PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians
Frederic William Farrar [1831-1903] · 297,658 words · 333 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 61
" glorious." Of righteousness. Involving or, med t,o put, e. veil on his face when he the further conception of "justification," WI had finished speaking to the people. That in Rom. v. 21; i. 16, 17; iv. 25; v. 21. the ohildren of Israel oould not steadfastly Ver. 10.-For. He proceeds to show look to the end of that…
1,039 wordsSECTION 62The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 62
with the.t which prevented them o.lso from tnrn? Ta the Lor1l. " Bnt tte Lord ie the seeing the transitory character of hie Lo.w. Spirit." The w.ord "Rpirit" could not be It had been as it were taken from hie face introduced thus abruptly and vaguely; it and laid on their hearts (see Acts xiii. mnet refer to something …
1,256 wordsSECTION 63The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 63
HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-5.-Sou'l-Zitemture. "Do we begin a.gain to commend ourselves?" etc. l1! the early Church it was customary for the member who was travelling into another locality to take with him a letter of commendation from the Church to· which he or she belonged. The apostle says he did not require such a docu…
631 wordsSECTION 64The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 64
much of w9rds. "Tb,e words of man's wisdom," high-soundin"' sentences, oratoric periods, they scrupulously studied. The spirit of thougM is so s~btlc tha.t it goes off in the attempt to give it grand verbal costume. (2) The t11eor£st. Those who throw into a logical system the ideas they have derived from the gosrl; he …
836 wordsSECTION 65The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 65
was the theatre of magnificent manife.stations-the pillar, the manna 0 the flowin"' rock, the riven sea, etc. 4. TM sp'lendid intellects which were employed in connectio~ with it. Solomon, Elijah, Daniel, David, Ezekiel. For these reasons Divine revelation as it came through Moses was truly glorious. • II. 'l'hat a…
1,069 wordsSECTION 66The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 66
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1-6.-No letters of commendation needed; his cunverts were epistles. In the close of the last chapter St. Paul had spoken of men who corrupted the Word of God (retailed it as a commodity for their own profit), and he had put himself and his ministry in contrast to them. Likely enoug…
687 wordsSECTION 67The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 67
Vers. 7-:-11.-Ministry of the Old Testament compared with that of the New, and tlie superiority oj the latter shown. He speaks now of the "ministration of death " not of it as the ministry of the letter; and yet it was " glorious." Compared with th; reve- lation made to Enoch, Abraham, Jacob, it was "glorious." Whet…
760 wordsSECTION 68The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 68
limitation organic iµ: its structure. .Now, on this basis, the glorious economy or which Moses was the minister, and the transientness of its duration, St. Paul builds an e.rgv.ment for the superior glory of the gospel. It is the "ininistl'll.tion" of the Holv Ghost. It is " the ministration of righteousness." Under th…
876 wordsSECTION 69The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 69
contrast between the Law and the gospel presents & new aspect. Moses had veiled his face, "that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished." 'l'he veil concealed the evanescence of the brightness and was symbolic of that judicial blindness which fell upon Israel. "Their mind…
892 wordsSECTION 70The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 70
nothing of myself"); not only did he wait for its baptismal descent upon him before entering on his ministry, and' acknowledge his presence in his miracles and teaching (" lfl cast out devils by the Spirit of God." etc.';" '!'he words I speak unto you, I speak: not of myself"); but, in the most solemn hours of his exis…
919 wordsSECTION 71The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 71
in word or deed, do all in the Ni>.me of the Lord Jesus;•• And,if11 :growing excellen~ti'l!i i,een in this, that in harmony with its freedom and its development of spiritual con- sciousness and conscience, it has an unveiled face. 'l'he eye is open and unhindered. Nothing intervenes between it and the glory of the Lo…
930 wordsSECTION 72The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 72
so helpful. It ia reflected upon the intellect, the sense-orcrans, the ontward world and dissipates the occasional gloom that falls upon us wh_e; Satan's "It is written,: obscures our perceptions, or when the logic of the sense-intellect gathers its mists about our pathway. Blessed hours of illumination are those which…
