you to Christ by the means of my ministry, will know that I am an Apostle, since the mark and seal of Apostleship is the gift of the Holy Spirit to draw persons to Christ, just as the mark of the gift of prophecy is the fixing of the interpretation of the prophecies which are in Holy Scripture. In saying, " my defence against them, who calum- niate me" I understand him to mean, when I wish to defend myself against those that calumniate me, and say that I am no Apostle, I say to them, do but look upon yourselves, and they shall thus know whether I am an Apostle or not. Where he says, " this is," he refers to his statement that these Corinthians were the seal of his Apostleship. But that which is here rendered defence is by others translated answer, for the Greek word [ccTroKoyca] properly signifies defence. And what he here says, "who calumniate me," others translate, " they interrogate, they examine me," whilst the Greek word more properly signifies, they condemn me ; but to me, however, the expression, " they calumniate me," seems to be better, and harmonizes better with all this, the Apostle's preceding discourse; but should any one prefer to comprehend St. Paul as not purposing, as has been stated, to dispose of that which had been ca-, lumniously said concerning him, but as putting himself forward as an example for them to imitate, I will not disturb him in it, but that which has been stated pleases me more. IX. 4-6. — Have we not power peradventure to eat and to drink ? have we not power peradventure to lead about a wife, a sister, as well as the other Apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and I. CORINTHIANS IX. 4-6. 153 Cephas ? Peradventure have I only and Barnabas, not the power to forbear working ? I understand all this as- expressed with warmth, as though he should say: Although I do not parade my Christian liberty in eating and drinking of everything as do others ; and although I do not parade the power of my Apostolate, by bringing in my train Christian women to wait upon me, as do the most distinguished Apostles ; and although Barnabas and I do work for our bread, not • living upon alms, as do the others, it is not because I have not liberty, power, and authority to do so, for I possess it too, as well as they all; but I do not wish to exercise the liberty, in order not to scandalize, and I do not wish to exercise the power, in order to give more grace to my ministry. That expression, " to eat and to drink," I refer to Chris- tian liberty, not denying but that it may refer to the power of the Apostolate, which enabled him to eat and drink at the expense of those to whom he preached. From that expression, " to lead about a mfe, a sister " laSe\(f)r]v 'yvvaiKoj, some gather that St. Paul was married, and that he means in this place that it was equally per- mitted to him to bring his wife with him, as it was to the other Apostles to bring theirs. And they understand that he calls his wife sister, because he only maintained brotherly relations with her. I do not think that St. Paul meant this, nor do I think that the Apostles; if they were married, brought their wives along with them, when travelling to preach, for this would have been contrary to Christ's ordinance in Matthew x. I readily think that the Apostles, after Christ's example (Luke viii. 2, 3), in their preaching excursions, took one or several Christian women with them, who followed them from Christian zeal, to hear their discourses and to help them in their necessities, and I think that St. Paul means that -he was likewise authorized to do the same. 154 I- CORINTHIANS IX. 7. So that a wife, a sister, is the same as a Christian wife ; " &y our Lord's Irethren," he means Christ's step-brothers, according to the flesh. Cephas is identical with Peter, and Barnabas was Paul's companion in his missions, as is read in the Acts of the Apostles and in the first chapter of Galatians. What he here says, " of forbeariiig to work," which is tantamount to his speaking of their not gaining their bread by their hands, others translate as though it were said, " to do this," meaning that which has been said above. I prefer to understand him as saying, " not to work," which indeed is the meaning of the Greek. Here it is to be understood, that St. Paul does not mention the other Apostles, Christ's brothers, or Peter, to inculpate them, but to increase his power, by putting it on equality with that of those, who were more eminent. IX. 7. — What soldier ever goeth to war at his own charges ? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock ? The Apostle employs three similitudes or comparisons, to prove that he was authorized to live without work, eating at the expense of others. Saying, as it were, in the first : Since it is a fact, that no soldier goes to war at his own cost ; nay, since every one of them expects to live by the war itself, why shall I, going forth to preach the Gospel, not be allowed to live by the Gospel ? And saying, as it were in the second : Since there is no one that plants a vineyard that does not eat of the fruit of the vineyard, why shall it not be allowed me, who im- plant Christ in you, to live at your expense ? And saying, as it were in the third : Since there is no shepherd that feeds the flock, who does not partake of the milk of the flock which he feeds, why shall it not be /. CORINTHIANS IX. S-io. 155 permitted me, who, as your shepherd, in Christ's name, feed you as sheep, to live at your cost ? All the three comparisons are very good, but that of the feeding pleases me much, for it conforms with Christ's address to St. Peter, when He said, "Feed My sheep." And I am pleased with the planting of the vineyard, for it harmonizes with what St. Paul himself has said, "I have planted," &c. IX. 8-10. — Say I these things as a man? or saith not the Law this same also ? For it is written in the Law of Moses, "Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn." Peradventure, doth God care for oxen ? or in point of fact, saith He it altogether for our sakes ? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he that plougheth should plough in hope ; and that he, that thresheth in hope, should partake of his hope. Because it appeared to St. Paul that the comparisons which he instituted, when seeking to prove that he was authorized to live at the expense of those to whom he preached, were being based on human reason, unworthy of him, who preached against human prudence, when illustrating the things of the Holy Spirit, he proceeds to prove the same by the authority of the Law, and says that God commanded the Jew, that he should not muzzle the mouth of the ox whilst treading out the corn on the threshing floor, and that he should allow him to eat since he made him work ; and that God commanded this not for the sake of oxen, but for that of men ; meaning, that they should maintain him, who preached to them. This is what St. Paul aims at by these words, " as a man," which he employs to show that it harmonized with the teachings of reason and of human prudence. As to that. 155 /. CORINTHIANS IX. ii, 12. "thou shalt not muzzle the otiouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn," it is to be found in Deut. xxv. 4. And had St. Paul not said that God spake this, not for the sake of oxen, but of men, I should understand that he did say so for the sake of oxen ; and not for oxen only, but on behalf of all working animals, it bping His will, that they who are His people should be so humane, that not even the brutes should be denied the fruit of their toil, permitting them to enjoy, even whilst at work, the fruit of their fatigue. In saying, " peradventure doth God care for oxen ? " I do not think that St. Paul means that God does not care for oxen, as His creatures, of all which He takes general and particular care, giving them, as we have seen in the Psalms, their meat in due season ; but I tkink the Apostle means, that the Psalmist, in saying this, did not contem- plate man's duty to man. By the expressions, "he that plougheth and he that thresheth," he means the man that ploughs, who ploughs with the hope that he shall reap the fruit of his labour. And the man who threshes, who, in threshing, hopes to enjoy the benefit of his toil. And he understands the preacher of the Gospel to impersonate the plougher and the thresher. IX. 1 1, 1 2. — If we sow unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we reap your carnal things ? if others be partakers of this power over you, ought not we rather ? Continuing to prove the same thing, he propounds two fully sufficient and cogent reasons, stating in the one : Since we, by preaching the Gospel to you, sow spiritual seed in your minds, it would be no great thing were we to seek to reap from you those carnal and outward things which we need to live on. And stating in the other^ I. CORINTHIANS IX. 12. 157 since others participate of your substance, that is to say, of your property, by living at your cost, to whom you are not indebted as you are to us, -why should it not rather be permitted to us to participate of it ; to us, who have con- verted you to Christ ? So that by " spiritual things," may be meant the Gospel, with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And, that by " carnal things" may be meant those things which serve to sustain life. And, that by "your power," [your property] may be meant those things, which we need, and which you can give us. IX. 1 2. — But we have not exerted this power : nay, we suffer all things, in order not to impede the Gospel of Christ. Having proved that he was authorized to live at their expense to whom he preached, he proceeds to say, that if he had not done so, it was not because he was not em^ powered to do it, but because he was unwilling that that power of his should impede the Gospel of Christ, mean- ing that it might become an impediment, when men should suspect that the Gospel was preached from motives of lucre, as are other worldly things. And such would the more especially be the case, when they, to whom the Gospel was preached, felt themselves burdened by the sums exacted of them by the ministers, and that they would be better pleased to live without preaching, than to suffer such loss. In saying, "nay, we suffer all things," he means, we endure all the discomforts which occur to us ; suffering privation and labouring with our own hands to earn our living. And where he says, "impediment" the Greek signifies properly a trip, a stumble, but St. Paul means impedi- ment, embarrassment, or hindrance. 158 /. CORINTHIANS IX. 13, 14. IX. 13, 14. — Do ye not know, that tbe priests, who sacrifice, eat of that which is sacrificed, and that they who assist at the altar are partakers with the altar ? Even so hath the Lord ordained, that they, who preach the Gospel, should live of the Gospel. Sfc. Paul, not content ■with what he has said to prove that he was authorized to eat at the expense of those to whom he preached, now proceeds to prove it by two things. The one, that since it was a fact, that the priests under the Law, in dealing with sacred things, lived upon these same sacred things, assisting at the altar where the sacrifices were placed, and taking their share of them, and this by God's ordinance; there was no reason why he should not be allowed to live by the Gospel. The other^ that since Christ has so ordained it, that they who should preach the Gospel should Uve by the Gospel, he, whilst preaching the Gospel, might well live by this Gospel. What he here says, " tJie priests, vjIw sacrifice, eat of that which is sacrificed," might, according to the Greek, be translated, " they who work, or they who minister, about holy things, eat of the things of the sanctuary." But let it be translated how it may, it is clear that St. Paul means the Priests under the Law. And in saying, " they who assist at the altar," he expounds what he has said as to the making of sacrifices. And in saying, " are partakers with the altar" he expounds what he has said of eating from the altar, and of partaking with the altar, which is tantamount to sharing in the sacrifices which are placed on the altar. Christ's ordinance, that they who publish the Gospel, should live of the Gospel, is laid down by St. Matt. x. 10, where He says, " the workman is worthy of his meat." And it appears, that this Christ's ordinance is perfectly suffi- /. CORINTHIANS IX. 15. 159 cient to establish St. Paul's argument. And thus it appears that contenting himself with this, he does not care to allege aught further. IX. 15. — But I have used none of these things. Neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me : for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void. As though he should say : Although it were permitted me, for all these causes and for all these reasons, to live by the Gospel, I have not sought to avail myself of any one of them. And he proceeds, do not think that I repent of it, and write this in order that it may be cor- rected for the future, for you would deceive yourselves ; since it is certain that I not only entertain no such design, but on the contrary, I have made up my mind that I should prefer death, rather than to be deprived of the satisfaction which I inwardly experience, when I can pride myself before God and the world, that I have preached the Gospel without living by it. The Greek word Key^prjfiai here rendered " T have used," signifies I have availed myself ; but that which St. Paul means, is better expressed by saying " I have employed." That passage, "for it were better for me to die," or I prefer to die, is not I think to be taken at the letter, but spoken as a mode of expressing how very highly he appreciated his glorying, which consisted in boasting that he preached the Gospel, without getting his living by the Gospel. By that which he here says " make void," the Greek word signifies should make vain, or should dissipate ; and here we do well to reflect upon this, that forasmuch as St. Paul knew that he was what he was, by the grace and the favour of God, in glorifying himself, he did not glory i6o /. CORINTHIANS IX. 16-18. in himself, as Paul, but in what the grace and favour of God wrought in him. I state this in order that no one should deceive himself, saying, since St. Paul glorified himself, I likewise may glorify myself ; but let every one reflect, that St. Paul in glorifying himself, did not glory in himself for his own glory's sake, but in God and in Christ, to the glory of God and , of Christ. And that they, who shall in this manner glorify themselves, in glorifying themselves, they will exercise themselves in piety; and that they, who in glorifying themselves glory in them- selves, which practically all do, who have not the Holy Spirit within them, in glorifying themselves they exercise themselves in impiety. And here I understand that they expose themselves to great danger, who, not having the Holy Spirit, set them- selves to imitate things practised by those, who have had, a,nd who still have, the Holy Spirit. IX. 16-18. — For if I preach the Gospel, I have nothing whereof to glory : for necessity constrains me, aye, woe is me, if I preach not the Gospel. For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward : but if forced, a stewardship is committed unto me. What then is my reward 1 Verily that when I preach the Gospel, I may make the Gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the Gospel. Having said that he preferred to die rather than to lose his glorying, he proceeds to state in what way he under- stands that he might come to lose it ; and thus he says, he might lose it, were he, when he preached the Gospel, to live by the Gospel; for he says that he had not, in preaching the Gospel, wherein to glory, being, as he was, obliged to do so by his Apostolate, but that he had whereof to glory in that he, being under no such obligation, had, /. CORINTHIANS IX. 19-22. 161 ■when preaching the Gospel, not exerted the power con- ferred on him by the Gospel. So that according to St. Paul a man has neither reward nor wherein to glory for doing that which he is under obli- gation to do. Whilst he has both reward and wherein to glory when he does more than that which he is under obligation to do. In saying, " necessity constrains me," he means, that he was constrained by the Apostolate to preach the Gospel. In saying, " if I do this willingly" he means, but if I preach the Gospel, making my boast of the Gospel, I have a reward. I certainly do not understand wherein St. Paul peculiarly assigned this his reward, I think indeed that he placed it in his mental satisfaction. In saying, " hut if forced" he means, if I preach the Gospel unwillingly, being constrained to do so and against my wish, being either ashamed of, or wearied in preaching, the Gospel, " a charge is committed unto me," he means, I am but a steward, to whom a business is committed; being compelled and constrained tojmdertake it, to deal with it, and to conclude" it. In saying, " that I may make the Gospel of Christ without charge," he means, that I may preach the Gospel without living by the Gospel. So that making it without charge is equivalent to preaching it without cost. By what he here says, " that I abuse not," if the Greek word [^Kara 'x^prjaaaOai] did not compel me, I should only render it " not using," and should not say abusing. For I do not understand how St. Paul could abuse his power in the Gospel, although he should live by the Gospel : I understand indeed, that in preaching the Gospel without cost, he did not use his power in the Gospel, and I feel assured that this is properly what St. Paul meant. IX. 19-22. — For being free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain many. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, i62 1. CORINTHIANS IX. 19-22. that I might gain the Jews. To them that are under the Law, as though I were under the Law, that I might gain them that are under the Law. To them that are without Law, as without Law, (being not without Law to God, but under the Law to Christ), that I might gain them that are without Law. To the weak have I made myself as weak, that I might gain the weak. By these words, it seems as though St. Paul would say, that his entire aim in all these things was to draw a great number to the grace of the Gospel. And I understand him to be particularly desirous of showing, that he, from this motive, did not exercise the Christian liberty practised by others, being as fully authorized to use it as they all. And he thus finishes his reply in relation to the two things concerning which he had been calumniated, to wit, that of his not being an Apostle, and the other, that of his not being free. In saying, "for ieinff free from all men," he means, God having placed me in Christian liberty, whereby I acknow- ledge but God as Father, and Christ as Lord, and the Holy Spirit as my ruler, I have voluntarily subjected my- self to all men, with the design, not of gaining them all, for I already know that Christianity is not that wherein all are interested, but of gaining many. And f^rom that passage, " and unto the Jews I became," he goes on to show how he had made himself the servant of all. In what way St. Paul made himself a Jew to the Jews, a Gentile to the Gentiles, it is easy to comprehend. In saying, " to them that are under the Law," I think that he means, generally all those who lived subject to any law. In saying, " to them that are without Law" I think that he means those vicious and licentious persons, who, fol^ lowing the impulses of their affections and appetites, recognized no responsibility to any law. I. CORINTHIANS IX. 22, 23. 163 And in saying, " being not without Law to God," I think that he means, not being without Law before God. And in saying, " hut under the Law to Christ" I think that he means, but being obedient to the Law before Christ, and in the estimation of Christ. And this Law to which St. Paul was obedient, I understand to be the Law of the Spirit of life, of which he has said in Eomans viii. that it freed him from the Law of sin and of death. " The weak: " he calls those weak in faith, who, not having laid aside the superstitions entertained by them, when they accepted the grace of the Gospel, are still superstitious. IX. 22, 23. — I am made all things to all men, by all means to save some. And this I do for the Gospel's sake, that I may be partaker thereof. He concludes by stating, that he made himself all things to all men, showing himself to them as one like them, in order to gain their goodwill, and thus by con- versing with them, to save some of them. And it is worth consideration, that neither in the preceding argument, nor yet in the present one, does he say to save all, but merely some, in order that it may be understood that St. Paul did not hold the Gospel to be food for all. In saying, " and this I do for the Gospel's sake" he means, that the purpose he had in depriving himself of his liberty, which he had in not being subject to any one, was the glory of the Gospel, for the sake of which he subjected himself to all. In saying, " that I might he partaker thereof" or get my share of it, he means, that his design in striving to promote the glory of the Gospel, was that he might participate in that glory. So that the participation that St. Paul aimed at, was not justification, for he already had got this when he became a believer, but the glorying which he got with the glory of the Gospel. Where it is to be understood, that just as the glory of the Gospel which St. Paul aimed i64 /. CORINTHIANS IX. 24, 25. at, was neither in the presence of the world, nor of men of the world, where the Gospel cannot be glorious, but in the presence of God and of God's people, where the Gospel is the more glorious in proportion as their number is greater by whom it is accepted ; so also the peculiar glory or glorying which he personally aspired to, was neither to be in the presence of the world nor in that of men of the world, but in the presence of God and of God's people. This is stated, that no one may be so rash as to seek to calumniate St. Paul's glorying, nor so daring as to presume to imitate it ; because it might come to pass that in pretending to imitate the glorying of St. Paul, he might fall into worldly ambition and into vain glory. IX. 24, 25. — Know ye not, that in the race at the stadium all indeed run, whilst but one receiveth the prize ? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery, is temperate in all things : Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we, an incorruptible. I shall, in the commentary upon the following chapter, where St. Paul reverts to speak upon a subject that he has ceased to treat of, viz., of eating of the sacrifices offered by the Gentiles, show how this statement har- monizes with that which preceded. I here understand it to be St. Paul's design to admonish and to animate those, who have entered upon the Christian life, to run bravely throughout their career, resolutely fighting and opposing everything that should divert them from this path, or that should impede them in their duty of walking in it. And here it is well to repeat that which is stated in Eomans ix., where St. Paul says that " it is neither of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, hut of God that showeth mercy" he refers to the election of God, which /. CORINTHIANS IX. 24, 25. 165 solely depends upon the will of God. And that his admonitions here given to run and to fight are addressed to those who are already elect, to them who rejoice in God's election, requesting them that in running and in fighting they make themselves very like Christ and very like God. As though he should say, God has already elected you and set you apart for Himself ; He has already shown you the way in which you should go ; He has already pointed out to you the enemies with whom you have to fight, it remains that you apply all your energies and all your efforts (for in the meanwhile Christian regeneration and renewal have begun to restore them) to walk, to run, and to fight in order that you may attain the prize, and that you may come off victorious. He propounds this by two similitudes, the one, that of those who run for a prize, where each one runs spiritedly, determined to win it, though they severally know that only one of them will gain it. Where it seems his meaning is : there many run, and only one of them all receives the prize, how much better ought every one of you to run here, where all may carry off the prize. There, they who run thwart each other, whilst here, they who run, help each other ; there, the race is for that which perishes, and here for that which endures. SraBtoi or (ttoSi-ov is a Greek word, indicating the sta- dium or race-course [at Corinth], where these Gentiles ran their races in their [Isthmian] games. The word stadium means likewise the goal, or winning-post. That which is here called "" the prize," might be trans- lated the premium, the gift presented, the crown or wreath of palm leaves. The other similitude is that of those, who, among the ancients, fought in their amphitheatres, or who wrestled, or went through similar exercises, who, in their desire to come off victorious, abstained from everything which would oppress the body, being temperate in eating and in drinking, as well as in everything else. Where, St. Paul's 1 66 /. CORINTHIANS IX. 26, 27. argument is, that since they who strive to gain a corrup- tible and perishable crown, are temperate in everything, how much more temperate ought we to be in everything, who strive for a crown that is incorruptible, and which is enduring ? And the crown is eternal life, which St. Paul, in 2 Timothy iv. 8, calls " a crown of righteousness," because the righteous are crowned with it, and it is the reward of justification. When we believe, God justifies us, and, as a reward of justification. He gives us eternal life. Where he says " that striveth," it might be rendered, that agonizes in wrestling, or as one that fights, whether with his sword, or with his fists. IX. 26, 27. — I therefore so run, not as for a thing uncertain : so fight I, not as one that beateth the air : but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, that it come not to pass that having preached to others, I myself should be a reprobate. St. Paul, in saying what he did, admonishes every one of us what ought to be done. As to the first, that of imitating those who run for the prize or crown, the course of Christian perfection has to be run, (which consists) in imitating God and Christ. Where I understand, that just as the knowledge of the value of the object which is striven after in the race, and the assurance that it is possible to be won, fortifies and animates the man that runs for the prize, to run with greater spirit and with greater speed for it ; so likewise the knowledge of what eternal life is, and the assurance that it is possible to be won, fortifies and animates the man that runs the Christian course, to run with greater spirit, and with greater speed ; whilst the want of knowledge of the prize that is offered, and the want of assurance as to the possibility of winning it, pro- duces a contrary effect, both on the man who runs for the prize, and on the man who runs the Christian course. I. CORINTHIANS IX. 26, 27. 167 And for these reasons, I understand St. Paul to say that he ran, not for a thing that was uncertain, for in that case the race would have been spiritless, but as for a certainty, whereby the race became spirited. I understand that St. Paul ran for a certainty, for he says in the second chapter, that God had revealed the prize of the race by His Spirit to him, whilst it is hidden from all those who have not the Spirit of God, and for that reason they run as for a thing that is uncertain. And he likewise ran as for a certainty, because he had the inward assurance that he should win. They, who have not this assurance, run, but as uncertainly, feebly, and in a spiritless manner, like those running in the race, who do not know the prize, and doubt whether they will win it. And thus it is sure, that when one of those who run begins to lose hope in running, he begins likewise to lose energy to run. And thus it is also sure that, in pro- portion as is the assurance of one of those who run the Christian course, that he is to obtain eternal life, such will be the spirit with which he will run for it. So that a man ought to run as for a definite, well-known object, and with the inward assurance, that in running, he will win the prize, which is eternal life, for St. Paul says that this is the mode in which he ran. And as to the second, imitating good swordsmen, we must fight against our affections and against our appetites, keeping the eye well on them, and hitting them precisely there, where they need to be hit. And here I understand, that in this combat or fight against the affections and against the appetites, he beats the air, who, being covetous, eats little; in order to dis- cipline his gluttony : and he, who, being ambitious, fasts, scourges himself and keeps vigils, in order to repress the carnal appetite. Or the reverse. And I understand, that he does not beat the air, who mortifies avarice with liberality ; who mortifies ambition with contempt of the world and of himself ; who, in eat- i68 I. CORINTHIANS IX. 26, 27. ing little, mortifies his gluttony ; and who, by fasting, dis- cipline, and vigils, mortifies his carnal appetite ; and who thus goes on to smite all his other affections, and all his other appetites precisely there, where they need to be smitten in order to be mortified. So that the Christian must fight and combat with his affections and with his appetites, mortifying them in that wherein they either do, or would fain, flourish, for St. Paul says, that this is the mode in which he fought. Where he says " / keep under (I discipline) m/y hody," the Greek word properly signifies, I make my body " black and blue " with bruises, as in the instance of a black eye from a blow, which produces bruises or livid marks, which, because they are purple (" cardenos "), we (Spaniards) call " cardenales," Anglicised, " cardinals." By " subjection," I understand that a man brings his body into subjection when he strives to mortify the affec- tions and appetites that are after the flesh, in order that they be subjects and not lords. In saying, " that it may not come to pass that having preached to others," he declares, that he reduced his body to subjection, in order not to be rejected, when in the pre- sence of God ; which would be so much the worse in him, forasmuch as he (would have) preached to others the con- trary of what he practised. I understand St. Paul to aim by this to repress at once the licentious mode of living of these Corinthians, rather than to narrate what he did. And that this is so, appears clearly from all that follows throughout the succeeding chapter, where St. Paul's pur- pose is to threaten these Corinthians with the reprobation of God, if they did not cease from their vices and from their licentious mode of life. And for this reason I should not have divided the chapter here but there where he says (at ver. 24), " Know ye not that they who run in a race." For it clearly appears that he commences at that place those admonitions and threats, which, as I have stated, he continues in the next chapter. /. CORINTHIANS X. 169 CHAPTER X. X. 1-4. — Moreover, brethren, I would that ye should know, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea : and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud, and in the sea : and did all eat the same spiritub,l food : and did all drink the same spiritual drink (for they doubtless drank of the spiritual rock that followed them : and the rock was Christ). Some presumptuous Christian amongst these Corin- thians, extolling his (own) spiritual endowments, might say to St. Paul ; if thou, Paul, fearing lest thou shouldest become reprobate, disciplinest thy body, we are not dis- posed to discipline ours, for we do not fear lest we should become reprobates ; for the numerous and exceedingly great gifts which we have received from G-od assure us that we shall not become reprobates ; being confident that, if God had purposed that we should be reprobates, He would not have enriched us with so many gifts, in addition to our call to the grace of the Gospel, and to our election for Christ. Where St. Paul, in replying to a person about to enter upon this holy career, proceeds to say to all gene- rally, that they ^ould look well to themselves that that should not happen to them which befell many of the Jews, who, having enjoyed God's favours in vocation and election to the promised land, were rejected of God for their vices and deceitful practices, for their acts of infidelity and un- lyo I. CORINTHIANS X. 1-4. righteousness. This is what I understand to be St. Paul's purpose here. And here I shall not refrain from saying, that it is to be taken into consideration, that St. Paul here addresses himself to those whom he has styled not spiritual but carnal ; to those, whom he particularly reproves for their carnal vices : and that, had he addressed himself to spiri- tual persons, he would not have menaced them, nay, he would have given them assuring words; knowing that confidence would work mortification rather than depravity in them ; for that where there is faith, there is assurance ; and where there is assurance, there is confidence; and where there is confidence derived from assurance springing from faith, there is likewise mortification of all the affectioTis and of all the appetites that are after the flesh. I say this in order that spiritual persons may not terrify themselves with these menaces, assuring them that they do not con- cern them, and that they are not spoken in reference to them. Since that which does concern them, and which is spoken in relation to them, is that which is (found) in Romans viii. i. Here I consider that Holy Scripture is peculiarly divine (food) meat, which accommodates itself to the taste of the reader ; and thus it is certain that he who needs to live in fear, will never feel confidence in what is found in Eomans viii., nor with what is found throughout Holy Scripture in conformity therewith. Neither will he, who needs to live without fear, in confidence, in assurance, and in love, ever be terrified with what St. Paul states here, nor with the statements throughout Holy Scripture that are in con- formity therewith. For, what I understand of these two categories, I understand equally of all others, excepting, however, from this rule, the men who rea.d Holy Scripture, with the same feeling with which they read profane writ- ings, reading from curiosity and reading from ambition. By " our Fathers" he means the Hebrews, who came forth out of Egypt. And in saying, " they all were under I. CORINTHIANS X. 1-4. ■ 171 the cloud," he means that the favour shown by God to the Hebrew nation upon their exodus from Egypt, in bringing them forth under the cloud, was exhibited to all the Hebrews as a body, none of them being excluded from it. And in saying, " they all passed through the sea,'' he means they all enjoyed this God's favour, of passing dryshod through the Eed Sea. And in saying " they were all laptieed unto Moses," I understand him to mean that God's favour was exhibited to every one of the Hebrew nation, by means of which, they, trusting in Moses' words, dared to go forth out of Egypt with the (attendant) cloud, and dared to enter the sea where it was divided. Where I think St. Paul means, that God exhibited no less favour towards the Hebrew nation, in giving them faith to rely upon Moses' words and promises to induce them to go forth with the cloud and to traverse the sea, than in the favour of sending them the cloud and of dividing the sea for them. The human heart is so hard in things relating to God, that for man to avail himself of them, it is necessary that God Him- self soften and conquer it. St. Paul, in calling this confi- dence, wherewith the Hebrews went forth with the cloud and passed through the sea. Baptism, alludes, as I understand him, to our Baptism ; for that just as the Jews, relying upon what Moses told them, as from God, went forth with the cloud and traversed the sea .- so we, relying upon what the Gospel tells us of God apd of Christ, come forth out of infidelity, and pass hy Baptism fr'om death unto life, from mortality to immortality, and from corruption to incorrup- tion. In reference to which I understand, that just as the clovd and the division of the sea would have been useless to the Hebrews, had not God Himself, who sent them the clovd, and who divided the sea for them, moved their hearts to go forth with the cloud and to pass through the sea, precisely so the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord, His resurrection and His glorification, would have been tiseless to us, had the same God, who executed His justice upon Him , 172 /. CORINTHIANS X. 1-4. who raised Him upfront the dead, and gave Him glory, not moved our hearts, that we should accept that justice which was executed upon Christ for our own, holding ourselves to be as justified by it and in it, as if each one of us had lived in the innocence in which Christ lived, and had suffered in person what Christ suffered, for the acceptance of which it is necessary that God Himself move and soften our hearts. In saying, " and did all eat of the same spiritual food," he understands, that all the Hebrews enjoyed the favour that God showed them in the desert, in sending the manna and the quails ; and in calling this divine food " spiritual" he means, that it did not come to them in the ordinary way in which other kinds of food come ; but that it came to them in an extraordinary way, by an especial work of God, as do other miraculous things, all which, upon the warrant of this decision, may be called spiritual. In saying, " and did all drink the same spiritual drink,'' he means, that all the Hebrews did likewise enjoy the favour of God shown to the people, by drawiug water from the rock, for all drank of the water which he calls " spiri- tual," just as he called the manna and quails " spiritual." In saying, "for- they doubtless drank of the spiritual rock which followed them," he means, all the Hebrews, without excepting a man of them, drank of the water which gushed forth from that rock, which I understand him to call " spiritual," because the water was given to the Hebrews out of the course of nature, by God's peculiar and particular ordinance. Which is what St. Paul means by saying, that that rock followed the Hebrew host ; though that is not verified by the writers, for it does not appear by Holy Writ that the rock, from which the waters gushed, followed the Hebrews through the desert. Some • say, that although this be not stated iu the history, that it is so in some Jewish books that I cannot specify : with relation thereto I remit myself to the truth. It suffices that St. Paul clearly states that the rock followed the Hebrews. /. CORINTHIANS X. 5. 173 In saying, " and the rock was Christ," I think he means that that which was wrought by the rock on the Hebrews was a type of what Christ works upon Christians. The rock extinguished the thirst of the Hebrews, it re- freshed and cleansed them with the water that issued from it ; and Christ extinguishes the thirst of those Chris- tians, who hunger and thirst after righteousness in order to be just, whom Christ calls, saying, " If any man thirsty let him come unto Me and drink." And Christ Himself refreshes those, whom He justifies, by His righteousness, cleansing them from all their sins, with the blood that issued from His body. X. 5.— But with most of them God was not well pleased : for they fell disastrously in the wilder- ness. As if he should say : And though it be (true) that all our fathers enjoyed these (God's) favours, they were not all ap- proved of God, nay, most of them were reprobate ; God being displeased with them, they died in the desert. From all which St. Paul gleans, that they who run as uncer- tainly, and that they who do battle and -fight but as beat- ing the air, unless they repent, and enter into the lists to run the race of the Christian life, as they run who know what they run for; and unless they strive to do battle with, and to fight against, their affections and their appe- tites, not as they battle and fight who but beat the air, but as do they who smite their enemy, that shall befall them which befel most of the Jews, notwithstanding that they receive gifts from God, and notwithstanding that they en- joy God's favours. In saying, " God was not well pleased," he means, God , disapproved of, and was dissatisfied with, them. And in saying, " they fell disastrously," he means, they died. St. Paul here concentrates his energies to show that though all participated in God's favours, yet it did 174 I- CORINTHIANS X. 6-10. not occur to all to enter the promised land. And here something worthy of deep consideration presents itself, that out of the six hundred thousand men, who came forth out of Egypt, only two {Caleb and Joihuoi) entered into the pro- mised land, in order that no one might ie astonished, that if of such multitudes of Jews, to whom Christ vjas promised,, they have been so few, who have entered into the grace of the Gospel. X. 6-10. — Now these things have to be to us as types, in order that we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idola- ters as were some of them ; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and to drink, and they rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted God, and died by serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were slaia by the de- stroyer." St. Paul means to say, that the things which occurred to the Jewish nation upon their exodus from Egypt, and upon their passage through the sea, upon their condition in the desert, and upon their entrance into the land of promise, were as types and figures of that which occurs to us upon our coming forth from the temporal and worldly kingdom, upon the mortification of our affec- tions and of our appetites, and upon (our) entrance into the eternal and divine Kingdom, which is under the sway of the Holy Spirit ; by whom, they are ruled and governed, who accept the grace of the Gospel. And St. Paul, seeking to declare the mode in which he understands those things to have been to us as types, says, in " order that we should not lust after evil things," /. CORINTHIANS X. 6-10. \ 175 meaning, that by consideration of the lusts which the Jews allowed to get the mastery over them, and which wrought their ruin, we should mortify all our evil desires. And he continues, "neither le ye idolaters,'' meaning, too, that from the evils which befel the Jews through their idolatry, we should be upon our guard to flee from idol- atry ; and not only from the outward but likewise from the inward, nay, the rather from this latter as being the more pernicious. That inward idolatry, which I charge as being pre-eminent, is self-love, when man loves himself more than God, is a worshipper of self, and would fain be worshipped of other men, ratifying the worship, in which they hold him to be good, holy, and just, and that they hold all that he does to be good, holy, and just. In saying, " as were some of them" he means, they were idolaters, and in seeking to prove it to be a fact that some Jews were idolaters, he says, as it is written (in Exod. xxxii. 