,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,editor of ,the ,expositor ,,the ,,second ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,corinthians ,,by ,,james ,,denney1 ,b4,d4 ,london ,,hodder ,,and ,,stoughton #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row ,,mdcccxciv ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #gs4 #f;d4 each vol4 ,,first ,,series1 #ahhg-h4 ,colossians4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,mark4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,armagh4 ,genesis4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 #a ,samuel4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d4 #b ,samuel4 ,by the same ,author4 ,hebrews4 ,by ,principal ,t4,c4 ,,edwards1 ,d4,d4 ,,second ,,series1 #ahhh-i4 ,galatians4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a4 ,the ,pastoral ,epistles4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,isaiah ,i4-,,xxxix4 ,by ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,m4,a4 ,vol4 ,i ,the ,book of ,revelation4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,,milligan1 ,d4,d4 #a ,corinthians4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,rt4 ,rev4 ,w4 ,,alexander1 ,d4,d4 ,,third ,,series1 #ahhi-ij4 ,judges and ,ruth4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,d4,d4 ,jeremiah4 ,by ,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,,ball1 ,m4,a4 ,isaiah ,,xl4-,,lxvi4 ,by ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,m4,a4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,st4 ,matthew4 ,by ,rev4 ,j4 ,,monro ,,gibson1 ,d4,d4 ,exodus4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,armagh4 ,st4 ,luke4 ,by ,rev4 ,h4 ,,burton1 ,m4,a4 ,,fourth ,,series1 #ahij-a4 ,ecclesiastes4 ,by ,rev4 ,,samuel ,,cox1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,james and ,st4 ,jude4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,proverbs4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,f4 ,,horton1 ,m4,a4 ,leviticus4 ,by ,rev4 ,s4 ,h4 ,,kellogg1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,prof4 ,m4 ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,by ,prof4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,,fifth ,,series1 #ahia-b4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 #a and #b ,thessalonians4 ,by ,,james ,,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,book of ,job4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,d4,d4 ,ephesians4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,prof4 ,m4 ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,by ,prof4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,,sixth ,,series1 #ahib-c4 #a ,kings4 ,by ,ven4 ,archdeacon ,,farrar4 ,philippians4 ,by ,principal ,,rainy1 ,d4,d4 ,ezra1 ,nehemiah1 ,esther4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,adeney1 ,m4,a4 ,joshua4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,peter4 ,by ,prof4 ,,rawson ,,lumby1 ,d4,d4 ,,seventh ,,series1 #ahic-d4 #b ,kings4 ,by ,ven4 ,archdeacon ,,farrar4 ,romans4 ,by ,h4 ,c4 ,g4 ,,moule1 ,m4,a4 ,the ,books of ,chronicles4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,bennett1 ,m4,a4 #b ,corinthians4 ,by ,,james ,,denney1 ,b4,d4 ,numbers4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,second ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,corinthians ,,by ,,james ,,denney1 ,b4,d4 ,london ,,hodder ,,and ,,stoughton #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row ,,mdcccxciv ,printed by ,hazell1 ,watson1 ,viney1 ,ld41 ,london and ,aylesbury4 ,,contents ,,page ,,introduction #a ,i ,,suffering ,,and ,,consolation #aj ,,ii ,,faith ,,born ,,of ,,despair #bc ,,iii ,,the ,,church',s ,,one ,,foundation #ce ,,iv ,,christian ,,mysteries #dg ,v ,a ,,pastor',s ,,heart #ei ,,vi ,,church ,,discipline #gb ,,vii ,,christ',s ,,captive #hd ,,viii ,,living ,,epistles #ii ,,ix ,,the ,,two ,,covenants #aab ,x ,,the ,,transfiguring ,,spirit #abg ,,xi ,,the ,,gospel ,,defined #add ,,xii ,,the ,,victory ,,of ,,faith #aeg ,,xiii ,,the ,,christian ,,hope #agc ,,xiv ,,the ,,measure ,,of ,,christ',s ,,love #ahf ,,xv ,,the ,,new ,,world #aih ,,xvi ,,reconciliation #baj ,,xvii ,,the ,,signs ,,of ,,an ,,apostle #bbd ,,xviii ,,new ,,testament ,,puritanism #bcg ,,xix ,,repentance ,,unto ,,life #bdh ,,xx ,,the ,,grace ,,of ,,liberality #bfb ,,xxi ,,the ,,fruits ,,of ,,liberality #bgd ,,xxii ,,war #bhi ,,xxiii ,,comparisons #cjj ,,xxiv ,,godly ,,jealousy #cab ,,xxv ,,foolish ,,boasting #cbe ,,xxvi ,,strength ,,and ,,weakness #cdb ,,xxvii ,,not ,,yours1 ,,but ,,you #cei ,,xxviii ,,conclusion #cgb ,,introduction ,introduction1 in the scientific sense1 is not part of the expositor's task2 but it is convenient1 especially when introduction and exposition have important bearings on each other1 that the expositor should indicate his opinion on the questions common to both departments4 ,this is the purpose of the statement which follows4 7#a7 ,the starting-point for every inquiry into the relations between ,st4 ,paul and the ,corinthians1 so far as they concern us here1 is to be found in the close connexion between the two ,epistles to the ,corinthians which we possess4 ,this close connexion is not a hypothesis1 of greater or less probability1 like so much that figures in ,introductions to the ,second ,epistle2 it is a large and solid fact1 which is worth more for our guidance than the most ingenious conjectural combination4 ,stress has been justly laid on this by ,holtzmann1#a who illustrates the general fact by details4 ,thus #b ,cor4 i4 #h-aj1 ii4 #ab1 #ac1 attach themselves immediately to the situation described in #a ,cor4 xvi4 #h1 #i4 ,similarly in #b ,cor4 i4 #ab there seems to be a distinct echo of #a ,cor4 ii4 #d-ad4 ,more important is the unquestionable reference in #b ,cor4 i4 #ac-ag1 #bc1 to #a ,cor4 xvi4 #e4 ,from a comparison of these two passages it is plain that before ,paul wrote either he had had an intention1 of which the ,corinthians were aware1 to visit ,corinth in a certain way4 ,he was to leave ,ephesus1 sail straight across the sea to ,corinth1 go from ,corinth to ,macedonia1 and then return1 vi ,corinth1 to ,asia again4 ,in other words1 on this tour he was to visit ,corinth twice4 ,in the last chapter of the ,first ,epistle1 he announces a change of plan3 he is not going to ,corinth direct1 but vi ,macedonia1 and the ,corinthians are only to see him once4 ,he does not say1 in the ,first ,epistle1 why he has changed his plan1 but the announcement caused great dissatisfaction in ,corinth4 ,some said he was a fickle creature2 some said he was afraid to show face4 ,this is the situation to which the ,second ,epistle directly addresses itself2 the very first thing ,paul does in it is to explain and justify the change of plan announced in the ,first4 ,it was not fickleness1 he says1 nor cowardice1 that made him change his mind1 but the desire to spare the ,corinthians and himself the pain which a visit paid at the moment would certainly inflict4 ,the close connexion between our two ,epistles1 which on this point is unquestionable1 may be further illustrated4 ,thus1 not to point to general resemblances in feeling or temper1 the correspondence is at least suggestive between 1 #b ,cor4 vii4 #aa 7cf4 the use of in #a ,thess4 iv4 #f71 and in #a ,cor4 v4 #a2 between 1 #b ,cor4 ii4 #aj1 and 4 4 41 #a ,cor4 v4 #d2 between the mention of ,satan in #b ,cor4 ii4 #aa and #a ,cor4 v4 #e2 between in #b ,cor4 xii4 #ba and #a ,cor4 v4 #b2 between and in #b ,cor4 ii4 #f f41 #b ,cor4 ii4 #e1 and the same words in #a ,cor4 v4 #e and #a ,cor4 v4 #a4 ,if all these are carefully examined and compared1 ,i think it becomes extremely difficult to believe that in #b ,cor4 ii4 #e ff4 and in #b ,cor4 vii4 #h ff4 the ,apostle is dealing with anything else than the case of the sinner treated in #a ,cor4 v4 ,the coincidences in detail would be very striking under any circumstances2 but in combination with the fact that the two ,epistles1 as has just been shown by the explanation of the change of purpose about the journey1 are in the closest connexion with each other1 they seem to me to come as nearly as possible to demonstration4 7#b7 ,if this view is accepted1 it is natural and justifiable to explain the ,second ,epistle as far as possible out of the ,first4 ,thus the letter to which ,st4 ,paul refers in #b ,cor4 ii4 #d and in #b ,cor4 vii4 #h1 #ab1 will be our ,first ,epistle to the ,corinthians2 the persons referred to in #b ,cor4 vii4 #ab as he who did the wrong and he to whom the wrong was done will be the son and the father in #a ,cor4 v4 #a4 ,there are1 indeed1 many who think that it is absurd to speak of the ,first ,epistle to the ,corinthians as written out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears2 and who cannot imagine that ,paul would speak of a great sin and crime1 like that of the incestuous person1 in such language as he employs in #b ,cor4 ii4 #e ff4 and #b ,cor4 vii4 #ab4 ,such language1 they argue1 suits far better the case of a personal injury1 an insult or outrage of which ,paul--either in person or in one of his deputies--had been the victim at ,corinth4 ,hence they argue for an intermediate visit of a very painful character1 and for an intermediate letter1 now lost1 dealing with this painful incident4 ,paul1 we are to suppose1 visited ,corinth on the business of #a ,cor4 v4 7among other things71 and there suffered a great humiliation4 ,he was defied by the guilty man and his friends1 and had to leave the ,church without effecting anything4 ,then he wrote the extremely severe letter to which ii4 #d refers--a letter which was carried by ,titus1 and which produced the change on which he congratulates himself in ii4 #e ff4 and vii4 #h ff4 ,it is obvious that this whole combination is hypothetical2 and hence1 though many have been attracted by it1 it appears with an infinite variety of detail4 ,it is obvious also that the grounds on which it rests are subjective2 it is a question on which men will differ to the end of time1 whether the language in #b ,cor4 ii4 #d is an apt description of the mood in which ,paul wrote 7at least certain parts of7 the ,first ,epistle to the ,corinthians1 or whether the language in #b ,cor4 ii4 #e ff41 vii4 #h ff4 is becoming language in which to close proceedings like those opened in #a ,cor4 v4 ,if many have believed that it is not1 many1 on the other hand1 have no difficulty in believing that it is2 and those who take the negative not only fail to explain the series of verbal correspondences detailed above1 but dissolve the connexion between our two ,epistles altogether4 ,thus ,godet allows more than a year1 crowded with events1 to come between them4 ,in view of the palpable fact with which we started1 ,i cannot but think this quite incredible3 it is far easier to suppose that the proceedings about the incestuous person took a complexion which made ,paul's language in the second and seventh chapters natural than to come to any confident conviction about this hypothetical visit and letter4 7#c7 ,but the visit1 it may be said1 at all events1 is not hypothetical4 ,it is distinctly alluded to in #b ,cor4 ii4 #a1 xii4 #ad1 xiii4 #a4 ,these passages are discussed in the exposition4 ,the two last are certainly not decisive2 there are good scholars who hold the same opinion of the first4 ,heinrici1 for instance1 maintains that ,paul had only been once in ,corinth when he wrote the ,second ,epistle2 it was the third time he was starting1 but once his intention had been frustrated or deferred1 so that when he reached ,corinth it would only be his second visit4 ,a case can be stated for this1 but in view of chap4 ii4 #a and chap4 xiii4 #b1 ,i do not see that it can be easily maintained4 ,these passages practically compel us to assume that ,paul had already visited ,corinth a second time1 and had had very painful experiences there4 ,but the close connexion of our ,epistles equally compels us to assume that this second visit belongs to an earlier date than our first canonical ,epistle4 ,we know nothing of it except that it was not pleasant1 and that ,paul was very willing to save both himself and the ,corinthians the repetition of such an experience4 ,it is nothing against this view that the visit in question is not referred to in ,acts or in the fist letter4 ,hardly anything in chap4 xi4 #bd ff4 is known to us from ,acts1 and probably we should never have known of this journey unless in explaining the change of purpose which the first letter announced it had occurred to ,paul to say3 ,i did not wish to come when it could only vex you2 ,i had enough of that before4 7#d7 ,as for the letter1 which is supposed to be referred to in #b ,cor4 ii4 #d1 it also has been relieved of its hypothetical character by being identified with chaps4 x4 #a-xiii4 #aj of our present ,second ,epistle4 ,in the absence of the faintest external indication that the ,epistle ever existed in any other than its present form1 it is perhaps superfluous to treat this seriously2 but the comment of ,godet seems to me sufficiently to dispose of it4 ,the hypothetical letter in question--in which ,godet himself believes--must have had two main objects3 first1 to accredit ,titus1 who is assumed to have carried it1 as the representative of ,paul2 and1 second1 to insist on reparation for the assumed personal outrage of which ,paul had been the victim on his recent visit4 ,this second object1 at an events1 is indisputable4 ,but chaps4 x4 #a-xiii4 #aj have no reference whatever to either of these things1 and are wholly taken up with what the ,apostle means to do1 when he comes to ,corinth the third time2 they refer not to this 7imaginary7 insolent person1 but to the misbelieving and the immoral in general4 7#e7 ,except in the points specified1 the interpretation of the ,epistle is little affected by the questions raised in ,introduction4 ,even in the points specified it is the historical reference1 not the ethical import1 which is affected4 ,whichever view we take of them1 we get on the whole substantially the same impression of the spirit of ,christ as it lives and works in the soul of the ,apostle4 ,it is part of the man's greatness1 it is the seal of his inspiration1 that in his hands the temporal becomes eternal1 the incidental loses its purely incidental character1 and has significance for all time4 ,it is the expositor's task to deal with the spiritual rather than the historical side1 and it will be sufficient here to indicate in outline what ,i conceive the series of ,paul's relations with the ,corinthians to have been4 7#f7 ,his first visit to ,corinth was that which is recorded in ,acts xviii42 according to the statement of ver4 #aa it extended over a period of eighteen months4 ,in all probability he had many communications with the ,church1 through deputies whom he