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 241
. Vers. 22, 23:-Freedom and bondage. To the mind of the apostle spiritual and immortal relations seemed so vast and momentous that they dwarfed those relations "·Lich are earthly and temporary. It may appear to some readers of this passa"e of the Epistle as if Paul did not attach enough importance to the conditions …
730 wordsSECTION 242The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 242
Vers. 29-31.-" The time is short." There is, and there ought to be, a marked difference between the conduct of the Christian and that of the unbeliever. 'l'his difference originates primarily in the new principles with which the mind of the disciple of Christ is possessed and by which it is governed; the faith and gra…
687 wordsSECTION 243The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 243
apostle says "It is good [expedient, profitable] for a man not to touch a woman;" and to- those all for celibacy-speaking geuernlly, "Let every roan have his own wife." Both conditions are honourable. \Ve are left to choose between the two. But rules are Ia;id down for guidance. ll. CHOICE BETWEEN THE TWO SHOULD BE…
891 wordsSECTION 244The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 244
oelibate may devote himself entirely to the Lord and his service. I do not understand the apostle to say that this is impossible in one who is married, but that human claims may come into conflict with Divine. In happy peaceful times the conflict might never arise; in days of persecution it might be severe. Note: There…
864 wordsSECTION 245The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 245
adultery, as taught by Christ (Matt. v. 32). Paul's teaching does not conflict with Christ's. It is not lawful to 2mt away except for adultery; the apostle ndds that if the believing party be, without just cause, put away, he or she is free. But this mean- ing of ver. 15 is somewhat open to question. Note: 'l'herc m…
840 wordsSECTION 246The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 246
not be hindered from coming to Christ. No one can stop us. Not all men. Not all devils. Not all adverse circumstances. We can come if we will, whoever or whatever we are or in whatsoever condition. The responsibility is upon our shoulders. None shall say at last that they could not come. God bath not permitted man so …
836 wordsSECTION 247The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 247
c01wenience and predilections are the chief things concerned, as tliough it were their marriage and not their child's. III. THE CHILD'S wrsHES SHOULD BE coxsULTED. 'l.'his seems to be involved in "Let them marry," as though a specific attachment was supposed. "Having no necessity" (ver. 37) and "behavcth himself uncom…
857 wordsSECTION 248The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 248
in view of vers. 32, 33, we may suppose that the apostle of the nations judged it best for bis peculiar mission to remain unmarried. Celibacy may be preferred "for the kingdom of heaven's sake" (Matt. xix. 12). (3) Both these considerations must be ta.ken along with a third presented in ver. 7. If a man has not the gif…
777 wordsSECTION 249The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 249
tre~t1!1ent or. for. so~e simil~r re_ason. The_ canse of separation mny or may not be- suft1~1ent ~o Justify 1t, but m ~1ther case 1t must not be regarded as severing the marriage tie. Only two alternatives are open. 'l'he wife thus separated must remain unmarried, since a ne~ union would imply that the previous one…
925 wordsSECTION 250The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 250
that wilful desertion iB a su_(ficient reason for divorce. Such desertion is a de /aclo- rupture of the marriage bond, and stands on the same footing as adultery. 2. The evil <Jf mixed 111arriages: (1) Render impossible the complete fellowship of husband and wife. (2) Break up domestic peace. (3) Prevent family reli…
888 wordsSECTION 251The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 251
of Christianity (see Stanley, in loc.). 2. Slavery. If there is any institution to which we_ should have expected Christianity to show itself hostile, it is just this. Slavery strikes at the root-idea of humanity, denying to man his proper dicrnity as o. person; and is therefore in colli~ion with the axiom on which the…
888 wordsSECTION 252The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 252
unmarried are free, and can therefore consider "the things of the Lord" with less division of heart. This does not mean that marriage is less favourable to holiness than celibacy: experience warrants no such statement. The apostle compares the two conditions only in respect of their freedom from worldly care, and in …
842 wordsSECTION 253The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 253