6), " The people sat down," &c., in which words though there be no mention of idolatry, it is understood, for they were spoken of a period when the people prac- tised idolatry. And this is intimated by the meaning of the Hebrew word, which we have rendered to play, but which means idolatry and lasciviousness of the flesh, for Hebrew has other words to denote simply to play, as that word is understood by us. St. Paul then judiciously adds, " neither let us commit for- nication" thus declaring that the play was fornication, for we read all this in Exodus xxxii. For through Moses' absence the people worshipped the calf, and committed for- nication amongst themselves : but when Moses returned, he made the Levites go through the camp, and kill all they met, and thus there were three and twenty thousand of them kUled. And although the punishment was on account of idolatry, it is properly attributed to fornica- tion ; it is so in the relation of Phinehas' conduct, which is described in Num. xxv. 6-15. And he proceeds, " neither let us tempt Christ," where I 176 /. CORINTHIANS X. ii, 12. understand that they tempt Christ, who convert Christian liberty into carnal licentiousness, saying, Christ has paid for me, and therefore I may well do what I please, in doing the promptings of my affections and lusts. What he says, in reference " to their having been slain ly serpents" is narrated in the book of Numbers xxi. And I understand that they tempt Grod, who, distrusting His word and His promises, desire to see miracles ; and they do so too, who doubt His divine omnipotence, as did the Jews, when they said, " shall God peradventure be able to do thus and thus with us ? " And he continues " neither murrrmr ye," and I under- stand to murmur to be the same as to tempt ; I mean to say, that they tempt God, who murmur against God. In Numbers xiv. and xxi., and in the book of Judges viii., we read that the Jews frequently murmured ; whence it appears that they who murmur, tempt, and that to tempt is to murmur. And it likewise appears, that St. Paul calls the punish- ment wherewith God chastised those who tempted and murmured against Him, " the Destroyer." X. 1 1, 1 2. — Now all these things happened unto them by way of figure : and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. St. Paul means, as we have already said, that all that happened to the Jews, from their coming forth out of Egypt until their entrance into the promised land, was as a figure or type of what was to happen to ourselves. He means to say, that God exhibited in that people's expe- rience what had to happen to Christians. And he states, moreover, that it was God's doing that all these things should remain on record, in order that we, in reading them /. CORINTHIANS X. 13. 177 and in hearing them, may hold ourselves to be admonished, not to fall into the evil courses into which they fell. And in saying, " upon whom the ends of the ages are come," he means, that it has occurred to us to come into the world when it is approaching its end. Here it clearly appears that St. Paul was of opinion that the day of judgment was very near at hand, which opinion I hold to be rather a mark of perfection than of imperfection, though it be granted that such has not been the event. In saying, " wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth," he means, since so it is, that what happened to the Jewish nation was a figure of what should happen to Christians, let each one severally see to it, that he do not become reprobate, which occurred to some of the Jews, a caution which he addresses to them, who are persuaded that they stand strong and firm. In that expression, " take heed lest he fall" I do not think that he means, let him take heed that he do not fall into this sin or that, unless he contemplate, and intentionally lay aside the pious fear of God and of Christ, because, as I have said elsewhere, I do not understand him to lay aside piety, who, through weakness or through corruption, commits a sin; but the man does so, who leaves it and deserts it ; thus he does not cease to be a monk, who does something against the rule (of his order), but he does so, who doffs the dress, and leaves the monastery. X. 13. — There hath no temptation overtaken you, but such as is common to man. For any one of those, who think that they stand, might say, I have no fear that that should happen to me which befel those Jews, who became reprobate, for I stand firm and steady, and up to this time nothing has occurred to tempt me to depart from &od and Christ, that has wrought any impression on me, and I feel assured that it will not be otherwise with me in future. Words, which, although , M 178 /. CORINTHIANS X. 13. they are becoming in an humble Christian, are unbecom- ing and dangerous in another, who is presumptuous. Thus St. Paul says, " no temptation hath overtaken you, hut such as is common to man," as though he should say : Let not this engender coniidence, for you may deceive your- selves ; for hitherto the temptations into which you have fallen have not been severe, but human, like those which are wont to assail other men. And were you to be exposed to those which are superhuman, it might be that they would prostrate you, and that you would thus come to be deceived. And here I understand those temptations to be human, whereby man is tempted, as man, to carry out his carnal and worldly affections and appetites. And I understand those temptations to be superhuman, whereby man is tempted to distrust God, to murmur against God, and to abhor God. And thus I understand that those were superhuman temptations with which the Jewish nation was assailed, when making its exodus from Egypt, when passing through the Eed Sea, when dwelling in the desert where there was nothing to eat or to drink, and when fighting with the nations which occupied the promised land, nations which were much more warlike than the Jews. And I say that these temptations were more than human, because the Jews were pushed to such extremity, that they were compelled to trust in God's Pro- mises, when they could see no human reason whereon to base their confidence, and all their reliance wholly de- pended upon God's Promise, precisely where the Jews were tempted" to distrust by everything that was con- sistent with human reason; and therefore their tempta- tions were superhuman. And forasmuch as the temptations which had befallen these Corinthians had not been of the same kind as these, St. Paul says that they had not been tempted, but with human temptations. And the whole of the argument is, as has been before /. CORINTHIANS X. 13. J79 stated, intended to intimidate the licentious, the carnal, and the vicious, but not (to alarm) either the modest or the spiritual, whom it was St. Paul's desire to inspire with assurance. X. 1 3. — But God is faithful, who will not con- sent that you be tempted above that you are able : but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that ye may be. able to bear it. Since it appeared to St. Paul that the threats with which he had menaced these Corinthians, who were not spiritual persons but carnal, fully sufficed, he now pro- ceeds to comfort and to assure them; but not with any- thing that they themselves could do, but with what they, with God's help, might do. As though he should say : Assuming that you fall into superhuman temptations, fear not, since you have God's Word, by which He promises to give you justification and eternal life. And since God faithfully fulfils what He promises, there is no reason to doubt but that He will restrain His hand, and will not consent that the temptations afflict you, beyond what you shall be able to resist : yet not through your own power, but by the favour of God which shall be vouchsafed you, for He will bring it about that the temptation shall issue well, so that you may be firm and steady, and not allow yourselves to be overcome by the temptation. Where I understand that the Christian, under all his temptations, is to be assured of God's faithfulness, saying, God is faithful in keeping that which He promises. He has promised me justification, resurrection, and eternal life; and since such is the fact, there is no doubt, but that in fulfilment of His Word, He wiU bring me safely out of this temptation. I understand, moreover, that the Christian's power to resist or to support temptations, is not through man's virtue or goodness, but by the favour of God, who i8o 7. CORINTHIANS X. 14-17. in (dando) giving temptation,i provides likewise a way of escape from it. In saying, " above that ye are able," he means, beyond your power of resistance : and I have already stated that the power is not in man, but in God. In saying, "but will also make a way of escape," he means, God will cause it to end well, He will make the temptation to issue profitably. And thus it is certain that even temptations work for good to them that love God. I mean to say, that they are thereby gainers. X. 14-17- — "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. 1 speak as to prudent men ; judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the common participation of the blood of Christ ? the bread which we break, is it not the common participation of the body of Christ ? For we, being many, are one bread, and one body : for we are all partakers of that one bread. St. Paul shows that his principal design in all that he has said, has been to sever these Corinthians from the communication and conversation which they held with the Gentiles, in assisting at their sacrifices, and in eating and in drinking of that which had been offered in sacri- fice. So that this corresponds with what he has written in chapter the eighth ; and that, without having relin- quished his purpose, he has thus continued his argument from the beginning of the ninth chapter up to where he says (i Cor. ix. 24), " Know ye not that, they who run in a race," and it has been his design to say, that it was not because he was not an Apostle, nor was it because he was not free, that he thus ceased to exercise that liberty of 1 See Valdes' XVII Opuscules, No. IX, 'Upon Temptations,' p. 81. 7. CORINTHIANS X. i8. i8i eating what had been sacrificed to idols, as also every other liberty, and the same of his Apostolic power ; but because he did not choose to exercise the liberty, or to exercise the power. And that his design from that passage, " Know ye not, that they who run in a race run all," up to this has been, by fear, to induce them to break off their relations with the heathen. And he here reverts to admonish them, just as he admonished them in the eighth chapter, but in other terms and with other arguments. And thus all this St. Paul's discourse is well maintained. That expression, "/ speak as to prudent men," is, as I think, connected with what he is about to say, which he remits to their judgment ; that they should judge whether it was correct or incorrect: but at the outset he called them wise, meaning, that had he not held them to be wise, he would not have remitted to them the judgment of what he was about to speak, that is, of " the cup of bless- ing." Where it appears that St. Paul means, that as all we; who partake of the cup of blessing, or of the blessed cup, are all one, for that we all partake of the blood of Christ, being all justified by it : and that just as all we, who eat of the bread, which we break by Christ's ordinance, are one body, for that we are by faith all incorporated into Christ, so likewise they who drink and eat of that which is or- dained by devils and with the Gentiles, are one with, and incorporated with, them. In saying, " one bread, one body," he means, that as we thus all eat of one bread, so we all are one body. To understand this thoroughly, it would be necessary to know in what manner the Christians of that age were wont to present the Lord's Supper, which will be dealt with in the following chapter. X. 1 8. — Consider Israel after the flesh. Do not they, who eat of the sacrifices, partake of the altar ? i82 I. CORINTHIANS X. 19, 20. He confirms what he has stated, meaning, that just as the Jewish priests in eating of things sacrificed upon the altar, communicated with the altar, the altar getting its share of the sacrifice, whilst they got theirs ; so they, who partake of that which has been sacrificed to idols, com- municate with idolaters, the idols and the idolaters getting their share of the sacrifice, and they getting their own. He calls the Jews " Israel after the flesh" to distinguish them from us Christians, who are " Israel after the Spirit ; " for that the Promises made to the Israelites are ours, in- asmuch as we hold God to be our God, and God holds us to be His people. X. 19, 20. — What do I say then'? that the idol is anything ? or that that which is offered in sacri- fice to idols is anything ? No, but that that which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God : and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Forasmuch as it appeared to St. Paul, that a person might gather from his words, that he entertained the opinion that something divine attached itself to the idol, and hence that an object sacrificed to the idol acquired higher consideration than an object that had not been sacrificed; and desirous of expressing his sentiments in relation to this, he puts the question to himself, saying, " What do I say then ? " as though he should say : I do not mean hereby to declare that the idol is anything, for I know that it is in fact nothing. Neither do I mean to say, that that which has been sacrificed to idols is any- thing, for I know it to be identically the same as that which has not been sacrificed ; but I do mean to say : "that that which the Gentiles sacrifice" as though he should say : What I meant by all this, is, that since what the Gentiles sacrifice, they do not sacrifice to God, but unto devils, who rejoice in those sacrifices, wherein they derisively laugh at /. CORINTHIANS X. 21, 22. 183 the blindness of the men who offer them, it is wrong that you, who are members of Christ, should pa,rtake with devils, in eating' of the things which they enjoy. And it is to be understood that St. Paul's entire design by these words is to sever the Christians at Corinth from fellow- ship and communion with the Gentiles in their sacrifices, through the danger they incurred of turning to idolatry. X. 21, 22. — Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils : ye cannot be par- takers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. Do we, perad venture, provoke the Lord to jealousy ? are we stronger than He ? As though he should say : I declare that I would not that ye should be partakers with devils, for, if ye drink of the cup of devils, ye cannot drink of the cup of Christ, and if ye eat at the table of devils, ye cannot eat at the table of Christ. Here I understand that the inability consisted in that, whilst partakers with devils, although they partook of Christ's cup, and that they ate at Christ's table with other Christians, they were not united with Christ, nor were they members of Christ, like other Christians. They drank of the cup of devils, and they ate at the table of devils, who sat down to eat and to drink with the Gentiles at their feasts, where they ate what had been sacrificed to idols. Here let them, who delight themselves in worldly banquets, and feasts, and games, examine themselves somewhat, whether they, in eating at Christ's table, are communi- cants of Christ's table and of Christ's cup. In saying, " Do we, peradventure, provoke the Lord?" (see Deut. xxxii. 21), he means, that they, who seated them- selves at the table of the Gentile sacrifices, irritated Christ, provoking Him. to anger against themselves. And in saying, " What, are we stronger than He ? " St. i84 /. CORINTHIANS X. 23, 24. Paul means, that they who seated themselves at those tables, by that very fact testified concerning themselves that they presumed themselves to be so strong, and so steadfast in the faith, that they esteemed the idol to be nothing, and that what had been sacrificed to the idol was nothing : and that herein they outdid Christ Himself. So that these two interrogations are spoken indignantly, as though he should say : Do we seek to irritate Christ, by showing ourselves further advanced than He in Chris- tian liberty ? Would we have it understood that we are stronger than He, in that we dare to do that which He did not do ? X. 23, 24. — All things are lav^ful for me, but all things are not expedient : all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but let every one seek another's weal. St. Paul has already expressed the same sentiment, with a slight variation, in chapter vi. 12. Here it seems that he m-eans, it being granted that it was lawful for him and for other perfect Christians to sit and eat at the heathen sacrifices, he did not do so, because he saw no benefit in so doing, either to himself, or to his neighbour, or to his brother, and that therefore he did not care to attend them. So that in saying, " lut all things do not edify" he means, that it is Christian duty not to go where it is law- ful for him to go, unless it be for personal spiritual edifi- cation, or for that of some other Christian. And to confirm this the more, he adds, " let no man seek his own" as though he had said : Since eating and drinking of things sacrificed to idols brings therewith no edification, lay it aside ; for that which concerns you as Christians is not to fix your eye upon your own interests, ot upon your own advantage, but upon the interests and I. CORINTHIANS X. 25-30. 185 advantage of each other ; and I understand that Christian duty consists in this, and I understand that herein does Christian charity consist. They, who seek their own, testify concerning themselves that they love themselves, causing charity to take its rise in, and to be regulated by self ; whilst they, who seek the weal of others, witness con- cerning themselves that they love God, causing charity to take its rise in, and to be regulated by God, and they go on to exert it amongst those who are most united to God, and thus they progressively seek their brethren's welfare, whilst engaged in promoting things of God. " To seek " is equivalent to strive after. As to the majority of the things in reference to which St. Paul here says that they were all lawful for him, I re- mit myself to what I have already stated upon chapter the sixth : I will only say this, that it is no less a mark of imperfection in a Christian to go about to examine what things are lawful for him (to do), in order to carry them into execution, than it would be for a son to go measuring and balancing in his father's house what things might be permitted him as a son to do, in order that he might do them. And I will, moreover, say, that it concerns the Christian, not to aim at doing what is lawful, for he may rest assured that, because he is a son, to him as such, all things are lawful ; but he is to aim at that which is pro- fitable, and at that which edifies : let him keep his eyes fixed on this : this is what he ought to aim at, and this is what he ought to strive after, holding that to be profitable, and holding that to be edifying, whereby he and Christ's members become more and more attached to Christ, re- covering more and more the image and likeness of God and of Christ, and that, whereby they, who are not Christ's, are invited to come and to be Christ's. X. 25-30. — Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake. i86 I. CORINTHIANS X. 25-30. "For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." If any of them that believe not, bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to ' go, whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. But if any man say unto you, This has been oflFered in sa- crifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that showed it, and for conscience sake. For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. Conscience, I say, not of thine own, but of the other : for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience ? For, if I with grace partake of it, why am I evil spoken of, for that for which I give thanks to God ? This passage relates the manner in which St. Paul wished, that these Corinthians should regulate themselves, as to eating meats sacrificed unto idols. The Jirst ride is, that they should eat of all that was sold upon the heathen shambles, without setting them- selves the task of inquiring which meat had been offered in sacrifice to idols, and which had not. And he says, the reason they should not ask this, is for conscience sake : meaning, as he presently declares, for his conscience sake who should be present and see the meat taken away, or see it eaten. It may likewise possibly be, that in saying "for conscience sake," he may mean, not caring to ask any- thing, with the intention of protecting your consciences. And by that which he says, "for the earth is the Lord's" he means, and you may eat of all that is sold upon the shambles, without making any difi'erence, for the whole of it is God's ; and since you are the children of God, you may eat of all of it as your own. The words are from Psalm xxiv. " And ly the fulness thereof," he means, all that there is upon the earth. The second rule is, that if an unbeliever give a Chris- tian an invitation to a feast, and that he wish to attend /. CORINTHIANS X. 25-30. 187 it, he should partake freely of all that should he placed before him -without a question. And this, as St. Paul states, "for conscience sake." The third rule is, that if whilst the Christian is eating ■with the Gentile, any one should come and say, " This has been sacrificed to idols," let the Christian cease from eating it, not from superstition, but in order not to scan- dalize the person who notified it, and who warned him, stating that it had been sacrificed to idols. And it ap- pears that St. Paul assumes that the person who gave the warning is superstitious, and under restraint, but not wicked, since he desires that respect be shown for his con- science. Where it was quite needed that St. Paul should declare that he did not mean that the Christian should cease to eat of that which had been sacrificed to idols, lest he should offend against his own conscience in eating of it, but in order that he should not offend against the con- science of the superstitious individual. In saying, "for why is my liberty judged," I understand him to refer to what he has stated, " conscience, I say, not of thine own, but of the other," as though he should say : I state that the Christian has not to refrain from eating of what has been sacrificed to the idol on his own account, but for the man's sake who is present ; for I understand that he would not in eating offend against his own consci- ence, neither in eating, nor in scandalizing another ; for there is no reason why I should be judged by another for what I do in the exercise of the Christian liberty which God has given me, nor is there any reason why I should be evil spoken of by another in reference to that, for which I render God thanks. So that St. Paul does not by these words defend that eating which scandalizes the brother, for that would be counter to his main purpose, but he defends the consci- ence of the man that eats, saying, that he would not, by eating, incur blame, neither would he, by eating, be scandalized. And thus the whole of the respect shown i88 /. CORINTHIANS X. 25-30. in refraining from eating is due to the other's con- science. Some people understand St. Paul by this passage, "for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience ? " to mean, why should I exercise my Christian liberty so as to lead others to condemn and speak evil of me in reference thereto ? And though the former sentence may well warrant this view of it, I do not see how the following one, "for which I give thanks" can do so, and for this reason I adhere to my first apprehension. By the words " if I, with grace, partake of it" he may wish to say, if I eat rendering thanks to God : and like- wise, if I eat, being in a state of grace. But the former pleases me more on account of what follows, "for that which I give thanks." Here it appears that a curious person might be affected with a desire to know two things. The first is, in what manner that which St. Paul here says in relation to eating or not eating things sacrificed to idols, should be carried out with reference to the things that are prohibited in our own times. The second, if this which David says, " The earth is the Lord's" be adequate to prove that one may partake of everything, for what reason was it that men did not in the time of David partake of everything; and that they refrained from doing so until the publication of the Gos- pel ? To the first I say, that since no general rule can be given, it is better to remit it to spiritual persons that they make the rule themselves. To the second I say, that St. Paul, by adducing those words of David, does not intend to prove by them that David felt it was permitted to eat of everything, but to show that it indeed is, as David says, that the earth is God's, together with all belongincr to it, and that no one is justified in thinking, that that which has been sacrificed to idols, belongs to idols, and that therefore he should refrain from eating of it, as something that was not God's but the devil's ; nay, he ought to think I. CORINTHIANS X. 31-33. 189 that that which had been sacrificed is as much God's as is everything else ; and for that reason to eat freely of it, not as something belonging to idols, but as something be- longing to God. X. 31-33. — Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give no occasion of stumbling, either to Jews or to Greeks, or to the Church of God. Even as I also please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved. Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ. St. Paul places, by way of conclusion to what he re- quired of these Corinthians in reference to eating, or not eating, of what had been sacrificed to idols, this Christian admonition, that the Christian have the glory of God for his aim in all his engagements. And I understand the Christian, in eating, then, to aim at the glory of God, when he eats to sustain the life which God has given him. And I understand the Christian, in sustaining his life, then, to aim at the glory of God, when he cherishes his life, in order that God's glory may therewith be illustrated. They, who in eating, aim at their own glory, eat to sus- tain their lives, and cherish their lives in order to illustrate therewith their things and their persons. There are others, who neither eat with the aim of promoting God's glory nor their own glory, but they eat to satisfy appetite ; and these are they who eat to live, and cherish life in order to eat : these not only usurp the name of Christians, but they usurp likewise the name of men. What I state concerning eating, I understand concerning drinking, and I understand concerning every other thing, in all which the Christian ought to aim at the glory of God. But I shall better express myself thus : that the Chris- tian, in everything that he does as a Christian, aims at the 190 7, CORINTHIANS X. 31-33. glory of God. And I understand the Christian to wOrk as a Christian, when he is moved and inspired to work by the Holy Spirit. In saying, "give no occasion of stumbling" he means, heware of giving occasion to stumble, either to the Jews in being licentious, to the Greeks or Gentiles in being vicious, or to the Church of God in being superstitious. I understand the Jews were scandalized with the licence which Christians took in reference to things prohibited by the Law, and who sought to prove their Christianity by breaking the Law. And I un.derstand that the Greeks or Gentiles were scandalized by the vices of weak Christians, who sought to prove their Christian liberty by converting it into carnal freedom ; just as would the silly favourite of , a prince, who should endeavour to show his familiarity by things wherein he should disgrace himself, and thus come to lose the prince's favour. And I understand that the Church of God was scan- dalized with the superstition of those, who, being weak and infirm in faith, were more Jewish than Christian, being scandalized too with that wherewith the Jews were scandalized, and with that wherewith the Greeks were so. In saying, " that they may he saved," he declares what all those things were, wherewith he- pleased all men, and what those things were, wherewith he sought the profit of the many ; meaning, that they were those by means of which he thought to be able to bring some to the grace of the Gospel. So that in saying, " in all things I please all men," he may mean all those whom he thought to bring to Christ, he pleased them in all things whereby he thought he should be able to attach them to Christianity. I say the same in reference to the seeking of the profit of the many. And here we may well gather that St. Paul marshalled his charity thus, God stood first, then Christ, and the Gospel of Christ, and then his neighbour, postponing his own bene- fit to that of his neighbour. I. CORINTHIANS X. 31-33. 191 That passage, " be ye followers of me," is prefixed by some to the following chapter ; the Greek places it at the close of this ; and to my view, it suits better, as a sort of con- clusion to all that has been stated ; as though he should say : Finally, I entreat you that in this, as in everything else, you keep your eyes fixed on me, strive to imitate me, just as I am intent upon imitating Christ. Were I not inwardly conscious that I imitate Christ, I should not coun- sel you to imitate me, but knowing my own imitation of Christ, I dare ask that you should imitate me, knowing, that, in imitating me, you will imitate Christ. It appears that this is what St. Paul understood by these words, in which I note two things. The first, that God has ordained that our welfare and our profit be so com- bined with the welfare and with the profit of our neigh- bour, that, whenever we seek our neighbour's welfare and profit, we find our own welfare and our own profit. So that the best expedient and the easiest way that man can take to find his own welfare and his own profit, is to seek his neighbour's welfare and profit. I do not mean in outward, carnal, and worldly things, but in things inward, spiritual, and divine. The second thing that I note is, that, because these Corin- thians were stUl carnal and not spiritual, St. Paul does not tell them to imitate Christ, but that they should imitate him, doing that with them which is practised by a medical man, upon one who has diseased eyes, who, in order that he may not be injured by sunlight, keeps him where he has but the light of a taper, until, that his eyes being cured, he can enjoy the light of the sun, That such is the fact, appears from what St. Paul says, where, speaking to the Ephesians, who were spiritual, he does not say to them, be ye imitators of me, but he says to them, imitate God; as did Christ Himself, who, in speaking to His disciples, and inviting them to perfection, says to them, " Be ye perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." ig2 I. CORINTHIANS X. 31-33. Whence it may be gathered, that it is right to propound the imitation of men to carnal men, whose eyes are not yet sound, but only so far as those men imitate Christ. But that as to those, who begin to cease to be carnal, and who begin to become spiritual, who begin to cease to be imper- fect, and who begin to become perfect, and thus, to have their eyes restored, it is well to propose to them the imi- tation of Christ, and the imitation of G-od, that they may themselves progressively become like to Christ, and like to God. For I understand that the man who shall always have before him the imitation of another man, however perfect that man m'ay be, will never come to recover the image and likeness of God, which they aim at, in this present life, who are regenerated by Christian regeneration ; nay, that that would occur to him, which happens to a painter, who takes a likeness from another likeness by another painter, which the other painter has drawn from life. I mean to say, that just as he that draws from a portrait diverges more from nature than does he that drew from life : so he that restores and reforms the image and like- ness of God in himself, holding before his eyes another man, who has made the restoration and the renovation that he aims at, will ever himself depart more from the true image of God and of Christ, than the man who shall have the image of God and of Christ before his eyes. Wherefore it is much more safe and secure for men, in proportion as their ability admits of it, that they have placed before their eyes that image of perfection which we have stated that Christ placed before His disciples ; and that which we have stated that St. Paul placed before the Ephesians. But of this very thing I have already spoken in my prefatory letter to the beginning of the Epistle to the Romans. /. CORINTHIANS XI. 193 CHAPTER XL XL 1-3. — Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordi- nances, as I delivered them to you. But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ ; and the head of the woman is the man ; and the head of Christ is God. St. Paul addresses himself in this chapter mainly but to two things. The one, to rebuke the disorder there was among the women in the Church of Corinth, who came to pray and to prophesy with their hair in disorder, pretending, as it would appear, that they were under the Spirit's impulse. And'tlbe other, likewise to reprove the disorder there was in the same Church, when Christians met to set forth Christ's death, by communion of the body and of the blood of Christ. Where it seems, that because he had to rebuke them, he begins by commending them, saying, " Jffow I praise you, irethren." And it appears that he commended them on two accounts — the one, of their retention of him in their memory ; and the other, of the observance of the ordi- nances that he had given them. Where, if any one shall ask me, saying, how can you re- concilawhat St. Paul states here in reference to these Cor- inthians where he praises them, with what he subsequently states where he rebukes them, and of whom, indeed, he complains elsewhere in divers passages ? I indeed can- N 194 I- CORINTHIANS XI. 4-6. not give a satisfactory reply, though it may be said there being both good and bad at Corinth, that the commenda- tions were addressed to the good, while the reproofs were so to the bad. There are those who render the words, " that ye remem- ber me in all things," as meaning, that ye keep all my interests present to your mind. And the Greek version admits of this double interpretation. In saying, " lut I would have you know," it appears that his meaning is, but together with the observance of my ordinances, I would have you know besides, that all men depend on Christ. He means that Christians) after God, recognize no other superior than Christ ; and that the wife depends on her husband, I mean that the wife, after God and Christ, recognizes no other superior than her husband ; and that (in saying) Christ depends on God, he means that Christ depends upon God only. The reason why St. Paul states this, he himself will de- clare presently. In what sense St. Paul understood the husband to be the head of the wife, and Christ to be the head of the man, it is easy to understand, but the diffi- culty is to understand, in what sense he understood God to be the head of Christ. XL 4-6. — Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered, dishonoureth her head : for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn ; but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. As though he should say : I have stated that Christ is the head of the man, and that the husband is the head of the wife ; but I would have you know, that the man who I. CORINTHIANS XI. 7-12. 195 keeps his head covered, whilst he is praying or prophesy- ing, acts injuriously towards and insults his head, that is Christ ; and that the wife, who, similarly engaged, keeps her head uncovered (unveiled), acts injuriously towards and insults her head, that is her husband, I indeed do not apprehend wherein St. Paul understands this shame, injury, and insult peculiarly to lie which man does to Christ, in praying and prophesying with his head covered, and which the wife does to her husband in keeping her head uncovered (unveiled). I truly think that he but introduces that which concerns the man, in order to introduce that which affects the wife, whose disgrace, in publicly presenting herself uncovered (unveiled), appears to be reflected upon her husband. And so St. Paul, ceasing to speak of the man, says, that it is as disgraceful for a woman to appear in public uncovered (or unveiled), as though she went about with her hair shorn off by shears, or shaved off by a razor. And seeking to put a stop upon women's going about with dishevelled hair, lest they should give the heathen occasion to murmur against them, I understand him to say, /or if a woman do not cover (or do not veil herself) ; which makes it all clear. XI. 7-12. — For a man, indeed, ought not in any- way to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the , image and glory of God ; but the wife is the glory of the husband. For man came not forth of woman, but woman of man ; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head, because of the Angels. It is granted that neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman : but all things of God. 196 I. CORINTHIANS XI. 7-12. It seems that women might say : Since men prayed and prophesied with their heads uncovered, they likewise could and ought to do the same. To which it appears that St. Paul replies, by saying, that it becomes a man to have his head uncovered, but that it is unbecoming in a woman. This he proves by certain arguments, which, although they are not so unanswerable as not to admit of reply, still it is adequate to prevent a reply, that they have been adduced by St. Paul. By his stating that " man is the image and glory of God" I do not understand him to exclude woman either from the image or from the glory of God. As to the mode in which I understand man to be the image of God, I will state that when we come to the fifteenth chapter, where it will be more apposite than here. The passage, "for man came not forth" &c., pertains to the creation of man, where we read that God having created man, and purposing to give him a companion, created woman, moulding her out of a rib of the man. In saying, "power on her head" I think that he means a net, veil, or thin tissue, with which she may keep it covered. As to what St. Paul says, " because of the Angels" I do not comprehend it. In saying, " it is granted that neither is the man without the woman" he softens down his disparaging statements in regard to women, putting them upon an equality with men, as Christians. It is thus that I understand that " in the Lord." And I understand that, proceeding to favour women, he says, " man is hy the woman" meaning by ordinary genera- tion, whereby man is begotten in woman's womb ; there he is formed ; there he is quickened ; and thence he issues into the world. So that in the first instance, woman issued from man, and since that, we men issue from women. It is likewise true that the same may be predi- cated of Christ's body, meaning, that woman is as much a /. CORINTHIANS XI. i6. 197 member of Christ as man, there being, as far as this is concerned, great equality between them. And in saying, " hut all things {are) of Qod" I under- stand that St. Paul reverts to put women upon equality with men in relation to God, just as he has placed them upon equality in relation to Christ. And because women might say, since we are equal to men in relation to Christ and to God, why, Paul, dost thou not permit us to pray and to prophesy with our heads uncovered, as men ? St. Paul now argues from obligation, and from that which is becoming in the presence of men, and thus he says : XI. 13. — Judge ye yourselves, is it becoming in a woman that she pray unto Grod unveiled ? As though he should say : I remit the matter unto you, constituting yourselves judges, for you to determine it by your sense of what is right, honest, and becoming. And desirous of still further enforcing it, he adds : XI. 14, 15. — Doth not even nature itself teach you, that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him ? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her : for her hair is given her for a cover ing. In what mode St. Paul understands that nature teaches us what he here states, I know not. One might under- stand, had he stated or afl&rmed this as being customary : but in affirming it to be natural, I do not understand it. XL 16. — But if any man seem to be conten- tious, we have no such custom, neither have the churches of God. As though he should say : I have stated my opinion, and if there shall be any one amongst you, who should wish to 198 I. CORINTHIANS XI. 17-19. contend about it, by replying to what I have said, let him take this for an answer, that it is not my habit, neither is it that of God's churches to contend, to strive, or to debate. And thus in case he should wish to follow our judgment, he will be able to follow it, and, if otherwise, he must let it be, for we shall not contend with him. XL 17-19. — This, however, 1 denounce, I do not praise it, that you come together, not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divi- sions among you, and I partly believe it. For there must also be sects among you, that they who are approved, may be made manifest among you. Here St. Paul begins to reprove these Corinthians for their bad manners at their meetings, where they congre- gated to revive the memory of Christ's death in their minds, conformably with Christ's own institution, and he begins by saying, " this, however, I denounce, I do not praise it." As though he should say : Although I have told you that I praise you, in that you keep all my ordinances just as I have given them you, but for this I certainly cannot praise you, of which I am about to speak to you : and it is this, that when you assemble and meet together to eat, and to set forth Christ's death, it is not, as it ought to be, for the better, or to edification ; but it is just the reverse of what it should be, being for the worse, and to your prejudice. That this is the fact, he declares, by stating, "for first of all;" as though he should say : Your meeting for the worse is involved herein, that there are dissensions amongst you when you do meet. What these dissensions were, St. Paul will himself declare a little further on. In saying, " and I partly believe it," he means, and although I do not believe all they tell me, I believe some of it. And giving the foundation he had to believe it, he /. CORINTHIANS XI. 20, 21. 