CHAPTER IV. _Ministers should be esteemed by their flocks as the stewards of_ _God, whose duty and interest it is to be faithful_, 1, 2. _Precipitate and premature judgments condemned_, 3-5. _The apostle's caution to give the Corinthians no offence_, 6. _We have no good but what we receive from... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:3. _IT IS A VERY SMALL THING THAT I SHOULD BE JUDGED OF_ _YOU_] Those who preferred _Apollos_ or _Kephas_ before St. Paul, would of course give their reasons for this preference; and these might, in many instances, be very unfavourable to his character as a man, a Christian, or... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:4. _FOR I KNOW NOTHING BY MYSELF_] Ουδεν γαρ εμαυτῳ συνοιδα· I am not _conscious_ that I am _guilty_ of any evil, or have neglected to fulfil faithfully the duty of a steward of Jesus Christ. The import of the verb συνειδειν is _to be conscious of_ _guilt_; and _conscire_ has... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:5. _JUDGE NOTHING BEFORE THE TIME_] God, the righteous Judge, will determine every thing shortly: it is his province alone to search the heart, and _bring to light the hidden things of_ _darkness_. If you be so pure and upright in your conduct, if what you have been doing in th... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:6. _THESE THINGS_] Which I have written, 1 Corinthians 3:5, c. _I HAVE IN A FIGURE TRANSFERRED TO MYSELF AND: TO APOLLOS_] I have written as if myself and Apollos were the authors of the sects which now prevail among you although _others_, without either our consent or knowle... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:7. _FOR WHO MAKETH THEE TO DIFFER_] It is likely that the apostle is here addressing himself to some _one of those puffed up_ _teachers_, who was glorying in his _gifts_, and in the knowledge he had of the Gospel, c. As if he had said: If thou hast all that knowledge which thou... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:8. _NOW YE_] Corinthians _are full_ of secular wisdom; _now_ _ye are rich_, both in wealth and spiritual gifts; (1 Corinthians 14:26:) _ye have reigned as kings_, flourishing in the enjoyment of these things, in all tranquillity and honour; _without_ any want of _us:_ _and I wo... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:9. _GOD HATH SET FORTH US THE APOSTLES LAST_] This whole passage is well explained by Dr. Whitby. "Here the apostle seems to allude to the Roman spectacles, της των θηριομαχων, και μονομαχιας ανδροφονου, that of the _Bestiarii_ and the _gladiators_, where in the _morning_ men... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:10. _WE_ ARE _FOOLS FOR CHRIST'S SAKE_] Here he still carries on the allusion to the public spectacles among the Romans, where they were accustomed to hiss, hoot, mock, and variously insult the poor victims. To this _Philo_ alludes, in his embassy to _Caius_, speaking of the tr... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:11. _WE BOTH HUNGER AND THIRST_, c.] Who would then have been an apostle of Christ, even with all its spiritual honours and glories, who had not a soul filled with love both to God and man, and the fullest _conviction_ of the reality of the doctrine he preached, and of that spi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:12. _WORKING WITH OUR OWN HANDS_] They were obliged to labour in order to supply themselves with the necessaries of life while preaching the Gospel to others. This, no doubt, was the case in every place were no Church had been as yet formed: afterwards, the people of God suppli... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:13. _BEING DEFAMED_] βλασφημουμενοι, Being _blasphemed_. I have already remarked that βλασφημειν signifies to _speak_ _injuriously_, and may have reference either to God or to man. GOD is _blasphemed_ when his attributes, doctrines, providence, or grace, are treated contemptuou... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:14. _I WRITE NOT THESE THINGS TO SHAME YOU_] It is not by way of _finding fault_ with you for not providing me with the necessaries of life that I write thus; but I do it to warn you to act differently for the time to come; and be not so ready to be drawn aside by every pretend... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:15. _FOR THOUGH YE HAVE TEN THOUSAND INSTRUCTERS_] μυριους παιδαγωγους, _Myriads of leaders_, that is, an indefinite multitude; for so the word is often used. The παιδαγωγος, from which we have our word _pedagogue_, which we improperly apply to a _school master_, was among the... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:16. _WHEREFORE, I BESEECH YOU, BE YE FOLLOWERS OF ME._] It should rather be translated, Be ye imitators of me; μιμηται, from which we have our word _mimic_, which, though now used only in a _bad_ or _ludicrous_ sense, simply signifies an _imitator_ of another person, whether i... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 17. _FOR THIS CAUSE_] That you imitate me, and know in what this consists. _I SENT UNTO YOU TIMOTHEUS_] The same person to whom he wrote the two epistles that are still extant under his name, and whom he calls here his _beloved son_, one of his most _intimate disciples_; and whom he had been... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 18. _SOME ARE PUFFED UP_] Some of your teachers act with great haughtiness, imagining themselves to be safe, because they suppose that I shall not revisit Corinth.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 19. _BUT I WILL COME TO YOU SHORTLY_] God being my helper, I fully purpose to visit you; and then I shall put those proud men to the proof, not of their _speech_ - eloquence, or pretensions to great knowledge and influence, but of their _power_ - the authority they profess to have from God, an... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 20. _FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD_] The religion of the Lord Jesus is _not in word_-in human eloquence, excellence of speech, or even in _doctrines; but in power_, εν δυναμει, in the mighty energy of the Holy Spirit; enlightening, quickening, converting, and sanctifying believers; and all his genuin... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 4:21. _SHALL I COME UNTO YOU WITH A ROD, OR IN LOVE_] Here he alludes to the case of the _teacher_ and _father_, mentioned in 1 Corinthians 4:15. Shall I come to you with the _authority_ of a _teacher_, and use the _rod_ of _discipline_? or shall I come in the _tenderness_ of a... [ Continue Reading ]