commissioned1 in the years during which he was absent2 the form of the question in #b ,cor4 xii4 #ag 7 4447 implies as much4 ,but it is only after his coming to ,ephesus1 in the course of his third missionary journey1 that personal intercourse with ,corinth can have been resumed4 ,to this period ,i should refer the visit which we are bound to assume on the ground of #b ,cor4 ii4 #a1 xiii4 #b4 ,what the occasion was1 or what the circumstances1 we cannot tell2 all we know is that it was painful1 and perhaps disappointing4 ,paul had used grave and threatening language on this occasion 7#b ,cor4 xiii4 #b71 but he had been obliged to tolerate some things which he would rather have seen otherwise4 ,this visit was probably made toward the close of the three years' stay in ,ephesus1 and the letter referred to in #a ,cor4 v4 #i--the one in which he warned the ,corinthians not to associate with fornicators--would most likely be written on his return from it4 ,in this letter he may very naturally have announced that purpose of visiting ,corinth twice--once on his way to ,macedonia1 and again on his way back--to which reference has already been made4 ,this letter1 plainly1 did not serve its purpose1 and not long afterwards ,paul received at ,ephesus deputies from the ,corinthian ,church 7#a ,cor4 xvi4 #ag71 who apparently brought written instructions with them1 in which ,paul's judgment was sought more minutely on a variety of ethical questions 7#a ,cor4 vii4 #a74 ,before these deputies arrived1 or at all events before ,paul wrote the letter 7our ,first ,epistle7 in which he addressed himself to the state of affairs in ,corinth which their reports had disclosed1 ,timothy had left ,ephesus on a journey of some interest4 ,paul meant ,corinth to be his destination 7#a ,cor4 iv4 #ag71 but he had to go vi ,macedonia1 and the ,apostle was not certain that he would get so far 7#a ,cor4 xvi4 #aj3 ,but if ,timothy come1 etc474 ,in point of fact1 he does not seem to have gone farther than ,macedonia2 and ,luke in ,acts xix4 #bb mentions ,macedonia as the place to which he had been sent4 ,that he got no farther is suggested also by the fact that ,paul joins his name with his own in the salutation of the ,second ,epistle1 which was written in ,macedonia1 but never hints that he owed to him any information whatever on the state of the ,corinthian ,church4 ,all that he knew of this1 and of the effect of his first letter1 he learned from ,titus 7#b ,cor4 ii4 #ac1 vii4 #ac f474 ,but how did ,titus happen to be in ,corinth representing ,paul8 ,by far the happiest suggestion here is that which makes ,titus and the brother of #b ,cor4 xii4 #ah the same as the brethren of #a ,cor4 xvi4 #ab1 whose return from ,corinth ,paul expected in company of ,timothy4 ,timothy1 as we have seen1 did not get so far4 ,paul's departure from ,ephesus was apparently hastened by a great peril2 his anxiety1 too1 to hear the effect produced by that letter which had cost him so much--our ,first ,epistle--was very great2 he pressed on1 past ,troas1 where a fair field of labour waited for workers1 and finally encountered ,titus in ,macedonia1 and heard his report4 7#g7 ,this is the point at which the ,second ,epistle to the ,corinthians begins4 ,it falls of itself into three clearly marked divisions4 ,the first extends over chaps4 i4-vii4 ,in this the ,apostle makes his peace1 so to speak1 with the ,corinthians1 and does everything in his power to remove any feeling of soreness which might linger in their minds over his rigorous treatment of one particular offender4 ,but embedded in this there is a magnificent vindication of the spiritual apostolic ministry1 especially in contrast with that of the legalists1 and an appeal for love and confidence such as he had always bestowed on the ,church4 ,chaps4 viii4 and ix4 form the second part1 and are devoted to the collection which was being made in the ,gentile ,churches for poor ,christians in ,jerusalem4 ,the third part consists of chaps4 x4 to xiii4 ,in this ,paul confronts the disorders which still assert themselves in the ,church2 the pretensions of certain ,judaists1 superlative apostles as he calls them1 who were assailing his apostolic vocation and subverting his gospel2 and the immoral licence of others1 presumably once pagans1 who used liberty for a cloak to the flesh4 ,he writes of both with unsparing severity1 yet he does not wish to be severe4 ,he parts from the ,church with words of unaffected love1 and includes them all in his benediction4 ,,footnote3 #a ,einleitung1 #bnd ed41 p4 #bee f4 ,i ,,suffering ,,and ,,consolation ,paul1 an apostle of ,christ ,jesus through the will of ,god1 and ,timothy our brother1 unto the ,church of ,god which is at ,corinth1 with all the saints which are in the whole of ,achaia3 ,grace to you and peace from ,god our ,father and the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,blessed be the ,god and ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 the ,father of mercies and ,god of all comfort2 who comforteth us in all our affliction1 that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction1 through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of ,god4 ,for as the sufferings of ,christ abound unto us1 even so our comfort also aboundeth through ,christ4 ,but whether we be afflicted1 it is for your comfort and salvation2 or whether we be comforted1 it is for your comfort1 which worketh in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer3 and our hope for you is stedfast2 knowing that1 as ye are partakers of the sufferings1 so also are ye of the comfort4--#b ,,cor4 i4 #a-g 7,r4,v474 ,the greeting with which ,st4 ,paul introduces his ,epistles is much alike in them all1 but it never becomes a mere formality1 and ought not to pass unregarded as such4 ,it describes1 as a rule1 the character in which he writes1 and the character in which his correspondents are addressed4 ,here he is an apostle of ,jesus ,christ1 divinely commissioned2 and he addresses a ,christian community at ,corinth1 including in it1 for the purposes of his letter1 the scattered ,christians to be found in the other quarters of ,achaia4 ,his letters are occasional1 in the sense that some special incident or situation called them forth2 but this occasional character does not lessen their value4 ,he addresses himself to the incident or situation in the consciousness of his apostolic vocation2 he writes to a ,church constituted for permanence1 or at least for such duration as this transitory world can have2 and what we have in his ,epistles is not a series of obiter dicta1 the casual utterances of an irresponsible person2 it is the mind of ,christ authoritatively given upon the questions raised4 ,when he includes any other person in the salutation--as in this place ,timothy our brother--it is rather as a mark of courtesy1 than as adding to the ,epistle another authority besides his own4 ,timothy had helped to found the ,church at ,corinth2 ,paul had shown great anxiety about his reception by the ,corinthians1 when he started to visit that turbulent ,church alone 7#a ,cor4 xvi4 #aj f472 and in this new letter he honours him in their eyes by uniting his name with his own in the superscription4 ,the ,apostle and his affectionate fellow-worker wish the ,corinthians1 as they wished all the ,churches1 grace and peace from ,god our ,father and the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is not necessary to expound afresh the meaning and connexion of these two ,new ,testament ideas3 grace is the first and last word of the ,gospel2 and peace--perfect spiritual soundness--is the finished work of grace in the soul4 ,the ,apostle's greeting is usually followed by a thanksgiving1 in which he recalls the conversion of those to whom he is writing1 or surveys their progress in the new life1 and the improvement of their gifts1 gratefully acknowledging ,god as the author of all4 ,thus in the ,first ,epistle to the ,corinthians he thanks ,god for the grace given to them in ,christ ,jesus1 and especially for their ,christian enrichment in all utterance and in all knowledge4 ,so1 too1 but with deeper gratitude1 he dwells on the virtues of the ,thessalonians1 remembering their work of faith1 and labour of love1 and patience of hope4 ,here also there is a thanksgiving1 but at the first glance of a totally different character4 ,the ,apostle blesses ,god1 not for what ,he has done for the ,corinthians1 but for what ,he has done for himself4 ,blessed be the ,god and ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 the ,father of mercies and ,god of all comfort1 who comforteth us in all our tribulation4 ,this departure from the ,apostle's usual custom is probably not so selfish as it looks4 ,when his mind travelled down from ,philippi to ,corinth1 it rested on the spiritual aspects of the ,church there with anything but unrelieved satisfaction4 ,there was much for which he could not possibly be thankful2 and just as the momentary apostasy of the ,galatians led to his omitting the thanksgiving altogether1 so the unsettled mood in which he wrote to the ,corinthians gave it this peculiar turn4 ,nevertheless1 when he thanked ,god for comforting him in all his afflictions1 he thanked ,him on their behalf4 ,it was they who were eventually to have the profit both of his sorrows and his consolations4 ,probably1 too1 there is something here which is meant to appeal1 even to those who disliked him in ,corinth4 ,there had been a good deal of friction between the ,apostle and some who had once owned him as their father in ,christ2 they were blaming him1 at this very moment1 for not coming to visit them2 and in this thanksgiving1 which dilates on the afflictions he has endured1 and on the divine consolation he has experienced in them1 there is a tacit appeal to the sympathy even of hostile spirits4 ,do not1 he seems to say1 deal ungenerously with one who has passed through such terrible experiences1 and lays the fruit of them at your feet4 ,chrysostom presses this view1 as if ,st4 ,paul had written his thanksgiving in the character of a subtle diplomatist3 to judge by one's feeling1 it is true enough to deserve mention4#b ,the subject of the thanksgiving is the ,apostle's sufferings1 and his experience of ,god's mercies under them4 ,he expressly calls them the sufferings of ,christ4 ,these sufferings1 he says1 abound toward us4 ,christ was the greatest of sufferers3 the flood of pain and sorrow went over ,his head2 all its waves and billows broke upon ,him4 ,the ,apostle was caught and overwhelmed by the same stream2 the waters came into his soul4 ,that is the meaning of 4 ,in abundant measure the disciple was initiated into his ,master's stern experience2 he learned1 what he prayed to learn1 the fellowship of ,his sufferings4 ,the boldness of the language in which a mortal man calls his own afflictions the sufferings of ,christ is far from unexampled in the ,new ,testament4 ,it is repeated by ,st4 ,paul in ,col4 i4 #bd3 ,i now rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf1 and fill up that which is lacking of the afflictions of ,christ in my flesh for ,his body's sake1 which is the ,church4 ,it is varied in ,heb4 xiii4 #ac1 where the sacred writer exhorts us to go out to ,jesus1 without the camp1 bearing ,his reproach4 ,it is anticipated and justified by the words of the ,lord ,himself3 ,ye shall indeed drink of ,my cup2 and with the baptism with which ,i am baptised shall ye be baptised withal4 ,one lot1 and that a cross1 awaits all the children of ,god in this world1 from the ,only-begotten who came from the bosom of the ,father1 to the latest-born among ,his brethren4 ,but let us beware of the hasty assertion that1 because the ,christian's sufferings can thus be described as of a piece with ,christ's1 the key to the mystery of ,gethsemane and ,calvary is to be found in the self-consciousness of martyrs and confessors4 ,the very man who speaks of filling up that which is lacking of the afflictions of ,christ for the ,church's sake1 and who says that the sufferings of ,christ came on him in their fulness1 would have been the first to protest against such an idea4 ,was ,paul crucified for you8 ,christ suffered alone2 there is1 in spite of our fellowship with ,his sufferings1 a solitary1 incommunicable greatness in ,his ,cross1 which the ,apostle will expound in another place 7chap4 v474 ,even when ,christ's sufferings come upon us there is a difference4 ,at the very lowest1 as ,vinet has it1 we do from gratitude what he did from pure love4 ,we suffer in ,his company1 sustained by ,his comfort2 ,he suffered uncomforted and unsustained4 ,we are afflicted1 when it so happens1 under the auspices of the divine mercy2 ,he was afflicted that there might be mercy for us4 ,few parts of ,bible teaching are more recklessly applied than those about suffering and consolation4 ,if all that men endured was of the character here described1 if all their sufferings were sufferings of ,christ1 which came on them because they were walking in ,his steps and assailed by the forces which buffeted ,him1 consolation would be an easy task4 ,the presence of ,god with the soul would make it almost unnecessary4 ,the answer of a good conscience would take all the bitterness out of pain2 and then1 however it tortured1 it could not poison the soul4 ,the mere sense that our sufferings are the sufferings of ,christ--that we are drinking of ,his cup--is itself a comfort and an inspiration beyond words4 ,but much of our suffering1 we know very well1 is of a different character4 ,it does not come on us because we are united to ,christ1 but because we are estranged from ,him2 it is the proof and the fruit1 not of our righteousness1 but of our guilt4 ,it is our sin finding us out1 and avenging itself upon us1 and in no sense the suffering of ,christ4 ,such suffering1 no doubt1 has its use and its purpose4 ,it is meant to drive the soul in upon itself1 to compel it to reflection1 to give it no rest till it awakes to penitence1 to urge it through despair to ,god4 ,those who suffer thus will have cause to thank ,god afterwards if ,his discipline leads to their amendment1 but they have no title to take to themselves the consolation prepared for those who are partners in the sufferings of ,christ4 ,nor is the minister of ,christ at liberty to apply a passage like this to any case of affliction which he encounters in his work4 ,there are sufferings and sufferings2 there is a divine intention in them all1 if we could only discover it2 but the divine intention and the divinely wrought result are only explained here for one particular kind--those sufferings1 namely1 which come upon men in virtue of their following ,jesus ,christ4 ,what1 then does the ,apostle's experience enable him to say on this hard question8 7#a7 ,his