COThe Epistle to the Corinthians presents very different subjects from those which occupied us in the one addressed to the Romans. We find in it moral details, and the interior order of a church, with regard to which the Spirit of God here displays His wisdom in a direct way. There is no mention of elders, nor of other functionaries Of the Church. Through the labors of the Apostle, a numerous assembly had been formed (for God had much people in that city), in the midst of a very corrupt population, where riches and luxury were united with a moral disorder which had made the city a proverb. At the same time, here as elsewhere, false teachers (in general, Jews) sought to undermine the influence of the Apostle. The spirit of philosophy did not fail, also, to exercise its baneful influence, although Corinth was not, like Athens, its principal seat. Morality and the authority of the Apostle were compromised together; and the state of things was most critical. The epistle was written, from Ephesus, where the tidings of the sad state of thee flock at Corinth had reached the Apostle almost at the moment when he had determined to visit them on his way into Macedonia (instead of passing along the coast of Asia Minor as he did), then returning to pay them a second visit on his way back. These tidings prevented his doing so, and instead of visiting them to pour out his heart among them, he wrote this letter. The second epistle was written in Macedonia, when Titus had brought him word of the happy effect of the first.
The subjects of this first epistle are very easily divided into their natural order. In the first place, before he blames the Christians at Corinth, to whom he writes, the Apostle acknowledges all the grace which God had already bestowed on them, and would still impart (chap. 1:1-9). From ver. 10 to 4:21, the, subject of divisions, schools of doctrine and human wisdom, is spoken of in contrast with revelation and divine wisdom. Chapter 5, the corruption of morals. Chapter 6, temporal affairs, law suits; and, again, the subject of fornication, which was of primary importance for the Christians of this city. Chapter 7, marriage is considered. Ought people to marry—the obligation of those who are already married and the case of a converted husband or of a converted wife, whose wife or whose husband was not converted. Chapter 8, should they eat things Offered to idols. Chapter 9, his apostleship. Chapter 10, their condition in general, their danger of being seduced, whether by fornication, or by idolatry, and idolatrous feasts, with the principles relating thereto; which introduces the Lord's Supper. Chapter 11, questions connected with their behavior in religious matters, individually or (17) in the assembly. Afterward, chap. 12, the exercise of gifts, and their true value and the object of their use; magnifying (13) the comparative value of charity to the end of chap. 14. Chapter 15, the resurrection, which Some denied; and chap. 16, the collections for the poor in Judea, with some salutations, and the principles of subordination to those whom God path raised up for service, even where there were no elders. It is of great value to have these directions immediately from the Lord, independent of a formal organization, so that individual conscience and that of the body as a whole should be engaged.
I will now turn back to take up the thread of the contents of this epistle from the beginning. Paul was an Apostle by the will of God. That was his authority, however it might be with others. Moreover, the same call that had made those of Corinth Christians, had made him an Apostle. He addresses the Church of God at Corinth, adding a character (the application of which is evident when we consider the contents of the epistle) sanctified in Christ Jesus." Afterward, the universality of the application of the doctrine and instructions of the epistle, and of its authority over all Christians wherever they might be, is brought forward in this address. Happily, whatever sorrow he felt at the state of the Corinthians; the Apostle could fall back upon the grace of God, and thus recognize all the grace which He had bestowed on them. But the placing them thus in relationship to God, brought, all the effect of His holiness to bear upon their consciences, while giving the Apostle's heart the encouragement of the perfect grace of God towards them. And this grace itself became a powerful lever for the Word in the hearts of the Corinthians. In the presence of such grace they ought to be ashamed of sin.
Paul (the Spirit Himself) this linked the Corinthians with God; and that which He was in this connection with them had all its force upon their hearts and consciences. At the same time, the use of this weapon opened their heart to all that the Apostle had to say. One must be very near the Lord to be able in practice thus to look at Christians who are walking badly. It is not to spare their sins, the Apostle is very far from doing that. But it is grace which brings their own consciences to be occupied with it as having a relationship with God that was too precious to allow them to continue in sin or to permit it.
The Epistle to the Galatians supplies us with a remarkable instance of the confidence thus inspired.
The Corinthians were enriched by God with His gifts, and His testimony was thus confirmed among them, so that they came behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of the Lord, the fulfillment of all things. Solemn day! for which God, who had called them, confirmed them in His faithfulness, that they might be without reproach in that day, called, as they were, to the fellowship and communion of His Son: Jesus Christ. Short but precious exposition of the grace and faithfulness of God, serving as a basis (if their condition did not allow the Apostle to develop it as he did to the Ephesians) to all the exhortations and instructions which he addressed to the Corinthians in order to strengthen. them and direct their wavering steps.
The Apostle first takes up the folly of the Corinthians in making the chief Christian ministers and Christ- Himself heads of schools. Christ was not divided. They had not been baptized unto the name of Paul. He had, indeed, on occasion, baptized a few; but his mission was to preach, not to baptize. It was in virtue of and according to Acts 26:18,18To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:18) and 13:3, seq., and not Matt. 28.19. Moreover, all this human wisdom was but foolishness which God brought to nothing; the preaching of the Cross was the power of God, and God had chosen the weak things, the things of naught, foolish things according to the world, to annihilate the wisdom and strength of the world, in order that the Gospel should be evidently the power of God. The Jews asked for a sign, the Greeks sought for wisdom; but God caused Christ crucified to be preached, a scandal to the Jews, foolishness to the Greeks, but to them which are called the power of God. By things that are not, He brought to naught things that are, because His weakness is stronger than the strength of the world; His foolishness wiser than the wisdom of the age. The flesh shall not glory in His presence. But besides this, the Christian was more even than the object of God's instruction; he was himself of God in Jesus Christ; he had his life, his being, his position, as a Christian, of God. And Christ was unto him, on God's part, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption—all in contrast with the pretensions of the human mind, with the false righteousness of the Jew under the law with the means and the measure of the sanctification it supplied, and with the weakness of man, the last traces of which God would remove in the deliverance that He would accomplish by His power in Christ at that day when He would put the last stroke to the work of His grace. Thus we are of God, and Christ is everything for us, on God's part; in. order that he who glories may glory in the Lord.
It was in this spirit that Paul had come among them at first; he would know nothing but Christ, and Christ, in His humiliation and abasement, object of contempt to senseless men. His speech was not attractive with the carnal persuasiveness of a factitious eloquence; but it was the expression of the presence and action of the Spirit, and of the power which accompanied that presence. Thus their faith rested not on the fair words of man, but on the power of God—a solid foundation for our feeble souls—blessed be His name for it!
