SPIRITUAL; advanced in spiritual knowledge, and prepared to understand and profit by the higher and more difficult truths of the gospel. CARNAL; having little religious knowledge or spiritual discernment; being still much under the influence of evil. Christians when first converted are indeed born... [ Continue Reading ]
MILK; the plain, simple truths of the gospel; such as are adapted to those who are young and inexperienced in religion. MEAT; truths suited to those who have made greater progress in divine things. NOT ABLE; not able rightly to apprehend and usefully to apply the more difficult parts of divine tru... [ Continue Reading ]
CARNAL, AND WALK AS MEN; selfish and worldly in their feelings and conduct.... [ Continue Reading ]
I AM OF PAUL-I AM OF APOLLOS; their division into parties and their violent contentions showed that they were still narrow in their views, and carnal in their feelings. Young Christians are exposed to be self-confident-to be influenced by feeling rather than judgment-to glory in men, and follow huma... [ Continue Reading ]
MINISTERS; servants of Christ engaged in one common work, and not designed to be heads of different parties. Their object then was to convert men, not to themselves, but to Christ.... [ Continue Reading ]
I HAVE PLANTED; Paul first preached the gospel to the Corinthians and gathered the church. APOLLOS WATERED; he came after Paul and further instructed the people. GOD GAVE THE INCREASE; all the success of both was from God.... [ Continue Reading ]
HE THAT PLANTETH-HE THAT WATERETH; preachers of the gospel are not the cause, but, under God, the instruments of their success.... [ Continue Reading ]
ARE ONE; they are engaged in one work, and for the promotion of one end, the glory of God, in the salvation of men. It is not proper, then, that they should be set up as the heads of different parties. SHALL RECEIVE; from Christ, not from man. HIS OWN REWARD ACCORDING TO HIS OWN LABOR; the common... [ Continue Reading ]
LABORERS TOGETHER WITH GOD; he as the cause, we as the instruments. HUSBANDRY-BUILDING; the church is here compared to a cultivated field, in which husbandmen labor and God causes things to grow; and also to a building, on which he gives artisans strength to labor, and crowns their labor with his b... [ Continue Reading ]
I HAVE LAID THE FOUNDATION; Paul first preached to the Corinthians Christ crucified, an atoning sacrifice for sin, as the only and all-sufficient foundation for human hope; and gathered such as appeared to believe on him into the church. ANOTHER BUILDETH; others afterwards preached to them, and adm... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS CHRIST; he is the only sure foundation of human hope; and his true church is composed of such, and such only, as trust in him. Isaiah 28:16; MATTHEW 21:42; ACTS 4:11; Ephesians 2:20; 2 TIMOTHY 2:19; 1 PETER 2:6. The only foundation of the true church is Jesus Christ; and none belong to it exce... [ Continue Reading ]
GOLD, SILVER, PRECIOUS STONES; if he preach the pure truths of God, from love to him and in humble dependence on his grace, and thus build up the church. WOOD, HAY, STUBBLE; if he preach error, or the speculations of men.... [ Continue Reading ]
MADE MANIFEST; shown to be what it really is. THE DAY; the day of judgment will make it known. REVEALED BY FIRE; as fire shows the difference between gold and wood, or silver and stubble, so the day of judgment will show the difference between the works of different men. A day is coming when every... [ Continue Reading ]
IF ANY MAN'S WORK ABIDE; if his preaching and practice are approved, HE SHALL RECEIVE A REWARD; a reward of grace.... [ Continue Reading ]
IF ANY MAN'S WORK SHALL BE BURNED; if it be condemned as wrong, though he himself believed and is pardoned, HE SHALL SUFFER LOSS; he shall lose his labor, and much of the good which might have resulted from a different and better course of conduct. HE HIMSELF SHALL BE SAVED; YET SO AS BY FIRE; as h... [ Continue Reading ]
YE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD; elsewhere the apostle calls the bodies of individual believers the temples of the Holy Ghost, chap 1 Corinthians 6:19. Compare Isaiah 57:15; Isaiah 66:1-2. But here, as in Ephesians 2:20-22; 1 PETER 2:5; he has reference to the church of Christ, which is "God's building." E... [ Continue Reading ]
DEFILE-DESTROY; these two words are in the original the same. If by false doctrine or unholy practice any one should defile, and thus exert his influence to destroy the church or any of its members, he would incur great guilt, and expose himself to aggravated ruin. HOLY; set apart and devoted to th... [ Continue Reading ]
DECEIVE HIMSELF; by a vain idea of his superior wisdom. Addressed especially to those who sought preeminence as leaders. SEEMETH TO BE WISE; seemeth in his own eyes, thinks himself wise. BECOME A FOOL; let him consent to be esteemed a fool by the men of the world-let him renounce dependence on tha... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD; that of which worldly men are proud, and in which they glory. FOR IT IS WRITTEN; JOB 5:12-13.... [ Continue Reading ]
AGAIN; PSALMS 94:11.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE; as the result of what has been said. GLORY IN MEN; by setting up one teacher above others as his leader. ALL THINGS ARE YOURS; not one teacher alone, but all the teachers of the church with all their varied gifts. And not only they, but all things else, in the sense that God makes all t... [ Continue Reading ]
YE ARE CHRIST'S; all united in one body under Christ, who has redeemed you by his blood, and to whom alone ye belong, not to any human leader. CHRIST IS GOD'S; sent by the Father to redeem men, and always acting in his name and for his glory. Thus the unity in God's holy family is complete. Compare... [ Continue Reading ]