1 Corinthians · Chapter 3

V. 1. And I, brethren-He spoke before, 1 Corinthians 2:1, of his entrance, now of his progress, among them.

Could not speak to you as unto spiritual-Adult, experienced Christians. But as unto men who were still in great measure carnal, as unto babes in Christ-Still weak in grace, though eminent in gifts, 1 Corinthians 1:5.

Verse 1. I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual] This is a continuation of the preceding discourse. See the notes there. But as unto carnal] sarkikoiv, Persons under the influence of fleshly appetites; coveting and living for the things of this life. Babes in Christ.] Just beginning to acquire some notion of the Christian religion, but as yet very incapable of judging what is most suitable to yourselves, and consequently utterly unqualified to discern between one teacher and another; so that your making the distinctions which you do make, so far from being a proof of mature judgment, is on the contrary a proof that you have no right judgment at all; and this springs from your want of knowledge in Divine things.

Verses 1-3. And I, brethren — The apostle having, in the latter part of the preceding chapter, observed that mere natural men, still unenlightened and unrenewed, receive not the things of the Spirit, begins this chapter with informing the Corinthians, that though he was an apostle, fully instructed in the mind of Christ, he could not, during his abode with them, speak to them as to truly spiritual persons: inasmuch as they really were not such, but still in a great measure carnal, even mere babes in Christ; as little acquainted with, and experienced in, the things of God, as babes are with respect to the things of the world. He had spoken before (1 Corinthians 2:1) of his entrance, now he speaks of his progress among them. I have fed you with milk — With the first and plainest truths of the gospel, alluding to milk being the proper food of babes: not with meat — The higher truths of Christianity; such as are more difficult to be understood, received, and practised, and therefore belong to those believers who have made some considerable progress in Christian knowledge and holiness. For ye were not able to bear it — Your state of grace has been, and still is, so low, that it would not properly admit of such a way of teaching. So should every preacher suit his doctrine to the state and character of his hearers. For ye are yet carnal — That is, the greater part of you are so in some degree; for whereas there is among you envying — One another’s gifts in your hearts, or uneasiness of mind that others have greater gifts than yourselves: or the word zhlov may be rendered, emulation, a kind of rivalry, or a desire of superiority over others; and strife — Outward contentions in words and deeds; and actual divisions — Of one party from another; are ye not carnal — Is not this a clear proof that you are so; and walk as men? — Kata anqrwpon, according to man; as worldly men walk, who have no higher principle from which to act than that of mere nature, and not according to God, as thorough Christians walk.

Verse 1, 2. Babes in Christ, like children at the breast, requiring to be fed with milk, and not with meat. Our great tutor here addresses the Corinthians in a superior style of eloquence, to make them ashamed of their folly, being yet like children, crying and debating in parties, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos.

1. And I—In accordance with the elevated character of the spiritual in 1 Corinthians 2:14-16. Could not—Consistently with the reality of the case. Spiritual… carnal… babes—In 1 Corinthians 2:14, 15, the spiritual man is opposed to the natural, or entirely unregenerate; here he is opposed to the regenerate, who are in Christ, and yet, by being in a degree carnal, are but babes. Were they wholly carnal they would not even be babes, but be unregenerate. Short-comings, infirmities, and sins, have reduced them from spiritual manhood into babyhood. For these carnal are clearly a part of that whole who are called in 1 Corinthians 1:2, saints, sanctified in Christ Jesus. They are that same class as in 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 are guilty of the shame of going to law, and yet, verse 11, are in part sanctified. And throughout this epistle the class so severely reprehended, and even menaced, by St. Paul, are held by him Christians, but faulty Christians, who needed to ascend into a higher level of holiness. From this it follows that there may be “sin in believers.” Not every sin forfeits regeneration. Such sin dwarfs the spiritual stature, and lessens the glorious reward. But not until all justifying faith is lost is the name blotted from the book of life. As babes is the antithesis in the Greek to perfect— adult, in 1 Corinthians 2:6—so it duly defines it. Babes implies childhood; perfect simply implies adulthood. So the Jews had the distinction of novices or babes, and adults or full grown, in knowledge of the law. And Alford quotes Philo as saying, “Since to babes the food is milk, and to adults (same Greek word as perfect, 1 Corinthians 2:6) cookeries of grain, so also there are of the soul milk diets suited to child-stature; adult foods for men.” A perfect man in Christ Jesus is simply an adult man in Christ Jesus. But this adult man is also the spiritual, and includes the full attainments and privileges of 1 Corinthians 2:12-16. Any thing short of this is short of adulthood in Christian life, and approximates toward childhood.

But many commentators err in making this adulthood, or Christian perfect growth or perfection, depend, as in physical development, upon time. Scripture and experience show that in spiritual life there is many a babe of two and threescore; many a soul that springs almost from spiritual birth, by a strong, living, persevering faith, to vigorous adulthood. These two classes may not be divided by a sharp line; they may, indeed, shade into each other, just as the old and the young are classes that shade into each other; but they are, on the whole, so clearly diverse that they can be classified and specified by two different terms. Such a spiritual class is recognised in 1 Corinthians 14:37. It does not appear, here or elsewhere, whether the individual made a distinct profession of being spiritual; though others may have recognised him as such from his life and spirit. Yet it cannot be required of the man who lives in nearness to God that he should withhold full statement of the fact, whether profession or not. It is the best kind of profession of holiness when a man does not so much profess it himself as oblige his friends, by his holy life, to profess it for him. Carnal—According to the best readings, the Greek word here rendered carnal differs in termination from that in verses 3, 4. The former is sarkinoiv, the latter sarkikoi. The terminations differ needy as our English terminations ine and ic differ; the former indicating the material of which a thing consists, the latter the quality of the thing. The former word, signifying consisting of flesh, is used in 2 Corinthians 3:3 in a good sense. As sarkikoi is a New Testament word, not used in the classics, Stanley thinks that the other word has here been substituted by copyists, to make a confirmation with classical usage; but Alford believes it to be the true reading. The meaning would then be, as unto beings made of flesh— human—like the men of verse 3.

Ver. 1. And I … to you; as in 1 Corinthians 2:1, turns suddenly from a general principle to a personal matter.

Brothers; suitably introduces a brother's reproof. So 1 Corinthians 1:10.

Speak; takes up 1 Corinthians 2:6, 13.

Spiritual: as in 1 Corinthians 2:15. It admits of degrees, in proportion as a man's purposes and life are controlled by the Spirit. All the justified (Romans 8:9) have the Spirit. But the contrast with babes in Christ shows that Paul refers here to some fullness (Ephesians 5:18) of the Spirit. Only of such is the statement of 1 Corinthians 2:15 conspicuously true.

Men-of-flesh: same word in Romans 7:14. Paul is compelled to speak to them as to men consisting only of the material side of human nature, i.e. to teach them the rudiments of the Gospel (Hebrews 5:12) as though still unsaved.

Babes in Christ: in contrast to “full grown,” 1 Corinthians 2:6. So 1 Corinthians 14:20; Ephesians 4:13f; Hebrews 5:13f; cp. Romans 2:20. It rather softens the foregoing words. He does not look at them as altogether destitute of the Spirit, but as men whose spiritual life is as yet undeveloped.

V. 2. I fed you, as babes, with milk-The first and plainest truths of the gospel. So should every preacher suit his doctrine to his hearers.

Verse 2. I have fed you with milk.] I have instructed you in the elements of Christianity-in its simplest and easiest truths; because from the low state of your minds in religious knowledge, you were incapable of comprehending the higher truths of the Gospel: and in this state you will still continue. The apostle thus exposes to them the absurdity of their conduct in pretending to judge between preacher and preacher, while they had but a very partial acquaintance even with the first principles of Christianity.

Verses 1-3. And I, brethren — The apostle having, in the latter part of the preceding chapter, observed that mere natural men, still unenlightened and unrenewed, receive not the things of the Spirit, begins this chapter with informing the Corinthians, that though he was an apostle, fully instructed in the mind of Christ, he could not, during his abode with them, speak to them as to truly spiritual persons: inasmuch as they really were not such, but still in a great measure carnal, even mere babes in Christ; as little acquainted with, and experienced in, the things of God, as babes are with respect to the things of the world. He had spoken before (1 Corinthians 2:1) of his entrance, now he speaks of his progress among them. I have fed you with milk — With the first and plainest truths of the gospel, alluding to milk being the proper food of babes: not with meat — The higher truths of Christianity; such as are more difficult to be understood, received, and practised, and therefore belong to those believers who have made some considerable progress in Christian knowledge and holiness. For ye were not able to bear it — Your state of grace has been, and still is, so low, that it would not properly admit of such a way of teaching. So should every preacher suit his doctrine to the state and character of his hearers. For ye are yet carnal — That is, the greater part of you are so in some degree; for whereas there is among you envying — One another’s gifts in your hearts, or uneasiness of mind that others have greater gifts than yourselves: or the word zhlov may be rendered, emulation, a kind of rivalry, or a desire of superiority over others; and strife — Outward contentions in words and deeds; and actual divisions — Of one party from another; are ye not carnal — Is not this a clear proof that you are so; and walk as men? — Kata anqrwpon, according to man; as worldly men walk, who have no higher principle from which to act than that of mere nature, and not according to God, as thorough Christians walk.

Verse 1, 2. Babes in Christ, like children at the breast, requiring to be fed with milk, and not with meat. Our great tutor here addresses the Corinthians in a superior style of eloquence, to make them ashamed of their folly, being yet like children, crying and debating in parties, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos.

2. With milk… meat—By these terms is not meant the easier and the harder doctrines of theology, as foreknowledge and predestination, resurrection, etc. These are easily intelligible by the logical understanding to those who are not even babes in Christ, but are unregenerate. Paul refers to the principles of the lower and the higher Christian life. Milk is the doctrine of repentance, of avoiding sin, while meat represents those higher views of the spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:14-16) which the carnal could not receive, such as deep communion with God, profound purity of conscience, and the utter consecration of all to holiness and God. Yet now—This entire epistle, as to babes, deals almost exclusively with the principles of Christian ethics and doctrine; whereas that to the Ephesians, as to spiritual, mounts to the very heights of Christian spirit and life.

Ver. 2.-3a. Milk: explained in Hebrews 5:12. Solid food: the “wisdom” of 1 Corinthians 2:6. These words, which must refer chiefly to Paul's personal teaching at Corinth, suggest a long sojourn in their midst; and thus confirm Acts 18:11. Not yet were you: when last he taught them.

Not yet even now; opens the way to their present state, which is Paul's special business now.

Fleshly: men whose conduct is more or less controlled by the material side of human nature. Not quite so strong as “men-of-flesh.”

V. 3. For while there is among you emulation in your hearts, strife in your words, and actual divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk according to men-As mere men; not as Christians, according to God.

Verse 3. There is among you envying, and strife, and divisions] zhlov kai eriv kai dicostasiai. There are three things here worthy of note: these people were wrong in thought, word, and deed. zhlov, envying refers to the state of their souls; they had inward grudgings and disaffection towards each other. eriv, strife or contention, refers to their words; they were continually disputing and contending whose party was the best, each endeavouring to prove that he and his party were alone in the right. dicostasiai, divisions, refers to their conduct; as they could not agree, they contended till they separated from each other, and thus rent the Church of Christ. Thus the envying and grudging led to strife and evil SPEAKING, and this led to divisions and fixed parties. In this state well might the apostle say, Are ye not carnal, and walk as men? Ye act just as the people of the world, and have no more of the spirit of religion than they.

Verses 1-3. And I, brethren — The apostle having, in the latter part of the preceding chapter, observed that mere natural men, still unenlightened and unrenewed, receive not the things of the Spirit, begins this chapter with informing the Corinthians, that though he was an apostle, fully instructed in the mind of Christ, he could not, during his abode with them, speak to them as to truly spiritual persons: inasmuch as they really were not such, but still in a great measure carnal, even mere babes in Christ; as little acquainted with, and experienced in, the things of God, as babes are with respect to the things of the world. He had spoken before (1 Corinthians 2:1) of his entrance, now he speaks of his progress among them. I have fed you with milk — With the first and plainest truths of the gospel, alluding to milk being the proper food of babes: not with meat — The higher truths of Christianity; such as are more difficult to be understood, received, and practised, and therefore belong to those believers who have made some considerable progress in Christian knowledge and holiness. For ye were not able to bear it — Your state of grace has been, and still is, so low, that it would not properly admit of such a way of teaching. So should every preacher suit his doctrine to the state and character of his hearers. For ye are yet carnal — That is, the greater part of you are so in some degree; for whereas there is among you envying — One another’s gifts in your hearts, or uneasiness of mind that others have greater gifts than yourselves: or the word zhlov may be rendered, emulation, a kind of rivalry, or a desire of superiority over others; and strife — Outward contentions in words and deeds; and actual divisions — Of one party from another; are ye not carnal — Is not this a clear proof that you are so; and walk as men? — Kata anqrwpon, according to man; as worldly men walk, who have no higher principle from which to act than that of mere nature, and not according to God, as thorough Christians walk.

3. Yet—The reports by the household of Chloe indicate no advance in spirituality. Carnal—Fleshly. Though their strifes were what are distinctively called “sins of the spirit,” their existence proved to the apostle’s mind their fleshly quality. This use of the word flesh is not founded in the doctrine of the necessary evil of matter, but in the fact that our bodily appetites are so largely the source of temptation and sin. Properly regulated—fixed upon the right object in the right degree—all our appetites, desires, and passions are right. It is in their exercise on the wrong object, or their exercise in excess, that the act of sin lies. As men— Note on verse 4. Are ye not carnal—True reading, are ye not men? in which men is a synonyme for unspiritual. So our Lord’s words, But beware of men. Matthew 10:17.

3. From these partisanships are deductively stated the true responsibilities of their ministers, as imposed by God, 5-15. a. Their success (based on Christ) solely from God, 5-11. As simply instruments of God, ministers are one, verses 5-10. But let every man (minister) beware, that on Christ for his foundation he build truth, otherwise his building will be burned, and he escape like a man from his burning dwelling, verses 10-15.

Ver. 3b.-4. Proof that they are still fleshly, and therefore unable to digest strong food. That emulation (see under 1 Corinthians 12:31) and strife are given as complete proof of a fleshly disposition, proves that these arise always from a life in pursuit of the things needful or pleasant to the body. Cp. Galatians 5:19. This arises from the essential selfishness of such a life, which puts us in opposition to our fellows. See note, Romans 8:11. Not that the body is essentially evil; (for it is a creature of God;) but sin, ever a principle of separation and discord, sets the body in opposition to the man's highest nature, that thus eventually the whole man may be corrupted.

Walk: 1 Corinthians 7:17; 2 Corinthians 4:2; 5:7; 10:2f; 12:18; Romans 6:4; 8:4: an Old Testament word (Genesis 5:24; Leviticus 18:4; 26:40; 1 Kings 2:4, etc.) favorite with Paul and John to describe the outer side, and the direction, of human life. As men: under the influence of ordinary unsaved human nature. For when etc.: proof from acknowledged fact that in the Corinthian church there is emulation and strife, and that therefore its members are fleshly. Are you not men? implies that the Christian life is superhuman. Cp. Romans 3:5. Where (1 Corinthians 3:3) and when (1 Corinthians 3:4) point conspicuously to Corinth and to the present time. All this explains Paul's inability to “speak wisdom” at Corinth. SECTION 4 teaches that, to those who accept it fully, the Gospel conveys wisdom, i.e. a knowledge of that which is most worth knowing, and of that which they most need to know. It tells them what they are, what God is, how they may come to God and become like God. Amid much ignorance of details, they look up, through the various forces around, to the Great Source and Ruler of all. They understand in some measure, and approve, and appropriate, the eternal purposes of God. These purposes, and the method of their attainment, satisfy their highest intelligence and explain to them, in some measure, the mysteries of life and of suffering; and become the guide of their actions. Thus their mind is filled, and their steps directed, by the wisdom of Him who made the world. Compared with this wisdom, all merely human wisdom is folly. For it fails to explain the mystery of our being, and to put before us the true object of life and the best means of attaining it. Of the folly of human wisdom, the world's treatment of Jesus was a conspicuous example.

We also learn that this divine wisdom is conveyed to us by the agency of the indwelling Spirit of God, who alone looks into and through the mind of God. Consequently, only in proportion as we are under His influence is this wisdom understood by us. It is, however, embodied in words spoken by human lips. But these words are a mystery. Only as the Spirit opens our eyes do we understand their hidden meaning. Now the Spirit seeks to direct our steps as well as to enlighten our mind: and He ever leads men to Christian unity. And He does the one only so far as He does the other. Consequently, jealousy and strife are sure marks of absence of that fullness of the Spirit without which we cannot understand the higher teaching of the Gospel. Where these are, such teaching is useless. Thus does Paul rebuke the pride of knowledge which lay at the root of the church-parties at Corinth.

