The First Epistle to the Corinthians.

Hamilton Smith

Preface

The First Epistle to the Corinthians views the assembly of God in its privileges and responsibilities on earth, and presents God's appointed order for carrying out these responsibilities locally.

The grave disorders that existed in this assembly were the immediate occasion for the Epistle being written; it is therefore a corrective epistle. But it is evident that the apostle Paul, led by the Spirit of God, not only corrects the abuses in a local assembly in those early days, but also gives us divine and inspired instructions for all time as to the maintenance of holy discipline in the house of God, and the divine order for God's people, as forming the body of Christ, when come together in assembly gatherings.

In the course of the Epistle we learn that there existed in this assembly moral laxity, assembly disorder and doctrinal error. One evil leads to the other. Experience has often proved that worldliness and moral laxity will be found behind assembly disorder and that assembly disorder opens the door to doctrinal error.

The main divisions of the Epistle deal with these evils in this order:

First, in 1 Corinthians 1 to 10 the apostle deals with the moral laxity by bringing in the Cross of Christ and the Holy Spirit to exclude the wisdom of this world and the licence of the flesh, and gives us directions for the maintenance of discipline amongst the people of God.

Secondly, in 1 Corinthians 11 to 14 the apostle deals with assembly disorder by presenting the free action of the Holy Spirit in the assembly viewed as the body of Christ.

Thirdly, in 1 Corinthians 15 he deals with the false doctrine that undermines the gospel and attacks the Person of Christ by denying the resurrection of the dead.

1 Corinthians 1.

(Vv. 1-3). In writing to the assembly at Corinth, Paul does so as an apostle, and is careful to state that he has received his authority as an apostle by the call of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and not as appointed by man or according to the will of man. Though writing as an apostle he is quite free to associate with himself a brother. If this brother is the Sosthenes who, in days past, had been the chief ruler of the synagogue at Corinth, he would be well-known to them (Acts 18: 17). He addresses the assembly of God at Corinth as those that are “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints”. He thus views the saints as set apart for Christ as they pass through this world, and at the same time called out of this present evil world to have part with Christ above, for our calling is “heavenly” and “on high” (Hebrews 3: 1; Philippians 3: 14).

The apostle, while addressing the church at Corinth, links with them “all that in every place call on the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours”. There is only one Lord of whom each local assembly can say, in reference to all others, He is both theirs and ours. This is of the deepest importance in an epistle which deals with the practical conduct of the Christian, and the maintenance of discipline and order in the assembly. It clearly shows that the instructions apply to the whole Christian profession for all time. Again and again in the course of the Epistle we shall find passages that refute the attempt to limit the instruction to a local assembly and the apostolic age. (See 1 Cor. 4: 17; 1 Cor. 7: 17; 1 Cor. 11: 16; 1 Cor. 14: 36, 37; 1 Cor. 16: 1.) The apostle will have to speak plainly as to the disorder in this assembly, but behind all his plain words of condemnation his earnest desire is that they may enjoy the blessings of grace and peace from “God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ”.

(Vv. 4-9). Though he will have much to correct in this assembly owing to their low state, he nevertheless thankfully acknowledges the grace of God towards them, and the faithfulness of God with them. The grace of God had come to them, as to us all, in virtue of Jesus Christ. This grace had enriched them with every spiritual blessing in Christ and given them “all word of doctrine” and “all knowledge” of the doctrine. There had been a testimony to Christ in their midst, confirmed by the knowledge of the truth that they possessed, and the fact that they came behind in no gift and were waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover, the grace that had so richly blessed them would confirm them to the end, so that, however much the apostle may have to correct in their present condition, in the day of the Lord they would be blameless.

Further, however unfaithful the saints may be, the apostle can give thanks that “God is faithful”, by whom believers are “called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord”. Here, let it be noted, it is not fellowship with His Son, but the fellow-ship of His Son, a fellowship of which Christ, as Lord, is the bond, and which embraces all that call upon His Name. This is true Christian fellowship, and the only one that Scripture recognises. Christians may form other fellowships of which the bond is the maintenance of some important truth, or the carrying out of some special work, but such fellowships are sectarian in character and of necessity fall far short of the fellowship into which we are called, and which has the Lord for its bond, the Lord's Supper for its deepest expression, and the Holy Spirit for its directing power (1 Cor. 10: 16, 17; 2 Cor. 13: 14). One generation may pass and another arise, but the one Lord (Ephesians 4: 5) remains, and however great the ruin and confusion in the Christian profession, His mind for the conduct of those called into the fellowship of which He is the bond, and for the discipline and ordering of God's assemblies, remains in all its force as unfolded in this Epistle.

It is noticeable that, while thanking God for His grace, the apostle is unable to express any approval of their spiritual condition. While delighting to own the faithfulness of God, he cannot address them as “faithful brethren”, as he does when writing to the saints at Ephesus and Colosse (Ephesians 1: 1; Colossians 1: 2). Alas, he has to own a little later that, in spite of having “all knowledge” and coming “behind in no gift”, they were “yet carnal”, and he cannot speak to them “as unto spiritual”. The flesh can boast in knowledge and use gifts for self-exaltation, but we do well to remember that mere knowledge, and the possession of all gifts, will not avert disorder or secure spirituality if the flesh is unjudged.

Having thus recognised what was of God in the assembly, the apostle begins to deal with the disorders prevalent in their midst which hindered their spiritual growth and testimony for Christ.

(Vv. 10, 11). The first great evil dealt with is the state of division that existed in their midst. “There are”, writes the apostle, “strifes among you”; and again in 1 Cor. 11: 18, “I hear there exist divisions among you”. He opens this subject with an appeal to which he attaches the gravest importance by invoking “the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”. He has just reminded the assembly at Corinth, and ourselves, that we “have been called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord”. This call, carrying with it many privileges, involves the responsibility of being true to the fellowship in our walk and ways. In order to enjoy our privileges, and carry out our responsibilities, we are exhorted to be perfectly united together in the same mind and the same opinion, so that there be no division among the people of God, or breach in the fellowship.

(V. 12). The apostle proceeds to expose the root from which divisions spring. “Every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ”. On the one hand they were exalting gifted servants of the Lord into a false position as centres of gathering, which is the evil principle of clericalism; on the other hand they were forming themselves into parties round these servants and thus commencing the evil of sectarianism.

It may be asked, what of the individuals who disclaimed all men as leaders, and said, “I of Christ”? These really were worse than others, for they were attempting to make Christ the leader of a party and ignore the gifts that Christ had given. It was the assumption of superior spirituality that professed to be able to dispense with the ministry of others, and the pretension to appropriate Christ exclusively to themselves.

The evil here is the converse of that of which the apostle speaks in Acts 20: 30. There he warned the Ephesian elders that trouble would arise from leaders; here he states that it arises from disciples. There he speaks of what would occur after his decease, here of what was taking place in his lifetime. One evil leads to the other. The evil that commences with Christians forming parties round leaders ends with the leaders teaching perverse things. This solemn principle, which showed itself at Corinth, has been at work throughout the history of the church with like disastrous results. People have ranged themselves round favourite teachers, and the leaders, allowing themselves to be placed in this false position, have eventually taught perverse things and brought division amongst the people of God by drawing away disciples after themselves.

(Vv. 13-16). The apostle condemns their sectarianism by asking, “Is Christ divided?”. We are called into a fellowship of which Christ is the bond. We may, alas, form other fellowships with some other bond, but we cannot divide Christ. Then he condemns their clericalism by asking, “Was Paul crucified for you?”. Paul refused to be exalted into a false position as a centre of gathering for God's people. The only true centre of gathering for the people of God is the One Who has proved His claim over them by being crucified for them. Paul, however much he loved the people of God, had not been crucified for them. He will not usurp the place in the affections of God's people that alone belongs to the crucified One. His one object, as with every true servant, was, as he says, to espouse them to one husband that he might present them as a chaste virgin to Christ (2 Cor. 11: 2). Nor had Paul made himself a centre of gathering by baptizing unto the name of Paul. In fact he had only baptized Crispus and Gaius, and also the household of Stephanas; as for the rest of these Corinthian saints, he had refrained from baptizing them lest any should say that he was baptizing unto his own name and so seeking to form a party round himself. In thus exalting their favourite teachers, and seeking to gain distinction for themselves by following them, they were glorying in men rather than in the Lord, in the gifts rather than the Giver.

In order to meet this evil the apostle insists on two great truths: first, the Cross of Christ, the great theme of the remainder of this chapter; secondly, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the great theme of the second chapter. He will have much to correct in detail as to their conduct, but before doing so he seeks to establish them in the great truths that entirely exclude the flesh, the allowance of which lies at the root of all disorder in the church of God. The Cross deals with the flesh in judgment before God. The presence of the Holy Spirit is intolerant of the flesh in the assembly of God on earth. It is a solemn consideration for us all that, whenever we allow the flesh to manifest itself in the assembly of God, we practically deny the work of the Cross, and ignore the presence of the Holy Spirit.

