The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 296

Vers. 15-23.-Reasons for this self-denial. The rights bad been resigned, the power to use his privileges had been unused, and the obligation, self-assumed, was to be perpetual. Did any one suspect otherwise? " Better for me to die" than this matter of boasting should be taken from me. No ground for boasting exi~ted in the mere preaching of the gospel; but he could clnim and did claim that, in renouncing his right to a support and making other exceptional sacrifices, he was entitled to the boast of preaching a free gospel. A woe is upon him if he preach not the gospel, a necessity he -cannot evade while true to his moral nature, and yet a necessity which he will transmute and glorify by his magnanimity in serving without remuneration. Rights; what were they? Where there was such an overpowering sense of the goodness of God and the grace of Christ as had been manifested in his personal salvation and in conferring upon him the apostleship, "better die" than measure duty by mere equivalence of action. Out of the depths of gratitude the man rises, not to the attitude of an apostle, but an apostle who felt with the utmost intensity the obligations of sentiment no less than those of principle. Freely had he received, and freely would he give, so freely indeed ns to part with a portion of freedom and to gain by his loss; and in this and by means of this he had his reward. Relinquishing his rights and descending to the condition of a slave, he accommodated himself to the infirmities and prejudices of others so as to save 1he greater number. "Whenever he could evince his regard for the Jewish nation and conform to its customs and usages without compromising Christianity, he became "as a Jew unto the Jews." Nor did he limit his concessions to his own countrymen, but he became "all things to all men," never yielding the truth, never compromising a principle, never making conscience subservient to prudence, never finding the supreme law of action in any utility, and always resolute to concede points only indifferent and equally resolute to maiutain that things iudiffcrent involved no moral obligation. .A.nd why all this? There were two reasons for it: one was for the goorl of the large number, "gain the more;" and the other was the benefit to himself-a fellow-"part:iker with you" in the blessings of the gospel. "Up to this point he has been ~peaking of his self- denial for the sake of others; here he begins to speak of it for his own sake. It is no longer • that I may save some,' but • that l may be a partaker of the gospel with you'" :(Stanley).-L. Vers. 24-27.-Self-denial urged in view cf the heavenly crown. Power is no self• guiding instinct in itself. 'l'o be true power, it must be directed by something highet· than its own nature. A vast fund of power is laid up within us, and of it two things may be said, viz. the amount of power abstractly considered is far greater than we can uso; and, again, our available power must be held under check. .As to the former, capacity in every man exceeds ability, and much of our education consists in converting capacity into actual abilily. And this latency of power serves another purposl', inasmuch as it is a reserved fund held for an emergency. At times, snclclen calls are made on our energies, drafts at sight, which demand extraordinary effort. Feats of physical strength are then performed which are amazing. 'l'he same is truo of the mind; we witness its faculties, under some tremendous pressure, yielding a wisdom, a patience, a persistency, that surpass all expectation. On the other hand, our available power that can be brot1ght any moment into play must bo restrained, or injury results. The harm is manifold. It is pernicious to others. Power antagonizes the power of our fellow-men much oftener than it conciliates, and, acting as a repellent instead of an attractive force it destroys unity, which is the great end of all existence. Nor is it less hurtful to the man himself, for, in pushing his pO\ver to extremes, he exhausts the very nbility concerned in usiug the power. An nnd uc use of power, therefore, overtaxc~ others and ourselves. Aud, accordingly, St. Paul takes both these facts into considera- tion, advancing from self-denial for the sake of others to self-denial for his own good,  298 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE ~OllINTIIIANS. [cu. 1x. 1-27.