PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians
Frederic William Farrar [1831-1903] · 502,662 words · 564 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 121
reality. Think of those associations into which men enter for purposes of commerce, pcr_sonal en~ichment, science, pleasure, politi?s, philanthropy; _the oneness o~ a nation rn its devotion to the throne and const1tut10n; of an army m the enthusiasm of its service; of a popular assembly under the spell of some comma…
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Vers. 16, 17.-The New 7'.estament temple. Under the Old Testament, the temple of God ,,;,as a house made with hands, a worldly sanctuary. The New Testament or clispensation reckons the people of God to be his temple, "the habitation of God in the Spirit." At Corinth there were many temples to the gods, but one templ…
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our calling. 3. Variety. 'fhere are various courts, wings, towers, and porticoes in this great building. To our minds there may seem to be confusion and incongruity; but the Rupreme Architect knows how to adjust and reconcile all in a building" fitly framerl together." Variety is not desultoriness. The mere heaping of …
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bilities, sorrow and joy, trial and success. It is quite different to the Christian from what it is to the non-Christi:in. He is never helpless, and need never be in despair; for he may be sure that the circumstances of his life are ordered by his heavenly Friend, the lines of his life are drawn according to the pla…
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-all destroy interest in Divine thing9, and take from us the very possibility of appre- hending the higher mysteries of the kingdom. 2. A spirit of strife and division. It is never the best people in a. Christian community who are the ea.use of strife. Contention .and controversy a.re only interesting to those who a…
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rndden changing of metaphors is a characteristic of St. Paul's style ; for instance~, sve eh. ix. 7; 2 Cor. x. 4-8; Eph. iii. 17; Col. ii. 6-7. 'l he apostle now dwclli! f11lly on the architectural metaphor, and gives some thoughts of singular depth a!Hl importance on the trvr. fouudation for a noble life-work, nnd the…
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verse•, is taken from what would meet the eye of n tmveller in Ephesus, where St. P,i11l now was, or in Corinth, where his letter was to be first read. It is such a. contrast as may be seen (though not in precisely the same striking form of difference) in Londun in our own day. 'l'he stately pa.laces of marble and of g…
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Ycrs. 16, Ii.-The Chm·ch a temple. It is usual to re()'ard these verses as referrin<> tu the individual Christian, but the Epistle is acldressed "u~to the Church of God which is at Corinth," and we may profitably dwell on some thoughts suggested by the corn- ] ,uison; premising that the peculiarities of ancient temp…
625 wordsSECTION 129The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 129
illustrnted, We may be sure that God will punish-does punish-all dishonour dona to his spiritual temples. Impress how the cherished thought of our temple-like sanctity would influence our dnily life and conversation. As ever present with us, God seems to say to us con- tinually," Be ye holy; for I am holy."-R. T. Ver…
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER IV. nor profound knowledge, nor suocess, but only-fidelity. Vers. I-5.-Judgments, human and Ver. 3.-:But. The Corinthians might Dii-ine, Tll$pecting ministers. h[we expected that the conclusion of St. Ver. 1.-Let a man so aooount of us. Paul's rcmnrks would be n recognition of Since it is ine'…
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lt is like the LRtin Nil conscfre Bibi. Tho with whom we have to do" (Heb. iv. 13; s11me phrnse occurs in the LXX. of Job comp. Eccles. xii. 14). God "shall illumi- xxvii. 6. St. Paul says, "The vordict of nate the crypts of the darkness which my own conscieuce 11cquits me of all in- naturally fills the self-deceiving …
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,.,.nrds were a sort of prn'l'erb, like Ne quid the depression and scorn in the midst ofwhicl1 11imi~ or Milton's "The rule of not too ~he apostles lived. Tho loving delicate irony much" (µ>15h li;,ae). The word "to think" 1s, ma different way, as effective as the stern is omitted in the best manuscripts. The denunc…
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Christ. He could not BBY as before, "for exh"rt them to do right." As the filth of the Christ's salce;" for even thou!l;h he is using world. Tl,e Greek worrl kntharmata ha, tho lBnguago of irnny, "the pseudo-wisdom a techniccL! sense, in whi ,h it means "men of the CorinlhiBns hnd other motives." We devoted to death fo…
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and dcnrcr clnim. In Christ. So lie snys, p1iffed up; at the time thn.t they mn,le thl'~o ·• The Lnw wns our wrida!JO!JOS f-0 Chl"is"t." disparaging eompnrisons of rue with oth01·s. These guides or gunrdinns were such "in As though I would not come to you ; rnther, Christ," i.e. in the sphere of Christinu life. as t…
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HO:MILET1CS. V ers. 1-7.-.A true and a false estimate of genuine minister~ of the gospel. "Let •n man so account or us as of the ministers of Christ," etc. Here we have- I. A TRUE ESTIMA'l'E of genuine ministers of' the gospel. 1. They are servants of (Jhrist. " Let a man so ac~ount of us as of the ministers of Chri…
