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 481
The phrase is a qunlincnlion of th•· Rlrong associations corrupt excellent morals." metaphor, "I fought with be11sts." It is According to the b8st rea,Jing (xpTJtr7il., not -equivalent to "humanly speaking." 'fhie xp11rr6'), St. Paul does not q u0te it as an is Chrysoslom'e view. It ie the most iambic, and in itself …
1,005 wordsSECTION 482The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 482
iudirectl:v and by annlogy, implies that tho him Hamlet," hut the spiritual life which is rcrnrrcct10n-body is the same body, not so linl,ed on earth to that perpetual flux of much by way of material identity as of glori- material particles which we call the body,. fied individuality. but is independent of those partic…
973 wordsSECTION 483The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 483
Church, otc. One star dift'ereth from another discourses wero current among the apo- star in glory. All the righteous shall shine stles long before the Gospels were written. as " the brightness of the firmament and ... Tertullio.n attributes the insertion of as the ate.re for ever o.nd ever" (Dan. xii. 3), " the Lord "…
980 wordsSECTION 484The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 484
of the Lord; " c'lr (2) even if he no longer The apostles and evangelists, not liohling -entertRined that expectation, the" we" may the slavish and superstitious fetieh-worabip 1111.turally apply to the continuity of 1he of the dead lettor, often regard it as suffi- Christian Church. For in 2 Cor. iv. 14 he cient to…
992 wordsSECTION 485The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 485
work of your lives, which is his work. That continued to appenl to the phamix as a proof your labour is not in vain. The thought of of the resurrection. The greatest ancient the verse is the s11me ns that of Gnl. vi. 9, thinkers-like Tacitus-believed in the "And let us not be weary in well doin.,.; existence of that…
1,139 wordsSECTION 486The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 486
Vers. 12-19.-Terrible conclusions resulting from the denial of two great gospel facts. "Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say.some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then is ou…
604 wordsSECTION 487The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 487
ma.ri has no evidence of a future state, nor that, on the supposition that there is no future life,_ the practic~ of virtue is not to be preferred to that of vice. It is imr,I icd that the higher the object of our hope, and the more of the soul that goes into it, the more overwhelmingly crushing will be the disappointm…
882 wordsSECTION 488The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 488
field to be ~athercd in. "Our vile bo,lies shall bo fashioned and made like unto bis glorious body." III. AN IJSFLUE~TIAL FACT. "For since by man camo death, by man ce.me also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.'' Between the influence of Adnm and that of Ch…
956 wordsSECTION 489The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 489
Ver. 20.-The Church-world. "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all?" etc. There is a Church-world-a world inside, the general world of mankind, and in many respects distinct from it; a community of men whose priuciples, spirit, aim, character, and destiny distinguish them f…
1,036 wordsSECTION 490The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 490
Vers. 30, 31.-Daily dying. "Why stand we," etc.? The apostles, in their efforts. to extend the go5pel, endured great afflictions and involved themselves in terrific perils, and if there be no future life, Paul asks, why should they have done so? "Why stand we in jeopardy every hour ? " Why should we thus "die daily"…
686 wordsSECTION 491The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 491
Vers. 32, 33.-Beasts at Ephesus. "If after the manner of men," etc. The words lead us to consider four subjects. 1. A LOW JUDGMENT of human nature. "Beasts at Ephesus." There is no good reason for supposing that Paul meant literally beasts. By wild beasts he means men gross and savage in wickedness. Paul was not alone…
904 wordsSECTION 492The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 492
III. ~'HE vo~cE BY W~ICH WE ARE SUMMONED. '!'his may be regarded as God's voice to man m all ~1mes and m_ all lands. Wake up to the right. 'l.'o the right in politics, commerce, religion, and 1n all departments of life. Healize the right, embody the right. The crime and curse of humanity is that it is gone from the rig…
624 wordsSECTION 493The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 493
