When reading the Epistles to the Corinthians one cannot fail to remark the great contrast between the Corinthian converts and their spiritual father, the Apostle Paul, showing clearly that the' possession of gifts is no safeguard against error, and that those who most abound in them may be those who fall into the greatest evils.
The Corinthians " came behind in no gift, being enriched by the Lord in all utterance and all knowledge," as certainly they came behind no Christian assembly of that day in disorder and scandalous proceedings. Divisions had come in-dissensions had arisen-not caused by the entrance of doctrinal evil or immorality of walk, leading the spiritually minded to purge out the evil or separate themselves from it; but arising from the undue exalting of certain teachers among them. It was not faithfulness to the Lord which caused these divisions. Moral evil there was of the grossest kind, but that formed in their minds no ground for separation. A crime, such as the very heathen would blush to think of, had been committed among them, yet the offender had not been put out, and the apostle has to reprove them for their laxity, and to urge the exercise of discipline ere the assembly is moved to action. It was not that the assembly had shared in the deed. The apostle, in the Second Epistle, chap. vii. 11, writes, " in all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter." But their state of soul was so bad, they had not judged the evil. It was the indulgence of party spirit which had induced this state of things, had blunted the edge of their conscience, and dulled the sensibility of their soul.
Following human teachers, not the Lord, how much trouble had it occasioned I Enriched with all gifts, they were intoxicated at the thought of such wealth, and they began to value a teacher for his eloquence or his display of human wisdom. (1 Cor. 1:17;217For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. (1 Corinthians 1:17)
1And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:1). 1.) It was not so much what he taught, as how be could speak; not whether he spoke in the Spirit, but whether he displayed the wisdom of words. Their eyes were diverted from the Giver to the gift. They were occupied with man, the recipient and channel through whom blessing was to. flow, instead of with the source of all gift and fountain of all blessing. Looking thus at man, they were in danger of forgetting they were Christ's. Calling themselves by this or that teacher's name, they remembered not they were God's husbandry, God's building. They were glorying in men when they should have been glorying in the Lord. They were dazzled with a display of eloquence and wisdom, satisfied with the mere natural gifts, without reflecting whether there was " the demonstration of the Spirit and of power." The natural result soon manifested itself. -Unmindful on whom they were dependent, " they were full, reigning as kings," says the apostle, " without us." (1 Cor. 4:88Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. (1 Corinthians 4:8).) And he who had planted the Church at Corinth, and could point to them as a proof of his apostleship, found his claim to be an apostle called in question. The father is well nigh disowned by his children, the teacher is repudiated by. his pupils, so much so that the apostle is forced to convince them that he has the qualifications of an apostle. They indeed were proofs of it. Did they doubt whether Christ spoke in him? They had only to examine themselves to find out. (2 Cor. 13:3-53Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. 4For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. 5Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (2 Corinthians 13:3‑5).) Nor was this all. He could point to labors and services which showed him to be an apostle indeed. Did labor and trial constitute a proof of apostleship, who had encountered more perils, or labored more abundantly than he had? Was sympathy with others a needful quality for an apostle? " Who," says he, " is offended and I burn not?" (2 Cor. 11:2929Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? (2 Corinthians 11:29).) Were the teachers Israelites? Which of them could boast of a purer descent than he, " a Hebrew of the Hebrews?" Was his bodily infirmity a ground for refusing him that respect and obedience due to an apostle? That infirmity was the -result of his ascending to the third heaven, and hearing words which it is not lawful for man to utter, lest he should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelation given him." (2 Cor. 12:77And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. (2 Corinthians 12:7).) They might complain of his bodily appearance, and his speech, but they were forced to confess his words were weighty." (2 Cor. 10:1010For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. (2 Corinthians 10:10).) They might compare him, to his disadvantage, with other teachers possessing greater natural gifts and no infirmity; but his infirmity was the proof of a near intercourse with God, such as no other man could boast of.
