Secondly, With respect imto their general nature, the apostle dis- tributes them into " gifts," ;)^ap/(r^aTa, verse 4; "administrations," bia-Kovtai, verse 5 ; " operations," hipyrifiara, verse 6 ; — which division, with the reasons of it, will in our progress be farther cleared.
Thirdly, He declares the general end of the Spirit of God in the communication of them, and the use of them in the church : Verse 7,
CHAP, l] the holy spirit AND HIS WORK. 21
" But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to pro- fit withal." ^av'spueig To\J linvfjjarog' ^^i\, nnm WvJ, — "the revelation of the Spirit;" that is, the gifts whereby and in whose exercise he manifests and reveals his own presence, power, and effectual opera- tion. And the Spirit of God hath no other aim in granting these his enlightening ■ gifts, wherein he manifests his care of the church, and declares the things of the gospel unto any man, but that they should be used to the profit, advantage, and edification of others. They are not bestowed on men to make their secular gain or advan- tage by them, in riches, honour, or reputation, — for which ends Simon the magician would have purchased them with his money, Acts viii. 18, 19, — no, nor yet merely for the good and benefit of the souls of them that do receive them ; but for the edification of the church, and the furtherance of faith and profession in others : Tlphg rh (SvfLfipov " Ad id quod expedit, prodest;" " For that which is expedient, useful, profitable," — namely, to the church, 1 Cor. vi. 12, x. 23; 2 Cor. viii. 10. Thus was the foundation of the first churches of the gospel laid by the Holy Ghost, and thus was the work of their building unto perfection carried on by him. How far present churches do or ought to stand on the same bottom, how far they are carried on upon the same principles, is worth our inquiry, and will in its proper place fall under our consideration.
Fourthly, The apostle distributes the spiritual gifts then bestowed on the church, or some members of ^t, into nine imrticidar heads or instances: as, — 1. Wisdom; 2. Knowledge, 1 Cor. xii. 8, or the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge; 8. Faith; 4. Healing, verse 9; 5. Working of miracles; 6. Prophecy; 7. Discerning of spirits; 8. Kinds of tongues; 9. Interpretation of tongues, verse 10. And all these were extraordinary gifts, in the manner of the communication and exercise, which related unto the then present state of the church. What is yet continued analogous unto them, or holding proportion with them, must be farther inquired into, when also their especial nature will be unfolded. But now if there be that great diversity of gifts in the church,^ if so much difference in their administrations, how can it possibly be prevented but that differences and divisions Avill arise amongst them on whom they are bestowed and those amongst whom they are exercised? It is true, this may so fall out, and sometimes doth so; and, de facto, it did so in this church of Co- rinth. One admired one gift, a second another of a different kind, and so the third. Accordingly, among those who had received them,
' " Ex hoc capite et pi'oximo licet coujicere quae fuerint dotes illius veteris ecclesiie Christians, pi-iusquara tot ceremoniis, opibus, impcriis, copiis, bellis aliisque id genus esset onerata. Nunc fere tot praeclara munia ad unam Potestaterq redacta sunt : h. e., Christi titulo palliatam Tj^rannidem. Quid cnim aliud est potestas nisi adsit animus apostolicus ?" — Erasm. Annot. ad v. 4.
22 GENERAL PRINCIPLES CONCERNING [BOOK L
one boasted of this or that particular gift and ability, and would be continually in its exercise, to the exclusion and contempt of others, bestowed no less for the edification of the church than his own. And so far were they transported with vain-glory and a desire of self-ad- vancement, as that they preferred the use of those gifts in the church "which tended principally to beget astonishment and admiration in them which heard or beheld them, before those which were pecu- liarly useful unto the edification of the church itself; which evil, in particular, the apostle rebukes at large, chap. xiv. By this means the church came to be divided in itself, and almost to be broken in pieces, chap. i. 11, 12. So foolish ofttimes are the minds of men, so liable to be imposed upon, so common is it for their lusts, seduced and principled by the craft of Satan, to turn judgment into worm- wood, and to abuse the most useful effects of divine grace and bounty ! To prevent alh these evils for the future, and to manifest how perfect a harmony there is in all these divers gifts and different administra- tions, at what an agreement they are among themselves in their ten- dency unto the same ends of the union and edification of tlie church, from what fountain of wisdom they do proceed, and with what care they ought to be used and improved, the apostle declares unto them both the author of them and the rule he proceedeth by in their dis- pensation, chap. xii. 11. " All these," saith he,^ " worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." I shall not at present farther open or insist upon these words. Fre- quent recourse must be had unto them in our progi'ess, wherein they will be fully explicated as to what concerns the person of the Spirit, his will, and his operations, which are all asserted in them ; for my purpose is, through the permission and assistance of God, to treat from hence of the name, nature, existence, and whole luorh of the Holy Sphit, with the grace of God through Jesus Christ in the com- munication of him unto the sons of men : a work in itself too great and difficult for me to undertake, and beyond my ability to manage unto the glory of God or the edification of the souls of them that do believe, for " who is sufficient for these things?" but yet I dare not utterly faint in it nor under it, whilst I look unto Him whose work it is, who giveth wisdom to them that lack it, and up- braideth them not, James i. 5. Our eyes, therefore, are unto him alone, who both supplieth seed to the sower, and when he hath done, blesseth it with an increase. The present necessity, impor- tance, and usefulness of this work, are the things which alone have engaged me into the undertaking of it. These, therefore, I shall briefly represent in some general considerations, before I insist on the things themselves whose especial explanation is designed.