Bclf-move,l, advance: the distant head, the feet Drendful to view, see, through the dusky sky l<'ragrncnts of bodies in confusion fly; To distant regions journeying there to claim Deserted members and complete the frame." Science, of course, laughs all this to scorn. It tells us how the human body, as to the partic…
902 wordsSECTION 494The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 494
according to his own l)leasure. "Giveth it a body as it has pleased him." He chose the form, the hue, the gait of each life. Our resurrection-body will be as it "hath pleased him." Then it will be beautiful, for he is the God of all taste, tho Fountain of all beauty, the Standard of all resthetics. Then it will be u…
915 wordsSECTION 495The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 495
world. It is in all matc~ial existences. It has been said that one-seventh of our -earth's crust is comprised of limestone, and limestone contains the sepulchres of departed existences. We feed on death, and by our own death become food for future -existences. The husk is not the germ, the body is not the man. It is h…
968 wordsSECTION 496The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 496
Ver. 45.-The two Adams. "The first man," de. A specification of some of the points between the two Ad;1ms of resemblances and of dissimilarity will suggest 9, line of spiritual thought at once interesting, instructive, and practical. I. THE RESEMBLANCE. 1. The existence of each rose not in the ordinary course of natur…
702 wordsSECTION 497The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 497
spheres of their activities. 1. The one is sensuous, the ot,her spiritual. The earthly man is material, partially developed, and gross. (1) Jn his views of happiness . .All his pleasures are of a sensuous order. (2) In his views of wealth. He knows of no mnn th1it is rich but he who possesses worldly property. (3) In h…
847 wordsSECTION 498The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 498
Of order and of good. Whato'cr we see, Whate'er we f<'el, by agency direct Or indirect., shall tend to feed and nurse Our faculties, shnll fix in calmer seats Of morn\ strength, and raise to loftier hei.,hts 0 Of love Divine, our intellectual soul." (Wordsworth.) Vers. 50-54.-Ompo_real tra":"sformation. "Now th…
775 wordsSECTION 499The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 499
exchange the "old man" for the new-the old moral character for the new and Christly character, It may be both lawful, I think, and perhaps useful to use the words in another sense than that in which Paul employs them. 'Ne may apply them not to the material part of human nature, but to the mental and moral. And because …
1,064 wordsSECTION 500The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 500
Vers. 55-57.-Deatli in idea. "0 death, where is thy sting?" etc. These words, which are a shout of victory evoked by what has preceded, suggest to us the populat and the Christian ideas of death. Notice- !. THE POPULAR IDEA. 'l'he language implies that the bulk of the race view death not as the writer did; that the i…
680 wordsSECTION 501The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 501
Ver. 58.-The worl. of works. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stead- fast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." "Therefore." This is the practirnl conclusion of the sublime argume~t which Paul had conducted on the resurrection, in …
891 wordsSECTION 502The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 502
HOMILIBS BY V.ARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-;;-4.-In~i·oductio'!· "Moreover" indicates a change of ·subject. "Declar~ unto yo~, or remmd Y?u, 1s so1:11ewhat emphatic. What St. Paul brings to memory are cert.am fundamental ideas winch he does not hesitate to call "the gospel" the glad tidings of God to the world. It w~s t…
768 wordsSECTION 503The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 503
for his own sake nnd for the sake of others. The change was a momentous affair in the history of the Jewish Church no less than the Christian Church, and, accordino-ly he speaks of liimsclf as hnving "received" the grace of God in an exceptional rnan~er: But were humnn means disowned? Was naturalness set at nought o…
893 wordsSECTION 504The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 504
the dead apply to all? ,vas there to be a g~nernl resurrect.ion? From this point of \·iew, we see why in the present case ho laid such stress on his dying for our sins. It ·was not death as an ordinary termination of life, but death considered in this exclu- siYe instance as an atoning death, as a vicarious and expi…
912 wordsSECTION 505The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 505
