The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 10

to be asbo.med of it. It could never ho o. is, as a part of his Divine economy. The cnrnnl wcmpon of wo.rfure, o.nd yet was world through its wisdom knew not God. mighty for every purpose (2 Cor. x. 4, 5). 'fhese words might be written aa an epitaph Ver. 19.-It is written. This formula on the tomb of ancient philosophy, and or (eh. i. 31; ii. 9; iii.19; ix. 9; x. 7; xv. 45; modern philosophy and science so far a8 2 Cor. viii. 15) is chiefly used in letters to it assumes an anti-Christian form (Luke x. Churches in which there were many Jews. 21). Human wisdom, when it relies solely 'l'his is o. free citation from the LXX. of on itself, may "feel after Goel," but hardly Iso.. xxix. 14 (the so.me thought is found find him (Acts xvii. 26, 27). Through the in Job v. 12, 13; see too Matt. xi. 25). The foolishness of the preaching. This is a mis- ori"'ino.l passo.ge refers to penal judgments translation. It would require kernzeo.•, not fro~ the Assyrians, which would test the kerugmatos. It should be b11 the fooli.,hness fa.lee prophets of Israel. (as men esteemed it) of the thino preached. Ver. 20.-Where is the wisel etc. (Isa. Ver. 22.-Jews aak for signs; rather, xxxiii. 18); rather, Where is a wise man? i.e. Jews demand signs. This had been their a scribe, etc., which is even more incisive. incessant demand during our Lord's ministry; These questions are triumphant, like the nor would they be conteut with any sign " Where is the King of Hamath and of short of a sign from heaven (Matt. xii. 38: Arpad?" The same impassioned form of xvi. 1; John ii. 18; iv. 48, etc.). This had speech recurs in eh. xv. 55 and in Rom. iii. been steadily refused them by Christ, w h" 27. The questions would come home to the wished them rather to see spiritual signs Jews, who regarded their rabbis and the (Luke xvii. 20, 21). Greeks seek o.fter "pupils of the wise" as exalted beings who wisdom. St. Panl at Athens had foun,l could look down on all poor ignorant persons himself surrounded with Stoics and Epi- ( amharatsim, or "people of the lo.nd ") ; and cureans, and the same new thing which to the Greeks, who regarded none but the every one was looking for mainly took the philosophers as " wise." The scribe. With shape uf philosophic novelties (Acts xvii. 21 ). the Jews of that day" the scribe" was'' the Ver. 23.-Christ crucified; rather perhaps, theologian," the ideal of dignified learning a crucified Messiah. It was only by slow and orthodoxy, though for the most part degrees that the title "the Christ," i.e. the he mistook elaborate ignorance for profound Anointed, the Messiah, passed into the knowledge. The disputer. The word would name Christ. A stumbling-block. They specially suit the disputatious Greeks, clever had for centnries been looking for a regal dialecticians. The verb from which this and victorious Messiah, who sho11ld exalt word is derived occurs in Mark viii. 11, their special privileges. The notion of a and the abstract substantive (" an eager suffering and humiliated Messbh, who discussion") in Acts xxviii. 29. If St. Paul reduced them to the level of all God"s other has Isa. xxxiii. 18 in his mind, the word children, was to them "a stone of stumbling "disputer" corresponds to "the counter of and a rock of offence" (Rom. i.:s:. 33; comp. the towers" (comp. Ps. xlviii. 12). Even Iso.. viii. 14). These two verses, translate, I the rabbis say that when Messiah comes into Syriac, furnish a marked play on worrls humo.n wisdom is to become needless. Of (miscol, stumbling-block; mashcal, folly; 11ecel, the world; rather, of this age, or mon. The cross); and some have seen in this a sign old dispensation, then so rapidly waning to its tho.t St. Paul thought in Syriuc. Unto the close, was called " this age" ( olam hazzeh) ; Greeks; rather, unto Gentiles; N, A, B, C, the next or Messio.nic o.ge was called " the D. Unto the Jews . . . unto the Greeks. age to oome" (o!am habba). The Messianic Both alike had failed. The Jew had not a~e ho.d dawned at the birth of Christ, but ottained ease of conscience or moral per- tlie old covenant was not fine.Hy annulled fectness; the Greek had not unridtl!e,l till his second coming at the fall of Jeru- the secret of philosophy; yet both ,liike so.lem. Hath not God made foolish the rejected the peace and the enlighten- wisdom of the world l rather, Did not. God ment which they ho.d professeu to seek. (by the cross) stultify the wisdom, etc. ? The Foolishness. The accent of profound oxymoron, or sharp contrast of terms-a contempt is di~cernible in all the early figure of which St. Paul is fond (see 1 Tim. o.llusious of Greeks and Romans to Chris- v. 6; Rom. i. 20, etc.; and my 'Life of St. tianity. The only epithets which they Paul,' i. 628)-is here clearly marked in could find for it were" execrable," " malefic," the Greek. The thought was as familiar to "depro.ved," "uamuable" (Taeitus, Sue- the old prophets (Isa. xliv. 25) as to St. tonius, Pliny, etc.). The milder term is" e:s:- Pnul (Rom. i. 22); ancl even Horace saw cessive superstition." The heroic constancy that heathen philosophy was sometimes no of nll\rtyrs appeared even to l\l. Aurelius only better than insaniens sapie11tia (Horace, under the aspect of a "bare obstino.c_v ." 'Ocl.,' i. 3-1, 2). The word used to express tho scoru of tho Ver. 21.-In the wisdom of God; that Athenian philosophers for St. Paul's" strange 8 'J'IlE FIHST EPISTLE 'l'O THE CORINTHIANS. [cR. r. 1-31.