'\ ar-/ -V ■r#' \ .' X m ¥ / c THE 1 Seminar;^ rON, N. J. No, V...S.£^.4:^ .2^...' Book, No^^^ Vj.Zc. THE EPISTLES OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TRANSLATED. Vol. II. THE EPISTLES OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TRANSLATED, WITH AN EXPOSITION, AND NOTES, By the Rev. THOMAS BELSHAM, MINISTER OP ESSEX-STREET CHAPEL. IN FOUR VOLUMES. Vol. II. " Affer animum, rectum et dmplicem, veritatis supra ceetera amantem, " pre^udidii vacuum. Ne protinus tanquam nova, tanquam inaudUa et " absurda damnaveris, qu(B tibi nova, tibi inaudita, et absurda occurrent. " Ea qtuB dicimus, non cum alionim judiciis, non cum vulgi inveteratis " ojnnionibus compone, ut inde rem cBstimes, sed cum autoris divini verbis, " scopo, ipsoque rationis JUo. Hinc tibi Veritas petenda est : kino de nobis "ferenda sententia. Equidem nos sicuM lapsi, aut D. Autoris mentem non " satis assecuti sumus, amice admoniti, ultra manus dabimtts, grotesque in- " super accumulabimus." Slichtingius Praef. ad Heb. LONDON: PRINTED FOR R. HUNTER, {Successor to Mr. Johnson,) NO. 72, ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD. 1822. PHIXTKD BY R. AND A. TAYLOK, SIlOK-l/ANK. THE FIRST EPISTLE PAUL THE APOSTLE THE CORINTHIANS. INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS. i^ORINTH was a town standing upon the isthmus which separates the peninsula of the Peloponnesus from the rest of Greece. It was well situated for com- merce, and was a populous and opulent city, and a Roman colony. The inhabitants were ingenious, inquisitive, and industrious ; but they were also luxu- rious, debauched, and profligate even to a proverb. The gospel was preached by the apostle Paul at Corinth, about a. d. 52. See Acts xviii. He first taught in the synagogue with considerable success; and Crispus the chief ruler, with his family, and probably Sosthenes, were converted to the Chris- tian faith. But the Jews in general opposing and blaspheming, the apostle desisted from speaking to VOL. II. B INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS them, and addressed his instructions to the Gen- tiles ; and, having been encouraged by a vision, he prolonged his visit at Corinth for a year and six months. During this time, he resided with Aquila and Priscilla, who, having been driven from Rome by the decree of Claudius which banished the Jews, had established themselves at Corinth, where they were probably converted to the Christian faith by the preaching of the apostle. With these disciples the apostle chose to make his abode, and m.aintained himself by working with them in their occupation of tent-makers,, or, as some interpret the word, makers of musical instruments '. This art the apostle had learned in his youth according to the laudable custom of the Jews, of instructing young persons who were intended for the learned profes- sions in some manual employment. In the mean- time, the apostle preached the gospel with great success, and made numerous proselytes, notwith- standing the violent and tumultuous opposition of the Jews, who endeavoured, but in vain, to instigate the Roman proconsul to put him to death, or to expell him from the city. Of the converts to the faith, some were Jews, but the majority were hea- then ; some were poor, and others opulent ; some were ignorant, while others valued themselves upon their attainments in the learning and philosophy of the age. It also appears, that many of them were endued with spiritual gifts, some of which, at least. See Bishop Marsh's translation of Michaehs, vol. iv, p. 184, OF THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. they exercised at discretion. Also, some time after the departure of the apostle, ApoUos, a man of great zeal and eloquence, who had been instructed in the Christian doctrine at Ephesus by Aquila and Pris- cilla, visited Corinth and confirmed the new con- verts in their adherence to the faith. Nevertheless, after the departure of Apollos, the newly formed church at Corinth soon fell into great disorder. Some Jewish zealot, who appears to have been a man of considerable property and influence, a man of parts and address, an eloquent speaker, a philosopher, and perhaps a Sadducee, formed a party in opposition to the apostle, professing to teach them a more refined system of Christian philoso- phy, derived from ancient Hebrew traditions, deny- ing the resurrection of the dead, and relaxing the obligations of Christian morality. This dangerous teacher succeeded but too well in alienating the minds of many of the giddy and volatile Corinthians from the simple and offensive truths, and from the self-denying precepts of the gospel, as well as from their veneration and aifection for their first teacher ; while others adhered to the apostle's doctrine, and remained strongly attached to his person and au- thority. Thus the church was divided into two parties, one of which ranged themselves under the standard of the false apostle, and thought and spoke meanly of the doctrine and the authority of Paul ; while the wiser and better part of the society ad- hered to their first teacher, and, in their zeal to sup- port the authority of the apostle, almost forgot the INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS allegiance which was due to Christ, his master and theirs. In consequence of this factious and schis- matical spirit. Christian discipline was greatly re- laxed, the most flagrant irregularities were intro- duced into public worship, a litigious spirit had sprung up in the society, and immoralities of an enormous kind had not only passed without cen- sure, but had been made a subject of boasting. In this state of things, though the affections of many were alienated, yet the majority still enter- tained so high a regard for the authority of the apos- tle, that they agreed in writing an epistle to him to ask his opinion and advice concerning some ques- tions which were then disputed among them ; par- ticularly concerning the expedience of marriage, the connexion of believers and unbelievers in the con- jugal relation, the comparative excellence of spiri- tual gifts, the lawfulness of eating flesh which had been offered to idols, and perhaps the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. This epistle was con- veyed to the apostle Paul at Ephesus, by Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, three distinguished members of the Corinthian church, who were se- lected for this purpose. It should seem, that in their own epistle, the Corinthians took no notice whatever of the disorderly state of their society nor of the party spirit which prevailed among them. These the apostle learned from other sources ; and in this epistle, which he wrote in the spring of a.d. 56, in reply to theirs, he animadverts with becom- ing spirit upon their flagrant misbehaviour, previ- OF THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. ously to his discussion of the questions which they had proposed. The first Epistle to the Corinthians is one of those epistles the genuineness of which has never been called in question by any writer, ancient or modern. It professes to be the production of Paul the apostle of Jesus Christ; and it has been acknow- ledged and cited as such by a numerous succession of writers from the earliest antiquity to the present day. This succession begins with Clement, the bishop of Rome, the contemporary and friend of the apostle, who appeals to this document in a letter ad- dressed some years afterwards to the same church, which is still extant. Eusebius, the learned bishop of Cesarea in the fourth century, who took great pains to settle the canon of the New Testament, places the epistle of Paul to the Corinthians in the catalogue of those books whose authenticity had never been disputed. And there is no work which bears more distinct intrinsic evidence of its genuineness than this epistle. The many undesigned coincidences with the history of the evangelists, and particularly of Luke, together with numerous incidental enlarge- ments, omissions, and variations, and frequent al- lusions to persons, circumstances, facts, and contro- versies, which could have had no existence but in the apostolic age, and in such a society as that at Co- rinth, are so obvious and striking, that the proof of authenticity arising from them is most satisfactory INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS and decisive. This argument has been stated in the clearest light by the late learned Dr. Paley in his masterly disquisitions on the Epistles of Paul. No impostor would have encumbered his u^ork with so many needless details, and with such a mass of ob- scure hints and allusions : and had he attempted it, he could with difficulty have escaped detection. The acknowledged genuineness of this epistle is a fact of the greatest importance, and affords an ir- resistible proof of the truth and divine authority of the Christian religion. For the apostle states as matters of public notoriety, facts which could have no existence if Christianity were false, and which no person in his right mind would have appealed to, if they had been capable of contradiction : I mean in particular, the existence and the abuse of mira- culous powers in the Corinthian church. The epis- tolary form of writing is peculiarly adapted for the exhibition of historical evidence. And this is the pincipal use of the epistolary parts of the New Tes- tament. But of all the epistles of Paul, there is none which contains a clearer or stronger proof of the divine original of the Christian doctrine, than that which we are now about to explore. If all the other writings of this great apostle were to be re- jected and lost, the epistle to the Corinthians alone would contain ample testimony both to the origin and to the excellence of the Christian revelation ; and in this view it is worthy of the most serious per- usal and attentive regard. OF THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. The epistle contains two general Divisions with a suitable Introduction and Conclusion. The apostle introduces the epistle to the Co- rinthians with an appropriate salutation : he thanks God for the abundance of their spiritual gifts ; and expresses his hope of their Christian perseverance, ch. i. 1—9. PART THE FIRST. The apostle remonstrates with the believers at Corinth, concerning gross and scandalous irregu- larities which had been reported to him as prevail- ing in and disgracing the church, and earnestly presses the reformation of these abuses. This por- tion of the epistle extends from the tenth verse of the first chapter to the end of the sixth chapter. Sect. I. The apostle testifies his great disappro- bation of the party spirit, by which the church was rent ; and in particular, he strongly objects to the practice of setting up ministers as heads of parties, like the different sects of philosophers, to the neg- lect of Christ, the only head of the church, from whom all the teachers of the gospel derive their commissions and qualifications, and