199 says, "for there must needs be sects," meaning, I believe it, for I understand that there must needs be differences among you : but that results in this, " that they who are approved are made manifest." He means, that the wicked- ness of the wicked brings to light the goodness of the good. So that the differences do not exist for the purpose of working out the approbation of the good, but that re- sults from the differences, as occurs when a good effect results from a bad cause. That which is here rendered " denounce," others trans- late command; the Greek word admits of either rendering, but it appears to me to be more apposite to translate it here, denounce. Denouncing this, which I have heard of you, I do not praise it. For that which is here rendered " / hear " (Hispanice Siento), the Greek word is aKovm, and they are synonymous. Where he says alpeaeK, " sects " or parties, others trans- late the word heresies, and both are correct : but here it is more apposite to use the word sects, employing it in the sense of dissensions and divisions, for he here rebukes them in reference to this. Had he rebuked them in re- ference to something pertaining to doctrine, it would have been better to have rendered it heresies. Those of whom he speaks, as " approved," he virtually calls good. XL 20, 21. — When ye come together therefore into one place, you cannot eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper : and one is hungry, and another is drunken. St. Paul states what the divisions were, which he heard existed, in the Church of Corinth. And thus he says that the divisions were (due to the circumstance) that each one running off with the supper which he had brought from home, it came to pass that they could not afterwards eat 200 I. CORINTHIANS XI. 22. Christ's Supper ; for not waiting to sup with each other, they could not, having supped, meet for Christ's comme- moration, in the annunciation of Christ's death. So that the disorder which there was in the Church of Corinth consisted, in that they not waiting for each other to sup together, could not, whilst engaged upon the sup- per, unitedly celebrate the commemoration of Christ's death. For it appears, that the institution which St. Paul had given them, was, that they should do as Christ did, who, after having supped with His disciples, took the bread and divided it amongst them : and as St. Paul will presently tell. He took the cup, and did likewise. And it appears, that they did so at the beginning, but they after- wards relapsed into disorder, in not waiting for each other to sup (together), the consequence of which was that neither could they assemble themselves to represent Christ's Sup- per, announcing Christ's death. St. Paul then proceeds to say that these Corinthians, when they did come together, or, as he means, when they did meet at one place, could not " eat the Lord's Supper ; " and he means that it was impracticable to celebrate Christ's Supper. And setting forth the reason, he says, "for in eating every one taketh iefore other his own, supper," meaning, that in not waiting for each other, and in not supping together, but separately, it was not possible, whilst divided and separated from each other, that Christ's Supper should be represented, for that it began dis- unitedly, and issued in dissoluteness and confusion; for instance, one is hungry. The words one and another are equivalent to, this (one) and that (one). XI. 22. — What! have ye not houses to eat and to drink in ? What ! do ye despise the church of God, and do ye shame them who are poor ? What shall I say to you ? Shall I praise you in this ? I praise you not. /. CORINTHIANS XI. 23, 24. 201 Forasmuch as they who ate their suppers, without wait- ing for others, might pretend that they did so because hunger forbad their waiting any longer, he says to them, if they wanted to eat and to drink, they might eat and drink at home, since they ought not to come merely to eat their suppers, but Christ's Supper ; and that to come merely to eat their suppers evinced contempt for the Church of God, for that they put the poor members to shame, who could only bring poor fare with them for supper. , By " the Church of God," we are not to understand the place where they met, hut the assembled Christians themselves, for the Church is there where Christ is ; and Christ is in them, who are called by God for Christ. The contempt of the Church of God consisted in putting them to shame, who were without food. XL 23, 24. — For I indeed received of the Lord that, which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the night in which He was Betrayed, took bread, and v^hen He had given thanks, He brake it, and said : Take, eat ; this is My body, which is broken for you ; this do, in remem- brance of Me. It appears, that St. Paul in these words aims at two things. The one, to exculpate himself, by showing that if they erred, they did not err from being ill-taught. And the other, to bring them back to the teaching which he had previously prescribed for them. As though he should say : In order that you may see how greatly you have left and departed from what you ought to, have done, I now tell you what took place at Christ's Supper, at the time at which He instituted this holy Sacrament, which you meet to celebrate in the form and manner in which He instituted it, which was thus and thus. 202 /. CORINTHIANS XI. 2;. In saying, " l received of the lord Jesus," it is as though he should say, which I learnt of Christ, and have taught you in connection with this Supper of Christ ; it is this, that Christ Himself, the very night upon which He was betrayed by Judas, into the hands of those who put Him to death, took up a loaf, and having given His thanks or His blessing, He divided it, and gave to each of the Apostles his share, and said to them, "Take this and eat it," and know that this bread (loaf), which (as you see) is broken for you in order that you may eat it, is My body ;,you will remember to do this in memory of Me, refreshing your memories thereby, that just as this bread is broken for you, and you all eat of it, so this body is broken for you, being sacrificed for you, and you all enjoy it, the justice of God having been executed upon it for all that wherein it had to be executed upon you all, and St. Paul proceeds, XI. 25. — After the same manner also He took the cup when He had supped, saying, This cup is ■ the new Testament in My blood ; this ye will do as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. It appears that Christ, in these words addressed to the cup, alluded to those spoken by Moses in Exodus xxiv. 8, what time he sprinkled the people with the blood' of the animals sacrificed, blended with hyssop, as though Christ had said : Moses made a covenant or Testament between God and your Fathers, through the medium of the blood of brute beasts : and this covenant or Testament is now antiquated, being superseded by this New one, which I establish between God and you, by shedding My own blood : those of you, who accept this my covenant, ever observe well when you drink this cup, that it be to refresh your memories of this covenant, which I establish with you. This is the purport of these words, but to get a perfect and full apprehension of them, it is well to compare them, with those given by the Evangelists. I. CORINTHIANS XI. 26. 203 By " the cup," he means a vase, or goblet ; and I think that all the Apostles drank not only out of the same cup, but of what was in it, when Christ gave it to them. By what he says, " when He had supped," it is clearly manifest, that Christ instituted this Sacrament after supper. In saying, " the New Testament" which is synonymous with covenant or confederation, He alludes to the Tes- tament or old covenant. And in saying, " in my hlood" he means, that the cove- nant or Testament was confirmed with His blood ; and He alludes, as has been stated, to the blood of the brute animals that were sacrificed under the Law. That expression, " this ye will do, as oft as ye drink it," is worthy of profound consideration. XI. 26. — For as often as ye shall eat this bread, and shall drink this cup, ye will proclaim the Lord's death till He come. St. Paul, having repeated the order established by Christ, and His words in the institution of the Holy Sacrament, and having shown by these, that Christ's design was, that we Christians, in partaking of one bread and of one cup, should refresh our memories as to His death, proceeds to say, " as often as ye," as though he should say : Since you see that Christ's design was His commemoration, you have to reflect that you neither eat nor, drink this to sustain the body, but to proclaim Christ's death, reviving it in your memories, which is to last as long as He shall defer His second coming. And here I understand, that the reason why Christ desired that His death should be imprinted in our memo- ries, is to remedy our weakness. Christ well knew that the human mind is such, that if it have not whereupon to found its faith, words fail to give it assurance: and that for this reason. He, being desirous to give His people's minds assurance, desires that they should keep His death 204 /. CORINTHIANS XI. 27. ever fresh in their memories, in order that they may thus have wherein and whereupon to base their faith. The Gospel affirms to us that God has pardoned us, and shows us the blood of Christ, in order, that retaining it ever fresh in our memories, we should base our faith upon it, and that thus we might live in confidence, sure of our justification, of our resurrection, and of eternal life. XL 27. — Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, or shall drink the cup of the Lord unwor- thily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. St. Paul infers, from what has been stated, that since Christ's design in the institution of this holy Sacrament was His commemoration, and that since it is likewise the Christian's duty to proclaim Christ's death by this holy Sacrament, whosoever shall presume to eat this bread, and to drink this cup, with a design other than that which Christ had when He instituted it, incurs guilt thereby, in that he takes the holy Sacrament, without entertaining the design that Christ wills should be entertained, and with- out making that his aim, which Christ wills should be aimed at. And here I understand, that had every one of these Corinthians severally had it fixed in his memory, as he left his home to go to the church, that he went to proclaim Christ's death, he would have been so inwardly mortified, that he would neither have experienced hunger nor impa- tience, such as should have rendered him unable to wait for the others who had not come ; nor, having had suffi- cient himself, to consent that others should be hungry. And therefore I understand that to eat of the bread and to drink of the cup unworthily, consists in a man's eating, who does not commemorate Christ, and who does not pro- claim Christ's death. Whence it will follow, that they eat it and drink of it worthily, who design to revive the memory I. CORINTHIANS XI. 28, 29. 205 of Christ's death in their minds. And that such is the fact, appears from this, that St. Paul does not reprove these Corinthians but for their failure herein, nor does he teach them anything other than this. In saying, " shall he guilty of the tody" &c., I under- stand him to say, that he shall be chastised for having abused the body and blood, of Christ, as we say that one who has killed is guilty of murder, and that one who has stolen is guilty of theft. . XL 28, 29. — But let a man examine himself, and so let Mm eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not dis- cerning the Lord's body. St. Paul's design in all this is to intimidate these Corin- thians in reference to their bad conduct when they met to set forth, or to proclaim Christ's death, of which he has spoken. And hence he says, " let a man then examine himself," meaning, since it is a fact that he who eats and drinks unworthily is guilty of (the abuse of) that which he eats, and of that which he drinks, let every one prove himself by close (self) examination when he goes to sup with others, whether he goes with the design of proclaiming Christ's death, or not : and if he find that he is going with this design, let him, go freely and, confidently : hut if he find that he is not moved hy this design, let him not go by any means, in order that he may not incur guilt. And he adds, "for he that eateth and drinketh," &e. ; as though he should say : I say let everybody examine him- self, in order that no one incur the fault into which they fall, who eat and drink unworthily, and who, in eating and drinking, do so to their own condemnation : and he assigns the reason, saying, "for they discern not the Lord's hody." As though he were to say : He eats and drinks judgment unto himself, for he makes no difference between eating 2o5 I. CORINTHIANS XI. 30-32. and drinking the body of Christ, and the eating and drink- ing food for the sustenance of the body. XI. 30-32. — For this cause there are many weak and sickly among you, and not a few sleep. For if we ourselves would discriminate, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be con- demned with the world. St. Paul means, that God chastened many in Corinth with sicknesses and with death of the body, for that when they assembled, they did not meet for the better but for the worse. So that in saying, " weak and sickly," he may be under- stood to refer to the bodily sicknesses with which God visited them as chastenings. And in saying, " not a few sleep" he meant many die. He afterwards states, that " ifi we ourselves would discri- minate" meaning, if we would closely examine ourselves before we went to eat and to drink the Lord's Supper, as to the design we have in going, we should not come to be condemned and chastened with sicknesses and with deaths. But it appeared to St. Paul that he had greatly intimi- dated these Corinthians, so that he adds, " hut when we are judged." As though he should say : But do not hold the sicknesses and deaths with which God, in judging, visits ns, to be evil. He (but) chastens us, for God does so not to our injury, but to our welfare ; for God's design in chastening His people is akin to that of a kind father when he chastens his child. I mean to say that just as a father, in chastening his child, designs his improvement, so God, in chastening His people, designs their improve- ment, and their maintenance in that pitch of goodness to which He raises them by the gift of His Holy Spirit, to the end that they may be saved, and not condemned with I. CORINTHIANS XI. 33, 34. 207 other men of the world. I shall not refrain here from saying this, that if St. Paul spoke here to persons who were not carnal, and he has stated that these Corinthians were such, and that they were spiritual, he would not menace them, nor would he speak of their sufferings as chastisement, but he would inspirit them with a mild re- proof, and he would call their suffering admonition or mortification. I say this, because I recollect having stated, when ex- pounding the thirty-second Psalm, that punishments were peculiar to the Jews as slaves, but that Christians as children do not incur punishment, but corrections and admonitions, and similarly things calculated to mortify them ; it not being God's design thereby to punish them, but to mortify them. I felt so then, and I feel so now. XI. 33, 34. — Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home, that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the, rest will I set in order, when I come, St. Paul here shows, that his design in all that he has stated, has been to correct that disorder in the Church of Corinth, of which he spoke at the outset : that they did not meet for the better, but for the worse ; for that from every one taking his own supper, in order to eat it by him- self, and not in common, without waiting for one another, it followed, that they could not eat Christ's Supper, an irregularity, which, from the passage before us, St. Paul suggests would be remedied, were they, when they met, to eat all of them together. It appears from what has been stated, that it may be readily inferred, that Christians in those times assembled in their churches to eat and to drink, having besides the inten- tion of celebrating Christ's Supper unitedly; and it appears, that after having eaten, they, in representing Christ's 2o8 /. CORINTHIANS XI. 33, 34. Supper, all partook of one (loaf of) bread, and drank of one cup, which was the body and blood of Christ. Of the ceremonies used therein, and to that effect, we are without evidence. But this is manifest, that some of these Corinthians, in subrerting the first design with which they assembled, in that they did not eat with the other Christians, brought about the frustration of the second design, for neither did they unitedly participate of Christ's body and blood. So that, although St. Paul seems to attach more importance to the fact that they did not wait for each other, he did so, not for the thing itself, but for that which resulted from it, which was, as he states, that the Lord's Supper could not be eaten; there was dis- order in what preceded, and they thereby frustrated that which had to follow. And thus I understand, that St. Paul, desirous of bringing them back to that predicament in which they had formerly been, and in which he had placed them, relates to them what transpired at Christ's Supper — that Christ and His Apostles Jirst supped to- gether, and then He distributed the bread and divided the cup amongst theni, instituting the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. Meaning thereby, what you ought to do, is that which you understand to have been done at Christ's Supper, and you may thereby see wherein your depravity in respect to this consists. Were St. Paul now to come, and that he should see how much greater is the depravity of Christians in our tiw.e in relation to Christ's Supper, than was that of the Corinthians, with wliat reason would 1ie deplore the great calamity that has followed upon the repudiation and pro- fanation of the order which Christ appointed at His Last Supper, and which has heen wrought hy so many alterations and changes of that which in itself is most pure and most simple. And not only through the perversion of the order, hut likewise of its wse, gathering round the table when it is celebrated, and using the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, for ends other and very opposed to those which Christ I. CORINTHIANS XI. 33, 34. 209 Himself ^purposed when He instituted it. And if human ignorance and blindness found occasion to pervert it, the institution having been so shortly before, so recently- ordained by Christ, v^hat will it have done now, so many years having since elapsed, and men having so much for- gotten and so far departed from, that rule, which Chris- tians then had, when there were still men living who were present at the institution of the Supper? How much greater on this account is the depravity of the present time in this matter, than was that of that period ? But St. Paul, like a good and faithful minister of God, corrects what men had distorted and profaned in the Supper ordained by Christ, by bringing it back to the origin of its institution, without retrenching or adding aught to what Christ had done, and said, and commanded. If the faults of that period, which apparently were small, but which, in fact, were great, on account of their being connected with a matter of such great importance, and so qualified, that they could not be remedied but in the mode in which St. Paul remedied them, by bringing the subject back to its origin ; those of the present time in connection with the same matter are incomparably greater, as well through their being more numerous as in their being the very same subject, wherein men have sinned^ and continue to do so, having departed still further from that ancient purity ; how much greater necessity have they to employ the remedy which St. Paul then used, which was to reform that which was so disfigured by man's fault, by returning to the source, and by drawing thence of the clear water, regulating themselves in every- thing by Christ's words and intention ? And if St; Paul, with great reason, reproved the Corin- thians of those days, with how much greater might he reprove the Christians of these present ones, for that they are more depraved than were those Corinthians, and tell them, at least, what he told the others. That which you ought to do, is that, which you know was done at Christ's 210 I. CORINTHIANS XI. 33, 34. Supper, and thereby you will see how great is your de- pravity in this matter, and how widely you have departed from the order and from the design that Christ had in this, and from the rule which He left you, whereby you should regulate yourselves. I shall not here refrain from saying, that the greatest and heaviest chastisements and calamities that come upon Christianity are on account of the profanation of Christ's Supper, through men, who, as affectedly learned, have sought to introduce their own nihilities into it, either by way of subtraction or addition. I feel this to be so, be- cause the Word of God has made me know it, and like- wise by the frequent experiences that are witnessed. And they, who shall have received light from Christ to look into these things, will find much more than I state. This is what I understand was St. Paul's design throughout all this discourse which he makes upon Christ's Supper, and upon the disorder there was in the Church at Corinth. And here it is well to observe that, if this order, which St. Paul had established in the Church at Corinth, and which he desired should be kept up, be not observed in our time, it is because when Christians increased in num- bers, it seemed good to their leaders to change that order for another ; and thus by degrees it was reduced, to that order which is now held and observed. Although Christ, who instituted the Supper, and the order which He desired should be observed therein, knew perfectly well that Chris- tians were to increase in number, for He has not instituted it only for the twelve, who were then present, but for all those likewise who were to believe in Him through His Word. And thus, had He seen right to do that which men imagine, and that which is now done, He would have provided it then, since His wisdom was not limited but in- finite, for He saw and does see everything long ere it exists. What I understand in relation to God's and Christ's ordinances and words is this : that nothing has to be retrenched or added, not a jot, for this is God's express I. CORINTHIANS XI. 33, 34. 211 command in the hook of the law (Deut. xi. 26-32). And I understand that he, who dares to retrench or to add anything in divine things, acts sacrilegiously and profanes them ; and that he shall not escape God's punishment, who shall have dared to do so ; nor shall they either, who have consented to such profanation. The consideration of this, both in reference to the mo- tive of this change and of this depravity (corruption), I leave and remit to Christians, who have the Spirit of God ; the words of all the Evangelists, being as to this, so clear and so concordant, and Christ's design in them all so clear, that there is no room for doubt as to what His purpose and will, as expressed by them, is. . In saying, " that ye come not together unto condemnation," he shows what we have stated, that, from the bad begin- ning in not waiting for each other, resulted the bad way of not eating Christ's Supper, and the fearful end of being chastened for it with sicknesses and with deaths. Whence it is readily to be inferred, that the Christian is not to allow himself to be conquered by any affection, or by any lust, however insignificant it may be, for fear of that which is wont to result from it. In saying, '" and the rest will I set in order when I come," he shows that these Corinthians had written to him upon other subjects, but that because they were less important than those of which he has spoken and treated, he did not write to them his opinion about them, reserv- inw his solution of them until he found himself in their midst at the time he had appointed. I. CORINTHIANS XII. CHAPTEE XII. 1-3. — As concerning spiritual things, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. You know that when you were heathen you were carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus ac- cursed ; and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Spirit. From that which may be deduced from what St. Paul says in this chapter and in the two following ones, it appears that there were three classes of persons in the Church at Corinth — some, who possessed many of the outward gifts which God at that time communicated by His Holy Spirit to those who believed ; others, who pos- sessed but few of those gifts ; whilst there were those who possessed none. It appears that they, who possessed many gifts, held themselves to be friends of God, nearer and dearer to Him, and hence more Christian than the others ; that they, who possessed few gifts, held themselves to be out of favour with God ; whilst they, who possessed no gifts, held them- selves as strangers to God and to Christ. And forasmuch as it appears that many inconveniences resulted from this, St. Paul proceeds to speak about it, comforting some, ani- mating others, and repressing the self-esteem of others. And I understand, in the first place, that to comfort those who possessed no gifts, he addresses them thus : In I. CORINTHIANS XII. 1-3. 213 order that you may not think, because you have no out- ward gifts that you are strangers to Christ, it would be well that you should remember what you were, before you accepted the grace of the Gospel, and what you are since you have accepted it. Before you accepted it, being Gentiles, you were carried away by the evil spirit to worship dumb idols, whilst now, you not only do not adore idols, but you say Jesus Christ is Lord, which cannot be said save by the Holy Spirit. And since such is the fact, you may rest assured that you have the Holy Spirit, though it be granted that you have none of the outward gifts that are conferred by the Holy Spirit. I understand this to be St. Paul's meaning as expressed in these words. By "spiritual things" or "gifts," I think him to mean the gifts of the Holy Spirit. " / would not have you igno- rant," is tantamount to I would have you know. In that expression, " ye know that when ye were Gentiles," the Greek text is a little confused, so that we must needs conjecture what St. Paul meant by it, and I think it is this : You now know, that what time you were Gentiles, you were easily carried away unto idols : which I understand him to style " dumb " to denote their imperfection ; and when calling them dumb he likewise calls them deaf, because these two senses are almost ever combined. In saying, " wherefore I give you to understand," or I certify to you, " that no one," I understand him to mean, when ye went after idols, you blasphemed the name of V Jesus, because then you had not the Holy Spirit, for had you possessed Him, you would not have blasphemed Him. And in stating, " that no one can say," he means, since it is a fact that no one can say, can employ, the words " Lord Jesus" save by the Holy Spirit, it is clear that you, who do employ it, do possess the Holy Spirit ; had you Him not, you could not say it. Were I to wish to say how I understand this, St. Paul's statement, that the words "Lord Jesus" cannot be em- 214 I' CORINTHIANS XII. 4-6. ployed without the Holy Spirit, I should be constrained to say, not what St. Paul understood, for this I cannot attain, but that which occurs to my phantasy, and therefore it will be better to leave it to the consideration of others. " Anathema," or accursed, is equivalent to malediction, insult, and injury. XII. 4-6. — Now there are diversities of gifts, but one same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but one same Lord. And there are diversities of operations ; but it is the same God who worketh all things in all. It seems that this is intended to console those who, pos- sessed but few gifts of the Holy Spirit, meaning, that they ought not for that reason to judge themselves as out of God's favour ; since it is a fact, that God, in distributing them, consults nothing save His own Divine will. And here this has to be considered, that St. Paul lays it down that there are three things distributed, gifts or graces, administrations, and operations ; and that he attri- butes the gifts to the Holy Spirit, stating that it is one and the same Spirit who confers many gifts, and who con- fers few : who confers great gifts, and who confers those which are not so great ; and he attributes the administra- tions to Christ, saying, that all, who are ministers of God, are so through Christ ; and he attributes the operations to God, stating that their existence is wholly due to God. I think that he attributes the gifts or graces to the Holy Spirit, because they were imparted together with the Holy Spirit. I understand that the administrations are attributed by St. Paul to Christ, because they, who are ministers of the Gospel, are ministers of Christ ; Christ gives them the administration and they administer in His name, and as His (ministers). /. CORINTHIANS XII. 7-10. ' 215 And I understand that St. Paul attributes the opera- tions to G-od, because he goes on to say, it is He who " worketh all things in all." St. Paul believed this and felt this was so, and all they, who possess St. Paul's spirit, believe it and feel it to be so : others neither believe it nor feel it ; and seek to cover their impiety, by pretending to piety in their neither believing it nor feeling it. And the worst is, that they condemn in others what St. Paul here says, seeking suitable modes of making it out, that St. Paul cannot say what he does say. Had St. Paul been steady throughout the chapter upon these three attributes, which assigns to God the working; to the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, the administrations ; and to the Holy Spirit the gifts or graces, it would be a most perfect and [charming] consideration; but, as he is not steady, it appears that the only thing we have to consider is this, that St. Paul, as a pious man, assigns to God that He works everything in every one. XII. 7-10. — But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal, and thus it is, that to one is given, by the Spirit, the word of wisdom ; to another the word of knowledge, by the same Spirit ; to another faith, by the same Spirit ; to another the gifts of healing, by the same Spirit ; to another the working of miracles ; to another prophecy ; to another discerning of spirits ; to an- other divers kinds of tongues ; to another the inter- pretation of tongues. St. Paul means by these words, that since God's design, in the impartation of the outward gifts to those to whom , He gives His Holy Spirit, is for the general usefulness of the Church, there is no reason why one person should hold himself more favoured than another, because of his posses- 2r6 /. CORINTHIANS XII. 7-10. sing many of the gifts ; nor why another should hold him- self less favoured, because of his possessing but few. As to the perfect apprehension of that wherein these gifts consisted, which St. Paul here enumerates (lays down), I remit myself to what I have said on Eomans, chapter xii., stating, that for a man to be able to understand them well he must needs have been present at these periods ; for since they do not exist now, we cannot comprehend them, save by imagination, which I ever distrust. Where I cer- tainly would fain understand, so that my mind might rest fully satisfied, and that I might be able to satisfy others, for what reason it is, that God, having been so liberal to the primitive Church of those outward gifts, is so sparing nowadays of them, that there is scarcely a trace of them to be seen, which excites the greater wonder ; for St. Mark, xvi. 17, in reporting Christ's words after His resurrection, uses these words, "And these signs shall follow them that believe, they shall cast out devils in My name," &c., mean- ing, that they who should believe, should, as token of their faith, cast out demons out of human bodies, they should speak in divers new tongues to them, they should heal the sick, &c. I know well that some say that these signs have failed, because faith has no need to be confirmed. To which I but reply, would to God it were so, and that it were not just the contrary ; I say this because I think that, in St. Paul's days, there was more faith in two of the cities in which he had preached, than there is now in ten provinces, I will not say in all Europe. I shall not refrain from stating two things upon this subject, of which I am fully assured. The one is, that the outward workings of the Holy Spirit having ceased, the outward workings of the evil one have ceased also ; and I am led to think that those of the Holy Spirit cease, be- cause those of the evil spirit cease likewise ; the opera- tions of the good One having been given as weapons wherewith to conquer those of the evil one. And if any one shall say to me those of the evil spirit have not I. CORINTHIANS XII. 7-10. 217 ceased, for that we hear of demoniacs and of other opera- tions of that evil spirit ; I will reply to him, neither have those of the Holy Spirit ceased, for we likewise hear tell of some miracles that are done in the world. And if he in reply to me, shall rejoin that these are feigned ones, or things which happen fortuitously, I shall surrejoin that the other instances are also feigned ones, and that the things do happen fortuitously, and he will thus be com- pelled to concede me in relation to the one, what he wishes me to concede to him in relation to the other, or to deny in the one, what he denies in the other. The other thing, of which I rest assured upon this subject, is the thought that whenever Christians have sought to avail themselves of their own efforts, of man's favour, of philosophy, and of human learning in Christian matters, they have inca;pacitated, they have disqualified themselves, for the effectual working of the Holy Spirit, who appears to hold in such abomination all that is of man, that He pre- sently departs and withdraws Himself, when He sees that men seek to exert their own efforts, and seek to exert their own abilities, their reason, and human prudence. And thus I believe that God, seeing that men were about to endea- vour to confirm the faith of the Gospel by arguments and by human reasons, ceased to impart unto them His Holy Spirit, that He, the Spirit, should efficiently work in them, in order to confirm it by the signs which Christ promised ; and similarly, that God, seeing men began to attempt to enforce Christianity by rhetorical arts, ceased to impart unto them His Holy Spirit, that it should efficiently work in them, that these orators should persuade, by giving the Holy Spirit to their hearers. And that God, in like manner, seeing that men have adopted the notion that they can teach each other to live like Christians, just as they teach one the other the policy of life and of the world, He ceased to impart unto them His Holy Spirit that He should teach them with His effi- ciency. And proceeding in this mode we might discover 2i8 /. CORINTHIANS XII. 7-io> in everything else that it is thus, that we men have banished the Holy Spirit from our midst, and that we have banished Him by pretending to do the clever, which has been the greatest error, the greatest blindness^ and the greatest evil. I exempt from this generalization those individuals who have lived in the world at intervals, who were ruled and governed by the Holy Spirit, in all of whom I understand Him to have been efficient, inasmuch as He efficiently wrought out their edification, and that of those who were^ like them, for I do by no means admit what some state, viz., that outward gifts have ceased because faith has ceased, for I do not understand that faith has ever at any time ceased; nay, I understand that Christ has fulfilled, and does fulfil, what He said to St. Peter (Luke xxii. 32), " I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not." And I believe that there has ever been, and that there is, a Holy and Catholic Church in the world, which consists of persons, who have adequate faith to render them saints, and to incorporate them into Christ. And if any one shall say to me. What, then, is the reason that the Holy Spirit is not as efficient in these persons as He was in those in the time of St. Paul ? I should answer him by vouching the first thing with which I tranquillize myself, and then I will add another thing much more effective still, this is, that being assured that what St. Paul here states, that these outward gifts were not given for the benefit of those who possessed them, but for the benefit of those who saw them, for the general benefit of all, they all generally having, as I have stated in the second thing that tranquillizes me, left the Holy Spirit, and having, so to speak, followed after man's spirit ; it comes to pass that the Holy Spirit is not as outwardly efficient in saints of modern days as He was in the time of St. Paul. So that individuals who have heartily accepted the grace of the Gospel, and who feel themselves recon- ciled to God thereby, and who, through reconciliation, feel J. CORINTHIANS XII. 7-10. 219 peace in their consciences, have no occasion to lament nor to be sad at seeing that the Holy Spirit is not as out- wardly efficient in them as He was in the time of the Apostles ; relying upon this truth, that this is not through their imperfection, but through the imperfection of the men with whom they converse, and with whom they hold inter- course, for it has not pleased God to work this good in them, that they, by outward signs, should come to know and to understand the inward good that God has implanted in them. Eeverting to St. Paul's words, when he speaks of the " manifestation of the Spirit," he means the outward gifts of the Holy Spirit, distinguishing between the (conscious) feeling of the Spirit which is inward, and the manifesta- tion of the Spirit which is outward. In saying, " to profit withal" he means, for the benefit of those who behold, (who witness) the demonstrations or manifestations of the Spirit. The feeling of the Spirit is to his benefit who feels it, and the manifestation of the Spirit is to the benefit of those who witness it. Whence St. Paul would have us follow (his argument), that since manifestation is not for inward benefit, but outward, and for (that of) others, there is no reason why we should, in possessing it, be proud, nor why we should, on account of not having it, be sad. By " the word of wisdom" I think that he means the knowing how to speak well upon Christian topics, treat- ing them as they need to be treated. By " the word of knowledge" I think that he means a man's knowing how to express in words the varied kinds of knowledge he gains of spiritual and of divine things. True it is, that it may well be, that " the word of wis- dom" is synonymous with "wisdom," and that "the word of knowledge " is so with " knowledge ; " and thus that St. Paul might mean, that God gives by His Holy Spirit divine wisdom to some, and divine perceptions to others ; but I attach myself more to the former, because St. Paul is here speaking of that which is manifestation. 220 I. CORINTHIANS XII. ii. In saying, " to another faith hy the same Spirit" I think him to mean that faith by which miracles are wrought, the ability to do which is from the Holy Spirit. By " gifts of healing" he means grace to cure the sick. By " the exercise of powers " {evepyr]/j,aTa Svva/j,emv), I think he means that same Spirit which St. Peter employed with Ananias and his wife, Acts v., and which St. Paul employed in the instance of Elymas the sorcerer. Acts xiii., and with which it appears that St. Paul frequently threatened these Corinthians. ' By "prophecy," I have already stated that I think he means the interpretation of Holy Scripture, and pecu- liarly of that portion which consists of prophecies. By " discerning of spirits," I think he means the know- ledge distinguishing between the operations of the Holy Spirit, and those which are of the Evil Spirit ; to know which is difficult, for the angel of darkness frequently transforms himself into an angel of light. By " kinds of tongues" he means diversity of languages. And " hy interpretation of tongues" it appears that he means, to know how to express in one language, that which is said or written in another. This is what I understand by all those gifts of the Holy Ghost which St. Paul here enumerates, and is put down rather as an attempt to hit upon his meaning by conjec- ture, than a positive declaration of what it in truth really is. XII. 1 1. — But all these worketh one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally as He will. As though he should say : And it being granted that these gifts differ, being in certain persons of one kind, and in other persons of another, since it is one and the same Spirit that is mighty both in one and in the other : and since He does not divide them according to man's vii'tues I. CORINTHIANS XII. 12, 13. 