847 wordsSECTION 73The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 73
II. THE EPISTLE-CHRISTIANS. As a friend and counsellor, when on a jour.1ey and at a distance, communicates by letter with those who need his guidance and tbe assur- ance of his interest, 80 our Lord, though he has ascended on high, is ever sending epistles to the children of men. Every Christian upon whom he impress…
845 wordsSECTION 74The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 74
reasonable to believe, whe.t we find to be the ce.se, that that which displaces e.nd Sllper- eedes what was good is itself preferable and more excellent. _ II. THE SPIRIT IS BETTER TH.AN THE LETTER. yet .. the letter" was adapted to the childhood of the race, and was indeed necessary for the communicatJion of the spir…
820 wordsSECTION 75The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 75
inclinations and fancies, the spiritual glory of the Saviour is not discernible, It only needs that, under the guidance of the Spirit of God, the mind should look away from self t.o Chr(st, in order that at once the scales should fall from the eyes of the beholder, and the veil should drop from the face of the Redeen1e…
804 wordsSECTION 76The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 76
the Teacher and the servant mirrors the Lord. We are living 'represent.atives of the Divine Heac1. . • III. GLOBrous TBANBFOBMATION, Faith in Christ and fellowship with Christ are the forces which produce assimilation to Christ. Th~image which is beheld seems to infix itself upon the mirror-like soul that receives it.…
896 wordsSECTION 77The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 77
have our foolish insertions entirely altered the meaning of what the Divine fin"ers were tracing! What chaos, confusion, disaster, have come into the epistle of our lif~ because it bas been largely of ourselves and not of God I How poor bas been the influence of the life-letter because it has not been inspired of the H…
884 wordsSECTION 78The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 78
changes occurring during the residence of the human family in the world. 1'hs old covenant was imperfect; it demanded ;;omething beyond itself; it was desi"'ned to do this. There is no such element in the nelV. lt is complete; it calls r:i. nothin"' outside of its own provisions. , "' IV. A COVENANT OF SURPASSING GLOR…
850 wordsSECTION 79The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 79
V. THE VEIL IS REMOVED AS WE TURN TO THE LoRD. (Ver.-16.) When the Jew, led by the Spirit, believed on Christ, the veil, which had obscured his vision of the old covenant, and which had thus ~rvert;ed his being and life, was removed. He saw then the true significance of the old economy, and perceived ihat Christ in his…
898 wordsSECTION 80The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 80
to set him forth in daily life, that we become .ehanged into• his image, As we strenu- ously endeavour to be like him we become like him. Our -endeavour to reflect him is responb-d to by the change in us which enables us to reflect him. Reflecting his glory 11,e a mirror, we are changed into the same image. VI. THE Wo…
856 wordsSECTION 81The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 81
God and such is the epistJe of Christ-an argument surely for Christian consistency and for brotherly concord, that the sacred epistle may not be rendered unintelligible. ~f each memberofa_ Church abide in _his place, a1;1d all ~ogetber dwell in peace and walk m the truth, there lS produced an epistle of Chnst which …
882 wordsSECTION 82The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 82
Most apparent was the killing power of the Jett.er in that generation of Hebrews to which Pan! himself belonged. They gloried in circumcision, but had it in the flesh only, and not in the heart. They sought life by the law of works, and fell under its condemnation. The more devoted they were to religious peculiarities …
884 wordsSECTION 83The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 83
glory." Aod he had some vision of the Almighty, and heard Jehovah God proclaim hi11 Name as he pa.ssro by; but the God of Israel said, "Thou canst not see my face.'' Now t_his, which was imi:,ossiblo under tbe old covenan~ and ~hich was thought of by the faithful a.s the ble.ssmg of a future state (Ps. xvu. 16), 1s …
938 wordsSECTION 84The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 84
attainment. But the truth lies here, that, as we receive out of Christ's fulness grace for grace, so are we transformed into his likeness from glory to glory, the licrht of the Lorcl gaining upon us and dispelling all the darkness until we are "light''in the Lord.'· 3. While this change follows a law of moral influence…
