Vv. 296, 30 justify, in two rhetorical questions, the Christian’s deference to
23—33.
86ο
᾿ ἐλευθερία µου κρίνεται ὑπὸ ἄλλης "συνειδήσεως; 30. Pei δὲ1 ἐγὼ *2 Cor te
:Χάριτι " µετέχω, ”
» - 3 ΄ 31. εἴτε οὖν ἐσθίετε εἴτε πίνετε, εἴτε τι ποιεῖτε, πάντα “eis " δόξαν
Θεοῦ ποιεῖτε.
ti’ βλασφημοῦμαι «ὑπὲρ οὗ ἐγὼ "εὐχαριστῶ ;
32. ' ἀπρόσκοποι γίνεσθε” καὶ; 5 Ιουδαίοις” καὶ
17; Rom. Viii. 21; Gal. ii. 5, ν. 1, 13; Jas. i. 25,
ες x a Ἡ 9 , ~ Ἡ ZN λ ορ 5 2 Pet. ii. Ἑλλησι καὶ τῇ “éxxAnota τοῦ "Θεοῦ: 33. καθὼς Kayo πάντα | πᾶσιν ᾿ ἀρέσκω, μὴ " ζητῶν τὸ ἐμαυτοῦ | συμφέρον ὃ ἀλλὰ τὸ "τῶν Υ 11. in
xix. 27.
the ellipsis, cf. vii. 1, etc. i. 10; Acts xxiv. 16; Sir. xxxv. (xxxii.) 21.
κ. Sce ver. 24. 1 συµφορον, see vii. 35.
z In this sense, xv. 57; 5 times more in P.; Lk. vi. 32 ff. human obj., Rom. iii. 8, xiv. 16; Tit. iii. 2; 1 Pet. iv. 4. For interr. after ει, see xii. 17.
ἆ Absol., xi. 24, xiv. 17; 1 Th. ν. 18; see i. 4. g In this antithesis, 124: Rom. i. 16, ii. 9 f., iii. 9, x. 12; Gal. iii. 28; Col. ili. 11; Acts xiv. 1, xviii. 4, xix. 10, 17, XX. 41. i m See ver. 17.
19 this use; ‘, Job a See ix. 12. b With c For e See ii. 7. f Ph.
h See i. 2, i See vii. 32.
1 Om. δε all but a few minuscc., with Thd, and Occ. 2 «at lovdators yeveo@e (in this order): S*ABC, 17, 37, 73.
συμφορον, ν ΛΒΟ.
the conscience of another: (a) ἵνα τί γὰρ κ.τ.λ.» ‘For to what purpose is my. liberty judged by another conscience?” i.e. ‘* What good end will be served by my eating under these circumstances, and exposing my freedom to the censure οἳ an unsympathetic conscience ?’”’ ¢f, ii. 15, Matt. vii. 6. ἵνα τί (yévnrat); ut guid ? (Vg.), signifies purpose, not ground as Mr. and others take it; there is no- thing to be gained by the exercise of liberty in this case. For κρίνω in adverse sense, see parls. For the previous συνείδ. τὴν τοῦ érépov (alterius), ἄλλης (alienz) συνειδήσεως is substituted (cf. xv. 29, 2 Cor. xi. 4), indicating a dis- tinction not merely in the persons but in the consciences severally possessed. The Ap. says here of Liberty what he says of Faith in Rom. xiv. 22: κατὰ σεαυτὸν ἔχε ἐγώπιον τοῦ Ocod.—Question (4) inti- mates that, instead of any benefit re- sulting from the assertion of liberty in face of conscientious condemnation, positive harm ensues—thanksgiving leads to blas- phemy! "ΟΙ ΤΙ with thanks (or by grace) partake, why am I blasphemed over (that for) which I give thanks?’’ The τί is prospective, as in xv. 29 f. = els τί or ἵνα τί; The bare χάριτι can scarcely mean here ‘‘by (the) grace (of God) ”—esp. in view of εὐχαριστῶ; cf. Rom. xiv. 6 and 16 (for βλασφημοῦμαι). Men of heathen conscience, seeing the Christian give thanks knowingly over food devoted to the idol, will regard his act as one of sacrilegious indulgence and denounce it accordingly ; it seems to them a revolting hypocrisy ; ‘‘ Quelle religion est celle-la ? devaient dire les paiens’’ (Gd.)—a griev- ous πρόσκοµµα both to Jews and Greeks (32); cf. Rom. ii. 24.--ὑπὲρ οὗ absorbs
the dem. pron. governed by the same prp.; of. vii. 39, 2 Cor. ii. 3. The re- peated emphatic ἐγὼ points to the Chris- tian as devout on his own part, yet in- curring the scandal of gross irreverence. Vv. 31, 32 conclude the matter with two solemn, comprehensive rules, intro- duced by the collective οὖν (cf. Rom. ν. 9, xi. 22), relating to God’s glory and to man’s salvation. The supreme maxim of duty, πάντα εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ ποιεῖτε, applies to all that Christians ‘‘eat or drink” (including the idolothyta),—in- deed to whatever they ‘‘do”’ ; cf. Rom. xiv. 20 ff., Col. ii. 17.—A second general rule emerges from the discussion: ‘‘ Offence- less prove yourselves, both to Jews and to Greeks and to the church of God”’, ἀπρόσκοποι here act., as in Sir. xxxv. 21, not causing to stumble; elsewhere pass. in sense. For γίνεσθε, see note on vii. 23. The three classes named make up Paul’s world of men: ‘‘ Jews’ and ‘ Greeks”? embrace all outside the Church (i. 22, ix, 2ο f.); Christian believers alone form “the Church of God”? (cf. i. 2, and note; also Gal. vi. 16). This text and xii. 28 afford the first ex. in P. of the compre- hensive use of ἐκκλησία, as transcending local ref. ‘‘The church of God” is bound up with His glory (31); its sacred- ness supplies a new deterrent from self- indulgence. It contains ‘‘the weak” who are liable to injury (viii. 9, ix. 22). Ver. 33, xi. 1. Paul’s personal example played a large part in his argument (ix.) ; it is fitting he should refer to it in summing up. The negative ἀπρόσκοποι Ὑίνεσθε, in 2nd person, now becomes the positive ἐγὼ πάντα πᾶσιν ἀρέσκω in the rst: “Ας I also in all things please all.” ἀρέσκω is to comply with, accom-