1 Corinthians · Chapter 1

V. 1. Paul, called to be an apostle-There is great propriety in every clause of the salutation, particularly in this, as there were some in the church of Corinth who called the authority of his mission in question. Through the will of God-Called the commandment of God, 1 Timothy 1:1. This was to the churches the ground of his authority; to Paul himself, of an humble and ready mind. By the mention of God, the authority of man is excluded, Galatians 1:1; by the mention of the will of God, the merit of Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:8, &c. And Sosthenes-A Corinthian, St. Paul's companion in travel. It was both humility and prudence in the apostle, thus to join his name with his own, in an epistle wherein he was to reprove so many irregularities. Sosthenes the brother-Probably this word is emphatical; as if he had said, Who, from a Jewish opposer of the gospel, became a faithful brother.

Verse 1. Paul, called to be an apostle] Bishop Pearce contends that a comma should be placed after klhtov, called, which should not be joined to apostolov, apostle: the first signifies being called to, the other sent from. He reads it, therefore, Paul the called; the apostle of Jesus Christ. The word klhtov, called, may be here used, as in some other places, for constituted. For this, and the meaning of the word apostle, see Clarke’s note on “Romans 1:1”.

As the apostle had many irregularities to reprehend in the Corinthian Church, it was necessary that he should be explicit in stating his authority. He was called-invited to the Gospel feast; had partaken of it, and, by the grace he received, was qualified to proclaim salvation to others: Jesus Christ therefore made him an apostle, that is, gave him a Divine commission to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles.

Through the will of God] By a particular appointment from God alone; for, being an extraordinary messenger, he derived no part of his authority from man.

Sosthenes our brother] Probably the same person mentioned Acts 18:17, where see the note.

Verse 1. Paul, called to be an apostle — There is great propriety in every clause of the salutation, particularly in this, as there was a faction at this time in the church at Corinth, which pretended to entertain doubts of his apostleship, 1 Corinthians 9:1; probably in consequence of insinuations thrown out against it by the Judaizing teacher, or teachers, who had come thither after his departure. The apostle, therefore, begins his letter by informing them, “that he was not, like Matthias, an apostle made by men, neither did he assume the office by his own authority, but he was called to it by Christ himself, who for that purpose appeared to him from heaven.” The original expression, klhtov apostolov Ihsou Cristou, is literally, a called apostle of Jesus Christ, or Jesus Christ’s called apostle. Through the will of God — Termed the commandment of God, 1 Timothy 1:1. This was, to the churches, the ground of his authority; to Paul himself, of an humble and ready mind. By the mention of God, the authority of man is excluded, Galatians 1:1; by the mention of the will of God, the merit of Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:8, &c. And Sosthenes — If, as most commentators think, this person be that chief ruler of the synagogue at Corinth, mentioned Acts 18:17, as active in persecuting Paul, we must suppose that he was afterward converted, and became an eminent preacher of the gospel. And as it seems he had considerable influence among the Corinthians, it was prudence, as well as humility, in the apostle, thus to join his name with his own, in an epistle where he was to reprove so many irregularities. Sosthenes our brother — Probably this word is emphatical; as if he had said, Who, from a Jewish opposer of the gospel, became a faithful brother.

Verse 1, 2. Paul, called to be an apostle. It was proper to mention this, else he would have had no title to address his letter to the Corinthians, and the catholic church, or saints in general, who in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Calling upon the name of the Lord is expressive of the supreme worship presented to Jehovah by the Hebrew church. Christians therefore, in their prayers and hymns to the Qeiothv, Divinity or Godhead, which in all its plenitude dwells in Christ, call upon his name in the same sense, and in the same manner. As these words occur in nearly all Paul’s epistles, and as they would be read in the ears of jews and gentiles, he cautiously uses terms fully authorized by the Hebrew scriptures. The Father possessed the Wisdom or Word in his bosom. The Messiah sits on his Father’s throne, from which the river of life proceeds. Proverbs 8:22. Psalm 110:1. Revelation 3:21. 22:1, 2. The worship of the church must necessarily be addressed to Him that made the heavens and the earth, according to the words of our Lord to the tempter. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Matthew 4:10. Acts 9:14. With this our litanies correspond. “We pray thee, help thy servants whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood.”

Of Sosthenes we know nothing, except the name; but being so honourably associated with the apostle, it can scarcely be doubted but it is the brother and minister named in Acts 18:17.

1. Paul, called to be an apostle—See note on Romans 1:1. Neander says, “Kalein, to call, is used to denote the way in which God specially appoints men to any particular end.” Not quite correct. It strictly designates only God’s own act of summoning or inviting to an end. It expresses the divine side of calling; but the human side of obedience to the call being implied, the word does, in cases of obedience, presuppose the consequent assignment of the man to the mission. Notes, Romans 1:1; 8:30; 1 Corinthians 8:20. Will of God—And so not an uncalled apostle, through man’s will only, as we shall find in the two epistles that Paul’s opponents at Corinth maintained. Sosthenes our brother— Literally, the brother; so that the great apostle and the humble brother unite in this epistle. And this subordinate cooperation of the brother in this epistolizing is beyond question best explained by supposing that Sosthenes (like Tertius in Romans 16:22, and Sylvanus and Timothy in 1 Thessalonians 1:1) was his amanuensis. And as we find a Corinthian Sosthenes in Acts 18:17, (see note on Acts 18:8,) so what is called in logic the “law of parsimony,” namely, the law that we should not suppose more things than necessary, requires that we should not make more than one Sosthenes where one will suffice. If Sosthenes, the synagogue-ruler of Corinth, became a Christian, he was, doubtless, the proper man to be Paul’s aid, and his fellow-epistolizer to the Corinthians.

Ver. 1. Paul, called apostle, Christ Jesus: Romans 1:1. Paul belonged to Jesus of Nazareth, the Anointed One, as one sent by Him on a special mission to men and thus placed by Him in the first rank in His Church: Acts 26:17f; 1 Corinthians 12:28. Through the will of God. 2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1; more fully, 1 Timothy 1:1. As usual, Paul rises from the Son to the Father, whose will is the source of whatever Christ has done, and therefore of Paul's apostleship. Cp. Galatians 1:4. In this letter Paul will be compelled to use his apostolic authority. He therefore begins by reminding his readers that he received this authority by an express summons, and by the will of God.

Sosthenes: joined with Paul as joint author of the Epistle, or rather as sanctioning its contents. So “Timothy,” in 2Co., Php., Col.; “Timothy and Silvanus,” in 1 and 2 Thess.; “all the saints,” in Galatians. The close connection of Timothy and Silvanus with the church addressed, moved Paul to join their names with his own. Sosthenes, however, is quite unknown to us. (The same name in Acts 18:17 is small proof or presumption of identity.) But he was evidently known to the Corinthians. And, doubtless, Paul had reasons for intimating in this way that he approved the contents of the Epistle. He may have been Paul's penman. But this would be no sufficient reason for his mention here; any more than Tertius, Romans 1:1; 16:22. Nor is it proved by his mention here. For it is not likely that two penmen were needed for the Epistles to the Thessalonians: nor could that to the Galatians be written down by “all the saints with” Paul.

V. 2. To the church of God which is in Corinth-St. Paul, writing in a familiar manner to the Corinthians, as also to the Thessalonians and Galatians, uses this plain appellation. To the other churches he uses a more solemn address.

Sanctified through Jesus Christ-And so undoubtedly they were in general, notwithstanding some exceptions.

Called-Of Jesus Christ, Romans 1:6

And-As the fruit of that calling made holy.

With all that in every place-Nothing could better suit that catholic love which St. Paul labours to promote in this epistle, than such a declaration of his good wishes for every true Christian upon earth.

Call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-This plainly implies that all Christians pray to Christ, as well as to the Father through him.

Verse 2. The Church of God which is at Corinth] This Church was planted by the apostle himself about A. D. 52, as we learn from Acts 18:1, &c., where see the notes.

Sanctified in Christ Jesus] hJgiasmenoiv, Separated from the corruptions of their place and age.

Called to be saints] klhtoiv agioiv, Constituted saints, or invited to become such; this was the design of the Gospel, for Jesus Christ came to save men from their sins.

With all that in every place, &c.] All who profess Christianity, both in Corinth, Ephesus, and other parts of Greece or Asia Minor; and by this we see that the apostle intended that this epistle should be a general property of the universal Church of Christ; though there are several matters in it that are suited to the state of the Corinthians only.

Both theirs and ours] That is, Jesus Christ is the common Lord and Saviour of all. He is the exclusive property of no one Church, or people, or nation. Calling on or invoking the name of the Lord Jesus, was the proper distinguishing mark of a Christian. In those times of apostolic light and purity no man attempted to invoke God but in the name of Jesus Christ; this is what genuine Christians still mean when they ask any thing from God for Christ’s SAKE.

Verse 2. Unto the church of God which is at Corinth — The apostle, writing in a familiar manner to the Corinthians, as also to the Thessalonians and Galatians, uses this plain appellation; to the other churches he uses a more solemn address: to them that are sanctified in, or through, Christ Jesus — That is, called out of the world, set apart for God, and made holy, through faith in Christ, and by grace derived from him, the head of his mystical body. Thus sanctified, undoubtedly they were in general, notwithstanding some exceptions, called — Of Jesus Christ, Romans 1:6; to be saints — That is, holy persons, by virtue of that calling, or, as kletoiv agioiv is literally, saints, or holy persons, called: with all that in every place — All the world over; and particularly in every part of Achaia; nothing could better suit that catholic love which Paul labours to promote in this epistle, than such a declaration of his good wishes for every true Christian upon earth. Call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord — This plainly implies that all true Christians pray to Christ, as well as to the Father through him. We have the same expression with that here used, Acts 7:59: They stoned Stephen, epikaloumenon, calling upon, or invoking, namely, Christ, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. See also Acts 9:14; 22:16; Romans 10:12-14. Praying to Christ was so much practised by the first Christians, that Pliny mentions it in the letter to Trajan: Carmen Christo quasi Deo dicere, They sing a hymn to Christ as God. Both theirs and ours — That is, who is Lord of all true believers everywhere. This the apostle mentioned in the beginning of his letter, to show the Corinthians how absurd it was for the disciples of one master to be divided into factions under particular leaders. Christ is the only Lord or Master of all his disciples, whether they be Jews or Gentiles; and therefore they ought not to disagree among themselves. “Though this epistle was written primarily to correct the disorderly practices of the Corinthians, it contains many general instructions, which could not fail to be of use to all the brethren in the province of Achaia likewise, and even to Christians in every place: for which reason the inscription consists of three members, and includes them all.”

Verse 1, 2. Paul, called to be an apostle. It was proper to mention this, else he would have had no title to address his letter to the Corinthians, and the catholic church, or saints in general, who in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Calling upon the name of the Lord is expressive of the supreme worship presented to Jehovah by the Hebrew church. Christians therefore, in their prayers and hymns to the Qeiothv, Divinity or Godhead, which in all its plenitude dwells in Christ, call upon his name in the same sense, and in the same manner. As these words occur in nearly all Paul’s epistles, and as they would be read in the ears of jews and gentiles, he cautiously uses terms fully authorized by the Hebrew scriptures. The Father possessed the Wisdom or Word in his bosom. The Messiah sits on his Father’s throne, from which the river of life proceeds. Proverbs 8:22. Psalm 110:1. Revelation 3:21. 22:1, 2. The worship of the church must necessarily be addressed to Him that made the heavens and the earth, according to the words of our Lord to the tempter. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Matthew 4:10. Acts 9:14. With this our litanies correspond. “We pray thee, help thy servants whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood.”

Of Sosthenes we know nothing, except the name; but being so honourably associated with the apostle, it can scarcely be doubted but it is the brother and minister named in Acts 18:17.

2. Sanctified in Christ Jesus—For every justified man is also, in some degree, a sanctified man. Every true Christian is a saint. And the word saints is a usual New Testament appellation for the body of true believers. Romans 15:23; 1 Corinthians 6:1, 2; Ephesians 1:1, 18; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2. Called to be saints—Literally, called saints. As Paul was a called apostle, so they were called saints. Saints—That is, holy ones; a term, as just said, with different degrees of verity, applicable, as it is here applied, to all Christians. With all—That is, they are called saints not alone; but in blessed unity with the living, universal Church. Call upon—So that there is a mutual call; Jesus Christ calls them, and they call upon Jesus Christ. By call upon, is meant, praying to. So Stephen, in Acts 7:59; and so Acts 9:14, and Romans 10:13. This last text, in particular, shows that the phrase means prayer in its highest sense as to God, and is a very conclusive proof that the very mark of a Christian, in Paul’s view, was truly praying to Christ, as that of a Jew was blaspheming him, and that of a Gentile was worshipping idols. In every place—The Greek order of words is thus: with all that call upon the name of the Lord in every place, both theirs and ours. Theirs and ours—Some make this mean their place or locality of residence and ours. Ours would then include Paul and his Corinthian brethren; theirs would refer to all others praying to Christ. But our English version makes a richer sense. Jesus is declared to be Lord alike of the Corinthian and the universal Church. Paul exults to address his Corinthians as not solitary Christians, but as part of the great body of saints.

Ver. 2.-3. The church: see below.

Of God. 1 Corinthians 10:32; 11:16, 22; 15:9. As church members they stand in a special relation to God. Cp. 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1.

Which there is etc.: emphatic assertion that at Corinth there is a church of God.

Sanctified in etc.; made objectively holy; see Romans 1:7. Subjectively, some of them were very unholy: 1 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 12:21. This reference to the objective holiness of the whole church, implies that in Christ Jesus refers to what took place objectively in the historic and personal body of Christ. By giving Him to die and raising Him from the grave and to heaven, and by proclaiming the Gospel through His lips, which Gospel they had accepted, God claimed these Corinthians for His own; and thus placed them in a new and solemn position, in which, even in spite of their unfaithfulness, they now stood. Cp. Hebrews 10:10.

Called saints: Romans 1:7; 8:28. After reminding them that they were members of the church of God, and that, in the historic facts of the death and resurrection of the Anointed Jesus, God had claimed them for His own, Paul reminds them that it was by a special summons that they had been brought into the solemn position in which God's claim placed them. This three-fold description of their position is specially appropriate at the beginning of a letter written mainly to correct behavior altogether inconsistent with their holy calling.

With all that etc.] To others besides the Corinthians, Paul writes. To call upon Jesus in prayer, was to confess that He is Lord and Christ and was therefore a distinctive mark of a Christian. It also made prominent the Name of Him addressed. Hence the full emphatic title. Cp. Romans 10:13.

Belonging to them, i.e. to the Christians at Corinth; goes naturally with the preceding words in every place, giving to these a definite reference. Otherwise the Epistle is addressed to all Christians everywhere; which its contents makes very unlikely. The above simple reference is supported by the equivalent “in all Achaia,” 2 Corinthians 1:1. There were probably other churches in Achaia, e.g. Cenchreae, (Romans 16:1.) some founded perhaps by Paul himself during his sojourn at Corinth, and others by the efforts of the Corinthian Christians, which looked up to the metropolis of the province as their mother, and thus belonged spiritually to the Christians at Corinth.

To us: reminds us that these daughter-churches belonged also to Paul and his colleagues, both as being within the divinely marked limits (2 Corinthians 10:13-16) of their labor and as directly or indirectly the fruit of it. The added words remind us again of Paul's apostolic authority, which he will soon be compelled to use.

Us; may include Paul's colleagues, Timothy, Silvanus, etc.; or, for reasons unknown to us, Sosthenes; or may be somewhat indefinite, as in Romans 1:5.

Grace and peace: Romans 1:7.

Verse 3. Grace be unto you] For a full explanation of all these terms, see Clarke’s notes on “Romans 1:7”.

Verses 3-9. Grace be unto you, &c. — See on Romans 1:7. I thank my God always — Whenever I mention you to God in prayer, or on every occasion; on your behalf — On your account; for the grace of God which is given you, &c. — For all those spiritual blessings which are freely conferred upon you by God, for Christ’s sake. That in every thing — With all kinds of spiritual gifts, pertaining to the knowledge and preaching of the gospel; ye are enriched by him — That is, many among you are; in all utterance — With great freedom of speech; and in all knowledge — Namely, of the mystery of the gospel. These gifts the Corinthians particularly admired. Therefore this congratulation naturally tended to soften their spirits, and make way for the reproofs which follow. Even as the testimony of Christ — The gospel, which testifies of Christ, and declares the will of God concerning the way of saving sinners, Matthew 24:14; was confirmed in — Or among, you — That is, was plainly proved to be from God, Revelation 19:10, by these gifts bestowed upon you. They knew they had received these gifts by the hand of Paul, and that long before the false teachers came among them, and that they had received none from them. And this consideration was highly proper to revive in them their former reverence and affection for their spiritual father, and to show them how much they were to blame for attaching themselves to teachers who had given them no proof at all either of their divine mission or of the truth of their doctrine. So that ye come behind — Other churches, and are defective in no gift — Namely, tending to edification and confirmation in the faith and hope of the gospel; waiting for the coming — Thn apokaluyin, the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ — A sure mark of a true or false Christian, to long for, or dread, the second glorious revelation of the Lord Jesus. The apostle speaks here, not of all individual believers at Corinth, but of the church there in general; as having in it many spiritual persons, who possessed all the different spiritual gifts which common believers could enjoy. Accordingly he asked them, 2 Corinthians 12:13, What is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches? Who shall also — If you faithfully apply to him; confirm you — In these gifts and graces; unto the end — Of your lives, and of the time of your trial; that ye may be blameless — Clear from the guilt of any known sin; in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ — The time of his coming to judgment. Now it is our day, wherein we are to work out our salvation: then it will be eminently the day of Christ, and of his glory in the saints. God is faithful to all his promises, and therefore to him that hath shall be given: by whom ye were called — By his word and Spirit; unto the fellowship of his Son — To partake, through him, of all the blessings of the gospel. And this calling, as if he had said, you should consider as a pledge of his willingness to save you unto the uttermost.

Ver. 3. Grace — and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Similar salutations occur in the apostolic writings. Galatians 1:3. 2 Timothy 1:2. Titus 1:4. 2 John 1:3. How are we to understand them? Whatever were the gross ignorance of the jews respecting the person of Christ, the true light now shines on the church. The Father must not be separated though distinguished from the Son, the Word and Wisdom of the Lord; for the Father stands as the fountain of deity, and as sustaining all the rights of moral government. The note of Erasmus here is, that the preposition apo Qeou from God, indicates that grace flows equally from the Son, as from the Father; for in him dwelt substantially all the fulness of the godhead. The socinians strive to make Christ nothing more than the officiating minister in the dispensation of grace; but they forget that whatsoever the Father doeth, that doeth the Son likewise. John 5:19. Their interpretation leaves the text and common sense behind, for men do not invoke the servant but the master. We call on the Lord Jesus for grace and peace, because he and the Father are one.

3. Grace—Note on Romans 1:7. In both passages both God and Christ are made sources of peace and grace.

Gratulatory Exordium, 4-9.

Before unfolding to the Corinthians their errors of practice and doctrine, Paul, in the exordium, touches briefly upon their brighter points. And this favourable description must not be viewed as a flattery, or an unreality, or a contradiction to the reproofs that follow, but a truthful view which the apostle rejoiced to give. They were, in spite of defects, a true Christian, apostolic Church. The apostle’s commendations, however, are merely general, allowing ample exceptions; and he dwells more fully on their charismatic endowments, and less on their sanctified graces, than in some other of his epistles.

Ver. 2.-3. The church: see below.

Of God. 1 Corinthians 10:32; 11:16, 22; 15:9. As church members they stand in a special relation to God. Cp. 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1.

Which there is etc.: emphatic assertion that at Corinth there is a church of God.

Sanctified in etc.; made objectively holy; see Romans 1:7. Subjectively, some of them were very unholy: 1 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 12:21. This reference to the objective holiness of the whole church, implies that in Christ Jesus refers to what took place objectively in the historic and personal body of Christ. By giving Him to die and raising Him from the grave and to heaven, and by proclaiming the Gospel through His lips, which Gospel they had accepted, God claimed these Corinthians for His own; and thus placed them in a new and solemn position, in which, even in spite of their unfaithfulness, they now stood. Cp. Hebrews 10:10.

Called saints: Romans 1:7; 8:28. After reminding them that they were members of the church of God, and that, in the historic facts of the death and resurrection of the Anointed Jesus, God had claimed them for His own, Paul reminds them that it was by a special summons that they had been brought into the solemn position in which God's claim placed them. This three-fold description of their position is specially appropriate at the beginning of a letter written mainly to correct behavior altogether inconsistent with their holy calling.

With all that etc.] To others besides the Corinthians, Paul writes. To call upon Jesus in prayer, was to confess that He is Lord and Christ and was therefore a distinctive mark of a Christian. It also made prominent the Name of Him addressed. Hence the full emphatic title. Cp. Romans 10:13.

Belonging to them, i.e. to the Christians at Corinth; goes naturally with the preceding words in every place, giving to these a definite reference. Otherwise the Epistle is addressed to all Christians everywhere; which its contents makes very unlikely. The above simple reference is supported by the equivalent “in all Achaia,” 2 Corinthians 1:1. There were probably other churches in Achaia, e.g. Cenchreae, (Romans 16:1.) some founded perhaps by Paul himself during his sojourn at Corinth, and others by the efforts of the Corinthian Christians, which looked up to the metropolis of the province as their mother, and thus belonged spiritually to the Christians at Corinth.

To us: reminds us that these daughter-churches belonged also to Paul and his colleagues, both as being within the divinely marked limits (2 Corinthians 10:13-16) of their labor and as directly or indirectly the fruit of it. The added words remind us again of Paul's apostolic authority, which he will soon be compelled to use.

Us; may include Paul's colleagues, Timothy, Silvanus, etc.; or, for reasons unknown to us, Sosthenes; or may be somewhat indefinite, as in Romans 1:5.

Grace and peace: Romans 1:7.

V. 4. Always-Whenever I mention you to God in prayer.

Verse 4. For the grace-which is given you] Not only their calling to be saints, and to be sanctified in Christ Jesus; but for the various spiritual gifts which they had received, as specified in the succeeding verses.

Verses 3-9. Grace be unto you, &c. — See on Romans 1:7. I thank my God always — Whenever I mention you to God in prayer, or on every occasion; on your behalf — On your account; for the grace of God which is given you, &c. — For all those spiritual blessings which are freely conferred upon you by God, for Christ’s sake. That in every thing — With all kinds of spiritual gifts, pertaining to the knowledge and preaching of the gospel; ye are enriched by him — That is, many among you are; in all utterance — With great freedom of speech; and in all knowledge — Namely, of the mystery of the gospel. These gifts the Corinthians particularly admired. Therefore this congratulation naturally tended to soften their spirits, and make way for the reproofs which follow. Even as the testimony of Christ — The gospel, which testifies of Christ, and declares the will of God concerning the way of saving sinners, Matthew 24:14; was confirmed in — Or among, you — That is, was plainly proved to be from God, Revelation 19:10, by these gifts bestowed upon you. They knew they had received these gifts by the hand of Paul, and that long before the false teachers came among them, and that they had received none from them. And this consideration was highly proper to revive in them their former reverence and affection for their spiritual father, and to show them how much they were to blame for attaching themselves to teachers who had given them no proof at all either of their divine mission or of the truth of their doctrine. So that ye come behind — Other churches, and are defective in no gift — Namely, tending to edification and confirmation in the faith and hope of the gospel; waiting for the coming — Thn apokaluyin, the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ — A sure mark of a true or false Christian, to long for, or dread, the second glorious revelation of the Lord Jesus. The apostle speaks here, not of all individual believers at Corinth, but of the church there in general; as having in it many spiritual persons, who possessed all the different spiritual gifts which common believers could enjoy. Accordingly he asked them, 2 Corinthians 12:13, What is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches? Who shall also — If you faithfully apply to him; confirm you — In these gifts and graces; unto the end — Of your lives, and of the time of your trial; that ye may be blameless — Clear from the guilt of any known sin; in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ — The time of his coming to judgment. Now it is our day, wherein we are to work out our salvation: then it will be eminently the day of Christ, and of his glory in the saints. God is faithful to all his promises, and therefore to him that hath shall be given: by whom ye were called — By his word and Spirit; unto the fellowship of his Son — To partake, through him, of all the blessings of the gospel. And this calling, as if he had said, you should consider as a pledge of his willingness to save you unto the uttermost.

