Jol
ἀσθενῶν λάχανα ἐσθίει. 3. 6 ἐσθίων τὸν μὴ ἐσθίοντα μὴ " ἐξουθενείτω, c 1 Cor. i.
καὶ 6 μὴ 1 ἐσθίων τὸν ἐσθίοντα μὴ κρινέτω" ὁ Θεὸς γὰρ αὐτὸν προ- η
σελάβετο.
28; vi. 4; Xvi. 11.
~ , ’ 4. σὺ τίς et ὁ κρίνων ἀλλότριον οἰκέτην; τῷ ἰδίῳ κυρίῳ
στήκει ἢ Winter: σταθήσεται δέ: δυνατὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὖ 6 Θεὸς στῆσαι
> 4 αυτον.
a 4 , 3 ς / ιο , a A , a . PT 5. Os μὲν κρίνει» ἡμέραν tap ἡμέραν, ὃς δὲ κρίνει πᾶσαν
1 For και ο µη N®DSLP, read with Ν ΑΡΒΟΠ] ο δε µη.
3 For δυνατος γαρ εστιν ΝΑΒΟΡΙΕ and all edd. read ὄννατει γαρ.
but NABCP (and all edd.) ο κυριος.
5 os µεν κρινει N®BDFL ; os µεν yap κρινει SACP latt.
o eos DEL;
Weiss regards the yap
as a mere interpolation (cf. the case in note 1, page 602); Tischdf. inserts ; W. and
H. bracket.
general correspondence ; the weak would be Jews or persons under Jewish in- fluence; the strong would be Gentiles, or persons at least who understood the Gospel as it was preached to the Gentiles by Paul.
Ver. 1. τὸν δὲ ἀσθενοῦντα: as Godet points out, the part. as opposed to ἀσθενη, denotes one who is for the time feeble, but who may become strong. Tq πίστει: in respect of faith, z.e.—in Paul’s sense of the word —in respect of his saving reliance on Christ and all that it involves: see above. One is weak in respect of faith who does not understand that salvation is of faith from first to last, and that faith is secured by its own en- tireness and intensity, not by a timorous scrupulosity of conscience. προσλαµβά- νεσθαι is often used of God’s gracious acceptance of men, but also of men welcoming other men to their society and friendship, 2 Macc. viii. 1, x. 15. μὴ εἰς διακρίσεις διαλογισμῶν: not with a view to deciding (or passing sentence on) his doubts, The διαλογισµοί are the movements of thought in the weak man, whose anxious mind will not be at peace; no censure of any kind is implied by the word. The strong, who welcome him to the fellowship of the Church, are to do so unreservedly, not with the purpose of judging and ruling his mind by their own. For διάκρισεις see 1 Cor. xii. 10, Heb. ν. 14.
χει 2-5 OS. BAR: uth πει ο σα σα. πιστεύει φαγεῖν πάντα: has confidence to eat all things. See Winer, p. 405. Gifford quotes Demosthenes, p. 88: προέσθαι δὲ τὴν προϊκ᾽ οὐκ ἐπίστευσεν: ‘“*he had not confidence, 1.6., was too cautious, to give up the dowry”’. This use of πιστεύειν shows that πίστις to Paul was essentially an ethical principle ; the man who was strong in it had moral independence, courage, and originality.
6 δὲ ἀσθενῶν λάχανα ἐσθίει: it is impos- sible to suppose that Paul here is ‘“ writ- ing quite generally”; he must have had a motive for saying what he does, and it can only be found in the fact that he knew there were Christians in Rome who abstained from the use of flesh.
Ver. 3. 6 ἐσθίων ... μὴ ἐξουθενείτω κ.τ.λ. Paul passes no sentence on either party, but warns both of the temptations to which they are exposed. He who eats will be inclined to contempt —to sneer at the scruples of the weak as mere prejudice or obscurantism; he who does not eat will be inclined to censoriousness —to pronounce the strong, who uses his liberty, no better than he should be. This censoriousness is forbidden, because God (6 θεὸς is emphatic by position) has received the strong into the Church, and therefore his place in it is not to be questioned.
Ver. 4. σὺ τίς εἶ 6 κρίνων ἀλλότριον οἰκέτην; the sharpness of this rebuke (cf. ix. 20) shows that Paul, with all his love and consideration for the weak, was alive