We cannot mark out particular doctrines as belonging to this higher wisdom. It is that nearer and clearer vision of God, which in all ages has been the privilege of those who dwell in His nearer presence, which they have read in the pages of Holy Scripture, which to unsaved men is incomprehensible or ridiculous, but which guides the steps of those who possess it along a path in which they find their highest happiness and usefulness.

Notice that, just as § 3 assumes the first fundamental Doctrine of the Epistle to the Romans, so here Paul assumes and develops the fifth Doctrine. See Romans 5:5; 8:3-16; where we learned that the Spirit reveals to us God's love, moves us to call Him Father, and directs our steps in life. Of this teaching, § 4 is but a practical application. MYSTERY: An English form, and the constant rendering, of an important Greek word. A cognate word is found in Philippians 4:12. From the same root word are “mystic” and “mysticism.”

The mysteries of ancient Greece were secret religious rites and teaching, forming the chief part of festivals celebrated at regular intervals in certain places. The most famous were those held annually, with great pomp, for nine days, at Eleusis, twelve miles from Athens on the way to Corinth. After six days of public ceremonies, those who had previously undergone a preliminary initiation, and were now called in Greek “mystai,” were led, under the darkness of the night, by strict vows of secrecy, into the sanctuary of the goddess Demeter, where they saw and heard things forbidden to all others. So well was the secret kept that we now only can guess what then took place. But scattered references of classic writers imply that in these mysteries religious teaching was imparted, the noblest teaching perhaps of the heathen world. So Plato, Phaedop. 81a: “Whither having come, it is given to the soul to be happy, being made free from error and folly and fears and coarse passions and the other human evils, as they say about the initiated (same word as Philippians 4:12) in the mysteries, in truth spending the rest of their time with the gods.” And Cicero, himself initiated, in his Laws bk. ii. 14: “Though Athens seems to me to have produced and brought into the life of men many excellent and divine things, yet nothing better than those mysteries by which from a boorish and wild life we are trained to humanity and are softened, and just as they are called initiations so in truth we have learned the first principles of life: and not only have we received a way of living with joy, but also of dying with a better hope.”

See the excellent remarks of p. 198 of Mahaffy's Rambles in Greece, quoted in vol. v. p. 471 of the Expositor.

In accordance with classic use, the word mystery in the Bible denotes always a secret known only to the initiated, i.e. those to whom it has been specially revealed. It is used in the Apocrypha for any confided secret; e.g. Sirach 27:16f, “he who reveals mysteries has destroyed confidence;” Tobit 12:7; Judith 2:2: and in Daniel (LXX.) for an outward form under which lay unknown truth; Daniel 2:18f, “in a vision of the night the mystery was revealed;” Daniel 2:28; 4:9. Cp. Wisdom 8:4, “wisdom is an initiated one (mystis) of the understanding of God.”

In still closer accord with classic use, the truths underlying the parables of Christ are called (Matthew 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10) mysteries known only by those to whom “it is given.” Cp. Matthew 11:25. And the teaching here attributed to Christ took firm hold of the mind of Paul, and frequently reappears variously developed in his writings. The many-sided purpose of redemption is called (Romans 16:25; Ephesians 1:9; 3:3; 6:19; Colossians 1:26f; 2:2; 4:3) a mystery kept in silence (even from angels, Mark 13:32; 1 Peter 1:12; Ephesians 3:10) during eternal times, but now made known. To proclaim this mystery to all, was the life work of Paul, Ephesians 3:9; 6:19; Colossians 4:3; who was thus a steward of the mysteries of God, 1 Corinthians 4:1. Of a purpose of God still kept secret, we never read. Yet God's eternal and universal purpose of mercy is none the less (Colossians 2:3) hidden in Christ. For, though proclaimed everywhere, it is understood only by those whom God leads into the secret chamber of His presence, whose eyes and ears He opens by His Spirit to the heavenly light and the heavenly voice: 1 Corinthians 2:10; Ephesians 3:5. Consequently, Paul spoke “in a mystery” words understood only by the initiated, i.e. by mature Christians. He had himself (Philippians 4:12) been “initiated” into the secret of life, and therefore knew how “to be humbled and to abound.” Thus the word mystery is in itself an embodiment of the chief teaching of this section.

In a more general sense the same word is used sometimes of any truth revealed specially by God, e.g. Romans 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:51; and for a secret of which the key has not yet been given, 2 Thessalonians 2:7. In Revelation 1:20; 17:5, 7, the truths underlying the visible symbols are called mysteries. Revelation 10:7 approaches the teaching of this section.

V. 4. I am of Apollos-St. Paul named himself and Apollos, to show that he would condemn any division among them, even though it were in favour of himself, or the dearest friend he had in the world.

Are ye not carnal-For the Spirit of God allows no party zeal.

Verse 4. For while one saith, I am of Paul, &c.] It was notorious that both Paul and Apollos held the same creed; between them there was not the slightest difference: when, therefore, the dissentients began to prefer the one to the other, it was the fullest proof of their carnality; because in the doctrines of these apostles there was no difference: so that what the people were captivated by must be something in their outward manner, Apollos being probably more eloquent than Paul. Their preferring one to another on such an account proved that they were carnal-led by their senses and mere outward appearances, without being under the guidance either of reason or grace. There are thousands of such people in the Christian Church to the present day. See Clarke’s notes on “1 Corinthians 1:10”, &c.

Verses 4-7. For while one saith, I am of Paul — I am one of Paul’s disciples, admiring his sublime sentiments, and being greatly edified by his instructive discourses: and another, I am of Apollos — I give the preference to Apollos, being delighted with his fine language, and the pleasing manner of his address. St. Paul names himself and Apollos, to show that he would condemn any division among them, even though it were in favour of himself, or the dearest friend he had in the world. Are ye not carnal? — For the Spirit of God allows no party zeal. Who then is Paul — That some of you are so attached to him; and who is Apollos — That others of you are so charmed with him? Are they the authors of your faith and salvation? Surely not: they are but ministers — Or servants; by whom — As instruments; ye believed — The word of the truth of the gospel, as the Lord — Of those servants gave to each of them gifts and grace for the work. I have planted — A Christian Church at Corinth, being instrumental in converting many of you to the faith of Christ: Apollos came afterward, and, by his affecting and useful addresses, watered what I had planted; but God gave the increase — Caused the plantation thus watered to grow, quickened and rendered effectual the means used to produce the fruit of the conversion of souls to God, and their confirmation in the faith and hope of the gospel. So then, the inference to be drawn is, neither is he that planteth any thing — Comparatively speaking; neither he that watereth — When you compare our part with that of God, it appears even as nothing: but God that giveth the increase — Who by his efficacious operation causes fruit to be produced, is all in all: for without him, neither planting nor watering avails.

Ver. 3b.-4. Proof that they are still fleshly, and therefore unable to digest strong food. That emulation (see under 1 Corinthians 12:31) and strife are given as complete proof of a fleshly disposition, proves that these arise always from a life in pursuit of the things needful or pleasant to the body. Cp. Galatians 5:19. This arises from the essential selfishness of such a life, which puts us in opposition to our fellows. See note, Romans 8:11. Not that the body is essentially evil; (for it is a creature of God;) but sin, ever a principle of separation and discord, sets the body in opposition to the man's highest nature, that thus eventually the whole man may be corrupted.

Walk: 1 Corinthians 7:17; 2 Corinthians 4:2; 5:7; 10:2f; 12:18; Romans 6:4; 8:4: an Old Testament word (Genesis 5:24; Leviticus 18:4; 26:40; 1 Kings 2:4, etc.) favorite with Paul and John to describe the outer side, and the direction, of human life. As men: under the influence of ordinary unsaved human nature. For when etc.: proof from acknowledged fact that in the Corinthian church there is emulation and strife, and that therefore its members are fleshly. Are you not men? implies that the Christian life is superhuman. Cp. Romans 3:5. Where (1 Corinthians 3:3) and when (1 Corinthians 3:4) point conspicuously to Corinth and to the present time. All this explains Paul's inability to “speak wisdom” at Corinth. SECTION 4 teaches that, to those who accept it fully, the Gospel conveys wisdom, i.e. a knowledge of that which is most worth knowing, and of that which they most need to know. It tells them what they are, what God is, how they may come to God and become like God. Amid much ignorance of details, they look up, through the various forces around, to the Great Source and Ruler of all. They understand in some measure, and approve, and appropriate, the eternal purposes of God. These purposes, and the method of their attainment, satisfy their highest intelligence and explain to them, in some measure, the mysteries of life and of suffering; and become the guide of their actions. Thus their mind is filled, and their steps directed, by the wisdom of Him who made the world. Compared with this wisdom, all merely human wisdom is folly. For it fails to explain the mystery of our being, and to put before us the true object of life and the best means of attaining it. Of the folly of human wisdom, the world's treatment of Jesus was a conspicuous example.

We also learn that this divine wisdom is conveyed to us by the agency of the indwelling Spirit of God, who alone looks into and through the mind of God. Consequently, only in proportion as we are under His influence is this wisdom understood by us. It is, however, embodied in words spoken by human lips. But these words are a mystery. Only as the Spirit opens our eyes do we understand their hidden meaning. Now the Spirit seeks to direct our steps as well as to enlighten our mind: and He ever leads men to Christian unity. And He does the one only so far as He does the other. Consequently, jealousy and strife are sure marks of absence of that fullness of the Spirit without which we cannot understand the higher teaching of the Gospel. Where these are, such teaching is useless. Thus does Paul rebuke the pride of knowledge which lay at the root of the church-parties at Corinth.

We cannot mark out particular doctrines as belonging to this higher wisdom. It is that nearer and clearer vision of God, which in all ages has been the privilege of those who dwell in His nearer presence, which they have read in the pages of Holy Scripture, which to unsaved men is incomprehensible or ridiculous, but which guides the steps of those who possess it along a path in which they find their highest happiness and usefulness.

Notice that, just as § 3 assumes the first fundamental Doctrine of the Epistle to the Romans, so here Paul assumes and develops the fifth Doctrine. See Romans 5:5; 8:3-16; where we learned that the Spirit reveals to us God's love, moves us to call Him Father, and directs our steps in life. Of this teaching, § 4 is but a practical application. MYSTERY: An English form, and the constant rendering, of an important Greek word. A cognate word is found in Philippians 4:12. From the same root word are “mystic” and “mysticism.”

The mysteries of ancient Greece were secret religious rites and teaching, forming the chief part of festivals celebrated at regular intervals in certain places. The most famous were those held annually, with great pomp, for nine days, at Eleusis, twelve miles from Athens on the way to Corinth. After six days of public ceremonies, those who had previously undergone a preliminary initiation, and were now called in Greek “mystai,” were led, under the darkness of the night, by strict vows of secrecy, into the sanctuary of the goddess Demeter, where they saw and heard things forbidden to all others. So well was the secret kept that we now only can guess what then took place. But scattered references of classic writers imply that in these mysteries religious teaching was imparted, the noblest teaching perhaps of the heathen world. So Plato, Phaedop. 81a: “Whither having come, it is given to the soul to be happy, being made free from error and folly and fears and coarse passions and the other human evils, as they say about the initiated (same word as Philippians 4:12) in the mysteries, in truth spending the rest of their time with the gods.” And Cicero, himself initiated, in his Laws bk. ii. 14: “Though Athens seems to me to have produced and brought into the life of men many excellent and divine things, yet nothing better than those mysteries by which from a boorish and wild life we are trained to humanity and are softened, and just as they are called initiations so in truth we have learned the first principles of life: and not only have we received a way of living with joy, but also of dying with a better hope.”

See the excellent remarks of p. 198 of Mahaffy's Rambles in Greece, quoted in vol. v. p. 471 of the Expositor.

In accordance with classic use, the word mystery in the Bible denotes always a secret known only to the initiated, i.e. those to whom it has been specially revealed. It is used in the Apocrypha for any confided secret; e.g. Sirach 27:16f, “he who reveals mysteries has destroyed confidence;” Tobit 12:7; Judith 2:2: and in Daniel (LXX.) for an outward form under which lay unknown truth; Daniel 2:18f, “in a vision of the night the mystery was revealed;” Daniel 2:28; 4:9. Cp. Wisdom 8:4, “wisdom is an initiated one (mystis) of the understanding of God.”

In still closer accord with classic use, the truths underlying the parables of Christ are called (Matthew 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10) mysteries known only by those to whom “it is given.” Cp. Matthew 11:25. And the teaching here attributed to Christ took firm hold of the mind of Paul, and frequently reappears variously developed in his writings. The many-sided purpose of redemption is called (Romans 16:25; Ephesians 1:9; 3:3; 6:19; Colossians 1:26f; 2:2; 4:3) a mystery kept in silence (even from angels, Mark 13:32; 1 Peter 1:12; Ephesians 3:10) during eternal times, but now made known. To proclaim this mystery to all, was the life work of Paul, Ephesians 3:9; 6:19; Colossians 4:3; who was thus a steward of the mysteries of God, 1 Corinthians 4:1. Of a purpose of God still kept secret, we never read. Yet God's eternal and universal purpose of mercy is none the less (Colossians 2:3) hidden in Christ. For, though proclaimed everywhere, it is understood only by those whom God leads into the secret chamber of His presence, whose eyes and ears He opens by His Spirit to the heavenly light and the heavenly voice: 1 Corinthians 2:10; Ephesians 3:5. Consequently, Paul spoke “in a mystery” words understood only by the initiated, i.e. by mature Christians. He had himself (Philippians 4:12) been “initiated” into the secret of life, and therefore knew how “to be humbled and to abound.” Thus the word mystery is in itself an embodiment of the chief teaching of this section.

In a more general sense the same word is used sometimes of any truth revealed specially by God, e.g. Romans 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:51; and for a secret of which the key has not yet been given, 2 Thessalonians 2:7. In Revelation 1:20; 17:5, 7, the truths underlying the visible symbols are called mysteries. Revelation 10:7 approaches the teaching of this section.

V. 5. Ministers-Or servants.

By whom ye believed, as the Lord, the Master of those servants, gave to every man.

Verse 5. Ministers by whom ye believed] The different apostles who have preached unto you the word of life are the means which God has used to bring you to the knowledge of Christ. No one of those has either preached or recommended himself; they all preach and recommend Christ Jesus the Lord.

Even as the Lord gave to every man?] Whatever difference there may be in our talents, it is of God’s making; and he who knows best what is best for his Church, has distributed both gifts and graces according to his own mind; and, as his judgment is infallible, all these dispensations must be right. Paul, therefore, is as necessary to the perfecting of the Church of Christ as Apollos; and Apollos, as Paul. Both, but with various gifts, point out the same Christ, building on one and the same foundation.

Verses 4-7. For while one saith, I am of Paul — I am one of Paul’s disciples, admiring his sublime sentiments, and being greatly edified by his instructive discourses: and another, I am of Apollos — I give the preference to Apollos, being delighted with his fine language, and the pleasing manner of his address. St. Paul names himself and Apollos, to show that he would condemn any division among them, even though it were in favour of himself, or the dearest friend he had in the world. Are ye not carnal? — For the Spirit of God allows no party zeal. Who then is Paul — That some of you are so attached to him; and who is Apollos — That others of you are so charmed with him? Are they the authors of your faith and salvation? Surely not: they are but ministers — Or servants; by whom — As instruments; ye believed — The word of the truth of the gospel, as the Lord — Of those servants gave to each of them gifts and grace for the work. I have planted — A Christian Church at Corinth, being instrumental in converting many of you to the faith of Christ: Apollos came afterward, and, by his affecting and useful addresses, watered what I had planted; but God gave the increase — Caused the plantation thus watered to grow, quickened and rendered effectual the means used to produce the fruit of the conversion of souls to God, and their confirmation in the faith and hope of the gospel. So then, the inference to be drawn is, neither is he that planteth any thing — Comparatively speaking; neither he that watereth — When you compare our part with that of God, it appears even as nothing: but God that giveth the increase — Who by his efficacious operation causes fruit to be produced, is all in all: for without him, neither planting nor watering avails.

5. Ministers—Diakonoi, deacons or servitors. Notes Acts 6:1, and 1 Timothy 3:8-15. We are not leaders of philosophical sects (note on 1 Corinthians 1:10, etc.) but simply servants, and servants under divine selection and guidance. Every man—Rather, and as the Lord gave to each one. That is, ye believed as the Lord gave to each minister the gift of attracting your belief. Paul proceeds to show how God gave different gifts to himself and to Apollos. And this connexion shows that every man, like any man in verse 12, and every man in verse 13, refers to teachers, and not, as Alford, to hearers.

I CORINTHIANS

SECTION 5 — APOLLOS AND PAUL ARE BUT

SERVANTS DOING THE WORK OF ONE MASTER

CH. 3:5-4:5

What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? Ministers through whom you believed, and as to each one the Lord gave.