221 or deserts, but according to His pleasure and His will, there is no reason why amongst men there should be some, who should pride themselves upon possessing many gifts, nor why others should grieve themselves upon possessing few gifts, as though some were of one Spirit, and that others were of another, and as though the gifts depended upon the merits of men. Where he says " worketh," the Greek word signifies to work effectively. And by what he here says, " one and the selfsame Spirit," the Greek is equivalent to saying one and the same Spirit : and the meaning is all one, for the force of these words consists in stating the identity of the Spirit, and that the apportionment depends upon His will. XII. 12, 13. — For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body ; so also is Christ. For ,by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free ; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. St. Paul understands, that there exists between Christ and them, who, in accepting Jhe grace of the Gospel, are baptized, and who thereby are incorporated into Christ, the same analogy, as that which exists between the mem- bers of one body, understanding, that just as many mem- bers constitute one body, all which live in the body, being quickened by the- selfsame spirit of life, which keeps every one of them in its proper place : so also Christ, and they, who by faith and by baptism, are incorporated into Christ, constitute one body. He and they being quickened by one and the same Spirit, who keeps them alive in the body, and every one of them in his proper place. Where it is to be understood^ that one is so far a mem- ber of Christ, as he is quickened by the Holy Spirit that 222 I. CORINTHIANS XII, 12, 13. is in Christ ; so that just as my hand is so far a member of my body, as it is quickened by the vital spirit that im- parts life to all my body. They, who are without the Holy Spirit, are not members of Christ, just as the hand that is dead, is not a member of the body. In saying, " so also is Christ," I understand the same analogy to hold in relation to Christ that holds in relation to a body. In saying, " by one Spirit are we all" he means, that our being one body with Christ consists in this, that it is the selfsame Spirit which gives us faith, that draws us to baptism ; and that thus we are incorporated into Christ. Whence it is to be deduced, that they, who come to bap- tism, not being impelled by the Holy Spirit bat by their own spirit, from worldly motives or designs, do not attain incorpqration into Christ. In saying, " whether Jews or Greeks',' he means, whether they be Jews or Gentiles. In saying, " whether bond or free," he means, of whatever grade or rank they may be ; it may well be that with the world 'there may be differences between some and others, but incorporated into Christ, there is no difference what- ever, nay, there is marvellous equality. By what he here states, " and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" it appears, that it occurred to St. Paul's mind that as all the animals who drink of a foun- tain or of a stream are said to slake their thirst at that fountain or at that stream : so liliewise all we, who are in- corporated into Christ, first slake our thirst at that over- flowing fountain or brimming river of the Holy Spirit. And I understand that Christ invites us thus to drink, saying, " if any one thirst, let him come to Me and drink," meaning, that He is the overiiowing fountain, and that He is the brimming river whence the Holy Spirit is drawn, where they, who thirst for Him, must go to drink : just as all light centres in the sun, which it communicates to all those who see the light. I. CORINTHIANS XII. 14-17. 223 XII. 1 4- 1 7. — For as the body is not one member, but many : if the foot shall say, because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; let us see then whether for this reason it be not of the body ? And if the ear shall say, because I am not,the eye, I am not of the body ; let us see then whether for this reason it is not of the body ? If the whole body were eye, where were the hearing ? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling ? This simile of the body of a man to Christ's spiritual body highly gratified St. Paul, for it appeared to him that he thereby expressed in proper terms what he desired, which was, to pacify the minds of those who had but few of the Holy Spirit's gifts, and of those (too) who had none ; he understood, that just as in man's body, it is admitted that all the members combine in unity, being the constituents of one and the same body, and being quicljened by one and the same animated Spirit, though all have not the same function, it being necessary for the maintenance of the body that the functions be different ; so likewise in Christ's body, it is admitted that they, who are incorporated into Him, constitute one and the same body, and are quickened by one and the same Holy Spirit, but they have not all the same gifts, it being neces- sary for the maintenance of the body that the gifts be different. The expression, " let us see, whether for this reason," does not relate to what the foot says, nor to what the ear says, but as to the foot not being the hand, and as to the ear not being the eye. So that he may be understood to say, let us see, whether, because the foot is not the hand, and because the ear is not the eye, they cease to be members of the body? 224 I. CORINTHIANS XU. iB-24. XII. 18-24. — -But now hath God set the mem- bers every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him. And were all one member, where were the body ? But now are they many members, yet one body.. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee : nor again, the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay much more, those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary : And those members of the body, which we think to be more dishonoured, upon these do we put more abundant honour ; and those parts in us which awaken shame, are treated with more regard to modesty ; while our more decent have no need of it. St. Paul means, that the difference of the gifts in indi- viduals, who are members of Christ's body, like the differ- ence of the functions in the members of the human body, has been and is the work of God ; the one depending upon the will of God, no less than the other. So that St. Paul, in being the eye in Christ's body, has the same grounds for pride in despising them, who are either its hands or its feet, as my eye has to pride itself upon being the eye in my body, and as such, in despising my hands and my feet. And similarly they who are the hands and the feet in Christ's body, have the same grounds for grief that they are not its eyes, as the hands and feet of my body have to grieve that they are not its eyes, since it is a fact that both the one and the other depend upon the will of God, without the concurrence therein of any other influences whatever. I state this, for it is thus that I apprehend the expression, " as it hath pleased Him." And in saying, " were all one member," &c., he means, that just as an eye, a hand, or a foot, would not constitute /. CORINTHIANS XII. 18-24. 225 a body, for in order that it may be a body, there must needs be eyes, hands and feet, so neither will a gift of Apostleship, a gift of teaching, or a gift of administration, constitute a body in Christ, for in order that it may be a body, there must needs be Apostles, doctors, and administrators. St. Paul proceeds to amplify and to magnify this very sentiment, already laid down, by that which follows, stat- ing " that the eye cannot" &c., meaning, that the diversity of gifts is as necessary in Christ's iody, hecause the members mutually depend upon each other, as the diversity of viemhers is needed in the human iody, because they mutually depend upon each other. I do not know whereon St. Paul founds the greater necessity that we have of those members of our bodies which are weakef, frailer, and meaner : neither do I under- stand what that more abundant honour is, of which he says, that we put it upon those members of our body which are less honoured; unless it be that he means that we cover them more. And it may be, that such was his meaning, for he adds, " and those parts in us which awaken shame," &c., where, it seems, that he calls their covering very decent. Ey that expression, " and the more comely ones," &c., he may mean one of two things : either that those mem- bers of ours which are comely need not to be covered; or, that our comely members stand in need of nothing from us. The difference arises from combining " our, or of us'' with what precedes or with what follows ; but couple it as you please, the meaning is the same. I understand St. Paul's aim in all this to be, to console those who grieved because they had no outward gifts, and those who were discontented, because they had not so many, or of such quality, as others. In that expression, " vvvl Be, but now',' which he repeats twice, it is to be understood that it is a mode of speaking that fixes no period. p 226 I. CORINTHIANS XII. 24-26. " Where were the tody ?" is likewise a mode of speaking tantamount to where then is the body ? Where he uses the words, evaxm^oa-vvrj, beauty, comeliness, and ' euap^iy/ioj/a, beautiful, comely, they may be so rendered, and he means, that they look as well when seen, as do those which we are wont to keep covered. XII. 24-26. — But God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that member which lacked it, that there should be no schism in the body ; but that the member^ should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it ; or one member be glorified, all the mem- bers rejoice with it. Neither do I understand here- in what this greater honour consists, which St. Paul says that God has put on the members of our body that lack honour ; but it suffices, that what he means to say by this be understood : and it is a most perfect similitude, that as all the members in our body feel the injury done to any one member, and sympa- thise simila'rly in the health of a member that has been hurt ; so likewise in Christ's body, all, who are members of Christ, sympathise with the weakness of any member of Christ, and with the persecution and ill-treatment that any member of Christ suffers ; and they sympathise like- wise in the glory and inward spiritual happiness that any metnber of Christ enjoys. Whereby the consideration is suggested, that just as the member of the human body that does not sympathise in the sufferings or joy in the welfare, of another member, witnesses against itself that it is no member, since it fail's to discharge a member's functions; so likewise he who holds himself to be a member of Christ, unless he shall sympathise with the I. CORINTHIANS XII. 27-30. 227 sufferings, and unless he shall -rejoice in the welfare of those who are Christ's members, may rest assured that he is 'no member of Christ, since he fails to discharge the func- tions of a member. In saying, "Qod hath tempered the lody" he means, hath framed, moulded, and ordered it. "What he says as to having " the same (a common) care," he expounds by adding, " so that if one member suffer," &c. I mean to say, that St. Paul constitutes the solicitude, the care, which the members have for each other, in that, when one suffers, they grieve ; and that when one is honoured, or [as Vald^s says, with the Gr.eek] is glorified, they all rejoice. XII. 27-30. — Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof. And God hath set some in the Church, first Apostles, secondly Prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all peradventure Apostles ? Are all peradventure Prophets ? Are all peradventure teachers ? Are all peradventure workers of miracles ? Have all peradventure the gifts of healing ? Do all peradventure speak with tongues ? Do all per- adventure interpret ? The Apostle now proceeds to apply his similitude of the members and the body, and says, "but ye are the body of Christ," as though he said : just as, in each of you, many members constitute one body, so you, who are members of Christ, together with Christ, constitute one body. And it seems that, in order that those Corinthians should not think that they alone belonged to the body of Christ, he adds, and "severally members thereof" [or, according to Alford, " each according to his allotted part 228 I. CORINTHIANS XII. 27-30. in the body], as though St. Paul had said : I say that you are the body of Christ, meaning that you belong to those [or you are of those] who are members of Christ. And it appears, that being desirous of showing in what the functions of Christ's members consist, in order that his motive, for particularising at such length that which affects the members of the human body, might be under- stood, he says, so it is, " God hath set some," Sec, meaning, and would you see that it is a fact that you constitute part of those, or are of those, who are members of Christ ? Do so by considering this, that there are those amongst you who have the gift of the Holy Spirit, which God gives amongst His Church, where there are Apostles, and where there are Prophets. As concerning " Prophecy," I have already stated what I know : there are (SiSaa-«aXot) masters, or doctors; I have stated too, that I make the difference between an Apostle and a master or doctor, that there is between him that plants and him that waters ; and that there is between the father and the schoolmaster or the tutor (ayo) ; there are powers: By "powers'' (or miraculous workings), I have stated that I think St. Paul means that severe spirit with which the Apostles inflicted punishment : there are gifts of healing, there is physical help (subvencion), the which, I think, consisted in helping those who needed to be helped and succoured: there are /cv^epvrjcreK;, rulers, whose functions, I think, consisted in directing and ruling those matters which pertain to Christian life. And there are 76^7; ryXaxrawv, " divers kinds of tongues," he means, there are men, who, divinely gifted, speak divers different languages. In saying, " are all peradventure Apostles ? " this seems to correspond with what he has stated of the body, that were it all eyes, there would be no body. It is as though he should say : Since then all are not Apostles, nor are all Prophets, let every one be contented with the gifts that he has from God, and let him think that he is neither to I. CORINTHIANS XII. sr. 229 envy those who have greater gifts than himself, nor is he to despise those who have less gifts. Here I repeat that it cannot be known wherein these gifts properly consisted, for that to understand it, one must needs witness them. XII. 31. — But earnestly desire the better gifts: and yet shew I unto you a much more excellent way. As though St. Paul should say : I have already told you that these two gifts of the Holy Spirit are outward mani- festations, and are for the general use of the Church ; and I have told you that God does not confer them all upon every believer ; but to certain (members) He gives some, and to - other (members) others : it remains for you to desire to affect the better gifts, because they are more useful to the Church. I think that he says this specially to those Corinthians, because it appears from Chapter XIV. of this Epistle, that they prized the gift of tongues much more than the other gifts ; and that they who had it, presurhed upon it : whilst they who had it not, made that fact a subject of grief. And the Apostle, to divest them of this notion, he having preferred the gifts of Apostleship, and of Prophecy, and of teaching, to that of languages, he tells them, that if they must feel .(constrained) to desire gifts, that they should desire the better and not the inferior. And because he did not wish that they should rest satisfied even with this, he tells them, " and I yet teach or show youl' meaning, I am not contented that you desire the better gifts, I wish to point out to you a way which you may strive to walk in, which is beyond all comparison better than any other. Where, in employing the word " way" I understand him to mean a Christian exercise carried out in life, as though 230 /. CORINTHIANS XII. 31. he should say : You seek to draw near to God by outward gifts, and I wish to show you a way, much more excellent for the attainment of this, than any that you have devised, all of which lead you to follow your affections, whilst you desire to follow after Christ : you seek your own glory and would fain persuade yourselves that you aim at the glory of Christ and of God. And in showing them the way, he thus says to them. I. CORINTHIANS XIII. 231 CHAPTER XIII. XIII. I. — If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity [love], I am become as sounding brass, or as a clanging cymbal. The Apostle's design in all this is to console and to ani- mate the Corinthians, who had not received those outward gifts of the Holy Spirit, which were usually bestowed upon helievers. And he does this by showing that the man who possesses charity [love], has attained to greater excel- lence, and is in a better position than another who possesses all the outward gifts of the Holy Spirit, even though he have them in the highest possible perfection. And it is in this charity, this love, that the Apostle intends to set forth the more excellent way, which he told the Corinthians he would show them. Where, by " charity " he means the love {the affection) which the man, who has accepted the grace of the Gospel, cherishes towards God and towards Christ, and the things of God and of Christ ; loving God for Himself and loving the things sf God, not on their own, account, hut for God's sake. I understand this love, this affection, to he wrought in man hy the Holy Spirit which he receives, and which he attains hy faith. So that the measure of the Moly Spirit's influence within a man is determined hy the amount of the faith which the man has ; and loving affection in the man is fervent in proportion to the power of the Holy Spirit within him. Whence it is to he understood that, just as St. Paul attributes all this ex- cellency to love, he might have attributed it to faith, since there is no greater difference between them, than between the 232 I. CORINTHIANS XIII. 2. root of a tree and the fndt of the same tree. Faith is the root, and the fruit is love. In saying, "if I speak with the tongues of men and of angels," &c., he means, that though I attain the gift of tongues in such perfection, that should I not only speak all the languages which all the men in the world have spoken, but likewise speak all the tongues spoken by all the angels in heaven ; yet if, with all this, I do not possess love, I am like sounding brass and like a clanging cymbal, &c. ; for, as the metal and as the cymbal, when emitting sound, neither feel nor enjoy any sound or clang- ing which they give forth when resounding, so I, wanting charity [love, affection], shall neither feel nor enjoy that which I shall speak with the tongues. Whence I under- stand that it is charity which gives taste and relish' to the person who speaks of spiritual and Divine things. I mean to say that a man's taste for them is to be measured by the amount of his love, his affection. And hence it comes to pass that men of the world have no taste for them, because they want love ; they neither love God nor the things of God. And as to the expression where he talks of " speaking" with the tongues of angels," I under- stand this to be but a mode of heightening his argument. XIII. 2. — And if I have the gift of Prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so that I could remove moun- tains, and have not charity (love), I am nothing. The Apostle continues to extol the excellence of love. But I could not clearly solve whether that St. Paul's statement is made by way of eulogy. As though he had said: Were it possible for me to have all these things without having love, I should assuredly hold that I am nothing, and that I am worth nothing, such is the dignity and excellence of love ; or whether he says it, really /. CORINTHIANS XIII. 2. 233 meaning it, that these things may be in a man who is "without love. Truly I am the more inclined to believe that this is said by way of eulogy, but nevertheless Christ's words affect me, where He says that at the day of judgment many shall allege the miracles that they will have wrought in His name, whom He will not recognise as His people. I say, then, that these words move me to believe that St. Paul meant it was possible that a person might have all these things, and not have love ; but however this may be, it is manifest that of all God's gifts, St. Paul gives the preference to love, meaning that they associated with it, give a man standing and worth, but that they, disso- ciated from it, do not change a man's standing, which is nihility. As to " Prophecy'' I have already frequently stated what St. Paul understood by it. In saying, " if I understand all mysteries," he means all G-od's secrets. I have already declared my opinion in relation to God's mysteries or secrets at the beginning of Chapter IV. of this Epistle. In saying, " and all knowledge," he means, were he to possess the knowledge of, or attain to know, all that it is possible to know of God. By his saying, "if I have all faith, so that I could re- move mountains," it appears that he means ' that faith ' by which miracles are wrought. But I recollect that Christ, when He intended to extol the efficacy of justifying faith, spoke of this removal of mountains, and I am led to think that He specially means that faith which j astifies, and he means to say : Granted that I have all the faith that man can have, and that it attain such a pitch that mountains might, as Christ says, be transported from one place to another by it, and that with this I should not have love, I shall not be anything, neither shall I be worth anything. And here I shall state two things, the one, that I from 234 I- CORINTHIANS XIII. 3. these words come to the conclusion that St. Paul speaks of what he knew to be impossible as if it were possible, for / imderstand the existence of justifying faith' dissocia- ted from love, as I do the existence of fire dissociated from heat. And the other, that man is ever to hold himself want- ing in faith, until he have it powerful enough to remove mountains from one place to another. Since I wrote this I call to mind that Christ's disciples had the gift of working miracles, and they wrought them before they knew the Gospel secret of Christ's death and resurrection ; though it be granted that they knew Christ to be the Messiah : I understand the gift of working miracles may be in men, who have not even intelligently accepted the grace of the Gospel. And I am the more confirmed in this opinion when I remember that Judas was one of the twelve, who, in com- mon with the others, had the power of working miracles in Christ's name. XIII. 3. — And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing. These two things can well co-exist without love, with- out which they both are but what St. Paul declares. For a man, not being moved by love to God, but by self-love, by self-glory, and by self-interest, may lavish or dole out all his property to the poor, and may even from self-love resign his body to have every kind of suffering inflicted upon it, without receiving under such circumstances any benefit from either the one or the other. So that they, who from self-love, from self-interest, or from self-glory, spend fortunes upon the poor, and mar- tyrise their bodies, avail nothing before God, the reason being that these things profit the man, who exercises I. CORINTHIANS XI 11. 4-8. 235 ' them, to tlie extent in which he is moved to do so by love to God. And he only is moved by the love of God, who has love, and this is why St. Paul with so much reason extols love. As involved in those words, " and though I give my body to be burned," I understand not only a person's yielding himself up to every mode of martyrdom, but I understand beyond these every mode and manner that can be invented to afflict the .human body, by fasts, by vigils; by scourg- ings and every other similar thing, which are useful to the person who possesses love, but which are useless to him who is without it. And forasmuch as it might be said to St. Paul, thou praisest and extoUest love heavens high, but dost not state wherein it consists, or what it is, he now shows it by the effects it works upon the man who possesses it, by saying :— XIII. 4-8. — Charity (love) is patient, it is kind ; charity (love) envieth not ; it is not insolent ; it is not puffed up ; it is not put to the blush ; it seeketh not its own ; it is not provoked ; it thinketh no evil ; it rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but it rejoiceth with the truth ; it beareth all things ; it believeth all things ; it hopeth all things ; it endureth all things. Charity (love) never faileth. St. Paul means that by these tokens one may know how much a man possesses of this charity (or love) of which he here speaks ; he understands that just as charity or love proceeds from faith, and that as heat proceeds from fire, so these effects proceed from charity or love, even as the fruit is wont to proceed from the tree. Where it has to be considered that as charity or love proceeds from faith, and that these effects which St. Paul here enu- merates, proceed from charity or love, as do many others 236 /. CORINTHIANS XIII. 4-8. similar to these which he does not mention ; in the same manner self-love proceeds from unbelief; and from self- Love proceed effects contrary to those which St. Paul here enumerates, and those which he might have mentioned. Whence this conclusion is deduced, that in proportion to the faith and to the charity or love which a man has, 3uch will there be in him of these effects which St. Paul here lays down ; and that in proportion to his unbelief and to his self-love, such will there be in him of the effects contrary to those of charity or love. The first effect of charity, or love, is that " ii is patient," supporting and suffering the evil and the injury which it receives from others ; self-love is impatient. 27ie second effect is that " it is kind." He means loving and pitiful, doing what good it can ; self-love is unloving, cruel, hurt- ful. The third effect is that " it is not envious ; " it never grieves at nor regrets its neighbour's welfare ; self-love is wholly envy. The fourth effect is that " it is not insolent" disdaining and disparaging its neighbour ; self-love is akin to insolence. The fifth effect is that " it is not puffed up" over-estimating itself and unduly priding itself ; self-love is presumptuous and ambitious. The sixth effect is that " it is not put to the hlush" nay, after having turned its hack on the world, it tetterly disregards worldly shame. Self-love has more regard to worldly shame than to the glory of Grod. His meaning may likewise be that charity or love does not put to the Mush, being ever on its guard not to do, or to say, anything that can put any man upon earth to the blush; self-love holds it to he gentility to make any one hlush whom it can. The seventh effect is that " it does not seek its own ; '' not pursuing its own interests, or its own conveniences, it postpones its own to promote those of others; self-love is interested, it ever seeks its own, making charity begin with self. The eighth effect is, that " it is not provoked," however. much men may oppose it, anger and irritate it, by their ill-treatment ; self-love is all wrath and revenge. The ninth effect is, that " it thinks no evil," I. CORINTHIANS XIII. 4-8. 237 putting rather a good than an evil construction upon all that it sees, as also upon all that it hears, except when they are so ' evidently bad that no one can think well of them, but ill. • Self-love thinks ill, even of things that scarcely admit of any other than a good construction. By the expression, "thinJcs no evil," he might even say it does not attribute evil, it does not impute a bad motive, which in point of meaning is all one. The tenth effect of charity, or love, is, that " it rejoiceth not in unrighteousness ; '' but it is depressed, it is grieved, it is saddened by it, when it sees men depart from what is right and honest ; self- love rejoices when others are wicked, because thus its malice does not appear so bad, or its goodness is more illustrated. The eleventh effect is that " it rejoices in the truth ; " it is gladdened that men practise truth one with another, in deeds and in words ; self-love is the enemy of truth, because self-love is the enemy of God. The twelfth effect is that " it ieareth all things " that men do and say against it without being greatly moved, and if it be dis- turbed it does not avenge itself ; self-love suffers nothing. The thirteenth effect is, that " it helieveth all things ; " this proceeds from the ninth effect, which is, that " it thinketh no evil," and hence it believes all that it is told ; he means of outward and worldly things, for of spiritual things and of God it believes precisely and concurrently with its ex- perience ; self-love, as it is always suspicious, thinking evil continually, believes nothing, it doubts all and every- thing. The fourteenth effect is t\ia,i " it hopeth all things'' never being hurried by anything; self-love is always hasty, it knows not how to wait, but when it cannot do otherwise. The fifteenth effect is, that " it endureth all things" and in meaning this is the same as that which was said in the first effect and in the twelfth, for to be patient, to bear all things, and to endure all things,-is almost one and the same thing. St. Paul, having placed these effects of charity or love as countersigns, in order that every one by good self- 238 /. CORINTHIANS XIII. 8-10. examination may know how much charity or love he has, and how much of self-love, propounds a marvellous pro- perty of charity or love, by saying : " chanty or love never faileth" where it is generally understood that his meaning is, that charity or love always has wherein to exercise and practise itself ; and it is indeed true that charity or loje has this property; but I should not believe that St. Paul meant this property; and I should think that he meant that charity or love is ever steadfast, and that it does not lose itself as self-love is prone to do, which, however much it may labour and fag itself in order to maintain itself virtuously and holily, it can never do so for any length of time ; for being opposed, it suddenly falls. I mean to say, that I understand St. Paul to assert, that the peculiarity of the man who has charity or love, is, that he always remains solid, firm and constant in piety and in justification, without ever falling away from them ; but from what follows, it appears that St. Paul pretends to attribute this property to charity or love, that it lasts, and that it will last, in the minds of those who are the children of God, even in the life eternal ; for wliich reason he speaks thus: XIII. 8-10. — But whether there be Prophecies, they shall fail ; whether there be tongues, they shall cease ; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we pro- phesy in part, but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. As though he had said : I state that charity or love never faileth, for Prophecies shall fail, tongues shall fail, and knowledge shall fail, when Prophecies shall be accom- plished, when it shall no longer be necessary to speak with diversity of tongues, and when we shall know God, even as we are known of God, which will be in the life I. CORINTHIANS XI 11. ii. 239 eternal ; but love will never fail, nay, it will be augmented, it will be increased : for when the knowledge which we shall have of God shall be more perfect, then also the love which we shall have to God will be more perfect, and then, too, the love which we shall have to our brethren will be more perfect : for then their holiness will be more perfect also, and the knowledge which we shall have of them will, in the same manner, be more perfect. So that by "Prophecies," he means the gift of under- standing prophecies, and of prophesying. And by "tongues," he means the gift of speaking divers languages. And by "knowledge," he means the knowledge of God, and of things spiritual and divine. In saying, "we know in part" &c., he means, that the knowledge which is attained by us in this life, of God, and of the things of God, is imperfect, and that that which is seen and understood, constituting the subject of pro- phecy, is also imperfect. And he lays down the mode in which those things come to fail, by saying : XIII. Ti. — ^When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child : but wheii 1 became a man, I put away childish things. St. Paul means, that that which is imperfect in us individually, will cease and be destroyed when we shall attain that which is perfect ; just as that which is childish in us individually, ceases and is destroyed when we come to be adults. So that this statement is made to set forth comparatively, in what mode the knowledge we now have will cease (be superseded) by that which we shall attain in the life eternal. This present is likened to the conver- sation, the apprehension, and the thought of childhood, whilst the future is likened to the conversation, the appre- "hension, and the thought of mature age. 2p I. CORINTHIANS XIII. 12. His expression, " I thought" may be rendered, I prattled. When he says, " I put away childish things" he means, I lost the prattle, the childish notions, the thoughts,- the considerations, the imaginations, and the rambling talk of a child. XIII. 1 2. — For now we see in a mirror obscurely, bnt then face to face : now, I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. I understand that St. Paul makes in these words the application of the comparison which he instituted, in saying, " when I was a child" as though he had said : For whilst we are in the present life we see G-od but imperfectly, as one sees in a mirror, and obscurely, having, so to speak, a confused knowledge of Him : but in the life eternal, when we shall see God, neither in a mirror, nor obscurely, but face to face, we shall then have a perspicuous and clear knowledge of God. And St. Paul, explaining himself still further, adds, whilst I am in the present life, " / know hut in part" I have but an imperfect and confused knowledge of God, but in the life eternal I shall know God as clearly as I am known of God. This is what St. Paul means by these words. For the perfect comprehension of which a com- parison which I once wrote [see CX Divine Considerations, No. II.] will greatly assist ; there I set forth the difference there is between the knowledge which man has of God through human prudence, and that which he has of Him through the Holy Spirit, and that which he will have of Him in the life eternal. Where I have compared the knowledge which man has of God from what he is enabled to know by reason and human prudence, however perfect it may be, to the knowledge which I have of a man of whom I have heard tell much, both as to the frame of his body' /. CORINTHIANS XIII. 12. 241 and as to the features of his mind. And I have compared the knowledge that the spiritual person has of God by the Holy Spirit, to the knowledge which I have of the bodily form of a man, whom I do not personally know by seeing his likeness and portrait done from the life. And I have compared the knowledge which we shall have of God in the life eternal, to the knowledge that I have of a person, with whom I hold the closest friendship and the most affectionate intercourse. And I say that this comparison greatly assists in the attainment of a perfect comprehension of these words of St. Paul, because it is seen by it, that St. Paul in saying " we see," does not mean those men, who see with the eyes of human prudence, for these in seeing, see not ; but those, who see with the eyes of the Holy Spirit, and indeed these, though they may not see the very image of God, they do see His very likeness ; and this is to see as in a mirror. To see obscurely is tantamount to seeing confusedly. This very subject is cleared up by what is ■ written in the Book of Numbers, xii. 6-8, where God rebukes Aaron and Miriam because they had murmured against their brother Moses. He tells them that He will permit Himself to be known by the Prophets in vision, and that He will speak to them in dreams, but that He will speak with Moses face to face : and that he should not see God obscurely, neither by likeness nor by portrait from the life. "Where it a,ppears that the Scripture institutes two kinds of know- ledge or vision, exclusive of the knowledge that is com- mon and general to man ; the one is that of the Prophets, and the other that of Moses. The one, peculiar to the Prophets, is that which we, who are the children of God, have in the present life by the Holy Spirit ; and this is as in a mirror, and obscurely. The other, peculiar to Moses, is that which we shall have in the life eternal, all of us who are ordained of God to enjoy it. Where it will neither be in a mirror nor obscurely ; but it will be an evident knoM'ledge, ' and Q 242 I. CORINTHIANS XIII. 13. a clear vision, like that which God has of every one of us. This exceeding clear vision, I understand the Bride sighed for, saying, in Canticles ii. 14, " Shew me Thy face." And I understand that David longed for this very same vision. And I understand that because David (Ps. xlv.) and the Bride had the knowledge and the vision which is seen in a mirror obscurely, and is that which is had in seeing the likeness of God, they were desirous of seeing God face to face, actually to behold Him, not in a mirror, nor obscurely, nor in a portrait. Whence I understand that they, who neither see God in a mirror obscurely, nor in His portrait, as it were, do not desire to see Him face to face, nor to " see Him as He is." And I understand that since Christ has come, God allows Himself to be seen and to be known, as it were, in His portrait, and as in a mirror obscurely, by those who, believing, are incorporated into Christ, and are His mem- bers ; but not when and as they please, for passible and mortal flesh is not a substance equal or adequate to the endurance of such glory ; but when and as it pleases the divine Majesty, who gradually tempers the favours which He exhibits to man, in showing him His portrait concur- rently with his renovation, which, subsequently to his regeneration, is wrouglit in him by the Holy Spirit. In saying, " even as I am known," he does not mean that the knowledge which we shall have of God will be as clear as the clear knowledge that God has of us. He means that they both will be clear, but different as to degree, more and less. XIII. 13. — And now abide faith, hope, love, tliese three, and the greatest of these is love. He means that we, whilst in this life, enjoy these three lifts of God, "faith, hope, and Love." I. CORINTHIANS XIII. 13. 