THE TRUE ESTIMATION OF CHRIST’S MINISTERS AND THE TRUE CRITERION OF THEIR WORK After having pointed out the light in which the teachers of Christianity should be regarded, the Apostle in this chapter goes on to point out the practical difference between those who preach themselves and those who pre... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟὝΤΩΣ ἩΜΑ͂Σ ΛΟΓΙΖΈΣΘΩ ἌΝΘΡΩΠΟΣ. ‘Of the things of which we have spoken this is the sum.’ We are not to be regarded for any qualifications we may have of our own, but simply as ‘the servants of the Most High God.’ ὙΠΗΡΈΤΑΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ͂. Not ministers in the technical sense, but _attendants_, in the mode... [ Continue Reading ]
ὯΔΕ אABCDFG Vetus Lat. Vulg. Peshito. Rec. ὃ δέ with E. 2. ὯΔΕ. According to Meyer, _this being so_, though Dean Alford would interpret it _here on earth_. R.V. translates HERE, MOREOVER. Lachmann connects it with the last verse, and puts the period _after_ it. But this yields a poor meaning, and m... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸΣ ἘΛΆΧΙΣΤΟΝ. _It amounts to the least_, i.e. it is of the least possible consequence. ἽΝΑ ὙΦ' ὙΜΩ͂Ν�. THAT I SHOULD BE ARRAIGNED. Faithfulness is no doubt more urgently required in the discharge of this duty than of any other. But it is not man’s province to make the inquiry, but God’s. ἀνακριθῶ i... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓ΔῈΝ ΓᾺΡ ἘΜΑΥΤΩ͂Ι ΣΎΝΟΙΔΑ. For if I were to put myself on my trial, I am conscious of no dereliction of duty. In A.V. ‘_I know nothing by myself_’ (_I know nought by myself_, Tyndale) signifies I know nothing _against_ myself, like the Latin ‘_nil conscire sibi_’ in Hor. _Ep._ I. 1. 61, or the _ni... [ Continue Reading ]
ὭΣΤΕ ΜῊ ΠΡῸ ΚΑΙΡΟΥ͂ ΤΙ ΚΡΊΝΕΤΕ. κρίνω here, because the _decision_, not the _process_ is meant, while the present tense signifies the habit of exercising judgment. καιρός signifies the proper time for the decision. The precept is here applied to the relation of teacher and taught which is laid down... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἃ אABC. ὃ rec. with DEFG some copies of Vetus Lat. and Peshito. [φρονεῖν] added after γέγραπται to complete the sentence with Syriac, and correctors of the older MSS. Omit אABDEFG Vetus Lat. and Vulg. Also Origen. 6. ΜΕΤΕΣΧΗΜΆΤΙΣΑ. Literally, I CHANGED THE FORM OF. The Vulgate renders _transfigurav... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΊΣ ΓΆΡ ΣΕ ΔΙΑΚΡΊΝΕΙ; Literally, ‘for who SEPARATES thee?’ Hence comes the idea of distinction in one’s own mind and then in that of another. διακρίνω is opposed to συγκρίνω (combine) in the passage from Aristotle’s Metaphysics mentioned above, ch. 1 Corinthians 2:13. The Vulgate translates by _disc... [ Continue Reading ]
ἬΔΗ ΚΕΚΟΡΕΣΜΈΝΟΙ ἘΣΤΈ. Here we have one of the sudden turns of feeling so remarkable in the Apostle’s style. Abruptly breaking off at the word ‘boast,’ he dashes off into an animated and ironical apostrophe. ‘I may well say “boast,” for boasting is your crying sin, but it is boasting in yourselves,... [ Continue Reading ]
CONTRAST BETWEEN THE CORINTHIAN TEACHERS AND ST PAUL... [ Continue Reading ]
9. [ὅτι] added after ΔΟΚΩ͂ ΓΆΡ, to complete the construction, with E Vulg. (authorized ed.) and Peshito. Omit אABCDFG Vetus Lat. and some ancient MSS. of Vulg. 9. ΓΆΡ gives the reason for ὄφελον. ἘΠΙΘΑΝΑΤΊΟΥΣ, CONDEMNED TO DEATH. A.V. _approved_ to death. So the original version of 1611. Our modern... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜΩΡΟῚ ΔΙᾺ ΧΡΙΣΤΌΝ. FOOLS ON ACCOUNT OF CHRIST, in reference to the labours and sufferings they underwent in His cause, but which it were folly to have undergone, if the Corinthian theory of the Christian life were correct, which placed the reward of the Christian in the things of this present world.