1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 1 1 CORINTHIANS 1:1 After saluting the church at Corinth, 1 CORINTHIANS 1:4 and thanking God for his grace toward them, 1 CORINTHIANS 1:10 Paul exhorteth them to unity, 1 CORINTHIANS 1:11 and reproveth their dissensions. 1 CORINTHIANS 1:17 The plain doctrine of the gospel,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Unto the church of God which is at Corinth; _ unto those in Corinth who having received the doctrine of the gospel, and owned Jesus Christ as their Saviour, were united in one ecclesiastical body for the worship of God, and communion one with another. Corinth was a famous city in Achaia, (which Ach... [ Continue Reading ]
This is the common salutation in all Paul's Epistles, only in one or two _mercy_ is also added. _Grace_ signifies free love. _Peace_ signifies either a reconciliation with God, or brotherly love and unity each with other: SEE POOLE ON "ROMANS 1:7". The apostle wisheth them spiritual blessings, and t... [ Continue Reading ]
Lest his former salutation should be misapprehended by them, as signifying that he thought they were without grace, he here cleareth his meaning by blessing God for that grace which they had received: but no man hath so much grace, but he is still capable of more, and stands in need of further influ... [ Continue Reading ]
_In every thing; _ in every grace and in every good gift, (for he is manifestly speaking of spiritual things), so as this general particle must not be extended to the things of this life, but restrained either to spiritual gifts, or spiritual, sanctifying habits. Thus we read of _the riches of grace... [ Continue Reading ]
By which _knowledge_ and _utterance the testimony of Christ, _ that is, the gospel, which containeth both the testimony which Christ had given of himself, and which the apostles had given concerning Christ; (the gospel is called _the testimony of God, _ ROMANS 2:1; 2 TIMOTHY 1:8;) others understand... [ Continue Reading ]
Not that every one of them was filled with all the gifts of the blessed Spirit; but one excelled in one gift, another excelled in another, as the apostle expounds himself, 1 CORINTHIANS 12:7,8; neither doth the apostle assert them perfect in their gifts, but saith that they came behind-hand, or were... [ Continue Reading ]
Which _Lord Jesus Christ, _ (mentioned immediately before), or which _God_ who _is faithful, _ (mentioned immediately after, 1 CORINTHIANS 1:9), _shall confirm_ your habits of grace _unto the end, _ approving himself the finisher of your faith, (you being not wanting in your duty and endeavour): so... [ Continue Reading ]
_God is faithful:_ faithfulness is the same with veracity or truth to a man's word, which renders a person fit to be credited. It is a great attribute of God, 1 CORINTHIANS 10:13 1 THESSALONIANS 5:24. This implieth promises of God for the perseverance of believers, of which there are many to be foun... [ Continue Reading ]
_By the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, _ is as much as, by Christ, by the authority of Christ, for this is his will; or, by the love which you bear to the Lord Jesus Christ, who hath so often recommended to you peace with, and brotherly love towards, one another. _That ye all speak the same thing; _... [ Continue Reading ]
The apostle cometh to show one reason, as why he wrote to them, so also why in the preceding verse he so zealously pressed unity upon them, because of an information he had received from some of the family of Chloe; for it is far more probable that Chloe was the name of a person, head of a family in... [ Continue Reading ]
_Every one_ here signifieth no more than many of you, or several of you; so 1 CORINTHIANS 14:26: from whence, those that think they have such a mighty argument from HEBREWS 2:9, where is the same particle to prove Christ's dying for all individuals, may undeceive themselves, and find that they have... [ Continue Reading ]
How came these parties? There is but one Christ, but one that was crucified for you, but one into whose name, into a faith in whom, and a profession of whom, you were baptized. Peter baptized you into the name of Christ, so did I; I did not list those whom I baptized under any banner of my own, but... [ Continue Reading ]
Concerning the apostle's baptizing Crispus we read, ACTS 18:8; he was _the chief ruler of the synagogue_ of the Jews: why Paul thanks God that he baptized not many, he tells us, 1 CORINTHIANS 1:15.... [ Continue Reading ]
Because by that providence of God it so fell out, that very few of them could pretend any such thing, as that he had baptized any in his own name.... [ Continue Reading ]