4. My God—The possessive my is intensive, expressive of the earnest faith of the apostle that God was truly his, and of the intimate approach to God which he made in his thanksgiving for his Corinthians. By Christ—Rather, in Christ. That is, the grace which, treasured in Christ, is thence imparted to you. This grace in Christ is the basis and substance of the charisms which he next specifies.

Ver. 4. I thank: Romans 1:8. Although this letter was written, with many tears, (2 Corinthians 2:4,) to reprove and correct, Paul's first thought, as he begins it, is gratitude. For, in spite of the gross immorality (1 Corinthians 5:1; 2 Corinthians 12:21) of some and the spiritual childishness (1 Corinthians 3:1ff, 5:2) of the church generally, a great work had been done by God at Corinth. And this good work Paul thinks of and acknowledges before he begins to find fault. My God: Romans 1:8.

Always: 1 Thessalonians 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:3. Gratitude for the work done at Corinth and elsewhere was to Paul an abiding habit of mind. He cannot say “about you all,” as in Romans 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 1:2.

Grace given to you. Cp. Romans 1:5: not the general favor with which God smiles on all the justified, as in Ephesians 1:3, but His special favor shown to the Corinthians in the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:5. So Romans 12:3; 15:15. Consequently, in Christ is also subjective, denoting that inward spiritual contact with Christ through which we personally receive God's favor and the various undeserved gifts it moves Him to bestow. This implies the objective sense found in 1 Corinthians 1:2; but is distinct from it. Through the death and resurrection of the historic Jesus, and through personal contact with His Spirit, God's favor shines upon us.

V. 5. In all utterance and knowledge-Of divine things. These gifts the Corinthians particularly admired. Therefore this congratulation naturally tended to soften their spirits, and I make way for the reproofs which follow.

Verse 5. Ye are enriched-ye abound-in all utterance] en panti logw, In all doctrine; for so the word should certainly be translated and understood. All the truths of God relative to their salvation had been explicitly declared to them; and they had all knowledge; so that they perfectly comprehended the doctrines which they had heard.

Verses 3-9. Grace be unto you, &c. — See on Romans 1:7. I thank my God always — Whenever I mention you to God in prayer, or on every occasion; on your behalf — On your account; for the grace of God which is given you, &c. — For all those spiritual blessings which are freely conferred upon you by God, for Christ’s sake. That in every thing — With all kinds of spiritual gifts, pertaining to the knowledge and preaching of the gospel; ye are enriched by him — That is, many among you are; in all utterance — With great freedom of speech; and in all knowledge — Namely, of the mystery of the gospel. These gifts the Corinthians particularly admired. Therefore this congratulation naturally tended to soften their spirits, and make way for the reproofs which follow. Even as the testimony of Christ — The gospel, which testifies of Christ, and declares the will of God concerning the way of saving sinners, Matthew 24:14; was confirmed in — Or among, you — That is, was plainly proved to be from God, Revelation 19:10, by these gifts bestowed upon you. They knew they had received these gifts by the hand of Paul, and that long before the false teachers came among them, and that they had received none from them. And this consideration was highly proper to revive in them their former reverence and affection for their spiritual father, and to show them how much they were to blame for attaching themselves to teachers who had given them no proof at all either of their divine mission or of the truth of their doctrine. So that ye come behind — Other churches, and are defective in no gift — Namely, tending to edification and confirmation in the faith and hope of the gospel; waiting for the coming — Thn apokaluyin, the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ — A sure mark of a true or false Christian, to long for, or dread, the second glorious revelation of the Lord Jesus. The apostle speaks here, not of all individual believers at Corinth, but of the church there in general; as having in it many spiritual persons, who possessed all the different spiritual gifts which common believers could enjoy. Accordingly he asked them, 2 Corinthians 12:13, What is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches? Who shall also — If you faithfully apply to him; confirm you — In these gifts and graces; unto the end — Of your lives, and of the time of your trial; that ye may be blameless — Clear from the guilt of any known sin; in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ — The time of his coming to judgment. Now it is our day, wherein we are to work out our salvation: then it will be eminently the day of Christ, and of his glory in the saints. God is faithful to all his promises, and therefore to him that hath shall be given: by whom ye were called — By his word and Spirit; unto the fellowship of his Son — To partake, through him, of all the blessings of the gospel. And this calling, as if he had said, you should consider as a pledge of his willingness to save you unto the uttermost.

Ver. 5. Ye are enriched by him in all utterance, and in all knowledge. Logov, word, which in chap. 12. is joined with wisdom, in a liberal view of the mystery of redemption; but the term is here used of utterance, and being joined with all biblical knowledge, the connection of the two ideas is just and proper. A mind divinely illuminated, and like Apollos, mighty in the scriptures, pours forth the effusions of the heart, as a copious fountain to water the church of God. A people so taught by an associate ministry, “come behind in no gift,” being glorious within, and beautiful without, waiting for the Bridegroom’s return.

5. Every thing—Every respect. Utterance—Preaching, prophesying, and tongues. Knowledge—The perception of sacred doctrines, the discerning of spirits, and the interpretation of charismatic tongues.

Ver. 5. That in etc.; specifies “grace given.” In everything 2 Corinthians 9:11: limited, like all universals, by the writer's mental horizon; (see under Romans 5:18;) and here expounded by all utterance and all knowledge, which include all the spiritual capacities needed for church progress.

Enriched: Romans 2:4; 9:23; 10:12; 11:12, 33; 2 Corinthians 6:10; 8:2, 9; 9:11, etc.

In Him; repeats “in Christ Jesus;” and thus lays stress upon the truth that all real wealth comes through spiritual contact with Him. All knowledge: mental comprehension of the truth in all its aspects. All utterance: ability to speak forth the truth in all the modes needful to convey it to the various sorts of men. These gifts seldom go together in one man. But he who possesses either of them is an enrichment to his church. And the church which possesses, in its various members, these gifts in a special degree is truly rich.

Utterance is put first as the more conspicuous. [The R.V. were enriched gives to the indefinite tense a definite reference which does not belong to it. See The Expositor, 1st Series vol. xi. p. 296.]

V. 6. The testimony of Christ-The gospel.

Was confirmed among you-By these gifts attending it. They knew they had received these by the hand of Paul: and this consideration was highly proper, to revive in them their former reverence and affection for their spiritual father.

Verse 6. As the testimony of Christ, &c.] The testimony of Christ is the Gospel which the apostle had preached, and which had been confirmed by various gifts of the Holy Spirit, and miracles wrought by the apostle.

Verses 3-9. Grace be unto you, &c. — See on Romans 1:7. I thank my God always — Whenever I mention you to God in prayer, or on every occasion; on your behalf — On your account; for the grace of God which is given you, &c. — For all those spiritual blessings which are freely conferred upon you by God, for Christ’s sake. That in every thing — With all kinds of spiritual gifts, pertaining to the knowledge and preaching of the gospel; ye are enriched by him — That is, many among you are; in all utterance — With great freedom of speech; and in all knowledge — Namely, of the mystery of the gospel. These gifts the Corinthians particularly admired. Therefore this congratulation naturally tended to soften their spirits, and make way for the reproofs which follow. Even as the testimony of Christ — The gospel, which testifies of Christ, and declares the will of God concerning the way of saving sinners, Matthew 24:14; was confirmed in — Or among, you — That is, was plainly proved to be from God, Revelation 19:10, by these gifts bestowed upon you. They knew they had received these gifts by the hand of Paul, and that long before the false teachers came among them, and that they had received none from them. And this consideration was highly proper to revive in them their former reverence and affection for their spiritual father, and to show them how much they were to blame for attaching themselves to teachers who had given them no proof at all either of their divine mission or of the truth of their doctrine. So that ye come behind — Other churches, and are defective in no gift — Namely, tending to edification and confirmation in the faith and hope of the gospel; waiting for the coming — Thn apokaluyin, the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ — A sure mark of a true or false Christian, to long for, or dread, the second glorious revelation of the Lord Jesus. The apostle speaks here, not of all individual believers at Corinth, but of the church there in general; as having in it many spiritual persons, who possessed all the different spiritual gifts which common believers could enjoy. Accordingly he asked them, 2 Corinthians 12:13, What is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches? Who shall also — If you faithfully apply to him; confirm you — In these gifts and graces; unto the end — Of your lives, and of the time of your trial; that ye may be blameless — Clear from the guilt of any known sin; in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ — The time of his coming to judgment. Now it is our day, wherein we are to work out our salvation: then it will be eminently the day of Christ, and of his glory in the saints. God is faithful to all his promises, and therefore to him that hath shall be given: by whom ye were called — By his word and Spirit; unto the fellowship of his Son — To partake, through him, of all the blessings of the gospel. And this calling, as if he had said, you should consider as a pledge of his willingness to save you unto the uttermost.

6. Testimony of Christ—The apostolic testimony to Christ’s history and doctrine. Was confirmed—Was firmly grounded in your faith.

Ver. 6. Testimony of the Christ: 2 Timothy 1:8: probably Paul's witness about the Messiah. Cp. Acts 1:8, “You shall be my witnesses.” For Paul thought, probably, of Christ more frequently as the great matter than as the preacher of the Gospel. That Paul's preaching is here called a testimony, agrees with the Epistle to the Romans, of which the argument rests on five unproved assertions which Paul accepted because they came from the lips of Christ. See my “Romans,” dissertation i. 3. Took-a-firm-place: same word in Romans 15:8; (cp Romans 4:16;) there objectively, here subjectively. “The testimony was fully believed by you, and thus became an immovable conviction in you.” According as etc.] Their enrichment in utterance and knowledge was a result proportionate to their firm belief of the Gospel. For, a firm grasp of the great foundation truths enables us to make progress in all Christian knowledge, and to speak out suitably, clearly, and forcefully the word we have believed.

V. 7. Waiting-With earnest desire.

For the glorious revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ-A sure mark of a true or false Christian, to long for, or dread, this revelation.

Verse 7. So that ye come behind in no gift] Every gift and grace of God’s Spirit was possessed by the members of that Church, some having their gifts after this manner, others after that.

Waiting for the coming of our Lord] It is difficult to say whether the apostle means the final judgment, or our Lord’s coming to destroy Jerusalem, and make an end of the Jewish polity.-See 1 Thessalonians 3:13. As he does not explain himself particularly, he must refer to a subject with which they were well acquainted. As the Jews in general continued to contradict and blaspheme, it is no wonder if the apostle should be directed to point out to the believing Gentiles that the judgments of God were speedily to fall upon this rebellious people, and scatter them over the face of the earth; which shortly afterwards took place.

Verses 3-9. Grace be unto you, &c. — See on Romans 1:7. I thank my God always — Whenever I mention you to God in prayer, or on every occasion; on your behalf — On your account; for the grace of God which is given you, &c. — For all those spiritual blessings which are freely conferred upon you by God, for Christ’s sake. That in every thing — With all kinds of spiritual gifts, pertaining to the knowledge and preaching of the gospel; ye are enriched by him — That is, many among you are; in all utterance — With great freedom of speech; and in all knowledge — Namely, of the mystery of the gospel. These gifts the Corinthians particularly admired. Therefore this congratulation naturally tended to soften their spirits, and make way for the reproofs which follow. Even as the testimony of Christ — The gospel, which testifies of Christ, and declares the will of God concerning the way of saving sinners, Matthew 24:14; was confirmed in — Or among, you — That is, was plainly proved to be from God, Revelation 19:10, by these gifts bestowed upon you. They knew they had received these gifts by the hand of Paul, and that long before the false teachers came among them, and that they had received none from them. And this consideration was highly proper to revive in them their former reverence and affection for their spiritual father, and to show them how much they were to blame for attaching themselves to teachers who had given them no proof at all either of their divine mission or of the truth of their doctrine. So that ye come behind — Other churches, and are defective in no gift — Namely, tending to edification and confirmation in the faith and hope of the gospel; waiting for the coming — Thn apokaluyin, the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ — A sure mark of a true or false Christian, to long for, or dread, the second glorious revelation of the Lord Jesus. The apostle speaks here, not of all individual believers at Corinth, but of the church there in general; as having in it many spiritual persons, who possessed all the different spiritual gifts which common believers could enjoy. Accordingly he asked them, 2 Corinthians 12:13, What is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches? Who shall also — If you faithfully apply to him; confirm you — In these gifts and graces; unto the end — Of your lives, and of the time of your trial; that ye may be blameless — Clear from the guilt of any known sin; in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ — The time of his coming to judgment. Now it is our day, wherein we are to work out our salvation: then it will be eminently the day of Christ, and of his glory in the saints. God is faithful to all his promises, and therefore to him that hath shall be given: by whom ye were called — By his word and Spirit; unto the fellowship of his Son — To partake, through him, of all the blessings of the gospel. And this calling, as if he had said, you should consider as a pledge of his willingness to save you unto the uttermost.

Ver. 7. So that ye come behind in no gift. The hallowed end of all eloquence, and tongues; of all divine endowments shed down on this church, and enumerated in the twelfth chapter, was to nourish their souls in faith and holiness, and confirm them in all their joyful expectations of the coming of the Lord, that in the day of his glory they might appear blameless in his presence.

7. Come behind—Such was the vivid Greek temperament of the

Corinthian Church, and such the operations of the Spirit within it, that they equalled any Church in charismatic manifestations. This was the bright side of their case. The shadier side was, the fact that this was no demonstration of their preeminent piety; and even in the use of their gifts there was such a mixture of human with divine, that they needed the guidance of apostolic wisdom. Gifts—Grace, cariv, is sanctifying; gifts, charisms, are edifying as manifestations of divine power. Coming—Note on 2 Thessalonians 2:2.

Ver. 7. So that etc.: result of their firm faith, and therefore a negative parallel to “in everything you have been enriched.”

Fall-short: Romans 3:23; 1 Corinthians 8:8; 12:24; 2 Corinthians 11:5, 8; 12:11: in view either of others who have more, or of our own need. Here, probably the latter. It is the exact opposite of enrichment.

Gift-of-grace; Romans 1:11, (see note,) Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 7:7; 12:4; includes all spiritual gifts wrought by the favor of God. All such are capacities for spiritual growth, and for usefulness to others; and are therefore spiritual wealth. No such capacity was lacking to the church at Corinth. And these gifts were a result of their firm faith. Revelation of etc.: 1 Peter 1:7, 13: the sudden uplifting, at the great day, of the veil which now hides our Master from our view. Spiritually, He is already (Galatians 1:16) unveiled to us. Since the appearance of Christ will be an outward objective fact, He is said (Colossians 3:4) to be “manifested:” since He will be actually seen by all, His appearance is also a revelation. See under Romans 1:17, 19.

Waiting for: Romans 8:19, 23, 25. They already possessed spiritual gifts which were a proof of God's favor: while at the same time they were eagerly looking forward to that day when Jesus will visibly appear to bring in the final glory. These added words remind us that the Christian life is essentially a looking forward to future glory. All present enrichment is but an earnest of the better things which Christ, at His coming, will bring.

V. 8. Who will also-if you faithfully apply to him. Confirm you to the end.

In the day of Christ-Now it is our day, wherein we are to work out our salvation; then it will be eminently the day of Christ, and of his glory in the saints.

Verse 9. God is faithful-To all his promises; and therefore to him that hath shall be given.

By whom ye are called-A pledge of his willingness to save you unto the uttermost.

Verse 8. Who shall-confirm you] As the testimony of Christ was confirmed among you, so, in conscientiously believing and obeying, God will confirm you through that testimony. See 1 Corinthians 1:6. In the day of our Lord Jesus] In the day that he comes to judge the world, according to some; but, in the day in which he comes to destroy the Jewish polity, according to others. While God destroys them who are disobedient, he can save you who believe.

Verses 3-9. Grace be unto you, &c. — See on Romans 1:7. I thank my God always — Whenever I mention you to God in prayer, or on every occasion; on your behalf — On your account; for the grace of God which is given you, &c. — For all those spiritual blessings which are freely conferred upon you by God, for Christ’s sake. That in every thing — With all kinds of spiritual gifts, pertaining to the knowledge and preaching of the gospel; ye are enriched by him — That is, many among you are; in all utterance — With great freedom of speech; and in all knowledge — Namely, of the mystery of the gospel. These gifts the Corinthians particularly admired. Therefore this congratulation naturally tended to soften their spirits, and make way for the reproofs which follow. Even as the testimony of Christ — The gospel, which testifies of Christ, and declares the will of God concerning the way of saving sinners, Matthew 24:14; was confirmed in — Or among, you — That is, was plainly proved to be from God, Revelation 19:10, by these gifts bestowed upon you. They knew they had received these gifts by the hand of Paul, and that long before the false teachers came among them, and that they had received none from them. And this consideration was highly proper to revive in them their former reverence and affection for their spiritual father, and to show them how much they were to blame for attaching themselves to teachers who had given them no proof at all either of their divine mission or of the truth of their doctrine. So that ye come behind — Other churches, and are defective in no gift — Namely, tending to edification and confirmation in the faith and hope of the gospel; waiting for the coming — Thn apokaluyin, the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ — A sure mark of a true or false Christian, to long for, or dread, the second glorious revelation of the Lord Jesus. The apostle speaks here, not of all individual believers at Corinth, but of the church there in general; as having in it many spiritual persons, who possessed all the different spiritual gifts which common believers could enjoy. Accordingly he asked them, 2 Corinthians 12:13, What is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches? Who shall also — If you faithfully apply to him; confirm you — In these gifts and graces; unto the end — Of your lives, and of the time of your trial; that ye may be blameless — Clear from the guilt of any known sin; in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ — The time of his coming to judgment. Now it is our day, wherein we are to work out our salvation: then it will be eminently the day of Christ, and of his glory in the saints. God is faithful to all his promises, and therefore to him that hath shall be given: by whom ye were called — By his word and Spirit; unto the fellowship of his Son — To partake, through him, of all the blessings of the gospel. And this calling, as if he had said, you should consider as a pledge of his willingness to save you unto the uttermost.

8. Who—Referring to Jesus Christ. Shall confirm—Will confirm; being the simple future. Fatalistic doctrine interprets this will confirm to mean that there can be no failure of their firmly enduring to the end; that the passage “furnishes a guarantee against that greatest of dangers, the fickleness of the human will.”—LANGE’S Bibel-werke, on the passage. Such an interpretation violates the true doctrine of probation, and ignores the true nature of the freedom of a responsible will, which must be allowed the power and the area for choosing either way. See our note on Romans 2:9. Hence Grotius well says, “God does his own part,” in confirming. We say as above, verse 1, the apostle expresses only the divine side of the work, implying the required performance of the human conditions which are elsewhere expressed in countless cases. That is, assuming that the Corinthian Church are earnestly anxious to be confirmed blameless to the end, he promises that God on his part will be faithful to confirm them. Blameless—Being forgiven of every sin and sanctified unto all holiness; so that at the end we are perfectly blameless. Note Romans 8:33. The end—the coming of Christ to judgment. See note on 1 Corinthians 15:24.

Ver. 8. Who also etc.: another blessing which will follow. The spiritual wealth already received can be retained, and our expectations fulfilled, only by the stability which day by day Christ will give. Cp. Romans 16:25; 2 Corinthians 1:21.

Make-you-firm: same word as in 1 Corinthians 1:6. They in whom the Gospel has a firm place, are themselves immovable. These words must be understood in harmony with Romans 11:20, etc., which teaches that continuance in the Christian life depends upon continued faith, and implies the possibility that faith may fail, even finally. But this does not prevent us from cherishing a firm confidence of the final salvation of ourselves and others. Cp. Philippians 1:6.

To the end; of the present state of probation, whether ended by death or by the coming of Christ. So 2 Corinthians 1:13; Hebrews 3:6, 14; 6:11.

Unimpeachable in the Day etc.: so that they will then (Philippians 1:10) lie open to no charge (Romans 8:33) such as will exclude them from the Kingdom.

The Day of our Lord Jesus Christ: 1 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Corinthians 1:14; Philippians 1:6, 10; 2:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:2. To the day of Christ's return the early Christians looked forward, as Israel did ages before to the “Day of Jehovah,” (Joel 1:15; 2:1, etc.,) i.e. to the day when Jehovah would rescue His people and punish the wicked. To stand unimpeachable (cp. Colossians 1:22f) in the Day of Christ, is to obtain the glory which He will bring.

Verse 9. God is faithful] The faithfulness of God is a favourite expression among the ancient Jews; and by it they properly understand the integrity of God in preserving whatever is entrusted to him. And they suppose that in this sense the fidelity of man may illustrate the fidelity of God, in reference to which they tell the two following stories. “Rabbi Phineas, the son of Jair, dwelt in a certain city, whither some men came who had two measures of barley, which they desired him to preserve for them. They afterwards forgot their barley and went away. Rabbi Phineas each year sowed the barley, reaped, thrashed, and laid it up in his granary. When seven years had elapsed the men returned, and desired to have the barley with which they had entrusted him. Rabbi Phineas recollected them, and said, ‘Come and take your treasure,’ i.e. the barley they had left, with all that it had produced for seven years. Thus, from the faithfulness of man ye may know the faithfulness of God.”

“Rabbi Simeon, the son of Shetach, bought an ass from some Edomites, at whose neck his disciples saw a diamond hanging; they said unto him, Rabbi, the blessing of the Lord maketh rich, Proverbs 10:22. But he answered: The ass I have bought, but the diamond I have not bought; therefore he returned the diamond to the Edomites. Thus, from the fidelity of man ye may know the fidelity of God.” This was an instance of rare honesty, not to be paralleled among the Jews of the present day, and probably among few Gentiles. Whatever is committed to the keeping of God he will most carefully preserve; for he is faithful. Unto the fellowship, &c.] eiv koinwnian, Into the communion or participation of Christ, in the graces of his Spirit and the glories of his future kingdom. God will continue to uphold and save you, if you entrust your bodies and souls to him. But can it be said that God will keep what is either not entrusted to him; or, after being entrusted, is taken away?