the strained eyes of the Church have not yet beheld that sicrn, Still tho utterance of the apostle is not mistaken. '!'hough the horizon that bou~1dcd his' vision lms been ,~·idening with_ t:ne _nges, the tin~e is still short. For us tho prncticnl truth is that our life-~pan here i~ bn~f, ,~hether its boundary ho_ t…
891 wordsSECTION 254The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 254
religious life ns one of gloom, and the teaching of some Christians gives colour to the falsehood. Nature, literature, the arts, society, domestic fellowship,-all may pour their tributaries into the stream of our gladness. Ncne should enjoy God's world like God's own child. But here the tempering thought comes in-" …
875 wordsSECTION 255The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 255
spirit was with God in a far loftier sphere than could be conceived of by the heathen master, who probably treated him with scorn. The Christian slave was the Lord's freeman. II. 'l'HE LESSON FOR THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 1. Negatively. (1) This text must not be quoted to require or justify adherence to a questionabl…
859 wordsSECTION 256The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 256
or his letter, he is replying to a question put to him from Corinth regarding the course most expedient in the special circumstances of tlie time, i.e. in view of impendin" persecution and distress. Should unmarried persons marry at such a time? Should parents give their daughters in marriage? Should married Christian…
843 wordsSECTION 257The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 257
food, and raiment, and lodgings, and things that perish, ho devoted all the etrenO"th of his thought and pnrposc to the supreme ohiect for which he had come into the :•orld. It may be urged that this, though admirable in him, is really no model for us. Wo cannot lead auythiug like that simple, untrammelled, uuconven…
1,147 wordsSECTION 258The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 258
Ver. 14.-Ghristian baptism. "But now are they holy." I. ,vnAT IS IMPLIED IN THIS STATEMENT, It is an acknowledgment of their virtual ,Church membership. II. THE BEARLXG OF THIS DOCTRINE ON THE IlAI'TISU OF INFANTS. By this net of baptism the Church (1) expresses its own evangelical faith; (2) recognizes the children …
513 wordsSECTION 259The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 259
Ver. 24.-Religion and business. The apostle, in this and the connected chapters, is givin!! to the Corinthian Christians a variety of counsels respectin" the varic,us relationships of life which they were calle,l to sustain. The .,.ospel of Jesus Christ which brings its influence first to bear on the individual, next"…
1,003 wordsSECTION 260The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 260
Vers. 29-10.-An cwgument f1·om the shortness of the time. It is impossible to understand a large number of the apostolic allusions unless we recognize the early Church conception that the Christian dispensation would be very brief, and in all probability closed and completed in the first century, by the expected reappe…
619 wordsSECTION 261The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 261
~hort," and we may therefore wisely sit loosely from all earthly things, and remember that where our treasure is there will our heart be also, and that, as Christians, our treasure is in heaven.-R. T. Ver. 31.-The passing world. "For the fashion of this world passeth away." The figure used by the apostle 1s that of a …
785 wordsSECTION 262The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 262
replies that the majority of the Corinthians, does he tnnnt the inquirers with the foot being liberal in their views, heltl that it was that the whole weigbt of their personal a matter of perfect indifference to eat idol- desires and interests would lead them to offerings; and that, in acting upon this decide the quest…
1,007 wordsSECTION 263The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 263
"chnrin,." The fondness for variation at all (Isa. xliv., etc.). That there is none which led King Jnmes's translators to do so other God but one. This belief is the signa- only obscures the identity of thought which ture of Judaism, according to their daily and prevails nmong nil the apostles respect- oft-repeated …
1,001 wordsSECTION 264The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 264
is defiled. Deing Gentiles who till recently deum;" but Jews only of au" irlo!eum "-a hnd been i1lol11ters. the apparent participa- word which (like other Jewish designations tion in their old idolatry wore to them the of heo.then forms of worship) involved a semblance of 11post11cy. The thing which bitter taunt. For …