sufferings have brought him a new revelation of ,god1 which is expressed in the new name1 ,the ,father of mercies and ,god of all comfort4 ,the name is wonderful in its tenderness2 we feel as we pronounce it that a new conception of what love can be has been imparted to the ,apostle's soul4 ,it is in the sufferings and sorrows of life that we discover what we possess in our human friends4 ,perhaps one abandons us in our extremity1 and another betrays us2 but most of us find ourselves unexpectedly and astonishingly rich4 ,people of whom we have hardly ever had a kind thought show us kindness2 the unsuspected1 unmerited goodness which comes to our relief makes us ashamed4 ,this is the rule which is illustrated here by the example of ,god ,himself4 ,it is as if the ,apostle said3 ,i never knew1 till the sufferings of ,christ abounded in me1 how near ,god could come to man2 ,i never knew how rich ,his mercies could be1 how intimate ,his sympathy1 how inspiriting ,his comfort4 ,this is an utterance well worth considering4 ,the sufferings of men1 and especially the sufferings of the innocent and the good1 are often made the ground of hasty charges against ,god2 nay1 they are often turned into arguments for ,atheism4 ,but who are they who make such charges8 ,not the righteous sufferers1 at least in ,new ,testament times4 ,the ,apostle here is their representative and spokesman1 and he assures us that ,god never was so much to him as when he was in the sorest straits4 ,the divine love was so far from being doubtful to him that it shone out then in unanticipated brightness2 the very heart of the ,father was revealed--all mercy1 all encouragement and comfort4 ,if the martyrs have no doubts of their own1 is it not very gratuitous for the spectators to become sceptics on their account8 ,the sufferings of ,christ in ,his people may be an insoluble problem to the disinterested onlooker1 but they are no problem to the sufferers4 ,what is a mystery1 when viewed from without1 a mystery in which ,god seems to be conspicuous by ,his absence1 is1 when viewed from within1 a new and priceless revelation of ,god ,himself4 ,the ,father of mercies and ,god of all comfort is making ,himself known now as for want of opportunity ,he could not be known before4 ,notice especially that the consolation is said to abound through ,christ4 ,he is the mediator through whom it comes4 ,to partake in ,his sufferings is to be united to ,him2 and to be united to ,him is to partake in ,his life4 ,the ,apostle anticipates here a thought on which he enlarges in the fourth chapter3 ,always bearing about in the body the dying of ,jesus1 that the life also of ,jesus may be manifested in our body4 ,in our eagerness to emphasise the nearness and the sympathy of ,jesus1 it is to be feared that we do less than justice to the ,new ,testament revelation of ,his glory4 ,he does not suffer now4 ,he is enthroned on high1 far above all principality and power and might and dominion4 ,the ,spirit which brings ,his presence to our hearts is the ,spirit of the ,prince of ,life2 its function is not to be weak with our weakness1 but to help our infirmity1 and to strengthen us with all might in the inner man4 ,the ,christ who dwells in us through ,his ,spirit is not the ,man of ,sorrows1 wearing the crown of thorns2 it is the ,king of kings and ,lord of lords1 making us partakers of ,his triumph4 ,there is a weak tone in much of the religious literature which deals with suffering1 utterly unlike that of the ,new ,testament4 ,it is a degradation of ,christ to our level which it teaches1 instead of an exaltation of man toward ,christ's4 ,but the last is the apostolic ideal3 ,more than conquerors through ,him that loved us4 ,the comfort of which ,st4 ,paul makes so much here is not necessarily deliverance from suffering for ,christ's sake1 still less exemption from it2 it is the strength and courage and immortal hope which rise up1 even in the midst of suffering1 in the heart in which the ,lord of glory dwells4 ,through ,him such comfort abounds2 it wells up to match and more than match the rising tide of suffering4 7#b7 ,but ,paul's sufferings have done more than give him a new knowledge of ,god2 they have given him at the same time a new power to comfort others4 ,he is bold enough to make this ministry of consolation the key to his recent experiences4 ,he comforteth us in all our affliction1 that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction1 through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of ,god4 ,his sufferings and his consolation together had a purpose that went beyond himself4 ,how significant that is for some perplexing aspects of man's life6 ,we are selfish1 and instinctively regard ourselves as the centre of all providences2 we naturally seek to explain everything by its bearing on ourselves alone4 ,but ,god has not made us for selfishness and isolation1 and some mysteries would be cleared up if we had love enough to see the ties by which our life is indissolubly linked to others4 ,this1 however1 is less definite than the ,apostle's thought2 what he tells us is that he has gained a new power at a great price4 ,it is a power which almost every ,christian man will covet2 but how many are willing to pass through the fire to obtain it8 ,we must ourselves have needed and have found comfort1 before we know what it is2 we must ourselves have learned the art of consoling in the school of suffering1 before we can practise it for the benefit of others4 ,the most painfully tried1 the most proved in suffering1 the souls that are best acquainted with grief1 provided their consolation has abounded through ,christ1 are specially called to this ministry4 ,their experience is their preparation for it4 ,nature is something1 and age is something2 but far more than nature and age is that discipline of ,god to which they have been submitted1 that initiation into the sufferings of ,christ which has made them acquainted with ,his consolations also1 and has taught them to know the ,father of mercies and the ,god of all comfort4 ,are they not among ,his best gifts to the ,church1 those whom ,he has qualified to console1 by consoling them in the fire8 ,in the sixth verse the ,apostle dwells on the interest of the ,corinthians in his sufferings and his consolation4 ,it is a practical illustration of the communion of the saints in ,christ4 ,all that befalls me1 says ,st4 ,paul1 has your interest in view4 ,if ,i am afflicted1 it is in the interest of your comfort3 when you look at me1 and see how ,i bear myself in the sufferings of ,christ1 you will be encouraged to become imitators of me1 even as ,i am of ,him4 ,if1 again1 ,i am comforted1 this also is in the interest of your comfort2 ,god enables me to impart to you what ,he has imparted to me2 and the comfort in question is no impotent thing2 it proves its power in this--that when you have received it1 you endure with brave patience the same sufferings which we also suffer4 ,this last is a favourite thought with the ,apostle1 and connects itself readily with the idea1 which may or may not have a right to be expressed in the text1 that all this is in furtherance of the salvation of the ,corinthians4#c ,for if there is one note of the saved more certain than another1 it is the brave patience with which they take upon them the sufferings of ,christ4 1 7,matt4 x4 #bb74 ,all that helps men to endure to the end1 helps them to salvation4 ,all that tends to break the spirit and to sink men despondency1 or hurry them into impatience or fear1 leads in the opposite direction4 ,the great service that a true comforter does is to put the strength and courage into us which enable us to take up our cross1 however sharp and heavy1 and to bear it to the last step and the last breath4 ,no comfort is worth the name--none is taught of ,god--which has another efficacy than this4 ,the saved are those whose souls rise to this description1 and who recognise their spiritual kindred in such brave and patient sufferers as ,paul4 ,the thanksgiving ends appropriately with a cheerful word about the ,corinthians4 ,our hope for you is stedfast2 knowing that1 as ye are partakers of the sufferings1 so are ye also of the comfort4 ,these two things go together2 it is the appointed lot of the children of ,god to become acquainted with both4 ,if the sufferings could come alone1 if they could be assigned as the portion of the ,church apart from the consolation1 ,paul could have no hope that the ,corinthians would endure to the end2 but as it is1 he is not afraid4 ,the force of his words is perhaps best felt by us1 if instead of saying that the sufferings and the consolation are inseparable1 we say that the consolation depends upon the sufferings4 ,and what is the consolation8 ,it is the presence of the exalted ,saviour in the heart through ,his ,spirit4 ,it is a clear perception1 and a firm hold1 of the things which are unseen and eternal4 ,it is a conviction of the divine love which cannot be shaken1 and of its sovereignty and omnipotence in the ,risen ,christ4 ,this infinite comfort is contingent upon our partaking of the sufferings of ,christ4 ,there is a point1 the ,apostle seems to say1 at which the invisible world and its glories intersect this world in which we live1 and become visible1 real1 and inspiring to men4 ,it is the point at which we suffer with ,christ's sufferings4 ,at any other point the vision of this glory is unneeded1 and therefore withheld4 ,the worldly1 the selfish1 the cowardly2 those who shrink from self-denial2 those who evade pain2 those who root themselves in the world that lies around us1 and when they move at all move in the line of least resistance2 those who have never carried ,christ's ,cross1--none of these can ever have the triumphant conviction of things unseen and eternal which throbs in every page of the ,new ,testament4 ,none of these can have what the ,apostle elsewhere calls eternal consolation4 ,it is easy for unbelievers1 and for ,christians lapsing into unbelief1 to mock this faith as faith in the transcendent2 but would a single line of the ,new ,testament have been written without it8 ,when we weigh what is here asserted about its connexion with the sufferings of ,christ1 could a graver charge be brought against any ,church than that its faith in this transcendent languished or was extinct8 ,do not let us hearken to the sceptical insinuations which would rob us of all that has been revealed in ,christ's resurrection2 and do not let us imagine1 on the other hand1 that we can retain a living faith in this revelation if we decline to take up our cross4 ,it was only when the sufferings of ,christ abounded in him that ,paul's consolation was abundant through ,christ2 it was only when he laid down his life for ,his sake that ,stephen saw the heavens opened and the ,son of ,man standing at the right hand of ,god4 ,,footnotes3 #b ,the same view is strongly held by ,schmiedel4 ,he infers from chap4 vi4 #i that ,paul's sufferings had been interpreted at ,corinth as a divine chastisement2 in opposition to this the ,apostle shows that they are divinely intended to profit the ,corinthians4 ,hence the opening of the letter is not a simple outpouring of his heart1 but is delicately calculated to set aside a reproach without naming it4 ,the same purpose rules in the assumption that the ,corinthians will intercede and give thanks on his behalf2 it takes for granted their reconciliation to him4 #c ,the text is incurably perplexed4 ,the variations can be seen in any critical edition4 ,the ,,ms4 authority does not justify any confident decision1 and the happiest suggestion yet made seems to be that of ,professor ,warfield1 who would omit altogether the words 7and salvation74 ,the ,,mss4 vary most in regard to these words1 inserting1 omitting1 and transposing them4 ,hence they are very probably an old gloss1 and their omission simplifies both the grammar and the sense4 ,,ii ,,faith ,,born ,,of ,,despair ,for we would not have you ignorant1 brethren1 concerning our affliction which befell us in ,asia1 that we were weighed down exceedingly1 beyond our power1 insomuch that we despaired even of life3 yea1 we ourselves have had the answer of death within ourselves1 that we should not trust in ourselves1 but in ,god which raiseth the dead3 who delivered us out of so great a death1 and will deliver3 on whom we have set our hope that ,he will also still deliver us2 ye also helping together on our behalf by your supplication2 that1 for the gift bestowed upon us by means of many1 thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf4 ,for our glorying is this1 the testimony of our conscience1 that in holiness and sincerity of ,god1 not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of ,god1 we behaved ourselves in the world1 and more abundantly to you-ward4 ,for we write none other things unto you1 than what ye read or even acknowledge1 and ,i hope ye will acknowledge unto the end3 as also ye did acknowledge us in part1 that we are your glorying1 even as ye also are ours1 in the day of our ,lord ,jesus4--#b ,,cor4 i4 #h-ad 7,r4,v474 ,paul seems to have felt that the thanksgiving with which he opens this letter to the ,corinthians was so peculiar as to require explanation4 ,it was not his way to burst upon his readers thus with his private experiences either of joy or sorrow2 and though he had good reason for what he did--in that abundance of the heart out of which the mouth speaks1 in his desire to conciliate the good-will of the ,corinthians for a much-tried man1 and in his faith in the real communion of the saints--he instinctively stops here a moment to vindicate what he has done4 ,he does not wish them to be ignorant of an experience which has been so much to him1 and ought to have the liveliest interest for them4 ,evidently they knew that he had been in trouble1 but they had no sufficient idea of the extremity to which he had been reduced4 ,we were weighed down1 he writes1 in excess1 beyond our power2 the trial that came upon us was one not measured to man's strength4 ,we despaired even of life4 ,nay1 we have had#d the answer of death in ourselves4 ,when we looked about us1 when we faced our circumstances1 and asked ourselves whether death or life was to be the end of this1 we could only answer1 ,death4 ,we were like men under sentence2 it was only a question of a little sooner or a little later1 when the fatal stroke should fall4 ,the ,apostle1 who has a divine gift for interpreting experience and reading its lessons1 tells us why he and his friends had to pass such a terrible time4 ,it was that they might trust1 not in themselves1 but in ,god who raises the dead4 ,it is natural1 he implies1 for us to trust in ourselves4 ,it is so natural1 and so confirmed by the habits of a lifetime1 that no ordinary difficulties