Verses 3-9. Grace be unto you, &c. — See on Romans 1:7. I thank my God always — Whenever I mention you to God in prayer, or on every occasion; on your behalf — On your account; for the grace of God which is given you, &c. — For all those spiritual blessings which are freely conferred upon you by God, for Christ’s sake. That in every thing — With all kinds of spiritual gifts, pertaining to the knowledge and preaching of the gospel; ye are enriched by him — That is, many among you are; in all utterance — With great freedom of speech; and in all knowledge — Namely, of the mystery of the gospel. These gifts the Corinthians particularly admired. Therefore this congratulation naturally tended to soften their spirits, and make way for the reproofs which follow. Even as the testimony of Christ — The gospel, which testifies of Christ, and declares the will of God concerning the way of saving sinners, Matthew 24:14; was confirmed in — Or among, you — That is, was plainly proved to be from God, Revelation 19:10, by these gifts bestowed upon you. They knew they had received these gifts by the hand of Paul, and that long before the false teachers came among them, and that they had received none from them. And this consideration was highly proper to revive in them their former reverence and affection for their spiritual father, and to show them how much they were to blame for attaching themselves to teachers who had given them no proof at all either of their divine mission or of the truth of their doctrine. So that ye come behind — Other churches, and are defective in no gift — Namely, tending to edification and confirmation in the faith and hope of the gospel; waiting for the coming — Thn apokaluyin, the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ — A sure mark of a true or false Christian, to long for, or dread, the second glorious revelation of the Lord Jesus. The apostle speaks here, not of all individual believers at Corinth, but of the church there in general; as having in it many spiritual persons, who possessed all the different spiritual gifts which common believers could enjoy. Accordingly he asked them, 2 Corinthians 12:13, What is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches? Who shall also — If you faithfully apply to him; confirm you — In these gifts and graces; unto the end — Of your lives, and of the time of your trial; that ye may be blameless — Clear from the guilt of any known sin; in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ — The time of his coming to judgment. Now it is our day, wherein we are to work out our salvation: then it will be eminently the day of Christ, and of his glory in the saints. God is faithful to all his promises, and therefore to him that hath shall be given: by whom ye were called — By his word and Spirit; unto the fellowship of his Son — To partake, through him, of all the blessings of the gospel. And this calling, as if he had said, you should consider as a pledge of his willingness to save you unto the uttermost.

9. God is faithful—If you fail, it will be from no want of faithfulness in God. Note above on verse 1. Fellowship of his Son.—Not a fellowship with Christ, but a common sharing, with all Christians, of Christ. So 10:16, fellowship, or common participation or communion of his blood and of his body. And with this earnest symbol of Christian union, Paul prepares for the contrast of disunion which follows.

PART FIRST. PAUL’S ANALYSIS

OF HIS APOSTOLIC RELATIONS, AND ASSERTION OF HIS

AUTHORITY OVER THE CHURCH AT CORINTH, 1:10-1 Corinthians 4:21. I. AS A FOUNDER OR ORIGINATOR IN PHILOSOPHY HE IS NOTHING, 1 Corinthians 1:10-2:5.

1. He starts from their partisan preferences preparatory to this disclaimer of philosophic leadership, 10-17.

As Corinth was now the proudest, wealthiest, and most dissolute city of Greece, so part of her pride was exercised in philosophy, philosophical lecturing and debate, and the parting into sects or schools under different leaders, as Aristotle, Plato, Zeno, Epicurus, and later philosophs. In olden time, it was proudly remembered, one of the seven sophoi or sages of Greece was Periander of Corinth. Influenced, or, as the apostle expresses it, inflated, (puffed up, 4:6) with much of this Corinthian spirit, the Church had divided itself as partisans of Christian leaders, among whom Paul finds himself nominated as one.

Ver. 9. Faithful (1 Corinthians 4:17) is God: 1 Corinthians 10:13. Again, as in 1 Corinthians 1:1, Paul rises from the Son to the Father; and supports the assurance of 1 Corinthians 1:8 by an appeal to the character of God.

Partnership: 1 Corinthians 10:16, 18, 20: same word in Romans 15:26f. Already (Romans 8:16f) we are sharers of the sonship of Christ: and therefore those kept “to the end” will share the Firstborn Son's inheritance of glory. For this, they were (Romans 8:29) predestined and called. Cp. Revelation 3:21. Notice the emphatic and repeated title in 1 Corinthians 1:7, 8, culminating in the fuller title here. Through: Romans 1:2. The gospel call (1 Corinthians 1:2) is not only always said to come from the Father as its source, but comes to us by His immediate activity, sending His Son to announce it and raising Him from the dead to prove that the call is divine. Cp. Galatians 1:1. “All things are from Him and through Him,” Romans 11:36. This call, given to us by the agency of God Himself, implies that His faithfulness is a pledge that Christ will give us the stability needful to obtain that to which we are called.

Approaching the Corinthian Christians, in whom he has much to blame, Paul reminds them that by an express summons, by the will of God, he has been placed in the first rank of the servants of Christ. He thinks proper to add that in what he is about to say, Sosthenes agrees with him. He remembers the dignity of his readers as members of the church of God; that, through the death and resurrection of Christ, they have been claimed by God to be His own; and that, like his own apostleship, this claim was conveyed to them by a divine summons. Nor does he forget that other churches around look up to that at Corinth as their mother; churches which belong to him as well as to them. To the mother and her daughters he sends greeting from the common Father and the common Master. Although writing to them in tears for their unfaithfulness, it is ever in Paul's mind that he has at Corinth cause for gratitude to his God. The church there has evident marks of the favor of God. The Gospel they have firmly believed has made its members rich in knowledge of the Will of God and in ability to declare it. In no gift needful for spiritual progress are they behind. They are looking forward to the appearance of Christ. And Paul cherishes a hope resting on the faithfulness of God that Christ will keep them steadfast to the end.

Notice that Paul speaks first in 1 Corinthians 1:2, of the objective holiness of the Corinthian church arising from the divine call which has gathered them together and made them a church, a holiness belonging to all Christians alike; and then, in 1 Corinthians 1:4-7, of their own special subjective development in the Christian life.

The word CHURCH represents a common Greek word, Ecclesia, or “calling out;” from which we have “ecclesiastic,” etc., and the French “eglise,” etc. The ecclesia was the assembly of the free citizens of a Greek city, summoned by herald to discuss and determine matters of public interest. The word was also used for any public assembly, whether regular as in Acts 19:39 or occasional as in Acts 19:32, 41, where we have the same word. It is often used in the LXX. for the regular gatherings of Israel, in reference either to the event, or to the people gathered together. Cp. Deuteronomy 9:10, “in the day of the assembly;” also Psalm 22:23 with Hebrews 2:12; 1 Kings 8:65; Deuteronomy 23:1-3, 1 Chronicles 28:2, 8; Nehemiah 13:1, where we have the “church of the Lord,” “of God;” and Judith 6:16; 14:6; Sirach 15:5; 1 Macc. 4:59. Similarly, in Acts 7:38 it denotes the nation of Israel assembled in the wilderness.

This name, familiar both to Greeks and Jews, but with different associations was chosen by the followers of Jesus for their frequent gatherings, for mutual edification and for joint-worship: cp. 1 Corinthians 11:18; 14:19, 28, 34f. It then came easily to denote a company of believers in the habit of thus meeting together. This naturally included all professed Christians living in one city. But even small assemblies, parts of larger churches, and held in private houses, were called churches; as in 1 Corinthians 16:19, etc. The totality of believers in even the largest cities is spoken of as the one church of that city; but those living in different cities of one country, as (1 Corinthians 16:1, 19) “the churches of Galatia,” etc. The only exception is Acts 9:31, “The church throughout all Judea.” This local sense is that of three-fourths of the cases in which the word is found in the New Testament. Paul assumes always that all church-members are justified, sons of God by faith, sealed by the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:11; 12:13; Romans 5:9, 11; Galatians 3:26; 4:6; and never urges them to obtain these blessings. This does not imply that there were no false or weak brethren; but certainly implies that these blessings are the present privilege of all followers of Christ.

In a few sublime passages, Ephesians 1:22; 3:10, 21; 5:23-32; Colossians 1:18, 24; Hebrews 12:23, the Church denotes all those who are savingly united to Christ; and therefore includes, we may hope, many not in outward union with the professed people of God, and excludes some who are. Some of these passages include the church triumphant. The word refers sometimes to a particular church as representing the conception of the universal church, 1 Corinthians 10:32; 11:22; Acts 20:28; in 1 Corinthians 12:28, to the whole community of believers, at whose head God placed the apostles, and whom (1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13; Philippians 3:6) Paul formerly persecuted.

To sum up: The word church denotes either the totality of professed followers of Christ living in one place, organized under its own officers and probably meeting together if practicable for edification and worship, or a smaller assembly included in the larger one and meeting for the same purposes, or the totality of the justified children of God, visible only to His eye, now in part on earth in part within the veil, but destined to be forever the glorified bride of Christ. In a few cases it denotes a particular church as representing the whole community of believers; and once the community as a whole.

V. 10. Now I exhort you-Ye have faith and hope; secure love also. By the endearing name of our Lord Jesus Christ-Infinitely preferable to all the human names in which ye glory.

That ye all speak the same thing-They now spoke different things, 1 Corinthians 1:12.

And that there be no schisms among you-No alienation of affection from each other. Is this word ever taken in any other sense in scripture? But that ye be joined in the same mind-Affections, desires. And judgment-Touching all the grand truths of the gospel.

Verse 10. Now I beseech you, brethren] The apostle having finished his introduction comes to his second point, exhorting them to abstain from dissensions, that they might be of the same heart and mind, striving together for the hope of the Gospel.

By the name of our Lord Jesus] By his authority, and in his place; and on account of your infinite obligations to his mercy in calling you into such a state of salvation.

That ye all speak the same thing] If they did not agree exactly in opinion on every subject, they might, notwithstanding, agree in the words which they used to express their religious faith. The members of the Church of God should labour to be of the same mind, and to speak the same thing, in order to prevent divisions, which always hinder the work of God. On every essential doctrine of the Gospel all genuine Christians agree: why then need religious communion be interrupted? This general agreement is all that the apostle can have in view; for it cannot be expected that any number of men should in every respect perfectly coincide in their views of all the minor points, on which an exact conformity in sentiment is impossible to minds so variously constituted as those of the human race. Angels may thus agree, who see nothing through an imperfect or false medium; but to man this is impossible. Therefore men should bear with each other, and not be so ready to imagine that none have the truth of God but they and their party.

Verse 10. Now I beseech, parakalw, I exhort you, brethren — You have faith and hope, secure love also; by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ — That endearing name, infinitely preferable to all the human names in which you glory. The apostle intending, says Locke, to abolish the names of the leaders, whereby the parties distinguished themselves, besought them by the name of Christ. Indeed, as the same writer observes, the apostle scarcely ever makes use of a word or expression which hath not some relation to his main purpose. That ye all speak the same thing — That ye agree both in your judgments and expressions concerning the doctrines of the gospel: or, that you do not unnecessarily and unkindly contradict each other, but rather maintain a peaceful and loving disposition toward each other. And that there be no divisions — Greek, scismata, schisms, among you — No alienation of affection from each other, and no factions or parties formed in consequence thereof: but that ye be perfectly joined together — Kathrtismenoi, perfectly united, or knit together, in the same mind and in the same judgment — Touching all the great truths of the gospel; waiving unnecessary controversies, debating those which are necessary with temper and candour, and delighting to speak most concerning those great and excellent things, in which, as Christians, you cannot but be agreed, and which, if duly considered, will cement your hearts to each other in the strictest and most tender bonds. “It was morally impossible, considering the diversities of their educations and capacities, that they should all agree in opinion; nor could he intend that, because he does not urge any argument to reduce them to such an agreement, nor so much as declare what that one opinion was in which he would have them agree. The words must therefore express that peaceful and unanimous temper, which Christians of different opinions may and ought to maintain toward each other; which will do a much greater honour to the gospel, and to human nature, than the most perfect uniformity that can be imagined.” — Doddridge. In short, “the meaning is, that in our deliberations we should yield to each other from mutual affection, and from a love of peace. Accordingly the heathen moralists describe true friendship as cemented by the same inclinations and aversions: Idem velle, et idem nolle,” &c.

Ver. 10. I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that there be no divisions among you. Partial divisions, schisms, and parties in the church are grievous, and Paul wisely touches the sore with tender care. When Apollos came to Corinth, his superior eloquence drew crowded auditories, and hurt the minds of the other ministers by throwing them into the shade. Parties were the immediate consequence. One preferred Paul, being converted under his ministry; and others, especially the believing jews, adhered to Cephas, who spake as a father, and his word was with power. As Peter did not leave the holy land till twelve years after the crucifixion, he could not have been many years removed from those parts of Greece when Paul wrote this epistle.

10. Beseech—The apostle begins with supplication, but he will end with self-assertion and even menace, 1 Corinthians 4:18-21. It is not as such a leader that he will serve; yet on the proper basis, the basis of the cross, (verse 18,) as himself a complete imitator of Christ, and as their special founder and father, (1 Corinthians 4:15,) he will claim their following of himself. Brethren—As in spite of their shortcomings they still were. By—Rather, through. The name—This powerful name has thus far been nine times mentioned; so that, as Chrysostom well says, “He nails them to this name.” And, we add, the very purpose of nailing to this name is to substitute it as the basis of his apostolic authority, instead of any sectarian leadership. Speak the same thing—Not that there should be a forced unity of talk where there was no unity of thought. That can be only by insincerity; or, as among Papists, by despotism. But, as he will further say, their unity of speaking must be based on their unity of mind. For at bottom there was a unity, Christ and his cross; and all their partisan talk was simply the superfluous result of diverging in puerile pride and loquacity from that deep and holy centre. Deep, central, praying piety is the true healer of Church strifes. No divisions—No scismata, schismata, schisms. Schism is, here, a division in a Church rather than a departure from it; as heresy, at the present day, is a departure from true Christian doctrine. Mind—Interior mental state. Judgment—Exterior purpose, as exhibited in action and practice.

It is curious that Ignatius, years afterward, quotes in substance this verse, yet reversing the order of thought and words: “That in one common obedience ye be united in the same mind and the same judgment, and all speak the same thing.” Paul proceeds from external speech to internal mind; Ignatius proceeds from mind to the resulting speech. The cause of Paul’s beginning with speech was, that it was the talk of the parties that had been reported to him. If people will cease their quarrelsome talk, that may stop their quarrelsome feeling.

I CORINTHIANS

DIVISION I

ABOUT THE CHURCH-PARTIES

CHAPTERS 1:10-4.

SECTION 2 — HE HAS HEARD OF THEIR

DIVISIONS CH. 1:10-17A

But I exhort you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you may all speak the same thing, and there may not be among you divisions, but you may be fully equipped in the same mind and in the same opinion. For it has been declared to me about you, my brothers, by them of Cloe, that there are strifes among you. I mean* (* Or, say.) this, that each of you says, I am a follower of Paul, but I, of Apollos; but I of Cephas; but I, of Christ. Christ has been divided. Was Paul crucified on your behalf? Or, for the name of Paul were you baptized? I thank God that not one of you I baptized, except Crispus and Gaius; lest any one should say that for my name you were baptized. And I baptized also the house of Stephanas. For the rest I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to announce good news.

This Epistle is a reply to a letter from Corinth (1 Corinthians 7:1) asking advice on sundry matters. But other matters more serious than these and apparently not mentioned in the Corinthian letter, Paul has heard of, and must deal with, before he begins to answer these less important questions. Of these more serious matters, he mentions first and at great length the church-parties. This subject he introduces in § 2, by an exhortation to harmony, 1 Corinthians 1:10; tells them what he has heard, 1 Corinthians 1:11, 12; shows its impropriety, 1 Corinthians 1:13; and expounds his own contrary conduct, 1 Corinthians 1:14-17a.

Ver. 10. Brothers: exact term used for the sons of one human father. Paul supports his earnest and affectionate appeal (Romans 15:30; 16:17) by mentioning that one great Name (1 Corinthians 1:2, cp. Romans 1:5) which awakens in all Christians the deepest emotions of love and gratitude, which all Christians profess and seek to exalt among men, and which should be a bond of union to the universal church. Speak the same thing: opposite of “each of you says etc.,” 1 Corinthians 1:12.

Divisions: separations arising naturally from expressed differences of opinion.

Fully-equipped: quite ready for use or service: akin to “thoroughly furnished,” 2 Timothy 3:17. Same word in Romans 9:22, “made-ready for destruction.” It is frequently used of that which has been damaged, and thus made unfit for use: e.g. Matthew 4:21, “mending their nets;” Ezra 4:12, “set up the walls.” It was used by the Greeks for the removal of faction in the state: e.g. Herodotus, bk. v. 28. The same mind: same mental faculty of looking through (Romans 1:20) things seen to their inward essence, naturally leading to the same opinion (1 Corinthians 7:25, 40) in matters of detail. Only those churches and Christians who are filled with a spirit of harmony and who look at the various details of church life in the light of an earnest desire for the general good, are fully equipped for their work and conflict.

V. 11. It hath been declared to me by them of the family of Chloe-Whom some suppose to have been the wife of Stephanas, and the mother of Fortunatus and Achaicus. By these three the Corinthians had sent their letter to St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 16:17. That there are contentions-A word equivalent with schisms in the preceding verse.

Verse 11. By them which are of the house of Chloe] This was doubtless some very religious matron at Corinth, whose family were converted to the Lord; some of whom were probably sent to the apostle to inform him of the dissensions which then prevailed in the Church at that place. Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, mentioned 1 Corinthians 16:17, were probably the sons of this Chloe.

Contentions] eridev, Altercations; produced by the scismata, divisions, mentioned above. When once they had divided, they must necessarily have contended, in order to support their respective parties.

Verses 11, 12. For it hath been declared — Not out of ill-will, but to procure a remedy of the evil; unto me — Whom it concerns to know such things, that I may redress them; of you, my brethren — Brethren, says Locke, is a name of union and friendship, and is twice used by the apostle in this exhortation to these virtues. By them of the house of Chloe — According to Grotius, these were Stephanas, Fortunatus, Achaicus, mentioned 1 Corinthians 16:17; who, he thinks, were Chloe’s sons, and the bearers of the letter which the Corinthians sent to the apostle, 1 Corinthians 7:1. That there are contentions among you — A word equivalent with schisms, in the preceding verse: now this I say — That is, what I mean is this; that every one of you saith, I am of Paul, &c. — There are various parties among you, who set themselves one against another, in behalf of the several teachers they admire. And I of Cephas — This seems to have been the boast of the Judaizing teachers: for as they came recommended by letters from Judea, they might be particularly attached to Peter, perhaps having been converted under his ministry: and I of Christ — Such spoke well, if they did not, on this pretence, despise their teachers. It seems there were now in the church at Corinth some Jewish Christians, who, having heard Christ preach, had been converted by him, and who claimed greater respect on that account. Chrysostom thought this was said by Paul himself, to show the Corinthians that all ought to consider themselves as the disciples of Christ, and of no other master; otherwise they derogated from the honour due to Christ. The Greeks, it must be observed, “valued themselves greatly on account of the fame of their masters in philosophy and the arts. This humour the Corinthians brought with them into the church. For some, especially the heads of the faction, claimed an authority over others on account of the dignity of the persons who had converted them, and to whom they had attached themselves, as their masters in the gospel. But others, who reckoned themselves equally honourable on account of the reputation of their teachers, opposed their pretensions. Hence arose those envyings, strifes, and divisions, which prevailed in the Corinthian church, and which the apostle termed, a walking after the manner of men, 1 Corinthians 3:3.” — Macknight.

11. Declared unto me—I left you in Corinth a short time ago a unit; I am told here in Ephesus that you are split into fractions and factions. Of Chloe—The words which are of the house, are in italics, as being not in the Greek but added by our English translators. Chloe seems to have been an eminent Corinthian lady, known to the Church, who, like Lydia at Philippi, kept an establishment, and her people, perhaps her children, were ample vouchers for their report to Paul. It is not probable, as Wordsworth suggests, that Fortunatus and Achaicus were they; for these two were evidently delegates selected by the Church.

Ver. 11.-12. Reason for the above exhortation. Paul introduces his charge by an expression of affection, my brothers, even warmer than that of 1 Corinthians 1:10. Both Cloe and the relationship to her of them of Cloe, are quite unknown. Paul's mention of them implies that they were willing for it to be known that they had given this information. This was no small test of their good faith.

Strifes: natural result of “divisions.”

Each of you. The fault was universal.

Apollos: Acts 18:24-19:1. His complete personal concord with Paul, 1 Corinthians 16:12 reveals.

Cephas: an Aramaic name denoting “rock” or “stone,” given (John 1:43) by Jesus to Simon. “Petra” is its Greek equivalent, and is so used (LXX.) in Jeremiah 4:29; Job 30:6, where we have a Hebrew form of the same Aramaic word. But, since “Petra” is feminine, the less exact masculine equivalent “Petros” (Peter) is used as the Greek name of the Apostle. The meaning of this name gives force to Matthew 16:18, “Thou art Rock: and on this Rock I will build my church.” This sense is reproduced, though not accurately, in the French version “Tu es Pierre, et sur cette pierre etc.” In Paul's epistles the name Peter is found twice, Galatians 2:7, 8; Cephas, eight times, Galatians 1:18; 2:9, 11, 14; 1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:5. That a party in Corinth, a Greek city called itself by an Aramaic name, suggests that its members were chiefly Jews, and that probably they prided themselves in the name so solemnly given and expounded by Christ.

This verse refers to a matter well known to the Corinthian Christians; but known to us only by difficult and uncertain inference from 1 Corinthians 1:10-4:8, and from a few scattered and doubtful references elsewhere. As we come to each reference we will examine the evidence it affords. This evidence we will gather together at the end of DIV. I.; and try to obtain thus a view, necessarily imperfect, of these church-parties. From this verse we learn that at Corinth there were four parties, calling themselves by four names; and that to one or other of these parties all the church members belonged. That Paul puts all the parties side by side, proves that all were to blame, even the last. That Paul is mentioned first, then Apollos, suggests that the parties arose in the order here given. That Cephas was a party name, is no proof that Peter, any more than Christ, had actually preached at Corinth. The Aramaic name suggests that the party was founded by Jews who appealed to the authority of Peter. Possibly something Peter had said or done (cp. Galatians 2:11) may have been misconstrued for their own purposes by unscrupulous partisans. One party had dared to inscribe on its banner, in token doubtless of assumed superiority, the name of Christ.

V. 12. Now this I say-That is, what I mean is this: there are various parties among you, who set themselves, one against an other, in behalf of the several teachers they admire.

And I of Christ-They spoke well, if they had not on this pretence despised their teachers, 1 Corinthians 4:8 Perhaps they valued themselves on having heard Christ preach in his own person.

Verse 12. Every one of you saith] It seems from this expression that the whole Church at Corinth was in a state of dissension: they were all divided into the following sects 1. Paulians, or followers of St. Paul; 2. Apollonians, or followers of Apollos; 3. Kephians, or followers of Kephas;

4. Christians, or followers of Christ. See the introduction, sec. v. The converts at Corinth were partly Jews and partly Greeks. The Gentile part, as Dr. Lightfoot conjectures, might boast the names of Paul and Apollos; the Jewish, those of Kephas and Christ. But these again might be subdivided; some probably considered themselves disciples of Paul, he being the immediate instrument of their conversion, while others might prefer Apollos for his extraordinary eloquence.

If by Kephas the apostle Peter be meant, some of the circumcision who believed might prefer him to all the rest; and they might consider him more immediately sent to them; and therefore have him in higher esteem than they had Paul, who was the minister or apostle of the uncircumcision: and on this very account the converted Gentiles would prize him more highly than they did Peter.

Instead of Christ, cristou, some have conjectured that we should read krispou, of Crispus; who is mentioned 1 Corinthians 1:14. And some think that cristou, of Christ, is an interpolation, as it is not likely that Christ in any sense of the word could be said to be the head of a sect, or party, in his own Church; as all those parties held that Gospel, of which himself was both the author and the subject. But it is very easy to conceive that, in a Church so divided, a party might be found, who, dividing Christ from his ministers, might be led to say, “We will have nothing to do with your parties, nor with your party spirit; we are the disciples of Christ, and will have nothing to do with Paulians, Apollonians, or Kephians, as contradistinguished from Christ.” The reading krispou for cristou is not acknowledged by any MS. or version.