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So that neither he that plants is anything, nor he that waters; but God who gives the growth. And he that plants and he that waters are one: and each will receive his own reward according to his own labour. For God's fellow-workers are we: God's field, God's building, you are. According to the grace of God given to me, as a wise masterbuilder, I laid a foundation: and another builds up. But let each one see how he builds up. For, another foundation no one can lay, beside that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. And if anyone builds up on the foundation, a piece of gold, a piece of silver, costly stones, pieces of wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become manifest. For the day will declare it: because in fire it is revealed, and each one's work, of what kind it is the fire itself will prove. If any one's work shall remain which he built up, he will receive reward. If any one's work shall be burnt up, he will suffer loss. But he himself will be saved, but in this way, as through fire.

Do you not know that you are God's temple, and the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any one injures the temple of God, him God will injure: for the temple of God is holy, which you are.

Let no one deceive himself. If any one thinks himself to be wise among you in this age, let him become foolish, that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He that lays hold of the wise ones in their craftiness.” (Job 5:18.) And again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise ones, that they are vain.” (Psalm 94:11.) So then let no one exult in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world, or life or death, or things present or things coming; all things are yours: and you are Christ's: and Christ is God's.

In this way let a man reckon us, as helpers of Christ and stewards of mysteries of God. This being so, moreover, search is made about stewards, that a man may be found faithful. But to me it has become a very little thing that by you I may be examined, or by a human day of assize. No, I do not even examine myself. For of nothing am I conscious to myself But not in this am I justified. But He who examines me is the Lord. So then, do not before the right time judge anything, until the Lord come, who will also bring to light the hidden things of the darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts. And then the due praise will be given to each one from God.

Ver. 5. What then etc.: a wider question than “who then?” Since they call themselves followers of Paul or Apollos, Paul asks what these men are, i.e. what are their position, powers, and achievements. He thus, armed with the great principles developed in §§ 3, 4, approaches the specific matter kept in view throughout DIV. I.

Ministers: see Romans 12:7.

Through whom: Romans 1:2; cp. John 1:7; 1 Peter 1:21. You believed: were led to believe the Gospel: see Romans 13:11. From this we learn that the ministry of Apollos, not only (Acts 18:27) benefited the Corinthian believers, but increased their number. And as etc.; adds another important truth.

The Lord: probably Christ, the One Master whose work Paul and Apollos were doing. So 1 Corinthians 8:6; 12:5; Ephesians 4:5. Gave: for the converts' faith was Christ's work in them: cp. Romans 12:3; 1:8; John 6:44, 65. Therefore, since converts will be (cp. Philippians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:19) the preacher's eternal enrichment and joy, they are Christ's gift to each one. Yet each man's faith is his own mental act, his own self-surrender (which he might have refused) to divine influences which came to him before he believed, and led him to faith. And the preacher's success is usually in proportion to his energy and skill. But the full truth of Paul's words is felt by all who have had the joy of turning a sinner from the error of his ways.

Verse 6. I have planted] I first sowed the seed of the Gospel at Corinth, and in the region of Achaia.

Apollos watered] Apollos came after me, and, by his preachings and exhortations, watered the seed which I had sowed; but God gave the increase. The seed has taken root, has sprung up, and borne much fruit; but this was by the especial blessing of God. As in the natural so in the spiritual world; it is by the especial blessing of God that the grain which is sown in the ground brings forth thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold: it is neither the sower nor the waterer that produces this strange and inexplicable multiplication; it is God alone. So it is by the particular agency of the Spirit of God that even good seed, sown in good ground, the purest doctrine conveyed to the honest heart, produces the salvation of the soul.

Verses 4-7. For while one saith, I am of Paul — I am one of Paul’s disciples, admiring his sublime sentiments, and being greatly edified by his instructive discourses: and another, I am of Apollos — I give the preference to Apollos, being delighted with his fine language, and the pleasing manner of his address. St. Paul names himself and Apollos, to show that he would condemn any division among them, even though it were in favour of himself, or the dearest friend he had in the world. Are ye not carnal? — For the Spirit of God allows no party zeal. Who then is Paul — That some of you are so attached to him; and who is Apollos — That others of you are so charmed with him? Are they the authors of your faith and salvation? Surely not: they are but ministers — Or servants; by whom — As instruments; ye believed — The word of the truth of the gospel, as the Lord — Of those servants gave to each of them gifts and grace for the work. I have planted — A Christian Church at Corinth, being instrumental in converting many of you to the faith of Christ: Apollos came afterward, and, by his affecting and useful addresses, watered what I had planted; but God gave the increase — Caused the plantation thus watered to grow, quickened and rendered effectual the means used to produce the fruit of the conversion of souls to God, and their confirmation in the faith and hope of the gospel. So then, the inference to be drawn is, neither is he that planteth any thing — Comparatively speaking; neither he that watereth — When you compare our part with that of God, it appears even as nothing: but God that giveth the increase — Who by his efficacious operation causes fruit to be produced, is all in all: for without him, neither planting nor watering avails.

Ver. 6-8. I have planted, Apollos watered. Here again we see the great and noble mind of this apostle. He detracts nothing from the real excellence of Apollos as a workman, but ascribes to God the full glory, as the giver of all good. Those who plant are not the authors, but the helpers of our faith and joy. These helpers are encouraged by the liberal promises of grace, that every man shall receive his own reward.

6. Planted—It was Paul’s pre-eminent gift to be a founder. His was the rare power, less conspicuous in Apollos and John, to convince the unbeliever, and create a new Church. Hence he sought new fields, and avoided to build on any other man’s foundation. Note on Romans 15:20. Increase—Growth. As the seed planted in the earth produces no herb or fruit without the showers and sunshine from above, so the preached Gospel, sown in the soul or in the world, produces no increase without God’s gracious aid.

Ver. 6.-9. A beautiful metaphor, illustrating 1 Corinthians 3:5. I planted etc.; expounds “through whom etc.:” but God gave etc., expounds “as to each one etc.” The hearts of the men at Corinth were the soil: the preached word was the planted cutting: (or seed sown, Mark 4:14:) the faith with which the word was received and the life of faith, or the church at Corinth which was a visible embodiment of this faith, were the growing plant. The nourishment brought by Apollos developed the existing branches, and caused them (1 Corinthians 3:6) to put forth fresh twigs. But that the cutting took root and grew into a tree, was the work, not of the gardeners who planted and watered it, but entirely of God. As usual, Paul rises from the Son to the Father. The Son, as Master of the house and as Administrator of salvation, allots success to His servants: but all spiritual life and growth have their original source in the Father. Cp. 1 Corinthians 12:5f.

V. 7. God that giveth the increase-Is all in all: without him neither planting nor watering avails.

Verse 7. So then, neither is he that planteth any thing] God alone should have all the glory, as the seed is his, the ground is his, the labourers are his, and the produce all comes from himself.

Verses 4-7. For while one saith, I am of Paul — I am one of Paul’s disciples, admiring his sublime sentiments, and being greatly edified by his instructive discourses: and another, I am of Apollos — I give the preference to Apollos, being delighted with his fine language, and the pleasing manner of his address. St. Paul names himself and Apollos, to show that he would condemn any division among them, even though it were in favour of himself, or the dearest friend he had in the world. Are ye not carnal? — For the Spirit of God allows no party zeal. Who then is Paul — That some of you are so attached to him; and who is Apollos — That others of you are so charmed with him? Are they the authors of your faith and salvation? Surely not: they are but ministers — Or servants; by whom — As instruments; ye believed — The word of the truth of the gospel, as the Lord — Of those servants gave to each of them gifts and grace for the work. I have planted — A Christian Church at Corinth, being instrumental in converting many of you to the faith of Christ: Apollos came afterward, and, by his affecting and useful addresses, watered what I had planted; but God gave the increase — Caused the plantation thus watered to grow, quickened and rendered effectual the means used to produce the fruit of the conversion of souls to God, and their confirmation in the faith and hope of the gospel. So then, the inference to be drawn is, neither is he that planteth any thing — Comparatively speaking; neither he that watereth — When you compare our part with that of God, it appears even as nothing: but God that giveth the increase — Who by his efficacious operation causes fruit to be produced, is all in all: for without him, neither planting nor watering avails.

Ver. 6-8. I have planted, Apollos watered. Here again we see the great and noble mind of this apostle. He detracts nothing from the real excellence of Apollos as a workman, but ascribes to God the full glory, as the giver of all good. Those who plant are not the authors, but the helpers of our faith and joy. These helpers are encouraged by the liberal promises of grace, that every man shall receive his own reward.

7. Any thing—Any thing to be followed by partisans, as if, like the philosophers, their effects were all produced by their own brains.

Ver. 7. Since we are only garden laborers who plant and sow, of whom any number may be had, we are practically of no importance whatever. But God etc.; is everything.

V. 8. But he that planteth and he that watereth are one-Which is another argument against division. Though their labours are different. they are all employed in one general work, the saving souls. Hence he takes occasion to speak of the reward of them that labour faithfully, and the awful account to be given by all.

Every man shall receive his own peculiar reward according to his own peculiar labour-Not according to his success; but he who labours much, though with small success, shall have a great reward.

Has not all this reasoning the same force still? The ministers are still barely instruments in God's hand, and depend as entirely as ever on his blessing, to give the increase to their labours. Without this, they are nothing: with it, their part is so small, that they hardly deserve to be mentioned. May their hearts and hands be more united; and, retaining a due sense of the honour God doeth them in employing them, may they faithfully labour, not as for themselves, but for the great Proprietor of all, till the day come when he will reward them in full proportion to their fidelity and diligence!

Verse 8. He that planteth and he that watereth are one] Both Paul and Apollos have received the same doctrine, preach the same doctrine, and labour to promote the glory of God in the salvation of your souls. Why should you be divided with respect to Paul and Apollos, while these apostles are intimately ONE in spirit, design, and operation? According to his own labour.] God does not reward his servants according to the success of their labour, because that depends on himself; but he rewards them according to the quantum of faithful labour which they bestow on his work. In this sense none can say, I have laboured in vain, and spent my strength for nought.

Verses 8, 9. He that planteth and he that watereth are one — United in affection, and engaged in one general design, the design of glorifying God in the salvation of souls, though their labours may be in some respect different: and hence, instead of being pleased, we are rather displeased and grieved with those invidious comparisons in favour of one against another. Our great concern is to please our common Lord, to whom we are shortly to give up our account; and from whom every man — He primarily means every minister of Christ; shall receive his own reward — The reward in some respects peculiar to himself; according to his own peculiar labour — For as some labour with greater zeal and diligence, and others with less, so they shall be rewarded with different degrees of felicity and glory. He does not say, according to his success, because he who labours much, supposing he labours with a single eye to the glory of God, from a principle of love to him, and a conscientious regard to his will, shall have a great reward, though it may please God to give him little success. Has not all this reasoning the same force still? Ministers are still barely instruments in God’s hand, and depend as entirely as ever on his blessing, to give the increase to their labours. Without this they are nothing; with it their part is so small, that they hardly deserve to be mentioned. May their hearts and hands be more united; and, retaining a due sense of the honour God doth them in employing them, may they faithfully labour, not as for themselves, but for the great Proprietor of all, till the day come when he will reward them in full proportion to their fidelity and diligence! For we are labourers together, &c. — Greek, Qeou gar esmen sunergoi, we are fellow-labourers of God; or, we are God’s labourers, and fellow-labourers with each other. Ye are God’s husbandry — Or God’s tillage, God’s cultivated ground: a comprehensive word, taking in a field, a garden, and a vineyard. This is the sum of what went before. Ye are God’s building — This refers to what follows.

Ver. 6-8. I have planted, Apollos watered. Here again we see the great and noble mind of this apostle. He detracts nothing from the real excellence of Apollos as a workman, but ascribes to God the full glory, as the giver of all good. Those who plant are not the authors, but the helpers of our faith and joy. These helpers are encouraged by the liberal promises of grace, that every man shall receive his own reward.

8. Are one—And so should not be divided between contending parties. Every man—That truly either plants or waters God’s heritage. According to his own laborer—As is fully shown in verses 12-15.

Ver. 8.-9. Are one; literally, one thing they are practically the same, 1 Corinthians 11:5. Just so in the vineyard the man who plants is in a position neither better nor worse than the man who waters. These words, cautiously used, will cast light on John 10:30; 17:11, 21. But each man etc.: points both to the oneness, and the individuality, of the servants of God. Because they stand in exactly the same relation to the Master, each will receive according to his labor.

Reward: suggests their humble position as men paid for their work. Labour: not according to results, but according to the quantity and quality of his toil.

His own reward, and his own labour, exactly correspond. 1 Corinthians 3:9a proves 1 Corinthians 3:8b.

Fellow-workers: Romans 16:3, 9, 21; 2 Corinthians 1:24; 8:23; 3 John 1:8: a favorite word with Paul. Men are permitted to join with God in the work of salvation. And their reward will be in proportion to their toil. For God's work will be successful: and its success will be an eternal joy to all who have labored for it. And the joy of success is always proportionate to the toil with which it has been attained. Field: cultivated land, including the soil and the growing produce. Since the Corinthian church is a field belonging to God, those who labour in it are God's fellow-workers.

God's building; opens the way to another metaphor.

The question of 1 Corinthians 3:5a is answered; and its answer reveals the folly of making Paul and Apollos heads of church-parties. They are but laborers in a vineyard, all standing in the same relation to the owner as hired servants each to be paid according to his labor. The frequency of the foregoing metaphor proves plainly that it rests upon a far-reaching harmony of things natural and spiritual. Cp. Romans 11:16-24; Psalm 1:1-3; Isaiah 5:1-7; Matthew 13:3-30; Luke 13:6-9; John 15:1-6. All agriculture is man working together with God. For every pious farmer feels that his harvest is a result and reward proportionate to his own toil and skill, and yet altogether God's gift to him. Just so, the preacher places the word of God in its appropriate soil, the human heart. And, from the preached word, in virtue of its hidden life, there springs up the beautiful and fruitful plant of a Christian believer and Christian life.

V. 9. For we are all fellowlabourers-God's labourers, and fellowlabourers with each other.

Ye are God's husbandry-This is the sum of what went before: it is a comprehensive word, taking in both a field, a garden, and a vineyard. Ye are God's building-This is the sum of what follows.

Verse 9. For we are labourers together with God] We do nothing of ourselves, nor in reference to ourselves; we labour together in that work which God has given us to do, expect all our success from him, and refer the whole to his glory. It would perhaps be more correct to translate qeou gar esmen sunergai, we are fellow labourers of God; for, as the preposition sun may express the joint labour of the teachers one with another, and not with God, I had rather, with Bishop Pearce, translate as above: i.e. we labour together in the work of God. Far from being divided among ourselves, we jointly labour, as oxen in the same yoke, to promote the honour of our Master.

Ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.] qeou gewrgion, qeou oikodomh este The word gewrgion, which we translate husbandry, signifies properly an arable field; so Proverbs 24:30: I went by the FIELD, gewrgion, of the slothful; and Proverbs 31:16: The wise woman considereth a FIELD, gewrgion, and buyeth it. It would be more literal to translate it, Ye are God’s farm: gewrgion in Greek answers to hdv sadeh in Hebrew, which signifies properly a sown field. Ye are God’s building.-Ye are not only the field which God cultivates, but ye are the house which God builds, and in which he intends to dwell. As no man in viewing a fine building extols the quarryman that dug up the stones, the hewer that cut and squared them, the mason that placed them in the wall, the woodman that hewed down the timber, the carpenter that squared and jointed it, &c., but the architect who planned it, and under whose direction the whole work was accomplished; so no man should consider Paul, or Apollos, or Kephas, any thing, but as persons employed by the great Architect to form a building which is to become a habitation of himself through the Spirit, and the design of which is entirely his own.

Verses 8, 9. He that planteth and he that watereth are one — United in affection, and engaged in one general design, the design of glorifying God in the salvation of souls, though their labours may be in some respect different: and hence, instead of being pleased, we are rather displeased and grieved with those invidious comparisons in favour of one against another. Our great concern is to please our common Lord, to whom we are shortly to give up our account; and from whom every man — He primarily means every minister of Christ; shall receive his own reward — The reward in some respects peculiar to himself; according to his own peculiar labour — For as some labour with greater zeal and diligence, and others with less, so they shall be rewarded with different degrees of felicity and glory. He does not say, according to his success, because he who labours much, supposing he labours with a single eye to the glory of God, from a principle of love to him, and a conscientious regard to his will, shall have a great reward, though it may please God to give him little success. Has not all this reasoning the same force still? Ministers are still barely instruments in God’s hand, and depend as entirely as ever on his blessing, to give the increase to their labours. Without this they are nothing; with it their part is so small, that they hardly deserve to be mentioned. May their hearts and hands be more united; and, retaining a due sense of the honour God doth them in employing them, may they faithfully labour, not as for themselves, but for the great Proprietor of all, till the day come when he will reward them in full proportion to their fidelity and diligence! For we are labourers together, &c. — Greek, Qeou gar esmen sunergoi, we are fellow-labourers of God; or, we are God’s labourers, and fellow-labourers with each other. Ye are God’s husbandry — Or God’s tillage, God’s cultivated ground: a comprehensive word, taking in a field, a garden, and a vineyard. This is the sum of what went before. Ye are God’s building — This refers to what follows.