Nevertheless, when once the soul was taught and established in the doctrine of salvation in Christ, there was a wisdom of which the Apostle spoke; not the wisdom of this present age, nor of the princes of this age, which perish, wisdom and all; but the wisdom of God shut up in a mystery, a secret counsel of God (revealed now by the Spirit), ordained in His settled purpose, unto our glory, before the world was. A counsel which, with all their wisdom, none of the princes of this world knew. Had they known it, they would not have crucified the One in whose person it was all to be accomplished. The Apostle does but touch the subject of the mystery, because he had to feed them as babes, and only in order to put it in contrast with the false wisdom of the world; but the way in which this wisdom was communicated is important. That which had never entered into the heart of man, God had revealed by His Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. It is only the spirit of a man which is in Him, that knows the things which He has not communicated. So no one knows the things of God, save the Spirit of God. Now, it is the Spirit of God which the Apostle and the other vessels of revelation had received, that they might know the things which are freely given of God. This is the knowledge of the things themselves in the vessels of revelation. Afterward, this instrument of God was to communicate them. He did so, not in words, which the art of man taught, but which the Spirit, which God taught, communicating spiritual things by a spiritual medium. The communication was by the Spirit as well as the thing communicated. There was yet one thing wanting that this revelation might be possessed by others—the reception of these communications. This also required the action of the Spirit. The natural man did not receive them; and they are spiritually discerned. The source, the medium of communication, the reception, all was of the Spirit. Thus the spiritual man judges all things; he is judged of no man. The power of the Spirit in him, makes his judgment true and just, but gives him motives and a walk that are unintelligible to one who has not the Spirit. Very simple as to that which is said—nothing can be more important than that which is here taught. Alas! the Corinthians, whether when the Apostle was at Corinth, or at the time of writing this letter, were not in a condition to have the mystery communicated to them. A grievous humiliation to their philosophic pride; but therefore a good remedy for it.
They were not natural men; but they were carnal not spiritual men, so that the Apostle had to feed them with milk and not with meat, which was only fit for those that were of full age. That with which they nourished their pride was a proof of this—their divisions into schools of doctrine. Paul, no doubt, had planted; Apollos watered. It was well. But it was God alone who gave the increase. Moreover, the Apostle had laid the foundation of this building of God, the church at Corinth; others had built since, had carried on the work of the edification of souls. Let every one take heed. There was but one foundation: it was laid. But in connection with it, they might teach things that were solid or worthless, and form souls by the one or by the other; perhaps even introduce them among the saints. The work should be proved, sooner or later, by some day of trial. If they had wrought in the work of God, with solid materials, the work would stand. If not, it would come to nothing. The effect, the fruit of labor, would be destroyed—the man who had wrought, saved, because he had built on the foundation, had true faith in Christ. Nevertheless, the shaking caused by the failure of all that he had thought genuine, would, as to himself, shake even his own connection with and confidence in the foundation. He should be saved as through the fire. He who had wrought according to God, should receive the fruit of his labor. If any one corrupted the temple of God, introduced that which destroyed fundamental truths, he should be destroyed himself. The subject, then, is ministerial labor, carried on by means of certain doctrines, either good, worthless, or subversive of the truth; and the fruits which this labor would produce. Finally, if any one desired to be wise in this world, let him become unintelligent in order to be wise. God counted the wisdom of the wise as foolishness, and would take them in their own craftiness. But in this the saints were below their privileges. All things were theirs, since they were the children of God. All things are yours, Paul, Apollos, all things—you are Christ's, and Christ is God's. As for the Apostle and the laborers, they were to consider them as stewards employed by the Lord. And it was to Him that Paul committed the judgment of his conduct. He cared little for the judgment man might form respecting him. He was not conscious of anything wrong, but that did not justify him. He who judged him was the Lord. And, after all, who was it that gave to the one or to the other that which He could use in service?
Paul had thought well, in treating this subject, to use names that they were using in their carnal divisions; but what was the real state of the case? They had despised the Apostle. Yes, he says, we have been put to shame, despised, persecuted, in distress; you have been at ease, like kings. A reproach in accordance with their own pretensions, their own reproaches. A reproach that touched them to the quick, if they had any feeling left. Paul and his companions had been as the off-scouring of the earth for Christ's sake, while the Corinthians were reposing in the lap of luxury and ease. Even while writing to them, this was still his position. "Would to God," he says, "ye did reign" (that the day of Christ were come) in order that we might reign with you. He felt his sufferings, although he bore them joy- Tully. They were set forth on God's part as though to be the last great spectacle in those marvelous games of which this world was the amphitheater; and as His witnesses they were exposed to the fury of a brutal world. Patience and meekness were their only weapons.
Nevertheless, he did not say these things to put them to shame, he warned them as his beloved sons; for his sons they were. Though they might have ten thousand teachers, he had begotten them all by the gospel. Let them, then, follow him. In all this there is the deep working of the affection of a noble heart, wounded to the utmost, but wounded in order to bring out an affection that rose above his grief. It is this which so strikingly distinguishes the work of the Spirit in the New Testament as in Christ Himself. The Spirit has come into the bosom of the Church, shares her afflictions, her difficulties. He fills the soul of one who cares for the Church, making him feel that which is going on; feel it according to God, but with a really human heart. Who could cause all this to be felt for strangers, except the Spirit of God? Who would enter into these things with all the perfection of the wisdom of God, in order to act upon the heart, to deliver the conscience, to form the understanding and set it free, except the Spirit of God? Still, the apostolic individual bond was to be formed, to be strengthened. It was the essence of the work of the Holy Ghost in the Church to bind all together in this way. We see the man—otherwise it would not have been Paul and his dear brethren. We see the Holy Ghost whom the latter had grieved, no doubt, and who acts in the former with divine wisdom to guide them in the right way with all the affection of their father in Christ. Timothy, his son in the faith and in heart, might meet the case. Paul had sent him; Paul himself would soon be there. Some said No, and took occasion to magnify themselves in the absence of the Apostle, but he would come himself and put everything to the test; for the kingdom of God was not in word but in power. Did they wish him to come with a rod or in love?
Here this part of the epistle ends. Admirable specimen of tenderness and of authority. Of authority sure enough of itself on the part of God, to be able to act with perfect tenderness towards those who were thoroughly dear to him, in the hope of not being forced to exercise itself in another way. The most powerful truths are unfolded in so doing.
CO 5Chapter 5 He begins to treat the details of conduct and of discipline; and first of all the carnal defilement carried on in their midst to the last degree of hardness of conscience. Those who sought their own personal influence as teachers, allowed them to go on in it. He condemns it without reservation. Discipline follows -for Christ had been offered up as the Paschal Lamb, and they were to keep the feast without leaven, purging themselves from the old leaven; in order that they might be in fact, what they were before God, an unleavened lump. As to discipline, it was this. Before they knew that it was their duty to cut off the wicked person, and that God had given them the power, and imposed on them the obligation to do so, a moral sense of evil ought, at least, to have led them to humble themselves before God, and to pray that He would take it away. On the contrary, they were puffed up with pride. But now the Apostle teaches them what must be done, and enforces it with all his apostolic authority. He was among them in spirit if not in body, and with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, they being gathered together, to deliver such a one to Satan; but as a brother, for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit might be saved in the day of Christ.