Verses 11, 12. For it hath been declared — Not out of ill-will, but to procure a remedy of the evil; unto me — Whom it concerns to know such things, that I may redress them; of you, my brethren — Brethren, says Locke, is a name of union and friendship, and is twice used by the apostle in this exhortation to these virtues. By them of the house of Chloe — According to Grotius, these were Stephanas, Fortunatus, Achaicus, mentioned 1 Corinthians 16:17; who, he thinks, were Chloe’s sons, and the bearers of the letter which the Corinthians sent to the apostle, 1 Corinthians 7:1. That there are contentions among you — A word equivalent with schisms, in the preceding verse: now this I say — That is, what I mean is this; that every one of you saith, I am of Paul, &c. — There are various parties among you, who set themselves one against another, in behalf of the several teachers they admire. And I of Cephas — This seems to have been the boast of the Judaizing teachers: for as they came recommended by letters from Judea, they might be particularly attached to Peter, perhaps having been converted under his ministry: and I of Christ — Such spoke well, if they did not, on this pretence, despise their teachers. It seems there were now in the church at Corinth some Jewish Christians, who, having heard Christ preach, had been converted by him, and who claimed greater respect on that account. Chrysostom thought this was said by Paul himself, to show the Corinthians that all ought to consider themselves as the disciples of Christ, and of no other master; otherwise they derogated from the honour due to Christ. The Greeks, it must be observed, “valued themselves greatly on account of the fame of their masters in philosophy and the arts. This humour the Corinthians brought with them into the church. For some, especially the heads of the faction, claimed an authority over others on account of the dignity of the persons who had converted them, and to whom they had attached themselves, as their masters in the gospel. But others, who reckoned themselves equally honourable on account of the reputation of their teachers, opposed their pretensions. Hence arose those envyings, strifes, and divisions, which prevailed in the Corinthian church, and which the apostle termed, a walking after the manner of men, 1 Corinthians 3:3.” — Macknight.

12. Now this I say—Now what I mean to say is this. The preceding general report is to be expanded into its particulars. Every—Rather, each one of you. Paul’s each is not to be pressed as absolutely including the whole, as the same word every does not, 1 Corinthians 4:5. It signifies individuals generally. I am of—The present paragraph furnishes a glimpse of the divisions in the apostolic Church, on which see our note on Acts 15:6, and the notes to which reference is there made. As in most cases, the partisanships were based partly upon personal preferences, especially so in the instances of Paul and Apollos, who had both been at Corinth, and who essentially agreed in their views; and partly upon the principles the persons were held to represent, as specially in the case of Peter and Christ, who had neither been at Corinth. The leaders who were named participated not in the partisanships of these their professed followers. Of Paul—Paul mentions himself first; partly as their known founder, and partly to lead the way in rebuking the partisans who used and abused his name. The followers of Paul, of course, maintained the non-necessity of circumcision and the ritual for salvation, and the complete oneness of Jew and Gentile in the new Church. There may have been a tendency to Marcionism; that is, in addition to the rejection of the Jewish ritual, there may have been a predisposition to reject the Old Testament—to hold the Jehovah of the Old Testament to be a malignant being inferior to the true God, and to base Christianity, as a separate religion, on it own sole foundation. Of Apollos—Though Apollos’ style of oratory was much more rhetorical than that of Paul, yet his theology was doubtless the same. He was taught Christianity by Paul’s dear friends and pupils, Aquila and Priscilla, and his intimate friendship for the apostle remained unbroken. Yet some tinge to his views there may have been derived from Alexandrian influences. Such tinge we recognize in the book of Hebrews; and something resembling it in the writings of John, both gospel and epistles. Cephas—The name of Peter in the colloquial Hebrew of the day, (the Syriac or Aramaic,) signifying rock, of which Petros (Peter) was the Greek equivalent. See note on Matthew 16:18. According to the best readings the form Cephas is used in the following places: John 1:42; 1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:5; Galatians 2:9; 1:18; 2:10, 14. It is uniformly used in the Syriac (Peshito) version, and uniformly, as a Jew, by St. Paul. The Petrine party at Corinth were, probably, mostly Jews. They were inclined to question Paul’s apostleship, to exalt themselves above their uncircumcised brethren, to maintain the value of the ritual, and the extremists among them tended to Ebionism. Of Christ—It seems, at first, strange that the special advocates of Christ should lie under the apostle’s condemnation. But in our own age and country we have a special sect of Christians, who profess the name, but deny the deity, of Christ. Many rationalists at the present day, who reject evangelical doctrines, profess special reverence for Christ. That is, they admire the moral sayings of Jesus, especially the sermon on the mount, while the doctrines of his Godhead, his substitutional atonement, etc., they reject. So this sect of Christ probably rejected the apostles, and professed to be admirers and followers of the traditional sayings of Christ. They approved his ethics, but rejected the doctrines outlined in the Gospels, and more fully expanded in the epistles. They were probably Christianized rationalists from the Greek side of the Church.

Ver. 11.-12. Reason for the above exhortation. Paul introduces his charge by an expression of affection, my brothers, even warmer than that of 1 Corinthians 1:10. Both Cloe and the relationship to her of them of Cloe, are quite unknown. Paul's mention of them implies that they were willing for it to be known that they had given this information. This was no small test of their good faith.

Strifes: natural result of “divisions.”

Each of you. The fault was universal.

Apollos: Acts 18:24-19:1. His complete personal concord with Paul, 1 Corinthians 16:12 reveals.

Cephas: an Aramaic name denoting “rock” or “stone,” given (John 1:43) by Jesus to Simon. “Petra” is its Greek equivalent, and is so used (LXX.) in Jeremiah 4:29; Job 30:6, where we have a Hebrew form of the same Aramaic word. But, since “Petra” is feminine, the less exact masculine equivalent “Petros” (Peter) is used as the Greek name of the Apostle. The meaning of this name gives force to Matthew 16:18, “Thou art Rock: and on this Rock I will build my church.” This sense is reproduced, though not accurately, in the French version “Tu es Pierre, et sur cette pierre etc.” In Paul's epistles the name Peter is found twice, Galatians 2:7, 8; Cephas, eight times, Galatians 1:18; 2:9, 11, 14; 1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:5. That a party in Corinth, a Greek city called itself by an Aramaic name, suggests that its members were chiefly Jews, and that probably they prided themselves in the name so solemnly given and expounded by Christ.

This verse refers to a matter well known to the Corinthian Christians; but known to us only by difficult and uncertain inference from 1 Corinthians 1:10-4:8, and from a few scattered and doubtful references elsewhere. As we come to each reference we will examine the evidence it affords. This evidence we will gather together at the end of DIV. I.; and try to obtain thus a view, necessarily imperfect, of these church-parties. From this verse we learn that at Corinth there were four parties, calling themselves by four names; and that to one or other of these parties all the church members belonged. That Paul puts all the parties side by side, proves that all were to blame, even the last. That Paul is mentioned first, then Apollos, suggests that the parties arose in the order here given. That Cephas was a party name, is no proof that Peter, any more than Christ, had actually preached at Corinth. The Aramaic name suggests that the party was founded by Jews who appealed to the authority of Peter. Possibly something Peter had said or done (cp. Galatians 2:11) may have been misconstrued for their own purposes by unscrupulous partisans. One party had dared to inscribe on its banner, in token doubtless of assumed superiority, the name of Christ.

V. 13. Is Christ divided-Are not all the members still under one head? Was not he alone crucified for you all; and were ye not all baptized in his name? The glory of Christ then is not to be divided between him and his servants; neither is the unity of the body to be torn asunder, seeing Christ is one still.

Verse 13. Is Christ divided?] Can he be split into different sects and parties? Has he different and opposing systems? Or, is the Messiah to appear under different persons?

Was Paul crucified for you?] As the Gospel proclaims salvation through the crucified only, has Paul poured out his blood as an atonement for you? This is impossible, and therefore your being called by my name is absurd; for his disciples you should be, alone, who has bought you by his blood. Were ye baptized in the name of Paul?] To be baptized in, or into the name of one, implied that the baptized was to be the disciple of him into whose name, religion, &c., he was baptized. As if he said: Did I ever attempt to set up a new religion, one founded on my own authority, and coming from myself? On the contrary, have I not preached Christ crucified for the sin of the world; and called upon all mankind, both Jews and Gentiles, to believe on Him?

Verses 13-16. Why do you not all say the same thing, namely, I am of Christ, 1 Corinthians 3:23. Is Christ divided? — Did one Christ send Paul, and another Apollos, to preach the gospel to you? Is not one and the same Christ preached to you by us all? or is his body divided? See 2 Corinthians 11:4. Was Paul — Or any other but Christ Jesus; crucified for you — That you should be baptized into his death, as Christians are into the death of Christ? that is, engaged by baptism to be conformed to his death, by dying to sin and to the world. As if he had said, Are your obligations to me, or to any other apostle or Christian minister, equal or comparable to those which you are under to our common Master? to him who died for us upon the cross? He mentions himself, as it was least invidious to do so; though the application was equally just as to every other instance. The apostle’s question here implies, that the sufferings of Christ have an influence in saving the world, which the sufferings of no other man have, or can have. Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul — By his authority, and dedicated to his service? To be baptized in or into the name of any person is, as Locke observes, “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 argument here, why they should be called by no one’s name but Christ’s.” In this sense the Israelites are said, 1 Corinthians 10:2, to have been baptized into Moses, in the cloud, and in the sea. I thank God — Who so ordered it in the course of his providence: it is a pious phrase for the common one, I rejoice: that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius — Crispus was the ruler of the synagogue at Corinth, and among the first of the Corinthians who were converted by Paul, Acts 18:8: Gaius, or Caius, was the person with whom the apostle lodged when he wrote his epistle to the Romans, Romans 15:23. Both of them were persons of eminence. The other Corinthians may have been baptized by the apostle’s assistants, Silas, Titus, and Timothy. Lest any should say I had baptized in my own name — In order to attach the persons baptized to myself, and cause them to acknowledge me for their head. Also the household of Stephanas — Who, according to Theophylact, was a person of note among the Corinthians; and his family seem all to have been adults when they were baptized, being said, 1 Corinthians 16:15, to have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. I know not — That is, it does not at present occur to my memory; whether I baptized any other — “Here the apostle intimates that he is not speaking by inspiration, but from memory. He did not remember whether he baptized any more of the Corinthians. The Spirit was given to the apostles indeed to lead them into all truth; but it was truth relative to the plan of man’s salvation, which was thus made known to them, and not truth, like the fact here mentioned, the certain knowledge of which was of no use whatever to the world.”

Ver. 13. Is Christ divided? No. There must be no schism in the body; all the members must be under the influence and command of the head. Though the church be now divided into myriads of congregations, and called by a variety of names; yet she is one under Christ the head, hallowed by the same Spirit, and inspired with the same joyful hope.

13. Christ divided—The Christ here is the Christ of verse 30, the embodiment of an entire redemption and all connected blessings. Is, then, this Christ whole and one, and the one on whom the Corinthians can be of one mind, (verse 10,) or is he torn in pieces; each party having a part, or slice, of their own? Paul crucified—Your true Lord and Master was crucified for you; can Paul show his cross as a claim on your allegiance? For you—This clearly implies that Christ suffered for us as no saint or martyr ever suffers for us. He suffered, then, not merely as an example, or simply for our benefit, but in a far higher sense. Baptized in the name— Rather, into the name or authority of Paul, so as to be rightly called by his name. Baptized here expresses the import of the rite, consecrated. Note, Romans 6:3.

Ver. 13. Christ has been and is divided, suggesting by “of Christ” but applicable to all the parties; and showing their sad result. All the parties, even that which prided itself in His Name, had been practically tearing to pieces the Master they professed to serve; and continued to do so. Christ shows Himself, and speaks, to men, and works out His purpose of mercy, through the lives and lips of His people, who are His body, (1 Corinthians 12:27,) and His representatives. The practical influence of Christ upon the world is proportionate to their oneness of aim and effort: for this oneness is evidently not human but divine. Consequently, whatever divides Christians, lessens Christ's influence upon the world; by presenting to men a practically mutilated, and therefore comparatively ineffective, Saviour. The practical identity of Christ and His people will often meet us. Cp. 1 Corinthians 12:12, “So also is Christ.”

With good taste Paul chooses his own name as an example of the impropriety of making men heads of church-parties. The evident surprise of this question betrays the infinite difference, in his view, between Christ's death for men and the deadly peril to which Paul constantly exposed himself for the salvation of men. This difference can be explained only by the great Doctrine of Romans 3:24-26.

On your behalf: Romans 5:6.

Crucified, baptized: the greatest events in the history of the church, and of the individual; (cp. Romans 6:3;) and most closely connected.

V. 14. I thank God-(A pious phrase for the common one, I rejoice,) that, in the course of his providence,

I baptized none of you, but Crispus, once the ruler of the synagogue, and Caius.

Verse 14. I thank God that I baptized none of you] None of those who now live in Corinth, except Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, Acts 18:8. And Gaius, the same person probably with whom Paul lodged, Romans 16:23, where see the notes. Dr. Lightfoot observes: “If this be Gaius, or Caius, to whom the third epistle of John was written, which is very probable when the first verse of that epistle is compared with Romans 16:23, {3 John 1:1} then it will appear probable that John wrote his first epistle to the Corinthians. I wrote, says he, unto the Church-What Church? Certainly it must have been some particular Church which the apostle has in view, and the Church where Gaius himself resided. And if this be true, we may look for Diotrephes (3 John 1:9) in the Corinthian Church; and the author of the schism of which the apostle complains. See the Introduction, sect. viii.

Verses 13-16. Why do you not all say the same thing, namely, I am of Christ, 1 Corinthians 3:23. Is Christ divided? — Did one Christ send Paul, and another Apollos, to preach the gospel to you? Is not one and the same Christ preached to you by us all? or is his body divided? See 2 Corinthians 11:4. Was Paul — Or any other but Christ Jesus; crucified for you — That you should be baptized into his death, as Christians are into the death of Christ? that is, engaged by baptism to be conformed to his death, by dying to sin and to the world. As if he had said, Are your obligations to me, or to any other apostle or Christian minister, equal or comparable to those which you are under to our common Master? to him who died for us upon the cross? He mentions himself, as it was least invidious to do so; though the application was equally just as to every other instance. The apostle’s question here implies, that the sufferings of Christ have an influence in saving the world, which the sufferings of no other man have, or can have. Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul — By his authority, and dedicated to his service? To be baptized in or into the name of any person is, as Locke observes, “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 argument here, why they should be called by no one’s name but Christ’s.” In this sense the Israelites are said, 1 Corinthians 10:2, to have been baptized into Moses, in the cloud, and in the sea. I thank God — Who so ordered it in the course of his providence: it is a pious phrase for the common one, I rejoice: that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius — Crispus was the ruler of the synagogue at Corinth, and among the first of the Corinthians who were converted by Paul, Acts 18:8: Gaius, or Caius, was the person with whom the apostle lodged when he wrote his epistle to the Romans, Romans 15:23. Both of them were persons of eminence. The other Corinthians may have been baptized by the apostle’s assistants, Silas, Titus, and Timothy. Lest any should say I had baptized in my own name — In order to attach the persons baptized to myself, and cause them to acknowledge me for their head. Also the household of Stephanas — Who, according to Theophylact, was a person of note among the Corinthians; and his family seem all to have been adults when they were baptized, being said, 1 Corinthians 16:15, to have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. I know not — That is, it does not at present occur to my memory; whether I baptized any other — “Here the apostle intimates that he is not speaking by inspiration, but from memory. He did not remember whether he baptized any more of the Corinthians. The Spirit was given to the apostles indeed to lead them into all truth; but it was truth relative to the plan of man’s salvation, which was thus made known to them, and not truth, like the fact here mentioned, the certain knowledge of which was of no use whatever to the world.”

Ver. 14. I baptized none of you but Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, Acts 18:8, and Gaius, with whom he had lodged. Romans 16:23. He baptized the jailor’s houshold, and Lydia’s also, at Philippi, though he had baptized only two or three at Corinth. The jews baptized all proselytes by housholds, as stated in Matthew 3. His “thanking God” on this occasion conveys by implication a reproach on those who made partizans of the families their had baptized. Christ sent him not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, which surpasses all other ordinances.

14. I thank God—For the unexpected good result of our actions, we may thank not our own wisdom, but God’s. Some might have thought his omission to baptize a guilty neglect; others may have felt the not being baptized by him a slight; he sees in it a complete condemnation of their making him their master. Baptized none of you—A remarkable fact that of so many converts of Paul, so few were baptized by him. A remarkable object of thanks. Baptism, solemn as is its import, being, nevertheless, more a performance of the hand than of brain or soul, is subordinate to preaching and government. At Corinth the rite was at first, doubtless, performed by Timothy and Silas, Paul’s attendants, and afterwards by elders and deacons ordained. Note, Acts 10:48. But Crispus—Note Acts 18:8. The notability of Crispus, the chief ruler, being converted by Paul, induced his being baptized by him. Gaius—At whose house probably he wrote the Epistle to the Romans. See our introduction to Romans, vol. iii, p. 286.

Ver. 14. I baptized none of you: a beautiful trait of Paul's character. Most preachers delight to take a prominent part in the public reception of their converts. But Paul saw the danger of this, as tending to exalt the preacher in men's eyes. He therefore purposely (1 Corinthians 1:15) and systematically placed himself on such occasions in the background. Cp. Acts 10:48. This he could well afford to do because of the greater honor, given to him, of preaching the Gospel and thus leading men to Christ. He wished men to think, not of the successful preacher, but of Him whose professed servants the baptized ones were. How different was the aim of those who wrote Paul's name on the banner of their party! Paul thanks God for his own conduct. For every good action is prompted by God, and enriches the actor.

Crispus: Acts 18:6-8. The conversion of the ruler of the synagogue with his whole family was doubtless an era in the founding of the church at Corinth.

Gaius: Romans 16:23. That he was “host of the whole church,” suggests that he, like Crispus, was a man of importance. And, though souls are of equal worth to God, yet the accession of these men was so important in its influence upon others that Paul thought fit to make them an exception to his usual custom, and himself baptize them. For, like all wise men, he was prepared, when special circumstances made it expedient, to deviate even from a good custom.

V. 15. Lest any should say that I had baptized in my own name-In order to attach them to myself.

Verse 15. Lest any should say, &c.] He was careful not to baptize, lest it should be supposed that he wished to make a party for himself; because superficial observers might imagine that he baptized them into his own name-to be his followers, though he baptized them into the name of Christ only.

Instead of ebaptisa, I have baptized, the Codex Alexandrinus, the Codex Ephraim, and several others, with the Coptic, Sahidic, later Syriac in the margin, Armenian, Vulgate, some copies of the Itala, and several of the fathers, read ebaptisqhte, ye were baptized. And if we read ina, so that, instead of lest, the sentence will stand thus: So that no one can say that ye were baptized into my name. This appears to be the true reading, and for it Bp. Pearce offers several strong arguments.

Verses 13-16. Why do you not all say the same thing, namely, I am of Christ, 1 Corinthians 3:23. Is Christ divided? — Did one Christ send Paul, and another Apollos, to preach the gospel to you? Is not one and the same Christ preached to you by us all? or is his body divided? See 2 Corinthians 11:4. Was Paul — Or any other but Christ Jesus; crucified for you — That you should be baptized into his death, as Christians are into the death of Christ? that is, engaged by baptism to be conformed to his death, by dying to sin and to the world. As if he had said, Are your obligations to me, or to any other apostle or Christian minister, equal or comparable to those which you are under to our common Master? to him who died for us upon the cross? He mentions himself, as it was least invidious to do so; though the application was equally just as to every other instance. The apostle’s question here implies, that the sufferings of Christ have an influence in saving the world, which the sufferings of no other man have, or can have. Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul — By his authority, and dedicated to his service? To be baptized in or into the name of any person is, as Locke observes, “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 argument here, why they should be called by no one’s name but Christ’s.” In this sense the Israelites are said, 1 Corinthians 10:2, to have been baptized into Moses, in the cloud, and in the sea. I thank God — Who so ordered it in the course of his providence: it is a pious phrase for the common one, I rejoice: that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius — Crispus was the ruler of the synagogue at Corinth, and among the first of the Corinthians who were converted by Paul, Acts 18:8: Gaius, or Caius, was the person with whom the apostle lodged when he wrote his epistle to the Romans, Romans 15:23. Both of them were persons of eminence. The other Corinthians may have been baptized by the apostle’s assistants, Silas, Titus, and Timothy. Lest any should say I had baptized in my own name — In order to attach the persons baptized to myself, and cause them to acknowledge me for their head. Also the household of Stephanas — Who, according to Theophylact, was a person of note among the Corinthians; and his family seem all to have been adults when they were baptized, being said, 1 Corinthians 16:15, to have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. I know not — That is, it does not at present occur to my memory; whether I baptized any other — “Here the apostle intimates that he is not speaking by inspiration, but from memory. He did not remember whether he baptized any more of the Corinthians. The Spirit was given to the apostles indeed to lead them into all truth; but it was truth relative to the plan of man’s salvation, which was thus made known to them, and not truth, like the fact here mentioned, the certain knowledge of which was of no use whatever to the world.”

15. Lest—Lest any should claim from the fact that they were baptized by me to be my special disciples and bearers of my name.

Ver. 15. Purpose of Paul's abstinence from baptizing, viz. to prevent the supposition that the baptized ones stood henceforth in some special relation to himself, i.e. to prevent what had actually happened at Corinth. Any one: within or without the church.

Should say: in contrast to “each of you says,” 1 Corinthians 1:12. It is possible that Paul had noticed at Corinth a tendency to hero-worship, and to guard against it had been specially careful to keep himself in the background.

V. 16. I know not-That is, it does not at present occur to my memory, that I baptized any other.

Verse 16. The household of Stephanas] From 1 Corinthians 16:15, we learn that the family of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, probably converted and baptized by the apostle himself. Epenetus is supposed to be one of this family. See Clarke’s note on “Romans 16:5”.

I know not whether I baptized any other.] I do not recollect that there is any person now residing in Corinth, or Achaia, besides the above mentioned, whom I have baptized. It is strange that the doubt here expressed by the apostle should be construed so as to affect his inspiration! What, does the inspiration of prophet or apostle necessarily imply that he must understand the geography of the universe, and have an intuitive knowledge of all the inhabitants of the earth, and how often, and where they may have changed their residence! Nor was that inspiration ever given so to work on a man’s memory that he could not forget any of the acts which he had performed during life. Inspiration was given to the holy men of old that they might be able to write and proclaim the mind of God in the times which concern the salvation of men.

Verses 13-16. Why do you not all say the same thing, namely, I am of Christ, 1 Corinthians 3:23. Is Christ divided? — Did one Christ send Paul, and another Apollos, to preach the gospel to you? Is not one and the same Christ preached to you by us all? or is his body divided? See 2 Corinthians 11:4. Was Paul — Or any other but Christ Jesus; crucified for you — That you should be baptized into his death, as Christians are into the death of Christ? that is, engaged by baptism to be conformed to his death, by dying to sin and to the world. As if he had said, Are your obligations to me, or to any other apostle or Christian minister, equal or comparable to those which you are under to our common Master? to him who died for us upon the cross? He mentions himself, as it was least invidious to do so; though the application was equally just as to every other instance. The apostle’s question here implies, that the sufferings of Christ have an influence in saving the world, which the sufferings of no other man have, or can have. Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul — By his authority, and dedicated to his service? To be baptized in or into the name of any person is, as Locke observes, “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 argument here, why they should be called by no one’s name but Christ’s.” In this sense the Israelites are said, 1 Corinthians 10:2, to have been baptized into Moses, in the cloud, and in the sea. I thank God — Who so ordered it in the course of his providence: it is a pious phrase for the common one, I rejoice: that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius — Crispus was the ruler of the synagogue at Corinth, and among the first of the Corinthians who were converted by Paul, Acts 18:8: Gaius, or Caius, was the person with whom the apostle lodged when he wrote his epistle to the Romans, Romans 15:23. Both of them were persons of eminence. The other Corinthians may have been baptized by the apostle’s assistants, Silas, Titus, and Timothy. Lest any should say I had baptized in my own name — In order to attach the persons baptized to myself, and cause them to acknowledge me for their head. Also the household of Stephanas — Who, according to Theophylact, was a person of note among the Corinthians; and his family seem all to have been adults when they were baptized, being said, 1 Corinthians 16:15, to have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. I know not — That is, it does not at present occur to my memory; whether I baptized any other — “Here the apostle intimates that he is not speaking by inspiration, but from memory. He did not remember whether he baptized any more of the Corinthians. The Spirit was given to the apostles indeed to lead them into all truth; but it was truth relative to the plan of man’s salvation, which was thus made known to them, and not truth, like the fact here mentioned, the certain knowledge of which was of no use whatever to the world.”