on the resurrection of the body by calling attention to the fact that the risen Christ "was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve." For the space of forty days he manifested himself at intervals to their senses, and during this intermediate period-a special dis- pensation to the disciples, differing widely from all that w…
892 wordsSECTION 506The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 506
probation and future re~ard. What had G_recian philosophy taught them? That the body was the seat of evil. What had Grecian art. taught them? 'l'o admire the body for sensuous purposes as a grat1ficat10n to resthetic tastes. And what had idolatrous worships shown them? 'l'he body degraded to the lowest vileness. Yet, i…
881 wordsSECTION 507The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 507
vain, and Christian faith was in vain. What a new EcclesiasteR is here! "Vanity ,of vnnitiea, all is vanity." But was this all? If a denial of man's resurrection necessitated the rejecti,.m of Ch1ist's resurrection; if the loss of bis resurrection swept .away bis atonement, seeing that there was no proof of its validi…
888 wordsSECTION 508The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 508
~spects _of the resurrect;on. The union of body an<l. soul, by which human nature 1s constituted, belongs in itself to the natural order of the universe, and therefore offors a common platform on which Adam and Christ alike stand the one as causincr death the other as the restorer of life forfeited. St. P,ml never '…
889 wordsSECTION 509The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 509
.consummate his victory over earth and hell when he resigns to God the Father his delegated soverei~nty a.s the Mediator. As in the forty dnys no ,vinds and water~ were to be stilled, no demoni,1c crossed his path to en.II fortl1 his power, no exertion made in the exercise of authority and rule over those inimical to…
899 wordsSECTION 510The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 510
nncl the imrnrd pressure was so hcnvy and constant, as that he suffered like a dying man, day b~· day. To particularize; if (metaphorically) he had "fought with beasts at Ephesus," what advantage was it if the dead rise not? Wns he facing all these tcrnble risks, hour by hour, to preach a gospel that left Christ imp…
871 wordsSECTION 511The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 511
questions growing out of the relations between soul and body, questions on which Greek intellect had expended its subtlest power of investigation? And would not that memorable day in Athens flash back upon him from Mars' Hill, when he confronted the philosophers with the doctrine of the resurrection, some mocking, othe…
908 wordsSECTION 512The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 512
great facts alone, but has 11uperadded imS{!es, analogies, illustrations; and the grandc1 the truth, the more clear and copious its kindred associations. 'l'hat sense of corre, spondence which exists in us all, and is a mainstay of our convictions, is continually addressed by him, and by thousands of ties be binds t…
924 wordsSECTION 513The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 513
and, if once a body that represented the soul, now a body that is in perfect sympathy with spirit RB the highest organ in man for communion with God. The last antithesis is so important as to demand restatement: "'l.'here is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." Notice that the term "body" as used here derive…
1,173 wordsSECTION 514The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 514
Vers. 51-58.-Concluding argument and exhortation. If "flesh and blood" is. "corruption," and cannot inherit" incorruption," what then? Educate the present body to the offices of the mind; let every function do its legitimate work, and every organ be faithful to the organism; refine, beautify, ennoble it by all natur…
832 wordsSECTION 515The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 515
Vers. 1-5B.-The exposition and defence of the resurrection. This chapter stands, as it were, by itself in the Epistle, and indeed in the Scripture. The Gospels relate the fact of our Saviour's rising from the dead; but St. Paul in this passage, remarkable alike for closeness of reasoning, for fervour of eloquence, and …
1,049 wordsSECTION 516The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 516
Ver. 6.-" Some are fullen asleep." Rleep is a metaphor for death, which has been employed by the heathen poets, and by the r!l-bbinical writers, as well as by the inspired penmen of the Old and New 'l'estamcots. Dut Christianity has given to the figure an especial sanction and an especial appropriatene~s. I. Oua Lonn…
1,089 wordsSECTION 517The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 517