908 wordsSECTION 85The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 85
name of t.~e ~rm. So it is _found of practical value that ~lergymen and ministers going to other d1stncts or countries should have such attestation as will win for them the confidence of those to whom they may happen-to minister, Several questions of interest arise in connection with this subject. 1. From what centra…
829 wordsSECTION 86The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 86
frl'.e of his close and intimate relations with God. His" sufficiency" is never of himself. 1. He works for another, and has no self-seeking ends to gain. 2. He works at the wi1Z of another, holding himself ever in attitudes of dependent and submissive obedi• ence, saying continually, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to d…
876 wordsSECTION 87The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 87
l~I. IN THE TEAClllNGS OF THE PROPHETS. __ It was almost the one essential thing in their work that they were to set free the spmt of the older revelation which was in danger of being overcrushed by the letter of commandment and ccrem'onial rule. It may even be shown that, in the prophets, there was a tendency to un…
815 wordsSECTION 88The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 88
I. BECAUSE THERE Ill LIFE, A new life, a Divide life, Life can always be allowed its free and natural expression. It is disease that must be set in limitations and bon- dages. The forces and expressions of life are evenly and harmoniously balanced ; and order is pre.served when life is permitted to be free.· The expres…
901 wordsSECTION 89The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 89
attention. 1. How is the vision of God granted to us? 2. What influence does the vialou of God exert? I. H('lw rs THE VISION OF Goo GRANTED TO us? Man can never find rest for head or heart ~ave in God. . The deepest longing of every human soul is tha vision of God. Idolatry 1s the expression of the desire to find a…
872 wordsSECTION 90The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 90
iii. 13). It occurs again in ver. 16, and in eyes that should gaze on it are wil(ully Luke xviii. I; Gal. vi. 9; Eph. iii. 13. closed. Similorly in eh. ii. 16, he has com- Ver. 2.-Bot have renounoed; mther, but pared the gospel to a fragrance of Iifo, yet u,e re11ounced. We renounced them once and to the doomed captiv…
1,041 wordsSECTION 91The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 91
J Gsus' sake, So Christ had hllllllclf desired utter despair; but in the normal conditions (Matt. xx. 27). which he here describes he e.lwo.ys, e.s it Ver. 6.-Who commanded the light to were, so.w some outlet out of his worst per- shine out of darkness. The argument of the plexities. verse is that God, who created t…
1,091 wordsSECTION 92The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 92
Ver. 14.-Whioh raised up the Lord 1ellll.l Ver. 17,-l'or our light affliction, which ii (see 1 Cor. vi. 14). Shall raise up 118 also. but for a moment; liternlly,/or the imme- The thought is again expressed in Rom. viii diate lightnu/J of our ajJ/iction. Worketh for 11. Ae he is here alluding mainly to the us . . Is…
986 wordsSECTION 93The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 93
of dishonesty," or rather, of" shame." Every element and form 'lf sin is a thin11 of "shamt>," a t~ing which makes the conscience blush. Falsehood, iuchastity, mean;ess, selfishness, dishonesty, are all things for shame and disgust. A true minister h:t11 renounced all these things, he is thoroughly cleansed of them. …
834 wordsSECTION 94The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 94
as the Mediator between God and man. He whose grand mission it is t.o reconcile man to his Maker. 2. Preach him as the great Example foi: man's imitation. fie who embodies the ideal of human perfection and blessedness. III. The RIGHT SERVICE in preaching. "Ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." The true preacher is…
818 wordsSECTION 95The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 95
yi&orous in intellect is wea.k, the most lofty in. genius is feeble, the moat enlightened' 1s ignorant. III. As DEVELOPING A DIVINE PORl'OSE, '' That the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." 'l'he grand reason why frail men are employed to preach the gospel is that the glorious renovating and soul-sa…
821 wordsSECTION 96The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 96
Vers, 14, 15,-SOU,l-inspiring Jw;ts. "Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus," etc. There are four glorious facts here. . I. 'l'HAT CmlIBT WAS RAISED FBOM THE DEAD. "Knowing tha, he which raised up the Lord Jesus." "No fact in history," says Dr. Arnold," is more firmly estab- lished by argument than this.'' 1…