9. Labourers… with God—Literally, For we are God’s fellow-labourers; God’s farm, God’s building are ye—The distinction already existing between ministers and people is very marked through this and the next chapter, as begun in this verse. It is by no means correct to say that in the Church of the New Testament this division had not commenced. The figure of a building here commenced is continued to verse 17.

Ver. 8.-9. Are one; literally, one thing they are practically the same, 1 Corinthians 11:5. Just so in the vineyard the man who plants is in a position neither better nor worse than the man who waters. These words, cautiously used, will cast light on John 10:30; 17:11, 21. But each man etc.: points both to the oneness, and the individuality, of the servants of God. Because they stand in exactly the same relation to the Master, each will receive according to his labor.

Reward: suggests their humble position as men paid for their work. Labour: not according to results, but according to the quantity and quality of his toil.

His own reward, and his own labour, exactly correspond. 1 Corinthians 3:9a proves 1 Corinthians 3:8b.

Fellow-workers: Romans 16:3, 9, 21; 2 Corinthians 1:24; 8:23; 3 John 1:8: a favorite word with Paul. Men are permitted to join with God in the work of salvation. And their reward will be in proportion to their toil. For God's work will be successful: and its success will be an eternal joy to all who have labored for it. And the joy of success is always proportionate to the toil with which it has been attained. Field: cultivated land, including the soil and the growing produce. Since the Corinthian church is a field belonging to God, those who labour in it are God's fellow-workers.

God's building; opens the way to another metaphor.

The question of 1 Corinthians 3:5a is answered; and its answer reveals the folly of making Paul and Apollos heads of church-parties. They are but laborers in a vineyard, all standing in the same relation to the owner as hired servants each to be paid according to his labor. The frequency of the foregoing metaphor proves plainly that it rests upon a far-reaching harmony of things natural and spiritual. Cp. Romans 11:16-24; Psalm 1:1-3; Isaiah 5:1-7; Matthew 13:3-30; Luke 13:6-9; John 15:1-6. All agriculture is man working together with God. For every pious farmer feels that his harvest is a result and reward proportionate to his own toil and skill, and yet altogether God's gift to him. Just so, the preacher places the word of God in its appropriate soil, the human heart. And, from the preached word, in virtue of its hidden life, there springs up the beautiful and fruitful plant of a Christian believer and Christian life.

V. 10. According to the grace of God given to me-This he premises, lest he should seem to ascribe it to himself.

Let every one take heed how he buildeth thereon-That all his doctrines may be consistent with the foundation.

Verse 10. As a wise master builder] wJv sofuv arcitektwn. The design or plan of the building is from God; all things must be done according to the pattern which he has exhibited; but the execution of this plan was entrusted chiefly to St. Paul; he was the wise or experienced architect which God used in order to lay the foundation; to ascertain the essential and immutable doctrines of the Gospel-those alone which came from God, and which alone he would bless to the salvation of mankind. Let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.] Let him take care that the doctrines which he preaches be answerable to those which I have preached; let him also take heed that he enjoin no other practice than that which is suitable to the doctrine, and in every sense accords with it.

Verses 10, 11. According to the grace of God — This he premises, lest he should seem to ascribe any thing to himself; as a wise master-builder — A skilful architect, directed by divine wisdom; I have laid the foundation — Jesus Christ and him crucified, a foundation sufficient to support the whole fabric of Christianity, with all its blessed effects: and another buildeth thereon — Succeeding teachers bestow further labour for your instruction and edification. But let every man — Every minister; take heed how he buildeth thereon — That all the doctrines which he teaches may be consistent with the foundation. For other foundation — On which the whole church, with all its doctrines, privileges, and duties, may be built; can no man lay — How much soever he may endeavour to do it; than that which is laid — In the counsels of divine wisdom, in the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament, and in the preaching of Christ himself and his apostles, St. Paul in particular; which is Jesus Christ — Who in his person and offices, in his love and sufferings, his humiliation and exaltation, his atoning death, his victorious resurrection, his glorious ascension, and his prevalent intercession, is the firm, immoveable rock of ages; a foundation every way sufficient to bear all the weight that God himself, or the sinner, when he believes, can lay upon him, even to support his immortal hopes. Christ, in his prophetic office, as a teacher come from God, is the foundation of all the doctrines of Christianity, and as made of God unto us wisdom, the source of our knowledge of, and faith in those doctrines: in his priestly office, atoning and interceding for us, he is the foundation of all the privileges of Christianity; and, when made of God unto us righteousness, puts us in possession of those privileges; in his kingly office he is the foundation of all the duties of Christianity, and when made of God unto us sanctification, of our power to perform those duties; for when the tree is good, the fruit is good; when we are created anew in Christ Jesus, good works are the never-failing consequence, Ephesians 2:10. Add to this, that as the firstborn of them that sleep, and our forerunner into glory, he is the foundation of all our hopes; and when made of God unto us complete and eternal redemption, he brings us to the enjoyment of the blessings hoped for.

Ver. 10. As a wise master-builder, an experienced man in architecture, I have laid the foundation, by preaching Christ through the Grecian provinces. Therefore let those who succeed, build according to the plan and grand design of the temple.

10. Wise master-builder—At the proper time Paul does not hesitate to style himself a sophos—a wise. I laid… another—Nor does he at all abdicate his prerogative as founder. But—From this point commences a solemn caution to ministers, even who build on Christ as their foundation, what structure of doctrine, or morals, or churchdom they build thereon. The fire of the judgment day will test whether its materials be combustible. If so, the building will be burned up; yet the builder, as having built on Christ, will escape, like a householder, through the conflagration of his home, losing all else, but saving his life. All this, and what follows to 4:6, Paul figuratively speaks as in the persons of himself and Apollos, verses 4-8; but it is equally applicable to all other preachers and to all ministers in all ages.

Ver. 10.-15. To show how humble is the position of himself and Apollos, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:8 that each will receive pay according to his labor. This truth he now uses as a warning to some of his readers. As a basis for the warning, he introduced in 1 Corinthians 3:9g a second metaphor, which he now develops.

Before using words which seem to imply superiority, Paul acknowledges that whatever he has done he owes to the undeserved favour of God. This also reminds us that in laying the foundation he acted by divine authority. Wise: in its earliest sense of “skilful;” see note, 1 Corinthians 2:5. The teaching of § 4 makes the word very appropriate here.

I laid: parallel with “I planted,” 1 Corinthians 3:6. In face of some who depreciated his ability, (2 Corinthians 10:10) Paul claims to have skilfully founded the church of Corinth. Cp. 1 Corinthians 4:15. Builds-up: carries upward the building already begun. Same word, repeated for emphasis, in 1 Corinthians 3:12, 14. Another: Apollos or any other teacher. Hence the present tense, though (1 Corinthians 16:12) Apollos had left Corinth; and the words let each one see how etc. This warning, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 develop. The different modes of continuing Paul's work warn each one to look how he builds.

V. 11. For other foundation-On which the whole church: and all its doctrines, duties, and blessings may be built.

Can no man lay than what is laid-In the counsels of divine wisdom, in the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament, in the preaching of the apostles, St. Paul in particular.

Which is Jesus Christ-Who, in his person and offices, is the firm, immovable Rock of Ages, every way sufficient to bear all the weight that God himself, or the sinner, when he believes, can lay upon him.

Verse 11. Other foundation can no man lay] I do not speak particularly concerning the foundation of this spiritual building; it can have no other foundation than Jesus Christ: there cannot be two opinions on this subject among the true apostles of our Lord. The only fear is, lest an improper use should be made of this heavenly doctrine; lest a bad superstructure should be raised on this foundation.

Verses 10, 11. According to the grace of God — This he premises, lest he should seem to ascribe any thing to himself; as a wise master-builder — A skilful architect, directed by divine wisdom; I have laid the foundation — Jesus Christ and him crucified, a foundation sufficient to support the whole fabric of Christianity, with all its blessed effects: and another buildeth thereon — Succeeding teachers bestow further labour for your instruction and edification. But let every man — Every minister; take heed how he buildeth thereon — That all the doctrines which he teaches may be consistent with the foundation. For other foundation — On which the whole church, with all its doctrines, privileges, and duties, may be built; can no man lay — How much soever he may endeavour to do it; than that which is laid — In the counsels of divine wisdom, in the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament, and in the preaching of Christ himself and his apostles, St. Paul in particular; which is Jesus Christ — Who in his person and offices, in his love and sufferings, his humiliation and exaltation, his atoning death, his victorious resurrection, his glorious ascension, and his prevalent intercession, is the firm, immoveable rock of ages; a foundation every way sufficient to bear all the weight that God himself, or the sinner, when he believes, can lay upon him, even to support his immortal hopes. Christ, in his prophetic office, as a teacher come from God, is the foundation of all the doctrines of Christianity, and as made of God unto us wisdom, the source of our knowledge of, and faith in those doctrines: in his priestly office, atoning and interceding for us, he is the foundation of all the privileges of Christianity; and, when made of God unto us righteousness, puts us in possession of those privileges; in his kingly office he is the foundation of all the duties of Christianity, and when made of God unto us sanctification, of our power to perform those duties; for when the tree is good, the fruit is good; when we are created anew in Christ Jesus, good works are the never-failing consequence, Ephesians 2:10. Add to this, that as the firstborn of them that sleep, and our forerunner into glory, he is the foundation of all our hopes; and when made of God unto us complete and eternal redemption, he brings us to the enjoyment of the blessings hoped for.

Ver. 11. Other foundation can no man lay, no new theory, no new doctrine than what is described in Isaiah 28:16. But the materials of the building, concerning which the Corinthians are cautioned to take heed, are of two sorts; gold, silver, and precious stones, as used in Solomon’s temple; and wood, hay, and stubble, as used in the mud-walled houses of the poor. The foundation is the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, from which the covenant and the promises have emanated. Those great and precious promises are more to be desired than fine gold. Therefore, as the temple had outward glory, and inward beauty, so the stones in the living temple must be built up in their most holy faith. Babes must be nourished with the sincere milk of the word, and men with stronger food. The inward beauty regards the edification of the church in all the graces of the Holy Spirit, and these graces are above all estimation: if a man would give all the substance of his house, he cannot purchase love. The same may be said of faith, which being tried and purified, is much more precious than gold that perisheth. 1 Peter 1:7.

11. Can no man lay—For other foundations, however laid, would prove to be no foundations at all.

b. Every man’s work subject to the test of fire, 12-15.

Ver. 11. Justifies 1 Corinthians 3:10b, which confines our attention to the manner of continuing Paul's work, by declaring that there can be no other foundation than that which he has already laid. Christ is the foundation of the church, objectively; inasmuch as upon His death and resurrection rest His people's faith and hope. He is so subjectively, by His presence in them. The rock on which we stand is both beneath our feet and within our hearts. This foundation, laid objectively for the whole church in the Great Facts, was laid subjectively in the hearts of the Christians at Corinth as the firm ground of their personal hopes, by Paul. Consequently, all other Christian work done at Corinth will be a continuation of that which he began. This, of course, leaves out of sight the almost impossible case of the extinction of the church: in which case the work would need to be begun again.

V. 12. If any one build gold, silver, costly stones-Three sorts of materials which will bear the fire; true and solid doctrines. Wood, hay, stubble-Three which will not bear the fire. Such are all doctrines, ceremonies, and forms of human invention; all but the substantial, vital truths of Christianity.

Verse 12. If any men build-gold, silver, &c.] Without entering into curious criticisms relative to these different expressions, it may be quite enough for the purpose of edification to say, that, by gold, silver, and precious stones, the apostle certainly means pure and wholesome doctrines: by wood, hay, and stubble, false doctrines; such as at that time prevailed in the Corinthian Church; for instance, that there should be no resurrection of the body; that a man may, on his father’s death, lawfully marry his step-mother; that it was necessary to incorporate much of the Mosaic law with the Gospel; and, perhaps, other matters, equally exceptionable, relative to marriage, concubinage, fornication, frequenting heathen festivals, and partaking of the flesh which had been offered in sacrifice to an idol; with many other things, which, with the above, are more or less hinted at by the apostle in these two letters.

Verse 12. If any man build upon this foundation — Thus firmly laid; gold, silver, precious stones — The most valuable materials in nature, the most solid, durable, and precious, and which can bear the fire. And here they stand for true, firm, and important doctrines; doctrines necessary to be known, believed, and laid to heart, and which, when so received, fail not to build up the people of God in faith, love, and obedience; rendering them wise unto salvation, holy and useful here, and preparing them for eternal life hereafter. The apostle mentions next, as materials wherewith some might possibly build, and with which indeed many have built in all ages, wood, hay, and stubble; materials flimsy, unsubstantial, worthless, if compared with the former, and which cannot bear the fire. And these are here put, not merely for false doctrines, condemned or unsupported by the word of God, or doctrines of human invention, but all ceremonies, forms, and institutions, which have not God for their author, and are neither connected with, nor calculated to promote, the edification and salvation of mankind: all doctrines that are unimportant, and not suited to the state and character of the hearers; all but the vital, substantial truths of Christianity. To build with such materials as these, if it do not absolutely destroy the foundation, yet disgraces it; as a mean edifice, suppose a hovel, consisting of nothing better than planks of wood, roughly put together, and thatched with hay and stubble, would disgrace a grand and expensive foundation, laid with great pomp and solemnity.

Ver. 12. Wood, hay, stubble. St. Paul allows the ministers of Corinth to have been regenerate men, begotten by his ministry; but some of them still adhered to many jewish rites and customs. Others dabbled in gentile philosophy, which could not save in the fiery trials of life; and in fact, their labours availed but little in the salvation of souls. They forgot to preach Christ, and him crucified, and so missed their aim.

12. Any man—Any preacher of religion. Gold—Paul mentions six materials: three incombustible and precious, and three combustible and inferior.

Ver. 12.-15. After justifying in 1 Corinthians 3:11 the limitation implied in 1 Corinthians 3:10b, Paul now takes up and develops his warning. He tells us that he refers to the materials used; and mentions two classes, one destructible and the other indestructible, each class containing different kinds of different value. The real nature of the results produced by each one will become manifest, i.e. set publicly before the eyes of all. For the day etc.: proof of this.

The day; of judgment, 1 Corinthians 1:8; Romans 2:16. That Paul calls it simply the day, reveals the large and definite place it had in his thought. Cp. 2 Thessalonians 1:10; 2 Timothy 1:12, 18; 4:8. Will declare: the great day is personified.

Because in fire … will prove: two facts showing how the day will declare it.

Revealed: see under Romans 1:17, 19. The present tense is used, as often, for that which will indisputably come and is therefore already present in the mind of the believer.

Fire: the surest and severest test of the hidden nature of objects subjected to it. There will be no need for the judge to declare what men have done. For the Day itself, as its light floods the intelligence of men, will declare all. For the light of that day is a fire searching out the inmost quality of every man's work.

V. 13. The time is coming when every one's work shall be made manifest: for the day of the Lord, that great and final day, shall declare it-To all the world.

For it is revealed-What faith beholds as so certain and so near is spoken of as already present.

By fire; yea, the fire shall try every one's work, of what sort it is-The strict process of that day will try every man's doctrines, whether they come up to the scripture standard or not. Here is a plain allusion to the flaming light and consuming heat of the general conflagration. But the expression, when applied to the trying of doctrines, and consuming those that are wrong, is evidently figurative; because no material fire can have such an effect on what is of a moral nature. And therefore it is added, he who builds wood, hay, or stubble, shall be saved as through the fire-Or, as narrowly as a man escapes through the fire, when his house is all in flames about him.

This text, then, is so far from establishing the Romish purgatory, that it utterly overthrows it. For the fire here mentioned does not exist till the day of judgment: therefore, if this be the fire of purgatory, it follows that purgatory does not exist before the day of judgment.

Verse 13. The day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire] There is much difference of opinion relative to the meaning of the terms in this and the two following verses. That the apostle refers to the approaching destruction of Jerusalem I think very probable; and when this is considered, all the terms and metaphors will appear clear and consistent. The day is the time of punishment coming on this disobedient and rebellious people. And this day being revealed by fire, points out the extreme rigour, and totally destructive nature, of that judgment. And the fire shall try every man’s work] If the apostle refers to the Judaizing teachers and their insinuations that the law, especially circumcision, was of eternal obligation; then the day of fire-the time of vengeance, which was at hand, would sufficiently disprove such assertions; as, in the judgment of God, the whole temple service should be destroyed; and the people, who fondly presumed on their permanence and stability, should be dispossessed of their land and scattered over the face of the whole earth. The difference of the Christian and Jewish systems should then be seen: the latter should be destroyed in that fiery day, and the former prevail more than ever.