to whom they are finally accountable, ch. i. 10 ^o the end of the fourth chapter. Sect. II. The apostle condemns the unbecoming lenity of the church in the case of an incestuous INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS offender, whom he requires them immediately to ex- clude from Christian fellowship, ch. v. throvghout. Sect. III. The apostle rebukes the litigious spi- rit of the Corinthian converts ; forbids them to carry their controversies into heathen courts ; and requires them to settle their disputes by arbitration among themselves, ch. vi. 1 — 11. Sect. IV. He remonstrates against fornication, and every species of impurity, to which the Corin- thians were notoriously addicted, and which were strictly prohibited by the law of Christ, ch. vi, 12 to the end<, PART THE SECOND. The apostle replies in detail to the various ques- tions which had been proposed to him by the Co- rinthians in their epistle, and gives his judgement in the several cases which were referred to his deci- sion, with great delicacy, propriety, and dignity, in- termixing his reply with much important instruc- tion and advice with respect to doctrine, discipline, and practice. This Part extends from the begin- ning of the Seventh to the end of the Fifteenth chapters. Sect. I. The apostle answers the questions pro- posed to him, concerning the expediency of mar- riage under the existing precarious circumstances of the church, and the lawfulness of forming or conti- nuing the conjugal connexion with unbelievers j and OF THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. he avails himself of the opportunity to give prudent advice to those who have aheady entered, or, are desirous of entering into the conjugal state, and to believers of every station in life, ch. vii. Sect. II. The apostle treats at large, concerning the lawfulness of eating meat which had been of- fered to idols ; and having first combated the pleas of the Corinthians in favour of the innocence of this practice, he peremptorily decides, that to participate of the idol's feast in the idol's temple, is a palpable and pernicious act of idolatry ; but that the use of the flesh of a victim when purchased in the market, or partaking of it at the table of a friend, was not unlawful, though in certain circumstances it might be inexpedient, ch. viii — xi. 1. Sect. III. The apostle offers advice concerning decorum in appearance and dress, and particularly concerning the custom of wearing a veil in public worship, ch. xi. 2 — 16. Sect. IV. The apostle reproves those, who, by their irregularity and excess, had assimilated the Lord's Supper to an idol's feast ; he reminds them of the evil consequences of their misbehaviour, re- lates the history of the institution, and subjoins some useful warnings and advice, ch. xi. 17 to the end. Sect. V. The apostle treats of the comparative value of spiritual gifts ; he recommends Christian benevolence as preferable to them all; he speaks highly of the gift of prophecy ; he reproves their ostentatious exhibition of the gift of tongues ; and 10 INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS, &C. gives directions for the regular exercise of spiritual gifts in their public assemblies, that all may be in- structed and edified by them, ch. xii — xiv. Sect. VI. The apostle, in opposition to the Sad- ducean doctrine which had been introduced at Co- rinth, asserts in the most peremptory language, the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead ; its inse- parable connexion with the resurrection of Christ ; and its unspeakable importance. He enlarges upon the solemnity and grandeur of that awful event; he bursts into an exclamation of joy and triumph ; and concludes with an earnest exhortation to the practice of universal virtue, upon Christian principles, ch.xv, throughout, CONCLUSION. The apostle, in the concluding chapter, offers some directions for collecting a contribution for the indigent believers in Judea : he promises to visit them speedily ; he suggests some miscellaneous ad- vices; he sends his salutations; he denounces an anathema upon those who reject the gospel ; and he closes with the apostolical benediction, ch. xvi, throughout. THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. THE APOSTLE'S INTRODUCTION. 1 HE apostle introduces his epistle to the Corln- Ch. I. thians with an appropriate salutation. He expresses his thankfulness to God for the abundance of spiri- tual gifts conferred upon them in attestation of the gospel ; and his cheerful hope of their perseverance in their Christian profession. Ch. i. 1 — 9. 1. The apostle, joining the name of Sosthenes with his own, greets the Corinthian church with a cordial salutation, ver. 1 — 3. Pa UL, the called •, the apostle of Jesus Christ, Ver. 1. through the lu'ill of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those 2. who are sanctified hy Christ Jesus, who are called, who are holy, together with all in every place who take upon themselves the name of our Lord Jesus ' The called, the apostle.'] " not called to be an apostle." Bishop Pearce ; who observes, that KXriros never signifies calltd to he, and that it must be construed by itself, ver. 24 5 also , Rom. i. 6, viii. 28, &c. 12 I. CORINTHIANS. [the apostle's Cli. I. Christ 1, both their Lord and ours, favour be unto you auil peace from God our father ^ and from the Lord Jesus Christ. It has been remarked that Paul Is the only apostle who applies to himself the epithet " the called ;" in which he unquestionably alludes to that extraordi- nary miraculous call of Christ by which he was con- verted from a cruel persecutor to a zealous teacher of the gospel, of which distinguishing mercy he entertained an habitual and most grateful sense. Agreeably to the luill of God, he had been ap- pointed to and qualified for the apostolic office. There were others, his opponents, who without any proper call had thrust themselves into that honour- able function; and who, setting themselves up as the rivals of the apostle, were desirous of seducing the minds of the Corinthians from Christian truth. With true .Christian humility, the apostle joins the name of Sosthenes with his own in the saluta- tion with which this epistle is introduced. It ap- pears, from Acts xviii. 17, that Sosthenes was an inhabitant of Corinth, a man of note, a ruler of the synagogue, who had probably been converted to Christianity by the preaching of Paul ; and who, for that reason, had been persecuted by the unbe- lieving Jews. He was now with Paul at Ephesus, ' Who take upon themselves, &c.] Wakefield, Locke, Ham- mond, Lindsey's Second Address, p. 273. Whitby, who con- tends for the common translation, " that call upon the name of our Lord Jesus," docs not deny that the words will bear the other interpretation. ixTRODUCTioN.] I. CORINTHIANS, 13 and is glad to embrace the opportunity of the Ch. i, apostle's writing to express his affectionate remem- ' brance of his former friends, fellow-christians, and fellow-sufferers. 7b the church of God which is at Corintli, to those who are sanctified by Christ Jesus ; who by their faith in Ciirist are separated and set apart from the rest of the world: who are called, that is, invited to participate in the privileges of the Christian com- munity : who are holy, who are now admitted into the same state of favour Vv'hich was once the pecu- liar privilege of the descendants of Abraham, who are by profession consecrated to God. Together with all in every place, throughout the country in the vicinity of Corinth (2 Cor. i. 1), who take %ipon themselves the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; who profess to be the disciples of Christ, and who call themselves by his name. This ap- pears to be the true sense of the apostle's language, and not, as our translators and others render it, " who call upon the name of Christ Jesus our Lord :" a phraseology which would encourage reli- gious addresses to Christ : a practice absolutely in- consistent with the spirit and tenor of the gospel, which requires that all religious worship should be directed to the Father only: who is the only invisi- ble Being that we are sure is with us at all times, and who is both able and willing to afford his sup- pliant creatures ail needful protection and assist- ance. The disciples of Christ call themselves by his 14 I. CORINTHIANS. [the apostle's Ch. I. name : they profess to receive him as their instruc- ^"* tor, and to obey him as their Master. He is our master and teacher ; and not only ours, but the common master and lord of all who acknow- ledge his divine character and mission, and who ought therefore to cherish a mutual affection to each other, in consequence of their mutual relation to their common head. As the best wish he can form for his Christian friends, the apostle prays that they may enjoy fa- vour and peace from God, and from the Lord Jesus Christ ; the continuance of the invaluable blessings of the gospel, by which they are brought into a state of reconciliation and peace with God. 2. The apostle thanks God for the communica- tion of the gospel to the Corinthian church, and for the liberal distribution of spiritual gifts ; and expresses his hope that the believers at Corinth will persevere in their attachment to the gospel, ver. 4 — 9. 4. I give thanks to my God always on your ac- count, for the free gift of God which has been granted you in Christ t/esus. I am truly and at all times thankful that you have been favoured with the knowledge of the go- spel of Christ, the free and unmerited gift of God to mankind. 5. That in ail things you have been enriched by him, in all doctrine^ and in all knowledge. ' Hoctfine^ Wakefield ; and Pearce, who says that Aoyoj is never used for the gift of tongues. INTRODUCTION.] I. C O R I N T H I A N S. 15 That you have been fully instructed in the doc- cii. i. trine of Christ, and have been enriched with that knowledge which is the most valuable treasure. Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed among you. The evidence of the truth of the Christian doc- trine having been exhibited in a form so convincing and impressive, that you could not hesitate to ac- knowledge its divine authority. So that, waiting for the manifestation 2 of our Lord Jesus Christ, you are deficient in no gift^. Expecting, as you are taught by the Christian doctrine, the glorious appearance of our great Mas- ter, Jesus Christ, to raise the dead and to judge the world, you have been furnished in the mean time with an abundant supply of spiritual gifts to establish your faith in those sublime and ^wful truths. He ■* will also confirm you to the end, so that you may be blameless in that day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were Vei. 5. ' The manifestation.'] Bishop Pearce applies this expression to the destruction of Jerusalem, q. d. after that awful cata- strophe these miraculous powers will disappear, Christianity being then fully established in the world. It is not impossible that the apostle might expect these events to be coincident, or nearly so. See 2 Thess. ii. 1. ' Deficient in no gift^ Dr. Priestley observes, that the apostle with much address praises the Corinthians as far as he justly could, having many disagreeable truths to tell them afterwards. * He also^ A writer in Bowyer, and many judicious critics think the antecedent here referred to is God, ver. 4. Some think the intervening verses should be in a parenthesis. Wake- field transposes the 8th and 9th verses. 