realizing what they involve. So it seems to have been with those Corinthian Christians who lent too willing an car to the false teachers who denied the resurrection of the dead. 'l'he _apostle "as justified in pointing out to snch that their smrender of this great doctnne and revelation involved virtually the denial…
1,085 wordsSECTION 518The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 518
Ver. 25.-The reign of the Redeemer. Even in his earthly humiliation, Christ was .a King. Once the devil offered him the kingdoms of the world ; once the people would have taken him by force and have mane him their King. Such secular dominion he sought not, neither would accept. Yet he entered Jerusalem in royal state;…
929 wordsSECTION 519The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 519
Vers. 36--38.-Death and quickening. Although the apostle deems himself to- have established the fact of the resurrection of the dead, by proving the resurrection of the Saviour, and by showing that the resurrection of Christ's people is a consequence of their Lord's resurrection, he is quite sensible of the difficul…
973 wordsSECTION 520The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 520
Ver. 49.-" The image of the heavenly." According to the reading of the original which is adoptecl, this passage bears an indicative or an imperative meaning. If imperative, then it is an admonition to cultivate and perfect in our character and life, even now upon C'arth, the moral and spiritual image of the Divine Lord…
1,069 wordsSECTION 521The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 521
Vere. 1-8.-Tne gospel which Paul preached. I. IT WAS A RECEIVED NOT AN ORIGI- NATED, GOSPEL. "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I als; received" (ver. 3). He tells us that he received it by "the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Gal. i. 12). He had the more confidence in it that it was not of himself, and …
868 wordsSECTION 522The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 522
He is a man of transparent honesty, as every Christian man should be. Whether honest~, be the best policy or not, it is the only Christian policy. II. CoxTRITIO~. As a man becomes spiritually great, he has keener reo-ret for old delinquencies. Paul cannot forgive himself for persecutino- the Church of Christ. That …
866 wordsSECTION 523The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 523
III. A VITAL QUESTION. With the answer Cbristbnity stands or falls. This the apostle willingly admits. Note what amongst other things is involved in the denial of the resurrection of Christ. 1. The falsity of the witnesses. (1) Yet everythincr these witnesseR Bay and ~o has the savour of sincerity. They live lives o…
877 wordsSECTION 524The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 524
Head and Representative, :ind through him comes to all the race deliverance from tho gram. In ueither has the personal, responsible act of men, apart from their rcprcscn- tafrrn heads, a place. The disadvantage through Adam and the advantacre 0 throtwh Chri~t come to all men, apart from their choice or desert. But thi…
843 wordsSECTION 525The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 525
·FOLLY OF SELF-DENIAL AND SUFFERING FOR CHRISTIANITY. These must be branded as imbecile; yet they have ever seemed most sublime. But if there be no resurrection -(the resurrection of the body being vital to the gospel and all its hopes, as Paul has shown in preceding verses of this chapter), the argument for such con…
935 wordsSECTION 526The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 526
Vers. 35-H.-The ?·esurrectivn of the body. This doctrine has presented the greatest :lifficulties to many minds. Here faith bas frequently found one of its severest tests. J. llt:T WE Ot:GIIT NOT TO DE STAGGERED DY ANY ~'A0T WHICH It; THE SUBJECT OF D1vINE REVELATION. God will assuredly justify himself and fulfil al…
764 wordsSECTION 527The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 527
revelation. We aro not told that the earthly body and the resurrection-body shall consist of tho same particles. In fact, the apostle seems expressly to combat such a notion; fur he says, " Thou sowest not that body which sl,all be" (ver. 3i), and in ver. 50, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of Goel." But…
1,023 wordsSECTION 528The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 528
Vers. 42-53.-The r~su,·rection-body. Limited to resurrection-body of redeemed, for we know not what will be that of the lost. Of the former in our present state we can know comparatively little. Still some valuable and cheering truths respecting it are revealed. I. IT \HLL BE: 1. IncorrupW!le. Our body now is corru…
681 wordsSECTION 529The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 529