Verse 13. Every man’s work shall be made manifest — God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil, Ecclesiastes 12:14. There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, neither hid, that shall not be known. But the apostle’s primary meaning here is, that it shall be made manifest what kind of materials every spiritual builder uses, that is, what kind of doctrines every minister of Christ preaches, whether they are true or false, important or trivial, calculated to produce genuine repentance, faith, and holiness in the hearers, or not; to promote the real conversion of sinners, and edification of believers, or otherwise: and of consequence, what kind of converts every minister makes, whether they be such as can stand the fiery trial or not. For the day shall declare it — Perhaps, 1st, h hmera dhlwsei, might be rendered, time will declare it; for time, generally a little time, manifests whether a minister’s doctrine be Scriptural and sound, and his converts genuine or not. If his preaching produce no saving effect upon his hearers, if none of them are reformed in their manners, and renewed in their hearts; if none of them are turned from sin to righteousness, and made new creatures in Christ Jesus, there is reason to suspect the doctrine delivered to them is not of the right kind, and therefore is not owned of God. 2d, The expression means, The day of trial shall declare it; (see 1 Peter 4:12;) for a day of trial is wont to follow a day of merciful visitation; a time of suffering to succeed a season of grace. Where the gospel is preached, and a church is erected for Christ, the religion of such as profess to receive the truth is generally, in the course of divine providence, put to the test; and if it be a fabric of wood, hay, and stubble, and not of gold, silver, and precious stones, it will not be able to bear the fiery trial, but will certainly be consumed thereby. The religion (if it can be called religion) of those who are not grounded on, and built up in Christ, (Colossians 2:7,) will evaporate like smoke from wood, hay, and stubble, in the day of trial. But, 3d, and especially the day of final judgment, the great day of the Lord, is here intended, and this day shall declare it; shall declare every man’s work to all the universe: because it shall be revealed by fire — Which shall consume the earth with its increase, and shall melt down the foundations of the mountains; the heavens and the earth, which are now, being kept in store, reserved unto fire, against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men, 2 Peter 3:7. And the fire shall try every man’s work — As fire tries metals, and finds out and separates whatever dross is mixed with them; or, as the fire of that great and awful day will penetrate the earth to its centre, and consume whatever is combustible, so shall the strict process of the final judgment try, not only the religion of every private Christian, but the doctrine of every public teacher, and manifest whether it came up to the Scripture standard or not. Although there is here a plain allusion to the general conflagration, yet the expression, when applied to the trying of doctrines, and consuming those that are wrong, and the trying of the characters of professors, is evidently figurative; because no material fire can have such an effect on what is of a moral nature.

Ver. 13. The day shall declare it. Beza remarks here, after Calvin, that the light, like the rising sun, shall disperse the darkness of ignorance, and cause curious opinions which have been admired, to be of no value. But Poole adheres to Peter’s idea, that it is the fiery trial which shall reveal the moral state of the heart; the fire which shall purify our graces, and make the christian bright in the furnace. Then the builder and the building shall receive a reward by a vast encrease of grace here, and of glory in the life to come.

13. Work—Whether doctrine he has taught, or morals he has enjoined, or Church organization he has founded. Made manifest—Shall come under clear review. The day—Not as Calvin, the day of millennial enlightenment; nor the day of Jerusalem’s destruction, with which the Corinthians had no relation; nor the process of time: but the day of Christ’s coming to judgment. See notes on 1 Corinthians 4:3-5. Declare it—As if the shades of uncertainty were dispersed by the light of the judgment blaze. Revealed by fire—Its true, indestructible character be disclosed by the fiery test. Every man—No teacher or founder’s work will evade this trial.

Ver. 12.-15. After justifying in 1 Corinthians 3:11 the limitation implied in 1 Corinthians 3:10b, Paul now takes up and develops his warning. He tells us that he refers to the materials used; and mentions two classes, one destructible and the other indestructible, each class containing different kinds of different value. The real nature of the results produced by each one will become manifest, i.e. set publicly before the eyes of all. For the day etc.: proof of this.

The day; of judgment, 1 Corinthians 1:8; Romans 2:16. That Paul calls it simply the day, reveals the large and definite place it had in his thought. Cp. 2 Thessalonians 1:10; 2 Timothy 1:12, 18; 4:8. Will declare: the great day is personified.

Because in fire … will prove: two facts showing how the day will declare it.

Revealed: see under Romans 1:17, 19. The present tense is used, as often, for that which will indisputably come and is therefore already present in the mind of the believer.

Fire: the surest and severest test of the hidden nature of objects subjected to it. There will be no need for the judge to declare what men have done. For the Day itself, as its light floods the intelligence of men, will declare all. For the light of that day is a fire searching out the inmost quality of every man's work.

V. 14. He shall receive a reward-A peculiar degree of glory. Some degree even the other will receive, seeing he held the foundation; though through ignorance he built thereon what would not abide the fire.

Verse 14. If any man’s work abide] Perhaps there is here an allusion to the purifying of different sorts of vessels under the law. All that could stand the fire were to be purified by the fire; and those which could not resist the action of the fire were to be purified by water, Numbers 31:23. The gold, silver, and precious stones, could stand the fire; but the wood, hay, and stubble, must be necessarily consumed. So, in that great and terrible day of the Lord, all false doctrine, as well as the system that was to pass away, should be made sufficiently manifest; and God would then show that the Gospel, and that alone, was that system of doctrine which he should bless and protect, and none other.

He shall receive a reward.] He has not only preached the truth, but he has laboured in the word and doctrine. And the reward is to be according to the labour. See Clarke on “1 Corinthians 3:8”.

Verses 14, 15. If any maws work abide which he hath built, &c. — If the superstructure which any minister of Christ raises on the true foundation, if the doctrines which he preaches can bear the test by which they shall be tried at that day, as being true, important, and adapted to the state of his hearers; and the converts which he makes by preaching these doctrines, be of the right kind, truly regenerated and holy persons, he shall receive a reward — In proportion to his labours. If any man’s work shall be burned — If the doctrines which any minister preaches cannot bear the test of the great day, as being false or trivial, or not calculated to convert and edify his hearers; or if the converts which he makes by preaching such doctrines be only converts to some particular opinion, or mode of worship, or form of church government, or to a certain sect or party, and not converts to Christ and true Christianity, to the power as well as the form of godliness, to the experience and practice, as well as to the theory of true religion, and therefore cannot stand in that awful judgment, he shall suffer loss — Shall lose his labour and expectation, and the future reward he might have received, if he had built with proper materials; as a man suffers loss who bestows his time and labour on the erection of a fabric of wood, hay, and stubble, which is afterward consumed. But he himself — That preacher himself; shall be saved — Supposing he himself be a true disciple of Christ, built up in faith and holiness on the true foundation; yet so as by fire — As narrowly as a man escapes through the fire, when his house is all in flames about him: or rather, if so be that his own religion, his personal faith and holiness, can bear both the fiery trial which he may be called to pass through on earth, whether of reproach and persecution, or of pain and affliction, or any other trouble, and also the decisive trial of the last day. Let it not be supposed by any that the apostle is here putting a case that never occurs, or can occur: such cases, there is reason to believe, have often occurred, and still do and will occur; in which ministers, who are themselves real partakers of the grace of Christ, and truly pious, yet, through error of judgment, attachment to certain opinions, or a particular party, or under the influence of peculiar prejudices, waste their time, and that of their hearers, in building wood, hay, and stubble, when they should be labouring to raise an edifice of gold, silver, and precious stones; employ themselves in inculcating unessential or unimportant, if not even false doctrines, when they ought to be testifying with sincerity, zeal, and diligence, the genuine gospel of the grace of God. Dr. Macknight, who considers the apostle as speaking in these verses, not of the foundation and superstructure of a system of doctrines, “but of the building or temple of God, consisting of all who profess to believe the gospel,” gives us the following commentary on the passage: “Other foundation of God’s temple, no teacher, if he teaches faithfully, can lay, except what is laid by me, which is Jesus, the Christ, promised in the Scriptures. Now if any teacher build on the foundation, Christ, sincere disciples, represented in this similitude by gold, silver, valuable stones; or if he buildeth hypocrites, represented by wood, hay, stubble, every teacher’s disciples shall be made manifest in their true characters; for the day of persecution, which is coming on them, will make every one’s character plain, because it is of such a nature as to be revealed by the fire of persecution: and so that fire, falling on the temple of God, will try every teacher’s disciples, of what sort they are. If the disciples, which any teacher has introduced into the church, endure persecution for the gospel without apostatizing, such a teacher shall receive the reward promised to them who turn others to righteousness, Daniel 12:3. If the disciples of any teacher shall, in time of persecution, fall away, through the want of proper instruction, he will lose his reward; he himself, however, having in general acted sincerely, shall be saved; yet, with such difficulty, as one is saved who runs through a fire.” But, as by the foundation, which he says he had laid, the apostle undoubtedly meant the doctrine concerning Christ, and salvation through him, it seems more consistent with his design to interpret what refers to the superstructure attempted to be raised by different builders, of doctrines also, and not of persons introduced by them into the Christian Church: and to understand him as cautioning the Corinthians against disfiguring and destroying the beautiful edifice, by inculcating tenets which were heretical, and pernicious to the souls of men, and would not stand the test of the approaching fiery trial. Thus what follows.

14. Abide—Unconsumed. Built thereupon—Upon Christ, the true foundation; for those who build not on Christ but reject him, will not only suffer loss but be lost. A reward—For him whom Christ is the foundation, good works are an investment with God. See note on Romans 3:27.

Ver. 14.-15. Result of the testing.

Built-up; keeps before us the foundation, 1 Corinthians 3:11. Burnt-up: if the great day put an end to the results attained in this life. Suffer loss: viz. of the reward he would have had if his work had survived the test.

Will be saved: for Paul speaks of believers building on the one foundation. Even the “babes in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1) have spiritual life and are members of the family of God.

In this way: with his work destroyed.

As through fire: explains in this way. The picture may be thus conceived. Two workmen are building on one foundation, one with imperishable, the other with perishable, materials. The building is wrapped in flames. One man's work survives the fire: and he receives pay for it. The other's work is burnt up: and he rushes out through the flame, leaving behind the ruins of his own work. And for his work, which the fire proved to be worthless, he receives no pay.

What are the materials and who are the builders in this picture? Since it was by preaching and teaching that Paul laid the foundation of the church of Corinth, the builders must be different kinds of teachers. Since the matter taught is the material the teacher uses, this must be the gold, silver, wood, straw, etc. The results produced by the teacher in the hearts and lives of his hearers are the building he erects. He may produce good results which will last for ever and be to him an eternal joy and glory. Since these results are altogether the work of God, and are revealed in their real grandeur only in the great day, they are a “reward” given by God in that day for work done on earth. But a teacher may also produce results which now appear great and substantial, but which will then be found utterly worthless. He may gather around him a large number of hearers, may interest them, and teach them much that is elegant and for this life useful; and yet fail to produce in or through them results which will abide for ever. If so, the great day will destroy his work and thus proclaim its worthlessness. But he may be said to build upon the one foundation, Jesus Christ. For he is a professed Christian teacher: and people go to hear him as such. He may be a sincere, though mistaken, Christian believer; and therefore be himself saved. But his work, as a teacher, is a failure. Now the permanence of a teacher's work depends upon the matter taught. The soul-saving truths of the Gospel enter into men's hearts and lives, and produce abiding results. We understand, therefore, by the wood and straw whatever teaching does not impart or nourish spiritual life. The three terms suggest the various kinds of such teaching. It may be clever or foolish, new or old, true or false; but not subversive of the “foundation,” or it would come under the severer censure of 1 Corinthians 3:16f. The frequency of such teaching is proved by 1 Timothy 1:4; 4:7; 6:4; 2 Timothy 2:14, 23; 4:4; Titus 1:14; 3:9. We have perhaps a Jewish example of it in very much that was written by Paul's earlier contemporary Philo: and we have Christian examples in many of the speculative and trifling discussions which have been frequent in all ages. We also learn that even of the teaching which produces abiding results there are different degrees of worth; in proportion, no doubt, to the fullness and purity with which the teaching of Christ is reproduced. In both cases, the buildings erected are the results, lasting or transitory, produced in the hearers' hearts by the use of these materials; results which are in some sense a standing embodiment of the teaching.

Under 1 Corinthians 4:21 we shall see that in this solemn warning Paul strikes at the root of the church-parties at Corinth. Cp. 2 Timothy 2:23.

1 Corinthians 3:8, 14 reveal different degrees of future blessedness. Conversely, Romans 2:5. For we have here a man who “will be saved,” but will not obtain the reward which others will have and which he might have had.

The excellent Roman Catholic commentator, Estius, says properly that “reward” implies merit, i.e. appropriateness for reward, in the action rewarded. But he has not observed that the reward here said to be given for work done on earth is not eternal life, (cp. Romans 6:23,) but a higher degree of blessedness. Notice carefully that, since our good works are wrought in us by God, both the actions rewarded (as Estius admits} and the reward are altogether gifts of the undeserved favor and mercy of God.

At the council of Florence, A.D. 1439, the Latin fathers appealed to 1 Corinthians 3:15 in proof of the doctrine of purgatory. But the fire here mentioned belongs, not to the interval between death and judgment, but to the judgment day. Estius, whose exposition in the main I agree with, raises a difficulty about the bodies of the saved, which must be incapable of pain, passing through fire; and supposes that the teachers referred to passed through the fire in the moment before their resurrection, and were thus cleansed from sins till then unforgiven. But Paul does not say that the fire inflicts pain or cleanses from sin, but only that it destroys the teachers' work and reward. How the consciousness of past failure and unfaithfulness will be reconciled with the unalloyed joy of heaven, is a mystery we cannot solve. But it is not lessened by the suggestion of Estius. For this consciousness of failure will certainly continue after the resurrection. It will perhaps be neutralized by joy that so unworthy a worker is permitted to enter the Master's presence.

The metaphor of the building, found also in Matthew 7:24ff; 16:18; Ephesians 2:21; 1 Peter 2:5, and in the word “edification,” may be profitably compared with that of the field or garden in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9. The latter comparison teaches that the growth of a church is a development of life, such as only God can give; and shows how subordinate is the position of a Christian teacher. It therefore reveals the folly of making Paul and Apollos heads of parties. The other metaphor presents the human side of Christian work; and teaches that its permanence depends upon the materials used, materials brought together from various places according to the builder's judgment and resources. It was therefore a suitable warning, to those who were continuing Paul's work at Corinth, to put into the minds of their hearers such teaching as would produce enduring results. And it was the more appropriate because, as 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 suggest, a love for mere human wisdom was a chief source of the evils which Paul now attempts to remove.

V. 15. He shall suffer loss-The loss of that peculiar degree of glory.

Verse 15. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss] If he have preached the necessity of incorporating the law with the Gospel, or proclaimed as a doctrine of God any thing which did not proceed from heaven, he shall suffer loss-all his time and labour will be found to be uselessly employed and spent. Some refer the loss to the work, not to the man; and understand the passage thus: If any man’s work be burned, IT shall suffer loss-much shall be taken away from it; nothing shall he left but the measure of truth and uprightness which it may have contained. But he himself shall be saved] If he have sincerely and conscientiously believed what he preached, and yet preached what was wrong, not through malice or opposition to the Gospel, but through mere ignorance, he shall be saved; God in his mercy will pass by his errors; and he shall not suffer punishment because he was mistaken. Yet, as in most erroneous teachings there is generally a portion of wilful and obstinate ignorance, the salvation of such erroneous teachers is very rare; and is expressed here, yet so as by fire, i.e. with great difficulty; a mere escape; a hair’s breadth deliverance; he shall be like a brand plucked out of the fire.

The apostle obviously refers to the case of a man, who, having builded a house, and begun to dwell in it, the house happens to be set on fire, and he has warning of it just in time to escape with his life, losing at the same time his house, his goods, his labour, and almost his own life. So he who, while he holds the doctrine of Christ crucified as the only foundation on which a soul can rest its hopes of salvation, builds at the same time, on that foundation, Antinomianism, or any other erroneous or destructive doctrine, he shall lose all his labour, and his own soul scarcely escape everlasting perdition; nor even this unless sheer ignorance and inveterate prejudice, connected with much sincerity, be found in his case. The popish writers have applied what is here spoken to the fire of purgatory; and they might with equal propriety have applied it to the discovery of the longitude, the perpetual motion, or the philosopher’s stone; because it speaks just as much of the former as it does of any of the latter. The fire mentioned here is to try the man’s work, not to purify his soul; but the dream of purgatory refers to the purging in another state what left this impure; not the work of the man, but the man himself; but here the fire is said to try the work: ergo, purgatory is not meant even if such a place as purgatory could be proved to exist; which remains yet to be demonstrated.