16 I.CORINTHIANS. Ch.i. called into the communion of his son Jesus Christ Ver.9. r i our LiOra. And I doubt not that God, who has invited you to the privileges of the gospel, and has afforded you evidence so completely satisfactory of its truth and divine authority, will still continue those spiritual gifts which are most undeniable evidences of the Christian faith. And being thus convinced of the truth, you will exemplify the spirit of the gospel, and will persevere in the practice of those virtues which may best qualify you for appearing at the judgement seat of Christ. That God who invited you into the holy community of which Jesus is the head, will faithfully perform his part : be not you deficient in yours. He will supply you with all the necessary means of stability and perseverance. Let it be your concern, my brethren, to improve them well. Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. Skct. I.r. 1. 17 PART THE FIRST. Ch. THE APOSTLE REMONSTRATES AGAINST CERTAIN GROSS AND SCANDALOUS IRREGULARITIES WHICH Vei- 10. HAD BEEN REPORTED TO HIM AS PREVAILING IN AND DISGRACING THE CHURCH AT CORINTH. Ch. i. 10— vl. SECTION I. He testijies his great disapprobation of the party spirit which prevailed at Corinth ; and reprobates the practice of setting tip jninisters as heads of parties^ like leaders of the different sects of phi- losophy, to the dishonour of Christ, their only Master, and, tmder God, the sole head and law- giver of the church, ch. i. 10 — iv. I. The apostle having heard of the dissentions and schisms which prevailed at Corinth, reminds the Co- rinthians that thedisciples of Christ acknowledge but one Master, vAio claims and is entitled to their en- tire allegiance, ver. 10 — 17. i 1. He expresses his great concern at the account which he had received, of the divided state of the Corinthian church, ver. 10 — 12. VOL. II. c 18 Part I. I. C O III N T H I A N S. Sect. 1. 1. 1. Ch. r. N^oiu I beseech y 071, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and that there be no schisms among you; but that you be knit together in the same 7mnd, and in the same sentiment. I beseech you, brethren. The apostle by this kind language expresses his affectionate regard for the Christians at Corinth, and his earnest desire to succeed in the object of his request. By the name i of our Lord Jesus Ckrisf. This is the only instance in which the apostle uses this form of address. The Lord Jesus Christ is the common Master of all professing Christians: of him the whole family of heaven and earth are named. Jew and Gentile are now no longer separated by in- vidious distinctions, but are united to each other by their common union with him. They all bear the common appellation of Christians, which they take from him ; and by the dear and venerable name of Christ their Master, the apostle requests that they would discard all bitter animosity, and live together in peace. That there be no schisins among you : that you be not divided into sects and parties, like the Gre- ' By the name, &c.] " If any one," says Mr. Locke upon this passage, " has thought Paul a loose writer, it is only be- cause he was a loose reader. He that takes notice of St. Paul'.s design will find that there is not a word scarce, or expression, that he makes use of, but with relation and tendency to his pre- sent main purpose : as here intending to abolish the names of leaders they distinguished themselves by, he beseeches them ' by the name of Christ,' a form that I do not remember he elsewhere Part I. I. CORINTHIANS, Sect. 1. 1. I, 19 cian philosophers ; as though the Christian commu- Ch. i. nity was distributed under different heads, and ac- * knowledged different founders, but that ye may be knit together in the same mind and in the same sen- timent. Not that they should entirely agree in opi- nion and in their judgement upon all subjects, for this would be impossible ; but that all professing subjection to Christ, as their common Master, should think well of each other, notwithstanding any mi- nute differences of opinion : that they should live together in unity, and not disturb the peace of the society by divisions into factions, and ranging them- selves under different leaders. For it has been certified to me concerning you, 11. 7ny brethren^, by some of the family of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. I mean this ^ that 12. each of you saith, I am of Paul, or I of Apollos, or I of Cephas, or I of Christ. The apostle renews the expression of his tender- ness, when he is entering upon the disagreeable sub- ject of their animosities, in order to conciliate their regard and secure their attention. It has been conjectured 3 that Fortunatus and Achaicus, the bearers of the letter from Corinth, were the sons of that pious matron here mentioned, who communicated to the apostle a faithful state- ment of the divisions of the church at Corinth. '^ My brethren^ Mr. Locke observes " that ' brethren,' a name of union and friendship, is used here twice together by St. Paul in the entrance of his persuasion to them to put an end to their divisions." ' It has been conjectured.^^ By Grotius, and others. c2 20 Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. Sect. 1. 1. 2. Ch. I. One said I am of Paul ; another, I of Apollos ; an- other, I of Cephas. They considered Chiistianity as a system of philosophy, the teachers of which were the heads of different sects, under which they were at liberty to range themselves. It will afterwards appear, from the apostle's own declaration ', that Apollos and Peter were not the persons really set up in opposition to himself, but the false apostle ; probably, an eloquent Sadducean pliilosophic Jew, whom the apostle does not choose to name, and therefore borrows the names of his friends and fellow-labourers to illustrate his meaning and to strengthen his argument. It seems reasonable to believe that the clause, ** and I of Christ," is not genuine 2 ; for probably all the Corinthians would call themselves disciples of Christ, though of different schools ; and in a sub- sequent passage (ch. iii. 22), where the same heads of parties are repeated, the name of Christ is omitted. 2. These divisions were unauthorized by Christ, none of the preachers of the gospel were entitled to set themselves up as the heads of parties, and the * The apostle's own declaration^ 1 Cor. iv. 6. See Locke. " Not genuine^ See Pearce ; who also argues from the ques- tion in the following verse, " Is Christ divided ?" which would be improper if he was only regarded as the head of one faction. The Letter of Clemens makes no mention of Christ as one of the heads of a party in the Corinthian church. A writer in Bowyei- suspects that the name should be Crispus. See Bowyer's Crit. Conj. on N. T. Neither of these conjectures is supported by authority ; though that of Bishop Pearce appears highly pro- bable. Part I, I. C O R I N T H I A N S. Skct. I. i. 2. 21 apostle himself had never pretended to it, ver. 13 Ch. i. —17. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucijiedfor you? Ver. 13. or ivereyou baptized into the name of Paid^ ? Has Chiist authorized this distinction of parties in the church ? Has Paul or any other person suf- fered for you in the sense in which Christ suffered, whose death was the seal of his mission, put an end to the Jewish economy, and introduced a new dis- pensation of which he is the head, and from whom we all take our common and honourable name ? Were you baptized into the name of Paul, or of any other person, so as to profess in this solemn and pub- lic manner, your faith in him, and your subjection to him as your master ? Were you not all baptized into the name of Christ, professing your subjection to his authority, and acknowledging him only as your master and head ? ^ Name of Paul.'] " It is something remarkable," says Dr. Priestley in his note upon this text, " and greatly in favour of the evidences of Christianity, that none of the disciples of Christ endeavoured to supplant him. They all acted in subor- dination to a crucified master, how much soever they were op- posed to each other ; and there was no want of emulation among them. In this they were all united, acknowledging one master, even Christ. This was not the case with respect to Mahometanism : several persons set up on his plan, and in op- position to him. With respect to Christ, this was never at- tempted ; nor could it possibly have succeeded, if the attempt had been made." Mr. Locke observes, " that to be baptized into any one's name, is solemnly by that ceremony to enter himself a disciple of him into whose name he is baptized, with profession to receive his doctrine and rules, and submit to his authority : a very good ar- gument here why they should be called by no one's name but Christ's." 22 PAttT I, I. C O R I N T H I A N S. Skct. 1. 1. 2. Ch. I. I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Cris' ^^ 15. P^^^ ^^^^ Gams, so that ' no one can say that ye ^6. were baptized'^ into my name. I also baptized the household of Stephanas : as to the rest, I know not 17- that I baptized any other, for Christ sent me not so much s to baptize, as to pi'each the gospel. As the apostle had so many enemies every where, who were disposed to calumniate his character, and to misrepresent his conduct; he is glad and thank- ful that he had given them so little occasion for doing it at Corinth, and that he had baptized so very few, that no person could with any plausibility pretend that he had baptized into his own name, and set himself up as the head of that party. He had baptized only Crispus, the ruler of the sy- nagogue, and Gaius a person of note, distinguished afterwards for his hospitality to Christian strangers, * So that,'] ha, expressing not the design, q. d. lest any one should say, but the event, viz. so that no one can say. "This sense of Iva is often mentioned by commentators on the go- spels, where a prophecy is said to be fulfilled. See also John V. 20 ; 2 Cor. i. 17, vii. 9 5 Gal. v. 17 3 Rev. viii. 12." Bishop Pearce. * Ye were baptized.'] s'SaTf'tia-Syjts is the reading of the Alex- andrine and Ephrem manuscripts. The received text is, " that I baptized into my own name." See Grie.sbach and Pearce. ^ Not so much to baptize as to preach.] "The writers of O. and N. T.," says Bishop Pearce, "almost every where, agree- ably to their Hebrew idiom, express a preference given to one thing before another, by an affirmation of the thing preferred, and a negation of the contrary." The following texts he spe- cifies as illustrations of his remark. Matt. vi. 19, 20, ix. 13, X. 20, xii. 7; Luke xxiii. 