16. Also… Stephanas—Paul had hastened to give his reason before he had finished his catalogue; and he now adds the household of Stephanas, Stephanas himself, of course, included. He may, in this writing, have been reminded by Stephanas, who, being one of the delegates sent from Corinth was with Paul at the present writing in Ephesus. 1 Corinthians 16:17. I know not—Of the limitations to inspiration see our notes vol. i, p. 345, 1; also on Acts 27:22, 24.

Ver. 16. Another exception in Paul's custom.

House: Matthew 10:13; 12:25: the household, including wife, children, and servants. The family of Stephenas, as of Crispus, (Acts 18:8) joined its head in accepting the Gospel: 1 Corinthians 16:15. Perhaps even before Paul came they were like Cornelius (Acts 10:2) who “feared God with all his house.” The importance of the conversion of this family, which was the beginning (1 Corinthians 16:15) of the church in Achaia, moved Paul to baptize it personally, and perhaps all together. Stephanas seems to have been (1 Corinthians 16:17) one of the bearers of the letter to which this Epistle was a reply. How little we know the interesting memories awakened in Paul's mind by the names of Crispus, Gaius, and Stephanas!

That Paul is said to have baptized the three households of Lydia and the gaoler (Acts 16:15, 33) and Stephanas, has been appealed to in proof that he baptized infants; on the ground that these three families probably contained infants, and that when Paul baptized the household he must have baptized the infants. But that these three persons, one a woman in business of whose husband nothing is said, had infant children, is far from certain; and is a very unsafe basis for argument. Nor does the phrase, baptized the house, make it certain that the infants, if there were any, were baptized. For we are told (John 4:54) that the courtier of Capernaum “believed, himself and his whole house:” so did (Acts 18:8) Crispus and probably (Acts 16:34) the gaoler: Cornelius (Acts 10:2) “feared God with all his house:” the house of Stephanas was (1 Corinthians 16:15) a firstfruit of Achaia. But this by no means implies that in these five homes there were no infants, or that the infants believed the Gospel or feared God; but simply that those capable of understanding the Gospel believed it. Just so in reference to baptism. Paul's readers knew whether he was accustomed to baptize infants. If he was, they would infer that in these cases he baptized the infants, if there were any. If he was not, they would interpret his words to mean that he baptized all who were of suitable age. We are told expressly that three entire households, one (John 4:53) probably containing servants, believed the Gospel. Even now it sometimes happens that a whole family seeks admission to the church. And such cases must have been far more frequent when the Gospel was first preached. No doubt other families besides that of Cornelius were groping their way towards the light, and were ready to hail its appearance. Consequently, these passages render no aid to determine whether the apostles baptized infants.

Dr. Whedon, under Acts 16:34, supposes that all the gaoler's household were infants (!!!), and that their faith was implied in his. Under Acts 16:15, he quotes approvingly Dr. Schaff, who asserts five cases of baptized households and in proof quotes passages of which two are seen in a moment to be actually against him. Dr. S. adds: “It is hardly conceivable that all the adult sons and daughters in these five” (he ought to have said three) “cases so quickly determined on going over with their parents to a despised and persecuted religious society.” I understand him to mean that the fact that the household was baptized makes it inconceivable that it contained adult children. But we are told that three men believed with “all” their houses: and we cannot conceive this to mean that the faith of infants was implied in their father's faith. Schaff and Whedon say that the baptized households are “given merely as examples:” but of this they give no proof whatever.

I do not know etc.; implies that Paul's practice had not been so strict as to exclude the possibility of other exceptions. His uncertainty is not inconsistent with the divine authority of the New Testament. The Holy Spirit did not think fit to quicken his memory in this matter to the point of certainty. But this uncertainty, which Paul acknowledges, does not imply uncertainty or error in matters of which he speaks with confidence.

V. 17. For God did not send me to baptize-That was not my chief errand: those of inferior rank and abilities could do it: though all the apostles were sent to baptize also, Matthew 28:19 But to preach the gospel-So the apostle slides into his general proposition:

but not with wisdom of speech-With the artificial ornaments of discourse, invented by human wisdom.

Lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect-The whole effect of St. Paul's preaching was owing to the power of God accompanying the plain declaration of that great truth, Christ bore our sins upon the cross. But this effect might have been imputed to another cause, had he come with that wisdom of speech which they admired.

Verse 17. For Christ sent me not to baptize] Bp. Pearce translates thus: For Christ sent me, not so much to baptize as to preach the Gospel: and he supports his version thus-“The writers of the Old and New Testaments do, almost every where (agreeably to the Hebrew idiom) express a preference given to one thing beyond another by an affirmation of that which is preferred, and a negation of that which is contrary to it: and so it must be understood here, for if St. Paul was not sent at all to baptize, he baptized without a commission; but if he was sent, not only to baptize but to preach also, or to preach rather than baptize, he did in fact discharge his duty aright.” It appears sufficiently evident that baptizing was considered to be an inferior office, and though every minister of Christ might administer it, yet apostles had more important work. Preparing these adult heathens for baptism by the continual preaching of the word was of much greater consequence than baptizing them when thus prepared to receive and profit by it.

Not with wisdom of words] ouk en sofia logou. In several places in the New Testament the term logov is taken not only to express a word, a speech, a saying, &c., but doctrine, or the matter of teaching. Here, and in 1 Thessalonians 1:5, and in several other places, it seems to signify reason, or that mode of rhetorical argumentation so highly prized among the Greeks. The apostle was sent not to pursue this mode of conduct, but simply to announce the truth; to proclaim Christ crucified for the sin of the world; and to do this in the plainest and simplest manner possible, lest the numerous conversions which followed might be attributed to the power of the apostle’s eloquence, and not to the demonstration of the Spirit of God. It is worthy of remark that, in all the revivals of religion with which we are acquainted, God appears to have made very little use of human eloquence, even when possessed by pious men. His own nervous truths, announced by plain common sense, though in homely phrase, have been the general means of the conviction and conversion of sinners. Human eloquence and learning have often been successfully employed in defending the outworks of Christianity; but simplicity and truth have preserved the citadel. It is farther worthy of remark, that when God was about to promulgate his laws he chose Moses as the instrument, who appears to have laboured under some natural impediment in his speech, so that Aaron his brother was obliged to be his spokesman to Pharaoh; and that, when God had purposed to publish the Gospel to the Gentile world-to Athens, Ephesus, Corinth, and Rome, he was pleased to use Saul of Tarsus as the principal instrument; a man whose bodily presence was weak, and his speech contemptible, 2 Corinthians 10:1, 10. And thus it was proved that God sent him to preach, not with human eloquence, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect but with the demonstration and power of his own Spirit; and thus the excellence of the power appeared to be of God, and not of man.

Verse 17. For Christ sent me not to baptize — Not chiefly: this was not the principal end of my mission. He did not call me in so wonderful a way, and endue me with extraordinary powers, chiefly in order to my doing that which might be done as well by an ordinary minister: (all the apostles, however, were also sent to baptize, Matthew 28:19:) but to preach the gospel — Or to plant churches by preaching the gospel to those that never heard it before, Acts 26:17, 18. “The apostles, being endued with the highest degrees of inspiration and miraculous powers, had the office of preaching committed to them, rather than that of baptizing, because they were best qualified for converting the world, and had not time to give the converted, either before or after their baptism, such particular instruction as their former ignorance rendered necessary. These offices, therefore, were committed to the inferior ministers of the Word.” The apostle here slides into his general proposition, respecting preaching the gospel, namely, the doctrine which he preached, and the manner in which he preached it. Not with wisdom of words — Logou, of speech, with the artificial ornaments of discourse, invented by human wisdom. This observation was intended to show the Corinthians how ill-founded the boasting of the faction was, who valued themselves on the learning and eloquence of their teachers. Lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect — Lest the bare preaching of Christ crucified, verse 23, as a fundamental article of Christianity, and the foundation of all our hopes, should be thought unavailing to procure salvation for guilty sinners. The whole effect of Paul’s preaching was owing to the power of God accompanying the plain declaration of this great truth, Christ bore our sins upon the cross. But this effect might have been imputed to another cause, had he come with that wisdom of speech which the Greeks admired. “To have adorned the gospel with the paint of the Grecian rhetoric would have obscured its wisdom and simplicity, just as the gilding of a diamond would destroy its brilliancy. Besides, it would have marred its operation as a revelation from God. For the evidence and efficacy of the gospel arise not from its being proved by philosophical arguments, and recommended by the charms of human eloquence, but from its being proved by miracles, and founded on the testimony of God.” — Macknight.

17. Sent—’Apesteile, the word whence apostle is derived. Note on Matthew 10:2. Christ apostled me not to baptize. Baptizing was not named in his apostolic commission. Acts 9:15; 22:15; 26:16-18; Galatians 1:16. Yet baptism was included in the commission of the twelve, (Matthew 28:19,) to be done, doubtless, either by themselves or by subordinates appointed. Wisdom of words—Not hereby meaning skill in speech; nor, as Olshausen, “word-wisdom;” nor philosophical discourse; but wisdom or philosophy which is the subject of words or discourse by philosophers. This will appear in our progress. The Greek word here rendered wisdom, sofia, sophia, is the last half of the word filosofia, philosophia, philosophy; and means throughout this chapter precisely the same thing, except that the former signified wisdom, and the latter, signifying love of wisdom, was the more modest profession for a sage to make. Both terms mean that system of thought, originated by the intellect of deep thinkers, which assumes to decide on the origin of all things, the existence of God, and the nature and destiny of man. The systems were admired for their profundity, and men divided into sects and schools following different leaders of thought, just as the Corinthian Christians were following different leaders. That such is the meaning of the word here is plain from verse 22, where the sophia is expressly affirmed to be that which was the object of the search of the Greeks. In its best form this sophia was the nearest approach to true religion that the unaided reason of man could attain. Yet, source of pride and partisanship as it was to the intellectual Gentile world, the apostle triumphs in declining a similar homage from the Church, and in abasing sophia to the bottom, and placing the cross at the summit. Not but that there was a value and a grandeur positively in the Greek sophia. It was only as it came in competition with the cross, as a substitute for the Gospel, as a means of enlightenment and salvation to men, that it was to be abased; just as all things belonging to mere man must be abased before that which is truly of God. Hence the sophia, with all of its human nobility, power, and pretension, must all be trampled in the dust when the triumphs of the cross were approaching. Socrates and Plato were illustrious men; their philosophies were a noble product; but when they come into collision with Christ and his cross into what nothingness must they not sink!

2. He abases all beneath the supremacy of the cross, 18-31.

I CORINTHIANS

SECTION 3 — HIS OWN PREACHING AT

CORINTH LAID NO CLAIM TO HUMAN WISDOM

CH. 1:17B-2:5

For Christ sent me … to announce good news; not with wisdom of word, lest the cross of Christ be made an empty thing. For the word of the cross, to those indeed who are perishing, is foolishness: but to those who are being saved, to us, it is a power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise ones: and the understanding of the understanding ones I will set aside.” (Isaiah 29:14.) Where is the wise man? where the scribe? where the disputant of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For, since amid the wisdom of God the world did not by means of the wisdom know God, it pleased God by means of the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who believe. since both Jews ask for signs and Greeks seek wisdom: but as for us, we proclaim Christ crucified, to Jews indeed a snare, and to Gentiles foolishness; but, to the called ones themselves, Christ, God's power and God's wisdom. Because the foolish thing of God is wiser than men. and the weak thing of God is stronger than men. For, look at your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to flesh, not many powerful, not many well-born. But the foolish things of the world God has chosen, that He may put to shame the wise ones: and the weak things of the world God has chosen, that He may put to shame the strong things: and the low-born things of the world and the despised things God has chosen, the things which are not; that He may bring to nought* (* Or made of no effect.) the things which are: in order that no flesh may exult before God. And from Him you are in Christ Jesus, who has become wisdom to us from God, both righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, that, according as it is written, “He that exults, let him exult in the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:24.)

And for my part, when I came to you, brothers, I came not according to superiority of word or wisdom announcing to you the mystery of God. For I did not judge fit to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I, in weakness and in fear and in much trembling I was with you. And my word and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with proof of the Spirit and of power; that your faith may not be in men's wisdom but in God's power.

At this point Paul seems to turn away from the matter of the factions, which he has touched only for a moment, to discuss the powerlessness of human wisdom and the divine power of the Gospel. But we shall soon see that throughout DIV. I. he has the factions in view; and that he now rises from them to discuss great principles, in order to bring these principles to bear upon this detail of church life. For a similar mode of argument, but on a smaller scale, see Romans 14:13-21. He thus makes a transitory matter at Corinth a pattern for similar matters in all ages. The application of the argument of § 3 to the factions at Corinth is to us partly obscured by our ignorance of their exact cause and circumstances. It will, however, become clear to us that their real cause was an overestimate of human wisdom, an error common to at least the parties of Paul and Apollos; and that by proving the powerlessness of human wisdom Paul strikes at the root of the whole evil.

In justifying himself for baptizing so few, Paul has appealed to his commission by Christ. He now makes this commission a starting point for dealing with the relation of the Gospel to human wisdom; a matter which he discusses in §§ 3, 4. At the end of § 4 he brings the results of his discussion to bear upon the matter of the factions.

Verse 17b. Wisdom of word, or (same as in 1 Corinthians 1:5) of utterance: a skilful way of putting a matter, so as best to attain the speaker's purpose. Cp. 1 Corinthians 2:4, 13. The good news which Christ sent Paul to announce was not clothed in skilful speech. An empty thing: barren of results. Had the Gospel been set forth with clever reasoning, its results might have been attributed to the skill of the preacher. If so, the superhuman power, which through the death of Christ operates on men, would have been overlooked. And, if so, it would have been shorn of results: for the blood of Christ saves in proportion as its saving power is recognized. Therefore, in order that His own death might not become a mere incident in the story of the past, like that of Socrates, but might be crowned with results, Christ committed to Paul a message not clothed in skilful speech.

V. 18. To them that perish-By obstinately rejecting the only name whereby they can be saved.

But to us who are saved-Now saved from our sins, and in the way to everlasting salvation, it is the great instrument of the power of God.

Verse 18. For the preaching of the cross] oJ logov gar o staurou, The doctrine of the cross; or the doctrine that is of or concerning the cross; that is, the doctrine that proclaims salvation to a lost world through the crucifixion of Christ.

Is to them that perish foolishness] There are, properly speaking, but two classes of men known where the Gospel is preached: apollumenoi, the unbelievers and gainsayers, who are perishing; and sozomenoi, the obedient believers, who are in a state of salvation. To those who will continue in the first state, the preaching of salvation through the merit of a crucified Saviour is folly. To those who believe this doctrine of Christ crucified is the power of God to their salvation; it is divinely efficacious to deliver them from all the power, guilt, and pollution of sin.

Verses 18-21. The preaching of the cross — The doctrine of the crucifixion of the Son of God, to expiate the sins of mankind, and procure salvation for such as should believe in him; is to them that perish — By obstinately rejecting the only name whereby they can be saved; foolishness — Accounted an absurd, ridiculous, and impossible thing, and what no men of sense will believe; but unto us who are saved — That is, believe in order to salvation; it is the power of God — The great instrument whereby his power regenerates, sanctifies, and finally saves us. For, &c. — As if he had said, It appears that this is the only means of salvation, because all other ways of man’s own invention are ineffectual; it is written — And the words are remarkably applicable to this great event, (see the note on Isaiah 29:14,) I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, &c. — That carnal and worldly wisdom, which they so much confide in and boast of, as to despise the doctrine of the gospel, shall be of no advantage to them for their salvation. Where is the wise, &c. — The deliverance of Judea from Sennacherib is what Isaiah refers to in these words, (see note on Isaiah 33:18;) in a bold and beautiful allusion to which, the apostle, in the clause that follows, triumphs over all the opposition of human wisdom, to the victorious gospel of Christ. What could the wise men of the Gentiles do against this? Or the Jewish scribes? Or the disputers of this world? — Those among both, who, proud of their acuteness, were fond of controversy, and thought they could confute all opponents. Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world — That is, shown it to be very foolishness? For after that — Since it came to pass, that in the wisdom of God — According to his wise disposals, leaving them to make the trial; the world — Whether Jewish or Gentile, by all its boasted wisdom knew not God — Though the whole creation declared its Creator, and though he declared himself by his servants the prophets, the heathen were not brought to the true saving knowledge of God, and the generality of the Jews did not attain that spiritual, experimental, and practical knowledge of him, which entitles to, and prepares for eternal life. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching — By a way which those who perish count mere foolishness; to save them that believe — From the guilt and power of sin here, and from its consequences hereafter.

18. That perish—That are perishing. Foolishness—The precise opposite of sophia. Are saved—Are being saved. Note Acts 2:47.

Verse 18 expounds the motive contained in “lest the cross etc.” by telling us the fullness of which “the cross of Christ” might be “emptied” if announced with skilful speech. The death of Christ owes its results, not to anything which commends itself to human wisdom as suitable to attain its end, but purely to God's power operating upon men through Christ's death. And the cross is effective in proportion as this power is recognized. Now whatever might seem to aid the cross would claim a share of its victory, and thus obscure the unique and divine power to which alone the whole victory is due. Therefore, acting under the direction of Him who “sent” him, Paul refuses the aid even of human eloquence.

Since the Gospel is a power of God, it must needs appear foolishness to those who do not experience its power. For the power of God is beyond our comprehension: and all means beyond our comprehension seem to us unfit to attain any good result; for we cannot see the connection between the means and end. Consequently, superior wisdom has often, at first sight, the appearance of folly.

V. 19. For it is written-And the words are remarkably applicable to this great event. Isaiah 29:14

Verse 19. For it is written] The place referred to is Isaiah 29:14. I will destroy the wisdom of the wise] twn sofwn, Of wise men-of the philosophers who in their investigations seek nothing less than God, and whose highest discoveries amount to nothing in comparison of the grand truths relative to God, the invisible world, and the true end of man, which the Gospel has brought to light. Let me add, that the very discoveries which are really useful have been made by men who feared God, and conscientiously credited Divine revelation: witness Newton, Boyle, Pascal, and many others. But all the skeptics and deists, by their schemes of natural religion and morality, have not been able to save one soul! No sinner has ever been converted from the error of his ways by their preaching or writings.

Verses 18-21. The preaching of the cross — The doctrine of the crucifixion of the Son of God, to expiate the sins of mankind, and procure salvation for such as should believe in him; is to them that perish — By obstinately rejecting the only name whereby they can be saved; foolishness — Accounted an absurd, ridiculous, and impossible thing, and what no men of sense will believe; but unto us who are saved — That is, believe in order to salvation; it is the power of God — The great instrument whereby his power regenerates, sanctifies, and finally saves us. For, &c. — As if he had said, It appears that this is the only means of salvation, because all other ways of man’s own invention are ineffectual; it is written — And the words are remarkably applicable to this great event, (see the note on Isaiah 29:14,) I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, &c. — That carnal and worldly wisdom, which they so much confide in and boast of, as to despise the doctrine of the gospel, shall be of no advantage to them for their salvation. Where is the wise, &c. — The deliverance of Judea from Sennacherib is what Isaiah refers to in these words, (see note on Isaiah 33:18;) in a bold and beautiful allusion to which, the apostle, in the clause that follows, triumphs over all the opposition of human wisdom, to the victorious gospel of Christ. What could the wise men of the Gentiles do against this? Or the Jewish scribes? Or the disputers of this world? — Those among both, who, proud of their acuteness, were fond of controversy, and thought they could confute all opponents. Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world — That is, shown it to be very foolishness? For after that — Since it came to pass, that in the wisdom of God — According to his wise disposals, leaving them to make the trial; the world — Whether Jewish or Gentile, by all its boasted wisdom knew not God — Though the whole creation declared its Creator, and though he declared himself by his servants the prophets, the heathen were not brought to the true saving knowledge of God, and the generality of the Jews did not attain that spiritual, experimental, and practical knowledge of him, which entitles to, and prepares for eternal life. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching — By a way which those who perish count mere foolishness; to save them that believe — From the guilt and power of sin here, and from its consequences hereafter.

19. Written—Quotation of Isaiah 24:14, essentially after the Septuagint. Wisdom of the wise—The sophia of the sophoi; the philosophy of the philosophs; the sagas of the sages.

Ver. 19. Begins a defense and proof of 1 Corinthians 1:18, by quoting almost word for word (LXX.) Isaiah 29:14, which refers probably to the invasion of Sennacherib, Isaiah 36:1. The statesmen of Judah had sought to protect their country by an alliance with Egypt. And, but for the covenant of God, which made it an act of rebellion against Him, such alliance would have been their best defense, and therefore a mark of political wisdom. But God made this wisdom practically worthless, and in this sense destroyed it, by bringing against Judah the armies of Sennacherib and thus placing the nation in a position in which all political wisdom was powerless to save. And, as Paul's readers knew, by His own power God wrought salvation in a way most unlikely. Now, in 1 Corinthians 1:18, Paul said that the Gospel, which to many seemed utterly unfit to do any good, was nevertheless a power of God to save. It might be asked, How can this be? The story of Sennacherib tells us, and thus removes the improbability of 1 Corinthians 1:18. And the constancy of the principles of God's administration, and the fact that every divine deliverance is a pattern of the great deliverance, make the words of Isaiah a prophecy of the gospel salvation. But the chief force of this quotation lies in 1 Corinthians 1:20-24, which prove that in the Gospel this ancient prophecy has been actually fulfilled, on a far larger scale than in the days of Sennacherib.

Understanding: Romans 1:21: the faculty of putting together, and reading the meaning of, facts and phenomena around.

Wisdom: see note below: the noblest kind of knowledge, used as a guide in action.

V. 20. Where is the wise? &c.-The deliverance of Judea from Sennacherib is what Isaiah refers to in these words; in a bold and beautiful allusion to which, the apostle in the clause that follows triumphs over all the opposition of human wisdom to the victorious gospel of Christ. What could the wise men of the Gentiles do against this? or the Jewish scribes? or

the disputers of this world?-Those among both, who, proud of their acuteness, were fond of controversy, and thought they could confute all opponents.

Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world-That is, shown it to be very foolishness. Isaiah 33:18

Verse 20. Where is the wise-the scribe-the disputer of this world?] These words most manifestly refer to the Jews; as the places (Isaiah 29:14; 33:18; 44:25) to which he refers cannot be understood of any but the Jews.

The wise man sofov, of the apostle, is the חכם chakam of the prophet; whose office it was to teach others.

The scribe, grammateuv, of the apostle, is the rps sopher of the prophet; this signifies any man of learning, as distinguished from the common people, especially any master of the traditions.