Here all the power of the Church in its normal condition is displayed. Its members, the apostle,-vessel and channel of the power of the Spirit and the power of the Lord Jesus Himself, the Head of the body. Now the world is the theater of Satan's power; the Church, delivered from his power, is the habitation of God, by the Spirit. If the enemy has succeeded in drawing aside by the flesh a member of Christ, so that he dishonors the Lord by walking after the flesh as the world do, he is put outside by the power of the Spirit and delivered up to the enemy, who is in spite of himself the servant of the purposes of God (as in the case of Job), in order that the flesh of the Christian which, from his not being able to reckon it dead, had brought him morally under the power of Satan, should be physically destroyed and broken down. Thus would he be set free from the illusions in which the flesh held him captive. His mind would learn how to discern the difference between good and evil, to know what sin was. The judgment of God would be realized within him, and would not be executed upon him at that day when it would be definitive for the condemnation of those who should undergo it. This was a great blessing, although its form was terrible. Marvelous example of the government of God, which uses the adversary's enmity against the saints as an instrument for their spiritual blessing. We have such a case fully set before us in the history of Job. Only we have here, in addition, the proof that in its normal state the Church exercised this judgment herself, having discernment by the Spirit and the authority of Christ to do it. Moreover, whatever may be the spiritual capacity of the assembly to wield this sword of the Lord, her positive and ordinary duty is stated at the end of the chapter.
The assembly was an unleavened lump, looked at in the Spirit as an assembly and not individually. It is thus that we must view it, for it is only in the Spirit that it is so. The Church is seen of God as being before Him in her new nature in Christ. Such she ought to be in practice by the power of the Spirit, in spite of the existence of the flesh, which by faith she ought to count as dead, and allow nothing in her walk that is contrary to this state. The Church ought to be " a new lump," and, consequently, ought to purge herself from the old leaven, because she is unleavened. Such is her position before God. For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us, therefore we ought to keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. They did wrong, therefore, in boasting while this evil was in their midst, however great their gifts might be, A little leaven leavens the whole lump. The evil did not attach to that man alone who was personally guilty of it. They could not dissociate themselves in ordinary life from all those who in the world, walked corruptly, for in that case they would have to go out of the world. But if any one called himself a brother, and walked in this corruption, with such a one they ought not even to eat. God judges those who are outside. The assembly must herself judge those that are within, and put out whatever must be called wicked.
CO 6:1-6:11Chapter 6:1-11, treats the subject of wrongs. It was shameful that those who were to judge the world and the angels, should be incapable of judging the paltry affairs of this world. Let the least esteemed in the Church be employed in this service. Rather should they bear the wrong, whereas they did wrong themselves. But the wicked and the unrighteous would assuredly not inherit the kingdom. What a wonderful mixture we have here of astonishing revelations, of a morality that is unchangeable whatever may be the divine supremacy of grace, and of ecclesiastical order and discipline. The Church is united to Christ. When He shall judge the world and pronounce the doom of angels she will be associated with Him and take part in His judgment, for she has His spirit and His mind. Nothing, however, that is unrighteous shall enter into that kingdom, for in effect how could evil be judged by any that took pleasure in it. Christians should not go to a worldly tribunal for justice, but have recourse to the arbitration of the brethren, a service which, as entering so little into Christian spirituality, was suitable for the weakest among them. Moreover, the proper thing was rather to suffer the wrong. Be it as it might, the unrighteous should not inherit the kingdom.
Judaism, which took pleasure in a carnal sanctity of outward regulations, and the spirit of the world with conformity to its ways, were the two dangers that threatening the assembly at Corinth; dangers, indeed, which exist for the heart of man at all times and in all places, With regard to meats, the rule is simple. Perfect liberty, since all is allowed—true liberty, in that we are in bondage to none of these things. Meats and the belly, as in relationship to each other, should both perish; the body has a higher destiny—it is for the Lord, and the Lord for it, God has raised up Christ from the dead, and He will raise us up again by His power. The body belongs to this and not to meats.
But this doctrine that the body is for Christ, decided another question, to which the depraved habits of the Corinthians gave rise. All fornication is forbidden. To us, with our present Christian habits of mind, a thing of course—to Pagans, new; but the doctrine exalts every subject. Our bodies are the members of Christ. Another truth connected with this is of great importance; if, by union according to the flesh, two were one body, he who is united to the Lord is one Spirit. The Spirit whose fullness is in Christ, is the same Spirit who dwells in me and unites me to Him. Our bodies are His temples. Moreover we are not our own, but were bought with a great price, the blood of Christ offered for us. Therefore we ought to glorify God in our bodies which are His. Powerful and universal motive, governing the whole conduct without exception. Our true liberty is to belong to God. All that is for oneself is stolen from the rights of Him who has bought us for His own. All that a slave was or gained, was the property of his master; he was not the owner of himself: Thus it is with the Christian. Outside that, he is the wretched slave of sin and of Satan. Selfishness his rule, and eternal banishment from the source of love, his end. Horrible thought! In Christ we are the special objects and the vessels of that love.
CO 7Chapter 7 The Apostle proceeds by answering a question in connection with the subject he had been treating. The will of God with regard to the relationship between man and woman. They do well who remain outside this relationship, in order to walk with the Lord according to the Spirit, and not to yield in anything to their nature. God had instituted marriage—woe to him who should speak ill of it! but sin has come in, and all that is of nature, of the creature, is marred. God has introduced a power altogether above and outside nature—that of the Spirit. To walk according to that power, is the best thing; it is to walk outside the sphere in which sin acts. But it is rare; and positive sins are for the most part the effect of standing apart from that which God has ordained according to nature. In general, then, for this reason, every man should have his own wife: and, the union once formed, he had no longer power over himself. As to the body, the husband belonged to his wife, the wife to her husband. If, by mutual consent, they separated for awhile that they might give themselves to prayer and to spiritual exercises, the bond was to be immediately acknowledged again, lest the heart not governing itself, should give Satan occasion to come in and distress the soul, and destroy its confidence in God—and in His love—lest he should tempt by distressing doubts (it is: for not by incontinency) a heart that aimed at too much, and failed in it. This permission, however, and this direction which recommended Christians to marry, was not a commandment from the Lord, given by inspiration, but the fruit of the Apostle's experience-an experience to which the presence of the Holy Ghost was not wanting. He would rather that every one were like himself-but every one had in this respect his gift from God. To the unmarried and the widows, it is good, he says, to abide as he himself was; but if they could not subdue their nature and remain in calm purity, it was better to marry. Unsubduedness of desire was more hurtful than the bond of marriage. But as to marriage itself, there was no longer room for the counsel of experience, the commandment of the Lord was positive. The woman was not to separate from the man, nor the man from the woman; and if they separated, the bond was not broken—they must remain unmarried or else be reconciled. But there was a case more complicated, when the man was converted and the wife unconverted, or vice-versa. According to the law, a man who had married a woman of the Gentiles, who was consequently profane or unclean, defiled himself, and was compelled to send her away, and their children had no right to Jewish privileges, they were rejected as unclean (see Ezra 10:33Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. (Ezra 10:3)). But under grace, it was quite the contrary. The converted husband sanctified the wife, and vice-versa, and their children were reckoned clean before God: they had part in the ecclesiastical rights of their parent. This is the sense of the word " holy," in connection with this" question of order and of outward relationship towards God, which. was suggested by the obligation under the law to send away wife and children, in a similar case. Thus the believer was not to send away his wife, nor to forsake an unbelieving husband. If the unbeliever forsook the believer definitively, the latter (man or woman) was free, " let him depart." The brother was no longer bound to consider the one who had forsaken him as his wife, nor the sister the man who forsook her as her husband. But they were called to peace, and not to seek this separation; for how did the believer know if he should not be the means of the unbeliever's conversion: for we are under grace. Moreover, every one was to walk as God had distributed to him.