283 Mark ix. 37 ; John vi. 27, vii. 16, ix. 4, xii. 44 ; Acts v. 4 ; Rom. ix. 13 j 1 Cor. vii. 4, ix. 8, x. 24, XV. 10 5 Eph. vi. 12; Col. iii. 2; Heb. xiii. 9; I Pet. iii. 3, 4: 1 John ii. 15. Pakt I. I.CORINTHIANS, Si;ct. I. u. 1 . 23 for which he is celebrated both by Paul and John. Ch. i. He recollects that he had also baptized Stephanas ^^' and his household, who were the first converts to the faith of Christ in the region of Achaia. The apostle was sent both to preach and baptize, but his chief business was to preach the gospel, this being the most important concern : the rite of initi- ation might be administered by persons of inferior rank in the church, who had more leisure than the apostles, and whose situation in life would effectu- ally preclude them from all suspicion of endeavour- ing to establish themselves as the leaders of sects, and the founders of new systems, either of philoso- phy or Christianity. II. The apostle, in a long digression, describes the gospel as a system of sublime philosophy, which, though in the highest degree offensive both to Jew and Gentile, and taught by men who had no pre- tensions to birth, or learning, or eloquence, was nevertheless a science of the most sublime nature, and the highest importance, confirmed by divine in- terposition, and eflficacious beyond all others for re- forming the world, ch. i. 17 — ch. ii. 16. I . The doctrine of Christ, though treated as folly by the world, was nevertheless held in the highest estimation by those who understood it, and had been eminently successful in exposing the folly of the wisdom of the schools, ver. 17 — 21. 24 Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. Sect. I. ii. I. Ch. I. For Christ sent me to preach the gospel^ not in '* wise disco2irf;es ' lest the cross of Christ should be rendered useless. The Christian doctrine was not taught by the apostle with the subtlety and refinement of a system of philosophy, nor was he authorized to teach it in this way. It consisted of a few plain facts, that Jesus, who had been crucified, was the Christ, that he had been raised from the dead, that he was now exalted to be a prince and a Saviour, and that all sincere believers in him should be ultimately saved by him. .These important facts admitted of no so- phistical embellishments, and every attempt to re- fine upon them would lessen their practical effect. 18. For the doctrine of the cross is indeed folly to those who are perishing ; hut to us who are saved^ it is the power of God. Unbelievers, Jews, and heathen, who reject the hope of a life to come, regard the doctrine of sal- vation by a crucified man, as consummate folly ; but we, who by the sincere profession of Christi- anity are entitled to an interest in its blessings, plainly see, that this humble doctrine is supported by the power of God, both in the splendid mira- ' In wise discourses.'] sv (xoipia Xoya, in the common transla- tion, " with the wisdom of words." Wolfius conjectures, that Paul uses sv (TO(pia. y^oys for zv tro0a! Xoytv, or ev ffocpois Xoyois' which Pearce does not disapprove, though he prefers his own conjecture sv Xoycu cro0 Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. Sect. I. n. 3. Ch. I. worlds that he may put to shame the wise ; and God has chosen the weak things of the worlds that Ver. 28. he may put to shame the mighty ; and God has chosen the ignoble things of the ivorld, and things of no accoiint, even things that are not ^, that he 29. may abolish things that are, that none may boast in the presence of God. God has employed in the Christian ministry, men of no education, and who know nothing of the fash- ionable systems of philosophy, to put to shame those who value themselves upon their wisdom and learn- ing, by making these ignorant men, whom they de- spise, the instruments of producing a change in the principles and morals of mankind, which no philoso- phy could effect. He has commissioned men, who have no civil or ecclesiastical influence, to produce an effect, to which all the powers of the earth were unequal. He has appointed men of the lowest rank of life, persons whom the great and wise think be- neath their notice. Yea, he has even employed hea- then, persons, who by the vainglorious Jews are re- garded as the reptiles of a day, as mere nonentities, to humble the piide of the haughty, and the self- conceited Jew ; and even to abolish the Jewish dis- pensation itself, and entirely to annihilate that proud distinction upon which these miserable bigots, who fancied that they engrossed to themselves the whole ' Things that are not :] i. e. Gentiles, vid. Locke^ Taylor, Whitby. Perhaps, the apostle only means to describe the sove- reign contempt in which the first preachers of the gospel were held by the learned, and the wise men of the world, both Jews and Gentiles. Part I. I. C O R I N T H I A N S. Sect. I. n. 3. 3 1 of the divine favour, found their lofty pretensions. Ch. i. And the design of governing wisdom in this extra- ^'•-'• ordinary dispensation is, that every one may be hum- bled in the divine presence, and may see, acknow- ledge, and adore the wisdom and the goodness of God. That the people who are honoured as the in- struments of divine providence, in instructing and reforming the world, may have no pretence to ascribe the mighty effect to their own power, and that they who are converted and saved by their instructions, vvhatever gratitude they may think due to their teach- ers, may look beyond the instrument to Him whose mercy formed the design of their salvation, and whose wisdom and goodness carried it into effect, by means in themselves so feeble and inadequate. But of him are ye both justified, and sanctified^ 30. and redeemed'^ in Christ \. Let him who boasleth, boast in the Lord. You, O Corinthians, are yourselves illustrations ^ Jiistijied, Sec] In the Greek, "justification, and sanctifica- tion, and redemption." The construction is altered to make the apostle's meaning more intelligible. Mr. Wakefield's transla- tion is, " But of him are ye both righteousness and holiness, and deliverance in Christ Jesus, v;ho is become to us wisdom from God." Few of the critics, besides Mr. Wakefield, seem to have attended to the construction of the apostle's language. He does not say that Christ is made by God to us, wisdom, and righteous- ness, and sanctification, and redemption, a phraseology, from which some have deduced mysterious and inexplicable doctrines ; but that ye, in Christ, that is believing in the Christian doctrine, (which doctrine is the true philosophy which we have been taught by God,) are thereby justified, sanctified, and redeemed. This is all from God, s^ avrov, who sent and qualified the messengers of the joyful tidings. 32 Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. Skct. I. ii. 4. Ch. I. of the argument upon which I am now insisting. You were once idolatrous Gentiles, but by these means and instruments, however feeble, which God himself has ordained and qualified for the work, you, by embracing the doctrine of Christ, which is our true and divine philosophy, are now justijied ; you are no longer sinners and enemies, but reconciled and pardoned. You are also sanctified; by your open profession of faith in Christ you are separated from the unbelieving world, and consecrated to God. You are also redeemed: you are rescued from the bondage of your heathen state, from your servitude to idolatry, superstition, and vice ; and are brought into a state of liberty and peace. And this great change in your condition, character, and circum- stances, is the work of God : you have nothing to boast of in yourselves, nor have you any reason to glory in the persons who were the instruments of your conversion and salvation ; for they were nothing, and had no power to instruct or to help you, but so far as they were commissioned and assisted by God. To him, therefore, the glory belongs ; and to him let the praise be given. 4. The apostle reminds the Corinthians, that when he first preached the gospel amongst them, he cautiously avoided all artificial embellishments of style and manner, and that he taught a plain doc- trine in plain language ; and supported it, not by subtle reasoning, but solely by an appeal to miracles, ch. ii. 1 — 5. Part I. I. C O R I N T H I A N S. ISect. I. ii. 4. .1 And when I came unto you, brethren, declaring Ch. ii. the mystery^ of God, I came not in the pomp of language, nor ofivisdom. When I first preached the gospel to you, I did not affect that parade of eloquence in which some of your philosophers and public teachers excell, nor that re- fined, abstruse, and subtle reasoning in which others pride themselves. I did not wish to be regarded as one who was introducing a new system of philoso- phy ; much less as one who was ambitious of setting himself up as the head of a sect ^ which was to take its name from him. The doctrine I preached was not my own invention or discovery ; it was a doc- trine revealed and attested by God; it was the mystery which had been concealed from former ages and generations, but was now made known by the preachers of the gospel. For I resolved to take no notice 3 of any thijig 2 among you but *Jesus Christ, even him that was crucified. I was determined to acknowledge no master and no superior but Jesus Christ ; that very person who * Mtjstery.'] This is the reading of the Alexandrine and Ephrem manuscripts, and is approved by Locke and Pearce. Locke observes, that the gospel dispensation, and particularly the call of the Gentiles, is usually called mystery by the apostle Paul. The received text reads " testimony." * The head of a sect.'] sectarijussi : Si potis est; tanquam Philosophorum disciplincB ex ipsis Vocahula, parasiti itidem ut Gnathonici vocentur. Terent. Eunuch, act. ii. seen. 2, ^ To take no notice.'] So Pearce ; who refers to ch. xvi. 15, 18 ; Acts xxiii. ') ; 1 Thess. v. 12. VOL. II. D li Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. Sect. 1,11.4. Ch. 11. was crucified as a malefactor, and whose ignomini- ous death is represented by the enemies of the Chris- tian doctrine as the indehble stigma of his profes- sion. I determined to conceal nothing, but to let my hearers know at once, that if they meant to be- come Christians indeed, and to any valuable pur- pose, they must instantly renounce their dearest prin- ciples, their most cherished prejudices ; and must, without hesitation, avow themselves the disciples of the crucified Nazarene, and submit to all the scorn and disgrace that was attached to such a profession. The crucified Jesus was the Master whom alone I professed to serve ; and his doctrine I determined to teach without any adventitious ornaments, and, indeed, under great personal disadvantage. 3. And I was with you hi weakness, and in fear ^ and in much trembling ^ . 