or perplexities avail to break us of it4 ,it takes all ,god can do to root up our self-confidence4 ,he must reduce us to despair2 ,he must bring us to such an extremity that the one voice we have in our hearts1 the one voice that cries to us wherever we look round for help1 is ,death1 death1 death4 ,it is out of this despair that the superhuman hope is born4 ,it is out of this abject helplessness that the soul learns to look up with new trust to ,god4 ,it is a melancholy reflection upon human nature that we have1 as the ,apostle expresses it elsewhere1 to be shut up to all the mercies of ,god4 ,if we could evade them1 notwithstanding their freeness and their worth1 we would4 ,how do most of us attain to any faith in ,providence8 ,is it not by proving1 through numberless experiments1 that it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps8 ,is it not by coming1 again and again1 to the limit of our resources1 and being compelled to feel that unless there is a wisdom and a love at work on our behalf1 immeasurably wiser and more benignant than our own1 life is a moral chaos8 ,how1 above all1 do we come to any faith in redemption8 to any abiding trust in ,jesus ,christ as the ,saviour of our souls8 ,is it not by this same way of despair8 ,is it not by the profound consciousness that in ourselves there is no answer to the question1 ,how shall man be just with ,god8 and that the answer must be sought in ,him8 ,is it not by failure1 by defeat1 by deep disappointments1 by ominous forebodings hardening into the awful certainty that we cannot with our own resources make ourselves good men--is it not by experiences like these that we are led to the ,cross8 ,this principle has many other illustrations in human life1 and every one of them is something to our discredit4 ,they all mean that only desperation opens our eyes to ,god's love4 ,we do not heartily own ,him as the author of life and health1 unless ,he has raised us from sickness after the doctor had given us up4 ,we do not acknowledge ,his paternal guidance of our life1 unless in some sudden peril1 or some impending disaster1 ,he provides an unexpected deliverance4 ,we do not confess that salvation is of the ,lord1 till our very soul has been convinced that in it there dwells no good thing4 ,happy are those who are taught1 even by despair1 to set their hope in ,god2 and who1 when they learn this lesson once1 learn it1 like ,st4 ,paul1 once for all 7see note on above74 ,faith and hope like those which burn through this ,epistle were well worth purchasing1 even at such a price2 they were blessings so valuable that the love of ,god did not shrink from reducing ,paul to despair that he might be compelled to grasp them4 ,let us believe when such trials come into our lives--when we are weighed down exceedingly1 beyond our strength1 and are in darkness without light1 in a valley of the shadow of death with no outlet--that ,god is not dealing with us cruelly or at random1 but shutting us up to an experience of ,his love which we have hitherto declined4 ,after two days will ,he revive us2 on the third day ,he will raise us up1 and we shall live before ,him4 ,the ,apostle describes the ,god on whom he learned to hope as ,god who raises the dead4 ,he himself had been as good as dead1 and his deliverance was as good as a resurrection4 ,the phrase1 however1 seems to be the ,apostle's equivalent for omnipotence3 when he thinks of the utmost that ,god can do1 he expresses it thus4 ,sometimes the application of it is merely physical 7e4g41 ,rom4 iv4 #ag72 sometimes it is spiritual as well4 ,thus in ,eph4 i4 #ai ff4 the possibilities of the ,christian life are measured by this--that that power is at work in believers with which ,god wrought in ,christ when ,he raised ,him from the dead1 and set ,him at ,his own right hand in the heavenly places4 ,is not that power sufficient to do for the weakest and most desperate of men far more than all he needs8 ,yet it is his need1 somehow1 when brought home to him in despair1 that opens his eyes to this omnipotent saving power4 ,the text of the words in which ,paul tells of his deliverance can hardly be said to be quite certain1 but the general meaning is plain4 ,god delivered him from the awful death which was impending over him2 he had his hope now firmly set on ,him2 he was sure that ,he would deliver him in the future also4#e ,what the danger had been1 which had made so powerful an impression on this hardy soul1 we cannot now tell4 ,it must have been something which happened after the ,first ,epistle was written1 and therefore was not the fighting with wild beasts at ,ephesus1 whatever that may have been 7#a ,cor4 xv4 #cb74 ,it may have been a serious bodily illness1 which had brought him to death's door1 and left him so weak1 that still1 at every step1 he felt it was ,god's mercy that was holding him up4 ,it may have been a plot to make away with him on the part of the many adversaries mentioned in the ,first ,epistle 7xvi4 #i7--;a plot which had failed1 as it were1 by a miracle1 but the malignity of which still dogged his steps1 and was only warded off by the constant presence of ,god4 ,both these suggestions require1 and would satisfy1 the reading1 who delivered us from so great a death1 and doth deliver4 ,if1 however1 we take the reading of the ,r4,v4--who delivered us from so great a death1 and will deliver2 on whom we have set our hope that ,he will also still deliver us--the existence of the danger1 at the moment at which ,paul writes1 is not necessarily involved2 and the danger itself may have been more of what we might call an accidental character4 ,the imminent peril of drowning referred to in chap4 xi4 #be would meet the case2 and the confidence expressed by ,paul with such emphatic reference to the future will not seem without motive when we consider that he had several sea voyages in prospect--as those from ,corinth to ,syria1 from ,syria to ,rome1 and probably from ,rome to ,spain4 ,so ,hofmann interprets the whole passage3 but whether the interpretation be good or bad1 it is elsewhere than in its accidental circumstances that the interest of the transaction lies for the writer and for us4 ,to ,paul it was not merely a historical but a spiritual experience2 not an incident without meaning1 but a divinely ordered discipline2 and it is thus that we must learn to read our own lives if the purpose of ,god is to be wrought out in them4 ,notice in this connexion1 in the eleventh verse1 how simply ,paul assumes the spiritual participation of the ,corinthians in his fortunes4 ,it is ,god indeed who delivers him1 but the deliverance is wrought while they1 as well as other ,churches1 co-operate in supplication on his behalf4 ,in the strained relations existing between himself and the ,corinthians1 the assumption here made so graciously probably did them more than justice2 if there were unsympathetic souls among them1 they must have felt in it a delicate rebuke4 ,what follows--that1 for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many1 thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf 7,r4,v47--simple and intelligible as it looks in ,english1 is one of the passages which justify ,m4 ,sabatier's remark that ,paul is difficult to understand and impossible to translate4 ,the ,revisers seem to have construed together1 as if it had been 4 4 4 1 the meaning being that the favour bestowed on ,paul in his deliverance from this peril had been bestowed at the intercession of many4 ,others get virtually the same meaning by construing with 3 the inversion is supposed to emphasise these last words2 and as it was1 on this view1 prayer on the part of many persons that procured his deliverance1 ,paul is anxious that the deliverance itself should be acknowledged by the thanksgiving of many4 ,it cannot be denied that both these renderings are grammatically violent1 and it seems to me preferable to keep by itself1 even though and should then reduplicate the same idea with only a slight variation4 ,we should then render3 in order that1 on the part of many persons1 the favour shown to us may be gratefully acknowledged by many on our behalf4 ,the pleonasm thus resulting strikes one rather as characteristic of ,st4 ,paul's mood in such passages1 than as a thing open to objection4#f ,but grammar apart1 what really has to be emphasised here is again the communion of the saints4 ,all the ,churches pray for ,st4 ,paul--at least he takes it for granted that they do2 and when he is rescued from danger1 his own thanksgiving is multiplied a thousandfold by the thanksgivings of others on his behalf4 ,this is the ideal of an evangelist's life2 in all its incidents and emergencies1 in all its perils and salvations1 it ought to float in an atmosphere of prayer4 ,every interposition of ,god on the missionary's behalf is then recognised by him as a gift of grace 77--not1 be it understood1 a private favour1 but a blessing and a power capacitating him for further service to the ,church4 ,those who have lived through his straits and his triumphs with him in their prayers know how true that is4 ,at this point 7ver4 #ab7 the key in which ,paul writes begins to change4 ,we are conscious of a slight discord the instant he speaks about the testimony of his conscience4 ,yet the transition is as unforced as any such transition can be4 ,i may well take for granted1 seems to be the thought in his mind1 that you pray for me2 ,i may well ask you to unite with me in thanks to ,god for my deliverance2 for if there is one thing ,i am sure of1 and proud of1 it is that ,i have been a loyal minister of ,god in the world1 and especially to you4 ,fleshly wisdom has not been my guide4 ,i have used no worldly policy2 ,i have sought no selfish ends4 ,in a holiness and sincerity which ,god bestows1 in an element of crystal transparency1 ,i have led my apostolic life4 ,the world has never convicted me of anything dark or underhand2 and in all the world none know better than you1 among whom ,i lived longer than elsewhere1 working with my hands1 and preaching the ,gospel as freely as ,god offers it1 that ,i have walked in the light as ,he is in the light4 ,this general defence1 which is not without its note of defiance1 becomes defined in ver4 #ac4 ,plainly charges of insincerity had been made against ,paul1 particularly affecting his correspondence1 and it is to these he addresses himself4 ,it is not easy to be outspoken and conciliatory in the same sentence1 to show your indignation to the man who charges you with double-dealing1 and at the same time take him to your heart2 and the ,apostle's effort to do all these things at once has proved embarrassing to himself1 and more than embarrassing to his interpreters4 ,he begins1 indeed1 lucidly enough4 ,we write nothing else to you than what you read4 ,he does not mean that he had no correspondence with members of the ,church except in his public epistles2 but that in these public epistles his meaning was obvious and on the surface4 ,his style was not1 as some had hinted1 obscure1 tortuous1 elaborately ambiguous1 full of loop-holes2 he wrote like a plain man to plain men2 he said what he meant1 and meant what he said4 ,then he qualifies this slightly4 ,we write nothing to you but what you read--or in point of fact acknowledge1 even apart from our writing4 ,this seems to me the simplest interpretation of the words 2 and the simplest construction is then that of ,hofmann1 who puts a colon at 1 and with begins what is virtually a separate sentence4 ,and ,i hope that to the end ye will acknowledge1 as in fact you acknowledged us in part1 that we are your boast1 as you also are ours1 in the day of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,other possibilities of punctuation and construction are so numerous that it would be endless to exhibit them2 and in the long-run they do not much affect the sense4 ,what the reader has to seize is that ,paul has been accused of insincerity1 especially in his correspondence1 and that he indignantly denies the charge2 that1 in spite of such accusations1 he can point to at least a partial recognition among the ,corinthians of what he and his fellow-workers really are2 and that he hopes their confidence in him will increase and continue to the end4 ,should this bright hope be gratified1 then in the day of the ,lord ,jesus it will be the boast of the ,corinthians that they had the great ,apostle ,paul as their spiritual father1 and the boast of the ,apostle that the ,corinthians were his spiritual children4 ,a passage like this--and there are many like it in ,st4 ,paul--has something in it humiliating4 ,is it not a disgrace to human nature that a man so open1 so truthful1 so brave1 should be put to his defence on a charge of underhand dealing8 ,ought not somebody to have been deeply ashamed1 for bringing this shame on the ,apostle8 ,let us be very careful how we lend motives1 especially to men whom we know to be better than ourselves4 ,there is that in all our hearts which is hostile to them1 and would not be grieved to see them degraded a little2 and it is that1 and nothing else1 which supplies bad motives for their good actions1 and puts an ambiguous face on their simplest behaviour4 ,deceit1 says ,solomon1 is in the heart of them that imagine evil2 it is our own selves that we condemn most surely when we pass our bad sentence upon others4 ,the immediate result of imputing motives1 and putting a sinister interpretation on actions1 is that mutual confidence is destroyed2 and mutual confidence is the very element and atmosphere in which any spiritual good can be done4 ,unless a minister and his congregation recognise each other as in the main what they profess to be1 their relation is destitute of spiritual reality2 it may be an infinite weariness1 or an infinite torment2 it can never be a comfort or a delight on one side or the other4 ,what would a family be1 without the mutual confidence of husband and wife1 of parents and children8 ,what is a state worth1 for any of the ideal ends for which a state exists1 if those who represent it to the world have no instinctive sympathy with the general life1 and if the collective conscience regards the leaders from a distance with dislike or distrust8 ,and what is the pastoral relation worth1 if1 instead of mutual cordiality1 openness1 readiness to believe and to hope the best1 instead of mutual intercession and thanksgiving1 of mutual rejoicing in each other1 there is suspicion1 reserve1 insinuation1 coldness1 a grudging recognition of what it is impossible to deny1 a willingness to shake the head and to make mischief8 ,what an experience of life we see1 what a final appreciation of the best thing1 in that utterance of ,st4 ,john in extreme age3 ,beloved1 let us love one another4 ,all that is good for us1 all glory and joy1 is