1, 12. I greatly desired him ; or, I of ten exhorted him^ that he would come^ &c. W does not here mean, in order that, but indicates the purport of the request.
13. 14. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you Hke men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity.
These coneise exhortations form a fitting close to the epistle ; each being adajited to the peculiar circumstances of the Cormthians, though of course applicable to all Christians in their conflicts with the world. 1. He exhorts them to watch, i. e. to be wakeful, constantly on the alert, that their spiritual enemies might not gain advantage over them before they were aware of their danger. 2. Beset as they were with false teachers, who handled deceitfully the word of God, 2 Cor. 4, 2, he exhorts them to standfast in the faith. Do not con- sider every point of doctrine an open question. Matters of faith, doctrines for which you have a clear revelation of God, such for example as the doctrine of the resurrection, are to be considered settled, and, as among Christians, no longer mat- ters of dispute. There are doctrines embraced in the creeds of all orthodox churches, so clearly taught in Scripture, that it is not only useless, but hurtful, to be always calHng them into question. 3. Quit you like inen. The circumstances of the Corinthians called for great courage. They had to with- stand the contempt of the learned, and the persecutions of the powerful. 4. Be strong. Not only courage, but strength, was needed to withstand their enemies, and to bear up under the trials which were to come upon them. 5. Let all your affairs he conducted in love., i. e. let love prevail, m your hearts, in your families, in your assemblies. The preceding parts of the epistle show how much need there was for this exhorta^ tion ; as the church was rent with factions, and even the Lord's supper, every where else a feast of love, had become in Corinth a fountain of bitterness.
15. 16. I beseech you, brethren, [ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first-fruits of Achaia, and (that) they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,] that ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with (us,) and laboureth.
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