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brctbrcn, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos," etc. Paul here mc:rns to say that he spoke of himself nnd Apollos to show the impropriety of ono minister being pitted against another. The members of the Corinthian Church had c\·idently formed an incorrect estimate of the true gospel minister. 1. The…
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Ver. 9.-Man an obfect of angelic observation. "For I think that God bath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men." The margin reads " theatre" for "spectacle," from the Greek word 6,11:rpov. 'l'he reference, in all probabili…
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Ver. 15.-Spiritual paternity. "For tho11gh ye have ten thousand instructors in -Cbrist, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Ghrist Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel." The suLject of these words is spiritual paternity, and three remarks are ~uggested. l. THAT O~E MAN MAY BECOME THE SPIRITUAL FATHER OF ANO…
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iR the power to f!Cnerate in man the true Christl_y character; it is that transformative i;lass into which as we look we get changed into the same image from "glory to glory." CoNOLUBioN. Learn from this : 1. The supreme interest of man. What is that ?· -learning, wealth, fame? No; Ohristl,;ness. He who has this has e…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Yers. 1-7.-Ministers as stewards. The idea of the ministry as a Divine institu- tion, set apart as a peculiar calling and charged with an infinite trust, cannot as yet relax its hold on St. Paul's mind. Tenacity of a great truth is not altogether a matter of our ,olition. At first the w…
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Vers. 8-13.-.A vivid contrast. Having shown that the Christian consciousness was a twofold realization of the worthlessness of whatever was its own, and the infinite worth of the "all things" in Christ, and having proceeded thence to the iclea of stewanl- sbip and the urgent need of faithfulness, how can St. Paul withh…
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fidelity to suffering, reconciliation to it, acceptance of its law as basic to his life, not an exceptional thing occurring at rare intervals as most of our sad experiences, but common and habitual, 'll'Ounds unhealed and yet deeper wounds, "even unto this present hour." Hunger and thirst, nakedness, buffctin~s, hom…
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of his "ways which be in Christ," he has sent Timotheus unto them. Prudence dictated this course. Circumstances were such as that absence would be his most effective presence-one of those occasions when a man's thoughts had better do their work unattended by the emphasis of eye and voice. But would they misinterpret th…
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are, in relation to Christ himself, ministers. They serve him, and count it an honour so to d0. For his sake, and in his Name, they act as servants to their follow-men. 2. They arc, in relation to the truth they promulgate, stewards. That is to say, the- trnth is not rernalcd by them, but to them; it is held not as …
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second coming to judge the world we may be found an accept(<ble people in thy sight." For whilst the judgment shall be Divine; it shall be accomplished by "that Man whom God hath appointed to judge the quick and the dead." 3. This shall be accompanied by revelation. There are bidden things of darkness which must be bro…
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II. THE PATHOS OF THEIR POSITION DEMANDS OUR SYMPATHY. We observe the bodily prirntions, the homelessness, the physical toil, the ignominy, the persecutions the general contempt, which the apostles passed through; and we cannot observe ali this unmoved. Doubtless it touched the heart of that Divine Saviour who was m…
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Ver. 20.-The power of the kingdom. The Corinthians were given to words; they delighted in eloquence; they were addicted to disputations. The Apostle Paul, who fulfilled his ministry by language, written and spoken, was not the man to disparage words. But no man was more impatient of mere words--of words with no reality…
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Vers. 1, 2.-" ~Ministers qf Christ." I. ,VHAT THEY ARE, 1. .Yinisters, Not masters; servants, not lnrds. The word means literally "under-rower," or common sailor, alld is generally used of the lower class of servants. Ministers are the mere servants of Christ; they have no authority save that which they may receive …
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formed. But finality of judgmcnt may ortcn be profitably avoided. We shoulrl particularly observe this when our judgments affect: (1) The providence and dealincrs of ·God. (2) The character, motives, deserts, of our fellows. \Ve see the deeds, and ~ay pronounce upon them as such, but we must remember that the heart i…
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Yers. 8-10.-Irony in religion. I. ScnrPTURE WARRANTS THE USE OF IRONY IN CERTAIN CASES.. Scripture is here fully at one with common sens•~ and experience. Th_ere are certa)n con_d)tions w~ich can be m_ost successfully touched by the shafts of nd1cule: certam pos1t10ns which can be earned most effectually by light ar…