For that which regarded occupations and positions in this world, the rule was that every one should continue in the state wherein he was called, but it must be " with God," doing nothing which would not be to His glory. If the state was in itself of a nature contrary to His will, it was sin, clearly he could not remain in it with God. But the general rule was to remain and glorify God in it.
The Apostle had spoken of marriage, of the unmarried and of widows; he had been questioned also with respect to those who had never entered into any relationship with woman. On this point, he had no commandment from the Lord. He 'could only give his judgment as one who had received mercy of the Lord to be faithful. It was good to remain in that condition, seeing what the world was and the difficulties of a Christian life. If they were bound to a wife, let them not seek to be loosed. If free, they would do well to remain so. But if they married, they did well; not marrying, they did better. He who had not known a woman did not sin if he mated, but he should have trouble after the flesh in his life here below. It will be observed, that it is not the daughter of a Christian that is here spoken of, but his own personal condition. If he stood firm, and had power over his own will, it was the better way; if he married, he still did well, if he did not marry it was better. It was the same with a woman; and if the Apostle said that, according to his judgment, it was better, he had the spirit of God. His experience if he had no commandment had not been gained without the Spirit, but it was that of a man who could say (if any one had a right to say it), that he had the Spirit of God. Moreover, the time was short, the married were to be as having no wife; buyers, as having no possession; they who used the world, not using it as though it were theirs. Only the Apostle would have them without carefulness or distraction, that they might serve the Lord. If, by reckoning themselves dead to nature, this effect was not produced, they gained nothing, they lost by it. When married, they were pre-occupied with things below, in order to please their wives and to provide for their children, but they enjoyed a repose of mind, in which nature did not claim her rights with a will that they had failed to silence, and holiness of walk and of heart was maintained. If the will of nature was subjugated and silenced, they served the Lord without distraction, they lived according to the Spirit and not according to nature, even in those things which God had ordained as good with respect to nature.
As to the slave, he might console himself as being the Lord's free-man; but seeing the difficulty of reconciling the will of a Pagan, or even an unspiritual master, with the will of God, if he could be made free he should embrace the opportunity.
Two things strike us here in passing. The holiness which all these directions breathe with regard to that which touches so closely, the desires of the flesh. The institutions of God, formed for man when innocent, are maintained in all their integrity, in all their authority, a safeguard now against the sin to which man is incited by his flesh. The spirit introduces a new energy, above nature, which in no wise weakens the authority of the institution. If any one can live above nature, in order to serve the Lord in freedom, it is a gift of God, a grace which he does well to profit by. A second very important principle flows from this chapter. The apostle distinguishes accurately between that which he has by inspiration, and his own spiritual experience, that which the spirit gave him in connection with the exercises of his individual life, spiritual wisdom, however exalted it might be. On certain points he had no commandment from the Lord. He gave the conclusion at which he had arrived, through the help of the Spirit of God, in a life of remarkable faithfulness, and aided by the Spirit whom he but little grieved. But it was not a commandment of the Lord. On other points, that which he did not except in this manner was to be received as the commandment of the Lord (comp. chap. 14:37). That is to say, he affirms the inspiration—properly so called—of his writings, they were to be received as emanating from the Lord Himself; distinguishing this inspiration from his own spiritual competency: a principle of all importance.
After this, the Apostle answers the question respecting meats offered to idols; which gives occasion to a few words on the value of knowledge. Simply as knowledge, it is worth nothing. If we look at it as knowledge that we possess, it does but puff us up—it is something in me, my knowledge. True Christian knowledge unfolded something in God, by means of that which is revealed. God, better known, became greater to the soul. It was in Him the thing known, and not a knowledge in me, by which I made myself greater. He who loves God, is known of Him. As to the question, love decided it. Since such a question bad arisen, it was evident that all consciences were not brought into full light by spiritual intelligency. Now, undoubtedly, the idol was nothing: there was but one God, the Father; and one Lord, Jesus Christ. But if he who was strong sat at meat in the idol's temple, another who had not full light would be encouraged to do the same, and his conscience would be unfaithful and defiled. Thus I lead into sin, and, as far as depends on me, I ruin a brother for whom Christ died. I sin against Christ Himself in so doing. Thus, if meat causes a brother to stumble, let me altogether abstain from it, rather than be a snare to him. Here the Apostle treats the question as arising among the brethren, as to that which regards the conscience of each; choosing to maintain in all its force that in fact an idol was nothing but a piece of wood or stone. It was important to set the question on this ground. The prophets had done so before. But this was not all that there was to say. There was the working of Satan and of wicked spirits to explain, and this he does farther on.
We may remark in passing, the expression: " To us there is but one God the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ." The Apostle does not here treat the abstract question of the Lord's divinity, but the connection of men with that which was above them in certain relationships. Pagans had many gods, and many lords, inter-.mediate beings. Not so Christians. The Father abiding in the absoluteness of the divinity; and Christ, who has taken the place and the relationship of Lord towards us. The position and not the nature is the subject. It is the same thing in chap. 14:4, 5, 6, where the contrast is with the multitude of spirits whom the Pagans knew, and the number of gods and lords. Nevertheless, every one was not, in fact, thus delivered from the influence of false gods on his imagination. They were still, perhaps, in spite of himself, something to him. He had conscience of the idol, and if he ate that which had been offered to it, it was not to him simply that which God had given for food. The idea of the existence of a real and powerful being had a place in his heart, and thus his conscience was defiled. Now they were not better in God's sight for having eaten, and by eating they had put a stumbling-block in their brother s way, and, so far as the act of those who had full light was concerned, had ruined him by defiling his conscience, and estranging him from God in unfaithfulness. This was sinning against Christ, who had died for that precious soul. If God intervened to shield him from the result of this unfaithfulness, that in no wise diminished the sin of him who led the weak one to act against his conscience. In itself, that which separates us from God, ruins us, in that which regards our responsibility. Thus, he who has the love of Christ in his heart, would rather never eat meat than do that which would make a brother unfaithful, and tend to ruin a soul which Christ has redeemed.
The Apostle was exposed to the accusations of false teachers, who asserted that he carried on his evangelization and his labors from interested motives, and that he took the property of Christians, availing himself of their devotedness. He speaks, therefore, of his ministry. He declares openly that he is an Apostle, an eye-witness of the glory of Christ, having seen the Lord. Moreover, if he was not an Apostle to others, doubtless he was to the Corinthians, for he had been the means of their conversion. Now the will of the Lord was, that they who preached the Gospel should live of the Gospel.. He had a right, then, to take with him a sister as his wife, even as Peter did, and the brethren of the Lord. Nevertheless, he had not used this right. Obliged by the call of the Lord to preach the Gospel, woe unto him if he failed to do it. His glory was to do it gratuitously, so as to take away all occasion from those who sought it. For, being free from all, he had made himself the servant of all, that he might win as many as he could. Observe that this was in his service, it was not accommodating himself to the world, in order to escape the offense of the cross. He put this plainly forward, chap. ii. 2; but in preaching it, he adapted himself to the religious capacity and to the modes of thought belonging to the one and to the other, in order to gain access for the truth into their minds; and he did the same in his manner of conduct among them. It was the power of charity, which denied itself in all things, in order to be the servant of all, and not the selfishness which indulged itself under the pretense of gaining others. He did so in every respect, for the sake of the Gospel, desiring, as he said, to be a partaker with it, for he personifies it as doing the work of God's love in the world.
