tJNDUE PARTIALITY TO MINISTERS REPROVED.
1 Cor. iii. 5 — 7. Who then is Paul, and who isApollos, hut minis- ters hy tvhom ye believed, evefi as the Lord gave to every man? J have planted, Apollos ivatered ; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that ivatereth ; but God that giveth the increase.
WE are apt to conceive of the primitive Churches as patterns of all perfection ; and doubtless there were amongst them many individuals whose attain- ments in piety were truly apostolic : liut there were in most of the Churches as great blemishes as can be
found in any society of Christians at the present day. The Church of Corinth was peculiarly corrupt. They were indeed distinguished for gifts ^; but, in respect of graces, too many of them were sadly deficient. One evil especially obtained amongst them to a great extent ; namely, the indulging of a contentious spirit, by means of which the Church was divided into parties ; some accounting themselves followers " of Paul, others of Apollos, others of Cephas, and others of Christ"." Now, though this evil did not prevail so far as utterly to subvert their souls, it kept them in a low, and, as it were, an infantine state ; insomuch that the Apostle " could not speak to them as to spiritual" persons, who had made any considerable advances in the divine life ; but was forced to address them as mere " babes in Christ," to whom he could only administer " milk," when he would gladly have rather " fed them with meat"." Their being " puffed up for one minister against another*^" shewed that a great measure of" carnality was yet in their hearts^;" and that, though spiritual in the main, they yet conducted themselves too much like the " men" of this world, whose chief zeal was occupied in contending for the leaders of their re- spective sects.
The same spirit, as might be expected, still infests the Christian Church. And that we may be put on our guard against it, I will endeavour to shew, I. In what Hght ministers should be viewed —
They are instruments, whereby God carries on his work in the souls of men —
[God is pleased to work by means, and to make use of men for the accomplishing of his gracious purposes in the world. Even when he has employed angels, he has still chosen to put honour upon men as his immediate instruments of good ; as when he directed Cornelius to send for Peter to instruct him, and removed from Peter's mind the scruples which would have kept him from executing that office of love. Though God might as easily effect his work without instruments, yet he has decreed
a 1 Cor. i. 5. b 1 Cor. i. 12. "^ ver. 1, 2.
•1 I Cor. iv. (5. e ver. 3, 4.