summarily comprehended in that4 ,the last words of the text--the day of the ,lord ,jesus--recall a very similar passage in #a ,thess4 ii4 #ai3 ,what is our hope1 or joy1 or crown of rejoicing--is it not even ye--before our ,lord ,jesus at ,his coming8 ,in both cases our minds are lifted to that great presence in which ,st4 ,paul habitually lived2 and as we stand there our disagreements sink into their true proportions2 our judgments of each other are seen in their true colours4 ,no one will rejoice then that he has made evil out of good1 that he has cunningly perverted simple actions1 that he has discovered the infirmities of preachers1 or set the saints at variance2 the joy will be for those who have loved and trusted each other1 who have borne each other's faults and laboured for their healing1 who have believed all things1 hoped all things1 endured all things1 rather than be parted from each other by any failure of love4 ,the mutual confidence of ,christian ministers and ,christian people will then1 after all its trials1 have its exceeding great reward4 ,,footnotes3 #d ,notice the perfect 4 ,we had this experience1 and in its fruit--a newer and deeper faith in ,god--we have it still4 ,it is a permanent possession in this happy form4 ,the same idea is expressed in the pft4 1 ver4 #aj4 #e ,the doubtful words here are in ver4 #aj of the ,received ,text1 from ,d,c1 ,e1 ,f1 ,g1 ,k1 etc4 7and doth deliver1 in the ,authorised ,version74 ,they are not found in ,a1 ,d1 ,syr41 ,chrys41 while the most authoritative ,,mss41 1 ,b1 ,c1 ,p1 have 7and will deliver1 of the ,revised ,version74 ,most editors take the last reading1 as best attested2 but on internal grounds two of the most recent and acute interpreters1 ,schmiedel and ,heinrici1 prefer the ,received ,text4 ,the present tense 7doth deliver7 presupposes that the danger to which ,paul had been exposed in some form or in some sense continued4 ,if this were the case1 of course it could not have been1 as ,hofmann supposes1 the shipwreck in which the ,apostle spent a night and a day in the deep4 ,otherwise this would be a plausible and tempting supposition4 #f ,to render prolixe1 copiously1 is at least precarious2 and to take as faces 7that from many faces upturned in prayer to ,god71 though lexically admissible1 seems on all other grounds out of place4 ,,iii ,,the ,,church',s ,,one ,,foundation ,and in this confidence ,i was minded to come before unto you1 that ye might have a second benefit2 and by you to pass into ,macedonia1 and again from ,macedonia to come unto you1 and of you to be set forward on my journey unto ,juda4 ,when ,i therefore was thus minded1 did ,i show fickleness8 or the things that ,i purpose1 do ,i purpose according to the flesh1 that with me there should be the yea yea and the nay nay8 ,but as ,god is faithful1 our word toward you is not yea and nay4 ,for the ,son of ,god1 ,jesus ,christ1 who was preached among you by us1 even by me and ,silvanus and ,timothy1 was not yea and nay1 but in ,him is yea4 ,for how many soever be the promises of ,god1 in ,him is the yea3 wherefore also through ,him is the ,amen1 unto the glory of ,god through us4--#b ,,cor4 i4 #ae-bj 7,r4,v474 ,the emphatic words in the first sentence are in this confidence4 ,all the ,apostle's plans for visiting ,corinth1 both in general and in their details1 depended upon the maintenance of a good understanding between himself and the ,church2 and the very prominence here given to this condition is a tacit accusation of those whose conduct had destroyed his confidence4 ,when he intimated his intention of visiting them1 according to the programme of vv4 #ae and #af1 he had felt sure of a friendly welcome1 and of the cordial recognition of his apostolic authority2 it was only when that assurance was taken away from him by news of what was being said and done at ,corinth1 that he had changed his plan4 ,he had originally intended to go from ,ephesus to ,corinth1 then from ,corinth north into ,macedonia1 then back to ,corinth again1 and thence1 with the assistance of the ,corinthians1 or their convoy for part of the way1 to ,jerusalem4 ,had this purpose been carried out1 he would of course have been twice in ,corinth1 and it is to this that most scholars refer the words a second benefit1#g or rather grace4 ,this reference1 indeed1 is not quite certain2 and it cannot be proved1 though it is made more probable1 by using and to interpret each other4 ,it remains possible that when ,paul said1 ,i was minded to come before unto you1 that ye might have a second benefit1 he was thinking of his original visit as the first1 and of this purposed one as the second1 grace4 ,this reading of his words has commended itself to scholars like ,calvin1 ,bengel1 and ,heinrici4 ,whichever of these interpretations be correct1 the ,apostle had abandoned his purpose of going from ,ephesus to ,macedonia vi ,corinth1 and had intimated in the ,first ,epistle 7chap4 xvi4 #e7 his intention of reaching ,corinth vi ,macedonia4 ,this change of purpose is not sufficient to explain what follows4 ,unless there had been at ,corinth a great deal of bad feeling1 it would have passed without remark1 as a thing which had no doubt good reasons1 though the ,corinthians were ignorant of them2 at the very most1 it would have called forth expressions of disappointment and regret4 ,they would have been sorry that the benefit 771 the token of ,divine favour which was always bestowed when the ,apostle came in the fulness of the blessing of ,christ1 and longing to impart some spiritual gift1 had been delayed2 but they would have acquiesced as in any other natural disappointment4 ,but this was not what took place4 ,they used the ,apostle's change of purpose to assail his character4 ,they charged him with lightness1 with worthless levity4 ,they called him a weathercock1 a ,yes and ,no man1 who said now one thing and now the opposite1 who said both at once and with equal emphasis1 who had his own interests in view in his fickleness1 and whose word1 to speak plainly1 could never be depended upon4 ,the responsibility for the change of plan has already1 in the emphatic 1 been indirectly transferred to his accusers2 but the ,apostle stoops to answer them quite straightforwardly4 ,his answer is indeed a challenge3 ,when ,i cherished that first wish to visit you1 was ,i--dare you say ,i was--guilty of the levity with which you charge me8 ,or--to enlarge the question1 and1 seeing that my whole character is attacked1 to bring my character as a whole into the discussion--the things that ,i purpose1 do ,i purpose according to the flesh1 that with me there should be the yea yea and the nay nay8 ,am ,i1 he seems to say1 in my character and conduct1 like a shifty1 unprincipled politician--a man who has no convictions1 or no conscience about his convictions--a man who is guided1 not by any higher spirit dwelling in him1 but solely by considerations of selfish interest8 ,do ,i say things out of mere compliment1 not meaning them8 ,when ,i make promises1 or announce intentions1 is it always with the tacit reservation that they may be cancelled if they turn out inconvenient8 ,do you suppose that ,i purposely represent myself 7 ' 7 as a man who affirms and denies1 makes promises and breaks them1 has ,yes yes and ,no no dwelling side by side in his soul8#h ,you know me far better than to suppose any such thing4 ,all my communications with you have been inconsistent with such a view of my character4 ,as ,god is faithful1 our word to you is not ,yes and ,no4 ,it is not incoherent1 or equivocal1 or self-contradictory4 ,it is entirely truthful and self-consistent4 ,in this eighteenth verse the ,apostle's mind is reaching out already to what he is going to make his real defence1 and 7our word7 therefore carries a double weight4 ,it covers at once whatever he had said to them about the proposed journey1 and whatever he had said in his evangelistic ministry at ,corinth4 ,it is this latter sense of it that is continued in ver4 #ai3 ,for the ,son of ,god1 ,christ ,jesus1 who was preached among you by us1 by me and ,silvanus and ,timotheus1 was not ,yes and ,no1 but in him ,yes has found place4 ,for how many soever are the promises of ,god1 in ,him is the ,yes4 ,let us notice first the argumentative force of this4 ,paul is engaged in vindicating his character1 and especially in maintaining his truthfulness and sincerity4 ,how does he do so here8 ,his unspoken assumption is1 that character is determined by the main interest of life2 that the work to which a man gives his soul will react upon the soul1 changing it into its own likeness4 ,as the dyer's hand is subdued to the element it works in1 so was the whole being of ,paul--such is the argument--subdued to the element in which he wrought1 conformed to it1 impregnated by it4 ,and what was that element8 ,it was the ,gospel concerning ,god's ,son1 ,jesus ,christ4 ,was there any dubiety about what that was8 any equivocal mixture of ,yes and ,no there8 ,far from it4 ,paul was so certain of what it was that he repeatedly and solemnly anathematised man or angel who should venture to qualify1 let alone deny it4 ,there is no mixture of ,yes and ,no in ,christ4 ,as the ,apostle says elsewhere 7,rom4 xv4 #h71 ,jesus ,christ was a minister of the circumcision in the interest of the truth of ,god1 with a view to the confirmation of the promises4 ,however many the promises might be1 in ,him a mighty affirmation1 a mighty fulfilment1 was given of every one4 ,the ministry of the ,gospel has this1 then1 as its very subject1 its constant preoccupation1 its highest glory--the absolute faithfulness of ,god4 ,who would venture to assert that ,paul1 or that anybody1#i could catch the trick of equivocation in such a service8 ,who does not see that such a service must needs create true men8 ,to this argument there is1 for the natural man1 a ready answer4 ,it by no means follows1 he will say1 that because the ,gospel is devoid of ambiguity or inconsistency1 equivocation and insincerity must be unknown to its preachers4 ,a man may proclaim the true ,gospel and in his other dealings be far from a true man4 ,experience justifies this reply2 and yet it does not invalidate ,paul's argument4 ,that argument is good for the case in which it is applied4 ,it might be repeated by a hypocrite1 but no hypocrite could ever have invented it4 ,it bears1 indeed1 a striking because an unintentional testimony to the height at which ,paul habitually lived1 and to his unqualified identification of himself with his apostolic calling4 ,if a man has ten interests in life1 more or less divergent1 he may have as many inconsistencies in his behaviour2 but if he has said with ,st4 ,paul1 ,this one thing ,i do1 and if the one thing which absorbs his very soul is an unceasing testimony to the truth and faithfulness of ,god1 then it is utterly incredible that he should be a false and faithless man4 ,the work which claims him for its own with this absolute authority will seal him with its own greatness1 its own simplicity and truth4 ,he will not use levity4 ,the things which he purposes1 he will not purpose according to the flesh4 ,he will not be guided by considerations perpetually varying1 except in the point of being all alike selfish4 ,he will not be a ,yes and ,no man1 whom nobody can trust4 ,the argumentative force of the passage being admitted1 its doctrinal import deserves attention4 ,the ,gospel--which is identified with ,god's ,son1 ,jesus ,christ--is here described as a mighty affirmation4 ,it is not ,yes and ,no1 a message full of inconsistencies1 or ambiguities1 a proclamation the sense of which no one can ever be sure he has grasped4 ,in it 7 means in ,christ7 the everlasting ,yea has found place4 ,the perfect tense 77 means that this grand affirmation has come to us1 and is with us1 for good and all4 ,what it was and continued to be in ,paul's time1 it is to this day4 ,it is in this positive1 definite1 unmistakable character that the strength of the ,gospel lies4 ,what a man cannot know1 cannot seize1 cannot tell1 he cannot preach4 ,the refutation of popular errors1 even in theology1 is not gospel2 the criticism of traditional theories1 even about ,scripture1 is not gospel2 the intellectual economy1 with which a clever man in a dubious position uses language about the ,bible or its doctrines which to the simple means ,yes1 and to the subtle qualifies the ,yes enormously1 is not gospel4 ,there is no strength in any of these things4 ,dealing in them does not make character simple1 sincere1 massive1 ,christian4 ,when they stamp themselves on the soul1 the result is not one to which we could make the appeal which ,paul makes here4 ,if we have any gospel at all1 it is because there are things which stand for us above all doubts1 truths so sure that we cannot question them1 so absolute that we cannot qualify them1 so much our life that to tamper with them is to touch our very heart4 ,nobody has any right to preach who has not mighty affirmations to make concerning ,god's ,son1 ,jesus ,christ--affirmations in which there is no ambiguity1 and which no questioning can reach4 ,in the ,apostle's mind a particular turn is given to this thought by its connexion with the ,old ,testament4 ,in ,christ1 he says1 the ,yes has been realised2 for how many soever are the promises of ,god1 in ,him is the ,yes4 ,the mode of expression is rather peculiar1 but the meaning is quite plain4 ,is there a single word of good1 ,paul asks1 that ,god has ever spoken concerning man8 ,then that word is reaffirmed1 it is confirmed1 it is fulfilled in ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is no longer a word1 but an actual gift to men1 which they may take hold of and possess4 ,of course when ,paul says how many soever are the promises1 he is thinking of the ,old ,testament4 ,it was there the promises stood in ,god's name2 and hence he tells us in this passage that ,christ is the fulfilment of the ,old ,testament2 in ,him ,god has kept ,his word given to the fathers4 ,all that the holy men of old were bidden to hope for1 as the ,spirit spoke through them in many parts and in many ways1 is given to the world at last3 he who has ,god's ,son1 ,jesus ,christ1 has all ,god has promised1 and all ,he can give4 ,there are two opposite ways of looking at the ,old ,testament with which this apostolic teaching is inconsistent1 and which1 by anticipation1 it condemns4 ,there is the opinion of those who say that ,god's promises to ,his people in the ,old ,testament have not been fulfilled1 and never will be4 ,that is the opinion held by many among the modern ,jews1 who have renounced all that was most characteristic in the religion of their fathers1 and attenuated it into the merest deistical film of a creed4 ,it is the opinion also of many who study the ,bible as a piece