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Vers. 14-21.-Spiritual parentage. I. A VERY TEXDER RELATIONSHIP. Paul notices: 1. The way in which the relationship is formed. (Ver. Hi.) The spiritual father (1)" begets" his children (2) in Christ Jesus (3) through the gospel. He fi11tls them "strangers to the covenant of promise," strangers to Christ, strangers to t…
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Vers. 1-5.-" The ministers of Christ." The Corinthians were to be delivered from their tendency to glory in men, by being taught to regard them as a part ol their heritage. All teachers ,rcre for their use, not the particular one whom they chose aij their party leader. Besides, a right view of the ministerial office…
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evil consequences follow-pride, self-sufficiency, conceit, on the one hand; undne 1lepreciation of others and boastiug against them, on the other hand. Against this hateful spirit the apostle has already presented a variety of arguments; and while ~peaking chiefly of himself and Apollos, he has in reality been teachi…
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they have bPen dictated by Jove. He has written as a father who desires the correction an<l not the shame of his children. I. Srrn1TUAL FA~HERH00D .. 1. _How cnns~itu_ted. "For in Christ JeRns I begat yon through the gospel.' Convers10n 1s the begrnnmg of a new life, the birth by which we enter on spiritual being. …
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Ver. 2.-Faithful stewardship. This is a principle approved alike of God and man. Stewardship implies responsibility, and responsibility demands faithfulness. The prin- ciple is applicable specially to the ministry of the Word. No responsibility like that of those who are called to keep watch an<l. guard over the myster…
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Ver. 20.-Not in word, but in power. The exact point of this affirmation is to be- determined by the circumstances that called it forth. The apostle refers in the context. to his per.sonal adversaries in the Church at Corinth. They spoke against him, "puffed up" by the spirit of proud hostility. But he will come and …
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Vers. 1, 2.-The Christian teacher a steward. The apo~tle here intimates what arc right thoughts for Christian people to cherish concerning their teachers. Ho uses two words, "ministers,'' "stewards," the former of which is familiar, the latter needs SQmc explanation. A minister is "one who serves," and no more honourab…
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Vars, 3-5.-A threefold judgment of the (Jhrislwn teacher. The thought of th6 apostle is evidently occupied with the disposition of the Corinthians to form judgments for and against different Christian teachers, and to make parties by their preforeoce for one over another. There seems to have been a critical habit, whic…
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great powers of sympathy; a mind ma~culine in its power, feminine in its tenderness; humbleness; wisdom to direct; that knowledge of the world which the Bible calls the wisdom of the serpent; and a knowledge of evil that comes rather from repulsion from it than from personal contact with it. Ilut those qualification…
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'Fully detail the sufferings which St. Paul underwent, and the bodily frailty which made those sufferings so exceedingly trying (see 2 Cor. xi. 23-30). After our Lord in his closing sufferings, no man so awakens our tenderest sympathy as does the Apostle <>f the Gentiles. Illustrate how, in modern missions, the Patt…
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Vers. 18-20.-Speech and power. These are by no means always associated to<1ether. !n the sam~ man. Oftcntimes they seen:i quite unable to dwell together. Speech is in mverse rat10 to po1rnr. The free talker 1s seldom a vigorous thinker· and the boaster can never gain any real power by his extravagances. It seems tha…
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iin the present capacity of every human being for goodness. Let him know 'what is in manJ' and yet, with this knowledge clearly before him, let him not only not despair of humanity, but respect it, nay, love it even enthusiastically. Above all, let this teacher be perfectly independent. Let him be independent of the …
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CT rertCTin person hCTs his fCTther's 1r(fe. .Ap- conceit." This was indccrl Kop1v81d.(ea-8a1,. parently this was some nominal Christiu.u, "to play the Corinthian," iu the worst. who was living in open sin with his step- sense of that provel'bial taunt. Pos~ibly the mother, and thereby braTing the curse of prominenc…
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on the offender the sentence on which he ensuring his eternal rnin. We can imagine ho.d o.lready determinetl. 'fhat he coultl how awful woultl be the solemnity of these claim "the power of the Lord" resulted words when they were first read aloud to from his possession of the Holy Spirit. and the little Christian commun…
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indeed. and therefore in 1heir ideal rather repeated in Eph. v. 11, "Have no fellow- than their actual chamcter. Some harn ship with the unfruitful works of darkness, taken these words tometm, "You are actually but rather reprove them." keeping the Passover, and therefore ham Ver. 1O.-Yet not altogether. The words …