First, the apostle speaks of the Cross of Christ in verse 17. In connection with this we have the preaching of the Cross in verses 18-25, the calling of God in verses 26-29, and, finally, the position into which the call of God brings us in verses 30 and 31. Every one of these truths entirely excludes the flesh and leads to the conclusion that, “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord”.

1. The Cross of Christ.

(V. 17). The apostle first of all upholds before these believers the Cross of Christ. He had been sent, not to baptize, but to preach the glad tidings. The preaching was not to be with wisdom of words lest the Cross of Christ should be made of none effect. The gospel cannot be set forth by mere words; it is set forth by the Cross. It is a deeply important principle to apprehend that God acquaints us with Himself by His actions, and not simply by descriptions or statements of Himself. Philosophy and theology seek to describe God; but description requires the wisdom of words, and the wisdom of words demands human learning to frame and understand the words. God is too great to be described by words, and we are too small to take in mere descriptions. God has thus taken another way, indeed the only way possible, to make Himself and His glad tidings known. He has made Himself known personally and in actions. God has become manifest in flesh in the Person of Christ, and made Himself known in all His activities amongst men. And these activities of grace and love and holiness culminate in the Cross of Christ. The Cross is the greatest possible setting forth of the love of God to the sinner, of the hatred of God against sin, and of the setting aside of man in the flesh.

This being so, the apostle refuses to announce the glad tidings by mere descriptions, which entail the wisdom of words, but upholds before them the Cross of Christ, which sets aside the man that the Corinthians were exalting.

2. The preaching of the Cross.

(Vv. 18-25). Philosophers prefer their learned dissertations; therefore the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness. The wise of this world do not see the glory of the Person Who was nailed to the Cross, and hence they do not see the love of God that gave Him to suffer, nor the holiness of God that demanded such a sacrifice, nor the utter ruin of man set forth in the Cross. All they see is a Man nailed to a Cross between two thieves; so the preaching of salvation through the Cross appears to them utter folly. Those who think thus are those who perish. To those who are saved the Cross is the power of God to save, for thereby God can righteously save the vilest sinner.

The wisdom of the world is thus exposed and brought to nothing. The world had ample time to develop its wisdom, the result being that all the wisdom of the philosophers was shown to be folly, inasmuch as it left man in complete ignorance of God. The end of all man's wisdom is that “the world by wisdom knew not God”. It was not that the world by its ignorance or stupidity knew not God, but by wisdom it knew not God. The net result of all the wisdom of the ages — the combined efforts of the keenest intellects of the world — is to leave man in utter ignorance of God, and in utter ignorance of himself. When the complete failure of man's wisdom had been demonstrated, then it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

But God's way of revealing Himself and blessing man is equally offensive to Jews and Gentiles. The Jews looked for a “sign”, some miraculous intervention of God that appealed to the senses; the Gentiles looked for philosophic reasoning that appealed to the mind. God appeals to the conscience and heart through Christ crucified. This, however, was a stumbling-block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.

The Jews looked for a Messiah reigning in power from a throne, One Who would revive the kingdom, put down their enemies, and set Israel at the head of the nations. Christ reigning on a throne they could understand; Christ crucified on a Cross was an offence to them. Having no sense of their need as sinners, they could see no meaning in the Cross. To them in their unbelief it became a stumbling-block.

As for the Gentiles, who looked for something that appealed to reason — some new thing, some scheme of philosophy — to tell them there was salvation through a crucified Man, life through a dying Man, power through One Who was crucified through weakness, was to speak of that which in their sight was utter foolishness. Nevertheless, unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God's power and God's wisdom. In Him such discover God's power to save, and God's wisdom in carrying out all His purposes.

To the mind of man the preaching is “the foolishness of God” and the Cross “the weakness of God”. Be it so, it will but prove that “the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men”.

3. The calling of God.

(Vv. 26-29). The apostle has set aside the religious flesh of the Jew, and the intellectual flesh of the Gentile, by presenting the Cross and the preaching of the Cross. Now he sets aside the pride of the flesh by presenting the calling of God. “Ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.” The foolish, the weak, the base, the despised, and things that are not hath God chosen to confound the wise and “bring to nought things that are”. Thus it came to pass that a blind beggar confounded the wise Pharisees, and simple fishermen so utterly confounded the wise rulers of Israel that they were compelled to say, “What shall we do?”.

God thus uses “things which are not, to bring to nought things that are”. In the apostles' day the things by which men sought to exalt themselves were Judaism and philosophy; and God used simple men to bring these things to nought, in order that no flesh should glory in His presence.

The flesh must glory in something, either birth or riches or intellect; but in the presence of God neither believer nor unbeliever can glory in these things. Alas, in the presence of one another we may seek to exalt ourselves by birth, or riches, or wisdom, or accomplishments; but in the presence of Christ we are ashamed of the very things in which we glory before one another. We dare not mention them in His presence, save to condemn ourselves for glorying in them. To glory in them only shows how little we are in His presence.

4. The believer's position in Christ.

(Vv. 30, 31). Finally, the apostle sets aside the flesh by setting forth the believer's origin and position. The believer is “of God”. How far greater to be “of God” than to be of the high-born, of the mighty, of the wise, or of the rich. Yet more, we are of God “in Christ Jesus”. Not only have we an origin of God, but we are set in an entirely new position before God — we are “in Christ Jesus”. We do not stand before God in the condition and position of Adam, away from God and under judgment, but we are in Christ in all His meetness for God and for heaven.

Nor is this all. We may have but little wisdom of our own; nevertheless, Christ is made unto us wisdom. We need not turn for wisdom to philosophy, to wise men, or to our own fancied wisdom, for we have Christ. Having Christ we see at once what all the wisdom of the world can never teach us. Christ, on the Cross, has fully shown us our ruin and made God known in His love. Christ in the glory sets forth all the purposes of God. In Christ we see the wisdom of God in meeting our ruin and in fulfilling His purpose.

Further, Christ is made unto us righteousness. We have no righteousness for God. God's righteousness is seen in justifying us consistently with Himself through the death of Christ. If we want to know what this righteousness is, and how perfectly it suits us for the glory, then we need not look to man or at ourselves, but at Christ. It is set forth in Christ in the glory.

Christ is also made unto us sanctification. Christ is the measure of, the pattern of, and the power for, sanctification. Finally, Christ is made unto us redemption, “the complete deliverance from the effects of sin in our bodies”, for which we wait. We see this redemption already set forth in Christ; we have it now in Christ our Head; we wait for it to be manifested in ourselves.

Having, then, everything in Christ, and nothing in man as such, “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord”. Thus the Cross, the preaching of the Cross, the call of God, and our position in Christ before God, entirely shut out the flesh.

1 Corinthians 2.

In the first chapter the apostle has shown that Christ crucified, the preaching of the Cross, and the calling of God, entirely set aside the flesh, leaving no room for man to glory in himself. In this chapter the apostle applies the teaching of 1 Corinthians 1 to himself and his manner of presenting the testimony of God. In accord with his own teaching he refused the flesh in himself in order to be true to the Cross, and that there might be no hindrance to the work of the Spirit. In the first five verses the apostle tells us how he preached the gospel to sinners. The latter part of the chapter tells us how he ministered the deep things of God to the saints. In either case it was in the power of the Spirit. This leads the apostle to present the Holy Spirit Who, in His gracious work, entirely sets aside the flesh and instructs us in the mind of Christ.

(Vv. 1, 2). When Paul came to Corinth he made no appeal to the natural man by attempting to use excellency of speech or by a display of human wisdom. He came to announce the testimony of God concerning Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The great subject of his preaching was a Person — Jesus Christ — but that Person on a Cross, the lowest and most degraded position in which a man can be found. Paul tells these intellectual Corinthians that, in order that sinners be saved, Christ must go to the Cross. To give believers His place before God, He had to take their place before God. The Cross sets forth our true place before God as sinners. There is nothing dignified, or heroic, or noble about a cross. It is a place of shame and reproach, of judgment and death. To tell a man that this is his true place before God makes nothing of all his wisdom and greatness and grandeur. However wise, however rich, however well-born a man may be, the Cross tells him that, in spite of all that he may be before his fellow-men, in the sight of God he is a guilty sinner under the sentence of death and judgment. The preaching of the Cross thus makes nothing of all man's pride.

(V. 3). Moreover, the preacher himself was among them in a condition that was humiliating to the pride of man. He did not come as a self-confident orator. Conscious of his own weakness, realising the deep need of those to whom he preached, and the gravity of his message, he was amongst them in fear and much trembling.