Verses 14, 15. If any maws work abide which he hath built, &c. — If the superstructure which any minister of Christ raises on the true foundation, if the doctrines which he preaches can bear the test by which they shall be tried at that day, as being true, important, and adapted to the state of his hearers; and the converts which he makes by preaching these doctrines, be of the right kind, truly regenerated and holy persons, he shall receive a reward — In proportion to his labours. If any man’s work shall be burned — If the doctrines which any minister preaches cannot bear the test of the great day, as being false or trivial, or not calculated to convert and edify his hearers; or if the converts which he makes by preaching such doctrines be only converts to some particular opinion, or mode of worship, or form of church government, or to a certain sect or party, and not converts to Christ and true Christianity, to the power as well as the form of godliness, to the experience and practice, as well as to the theory of true religion, and therefore cannot stand in that awful judgment, he shall suffer loss — Shall lose his labour and expectation, and the future reward he might have received, if he had built with proper materials; as a man suffers loss who bestows his time and labour on the erection of a fabric of wood, hay, and stubble, which is afterward consumed. But he himself — That preacher himself; shall be saved — Supposing he himself be a true disciple of Christ, built up in faith and holiness on the true foundation; yet so as by fire — As narrowly as a man escapes through the fire, when his house is all in flames about him: or rather, if so be that his own religion, his personal faith and holiness, can bear both the fiery trial which he may be called to pass through on earth, whether of reproach and persecution, or of pain and affliction, or any other trouble, and also the decisive trial of the last day. Let it not be supposed by any that the apostle is here putting a case that never occurs, or can occur: such cases, there is reason to believe, have often occurred, and still do and will occur; in which ministers, who are themselves real partakers of the grace of Christ, and truly pious, yet, through error of judgment, attachment to certain opinions, or a particular party, or under the influence of peculiar prejudices, waste their time, and that of their hearers, in building wood, hay, and stubble, when they should be labouring to raise an edifice of gold, silver, and precious stones; employ themselves in inculcating unessential or unimportant, if not even false doctrines, when they ought to be testifying with sincerity, zeal, and diligence, the genuine gospel of the grace of God. Dr. Macknight, who considers the apostle as speaking in these verses, not of the foundation and superstructure of a system of doctrines, “but of the building or temple of God, consisting of all who profess to believe the gospel,” gives us the following commentary on the passage: “Other foundation of God’s temple, no teacher, if he teaches faithfully, can lay, except what is laid by me, which is Jesus, the Christ, promised in the Scriptures. Now if any teacher build on the foundation, Christ, sincere disciples, represented in this similitude by gold, silver, valuable stones; or if he buildeth hypocrites, represented by wood, hay, stubble, every teacher’s disciples shall be made manifest in their true characters; for the day of persecution, which is coming on them, will make every one’s character plain, because it is of such a nature as to be revealed by the fire of persecution: and so that fire, falling on the temple of God, will try every teacher’s disciples, of what sort they are. If the disciples, which any teacher has introduced into the church, endure persecution for the gospel without apostatizing, such a teacher shall receive the reward promised to them who turn others to righteousness, Daniel 12:3. If the disciples of any teacher shall, in time of persecution, fall away, through the want of proper instruction, he will lose his reward; he himself, however, having in general acted sincerely, shall be saved; yet, with such difficulty, as one is saved who runs through a fire.” But, as by the foundation, which he says he had laid, the apostle undoubtedly meant the doctrine concerning Christ, and salvation through him, it seems more consistent with his design to interpret what refers to the superstructure attempted to be raised by different builders, of doctrines also, and not of persons introduced by them into the Christian Church: and to understand him as cautioning the Corinthians against disfiguring and destroying the beautiful edifice, by inculcating tenets which were heretical, and pernicious to the souls of men, and would not stand the test of the approaching fiery trial. Thus what follows.

Ver. 15. He himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. Yea, as a brand plucked from the burning. How many good ministers have filled the sanctuary, and been applauded by their hearers; yet they have no work of God, or revival of religion among their hearers. It is because they have been building wood for gold, hay for silver, and stubble for precious stones. And when the fiery trial comes, such a man’s own soul shall have but a narrow escape from the conflagration. He has been preaching moral duties to carnal, wicked, and unconverted men, instead of laying the axe at the root, pressing a present salvation, and entire holiness of heart and life, as stated in the next words.

15. Suffer loss—Like a householder who loses his home. It is true, the parable starts with the man as a builder; but the image becomes more expressive by allowing a change; namely, from a builder to an occupant. As by fire—Like a refugee from his own “house-a-fire;” his home lost, his life scarce saved. This text plainly teaches the doctrine neither of purgatory nor of restorationism. It describes not the purging away by fire the sin or guilt within a man either before the judgment day, as in purgatory, nor after, as in a temporary hell; but the destruction of all false systems by the light of Christ’s final judgment, and the loss of their reward by the inventor of those systems.

4. The true position of the people under such ministry, 16-23. As the temple of God, he by whom they are destroyed shall be himself destroyed, 16, 17. Knowing the folly of all sophia, (see notes, 1:12, etc.,) let them glory in no special leading men, but claim all as their own, as they are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.

Ver. 14.-15. Result of the testing.

Built-up; keeps before us the foundation, 1 Corinthians 3:11. Burnt-up: if the great day put an end to the results attained in this life. Suffer loss: viz. of the reward he would have had if his work had survived the test.

Will be saved: for Paul speaks of believers building on the one foundation. Even the “babes in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1) have spiritual life and are members of the family of God.

In this way: with his work destroyed.

As through fire: explains in this way. The picture may be thus conceived. Two workmen are building on one foundation, one with imperishable, the other with perishable, materials. The building is wrapped in flames. One man's work survives the fire: and he receives pay for it. The other's work is burnt up: and he rushes out through the flame, leaving behind the ruins of his own work. And for his work, which the fire proved to be worthless, he receives no pay.

What are the materials and who are the builders in this picture? Since it was by preaching and teaching that Paul laid the foundation of the church of Corinth, the builders must be different kinds of teachers. Since the matter taught is the material the teacher uses, this must be the gold, silver, wood, straw, etc. The results produced by the teacher in the hearts and lives of his hearers are the building he erects. He may produce good results which will last for ever and be to him an eternal joy and glory. Since these results are altogether the work of God, and are revealed in their real grandeur only in the great day, they are a “reward” given by God in that day for work done on earth. But a teacher may also produce results which now appear great and substantial, but which will then be found utterly worthless. He may gather around him a large number of hearers, may interest them, and teach them much that is elegant and for this life useful; and yet fail to produce in or through them results which will abide for ever. If so, the great day will destroy his work and thus proclaim its worthlessness. But he may be said to build upon the one foundation, Jesus Christ. For he is a professed Christian teacher: and people go to hear him as such. He may be a sincere, though mistaken, Christian believer; and therefore be himself saved. But his work, as a teacher, is a failure. Now the permanence of a teacher's work depends upon the matter taught. The soul-saving truths of the Gospel enter into men's hearts and lives, and produce abiding results. We understand, therefore, by the wood and straw whatever teaching does not impart or nourish spiritual life. The three terms suggest the various kinds of such teaching. It may be clever or foolish, new or old, true or false; but not subversive of the “foundation,” or it would come under the severer censure of 1 Corinthians 3:16f. The frequency of such teaching is proved by 1 Timothy 1:4; 4:7; 6:4; 2 Timothy 2:14, 23; 4:4; Titus 1:14; 3:9. We have perhaps a Jewish example of it in very much that was written by Paul's earlier contemporary Philo: and we have Christian examples in many of the speculative and trifling discussions which have been frequent in all ages. We also learn that even of the teaching which produces abiding results there are different degrees of worth; in proportion, no doubt, to the fullness and purity with which the teaching of Christ is reproduced. In both cases, the buildings erected are the results, lasting or transitory, produced in the hearers' hearts by the use of these materials; results which are in some sense a standing embodiment of the teaching.

Under 1 Corinthians 4:21 we shall see that in this solemn warning Paul strikes at the root of the church-parties at Corinth. Cp. 2 Timothy 2:23.

1 Corinthians 3:8, 14 reveal different degrees of future blessedness. Conversely, Romans 2:5. For we have here a man who “will be saved,” but will not obtain the reward which others will have and which he might have had.

The excellent Roman Catholic commentator, Estius, says properly that “reward” implies merit, i.e. appropriateness for reward, in the action rewarded. But he has not observed that the reward here said to be given for work done on earth is not eternal life, (cp. Romans 6:23,) but a higher degree of blessedness. Notice carefully that, since our good works are wrought in us by God, both the actions rewarded (as Estius admits} and the reward are altogether gifts of the undeserved favor and mercy of God.

At the council of Florence, A.D. 1439, the Latin fathers appealed to 1 Corinthians 3:15 in proof of the doctrine of purgatory. But the fire here mentioned belongs, not to the interval between death and judgment, but to the judgment day. Estius, whose exposition in the main I agree with, raises a difficulty about the bodies of the saved, which must be incapable of pain, passing through fire; and supposes that the teachers referred to passed through the fire in the moment before their resurrection, and were thus cleansed from sins till then unforgiven. But Paul does not say that the fire inflicts pain or cleanses from sin, but only that it destroys the teachers' work and reward. How the consciousness of past failure and unfaithfulness will be reconciled with the unalloyed joy of heaven, is a mystery we cannot solve. But it is not lessened by the suggestion of Estius. For this consciousness of failure will certainly continue after the resurrection. It will perhaps be neutralized by joy that so unworthy a worker is permitted to enter the Master's presence.

The metaphor of the building, found also in Matthew 7:24ff; 16:18; Ephesians 2:21; 1 Peter 2:5, and in the word “edification,” may be profitably compared with that of the field or garden in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9. The latter comparison teaches that the growth of a church is a development of life, such as only God can give; and shows how subordinate is the position of a Christian teacher. It therefore reveals the folly of making Paul and Apollos heads of parties. The other metaphor presents the human side of Christian work; and teaches that its permanence depends upon the materials used, materials brought together from various places according to the builder's judgment and resources. It was therefore a suitable warning, to those who were continuing Paul's work at Corinth, to put into the minds of their hearers such teaching as would produce enduring results. And it was the more appropriate because, as 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 suggest, a love for mere human wisdom was a chief source of the evils which Paul now attempts to remove.

V. 16. Ye-All Christians.

Are the temple of God-The most noble kind of building, 1 Corinthians 3:9.

Verse 16. Ye are the temple of God] The apostle resumes here what he had asserted in 1 Corinthians 3:9: Ye are God’s building. As the whole congregation of Israel were formerly considered as the temple and habitation of God, because God dwelt among them, so here the whole Church of Corinth is called the temple of God, because all genuine believers have the Spirit of God to dwell in them; and Christ has promised to be always in the midst even of two or three who are gathered together in his name. Therefore where God is, there is his temple.

Verses 16, 17. Know ye not, &c. — As if he had said, You should also lake heed what doctrine you deliver, lest by teaching what is false, unimportant, or improper to be taught, you should defile or destroy the temple of God; that ye — True believers, genuine Christians; are the temple of God — Whether considered collectively as a church, (Ephesians 2:21; 1 Timothy 3:15,) or as individuals and members of one, (1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:22; Hebrews 3:6; 1 Peter 2:5,) being set apart from profane uses, and dedicated to his service, among whom, and in whom, he manifests his gracious presence by his Spirit. See on Romans 8:9. If any man defile, corrupt — Or destroy rather, (as it seems the word fqeirei should be rendered,) that is, should divide and scatter a Christian church or society, by schisms or unscriptural doctrines, or leaven with error, and lead into sin, a real Christian; him shall God destroy — Punish with eternal condemnation and wrath; so that he shall not be saved at all, not even as through fire: for the temple of God is holy — Consecrated to him, separated from all pollution, and to be considered as peculiarly sacred; and therefore it is an awful thing to do any thing which tends to destroy it. Which temple ye are — Called and intended to be such.

Ver. 16. Ye are the temple of God. The Father, Son, and Comforter will come and make His abode with you; and that heart alone is meet for his abode, which is his own workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, and formed for all good works.

16. Know ye not—Recognise you not this solemn fact? Temple of God— Not only are ye a building, verses 9 and 10-15, but ye are a temple. Dwelleth in you—As the Shekinah or divine Presence, dwelt in the holy of holies.

Ver. 16.-17. Do you not know: common phrase of Paul: 1 Corinthians 5:6; 6:2f, 9, 15f; 9:13, 24; Romans 6:16; 11:2. Its frequency in this Epistle was a rebuke, probably undesigned, of the boasted wisdom of the Corinthian Christians. The suddenness and evident astonishment of this question suggest that 1 Corinthians 3:15 had reminded Paul of something at Corinth which implied forgetfulness of the solemn teaching of this verse. The searching test to which all Christian work will be subjected recalls to his mind some who were not building at all, but were pulling down or defacing the good work of others. And, that Paul appeals to his readers generally, suggests that the church as a whole tolerated them. Cp. 1 Corinthians 5:2. He clothes his appeal in a metaphor suggested by the preceding one. The injury these men are inflicting reminds Paul of the dread solemnity, and the solemn relation to God, of the building which he and others are erecting. He asks whether his readers are ignorant of this: and his question implies that they have no excuse for ignorance.

Temple; represents in the Auth. Version two entirely different Greek words, viz. the “sanctuary,” or sacred enclosure, open (cp. Leviticus 12:4) to all Jews, 1 Corinthians 9:13, Acts 2:46; 3:1ff, 8; 5:25, 42, etc.; and the temple proper, the sacred house into which (Hebrews 9:6) only the priests went and containing the holy and the most holy place, 1 Corinthians 3:16f; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:4; Luke 1:9, 21f; Acts 19:24 A.V. and R.V. “shrines.” Same distinction among pagan writers: e.g. Herodotus, bk. i. 183, “There is belonging to the sanctuary in Babylon another temple below; where there is a great statue of Zeus.” The corresponding Hebrew and Aramaic word is rendered (A.V.) “palace” in 1 Kings 21:1; Daniel 1:4; 4:1; 5:5; 6:18.

Temple of God: not temples. So 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:21. Cp. Philo, On Monarchy bk. ii. 1: “Since there is one God, there must be only one sanctuary.” Just as in the Old Covenant there was but one temple, the place which

(Deuteronomy 12:5ff) God chose, where alone (Leviticus 17:8f) sacrifice could be offered, so now there is but one temple, of which the one church throughout the world is the holy place and the church within the veil the holy of holies. Of this one church, each visible community of Christians is a miniature representative. And each separate building (Ephesians 2:21) on the one foundation is growing up into, and when completed in glory will form, one holy temple.

[The above distinction of iersn and nass is marked in the R.V. by the note “Or, sanctuary,” wherever the latter is found; except that in the Book of Revelation, by unpardonable parsimony, one marginal note is made to suffice for sixteen places. But, whatever be its origin, the rendering “temple” suggests now the sacred house; and therefore ought not to be used for the sacred enclosure. Moreover, the distinction should have been made in the text. Much better and everywhere available (even in Acts 19:24, which should be “temples”) is my rendering “sanctuary” and temple. The R.V. “a temple” is a serious error. For it suggests other temples; an idea utterly opposed to the whole Mosaic Covenant. The anarthrous substantive (cp. 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:2) looks at the one temple not as a single definite object of thought but in its abstract quality.]

The Spirit of God etc.: a restatement of Doctrine 5, (see under Romans 8:4,) viz. that God's purpose that we be holy is realized by the agency of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Now, if this doctrine be true, as Paul confidently assumes, believers are the temple of God. For the central idea of a temple was, to Jews and heathens, a dwelling place of God. Cp. Exodus 25:8; 29:45f; 1 Kings 8:27; 2 Corinthians 6:16. Just as under Moses God erected a building of earthly materials by the hands (Exodus 31:3) of men filled with the Spirit of God, that it might be His one dwelling place on earth, the one spot of earth nearest to heaven, and in which He might show forth His glory; so in the New Covenant, by giving His One Spirit to dwell in the hearts of His people, He unites them into one, raises them above the earth, and makes them His one dwelling place on earth, that He may fill them with His presence, cover them with His glory, and in them show forth His glory to the world. Cp. 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:21. The Spirit of God (as bearer of the presence of God, Romans 8:10) dwells: rather than “God dwells,” (as in the Old Testament,) because in us God is present as an animating Spirit, the source of divine life and activity. Not as such can He dwell in a temple made with hands.

V. 17. If any man destroy the temple of God-Destroy a real Christian, by schisms, or doctrines fundamentally wrong.

Him shall God destroy-He shall not be saved at all; not even as through the fire.

Verse 17. If any man defile the temple] This clause is not consistently translated. ei tiv ton naon tou qeou fqeirei, fqerei touton o Qeov. If any man destroy the temple of God, him will God destroy. The verb is the same in both clauses. If any man injure, corrupt, or destroy the Church of God by false doctrine, God will destroy him-will take away his part out of the book of life. This refers to him who wilfully opposes the truth; the erring, mistaken man shall barely escape; but the obstinate opposer shall be destroyed. The former shall be treated leniently; the latter shall have judgment without mercy.

Verses 16, 17. Know ye not, &c. — As if he had said, You should also lake heed what doctrine you deliver, lest by teaching what is false, unimportant, or improper to be taught, you should defile or destroy the temple of God; that ye — True believers, genuine Christians; are the temple of God — Whether considered collectively as a church, (Ephesians 2:21; 1 Timothy 3:15,) or as individuals and members of one, (1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:22; Hebrews 3:6; 1 Peter 2:5,) being set apart from profane uses, and dedicated to his service, among whom, and in whom, he manifests his gracious presence by his Spirit. See on Romans 8:9. If any man defile, corrupt — Or destroy rather, (as it seems the word fqeirei should be rendered,) that is, should divide and scatter a Christian church or society, by schisms or unscriptural doctrines, or leaven with error, and lead into sin, a real Christian; him shall God destroy — Punish with eternal condemnation and wrath; so that he shall not be saved at all, not even as through fire: for the temple of God is holy — Consecrated to him, separated from all pollution, and to be considered as peculiarly sacred; and therefore it is an awful thing to do any thing which tends to destroy it. Which temple ye are — Called and intended to be such.