243 By "faith " we accept the grace of the Gospel, we hold ourselves to be reconciled with God, and have peace of conscience. By " hope " we are made to resemble those men, of whom Christ speaks, as expecting their Lord's return; we are ever on the alert, having the crown of (righteousness) justification, which is resurrection, glory, &,nd eternal life, before our eyes. With " Zove " it is easy for us to believe, and it is easy for us to hope, for they are both facilitated by Love ; for it is so, that to him who loves God, it is not painful to hope, and it is delightful to him to believe ; whilst to the man who loves himself, it is both painful and irritating to hope, and it annoys him greatly to believe. And in relation to this, as also to that which I have previously stated, that Love never fails, I understand him to say that Love is the greatest of these three gifts of God, notwithstanding that faith is the root of Love. Where it is to be observed that these three divine gifts, faith, hope, and Love, are ever associated, and as we might say, fraternise to such an extent, that one is not to be found without the other : it is so, that where there is faith, there is hope ; and where there is hope, there is Love : not that hope is the reward of faith, nor that Love is the reward of hope, but because they cannot subsist and exist without each other ; faith must needs be sustained and exercised by hope, whilst faith and hope are sustained by Love. 244 L CORINTHIANS XIV. CHAPTER XIV. XIV. 1-5. — Follow after Love, and desire spirit- ual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. For he that speaketh in a tongue, speaketh not unto man, but unto G-od ; for no man understandeth him : howbeit in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesieth, speaketh unto men to edification, to exhortation, and to comfort. He that speaketh in a tongue, edifieth himself : but he that prophesieth, edifieth the Church. I would that ye all spake with foreign tongues, but I would rather that ye prophesied : for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he inter- pret, that the Church may receive edification. St. Paul's meaning is that the Christian ought to make Love his principal end and aim, striving to present it in- vested with the effects he has assigned to it, in declaring it to be the more excellent way ; and that he has to aim at the attainment of those spiritual gifts, which (as he has stated) are the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in the individual who possesses the outward gifts. And that of spiritual gifts, or those of the Holy Spirit, he should prize the gift of Prophecy beyond every other, and specifically beyond that of the gift of tongues : and he assigns the reason, saying, he that speaks in divers tongues, profits but himself only, for he alone understands. Whilst he that prophesies benefits those who hear him prophesy, for ihey understand him, and by understanding him they I. CORINTHIANS XIV. 1-5- 245 receive edification, they receive- exhortation, and they receive consolation. Where it is evident that St. Paul by " Prophecy" means the interpretation of Holy Scripture, that is to say, of what is said or written by the Holy Spirit, and with the Holy Spirit, although it be not written in Holy Scripture. How it was that they who spoke with tongues were not understood by those who heard them, they comprehend- ing themselves ; and how it was, as he further on will state, that there were those who prayed in tongues, not being understood either by others or by themselves, it is hard to understand, not having, even as we have not, any informa- tion of what occurred at that time ; and holding the inves- tigation of this secret to be merely a matter of curiosity and not of utility, I shall remit it to those who profess wholly to understand it, and wholly to account for it, I contenting myself with understanding what I feel, and what I experience, and to give an account of that. In saying, " I would that ye all spake with tongues" &c., lie means, it would gratify me were God to give you all the gift of tongues, but I should prefer that He give you the gift of Prophecy. And he assigns the reason, stating, "for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaheth with tongues" meaning that the gift of Prophecy is more ex- cellent than the gift of tongues, except the gift of inter- pretation be combined with the gift of tongues ; for under such circumstances the gift of Prophecy does not excel the "ift of tongues. I cannot attain to apprehend how it could be that he who had the gift of tongues, and understood what he spoke, should have been unable to interpret what he said ; and I think that interpretation concurred with Prophecy. I mean to say, that he that had the gift of Prophecy had also the gift of interpretation, and vice versd. And I hold it to be impossible for any man to unjier- stand the subjects of which St. Paul treats in this chapter, without having express and clear information as to what 245 I. CORINTHIANS XIV. 7-9. transpired in the Church at Corinth in relation to the exercise of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And I understand that the information needed must come by especial inspira- tion and revelation of the Holy Spirit Himself. XIV. 6. — Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you, either by revelation or by knowledge, or by Prophecy, or by doctrine ? Because the gift of tongues was, as it appears, held in high esteem at Corinth, on account of its attendant demon- strativeness, St. Paul aims at showing how much more valuable is the gift of Prophecy than that of tongues. Hence he repeats in this passage what he has stated in the preceding ones, viz., that it is useless to speak in tongues unless there be an interpreter to declare what has been spoken. In saying, " hy revelation^' I think he means things re- vealed. In saying " hy knowledge" I think him to mean things received, understood, and known by divine in- spiration. And in saying, " hy Prophecy" he means with the gift of Prophecy. And in saying " hy doctrine," he means the gift of teaching. These are the things by which the Christian Church is edified, all other things rather tending to destruction and confusion than edification ; I mean things originatino- in men, and springing from human prudence and reason. XIV. 7-9. — And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in their sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped 1 Likewise if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle ? So likewise you, except ye utter by /. CORINTHIANS XIV. lo, ii. ' 247 the tongue intelligible words, how shall it be known what is spoken ? for ye shall speak into the air. St. Paul shows by two comparisons that it is useless to speak with tongues, unless that which is spoken be inter- preted. In the first, he compares it to a musical instru- ment that gives no distinction in the sounds : In the other, lie compares it to a trumpet, sounded on the battle-field, without any distinction of sound ; that is to say, to sound in one and the same manner to summon the host to prepare for the battle, to attack the enemy, and give the assault. And he means that there is the same inconveni- ence and want of harmonious action in speaking tongues without interpretation, as there is in playing upon a musical instrument and in sounding the trumpet without making a distinction in the sounds. And to this he subjoins that to speak with tongues, without interpreting, is to speak to . the winds. That which is here rendered " giving sound whether pipe or harp" is rendered in G-reek by two words mean- ing what is piped or harped. In saying, " words easy to he understood," he means words that are intelligible, and clearly expressing what it is desired to say. (I state, by way of illustration, that) though — XIV. 10, II. — There are so many kinds of voices in the world, no one of them is without significa- tion. Therefore, if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian ; and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me. St. Paul continues to depreciate the gift of tongues, because of the exaggerated appreciation of it by these Corinthians. And he seems to say, by way of depreciating 248 I. CORINTHIANS XIV. 12-17. it, that there are many things in the world that emit sound, and that no one of them is dumb [or inarticulate], nay, that they all speak, though all he not understood. So that you ought not to hold it to be something great to speak tongues, unless you are understood : since under such circumstances, they, who speak, are held to be barbarians and aliens by those to whom they speak, and these (again) hold them to be barbarians and aliens who speak. The Greeks called all, who were not Greeks, barbarians, just as the Eomans, at a later period, called all, barbarians, who were not Eomans, excepting however the Greeks. Where he says " no one of them," &c., he means no one kind of voice. XIV. 12-17. — Even so ye, forasmucli as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may abound to the edification of the Church. Wherefore let him that speaketh in a tongue, pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is then to be done ? I will pray vv^ith the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also : I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the under- standing also. Else, when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned, say Amen at the giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest ? For thou verily givest thanks well : but the other is not edified. From what has been said, the Apostle comes to this conclusion with these Corinthians, that since they longed for, and were desirous, nay anxiously solicitous, to obtain gifts of the Holy Spirit, they should not strive after the gift of tongues which were relatively, as he has shown, of /. CORINTHIANS XIV. 12-17. 249 little use, but other gifts that might be useful to the Church, such as the gift of Prophecy, and the gift of Interpretation. In saying, " that ye may abound" he does not mean that they should aim, in the edification of the Church, at their own personal benefit, but he means that the edification of the Church should redound to the prosperity and advan- tage of every one of them. When he says, " if I pray in a tongue," he means, if I shall pray to God in that tongue which I have by the gift of God. In saying, " my spirit prayeth," he means the voice, the breath, that proceeds from my mouth. His statement, my vow;, my mind, " my understanding is unfruitful," appears to contradict what he previously said, viz., that he who speaks with a tongue, edifies himself ; but I repeat it, there is a mystery about this that I do not fathom ; and I perfectly understand that he here speaks of prayer, whilst he there refers to speech, and possibly these things were different. In saying, " I will pray with the Spirit," and afterwards " J udll sing with the Spirit," &c., he means, what I have to aim at, is, that the prayer which is uttered by my lips, be approved of by my mind, and be in harmony with it. I say the same of song, for it appears that, in St. Paul's days, Christians, when they met, both prayed and sang, but that, however, which they were inspired by the Holy Ghost to pray and to sing. In saying, "if thou shall bless with the Spirit," he means, if thou shalt say, blessed be God, or something similar. In saying "Amen," he means the Amen, which is the ordinary response to the benediction. And when he speaks " of the man who occupied the room of the unlearned," ^he means, the person -whose duty it is to respond ; the Greek word " iSicoTTji; [rendered in the English version] un- learned," means a simple, unlettered person — that is to say, a common man. 250 /. CORINTHIANS XIV. 20. XIV. 18, 19. — I tbank my God I speak with tongues more than you all. Yet in the Church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, instructing others, than ten thousand words in a foreign tongue. It might have been objected by some one to St. Paul, " Thou depreciatest the gift of tongues, because thou hast it not." To such a one he replies, that he had it more perfectly than any one at Corinth. This is what he means ■when he says, " I speak with tongues more than you all." And when he adds, "yet in the Church I had rather speak," &c., he means, but I do not pride myself on this account, for I am better pleased, when in conversation with Christians, . to say a few words which I and my hearers understand, and by which they may be to some extent edified, than by many words expressed by the gift of tongues, with which, not being understood, I fail to edify them. In Christian assemblies, and in the Christian Church, nothing should he aimed at hut the edification and instruc- tion of those who are present. By "five words," he means few words, and by " ten thousand," he means many. And in saying, "with my understanding," he means words that proceed from the understanding, which he both felt and relished. XIV. 20. — Brethren, in sense be ye not children, howbeit in malice be ye children ; but in under- standing be men. St. Paul means that it was an affection puerile and childish upon the part of these Corinthians, to prize more highly the gift of tongues, which had in it something more ostentatious, than the gift of Prophecy, which promoted edification. /. CORINTHIANS XIV. 20. 251 Wherefore lie says to them, " be not children in under- standing" (in discrimination, &c.), meaning I am unwilling that you should in your view of things be like children, who are easily attracted by showy objects, which however little there may be in them, easily delight children, be- cause they neither look for, nor consider anything, beyond the showy exterior. And I do wish, and it gratifies me, that in malice ye should be not only children, but infants, in whom there is little or no malice, whilst in perception, judgment, and views of things, I would fain have ye to be men, perfect and complete. These words of St. Paul harmonise with those of our Lord Jesus Christ, who admonishes us that we should he wise as serpents and harmless as doves. And this is tan- tamount to our being children in malice, and to our being men, perfect in understanding. And here it is to be understood, that our Lord Jesus Christ, in admonishing us that we become children, admonishes us that we bring our minds back to the sincerity and simplicity of children, who, taking things as they come, do not argue about them, do not seek (to discover) malice in them, nor do they be- come infatuated with them, nay, they calm down very quickly when they have been put into a passion, or that they have been upset, without retaining any rancour after- wards. By his expression, " in sense" he means in perception, in judgment, and in discretion. The Greek word ^prjv sig- nifies the brain, the seat of the mind. And by what he here says, " he children" he means, re- vert to childhood, and conduct yourselves like children ; this is the translation of the Greek word vrj-jria^eTe. And hy "malice" he means the wickedness, the per- verseness, and the malevolence which, rooted in the mind, is in the child from its mother's ivomb, as are also prudence and reason. But as the latter are not exercised in child- hood, so neither are the former ; and just as the child with the development of age develops the former, so likewise 252 7. CORINTHIANS XIV. 22-25. does it develop the latter. True it is, that through the corruption of the flesh, the bad are of quicker growth than the good. And hence it is that man becomes more readily malignant and deceitful, than prudent and wise. And with these premises, we well understand that what St. Paul desires in us, is, that we should keep our minds as to what is evil, in the state in which they were in childhood, and that we should promote their growth as to what is good, to the state which they attain in matured age. XIV. 21. — III the Law it is written, With men of other tongues and of other lips will I speak unto this people, and yet for all that, will they not hear Me, saith the Lord. — Isaiah xxviii. 11. St. Paul's design in making this quotation from Isaiah appears to be solely for the purpose of showing that diver- sity of tongues fails to draw man to obedience to God, and that on this account the gift of tongues is not to be liighly esteemed, at least not to the degree with which it was prized by these Corinthians. In saying, " and yet for all that will they not hear Me," it means, nor will even this suffice that I be obeyed by them. As to what Isaiah means where he makes this declara- tion, and as to whether it be taken from Isaiah, or from another, I remit myself to those who know ; but it is to be observed that he says, it is written in the Law. ^ XIV. 22-25. — Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to believers, but to unbelievers ; but Prophecy ^ In John X. 34, xii. 34, xv. 23, the Psalms are thus quoted : in the in- etanoe of John x. 34, Christ quotes Psalm Ixxxii. 6, saying to the Jews, " Is it not written in your Law ? " In John xii. 34, the Jews in reply to Christ, (jHOte Pealm Ixxxix. 36, 37, as being "out of the Law.'' In John xv. 25, Christ quotes Psalm xxxv. 19, as being in the Jewish Law. /. CORINTHIANS XIV. 22-25. 253 serveth not for unbelievers, but for believers. If, therefore, the whole Church come together into some place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? But if all prophesy, and there come in one that belie veth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all. And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest, and so falling down on his face he will worship God, reporting that God is in you of a truth. The Apostle adduces a notable difference between the gift of tongues and the gift of Prophecy, and says tongues are a miraculous sign, not to believers, who have no need of any outward miraculous sign, but to unbelievers, for when they see a person, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, speak languages that he has never learnt, they are led to believe. Whilst he says that Prophecy is a miraculous sign, not for unbelievers, for they understand nothing about it, but for believers, for that they, by comparing what they hear, with what they inwardly feel and expe- rience, have their faith increased and augmented thereby. Thus far we rightly apprehend the argument. But what follows is not without difficulty, for St. Paul, engaged in showing that what he had said is true as to the difference between the gift of tongues and that of Prophecy, appears to contradict himself; for he states that tongues scan- dalize the unbeliever, and that Prophecy edifies him. I think that St. Paul, not thinking it worth his while to prove wherein lies the difference adduced between the gift of tongues and the gift of Prophecy, proceeds to state what inconvenience resulted from the want of self-regula- tion upon the part of these Corinthians in their practice of speaking with tongues, and the benefit that would re- i;4 /. CORINTHIANS XIV. 22-25. suit were they to be as zealous of the gift of Prophecy as they had been of the gift of tongues. As though he had said : Although tongues are a miraculous sign for un- believers, see what results from the bad manner in which you exercise it, for the infidels and unbelievers who see you speak, say that you are mad. And he adds, but see what would result were you all to prophesy, for granted that Prophecy is no miraculous sign for infidels and unbelievers, yet were you all to devote yourselves to it, it would result in being a miraculous sigu to them, for you would con- found them, and you would cause them to worship God, falling upon their faces to the earth, and they would con- fess and declare that God is in your midst. This appears to be what St. Paul means by these words. And by believers he means those who believe, and by unbelievers those who do not believe. By the expression, " ye are mad," /xaiveade, he means, that you rave, that you have lost your senses. Where he says, " he is convinced," he means he is self- judged. And it seems that he may mean that the un- believer, or unlettered man, makes self-application of the words that he hears prophesied, for, he feels himself re- proved of things that he finds condemned by his own conscience, and this excites his wonder; and thus recog- nizing himself to be a sinn.er, he falls down on his face and worships God, confessing Him to be just, holy, and good. And proceeding further, he confesses, that they, who have told him the secrets of his heart, have God within them, and that therefore they are just, holy, and good. And we may from this passage, better than from any other, gather wherein the gift of Prophecy peculiarly con- sisted, for it appears that it could even discover and mani- fest to men their own hearts. And it may possibly have been by this gift of Prophecy that St. Peter knew the deceit that Ananias and his wife thought of practising upon the Holy Spirit. 1. CORINTHIANS XIV. 22-25. 255 Where lie says, "prostrate upon the earth" the Greek means falling upon the face. And it is to be observed, that St. Paul pretends that the bad impression, which was entertained of those who spake with tongues, proceeded from their abuse of them ; whilst the highest opinion that can be entertained of men living in the present life, which was, that God was in their midst, proceeded from the right use of Prophecy by them who prophesied. Where it is to be understood, that though God is in all men, as in all His other creatures, sustaining in every one of them the existence vouchsafed by Him, Holy Scripture is wont io speak of God, as being where He is known, allowing Himself to be seen and known there. And thus it is that Holy Scripture says that God is in heaven, because He allows Himself to be seen and known there ; it is there that He manifests His glory and His majesty. And similarly, it is said that God was in the Ark of the Covenant, because there and from that spot He manifested forth His glory and His majesty. And after the same fashion, it is said that God is in those who are the chil- dren of God, they being incorporated by faith in Christ, because He allows Himself to be known in them and by them ; and in them He manifests His glory and His majesty, in some to a greater degree, and in others to a less ; in some by certain demonstrations, and in others by different ones. So that just as we do not say that the king is there, where being incognito, he does not desire to be recognized as king : and just as we do say, that the king is there, where standing forth, he allows himself to be seen and recognized as king, so Holy Scripture does not say that God is there, where being hid, He does not allow Himself to be recognized as God : whilst Holy Scripture does say that God is (there), where, standing revealed, He allows Himself to be known as God. They, who recognize God in themselves, have their eyes opened to recognize God when hidden, where He is 2s6 /. CORINTHIANS XIV. 26-28. not pleased to manifest Himself ; and He manifests Him- self, where it pleases Him to manifest Himself. They, who do not recognize God in themselves, have their eyes so closed that they do not recognize Him, not even when He does manifest Himself and allows Himself to be known; save when God Himself opens their eyes to recognize Him in others, designing in this mode to allow Himself to be known of them in themselves. And of these were they, of whom St. Paul states, that when they saw that the secrets of their hearts were discovered by the gift of Prophecy, they affirmed that God was in them who had the gift of Prophecy, in whom God allowed Himself to be recognized by that outward demonstration. XIV. 26-28. — What is it then, brethren 1 when ye come together, each one hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation ; let all things be done unto edifica- tion. If one speak in a tongue, let it be by two, or, at the most by three, and (then) by turns, and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the Church, and let him speak to himself, and to God. As though he had said : What I could fain hereby say, is, Brethren, since it is found that when you all meet, there are some who are inspired to sing, others to teach, others to speak with tongues, others to declare what God has revealed to them, and others to interpret Holy Scripture, or what they say who speak with tongues, it will be -well that you refrain from showing off your endowment, and that you restrict its exertion to what shall be compatible with the edification of others ; and thus there will be no confusion. And seeking to regulate those who speak with tongues, since these were probably they, who wrought the greatest /. CORINTHIANS XIV. 29-33. 257 confusion in the Church, he says, that at any meeting two or three, who spoke with tongues, were in point of number all that were desirable, and that these should speak but in turn, one after the other, and that they only should speak, who had some one to act as their interpreter; and that when there was no interpreter, they should refrain from speaking in the Church, that they should be silent, speaking but to themselves and to God. Such was the order that St. Paul desired should be observed in Corinth in reference to speaking with tongues. " Psalm " is the same as hymn (a spiritual song) ; and it appears that the Holy Ghost Himself inspired [them] to sing. Now I have already said that we but ill understand the use of these gifts of the Holy Spirit, because We do not witness them in our days ; I speak of the outward gifts. In saying, " let all things ie done unto edification," he means, in everything aim at the edification of the Church. In saying, " ndth tongues," he means, with the gift of tongues. And in saying, " hy two or iy three,'' he means, no more than two or three on one occasion. And in say- ing, " hy turn, or in course," he means, that they should not speak two or three together, but separately, each one by himself. And when he says, " let him heep silence in the Ghurch" he speaks of the person who has the gift of tongues. XIV. 29-33. — Let two or three of the Prophets speak, and let the others judge. If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye all can prophesy one after the other, so that all may learn, and that all may 1)6 comforted. And the spirits of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the Churches, of the saints. 258 /. CORINTHIANS XIV. 29-33. ' St. Paul, in setting forth what order he desired should be observed in the Church at Corinth in relation to Pro- phesying, proceeds to say that not more than two or three of the Prophets should speak at any one assembly of the Church, whilst the others who had the gift of Pro- phecy, should listen to and weigh what the Prophets said. And he then adds, that if anything should be revealed to one of these hearers, which he would wish to communicate for the edification of the others, that the person speaking should be silent, whilst the person who received the revelation should speak. And he says that in this manner all might orderly find an opportunity to prophesy ; and thus they might all learn the one from the other, and all might receive consolation from their mutual discourses. And that no one might say : I cannot hold my tongue, for the spirit of Prophecy within me constrains me to speak, St. Paul adds two things. The one, that the spirit which inspires a Prophet to speak, does not constrain him, when he is unwilling to allow himself to be constrained, as the malignant spirit constrains him who is possessed by him, to speak even against his will. And the other, that the Prophet's spirit, being the Spirit of God, will inspire no one to confusion, but to peace ; and since there is confu- sion when many speak together, it is evident that such a result is not wrought by the Holy Spirit, but by his own spirit and impulse. And the Apostle states that this order was maintained in all the Churches, the congrega- tions of the saints, he means of Christians. " Let the others judge" is tantamount to let them discern, or let them discriminate. The expression, " if anything shall ie revealed," intimates that they who prophesied, spoke by inspiration and revelation. By the words, " that all mag learn," it is to be under- stood that it was doctrine or teaching that constituted the subject of prophecy : and that it was so, is likewise to be understood from what he says, "that all may be comforted." /. CORINTHIANS XIV. 34, 35. 259 And that declaration of St. Paul's, " that the spirits of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets," is worth considera- tion, as opposed to certain persons, who pretend that they are compelled by the Holy Spirit to speak. For the Apostle 'understands that the spirit of the Prophet does not compel the Prophet, as the spirit of the demon com- pels the demoniac. And in saying this, I do not mean that persons, who have spoken in my presence, and who pretend that they were forced to speak, were bedeviled, but I do mean that they surrendered to their delight to talk, so that they yielded to the compulsion of their own will. And this their self-will it is which St. Paul aims at in the rebuke conveyed by these words. That, " as in all the Churches of the Saints" may refer to all that he has said, as well in relation to the exercise of the gift of tongues, as also to that of the gift of Prophecy : and it may be referred to what he stated immediately before it, to wit, " that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace." So that the Apostle may say, " and such He is in all the Churches " of Christians, meaning the God of peace and the author of peace. I prefer that it should be held to relate to all the order established and received through- out the Churches. XIV. 34, 35. — Let your wives keep silence in your Churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak ; but they are commanded to be under obedience : as also saith the Law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home : for it is 'a shame for women to speak in the Church. This ordinance of the Apostle could only be observed by married women ; and, of them, only by those who had Christian husbands ; and of those who had Christian 26o . /. CORINTHIANS XIV. 36-38. husbands, only by those who had husbands so well versed in, and so capable of handling, things affecting Christianity, that they were able to teach others. All other women were precluded from the possibility of keeping this ordi- nance and precept. I state this, in order that it may be understood that all ordinances do not admit of such general application as fully to comprehend all. The ordinance of charity, of love, alone comprehends all, whereby we are all brought under obligation to love God supremely, and our neigh- bour as ourselves, and our brethren frequently more than ourselves. And this ordinance exempts all other women, they being able to change and to alter it. Then St. Paul means that it behoves and is well for wives to be silent, and in sub- jection : and he adduces the authority of the Law [Gen. iii. 16] to confirm what he states; which Law requires the wife to be in subjection, to be under her husband's control. And when he says, " if they would learn anything," he shows that not only was it forbidden to the wife to speak in public for the purpose of teaching, but neither was she to do so, in order that she might be taught herself. In point of fact, it is good for all men to speak but little, but it is in an especial manner highly becoming and decently modest in a wife to be silent. Insolence and self-esteem always attend speaking in public, or they almost always do so : and although pre- sumption is occasionally found associated with silence, submission and humility are so more frequently. So that silence is profitable to every Christian. XIV. 36-38.— What ? was it from you that the word of God went forth ? or, came it unto you only ? If any man think himself to be a Prophet, or spiritual, let him recognize that the things I write I. CORINTHIANS XIV. 36-38. zfSi unto you are the commands of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. These words are spoken, somewhat indignantly, against those in the Church at Corinth who were presumptuous and insolent, who pretended to know everything, and who were contentious. And the Apostle means that, since the Gospel had not come forth from them, and that neither had they been the only persons who had received and accepted it, they should not presume to regulate them- selves in their congregations otherwise than did others ; but they should hold the ordinances to be good, and that they abide by and submit to those to which others submitted, who were Christians before they became so. And what he has stated (in ver. 33), "as in all the Churches of the saints," agrees well with this, if the mode be understood in which it is declared. In saying, " if any man think himself to he a Prophet," &c., he pretends to remit the judgment of what he has said to those who had the gift of Prophecy, and who were spiritually endowed persons, in order that they should recognize the ordinances, which he taught, not to be his, but Christ's. And in saying, " if any one do not know, let him not know" he excludes those who were neither Prophets nor spiritual persons from this judgment, which he desires to have (held) upon his ordinances; whilst they who pre- tended to be either one or the other might say, " What know I as to the truth of what St. Paul states .? " for there are men to be found, who, in saying that they don't know, pretend to show that they do know, and this with affected humihty. To such as these, then, St. Paul says, " if they don't know, let them not know," meaning, that their appro- bation, in relation to what he has stated, is but of small importance. And here I must say, that I discover in this passage of St. Paul more tact than is seen by the superficial observer. 262 I. CORINTHIANS XIV. 39, 40. He understood how difficult it was for him to show that what he said was Christ's ordinance, or' Christ's command ; and he has said that the prophet or spiritual person would know this to be a fact, in order that every one, in order to be held to be a prophet or spiritual person, should approve of it, by saying that he knew it to be so. And seeking to close the door still more against contradiction, he adds, that if a man shall say he does not understand it, it is of no importance that he should not do so. So that some in order to be held to be prophets, some to be held to be spiritual persons, and others not to be held to be ignorant, they all should come without any contradiction whatever to receive what he said to them, to approve of it, and to hold it as good, and to affirm that the ordinance or com- mand was from Christ, whom he calls the Lord, and not to have been from St. Paul. XIV. 39, 40. — Wherefore, brethren, earnestly desire to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. Do all things decently and in order. As though he had said : Finally, what I desire of you all is this, that relatively to Prophecy you should not only take it when conferred by the gift of God, but that you should aspire to it, even when it shall not have been given you ; that you should desire it, strive for it, and ask it of God. And I desire relatively to the gift of tongues, that you receive it, if it be given you : and respecting this, the Apostle very much prefers the gift of Prophecy to the gift of tongues, since, as in all the foregoing he desires that they should strive after the gift of Prophecy, whilst that they should but receive this other when given them, making no effort to attain it. And in saying, " do all things decently and in order," St. Paul winds up the preceding discourse in a manner worthy of himself, who desired that his ordinances should be ob- served in proportion as they were profitable, conducive to I. CORINTHIANS XIV. 39, 40. 263 decorum, and adapted to the composition of Churches and congregations of Christians, in which much modesty, great reverence, and settled order in everything, must needs prevail and be exhibited. For since Christians are mem- bers of Christ, and since they all constitute together with Christ one body, disorder, disturbance, and disunion amongst them is a thing as monstrous and linbecoming as disorder, disturbance, and want of union would be amongst the members of the human body. And it is well for the Christian to keep this simile ever present to his mind, in order to repress the sudden impulses which will occur to him to originate discords and dissensions amongst those, who, being Christians, are members of Christ. 264 /. CORINTHIANS XV. CHAPTER XV. XV. I. — I declare unto you, brethren, the Gospel ■which I have preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand ; by which also ye are saved, if ye hold it, even as I preached it unto you ; unless ye have believed in vain. I understand that St. Paul, wishing to confirm those Corinthians in the belief of the resurrection, which, as it appears (from ver. 12), some of them doubted, endeavours by these words to recall to their memory what he had preached to them ; he calls his preaching, the Gospel, because, as has been said, no more grateful news can be reported to man than the remission of sins, the resurrec- tion, and the life eternal. So that St. Paul may be under- stood to convey by these words, which are somewhat con- fused, this meaning: I would fain, brethren, call your attention to, and remind you of, the Gospel which -I have already notified and preached to you ; which you received, and wherein you stand, holding it to be sure and firm, and by which you have attained salvation and eternal life, being habilitated thereunto : I desire to remind you, and to bring back to your memories, that I have on various previous occasions preached the Gospel in a similar manner to you ; if therefore you stand firm where you stood when you received and accepted it, and that you have not, through your faith being vain and unprofitable, forgotten it, and so forth. And he thus constructed this passage with the admoni- tion expressed in the words, " if ye keep in memory," so that /. CORINTHIANS XV. 3-9. 265 ■what he would say is, / again declare unto you the Gospel, as I before have done. And it is St. Paul's design to say to them: in what I state to you, I state nothing other than that I have already stated to you. And he does this to remove from them every suspicion of novelty, that they might have entertained of what he was about to announce to them. The expression, " if you keep in mind," &o., is one that indicates its efficacy, and conveys the idea you ought to retain it, for otherwise your faith will prove unprofitable, vain, and without value. XV. 3-9. — For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures ; and that He was seen of Cephas ; then of the twelve : After that He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom many are living unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, He was seen of James ; then of all the Apostles. And last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the Apostles, that am not meet to be called an Apostle, because I perse- cuted the Church of God. St. Paul authoritatively declares the preaching of the Grospel to consist in the proclamation, that Christ died for our sins, and that He rose again from the dead. And because our resurrection depends upon the resur- rection of Christ, as the resurrection and liberation of the members depen(is upon that of the Head, the Apostle, de- sirous of persuading these Corinthians, and of proving to them that we shall rise again, first persuades them, and 266 /. CORINTHIANS XV. 3-9. proves to them, that Christ is risen, counting the witnesses who bear testimony to it, and who challenge belief as eye- witnesses; and St. Paul ranks himself among the other witnesses, stating the opinion he held both of himself and of resurrection. Here I shall not occupy myself in solving, whether the order which St. Paul lays down here agrees with that laid down by the Evangelists, with reference to the persons by whom Christ allowed Himself to be seen after His resur- rection, for I do not profess to verify and solve things (simply) curious, or matters of curiosity ; neither shall I occupy myself in verifying how it is that St. Paul says that He was seen of the twelve Apostles, there being at that time but eleven, since Judas had previously died. For beyond its being a mere matter of curiosity, there appears to me to be no impropriety in St. Paul's entitling the company twelve, which while Christ lived amongst them was twelve, and which after Christ's ascension again became twelve. In saying, "first of all," he means amongst the preli- minary statements of my preaching. Where it is said " that Christ died for our sins,'' we are always to understand that God inflicted the chastisement of the sins of us all upon Christ's flesh, chastising in Him that which had to he chastised in us. That expression, " according to the Scriptures^' may be referred to what we read in Isaiah liii. 5-10. St. Paul not only states that Christ died for our sins, but he likewise affirms that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures ; I wish that he had quoted them, since he both knew them and understood them. In saying, " Cephas" he means St. Peter. In saying, " then of the twelve" he means that he was seen of the twelve Apostles. In saying, " after that of five hundred brethren" he means that Christ afterwards allowed Himself to be seen of more than five hundred Christians. He understands 7. CORINTHIANS XV. 3-9. 267 that this took place at the time of His ascension. And I should not deem it incorrect to state that it has taken place since the ascension, for it occurred to St. Paul himself. In saying, too, " but some are fallen asleep, or do sleep," he means, that some of them had died. And it is worthy of consideration that Holy Scripture does not call the death of those who are the friends and children of God death, but sleep ; in order that we may understand, that resurrection is even more certain to the Christian, than is awaking to him who lies down to sleep. I mean to say, that Holy Scripture gives us to understand that the Christian, at the time when the soul leaves the body, is more certain of his resurrection, he being assured of Christ's resurrection, than a man is of waking when he lies down to sleep. And thus it is indeed true that by how much the more a man is incorporated into Christ, so much the more assur- ance has he of his own resurrection in Christ, and through Christ. And here the comparison of a man about to be drowned in a river, who, raising his head above water, feels that he has escaped, and is beyond all danger, comes in as an apt illustration. His statement, " after that He was seen of James," is not to be understood as having been after that Christ had been seen of the five hundred, but as after His having been so of Peter. In saying, " and last of all He was seen of me also, as of one horn out of due time," he means, that after that Christ had allowed Himself to be seen of all those whom he has mentioned. He allowed Himself to be seen of St. Paul. And he calls himself one born out of due time, meaning something vile, a nonentity, an abortion. And in saying, "for I am the least of the Apostles," I understand him to mean to say : and I call myself an abortion, for I am not only the least of the Apostles, but I am not meet to be called an Apostle, and the reason is, because I persecuted the Church of God. 268 I. CORINTHIANS XV. 3-9. And here perhaps it will appear to some, that although St. Paul had through humility expressed himself thus humbly, nevertheless he did not feel so; but I unhesi- tatingly believe that he felt as he expressed himself. For I understand that in proportion as man's mind is brought into more intimate communion with God, being, if we may so express ourselves, more deified, so does he rela- tively feel himself as man, very mean, very vile, and exceedingly contemptible. And then it seems that he the more manifests and publishes this opinion, which he forms of himself as man, when he is brought to consider the standing he holds, for that, being united to God, and being incorporated into Christ, he is deified, as in this case of St. Paul, who being led to consider what standing he held, for which he was indebted to God's free grace, he recognized to such an extent the baseness of his nature as a man, that he called himself an abortion. And I will even add, that the Son of God Himself, Jesus Christ our Lord, having begun to say (Matt. xi. 25), " / thank Thee, Father, Lord, of heaven and earth" which was one of the lofty considerations which the Evangelists describe Christ as having entertained, He proceeds to say (in ver. 29), " Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly of heart," meaning : Learn of Me, imitate Me, make Me your type, for in Me there is meekness and humility, not only apparent and outward, on which account I am despised and held to be without consideration, but I have inward humility, and that in My heart, led by which I esteem this )iature which I have put on, of passible and mortal man, to be something vile and ignoble. And hence I understand that Christ's heartfelt humility was relatively so much greater than what ever has been, or shall be in any man upon earth, as the union which Christ had with God was more excellent, He being one and the same with God; than that which all the men upon earth all taken together have had, or shall have, however much favoured of God they may be. I. CORINTHIANS XV. 3-9. 