(Vv. 4, 5). Furthermore, in the manner of his preaching he refused every fleshly method in order to leave room for God to work. He did not seek to win his audience by a display of his own wisdom or natural ability. He did not set forth the testimony of God in eloquent language, which might have appealed to their refined ears and attracted to himself.

In the subject preached, in the condition of the preacher, and in the manner of preaching, there was no allowance of flesh with the apostle, and no appeal to the flesh in his hearers.

This entire refusal to use fleshly means, or appeal to the flesh, left room for the Spirit to work in mighty power. If under such preaching there is faith — if any believe in that which is so humiliating to man, which ends man in judgment — then obviously it is not the wisdom of man that leads them to believe, but the power of the Spirit of God working with them. Under such preaching the Spirit is able to demonstrate to sinners their deep need, and to work in unhindered power, leading them to faith which rests not in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. It is not only a question of the truth they believed, but of the way in which they received it. It was received not from a man, even though that man was an apostle, but from God.

(V. 6). From this verse the apostle begins to speak of the attitude he took towards those who were the subjects of the power of God, and thus had accepted the gospel. He speaks of them as the “perfect”. By this term he does not mean that which some speak of as “sinless perfection”, or that they were already conformed to the image of Christ; this will only be in glory. The term “perfect” implies that such had accepted the new position before God that belongs to the believer in Christ, and thus were full-grown Christians. The term does not simply designate a believer in contrast to a sinner; it is used rather to describe a full-grown believer in contrast to some believers of whom the apostle speaks as “babes” (1 Cor. 3: 1).

(V. 7). Amongst such Paul did indeed speak wisdom. The apostle then proceeds to give us some very definite instruction as to this wisdom, in order that we may not confuse it with the wisdom of man.

First, he tells us that it is not the wisdom of this age, nor even the wisdom of the few intellectual giants who mould the thoughts of the world. These intellectual princes, in spite of all their wisdom, “come to nought”, in contrast to the believer who comes to “glory” (verse 7), in company with “the Lord of glory” (verse 8). Those who shine in the glory of this world come to nought, while those who are nought in this world come to glory.

Secondly, this wisdom is “the wisdom of God”. If it were the wisdom of man, it could be acquired in the schools of men. Being God's wisdom it is outside the programme of the schools, and beyond the attainment of the human mind.

Thirdly, it is God's wisdom “in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom”, words that by no means imply that it is obscure or mysterious, but that it is a wisdom that cannot be discovered by the wit of man. Moreover, throughout the ages it has been “hidden”, and therefore is not to be found in the Old Testament Scriptures.

Fourthly, this wisdom, which throughout the ages has been hidden, was predetermined before the ages for our glory in the ages yet to come. This wisdom embraced the secret counsel of God, settled before the ages, for the glory of His people. We might have thought that the apostle would have said for the glory of God and of Christ. We know indeed it will be for the glory of Christ. Here, however, the apostle is pressing upon us the fact that, if our calling makes manifest that believers are the weak and despised of the world, nonetheless they are predestined to glory. We may not be wise, or mighty, or noble in this world, but we are called to glory.

(V. 8). Fifthly, of this wisdom, settled before the ages, and of this glory, to which we are predestined for the ages yet to come, the princes of this world knew nothing. They proved their ignorance by crucifying the Lord of glory. They wholly rejected the One Who is the wisdom of God, and by Whom all the counsels of God are brought to pass. This wisdom of God in a mystery tells believers that they are predestined to glory, and the One Who has been crucified is “the Lord of glory”. This glory exceeds the glory of Christ as the Messiah, in connection with Israel, reigning over the earth. The earthly reign is no mystery. The Prophets are full of glorious predictions concerning the kingdom glories. “The Lord of glory” speaks of a wider scene than this earth; it speaks of a universal dominion embracing every created thing and being, over which the crucified One is made Lord.

(V. 9). Sixthly, this scene of glory, to which the wisdom of God has destined His people, lies outside the range of the natural man. The apostle thus quotes the prophet Isaiah to show that God has secrets, into which man as such cannot enter. His eye, aided by marvellous instruments, can see far into the depths of space and into the minute wonders of nature; his ear can be trained to hear and appreciate wonderful combinations of melodious sounds; his mind is capable of marvellous conceptions and emotions; but there are things which God has prepared for them that love Him that the natural man has neither seen nor heard, and which are beyond the range of the highest flights of his imagination.

(V. 10). Seventhly, the fact that the wisdom of God lies outside the comprehension of the natural man does not imply that the things of wisdom cannot be seen, cannot be heard, and cannot be known, for at once the apostle says, “God hath revealed them”. The things that God has prepared God has revealed. If, however, God has revealed these things, it is “by His Spirit”. The Spirit alone is competent to reveal these things, for nothing is beyond the range of the divine knowledge and power of the Spirit. He searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God. We may seek to excuse our lack of spiritual energy by saying that these things are too deep for us; but let us remember that they are not too deep for the Spirit, for He “searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God”.

(V. 11). What is in man's mind is not known to any but the spirit of the man himself who has the thoughts. No one knows the uncommunicated thought of my mind except my own spirit; so no one knows the uncommunicated thoughts and counsels of God save the Spirit of God.

(V. 12). The apostle and other vessels of revelation received the Spirit which is of God that they might know the things that are freely given to us of God. “This is the knowledge of the things themselves in the vessels of revelation.” In the primary sense the truth of these verses, 10 to 12, is limited to the apostles; it is revelation that is the subject.

(V. 13). Furthermore, the things which were made known to the apostles by the revelation of the Spirit have been passed on to us by the inspiration of the Spirit. In the communication of these things the apostle is careful to shut out any possible error of man by saying that these things are not communicated “in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth”. This is the apostolic claim for verbal inspiration. The very words used are inspired by the Holy Ghost. Spiritual things are communicated by spiritual means. The instruments were not made infallible, but were perfectly guided in their communications. This is inspiration.

(Vv. 14, 15). Thus we learn that the wisdom of God is made known by revelation and communicated to others by inspiration. Now we learn that the reception of the truth is also by the Spirit of God. The natural man cannot receive the things of God; they are foolishness to him; they can only be spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual discerneth all things. We do well to remember that it is the “spiritual”, not simply he that has the Spirit, that discerneth all things. A man must, indeed, have the Spirit to be spiritual; but being spiritual implies a condition in which a man is under the control of the Spirit. Such discern all things, yet they themselves are not discerned of any. The spiritual man can discern the motives that govern the world, though the world cannot discern the motives and principles that govern the spiritual man.

In verse 14 the apostle speaks of the natural man, in verse 15 of the spiritual man, and in 1 Corinthians 3 of the carnal, or fleshly, man. The natural man is the unconverted man, without the Spirit; the carnal man is the believer, having the Spirit, but walking like the natural man; the spiritual man is the believer walking in the Spirit.

(V. 16). In verse 15 the apostle tells us that “the spiritual discerns all things”. It is not indeed that such naturally know the mind of the Lord, or can instruct Him; but the Lord has given to believers His Spirit and instructs them; such can therefore say, “We have the mind of Christ”.

If the first chapter shuts out the flesh in its pride of birth and power and position, so that he that will glory glories in the Lord, this chapter shuts out the mind of man, so that believers may be let into the privilege of having “the mind of Christ” through the Spirit.

The Spirit is the great theme of the chapter. If Paul brings the testimony of God to sinners, it is “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (verse 4). If God has prepared great blessings for those who love Him, they are revealed unto the apostles by the Spirit (verse 10). The things that are revealed by the Spirit are fully known to the Spirit (verses 10 and 11). The things revealed and known to the apostles are, through them, communicated to others by the Spirit (verse 13). The things communicated by the apostles are received by the Spirit (verse 14), the result being that believers are, through the Spirit, instructed in the mind of Christ (verse 16).

1 Corinthians 3.

Having brought before us the Cross as setting aside the flesh in judgment, and the Holy Spirit as setting aside the wisdom of this world, the apostle now returns to the theme with which he commenced the Epistle, the state of division that existed in the assembly at Corinth. Later he will deal with other manifestations of the flesh, but, apparently, he deals first with this particular evil, for, as so often since that day, a divided state in the assembly renders it difficult, if not impossible, to correct other abuses.

The apostle first refers to the low condition of the assembly proved by their fleshly attitude towards the servants of God (verses 1-4). To correct this abuse of gifts and gifted servants, the apostle gives valuable instruction as to service, or work, for the Lord (verses 5-23), and as to the servants, or workmen, in 1 Cor. 4.