1,105 wordsSECTION 265The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 265
HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-3.-A twofold knowlerlge. "Now as tonchina thincrs offered unto idols we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puff<rth up~but charity edifieth: .And if any man think that he knoweth anythin", he kaoweth nothina yet as be OU"ht ~o _know. But if any man love God, the same i;'known of him." H~…
728 wordsSECTION 266The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 266
strnted by all nature, by all consciences, as well as by the Bible. 1. He is a Father .. "'!'he Father, of whom," etc. The Creator of the universe, but the Father of spirits; .spirits arc his offspring. 2. He is the Source of all things. "Of whom are all thing,s." The mighty universe and all it contains are but streams…
1,196 wordsSECTION 267The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 267
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHOTIS. Vers. 1-13.-Strength and weakness; lcnowled.r,e and love. The discussions contained in this chapter relate to" things offered unto idols.'' Bear in mind that idolatry was not then simply a religious ~ystem, but a system immensely extended and covering -a corresponding surface of politi…
518 wordsSECTION 268The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 268
portions of the mind; think how tangled it often is in the nerves, 9.nd imprisoned in the cells of the brain,-and can you wonder at the distrust that wise men have of its functions, unless controlled, and that ~ternly, by principle and sentiment? What ~ubtle poisons creep into the blood and thence into thought! A sligh…
869 wordsSECTION 269The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 269
you nrny be a co-worker with God and .with his conscience in makinO' him a "templlJ of the Holy Ghost." Then comes the utterance of great-heartcduess~the declaration that be will cat no such meat for ever if it make his brother to offend. This \\'(1.s no sudden effervescence of sentimentality. It was genuine sentiment.…
838 wordsSECTION 270The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 270
which Christianity renders possible and natural. By revealing God as love, by brincrincr that love home to the heart in the incarnation and the sacrifice of the Son of God~ Christianity makes a claim upon human love. The manifestation of affectionate interest and benevolence in a way so remarkable, so unique, is suf…
1,180 wordsSECTION 271The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 271
Vers. 8, 9.-Christian liberty. No doubt Paul was regarded as the great champion of liberty. The apostles at Jerusalem were more under the influence of the old JuJaism; Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, gained a larger spirit of tolerance through bis association with men of various races and habits. 'l'he t:ipirit o…
539 wordsSECTION 272The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 272
liberty. Pnul cared not a whit for idol fen.sts and sacrifices, and, had he consi<lered only himself, he would have eaten meat that had been presented i11 an idol-temple; but he cared for his brethren, and he cared for them all the more if their knowled"'e was slight, their faith feeble, their apprehen~ions of spiritua…
847 wordsSECTION 273The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 273
merel., human teacher or leader. One who was on the one hand so closely united to, the Di,:ine Father and on the other hand so truly a Son of man, as Jesns, Immanuel, could atone be spoken of thus. It was not possible to go further in expostulation than by the use of such language as this, addressed to those who con…
828 wordsSECTION 274The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 274
"puffeth up;" by itself it is sometimes worse than ignorance. Love, not actin" with- 0 out knowledge, but on the lines of knowledge, "bnildeth up." III. A SPECIAL CABE IN ILLUSTRATION. The Corinthians had written to the apostle respecting their liberty to eat meats which had been offered to idols. The portion of vic…
888 wordsSECTION 275The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 275
person ir. the Deity, were all things. Some have been led by this verse to question the divinity of Christ: it appears to teach it in a very impressive and convincincr manner. The administrntiYe, mcdiatinl): position occupied by Christ is indeed reco"~izecl but the assertion that "through" him all things were seems …
863 wordsSECTION 276The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 276
respect o_f such ~hat ~be war is waged .. 2. The second and third will generally be open to question. 'Ibe difficulty of proof 1s great. Facts, apparently conflicting, will be adduced, and where knowledge is limited and imperfect, the contest is likely to continue the advantage now seemingly being on one side and then …