1 laboured under a bodily infirmity which pre- vented me from exerting myself with that spirit and vigour which, in other places and upon other occa- sions, I possessed; and my mind was oppressed with anxiety and fear, lest my labours should be unsuc- cessful, and lest a people so vain and so fondly at- tached to artificial eloquence and to curious specu- lation as the Corinthians, would not listen to a doc- ^ In much trembling.'] It is uncertain whether from bodily disorder or mental anxiety, probably both. Vide 2 Cor. xii. " He refers," says Archbishop Newcome, " to his bodily infirmities, his less graceful speech, and manual labour, 2 Cor. x, 10 ; also to solicitous diligence in preaching, and fear of giving offence." Part I. I. C O R I N T H 1 A N S. Sect, I. ii. 4. 35 trine which presented itself in so humble and so ob- Ch. ii. noxious a form. And my doctrine and my preaching luas jiot with Ver. 4. the persuasion of wisdom^, but luith the manifesta- tion of a poiverful spirit ^ ; that your faith might 5. not be founded i?i the zvisdom of men^ but in the power of God. Neither in my private discourses nor in public ad- dresses did I attempt to win you over to the profes- sion of Christianity by the arts of eloquence or the refinements of reasoning, upon which the philoso- phers and those who would now withdraw your al- legiance from the gospel, set so high a value ; I con- tented myself with stating plain facts in plain and simple language, and with appealing to the miracles which I wrought among you, and to the miraculous powers which I communicated to you, in proof of the doctrine which I taught. And this course I pursued for the express purpose that your faith might not rest on human artifice or human reasoning, but upon the satisfactory and indubitable proofs of a di- vine interposition. This is one instance among many, in which the * Persuasion of wisdom :"] sv ■ffsiQoi croipias. This reading is introduced into Griesbach's inner margin as of good authority. The received text reads " in the persuasive w^ords of man's wis- dom j" the objections to which are stated by Pearce, ' Manifestation, &c.] So Pearce. Gr. " with demonstra- tion of the spirit and of power j" which is the rendering of New- come, q. d. The doctrine which I preached was not confirmed by eloquence or reasoning, but by the public and incontroverti- ble operations and gifts of the holy spirit. d2 36 Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. Sect. I. n. 5. Ch. II. apostle appeals to his miraculous powers in attesta- ^' ■ ■ tion of the truth of his doctrine ; an appeal which, in the circumstances in which it was made, would have argued insanity in the appellant, if the facts had not been incontrovertible. And the existence of these powers is the only satisfactory method of accounting for the rapid progress of a doctrine so unpopular, from a teacher so obnoxious, among a people so vain and supercilious as the Corinthians. And in the circumstances in which the apostle stood, he justly appeals to his miracles, not merely as facts calculated to excite attention, but as proper and sufficient proofs of the truth of his doctrine; for it is impossible that God should have interposed to suspend the laws of nature, in order to support a gross and mischievous imposition upon mankind. 5. Nevertheless, the doctrine which the apostle taught was the only true wisdom : unknown, in- deed, to the heathen philosophy or to the Jewish hierarchy, but revealed by the spirit of God, and ac- knowledged by those who were truly wise, ver. 6 — 10. 6. Nevertheless^ tve speak wisdom among those that are perfect^ ; but not the wisdom of this age-, nor of the rulers of this age, ivho are vanislmig^. ' Those that are perfect^ " Perfect here," says Mr. Locke, " is the same with spiritual, ver. 15 ; one that is so perfectly well apprized of the divine nature and original of the Christian religion, that he sees and acknowledges it to be a pure revela- tion from God, and not in the least the product of human dis- covery, parts, or learning ; and so deriving it wholly from what Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. Skct. I. ii. 5. 3/ Persons well instructed in the Christian religion Ch. ii. plainly see that the doctrine we teach is the truest ^^''" ^' philosophy, the only doctrine that deserves the name of wisdom. It is not, indeed, that wisdom in which the philosophers of Greece, or the leaders and teach- ers of the Jews, make their boast. They treat it with scorn : yet it is a doctrine that will be eventu- ally subversive of the pretended wisdom both of the Jew and Gentile ; which is indeed even now giving way before it. But we speak the mysterious luisdom of God^; 7- God has taught by his spirit in the sacred scriptures, allows not the least part of it to be ascribed to the skill or abilities of men. Thus perfect is opposed to carnal, eh. iii, 1,3; i.e. such babes in Christianity, such weak and mistaken Christians, that they thought the gospel was to be managed like human arts and sci- ences among men of the world, and those were better instructed and more in the right who followed this master or teacher rather than another; whereas in the school of Christ, all is to be built upon the authority of God alone." — " Perfect, perfectly in- structed, or of full stature in Christ : vr^itios is opposed, ch. iii. \, xiii. II, xiv. 20; Heb. v. 13, 14." Newcome. * This age^ " Aiojv outos seems to me to signify commonly, if not constantly in the New Testament, that state which, during the Mosaical constitution, men, whether Jews or Gentiles, were in, as contra-distinguished to the evangelical state or constitu- tion ; which is commonly called aiwv ^tX\m, or spy^oy^svos, ' the world (age) to come.' " Locke. ^ Are vanishing.'] " twv xatacpysiJ^eviuy. The Jewish rulers, and their veiy constitution itself, were upon the point of being abolished and swept away." Locke. * Mysterious wisdom of God.'] Gr. " wisdom of God in a my- stery." Tlie mystery is, the calling of the Gentiles into the church. See Newcome. This is the wisdom of God : that di- vine philosophy which excelled the wisdom of Greece and Rome. This mystery was " concealed in the mysterious and obscure prophecies of the Old Testament." Locke, — Awvmv, ages. See Locke. 38 Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. Sect. I. ii. 5. Ch. II, that hidden wisdom ivhich God pre-ordained before ^^' the ages, that we might he glorified'^, "The doctrine we teach is a divine philosophy. It was I'ong a mystery unknown to Jew or Gentile. It is a scheme of benevolence and wisdom, which the Father of the human race formed and determined in his eternal counsels before the legation of Moses, the call of Abraham, or even the creation of the world ; and one branch of that wise and glorious plan was, that we, the apostles of Jesus, should have the honour of promulgating this divine doctrine to the world. 8. A wisdom ivhich none of the riders of this age^ knew I for, if they had hnoivn it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory 3. None of the leaders and instructors of the Jew- ish nation, none of the scribes and pharisees, the priests and doctors of the law, the wise and subtle ' That we might be glorified.'] Gr. " to our glory." — " in or- der to glorify us." Pearce. See Isa. Ix. 21, Ixi. 3. — " to the glory of us who understand, receive, and preach it," Locke. * Rulers of this age.'] " He that well considers ver. 28 of the foregoing chapter, and ver. 8 of this, may find reason to think that the apostle here principally designs, the rulers and great men of the Jewish nation." Locke ; who remarks, that Paul is here covertly opposing a false apostle who was himself a Jew, 2 Cor. xi. 22, and who valued himself upon that account. ^ Lord of glory.] There is no reason to believe that the apos- tle refers here to any thing peculiar in the nature of Christ ; but as he had just before spoken of the apostles and first teachers of the gospel as honoured by the commission which was given to them to publish the gospel, so he here speaks of Jesus Christ as the Lord of glory, or the glorious Lord who had been preemi- nently honoured by God as the messenger of the new dispensa- tion, and who had been put to death by the Jewish rulers, through ig-norance of his divine commission. Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. Sect.I.ii.S. 39 disputants of the schools, ever divined or anticipated Ch. n. this liberal and most benevolent plan of divine wis- dom, that the heathen, whom they treated with such contempt and scorn, should be received into the di- vine favour, and admitted into the family of God. Their prejudiced minds were unequal to the disco- very of this glorious truth, though it was foretold by their own prophets. And so far were their under- standings from being open to conviction, that they regarded with scorn, they insulted and crucified, that divine teacher whom God had honoured with supernatural distinction, had placed at the head of the new dispensation, and had commissioned as the first publisher of this glorious doctrine : a crime which they never would have perpetrated, if they had entertained right views of his character and of the object of his mission. But we speak "* as the scripture e.vpresses it (Isa. y. Ixiv. 4), the things which eye hath not seen and ear hath not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man, namely, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. The great object of our mission is to unfold and exhibit the blessings which God has in store for them who receive the gospel, and who yield a practical re- * We speak.} It is necessary to supply these or some such words, in order to complete the sentence. See Pearce. — Js the scripture expresses it : Gr. " as it is written." The quotation is from Isa. Ixiv. 4. The words in the original are part of the prayer of the Hebrew nation, in a season of great distress : they are evidently quoted by the apostle only in the way of accom- modation. 40 Part I. I. C O R I N T H I A N S. Sect. I. ii. 6. Ch. II. gard to It ; and which, in the emphatical language Ver. 9 10. ■10. of the prophet Isaiah, Ixiv. 4, exceed all that sense has ever experienced, or that imagination can con- ceive. But God has revealed them to us * hy his spirit. What human reason could never have discover- ed, nor sense enjoyed, nor imagination conceived, this God has been pleased to reveal to us his apostles, to me, who first preached the gospel at Corinth, by his holy spirit. And it is under that authority, of which I gave ample proof while I resided among you, and which none of the opposers of this doc- trine can exhibit, that I expect and require a sub- missive attention and a steadfast adherence to the doctrine which I teach. 6. God himself, who alone knows all his own thoughts and purposes of mercy to mankind, has vouchsafed to reveal them to the apostles and teach- ers of the gospel. For the spirit searches all things^ even the deep 1- things of God. For ivho knoweth the thoughts 2 of a man except the spiint of a man, ivhich is within him ? so likewise, no one knoweth the thoughts of God but the spirit of God. The spirit of a man is a man himself, who alone is conscious of what passes within him. It is plain. ' To MS.] The apostle " speaks in the plural number^ to avoid ostentation." Newcome. ' The thoughts.'] So Wakefield. The common version ren- ders the text, " the things of God." Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. Sect. I. ii. 6. 41 therefore, that by the spirit of God the apostle means Ch. ii. God himself; who alone knows the depth of his own counsels, all his own thoughts and purposes of wisdom and mercy to mankind, and reveals them to whomsoever he thinks fit. There is no reason, there- fore, to suppose that the spirit of God is an intelli- gent agent, distinct from the Father, whether equal or subordinate, who is acquainted with the Father's counsels : and the use of personal terms will by no means prove it, for nothing is more common in all ages and countries than to apply personal epithets to inanimate or imaginary beings, q. d. The spirit which has revealed this doctrine to us is the spirit of God himself; who must be as intimately acquaint- ed with all the gracious and unfathomable purposes of his own wisdom and mercy, as the mind of man is acquainted with its own thoughts. Now we have received, not the sphit of the ivorld^, 1 2. but that spirit which is from God; that we may understand the things which God has graciously vouchsafed to us 4. The spirit of the world here signifies, the spirit of Judaism. It is a spirit which misinterprets the prophecies ; as though it was their great scope and object to foretell the grandeur of the Jewish nation. * Spirit of the world.'] " As he puts the princes of the world, ver. 6, 8, for the rulers of the Jews, so he here puts the " spirit of the world" for the notions of the Jews 5 that worldly spirit with which they interpreted the Old Testament, and the pro- phecies of the Messiah and his kingdom." Locke. * Graciously vouchsafed :] y^apia-kvro:,. So Pearce. In the common version, " freely given to us." 42 Part I. I. C O R I N T H I A N S. Sect. I, ii. 1. Ch. II. and the destruction of their temporal enemies. This ■ was the sense in which the scribes and pharisees, and the teachers of the law, interpreted the Old Tes- tament scriptures; and the Jewish dispensation it- self is, in the writings of the apostle, distinguished by the appellation here used. Gal. vi. 14 : " By which the world is crucified to me, and I unto the world." But the apostle, after he had been con- verted to the Christian doctrine, had renounced this worldly spirit; and in lieu of it he had received the spirit of God, divine illuminations with regard to the gospel dispensation, by which he perfectly un- derstood the value and the large extent of that great blessing, which God had so freely given to mankind by Jesus Christ, and which his narrow-minded coun- trymen were not able to comprehend, q. d. The spirit by which we have been instructed is very dif- ferent from that of the Jewish teachers, who inter- pret the prophecies in a secular sense : whereas we have learned their true and spiritual meaning, and have been taught to form a much more correct idea of the nature and value of the promised blessings, 7. This doctrine so revealed, the apostles explain* ed in a suitable manner to those who were disposed to receive instruction, ver. 13. 13. fVhich things ive also speak, not in discourses dictated hy human wisdom, hut dictated hy the spi- rit\ explaining spiritual things to spiritual persons^. ' Dictated hrj the spirit.'] The received text reads, " the holy spirit J " but Gricsbach drops the word dyty, upon the authority Part I. I. C O R I N T H I A N S. Sect. I. ii,8. 43 This divine doctrine, communicated by inspira- Ch. ii. tion, we do not adorn with the arts of eloquence or ^'^' ' the speculations of philosophy, but we teach them in plain intelligible language, in the way in which we are divinely instructed to communicate the joy- ful tidings; and we explain these sublime and spi- ritual truths to those who, having renounced the narrow prejudices of Judaism, and the pernicious superstitions of heathenism, are disposed and quali- fied to receive the pure and simple religion of Jesus. 8. The speculative reasoner cannot comprehend the nature and ground of the believer's faith ; which rests wholly upon the instructions of those who are immediately commissioned by Christ, ver. J 4 — 16. ^nd the animal man 3 rcceiveth not the things of 14. of the best copies. A few copies read di^a.-xrj, " the teaching of the spirit ;" which Pearce prefers, as he does not think that the apostle could mean to say that his words were inspired : he thinks this reading confirmed by ver. 4. ^ Explaining.'] cvyKpivovrss . Bishop Pearce cites several pas- sages in which ffvyxpivuj signifies, to explain. Gen. xi. 8, 1 6, 22, xli. 12, 13, 15. He also thinks that the connexion requires that irvsvu.ocriKOi; should be understood of men, and not things. In the next verses the apostle assigns a reason why he explains spiritual things to spiritual men, viz. because the animal man {■^v^iKOs) cannot comprehend them. — " explaining spiritual things in spiritual words." Wakefield. The common translation is, " comparing spiritual things with spiritual :" " that is," says Archbishop Newcome, " comparing one revelation with another. 2 Cor. x. 12. Using our reason, as Peter did. Acts x. 28 ; and Paul himself. Acts xvi. 9, 10." This is a very good sense, but Bishop Pearce's seems preferable. ' The animal man.'] ^vyjy.og, as contra-distinguished to *v?y- [xaTMog, the spiritual man, ver. 14, 15. " The one signifies a man that has no higher principles to build on than those of na- tural reason ; the other, a man who founds his faith and religion 44 Pakt I. I. C O R I N T H 1 A N S. Sect. I. ii. 8. Ch. II. the spirit of God^ for they are foolishness to him ; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually disceriied. The man who has no other assistance than the light of nature, and who is guided by his own un- derstanding only, cannot attain to, nor comprehend, those truths which are revealed to such as accept the Christian revelation. To such persons, blinded by narrow and inveterate prejudice, or conceited of their eloquence and their sublime speculations, the doctrine of the gospel appears mere folly and ab- surdity. In their judgement, nothing can be more ridiculous than to hope for salvation from a con- demned and crucified malefactor, or to desire and expect the resurrection of that corruptible mass which perishes in the grave. Nor is it possible that men whose minds are so strongly warped, should be convinced of the truth and excellence of the Chris- tian doctrine, which can only be apprehended by those whose minds are in a right state to receive them ; that is, who are convinced of their own ig- norance and inability, and desirous of receiving hea- venly instruction. on divine revelation." Locke. Archbishop Newcome renders the word " the sensual man ■" and in his note explains it from Le Clerc, " he that is wholly devoted and enslaved to earthly things, and entirely taken up with the things of this life." But Mr. Locke's interpretation seems to suit the connexion best. The word spiritual being used to express one who rests his faith upon miracles : animal, which is opposed to it, naturally signifies one who is opposed to miracleSj and will only yield his iissent to rational arguments. Part I. I. C O R I N T H I A N S. Sect. I. ii. 8. 45 JVhereas the spiritual man discerneth ' all things, Ch. ir. while he himself is discerned by no one. ^'* ' A man of a humble and teachable disposition, who is willing to lay aside his prejudices, whether Jewish or heathen, and to receive the gospel upon its proper evidence, will understand the doctrine of Christ, will see its reasonableness and truth, anH its admirable congruity to the moral state and circum- stances of the world, and will admire and adore the wisdom and goodness of God in the manifestation of this glorious doctrine. While others, who remain involved in their ignorance, their prejudices, their bigotry, and their vices, are astonished at the lan- guage and conduct of the true believer, and are per- fectly at a loss to comprehend the evidence by which he is convinced of the doctrine which he embraces, and the principles by which he is governed. *' He remains like a man endued with sight amongst those born blind, who are incapable of apprehending what is clear to him ; and, amidst their own darkness, can- ^ Discerneth^ ccvccKpivsi. " the spiritual man discerneth every one," Wakefield. — " Avaxotvcu, in its primary signification, is to examine as a judge in a court of justice : hence it comes to signify the next step a judge takes, viz. to form a judgement. This sense will suit all the places where the word is used, in this and the next verse." Bishop Pearce. — " He that lays his foundation in divine revelation can judge what is, and what is not, the doctrine of the gospel ; who is, and who is not, a good preacher of the word of God : but others, who go not beyond the discoveries made by the natural faculties, cannot judge of such an one whether he preaches right or not." Locke. Bishop Pearce inserts this verse in a parenthesis, and con- nects the 13th with the 15th j viz. "The animal man cannot know that (not because) they are to be spiritually judged of — for who knoweth the mind of the Lord," &:c. 40 Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. Sect. I. n. 8. Ch. n. not participate of, nor understand, those beautiful ideas and pleasing sensations which light pours in upon him '." 16. For who knoweth the mind of the Lord^ that he should instruct him^? but we have the mind of Christ. Who that is not instructed by revelation can un- derstand the mind and will of God, so as to be pro- perly qualified to teach it to others, and to commu- nicate instruction to the spiritual man ? that is, to those whose minds are open to receive the truth. None of those who set themselves up in opposition to us, the apostles of Christ, none of those who value themselves upon their skill in Jewish or hea- then philosophy, are on that account qualified to in- struct men in the truths of the gospel ; but we, who are authorized apostles, and who have learned the Christian doctrine by the instruction of the spirit of God, and by supernatural illumination, are assured that we are in possession of the genuine truths of the Christian religion, and that we are duly autho- rized and qualified to communicate these important truths to all who are prepared to receive them. And being in possession of the true doctrine of Christ, and having given the most satisfactory proofs that we are so, we have a right to challenge the attentive and persevering regard of our hearers. ' See Doddridge in loc. * Instruct him :'] i.e. the spiritual man. Locke, Newcome. — " WTio knoweth the mind of the Lord, that he should teach it > aurov, i. e. vsv." Pearce. The words are a quotation from Isa. xl. 13. Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. SEcr.I.m. 1. 