The disputer, suzhththv, answers to the vrd derosh, or דרשנ darshan, the propounder of questions; the seeker of allegorical, mystical, and cabalistical senses from the Holy Scriptures. Now as all these are characters well known among the Jews, and as the words aiwnov toutou, of this world are a simple translation of hzh µlw[ olam hazzeh, which is repeatedly used to designate the Jewish republic, there is no doubt that the apostle has the Jews immediately in view. This wisdom of theirs induced them to seek out of the sacred oracles any sense but the true one; and they made the word of God of none effect by their traditions. After them, and precisely on their model, the schoolmen arose; and they rendered the doctrine of the Gospel of no effect by their hypercritical questions, and endless distinctions without differences. By the preaching of Christ crucified God made foolish the wisdom of the Jewish wise men; and, after that the pure religion of Christ had been corrupted by a Church that was of this world, God rendered the wisdom and disputing of the schoolmen foolishness, by the revival of pure Christianity at the Reformation. The Jews themselves allow that nothing is wise, nothing strong, nothing rich, without God.

“Our rabbins teach that there were two wise men in this world; one was an Israelite, Achitophel, the other was a Gentile, Balaam; but both were miserable in this world.”

“There were also two strong men in the world; one an Israelite, Samson, the other a Gentile, Goliah; but they were both miserable in this world.”

“There were two rich men in the world; one an Israelite, Korah, the other a Gentile, Haman; but both these were miserable in this world. And why? Because their gifts came not from God.” See Schoettgen.

In truth the world has derived very little, if any, moral good, either from the Jewish rabbins or the Gentile philosophers.

Verses 18-21. The preaching of the cross — The doctrine of the crucifixion of the Son of God, to expiate the sins of mankind, and procure salvation for such as should believe in him; is to them that perish — By obstinately rejecting the only name whereby they can be saved; foolishness — Accounted an absurd, ridiculous, and impossible thing, and what no men of sense will believe; but unto us who are saved — That is, believe in order to salvation; it is the power of God — The great instrument whereby his power regenerates, sanctifies, and finally saves us. For, &c. — As if he had said, It appears that this is the only means of salvation, because all other ways of man’s own invention are ineffectual; it is written — And the words are remarkably applicable to this great event, (see the note on Isaiah 29:14,) I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, &c. — That carnal and worldly wisdom, which they so much confide in and boast of, as to despise the doctrine of the gospel, shall be of no advantage to them for their salvation. Where is the wise, &c. — The deliverance of Judea from Sennacherib is what Isaiah refers to in these words, (see note on Isaiah 33:18;) in a bold and beautiful allusion to which, the apostle, in the clause that follows, triumphs over all the opposition of human wisdom, to the victorious gospel of Christ. What could the wise men of the Gentiles do against this? Or the Jewish scribes? Or the disputers of this world? — Those among both, who, proud of their acuteness, were fond of controversy, and thought they could confute all opponents. Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world — That is, shown it to be very foolishness? For after that — Since it came to pass, that in the wisdom of God — According to his wise disposals, leaving them to make the trial; the world — Whether Jewish or Gentile, by all its boasted wisdom knew not God — Though the whole creation declared its Creator, and though he declared himself by his servants the prophets, the heathen were not brought to the true saving knowledge of God, and the generality of the Jews did not attain that spiritual, experimental, and practical knowledge of him, which entitles to, and prepares for eternal life. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching — By a way which those who perish count mere foolishness; to save them that believe — From the guilt and power of sin here, and from its consequences hereafter.

Ver. 20. Where is the wise? The seven wise men of Greece; Solon, Dion, Diogenes, &c.; to whom we may add, Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras, who stood strong contests in Greece against the atheists, were all ignorant of the true and living God, who had renewed his covenant with Noah. Romans 1:21.

Where is the scribe, expounding knotty questions of the law, and reciting the insipid fables of the talmud?

20. Where—An exclamation of assumed triumph, as if all these competitors of the cross were nowhere. The wise—The sophos, the philosoph. The scribe—As the apostle advances, his mind recognises that the Jewish parallels to the sophoi and philosophs of the heathen world, namely, the scribes, must be included in the same humiliation. He deals, mainly, with Greek philosophs because Corinth is a Greek city. Disputer of this world—A generic term including both the preceding, sage and scribe. Made foolish—Stultified, reduced to idiocy. The maxim of Socrates, said to have been inherited from Pythagoras, was, that “sophia, in truth, belongs to God alone.”

Ver. 20. Where is Wise-man? where is Scribe? where is Disputant? triumphant questions (cp. 1 Corinthians 15:55, Romans 3:27) suggested in form perhaps by Isaiah 19:12; 33:18; but prompted by the complete failure of human wisdom to bring salvation.

Scribe: literally “man of letters,” “Scripture-man:” a class of Jews devoted to the study of the Scriptures, 2 Samuel 8:17; 2 Chronicles 34:13; Ezra 7:6, 11; 2 Macc. 6:18; Matthew 7:29; 17:10. Cp. Matthew 23:34, “prophets and wise men and scribes;” Matthew 13:52. Also, among the Greeks, an officer of the state Acts 19:35, “town clerk;” Thucydides, bk. vii. 10, iv. 118. It is used here probably in its common Bible sense of “student of the Jewish Scriptures.” Disputant; refers probably to Greek men of learning, among whom discussion had a large place. If so, wise-man includes Jewish scribe and Gentile disputant.

This age: see Romans 12:2: the complex realm of things around us except so far as it submits to Christ, looked upon as existing in time, and for a time. The unsaved are “sons of this age,” Luke 16:8; 20:34: for all they have and are belongs to this present life. Contrast “the coming age,” Luke 18:30; Ephesians 2:7; Hebrews 6:5. The world: see 1 Corinthians 5:10: the complex total of things around us, looked upon as now existing in space.

The wisdom of the world: the best knowledge possessed by those who belong to the world around, looked upon as a practical guide of life. Has not God etc.; answers, by a question recalling a matter of fact, the previous questions; and justifies their triumphant tone. It introduces 1 Corinthians 1:21, which proves that the prophecy of 1 Corinthians 1:19 has been fulfilled in the gospel and that the assertion of 1 Corinthians 1:18, to support which the prophecy was quoted, is true. Made foolish: equivalent to “destroy the wisdom,” 1 Corinthians 1:19. How God did this, is explained in 1 Corinthians 1:21.

V. 21. For since in the wisdom of God-According to his wise disposals, leaving them to make the trial.

The world-Whether Jewish or Gentile, by all its boasted wisdom knew not God-Though the whole creation declared its Creator, and though he declared himself by all the prophets; it pleased God, by a way which those who perish count mere foolishness, to save them that believe.

Verse 21. For after that in the wisdom of God] Dr. Lightfoot observes, “That sofia tou qeou, the wisdom of God, is not to be understood of that wisdom which had God for its author, but that wisdom which had God for its object. There was, among the heathen, sofia thv fusewv, wisdom about natural things, that is, philosophy; and sofia tou qeou, wisdom about God; that is, divinity. But the world in its divinity could not, by wisdom, know God.” The plain meaning of this verse is, that the wise men of the world, especially the Greek philosophers, who possessed every advantage that human nature could have, independently of a Divine revelation, and who had cultivated their minds to the uttermost, could never, by their learning, wisdom, and industry, find out God; nor had the most refined philosophers among them just and correct views of the Divine nature, nor of that in which human happiness consists. The work of LUCRETIUS, Deuteronomy Natura Rerum, and the work of CICERO, Deuteronomy Natura Deorum, are incontestable proofs of this. Even the writings of Plato and Aristotle have contributed little to remove the veil which clouded the understanding of men. No wisdom but that which came from God could ever penetrate and illuminate the human mind. By the foolishness of preaching] By the preaching of Christ crucified, which the Gentiles termed mwria, foolishness, in opposition to their own doctrines, which they termed sofia, wisdom. It was not by the foolishness of preaching, literally, nor by the foolish preaching, that God saved the world; but by that Gospel which they called mwria, foolishness; which was, in fact, the wisdom of God, and also the power of God to the salvation of them that believed.

Verses 18-21. The preaching of the cross — The doctrine of the crucifixion of the Son of God, to expiate the sins of mankind, and procure salvation for such as should believe in him; is to them that perish — By obstinately rejecting the only name whereby they can be saved; foolishness — Accounted an absurd, ridiculous, and impossible thing, and what no men of sense will believe; but unto us who are saved — That is, believe in order to salvation; it is the power of God — The great instrument whereby his power regenerates, sanctifies, and finally saves us. For, &c. — As if he had said, It appears that this is the only means of salvation, because all other ways of man’s own invention are ineffectual; it is written — And the words are remarkably applicable to this great event, (see the note on Isaiah 29:14,) I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, &c. — That carnal and worldly wisdom, which they so much confide in and boast of, as to despise the doctrine of the gospel, shall be of no advantage to them for their salvation. Where is the wise, &c. — The deliverance of Judea from Sennacherib is what Isaiah refers to in these words, (see note on Isaiah 33:18;) in a bold and beautiful allusion to which, the apostle, in the clause that follows, triumphs over all the opposition of human wisdom, to the victorious gospel of Christ. What could the wise men of the Gentiles do against this? Or the Jewish scribes? Or the disputers of this world? — Those among both, who, proud of their acuteness, were fond of controversy, and thought they could confute all opponents. Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world — That is, shown it to be very foolishness? For after that — Since it came to pass, that in the wisdom of God — According to his wise disposals, leaving them to make the trial; the world — Whether Jewish or Gentile, by all its boasted wisdom knew not God — Though the whole creation declared its Creator, and though he declared himself by his servants the prophets, the heathen were not brought to the true saving knowledge of God, and the generality of the Jews did not attain that spiritual, experimental, and practical knowledge of him, which entitles to, and prepares for eternal life. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching — By a way which those who perish count mere foolishness; to save them that believe — From the guilt and power of sin here, and from its consequences hereafter.

Ver. 21. The world by wisdom knew not God. Yet we must not think lightly of men who brought the fine arts to perfection. Their architecture, painting, poetry, and eloquence, cannot be exceeded. But respecting the divine nature, their minds were beclouded with monstrous mythologies, and greatly blinded by criminal passions, though on great occasions they would exclaim, O magnus Deus, oh the great God! The Egyptians, like the Indians, knew of a first God. Genesis 43. Socrates attained to that idea. The Persians, like Solomon, said, he dwelt not in temples made with hands. Numas also contended that a statue could not represent him; an idol is not Brumha. But they knew not God by covenant and revelation, they knew not the way in which he manifested mercy, neither did they know the disease of their own hearts. It is on the church that the light of the knowledge of God shines through a Mediator, and life and immortality are brought to light by the gospel.

21. For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God—Rather, For after that in (the light of) God’s wisdom the world by (human) wisdom knew not God. Man’s wisdom ought, in accordance with God’s wisdom, as a lesser in a greater light, to have known God. Had the finite sophia accorded with the infinite sophia, man would have truly known God: but since in the divine wisdom human wisdom did not learn God, it pleased God to provide a new method. The foolishness of preaching became a method of presenting God to man’s faith, and bringing about salvation by that faith. In this word foolishness, as well as in the words (verse 25) foolishness of God, weakness of God, and (verse 27) foolish things, the apostle ironically styles things as the world styles them. By a similar irony the apostle asserts that since wisdom failed to know God, God accomplished the result by a foolishness. The foolishness of preaching, is the antithesis to the wisdom of (philosophic) words, or lecturing, ver. 17. Believe—By unbelief man lost God; by faith he recovers God. Of the nature of this faith, as a condition of salvation, see notes on Romans 12:23. By what un-wisdoms both Jews and Greeks missed God Paul now declares.

Ver. 21. Since the world knew not God: a fact which moved God to save by … the proclamation.

Amid the wisdom of God: surrounded by the works of creation, all which, from the little flowers under our feet to the great orbs of heaven, are embodiments and witnesses of the wisdom of God. And before many of Paul's readers (for the world includes Jews, 1 Corinthians 1:22) lay open the pages of the Old Testament on which God had written His wisdom in still plainer characters. Paul has no need to say whether by means of the wisdom refers to the wisdom of God or of man. For to know God by means of wisdom is to lay hold by the human faculty of wisdom of the divine Wisdom revealed in Nature, in social life, and in the Scriptures; and thus to make wisdom the avenue of approach to God.

Did not know God: contrast Romans 1:21. They knew Him (1 Corinthians 8:2) as existing and powerful; but not “as one must needs know” in order (John 17:25, 3) to have “eternal life.” They did not know the love which is the very essence of His nature. For this is known only (Matthew 11:27; Romans 5:5; Ephesians 3:18f) by Christ's revelation. And, not to know that God loves us, is not to know God. Notice the marked contrast, in the wisdom of God and not by means of the wisdom. God's wisdom was all around them; but was not to them a channel of knowledge of Himself.

It pleased God; suggests that the choice of the instrument was prompted only by the kindness of God.

The proclamation, of the heralds of salvation: see Romans 2:21. This, taken by itself, as a mere spoken word, is utterly unable to save. Therefore, looked upon as an instrument of salvation, it is an embodiment of foolishness. And God chose it that the very insufficiency of the instrument might show forth the might of Him who by a mere word spoken by human lips could rescue believers from the grasp of sin and death. Just so Samson's weapon (Judges 15:15) proclaimed by its ludicrous insufficiency the infinite power of the Spirit of God. Notice the double failure of human wisdom. It was unable to read God's name as written in Nature, and pronounced that to be foolishness which He chose as the instrument of salvation.

This verse proves the assertion implied in the question of 1 Corinthians 1:20b. By saving men after man had failed to obtain through the avenue of wisdom that knowledge of God which brings salvation, by saving them with an instrument which to man's best wisdom seemed utterly inadequate, God made man's wisdom worthless as a means of salvation; and thus “made it foolish,” and “destroyed” it.

V. 22. For whereas the Jews demand of the apostles, as they did of their Lord, more signs still, after all they have seen already; and the Greeks, or Gentiles, seek wisdom-The depths of philosophy, and the charms of eloquence.

Verse 22. For the Jews require a sign] Instead of shmeion, a sign, ABCDEFG, several others, both the Syriac, Coptic, Vulgate, and Itala, with many of the fathers, have shmeia, signs; which reading, as undoubtedly genuine, Griesbach has admitted into the text. There never was a people in the universe more difficult to be persuaded of the truth than the Jews: and had not their religion been incontestably proved by the most striking and indubitable miracles, they never would have received it. This slowness of heart to believe, added to their fear of being deceived, induced them to require miracles to attest every thing that professed to come from God. They were a wicked and adulterous generation, continually seeking signs, and never saying, It is enough. But the sign which seems particularly referred to here is the assumption of secular power, which they expected in the Messiah; and because this sign did not appear in Christ, therefore they rejected him.

And the Greeks seek after wisdom.] Such wisdom, or philosophy, as they found in the writings of Cicero, Seneca, Plato, &c., which was called philosophy, and which came recommended to them in all the beauties and graces of the Latin and Greek languages.

Verses 22-25. For the Jews require a sign — Demand of the apostles, as they did of their Lord, more signs still, after all they have seen already. And the Greeks — Or Gentiles; seek after wisdom — The depths of philosophy, and the charms of eloquence. But we preach Christ crucified — We proceed to bear our testimony in a plain and historical, not rhetorical or philosophical manner, to the sufferings and death of Christ, endured to expiate the guilt of mankind, and procure for them pardon, holiness, and eternal life: unto the Jews a stumbling-block — An occasion of offence, by reason of his mean appearance, his sufferings, and death; they having looked for a glorious and victorious Messiah, who should rescue them from all their enemies, and exalt them to wealth, dignity, and power; and because the profession of Christianity was attended with reproach, and various other sufferings. This doctrine therefore was in direct opposition to the signs which they demanded, and to all their secular expectations; and unto the Greeks foolishness — A silly tale, just opposite to the wisdom they seek. But unto them which are called — And who obey the call; both Jews and Greeks — For the effect is the same on both; Christ — With his doctrine, his miracles, his life, his death, his resurrection, &c.; the power of God — Creating men anew by his word and Spirit, enabling them to withstand and conquer all their spiritual enemies, and to do with cheerfulness, and suffer with patience, the whole will of God: and the wisdom of God — The person by whom God also manifests his infinite wisdom in the contrivance and execution of his plan of redemption and salvation, and the preaching of whom in the gospel, is not such folly as the Greeks count it; but the declaration of that great mystery of godliness, in which are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Because the foolishness of God — That preaching of Christ crucified which men account foolishness; is wiser than men — Contains more true wisdom than any or all of the apparently wise contrivances of men: or, the lowest expressions of God’s wisdom in those actions and dispensations, which are most contrary to the judgment, wisdom, and experience of carnal persons, are incomparably wiser than all the projects which the wit of men can devise; and the weakness of God — Those weak means by which God is wont to accomplish his purposes, or the smallest effects of his power; are stronger than men — More available than any human power to bring about their designs. In other words, the weakness of Christian teachers which God makes use of will be found to be stronger than all the efforts which men can make, either to reform the world any other way, or to obstruct the prevalence and success of this.

Ver. 22. The jews require a sign, as expounded in Matthew 12:48. To them we preach a crucified Redeemer; the Healer exalted on the pole, and God’s best sign of healing grace in the heart.

The Greeks seek after wisdom, some new system of philosophy. To them also we preach the being and perfections of God, as seen in the mirror of creation; and then reveal to them the glorious person of Christ, as the only Saviour. We exhibit the wisdom of God in the redemption of the world, as a system worthy of God to reveal, and of man to believe; a system which has gained the mind, and captivated the heart of the greatest geniuses.

22. A sign—Accustomed, under their dispensation, to miracles, the Jews prescribed signs. Christ, indeed, worked miracles—was himself a miracle; but they demanded that he should come in Messianic glory, renew the earth, and give to them its supremacy. That is, they required at his first coming the manifestations of his second coming. See note, Matthew 12:38. But as instead of the throne he received the cross, this became to them a stumbling-block. Wisdom—As to the Jew miracle was the route to truth and God, so to the Greek philosophy, demonstration, starting from intuition and winding through logic, was the sole guide and test. But though Christ is thus a stumbling-block instead of a sign, and a foolishness instead of a philosophy, yet Paul will soon prove that Christ is, after all, truly and transcendently a sign and a philosophy.

Ver. 22.-24. Develops, and thus confirms 1 Corinthians 1:21; 1 Corinthians 1:22 develops “the world knew not God;” 1 Corinthians 1:23, “the foolishness of the proclamation;” 1 Corinthians 1:24, “to save those who believe.”

Ask for etc.: in their disputations with Christians.

For signs: agrees with John 4:48; Matthew 16:4. Signs: evidently something different from, and yet as the same word (2 Corinthians 12:12; Romans 15:19) implies similar to, the miracles actually wrought by Paul. They probably asked for a visible appearance of Christ in glory and power, such as would dispel all doubt about His Messiahship.

Wisdom: see note below.

Seek wisdom: constant habit of their nation, and specially prominent in their treatment of the Gospel. They demanded, as proof that Christ was worthy to be their teacher, that He should expound the mysteries of being and reveal the great principles underlying the phenomena around. Proclaim: as heralds.

Snare: see Romans 11:9. That He who claimed to be the Anointed One actually died a criminal's death, was a trap in which the Jews were caught: i.e. they rejected Jesus because He was crucified. Cp. Romans 9:33; Galatians 5:11; Matthew 11:6; 13:57; 1 Peter 2:8. Foolishness: as, from the point of view of human intelligence, utterly unsuited to attain any good result. The announcement, as a means of salvation, of that which was to the Jews a reason for rejecting Jesus and to the Greeks seemed altogether unfitted to do any good, was the foolishness of the proclamation.”

The called ones: they in whom the proclamation rejected by others has proved itself to be a summons from God. See under Romans 8:28. Cp. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata i. 18: “While all men have been called, they who were minded to obey received the name of called ones.” Christ is God's power because through the objective and historic birth and death of Jesus, and through inward subjective spiritual union with Him, God stretched out and stretches out His mighty arm to rescue those who obey the divine summons. Similarly, “the word of the cross is the power of God,” 1 Corinthians 1:18; Romans 1:16: for through the word the power operates. Christ is God's wisdom because through Him, objectively and subjectively, God reveals the eternal realities underlying the present life and world, and His own eternal purpose in which with infinite skill the best means are chosen for the best ends. Cp. 1 Corinthians 2:7; Colossians 2:2.

The facts and teaching of 1 Corinthians 1:22-24, Paul's readers admitted. These prove the concise statement of 1 Corinthians 1:21, and justify the triumphant statement in 1 Corinthians 1:20 that the prophecy quoted in 1 Corinthians 1:19 has been fulfilled in the Gospel. Thus, from the facts of his own day, read in the light of an ancient prophecy, Paul has proved the statement of 1 Corinthians 1:18, and justified the motive given in 1 Corinthians 1:17b.

V. 23. We go on to preach, in a plain and historical, not rhetorical or philosophical, manner, Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumblingblock-Just opposite to the signs they demand. And to the Greeks foolishness-A silly tale, just opposite to the wisdom they seek.

Verse 23. But we] Apostles, differing widely from these Gentile philosophers:-

Preach Christ crucified] Call on men, both Jews and Gentiles, to believe in Christ, as having purchased their salvation by shedding his blood for them.

Unto the Jews a stumbling block] Because Jesus came meek, lowly, and impoverished; not seeking worldly glory, nor affecting worldly pomp; whereas they expected the Messiah to come as a mighty prince and conqueror; because Christ did not come so, they were offended at him. Out of their own mouths, we may condemn the gainsaying Jews. In Sohar Chadash, fol. 26, the following saying is attributed to Moses, relative to the brazen serpent: “Moses said, This serpent is a stumbling block to the world. The holy blessed God answered: Not at all, it shall be for punishment to sinners, and life to upright men.” This is a proper illustration of the apostle’s words.

Unto the Greeks foolishness] Because they could not believe that proclaiming supreme happiness through a man that was crucified at Judea as a malefactor could ever comport with reason and common sense; for both the matter and manner of the preaching were opposite to every notion they had formed of what was dignified and philosophic. In Justin Martyr’s dialogue with Trypho the Jew we have these remarkable words, which serve to throw light on the above. “Your Jesus,” says Trypho, “having fallen under the extreme curse of God, we cannot sufficiently admire how you can expect any good from God, who place your hopes epJ anqrwpon staurwqenta, upon a man that was CRUCIFIED.” The same writer adds: “They count us mad, that after the eternal God, the Father of all things, we give the second place, anqrwpw staurwqenti, to a man that was crucified.” “Where is your understanding,” said the Gentiles, “who worship for a god him who was crucified?” Thus Christ crucified was to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness. See Whitby on this verse.

Verses 22-25. For the Jews require a sign — Demand of the apostles, as they did of their Lord, more signs still, after all they have seen already. And the Greeks — Or Gentiles; seek after wisdom — The depths of philosophy, and the charms of eloquence. But we preach Christ crucified — We proceed to bear our testimony in a plain and historical, not rhetorical or philosophical manner, to the sufferings and death of Christ, endured to expiate the guilt of mankind, and procure for them pardon, holiness, and eternal life: unto the Jews a stumbling-block — An occasion of offence, by reason of his mean appearance, his sufferings, and death; they having looked for a glorious and victorious Messiah, who should rescue them from all their enemies, and exalt them to wealth, dignity, and power; and because the profession of Christianity was attended with reproach, and various other sufferings. This doctrine therefore was in direct opposition to the signs which they demanded, and to all their secular expectations; and unto the Greeks foolishness — A silly tale, just opposite to the wisdom they seek. But unto them which are called — And who obey the call; both Jews and Greeks — For the effect is the same on both; Christ — With his doctrine, his miracles, his life, his death, his resurrection, &c.; the power of God — Creating men anew by his word and Spirit, enabling them to withstand and conquer all their spiritual enemies, and to do with cheerfulness, and suffer with patience, the whole will of God: and the wisdom of God — The person by whom God also manifests his infinite wisdom in the contrivance and execution of his plan of redemption and salvation, and the preaching of whom in the gospel, is not such folly as the Greeks count it; but the declaration of that great mystery of godliness, in which are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Because the foolishness of God — That preaching of Christ crucified which men account foolishness; is wiser than men — Contains more true wisdom than any or all of the apparently wise contrivances of men: or, the lowest expressions of God’s wisdom in those actions and dispensations, which are most contrary to the judgment, wisdom, and experience of carnal persons, are incomparably wiser than all the projects which the wit of men can devise; and the weakness of God — Those weak means by which God is wont to accomplish his purposes, or the smallest effects of his power; are stronger than men — More available than any human power to bring about their designs. In other words, the weakness of Christian teachers which God makes use of will be found to be stronger than all the efforts which men can make, either to reform the world any other way, or to obstruct the prevalence and success of this.