1. The low spiritual condition of the assembly.

(Vv. 1-4). With all their boasted wisdom and knowledge and gifts the Corinthian assembly was in such a low spiritual condition that the apostle was unable to minister to them the deep things of God. It is true they were not natural men that have not the Spirit (1 Cor. 2: 14), nor were they spiritual men walking according to the Spirit, but the apostle has to say, “Are ye not carnal?”. They were believers, having the Spirit, but walking according to the flesh. How deeply humbling to discover that it is possible to be enriched with all utterance and knowledge and gift, and be “full” and “wise in Christ” and “strong” (1 Cor. 4: 8-10), and yet, in the sight of God, be carnal, or spiritually undeveloped, like a babe that has ceased to grow, and therefore unable to assimilate the rich, spiritual food that God has provided for His people.

The apostle convicts them of their carnality by calling attention to the conditions that existed amongst them. He says, “There is among you envying, and strife”. In their practical ways they walked as natural men. Instead of serving one another in love, as becomes saints, they were envious of one another and seeking to equal, or excel, one another in knowledge and the exercise of gifts, even as men of the world. Envy was thus at the root of all their strife. Perhaps there is no greater power for evil in the world than envy. Envy led to the first murder in the world, when Cain rose up against his brother and slew him; and envy led to the greatest murder in the world, when the Jews killed the Prince of life, for we read that Pilate “knew that for envy they had delivered Him” (Matthew 27: 18). Will it not be found that envy has been the main cause of all the strifes amongst the people of God? The apostle Peter warns us that envy knows no pity. It leads to “malice” and “evil speakings”, and the malice leads to “guile” by which a man attempts to cover up what he is, and “hypocrisies” by which a man pretends to be what he is not (1 Peter 2: 1).

These Corinthian saints pandered to this spirit of emulation by attaching themselves to certain gifted teachers, and by closely following and accepting all they said, not necessarily because it was the truth according to the word of God, but because it was advanced by a favourite teacher. One said, “I am of Paul”; another said, “I am of Apollos”. Each seeking to defend his favourite teacher naturally led to strife, and strife to divisions. Thus men were followed, individuals were exalted, and divisions resulted. Two evils followed: one was sectarianism, which set aside the truth of the assembly, the other clericalism, which set aside Christ as the Head of the assembly.

2. Instruction as to service.

(V. 5). To correct this abuse of gifts, the apostle first presents some important truths as to service and the different forms it may take.

First, the apostle asks, “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos?”. These gifted brothers, whom the Corinthian assembly had been exalting into the false position as leaders of parties, were, after all, but “ministering servants” by whom the Corinthians had believed.

Secondly, these gifted men held their position as servants, not according to man's appointment, but “as the Lord has given to each”.

(V. 6). Thirdly, these servants had not all been given the same service. As in the field, one plants and another tends the plants, but God alone can cause the plants to grow, so, in the service of the Lord, Paul may be used to obtain converts and Apollos be used to care for the converts, but God alone can give life and spiritual growth.

(V. 7). Fourthly, if it is God that giveth the increase, then the servants that the Corinthians had been exalting out of their place were comparatively very insignificant. Without God they were nothing and their service useless.

(V. 8). Fifthly, though different work may be given to the servants yet they “are one”. By constituting them leaders of parties the Corinthian assembly were setting them in opposition to one another. But none can do without the other. However varied the gifts, as servants they are one.

Sixthly, though one as servants, “each shall receive his own reward according to his own labour”. The reward will not be according to the position that man may have given the servant, nor according to man's thoughts of his service, but according to God's estimate of his labours.

(V. 9). Seventhly, we are reminded that the servants are “God's fellow-workmen”, words that do not imply that they are labourers together with God, but that they work together under the direction of God. They are not rivals, as men would make them, but fellow-companions.

Such is the service of the labourers; but what of the saints that are served? Are they merely man-made sects, such as the Corinthians were forming, to be dominated by certain gifted leaders? Paul's answer is that, instead of being sects, taking their character from certain gifted men such as Paul and Apollos, they belong to God. They are “God's husbandry” and “God's building”. First, they are viewed under the figure of a field in which there is fruit, or increase, for God; secondly, they are looked at as a temple in which the Spirit of God dwells and where there is light for men. Already the Lord in His teaching has connected fruit with the field and light with the house (Luke 8: 15, 16). The truth by which Paul met, and condemned, divisions in those early days is still the truth that condemns the divisions of Christendom in our day. If we realise that we belong to God, that we are “God's husbandry” and “God's building”, we shall surely refuse to be called by any sectarian name.

(Vv. 10, 11). The saints truly belong to God. Nevertheless, the servants of God have their special service in connection with the people of God according to the special grace given by God. Of his own special service the apostle proceeds to speak, and then of the responsibility of others who follow him in service. Paul had been used to lay the foundation of the assembly at Corinth in his testimony to Jesus Christ. He preached Christ, with the result that a company of people was led to believe in Jesus. In apostolic power and grace the foundation had been truly laid — Christ in the souls of believers. It was the responsibility of other servants who followed to edify these saints.

It is important to remember that in this passage “God's building” presents a very different view of the church to that which is brought before us in Matthew 16: 18, 1 Peter 2: 4, 5 and Ephesians 2: 20, 21. In these passages the church is viewed as a building against which the power of Satan cannot prevail, a holy temple into which no defilement can enter, of which the Builder is Christ, and with which no workmen are mentioned. Here, although the assembly is spoken of as God's building, workmen are employed.

(V. 12). Following upon the laying of the foundation by the apostle Paul, we have the solemn possibility of the breakdown in responsibility of those who continue to build upon the foundation through building with bad material. A man may teach sound doctrine, or that which is worthless. Moreover, the figures used, “gold, silver, precious stones”, would suggest that there are differences in the value of the doctrines taught, even as “wood, hay, stubble” would suggest that some errors are worse than others.

(V. 13). The work of each one will be tested by the day of trial. The day looks on to the revelation of Christ from heaven in flaming fire (2 Thessalonians 1: 7, 8). Anything built with wood, hay or stubble will not stand the fire of judgment. Souls may be held together for a time with false doctrine, as we see on every hand in Christendom, but such work will not stand the fire.

(V. 14). The apostle makes a distinction amongst three classes of workmen. First, he speaks of the true workman who does good work. He teaches sound doctrine, whereby the saints are edified. His work abides, and he himself will receive a reward.

(V. 15). Secondly, he speaks of a true workman, but whose work is bad and therefore burned. A builder may see his building destroyed by fire, though he may escape. So the day of Christ may prove that a man has taught doctrines which were erroneous, and therefore his work, in connection with the people of God, worthless, though he himself is on the foundation — a true believer in Jesus. Such will be saved, though his work is destroyed and he loses his reward.

(Vv. 16, 17). Thirdly, the apostle speaks of a bad workman and bad work. We are reminded that the assembly of God, viewed as a whole, is the temple of God in which the Spirit of God dwells. It is not merely that there are converted people on earth, but God has His house or temple. We are to look at ourselves, not as isolated individuals, but as forming part of God's dwelling on earth, and holiness becomes God's house. It thus becomes intensely solemn if any defiles or corrupts the house of God. We have seen that there are those who edify the people of God with sound doctrine. Then there are those who present defective views of truth, or a false interpretation of the word. Lastly, there is the far worse case of one who teaches false doctrines that destroy the fundamental truths of God and undermine the foundations of Christianity. The fact that a man can teach such doctrines is a sure proof that he himself is not on the foundation. He is a corrupter and will be destroyed as well as his work. The effect of his work is to destroy God's temple, and God destroys him.

Whether the doctrines taught are good, worthless or destructive, they will all be tested. Much that passes muster now in that day may be found worthless or, what is worse, corrupt.

(V. 18). These solemn considerations lead to the apostle's warning, “Let no man deceive himself”. It is possible, then, to deceive oneself that what is being taught is true, when, in fact, it is worthless. The great source of deception is the attempt to stand well with the world by seeking to accommodate Christianity to the wisdom of this world. The servant who will stand for the truth must be content to become a fool in the eyes of the world; then, indeed, he will have the true wisdom according to God. It was so with the apostle, of whom the worldly Festus could say, “Thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad”.

(Vv. 19, 20). The wisdom of this world commands the respect of the natural man, and at times may look very attractive even to the Christian, as in the case of the Corinthian saints; nevertheless, it is foolishness with God. The very wisdom of the world becomes its undoing, for it is written, “He taketh the wise in their own craftiness”. The wisdom of this world is mere craft, which entraps those who boast in it. The Lord knoweth that the “reasonings” of the wise are vain (N.Tn.).

(Vv. 21-23). As Christians, therefore, we are warned against glorying in men. To do so would be to place ourselves in the apparently false position of belonging to those in whom we glory. As Christians we do not belong to men, but all things belong to us in the sense that we are set above all as belonging to Christ. The Corinthians were ranging themselves under certain teachers as if they belonged to different gifted men. No, says the apostle, they all belong to you. The world with all its power, life with all its changes, death with its terrors, even as all that can happen in the present or future, are set under the Christian because he belongs to Christ, and Christ is God's. God is over all, Christ is God's, we are Christ's, and all things are ours.