But the evil did not rest here. Disorderly proceedings were tolerated, such as no other Christian assembly had admitted. Women, it would appear, spoke in the assembly, and dressed in unseemly attire. (1 Cor. 14:34,35;1134Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. 35And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. (1 Corinthians 14:34‑35)
1Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. (1 Corinthians 12:1)) Whatever any one might say about it, or however any one might defend it, the -apostle cuts all argument short with the simple sentence: " We have no such custom, neither the churches of God." (1 Cor. 11:1616But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God. (1 Corinthians 11:16).) But graver -cause for scandal there was. The Lord's Supper had been made an occasion for carnal feasting. One would come to satisfy his hunger; another would be there drunk-yet we have not fathomed the depth into which they had fallen. " Envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults," had crept in. (2 Cor. 12:2020For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults: (2 Corinthians 12:20).) Having turned from God to man, and magnified the human instrument, their eyes had been diverted from the only object which could keep them straight, that center round which, when acknowledged as such, everything would range itself in its proper order, and all assume their due proportion. It was not difficult to descend from man to self. Selfishness, in all its forms, was prevalent, evidenced, as noticed above, in strifes, &c.; and in that litigious spirit which received a rebuke and correction in 1 Cor. 6 Another form of it, the grossest form, was the licentious indulgence of carnal desires. (1 Cor. 6; 2 Cor. 12:2121And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed. (2 Corinthians 12:21).)
But it had yet to be demonstrated in two other ways, showing how far the assembly had fallen. Their liberty must be asserted and maintained even at the expense of a weak brother's faith. They had liberty, they affirmed, to eat meats offered to idols. Why should they be restrained in this their christian liberty? Their spiritual discernment allowed them to sit at meat in the idol's temple without joining in the idol worship. Why should they be denied this pleasure? Was a weak brother thereby stumbled? Why should they be in bondage to any one? Hence self (for after all it was self) must be gratified, even though a weak brother's conscience receive damage. Thus their position as freemen in Christ was made the ground of the gratification of their appetites, and indulgence of their natural desires. But self had yet another aspect, viz., the longing after those spiritual gifts which would bring most glory to the possessor. What gift so suited for that as speaking with tongues? Their aim was the exaltation of self, rather than the edification of the assembly. What a picture have we in Corinth of the depth to which saints could fall! For saints they were, but placed in circumstances widely differing from any in which a christian assembly in Christendom, at least in these days, could be found, being surrounded with vices, openly and unblushingly practiced by the heathen, which the influence of Christianity has driven into the shade.
Let us now turn to the apostle, and see how high a sinner saved by grace could rise. Were the Corinthians glorying in their teacher, glorying in men, he gloried only in the Lord. They were captivated with the natural gifts of their teachers. He had learned the lesson, that all human teachers, to whom were entrusted the gifts of ministry, were but " earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of man." (2 Cor. 4:77But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. (2 Corinthians 4:7).) He came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, and was determined to know nothing among them but Jesus Christ and Him crucified, that their faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. (1 Cor. 2) They were self-sufficient-" full." (1 Cor. 4:88Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. (1 Corinthians 4:8).) He was tc not sufficient of himself to think anything as of himself, but his sufficiency was of God." (2 Cor. 3:55Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; (2 Corinthians 3:5).) They were reigning without him. He would only connect himself with them. " Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ;" "helpers of your joy;" (2 Cor. 1:21,2421Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; (2 Corinthians 1:21)
24Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand. (2 Corinthians 1:24);) " ourselves your servants for Jesus sake;" (2 Cor. 4:55For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. (2 Corinthians 4:5);) " shall present us with you." (2 Cor. 4:1414Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. (2 Corinthians 4:14).) Not a word here of his superiority. He classes himself with them, and makes himself their servant. They stood up for their liberty, so did he. But how different the case with him Would he indulge his palate at the expense of a weaker brother's faith? Nay, " I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend." (1 Cor. 8:1313Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. (1 Corinthians 8:13).) What, then, was the liberty he claimed for himself? Simply this, that he might preach the gospel to them without charge! What could prompt him to such labor without a temporal reward? Was it the hope that they would value such disinterestedness? He had already felt that, after all, his labors on them, and affection for them, they had not valued the one or requited the other. How, then, did this affect him? We sea in 2 Cor. 12:14,15: " Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be burdensome to you; for I seek not yours but you..... and I will gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you the less I be loved." What grace was here. The divine nature in him showing itself; love working for its own sake, loving objects unworthy of its love. And who was this who thus wrote? Was it one who felt his deficiency in gifts when in such an assembly as that of Corinth, and wished to make up for that deficiency by an assiduous attention to their wants? Far from it. He was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostle. He might indeed be rude in speech, but not in knowledge.