of literary antiquity1 but get to no perception of the life which is in it1 or of the organic connexion between the ,old ,testament and the ,new4 ,what the ,apostle says of his countrymen in his own time is true of both these classes--when they read the ,scriptures1 there is a veil upon their hearts4 ,the ,old ,testament promises have been fulfilled1 every one of them4 ,let a man be taught what they mean1 not as dead letters in an ancient scroll1 but as present words of the living ,god2 and then let him look to ,jesus ,christ1 the ,son of ,god1 and see whether there is not in ,him the mighty1 the perpetual confirmation of them all4 ,we smile sometimes at what seems the whimsical way in which the early ,christians1 who had not yet a ,new ,testament1 found ,christ everywhere in the ,old2 but though it may be possible to err in detail in this pursuit1 it is not possible to err on the whole4 ,the ,old ,testament is gathered up1 every living word of it1 in ,him2 we are misunderstanding it if we take it otherwise4 ,the opinion just described is a species of rationalism4 ,there is another opinion1 which1 while agreeing with the rationalistic one that many of ,god's promises in the ,old ,testament have not yet been fulfilled1 believes that their fulfilment is still to be awaited4 ,if one might do so without offence1 ,i should call this a species of fanaticism4 ,it is the error of those who take the ,jewish nation as such to be the subject of prophecy1 and hope for its restoration to ,palestine1 for a revived ,jerusalem1 a new ,davidic monarchy1 even a reign of ,christ over such an earthly kingdom4 ,all this1 if we may take the ,apostle's word for it1 is beside the mark4 ,equally with rationalism it loses the spirit of ,god's word in the letter4 ,the promises have been fulfilled already1 and we are not to look for another fulfilment4 ,those who have seen ,christ have seen all that ,god is going to do--and it is quite adequate--to make ,his word good4 ,he who has welcomed ,christ knows that not one good word of all that ,god has spoken has failed4 ,god has never1 by the promises of the ,old ,testament1 or by the instincts of human nature1 put a hope or a prayer into man's heart that is not answered and satisfied abundantly in ,his ,son4 ,but leaving the reference to the ,old ,testament on one side1 it is well worth while for us to consider the practical meaning of the truth1 that all ,god's promises are ,yea in ,christ4 ,god's promises are ,his declarations of what ,he is willing to do for men2 and in the very nature of the case they are at once the inspiration and the limit of our prayers4 ,we are encouraged to ask all that ,god promises1 and we must stop there4 ,christ ,himself then is the measure of prayer to man2 we can ask all that is in ,him2 we dare not ask anything that lies outside of ,him4 ,how the consideration of this should expand our prayers in some directions1 and contract them in others6 ,we can ask ,god to give us ,christ's purity1 ,christ's simplicity1 ,christ's meekness and gentleness1 ,christ's faithfulness and obedience1 ,christ's victory over the world4 ,have we ever measured these things8 ,have we ever put them into our prayers with any glimmering consciousness of their dimensions1 any sense of the vastness of our request8 ,nay1 we can ask ,christ's glory1 ,his ,resurrection ,life of splendour and incorruption--the image of the heavenly4 ,god has promised us all these things1 and far more3 but has ,he always promised what we ask8 ,can we fix our eyes on ,his ,son1 as ,he lived our life in this world1 and remembering that this1 so far as this world is concerned1 is the measure of promise1 ask without any qualification that our course here may be free from every trouble8 ,had ,christ no sorrow8 ,did ,he never meet with ingratitude8 ,was ,he never misunderstood8 ,was ,he never hungry1 thirsty1 weary8 ,if all ,god's promises are summed up in ,him--if ,he is everything that ,god has to give--can we go boldly to the throne of grace1 and pray to be exempted from what ,he had to bear1 or to be richly provided with indulgences which ,he never knew8 ,what if all unanswered prayers might be defined as prayers for things not included in the promises--prayers that we might get what ,christ did not get1 or be spared what ,he was not spared8 ,the spirit of this passage1 however1 does not urge so much the definiteness as the compass and the certainty of the promises of ,god4 ,they are so many that ,paul could never enumerate them1 and all of them are sure in ,christ4 ,and when our eyes are once opened on ,him1 does not ,he ,himself become as it were inevitably the substance of our prayers8 ,is not our whole heart's desire1 ,oh that ,i might win ,him6 ,oh that ,he might live in me1 and make me what ,he is6 ,oh that that ,man might arise in me1 that the man ,i am may cease to be6 ,do we not feel that if ,god would give us ,his ,son1 all would be ours that we could take or ,he could give8 ,it is in this mood--with the consciousness1 ,i mean1 that in ,jesus ,christ the sure promises of ,god are inconceivably rich and good--that the ,apostle adds3 wherefore also through ,him is the ,amen4 ,it is not easy to put a prayer into words1 whether of petition or thanksgiving1 for men are not much in the habit of speaking to ,god2 but it is easy to say ,amen4 ,that is the part of the ,church when ,god's ,son1 ,jesus ,christ1 is proclaimed1 clothed in ,his ,gospel4 ,apart from the ,gospel1 we do not know ,god1 or what ,he will do1 or will not do1 for sinful men2 but as we listen to the proclamation of ,his mercy and ,his faithfulness1 as our eyes are opened to see in ,his ,son all ,he has promised to do for us1 nay1 in a sense1 all ,he has already done1 our grateful hearts break forth in one grand responsive ,amen6 ,so let it be6 we cry4 ,unless ,god had first prompted us by sending ,his ,son1 we could never have found it in our hearts to present such requests to ,him2 but through ,christ we are enabled to present them1 though it should be at first with only a look at ,him1 and an appropriating ,amen4 ,it is the very nature of prayer1 indeed1 to be the answer to promise4 ,amen is all1 at bottom1 that ,god leaves for us to say4 ,the solemn acceptance of a mercy so great--an acceptance as joyful as it is solemn1 since the ,amen is one rising out of thankful hearts--redounds to the glory of ,god4 ,this is the final cause of redemption1 and however it may be lost sight of in theologies which make man their centre1 it is always magnified in the ,new ,testament4 ,the ,apostle rejoices that his ministry and that of his friends 7' 7 contributes to this glory2 and the whole connexion of thought in the passage throws a light on a great ,bible word4 ,god's glory is identified here with the recognition and appropriation by men of ,his goodness and faithfulness in ,jesus ,christ4 ,he is glorified when it dawns on human souls that ,he has spoken good concerning them beyond their utmost imaginings1 and when that good is seen to be indubitably safe and sure in ,his ,son4 ,the ,amen in which such souls welcome ,his mercy is the equivalent of the ,old ,testament word1 ,salvation is of the ,lord4 ,it is expanded in an apostolic doxology3 ,of ,him1 and through ,him1 and to ,him are all things3 to ,him be glory for ever4 ,,footnotes3 #g ,for 1 7benefit7 ,c1 ,b1 ,l1 ,p1 have 7joy47 ,though ,westcott and ,hort put this in the text1 and in the margin1 most scholars are agreed that is the ,apostle's word1 and a slip or a correction4 #h ,mention may be made here of another interpretation of ver4 #ag1 modifications of which recur from ,chrysostom to ,hofmann4 ,in substance it is this3 ,the things that ,i purpose1 do ,i purpose according to the flesh 7i4e41 with the stubborn consistency of a proud man1 who disposes as well as proposes71 that with me 7 emphatic3 me1 as if ,i were ,god1 always to do what ,i would like to do7 the ,yes should be yes1 and the ,no1 no--i4e41 every promise inviolably kept8 ,this is grammatically quite good1 but contextually impossible4 #i ,according to ,schmiedel1 in the words ' 444 ' we ought to discover an emphatic reference1 by way of contrast1 to ,judaising opponents of ,paul in ,corinth4 ,these are said to have brought another ,jesus 7xi4 #d71 who was not ,god's in ,paul's sense 7,rom4 viii4 #cb71 and in whom there was ,yea and ,nay--namely1 the confirmation of the promises to the ,jews or those who became ,jews to receive them1 and the refusal of the promises to the ,gentiles as such4 ,it needs a keen scent to discover this1 and as the ,corinthians read without a commentator it would probably be thrown away upon them4 ,,iv ,,christian ,,mysteries ,now ,he that stablisheth us with you in ,christ1 and anointed us1 is ,god2 who also sealed us1 and gave us the earnest of the ,spirit in our hearts4--#b ,,cor4 i4 #ba1 #bb 7,r4,v474 ,it is not easy to show the precise connexion between these words and those which immediately precede4 ,possibly it is emotional1 rather than logical4 ,the ,apostle's heart swells as he contemplates in the ,gospel the goodness and faithfulness of ,god2 and though his argument is complete when he has exhibited the ,gospel in that light1 his mind dwells upon it involuntarily1 past the mere point of proof2 he lingers over the wonderful experience which ,christians have of the rich and sure mercies4 ,those who try to make out a more precise sequence of thought than this are not very successful4 ,of course it is apparent that the keynote of the passage is in harmony with that of the previous verses4 ,the ideas of stablishing1 of sealing1 and of an earnest1 are all of one family2 they are all1 as it were1 variations of the one mighty affirmation which has been made of ,god's promises in ,christ4 ,from this point of view they have an argumentative value4 ,they suggest that ,god1 in all sorts of ways1 makes believers as sure of the ,gospel1 and as constant to it1 as ,he has made it sure and certain to them2 and thus they exclude more decisively than ever the idea that the minister of the ,gospel can be a man of ,yes and ,no4 ,but though this is true1 it fails to do justice to the word on which the emphasis falls--namely1 ,god4 ,this1 according to some interpreters1 is done1 if we suppose the whole passage to be1 in the first instance1 a disclaimer of any false inference which might be drawn from the words1 to the glory of ,god by us4 ,by us1 ,paul writes2 for it was through the apostolic preaching that men were led to receive the ,gospel1 to look at ,god's promises1 confirmed in ,christ1 with an appropriating ,amen to ,his glory2 but he hastens to add that it was ,god himself whose grace in its various workings was the beginning1 middle1 and end both of their faith and of their preaching4 ,this seems to me rather artificial1 and ,i do not think more than a connexion in sentiment1 rather than in argument1 can be insisted upon4 ,but setting this question aside1 the interpretation of the two verses is of much interest4 ,they contain some of the most peculiar and characteristic words of the ,new ,testament--words to which1 it is to be feared1 many readers attach no very distinct idea4 ,the simplest plan is to take the assertions one by one1 as if ,god were the subject4 ,grammatically this is incorrect1 for is certainly the predicate2 but for the elucidation of the meaning this may be disregarded4 7#a7 ,first of all1 then1 ,god confirms us into ,christ4 ,us1 of course1 means ,st4 ,paul and the preachers whom he associates with himself1--,silas and ,timothy4 ,but when he adds with you1 he includes the ,corinthians also1 and all believers4 ,he does not claim for himself any stedfastness in ,christ1 or any trustworthiness as dependent upon it1 which he would on principle refuse to others4 ,god1 who makes ,his promises sure to those who receive them1 gives those who receive them a firm grasp of the promises4 ,christ is here1 with all the wealth of grace in ,him1 indubitable1 unmistakable2 and what ,god has done on that side1 ,he does on the other also4 ,he confirms believers into ,christ4 ,he makes their attachment to ,christ1 their possession of ,him1 a thing indubitable and irreversible4 ,salvation1 to use the words of ,st4 ,john1 is true in ,him and in them2 in them1 so far as ,god's purpose and work go1 as much as in ,him4 ,he who is confirmed into ,christ is in principle as trustworthy1 as absolutely to be depended upon1 as ,christ ,himself4 ,the same character of pure truth is common to them both4 ,christ's existence as the ,saviour1 in whom all ,god's promises are guaranteed1 and ,paul's existence as a saved man with a sure grasp on all these promises1 are alike proofs that ,god is faithful2 the truth of ,god stands behind them both4 ,it is to this that the appeal of vv4 #ae-bj is virtually made2 it is this in the long-run which is called in question when the trustworthiness of ,paul is impeached4 ,all this1 it may be said1 is ideal2 but in what sense is it so8 ,not in the sense that it is fanciful or unreal2 but in the sense that the divine law of our life1 and the divine action upon our life1 are represented in it4 ,it is our calling as ,christian people to be stedfast in ,christ4 ,such stedfastness ,god is ever seeking to impart1 and in striving to attain to it we can always appeal to ,him for help4 ,it is the opposite of instability2 in a special sense it is the opposite of untrustworthiness4 ,if we are letting ,god have ,his way with us in this respect1 we are persons who can always be depended upon1 and depended upon for conduct in keeping with the goodness and faithfulness of ,god1 into which we have been confirmed by ,him4 7#b7 ,from this general truth1 with its application to all believers1 the ,apostle passes to another of more limited range4 ,by including the ,corinthians with himself in the first clause1 he virtually excludes them in the second--,god anointed us4 ,it is true that the ,new ,testament speaks of an anointing which is common to all believers--,ye have an anointing from the ,holy ,one2 ye all know 7#a ,john ii4 #bj73 but here1 on the contrary1 something special is meant4 ,this can only be the consecration of ,paul1 and of those for whom he speaks1 to the apostolic or evangelistic ministry4 ,it is worth noticing that in the ,new ,testament the act of anointing is never ascribed to any one but ,god4 ,the only unction which qualifies for service in the ,christian dispensation1 or which confers dignity in the ,christian community1 is the unction from on high4 ,god anointed ,jesus of ,nazareth with the ,holy ,ghost and with power1 and it is the participation in this great anointing which capacitates any one to work in the ,gospel4#aj ,paul undoubtedly claimed1 in virtue of his divine call to apostleship1 a peculiar authority in the ,church2 but we cannot define any