369 Men of the world, judging others by themselves, can never believe that Christ had humility of heart, though they believe that He had it outwardly and visibly. And thus still less can they believe that St. Paul, in calling himself an abortion, knew himself to be such. For they, though they constrain themselves to make a show of humi- lity at times by words, and at other times by actions, have it, not in their hearts, never feeling in relation to them- selves as did the Publican ; and not having it in them- selves, they do not think that others can have it. But coming back to St. Paul, I say it is necessary to^ advert to his statement in 2 Cor. xi. 22, 23, " that were others ministers of Christ, he was transcendently more so;" which is no contradiction to what he says here, videlicet, that he was not meet, or that he was unworthy to be called an Apostle ; and how much more so actually to be one. Here he speaks what he felt concerning himself as Paul, absorbed in the consideration of what he was by God's free grace, and through his being united to G-od, and thus edified; whilst tfi-ere, he speaks of what he desired that men should feel concerning him, not personally as Paul, but as a minister of Christ, and as a partaker of the divine nature, in connection with the benefit of the Gospel. Spiritual persons desire but little to be esteemed in relation to that, which is calculated to cause aught of glory to be attributed to them ; whilst they do desire to be highly esteemed in relation to that, wherein their being esteemed, is calculated to redound to the glory of God. Whence it comes to pass that they esteem and prize a glass of water that may be given them out of love for what they are by the free grace of God, on account of their union with God, and on account of the incorporation which they have into Christ, than great treasures that may be given them out of love for what they are of themselves, through concurring parts and qualifications which are peculiarly their own. Nay, it is truth that the glass of water is grateful to them, whilst the great treasures are tasteless 270 /. CORINTHIANS XV. lo, ii. and insipid. But men of the world can no how believe this. And I do not wonder, because, as it is stated in the second chapter of this Epistle, ver. 14, " The animal man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God." We read in Acts x. what St. Paul says as to his having "persecuted the Church of God." And here there are two things worthy of consideration. The one, that St. Paul based his unmeetness and his unworthiness to be called an Apostle, upon his having persecuted the Church of God, that being granted which he elsewhere states, that he did not think he was doing wrong in so doing. Zet this serve to lead men to see what they do, who persecute others, and more especially for those who persecute pretending religious and pious motives ; and in order that they may likewise know that there is nothing to he found more alien to a Christian mind than persecution. It is most peculiar to the Christian to be persecuted. But precisely in proportion as this is peculiar to him, so is it alien and foreign .to him to persecute another. The other thing that is worthy of consideration here, is, that St. Paul, in enumerating those who were witnesses of Christ's resurrection, makes no mention of, neither does he name, the women to whom Christ allowed Himself to be seen. XV. 10, II. — But by the grace of God I am what I am : and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain ; but I laboured more abundantly than they all : yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. As though he had said : If, on the one hand, I be not in myself meet to be called an Apostle, yet, on the other hand, through the free grace of God exhibited towards me in making me an Apostle, and which it is that gives me /. CORINTHIANS XV. lo, ii. 271 my standing, this grace not having been inefficacious within me, I am actually such that I may be called an Apostle, for with it I personally have laboured in converting the nations to the Gospel of Christ more than all the Apostles. And it then appearing to St. Paul that he had somewhat overstated himself, he corrects himself by saying, that the labour was not his own, for that he had contributed nothing independently; but that it was by God's grace and favour which was within him, which did not de- rive its existence from the man Paul, but from his office as an Apostle of Christ. And then he concludes, that whether by his own preaching, or whether by that of the other Apostles, there had been nothing other declared to them than had been revealed to him, to wit, that Christ died for our sins, and that on the third day He rose again ; and that neither had they believed anything else than this. But St. Paul clearly shows in what he says, "bi/ the grace of God I am what I am," that when he praises himself, he does not magnify self but God's free grace, which had been exhibited towards him in calling him to the grace_ of the Gospel and to the Apostolate, not that he had personal merits to which his call was due. Whence I understand that they who recognize God's grace and goodness within themselves, when they make it a subject of personal exaltation, they in such praise but apply to self so much of that self-exaltation and self- attribution as the rebel is wont to do, when he boasts him- self that by the mere goodness and grace of his prince, against whom he had rebelled, he has escaped with his life, and has been restored to his prince's favour. In saying, " His grace which was bestowed upon me," he means, that the favour which God had done him, and the free grace which God had exhibited towards him, had not been inert, inefficacious, and vain. And that it had not been vain he demonstrates and declares, by averring that he 'had exerted himself and had laboured in the Gospel 272 /. CORINTHIANS XV. 12-14. field more than all the Apostles, not meaning more than they had done in the aggregate, but severally. And in order that no one should believe that he attri- buted the glory of this labour to himself, and likewise that no one should attribute it to him, and esteem him and prize him on that account, he says, " yet not I, hot the grace of God which was with me," meaning thereby, that it was not as Paul that he had laboured more than all the Appstles, but that it was the goodness, favour, and free grace of God, which had been so efficacious in him, as to make him labour more than the others. Just as a person who should have the gift of healing or of conferring health, should, whilst curing the diseases of many, say to them : " Mind you, it is not I that cure you, but the grace and gift of God that is within me. So that you have not to attribute the glory of your recovery to me, but to the gift of the Holy Spirit which is within me." That clause, "so we preach, and so ye 'believed" is to be referred to what he has declared, that Christ died for our sins, and rose again on the third day. XV. 12-14.— Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead 1 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen. And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. In commencing his argument to induce these Corin- thians to be convinced of the resurrection of the dead, respecting which it appears that some hesitated, -whilst others resolutely and determinedly refused to believe in it, St. Paul bases his reasoning upon the resurrection of Christ, and apprehends that, since we are membei-s of Christ, we necessarily shall rise again from the dead, because Christ has risen again from the dead. 7. CORINTHIANS XV. 15-18. 275 So that lie who believes that Christ has risen again from the dead, must consequently believe that the dead rise again. He, who disbelieves that Christ rose again from the dead, may, without exciting astonishment, disbelieve that there is a resurrection of the dead. The expression, " now if Christ he preached that Re rose from the dead," is equivalent to saying, " if we preach that Christ has risen from the dead." In saying, " if Christ be not risen," &c., he means, that were it a fact that Christ had not risen from the dead, then what the Apostles preached would -be vain, what these Corinthians believed would be vain, for that they, who were Apostles, would have preached falsehood, and the Corinthians would have believed falsehood. And thus neither would they have reaped any fruit from their preaching, nor would these latter from their faith : and he proceeds to say : XV. 15-18. — Yea, and we are found false wit- nesses of God ; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ : whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised : And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain ; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also, who are fallen asleep in Christ, are perished. He confirms what he has said, that it is right to know, that if Christ have not risen, the Apostles' preaching was vain, and the faith of these Corinthians was vain. And he constitutes the vanity of the preaching in their testi- mony to the truth of that which 'was false, were the resurrection of Christ untrue; and he constitutes the vanity of the faith of these Corinthians, in that they were yet in their sins ; and in that they, who had slept in Christ, were lost, if Christ's resurrection were untrue. s 274 I- CORINTHIANS XV. 15-18. In saying, " we are found false witnesses concerning God," he means as it would seem, that we have testified some- thing false concerning God. In saying, " of God," he means concerning God, or in relation to God. And having previously said, your faith is vain, St. Paul most pertinently adds, "ye are yet in your sins ;" for since it is a fact that our sins are pardoned through faith, it well follows that if the faith be vain, the remission of sins is so likewise, and that we are even yet in our sins. St. Paul means, that if Christ had not risen, then the faith would be false and vain of those of us who believe that the justice of God was executed upon. Him, and that the chastisement of our sins was laid upon Him : and thus it would be clear that He was a mere man like us, and not the Son of God, as He indeed is, and one and the same with God, as is stated in Romans i. 4, and that one of the things whereby Christ showed and declared Himself to be the Son of God was by His resurrection from the dead. In saying, "then (hey also who are fallen asleep are perished," he means, from Christ's not having risen from the dead, it would necessarily follow that our faith is vain; and that from our faith being vain, it would necessarily follow that we are even yet in our sins ; and that from our being yet in our sins, it would likewise necessarily follow, that those of us who have passed from this life believing in Christ have perished: and St. Paul means, that since it is a fact that they who sleep in Christ have not perished, and that it is likewise a fact that we who believe in Christ are not in our sins, for that our faith is not vaih, and because the resurrection of Christ is a certainty, so likewise our resurrection is a certainty, who depart this life incorporated into Christ. It appears that the perishing of those who sleep in Christ is to be understood of the soul, and not of the body; for, with relation to the body, they held it to be certain /. CORINTHIANS XV. 19. 275 that they did not rise again. And had St. Paul meant the destruction or perishing of the body, it was idle to address this argument to them, for they themselves conceded it, saying that the dead did not rise again. " To sleep in Christ," is tantamount to saying that they departed this life being Christians, being incorporated into Christ. I shall not contend with any one who shall insist that these words cannot refer to their being in their sins, as is declared, but to the resurrection of the dead which some of these Corinthians denied. I say, then, that I shall not contend, for I well see that the words admit of this double application ; either, that their soul's perished be- cause they died being yet in their sins, because their faith was vain, or that their bodies have perished, because the dead do not rise again. XV. 19. — If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. Having said that they who had slept in Christ had perished, he proceeds to say, that if it be so that the hopes which Christians have in Christ avail for this present life only, in and through the inward and outward gifts which we enjoy through believing in Christ, we "are more miserable than the rest of mankind "in that we are de- spised, persecuted, maltreated, outraged, and martyrized. And here, should any one say to St. Paul : Come now, Paul, were it a fact that our being '^incorporated into Christ availed us only in this life, does it not appear to thee, that the repose of mind and the peace of conscience which we enjoy, by which we are liberated and exempted from all worldly cares and troubles, would suffice, not only to prevent our being more miserable than all other men upon earth, but to render us effectively the most happy and the most fortunate men upon earth, for though they still affect us, we do not f eel'them so acutely as to be hurt by them ? I think St. Paul might reply by saying; 276 I. CORINTHIANS XV. 20-22. Wert thou to recollect that I, in saying this, am speaking not with spiritual persons, whom it would have been easy to convince of what thou sayest, but with carnal, who are never open to a similar conviction, thou mightest know that I do not speak as I feel, but as they feel whom I address ; and as all men of the world feel, who, when they consider the disagreeable things to which the members of Christ are subject, declare, that to a man of the world there is nothing more miserable, more mean, and more unhappy, than are they. It is, however, true, that they who are spiritual, who judge not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, declare, in relation to that which concerns and pertains to this life, that a person incorporated into Christ, is more happy and more blessed than are the whole mass of men who live without Christ. So that St. Paul's argument in this place is not suggested by his own sentiments, but by theirs to whom he wrote, and by the sentiments generally received amongst men, who hold it to be miserable and unfortunate for a man to be without consideration, and hence subject to outrage, persecutioij, and maltreatment. In saying, " we have hope in Christ," he means, we depend upon Christ, i.e., we expect our bliss of Him and through Him. The word " only," in the Greek jjlovov, may be 'construed so as to mean, that we fix our hopes upon Christ only in things pertaining to this life, or that in this life only do we hope in Christ. The mode in which I have translated and interpreted it pleases me as the better, but he that shall prefer the other, let him hold it. XV. 20-22. — But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. For as through one man came death, so also through one man came the resurrection of the d'Cad. For as through Adam all have died, even so through Christ shall they all be made alive. As though he should' say : But because what we have preached, and what we do preach, viz., that Christ is risen /. CORINTHIANS XV. 20-22. 277 from the dead, is true, it is likewise true and certain, that because He rose again, we shall rise again ; Christ's resur- rection being as effective in the resurrection of all, as was Adam's sin in effecting the death of all. In saying, " but now," he means, but this is a fact. In saying, " and become the first fruits" it appears to have occurred to St. Paul's imagination, that just as a little was taken from a great heap of corn, as first fruits, to be given to the priests, as enjoined by the Law (in Lev. xxiii. 10, 11), so of all who had died, God took Christ as first fruits, meaning, that the experience of all those who died in Christ should be precisely the same as that of Christ Him- self. And I have already stated that Holy Scripture calls the death of those who are pious, holy, and righteous, sleep. In saying, " through one man',' he means Adam, who, by sinning, introduced death. In saying, " so also through one',' he means Christ, who, by rising from the dead, introduced the resurrection. By saying, '' as through Adam all have died" he means, that when Adam sinned, all his descendants were con- demned to death, God holding them all to be present when He sentenced Adam. By saying, " so through Christ shall all be made alive" he means, that when Christ rose again, all men were endowed with the faculty of resurrection, God holding them all to be present when He raised Christ from the dead. So that just as, with relation to God, Adam, when he sinned, died with all his descendants, so hkewise, with relation to God, when He raised Christ again, all the dead have been raised. As to the residue of evil which came (down) to us from Adam, and of good which came (down) to us from Christ, I remit myself to what I have written upon Eo- mans v., where St. Paul speaks diffusely and at length upon what he here touches upon briefly. The expression, " shall they be made aUve," is equivalent to, they shall live, in that they revert to the recovery of the life which they lost when they died. 278 7. CORINTHIANS XV. 23, 24. XV. 23, 24. — But every one in h'is own order. Christ, the first fruits, afterward they that are Christ's, at His coming. Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when He shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power. Having stated that we all shall be quickened through Christ, that we shall all return to life, the Apostle pro- ceeds to say, that in this quickening or resurrection Christ stands first, and that after Christ, they, who are His, shall rise again, he means those who are members of Christ, and who are incorporated into Him. And he states that this will take place at His coming, meaning, when Christ shall come the second time. Thp Greek word Trapova-ia properly signifies " in His presence," when He allows Himself to be seen and known, which He will do at His second coming. And he says, that presently or suddenly afterwards the end shall come, meaning, the ultimate end of all things that now exist, all which, as it is stated in Eomans viii., shall be renewed. He says, too, that about this time Christ shall deliver the kingdom to God the Father ; whence it appears that St. Paul means, that Christ reigns in this life over those who are the people of God, communicating to them the Spirit which God has put in Him, and the treasures of Godhead which dwell in Him, whereby they are main- tained in holiness and righteousness in spite of all their enemies ; and the Apostle means that God will reign Him- self immediately over His people as soon as the resurrect tion of the just shall have taken place, communicating Himself, that to them immediately and most abundantly, which is now communicated mediately by Christ, whence the greatest glory will redound to Christ. And to the perfect apprehension of what I here state, a similitude I. CORINTHIANS XV. 25, 26. 279 that I brought forward on another occasion will here serve most aptly, saying, that just as God communicates His light to us in this life by the sun, wherein He has con- centred all external light, it being His purpose to illumine us by Himself in the life eternal ; so God, concentrating all the treasures of His Godhead in Christ, communicates them to us in this life by Christ, and therein Christ's kingdom consists, whilst it is His purpose to communicate them to us Himself in the life eternal, when, as St. Paul will state further on, God will at once become all in all. The expression, " God the Father," is tantamount to St. Paul saying to God who is the Father, meaning, of Christ Himself. In saying, " when Christ shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power," he means, that before Christ de- livers the kingdom to the Father, He will have destroyed, vanquished, and put down all who are now His enemies, whom he comprises under three titles — " all rule," which is synonymous with empire; "all e^ova-ia, authority or might," which is synonymous with all that is mighty or potent ; and " all power,'' which is synonymous with all that is endowed with force and energy. And under these three denominations I understand St, Paul to mean in the main those evil spirits which are the enemies of the human race, and I think that he includes death and hell amongst them which shall be destroyed likewise. XV. 25, 26. — For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet, and the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. As well might he say : I state that ere Christ deliver up the kingdom to the Father, He will have destroyed all principality (empire), for He must needs reign (Ps.cx. i) until He as Lord be made so great and superior to all His enemies, as to have them all under His feet. Where it is worthy of consideration that St. Paul does not say His 28o /. CORINTHIANS XV. 25, 26. enemies, but all enemies, meaning everything that is inimical to man. In saying, "and the last enemy," &c., he includes death, in the three names of "principality, might, and power," for it holds its sway over us, and is in many ways inimical to us, the consideration of which I remit to those who recog- nize it to be an enemy. And I understand that the more spiritual a person is, so much the greater enemy does he hold death to be. Christ felt this enmity deeply, for when He experienced it, such was His pressure and agony that He sweated drops of blood. [See OX Consid., Ixxxvi.] Whereupon, should any one reply to me : Many saints have not feared death, nay, they have voluntarily offered themselves up to it, I shall answer, in what I say, deal- ing with generals and not with particulars, as in the case of martyrs, to whom the special privilege was vouchsafed of ' not feeling death. And should another person say to me, that many of the heathen also have voluntarily offered themselves up to death, I shall answer him, that as the Holy Spirit divests Christian martyrs from feeling death : so, too, the malig- nant spirit divests the world's martyrs from feeling death. And I class amongst the number of the world's martyrs, the men who, from motives of worldly honour, glory, and interest, have yielded themselves up to die. And thus I am confirmed in my opinion, that the most spiritual of all mankind, are they, who experimentally suffer most in death, because they have a truer knowledge of things, and because they are more free from the notions held and maintained by the vulgar, that is the unchristian masses of mankind, who rest satisfied with the state in which God has placed them in this present life. I state this, for I well know that vulgar notions exempt some from feeling death, whilst others are exempted, too, by the dissatisfaction they experience in the existence and position which they hold in this life. I. CORINTHIANS XV. 27, 28. 281 St. Paul, in saying, that " death shall be destroyed," means' that death will have ceased when the resurrection shall have been accomplished. And because this will be Christ's last victory (Eev.xx. 14), St. Paul says that death will be the last enemy that Jesus Christ our Lord will have to destroy. XV. 27, 28. — For He hath put all things under His feet ; but when He saith all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, who did put all things under Him. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him, who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. Corresponding with what the Apostle had stated, " till He hath put all enemies under His feet," he proceeds to say, "for He hath put all things under His feet," meaning, that it is meet that Christ reign until He put all the ene- mies of the human race under His feet. For God, in His divine providence, has put all things under Christ's feet. So that where he says, "He hath put," we are to under- stand God ; and where He says, " His" we are to under- stand Christ's. And that ignorance should lead no one to think that' God is to be subject to Christ, the Apostle adds this : " He hath put all things under Him" it is as though he should say : But, mind you, when I have stated that God hath put all things in general under Christ, it is not to be understood, nor is it to be conceived, that God is so, for ■ since God Himself has so subjected them, it is evident that He is not Himself comprised amongst them, nay, He is (above and) beyond subjection. St. Paul says afterwards, " and when all things shall be subdued under Him" meaning, when God's purpose shall have been effectively carried out, in the subjection of all things to Christ, Christ Himself shall be subject to God, who wiU have subjected all things unto Him, , 282 I. CORINTHIANS XV. 27, 28. Certainly I do not understand wherein the difference of subjection to God properly consists, between that in which Christ now is, and that in which He will be at the time of which St. Paul speaks, which will be in the life eternal. And I think this may be one of those things of which St. Paul spoke amongst the perfect, which God had revealed to him, and which he did not communicate, to the imperfect, because they could not receive it, and of which he discoursed with the perfect, with whom he might discuss everything. In saying, " that God may he all in all," that is to say, that God be all in everything, or all in all persons, or everything in all persons, he means, God's [the Father's] purpose in putting all things in subjection to Christ, and that Christ subject Himself to Him [the Father] afterwards, is in order that He may be all in all. I mean that He will Himself personally rule and govern all those who are His. Even now God is all in all men, but [He is so] mediately in some creatures through others, and in those, who are His, mediately through Christ : whilst in the life eternal God will be all in all persons, immediately and by Himself. And should any one be pleased to state that the difference of subjection to God, between that in which Christ now is, and that in which He will be in the life eternal, consists in that the present is, from its being unseen and invisible, unknown ; and that the future, because it will be seen and visible, will be known, I shall not contradict him : so that it may be understood that as the mode of subjection wherewith all things shall be subject to Christ, death being likewise subject to Him, differs from the mode of subjection wherewith men are subject one to the other : so likewise that subjection wherewith Christ will be subject to God, differs from that wherewith all things shall be subject to Christ, and from that also wherewith one man is subject to another. I say this to check the temerity of men, who presume upon and are haughtily puffed up with their prudence and human reason, and who /. CORINTHIANS XV. 30, 31. 283 "Would fain discuss divine things as they do temporal ones, exercising their conceits in spiritual and divine things just as they do in material and human ones. XV. 29. — Else what shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all ? Why are they then baptized for the dead ? Some interpret these words in one way and some in another, as is usual where things are not understood. I think there must have been some, in Corinth, who believed that baptism was of such efficacy that it availed for the dead, so that a living man was baptized on behalf of one already dead : and thus they baptized themselves in the interest of the dead. And I think that St. Paul being desirous of convincing these Corinthians of the resurrec- tion, availed himself of their ignorance as to this, though he did not approve of it : and let this my idea concerning it be valued at what it is worth. XV. 30, 31. — And why stand we in jeopardy every hour ? I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. He means, if it be a fact, as some of you imagine, that the dead do not rise, what occasion had I to expose my life to the peril of losing it so frequently as I do ? He is to be understood as meaning himself, I, when he says we : and that when he says "we are in danger," he means, we run the risk of losing our lives. And in saying, " every hour," or, " at all hours," he may be understood to mean frequently, as he himself declares, when he says, " I die daily," meaning, I am daily in danger of being put to death. And that expression, " 6y our rejoicing, glorying," &c., I understand to be an oath whereby he confirms what he has said, " / die daily," as though he said: I swear by that 284 I- CORINTHIANS- XV. 32, 33. whereof I glory and wherein I pride myself, to the truth of my statement, that I daily drink in draughts of death. And I understand him, when desirous of declaring what the subject of his glory and pride was, to say, that it is that which he has in our Lord Jesus Christ: meaning that he did not swear by that wherein he gloried as Paul, but by that wherein he gloried as an Apostle of Christ. As to the mode, time, and motive which render it lawful for the Christian, to swear, I remit myself to a statement that I shall make hereafter. Here it assuredly and mani- festly appears that St. Paul has sworn : but we must observe ^lis motive, why he swore, the words of the oath, and the manner in which they are spoken. XV. 32, 33. — If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not ? let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. Be not deceived : evil com- munications corrupt good manners. I understand him here to give an instance out of the many in which he had run the risk of his life, in which he says, " if I as a man," &c., meaning, since I, as a man, personally fought with beasts at Ephesus, what folly mine would have been, were it a fact that the dead rise not ? What combat with beasts this may have been of which St. Paul here speaks, it is hard to divine. It may be that he by " beasts," means the men with whom he strove at Ephesus, as reported in Acts xix. The quotation, "let us eat and drink," is taken from Isaiah xxii. 13, and is an utterance made by men who distrusted God's promises. And St. Paul uses it ironically, meaning that were it so, that when this life is past, there should be no other, there would be nothing to do save to study gluttony, to eat and to drink, and to make good cheer. He then says, " be not deceived," meaning : Beware of /. CORINTHIANS XV. 34. 285 such folly, and beware of entertaining relations, or dis- course with those who entertain it, lest it should come to pass that your good manners should be corrupted by evil communications with such men. Where I under- stand it to be the Christian's duty to avoid such commu- nications, lest they should destroy his outwardly decorous deportment, which is upheld by regard for the world ; and how much more olight he to avoid communications, which, though apparently virtuous, are actually licentious, through their mental vivacity, through their curious and ambitious tendencies, and through their self-esteem, in order that they may not destroy his inward mortification, which is drawn forth and quickened by regard for the world. For truly as the world praised virtuous manners and blamed vicious ones : so too the very same world censures morti- fication, holding them, who are mortified, to be vile, whilst it praises vivacity, holding them to be honoured and valiant, who are alive and alert in business, who indulge lin curi- osity, and who hold ambition and self-esteem in high regard. And under this name, " world," I understand all to be comprised, who are not regenerated and renewed by the Holy Spirit. And even in the regenerate that is " worldly," which is neither regenerated nor renewed by the Holy Spirit. XV. 34. — Awake to righteousness, and sin not : for some have not the knowledge of God, I speak this to your shame. Having stated that good manners are corrupted by inter- course with bad men, St. Paul, by way of arousing these Corinthians, adds this which follows, " waJce up to a sense of what is right, awake to righteousness" which is tanta- mount to his having said : Mind ye, be on your guard, so as to maintain yourselves, in that whereunto ye are called by the preaching of the Gospel, that is to say, in holiness 286 I. CORINTHIANS XV. 34. and in righteousness. Men of the world are vigilant, cir- cumspect, and on the look-out to maintain themselves, but by wrong, making self-advancement their sole aim. Whilst the servants of God are vigilant, with the beard over the shoulder seeking to uphold themselves by right, making divine complacency their aim. In saying, "and sin not," he means, do not desert that to which you are bound by Christian duty; which duty he understands man to desert, on every occasion and in every instance, that he does anything improper in one, who is member of such a head as is Christ. And in stating, "for some have not the knowledge of God," he means, that he told them so, for that he knew there were some of them who had no knowledge of God. And I understand these to have been they who denied the resurrection. A7id furthermore, I understand that since all evil proceeds from not knbwing God, and all good from the knowledge of Him, it is every man's duty to devote himself, and to make it his principal occupation, to know God. The Christian is not to be satisfied with knowing God in the creature, or through the creature; nor with knowing Him in Holy Scripture or through Holy Scripture ; but he ought to strive to know Him in Christ and through Christ. For it is a fact that until man comes to know God in Christ and through Christ, he can neither know Him in the Scriptures, nor in the creature ; ivhilst after man has known God in Christ and through Christ, he knows Him by Scripture, and sees Him in the creature, God allowing Himself to be seen and known, when it pleases, and as it pleases to, His divine Majesty. And I understand that man knows God in Christ, by considering God's own image and likeness in Christ (to wit), in His goodness, in His mercy, in His pity, in His justice, and in His holiness. And 1 understand that man knows God through Christ, for that, by accepting the justice of God executed upon Christ as his own, he is justified, and being just, God allows Him- /. CORINTHIANS XV. 35-38. 287 self to le known in the manner that He is wont to allow Himself to be known of those who are just. St. Paul here states that there were some of those Corinthians who had not' this knowledge of God. XV. 35-38. ^But some man will say, How are the dead raised up ? and with what body do they come ? Thou fool, that which thou sowest, is not quickened except it die. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain. But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed its own body. By this similitude of the seed which is sown and springs up, St. Paul endeavours to make us understand how our bodies will rise again, and to make our apprehension of it easy. But [reader] thou hast to apprehend the similitude devoutly, not straining it to accommodation in every par- ticular, which would be improper, but only accommodating it wherein it may with propriety be made to do so. As it happens with a grain of wheat sown, which will not spring up unless it mortify and rot, so man's body will not rise again unless he first die ; and just as the grain of wheat is sown bare, and springs up clad ; so our bodies are buried corruptible and rise incorruptible : they are buried passible and rise impassible ; and it appears that these are the two things that St. Paul had in view. Nay, I understand that our Lord Jesus Christ (John xii. 24) availed Himself of this simile of the grain of wheat to show, that just as the grain of wheat that has to fructify, must die under ground, for that if it do not die, it does not fructify, so likewise for man to rise again impassible, im- mortal and glorious, he must mortify himself and die ; for if he does not mortify himself, he will not rise again impassible, immortal, and glorious. And I have already stated, and that fret^uently, that man mortifies himself by 288 I. CORINTHIANS XV. 35-38. believing in, thinking upon, and exercising himself in, the things which he believes, just as he quickens himself by loving, by thinking upon, and by practising those things which he loves. In saying, " with what body will they come," he means, with what body will they rise again. The word "fool" is here synonymous with senseless and ignorant. By saying, " is not quickened," he means, does not spring up. By what St. Paul here says, " and sown," the Greek text is av 6meipei<;. " What thou sowest," ^ but he is clearer when he says, " and sowing." In saying, " that shall be," he means, that will spring up. When he says, " but God giveth it a body," he means, that it is an operation of the will of God, and it depends thereupon that the grain sown do spring up. In saying, " and to every seed its own body, as it hath pleased God," he means, that wheat springs from wheat, and that millet springs from millet, and so of all other seeds, wrought by God's will. 1 Don Luis Uaoz y Rio appends to his reprint of the Spanish, a note wherein he states that Valdfes' Commentary does not correspond with the translated text. It is known to be a fact that Valdfes first translated it other- wise, corresponding with the Commentary ; and having subsequently altered the version, which is literal, he has not accommodated the Commentary to it. In the similitude, the Apostle seeks his proof in the figure of the grain of wheat, which, buried or committed to the earth, is changed, and does not ultimately spring up identically the same, but is the parent of that which comes forth, of the body which has to spring up. But the simile is not to be strained to the utmost ; it is, as Valdfes rightly gives us to understand, only applicable as between the grain committed to the earth, and the plant when flourishing ; for the Apostle treats of the capacity or possibility which exists, or is involved, in human organization, to produce a more sublime corporeity, not considered abstractly without the Spirit, but as ultimately identified with it. As to the expression, " lo semirado 6 lo que sembras, Anglice, that which is sovm, or, tJuU which thou sowest," Heidenreich expounds it well thus : quod seininas quodcutique id sit, non seminas certe plantam nascituram [that which thou sowest, whatever it may be, is assuredly not the plant that shall spring up]. I. CORINTHIANS XV. 39-42. 289 XV. 39-42. — Not all flesh is the same flesh : but there is one kind of flesh of men, another of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and bodies terres- trial : but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars ; for even one star differeth from another star in glory. So also shall it be at the resurrection of the dead," St. Paul, not content with having opened up the way, by the simile of the seed-corn, for our apprehension of the mode in which our bodies, laying aside passibility and corruptibility and assuming incorruptibility and impassi- bility, shall rise again, says, " not all flesh is the same flesh" meaning, that just as not all the flesh which we see is of the same quahty, since man's flesh differs from that 'of beasts, &c., so likewise the flesh of the body resuscitated will differ from that of the unresuscitated body, for this is passible, mortal, and corruptible, whilst the other will be impassible and incorruptible. And he adds, " there are also bodies celestial and terrestrial;" meaning, that just as the bodies of celestial creatures differ from the bodies of terrestrial creatures, so likewise bodies that have been resuscitated will difier from bodies that have not been resuscitated. He enhances this difference still more by saying, " there is one glory of the sun and another glory of the moon" &c. By asserting that there exists a diff'erence in excellency even amongst the celestial bodies, he enhances it yet much more by adding, "/or even one star differeth from another in glory'' By establishing a difference as existing even amongst the heavenly bodies, which are, one might say, of the same nature, in order that we may be the more easily brought to comprehend how very great wiU be the difference between the bodies we shall have when resuscitated, from those which we now have, neither T 290 /. CORINTHIANS XV. 39-42, dead nor resuscitated. St. Paul's aim in all this is to reply satisfactorily to the question which he put to himself, saying in verse 35, "Sow are the dead raised up, and with what body will they come ? " And he sums it up by saying, " so shall it ie at the resur- rection of the dead," meaning, that the mode of being of our bodies then, from the mode of being which they have now, will differ as much as the mode of existence of the grain of wheat, decomposed under the soil, differs from that which subsequently springs up. And as amongst terrestrial bodies, the character of the flesh of one differs from that of an- other ; and as the nature of terrestrial bodies differs from that of celestial bodies ; and as among celestial bodies they differ each from the other ; and as aipongst celestial bodies which are, one might say, of the same nature, some differ from others in their mode of existence. By their (" ser " *) mode of existence, nature, or character, he means their dignity and excellence. This apprehen- sion of it pleases me much better than other views which I formerly held to be good. Hot, however, that I deny that -in the resurrection some bodies will differ from others in glory, dignity, and excellence ; for I understand that the glory of the resurrection will correspond to the degree of m,ortification and vivification with which the Christian shall depart this life. And it appeal's to he right, that they, who shall depart this life most like Christ, shall rise to the life eternal most like Christ, and consequently be more excel- lent, more illustrious, and more glorious. By " celestial bodies," he means the sun, the moon, and the stars, as he himself declares. And " by glory," he means excellence, dignity, and per- fection. And St. Paul, proceeding to declare his views still further, as also to apply his similitudes, and especially that one of the seed-corn, says : 1 The observations in preceding note are applicable here, for " ser " is not in Valdfe' text. Vide p. 288. /. CORINTHIANS XV. 44-46. 291 XV. 42-44. — 'It is sown in corruption, it will be raised in incorruption ; it is sown in dis- honour, it will be raised in glory : it is sown in weakness, it will be raised in power : it is sown an animal body, it will be raised a spiritual body. Meaning that the human body, that of every man, at its^ burial is corruptible, is vile, is weak, and is only ani-^ mated. And that the body, which will be resuscitated, will be incorruptible, will be glorious, will be energetic, and will be spiritual. ^ In reference to which I tinderstand that because these our bodies are, from their mode of existence animal, I mean quickened by the vital breath, it follows, that they , are corruptible, vile, and weak ; and that because the bodies, with which we shall be resuscitated, are, from their mode of existence, spiritual, I mean quickened by the Holy Spirit, it will follow that they will be incorruptible, glorious, and endued with energy. To say, as the Apostle here does, " that it is sown in corruption," is just as though he should say : That which we sow in this present life, when our bodies are laid in the earth, is corruption,^a thing that decomposes. So that " it is sown " is equivalent to " we sow ; " and the expression "in corruption" is equivalent to corruption. The same is to be understood in the expression, "it will ie raised in incorruption," and the particle "in" is without import, — a mere Hebraism. St. Paul was a Jew, and although he spoke Greek, he discovers- himself to be a Jew by his idiom. XV. 44-46. — There is an animal body, and there is a spiritual body, even as it is written : The first man Adam was made with a living soul ; the last Adam' with a quickening Spirit. Howbeit 292 I. CORINTHIANS XV. 47-49- that was not first wliicli is spiritual, but that which is animal, and afterward that which is spiritual. Confirming what he has stated that the body sown is animated or animal, and that the body raised up again will be spiritual, the Apostle proceeds to state that it is a fact, and to prove it by Scripture, that the body sown is animal or animated, because Adam's was so. And he then states that Christ, who is the last Adam, is the Spirit who vivifies. And when he adds, " hoiobeit that was not first which is spiritual" he means, that just as Adam came first into the world before Christ, so the animated or animal within us, which we receive from Adam, is first, and precedes the spiritual, which we receive from Christ. These bodies, animated with vital breath (living souls), which we have in this present life, we receive from Adam ; and these same bodies, no longer animated with vital breath, but quickened by the Holy Spirit, which we shall have in the life eternal, we shall receive from Christ. By an "animal body," he means a body with vital breath. And by " a spiritual iody," he means a body quickened by the Holy Spirit. Where he says, " even as it is written," he means in verse the seventh of the second chapter of Genesis. Where he says, '' with a living soul," he means with a soul that lived. And where he says, "with a quickening Spirit," he means with the Holy Spirit, who quickens by making the body to be spiritual. As to what St. Paul means by calling Christ the last Adam, I remit myself to what is stated on Eomans v. , XV. 47-49- — The first man is of the earth, earthy : the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy : and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are /. CORINTHIANS XV. 47-49. 