CHAPTER IV. SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTER S. Paul proceeds in his task of uprooting the divisions, the pride, and the boasting of the Corinthians, and especially of some of their teachers who held him in contempt. And I. He shows that he cares nothing for their judgment, or for that of other men, but f... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ._ I have forbidden you to boast yourselves in Paul or Apollos; but lest any man should therefore despise us, I say that every one should regard us as minsters of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Kemnitius raises a railing objectio... [ Continue Reading ]
_Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful._ You have been called from the study of wisdom and human eloquence to the simple and lowly teaching of Christ, so as not to dispute whether Paul or Apollos is the wiser or the more eloquent; and I have said that both of us are stewa... [ Continue Reading ]
_But with me it is a very small thing... or of man's judgment._ The Latin version give "of man's day." The meaning is the same; for the "day of the Lord" is frequently put for the "judgment of the Lord," and a day is commonly named for defendants to appear for judgment. Cf. S. Jerome (_ad Algas._ qu... [ Continue Reading ]
_For I know nothing by myself, yet am I not hereby justified._ I do not judge myself. For though I am not conscious of any unfaithfulness in my Apostolic office, yet I am not really just: I do not mean in the sight of men, for I do nor care for their judgment: I mean in the sight of God, who perhaps... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light_, &c. He will reveal the thoughts and actions of men that lie hid in darkness. He means, then, that to God alone are naked and open the hidden things of man, his intentions, his secret motives, and the depths... [ Continue Reading ]
_And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself_, &c. "Above that which is written" may refer (1.) to ch. i. 2, 3; or (2.) with S. Chrysostom it may mean "contrary to that which is written" in Holy Scripture against pride. It is foolish, therefore, for the Protestants to abuse... [ Continue Reading ]
_For who maketh thee to differ from another?_ 1. The Greek word denotes as much the act of placing a man above others as separate him and dividing him off from them. So Theophylact paraphrases it, By whose suffrage was it that this separation and pre-eminence was given thee?" It was not of men, but... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now ye are full._ This is, as Chrysostom, Theophylact, and Anselm say, ironical. Ye are filled with wisdom and grace, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and so it is your boast that you are not so much Corinthians as teachers, having nothing further to learn of Christianity. You think yourselves per... [ Continue Reading ]
_For I think that God hath set forth us, the Apostles, last, as it were appointed to death._ (1.) He contrasts himself and the true Apostles with those vain teachers who sought their own glory and their own advantage. I would, he says, that we Apostles were reigning with you; for so far, I think, ar... [ Continue Reading ]
_We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ._ This is a continuation of the irony of ver. 8. We are reckoned fools because of Christ crucified, whom we preach, and for whose sake we seem to expose ourselves rashly to so many dangers. For the Cross is to the Greeks foolishness. But you... [ Continue Reading ]
_Even unto this present hour we... have no certain dwelling-place._ This remarkable description of the Apostle's life is very like that contained in the Second Epistle (xi. 23), which those that are called to the ministry ought to put before them as an example, as the Apostolic men of great zeal do... [ Continue Reading ]
_Being_ _reviled, we bless._ Infidels and Jews mock us, and call down imprecations on us, saying, "Let these new preachers of a crucified God be slain, let then perish and hang on the accursed cross." We, however, pray for their peace, that God would give them His light, His grace, and salvation. S.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Being defamed, we entreat._ When we are reviled, called evil dealers in evil arts, and railed at. The word "blaspheme" has this meaning also in Titus 3:2. When thus treated we speak the meekness after the manner of suppliants, as the Greek Fathers take it, or else we entreat God for them. But the f... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways._ My doctrine and Christian life, say S. Thomas and Anselm. _In Christ._ In Christ's religion.... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the Kingdom of God is not in word but in power._ The spiritual energy and Christian, and especially Apostolic perfection, in which God reigns, and displays in us and in the Church the effectual working of the Gospel of His grace and Spirit, are not to be found in eloquence, but in the powerful... [ Continue Reading ]
_What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod?_ Such as becomes the father I spoke of in ver. 15. The rod is a symbol of severity of rebuke and power of punishing. So Chrysostom, Theophylact, Anselm. Observe here the power of punishing lodged in the Church and her prelates, and exercised by Paul... [ Continue Reading ]