_This is the third time I am coming to you._ Or the third that I have purposed to come; and when I come it will be to punish those who are convicted, on the testimony of two or three witnesses, of having sinned, and of not having done penance. _In the mouth of two or three witnesses._ Every accusati... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPTER 13 SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTER i. There were some at Corinth who had abandoned themselves to impurity, others who were proud and contentious (xi. 20, 21), others given to other sins, and disposed to regard S. Paul's admonitions cheaply. He threatens such in this chapter, that he may provoke th... [ Continue Reading ]
_But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates._ Not rejected by Christ, and deprived of His grace, and so mean and inglorious. You see indeed the opposite: you see Christ working powerfully in me, converting the Gentiles, punishing the rebellious, approving all that I do, cooperating wi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be perfect._ The Greek word used here denotes to mend a torn garment. S. Paul is alluding to the vices, evil habits, and especially the lukewarmness of the Corinthians. He says in effect: Make yourselves whole again, correct your old faults, curb the license of your lives, re-knit your severed frie... [ Continue Reading ]
_Greet one another with an holy kiss._ What was this kiss? Xenophon (Cyropœdia, lib. i.) and Herodotus (Clio) testify that it was a heathen custom to salute one another with a kiss at meeting, in token of friendship. Suetonius says that Tiberius tried in vain to put an end to the practice. The Jews... [ Continue Reading ]