1 Corinthians 4.

The instruction in 1 Cor. 3 has service, or “work”, more especially in view. (See verses 8, 13, 14 and 15.) The teaching in 1 Cor. 4 refers more definitely to the servant. The Corinthian believers were walking as men (1 Cor. 3: 3), and thus making much of man's day and man's world. Being accustomed in the world around them to schools of opinion under the leadership of different philosophers, they were tempted, in like manner, to form different parties under the leadership of gifted men in the assembly of God. To correct these worldly ideas and wrong practices, the apostle sets before us the truth as to the servants of Christ in relation to Christ and to the world.

(V. 1). The Corinthian assembly had sought to make gifted brothers the leaders of parties. The apostle reminds them that, so far from being centres of gathering for God's people, these gifted men were actually “servants”, thus reminding us of our Lord's own words, “Whosoever will be great among you, shall be your servant; and whosoever will be first among you, let him be your bondman” (Matthew 20: 26, 27). Further, though taking the place of servants, they were not the servants of parties, but “the servants of Christ”. The word used for “minister”, or “servant”, in this passage implies, we are told, “an appointed servant”. Paul and his fellow-labourers were servants by the appointment of Christ. This is of importance, for the One Who appoints is the One Who is feared and to Whom the servant will have to answer. In Christianity, as set forth in Scripture, the true servant, being “the servant of Christ”, is delivered from the fear of man and is thus able to set forth the full truth with great plainness of speech.

Furthermore, the servants of Christ are “stewards of the mysteries of God”, not the unholy mysteries connected with the heathen world by which the Corinthians were surrounded, but the precious truths of God, kept secret in Old Testament days, displayed in connection with Christ in glory, revealed by the Holy Spirit to the apostles, and received by believers. As the servants of Christ they were the servants of One Whom the world had rejected, and as stewards of the mysteries of God they were stewards of things that the world, as such, could not possibly comprehend. Hence neither the ministers of Christ nor the stewards of God's mysteries could possibly be popular with the world.

(V. 2). The apostle proceeds to show that the great characteristic required in a steward is not cleverness, nor eloquence, nor popularity, but “faithfulness”. This is in accord with the Lord's own teaching, when He spoke of the “faithful and wise steward” (Luke 12: 42). Later, when near his end, the apostle can write to Timothy, “The things that thou hast heard of me . . . the same commit thou to faithful men” (2 Timothy 2: 2). Moreover, in this chapter he speaks of Timothy as being “faithful in the Lord” (verse 17). We, like the Corinthian saints, may at times value servants by their knowledge or their gifts; but their spiritual value in God's sight is measured by their faithfulness.

(Vv. 3-5). Moreover, the faithfulness is in relation to the One Who appoints. Hence the apostle can say, “It is the very smallest matter that I be examined of you or of man's day” (N.Tn.). He does not say that their judgment of him is no matter, but is of the least importance. Nor does he trust in his own examination of himself. He is not conscious of any wrong motive in himself, but this will not justify him from all unfaithfulness before the Lord, Who knows the secret counsels of the heart, and therefore can alone estimate the measure of faithfulness in each of His servants. This will not be known “until the Lord come”. Hence the true servant does not look for, or set great value upon, the approval of men. How often in the very things in which the saints praise us we may find the working of the flesh in some selfish motive for which we have to judge ourselves before the Lord. We are therefore to judge nothing before the time. Both the condemnation and praise of men may be equally at fault. At the coming of the Lord the stewardship of the servant will be appraised at its true value. “Then shall every man have praise of God”. This hardly implies that every man will be praised, but that every man that is praised will be praised “of God”. Men judge by the outward appearance; the Lord takes into account “the hidden things of darkness” and “the counsels of the heart”. How many an act that now has the appearance of great faithfulness may then be found to have been prompted by some unworthy motive!

It is well to note that, when the apostle exhorts us to “judge nothing before the time”, he is not speaking of the words or actions of the servants, but of their hidden motives. The apostle, in this very Epistle, very definitely judges, and condemns, many things that these Corinthian believers were both saying and doing. Other Scriptures clearly show that in the matter of fellowship, conduct and doctrine, the gifted servants, in common with all saints, are amenable to the discipline of the assembly, and that the assembly is responsible to judge in such matters.

Alas, have we not to admit that these exhortations have been entirely set aside in the great man-made systems of Christendom wherein the servants, instead of being appointed by Christ, are appointed by men or chosen by a congregation? The result has been that the mysteries of God have been almost wholly neglected, and the majority of servants has been more careful to retain popularity with men rather than maintain faithfulness to Christ.

(V. 6). These principles as to service and faithfulness the apostle had applied to himself and to Apollos to expose the abuse of gifted brothers in their midst without actually mentioning any names, thus avoiding all personalities. He would have us not to think of men above that which is written in the word of God, and thus avoid exalting one man above another.

(V. 7). Of those who might be seeking an undue position amongst the saints, he asks, “Who maketh thee to differ from another?”. If, by reason of a gift, the servant did in anywise differ from others, he had nothing but that which he had received. If a gift, it was given and not acquired by any merit. Where, then, was there ground for boasting? Unless near to the Lord and strong in His grace, how weak is the most gifted servant! Unless the flesh is judged by the Cross, and the Spirit ungrieved, according to the teaching of 1 Cor. 1 and 1 Cor. 2, the servant, instead of using his gift in faithfulness to the Lord and for the blessing of His people, is in constant danger of seeking to use it to exalt himself.

(V. 8). To expose the folly of those who were seeking to exalt themselves by their gifts, the apostle draws a contrast between the present portion of the Corinthian assembly and the future portion of the faithful servant in the day of the Lord, of which he has been speaking. The “now” of verse 8 is in contrast to the “then” of verse 5. The Corinthian believers were seeking the praise of men “now” in the time and place of Christ's rejection. The faithful servant will have the praise of God “then” in the day of Christ's glory. They had sought to use Christianity to enrich themselves and reign as kings; but, says the apostle, it is “without us”. He would that the reigning time had come, but we are still in the world from which Christ has been rejected, and by which He was nailed to a Cross; evidently, then, it is neither the time nor the place for the followers of Christ to reign as kings. Christendom has fallen into this Corinthian snare, for on every hand professing Christians seek the favour of the world, attempt to direct its course and gain its applause.

(V. 9). The faithful follower of Christ will neither seek nor obtain power or praise in this world. His portion will be one of suffering and reproach “for Christ's sake”, as exemplified in the life of the apostles, so touchingly set before us in the verses that follow. As far as this world is concerned, the portion of the apostles was much like that of the unhappy creatures which were appointed to death and kept for the last scene in the great Roman spectacles. The onlookers are not simply the holiday audience of an amphitheatre but the world, the angels and men. Well, indeed, for us to remember that the church is the lesson-book of “the principalities and powers in heavenly places” (Ephesians 3: 10).

As we read these verses, we learn how the world viewed these faithful followers of Christ, the trying circumstances through which they passed, and the way in which the world treated them.

(V. 10). The world viewed them as “fools” and “weak”, and consequently “despised” them. But they were content to be thought fools “for Christ's sake”. Alas, too often, like the believers at Corinth, we may be tempted to use our knowledge of Christ to appear wise in the eyes of the world, and to obtain power and honour in the world.

(Vv. 11-13). As to circumstances, the Corinthians were “full” and “rich” (verse 8), but these devoted apostles had to face “hunger and thirst”. At times they were naked and buffeted by the storms of life. They had to “wander without a home” (N.Tn.), and labour, working with their own hands to meet their necessities. As to the treatment they received from the world, they were “reviled”, “persecuted” and “insulted”. Nevertheless, the treatment they received only served to draw out from them a witness to Christ, for, when reviled, they blessed, when persecuted, they patiently submitted, and when insulted, they entreated.

As far as this world is concerned, the apostle treated all its glories as loss and filth (Philippians 3: 8), while the world, on its side, treated the apostles as filth and the off-scouring of all things. How blessedly these servants followed in the steps of their Master, and, in their measure, shared in His sufferings from the hands of men. According to His perfect estimate of their faithfulness they will have His praise and share in His glories in the day to come.

(Vv. 14-16). This marvellous description of the power of Christianity, as set forth in the apostles, must have shamed the Corinthians, as, indeed, it shames us all. Nevertheless, the apostle does not write to shame them as enemies, but to warn them as beloved sons in the faith. They may have ten thousand instructors, but one father in Christ, so he beseeches them to be imitators of their father.

(V. 17). In order that they may be his imitators, the apostle has sent Timothy to remind them of his “ways which be in Christ”. If he desires us to imitate himself, it is only in as far as his ways are in Christ, so blessedly brought before us in the account he has just given of the life of faithful servants. Of Timothy he can also say that he has proved himself to be “faithful in the Lord”. Further, Timothy would witness that the apostle's “ways which be in Christ” were the same in every assembly. Men have introduced into their self-constituted systems ways according to their own ideas. For the one who bows to Scripture there are no other ways than those which the apostle taught “everywhere in every assembly”.