881 wordsSECTION 97The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 97
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-6.-Glory qf the apostolw ministry; how its duties we1·e discharqed. It is still "this ministry." 'l'he question, "Who is sufficient for these things?" has been answered in part by a state~ent of his "sincerity " and " plainness of speech," and ~e now_ proceeds to speak ?f hIS coura…
695 wordsSECTION 98The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 98
would be accepted and acted on by some, while it would be opposed and disobeyed by many. But who were the rejecters? "If our gospel be.hid, it is hid to them that are lost" (who are no_w perishingJ, not finally lost, but at pr':58nt unsaved, their day of grace not over, salvation yet possible. The state spoken of 1s on…
907 wordsSECTION 99The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 99
"Light," "knowledge," "glory of God,"" face of Jes\18 Christ,"-what n collocation ot sublime ideas !-L. V11s. 7-18.-Ministers in their weakneu and strength; present affliction and future issues. There is the ever-recurring contrast. It is now the ministry as a "treasure" and this treasure is " in earthen vessels." We…
887 wordsSECTION 100The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 100
ing, we may look at in the light of mod.em physiology, St. Paul is no teacher of physiology or of science in any form., but he mentions facts, which we can interpret by aid_ o~ recent scien".8. What, then, do_ we ~now of d~y as _a bodily law? We know it lS a law co-existent and co-operative with our physical life. It…
936 wordsSECTION 101The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 101
we may find out what company we keep when he is absent. Day by day, the most precious of all is a growing nearness to the Lord Jesus Christ. We can recall the time when he was mainly to our young souls a traditional Christ. We knew him by the hearing of the ear and by the sight of the eye. Voices there were that spoke …
951 wordsSECTION 102The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 102
Vers. 3, 4.-The gospel veiled. Those things which are int.ended for man's welfare are often so perverted by sin that they become the occasion of the greatest evils. So that it is proverbial that the best things, when abused, prove to be the worst. The 0"Ospel of Jesus Christ, when it is received aright, is a power to e…
714 wordsSECTION 103The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 103
3. Christ as a Mediator,complete in all the qualifications needed to discharge the duties of all the offices he sustains. 4. Christ as a livi119 Person-One who has not ceBSed to interest himself in men because he is no longer among them in bodily form; but One who, as represented in the Apocalypse, is living with an…
819 wordsSECTION 104The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 104
gosp~l which he preached, the mys~ry which he unfolded, The promise of free pardon for sm, ~fa new l_a"! an~ pow~r for hfe, was what the apostles were privileged to convey to manktnd, This IS still, as 1t was then, the true wealth of the world which enriches the mind and heart of man. 2. Upon whose authority this "trea…
854 wordsSECTION 105The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 105
inferior importance, as soon to pass away. Men are prone to exaggerate the events of this perishiug life; but Christians must sec them 88 they appear to God. 2. The regards must be steadily fixed upon the unseen; i.e. upon the Christ who has gone before us, and who is apprehended in the exercise of faith ; upon the hea…
1,243 wordsSECTION 106The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 106
Ver. 7.-11 Earthen 1/Ullels." I. GoD HAS CHOSEN AS MINlBTERS OF ws GOSPKL 11 EARTHEN VESSELS." 1. Not angels or other celestial beings. Not henveuly vessels, but earthly. 2. Men. (1) Frail; (2) imperfect; (3) lowly; (4) wcnk; (5) unimposing. II. 'l'BESE EARTHEN VESSELS ARE HELD m THE DIVINE HAND. 1. T11ey arB thus …
1,269 wordsSECTION 107The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 107
the long service of glory. Through much tribulation we unter the kinudom and are prepared for its duties. The joys of heaven are dependent on the sorr~ws of earth; without the latter we should not be ready for the former. "Tribulation worketh patience,n eto. (Rom. v. 3). 3. Whilst suffering cannot in any way merit salv…
862 wordsSECTION 108The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 108
vice t-0 be restrained, selfishness to be corrected, and count it a mllre waste of time to 1,peak so much of a Personage who lived, and the things which he said and did in J udrea ever so long ago? Do they ask, " What good can this do?" We a.re bold to answer-If this will not do good, nothing will. Moral directions and…