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΓΥΜΝΙΤΕΎΟΜΕΝ אBCDEFG. But as in the Fathers the rec. γυμνητεύομεν is found, Meyer rejects the reading in the text as ‘an ancient clerical error.’ A omits the word altogether. 11. ἌΧΡΙ ΤΗ͂Σ ἌΡΤΙ ὭΡΑΣ. The Apostle would point out to his converts the true glory of the Christian minister. Labour and su... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΡΓΑΖΌΜΕΝΟΙ ΤΑΙ͂Σ ἸΔΊΑΙΣ ΧΕΡΣΊΝ. Consult Paley, _Horae Paulinae_, 1st Ep. to Corinthians, No. 6, for a full discussion of the remarkable coincidence between this passage and the speech to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:34, where, though the words were spoken on a different occasion, and are related... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΕΡΙΚΑΘΆΡΜΑΤΑ. The word means (1) that which is removed by cleansing, (2) that which is cast away to make something else clean, and hence (3) an expiation. κάθαρμα and καθαρμός are more often used in this sense in earlier Greek, as in Herod. VII. 197 διότι καθρμὸν τῆς χώρης ποιευμένων Ἀχαιῶυ ἐκ θεοπ... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓Κ ἘΝΤΡΈΠΩΝ ὙΜΑ͂Σ ΓΡΆΦΩ ΤΑΥ͂ΤΑ. The object of the foregoing passage might be mistaken, and therefore the Apostle refers to the mutual relation between himself and the Corinthian Church. His object is not reproach, but the amendment of their lives. It is the rebuke of a father, not the strong langu... [ Continue Reading ]
ΓΆΡ gives the reason for τέκνα. ΠΑΙΔΑΓΩΓΟΎΣ. The παιδαγωγός (see Bishop Lightfoot on Galatians 3:24) was originally (1) employed to escort the boy to school, and thence (2) was ‘entrusted with his moral supervision.’ ἈΛΛ' ΟΥ̓ ΠΟΛΛΟῪΣ ΠΑΤΈΡΑΣ. We have here an interesting example of the fact that th... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜΙΜΗΤΑΊ. IMITATORS. Vulgate, _imitatores_. St Paul’s was no spurious humility, such as has too often taken the place of real Gospel humility in the Christian Church. He could venture to refer to his own example, where his conscience told him he had honestly striven to carry out his Master’s commands... [ Continue Reading ]
ἜΠΕΜΨΑ. I SENT, i. e. before this Epistle was written. The epistolary aorist is excluded by ch. 1 Corinthians 16:10. St Paul’s affection for the gentle and somewhat timid Timothy is a remarkable trait in his character. From almost the beginning to the end of his ministry he had, not even excepting S... [ Continue Reading ]
MISSION OF TIMOTHY, TO BE FOLLOWED, IF INEFFECTUAL, BY STRONG MEASURES ON THE PART OF ST PAUL HIMSELF.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΦΥΣΙΏΘΗΣΆΝ ΤΙΝΕΣ. See note below, ch. 1 Corinthians 5:2. As the whole of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians shews (see for instance, ch. 1 Corinthians 10:2), there were those at Corinth who depreciated St Paul’s authority. Such persons persuaded themselves that they had so undermined his reputat... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘᾺΝ Ὁ ΚΎΡΙΟΣ ΘΕΛΉΣΗΙ. See James 4:13-15, who ‘justly derides that rashness among men, in that they plan what they shall do ten years hence, when they are not certain that they shall live another hour.’ Calvin _in loc._ The Roman Catholic commentator, Estius, makes a similar observation. ἈΛΛᾺ ΤῊΝ ΔΎΝ... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓ ΓᾺΡ ἘΝ ΛΌΓΩΙ. See note on ch. 1 Corinthians 1:5. Like our words _sermon_ and _discourse_, the word λόγος contains within itself the notion of matter and oral delivery. Of what the Apostle meant by _power_, we are scarcely fit judges. We have been too familiar with them from childhood to be able... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΝ ῬΆΒΔΩΙ. That is either (1) with some commentators, e. g. Chrysostom, the resolution to deliver the rebellious over to Satan (see next chapter). If this be the case, the word ‘power’ in the last verse must include power to do harm. But it is better (2) to refer the expression to the severity of la... [ Continue Reading ]