(Vv. 18-21). Alas, then as now “some are puffed up” and entirely indifferent to the inspired teaching of the apostle. As to such the apostle indicates that the real test of spirituality is not in the speech, but in the power of life. As far as speech is concerned, the apostle has to warn us a little later that we can speak like an angel and yet be nothing. The kingdom of God is not set forth by our words merely, but in what we are as manifested by spiritual power (1 Cor. 2: 4, 5). The apostle asks, how shall he come to them? Will it be with a rod to chasten, or in love and the spirit of meekness to edify? We may well ask, how would he come to Christendom today; how would he come to us?

1 Corinthians 5.

In 1 Cor. 3 and 4 the apostle has dealt with the strifes and divisions that existed in the assembly at Corinth. In the next section of his Epistle, comprising 1 Cor. 5 to 7, he treats of the great subject of holiness. In 1 Cor. 5 he speaks more especially of collective holiness, in 1 Cor. 6 of individual holiness, and in 1 Cor. 7 of holiness in the family relationships. He shows that collective holiness must be maintained by purging out the old leaven from the assembly and putting away a wicked person from amongst the saints, that individual holiness is maintained by self-judgment, and family holiness by the right use of the relationships established by God.

Already the apostle has reminded these saints that they are the temple of God, and, he says, “The Spirit of God dwelleth in you”. He then adds, “The temple of God is holy” (1 Cor. 3: 16, 17). The presence of God is intolerant of evil, and demands holiness. Whatever form the house of God may take, whether a material building as in days of old, or a spiritual building composed of believers, the first great and unchanging principle of God's house is holiness. As we read, “Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever” (Psalm 93: 5). Ezekiel sets holiness as the great leading principle of God's house. “This”, says he, “is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house” (Ezekiel 43: 12).

(V. 1). The carnality of these believers was not only seen in that they ranged themselves under certain favourite teachers, thus making divisions, but it was further manifested in extreme laxity of morals. They were surrounded by the filthiness of heathenism, from which they had just emerged, and they had been used to think lightly of gross sins. Nevertheless, amongst them had occurred a case of unholiness of such a gross character that it would have shamed the heathen.

(V. 2). Moreover, there was not only this gross evil in their midst, but there was the tolerance of the evil-doer. Indeed they were puffed up rather than mourning. It is true that they had not received any apostolic directions how to deal with the offender, but spiritual instincts should at least have led them to humble themselves about the sin of this wicked person and desire his removal. We thus learn that, apart from distinct instructions involving definite responsibilities, there are the moral sensibilities of the new nature which should lead us to take a certain course. Cases may arise when a man's course becomes such an exercise to the saints that they desire his removal from their midst and yet have no clear ground for action. In such cases this Scripture clearly indicates that we can spread the matter before the Lord and mourn before Him, with the assurance of His intervention in removing the troubler. The Lord, in such a case, does Himself what we ourselves may have to do when the case is clear. It may be well to note in this connection, that “taken away” in verse 2 and “put away” in verse 13 are similar words in the original. As one has said, “Humiliation and prayer are the resource of those who feel a wrong, and know not yet the remedy”.

(Vv. 3-5). The apostle proceeds to give them definite directions how to act in a proved case of public wickedness. He was absent in body but present in spirit, and had already judged as present, that when gathered together, according to the directions given by apostolic authority, and with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, to act in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, by delivering “such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus”. It is well to note carefully these directions and what they involve.

“When ye are gathered together” supposes the assembly in its normal condition, composed of all the saints in the locality, acting in the spirit which energised the apostle, and the power of the Lord Jesus with them. Gathered thus they would act as representing the Lord Jesus Christ in delivering such an one to Satan. This further supposes that outside the assembly there is the world dominated by Satan. The offender had behaved in such a way that he had proved himself unfit for the presence of the Lord, so was delivered over to Satan's sphere — outside the assembly. Even so, he was not looked at as an unbeliever, for it was for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Today this could not be carried out as when things were normal. We could not deliver such an one unto Satan, for in the ruin of Christendom no company could say that outside their assembly there is nothing but Satan's world; and no company could claim to include all the saints in one locality. Nevertheless, the injunction at the end of the chapter still remains, “Put away from among yourselves that wicked person”. The result may, indeed, be that the wicked person comes under the power of Satan, to learn to judge the flesh in himself that he failed to judge when in the place of the power of Christ.

(V. 6-8). The apostle proceeds to show the solemn result of the moral insensibility that allowed unjudged evil in their midst. Evil is presented under the figure of leaven. As a little leaven permeates the whole lump, so known, unjudged evil in any assembly of Christians will affect the whole company. The whole lump leavened does not imply that the whole company becomes incestuous like the evil-doer, but that all become defiled. Nothing more clearly condemns the false principle that known sin in the assembly concerns only the one directly guilty and does not involve all. It is not, therefore, enough to put away the wicked person; they must judge themselves for the low condition that could complacently tolerate evil. Thus they would purge out the old leaven and be in practice what they were in position before God in Christ, an unleavened lump as the result of the work of Christ.

We are thus exhorted to keep the feast, not with old leaven of indifference to sin, nor with leaven of malice and wickedness, but with sincerity and truth. When the apostle says, “Let us keep the feast”, he is not referring exclusively to the Lord's Supper, but rather to the whole period of the believer's life on earth, of which the unleavened feast is a type.

(V. 9-13). In the verses that follow, the apostle shows that, in exhorting Christians to exercise holy discipline and live a life of sincerity and truth, he is referring to the Christian circle. To extend either to the man of the world would be unreal and impossible. If, however, one “called a brother” is living in open and unjudged sin, we are not to have company with him, or show any fellowship with him by eating a meal with him. It is no business of the Christian to attempt to put the world right by judging its evil. This God will do in His own time. Our responsibility is to judge any evil that may manifest itself in the Christian company. “Therefore”, says the apostle, “put away from among yourselves that wicked person”.

1 Corinthians 6.

(V. 1). Having dealt with the unjudged immorality in their midst, the apostle now exposes the inconsistency of Christians going to law before worldly tribunals to settle disputes between brethren in things pertaining to this life. In plain language he reproves any brother, who has a matter against another brother, for daring to seek a legal settlement by the “unjust”, instead of appealing to the saints. In speaking of the world's tribunal as that of the “unjust”, he is viewing the men of this world in relation to God.

(V. 2). To show the inconsistency of this course, the apostle asks them to view their actions in the light of the world to come. They know that in that day the saints will be associated with Christ when He rules over the world and angels. How inconsistent, then, to seek the judgment of those whom we are going to judge.

(Vv. 3, 4). Further, he shows the futility of appealing to the world, for, if the saints are going to judge the world and angels, they must surely be capable of adjudicating in the comparatively small affairs of every-day life. This being so, if matters that pertain to this life arise between brothers, the least esteemed in the assembly are able to settle them, as they call for no great spirituality or gift, but rather common sense and honesty.

(Vv. 5, 6). If the apostle has to speak thus, it is really to their shame, for their going to law before the world would seem to prove that, in spite of all the knowledge and gifts in which they boasted, there was not amongst them a wise man able to settle these little matters, and so brother went to law with brother, and that before unbelievers. It is evident that the apostle is speaking of matters that need not be brought before the assembly, for they can be settled by “a wise man”.

(Vv. 7, 8). Having condemned this worldly procedure, the apostle now deals with the low moral state that led to such practices. As so often behind wrong practices there exists a wrong spirit and ignorance of divine principles. They were evidently not prepared to take wrong, or suffer wrong, for Christ's sake. On the contrary, in going to law with one another they did wrong and in result defrauded one another. Where, then, was the patience and suffering for well-doing? As one has said, “They came behind in no gift, and they came forward in no grace”, and again, “If I can keep Christ's character, I would rather do that than keep my cloak” (J.N.D.). We may show a good deal of temper and strong feeling when we fancy someone is over-charging us, and thus prove we are more ready to lose Christ's character than lose our coppers.

(Vv. 9-11). The apostle passes on to speak of the wrongs that provoked the law suits. He gives a solemn description of evil in its corruption, rather than its violence, which was rampant at Corinth, but which has no place in the kingdom of God. Having given this terrible list of the corruptions of the flesh, he says, “Such were some of you”. Wonderful grace that can take us up from the lowest place of degradation in the far country and associate us with Christ in the highest place of glory in the Father's house! Having lived in such conditions, these saints were in special danger of lapsing into old habits unless kept cleaving to Christ.