It was thus they should run: and in order to run thus, one must deny oneself. In this way the Apostle acted. He did not run with uncertain steps, as one who did not see the true end, or who did not pursue it seriously as a known thing. He well knew what he was pursuing, and he pursued it really, evidently, according to its nature. Every one could judge by his walk. He did not trifle, as a man who beats the air-easy prowess. In seeking that which was holy and glorious, he knew the difficulties, he resisted in the personal conflict with the evil that sought to obstruct his victory. As a vigorous wrestler, he kept under his body which would have hindered him. There was reality in his pursuit of Heaven, he would tolerate nothing that opposed it. Preaching to others was not all. He might do that, and it might be, as regards himself, labor in vain, he might lose everything, be rejected afterward himself. He was a Christian first of all, then a preacher, and a good preacher, because he was a Christian first. Thus, also, (for the beginning of chap. 10 connects itself with the close of chap. 9) others might make a profession, partake of the initiatory ordinances, and after all not be owned of God. This warning is a testimony of the condition to which, in part at least, the Church of God was already reduced. A warning always useful, but which supposes that those who bear the name of Christian, and have partaken of the ordinances of the Church, no longer inspire that confidence which would receive them without question as the true sheep of Christ. The passage distinguishes between participation in Christian ordinances and the possession of salvation. A distinction always true, but which it is not necessary to make when Christian life is bright in those who have part in the outward privileges of the Church.
CO 10Chapter 10 The Apostle then gives the Corinthians the ways of God with Israel in the wilderness, as instruction with regard to His ways with us; declaring that the things which happened to them were types or figures which serve as patterns for us. An important principle, and one which ought to be clearly apprehended, in order to profit by it. It is not Israel who is the figure, but that which happened to Israel, the ways of God with Israel. The things themselves happened to Israel, they were written for our instruction who find ourselves at the close of God's dispensations. That which shall follow will be the judgment of God, when these examples will no longer serve for the life of faith. Two principles are next established which also have great practical importance; " Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." This is our responsibility. On the other side, we have the faithfulness of God. He does not permit us to be tempted beyond our strength, but provides a way of escape, in order that we may not stumble. He enjoins, with regard to idolatry, that holy fear which avoids the occasion of doing evil, the occasion of falling. There is association and communion with the table of which we partake; and we Christians, being many, are but one bread and one body, inasmuch as we share the same bread at the Lord's Supper. Those in Israel who ate of the sacrifices, were partakers of the altar, were identified with it. Was this to say that the idol was anything? No. But as it written, Deut. 32, "The things which the Gentiles offered, they offered to devils and not to God." Should a Christian then partake of the table of devils? The table was the table of devils, the cup, the cup of devils. An important principle for the Church of God. Would one provoke the Lord by putting Him on a level with devils? Allusion is again made to Deut. 32:2121They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. (Deuteronomy 32:21). The Apostle repeats his principle, already established, that he had liberty in every respect, but that on the one hand he would not put himself under the power of anything; on the other, being free, he would use his liberty for the spiritual good of all. To follow out this rule, these are his instructions. Whatsoever was sold in the market they should eat without question of conscience. If any man said, "this was sacrificed to idols," it was a proof that he had conscience of an idol. They should then not eat of it, because of his conscience. For as to him who was free, his liberty could not be judged by the conscience of the other; for as to doctrine, and where there was knowledge, the Apostle recognizes it as a truth, that the idol was nothing. The creature was simply the creature of God. Communion with that which was false,. I ought to avoid for myself; especially in that which relates to communion with God Himself. I should deny myself the liberty which the truth gave me, rather than wound the weak conscience of others.
Moreover, in all things, even in eating or drinking, we ought to seek the glory of God, and do all to His glory; giving no offense, by using our liberty, either to Jew or Gentile or the assembly of God; following the Apostle's example, who, denying himself, sought to please all for their edification.
Having given these rules in answer to questions of detail, he turns to that which regarded the presence and action of the Holy Ghost; which also introduces the subject of the conduct proper for them in their assemblies.
Observe here the way in which the Apostle grounded his replies, with regard to details, on the highest and fundamental principles. This is the manner of Christianity (comp. Titus 2:10-1410Not purloining, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. 11For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Titus 2:10‑14)). He introduces God and charity, putting man in connection with God Himself. In that which follows, we have also a striking example of this. The subject is a direction for women. They were not to pray without having their heads covered. To decide this question simply of what was decent and becoming, the Apostle lays open the relationship and the order of the relationship subsisting between the depositories of God's glory and Himself, and brings in the angels, to whom Christians, as a spectacle set before them, should present that of order, according to the mind of God. The head of the woman is the man; that of man, is Christ; of Christ, God. This is the order of power, ascending to Him who is supreme. And, then, with respect to their relationship to each other, he adds, the man was not created for the woman, but the woman for the man. And as to their relations with other creatures, intelligent and conscious of the order of the ways of God, they were to be covered because of the angels, who are spectators of the ways of God in the dispensation of redemption, and of the effect which, this marvelous intervention was to produce. Elsewhere (see the preceding note) it is added, in reference to the history of that which took place, the man was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, transgressed first. Let us add -from the passage we are considering—that, as to creation, the man was not taken from the woman, but the woman from the man. Nevertheless, the man is not without the woman, nor the woman without the man, in the Lord—but all things are of God;- and all this to regulate a question of modesty as to women, when in praying they were before the eyes of others. The result—in that which concerns the details—is that the man was to have his head uncovered, because he represented authority, and in this respect was invested. (as to his position) with the glory of God, of whom he was the image. The woman was to have her head covered, as a token that she was subject to the man; her covering being a token of the power to which she was subject. Man, however, could not do without woman; nor woman without man. Finally, the Apostle appeals to the order of creation, according to which a woman's hair, her glory and ornament, showed, in contrast with the hair of man, that she was not made to present herself with the boldness of man before all. Given as a veil, her hair showed that modesty, submission, a covered head that hid itself, as it were, in that submission. and in that modesty, was her true position, her distinctive glory. Moreover, if any one contested the point, it was a custom which neither the Apostle nor the churches allowed.
Observe, also here, that however man may have fallen, divine order in creation never loses its value as the expression of the mind of God. Thus, also, in James, man is called the image of God. As to his moral condition, he needs (now that he has knowledge of good and of evil) to be born again in righteousness and in true holiness, that he may be the image of God. But his position in the world, as the head and center of all things—which no angel has been—is the idea of God Himself, as well as the position of the woman, the companion of his glory, but subject to him. An idea which will be gloriously accomplished in Christ, and, with respect to the woman, in the Church; but which is true in itself, being the constituted order of God, and always right as such—for the ordinance of God creates order, although no doubt His wisdom and His perfection are displayed in it.