Vera. 54-57.- Victory on the last baltle-field. I. WE HAVE MANY BATTLES TO FIGHT, EUT THE ONE MOST DREADED IS THE LAST-THE CONTEST WITH DEATH. Life is a series -of contests. The battles of childhood are by no means insignificant, and they are many. In eve1y succeeding stage of life contests continue. Life is a cha11!…
1,774 wordsSECTION 530The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 530
pity leading him to make effort and sacrifice in accomplishing the purposes which love ,c11n fashion. II. 'l'm: GOSPEL OF THE MIRACLES. The " good news," thus illustrated for us is that there is no ill from which humanity suffers, no bitter and terrible and seemingly hopeless consequence of sin, which Divine love an…
1,149 wordsSECTION 531The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 531
Ver. 3.-Death for sins. "How that Christ died for our sins." Here history is bound up with theology. The historical fact is that Christ died. More carefully con- sidered, the historical fact is that he died for no sins of his own, but was put to death by the malice and sin of bitter enemies. The theological fact whi…
738 wordsSECTION 532The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 532
Ver. 20.-" Christ the Firsifruits." In the previous verses the apostle has fully illustrated this point, that the consequences of rejecting the truth of the resurrection are altogether more serious than any that can conceivably attend belief. If Christ be not risen, then our faith is vain, preaching is vain, even the a…
811 wordsSECTION 533The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 533
Vers. 21-23, 15.-The two Adams. In introducing this subject, set forth, explain, and ill us Irate the distinctions between the relations in which man stands to God as an individual, as b~und together in the membership of a community or nationality, or as a specially constituted race. In all matters of government and or…
761 wordsSECTION 534The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 534
Ver. 26.-Man's lase enemy. For e:lCb individual death is the last enemy, in the sense of_ being the worst, the one unconquerable enemy; and it is the last in time, so far as time concerns our earthly sphere. The apostle's thought is, that he who has proverl himself able to mate and master death, by his own resurrection…
937 wordsSECTION 535The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 535
Ver. 28. -The close of the Jfediator's mission. This is a passage of almost extreme di~culty, because fitting into a general ~chen~e of the universe which we find it very difficult to understand, and because dealmg with a future so transcendent and sublime as to be bey?nd the grasp of our imagination. Treated theologic…
794 wordsSECTION 536The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 536
Vers. 29-32.-Baptismfor the dead. The apostle evidently allud-,s to some custom of the early Church, or some sentiment that prevailed concerning a custom "which has not come down to us. "'.l'he only tenable interpretation of the passage is that them -existed amongst some of the Christians at Corinth a practice of bapti…
1,153 wordsSECTION 537The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 537
Vers. 39-44.-Enlarged conceptions of the te1·m "body." The genera.I idea of" body,.. is a material form so set in relation to a material world, by its senses and sensibilities, that a spiritual being using such form, or body, can dwell in the material world. 'l'ben• there can be all sorts of bodies, according to the re…
557 wordsSECTION 538The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 538
EXPOSITION, CHAPTER XVL was done at home, bnt when the money was accumule.ted, it was doubtless brought to the VtJrs. 1-18.-Directions and arrange• nssembly nn<l handed over to the presbyters. ments. As God ha.th prospered him ; rather, what- Ver. 1.-Now concerning the collection soever he has been prospered in; i.…
889 wordsSECTION 539The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 539
rornpellcd to exercise a severity which, he able. In every allusion to him we ftnd h0pecl. might be obvinted by writing to them traces of a somewhat timid and sensitive nnd dehlying his intended visit. Notlling disposition (1 Tim. v. 21-23; 2 Tim. i., but his usual delicacy and desire to spare 6-8, etc.). He may wel…
1,008 wordsSECTION 540The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 540
he shall have convenient time ; rntber, Ver. 19.-The Churches of Asia. Procon- ,vlten a aond opportunity offers itself to him. eular Asio.. There was a constant inter- Whether Apollos ever revisited Corinth or change of voyages between the western not we do not know. coast of Asia and Corinth. Aquila. and Ver. 13.-…
969 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.