Ver. 17. If any man defile the temple of God, fqerei touton o Qeov, him will God defile, by leaving him in his pollution, as in Revelation 22:11. He who is filthy, let him be filthy still. He who grossly and wantonly profaned a temple, was accounted worthy to die. Hence Polycarp said, “Young men, keep your flesh as the temple of God.”

17. Any man—Note on verse 12. Defile—Or destroy, instead of building up, like a wise master builder, verse 10.

Ver. 17. If any one etc.; evidently introduces the matter which caused the astonishment of 1 Corinthians 3:16. From this we infer that at Corinth there were men actually injuring the church.

The temple of God: a general term including the temple made with hands and the living temple.

Injuries: by pulling down (Romans 14:20) or defacing. The context suggests that Paul refers to those who prompted the church-parties, and to the injury they thus did to the church.

Will injure; includes the loss, damage, and destruction, bodily and spiritual, present and future, which comes by the just punishment of God to all who pull down or deface what He has set up. Paul then gives the reason why God will injure etc., viz. because the temple of God stands in special relation to Him, as erected for His purposes and glory. See note on holiness, Romans 1:7. Therefore, to injure the temple, is to rob and insult God.

Which you are: viz. holy. In other words, the foregoing general principle applies to Paul's readers.

1 Corinthians 3:16, 17 appeal to ideas almost universal in the ancient world, but vanished now. Both Greeks and Jews believed that the place which God had chosen to reveal Himself to men, belonged to Him in a very special sense, and was guarded by Him with infinite jealousy; and that damage or insult to the holy place would be followed by divine vengeance. Paul reminds his readers that the very name, “saint,” or “holy person,” by which they designated themselves, implies that the sacredness of the temple belongs to the church; and rightly so, for in its members, by His Spirit, God dwells. Therefore, whatever injury is done to the church will be avenged by its Great Inhabitant.

This warning contains a metaphor well worthy of study. If, as all admitted, the Spirit of God dwells in His people, His presence makes them a temple, erected by human hands, but of materials more precious than gold or costly marble. The builders may therefore tremble lest, even without design, they injure the building they profess and endeavor to be erecting.

V. 18. Let him become a fool in this world-Such as the world accounts so.

That he may become wise-In God's account.

Verse 18. If any man among you seemeth to be wise] ei tiv dokei sofov einai. If any pretend or affect to be wise. This seems to refer to some individual in the Church of Corinth, who had been very troublesome to its peace and unity: probably Diotrephes (see Clarke on “1 Corinthians 1:14”) or some one of a similar spirit, who wished to have the pre-eminence, and thought himself wiser than seven men that could render a reason. Every Christian Church has less or more of these. Let him become a fool] Let him divest himself of his worldly wisdom, and be contented to be called a fool, and esteemed one, that he may become wise unto salvation, by renouncing his own wisdom, and seeking that which comes from God. But probably the apostle refers to him who, pretending to great wisdom and information, taught doctrines contrary to the Gospel; endeavouring to show reasons for them, and to support his own opinions with arguments which he thought unanswerable. This man brought his worldly wisdom to bear against the doctrines of Christ; and probably through such teaching many of the scandalous things which the apostle reprehends among the Corinthians originated.

Verses 18-20. Let no man deceive himself — Neither teacher, by propagating errors through pride of his own understanding; nor hearers, by a factious preferring of one above another for his gifts. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world — Be wise with respect to the things of this world only, and on that account be puffed up with pride; let him become a fool — Such as the world accounts so; let him renounce his carnal wisdom, and submit to the doctrine of the gospel, which the world considers as folly; that he may be — Prove himself to be, wise — Namely, spiritually, and in God’s account; wise in matters that concern his everlasting salvation. For the wisdom of this world — However men may boast of it, and think highly of themselves because they suppose they possess it; is foolishness with God — Is accounted so by him. For it is written, (Job 5:13, where see the note,) He taketh the wise in their own craftiness — Not only while they think they are acting wisely, but by their very wisdom, which itself is their snare, and the occasion of their destruction. In other words, they are entangled and brought to ruin by those subtle contrivances, whereby they thought to secure themselves. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise — The worldly wise, or of those that think themselves wise; that they are vain — Empty, foolish, unprofitable, ineffectual to secure themselves against God.

Ver. 18. Let no man deceive himself in vain efforts of rhetoric to please his hearers, instead of saving and sanctifying them; for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. He despises such craftiness and cunning, especially in those who profess to be his servants. By deceiving Isaac, Jacob narrowly escaped assassination; and the rich man who laid up treasures for many years, was, in the midst of his schemes, hurried away by death. In building the temple of the Lord, Paul is yours to plant, Apollos to water, and you are all the servants of Christ Jesus, even as he is the beloved Son of the Father. Why then should discord exist in the church? Why not obey the great Healer’s advice, and seek the lowest place, to be servants of all for Christ’s sake?

18-21. In this passage Paul slightly reiterates his repudiation of human wisdom, fully expressed in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, where see notes. It is this wisdom which, arousing sectarian strifes, is threatening to defile, destroy, the temple of God, in ver. 17, and which now calls for this reiteration. Wise—Claims to be a leader from his philosophic ability. A fool—Abdicate his pretended philosophic profundity, and accept the revelation of the Gospel. May become wise—May attain the divine philosophy of 1 Corinthians 2:7-16.

Ver. 18. Let no one, if anyone: an appeal, not to the whole church as in 1 Corinthians 3:16, but to the men of 1 Corinthians 3:17. Not only were they ignorant of the sacredness of the church, but were in error in their estimate of themselves. Cp. 1 Corinthians 6:9; 15:33. If any one thinks: 1 Corinthians 8:2; 14:37. As compared with other church-members among whom he moves, he thinks himself well acquainted with the things of this present passing age. So 1 Corinthians 1:20. To become foolish, is the only way to become wise. Once we were wise, in our own estimate. But when we find out that we cannot by our own mental power or effort learn that which we most need to know, viz. such knowledge as will enable us to choose the objects most worthy of pursuit and the best means of attaining them; and that we can learn this only as each moment God reveals it to us; we then become, in our own correct estimate of ourselves and in view of the difficult path we have to tread, utterly foolish, i.e. destitute of the wisdom we need. Then we become truly wise. For we know what we are: and we ask and receive the Spirit of wisdom, (Ephesians 1:17,) who by His presence in us reveals to us that which we most need to know and guides our steps along the best path. We may therefore test the worth of our wisdom by asking whether we have ever become foolish.

V. 19. For all the boasted wisdom of the world is mere foolishness in the sight of God.

He taketh the wise in their own craftiness-Not only while they think they are acting wisely, but by their very wisdom, which itself is their snare, and the occasion of their destruction. Job 5:13.

Verse 19. The wisdom of this world] Whether it be the pretended deep and occult wisdom of the rabbins, or the wire-drawn speculations of the Grecian philosophers, is foolishness with God; for as folly consists in spending time, strength, and pains to no purpose, so these may be fitly termed fools who acquire no saving knowledge by their speculations. And is not this the case with the major part of all that is called philosophy, even in the present day? Has one soul been made wise unto salvation through it? Are our most eminent philosophers either pious or useful men? Who of them is meek, gentle, and humble! Who of them directs his researches so as to meliorate the moral condition of his fellow creatures? Pride, insolence, self-conceit, and complacency, with a general forgetfulness of God, contempt for his word, and despite for the poor, are their general characteristics.

He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.] This is a quotation from Job 5:13, and powerfully shows what the wisdom of this world is: it is a sort of craft, a subtle trade, which they carry on to wrong others and benefit themselves; and they have generally too much cunning to be caught by men; but God often overthrows them with their own devisings. Paganism raised up persecution against the Church of Christ, in order to destroy it: this became the very means of quickly spreading it over the earth, and of destroying the whole pagan system. Thus the wise were taken in their own craftiness.

Verses 18-20. Let no man deceive himself — Neither teacher, by propagating errors through pride of his own understanding; nor hearers, by a factious preferring of one above another for his gifts. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world — Be wise with respect to the things of this world only, and on that account be puffed up with pride; let him become a fool — Such as the world accounts so; let him renounce his carnal wisdom, and submit to the doctrine of the gospel, which the world considers as folly; that he may be — Prove himself to be, wise — Namely, spiritually, and in God’s account; wise in matters that concern his everlasting salvation. For the wisdom of this world — However men may boast of it, and think highly of themselves because they suppose they possess it; is foolishness with God — Is accounted so by him. For it is written, (Job 5:13, where see the note,) He taketh the wise in their own craftiness — Not only while they think they are acting wisely, but by their very wisdom, which itself is their snare, and the occasion of their destruction. In other words, they are entangled and brought to ruin by those subtle contrivances, whereby they thought to secure themselves. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise — The worldly wise, or of those that think themselves wise; that they are vain — Empty, foolish, unprofitable, ineffectual to secure themselves against God.

Ver. 19. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. Let no man trouble the church as a party man, for the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. He took the wise inhabitants of Jerusalem in their policy. They did not honestly confess the Saviour through fear of man, and when the christians fled from that devoted city, they were enveloped in the siege. Mark 8:34. Therefore let no man glory in any leader of a faction, for Christ is one, and the body is one; whatever is contrary to concord shall be revealed in the day of fiery trial.

19. Wisdom… foolishness—Parallel with 1 Corinthians 1:25, where see notes. Own craftiness—So that this world’s wisdom is the destruction of its possessor and professor.

Ver. 19.-20. Proof that we can become wise only by first becoming foolish, viz. because, in the sight of God who judges rightly, that which this world (see under 1 Corinthians 5:10) calls wisdom is foolishness. This has been proved in 1 Corinthians 1:20ff, of which these words sum up the results and apply them to the matter under discussion. 1 Corinthians 3:19b, 20 support 1 Corinthians 3:19a by quoting Job 5:13; Psalm 94:11.

The wise men: those who know things not generally known, and are therefore better able to choose their ends and means.

Craftiness: a disposition to do anything, right or wrong, to attain one's ends. Into this, worldly wisdom often degenerates.

Lays hold of: while pursuing their own ends in their own way, the hand of God falls upon them and stops them. That the wisdom of the world is prevented by the hand of God from attaining its ends, proves it to be foolishness in the presence of God. For the world leaves the hand of God out of account.

The wise men: not in Psalm 94:11, but evidently implied. Vain: Romans 1:21: barren of good results. Wise men cannot by their own reasonings attain any good result. To know this, is the first step in real knowledge. Therefore, to become truly wise, we must first be shorn of our own wisdom.

The abrupt transition of 1 Corinthians 3:18, like that if 1 Corinthians 1:17, seems to imply that an overestimate of their own wisdom was a chief source of the injury done by the men warned in 1 Corinthians 3:17, who were no doubt those who fomented the church-parties.

The above quotation from the Book of Job presents a difficulty, in that it gives, apparently as Scripture, the reported words of Eliphaz; although no writer is responsible for sentiments he reports, and God Himself declares (Job 42:7) that the friends did not speak rightly. Some would charge the Apostle with a moment's forgetfulness. But the complete harmony of these words with the whole book of Job and with the entire Old Testament, shows plainly that the writer here puts his own sentiments into the lips of Eliphaz. We cannot dispute the truth of the quoted words without disputing the whole moral teaching of the great Poem. Indeed the friends erred not so much in the moral principles they assert as in their application of them to Job.

V. 20. That they are but vain-Empty, foolish; they and all their thoughts. Psalm 94:11.

Verse 20. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise] They are always full of schemes and plans for earthly good; and God knows that all this is vain, empty, and unsatisfactory; and will stand them in no stead when he comes to take away their souls. This is a quotation from Psalm 94:11. What is here said of the vanity of human knowledge is true of every kind of wisdom that leads not immediately to God himself.

Verses 18-20. Let no man deceive himself — Neither teacher, by propagating errors through pride of his own understanding; nor hearers, by a factious preferring of one above another for his gifts. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world — Be wise with respect to the things of this world only, and on that account be puffed up with pride; let him become a fool — Such as the world accounts so; let him renounce his carnal wisdom, and submit to the doctrine of the gospel, which the world considers as folly; that he may be — Prove himself to be, wise — Namely, spiritually, and in God’s account; wise in matters that concern his everlasting salvation. For the wisdom of this world — However men may boast of it, and think highly of themselves because they suppose they possess it; is foolishness with God — Is accounted so by him. For it is written, (Job 5:13, where see the note,) He taketh the wise in their own craftiness — Not only while they think they are acting wisely, but by their very wisdom, which itself is their snare, and the occasion of their destruction. In other words, they are entangled and brought to ruin by those subtle contrivances, whereby they thought to secure themselves. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise — The worldly wise, or of those that think themselves wise; that they are vain — Empty, foolish, unprofitable, ineffectual to secure themselves against God.

20. Wise—Psalm 94:11. Instead of the thoughts of the wise, the Hebrew has it, “the thoughts of men;” a term which includes, of course, men especially who pride themselves in original and philosophic thoughts and reasonings. Vain—Liable to error and defect.

Ver. 19.-20. Proof that we can become wise only by first becoming foolish, viz. because, in the sight of God who judges rightly, that which this world (see under 1 Corinthians 5:10) calls wisdom is foolishness. This has been proved in 1 Corinthians 1:20ff, of which these words sum up the results and apply them to the matter under discussion. 1 Corinthians 3:19b, 20 support 1 Corinthians 3:19a by quoting Job 5:13; Psalm 94:11.

The wise men: those who know things not generally known, and are therefore better able to choose their ends and means.

Craftiness: a disposition to do anything, right or wrong, to attain one's ends. Into this, worldly wisdom often degenerates.

Lays hold of: while pursuing their own ends in their own way, the hand of God falls upon them and stops them. That the wisdom of the world is prevented by the hand of God from attaining its ends, proves it to be foolishness in the presence of God. For the world leaves the hand of God out of account.

The wise men: not in Psalm 94:11, but evidently implied. Vain: Romans 1:21: barren of good results. Wise men cannot by their own reasonings attain any good result. To know this, is the first step in real knowledge. Therefore, to become truly wise, we must first be shorn of our own wisdom.

The abrupt transition of 1 Corinthians 3:18, like that if 1 Corinthians 1:17, seems to imply that an overestimate of their own wisdom was a chief source of the injury done by the men warned in 1 Corinthians 3:17, who were no doubt those who fomented the church-parties.

The above quotation from the Book of Job presents a difficulty, in that it gives, apparently as Scripture, the reported words of Eliphaz; although no writer is responsible for sentiments he reports, and God Himself declares (Job 42:7) that the friends did not speak rightly. Some would charge the Apostle with a moment's forgetfulness. But the complete harmony of these words with the whole book of Job and with the entire Old Testament, shows plainly that the writer here puts his own sentiments into the lips of Eliphaz. We cannot dispute the truth of the quoted words without disputing the whole moral teaching of the great Poem. Indeed the friends erred not so much in the moral principles they assert as in their application of them to Job.

V. 21. Therefore-Upon the whole.

Let none glory in men-So as to divide into parties on their account. For all things are yours-and we in particular. We are not your lords, but rather your servants.

Verse 21. Let no man glory in men] Let none suppose that he has any cause of exultation in any thing but God. All are yours; he that has God for his portion has every thing that can make him happy and glorious: all are his.

Verses 21-23. Therefore — Upon the whole, considering all that has been advanced, and especially considering in what view the great God regards these things which we are so ready to value ourselves upon; let no man glory in men — So as to divide into parties on their account; for all things are yours — And we in particular. We are not your lords, but rather your servants: whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas — We are all equally yours, to serve you for Christ’s sake: or the world — This leap, from Peter to the world, greatly enlarges the thought, and argues a kind of impatience of enumerating the rest. Peter, and every one in the whole world, however excellent in gifts, or grace, or office, are also your servants for Christ’s sake; or life or death — These, with all their various circumstances, are disposed as will be most for your advantage; or things present — On earth, or things to come — In heaven. Contend therefore no more about these little things, but be ye united in love as ye are in blessings. And ye are Christ’s — His property, his subjects, his members; and Christ is God’s — As Mediator, he acted as his Father’s servant, and referred all his services to his Father’s glory. Others understand the passage thus: “All things are appointed for your good, and ye are appointed for Christ’s honour, and Christ for God’s glory.”