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15). If any man that is oalled a brother. in a less contemptnous sense (1 Thess. iv. The word " brother " was used before the 12; Col. iv. 5). We find a description of no.me "Christian " we.s accepted by the "those that were without"-" aliens from members of the Church. Or an idulater the commonwealth of Israel, and…
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Vers. 6-13.-The true Church a feast. "Your glorying is not good," etc. There are numerous Churches, but only one true Church, viz. that community of men who, possess the Spirit and exemplify the character of Jesus Christ. These verses lead us to- look upon the true Church- I. In its Th'TERNAL ENJ0YMEh'TS, It is called…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-5.-Excision of a flagrant offender from the Church. No haste was evinced. by the apostle to reach a question that gave him much anxiety. Among the striking phenomena incident to mind as connected with body, the rate of movement in ideas is worthy of notice. Certain classes of ideas…
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but the sitme representative thinker of humanity ,varns us that when we "mean to build," we should " survey" "The plot of the situation, and the model;' Consent upon a sure foundation." • Promptness is not always the synonym of prudence, and where one Hamlet wastes excessirn sensibility on mere ideas and their images…
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the Judge. But it is Christ, Head of the Church, not Christ, the Judge of the nations, on the throne of the last day. Suffering in the body was ordained for the well- being of the spirit. Natural laws, if violated, revenge themselves on the violator. /\_pparently, however, much more is meant in this instance. The culpr…
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imagos lingered in his thoughts, only to remind him that Christians were "unleavened," .and that all the leaven of impurity must be put away from them. For them the Paschal Lamb had been slain, and in the Victim's death they had redemption. "Let us keep the feast;" our consecrated lifa a festival of gladness, and ou…
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Real circumstances alone could account for the devotion of a considerable portion of this document to such a theme as i8 here treated. 'l'he solicitude and indignation of the apostle are highly characteristic ; whilst the insight afforded into the moral -state of the Corinthian congregation is obviously one which on…
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Ver. 3.-" Absent in body, but present in spirit." Much as Paul loved his convert~ in the city of Corinth, he could not, at the period when he wrote this Epistle, think of' visiting them. Their conduct in the matter treated in this chapter so distressed his pure and affectionate heart, so disappointed his expectation…
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II. THERE IS A LEAVEN OP SINFUL INFLUENCE IN HUMAN NATURE AND m HUMAN SOCIETY WHICH ENDANGERS THE PURITY OF THE CHURCH. 1. The presence of such a leaven was very painfully manifest in the society at Corinth. But where is the Christim community which is absolutely pure? There are societies which make great professions i…
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of G0d himself. In the sacrament of the Supper, they who eat and drink in faith participate in the provisions of Divine bounty and love. IV. IT WAS SUGGESTIVE OF DiDIVIDUAL, OF HOUSEHOLD, OF NATIONAL, PURITY, Jn connection with the Paschal meal, several circumstances may be noted. 'fhe lamb was 'lllithout blemish; …
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the truths of religion. It is not always the public proclamation of the truth which ,reaches the heart of the careless and ungodly. "A word spoken in season, how good it is!" Many have bad reason for lifelong gratitude towards such as have in a casual way taken advantage of the opportunity to commend the gospel to the…
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Vers. 7, 8.-"0ur Passover." What the Jews had, we have-only with fuller and: richer significance. They had the foretastes, the shadows ; we have the substance. The events in their history point forward to the greater events in ours. They had a Passover, and so have we; and theirs was a prefigurement of ours. I. CHR…
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only that most please us. Christ and his cross as well as Christ and his crown. (8) Eaten with bitter herbs. So repentance should accompany faith. We should have bitter sorrow for bitter sins. Our sins were very bitter to him. \Ve have never tasted si11 folly-only a part of it, the sweeter part of it. He tasted the bit…
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lort,h, until he repents we are not to have fellowship with him not even to eat with him but to sh?w him by our ~ouduct what has been expressed i~ the Church's decree, viz: that he 1s separated until repentance and amendment. If this were not so: 1. The force of, Church discipline woul_d be seriously weakened. It wou…
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perhaps to bodily suffering or death, which the apostles in certain instances had the power of inflicting (Ananias and Sapphira, Acts v. 1-11; Elymas, Acts xiii. 11). Apart from the specialties of this case, it is plain that disciplinary dealincr with scandalous members is to take the form of exclusion from the fellows…
946 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.