898 wordsSECTION 109The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 109
this knowledge to others. It was his daily care and effort to epread abroad that know- ledge. And its prop11gation in the early ages of Christianity seemed like a fulfilment of the ancient prophecy that" the knowledge of the glory of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." Ill. THE LIGHT OF THE KN…
845 wordsSECTION 110The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 110
and perfect prot.ection by law, shows less of conscience-convincing and heart-compelling power than the primitive ministry did when it was surrounded by difficulty and threatened with death. When it seemed weak, it WAS strong; and now that it seems strong, it is weak. As some explanation of this, it is only fair to …
1,159 wordsSECTION 111The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 111
Ver. 16.-Inward rmewal and outward decay. The contr:i.st hero is not that which the apostle draws elsewhero between the flesh and tho spirit, or tho old mnn nnd tho new. That is a moral distinction. But this is between the physicl\l nnd tho spirit.uni in man, the outward and palpable on the one hand, the inward and imp…
895 wordsSECTION 112The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 112
Ver. 18.-Seeing the unseen. I. THE HABIT OF :MmD HERE DESCRIBED. The apostle i;peaks, not of an act or effort, but of a steady mental habit which he had formed-an intentness of regard in a particular direction. He describes it in a form that sounds 11aradoxical, but the thing meant is well known to all experimental C…
472 wordsSECTION 113The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 113
as. he is pure." And ~hie is no selfish h?pe, no ~otistical am~ition. It is the hope of being cro~ed along with all wh_o love his appean_ng, ~nd of being rewarded along with all the fa1thf~ servants of the Kmg. 2. U<>nsola~wn in hardship a'Tld adversity. Even when a lamp 1s not near enough to cast a clear light on our …
892 wordsSECTION 114The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 114
The true revival is the freeing of the truth to win its own good way. We can haRe no ground for glorying comparable to this-" the Word of God is not bound.'.'-R. T. Ver. 4.-(Jhrist as tM Image of God. "The glorious gospel of Christ, who is the Image of God..n From 1 Cor. xi. 7 we learn that there is a sense in which…
869 wordsSECTION 115The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 115
who stored up their treasures of gold and silver, to fill jars or earthenwnre wifo coin or bullion" _(see J_er. :uxii 14).. To t1?Js ~ns_tom allusi?n is !llade. St. Paul says that in these frail bodies of ours, with their limited faculties and powers, in these "earthen vessels " we have that priceless treasure, the kno…
876 wordsSECTION 116The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 116
of Christ. In that, standing alone, he could have found no nst, no inspiration. He saw also this, that our Lord's sufferings were just the dark background that threw out so perfectly,_ wilh such well-defined lines and graceful forms, his noble spirit, his Divine charact<ir, his sublime sonship, his blessed life. And…
888 wordsSECTION 117The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 117
soul's life just as directly depend upon the food with which it is no11rished. Would you get more good work out of your souls? '£hen you must feed them better. Do you expose your souls to much peril? 'l'hen you must improve and increase their food. We may speak of the soul's life as beingfaith and love, and as havina f…
909 wordsSECTION 118The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 118
man perishf's, but be is not going to be Md or t.o faint &bout it, elnoe the inw1ml man is renewed day by d11.y. And Paul llllys that there is such 11.n·intimate relation between these two that, by the dying of the one, the life of th~ at.her ia actually furthered. Our light afflictions -and our testing death are ev…
923 wordsSECTION 119The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 119
EXPOSITION. which only the gree.test wrlter11 can venture CIJAl'TER V. Th0 corruptible yeome to clothe itaelf with OonUnu11Uon of the topio thot hope is the the incorruptible, the mortal with immor- chief Hnpport of the preooher of the gospel trility (1 Cor. xv. 53). The glorified body is compared to an over-garme…
972 wordsSECTION 120The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 120
tmnRit,,ry m(lrtal body. Do groan. a Oh ncRrnesa of presence and the clet\meea of w1'f'khC'<J mnn thot I atn I ...-ho shall dcli,•er ,·ision in that future life will be so muoh me from 1he body of this d!•ath?" (Rom. vii. l'lOflC1t Rnd brighter, I.hat here, by oomparieon, 24). Being burdened.. "The ooffllptible we a…
1,090 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.