The reader will remark, that this order in creation, as well as that which is established in the counsels of God in respect of the woman, of the man, of Christ, and of God Himself, and the fact that men—at least Christians under redemption—are a spectacle to angels (compare chap. 4:9), subjects which here I can only indicate, have the highest interest.
The Apostle afterward touches upon the subject of their assemblies. In ver. 2, he had praised them; but on this point he could not do so (ver. 17). Their assemblies manifested a spirit of division. This division concerned the distinction between the rich and the poor, but, as it seems, gave rise to others. At least, others were necessary, to make manifest those who were really approved of God. Now these divisions had the character of sects; that is to say, particular opinions divided Christians of the same assembly, of the Church of God, into schools, that ware hostile to each other, although they took the Lord's Supper together. If, indeed, it could be said that they took it together. Jealousies that had arisen between the rich and the poor, tended to foster the sectarian division. If, I observed, it could be said that they broke bread together—for each one took care to eat his own supper before the others did so, and some were hungry while others took their fill. This was not really eating the Lord's Supper.
The Apostle' guided by the Holy Ghost, seizes the opportunity to, declare to them the nature and the import of this ordinance. We may notice here, that the Lord had taught it him by an especial revelation-proof of the interest that belongs to it, and that it is a part of the Lord's mind in the entire Christian walk, to which He attaches importance in view of our moral condition, and of the state of our spiritual affections individually, as well as those of the Church. In the joy of Christian liberty, amid the powerful effects of the presence of the Holy Ghost, of the gifts by which He manifested Himself in the Church, the Lord's death, His broken body, were brought to mind, and, as it were, made present to faith as the basis and foundation of everything. This act of love, this simple and solemn deed, weak and empty in appearance, preserved all its importance. The Lord's body had been broken- wondrous fact! to which the Holy Ghost Himself was to bear witness, and which was to maintain all its importance in the Christian's heart, and to be the foundation and center of the edifice of the Church. Whatever might be the power that shone forth in the assembly, the heart was brought back to this. The body of the Lord Himself had been broken, the lips of Jesus had claimed our remembrance. This moral equilibrium is very important for the Church. Power, and the exercise of gifts, do not necessarily act upon the conscience and the heart of those to whom they are committed, nor of those always who enjoy their display. And, although God is present (and when we are in a good state, that is felt), still it is man who speaks and who acts upon others: he is prominent. In the Lord's Supper, the heart is brought back to a point 3. 1: I which it is entirely dependent, in which man is nothing (or only sin in the presence of grace), in which Christ and His love are everything, in which the heart is exercised, and the conscience remembers that it has needed cleansing, and that it has been cleansed by the work of Christ, that we depend absolutely on this grace. The affections also are in the fullest exercise. It is important to remember this. The consequences that followed forgetfulness of the import of this ordinance, confirmed its importance and the Lord's earnest desire that they should take heed to it. The Apostle is going to speak of the power or the Holy Ghost manifested in His gifts, and of the regulations necessary to maintain order and provide for edification where they were exercised in the assembly; but before doing so, he places the Lord's Supper as the moral center, the object of the assembly. Let us remark some of the thoughts of the. Spirit in connection with this ordinance.
1St. He links the affections with it in the strongest way. It was the same night on which Jesus was betrayed that He left this memorial of His sufferings and of His love. As the Paschal Lamb brought to mind the deliverance which the sacrifice offered in Egypt had procured for Israel, thus the Lord's Supper called to mind the sacrifice of Christ. He is in the glory, the Spirit is given; but they were to remember Him. His broken body was the object before their hearts in this memorial. Take notice of this word "Remember." It is not a Christ as He now exists-it is not the realization of what He is, that is not a remembrance, His body is now glorified. It is a remembrance of what He was on the Cross. It is a body broken, and not glorified. It is remembered, though, by those who are now united to Him in the glory into which He is entered. They drank also of the cup in remembrance of Him. In a word, it is Christ looked at as dead: there is not such a Christ now.
It is the remembrance of Christ Himself. It is that which attaches to Himself, it is not only the value of His sacrifice, but attachment to Himself, the remembrance of Himself. The apostle then shows us, if it is a dead Christ, who it is that died. Impossible to find two words, the bringing together of which has so important a meaning, The death of the Lord. How many things are comprised in that He who is called the Lord, has died. What love! what purposes I what efficacy! what results I The Lord Himself gave Himself up for us. We celebrate His death. At the same time, it is the end of God's relations with the world, on the ground of man's responsibility—except the judgment. This death has broken every link, has proved the impossibility of any. We show forth this death until the rejected Lord shall return to establish new bonds of association by receiving us to Himself, to have part in them. It is this which we proclaim in the ordinance when we keep it. Besides this, it is in itself a declaration that the blood on which the new covenant is founded has been already shed; it is established in this blood. I do not go beyond that which the passage presents; the object of the Spirit of God here is not to set before us the efficacy of the death of Christ, but that which attaches the heart to Him in remembering His death, and the meaning of the ordinance itself. It is a dead, betrayed Christ, whom we remember. The broken body was, as it were, before their eyes at this Supper. The shed blood of the Savior claimed the affections of their heart. They were guilty of despising these precious things if they took part in the Supper unworthily. The Lord Himself fixed our thoughts there in this ordinance, and in the most affecting way, at the very moment of His betrayal.
But if Christ attracted the heart thus to fix its attention there, discipline was also solemnly exercised in connection with this ordinance. If they despised the broken body and the blood of the Lord, by taking part in it lightly, chastisement was inflicted. Many had become sick and weak, and many had fallen asleep, i.e., had died. It is not the being worthy to partake, that is spoken of, but the partaking in an unworthy manner. Every Christian, unless some sin excluded him, was worthy to partake, because he was a Christian. But any Christian might come to it without judging himself, or appreciating, as he ought, that which the Supper brought to his mind, and which Christ had connected with it. He did not discern the Lord's body; and he did not discern, did not judge, the evil in himself,- God cannot leave us thus careless. If the believer judges himself; the Lord will not judge him; if we do not judge ourselves, the Lord judges; but when the Christian is judged, he is chastened of the Lord that he may not be condemned with the world. It is the Government of God in the hands of the Lord, who judges His own house. An important and too much forgotten truth. No doubt the result of all is according to the counsels of God, who displays in it all His wisdom, His patience, and the righteousness of His ways; but this government is real. He desires the good of His people in the end, but He will have holiness, a heart whose condition answers to that which He has revealed, a walk which is its expression. The normal state of a Christian is communion, according to the power of that which has been revealed. Is there failure in this—communion is lost, and with it the power to glorify God, a power found nowhere else. But if one judges oneself, there is restoration; the heart being cleansed from the evil by judging it, communion is restored. If one does not judge oneself, God must interpose and correct and cleanse us by discipline. Discipline which may even be unto death (see Job 33 and 36, 1 John 5:16,16If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. (1 John 5:16) James 5:14,1514Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. (James 5:14‑15)). There are yet one or two remarks to be made. To judge oneself, is not the same word as to be judged of the Lord. It is the same that is used in chap. 11:29, "discerning the Lord's body." Thus, what we have to do is not only to judge an evil committed, it is to discern one's condition as it is manifested in the light—even as God Himself is in the light—by walking in it. This prevents our falling into evil, either in act or thought. But if we have fallen, it is not enough to judge the action; it is ourselves we must judge and the state of heart, the tendency, the neglect, which occasioned our falling into the evil; in a word, that which is not communion with God, or that which hinders it. It was thus the Lord dealt with Peter. He did not reproach him for his fault, He judged its root.