882 wordsSECTION 277The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 277
\liry felt tbemseh-es quite free to partake of the sacrificial flesh when set before them. :l. There were those who could not get rid of the idea that au idol was a reality, and that consequently everything connected with the system they had abandoned was 1•olluted. Thus the question became an important one, and the …
912 wordsSECTION 278The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 278
mere vanities (comp. Isa. xliv. 9; Jer. x. 3; Ps. cxv. 4). How melancholy a picture -does this present of the condition of those who know not the true God! Men must worship, and so strong is this impulse that they first create the objects of worship and then bow down before them. It is the blind groping of the human mi…
1,192 wordsSECTION 279The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 279
Ver. 1.-K71owledqe and love. There is a great difference between being" puffed up" and being" built up." The one implies something pretentious and plausible, but hollow and unreal. It means show without substance, size without solidity, inflation withou\ real enlargement. The other implies the gradual accumulation o…
570 wordsSECTION 280The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 280
quality in it. It docs not make men one whit the nobler, purer, more gracious in heart and lifo. It in no way promotes the reign of those Divine principles ot· "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost," in which the kingdom of GoJ consists. II. 'rHE LOVE THAT BUILDETH UP. Take love here in the highest and broa…
860 wordsSECTION 281The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 281
might unconsciously cat of meat, either a.t the house of a. friend or by purchasing it himself in the public shambles, which ha.d been previously brought in contact by sacrificial use with an idol." Exactly how to trea.t such a matter it wa.s not easy to say. Some had no compunctions in partaking of such food. Others h…
841 wordsSECTION 282The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 282
the open and trusting soul. If we arc known of God, taken into his special regard, and favour; if he "lilts upon us the light of his countenance,"-then we can be said to know him. But the knowledge comes alwaya by Divine condescension to us, not by the unaided efforts of our intellect. Our Lord put this truth under ano…
1,241 wordsSECTION 283The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 283
Ver. 9.-0ur dealings with weak brethren. Our liberty may become a stumbling- block to others, and against this we must be constantly on our guard. There will always be around us some "weak brethren." 1. They may be intellectually weak, really unable to grasp more than the simplicities of the truth, and readily think…
489 wordsSECTION 284The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 284
"weak brethren" n.s may give us a power of influence upon them. If we condescend to them, it can only be that we may lift them out of their weakness into strength. Such helpful influence we may exert (1) by direct teachings; (2) by our own personal example. Others may see that what they call "our Ii bert_y" in no way i…
1,269 wordsSECTION 285The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 285
EXPOSITION. CHAPTER IX. much that he says is of the nature of e. 'digression-though an important one-until Vers. I-27.-The righl.s and the self- he resumes the main thread of his subject denial of an apostle. at eh. xi. 15. Have I not seen Jesus Ch,rist Vers. 1-14.-An apostle's right to main- our Lord l Doubtless h…
532 wordsSECTION 286The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 286
the b1Lr of their criticism. Is this. 'rhat I Mary. This is the view of St. Clement of was the cause of your conversion. ID 2 Cor. Alexandria in ancient times, an<! writers xii. 12 ho refers to other proofs of his 1Lpos- so ditferent from each other as De Wette. tolic power. Ncander, Osiander, Meyer, Ewald, and Ver. 4…
969 wordsSECTION 287The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 287
literally rations (Luke iii. H; Rom. vi. other mny be set aside as far as our purpose 23). Ple.nteth a vineyard. Analogy from is concerned. In the mnrgin of the Revised the support of the \'inc-dressers (lllalt. ix. Version it is rendered "So.ith he it, as he 37). Feedeth a flock. Analogy from the doubtless doth, for o…
982 wordsSECTION 288The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 288
Ver. 14.-He.th the Lord ordained (Molt. had done merely what it was his b:1re duty x. 10; Luke x. 7). Tbo reference lms special to do (Luke xvii. 10). There is no merit in interest, because it shows that St. Paul was yielding to a must. nt least orally fo.milior with the discourses Ver. 18.-What is my reward thenl The …