He correcteth himself, remembering that he also _baptized the household of Stephanas, _ which (1 CORINTHIANS 16:15) he calleth _the first-fruits of Achaia, _ a family that had _addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. Besides, I know not whether I baptized any other; _ he did not remember... [ Continue Reading ]
_For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel; _ baptism was not his principal work, not the main business for which Paul was sent; it was his work, otherwise he would not have baptized Crispus, or Gaius, or the household of Stephanas, but preaching was his principal work. It is very... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness:_ I know (saith the apostle) that plain discourses about a Christ crucified are to some persons foolish things, and accounted canting; but to whom are they so? To those who, if they be not some that shall perish eternally, yet are so... [ Continue Reading ]
What Isaiah said of the wise men among the Jews in his time, is applicable to the wise men among the heathen, God will destroy their wisdom, and make their understanding appear to be no better than foolishness. So as it is not at all to be admired, if the philosophers of this world count the gospel,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Where is the wise? where is the scribe?_ He alludeth again to that, ISAIAH 33:18: _Where is the scribe? where is the receiver?_ Where are the wise men amongst the heathens? Where are the scribes, the learned men in the law, amongst the Jews? _Where is the disputer of this world?_ Where are those am... [ Continue Reading ]
_For after that in the wisdom of God:_ some here, by _the wisdom of God, _ understand Jesus Christ, and make the sense thus: When he who is the Wisdom of God came and preached to the world. Others understand the gospel, which is so called, 1 CORINTHIANS 1:24, and 1 CORINTHIANS 2:7. But I take _the w... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Jews_ were not without some true Divine revelation, and owned the true God, and only desired some miraculous operation from Christ, MATTHEW 12:38 1 THESSALONIANS 4:48, to confirm them that Christ was sent from God: without signs and wonders they would not believe; giving no credit at all to the... [ Continue Reading ]
_But we preach Christ crucified; _ we that are the ministers of Christ, come and preach to them, that there was one hanged upon a cross at Jerusalem, who is the Saviour of the world, and was not cut off for his own sins, but for the sins of his people. _Unto the Jews a stumblingblock; _ the Jews are... [ Continue Reading ]
Blessed be God, Christ is not to all the Jews a stmnblingblock, nor to all the Greeks is he foolishness; for to so many of them as _are called, _ (not by the external call of the gospel, but only by the internal call and effectual operation of the Spirit), let them be of one nation or another, by th... [ Continue Reading ]
_The foolishness of God is wiser than men; _ the least things that are the products of the wisdom of God, or the contrivance of God for man's salvation, which the sinful and silly world calls _foolishness, _ are infinitely more wise, and have more wisdom in them, than the wisest imaginations, counse... [ Continue Reading ]
To prove that this is the method of Divine Providence, to make use of seemingly infirm and weak means to produce his great effects, you need not look further than yourselves; look upon the whole body of your church at Corinth, it is not made up of many that have a reputation for the wise men or the... [ Continue Reading ]
God hath even amongst you chosen persons that are in the account of the world as foolish things, to put the wise to shame; and persons of weak esteem, to confound those that are mighty in the repute of the world.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Things which are not_ in the world's account, _to bring to nought things which are_ in high esteem.... [ Continue Reading ]
And God doth this in infinite wisdom, consulting his own honour and glory, that none might say, that God hath chosen them because they were nobler born, or in higher repute and esteem in the world, than others, but that the freeness of Divine grace might be seen in all God's acts of grace.... [ Continue Reading ]
_But of him are ye in Christ Jesus; _ of his grace ye are implanted into Christ, and believe in him. You are _of him, _ not by creation only, as all creatures are, but by redemption and regeneration, which is _in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom; _ the principal means by which we come... [ Continue Reading ]
God doth this, or hath done this, for this end, that man should have nothing to glory in, neither wisdom, nor righteousness, nor sanctification, nor redemption, but should _glory in the Lord; _ acknowledging that whatsoever wisdom, righteousness, or holiness he hath, it is all from God, in and throu... [ Continue Reading ]