The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 392

aooursed. It mo.y well eeem nmnzing thnt which means "a ban," and "what is devoted the Corinthio.nH should need iustructing that or s_et apart by a ban;" and to the Latin sacer, euch o.wful lo.ngtmge could not be uttered which means not only "sacred," set apart by o.uy one epeo.king "in the Spirit of God." by holy cousecration, but o.lso "devoted to It is evident, however, that such expressions destruction." No man can say that Jesus is had been uttered by pereons who were, or [the] Lord, but by [in] the Holy Ghost. seemed to be, carried away by tho impas- It involved a strong rebuke to the illuminali, sioned impulse which led to '' glo,soluly." who professed a profound ~pi ritual insight, (It is better to use this technicnl word in to tell them that no man could make the order to dissipate the cloud of strange simple, bumble confession of the divinity misconceptions as to the true no.ture of this of Jesus (for "Lord" is here o.n equivalenll charism.) So terrible an outrage on the of the Hebrew "Jehovah ") except by the conscience of Christians could never have same inspiro.tion as that which they so passed um·hecked and unpunished, except terribly abused. There is a very similar from the obvious inability of the young passage in 1 John i. 2; but there the" test" community to grnpple with the new and of the inspiro.tion is e. confession of the perplexing phenomena. of an "inspiration" humo.nity of Jesus as ago.inst Gnostics, who which appeared to destroy the persona.I treated his human life as purely phantnsmal. control of those possessed by it. Among Here the test is the confession of his divinity Jewish converts glossolaly was regarded as o.gainst Jews and Gentiles. ( For &, as a form of that wild mo.ntic "inspiration " parallel passage, see Matt. xvL 17, "Flesh of which we find some traces in Jewish history und blood bath not reveo.led it unto thee.") (1 Sam. x. 10, 11; xviii. 10; xix. 23, 24, Ver. 4.-Diversities. This word is used etc.), and which was e.11 uded to in the very in each of these verses. Gifts ; charismata ; name Nabo, which implied a boiling energy. endowments imparted by tbo Holy Spirit. Among Gentile converts the glossolnly 'fhe word is rendered "free gift" in Rom. v. woulil be classed with the overml\stering 13. The samo Spirit. The gifts of the Spiril influences of which they read, or which a.re not uniform, but <lispll\y diversity in they witnessetl, in the Sibyls, the Pythian unity Just o.s the sunlight plnyin~ on priestesses, o.nd the wild orgio.stic devotees different surfocos produces o. multiplil'ity ot' of Eastern cults. They would not· like to gleo.ms o.nd colours, so the Holy Spirit call any one to task for things spoken in a manifests his presence vo.riously, o.n,l even condition which they regarded o.s wholly sometimes with sho.rp oontro.sts, in different supernatural. As to the spenkers, (I).some indi vid uoli ties. of them, not being sincere, might have Ver. 5.-Administrations. Different in- really fa.lien under the influence of impulses dividunls render ,lifferent services, nnd emu which were earthly e.ntl demonish, not apply the so.me gifts in diffcren t wnys, ns Divine; (2) others, not duly controlling their we see in Rom. xii. 6-8. The same Lord. own genuine impulse, mo.y bo.ve been lio.ble Who, o.s Head of the Chmch, directs o.ll to the uncontrolled swo.y of utternnces for ministries o.nd assigus a.II functions. which they were ot the moment irrespon- Ver. 6.-0perations. Mo.nifestntions of sible ; (3) or again, being incspo.ble of Divine power. The same God whioh work- reo.soned expression, they mo.y bo.ve nudibly eth all in all. God is the Source of all gifts expressed Vl\guo Gnostic doubts o.s to the in nil men. He is the Sun of tho whole identity of the '' Jesus" who was crucified universe. and nlways in the meridinn; o.nd and the Divine Wart.I; or (4) they may from him, as tho Fnther of lights, flows havo beon entnngled in Jewi8h perplexities every good o.nd perfect gift (Jus. i. 17). It rising from Dcut. xxi. 23, "Ho tho.t is will be seen thnt this is one of the mo.ny hnngod" (which wns l\lso tho expression ap- po.ssl\ges which teach with perfect clel\rncss plied by Jews to the crucified)" is o.ccursetl the doctrine of tho Trinity in unity. AIL of God;" or finnlly,(5) by some strange o.buse in all (for this expression, seo eh. xv. 28; of tho true principle expressed by St. Rti.ul in Eph. i. 2:-1). 'fhern are very similur pnssagea 2 Car. v. 16, they may have asserted in this clescriptivo of the diversity in unity of God's fearful form their cmo.ncipation from the dispens1\tions, in Eph. iv. 4--6, 11, 12; Row. ncknowledgmcnt of Jesus" nl"ter the flesh." xii. G--8; 1 Pet. iv. 10, 11. Similar phenomena-the so.me intrusions Ver. 7.-To profit withal. With rofor- into worsliip of downright blasphemy or of enco, tho.t is, to the gcnercil profit. bll\sphemous fo.milio.rity-h11vo consto.ntly Ver. 8.-The word of wisdom . . . the recurred o.t times of overwhelming spiritual word of knowledge. In modern usngo, excitement, ns fur instance in the atlhercnts "lrnowletlge" is tho learning which wo by of the "evorlo.sting gospel" in the thirteenth uso nnd effort ncquiro; "wisdom" fa tl:u contury, and in vo.rious movements of our insight which grn<luo.lly dawns upon us own d(ly. l8 accursed; ro.ther, is anathema. from thought and experience. In tho lnn- The word corresponc.hi to tlie He brew cherem, gunge of the New 'l'estl\ment, the <listinctiou 398 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. [cH. xn. 1-31.