293 heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. St. Paul, persistently persuading these Corinthians of the resurrection of our bodies, proceeds to expound what he has stated as to the groundwork of the resurrection, which consists in Christ, as the origin of the death of our mortal frame consists in Adam. And thus he says," the first man is of the earth earthy ;" meaning, that as the first man Adam, in being made of the earth, was earthy, — his flesh turning to and being con- verted into earth, so we, as Adam's descendants, being earthy, turn to and are converted into earth. And just as the second Adam, Jesus Christ our Lord, is from heaven and heavenly, so likewise they, who shall depart this present life incorporated into Him, will be heavenly. He declares the second man to be Christ by subjoining the word " Lord." What St. Paul knew in relation to Christ's being heavenly, at the time he wrote this, maybe more readily felt and conceived than either written or uttered ; and I hold this to be one of the things that St. Paul discoursed of with the perfect, it being no food for the imperfect, "Where he says, "and as we have home the image of the earthy" he means, as, in this present life, we bear the likeness and image of Adam, and not that in which God created it, but that which he acquired by his depravity, being earthy like him, with bodies passible and mortal, and with minds rebellious, disobedient, and prone to evil ; so, in the life eternal, we shall bear the image and likeness of Christ, that which He wrought after His resurrection, we, becoming heavenly and divine like Christ, with bodies that will be impassible and immortal, and with minds that will be pious, holy, and just. We, who are members of Christ, begin even in this present life to bear the 294 I- CORINTHIANS XV. 50. image of Christ, but in our minds, they becoming pious, holy, and righteous, not through our own piety, holiness, and righteousness, but through the piety, holiness, and righteousness of Christ. And in the life eternal we shall also bear the image of Christ, in that the body will become impassible and im- mortal; and by the recovery of Christ's image in the mind we are assured that we shall recover it in the body. They, who are not members of Christ, do not recover Christ's image in the mind, and doubt whether they wUl ever recover it in the bodyj and hence they deny the resurrection of the dead. XV. 50. — Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God : neither will corruption inherit incorruption. St. Paul makes it evident, by this passage, that from the time that he, treating the subject in a familiar manner, began to lay down the difference between animal and spiritual bodies, his design has been to warn every one that nobody may think of attaining unto, or inheriting the kingdom of God, whilst he shall be flesh and blood ; he means with the animal body, which has to be de- stroyed ere the spiritual can come ; neither let him think of attaining incorruption, unless he first divest and strip himself of corruption. This stripping is begun with mortification, and is finished by death. I mean, that as a man progresses in self-mortification, so he goes on to strip off corruption ; and that in dying he wholly divests him- self of it, and thus when he rises again he inherits incorruption. That by "Jlesh and hlood" Holy Scripture means man, in the mode of existence which he has as man, appears from what Christ said to St. Peter, "flesh and hlood hath not revealed it unto thee." And because St. Paul employs it so in Galatians i. 16, and in Ephesians vi. 12, I even un- I. CORINTHIANS XV. 51, 52. 295 derstand the Jewish writers, the Talmudists, also to use this mode of speaking. And having stated that flesh and blood shall not inherit the Kingdom of God, and that neither shall corruption inherit incorruption, he proceeds to state in what manner we men have to inherit this Kingdom of God, and this incorruption ; and thus he says : XV. 51, 52. — Behold, I shew you a mystery; ■we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump ; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. St. Paul gives what he states in these words importance by calling it a mystery or secret. Which is this, that though it be granted that death, or to die, will not occur to all — since they will be exempted therefrom, who shall be living when Christ shall come — change or renovation will occur to all; for the dead shall rise again changed from corruption to incorruption, whilst the living will be changed, without passing through death, and they will be renewed from corruption to incorruption : and he states that both the resurrection of the dead and the change of the living will be wrought in a moment. This is what St. Paul means by these words. And they appear to harmonize with those which are recited in the Belief, or Apostles' Creed, " When He shall come to judge both the quick and the dead." The mode in which this change will be wrought upon the quick we shall know when it occurs to us, should God of His grace vouchsafe us to experience it. Now, it fully suffices us to understand, that it appears that St. Paul hoped to experience it, and that he desired that Christians should live in the same hope : and we understand that to long 296 /. CORINTHIANS XV. 53-56. for that day, to find one's self a quickened man on that day, to enjoy the change without passing through death, is, as a proof of reconciliation with God, a good sign. " We shall not all sleep " is equivalent to we shall not all die. I have already said that Holy Scripture, when speaking of the death of the righteous, does not call it death, but sleep. In saying "changed," he means transformed from a corruptible, passible, and mortal state of being, to one that is incorruptible and immortal. Where he says, " in an instant, in a moment," the Greek says ev aTo/xqi, in a period of time which for brevity is indivisible. And. " in a twinkling of an eye,'' rendered in the Greek piiry, the meaning is the same. - Where he says, "for the trumpet shall soimd," the Greek word is o-aXTTfo-et, which has that meaning ; and he means that trumpet which he had mentioned. In saying "and we," he means those of us who, shall then be found alive. It is truly worthy of much consideration, that God has been pleased to keep the time of the resurrection and of the renovation of all things so hidden. XV. 53-56. — For this corruptible must put on in- corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incor- ruption, and this mortal shall have put on immor- tality ; then shall the vrord be brought to pass that is written, " Death is swallowed up in victory." death, where is thy sting ? hell (grave), where is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the Law. Having stated that the dead shall rise again incor- ruptible, and that the living shall be changed, he pro- I. CORINTHIANS XV. 53-56. 297 ceeds to say that it is right and necessary that this be so. In saying, " this corruptible, and this mortal" he means these corruptible bodies, and these mortal bodies. And he states, that at the time when this shall come to pass, that Scripture will be fulfilled, that neither shall death be victorious in slaying, since men will then cease to be mortal ; nor shall hell (the grave) be victorious in detention, for men will then have ceased to be corruptible, for they will then be clad with immortality and with incorruption. Where he says, "the word that is written," he might say The thing that is written, according to the idiom of the Hebrew. These words are attributed to Hosea xiii. 14. I rejoice in finding them elsewhere (as in Isaiah xxv. 8). In saying, "death is swallowed wp in victory" he means, that which previously was death is now become victory, as though he should say : Victory has devoured death. That, " death, where is thy sting 1 " is spoken as triumphing over death. I have to state the same of that other, " hell (grave), where is thy victory ? " And by aZr), Hades or hell, he possibly means the grave, such a mode of speaking being a Hebraism. In saying, " the sting of death is sin!' he means that the weapon with which death kills is sin ; because death entered by sin. And when he says, that " the strength of sin is the Law',' he means, that just as death is mighty through sin, so likewise sin is mighty through the Law : for where there is no Law there is no transgression nor sin ; and where there is no sin there is no death. Had God not imposed Law upon the first man, he never could have broken it ; and had he not broken it, he had not sinned ; and had he not sinned, he would not have been con- demned to death with all his descendants. Here it is to be understood that Christ in rising again began to vanquish death, hell, and the grave ; and that at the resurrection of the just, Christ will triumph entirely 298 1 I. CORINTHIANS XV, 57, 58. and fully over all, death, hell, and the grave : for death shall nevermore kill, nor shall hell and the grave longer keep back or detain. By these words did St. Paul persuade these Corinthians of the resurrection of our bodies, and they are perfectly adequate to persuade those, who have had their minds vivified, and who are conscious that they are so ; because, as I have said, when they find that they have recovered the image of Christ in their minds, they are assured that they will recover it also in their bodies. They, who shall be without experimental vivification and recovery of Christ's image, will also be without assurance of the resurrection ; for with these no arguments are adequate. St. Paul does not speak here of the resurrection of the wicked, for his design is restricted to assure the resurrec- tion of the just ; who, being members of Christ, have died upon the Cross with Christ, and have risen again glorious with Christ ; God holding them all to be as dead and to be as raised up, since Christ has died and has risen again, as Christ Himself. The effect of death is experienced in mortification, and the effect of the resurrection is experienced in vivification. I mean, that since I experience inward mortification, I know that I have died with Christ; and that since I experience inward vivification, I know that I have risen again with Christ. XV. 57, 58. — But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. St. Paul, having spoken of the victory wherewith Christ will triumph over sin, death, and hell, and knowinc^ and I. CORINTHIANS XV. 57, 58. 299 feeling that Christ's victory is ours, because we are incor- porated into Christ, proceeds to say, " hut thanks le to God, who giveth us the victory ; " recognizing, as do all, who inwardly feel it, that the -victory over sin, death, and hell, is obtained of God's bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. In saying, " therefore, hrethren," he means, now since, it is so that, we get these victories through God's bounty and through Jesus Christ, mind you be constant (steadfast), firm and strong in faith, never being dissevered from it ; be you immovable, not easily moved in the direction in which you will be tempted to go by your affections and your lusts. Where he says, " ever abounding in the work of the Lord," he means, that when they are constant (steadfast) and immovable, they will increase in the work which Christ works in them, in transforming their minds in the present life into conformity with His own, and in pre- paring them for the transformation of their bodies in the life eternal, where they will be' made like unto His own, — glorious, impassible, and immortal. Where he says, "forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" he means, you ought to be so much the more attentive to this which I tell you, by how- much the more you know, that the labour, which you will put into it, will not be in vain, it being in Christ. Were it in ourselves it might be in vain, but, it being in Christ it cannot be in vain. And I understand that,, -we work in Christ, when we are incorporated into Christ, because we work as members of Christ. And all they who work, being without the pale of this incorporation, work in themselves. They, who labour, being in doubt as to the fruit of their labour,- not knowing whether it will be in vain or not, resemble men who ser-\^e a master, not knowing whether their services are acceptable to the master or not,; who either think ill of their own services, or who think ill of their master. 300 /. CORINTHIANS XV. 57, 38. Whilst they who labour, heing confident as to the fruit of their labour, knowing that it will not be in vain, resemble those, who serve a master, assured that their services please their master, because they think well of their services, and think well of their master. These are zealous in their services, they are diligent and they are fervent, whilst the others in their labours are careless, are negligent, and are remiss. Therefore it is his duty who labours for Christ, to be convinced that his labours are fruitful, being acceptable to God, as are all things that proceed from Jesus Christ our Lord. I. CORINTHIANS XVI. 301 CHAPTER XVI. 1-7. XVI. 1-7. — As to the collection to be made for the saints, even as I have ordered the churches of Galatia, so also do ye. Upon the first day of every week, let each one of you lay aside as store, what- ever he shall think right, that there be no collections when I come. And when I shall come, whomsoever you shall approve by your letters, them will I send to. carry your grace unto Jerusalem. And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me. For I certainly will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia : for I have to pass through Macedonia. And it may be that I abide, yea, and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey, whithersoever I go. For I will not see you now by the way, but I trust to tarry awhile with you, if the Lord permit. It has been already stated in Eomans xv. 25, 26, that famine prevailing in Jerusalem, and the Christians who dwelt there suffering. with want, it was determined that St. Paul and Barnabas, who were engaged in an itinerary- ministry to the Gentiles, should studiously endeavour to collect alnis, whilst on their journey, to send to them at Jerusalem. St. Paul then, in carrying out this order, ad- monishes these Corinthians how they ought to proceed to collect these alms, which he calls gleanings [the word Xoyia, or collection, having in its primary.sense the meaning of the 302 1. CORINTHIANS XVI. 1-7. binding together of a sheaf of corn], for they were collected from those who gave them, and they were set apart. In saying, " upon the first day of the week," he describes the order he had established in the churches of Galatia. And " by the first day of the week," it may be that he may mean the iirst day of the week, according to Hebrew phraseology, which will make no change in the reckoning. By " laying aside," it appears that he means, what the Christian gives to relieve the necessities of Christians, he lays it aside. And in saying, " whatever shall seem to him, to he right," he means that, which he shall be able to give without bringing himself to want. Where he says, " to carry your grace," he means to bear your alms, that which in your liberality you shall have given. And here it is worthy of observation that St. Paul calls liberality grace, in order that we may understand what he means, when he uses the term grace, in connection with God's dealings with us. In saying, " that ye may bring me on my journey" he means, that ye may provide for my journey. And in saying, " whithersoever I may have to go" he shows that he did not deliberate, for he knew that he was not to follow his own deliberations, but the movement of the, Holy Spirit. And all they, who are the children of God, do so too, being ruled and governed by the Spirit of God. And St. Paul shows himself to have been actu- ated by this very dependence upon the movements of the Holy Spirit, by saying, '' if the Lord permit." Men, who depend upon themselves, upon their own opinions and upon their own views, say, occasionally, " if God will," but they say it from habit, and speaking under constraint; meaning, unless there occur to me some obstacle, I will do so and so, being inwardly convinced that that particular thing is good, either for themselves or for other persons. Whilst persons, who depend upon God and upon Christ, and upon the government of the Holy Spirit, constantly I. CORINTHIANS XVI. 8-11. 303 say, " if it shall please God" not meaning, if no obstacle shall occur, but if the thing which I wish to do shall be pleasipg to God, and if it shall be useful to me, and to the Gospel.(cause) ; for they fear, lest they might deceive them- selves in that whereupon they deliberate, in the exercise of their own opinions, and of their own views. And they feel most assured, that in remitting the execution of their deliberations to God, He will not suffer them to do any- thing but that which shall be acceptable to His Divine Majesty. XVI. 8-1 T. — But I have to tarry at Ephesus imtil Pentecost. For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries. Now if Timothy come, see that he be with you without fear : for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do. Let no man therefore despise him : but conduct him forth in peace, that he may come unto me : for I look for him with the brethren. In Greek the word irevTriKoaTT] is the same as the Latin quinquagesima, meaning the fiftieth day: so that St. Paul may mean, I shall remain in Ephesus until the fiftieth day. But in good truth, I think that St. Paul means, I shall remain in Ephesus until the day of Pente- cost, not indeed that he should keep that feast which was then held by the Jews [Lev. xxiii. 15. The Hellenistic Jews, before our Saviour's time, used IlevTrjKoaTri, for the feast of Pentecost], neither that these Corinthians should keep it, nor was it because that our feast of Pentecost had been already instituted, but because he employed that i^ame, as indicating a given day, just as if a Jew in writing to a Moor should say, I shall be in Sicily until Christmas^ or until Shrove Tuesday. "Where he says, "for a great door and effectual is opened unto me," he means, I purpose remaining there so long, for 304 /. CORINTHIANS XVI. 8-11. I know that God has disposed the hearts of many to accept the grace of the Gospel. This is what I understand him to mean, in having what he calls a great and effectual door opened. I understand that he knew this by divine in- spiration ; and that which he adds, " and there are many adversaries" is what always follows, where there are many that follow after Christ, then there are many who persecute them. Had St. Paul, in preaching at Ephesus, had no one who would accept the Gospel, neither would there have been any one who would have persecuted St. Paul. And had there been but few who accepted it, there had been but few- persecutors, but because there were many who accepted it, there were necessarily many who persecuted and contradicted it. We experience this amongst our- selves daily, if we but open our eyes a little to consider it. . This Timothy was St. Paul's f avotrite disciple, he whom he loved, prized, and esteemed. And by what he says, " see. that he he with you without fear" it may be under- stood that this is what he desired to express in the second chapter of this Epistle, where he says to these Corinthians, " he was in great fear amongst them" for it seems that St. Paul in this passage expressed the fear that those Corinthians, who were opposed to him, might maltreat Timothy for the reason that he was so beloved by St. Paul. And it appears, that it was under this fear, and from a desire to place him in security, that he commended him to these Corinthians. Whence it may well be, that this was the peculiar fear which St. Paul laboured under upon his first visit to Corinth. In saying, "for he works the Lord's work" he means, Timothy preaches Christ, working as a Christian, as do I. Where he says, " lut conduct him forth in ■peace," he means, without contending with, or disquieting, him. And in saying, " witJi, the brethren" he means with the 'Christians, who were attached to, and who accompanied, him. I. CORINTHIANS XVI. 13, 14. 305 XVI. 1 2. — As to our brother ApoUos, I earnestly requested him to go unto you with the brethren, but it was not at all his will to go at this time ; however, he will go when he shall find it con- venient. This ApoUos is the same person who has been mentioned in this Epistle. Where he says, "as to our brother ApoUos," he is to he understood as saying, I would have you know, or. something similar. XVI. 13, 14. — Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men : be strong. Let everything amongst you be done with charity. This admonition is needed by all, and at all times. I understand, that " they watch," who are always self- vigilant, who never are self-negligent, ever maintaining cordial union with God. I understand, that they " stand fast in the faith," who, holding it to be certain that they have remission of their sins through Christ, hold them- selves to be reconciled with God, and have peace in their consciences. And I understand, that " they quit themselves like men," who stand solid and firm against outward assaults, and those inward ones, whereby they are tempted to depart from the faith ; I do not speak merely of confes- sion of faith, but likewise of assurance of their reconcilia- tion, through faith. I understand, moreover, that "they strengthen themselves," who mortify their affections and lusts, acting as a good governor of a fortress, a Castellan, would do, who ejects those from his castle, whom he sus- pects might act treacherously towards him, by betraying it into the enemies' hands. So that we watch, when we remain united to God ; we stand fast in the faith, when we hold ourselves to be reconciled with God; we quit ourselves like men, when being assaulted we do not u 3o6 /. CORINTHIANS XVI. 17-21. yield as vanquished; and we stand strong, when we mortify self. Where he says, " let everything that concerTis you "be done in love" he lays down a general rule, meaning, that it is Christian duty to aim in everything at the edification of Christians, because love moves and prompts to this. They, who love themselves, do everything iii a carnal manner, acting from self-love and self-interest. Whilst they, who love God, do everything in love ; being moved to do so by the love they have to God, and for the benefit of those who love God, or who may be brought back to love God. XVI. IS, 1 6^. — You know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first-fruits of Achaia, and that they have constituted themselves ministers to the saints. I beseech you, brethren, that ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth and that laboureth. As though he should say: Besides this, I ask you, brethren, that since you know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first in Achaia which has accepted the grace of the Gospel, and since you know that all they, who constitute its house- hold, have devoted themselves to serve Christian saints, that you not only respect them, but generally all those who shall be with them, who assist them, who labour in the Christian cause, they likewise workin". St. Paul clearly shows with what zeal he affected the Christian cause, by desiring, that they, who assisted and favoured it, should be esteemed and held in high respect. In saying, "the first-fruits of Achaia," he means those, who, in that land, were the first, who had accepted the grace of the Gospel. XVI. 17-21. — I am glad of the coming of Stephanas, of Fortunatus, and of Achaicus : for, that /. CORINTHIANS XVI. 17-21. 307 ■which was lacking on your part, they have supplied. For they have refreshed my spirit and yours : therefore recognize ye them that are such. The Churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, as does the church that is in their house. All the brethren , salute you. Salute ye one another with a holy kiss. My salutation, with mine own hand, Paul. It appears that these three, whom he here names, Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, had been sent by the Church of Corinth to St. Paul to communicate with him respecting the things upon which he has written in this Epistle, of which it appears that they were the bearers ; they went with the message and they returned with the answer. St Paul says that he had been cheered by their coming, by their presence, for such is the proper meaning of the Greek word. And where he says, "for they have mipplied that which was lacking on your fart," he means, for these have sup- plied, in relation to myself and to you by their coming, that which was lacking through my being absent from you, and through your being absent from me ; agreeing with what St. Paul himself declares when he says, "for they have refreshed my spirit and yours ; " mine in that they brought me your news, and showing that you desired to obey me ; and yours with this letter which will be borne to you, and with what more they will tell you as from me. In saying " my spirit," he means my mind. That, " my salutation with my own hand, Paul," appears to be after this fashion, that the whole of the Epistle havinf been written by another person, an amanuensis, he added that word " salutation " in his own autograph ; and that he afterwards added " with my own hand" and that he declared it, adding " Paul" by way of confirming 3o8 I. CORINTHIANS XVI. 22-24. all the contents of the Epistle. Everything else that he states here is understood by that which is expounded in the sixteenth cliapter of Eomans, XVI. 22-24. — He that does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema, Maran atha. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. I understand every word of this text or passage to have been written by St. Paul's own hand; who, it appears, having affixed his own name for confirmation of what is therein stated, added these words by way of menace to those Corinthians, who severed themselves from what they owed to Christian love or charity, thereby witnessing con- cerning themselves that they did not love Christ, because had they loved Him, they would have lived in Christian charity, as it behoves Christians. In saying, " he that loves not the Lord Jesus Christ," he means whosoever does not love Him. The expression, " Anathema, Maran atha," is understood by some in one mode, and by others in another : the one and the other proceed like a man, who amuses himself with surmises, seeking out the meaning of words, of which the one, " Anathema," is Greek, and concerning this we have already spoken. And it is said that the words " Maran atha " are Syriac or Chaldee, and mean, at the coming of our Lord, or, that our Lord has to come. I, without seeking out the meaning of the words, understand St. Paul to mean the same, as I should, were I to say, " Whoever loves not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him he accursed and excommunicated;" and these words appear to have been spoken somewhat passionately. In saying, "the grace of the Lord Jesus," I under- stand him to say, be the Spirit, with all the other divine treasures that are in Christ, communicated to and dis- tributed amongst you. And this communication or dis- I. CORINTHIANS XVI. 2^-24. 309 tribution I understand him to call " grace," because that in their communication and in their distribution there is no reference to anything save only to the will of God ; and thus they are not rewards but as gifts, not as recom- pense but as grace, from a gracious liberality. "Where he says, " my love he with you all," I understand him to say, I pray God that you all may become such as I wish you, and that you may love each other in Christ Jesus, you and I being members of Christ, and being in- corporated into Him. The " Amen " serves by way of confirmation of all that has been said. At present I understand of this Epistle but that which I have expounded. But I hope that as my experience in spiritual and divine things increases, I shall acquire more of the views held by St. Paul at the time that he wrote this, and that thus I shall understand him better, and then I will supply that wherein I have failed now. We are men, and our insight and knowledge of human things is greater on one day than on another, how much more so in divine things, into which we see but as much as we are enlightened with the illumination of the Holy Spirit, which is communicated to us by Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom b3 glory for evermore. Amen. The First Epistle to the Corinthians was sent from Philippi, committed to Stephanas, to Eortunatus, to Achaicus, and to Timothy. THE END. INDEX. Apostles, marks of false,' 8i. Apostleship, seal and sign of, 152. Assurance, 72, 166, 170, 305. of resurrection, 267. Atonement, 31. Baptism, 2, 10-12, 108, 171, 221. Benefit of Christ, 71. Burial, by baptism, 2. Gbeemonies, sources of discord, 1 1. Christ's kingdom, what it is, 77. second coming, 278, 295. Christians should bear Christ's name and no other, 10. Christ, likeness to, 290, 298. Church of God, what it is, 201. holy Catholic, what it is, 218. Confession made at baptism, 12. Considerations (ex.) referred to, 39, 280, 294. Covenant, new, 202. Cross of Christ, definition of, 14, 22, so- Cross of Christ, wisdom, 22. to whom it is absurd, 15. efficacy of, 15, 21. Curiosity, self-esteem, 12. reading from, 170. Day of judgment, 5, 177. Death, experience of, 280. Discords, 9. Disunion, 263. Election, 164. for Christ, 169. Faith, 216. in Christ saves, 59. justifies, 234. Final perseverance, 6. General pardon, 4, 31, 109. Giulia Gonzaga, letter prefixed to Komans, 192. Glory of God, 189. Gospel preached, whereof it con- sists, 265. Grace of God the source of power in Paul's ministry, 271. Holy Scripture not to be read from curiosity, 26. Holy Scripture, interpretation of, by prophecy, 245. Holy Scriptures, 13, 170. Holy Spirit, importance of having, 41, 160. Holy Spirit, government of, 1 74. effectual working of, 217. when and why withheld, 217. quickens, 291. Holy Spirit's movements, 302. Humility, 28.. Image and likeness of God and of Christ, 65, 136, 185, 192, 294. Imitation of God and of Christ, 191, Incorporation into Christ, 14, 16, 25, 26, 31, 65, 68, 72, 221, 267, 276, 293, 299. Inspiration, divine, 87, 89, 190. Jcstipication through Christ, 109, 163. 312 Kingdom of Christ, 77. Knowledge by vision, classified, 241. of Christ, 61, 62. of God, 4, 7, 28, 61, 62. of God through Christ, 286. Known of God, 144. Liberty, Christian, 80. Lord's Supper, 208. Love, 143, 231, 236. Maean atha, the Lord has to come, 308. Members of Christ, who are so, 2. Mortification, 15, 21, 31, 62, 65, 95, 99, 108, 134, 167, 170, 287, 290, 294, 298. Mortification of human cmiosity, 62. Mysteries, divine, defined, 67, 70. Pabdon, general, 4, 30, 52, 55, 97, 109. Passover, Christ's, continuous, 99. Paul, St., his personal pre-eminence, 85, 86. Peace of conscience, 7, IS> 2I> ^^i 77- Perfection, Christian, 166. Persecution, denounced, 270. Power of God in Christ, how re- cognized, 22. Preaching of Gospel, 12, 30. to be gauged by power and not by eloquence, 87. Psalms, commentary upon, 207. INDEX. QniOKEHTNG, 288. Redemption, 27. Regeneration, 73, 98, 146. Resurrection, 68, 264. of the just, 298. Righteousness of Christ, 2. Romans, commentary on, 2, 150, 277, 292. Saints, who are, 2. Sanctification through Christ, 109. Scandal, I Jo, 187-190. Scruples and superstitions, 150. Secrets of God, 39, 233. Sects, 10, 199. Sectarian, 79, 84. Self-love, 175, 185, 236-7, 306. SeK-will, 259. Speaking in public, 260. Superstition, sign of weakness, ISO. Temptation, 179. Testimony of Christ, 4. Union, Christian, 51, 263. with God powerful, 95. Vivifioation, 290, 298. Word of God, 146. Worldly wisdom, 1 2 . Works, 58. I-RINTED BV UALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. EDINBURGH AND LONDON. DANIELIS ROGERIJ EPIGRAMMA IN TUMULUM JO. JUELLI. DE VAEIARUM REGION0M PUEIOEIBUS THEOLOGIS Preedicet assidu6 divinum Martyra Tuscus : Calvinuinq. suum Gallia in astra ferat. Jactet et extollat Germana Melancthona tellus : Lutherum et parili semper honore vehat. Neo Buoere tuos oblivisoatur honores Bonca, tuo summum nomine nacta decus. Zuinglius Helvetijs seterntim vivat in oris ; Et Bullingerum gens Tigurina colat. Inclyta Sarmaticas sit Alasci fama per nrbes : Boihemis Hussus concelebretur agris. Clara sit Hemmingi Danis industria terria : Illustris Sootica Knoxius extet humo. Valdesio Hispanus scripiore superhiat orhis .• Hyperium et meritd carmine Belga citet. Quseq. sui regie nomen doctoris honoret, In prasceptores sitq. benigna sues. At Doctore suo te gaudeat Anglia felix, Vnum pro cunctis teq. Juelle canat. Extracted from Lawrence Humphrey's "Life and Death of John Jewell, Bishop of Salisbury," &C, Published by John Day, a.d. 1573. LIVES OF THE TWIN BROTHERS JUAN AND ALFONSO DE VALDfiS., EDWARD BOEHMER, D.D., Ph.D., EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF STRASDURG, CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE SPANISH ACADEMY. Extracted from the BiMiotheca Wiffeniana, with the Author's Additions on Recent Discoveries of Valdes' Works, WITH INTRODUCTION BY THE EDITOR, JOHN T. BETTS, Op C C. C. Oxon. Member of Lincoln's Inn. LONDON: TRUBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL. EALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. EDINfiURGH AND LONDON INTEODUCTION. The Editor, engaged in publishing the works of Juan de Valdds in English, anticipates that the interest of the public mil be concentrated upon Juan exclusively, and conceives the surprise that wiU be felt by the reader, who, desirous of learning the story of our author's life, finds Professor Boehmer bringing forward the lives of the twins, which have been so blended and confused by different writers, that they were held to have failed to present them distinctly apart. The reader has to be informed that these twins were marvellously like, each to the other, in features, in voice, and otherwise ; whilst their memory has been mystified by repeated statements that the two Christian names Juan and Alfonso belonged to but one and the same person. The late Benjamin Wiffen ^ adduced evidence that they were twins, proving Juan to have been a scholar, a courtier, a Papal chamberlain,^ and subsequently the most ' See Life and Writings of Judn de Vald^s by Benjamin B. Wiffen, with the CX Divine Considerations, translated and published by John T. Betts. London, Quariteh, 1865. ^ The post which Vald^s held at the court of Clement VII. will have been that of " Cameriere d'onore, di spada e cappa," meaning a chamberlain of honour, a secular, a layman, a post of honour involving no regular duties. See the article upon Papal Chamberlains in Moroni's Dizionario di erudizione storico-eoclesiastico, vol. vii., Venezia, 1841, p. 48. Oompasre Lunadoro's Relazione della corte di Roma, Venezia, 1 671, p. 14; where it is stated that they do not present themselves at the palace except wheil they choose to do so, and that it is usual for the Popes to send the Cardinal's hat by them to newly-appointed Cardinals. — E. B. vi' INTRODUCTION. influential reformer in Italy, and lie accepted it as an historical fact that Juan died at Naples in 1 540 ; whilst he proved Alfonso to have been from early manhood Latin Secretary to the Emperor Charles V., and a constant attendant upon him in all his progresses ; but of his death WifFen was without evidence. "We now know that Alfonso's death is vouched by Thomas Granmer's despatch to Henry VIII., given at length in the lives now published. It is also certified by his sur- viving brother in the very recently discovered letter of Juan's. This letter presents Juan wailing over Alfonso's deat,h, which, as it for ever settles the question, I hereafter append, with a notice of it in Professor Boehmer's own words. It testifies to the loving, gentle soul of Juan, and is in many respects extremely interesting, besides that of its being the only autograph letter of his extant. The knowledge of the moral character and of the social status of these brothers cannot be matter of indifference to those who read their works, for their position com- manded the best information upon every subject they discussed, and opportunity was not wasted upon men of their commanding ability. They not only knew every- thing that transpired, but they understood the facts and impulses that brought them about. Noble by birth, virtuous by discipline, diligent by habit, and the associates of the choicest spirits upon earth, expectation is naturally led to anticipate much from them, and that expectation is fully justified. Their secular works, whilst instructive, are admirable in point of style ; their devotional works, written amidst superstitious gloom and fierce Inquisitorial tyranny, blaze with evangelic light. The tone of their works is charming and ennobling, and their moral repu- tation stamps their statements with authority. If the character and influence of the works of the brothers Juan and Alfonso be such as above described, we may learn what Juan's personal influence was upon his INTRODUCTION. vii contemporaries from a statement made by Antonio Carac- ciolo in his life of Pope Paul IV.^ quoted by Dr. Gibbings. He says, " that Naples was for the first time infested with Lutheranism by German soldiers, of whom 6000 were infantry and 2000 cavalry, but Juan de Valdes alone, who arrived there in the year 1535, caused, he conceives, a far greater destruction of souls than had been effected by these many thousands of military heretics." What Juan de Valdes was to his personal friends we may learn from Giacomo Bonfadio's lament upon his death, expressed in a letter to Pietro Carnesecchi : " Where shall we go, now Signor Valdes is dead ? This has truly been a great loss for us and the world, for Signor Valdes was one of the rare men of Europe, and those writings he has left on the Epistles of Paul and the Psalms of David most amply show it. He was, without doubt, in his actions, his speech, and in all his conduct a perfect man. With but a particle of his soul he governed his frail and spare body ; with the larger part, with his pure understanding, as though out of the body, he was always raised in the contemplation of truth and of divine things. I sympathise with Messer Marc' Antonio [Flaminio], for he loved and admired him above aU others." ^ Bonfadio, an accomplished scholar, wrote the annals of Genoa; statements made in them affecting influential members of that Eepublic, prompted them by vindic- tive resentment falsely to accuse him before a criminal tribunal, which sentenced Bonfadio to death ; and he actually was beheaded. The abbot Antonio Sambuca, editing Count Mazzu- chelli's collection of Bonfadio's letters and of his other ' Vita e Gesti di Giovanni Oaraffa oiofe di Paolo IV., P.M. In folio, preserved among the Harl. MSS. Brit. Mug. ^ Bonfadio's letter is found in the Aldine edition of the Lettere Volgari di diverei nobilissimi bvoinini. In Vinegia, mdxlii. viii INTRODUCTION. compositions in prose and in verse, speaks of Bonfadio in his preface dedicated to Cardinal Querini, the librarian of the Vatican, in these terms, " Now under the authority of your protection do I present to the public Giacomo Bonfadio's works, he leing the glory of 'scholars and an honour to my country." The following extract from Dr. Gibbings is quoted ^ in order to give the reader a suitable conception of both Bonfadio's and Vald^s' friend (and Vald^s' pupil), Carne- secchi, who in connection with Vald^s is a very impor- tant personage. "Eiguccio Galluzzi,^ Historiographer - Eoyal of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, informs us that Pietro Carnesecchi, the intimate and much-loved friend of Cardinals Pole, Sadolet, and Bembo, was a member of a Florentine family of high rank, which had always followed the fortunes of the Medici. He was appointed Secretary to Pope Clement VII., one of that illustrious, race, and was afterwards Protonotary to the Apostolic See. Such superior influence did he exercise as an administrator, that it was rumoured and commonly be- lieved that he, and not his patron, wielded pontifical power. One of his preferments was an abbey in France, in which country he was countenanced and protected by Catherine de' Medici, Queen of Henry II.; he enjoyed likewise the favour of Cosmo de' Medici, on whom Pope Pius V. subsequently conferred the title of Grand Duke. After the death of Clement, being weary of protracted residence in Eome, or rather from abhorrence of the abuses of the papal court, which he could no longer restrain, he retired to his abbacy at Naples, and visited various cities in Italy, devoting himself exclusively to study and to intercourse with learned men. He was ^ Report of the Trial and Martyrdom of Pietro Carnesecchi, some time Secretary to Pope Clement VII. and Apostolic Protonotary : Dublin Uni- versity Press, 1856, p. xiii. of Introduction (a highly valued work). ^ Storia del Granducato di Toscana Firenze, 1S22. INTRODUCTION. ii thorouglily conversant with Greek and Latin literature, an eloquent speaker, and a poet. In France he was greatly- honoured; he was regarded with the utmost esteem; and in his native land especially he became the light and centre of all those who sighed and prayed for reform in the Church. Such a man could not long escape the vigilance of the Inquisitors; and the criminal process,, now divulged, discloses all the most important particulars relative to the measures adopted against him for twenty- one years (from 1546 to 1567)." Carnesecchi's letters to Giulia Gonzaga, written through a series of years, and many years before the final process, were adduced against him as evidence of fact and of sentiment, establishing his heretical dissent from Papal doctrine and of opposition to Papal decrees ; and they doubtless served the Inquisitors as- their warrant for his condemnation to the stake. Carnesecchi was called upon to justify eveiy statement and sentiment contained in these letters, expressed as they were in the confidence of friendship, especially those affecting their mutually dearest friend, Juan de Vald^s, his life and teachings. In relation to these sentiments Carnesecchi had to show that they admitted of orthodox interpretation, or failing to do so, the Inquisitors availed themselves of them, twisting them and perverting them, as bases of criminal conviction. Carnesecchi was upon the most intimate terms with Juan de Vald^s, nor was he less intimate with Giulia Gonzaga after Vald^s' death; this triple cord of mutual regard was of the strongest. Possibly no man ever lived that did more by word and by writings to teach another spiritual truth, than did Valdds for Giulia. On spiritual subjects Giulia and Carnesecchi were both Vald^s' pupils ; they both proved their spiritual loyalty to his teachings, and their own convictions, by never recanting, or receding from, them. Carnesecchi went to the stake in A 2 X INTRODUCTION. vindication of his; neither did Giulia prove recreant to hers ; death alone delivered her from the bloodthirsty tri- bunal before which she had been summoned to appear just before she expired, death thus saving her " from the evil to come." Humanity has not been illustrated by three more exalted personages. Carnesecchi's letters to Giulia have been rendered historical documents, by embodiment in Carnesecchi's process ; they reveal the soul of Vald^s so fully, so truthfully, so intimately, that he is thus better known to us, who study these documents, than he was to his contemporaries. Brought from the archives of the Inquisition at Eome by a French officer, one of Napoleon's soldiers, in sixty- six volumes, they are deposited in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, and the editor has now before him an extract of Carnesecchi's process, contained in 381 pages of printed matter, transcribed for the Italian Government,^ and edited by Count Giacomo Manzoni of Lugo. Here follows Juan de Valdds' only letter, which is thus introduced by Dr. Boehmer : — " The following letter has been discovered by Dr. Otto Waltz, Professor in the University of Dorpat, who sent me the copy he himself made, and obligingly permitted me to print it. He will shortly publish with his own annotations some inedited letters of Alfonso de Vald^s to the same Dantiscus, copied from a Dantiscan collec- tion (in which also was found this letter of Juan de Vald^s). Now, as to Dantiscus, I restrict myself to state that he was born in 1483, was three times in Spain, and died in 1548, Bishop of Ermeland, leaving much Latin verse, subsequently collected in 1764 into a volume, in which are found sacred hymns that testify to his piety. Excepting this letter of Juan de Valdds addressed to that prelate, we have no other writing in an epistolary form ' See " Miscellanea di Storia Italiana." In royal 8vo, vol. x., published at Turin in 1S70. INTRODUCTION. xi ttat is not a religious treatise. This letter is written in Latin, and is, as far as we know, the only autograph of his in existence. " This letter, highly characteristic from its most amiable and ingenuous tone, furnishes us with some interesting facts. "Since Juan himself here styles himself Alfonso's brother and twin, it is no longer possible to deny the fact. It is of greater importance still that Juan, when giving his address, states that he will be with the Pope (Clement VII.) " The letter is written from Bologna.