period to which it belongs. The only express reference to the subject is 15^ ' the strength of sin is the law ' (cf. Ko 7'"^). But the foundatioii-.stone of his preacliing in Corinth, ' Jesus Christ, ami that crucified' (2" S'"-"), is the root of the apo-stle's whole mind and thought on the subject, (b) The doctrine of the Person of Christ, indissolubly cor- related with that of His work, is touched upon 8", where the 5i oO to irdpra anticipates Col l'"- The redelivery of the kingdom (l,')--'-**) by the glorified Christ, and His final 'subjection' to Ilia rather, is a thought not elsewhere brought out (but see I Co 3'^ S", lio US'). With regard to the pre-existcnce and human nature of Christ, the passage IS"''' is of great importance, and has given rise, from Baur onwards, to startling inter- pretations (Pfleiderer, Paulinijim, Eng. tr. i. 13911'.; Schmiedel in loc.). (c) The Holy Spirit (2""'- and 12) is the vehicle of all true enlightenment and receptivity to revealed truth (2'- '■'), and of all the Xapia/iara which enable Christians to live their corporate life. The language of 12" involves the personality of the Spirit (see further the art. on 2 Corinthians, § 7). The Spirit is a,ssumed to bo the active power in bai)tism, and to be present in all baptized persons (12" tj") ; though this is ideally rather than actually true of all (3"). ((/) With regard to the sacraments, baptism and its signilicance are touched upon in the [lassages just mentioned. It was aduiinistered in the name of Christ (1", cf. Ac 19'). An enig- matical practice of baptizing ' for the dead ' is referred to (15-") ; the conte.xt (inrfp avrCip) forbids us to regard this as merely an aspect of ordinary baptism. On the doctrine of the Eucharist a side- light is thrown in lu"'". Tlie reference is intro- duced to illustrate the principle that to eat the sacrifice is to take part in the sacrificial act. The sacrifice here is that of the cross, oll'ered by Christ ; the Eucharist has a .sacrificial character analogous to that of the Jewish or heathen sacrificial meal, and like them has the efi'ect of establishing a com- munion between the worshipper and his God. The reference involves the belief on St. Paul's part that the body of Christ is eaten (cf. 1 !-''••-«). In what sense this is so, St. Paul does not define, (e) With reference to the resurrection (see above, § 8), that of Christ is the premise of St. Paul's argu- ment in IS''". In vv.»-* we have the germ of a creed. In vv.°-' we have the earliest record of the post-resurrection appearances of the Ix>rd ; v." is of special importance. That He rose with a iriJi^La. TrvivixaTiKliv is implied in v.""- The whole argu- ment is addressed, not to the general resurrection of all men, but to that of ol XpiffroO, the xeKoi- IxTjiiivoi, whose rising again is the ell'ect of their being quickened in Christ. From other places we know that St. Paul taught a future life and judg- ment for all, good and bad alike ; but (except in the hypothetical dirii\oi'To of v.") this chaiiter has no word applicable to the latter. (/) Eschatology in general the Ep. touches upon 7"' '^ 15", whence we see that the apostle still expected tlie early return of Christ, and especially in 15-^'^ (see analysis, § 9). In this latter pa.>isage the coming of Christ ajipears as the last and final act of His reign, immediately usherinj; in the end. At His coming Christ will, liy raising His dead to in- coriujition, destroy death (v."), and thus complete the subjugation or all inimical powers (2"). Then all is really for the redelivery of the kingdom, that God maybe all in all. This seems incoinpatiMo with the millennial reign after the resui reetioii of the just, which some commentators (Godet, etc.) would read into our pa.s.sage from the Apocalyjise. 12. The Christian life. — The whole Eji. is 'an inexhaustible mine of Christian thougUt and life.' Nowhere else in the NT is there a more many-sided
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I. CORINTHIANS
I. CORIXTHIANS
embodiment of the imperishable principles and instincts which should insjjire each member of the body of Christ for all time. With regard to personal life, it may be noted that the ascetic instinct wliich has ever asserted itself in the Christian Church finds its first utterance in 7 ('• "■ ■■" diXu, yojj.1^01 Sn KdXoK, etc.); but coupled with a solemn and loftj' insistence (oiV ^70; d\X4 6 kiV'os) on the obligations of married life, and founded on the simple ground of the higher expediency. This latter principle (ri a viiifi4poy) is the keynote of the ethics of the Epistle. The whole content of life is to the Christian but means to a supreme end ; free in his sole responsibility to God (3-' 2" KP), the spiritual man limits his own freedom (6'- 9") for the building up of others and the discipline of self (9^"''"). The corporate life of the Church is reflected in our Epistle as nowhere else in NT (see Weizsacker, Ap. Zeit. pp. 567-605, Eng. tr. ii. 24611"., for a careful and interestinwdiscussion, mainly on the data of our Epistle). vVe note especially the development of discipline, of organization, and of worship. With regard to discipline, the leading passage is 5'"-, where &re described, not indeed the actual proceedings against the immoral person, but those which might and ought to have been carried out. St. Paul sees the Corinthian Church assemble ; he himself is with them in spirit ; the power of the Lord Jesus is in their midst. In the name of the Lord Jesus they expel the offender, 'deliver him to Satan for the destruction of his fleoh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.' We have here the beginning of ecclesi- astical censures, inflicted by the community as a whole, and it is not surprising in the apostolic age (1 Co ll*", Ac 5'"-) to find physical suflering associated with the spiritual penalty. Such an aesembly as St. Paul here pictmes could, a. fortiori, dispose of such matters of personal rights as should arise (6''°5'-). The organization of the Cor. Churcl) is e^ddently in a very early stage. We hear of no bishop, presbyter,ordeacon(contrastPhl'),but of prophets and teachers, as the ranks immediately following the apostles. This is in remarkable con- formity with what we hear of at Antioch (Ac 13'), and its correspondence with the lists given in other Epistles is too close to be accidental. The follow- ing list compares the data of 12-*''- with those of Ilo 12«", Eph 4" :—