Ver. 21-23. All things are yours, labourers in the vineyard, and builders of the temple. Whether Paul, who puts himself first because he could not well do otherwise, being the founder and father of the Corinthian church. Or Apollos, who, it would seem, had reached Corinth before Peter: a triad of the most illustrious men. Or the world, which also is yours, the faithful in Abraham being made heirs of the world. Or life, or death; that you may glorify God by a holy and a useful life, and by a happy death. In this great bond of perfection, you owe only subordinate reverence to men, for ye are Christ’s body, his vineyard, his temple; and Christ is God’s high servant in the ministry of his kingdom. The unity therefore which subsists in heaven, should reign in the church below.

21. Glory in men—As the Corinthians were so zealously doing. 1 Corinthians 1:11-16; and 3:4, 5. Let no man be fascinated by, and proud of, some partisan leader. All things—Why greedily snatch for particular favouritisms and special leaders when you may comprehensively claim all as your own?

Verse 21b.-23. Another reason for not boasting in men.

All things: in the wisest sense, all the men and things (cp. 1 Corinthians 1:27) with which we have to do. All these were made by God and were by Him permitted to assume their present form that they may work out, and they are now (Romans 8:28) working out, His purposes of mercy toward us, which are also (so far as we understand them} our own purposes. All things are, therefore, ours; in the sense in which a father's house belongs to his whole family.

Whether Paul etc.: details included in all things. Whatever powers, acquirements, or spiritual life, Paul possessed, were an enrichment to the whole church. For whatever Paul had, he used for the good of all. Therefore we cannot exult in one to the depreciation of others. For all exist for our good. That Cephas is not mentioned in 1 Corinthians 3:4, 5; 4:6, suggests that the partisans who adopted his name and that of Christ were so few that Paul could leave them out of sight in his general treatment of the matter. His mention here of Cephas, was a courteous acknowledgment that he was an enrichment to the whole church, even to Gentile believers.

The world: 1 Corinthians 1:20. A sudden leap from individual men to the entire world. All men and things around us are working out our good. Life or death: cp. Romans 8:38. The various events of life come that they may develop our spiritual strength and give us opportunities of working for God and thus obtaining eternal reward. And the angel of death is our servant waiting to lead us into the presence of Christ. The infinite variety of circumstances surrounding us today, and the unknown and perhaps quite unexpected events of tomorrow, are God's gift, working out our good.

All things are yours: triumphant summing up. We look out into the world around and into the unknown future, and say, All these belong to me: for they were created, and are now directed and controlled, by my Father, for my good.

V. 22. Whether Paul or Apollos, or Cephas-We are all equally yours, to serve you for Christ's sake.

Or the world-This leap from Peter to the world greatly enlarges the thought, and argues a kind of impatience of enumerating the rest. Peter and every one in the whole world, however excellent in gifts, or grace, or office, are also your servants for Christ's sake.

Or life, or death-These, with all their various circumstances, are disposed as will be most for your advantage.

Or things present-On earth.

Or things to come-In heaven. Contend, therefore, no more about these little things; but be ye united in love, as ye are in blessings.

Verse 22. Whether Paul, or Apollos] As if he had said: God designs to help you by all things and persons; every teacher sent from him will become a blessing to you, if you abide faithful to your calling. God will press every thing into the service of his followers. The ministers of the Church of Christ are appointed for the hearers, not the hearers for the ministers. In like manner, all the ordinances of grace and mercy are appointed for them, not they for the ordinances.

Or the world] The word kosmov, here, means rather the inhabitants of the world than what we commonly understand by the world itself; and this is its meaning in John 3:16, 17; 6:33; John 14:31; 17:21. See particularly John 12:19: oJ kosmosopisw autou aphlqen, the WORLD is gone after him-the great mass of the people believe on him. The Greek word has the same meaning, in a variety of places, both in the sacred and the profane writers, as le monde, the world, literally has in French, where it signifies, not only the system of created things, but, by metonomy, the people-every body, the mass, the populace. In the same sense it is often found in English. The apostle’s meaning evidently is: Not only Paul, Apollos, and Kephas, are yours-appointed for and employed in your service; but every person besides with whom you may have any intercourse or connection, whether Jew or Greek, whether enemy or friend. God will cause every person, as well as every thing to work for your good, while you love, cleave to, and obey Him.

Or life] With all its trials and advantages, every hour of It, every tribulation in it, the whole course of it, as the grand state of your probation, is a general blessing to you: and you have life, and that life preserved in order to prepare for an eternity of blessedness.

Or death] That solemn hour, so dreadful to the wicked; and so hateful to those who live without God: that is yours. Death is your servant; he comes a special messenger from God for you; he comes to undo a knot that now connects body and soul, which it would be unlawful for yourselves to untie; he comes to take your souls to glory; and he cannot come before his due time to those who are waiting for the salvation of God. A saint wishes to live only to glorify God; and he who wishes to live longer than he can get and do good, is not worthy of life.

Or things present] Every occurrence in providence in the present life; for God rules in providence as well as in grace.

Or things to come] The whole order and economy of the eternal world; all in heaven and all in earth are even now working together for your good.

Verses 21-23. Therefore — Upon the whole, considering all that has been advanced, and especially considering in what view the great God regards these things which we are so ready to value ourselves upon; let no man glory in men — So as to divide into parties on their account; for all things are yours — And we in particular. We are not your lords, but rather your servants: whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas — We are all equally yours, to serve you for Christ’s sake: or the world — This leap, from Peter to the world, greatly enlarges the thought, and argues a kind of impatience of enumerating the rest. Peter, and every one in the whole world, however excellent in gifts, or grace, or office, are also your servants for Christ’s sake; or life or death — These, with all their various circumstances, are disposed as will be most for your advantage; or things present — On earth, or things to come — In heaven. Contend therefore no more about these little things, but be ye united in love as ye are in blessings. And ye are Christ’s — His property, his subjects, his members; and Christ is God’s — As Mediator, he acted as his Father’s servant, and referred all his services to his Father’s glory. Others understand the passage thus: “All things are appointed for your good, and ye are appointed for Christ’s honour, and Christ for God’s glory.”

Ver. 21-23. All things are yours, labourers in the vineyard, and builders of the temple. Whether Paul, who puts himself first because he could not well do otherwise, being the founder and father of the Corinthian church. Or Apollos, who, it would seem, had reached Corinth before Peter: a triad of the most illustrious men. Or the world, which also is yours, the faithful in Abraham being made heirs of the world. Or life, or death; that you may glorify God by a holy and a useful life, and by a happy death. In this great bond of perfection, you owe only subordinate reverence to men, for ye are Christ’s body, his vineyard, his temple; and Christ is God’s high servant in the ministry of his kingdom. The unity therefore which subsists in heaven, should reign in the church below.

22. Paul—Claim not one or two apostles sectarianly; but liberally make them all your own collective wealth. Cephas—In verses 4, 5, where he speaks depreciatingly, he selects himself and his dear associate Apollos; but now, when he speaks honouringly, he brings in Peter, who was claimed by the party opposed to himself. World… to come—Compare notes on Romans 8:38, 39. Not only were all the apostles and all Christian teachers theirs, but all the glorious truths and wonders revealed by Christianity through those apostles are also theirs. They, under Christ, as Christ under God, are proprietors of all things. For as God has made Christ heir of all, and the Christian is heir of (or with) Christ, so the Christian inherits all. Away, then, with human philosophies and leader-ships. The world is viewed as created for unfallen man. Lost by Adam, it is regained by Christ. Lost for all in Adam, it is regained for all renewed by Christ. Hence, though the wicked seem to possess the world, it really possesses, masters, and ruins them. This world, then, is the theatre for the Christian’s development for the world to come. Life is the Christian’s commencement for a life eternal. Death is the gate through which he passes from the lower life to the higher. Things present—All events and objects that fill this world and this life. Things to come—The glorious events, sceneries, and personages of a blessed eternity. All are yours—How, then, in view of so sublime and boundless a wealth, can you be engrossed in quarrels and partisanships about the comparative talents of your Christian leaders? And so, also, Paul asks, 1 Corinthians 6:4, since Christians are judges of angels, how can they be judged by pagan courts?

Wonderful it is how this apostle, surrounded by the pomp and power of the world, should be thus able to see by the eye of faith and truth that the world belonged to his humble flock of despised disciples of Jesus. It was because he was gifted with the power divine to look through the deceptions of the phenomenal and temporal, and descry the real and eternal. Ye are Christ’s—As all below you belong to you, so you belong to Christ above. Christ is God’s—The God-man is now subordinate to the Supreme Deity, whose only begotten Son he is. And so God is now supreme, as he finally will become all in all. 1 Corinthians 15:28. Both as the result of 18-24, and as the point to which the whole epistle has thus far tended, St. Paul has shown how apostles, and so all Christian teachers, must not be viewed, namely, as partisan dividers of the Church: he will now describe how they should be viewed. 1 Corinthians 4:1-13. There are many at the present day who declaim vigorously and indiscriminately against creeds and dogmas. They are fond of saying that Christianity is not a doctrine but a life. It is easy to carry such declamation to a dangerous extent. Christianity is both a doctrine and a life. No doubt there are unessential dogmas, and subtle distinctions, which, even while valuable in themselves, should not be allowed to produce quarrel and division. Yet there are truths which even he who builds on Christ may neglect or deny to his own loss. There are doctrines of great positive value, and it is right that they should be expressed in concise forms and adopted as articles of Churchly concord.

Verse 21b.-23. Another reason for not boasting in men.

All things: in the wisest sense, all the men and things (cp. 1 Corinthians 1:27) with which we have to do. All these were made by God and were by Him permitted to assume their present form that they may work out, and they are now (Romans 8:28) working out, His purposes of mercy toward us, which are also (so far as we understand them} our own purposes. All things are, therefore, ours; in the sense in which a father's house belongs to his whole family.

Whether Paul etc.: details included in all things. Whatever powers, acquirements, or spiritual life, Paul possessed, were an enrichment to the whole church. For whatever Paul had, he used for the good of all. Therefore we cannot exult in one to the depreciation of others. For all exist for our good. That Cephas is not mentioned in 1 Corinthians 3:4, 5; 4:6, suggests that the partisans who adopted his name and that of Christ were so few that Paul could leave them out of sight in his general treatment of the matter. His mention here of Cephas, was a courteous acknowledgment that he was an enrichment to the whole church, even to Gentile believers.

The world: 1 Corinthians 1:20. A sudden leap from individual men to the entire world. All men and things around us are working out our good. Life or death: cp. Romans 8:38. The various events of life come that they may develop our spiritual strength and give us opportunities of working for God and thus obtaining eternal reward. And the angel of death is our servant waiting to lead us into the presence of Christ. The infinite variety of circumstances surrounding us today, and the unknown and perhaps quite unexpected events of tomorrow, are God's gift, working out our good.

All things are yours: triumphant summing up. We look out into the world around and into the unknown future, and say, All these belong to me: for they were created, and are now directed and controlled, by my Father, for my good.

V. 23. And ye are Christ's-His property, his subjects, his members. And Christ is God's-As Mediator, he refers all his services to his Father's glory.

Verse 23. And ye are Christ’s] You are called by his name; you have embraced his doctrine; you depend on him for your salvation; he is your foundation stone; he has gathered you out of the world, and acknowledges you as his people and followers. uJmeiv de cristou, ye are of Christ; all the light and life which ye enjoy ye have received through and from him, and he has bought you with his blood.

And Christ is God’s.] cristov de qeou, And Christ is of God. Christ, the Messiah, is the gift of God’s eternal love and mercy to mankind; for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that they who believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Christ in his human nature is as much the property of God as any other human being. And as mediator between God and man, he must be considered, in a certain way, inferior to God, but in his own essential, eternal nature, there is no inequality-he is God over all. Ye, therefore, do not belong to men. Why then take Paul, Apollos, Kephas, or any other man for your head? All these are your servants; ye are not their property, ye are Christ’s property: and as he has taken the human nature into heaven, so will he take yours; because he that sanctifieth, and they that are sanctified are all of one: ye are his brethren; and as his human nature is eternally safe at the throne of God, so shall your bodies and souls be, if ye cleave to him and be faithful unto death.

1. A FINER and more conclusive argument, to correct what was wrong among this people, could not have been used than that with which the apostle closes this chapter. It appears to stand thus: “If you continue in these divisions, and arrange yourselves under different teachers, you will meet with nothing but disappointment, and lose much good. If ye will have Paul, Apollos, &c., on your present plan, you will have them and nothing else; nor can they do you any good, for they are only instruments in God’s hand, at best, to communicate good, and he will not use them to help you while you act in this unchristian way. On the contrary, if you take GOD as your portion, you shall get these and every good besides. Act as you now do, and you get nothing and lose all! Act as I advise you to do, and you shall not only lose nothing of the good which you now possess, but shall have every possible advantage: the men whom you now wish to make your heads, and who, in that capacity, cannot profit you, shall become God’s instruments of doing you endless good. Leave your dissensions, by which you offend God, and grieve his Christ; and then God, and Christ, and all will be yours.” How agitated, convinced, and humbled must they have been when they read the masterly conclusion of this chapter!

2. A want of spirituality seems to have been the grand fault of the Corinthians. They regarded outward things chiefly, and were carried away with sound and show. They lost the treasure while they eagerly held fast the earthen vessel that contained it. It is a true saying, that he who lends only the ear of his body to the word of God, will follow that man most who pleases the ear; and these are the persons who generally profit the soul least.

3. All the ministers of God should consider themselves as jointly employed by Christ for the salvation of mankind. It is their interest to serve God and be faithful to his calling; but shall they dare to make his Church their interest. This is generally the origin of religious disputes and schisms. Men will have the Church of Christ for their own property, and Jesus Christ will not trust it with any man.

4. Every man employed in the work of God should take that part only upon himself that God has assigned him. The Church and the soul, says pious Quesnel, are a building, of which GOD is the master and chief architect; JESUS CHRIST the main foundation; the APOSTLES the subordinate architects; the BISHOPS the workmen; the PRIESTS their helpers; GOOD WORKS the main body of the building; FAITH a sort of second foundation; and CHARITY the top and perfection. Happy is that man who is a living stone in this building.

5. He who expects any good out of God is confounded and disappointed in all things. God alone can content, as he alone can satisfy the soul. All our restlessness and uneasiness are only proofs that we are endeavouring to live without God in the world. A contented mind is a continual feast; but none can have such a mind who has not taken God for his portion. How is it that Christians are continually forgetting this most plain and obvious truth, and yet wonder how it is that they cannot attain true peace of mind? I CORINTHIANS

Verses 21-23. Therefore — Upon the whole, considering all that has been advanced, and especially considering in what view the great God regards these things which we are so ready to value ourselves upon; let no man glory in men — So as to divide into parties on their account; for all things are yours — And we in particular. We are not your lords, but rather your servants: whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas — We are all equally yours, to serve you for Christ’s sake: or the world — This leap, from Peter to the world, greatly enlarges the thought, and argues a kind of impatience of enumerating the rest. Peter, and every one in the whole world, however excellent in gifts, or grace, or office, are also your servants for Christ’s sake; or life or death — These, with all their various circumstances, are disposed as will be most for your advantage; or things present — On earth, or things to come — In heaven. Contend therefore no more about these little things, but be ye united in love as ye are in blessings. And ye are Christ’s — His property, his subjects, his members; and Christ is God’s — As Mediator, he acted as his Father’s servant, and referred all his services to his Father’s glory. Others understand the passage thus: “All things are appointed for your good, and ye are appointed for Christ’s honour, and Christ for God’s glory.”

Ver. 21-23. All things are yours, labourers in the vineyard, and builders of the temple. Whether Paul, who puts himself first because he could not well do otherwise, being the founder and father of the Corinthian church. Or Apollos, who, it would seem, had reached Corinth before Peter: a triad of the most illustrious men. Or the world, which also is yours, the faithful in Abraham being made heirs of the world. Or life, or death; that you may glorify God by a holy and a useful life, and by a happy death. In this great bond of perfection, you owe only subordinate reverence to men, for ye are Christ’s body, his vineyard, his temple; and Christ is God’s high servant in the ministry of his kingdom. The unity therefore which subsists in heaven, should reign in the church below.

Ver. 23. As lords of the world we belong to One infinitely greater than ourselves. Only so far as we exist for Christ do all things exist for us. Cp. 1 Corinthians 6:19; 15:23; Romans 14:8. And Christ is God's: rising, as usual, from the Son to the Father. So 1 Corinthians 1:9; 3:7; 4:1; Romans 9:5; 15:5, 13; 16:20, 25. We have here the great truth that the Son is essentially subordinate to the Father, not as a creature, but as the Son, of God; a truth absolutely essential for a correct view of the unity of the divine Trinity. We belong to Christ, and exist to work out His purposes. And in this subordination our divine Master is our pattern. For the Eternal Son receives His being (John 5:26) from, and therefore belongs to, and bows to, the Eternal Father, and exists to work out the Father's purposes. Cp. 1 Corinthians 15:28. See my Romans Dissertation 1. 7. Christ's absolute devotion to the service of the One Father should deter men from inscribing even His name, as did (1 Corinthians 1:12) some at Corinth, on the banner of a party. Whether Paul had this in view in writing these words, we do not know: for the truth here taught was naturally suggested by the foregoing words.