peculiarity in his possession of the ,spirit4 ,the great gift which must be held in some sense by all ,christians--for if any man have not the ,spirit of ,christ1 he is none of ,his--was in him intensified1 or specialised1 for the work he had to do4 ,but it is one ,spirit in him and in us1 and that is why we do not find the exercise of his authority alien or galling4 ,it is authority divorced from unction--authority without this divine qualification--against which the ,christian spirit rebels4 ,and though unction cannot be defined2 though no material guarantee can be given or taken for the possession of the ,spirit2 though a merely historical succession is1 so far as this spiritual competence and dignity are concerned1 a mere irrelevance2 though1 as ,vinet said1 we think of unction rather when it is absent than when it is present1--still1 the thing itself is recognisable enough4 ,it bears witness to itself1 as light does2 it carries its own authority1 its own dignity1 with it2 it is the ultima ratio1 the last court of appeal1 in the ,christian community4 ,it may be that ,paul is preparing already1 by this reference to his commission1 for the bolder assertion of his authority at a later stage4 7#c7 ,these two actions of ,god1 however--the establishing of believers in ,christ1 which goes on continually 771 and the consecration of ,paul to the apostleship1 which was accomplished once for all 77--go back to prior actions1 in which1 again1 all believers have an interest4 ,they have a common basis in the great deeds of grace in which the ,christian life began4 ,god1 he says1 is ,he who also sealed us1 and gave the earnest of the ,spirit in our hearts4 ,he also sealed us4 ,it seems strange that so figurative a word should be used without a hint of explanation1 and we must assume that it was so familiar in the ,church that the right application could be taken for granted4 ,the middle voice 77 makes it certain that the main idea is1 ,he marked us as ,his own4 ,this is the sense in which the word is frequently used in the ,book of ,revelation3 the servants of ,god are sealed on their foreheads1 that they may be recognised as ,his4 ,but what is the seal8 ,under the ,old ,testament1 the mark which ,god set upon ,his people--the covenant sign by which they were identified as ,his--was circumcision4 ,under the ,new ,testament1 where everything carnal has passed away1 and religious materialism is abolished1 the sign is no longer in the body2 we are sealed with the ,holy ,spirit of promise 7,eph4 i4 #ac f474 ,but the past tense 7,he sealed us71 and its recurrence in ,eph4 i4 #ac 7ye were sealed71 suggest a very definite reference of this word1 and beyond doubt it alludes to baptism4 ,in the ,new ,testament1 baptism and the giving of the ,holy ,spirit are regularly connected with each other4 ,christians are born of water and of the ,spirit4 ,repent1 is the earliest preaching of the ,gospel 7,acts ii4 #ch71 and be baptised every one of you1 444 and ye shall receive the gift of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,in early ,christian writers the use of the word seal 77 as a technical term for baptism is practically universal2 and when we combine this practice with the ,new ,testament usage in question1 the inference is inevitable4 ,god puts ,his seal upon us1 ,he marks us as ,his own1 when we are baptised4#aa ,but the seal is not baptism as a ceremonial act4 ,it is neither immersion nor sprinkling nor any other mode of lustration which marks us out as ,god's4 ,the seal by which the ,lord knoweth them that are ,his is ,his ,spirit2 it is the impress of ,his ,spirit upon them4 ,when that impress can be traced upon our souls1 by ,him1 or by us1 or by others1 then we have the witness in ourselves2 the ,spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are children of ,god4 ,but of all words spirit is the vaguest2 and if we had nothing but the word itself to guide us1 we should either lapse into superstitious ideas about the virtue of the sacrament1 or into fanatical ideas about incommunicable inward experiences in which ,god marked us for ,his own4 ,the ,new ,testament provides us with a more excellent way than either2 it gives the word spirit a rich but definite moral content2 it compels us1 if we say we have been sealed with the ,spirit1 and claimed by ,god as ,his1 to exhibit the distinguishing features of those who are ,his4 ,the ,lord is the ,spirit 7#b ,cor4 iii4 #ag74 ,to be sealed with the ,spirit is to bear1 in however imperfect a degree1 in however inconspicuous a style1 the image of the heavenly man1 the likeness of ,jesus ,christ4 ,there are many passages in his ,epistles in which ,st4 ,paul enlarges on the work of the ,spirit in the soul2 all the various dispositions which it creates1 all the fruits of the ,spirit1 may be conceived as different parts of the impression made by the seal4 ,we must think of these in detail1 if we wish to give the word its meaning2 we must think of them in contrast with the unspiritual nature1 if we wish to give it any edge4 ,once1 say1 we walked in the lusts of the flesh3 has ,christ redeemed us1 and set on our souls and our bodies the seal of ,his purity8 ,once we were hot and passionate1 given to angry words and hasty1 intemperate deeds3 are we sealed now with the meekness and gentleness of ,jesus8 ,once we were grasping and covetous1 even to the verge of dishonesty2 we could not let money pass us1 and we could not part with it3 have we been sealed with the liberality of ,him who says1 ,it is more blessed to give than to receive8 ,once a wrong rankled in our hearts2 the sun went down upon our wrath1 not once or twice1 but a thousand times1 and found it as implacable as ever3 is that deep brand of vindictiveness effaced now1 and in its stead imprinted deep the ,cross of ,christ1 where ,he loved us1 and gave ,himself for us1 and prayed1 ,father1 forgive them8 ,once our conversation was corrupt2 it had a taint in it2 it startled and betrayed the innocent2 it was vile and foolish and unseemly3 are these things of the past now8 and has ,christ set upon our lips the seal of ,his own grace and truth1 of ,his own purity and love1 so that every word we speak is good1 and brings blessing to those who hear us8 ,these things1 and such as these1 are the seal of the ,spirit4 ,they are ,christ in us4 ,they are the stamp which ,god sets upon men when ,he exhibits them as ,his own4 ,the seal1 however1 has another use than that of marking and identifying property4 ,it is a symbol of assurance4 ,it is the answer to a challenge4 ,it is in this sense that it is easiest to apply the figure to baptism4 ,baptism does not1 indeed1 carry with it the actual possession of all these spiritual features2 it is not even1 as an opus operatum1 the implanting of them in the soul2 but it is a divine pledge that they are within our reach2 we can appeal to it as an assurance that ,god has come to us in ,his grace1 has claimed us as ,his own1 and is willing to conform us to the image of ,his ,son4 ,in this sense1 it is legitimate and natural to call it ,god's seal upon ,his people4 7#d7 ,side by side with ,he sealed us1 the ,apostle writes1 ,he gave the earnest of the ,spirit in our hearts4 ,after what has been said1 it is obvious that this is another aspect of the same thing4 ,we are sealed with the ,spirit1 and we get the earnest of the ,spirit4 ,in other words1 the ,spirit is viewed in two characters3 first1 as a seal2 and then as an earnest4 ,this last word has a very ancient history4 ,it is found in the ,book of ,genesis 7xxxviii4 #ah3 71 and was carried1 no doubt1 by ,phnician traders1 who had much occasion to use it1 both to ,greece and ,italy4 ,from the classical peoples it has come more or less directly to us4 ,it means properly a small sum of money paid to clench a bargain1 or to ratify an engagement4 ,where there is an earnest1 there is more to follow1 and more of essentially the same kind--that is what it signifies4 ,let us apply this now to the expression of ,st4 ,paul1 the earnest of the ,spirit4 ,it means1 we must see1 that in the gift of this ,spirit1 in that measure in which we now possess it1 ,god has not given all ,he has to give4 ,on the contrary1 ,he has come under an obligation to give more3 what we have now is but the firstfruits of the ,spirit 7,rom4 viii4 #bc74 ,it is an indication and a pledge of what is yet to be1 but bears no proportion to it4 ,all we can say on the basis of this text is1 that between the present and the future gift--between the earnest and that which it guarantees--there must be some kind of congruity1 some affinity which makes the one a natural and not an arbitrary reason for believing in the other4 ,but the ,corinthians were not limited to this text4 ,they had ,st4 ,paul's general teaching in their minds to interpret it by2 and if we wish to know what it meant even for them1 we must fill out this vague idea with what the ,apostle tells us elsewhere4 ,thus in the great text in ,ephesians 7i4 #ac f471 so often referred to1 he speaks of the ,holy ,spirit with which we were sealed as the earnest of our inheritance4 ,god has an inheritance in store for us4 ,his ,spirit makes us sons2 and if sons1 then heirs2 heirs of ,god1 joint-heirs with ,christ4 ,this connexion of the ,spirit1 sonship1 and inheritance1 is constant in ,st4 ,paul2 it is one of his most characteristic combinations4 ,what then is the inheritance of which the ,spirit is the earnest8 ,that no one can tell4 ,eye hath not seen1 nor ear heard1 neither have entered into the heart of man1 the things that ,god hath prepared for them that love ,him4 ,but though we cannot tell more precisely1 we can say that if the ,spirit is the earnest of it1 it must be in some sense a development of the ,spirit2 life in an order of being which matches the ,spirit1 and for which the ,spirit qualifies4 ,if we say it is glory1 then we must remember that only ,christ in us 7the seal of the ,spirit7 can be the hope of glory4 ,the application of this can be made very plain4 ,our whole life in this world looks to some future1 however near or bounded it may be2 and every power we perfect1 every capacity we acquire1 every disposition and spirit we foster1 is an earnest of something in that future4 ,here is a man who gives himself to the mastery of a trade4 ,he acquires all its skill1 all its methods1 all its resources4 ,there is nothing any tradesman can do that he cannot do as well or better4 ,what is that the earnest of8 ,what does it ensure1 and as it were put into his hand by anticipation8 ,it is the earnest of constant employment1 of good wages1 of respect from fellow-workmen1 perhaps of wealth4 ,here1 again1 is a man with the scientific spirit4 ,he is keenly inquisitive about the facts and laws of the world in which we live4 ,everything is interesting to him--astronomy1 physics1 chemistry1 biology1 history4 ,what is this the earnest of8 ,it is the earnest1 probably1 of scientific achievements of some kind1 of intellectual toils and intellectual victories4 ,this man will enter into the inheritance of science2 he will walk through the kingdoms of knowledge in the length of them and the breadth of them1 and will claim them as his own4 ,and so it is wherever we choose to take our illustrations4 ,every spirit that dwells in us1 and is cultivated and cherished by us1 is an earnest1 because it fits and furnishes us for some particular thing4 ,god's ,spirit also is an earnest of an inheritance which is incorruptible1 undefiled1 imperishable3 can we assure ourselves that we have anything in our souls which promises1 because it matches with1 an inheritance like this8 ,when we come to die1 this will be a serious question4 ,the faculties of accumulation1 of mechanical skill1 of scientific research1 of trade on a great or a small scale1 of agreeable social intercourse1 of comfortable domestic life1 may have been brought to perfection in us2 but can we console ourselves with the thought that these have the earnest of immortality8 ,do they qualify us for1 and by qualifying assure us of1 the incorruptible kingdom8 ,or do we not see at once that a totally different equipment is needed to make men at home there1 and that nothing can be the earnest of an eternal life of blessedness with ,god except that ,holy ,spirit with which ,he seals ,his own1 and through which ,he makes them1 even here1 partakers of the divine nature8 ,we cannot study these words without becoming conscious of the immense enlargement which the ,christian religion has brought to the human mind1 of the vast expansion of hope which is due to the ,gospel1 and at the same time of the moral soundness and sobriety with which that hope is conceived4 ,the promises of ,god were first really apprehended in ,jesus ,christ2 in ,him as ,he lived and died and rose again from the dead1 in ,him especially as ,he lives in immortal glory1 men first saw what ,god was able and willing to do for them1 and they saw this in its true relations4 ,they saw it under its moral and spiritual conditions4 ,it was not a future unconnected with the present1 or connected with it in an arbitrary or incalculable way4 ,it was a future which had its earnest in the present1 a guarantee not alien to it1 but akin--the ,spirit of ,christ implanted in the heart1 the likeness of ,christ sealed upon the nature4 ,the glorious inheritance was the inheritance1 not of strangers1 but of sons2 and it still becomes sure as the ,spirit of sonship is received1 and fades into incredibility when that ,spirit is extinguished or depressed4 ,if we could live in the ,spirit with the completeness of ,christ1 or even of ,st4 ,paul1 we should feel that we really had an earnest of immortality2 the glory of heaven would be as certain to us as the faithfulness of ,god to ,his promise4 ,,footnotes3 #aj ,observe the play on the words in and 4 #aa ,when we consider the ,new ,testament use of this idea 7cf4 ,rom4 iv4 #aa2 ,rev4 vii4 #b ff42 ,eph4 i4 #ac f41 and this passage71 and remember that ,paul and ,john can have had nothing to do with the ,greek mysteries1 it will be apparent that to adduce the ecclesiastical use of as a proof that the conceptions current in these mysteries had a powerful influence from the earliest times on the ,christian conception of baptism is beside the mark4 ,one of the earliest examples outside the ,new ,testament is in the ,shepherd of ,hermas1 ,simil41 viii4 #f3 4 ,this figure of breaking the seal1 by falling into sin and losing what baptism confers1 is common4 ,sometimes it is varied3 ,keep the flesh pure1 1 in #b ,clem4 viii4 #f4 ,this may be made to carry superstition1 but there is nothing superstitious or unscriptural in it to begin with4 ,v ,a ,,pastor',s ,,heart ,but ,i call ,god for a witness upon my soul1 that to spare you ,i forbare to come unto ,corinth4 ,not that we have lordship