Moreover, the assembly ought to have power to discern these things. God acts in this way, as we have seen in Job; but the saints have the mind of Christ by the Spirit of Christ, and ought to discern their own condition.
The foundation and center of all this is the position in which we stand towards Christ in the Lord's Supper, as the visible center of communion and the expression of His death; in which sin, all sin, is judged. Now we are in connection with this holy judgment of sin as our portion. We cannot mingle the death of Christ with sin. It has abolished it. It is the divine negation of sin. He died to sin, and that in love to us. It is the absolute holiness of God made sensible and expressed to us in that which took place with regard to sin. It is absolute devotedness to God for His glory in this respect. To bring sin or carelessness into it, is to profane the death of Christ, who died rather than allow sin to subsist before God. We cannot be condemned with the world, because He has died and has abolished sin for us; but to bring sin to that which represents this very death in which He suffered for sin, is a thing which cannot be borne. God vindicates that which is due to the holiness and the love of a Christ who gave up His life to put away sin. One cannot say, I will not go to the Table, i.e., I will accept the sin and give up the confession of the value of that death. We examine ourselves, and we go—we re-establish the rights of His death in our conscience—for all is pardoned and expiated, as to guilt—and we go to acknowledge these rights as the proof of infinite grace.
The world is condemned, sin in the Christian is judged, it escapes neither the eye nor the judgment of God, He never permits it, He cleanses the believer from it by chastening him; although He does not condemn, because Christ has borne his sin. The death of Christ forms, then, the center of communion in the Church, and the touchstone of conscience, and that, with respect to the assembly, in the Lord's Supper.
The other branch of the truth, in reference to the Church in general and to the assemblies, is the presence and the gifts of the Holy Ghost. These, as well as the Lord's Supper, are in connection with unity.* The individual being responsible in each. It is the subject of spiritual manifestations which the Apostle takes up in chap. 12. The first point was to establish the distinctive marks of the Spirit of God. There were evil spirits, who sought to creep in among the Christians, and to speak or act pretending to be the Spirit of God, and thus to confound everything. Christians of the present day hardly believe in such efforts of the enemy as these. Spiritual manifestations are, no doubt, less striking now than at the time of which the Apostle speaks, but the enemy adapts his means of deception to the circumstances in which man and the work of God are found. As Peter says in a similar case, " As there were false prophets among the people, so shall there be false teachers among you." The enemy does not cease to act. " Forbidding to marry," etc., was the doctrine of devils. In the last days his power will be manifested still more. God can restrain him by the energy of His Spirit, and by the power of the truth; but if he is not bridled he still acts, deceiving men, and that by such things as one would suppose it impossible (if not deceived oneself), that a man of sober sense could believe. But it is surprising what a man can believe when he is left to himself, without being kept by God, when the power of the enemy is there. We talk of common sense, of reason—very precious they are—but history tells us that God alone gives them or preserves them to us.
Here the Spirit of God manifested Himself by the effects of His power, which broke forth in the midst of the assembly, attracting the attention even of the world. The enemy imitated them. The greater part of the Christians at Corinth having been poor Gentiles, without discernment, and stupidly led by the illusions of the enemy, they were the more in danger of being again deceived by this means. When a man is not filled with the Spirit of God, who gives force to the truth in his heart, and clearness to his moral vision, the seductive power of the enemy dazzles his imagination. He loves the marvelous, unbelieving as he may be with regard to the truth. He lacks holy discernment, because he is ignorant of the holiness and character of God, and has not the stability of a soul that possesses the knowledge of God, God Himself, we may say, as his treasure, of a soul which knows that it has all in Him, so that it needs no other marvels. If a man is not thus established by the knowledge of God, the power of the enemy strikes him, 'pre-occupies him; he cannot shake it off, he cannot account for it. He is a victim to the influence which this power exercises over his mind; the flesh is pleased with it, for in one shape or another the result is always liberty to the flesh. Long led blindly by the power of evil spirits, the converted Gentiles were hardly in a state to discern and judge them. Strange to say, this demoniac power exercised such an influence that they forgot the importance even of the name of Jesus, or at least forgot that His name was not acknowledged by it. The enemy transforms himself into an angel of light, but he never really owns Jesus Christ as Lord. He will speak of Paul and Silvanus, and would have his part with Christians, but Christ is not acknowledged; and at last it is the breaking up and ruin of those who follow him. An unclean spirit would not say Lord Jesus, and the Spirit of God could not say Anathema to Jesus. But it is a question here of spirits and not of conversion, nor of the necessity of grace working in the heart for the true confession of the name of Jesus. A very true thing, as we know, but not the subject here.
We come now to positive instructions. Nothing more important, more distinctive, more marvelous, than the presence of the Holy Ghost here below in the midst of Christians; the fruit, to us, of the perfect work of Christ, but in itself the manifestation of the presence of God among men on the earth. The providence of God manifests His power in the works of creation, and His government which directs all things; but the Holy Ghost is His presence in this world, the testimony that He bears of Himself of His character. He is among men to display Himself, not yet in glory, but in power and in testimony of what He is. Christ having accomplished redemption, and having presented the efficacy of His work to God, Sovereign and Judge; the Church being ransomed and cleansed by His blood, and united to Him as His body, became the vessel of this power, which acts in His members. Thus she ought to display this power in holiness-she is responsible to do so. But in this way, as to its exercise, man becomes, in fact, individually the vessel of this spiritual energy. It is a treasure committed to him. Now the Spirit is, in the first place, the link between the Church and Christ, as well as between the Christian and Christ. It is by the Spirit that communion is realized and maintained, it is the primary function of the Spirit; and man must be in communion in order to realize the character and discern the will of God, and that, according to the testimony, intended to be borne by the Spirit come down to earth.. But if the Church does not maintain this communion, she loses her strength as the responsible witness of God on earth, and, in fact, her joy and her spiritual intelligency also: God is ever sovereign to act as He chooses, and Christ cannot fail in His faithfulness to His body, but the testimony committed to the Church is no longer so rendered as to make it felt that God is present on the earth. The Church is not, perhaps, aware of the estrangement, because she retains for a time much of that which God has given, which is far beyond all that was according to nature; and in losing strength she has also lost the discernment of what she ought to be. But God is never mistaken as to the Church's condition-" Thou hast left thy first love. Except thou repent," saith He, "and do thy first works, I will take away thy candlestick." A solemn consideration for the Church, as to her responsibility, when we reflect on the grace that has been shown her, on the fruits that have been-and those that ought to have been-manifested, and on the power given her to produce them.
