1 Corinthians 3:1-4. The partizanship of the Corinthians a hindrance to spiritual progress 1. _And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual_ The Apostle has said much of the superiority of the wisdom which is the result of spiritual illumination. He now warns the Corinthians that the... [ Continue Reading ]
_For ye are yet carnal_ The word _carnal_conveys a stronger reproach than _natural_(ch. 1 Corinthians 2:14). The latter, as we have seen, signifies the man whose hopes and desires are bounded by the limits of the physical principle of life. The former is applicable to those who are under the dominio... [ Continue Reading ]
_are ye not carnal?_ The majority of MSS. and versions read -men" here, instead of -carnal." It is difficult to account for the latter word having crept into the text, if it be not the true reading, whereas its correction by a transcriber into carnal would seem obvious and natural. If it be the true... [ Continue Reading ]
Christian Ministers only labourers of more or less efficiency, the substantial work being God's 6. _I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase_ The Apostle would lead his converts to rise from the thought of those who had ministered the Gospel to them, to the thought of Him whom they... [ Continue Reading ]
_he that planteth and he that watereth are one_ As though to make his depreciation of man as emphatic as possible, the Apostle uses the neuter gender here. The instruments are _one thing_, parts of a vast piece of machinery which God has put in motion for the salvation of the world. As channels of D... [ Continue Reading ]
_For we are labourers together with God_ The Apostle now gives the argument another turn. From _man's_point of view the preachers of the Gospel are mere instruments in God's hands. Not so from God's. _He_regards them as responsible beings, responsible to Him for the work they do. But the results are... [ Continue Reading ]
_According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder_ Rather, _which_ WAS _given to me_, i.e. when he laid the foundation. St Paul now desires to identify himself with the teachers of the Corinthian Church, so far as they were really carrying on the work which he had begun.... [ Continue Reading ]
_than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ_ "He does not say τεθέντα, _laid_, but κείμενον, _lying_, of His own accord." Wordsworth. There is a reference here to the prophecy in Isaiah 28:16, which is quoted and applied to Christ in 1 Peter 2:6. See also Ephesians 2:20, and Psalms 118:22, quoted and... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now if any man build upon this foundation_ It must be remembered that it is not the conduct of Christians, however applicable the principles here enunciated may be to it, but the doctrine of teachers which is spoken of here. The materials mentioned are of two classes, those that will endure fire, a... [ Continue Reading ]
_it shall be revealed by fire_ Rather, IT IS REVEALED IN FIRE, being that in which the judgment day shall consist, i.e. in the fire of God's judgment, fire being one of His many attributes (Hebrews 12:29; Deuteronomy 4:24; Deuteronomy 9:3; Psalms 50:3; Psalms 97:3; Isaiah 66:15-16; Malachi 3:2-3;... [ Continue Reading ]
_yet so as by fire_ The absolute equality of all in the world to come is no part of St Paul's system. -One star differeth from another star in glory" (ch. 1 Corinthians 15:41). But the history of the Apostle himself is a sufficient evidence that God will not punish with the loss of His presence the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Know ye not that ye are the temple of God_ " Ναός, _sanctuary_, more sacred than ἱερόν; the Holy Place in which God dwells, ναίει." Wordsworth. Another view of the subject is now abruptly introduced. The figure in 1 Corinthians 3:10 is resumed, but is applied, not to the ministers, but to the peopl... [ Continue Reading ]
_If any man defile_ Rather, _if any man_ DO HURT TO _the temple of God, to him shall God_ DO HURT. The word is the same in both members of the sentence, and cannot therefore be rendered by the word DEFILE. _which_temple _ye are_ Rather, WHICH (i.e. holy) YE ARE, or more freely -The temple of God is... [ Continue Reading ]
_let him become a fool, that he may be wise_ Let him account himself a fool, put himself on a level with the ignorant and unintellectual, set no store by his worldly knowledge or intellectual powers, for they are of no account before God. A child-like willingness to be taught is the first step towar... [ Continue Reading ]
_it is written_ In Job 5:13.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And again_ This passage occurs in Psalms 94:11.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore let no man glory in men_ We are to regard men as nothing in themselves, but in reference to their fellow-men solely as the instruments of a divine purpose, like all other things God has suffered to exist (1 Corinthians 3:22), a purpose beginning and ending with God, Whose we are, and for... [ Continue Reading ]
_Christ is God's_ Even He is not existing apart and for Himself (cf. St John 5:19-30), but is for ever united and conjoined with His faithful ones in the God and Father of all. -I in them and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one." St John 17:23.... [ Continue Reading ]