986 wordsSECTION 289The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 289
with Gentile converts on terms of perfect ba,l even thrown tho Olympia gn111es into equality (Gnl. ii. 12). Not without law to the shade. 'rhe words "in n race,'' nre God. Not even "without law" (anomo,) rather, in the •ladium. The trnces of the Much less "opposed to law" (antiiiomos), great Corintbinn stndium, wher…
1,230 wordsSECTION 290The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 290
HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-21.-T/ie leading characteristics of a truly great gospel minister. "Am I not an apostle? am I not free?" etc. 'l'aking these verses as a whole, they illustrate some of the leading characteristics of a truly great gospel minister, and I offer the following remarks:- I. 'l'he greater the minister of…
633 wordsSECTION 291The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 291
kingdom of Satnn to the kingdom of Chri,t. No work on earth equal to this, "He that cml\"ertelh a sinner from the error of lus ways," etc. This work which I e1Tectc1l in you "~n the Lord," or by the _Lo_rd, is a <lcmonstration of my apostleship. What work agarn, 1 ask, approaches this m grandeur and importance? It i…
914 wordsSECTION 292The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 292
which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?" "The first part of the pa8~,1~c refer, to the general principle that the priests who were engaged in the temple se?·vice, were supported from the various offerings which were brought there; and the seconi i clause mure definitely alludes to the particular fact that…
1,095 wordsSECTION 293The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 293
Vers. 24-26.-.77ze Christian race. "Know ye not that they which run in a race, run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a. corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as unce…
721 wordsSECTION 294The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 294
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-14.-How St. I'aul regarded his apostleship and Us rights. To induce the Corinthians to deny themselves the exercise of a liberty they had in things indifferent, St. Paul had made the argument in the eighth chapter. Liberty was amenable to conscience, knowledge secondary to love, an…
695 wordsSECTION 295The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 295
cl0scly linked. Interr0gation abounds. He is nn apostle; a free nposlle; au npostlo "·ho saw not Christ in his humiliation, and never knew him after the flesh, but has seen him in his glorification, and dates his conversion from the spectacle of his Divine exaltation; and, last of all, an apostle whose success among…
923 wordsSECTION 296The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 296
Vers. 15-23.-Reasons for this self-denial. The rights bad been resigned, the power to use his privileges had been unused, and the obligation, self-assumed, was to be perpetual. Did any one suspect otherwise? " Better for me to die" than this matter of boasting should be taken from me. No ground for boasting exi~ted …
775 wordsSECTION 297The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 297
and in this way perfecting the argument, \Vas he not a philosopher of profounl½ insight in this method of mental procedure? Dismiss, for an inst::mt, the view of him as a Christbn apostle, and look at him as an ethical thinker. To induce men to practis& the self-denial of power, he marshals all the social and sympat…
1,228 wordsSECTION 298The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 298
Vers. 1, 2.-Signs of apostleship. Why should Paul, departing from his nsual custom, speak here of himself and of bis claims? Undoubtedly because in this Christian society at Corinth there were those, prompted by Judaizing teachers, who called in question his apostleship, his equality with those who had been the comp…
582 wordsSECTION 299The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 299
Vers. 11, 12.-Rights assei·ted and fo1·ego11e. No passacre in Paul's writin(l's more re,·eals to us the nobility of the man's nature than this. A°s we read, we feel that such a character could not fail to command the admiration and sympathy of all who were capable of appreciating it. The apostle's abilities were crr…
819 wordsSECTION 300The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 300
explanation of a life so different from the ordinary life of men; a life which Paul hilmelf ncknowledged to be one of toil, of privation, of suffering, and persecution. "Necessity was laid upon him." In Asia and in Europe, to ,Jews and to Gentiles he offered with warmth and cordiality the unsearchable riches of Christ.…
991 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.