1._And I, when I came _Paul having begun to speak of his own method of teaching, had straightway fallen into a discussion as to the nature of gospel preaching generally. Now again he returns to speak of himself, to show that nothing in him was despised but what belonged to the nature of the gospel i... [ Continue Reading ]
2._For I did not reckon it desirable. _As κρίνειν, in Greek, has often the same meaning as εκλεγειν, that is to choose out anything as precious, (104) there is, I think, no person of sound judgment but will allow that the rendering that I have given is a probable one, provided only the construction... [ Continue Reading ]
3._And I was with you in weakness _He explains at greater length what he had previously touched upon — that he had nothing shining or excellent in him in the eyes of men, to raise him to distinction. He concedes, however, to his adversaries what they desired in such a way as to make those very thing... [ Continue Reading ]
4._And my preaching was not in the persuasive words. _By the _persuasive words of man’s wisdom _he means that exquisite oratory which aims and strives rather by artifice than by truth, and also an appearance of refinement, that allures the minds of men. It is not without good reason, too, that he as... [ Continue Reading ]
5._That your faith should not be in the wisdom of men. To be _is used here as meaning _to consist _His meaning, then, is, that the Corinthians derived this advantage from his having preached Christ among them without dependence on human wisdom, and relying solely on the Spirit’s influence, that thei... [ Continue Reading ]
6._We speak wisdom _Lest he should appear to despise wisdom, as _unlearned and ignorant men _(Acts 4:13) condemn learning with a sort of barbarian ferocity, he adds, that he is not devoid of _that _wisdom, which was worthy of the name, but was esteemed as such by none but competent judges. By those... [ Continue Reading ]
7._The wisdom of God in a mystery _He assigns the reason why the doctrine of the gospel is not held in high esteem by the _princes of this world _— because it is involved in mysteries, and is consequently _hidden _For the gospel so far transcends the perspicacity of human intellect, that to whatever... [ Continue Reading ]
8._None of the princes of this world knew _If you supply the words _by their own discernment_, the statement would not be more applicable to them than to the generality of mankind, and the very lowest of the people; for what are the attainments of all of us as to this matter, from the greatest to th... [ Continue Reading ]
9._As it is written, “What eye hath not seen.” _All are agreed that this passage is taken from Isaiah 64:4, and as the meaning is at first view plain and easy, interpreters do not give themselves much trouble in expounding it. On looking, however, more narrowly into it, two very great difficulties p... [ Continue Reading ]
10._But God hath revealed them to us. _Having shut up all mankind in blindness, and having taken away from the human intellect the power of attaining to a knowledge of God by its own resources, he now shows in what way believers are exempted from this blindness, — by the Lord’s honoring them with a... [ Continue Reading ]
11._For what man knoweth? _Two different things he intends to teach here: _first_, that the doctrine of the Gospel cannot be understood otherwise than by the testimony of the Holy Spirit; and _secondly_, that those who have a testimony of this nature from the Holy Spirit, have an assurance as firm a... [ Continue Reading ]
12._Now we have received, not the spirit of the world _He heightens by contrast the certainty of which he had made mention. “The Spirit of revelation,” says he, “which we have received, is not of the world, so as to be merely creeping upon the ground, so as to be subject to vanity, or be in suspense... [ Continue Reading ]
13._Which things also we speak, not in the learned words, etc_. He speaks of himself, for he is still employed in commending his ministry. Now it is a high commendation that he pronounces upon his preaching, when he says of it that it contains a secret revelation of the most important matters — the... [ Continue Reading ]
14._But the animal man. _(125) By the _animal man _he does not mean (as is commonly thought) the man that is given up to gross lusts, or, as they say, to his own sensuality, but any man that is endowed with nothing more than the faculties (126) of nature. (127) This appears from the corresponding te... [ Continue Reading ]
15._But the spiritual man judgeth all things. _Having stripped of all authority man’s carnal judgment, he now teaches, that _the spiritual _alone are fit judges as to this matter, inasmuch as God is known only by his Spirit, and it is his peculiar province to distinguish between his own things and t... [ Continue Reading ]
16._For who hath known _? It is probable that Paul had an eye to what we read in the 40th chapter of Isaiah. The Prophet there asks, Who hath been God’s counselor? Who hath weighed his Spirit, (142) (Isaiah 40:13,) or hath aided him both in the creation of the world and in his other works? and, in... [ Continue Reading ]