all by the disordered and almost insano abuso of the impulse to speak with tho tongue. Furthor, the very agapre which were held in connection with the Eucharist had lieen shockingly disgraced and profaned by greed, selfiRhness, envy, gluttony, and even by the besetting Corinthian vice of intoxication. Worst of all, uncleanness had not only found its open defenders but a considerable section of the Church, in its inflated sophistry, had condoned and abetted a case of incest so flagrant that the very heathen cried shame npon it. It was under these almost heartrending circumstances that St. Paul wrote his First Epistle to the Corinthians. The Epistle, which is very characteristic of the apostle, is in many ways most deeply interesting, and especially for these reasons- !. It shows the powerful self-control of the apostle in spite of his physical weakness, his distressed circumstances, his incessant troubles, and his emotional nature. It was written, he tells us, in bitter anguish," out of much affliction and pressure of heart, . . . and with streaming tears" (2 Cor. ii. 4); yet he restrained the expression of his feelings, and wrote with a dignity and holy calm, which he thought most calculated to win back his erring children. 2. It gives us a vivid picture of the eady Church before the days of its organization and episcopal government; and it entirely dissipates the dream that the apostolic Uhurch was in an exceptional condition of holiness of life or purity of doctrine. 3. It shows how the most trivial details can be decided by great and solemn principles. Problems however dark, details however intricate, become under St. Paul's treatment both lucid and orderly in the light of eternal distinctness. St. Paul shows that the rule of charity and t~e voice of conscience are sufficient to decide all questions. 4. It is addressed to a Church predominantly Gentile, and thus showe, us the method adopted by the greatest of Christian teachers when brought face to face with the problems suggested to the minds of converts from paganism. AUTHENTICITY.
The authenticity of the Epistle is beyond all doubt. It is attested from the very earliest times, and among others by St. Clemens Romanus ( A.D. 96), within forty years of the date when the letter was written. Alike the external and the internal evidence is so indisputable, that not a single writer of the smallest importance, however "advanced" his school of criticism, has ever ventured to question its cogency. Many of the questions which are sometimes discussed by way of Introduction to the Epistle-such as the supposed unrecorded visit to Corinth, the nature of the factions, the ;:natter and stylti, etc.-will be found discussed in the following notes. ,·1 INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EPISTLE TO 'l'HE COTilNTHIANS.
CONTENTS,
The outline of the Epistle-owing to the circumstances in which it originated-is very simple. It is as foilows : - 1. Greeting. Oh. i. 1-3. 2. Thanksgiving. Vcrs. 4-9. 3. The folly and sin of PARTY SPIRIT. Oh. i. 10-iv. 20. 4. The incestuous offender. Oh. iv. 21-v. 13. 5. The sin of going to law before tile heathen. Oh. vi. 1-8. 6. The sin and shame of fornication. Oh. vi. 9-20. i. Answers to the inquiries of the Corinthians. (1) As to MARRIAGE and CELIBACY. Ob. vii. 1-40. (2) As to IDOL-OFFERrnGs. (Oh. viii. 1-xi. 1; with a long illustration from bis own example of self-denial, eh. ix. 1-x. 14.) (3) As to PUBLIC WORSHIP. (a) The covering of the head. Ch. xi. 2-10. (b) Disorders at the agapro and the Eucharist. Ch. :xi. li-34. (c) The use and abuse of spiritual gifts. Ch. xii. 1-30. (d) The supercminence of lo\'e. Ch. xii. 31-xiii. 13. (e) Use and abuse of the gift of the tongue. Cb. xiv, 1-40. (4) As to the RESUllRECTION OF THE DEAD. Ch. xv. 1-58. 8 Conclusion. Messages, greetings, and final blessing. Ch. :xvi. 1-24. THE FIRST EPISTLE OF
PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS. EXPOSITION.