The purposes of God for the Church have their end and aim in Heaven. They will be accomplished without the possibility of the least thing failing. All that is needful to bring her members there according to His counsels, Christ will do. They are redeemed by His blood to be His.
The ways of God are accomplished and unfolded on the earth for our instruction, both in the Church and in individuals.
It is not only in His gifts that the presence of the Spirit of God is manifested. There were prophecies and miracles, men moved by the Holy Ghost, before the day of Pentecost. That which is attributed to faith in Heb. 11, is often ascribed to the Spirit in the Old Testament. But the Spirit was promised in a special way in the Old Testament. He was never at that period the presence of God in the midst of the people, as He has dwelt in the Church. The glory came to take possession of the Tabernacle or Temple. His Spirit acted in sovereignty outside the order of His house, and could be with them when that glory was gone. But the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven to d well in the disciples and in the Church on earth, was the manifestation of the presence of God in His house, of God who was there by the Spirit. And this presence of the Spirit is so distinct and so plainly noted as a thing known and realized by the first Christians, which demonstrated instead of being demonstrated, that it is spoken of in the Word as being the Holy Ghost Himself. In John 7 it is said, " The Holy Ghost was not yet." In Acts 19 the twelve men say to Paul, " We have not so much as heard whether the Holy Ghost is." It was not a question whether there was a Holy Ghost, every orthodox Jew believed it, but whether this presence of the Holy Ghost Himself dwelling here below, the new Comforter and Guide of the disciples, of which John the Baptist had spoken, had yet taken place. When come down, it was the presence of God in His spiritual temple on earth. The place in which the disciples were gathered together was shaken to show that God was there. Ananias and Sapphira fell down dead before the apostles for having lied to God. Philip is caught away by His power from the presence of the man who had received the knowledge of Jesus by his means.
Such was the presence of the Holy Ghost. In our chapter, the apostle speaks of the manifestations of His presence in the gifts which were exercised by the instrumentality of members of the body, whether for the calling out and edification of the Church, or in testimony to those outside. Before entering on this subject, he gives the Corinthians- whom the enemy would have deeply deceived-that which would enable them to distinguish between the manifestation of the Holy Ghost and the actings of an evil spirit. He then speaks of gifts. Now there were not divers Spirits, as in the case of demons; there was only one and the same Spirit, but diversity of gifts. This gives occasion to bring in the different relationship (for he speaks of the order of the relations of man with God-the practical energy of which is in the Holy Ghost) in which men moved by the Holy Ghost are placed with regard to God and to Christ. The Spirit, one and the same Spirit, acts in them by various manifestations. But in the exercise of these different gifts they were administrators, and there was one Lord, that is, Christ it was not, therefore, in them an independent and voluntary power: whatever might be the energy of the Spirit in them, they did not cease to be servants and stewards of Christ, and they were to act in this character, acknowledging in their service the Lordship of Christ. Nevertheless, although it was power in a man, and man who acted, so that he was a servant; and a man who was head and who was served (although He was Son of God and Lord of all), yet it was God who wrought, one and the same God who wrought all in all. It is not the Trinity, properly speaking, that is presented here in its own character. But one only Spirit acting in Christians, Jesus Lord, and God acting in the gifts.
The gifts are manifestations of the energy of the Spirit thus committed to men, under Christ, who is Head and Lord; men were to use them as serving the Lord. Now Christ thought of the profit of His Church, of those that were His, and the manifestation of the Spirit was given for the profit of souls, of the Church in general. The apostle notices several of these gifts; but he reminds us again that it is the same Spirit who works in each case, distributing to every one according to His own will. Let the reader remark this passage. The apostle had said that God wrought all these things, and had spoken of the gifts as being manifestations of the Spirit. It might have been supposed that the Spirit was some vague influence, and that one must attribute everything to God, without recognizing a personal Spirit. But these operations, which were attributed to God in ver. 6, are here attributed to the Spirit; and it is added, that He, the Spirit, distributes to each as He will. It is not, therefore, an inferior Spirit. Where He works, it is God who works; but these operations in men are gifts distributed according to the will of the Spirit. The Spirit being thus presented as acting personally in this distribution and according to His will.
Some of the gifts may require a short observation. Wisdom is the application of divine light to all the circumstances through which we pass; an expression which has a wide extent, because it applies to everything with regard to which we have to form a judgment. The Holy Ghost furnishes some in a peculiar way with this wisdom, with a wisdom according to God, a perception of the true nature of things, and of their relationship to each other, and of conduct with regard to both, which coming from God, guides us through the difficulties of the way, and enables us to avoid that which would place us in a false position towards God and man.
Knowledge is intelligency in the mind of God as it is revealed to us. Faith is not here simple faith in the Gospel; that is, not a distinctive gift which one believer may possess and another not. This is evident. It is the faith, the energy, given by God, which overcomes difficulties, which rises above dangers, which confronts them without being by them. The discerning of Spirits is not that of Pa man's condition of soul—it has nothing to do with it. It is the knowing how to discern by the mighty energy of the Spirit of God the actings of evil spirits, and to bring them to light if necessary, in contrast with the action of the Spirit of God. The other gifts require no comment. We must now return to the unity of the Spirit, with which is connected that which the apostle says, after having spoken of the gifts. The Spirit was one, he had said, working diversely in the members, according to His will. The importance of His personality, and the immense import of His divinity (if we reflect that it is He who works in and by man) is very evident when we observe that He is the center and the living power of the unity of the whole body, so that the individuals in the exercise of their gifts are but the members of one and the same body, divinely formed by the power and the presence of the Spirit. This point the apostle develops largely, in connection with the oneness of the body, the mutual dependence of the members, and the relationship of each one to the body as a whole.
The practical instructions are easily understood, but there are some important points in the general principles. The oneness of the body is produced by the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and the connection of the members depends upon it. By one Spirit we have all been baptized to be one body. The Lord's Supper is the expression of this oneness: the Spirit is He who produces it, and who is its strength. The distinctive character of Jew and Gentile, and all other distinction, was lost in the power of one Spirit common to all, who united them all as redeemed ones in one only body. The apostle in this 13th verse speaks of the baptism of the Holy Ghost; but this word suggests to him the Supper, the second ordinance of the Lord, and he speaks of drinking into one Spirit, so drinking as to receive one and the same Spirit. By participating in Christ, by coming unto Him to drink, they had been made partakers of this same Spirit.
The baptism of the Holy Ghost, then, is that which forms Christians into one only body, and they are all made partakers of, are animated individually by, one and the same Spirit. Thus there are many members but one only body, and a body composed of these members which are dependent the one on the other, and have need of each other. And even those gifts which were the most shining, were, comparatively, of the least value, even as a man clothes and ornaments the least honorable parts of his body, and leaves the more beautiful parts uncovered.
Another point which the apostle marks, is the common interest that exists among them, in that they are members of one and the same body. If one suffers, all suffer, since there is but one body animated by one Spirit. If one is honored, all rejoice. This also depends on the one self-same Spirit who unites and animates them. Moreover, this body is the body of Christ. " Ye are," says the apostle, " the body of Christ and members in particular."
(Continued at page 181.)