4/ III. The apostle, returning from his digression con- Ch. III. cerning the philosophy of the Christian religion, re- sumes his animadversions upon the party spirit which prevailed at Corinth, and assures the Corinthians, that the true and authorized teachers of the gospel disclaimed all pretensions to establish themselves as the heads of rival parties, and aspired to no other distinction than that of being fellow servants of the same master, and fellow labourers in the same cause, ch. iii. 1 — iv. 6. 1 . The apostle animadverts upon the party zeal which prevailed at Corinth, as a proof of the imper- fection of their character, and of the prevalence of a heathenish and worldly spirit, ch. iii. 1 — 4. ^nd I, my hretJwen^ could not speak to you as Vei-. I. to spiritual persons^ ^ but as to carnal ones. When I was with you, I saw so much of an un- becoming spirit, that I could hardly regard you as genuine converts to Christianity, being so deeply involved in Jewish or heathen prejudices, which you ' Spiritual persons^ willing to take principles on the credit of revelation. Carnal, who accept of no assistance but from their own reason. See Locke. The same opposition is here ob- served as between the animal man -^u-x^i-kos, and the spiritual man itvzviuciriMg , in the preceding chapter. Carnal, or babes in Christ, i. e. " such as had not their understandings yet fully opened to the true grounds of the Christian religion," but re- tained a great many childish thoughts about it, as appeared by their divisions, one for the doctrine of his master Paul, another for his master ApoUos, which, if they had been spiritual, they could not have dJone." Locke. 48 Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. Sect.I. m. I. Ch. III. were so little disposed to resign to the authority of divine revelation. Ver. 2. I fed you with milk as babes i in Christ, not with meaty for you were not then able to receive it, neither are ye even yet able ^. Seeing you were so much disposed to cavil and dispute, I taught you only the plainest and simplest principles of the Christian doctrine, resei-ving the rest till, by the practical influence of the first, you were brought to a better temper. I treated you as babes with the simplest food ; hoping that you would digest it easily; and that you would grow and thrive under this gentle treatment, and fostering care. But I am disappointed : you are still children, unfit to be nourished with strong and generous food ; un- able to receive those doctrines which would subdue your prejudices, and elevate you to the full maturity and dignity of the Christian character. 3. Because you are still carnal; for while there is among you emulationy and contentions, and divi' • Bales'^ Mr. Wakefield, upon the authority of Clemens Alex., and some ancient versions, reads vrpaBs for yij7r»0i;, and joins it to the beginning of the second verse. * Neither are ye even yet able.l Qu. What was that meat which the Corinthians could not digest ? that doctrine which they could not receive ? Not surely, that Gentiles were to be received into the church without submitting to the yoke of the law : for to this, the Corinthians in general could have no objection, nor did Paul ever conceal it. Was it the vanity and worthlessness of all their boasted systems of philosophy ? Or was it the utter insignificance of all external rites and forms ; and the perfect spirituality of the Christian religion, which imposes the strong- est restraints upon all irregular affections, and requires purity of heart, and integrity of character as the only sacrifice which God will accept ? Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. Sect. I. in. 1. 49 6'wiis, are ye not carnal, and do ye not lualk as un- Ch, iir. converted men? for luhen one saith, lam of Paul; Ver. 4. and another, I of Apollos ; are ye not carnal^ ? I cannot even yet instruct you to valuable pur- pose, in the principles, and in the pure and humble spirit of the Christian rehgion ; for you have still so much of the spirit of heathenism, that you are un- willing to listen to them. Is not my charge just? I appeal to your own understanding and consciences. When you dispute and quarrel amongst yourselves; when, instead of listening to the instructions and imbibing the spirit of your Christian teachers, you are setting them up as heads of opposite parties, and abusing each other as retainers of different sects; is this, think you, the spirit of Christianity? is not this the spirit of your unconverted state ? is it not the same spirit which prevails amongst your heathen neighbours ? who value themselves upon being the ' Carnal,'] actuated by a spirit opposite to that of Christianity, a proud, contentious, conceited spirit, arising from ignorance of the proper basis and spirit of Christianity. — xara avSpuitov, as men, i. e. as other men, as unbelievers, as unconverted heathen. So Sampson, vi'hen his hair was cut off, is said to be like a man, i. e. another man. Judges xvi. 7. And Christ submitting him- self to death became in fashion as a man, i. e. as another man ; he employed none of his miraculous powers to deliver himself, Phil.ii. 7,8. Mr. Locke, from comparing this verse with ch. iv. 6, conjec- tures that " the division in this church was only into two oppo- site parties, whereof, the one adhered to St. Paul, the other stood up for their head, a false apostle, who opposed St. Paul. It is true that St. Paul, in his epistles to the Corinthians, generally speaks of these, his opposers, in the plural number ; but it is to be remembered, that he speaks so of himself too, which, as it was the less invidious way with regard to himself, so it was the softer way toward his opposers." VOL. II. E 50 Part I, I.CORINTHIANS. Sect. I. in. 2. Ch. III. disciples, one of this eminent philosopher, and an- other of that, holding all other sects and teachers in aversion and contempt. Ver.4. 2. The ministers of the gospel affect to be no- thing more than servants of God, and fellow la- bourers in the same field of usefulness, ver. 5 — 9. 5. rf^Ao then is Paul, or, ivlio is Apollos P they are ministers i, by whose means ye became believers. And what then are these men whose names you assume, and under whose banners you desire to rank yourselves ? If they are faithful to their trust, they will most readily acknowledge that they are not masters, but servants employed by the same chief upon the same errand, namely, to invite you into the Christian community, and to instruct you in the Christian faith. And accordingly, as the Lord hath given to each 6. ofns^, I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. The teachers of Christianity have no reason to boast in their own attainments, nor have their dis- ciples any reason to set them up as heads of parties. * They are ministers?^ The received text read.s aXX' t], " hut ministers," which word is wanting- in the best copies, and omit- ted by Griesbach. * And accordingly as the Lord hath given to each of us.'] These words, which, in the common copies, are at the end of the fifth verse, are by Bowyer and Wakefield placed at the beginning of the sixth, q. d. We are both servants -, and as our common mas- ter has appointed us, so we labour in our respective stations and offices in the vineyard ; one plants, the other waters 3 but to no purpose without the divine blessing. Part I.CORINTHIANS. Sect.I. in. 2. 51 Whatever be their qualification or their furniture, it Ch. iii. is all given by God. It is he who has instructed them in Christian truth, who has given them those powers of reasoning or of eloquence, which they possess, who has appointed them their respective stations in the church, and who crowns their labours with his blessing. To him all their success is ow- ing, to him all praise is due. I first planted the church at Corinth, Apollos afterwards communi- cated further instruction, and confirmed and encou- raged you in your Christian profession. Each of us derived his commission and talent from God, and he crowned our labours with success, for without his blessing, our exertions would have been in vain. So that neither is he who planteth any thing, 7- nor he who watereth ; but God who giveth the in* crease. No teacher of the gospel, whatever be his ability, his station, his labours, or his success, has any right to arrogate merit to himself, or to set up himself, or to be exalted by others, above the rest of his fellow labourers, equally diligent, equally faithful, and per- haps equally useful with himself in their respective spheres. The wisest, the most active, the most elo- quent, the most learned, and the most useful, are nothing without the blessing of God ; and the weak- est and the most contemptible instruments, even they whom the world regards with indignation and scorn, are all-powerful in his hands. Whether we are employed in the conversion of unbelievers, or in the edification of Christians, all our ability for the e2 52 Part I. I.CORINTHIANS. SECT.I.in.2. Ch. III. sacred office is derived from God, and all the honour of success must be ascribed to him, Ver. 8. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one 1 ; and every one shall receive his own reivard according to his own labours. The faithful preachers of the gospel are all united in one employment, in promoting one and the same grand design. They form one body under the di- rection of one head ; but though united as a body, they are distinguished as individuals, and every one shall receive a revi^ard not proportioned to that suc- cess which it was not in his power to command, and which God did not see fit to grant, but to that ge- nerous and fervent zeal, that unwearied diligence, and that persevering resolution, with which he em- ployed himself in promoting the great cause of truth and virtue. 9, For lue are fellow-labourers in the service of God'^, ye are the field of God^. • Are ojie.] " one thing in design,, interest, affection, idem agunt negotium." Grotius. Newcorae. ' We arefellow-laboitrers.'] " This is a sublime idea," says Dr. Priestley, " and should inspire all who labour in the propa- gation of the gospel with zeal and courage. It is a work which God himself has undertaken, and we are acting under and to- gether with him." This remark is made, admitting the common to be the true translation, we are workers together with God. And it is indeed a noble and an encouraging thought. But con- sidering that the design of the apostle is to show that all the mi- nisters of the gospel are upon an equality, as being fellow-ser- vants of the same master, I prefer the translation of Dr. Ham- mond and Bishop Pearce : " we are fellow -labourers of God;" i. e. we labour together in the work of God. See 2 Cor. i. 24. " TO , let him become a fool^f that he may be truly wise. Let no man falsely imagine that mere philosophy is genuine Christianity ; nor let him vainly Hatter himself that he is an eminent Christian because he may be a subtle disputant. Whatever proficiency he may have made in the philosophy of the Jewish or of the heathen schools, let him know that he must renounce it all before he can be admitted into the school of Christ; and that in order to attain the cha- racter of true wisdom, he must submit to be in- structed in the first principles of the Christian doc- trine, by those men who are treated with scorn by the philosophers of the age. 19. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God: for it is written, " He entangles the wise in 20. their own artifice T And again, " The Lord know- eth the reasonings of the ivise, that they arevdin^" * fVise in this world.'} " in the wisdom and learning of this world." Newcome ; who observes, that " the factious leaders thought themselves wise : and the question. Know ye not ? ver. 1 6, may imply this." * Become a fool.'] " Let him embrace the true wisdom of the gospel : which the world deems foolishness." Newcome. ^ It is written.'} Job v. 13 : "He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." Ps. xciv. 11 : " The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity." — It is plain that these texts are cited merely in the way of accommodation. In the first, Eliphaz asserts the supreme wisdom of God, and his infinite superiority to man ; in the second, the Psalmist asserts the controul of God's providence over tlie mischievous devices of wicked oppressors. Part I. I. C O R I N T H 1 A N S. Sect. I. in. 5. G3 The wisdom of the Grecian school, upon which Ch. iii. the philosophers so much value themselves, is of *^'' " little worth in the sight of God ; because it conduces little either to improve the knowledge or to regulate the practice of its possessors, upon subjects of the greatest moral importance. It fills their minds with pride and vanity, and occupies their time with use- less controversy. Agreeably to this is the declara- tion of Eliphaz, the friend of Job, that God permits those who esteem themselves wise above the rest of their fellow-creatures to perplex and lose themselves in subtle and fruitless discussions. And to the same purport is the observation of the Psalmist, in which he represents the wise providence of the Supreme Being as controuling and confounding the mis- chievous devices of oppressors ; and, in general, as regarding with contempt the schemes and systems of human wisdom. The propriety of these observations would be more apparent, if, as was probably the case, the apostle's opponent at Corinth were a man who valued him- self upon, and was admired by his followers for, his eloquence and philosophical acuteness ; who was en- deavouring to corrupt the Christian doctrine by the in- troduction of philosophical principles; and who spoke of the apostle and other faithful and well informed teachers of Christianity with contempt, because of their ignorance of the philosophy of the schools. 6. All boasting in teachers must be excluded ; 64 Patit I. I.CORINTHIANS. Skct. I. iii. 6. Ch. Ill, since all are appointed by Christ to minister to their advantage, and Christ himself is the minister of God, ver. 21—23. Ver. 21. Therefore, let no one glory hi men^for all things are yours. Let no one value himself upon being the disciple of this or that eminent teacher of the gospel, and exalt him in their esteem above the rest of his fel- low-servants ; for the best are nothing more than instruments in the hands of God, to promote your improvement in knowledge and virtue. 22. Whether Paid, or Apollos, or Cephas'^; whether the world^, or life, or death, or things present, or things future ; all are yours. The most eminent ministers of the gospel, even the apostles themselves, yea, the very chief among them, are not your masters, but your servants : they claim no authority over your persons, nor dominion > Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas^ Christ is here omitted in the enumeration of teachers : probably, therefore, Christ was not introduced by the apostle in the first chapter, as the leader of a party; ch. i. 12. * The world .•] i. e. " every body besides, every person in the world : as we s.ay. All the world knows it. It comprehends an- gels, as well as men." Bishop Pearce. — " all things which the world affords." Newcome. — " sirs %07iiog, reliqui etiam omnes homines, Deo ita dirigente, comrnodis vestris inservire debent ; xo(ry,o$, homines in mundo. Apostolus itaque a speciali ad gene- rale progreditur, et felicitatem Christianorum prcedicat." Ro- senmuUer. This seems to be the interpretation of all the com- mentators, and is perhaps Ihe true one ; but as the apostle in the context has been speaking so much of the world, in con- nexion with the philosophers and the v^-isdom of the schools, it does not seem improbable that he might allude to the teachers of philosophy in particular in this place. Part I. I. CORINTHIANS. Skct. I. in. G. 65 over your faith ; they desire nothing but to promote Ch. iir. your improvement in wisdom and goodness ; and to ^^'" ^^' that end they zealously, in their respective stations, devote their talents and their labours. And not only the teachers of Christianity, but every thing else may, by a prudent use, with the blessing of God, be made subservient to your true interest. The world itself, and all things in it, and particularly the wisdom of the world, the doctrine of the philosophic schools, may teach you the value of Christianity, by discovering the weakness of human reason. Life is yours, if you improve it to useful purposes ; and the religion of Jesus teaches you to regard even death itself as gain, both as it releases you from a state of labour and suffering, and as it ultimately introduces you into a new, a happy, and an immortal existence. Things that are present are yours : if used with mo- deration, they contribute to your good: and things to come, the reward of persevering virtue in a future life, will far transcend all your merits and all your expectations. But ye are Christ's. 23. The ministers of the gospel, and all things else, are subservient to your ultimate advantage. They are, in a certain sense, your servants, your property : but do not therefore imagine that you are yourselves under no controul. You are, by your profession, the servants and the property of Christ. He has re- deemed you from the bondage of your heathen state; and though you are set at liberty from idolatrous rites, from legal ceremonies, and from human au- VOL. II. ¥ GQ Pakt L I.CORINTHIANS. Sect. I. in. 7. Ch. III. thority, you are still the servants of Christ. He is your sole master : his doctrine you must acknow- ledge, his laws you must obey, his yoke you must bear, and his wages you will receive. —23. y4nd Christ is God's. As you are his subjects and servants, and acknowledge Jesus as your head, so does he, your Master, acknowledge subjection to God, and profess allegiance to the Great Supreme ; from whom he derives existence, from whom he re- ceived his high commission, and all the gifts and powers by which it was confirmed ; by whose al- mighty power he was raised from the dead, and in- vested with the authority which he now exercises over the church ; whose servant and subject he avows himself to be, to whose glory all his labours are con- secrated, and from whose hand he has received his glorious and transcendent reward. Ch. IV. 7. The ministers of the gospel, far from being leaders of parties, are nothing more than servants and stewards of Christ, whose chief requisite is faith- fulness, ch. iv. 1, 2. Ver. 1. Let a man so regard us, as servants of Christ^, 2. and stewards of the mysteries of God, And as to the rest, it is required^ of stewards, that a man should he faithful. ' Servants of Christ.'] " As to me, I pretend not to set up a school among you ; and as a master, to have my scholars de- nominated from me." Locke. ^ It is required.'] Bishop Pearce, upon the authority of vsome ancient copies and versions, reads cuSa Aojiro/ instead of 6 Sv " it is here required ;" i. e. among men. Part I. I. C O R I N T H I A N S. Sect. I. in. 8. 67 Upon the whole, the true light in which the mi- Ch. iv. nisters of the gospel ought to be regarded, is that ^^'' ^' of fellow servants of the same master, Jesus ; all of us upon an equal footing, no one having any pre- eminence above another, all being engaged in the same cause, all employed as stewards of the myste- ries of God, dispensing those sacred truths which were heretofore concealed from the mass of man- kind ; being utterly unknown to the Gentile world, and obscurely revealed even to the Jews themselves. Being thus employed by the same Master, who has furnished us with our respective talents, and assigned to us our several offices, all that is required from us is, the faithful performance of the duties incumbent upon us, the consciousness of which will bear us up under all outward discouragements. 8. The apostle, conscious of integrity, makes light of the calumnies of his adversaries, and appeals to the judgement of God, ver. 3 — 5. But to me it is of very small moment to be judged 3. by yoUy or by any human inquiry 3 ; nor, indeed, do 1 judge even myself : for though lam not conscious 4^ to myself of any fault*, yet J am not for that reason justified^', but he luhojudgeth me is the Lord. ' Human inquiry J] So Pearce and Newcome. — " man's judge- ment." Wakefield. avSpa."?ri»ryj y)|U-£par Jerom marks this phrase, among others, as a specimen of the apostle's Cilician idiom, day for judgement ; as in Latin, diem dicere. See Grotius. — " av. ijjw,. ab humano judicio. Sermone Anglico vacatur a days-man, qui delectus est judex inter fratrem et fratr em, forte a dicendo diem, in quo judicium feret arbiter:" KnatchbuU. See ch. i. 8, iii. 13, V. 5. f2 58 Part I, 1. C O R I N T H I A N S. Skct. I. in. 8. Ch. IV. Some of you affect to think very meanly of my ^' ■ ' abilities and of my services, and pass severe cen- sures upon my character, preferring other teachers to me, who first planted the gospel among you, and confirmed it by miracles ; but conscious as I am of faithfulness in the discharge of the duties of my office, I think little of such censures as these, nor do I set any high value upon the opinion that any man or class of men may entertain of me; for they are liable to prejudice and error : nor will my final State be affected by their opinion. Nor yet do I place entire confidence in the judgement I form of my own character ; for though I am not conscious of any thing amiss in performing the duties of my office, I do not therefore consider myself as perfectly clear. Prejudice, partiality, self-ignorance, and self- love, may lead me to form too favourable an opinion of myself and of my labours. But there is One who judges of human character with infallible precision, and by his judgement we must all abide : it is God who searches the heart. To be finally approved by him is indeed a concern of the highest moment. * Any fault.] " Elliptke, pro ovSsv xaxov u.oi crwoiSa,, nihil mail mihi conscius sum." RosenmuUer. See Pearce. * Justified.'] " AshKccicoiiai. Sed propterea non ab omni culpa sum liber." RosenmuUer. — Bishop Pearce observes, that the word justified does not come up to the full meaning of J