Ver. 22.-24. Develops, and thus confirms 1 Corinthians 1:21; 1 Corinthians 1:22 develops “the world knew not God;” 1 Corinthians 1:23, “the foolishness of the proclamation;” 1 Corinthians 1:24, “to save those who believe.”

Ask for etc.: in their disputations with Christians.

For signs: agrees with John 4:48; Matthew 16:4. Signs: evidently something different from, and yet as the same word (2 Corinthians 12:12; Romans 15:19) implies similar to, the miracles actually wrought by Paul. They probably asked for a visible appearance of Christ in glory and power, such as would dispel all doubt about His Messiahship.

Wisdom: see note below.

Seek wisdom: constant habit of their nation, and specially prominent in their treatment of the Gospel. They demanded, as proof that Christ was worthy to be their teacher, that He should expound the mysteries of being and reveal the great principles underlying the phenomena around. Proclaim: as heralds.

Snare: see Romans 11:9. That He who claimed to be the Anointed One actually died a criminal's death, was a trap in which the Jews were caught: i.e. they rejected Jesus because He was crucified. Cp. Romans 9:33; Galatians 5:11; Matthew 11:6; 13:57; 1 Peter 2:8. Foolishness: as, from the point of view of human intelligence, utterly unsuited to attain any good result. The announcement, as a means of salvation, of that which was to the Jews a reason for rejecting Jesus and to the Greeks seemed altogether unfitted to do any good, was the foolishness of the proclamation.”

The called ones: they in whom the proclamation rejected by others has proved itself to be a summons from God. See under Romans 8:28. Cp. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata i. 18: “While all men have been called, they who were minded to obey received the name of called ones.” Christ is God's power because through the objective and historic birth and death of Jesus, and through inward subjective spiritual union with Him, God stretched out and stretches out His mighty arm to rescue those who obey the divine summons. Similarly, “the word of the cross is the power of God,” 1 Corinthians 1:18; Romans 1:16: for through the word the power operates. Christ is God's wisdom because through Him, objectively and subjectively, God reveals the eternal realities underlying the present life and world, and His own eternal purpose in which with infinite skill the best means are chosen for the best ends. Cp. 1 Corinthians 2:7; Colossians 2:2.

The facts and teaching of 1 Corinthians 1:22-24, Paul's readers admitted. These prove the concise statement of 1 Corinthians 1:21, and justify the triumphant statement in 1 Corinthians 1:20 that the prophecy quoted in 1 Corinthians 1:19 has been fulfilled in the Gospel. Thus, from the facts of his own day, read in the light of an ancient prophecy, Paul has proved the statement of 1 Corinthians 1:18, and justified the motive given in 1 Corinthians 1:17b.

V. 24. But to them that are called-And obey the heavenly calling. Christ-With his cross, his death, his life, his kingdom. And they experience, first, that he is the power, then, that he is the wisdom, of God.

Verse 24. But unto them which are called] toiv klhtoiv. Those, both of Jews and Greeks, who were by the preaching of the Gospel called or invited to the marriage feast, and have accordingly believed in Christ Jesus; they prove this doctrine to be divinely powerful, to enlighten and convert the soul, and to be a proof of God’s infinite wisdom, which has found out such an effectual way to glorify both his justice and mercy, and save, to the uttermost, all that come to him through Christ Jesus. The called, or invited, klhtoi, is a title of genuine Christians, and is frequently used in the New Testament. aJgioi, saints, is used in the same sense.

Verses 22-25. For the Jews require a sign — Demand of the apostles, as they did of their Lord, more signs still, after all they have seen already. And the Greeks — Or Gentiles; seek after wisdom — The depths of philosophy, and the charms of eloquence. But we preach Christ crucified — We proceed to bear our testimony in a plain and historical, not rhetorical or philosophical manner, to the sufferings and death of Christ, endured to expiate the guilt of mankind, and procure for them pardon, holiness, and eternal life: unto the Jews a stumbling-block — An occasion of offence, by reason of his mean appearance, his sufferings, and death; they having looked for a glorious and victorious Messiah, who should rescue them from all their enemies, and exalt them to wealth, dignity, and power; and because the profession of Christianity was attended with reproach, and various other sufferings. This doctrine therefore was in direct opposition to the signs which they demanded, and to all their secular expectations; and unto the Greeks foolishness — A silly tale, just opposite to the wisdom they seek. But unto them which are called — And who obey the call; both Jews and Greeks — For the effect is the same on both; Christ — With his doctrine, his miracles, his life, his death, his resurrection, &c.; the power of God — Creating men anew by his word and Spirit, enabling them to withstand and conquer all their spiritual enemies, and to do with cheerfulness, and suffer with patience, the whole will of God: and the wisdom of God — The person by whom God also manifests his infinite wisdom in the contrivance and execution of his plan of redemption and salvation, and the preaching of whom in the gospel, is not such folly as the Greeks count it; but the declaration of that great mystery of godliness, in which are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Because the foolishness of God — That preaching of Christ crucified which men account foolishness; is wiser than men — Contains more true wisdom than any or all of the apparently wise contrivances of men: or, the lowest expressions of God’s wisdom in those actions and dispensations, which are most contrary to the judgment, wisdom, and experience of carnal persons, are incomparably wiser than all the projects which the wit of men can devise; and the weakness of God — Those weak means by which God is wont to accomplish his purposes, or the smallest effects of his power; are stronger than men — More available than any human power to bring about their designs. In other words, the weakness of Christian teachers which God makes use of will be found to be stronger than all the efforts which men can make, either to reform the world any other way, or to obstruct the prevalence and success of this.

24. Called—With a calling obeyed by faith, (verse 21,) and so an effectual and permanent calling. Note on verse 1. Power—Which is required in a sign. Wisdom—Which is required in a philosophy.

Ver. 22.-24. Develops, and thus confirms 1 Corinthians 1:21; 1 Corinthians 1:22 develops “the world knew not God;” 1 Corinthians 1:23, “the foolishness of the proclamation;” 1 Corinthians 1:24, “to save those who believe.”

Ask for etc.: in their disputations with Christians.

For signs: agrees with John 4:48; Matthew 16:4. Signs: evidently something different from, and yet as the same word (2 Corinthians 12:12; Romans 15:19) implies similar to, the miracles actually wrought by Paul. They probably asked for a visible appearance of Christ in glory and power, such as would dispel all doubt about His Messiahship.

Wisdom: see note below.

Seek wisdom: constant habit of their nation, and specially prominent in their treatment of the Gospel. They demanded, as proof that Christ was worthy to be their teacher, that He should expound the mysteries of being and reveal the great principles underlying the phenomena around. Proclaim: as heralds.

Snare: see Romans 11:9. That He who claimed to be the Anointed One actually died a criminal's death, was a trap in which the Jews were caught: i.e. they rejected Jesus because He was crucified. Cp. Romans 9:33; Galatians 5:11; Matthew 11:6; 13:57; 1 Peter 2:8. Foolishness: as, from the point of view of human intelligence, utterly unsuited to attain any good result. The announcement, as a means of salvation, of that which was to the Jews a reason for rejecting Jesus and to the Greeks seemed altogether unfitted to do any good, was the foolishness of the proclamation.”

The called ones: they in whom the proclamation rejected by others has proved itself to be a summons from God. See under Romans 8:28. Cp. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata i. 18: “While all men have been called, they who were minded to obey received the name of called ones.” Christ is God's power because through the objective and historic birth and death of Jesus, and through inward subjective spiritual union with Him, God stretched out and stretches out His mighty arm to rescue those who obey the divine summons. Similarly, “the word of the cross is the power of God,” 1 Corinthians 1:18; Romans 1:16: for through the word the power operates. Christ is God's wisdom because through Him, objectively and subjectively, God reveals the eternal realities underlying the present life and world, and His own eternal purpose in which with infinite skill the best means are chosen for the best ends. Cp. 1 Corinthians 2:7; Colossians 2:2.

The facts and teaching of 1 Corinthians 1:22-24, Paul's readers admitted. These prove the concise statement of 1 Corinthians 1:21, and justify the triumphant statement in 1 Corinthians 1:20 that the prophecy quoted in 1 Corinthians 1:19 has been fulfilled in the Gospel. Thus, from the facts of his own day, read in the light of an ancient prophecy, Paul has proved the statement of 1 Corinthians 1:18, and justified the motive given in 1 Corinthians 1:17b.

V. 25. Because the foolishness of God-The gospel scheme, which the world judge to be mere foolishness, is wiser than the wisdom of men; and, weak as they account it, stronger than all the strength of men.

Verse 25. The foolishness of God is wiser, &c.] The meaning of these strong expressions is, that the things of God’s appointment, which seem to men foolishness, are infinitely beyond the highest degree of human wisdom; and those works of God, which appear to superficial observers weak and contemptible, surpass all the efforts of human power. The means which God has appointed for the salvation of men are so wisely imagined and so energetically powerful, that all who properly use them shall be infallibly brought to the end-final blessedness, which he has promised to them who believe and obey.

Verses 22-25. For the Jews require a sign — Demand of the apostles, as they did of their Lord, more signs still, after all they have seen already. And the Greeks — Or Gentiles; seek after wisdom — The depths of philosophy, and the charms of eloquence. But we preach Christ crucified — We proceed to bear our testimony in a plain and historical, not rhetorical or philosophical manner, to the sufferings and death of Christ, endured to expiate the guilt of mankind, and procure for them pardon, holiness, and eternal life: unto the Jews a stumbling-block — An occasion of offence, by reason of his mean appearance, his sufferings, and death; they having looked for a glorious and victorious Messiah, who should rescue them from all their enemies, and exalt them to wealth, dignity, and power; and because the profession of Christianity was attended with reproach, and various other sufferings. This doctrine therefore was in direct opposition to the signs which they demanded, and to all their secular expectations; and unto the Greeks foolishness — A silly tale, just opposite to the wisdom they seek. But unto them which are called — And who obey the call; both Jews and Greeks — For the effect is the same on both; Christ — With his doctrine, his miracles, his life, his death, his resurrection, &c.; the power of God — Creating men anew by his word and Spirit, enabling them to withstand and conquer all their spiritual enemies, and to do with cheerfulness, and suffer with patience, the whole will of God: and the wisdom of God — The person by whom God also manifests his infinite wisdom in the contrivance and execution of his plan of redemption and salvation, and the preaching of whom in the gospel, is not such folly as the Greeks count it; but the declaration of that great mystery of godliness, in which are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Because the foolishness of God — That preaching of Christ crucified which men account foolishness; is wiser than men — Contains more true wisdom than any or all of the apparently wise contrivances of men: or, the lowest expressions of God’s wisdom in those actions and dispensations, which are most contrary to the judgment, wisdom, and experience of carnal persons, are incomparably wiser than all the projects which the wit of men can devise; and the weakness of God — Those weak means by which God is wont to accomplish his purposes, or the smallest effects of his power; are stronger than men — More available than any human power to bring about their designs. In other words, the weakness of Christian teachers which God makes use of will be found to be stronger than all the efforts which men can make, either to reform the world any other way, or to obstruct the prevalence and success of this.

25. Foolishness of God—A remarkable ironical phrase, and refers to the preaching of verse 21. Foolishness is it? But it is God’s foolishness, and God’s foolishness is wiser than man’s wisdom. God’s foolishness is the preaching of the cross; man’s wisdom is the philosophy of the Grecian schools, the noblest efforts of the human mind in that direction, yet yielding no reposeful certainty for the human soul on the great question of the origin of things or the destiny of man.

Ver. 25. After proving the facts of 1 Corinthians 1:18, Paul now accounts for them by comparing God and men.

The foolish-thing of God: that which belongs to God, but which to men seems foolish. Whatever comes from God is guided by infinite wisdom, and is therefore wiser, i.e. better fitted to attain a good end, than are men, with all their skill, to attain their ends. Now the means chosen by one wiser than ourselves often appear to us foolish, simply because our ignorance prevents us from seeing their suitability. Therefore, if we admit God's superior wisdom we shall not be surprised that He uses means which to us seem foolish. Nor need we be surprised that His instruments seem to us, and in themselves are, weak. For, in the hands of the Almighty, the weakest instruments are capable of producing results far surpassing all that man can do.

V. 26. Behold your calling-What manner of men they are whom God calls.

That not many wise men after the flesh-In the account of the world. Not many mighty-Men of power and authority.

Verse 26. Ye see your calling] thn klhsin. The state of grace and blessedness to which ye are invited. I think, blepete thn klhsin, &c., should be read in the imperative: Take heed to, or consider your calling, brethren; that (oti) not many of you are wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble: men is not in the original, and Paul seems to allude to the Corinthian believers in particular. This seems to have been said in opposition to the high and worldly notions of the Jews, who assert that the Divine Spirit never rests upon any man, unless he be wise, powerful, and rich. Now this Divine Spirit did rest upon the Christians at Corinth, and yet these were, in the sense of the world, neither wise, rich, nor noble. We spoil, if not corrupt the apostle’s meaning, by adding are called, as if God did not send his Gospel to the wise, the powerful, and the noble, or did not will their salvation. The truth is, the Gospel has an equal call to all classes of men; but the wise, the mighty, and the noble, are too busy, or too sensual, to pay any attention to an invitation so spiritual and so Divine; and therefore there are few of these in the Church of Christ in general.

Verse 26. And hereby it appears that the foolishness of God is wiser than men, &c. — Because he makes use of such weak and mean instruments to bring men to the knowledge of the truth. For ye see — Blepete, behold, consider; your calling — And you will discern how agreeably to these things the divine wisdom hath ordered it; observe especially the state of your fellow-Christians in general, and what method he uses, and what manner of persons he employs, to bring men to the knowledge of, and to obedience to the gospel; that not many wise men after the flesh — In secular matters, and according to the wisdom of this world, or in the account of carnal, worldly men. Not many mighty, &c., are called — Are brought to the knowledge of the truth: or, as the apostle rather means, and as ought to have here been supplied to complete the sense, are employed to call you. Our translators, in supplying the words, are called, “convey a sentiment,” says Macknight, “neither true nor suitable to the apostle’s design. It is not true: for even in Judea, among the chief rulers, many believed on him, John 12:42; particularly Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea. Other Jews, likewise, of rank and learning were called; such as the nobleman whose sick son Jesus cured, John 4:53; and Manaen, Herod’s foster-brother, and Cornelius, and Gamaliel; and that great company of priests mentioned Acts 6:7, who were obedient to the faith. At Ephesus many who used the arts of magic and divination were called, and who were men of learning, as appears from the number and value of their books, which they burned after embracing the gospel, Acts 19:19. And in such numerous churches as those of Antioch, Thessalonica, Corinth, and Rome, it can hardly be doubted that there were disciples in the higher ranks of life. There were brethren even in the emperor’s family, Philippians 4:22. In short, the precepts in the epistles to masters, to treat their slaves with humanity, and to women, concerning their not adorning themselves with gold and silver, and costly raiment, show that many wealthy persons had embraced the gospel. On the other hand, though it were true, that not many wise men, &c., were called, it did not suit the apostle’s argument to mention it here. For surely God’s not calling many of the wise, &c., joined with his calling the foolish ones of the world to believe, did not put to shame the wise and strong, &c. Whereas, if the discourse be understood of the preachers of the gospel, who were employed to convert the world, all is clear and pertinent. God chose, not the learned and mighty, and the noble ones of this world, to preach the gospel, but illiterate and weak men, and men of low birth: and by making them successful in reforming mankind, he put to shame the legislators, statesmen, and philosophers among the heathen, and the learned scribes and doctors among the Jews, who never had done any thing to the purpose in that matter.”

26. Ye see—Rather, in the imperative, Behold, contemplate your calling. Your calling—Not, says Wordsworth, “thn klhsin umeteran your calling; but thn klhsin umwn, the calling of you.” That is, God’s calling of you into the kingdom of Christ, implying your acceptance and all its blessed results. Not many wise—Why were not many sophoi called? Because the pride of their sophia was in the way. They were called, indeed; but they never, by faith, became the called. They were called to repentance and faith; but never were the called, upon repentance and faith, to be saints.

How their sophia was in the way we see in the case of Gallio, the philosopher, at this very Corinth. Acts 18:12-17, where see notes. Christianity, brought before him by our illustrious apostle, was repudiated even from examination by antecedent contempt, as a mere matter “of words and names.” He heard of it with nervous impatience, and dismissed it with unmannerly abruptness. What was true in Corinth was true on a larger scale in the whole Roman world. The sages of the age of Tacitus, Seneca, Pliny, and hundreds of lesser literati and philosophers, deemed Christianity unentitled to investigation. And yet, according to the skeptical historian Lecky, and others, of the same school, the true cause of the triumph of Christianity in the Roman empire was not miracles, but the obvious superiority of Christianity over all rival systems of religion. Not many mighty—Few statesmen, warriors, princes. The government of the Roman empire, civil and military, was a stupendous system, at the head of which was Nero, a butcher and a fiddler. Ecclesiastically it was paganism, with Capitoline Jupiter at its head. Politically and ecclesiastically it was a sham, destined in due time to go down to ruin. Not many noble—Ancient Corinth was celebrated for its brilliant, high-born, old nobility. Its great, ancient families, now extinct, were instances how transient are all earthly grandeurs. But of the new and rather vulgar aristocracy of modern Corinth, restored from the conflagration inflicted by Mummius, probably few deigned to enter the house of Justus, near the synagogue, where Paul held forth the foolishness of preaching to busy Corinth. Slaves, artisans, and a few of the higher class, in whom religious interest overcame the pride of rank, received the holy truth.

Ver. 26.-29. Apart from proof, the assertion of 1 Corinthians 1:25 commends itself at once as indisputable. But Paul thinks fit to support it by another fact in addition to those of 1 Corinthians 1:21-24. He thus gives a second proof from matters of acknowledged fact of the chief teaching of § 3, viz., that the Gospel is not an appeal to human wisdom. This he has already proved by pointing to the impression and effect of the Gospel on different kinds of men, believers and unbelievers. He will now prove it by pointing to the class of men which most readily accepts the Gospel.

Your calling: the gospel call, looked upon as actively operating. Since it comes from God, it is “His calling,” Ephesians 1:18: but, as the means of our salvation and the ground of our hope, it is “our calling,” Ephesians 4:1, 4. “Contemplate in its operation the gospel call in which you have heard the voice of God.” With characteristic good taste Paul does not say “not many of you,” which is sufficiently indicated by your calling. These words imply that some of the early Christians were men of education and influence; an interesting coincidence with Romans 16:23; Acts 18:8; 13:12; 22:3.

Wise according to flesh; i.e. in reference to the needs and pleasures of the present life, which are determined by the constitution of the human body. See note under Romans 8:11. It is the “wisdom of the world,” 1 Corinthians 1:20; “of this age,” 1 Corinthians 2:6. Powerful: men with influence arising from office, wealth, or natural talent.

Verse 27. But God hath chosen the foolish things] God has chosen by means of men who are esteemed rude and illiterate to confound the greatest of the Greek philosophers, and overturn their systems; and, by means of men weak, without secular power or authority, to confound the scribes and Pharisees, and in spite of the exertions of the Jewish sanhedrin, to spread the doctrine of Christ crucified all over the land of Judea, and by such instruments as these to convert thousands of souls to the faith of the Gospel, who are ready to lay down their lives for the truth. The Jews have proverbs that express the same sense as these words of the apostle. In Shemoth Rabba, sec. 17, fol. 117, it is said: “There are certain matters which appear little to men, yet by them God points out important precepts. Thus hyssop in the sight of man is worth nothing, but in the sight of God its power is great; sometimes he equals it to the cedar, particularly in the ordinance concerning the lepers, and in the burning of the red heifer. Thus God commanded them in Egypt, Exodus 12:22: And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, &c. And concerning Solomon it is said, 1 Kings 4:33: And he discoursed of trees, from the cedar on Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. Whence we may learn that great and small things are equal in the eyes of the Lord, and that even by small things He can work great miracles.”

Verses 27-29. But God hath chosen the foolish things — Or, supplying the word proswpa, the foolish persons of the world. Such persons as are of little esteem in the world, for want of learning, parts, eloquence, and such other endowments as some have attained, and who are judged altogether unfit to teach others, especially the Greeks and Romans. To confound the wise — To shame those who account themselves, and are accounted wise; and of whom the world is most ready to boast. In this passage the apostle imitates the contemptuous language in which the Greek philosophers, and men of learning, affected to speak of the Christian preachers: yet, as he does it in irony, he aggrandizes them. The first preachers of the gospel, as Bishop Newton observes, “were chiefly a few poor fishermen, of low parentage, of no learning or eloquence, of no reputation or authority, despised as Jews by the rest of mankind, and by the Jews as the meanest and worst of themselves. What improper instruments were these to contend with the prejudices of the world, the superstition of the people, the interests of the priests, the vanity of the philosophers, the pride of the rulers, the malice of the Jews, the learning of the Greeks, and the power of Rome!” But the weaker the instruments who converted the world, the greater was the display of the power of God by which they acted. See on 2 Corinthians 4:7. And the weak things of the world — Persons who pretend to no extraordinary abilities or endowments; to confound — Or shame; the things which are mighty — Which, with all their boasted powers and qualifications, have never been able to work such a reformation among men, as these despised disciples of Jesus have been the means of effecting. And base things of the world — Things accounted vile and despised, exouqenhmena, set at naught; and things which are not — Which are as little regarded, or as much overlooked, as if they had no being, and were below contempt itself; hath God chosen — To be his instruments in renewing and saving mankind; to bring to naught — To annihilate; things that are — In the highest esteem, and that make the most illustrious figures among mankind. That no flesh — A fit appellation; flesh is fair, but withering as grass; should glory in his presence — That no human being might boast of any advantages or distinctions, or of any excellence in himself, as the cause of his being appointed an apostle, evangelist, or minister of Christ, and employed in preaching the gospel: and that none who are converted by the preaching of such, should consider their conversion as the effect of any human abilities, natural or acquired, but should be compelled to ascribe the glory of all to God.

Ver. 27. God hath chosen the foolish things of the world. See the

27. God hath chosen—It is a divine revolution; and we have the divine honour of being its instruments chosen of God. In this revolution the foolish things and the weak overthrow the wise and the mighty.

Ver. 27.-28. A contrast to “not many wise,” and a description of those in whom chiefly the call had been effective. The Greek neuter, foolish things, suggested here by similar words in 1 Corinthians 1:25, looks at the object without considering whether or not they are personal. It refers frequently to what are in fact persons. So Luke 1:35, “the Holy Thing;” Galatians 3:22; John 6:37. The persons referred to here are looked upon simply as objects of God's choice, and as coming under the general principle of 1 Corinthians 1:25.

The foolish things of the world: uneducated men, who before they believed the Gospel belonged to the world.