However sad the evils that needed to be dealt with, the apostle can still say, “But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified”. In saying they are washed, it is evident that the apostle is not referring to the constant need of the application of the word to remove all the daily defilements that put us out of touch with Christ, and which is set forth in figure by feet-washing. He refers rather to the work of the Spirit in new birth, which is done once for all, and by which is imparted a new nature that shrinks from the filth of the flesh.

Sanctification carries us further, for, if by washing we are set apart from the filth of the flesh, by sanctification we are set apart to God. Other Scriptures, such as John 17: 19 and I Thessalonians 5: 23, speak of the progressive sanctification by which the believer becomes increasingly devoted to the interests of God. Here, however, it is the absolute setting apart of the believer, of which we read in Hebrews 10: 10, “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”. The stone, when once cut from the quarry, is set apart from it for ever, though afterwards it may be worked and carved to make it more fitted for the designer's purpose. By justification the soul has been cleared of all charge before God through the work of Christ. By the Holy Spirit these great truths are made good in our souls.

(Vv. 12-20). As we have a new nature, have been set apart for God, and justified from the guilt of our sins, the apostle, in the remaining verses of the chapter, reminds us that our bodies are for the Lord. On the one hand, therefore, let us beware of using them for the gratification of the flesh; on the other hand, let us use them for the glory of God (verse 20).

“All things” (and here he speaks of right things — food and natural relations) are lawful for the Christian, but even so we have to beware, for, though all may be lawful, it by no means follows that all things are expedient. There is the danger that in using right things we may come under the power of them. The apostle refers specially to meats. As meats are needed for the body and they are naturally suited the one to the other, we are at liberty to use meats. It is possible, however, to use meats and the body for self-indulgence and become a glutton.

The apostle then passes on to speak of that which is not lawful for the body — actual sin. Here we are reminded that the body is for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. He reminds us, too, that these bodies are destined for high honour, for even as God hath raised up the Lord, so will He also raise up these bodies by His own power. Moreover, our bodies are members of Christ, and he that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit. The apostle learnt something of this great truth at his conversion, for the Lord said to him, “Why persecutest thou Me?”. To touch the bodies of the saints was to touch Christ. How solemn is all sin, but how specially solemn is sin against the body which is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and belongs to God, and which it is our privilege and responsibility to use for the glory of God. To press upon us the deep importance of holiness, the apostle re-minds us in the course of the chapter that we are washed, sanctified and justified, and, further, that our bodies are for the Lord, joined to the Lord, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, belong to God, and are to be used for the glory of God; and, too, the Lord is for the body, and God will raise it up by His power.

1 Corinthians 7.

(Vv. 1, 2). Having exhorted the saints to maintain holiness in the assembly (1 Cor. 5) and individual holiness (1 Cor. 6), the apostle now instructs us to maintain holiness in the natural relationships of life. Christianity by no means sets aside the order of nature, though it will correct the abuses by which fallen man may have corrupted these relationships. Every man is at liberty to have his own wife, and every woman her own husband, and indeed this is a legitimate way to avoid the temptation to unholiness. The spurious pretension to higher spirituality by insisting upon asceticism is thus entirely condemned.

(Vv. 3-5). The apostle gives his advice to those in the married state. The relationship is to be taken up with due consideration for each other as being mutually dependent upon each other.

(Vv. 6-9). In having said, “Let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband”, he is careful to explain that he is not giving a command, but he speaks as consenting to the married state. His own wish is that all should be as he himself, free from these relationships. But he recognises that it is not given of God for all to remain unmarried, and where not given it is “better to marry”.

(Vv. 10, 11). To the married he gives, not simply his counsel, but the direct ruling of the Lord. The wife is not to depart from the husband. If she shall have been separated, she is to remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. Let not the husband put away his wife.

(Vv. 12-17). The apostle then takes up the difficult position of a brother with an unbelieving wife, or the woman with an unbelieving husband. Here he gives his advice. This does not con-template for a moment the case of a believer marrying an unbeliever, which is clearly contrary to the mind of the Lord (2 Cor. 6: 14). Here it is the case of mixed marriages, where one of the parties has been converted after the marriage. In this case the believer is not defiled by union with the unbeliever. On the contrary the unbeliever is sanctified and the children holy. Here the sanctification and the holiness do not signify a spiritual condition that puts them in relationship with God, but rather that through the believer the relationship is clean and owned of God, so that the believer can continue in it. If, however, the unbeliever departs, the believer is released from the bondage of being tied to an unbeliever and is not to raise any dispute with the one that has departed, for we are called to peace. This does not give the believer any licence to break the tie by departing from the unbeliever, nor does it grant the abandoned believer permission to remarry. So far from the believer separating from the unbeliever, the brother or sister is to remain at all cost in the relationship, counting upon God for the salvation of the unbeliever. There will thus be submission to what the Lord has allowed, and a walk in accord with His will. This, too, we are reminded, is the order for all the assemblies; thus ecclesiastical independency is shut out. The assemblies are not independent companies, each left free to adopt its own practices. The word of God is still our only guide, and assemblies walking in the light of the word will be united in submitting to its instructions.

(Vv. 18, 19). The apostle has spoken of the call of God having come to a believer when linked with an unbeliever. He now speaks of the call coming to a believer when circumcised or uncircumcised. We know that Jewish training led some to set great value on the rite of circumcision, even going so far as to say that apart from circumcision Gentile believers could not be saved (Acts 15: 1). Here the apostle states that, for the Christian, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any value. Obedience to the word of God is of value in His sight, not mere religious distinctions in the flesh.

(Vv. 20-24). Then the apostle passes on to speak of the call of God coming to believers in different social positions. Again we learn that, as circumcision or uncircumcision has nothing to do with our call as Christians, so the social position as a slave or a freeman has nothing to say to the Christian call. As a general rule, therefore, let every man abide in the position in which he is called. He need not be concerned as to being a bondman. If, however, he can become free, so much the better. In any case let the Christian bondman remember that he is the Lord's freeman, and the freeman that he is Christ's bondman. Both have been bought with a price, and the One Who has bought us with the price of His precious blood has the first claim upon us. Thus, while we are exhorted to abide in our calling, either as bondmen or freemen, it is to be “with God”. This surely indicates that, though it may be right to remain a slave, it would not be right to continue in some dishonest trade in which it would be impossible to be “with God”.

(Vv. 25-34). The apostle has spoken to those called in the marriage relationship; now he gives his advice to the unmarried. On account of the present condition of the world in all its distresses and necessities, and that the time is short, and its weeping and rejoicing will soon be over — for the fashion of this world is passing — he judges that it is good for a Christian to be free from earthly ties. This, however, does not mean that if a man is bound to a wife he is to seek to be free, but if free it is better to remain so. Nevertheless, Christians who enter upon the married state do no wrong, but they will have trouble in the flesh and add to their cares. The apostle would, as far as possible, have us without care, so that we might undistractedly serve the Lord. Naturally, and so far rightly, the married seek to please each other, whereas the unmarried are more free to serve the Lord undistractedly in spirit and in body.

(Vv. 35-40). In thus speaking the apostle has our profit in view. He has no wish to cast a snare before us that may lead us into the delusion of being monks or nuns, which has led to so much corruption in a large part of professing Christendom. He leaves all free to marry, and adds a word as to the widow, about whom a question may arise, that she is free to marry — only let it be “in the Lord”. But he judges that he has the mind of the Lord in thinking she would be happier to remain free.

1 Corinthians 8.

In chapters 8, 9 and 10 the apostle firmly maintains the liberty of the individual, while solemnly warning against its abuse. In 1 Cor. 8 we are warned against using liberty in a way that may stumble our brother; in 1 Cor. 9 the servant is warned that it is possible to use liberty to his own condemnation; in 1 Cor. 10 we are warned against using liberty in a way that may compromise our fellowship, and give offence to Jews or Gentiles or the assembly of God.

(Vv. 1-3). In chapter 1 Cor. 8 the apostle opens this important theme by bringing before us the danger of turning the liberty of the individual into licence to act in self-will without considering the effect of our acts upon others. It is thus possible for a Christian's liberty to become an occasion of stumbling his brother. The apostle presses home his warning by referring to the matter of eating meats offered to idols. Individual believers at Corinth, knowing that an idol was nothing, might personally feel quite free to go into the idol temple and eat meats offered to idols. But this raises the question, would it be right to do so if it were to stumble a brother? The apostle first shows that this is one of the important questions that cannot be answered by mere knowledge, but can very quickly be settled by love. This is of the first importance, for while the principle is here applied to the particular question of eating things sacrificed to idols, it has a wide application. In our day we should not in this country be faced with the question of eating meats offered to idols, yet many other questions may arise — for instance the question of a Christian smoking. Some would seek to settle such a question by knowledge that thinks only of the harmful effects it may have on the body, but the better way to settle such a question is by love, which asks, “What effect will it have upon my brother?” Knowledge occupies me with the thing in question — its merits or demerits — but love thinks of my brother.