He had a power, the apostolic power, which he could have used, but he did not. What a contrast then between the apostle and the Corinthians!
What caused it? Whence came it? Both he and they were children of Adam, descended from the same corrupt stock. Both he and they were subjects of the same divine mercy, and objects of divine grace. But he had learned a lesson which they had not. He had learned the death of the old man, hence he was not looking at the outward appearance; he looked far higher. He lived as it were on the other side of death; they on this side. All that was nature he estimated at its true value. For him, self was nothing: Christ and God were everything. That was the secret of the difference between them. What teaching there is in all this. " He had the sentence of death in himself, that he should not trust in himself, but in God who raiseth the dead." (2 Cor. 1:99But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: (2 Corinthians 1:9).) Throughout the first five chapters of the Second Epistle we see this brought out. Did he triumph, it was in Christ, and moreover it was God who made him triumph; (ii. 14;) his sufficiency was of God; (iii.;) if the light of the gospel had shone into his heart, it was God who had commanded it; (iv.;) and the excellency of the power of ministry was of God; and all he suffered was for the glory of God. With him, God in Christ was everything; and now as risen in Christ he knew no man after the flesh. All this the Corinthians had forgotten or never learned. Accordingly, in the first three chapters of the First Epistle, we have a continual contrast between man and God, to recall them to their true position as Christians. God had called them to the fellowship of His Son, not man. It was God's Church he addressed. God was pleased by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe; and the object preached was Christ the power and wisdom of God. Was he chosen for this work, God had done it; and God had made Christ unto us, " wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption." It was God's testimony he declared, that their " faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." Yet he spoke wisdom, but it was the wisdom of God; and he spoke of things which the natural man could not receive, but God had revealed them by His Spirit; and the Corinthians were God's husbandry, God's building. He recognized these things, as the Second Epistle shows. They had forgotten them, as the First Epistle teaches. Hence the difference.
What a lesson then to us. If the eye looks away from God to man, into what may we not fall-what evils may not come in! But, on the other hand, the true remedy for decline of spirituality in the assembly, when man is exalted and self reigns, is to recall it to a right sense about God. It is God's work. The instruments are God's. The increase is God's. The building and temple are God's. This truth, brought out in 1 Cor. 1-4, forms the groundwork of the apostle's direction. Christian liberty is to be permitted, but only to the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:3131Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31).) Spiritual gifts are to be exercised, but in an orderly manner; " For God is not the author of confusion but of peace." (1 Cor. 14:3333For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. (1 Corinthians 14:33).) Man may be followed but only as he follows Christ. (1 Cor. 11:11Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1).)
When God gets his place in the assembly and hearts of His children, all will go well. But if not, the capacity to judge moral evil may be weakened; meetings for worship be made opportunities for the display of gifts, as the vanity of the possessor may dictate, and even the Lord's table become a scene of shameful confusion. How needful then, to watch against the first departure from the simplicity that is in Christ. But as evil in the assembly is generally the result of evil unchecked in individuals, what need of individual watchfulness to keep the eye fixed on the true center. When looking at God, and living as dead and risen with Christ, the Lord will have His place and man his; conscience will be alive; evil, if it comes in, will be judged, and the assembly be in truth the temple of the Holy Ghost.