^ The original address still remains. Dantiscus has written in his own handwriting, ' Letter of Juan de Valdes, dated Bologna, I2th January 1533.' " Ed. Boehmek. "Vienna." Beverendissimo ^ Domino ac dadissimo viro, Domino Joanni Dantisco, Episco-po Culmensi, Serenissimi Polonice Begis consiliario, Domino meo colendissimo, in Polonia. Nisi compertum haberem, prsesul amplissime, tuum animum, sic sanctissimis atque honestissimis disciplinis praeditum, ut ab illorum institute, qui non virtutem sed fortunam in hominibus diligere solent, penitus abhorreat, handquaquam hoc negotii essem aggressus, nunc autem quum meminerim te cum fratre meo Alfonso Valdesio, qui infaelicissimo quodam fato nobis ereptus est, priusquam ilium apud Csesarem locum nactus esset, amicitiam iniisse, non veritus sum meis te Uteris interpellare quibus intelli- ' See " LiTes," p. 4. ^ This letter and Boehmer'e introduction, of which I have given the chief part, first appeared in Professor Comba's "Rivista Christiana," March 1882, at Florence, without translation. The corrections of certain typo» graphical errors in that edition of the Latin text were supplied by Dr, Boehmer. — Editob. xii INTRODUCTION. geres me non geque ad fortunse bona, quae mihi ab ipso fratre testamento relicta sunt, animum adplicuisse, atque ad eorum gratiam ambiendam quos ille vel observabat lit dominos ac majores, vel diligebat ut amicos, vel amplecte- batur ut minores, ut eos ego aut venerari ut dominos, aut • observare ut majores, aut diligere ut sequales posaim, iidemque me veluti illius fratrem ac gemellum, cui natura eadem faciei lineamenta eundemque vocis sonitum est elargita, amplectantur ac diligant ; licet enim animi dotes, quae ille Dei Optimi Maximi beneficio erat assecutus, in me non seque atque in iUo inveniantur, non ideo ab iis, quibus carus erat frater, sum despiciendus, quando non ut me mea causa, sed fratris potius me amplectantur peto. Quum itaque, amplissime preesul, te ille semper ut ma- jorem observaverit, tuque ilium semper ut amicum dile- xeris amplexatusque sis, sequum erit ut tu hujus erga eum amoris et benevolentise me hseredem facias, id quod tum te fecisse existimabo quum aliquid mihi in quo meum erga te animum meamque spontaneam servitutem ostendere possim injunxeris. Cseterum si tam cari amici jactura k' te aliquid quod chartis commissum sic extorsit, illud, quidquid f uerit, ad • me mittas obsecro, ut hoc amoris tui symbolo acerbissimum meum dolorem nonnunquam lenire ac mitigare possim. Ut autem quo literas tuas ad me mandare debeas, scias, me apud Summum Pontificem futu- rum scito ; ubi si quid fuerit quod ad te quomodocunque pertineat, mihi committes id quod mihi quidem honorifi- centissimum ac jucundissimum erit. Bene vale, amplis- sime praesul, et me Alfonsi Valdesii loco ama. BoNONij;, XII. Janimrii mdxxxiii. Dominationis Tuae Eeverendissimae subditissimus clientulus Joannes Valdesius. INTRODUCTION. Tbanslation. To the most reverend and highly learned Master John Dan- tiscus, Bishop of Gulm, Counsellor of his most Serene Majesty the King of Poland, my much-revered Lord, in Poland. Had I not the certainty, most honoured master, that thy mind is so moulded by the most sacred and by the most virtuous teachings, so as to be wholly averse to the principles of those, who are wont to love a man, not for his ability, but for his fortunes, I assuredly should not have taken this step ; now, however, when I recollect that thou wert intimate with my brother, Alfonso Valdes, who by sad fate has been carried off from us, before that he attained that post about the Emperor's person, I feel no hesitation in addressing myself to thee by letter, in order that thou mightest thereby understand that my mind is not so intent upon attaining the property bequeathed me under my brother's will, as upon conciliating their favour, whom he looked up to as his masters and superiors, or whom he loved as friends, or whom he cherished as his inferiors ; that I may be able either to venerate them as masters, or to look up to them as superiors, or to love them as equals, and that they also may esteem and love me, as his twin-brother, to whom nature has given the same features and the same tone of voice; for if the intellectual endowments, which he, by the grace of our good and great God, had acquired, be not found as richly and copiously in me as in him, I am not on that account to be despised by those to whom my brother was dear, for I do not challenge of them that they value me for my sake, but rather that they should do so for my brother's. Since, revered master, he ever highly esteemed thee as a superior, and that thou hast ever loved and valued him as a friend, it will be just that thou now make me heir of this thy love and of thy benevolence towards him, and I siv INTRODUCTION. shall then assume that thou wilt have done so, when thou shalt give me something in charge wherein I may be enabled to show my feelings towards thee by readiness of service. Shouldest thou have felt constrained by the loss of so dear a friend to commit anything to writing, I earnestly entre,at thee to send it, whatever it may be, to me, that I may by this token of thy love occasionally soothe and mitigate my most bitter grief. But in order that thou mayest know where to address me by letter, know that I shall henceforth be near the person of the Pope; where should aught transpire, in any manner afifect- ing thine interests, thou wilt commit its management to me, which will be most honouring and most agreeable to me. Fare thee well, most noble President, and love me in the stead of Alfonso Valdes. Bologna, i2ih January 1533. Of all clients under thy most reverend sway I commend myself to thee as the most submissive JuIn de Valdes. Don Luis TJsoz i Eio's name must never be forgotten in association with the revival of Valdes' works, for he first translated Juan de Valdes' CX. Considerations into Spanish, publishing them in 1850. This edition ranks as the ninth in the series of the Eeformistas Antiguos Espanoles, consisting of twenty volumes edited and issued by him during twenty-five years. The biographer, when commemorating Don Luis, the Christian gentleman, the scholar, the patriot, and the philanthropist, will ever have to couple the name of his faithful, assiduous, and worthy friend, coadjutor, and correspondent, Benjamin B. Wiffen, as the man whose honourable life was spent as his biblio- grapher, in procuring the recondite materials for Don Luis' INTRODUCTION. xv nse. Valdesian scholars have ever held Don Luis and Wiffen as inseparably associated in their lifelong work, the revival of the ancient Spanish Eef ormers ; whilst they who knew their labours more intimately, associate a third name with theirs, which, if not mentioned here, is with- held from publicity by prudential motives. The re-prints of the works of Juan de Valdes were especially intended for the benefit of Spain. Don Luis embodied this sentiment in his writings, he presented it in the title-pages of the works he published. In Wiffen's preface to the History of the death of Juan Diaz, the last volume of the series, a posthumous volume, which appeared in September 1865, six weeks after Usoz's death, he summarises his deceased friend's character thus : " Don Luis Usoz was a man of sound and exact learning, of great simplicity and modesty, of genuine truthfulness both in his life and in his writings. He loved his country, he lamented its historical decline, and sought its highest welfare, believing that universal religious libeety, with the knowledge of the Bible, forms the surest basis of all civilisation, national, social, and individual." The translator of Juan de Valdes' works into English, and their editor, believes Don Luis' effort to have been as intelligent as it was beneficent, and that the publication will prove to have been influentially "para, lien de Es- pana," for the welfare of Spain, and thus impressed, the editor declares his sole motive for translating and pub- lishing Valdds' works to be his firm belief that they are eminently calculated to benefit the English-speaking nations of the world. The editor's attempt to popularise Vald4s' Writings, by appending Dr. Boehmer's ' Lives ' to every one of his translations now publishing, will be appreciated by every reader who shall become interested in him and in them ; and the reader will be led to approve it the more, when told that but imperfect knowledge is now attainable xvi INTRODUCTION. even by researcbes in the British Museum and in Univer- sity Libraries ; and that such information as he can get there will be less definite and less reliable than that now- presented to him. If Vald^s' teachings, restricted by the Inquisition to manuscript copies, circulated from hand to hand, at the greatest personal risk to both giver and receiver, availed in the sixteenth century by their influence on the choicest spirits of that age, the wisest and the best, to shake the Papacy, it was by the Holy Spirit's influence that they did so ; what may we not expect with the same mighty agency, now that the press issues the Prince Consort's Life in sixpenny parts, that it issues the New Testament in several languages at a penny each, and that Christian gentlemen have began to publish parts of Vald^s' minor works for sale at a penny a copy, approximately two thousand per cent, cheaper than the cost in the regular form of publication ! JOHN T. BETTS. Pbmbuey, Kent, Jidy 1882. THE LIVES JUAN and ALFONSO OE VALDES. About the beginning of tlie sixteenth century, Ternando de Valdfe, the hereditary Eegidor of Cuenca in Castile, had twin-sons born to him, Alfonso and Juan, who, after careful training, distinguished themselves in Spanish literature, not only as authors who knew how to write their own language with classical purity, but also as religious reformers. Alfonso was in the suite. of the Emperor Charles V. at his coronation in Aix-la-Chapelle in the year 1 520. He saw, in the burning of Luther's books, in the following year at Worms, "not the end, but the beginning of a tragedy." It then appeared to him as impudent upon the part of the monk of Wittenberg to declare the Pope to be a heretic and schismatic; but he nevertheless found it deplorable that the Pope should stubbornly oppose the convocation of a General Council, by which alone the peace of Christendom could be secured. The impossibility of bringing the Lutheran commotion to an end without such a Council was persistently urged, at Worms, by the Emperor's Grand Chancellor Mercurino i8 ALFONSO DB VALD£S. da Gattinara.'' Under him we meet Alfonso, in the year 1524, as an Imperial Secretary of State. Alfonso de Vald^s was a great admirer of Erasmus, whose writings, in the original and in translations, as greatly promoted the reformation in Spain, as they did everywhere else. At the time when the monks in that country made a violent attack upon the famous scholar, and tried to get from the Inquisitor- General a prohibition of his works, Alfonso generously inter- posed, and employing all his influence in favour of the great humanist, he succeeded in averting the proscription. Prom that time we find Alfonso in cor- respondence with Erasmus.' It was presumably Alfonso Valdds who penned the Imperial answer to Erasmus, in December 1527, expressing the Emperor's joy on learn- ing, by Erasmus' letter, that the Lutheran phrenzy was declining, a result brought about by the efforts of Erasmus himself, who had published able polemical writings against Luther's servum arhitrium. On the other hand, Alfonso's name is found subscribed to Imperial letters of the years 1526 and 1527, addressed to Pope Clement VII. and to the College of Cardinals, in which a General Council is most energetically de- manded.^ When Eome was stormed and sacked, in the year 1527, Alfonso wrote a dialogue, in order to vindicate the Emperor, and to prove that terrible eatastrophe to have been a retribution upon the sins of the Papal city. In 1529 he accompanied the Emperor in his progress through Italy; he attended the Pope's and Emperor's Congress at Bologna, and he went on with the Court to the Diet in Germany. Soon after the arrival at Augsburg, he sent for Melancthon, in order, if possible, to bring about an understanding with that champion of the Evan- gelicals. The intercourse between these two mild and ^ The numbers refer to the notes in the "Bibliotheoa Wiffeniana : Spanish Reformers of Two Centuries." London : Trubner, 1874, — Ed. JUAN DB VALDAS. 19 moderate men was a very friendly one, and with the sovereign Vald^s successfully set off the conciliatory and reasonable tone of the Protestants, and smoothed the way for a public reading of their Confession in the presence of the Emperor and of the powers of the realm. For two years more did he follow Charles through Germany as his Secretary. It was with pleasure that he saw the Emperor at the Diet of Eatisbon constrained to yield greater liberty to the evangelical movement. In the autumn of 1532 Alfonso de Vald^s died at Vienna. Thomas Cranmer, in a despatch to King Henry VIII., dated from Villach, in Carinthia, October 20, 1532, teUs of a great infection of the plague, whereof many of the Emperor's household died, and among others (Valdes) Waldesius, a Spaniard, the Umperor's Chief Secretary, who enjoyed his singular favour. He was well learned in the Latin tongue, and partly in the Greek ; and whensoever the Emperor would have any thing well and exactly done in the Latin tongue, it was ever put to Waldesius^ His brother Juan found more leisure for literary production. He had spent years absorbed in court- life and in an insatiable perusal of chivalrous romances, but impressed by the great religious historic events then acting on the world's theatre, the Eeformation, the hidden springs of which his brother could from his own experi- ence explain, he fotmd himself attracted by realities that affected the glory of God and the welfare of man. Shortly after that Alfonso had put his dialogue on the sack of Eome into circulation, Juan composed another, entitled " Mercury and Charon." Its tendency is both poli- tical and religious. The author justifies the Emperor ; he does so with respect to the challenge which he had given to the King of France to fight him in duel, and he depicts the then ruinously corrupt condition of the Eomish Church. He eloquently accomplishes his design, prov- ing both his statements by arguments, evolved in con- 20 juAn db vald^s. versations, which the ferryman of the lower world holds with different personages* on their way there. Compromised by this work with the Holy OfBce, the Inquisition, Juan did not feel himself safe in Spain, and about the year 1530 he left it for Naples, where the Spanish Inquisition had not yet been established. In 1531 he went to Eome. In January 1533 we find him nominated and acting as Chamberlain of the Pope at Bologna. From thence he wrote to Dantiscus, Bishop of Culm, an old friend of his brother Alfonso. This letter is the only Latin document we have of Juan's, and his only known autograph. The Pope and the Emperor were at that time both present at Bologna. There they concluded on February 24th a confederation, by which the Pope promised to recommend to the Chris- tian princes the convocation of a General Council, and to accelerate by Papal decision the validity of Queen Catherine's, the Emperor's aunt's, marriage, she having been repudiated by her husband, Henry VIII., King of England. The Papal decision, withheld until 1 534) ■w^S'S in favour of this unfortunate Queen, whom Juan de Valdes had vigorously defended in his Dia- logue between Mercury and Charon. It was an act of courtesy, so much the more refined, as it could not be done without self-renunciation, that Clement VII. took the author of this dialogue for his Chamberlain, he having therein severely criticised this Pope's policy, and being, moreover, the twin brother of Charles' late Secretary of State, Alfonso, who had had a very serious altercation with the Spanish Nuncio. Juan, however, did not stay long at the Papal Court. Before Clement went to France in the autumn of the same year, 1533, Valdds returned from Eome to Naples, after an absence of two years, and probably never again left this city and its environs.® At Naples he wrote in 1533 his Dialogue on Lan- guage, viz., the Spanish language, a work which is ac- JVAN DB VALD£s. 21 knowledged to be of high authority in relation to that idiom. It was with difficulty that some friends pre- vailed upon him to devote his time to give these speci- mens of his literary studies and principles, for he had already directed all his efforts to the composition of works of a devotional and biblical character. Without depreciat- ing the various branches of what is called profane know- ledge, and especially the humaniora, still he had learned in the school of St. Paul to rank the Gospel, forasmuch as it affects salvation, far above all worldly wisdom. After his return from Ebme to Naples he was surrounded by the choicest spirits of Italy, comprising such men as Marcantonio Flaminio and Carnesecchi, Ochino and Peter Martyr Vermiglio. He had also, at that time, for his pupils and friends a circle of accomplished women, among whom stood pre-eminently G-iulia Gonzaga, a beauty praised by Ariosto,* and whose fame had spread so far, that Barbarossa, an African corsair, in 1534, disembarked near Fondi in the Terra di LavorOj in order to kidnap her as a present for the Sultan, a fate from which she narrowly escaped; During the Emperor's residence at Naples in ISS^, at one and; the same time,. Ochino preached there the Lent sermons, with such wondrous power, that the Emperor said "The stones- must cry out;" Peter Martyr convened assemblies, to whom he admirably expounded the Scriptures; whilst Juan de Vald^s inspired all amongst whom he moved with evangelical spirit. It was then that GiuUa Gonzaga became desirous to learn how to live in newness of life, and asked of Valdes the way. His Christian Alphabet is a dialogue sustained by him and Giulia, and nothing could better serve to bring vividly before us the religious movement then going on around Valdds, and which, to the greatest extent, originated in himself. Giulia soon withdrew into a nunnery at Naples, where, without taking the vows, she found a quiet abode, 22 juAn de vald£s. and escaped being engulfed in the restless world, the peril, which a lady of her rank and endowments could in those days and in that place, scarcely otherwise avoid. The Alphabet, which Valdds gave her as a primer, composed with relation to her special personal requii'ements,^ was soon followed by his expositions of Scripture. To GiuHa Gonzaga he dedicated his own versions of the Sacred Scriptures, translated from the Hebrew and from the Greek into Spanish, and for her use did he write his Commentaries upon them in the same language ; first the Psalms,* then all St. Paul's Epistles, exclusive of that to the Hebrews,' those of St. Peter, lastly the Gospel of St. Matthew, and possibly the other Gospels likewise. Of all these, we have at present but St. Matthew's Gospel, the Epistle to the Eomans, the first Epistle to the Corinthians, and his Commentaries upon those three books. We have his translation of the Psalms, with his Commentary upon the first book, that is, from the ist to the 41st Psalm inclusive. Ancient translations of the Old Testament; from Hebrew into Spanish, which had never been printed, existed indeed in the days of Valdfe ; but it would seem that to Juan de Vald^s the honour is due of having been the first person, who undertook to translate the New Testament from Greek into Spanish. ■"* He, moreover, composed numerous religious treatises in Spanish. We have a collection of CX Considerations; nearly two-thirds of them are but Italian translations. We have seven of his doctrinal Epistles in the original, (Spanish), with an eighth in Italian; and of such epistles he at least wrote thirty. Of his Discourses, some two or three are known, but only as Italian trans- lations. Of his Questions and Answers, we know that there were as many as thirty-three, but there is only one extant, and that is found appended to the Alfaheto, an Italian translation.''' JUAN DE VALDiS. 23 In IS4S Valdds' treatise on Christian Eepentance, on Christian Faith, and on Christian Life, together with four other of his minor works, were printed in an Italian translation in Eome itself, in the very year of the opening of the Council of Trent. In this paper, of which the Spanish original has recently been printed, he develops the following ideas: that had he had to prescribe regulations for preaching the Gospel of Christ, he would have prescribed that repentance should be preached first; secondly, justification by faith; and thirdly, connected with this article, the necessity of testifying to Christian faith by Christian works ; which works, he says, will be rewarded in the present life by corporeal and spiritual benefits, and in the future life by graduated glory. Moreover he suggests, that after three warnings, the avaricious, the ambitious, the blasphemous, the gluttonous, the luxurious, the quarrelsome, and those who seek dishonest gains, and who delight in illicit games, and similarly those who are given to vain cere- monies and superstitious customs, attributing to creatures and to times and to words more than is becoming, and than Holy Scripture and Christian faith attribute to them, should be excommunicated. Then should we he says, in our own age, see a Christian Church very similar to that of the Apostolic age. Those, however, he adds, who are not in this Church, must not think themselves aliens to it, so long as they like to look at the Christian life ; they will by prayer and labour get into it themselves. Juan has also written a Catechism, instruction for children. The Spanish is lost, the Italian translation, recently reprinted, is entitled. Spiritual MilTc, and was translated by Peter Paul Vergerio into Latin,'^ and again from the Latin, translations were made into German and Polish.-"^ Towards its close Vald^s puts forward those articles, in which advanced youth is afterwards to be in- 24 yuAN DB VALDiS. structed ; as, for instance, the Lord's Supper and the Mos Holy Trinity. Vald^s' CX Considerations have been translated int five languages ; they had also been retranslated int Spanish before the originals of thirty-nine of them wer discovered. Three editions have appeared in English. To the editor of the, first English translation, Nichola Ferrar, who scrupulously hesitated to publish it, o: account of certain passages in the book, George Herbei wrote in 1638 : "I wish you by all means to publish ii for these three eminent things observable therein : First that God, in the midst of Popery, should open the eye of one to understand , and express so clearly and excel lently the intent of the Gospel in the acceptation c Christ's righteousness (as he showeth through all hi Considerations) ; a thing strangely buried and darkenei by the adversaries, and their great stumbling-blocl Secondly, the great honour and reverence which h everywhere bears towards our dear Master and Lore concluding every Consideration almost with His hoi; name, and setting his merit forth so piously, for whicl I db so love him, that, were there nothing else, I woul print it, that with it, the honour of my Lord might b published. Thirdly, the many pious rules of orderin; our life, about mortification, and observation of God' kingdom within us, and the working thereof, of whic' he was a very diligent observer. These three ' thing are very eminent in the author, and overweigh th defects (as I conceive), towards the publishing there of."^« To Juan de Vald^s' simple evangelical teaching is t be traced back the book On the Benefit of Christ. Th first author of it was a monk of the Black Benedictines called Don Benedetto, of Mantua, who wrote it in monastery of his order near Mount Etna ; then he askc' his friend Marcantonio Flaminio to polish it, in order t JUAn DB VALDiS. 25 render it more attractive, and so Plaminio, while leaving the subject unaltered, remodelled the excellent tract according to his taste." It was believed to have been extirpated by the Inquisition, when it reappeared in 1855, reprinted from a copy preserved at Cambridge; and it readily won the admiring love of all, who love the Gospel. Many interesting statements on Valdds and the Val- desian movement are given by Carnesecchi, in his depo- sitions before the tribunal of the Inquisition at Eome.^" "Although I had known Juan Vald^s at Eome in the time of Pope Glement,"^^ Carnesecchi reports, "I can- not say that I knew him as a theologian before the year 1540 in Naples. For when in Eome, I did not know that he applied himself to the study of sacred literature, but I knew him only as a modest and well-bred courtier, and as such I liked him very much, so that the inter- course and familiarity I afterwards had with him at Naples was a continuation of our friendship made at Eome; at Naples, however, the friendship grew to be a spiritual one, for I found hini entirely given up to the Spirit, and wholly intent on the study of Holy Scripture. This, however, would not have been sufficient with me, to give him the credit I did, now that the gentiluomo di spada e cappa,t]ie layman and courtier, had, for me, suddenly become the theologian, had I not observed what a high place he occupied in the eyes of Fra Bernardino Ochino, who then, was preaching, to the admiration of everybody, at Naples, and who professed to receive the themes of many of his sermons from Vald^s, from whom he used to get a note on the evening preceding the morning on which he was to ascend the pulpit ;^^ and if Fra Bernardino's opinion had not been in harmony with that of Flaminio, whom I thought' such a prudent and learned man, that he would not have been imposed upon ; and so sincere and worthy, that he would not have wished 26 juJn de valdes. to delude others ; especially such a great friend of his as I was, and on a matter of such importance as religion."^^ It was by Valdes that Tlaminio had been led to the conviction of justification by faith. ^* Carnesecchi was introduced by Valdds himself to Peter Martyr Ver- niiglio, who was a great friend of the Spaniard.^ At Naples, Carnesecchi lived in the house of Giulia Gonzaga.^^ In a letter to her, written almost twenty years afterwards, in 1559, he acknowledges that he owed to her mediation the beneficent influence on him of Valdes' holy teaching and of the intercourse with this man, whom he knew before Donna Giulia, but not in such a manner as to derive that benefit from it.^' Her he expressly thanked, as well that he had been delivered from superstitious and false religion, and had placed the hope of his salvation, not in works, but in laith, as also that he was kept within due limits and not engulfed by Lutheranism.^* He believed that those who differed from the modern Eoman Church in the article of justification, whilst keeping what he was persuaded to be the true catholic and apostolic faith, would be saved.^* But although he accepted that fun- damental article of the German religious reformation, he disapproved of Luther's separation from the body of the Catholic Church. That separation he saw especially mani- fested ia the disobedience of the head of the Protestants, by refusing to appear at the Council, and to submit to its determination, and also by his contumacy against the Apostolic See. This was likewise Flaminio's view.^" Nor was Carnesecchi, when accepting the main doctriue of Luther and of Valdes, aware of those consequences, which, as he was afterwards told, derived from it, viz., "that we do not want the sacrament of penitence, nor contrition, nor of satisfaction in order to regain grace lost by mortal sin, nor of purgatory." '^ Valdes and Flaminio explained all this to him : justification by faith was JUAN DE VALD^S. 27 taught, not only by Holy Scripture, but also by all the chief doctors of the Church, by Augustine, by Chrysos- tom, by Bernard, by Origen, by Hilary, by Prosper, and by others. Those doctors, it was true, in their sermons to the people, extolled works as necessary to salvation, but they did so, only lest people should give themselves over to licentiousness, which Carnesecchi stated before his judges had been the case in Germany, and in other countries, where justification by faith alone had been freely preached. His friends at Naples asserted, that aU true Christians believed this article, and if not explicitly, yet implicitly, and if not earlier, it was revealed to them, . at death. When to such subtleties Carnesecchi replied : that he found it strange that there were so few persons, who held that faith; they reminded him of the seven thousand who had not bent their knees to Baal, and moreover they said, that that section of modern preachers who suppressed that article, was silenced only by the same reserve which moved St. Augustine not to preach on predestination, in order not to scandalise the weak ones.^^ Valdds taught justification by faith, without touching upon, and even without hinting at, those conse- quences ; be it, says Carnesecchi, that he did not accept them, or be it that he dissimulated them, in order not to scandalise his disciples.'* Carnesecchi was also of opinion, according to Vald^s' teaching, that he who felt himself justified by faith, could count hiniself among the elect, and might consequently be sure, or at least greatly confident, that he would be saved, if living that life which becomes a true member of Christ, and if he showed his faith, when- soever he had an opportunity to do it, by his good works and good habits ; though doing this from gratitude for the benefit received, and in order to glorify God, and not in order to acquire eternal life, this being acquired by the merits of Christ, imputed to the believer. He did not, however, deny, that grace and justification were, by 28 JUAN DE VALDiS. means of such works, augmented in this life, and higher degrees of glory acquired in the life to come ; nor that he who is justified must strive to become just in him- self, as he is just in Christ, acquiring the habit of this righteousness formally, viz., procuring to have inherent righteousness through love poured into the heart by the Holy Spirit, not contenting himself with that righteous- ness which is imputed to him, and of which he partakes by faith.^^ Juan de Vald^s died in the summer of 1541.^" His decease was placid.^® He was, in his last illness, visited by the Archbishop of Otranto, his dear friend, who used to commend his writings and discourses in matters of religion.^^ When, in 1543, the Archbishop, then a member of the Council of Trent, and his friend Car- nesecchi, saw each other for the first time after Vald^s' death, and could pass an evening together, at Venice, they, as it were, vied in expressing their admiration and praise of that blessed divine.'^ When Cardinal Pole declared on his deathbed, in 1558, that he had always held the Pope, and particularly the then present one, to be the true successor of St. Peter and the Vicar of Christ, and that he never had dissented from the Papal will, nor from the belief of the Eoman Church, such a declaration, given in the reign of Paul IV., was by Carnesecchi deemed superfluous, not to say scandalous. He and Giulia recollected that Juan de Vald^s had, neither in his testament nor in the discourses shortly before his death, made any mention of the autho- rity of the Pope or of the succession to the apostolate of Peter, but had simply testified that he died in the same faith in which he had lived. Carnesecchi and Giulia did not question the Pope's succession to Peter's apostleship, but they believed that his successors had a more limited authority over the Church than was gene- rally attributed to them, for they interpreted the Eoman juAn de valdAs. 29 primacy as indicative of distinction rather than of sway.^® Conscious, therefore, of their own dissent from the con- temporary Eomanism upon the article of justification, and convinced that Pole had entertained their views, they could not but regret his last declaration, which they must have considered as apostasy or duplicity, at all events as a symptom of weakness, upon the part of a man whose death, at the first news of it, had been de- plored by them as a loss to their circle of more nearly related fellow-worshippers.*" Vittoria Colonna was once advised by Pole, in whom she confided as in an oracle, to believe as if by faith alone she could be saved, and to work as if her salvation depended upon her works. Although she did not then succeed to get from him any more definite opinion on justification,*^ still she gave him to understand that she knew him to differ from the views of the Council, when, just at the time that it decreed that article, he withdrew from Trent to a more salubrious place, feigning a catarrh.*^ In fact, he acknowledged to Flaminio, that the term merits could not properly be used of any other person than Christ.*^ Prom Viterbo, where she lived, as did also Pole, Carnesec- chi and Plaminio, in December 1541, Vittoria expressed thanks to Giulia for having sent to her there Vald^s' Commentary on St. Paul's epistles " so much desired by those friends, but most by herself, who needed it most ;" Vittoria invited Giulia to come herself. " Certainly," she writes, " it would be convenient, that, after being so well informed on the true celestial fatherland, you revisited a little your country Lombardy, for you could also help much." ** Caterina Cibo, Duchess of Camerino, likewise believed in justification by faith, conforming to Vald^s' doctrine, and had evangelists recommended to her by Carnesecchi.*' The Cardinals Contarini and Badia approved of the writings of Juan de Vald^s.*^ Soon after the death of Vald^s, Vermiglio and Ochiuo 30 JUAN DB VALDES. left Italy, where liberty of preaching was no longer left them. Per a short period the press at Venice was still suffered to spread evangelical literature. The Benefit of Christ was printed there and circulated in tens of thou- sands of copies. About the year of the opening of the Council of Trent, 1 545, several works of Juan de Vald^s were published at Venice. Together with his brother's dialogue on the sack of Eome, there appeared Juan's Dialogue between Mercury and Charon, his Christian Alphabet, and seven of his tracts on the fundamental doctrines of Christianity.*'' In 1548 such laxity of the press was stopped. Vald^s' Considerations were printed at Basle, where they appeared in 1550 in Italian. The Commentaries on the Komans and on the First Epistle to the Corinthians were edited in 1556—57 at Geneva. Juan Perez, the editor of both these Commentaries, dedicated that on the First Epistle to the Corinthians to Maximilian, the future Emperor. In this Prince's library have been preserved the MS. copies of several of Valdes' works not to be found elsewhere, viz., his version of St. Matthew's Gospel, with his Commentary upon it, — his translation of the Psalms, from the Hebrew, — his Commentary on the first Book of the Psalms from the first to the forty-first, which is now being published at Madrid, — the Originals of XXXIX of his Divine Con- siderations, — seven Doctrinal Letters, — the treatise on Ee- pentance. Faith, and Life, which all of them had to wait three hundred years before they were printed. When per- secution became oppressive in the Neapolitan realm, some withdrew beyond the Alps,** many recanted, many suffered capital punishment. Giulia Gonzaga, who strictly kept to the faith imbibed by the guidance of Valdds and to the practice recommended her by him,*^ was summoned to Piome, but God by death mercifully released her from more painful and fearful experience. She died at her retreat in the ITeapolitan convent, in the year 1566. juAn db valdAs. 31 The Inq^uisition seized Giulia Gonzaga's papers, and found amongst them the letters which Carnesecchi, through a long series of years, had written to her. In vain he urged that the doctrine of Valdds on justifica- tion could not be considered to have been heretical until the Council had determined that it was so ; that high , authorities and dignitaries had adhered to it ; that he himself, ever previously fluctuating in his mind, had at last acquiesced iu what the Council had ultimately decreed and the Pope had approved.^" He ingenuously confessed, it is true, as for the relation of inherent justice to that which is imputed, that he, not knowing exactly to discern the difference between the opinion of Vald^s and the determination of the Council, was not yet quite resolved whether he ought to condemn Valdds' doctrine on this point or not; but he declared he would submit to his judges, his intention being en- tirely to conform himself, in this as well as in all other articles, to the orthodox Catholic faith.®^ On some cap- tious question he also reminded them of his not being a theologian.^^ He was beheaded and burnt in 1567. Soon every spark of evangelical life within the reach of the Inquisition was stified."* AN EPIGRAM OF DANIEL ROGERS ON THE DEA TH Oh JOHN JE WELL, BISHOP OF SALISBURY, Inserted at the end. of Lawrence Humphreys Life and Death of Jewell, published by John Day, A.D. 1573. ON THE MORE PXJEE THEOLOGIANS [tHE BEPORMERB] OF DirpKRENT COUNTRIES. The Italians ■will evermore assert the claims of the divine MartjT (Peter Martyr Vermiglio). France may extol her Calvin to the stars. Germany may boast and pride herself upon Melancthon, And Luther drag, in the same triumphal car with him : Neither may Bonn, O Bucer, forget thine honours, , She having, through thy name, gained the highest illustration. May Zwinglius live for ever on Swiss lips, Whilst Bullinger's memory shall never die amongst the inhabitants of Zurich. Alasco's fame let it be renowned through Poland : John Huss be celebrated through Bohemia. Hemming's intelligent labours, let the Danes acknowledge. May John Knox's teaching characterise all Scotland. Of ValdSs, as an author, let all Spain be proud. Hyperius, let Belgian verse worthily extol. Let every region honour the name of its own teacher, And show, itself grateful to its own preceptors. But happy England, may she rejoice in thee, O Jewell, And laud, in one for all, thee, her own Teacher. mitx^s' IReligious Morfte in lenglisb. The Editor has translated all the subjoined works, and has published them, excepting the Commentaries upon the Eomans and the Corinthians. 1. "Vald^s' XVII Opuscules," his recently discovered Minor Works. Price 6s. 2. " Vald^s' Commentary upon St. Matthew's Gospel," with Professor Boehmer's Lives of Ju4n and Alfonso de Vald^s. Price 7s. 6d. 3. "Vald^s' Spiritual Milk; " or. Instruction for the Chil- dren of Christian Parents. Translated from the Italian (the editio princeps) most recently discovered by Boeh- mer ; appended to ■which are his Lives. Price 2S. 4. "Three Opuscules." An extract from Vald&' Minor Works. Price rs. S- "Vald^s' Commentary upon our Lord's Sermon on the Mount." An extract from " Valdfe' Commentary upon St. Matthew's Gospel," with Boehmer's Lives. Price 23. 6d. 6, " Valdes' Commentary upon St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans." Price 7s. 6d. 7. " Valdes' Commentary upon the First Epistle to the Corinthians." Price 7s. 6d. Note. — Professor Boehmer's Lives of the twin brothers, Judn and Alfonso de Valdes, with Editor's Introduction, may be had separately. Price is. Messrs. TBijBNEB & Co., 57 Ludgate Hill, London.