This leads the apostle to make some important remarks on knowledge and love. First, he says, “We all have knowledge”, in measure at any rate. Knowledge, however, is not enough; we need love as well. There is in human nature a great thirst for knowledge, but if I pursue knowledge for the sake of acquiring knowledge, it will only puff me up, whereas love will build up my brother. Moreover, we only know in part; therefore to trust in our partial knowledge to settle questions will often lead us sadly astray.

Love to my brother, which thinks of his good, will be a surer and better way of settling questions which may otherwise only minister to self and self-importance.

But how is this love to my brother to be kept in activity? Only by love to God, as the apostle John tells us, “Every one that loveth Him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of Him”. So in this passage the apostle speaks of love to God, and reminds us that if a man loves God he realises, not simply that he knows God in some little measure, but that he is known of God. The consciousness that God knows me, and all that I have done, leaves no room for the pride which would be puffed up by mere knowledge.

(Vv. 4-6). Further, the question of eating meats offered to idols leads the apostle to draw a brief but important contrast between idols and the true God. First, he says that we Christians know that an idol is nothing, and that there is none other God but one. Fallen man imagines many gods and many lords in heaven and on earth; but to us Christians there is but “one God, the Father” and “one Lord, Jesus Christ”. Here it is no question of bringing before us the Deity of Christ, but of how God has been pleased to reveal Himself, and the place the divine Persons hold in the ways of grace toward men. The Father remains in Godhead, and God is the source of all, and all for Him. The Son, while never ceasing to be God, has become flesh, and, in Manhood, has taken the place of Lord. Thus the One we know as Jesus Christ is the one Lord to Whom we all owe allegiance and subjection. He is both Creator of all things and the One by Whom we have been redeemed.

(Vv. 7-13). Having spoken of the difference between love and knowledge, and having brought before us the true God, the apostle now shows that even among true Christians there were some who had not this full knowledge, and they were therefore not able with their partial knowledge to rise above the deeply rooted prejudices of their heathen training in regard to idols. They were apparently not altogether assured that idols were non-entities, and the meats offered to them no different from other meats. For such to eat of meats offered to idols would lead to a bad or defiled conscience. Moreover, if such an one saw a brother eating idol sacrifices, it might become a stumbling-block to him, and embolden him to do something which would give him a bad conscience, leading to his making shipwreck of the faith and the start on a path that ends in perishing. This does not raise the question of the possibility of a believer perishing, for the Lord Himself says, “They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand”. In one passage the believer is viewed from the Lord's side; in the other from man's. We may fail in our responsibility, and do that which, as far as we are concerned, would cause our brother to perish. In so acting, we not only wrong our brother for whom Christ died, but we wrong Christ. The apostle concludes, therefore, that love to my brother would lead me not to eat flesh, if, by so eating, my brother is stumbled.

1 Corinthians 9.

Having in the previous chapter maintained the liberty of the believer in the use of meats, and warned us against its abuse, the apostle in this chapter passes on to speak of the liberty and rights of the servants of the Lord, and again warns against any abuse of these privileges. But, while establishing the rights of the Lord's servants in such matters, he establishes the important principle that such rights are subservient to the interests of Christ and His people, and not for self-glorification or the indulgence of the body.

(Vv. 1, 2). We know from the Second Epistle that some were calling in question the apostleship of Paul, so he opens this portion of his letter by briefly asserting his apostleship, as well as his liberty. He had the outstanding mark of an apostle, for he had seen “Jesus Christ, our Lord”. Moreover, how could the Corinthians have any doubt as to his apostleship, for were they not the seal and proof of it, as their existence as an assembly was the outcome of his “work in the Lord”? There were those who, in their jealousy of the apostle, were ready to suggest that he preached from interested motives, seeking to make a gain out of his service (2 Cor. 11: 9-12). The apostle answers such suggestions, first, by asserting the rights of the servant (verses 3-14) and, secondly, by showing the way in which he had used these rights (verses 15-27).

(Vv. 3-7). As to the rights of the servant of the Lord, Paul, in common with other apostles, had a perfect right to partake of the ordinary mercies of the present life, a right to eat and drink, a right to lead about a sister as wife, a right to forbear working with his own hands. Moreover, he had a right to receive help in “carnal things” in return for his ministry in “spiritual things”. That this is so nature and common sense would show, for, asks the apostle, “Who ever carries on war at his own charges? who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? or who herds a flock, and does not eat of the milk of the flock?” (N.Tn.).

(Vv. 8-11). Further, not only nature but Scripture affirms these rights, “For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn”. In speaking thus God is not thinking only of the oxen. For our sakes it is written to teach us that, if the plougher and the thresher benefit by their labours, so the servants of the Lord, if they have sown “spiritual things”, have a perfect right to receive in return “carnal things”.

(V. 12). If others availed themselves of this right to take of their carnal things, how much more could the apostle, who had served them so faithfully? If he refrained from taking of their carnal things, it was no proof that he was not an apostle, nor that he had no right to receive from them, but rather that he judged, in their case, the interests of the gospel of Christ would best be served by his suffering “all things”, rather than by taking of their “carnal things”. In his service the apostle was not governed by the thought of gain, but by the interests of Christ and His gospel.

(Vv. 13, 14). Nevertheless, the rights of the servant remained, according to the typical teaching of the service in connection with the temple and its altar. Above all, the apostle asserts that these rights are according to that which the Lord has ordained, “that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel”. Whether it was nature (verse 7), or Scripture (verses 9, 10), or the direct ordinance of the Lord (verses 13, 14), all concur in maintaining the rights of the one ministering in spiritual things to receive the carnal things of the saints.

(V. 15). Having carefully asserted the rights of the servant, the apostle, in the remaining verses of the chapter, shows how he personally had used his rights in the assembly at Corinth. He had turned them into an occasion for sacrificing himself in the interests of Christ and His gospel. As one has said, “This privilege is transformed in his hands into another kind of privilege altogether; that is the privilege of sacrificing himself for Christ and for His service”. He gave up one privilege to enjoy a higher privilege. He can thus say, “I have used none of these things”. Nor did he write this letter to seek from them any help in temporal things. He would not receive help from them and thus allow any man to make void his glorying in this respect.

(Vv. 16, 17). If, however, he speaks of glorying, he is at once careful to state that he was not seeking to glorify himself because he preached the gospel, but did so freely. An administration had been committed to him to preach, and, whether he did so willingly or not, he was responsible to carry out the work entrusted to him. His reward would not be for doing his appointed work, but for doing it willingly.

(V. 18). What, then, was his reward? This — that in preaching the gospel he gave up his rights, so that the gospel might be “without charge”. He did not use his rights as belonging to him, to be used according to his own will, without regard to the directions of the Lord. It may be well to note that the word “abuse”, used in this passage and also in 1 Cor. 7: 31, has in neither case the meaning with which we generally use the word. The force of the word is “to use as one that has possession of a thing”, or a person “using it as he likes, as his own” (J.N.D.). The apostle was sent by the Lord to preach, and it was ordained by the Lord that he had a right to be supported. He did not, however, use this right as if it were a possession that he could use as he liked. He thought of Christ and His glory, and so used, or refrained from the use of, this right according as he judged he had the mind of the Lord in carrying out his service in a way that would be best for the glory of Christ.

(Vv. 19-23). Thus, entirely free from all, he used his freedom to become the servant of all. When preaching to the Jews he could meet them on their own ground, adapt himself to their modes of thought, and avoid wounding their scruples. With those under law he could appeal to them as entering into all their exercises as one under law, though he is careful to add, “not being myself under law” (N.Tn.). As to those without law, he could appeal to them on their ground, though again he guards himself by saying that he was “not as without law to God, but as legitimately subject to Christ” (N.Tn.). To the weak he could become as one weak. He was made all things to all men, that he might by all means save some. Moreover, he acted thus for the sake of the glad tidings, which he personifies when he says, “that I may be fellow-partaker with them” (N.Tn.).

(Vv. 24-27). In his thus speaking it must not be inferred that the apostle accommodated himself to the world in order to escape reproach and spare the flesh. To dispel any such misconception, the apostle shows in the closing verses that the path of service is one of self-denial. There is, indeed, a reward for service far better than the prize to be obtained in the world's games; there they run for a corruptible crown, but the Christian for an incorruptible. Nevertheless, if to obtain an earthly crown requires a temperate life, how much more necessary it is to be temperate in all things to obtain the incorruptible crown. The apostle ran with no uncertainty as to the glorious end of the path. The conflict for him was no mere trifling, like beating the air. He was careful not to indulge the body, but rather to keep it in subjection, that it might be no hindrance to him in his service. The saints at Corinth were boasting in their gifts and seeking their ease (1 Cor. 4: 6-8). Let us beware of preaching without practice, for the apostle warns us that it is possible to p