Chosen: see note under Romans 9:13. The reception of the Gospel chiefly by the lower classes (1 Corinthians 1:26) arose from its very nature. It is good news of a deliverer. But every kind of earthly good tends to make us unconscious of our need, and independent of divine help. Intellect, education, rank, and wealth, so precious when laid on the altar of God, yet, by promising to supply of themselves our need, tend to keep men from accepting the Gospel. Cp. Romans 11:9. On the other hand, misfortune and want have led many to cry to God for help. In full view of this, God chose an instrument of salvation which He foresaw would appeal with greatest force to men in humble positions. Now the early converts to Christianity were God's agents for spreading it through the world. Therefore, by choosing as the instrument of salvation a message which He knew would commend itself chiefly to the uneducated, the obscure, and the low-born, God chose these for Himself to be His representatives to the world and His agents for setting up His kingdom. Cp. James 2:5. That He may put to shame etc. That for the more part God selected as His agents unlearned men, was a stern rebuke to those who trusted in learning; and was designed to be such. The weak things, the strong things, recall “not many powerful.”

Chosen: three times, emphatically asserting that the social position of the early converts was by God's deliberate choice. Put-to-shame (twice,) and bring-to-nought, lay stress upon the further purpose of this choice. Things which are not: a climax, things practically the same as though they had no existence.

Bring-to-nought: 1 Corinthians 2:6; 6:13; 13:8, 10f; 15:24, 26; 2 Corinthians 3:7, 11, 13f; Luke 13:7: same as make-of-no-effect; see Romans 3:3.

Things which are: whose existence seems to be a power, and therefore a reality. By choosing as His instruments things reckoned to be nothing, and passing by things reckoned to be much, God made the latter to be practically nothing. The neuter forms are maintained throughout 1 Corinthians 1:27, 28, perhaps because of the principle asserted is true both of men and things.

A broad general statement of God's purpose in putting the Gospel in a form which would appeal chiefly to men in humble position. Cp. Ephesians 2:9.

No flesh: see Romans 3:20.

Exult, or boast: a favorite word almost peculiar in the New Testament to Paul, and very common in these two epistles, also Romans 2:17, 23; 5:2f, 11; Galatians 6:13f; Philippians 3:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:4; James 1:9; 4:16. It denotes a rising or gladness of spirit which has always in view the object, external or internal, which called it forth, and which is ever ready to express itself in words. It thus combines the meanings of rejoice, exult, and boast.

Before God: who watches perishing flesh and blood lifting itself up because of something man thinks he can do.

Argument of 26-29. Evidently the Gospel has been successful chiefly among the humbler ranks. And the reason is that the possession of earthly good makes men less anxious for the heavenly gifts offered in the Gospel. All this God foresaw, and took up into His plan, in choosing the Gospel to be His instrument of drawing men to Himself. It is therefore correct to say that He deliberately chose for Himself these men of humble rank. For He might have put the Gospel in a form which would have attracted chiefly the learned; as did the teaching of Plato. Now the uneducated and obscure men were, as agents for the spread of Christianity, both foolish and weak. Consequently, that God chose them and gave them success, proves that even foolish and weak things, in the hand of God, are able to achieve results altogether beyond the utmost power of man. It also proves that the Gospel and its results must not be measured by the standard of human wisdom.

V. 28. Things that are not-The Jews frequently called the Gentiles, Them that are not, 2Esd 6:56, 57. In so supreme contempt did they hold them. The things that are-In high esteem.

Verse 28. And base things-and things which are despised] It is very likely that the apostle refers here to the Gentiles and to the Gentile converts, who were considered base and despicable in the eyes of the Jews, who counted them no better than dogs, and who are repeatedly called the things that are not. By these very people, converted to Christianity, God has brought to nought all the Jewish pretensions; and by means of the Gentiles themselves, he has annihilated the whole Jewish polity; so that even Jerusalem itself was soon after this, trodden under foot of the Gentiles.

Verses 27-29. But God hath chosen the foolish things — Or, supplying the word proswpa, the foolish persons of the world. Such persons as are of little esteem in the world, for want of learning, parts, eloquence, and such other endowments as some have attained, and who are judged altogether unfit to teach others, especially the Greeks and Romans. To confound the wise — To shame those who account themselves, and are accounted wise; and of whom the world is most ready to boast. In this passage the apostle imitates the contemptuous language in which the Greek philosophers, and men of learning, affected to speak of the Christian preachers: yet, as he does it in irony, he aggrandizes them. The first preachers of the gospel, as Bishop Newton observes, “were chiefly a few poor fishermen, of low parentage, of no learning or eloquence, of no reputation or authority, despised as Jews by the rest of mankind, and by the Jews as the meanest and worst of themselves. What improper instruments were these to contend with the prejudices of the world, the superstition of the people, the interests of the priests, the vanity of the philosophers, the pride of the rulers, the malice of the Jews, the learning of the Greeks, and the power of Rome!” But the weaker the instruments who converted the world, the greater was the display of the power of God by which they acted. See on 2 Corinthians 4:7. And the weak things of the world — Persons who pretend to no extraordinary abilities or endowments; to confound — Or shame; the things which are mighty — Which, with all their boasted powers and qualifications, have never been able to work such a reformation among men, as these despised disciples of Jesus have been the means of effecting. And base things of the world — Things accounted vile and despised, exouqenhmena, set at naught; and things which are not — Which are as little regarded, or as much overlooked, as if they had no being, and were below contempt itself; hath God chosen — To be his instruments in renewing and saving mankind; to bring to naught — To annihilate; things that are — In the highest esteem, and that make the most illustrious figures among mankind. That no flesh — A fit appellation; flesh is fair, but withering as grass; should glory in his presence — That no human being might boast of any advantages or distinctions, or of any excellence in himself, as the cause of his being appointed an apostle, evangelist, or minister of Christ, and employed in preaching the gospel: and that none who are converted by the preaching of such, should consider their conversion as the effect of any human abilities, natural or acquired, but should be compelled to ascribe the glory of all to God.

28. Things which are not—Nothings and nobodies. So are they viewed by the world; so in themselves they are. Yet, through the divine gift which they have received, they are intrinsically and truly the realities, and their opponents are the shams. Nero, the Roman empire, Jove, paganism, pagan philosophy, are all the transient; God, Christ, Christianity, the Church, are alone the permanent and the eternal.

The overthrow of paganism and the establishment of Christianity as the religion of the Roman empire were, however, but the outward verification of the apostle’s words. His was a more profound meaning. What he recognised was, the infinitely surpassing spiritual power of Christ and his religion in the work of the soul’s regeneration; in the saving it from death and hell and the raising it to immortality and heaven.

Ver. 27.-28. A contrast to “not many wise,” and a description of those in whom chiefly the call had been effective. The Greek neuter, foolish things, suggested here by similar words in 1 Corinthians 1:25, looks at the object without considering whether or not they are personal. It refers frequently to what are in fact persons. So Luke 1:35, “the Holy Thing;” Galatians 3:22; John 6:37. The persons referred to here are looked upon simply as objects of God's choice, and as coming under the general principle of 1 Corinthians 1:25.

The foolish things of the world: uneducated men, who before they believed the Gospel belonged to the world.

Chosen: see note under Romans 9:13. The reception of the Gospel chiefly by the lower classes (1 Corinthians 1:26) arose from its very nature. It is good news of a deliverer. But every kind of earthly good tends to make us unconscious of our need, and independent of divine help. Intellect, education, rank, and wealth, so precious when laid on the altar of God, yet, by promising to supply of themselves our need, tend to keep men from accepting the Gospel. Cp. Romans 11:9. On the other hand, misfortune and want have led many to cry to God for help. In full view of this, God chose an instrument of salvation which He foresaw would appeal with greatest force to men in humble positions. Now the early converts to Christianity were God's agents for spreading it through the world. Therefore, by choosing as the instrument of salvation a message which He knew would commend itself chiefly to the uneducated, the obscure, and the low-born, God chose these for Himself to be His representatives to the world and His agents for setting up His kingdom. Cp. James 2:5. That He may put to shame etc. That for the more part God selected as His agents unlearned men, was a stern rebuke to those who trusted in learning; and was designed to be such. The weak things, the strong things, recall “not many powerful.”

Chosen: three times, emphatically asserting that the social position of the early converts was by God's deliberate choice. Put-to-shame (twice,) and bring-to-nought, lay stress upon the further purpose of this choice. Things which are not: a climax, things practically the same as though they had no existence.

Bring-to-nought: 1 Corinthians 2:6; 6:13; 13:8, 10f; 15:24, 26; 2 Corinthians 3:7, 11, 13f; Luke 13:7: same as make-of-no-effect; see Romans 3:3.

Things which are: whose existence seems to be a power, and therefore a reality. By choosing as His instruments things reckoned to be nothing, and passing by things reckoned to be much, God made the latter to be practically nothing. The neuter forms are maintained throughout 1 Corinthians 1:27, 28, perhaps because of the principle asserted is true both of men and things.

A broad general statement of God's purpose in putting the Gospel in a form which would appeal chiefly to men in humble position. Cp. Ephesians 2:9.

No flesh: see Romans 3:20.

Exult, or boast: a favorite word almost peculiar in the New Testament to Paul, and very common in these two epistles, also Romans 2:17, 23; 5:2f, 11; Galatians 6:13f; Philippians 3:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:4; James 1:9; 4:16. It denotes a rising or gladness of spirit which has always in view the object, external or internal, which called it forth, and which is ever ready to express itself in words. It thus combines the meanings of rejoice, exult, and boast.

Before God: who watches perishing flesh and blood lifting itself up because of something man thinks he can do.

Argument of 26-29. Evidently the Gospel has been successful chiefly among the humbler ranks. And the reason is that the possession of earthly good makes men less anxious for the heavenly gifts offered in the Gospel. All this God foresaw, and took up into His plan, in choosing the Gospel to be His instrument of drawing men to Himself. It is therefore correct to say that He deliberately chose for Himself these men of humble rank. For He might have put the Gospel in a form which would have attracted chiefly the learned; as did the teaching of Plato. Now the uneducated and obscure men were, as agents for the spread of Christianity, both foolish and weak. Consequently, that God chose them and gave them success, proves that even foolish and weak things, in the hand of God, are able to achieve results altogether beyond the utmost power of man. It also proves that the Gospel and its results must not be measured by the standard of human wisdom.

V. 29. That no flesh-A fit appellation. Flesh is fair, but withering as grass. May glory before God-In God we ought to glory.

Verse 29. That no flesh should glory] God does his mighty works in such a way as proves that though he may condescend to employ men as instruments, yet they have no part either in the contrivance or energy by which such works are performed.

Verses 27-29. But God hath chosen the foolish things — Or, supplying the word proswpa, the foolish persons of the world. Such persons as are of little esteem in the world, for want of learning, parts, eloquence, and such other endowments as some have attained, and who are judged altogether unfit to teach others, especially the Greeks and Romans. To confound the wise — To shame those who account themselves, and are accounted wise; and of whom the world is most ready to boast. In this passage the apostle imitates the contemptuous language in which the Greek philosophers, and men of learning, affected to speak of the Christian preachers: yet, as he does it in irony, he aggrandizes them. The first preachers of the gospel, as Bishop Newton observes, “were chiefly a few poor fishermen, of low parentage, of no learning or eloquence, of no reputation or authority, despised as Jews by the rest of mankind, and by the Jews as the meanest and worst of themselves. What improper instruments were these to contend with the prejudices of the world, the superstition of the people, the interests of the priests, the vanity of the philosophers, the pride of the rulers, the malice of the Jews, the learning of the Greeks, and the power of Rome!” But the weaker the instruments who converted the world, the greater was the display of the power of God by which they acted. See on 2 Corinthians 4:7. And the weak things of the world — Persons who pretend to no extraordinary abilities or endowments; to confound — Or shame; the things which are mighty — Which, with all their boasted powers and qualifications, have never been able to work such a reformation among men, as these despised disciples of Jesus have been the means of effecting. And base things of the world — Things accounted vile and despised, exouqenhmena, set at naught; and things which are not — Which are as little regarded, or as much overlooked, as if they had no being, and were below contempt itself; hath God chosen — To be his instruments in renewing and saving mankind; to bring to naught — To annihilate; things that are — In the highest esteem, and that make the most illustrious figures among mankind. That no flesh — A fit appellation; flesh is fair, but withering as grass; should glory in his presence — That no human being might boast of any advantages or distinctions, or of any excellence in himself, as the cause of his being appointed an apostle, evangelist, or minister of Christ, and employed in preaching the gospel: and that none who are converted by the preaching of such, should consider their conversion as the effect of any human abilities, natural or acquired, but should be compelled to ascribe the glory of all to God.

29. Flesh should glory—Or, as it is in the more forcible Greek, that all flesh should glory not in his presence. For truly it is God on one side and all flesh on the other, arrayed in each other’s presence. It is the infinite Reality in comparison with the finite unreality. What, indeed, are the great men, great things, and great events of this world, but a phantasmagoria, gorgeous for a moment to the eye of sense, fleeting and false to the eye of the spirit?

Ver. 26.-29. Apart from proof, the assertion of 1 Corinthians 1:25 commends itself at once as indisputable. But Paul thinks fit to support it by another fact in addition to those of 1 Corinthians 1:21-24. He thus gives a second proof from matters of acknowledged fact of the chief teaching of § 3, viz., that the Gospel is not an appeal to human wisdom. This he has already proved by pointing to the impression and effect of the Gospel on different kinds of men, believers and unbelievers. He will now prove it by pointing to the class of men which most readily accepts the Gospel.

Your calling: the gospel call, looked upon as actively operating. Since it comes from God, it is “His calling,” Ephesians 1:18: but, as the means of our salvation and the ground of our hope, it is “our calling,” Ephesians 4:1, 4. “Contemplate in its operation the gospel call in which you have heard the voice of God.” With characteristic good taste Paul does not say “not many of you,” which is sufficiently indicated by your calling. These words imply that some of the early Christians were men of education and influence; an interesting coincidence with Romans 16:23; Acts 18:8; 13:12; 22:3.

Wise according to flesh; i.e. in reference to the needs and pleasures of the present life, which are determined by the constitution of the human body. See note under Romans 8:11. It is the “wisdom of the world,” 1 Corinthians 1:20; “of this age,” 1 Corinthians 2:6. Powerful: men with influence arising from office, wealth, or natural talent.

V. 30. Of him-Out of his free grace and mercy.

Are ye—Engrafted into Christ Jesus, who is made unto us that believe wisdom, who were before utterly foolish and ignorant. Righteousness-The sole ground of our justification, who were before under the wrath and curse of God.

Sanctification-A principle of universal holiness, whereas before we were altogether dead in sin.

And redemption-That is, complete deliverance from all evil, and eternal bliss both of soul and body.

Verse 30. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus] Even the good which you possess is granted by God, for it is by and through him that Christ Jesus comes, and all the blessings of the Gospel dispensation. Who of God is made unto us wisdom] As being the author of that evangelical wisdom which far excels the wisdom of the philosopher and the scribe, and even that legal constitution which is called the wisdom of the Jews, Deuteronomy 4:6.

And righteousness] dikaiosunh, Justification, as procuring for us that remission of sins which the law could not give, Galatians 2:21; 3:21. And sanctification] As procuring for and working in us, not only an external and relative holiness, as was that of the Jews, but osiothta thv alhqeiav, true and eternal holiness, Ephesians 4:24, wrought in us by the Holy Spirit.

And redemption] He is the author of redemption, not from the Egyptian bondage, or Babylonish captivity, but from the servitude of Satan, the dominion of sin and death, and from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, or the redemption of the body, Romans 8:21, 23. See Whitby.

The object of the apostle is to show that man of himself possesses no good, that whatever he has comes from God, and from God only through Christ. For the different acceptations of the word righteousness the reader may consult the note on Romans 1:17, where the subject is considered in every point of view.

Verses 30, 31. But of him — Of his free mercy and grace; are ye in Christ Jesus — Ingrafted into him, and therefore possessed of an interest in him, and union with him; who of God — The original source of our salvation in all its parts, and of all the gifts and graces we possess; is made unto us who now believe — But were formerly ignorant and foolish; wisdom — Teaching us by his word and Spirit, and making us wise unto salvation; righteousness — The procuring cause of justification through his obedience unto death, to us who were before under guilt, condemnation, and wrath; sanctification — The principle and example, source and author of universal holiness to us, whereas before we were altogether polluted and dead in sin; and redemption — Complete deliverance from all the consequences of sin, and especially from death, the punishment of it, by a glorious resurrection, (termed the redemption of our body, Romans 8:23,) and eternal bliss both of soul and body. That, as it is written, (see on Jeremiah 9:23, 24,) He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord — Not in himself, not in the flesh, not in the world, not in any creature, nor in any endowment or qualification, mental or bodily.

30. Of him—Paul now shows how the Corinthian Christians are identified with the real and the permanent. The true reading, rightly translated, is, From him ye are in Christ Jesus. Being incorporated into Christ, they are sharers in his being and triumph. Who has become unto us wisdom— Christ is our sophia; our substitute for the Greek philosophy. On 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 our apostle will fully explain the nature of this Christian sophia. Righteousness, and sanctification—These two words are, in the Greek, closely conjoined as two parts of the same work; justification as the negative, and sanctification as the positive, side. Redemption embraces Christ’s whole work of rescue from sin, even to glorification. The whole verse shows how in Christ the believer is triumphant over this world’s wisdom and greatness.

Ver. 30. Stands in a relation to 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 similar to that of 1 Corinthians 1:24 to 1 Corinthians 1:21-23, declaring what Christ actually is to His people. 1 Corinthians 1:27, 28 say what God did that men may not (1 Corinthians 1:29) exult in themselves: 1 Corinthians 1:30 says what God has done in Paul's readers that they may (1 Corinthians 1:31) exult in Him.

You are etc.: cp. 1 Corinthians 6:11.

In Christ: see Romans 6:11. “Christ is the element in which you live and from which you draw your life.”

From Him: from God, the source of all inward union with Christ. For, salvation and all that pertains to it has its origin in the Father. Who has become etc.] In those who dwell in Christ, Christ dwells; and in proportion as His presence fills and rules them are they full of divine Wisdom. Having Him they have a key which unlocks the mysteries of God's eternal purpose of mercy, and of the present life: and, knowing this eternal purpose and the eternal realities, they are able to choose aright their steps in life.

From God: emphatic repetition of From Him. He who gave Christ to be the element of our life also gave Him to be in us as our wisdom. These references to wisdom prepare the way for § 4.

Righteousness: as in Romans 1:17.

Sanctification: the impartation of objective and subjective holiness. See notes, Romans 1:7; 6:19. Since Christ died that we (Romans 3:26) may be justified, and (Romans 6:10, 11) may live by spiritual contact with the risen Saviour a life devoted to God, and since this purpose is realized in those who abide in Christ, He is to us both righteousness and sanctification.

Redemption: liberation on payment of a price: see Romans 3:24; 8:23. The bondage or evil, from which the redeemed are set free, must in each case be determined by the context. The general statement here suggests deliverance from the material and moral evils and powers around us, from death, and from the grave. So Luke 21:28; Ephesians 4:30. In Christ redemption is already ours. For we are now free in spirit from the powers which once held us in bondage: and the rescue of our body is only a matter of time. And, only in proportion as Christ is the element of our life, are we free. Thus Christ crucified is (1 Corinthians 1:24) to us the power and wisdom of God.

V. 31. Let him glory in the Lord-Not in himself, not in the flesh, not in the world. Jeremiah 9:23, 24.

Verse 31. According as it is written] In Jeremiah 9:23, 24: Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might; let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this: That he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord, which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth. So then, as all good is of and from God, let him that has either wisdom, strength, riches, pardon, holiness, or any other blessing, whether temporal or spiritual, acknowledge that he has nothing but what he has received; and that, as he has cause of glorying (boasting or exultation) in being made a partaker of these benefits and mercies of his Creator and Redeemer, let him boast in God alone, by whom, through Christ Jesus, he has received the whole.

1. THIS is an admirable chapter, and drawn up with great skill and address. The divided state of the Corinthian Church we have already noticed, and it appears that in these factions the apostle’s authority had been set at nought by some, and questioned by many. St. Paul begins his letter with showing his authority; he had it immediately through Christ Jesus himself, by the will of God. And indeed the success of his preaching was a sufficient proof of the Divinity of his call. Had not God been with him he never could have successfully opposed the whole system of the national religion of the Corinthians, supported as it was by the prejudice of the people, the authority of the laws, and the eloquence and learning of their most eminent philosophers. It was necessary, therefore, that he should call the attention of this people to the Divine origin of his mission, that they might acknowledge that the excellency of the power was of God, and not of man.

2. It was necessary also that he should conciliate their esteem, and therefore speak as favourably concerning them as truth would allow; hence he shows them that they were a Church of God, sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints; that they abounded and even excelled in many extraordinary gifts and graces; and that they were not inferior to any Church of God in any gift. And he shows them that they received all these through God’s confirmation of that testimony which he had delivered among them, 1 Corinthians 1:4-7.

3. When he had thus prepared their minds to receive and profit by his admonitions he proceeds to their schisms, which he mentions and reprehends in the most delicate manner, so that the most obstinate and prejudiced could take no offence.

4. Having gained this point, he gently leads them to consider that, as God is the fountain of all good, so their good had all come from him; and that none of them should rest in the gift, but in the giver; nor should they consider themselves as of particular consequence on account of possessing such gifts, because all earthly good is transitory, and those who trust in power, wisdom, or wealth, are confounded and brought to nought; and that they alone are safe who receive every thing as from the hand of God, and, in the strength of his gifts, glorify him who is the donor of all good. He who can read this chapter without getting much profit has very little spirituality in his soul, and must be utterly unacquainted with the work of God in the heart.

I CORINTHIANS

Verses 30, 31. But of him — Of his free mercy and grace; are ye in Christ Jesus — Ingrafted into him, and therefore possessed of an interest in him, and union with him; who of God — The original source of our salvation in all its parts, and of all the gifts and graces we possess; is made unto us who now believe — But were formerly ignorant and foolish; wisdom — Teaching us by his word and Spirit, and making us wise unto salvation; righteousness — The procuring cause of justification through his obedience unto death, to us who were before under guilt, condemnation, and wrath; sanctification — The principle and example, source and author of universal holiness to us, whereas before we were altogether polluted and dead in sin; and redemption — Complete deliverance from all the consequences of sin, and especially from death, the punishment of it, by a glorious resurrection, (termed the redemption of our body, Romans 8:23,) and eternal bliss both of soul and body. That, as it is written, (see on Jeremiah 9:23, 24,) He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord — Not in himself, not in the flesh, not in the world, not in any creature, nor in any endowment or qualification, mental or bodily.

31. Written—According to the Septuagint, Jeremiah 9:24. In the Lord—That is, in Jehovah, and not in any human unreality, in the face of all the power, aristocracy, wealth, philosophy, and vice of Corinth, the believer is taught by Paul calmly to rest in the consciousness that he possesses a gift and a glory before which these were pompous nothings.

Ver. 31. Supports the teaching of the whole section by recalling Jeremiah 9:23f: “Thus has Jehovah said, Let there not boast a wise man in his wisdom, and let there not boast the strong man in his strength, let there not boast a rich man in his riches: only in this shall there boast he that boasts, to understand and know me, that I Jehovah am doing favor, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth.” That these old words may be now fulfilled, God gave Christ to be the element of our life, and by His presence in us a source to us of righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

Lord: see under Romans 9:29. Its precise reference here is uncertain and unimportant. For, to boast in the Son is to boast in the Father: cp. Romans 5:11. Perhaps it is better to retain the common New Testament use; and to suppose that Paul refers to our exultation in Him “who has become to us wisdom.” The exact reproduction of these words in 2 Corinthians 10:17, suggests that they were often used by Paul, as a concise reference to Jeremiah 9:23.