over your faith1 but are helpers of your joy3 for by faith ye stand4 ,but ,i determined this for myself1 that ,i would not come again to you with sorrow4 ,for if ,i make you sorry1 who then is he that maketh me glad1 but he that is made sorry by me8 ,and ,i wrote this very thing1 lest1 when ,i came1 ,i should have sorrow from them of whom ,i ought to rejoice2 having confidence in you all1 that my joy is the joy of you all4 ,for out of much affliction and anguish of heart ,i wrote unto you with many tears2 not that ye should be made sorry1 but that ye might know the love which ,i have more abundantly unto you4--#b ,,cor4 i4 #bc-;ii4 #d 7,r4,v474 ,when ,paul came to the end of the paragraph in which he defends himself from the charge of levity and untrustworthiness by appealing to the nature of the ,gospel which he preached1 he seems to have felt that it was hardly sufficient for his purpose4 ,it might be perfectly true that the ,gospel was one mighty affirmation1 with no dubiety or inconsistency about it2 it might be as true that it was a supreme testimony to the faithfulness of ,god2 but bad men1 or suspicious men1 would not admit that its character covered his4 ,their own insincerities would keep them from understanding its power to change its loyal ministers into its own likeness1 and to stamp them with its own simplicity and truth4 ,the mere invention of the argument in vv4 #ah-bj is of itself the highest possible testimony to the ideal height at which the ,apostle lived2 no man conscious of duplicity could ever have had it occur to him4 ,but it had the defect of being too good for his purpose2 the foolish and the false could see a triumphant reply to it2 and he leaves it for a solemn asseveration of the reason which actually kept him from carrying out his first intention4 ,i call ,god to witness against my soul1 that sparing you ,i forbore to come#ab to ,corinth4 ,the soul is the seat of life2 he stakes his life1 as it were1 in ,god's sight1 upon the truth of his words4 ,it was not consideration for himself1 in any selfish spirit1 but consideration for them1 which explained his change of purpose4 ,if he had carried out his intention1 and gone to ,corinth1 he would have had to do so1 as he says in #a ,cor4 iv4 #ba1 with a rod1 and this would not have been pleasant either for him or for them4 ,this is very plain--plain even to the dullest2 the ,apostle has no sooner set it down than he feels it is too plain4 ,to spare us1 he hears the ,corinthians say to themselves as they read3 who is he that he should take this tone in speaking to us8 ,and so he hastens to anticipate and deprecate their touchy criticism3 ,not that we lord it over your faith1 but we are helpers of your joy2 as far as faith is concerned1 your position1 of course1 is secure4 ,this is a very interesting aside2 the digressions in ,st4 ,paul1 as in ,plato1 are sometimes more attractive than the arguments4 ,it shows us1 for one thing1 the freedom of the ,christian faith4 ,those who have received the ,gospel have all the responsibilities of mature men2 they have come to their majority as spiritual beings2 they are not1 in their character and standing as ,christians1 subject to arbitrary and irresponsible interference on the part of others4 ,paul himself was the great preacher of this spiritual emancipation3 he gloried in the liberty with which ,christ made men free4 ,for him the days of bondage were over2 there was no subjection for the ,christian to any custom or tradition of men1 no enslavement of his conscience to the judgment or the will of others1 no coercion of the spirit except by itself4 ,he had great confidence in this ,gospel and in its power to produce generous and beautiful characters4 ,that it was capable of perversion also he knew very well4 ,it was open to the infusion of self-will2 in the intoxication of freedom from arbitrary and unspiritual restraint1 men might forget that the believer was bound to be a law to himself1 that he was free1 not in lawless self-will1 but only in the ,lord4 ,nevertheless1 the principle of freedom was too sacred to be tampered with2 it was necessary both for the education of the conscience and for the enrichment of spiritual life with the most various and independent types of goodness2 and the ,apostle took all the risks1 and all the inconveniences even1 rather than limit it in the least4 ,this passage shows us one of the inconveniences4 ,the newly enfranchised are mightily sensible of their freedom1 and it is extremely difficult to tell them of their faults4 ,at the very mention of authority all that is bad in them1 as well as all that is good1 is on the alert2 and spiritual independence and the liberty of the ,christian people have been represented and defended again and again1 not only by an awful sense of responsibility to ,christ1 which lifts the lowliest lives into supreme greatness1 but by pride1 bigotry1 moral insolence1 and every bad passion4 ,what is to be done in such cases as these1 where liberty has forgotten the law of ,christ8 ,it is certainly not to be denied in principle3 ,paul1 even with the peculiar position of an apostle1 and of the spiritual father of those to whom he writes 7#a ,cor4 iv4 #ae71 does not claim such an authority over their faith--that is1 over the people themselves in their character of believers--as a master has over his slaves4 ,their position as ,christians is secure2 it is taken for granted by him as by them2 and this being so1 no arbitrary ipse dixit can settle anything in dispute between them2 he can issue no orders to the ,church such as the ,roman ,emperor could issue to his soldiers4 ,he may appeal to them on spiritual grounds2 he may enlighten their consciences by interpreting to them the law of ,christ2 he may try to reach them by praise or blame2 but simple compulsion is not one of his resources4 ,if ,st4 ,paul says this1 occupying as he does a position which contains in itself a natural authority which most ministers can never have1 ought not all official persons and classes in the ,church to beware of the claims they make for themselves8 ,a clerical hierarchy1 such as has been developed and perfected in the ,church of ,rome1 does lord it over faith2 it legislates for the laity1 both in faith and practice1 without their co-operation1 or even their consent2 it keeps the ctus fidelium1 the mass of believing men1 which is the ,church1 in a perpetual minority4 ,all this1 in a so-called apostolic succession1 is not only anti-apostolic1 but anti-,christian4 ,it is the confiscation of ,christian freedom2 the keeping of believers in leading-strings all their days1 lest in their liberty they should go astray4 ,in the ,protestant ,churches1 on the other hand1 the danger on the whole is of the opposite kind4 ,we are too jealous of authority4 ,we are too proud of our own competence4 ,we are too unwilling1 individually1 to be taught and corrected4 ,we resent1 ,i will not say criticism1 but the most serious and loving voice which speaks to us to disapprove4 ,now liberty1 when it does not deepen the sense of responsibility to ,god and to the brotherhood--and it does not always do so--is an anarchic and disintegrating force4 ,in all the ,churches it exists1 to some extent1 in this degraded form2 and it is this which makes ,christian education difficult1 and ,church discipline often impossible4 ,these are serious evils1 and we can only overcome them if we cultivate the sense of responsibility at the same time that we maintain the principle of liberty1 remembering that it is those only of whom he says1 ,ye were bought with a price 7and are therefore ,christ's slaves71 to whom ,st4 ,paul also gives the charge3 ,be not ye slaves of men4 ,this passage not only illustrates the freedom of ,christian faith1 it presents us with an ideal of the ,christian ministry4 ,we are not lords over your faith1 says ,st4 ,paul1 but we are helpers of your joy4 ,it is implied in this that joy is the very end and element of the ,christian life1 and that it is the minister's duty to be at war with all that restrains it1 and to co-operate in all that leads to it4 ,here1 one would say1 is something in which all can agree3 all human souls long for joy1 however much they may differ about the spheres of law and liberty4 ,but have not most ,christian people1 and most ,christian congregations1 something here to accuse themselves of8 ,do not many of us bear false witness against the ,gospel on this very point8 ,who that came into most churches1 and looked at the uninterested faces1 and hearkened to the listless singing1 would feel that the soul of the religion1 so languidly honoured1 was mere joy--joy unspeakable1 if we trust the ,apostles1 and full of glory8 ,it is ingratitude which makes us forget this4 ,we begin to grow blind to the great things which lie at the basis of our faith2 the love of ,god in ,jesus ,christ--that love in which ,he died for us upon the tree--begins to lose its newness and its wonder2 we speak of it without apprehension and without feeling2 it does not make our hearts burn within us any more2 we have no joy in it4 ,yet we may be sure of this--that we can have no joy without it4 ,and he is our best friend1 the truest minister of ,god to us1 who helps us to the place where the love of ,god is poured out in our hearts in its omnipotence1 and we renew our joy in it4 ,in doing so1 it may be necessary for the minister to cause pain by the way4 ,there is no joy1 nor any possibility of it1 where evil is tolerated4 ,there is no joy where sin has been taken under the patronage of those who call themselves by ,christ's name4 ,there is no joy where pride is in arms in the soul1 and is reinforced by suspicion1 by obstinacy1 even by jealousy and hate1 all waiting to dispute the authority of the preacher of repentance4 ,when these evil spirits are overcome1 and cast out1 which may only be after a painful conflict1 joy will have its opportunity again1--joy1 whose right it is to reign in the ,christian soul and the ,christian community4 ,of all evangelistic forces1 this joy is the most potent2 and for that1 above all other reasons1 it should be cherished wherever ,christian people wish to work the work of their ,lord4 ,after this little digression on the freedom of the faith1 and on joy as the element of the ,christian life1 ,paul returns to his defence4 ,to spare you ,i forbore to come2 for ,i made up my own mind on this1 not to come to you a second time in sorrow4 ,why was he so determined about this8 ,he explains in the second verse4 ,it is because all his joy is bound up in the ,corinthians1 so that if he grieves them he has no one left to gladden him except those whom he has grieved--in other words1 he has no joy at all4 ,and he not only made up his mind definitely on this2 he wrote also in exactly this sense3 he did not wish1 when he came1 to have sorrow from those from whom he ought to have joy4 ,in that desire to spare himself1 as well as them1 he counted on their sympathy2 he was sure that his own joy was the joy of every one of them1 and that they would appreciate his motives in not fulfilling a promise1 the fulfilment of which in the circumstances would only have brought grief both to them and him4 ,the delay has given them time to put right what was amiss in their ,church1 and has ensured a joyful time to them all when his visit is actually accomplished4 ,there are some grammatical and historical difficulties here which claim attention4 ,the most discussed is that of the first verse3 what is the precise meaning of 8 ,there is no doubt that this is the correct order of the words1 and just as little1 ,i think1 that the natural meaning is that ,paul had once visited ,corinth in grief1 and was resolved not to repeat such a visit4 ,so the words are taken by ,meyer1 ,hofmann1 ,schmiedel1 and others4 ,the visit in question cannot have been that on occasion of which the ,church was founded2 and as the connexion between this passage and the last chapter of the ,first ,epistle is as close as can be conceived 7see the ,introduction71 it cannot have fallen between the two3 the only other supposition is1 that it took place before the ,first ,epistle was written4 ,this is the opinion of ,lightfoot1 ,meyer1 and ,weiss2 and it is not fatal to it that no such visit is mentioned elsewhere--e4g41 in the book of ,acts4 ,still1 the interpretation is not essential2 and if we can get over chap4 xiii4 #b1 it is quite possible to agree with ,heinrici that ,paul had only been in ,corinth once1 and that what he means in ver4 #a here is3 ,i determined not to carry out my purpose of revisiting you1 in sorrow4 ,there is a difficulty of another sort in ver4 #b4 ,one's first thought is to read 4441 as a real singular1 with a reference1 intelligible though indefinite1 to the notorious but penitent sinner of ,corinth4 ,i vex you1 ,i grant it2 but where does my joy come from--the joy without which ,i am resolved not to visit you--except from one who is vexed by me8 ,the bad man's repentance had made ,paul glad1 and there is a worthy considerateness in this indefinite way of designating him4 ,this interpretation has commended itself to so sound a judge as ,bengel1 and though more recent scholars reject it with practical unanimity1 it is difficult to be sure that it is wrong4 ,the alternative is to generalise the 1 and make the question mean3 ,if ,i vex you1 where can ,i find joy8 ,all my joy is in you1 and to see you grieved leaves me absolutely joyless4 ,a third difficulty is the reference of in ver4 #c4 ,language very similar is found in ver4 #i 7 71 and again in chap4 vii4 #h-ab 7 74 ,it is very natural to think here of our ,first ,epistle4 ,it served the purpose contemplated by the letter here described2 it told of ,paul's change of purpose2 it warned the ,corinthians to rectify what was amiss1 and so to order their affairs that he might come1 not with a rod1 but in love and in the spirit of meekness2 or1 as he says here1 not to have sorrow1 but1 what he was entitled to1 joy from his visit4 ,all that is alleged against this is that our ,first ,epistle does not suit the description given of the writing in ver4 #d3 out of much affliction and anguish of heart ,i wrote unto you with many tears4 ,but when those parts of the ,first ,epistle are read1 in which ,st4 ,paul is not answering questions submitted to him by the ,church1 but writing out of his heart upon its spiritual condition1 this will appear a dubious assertion4 ,what a pain must have been at his heart1 when such passionate words broke from him as these3 ,is ,christ divided8 ,was ,paul crucified for you8--,what is ,apollos1 and what is ,paul8--,with me it is a very little thing to be judged by you4--,though ye have ten thousand instructors in ,christ1 yet have ye not many fathers3 for in ,christ ,jesus ,i begot you through the ,gospel4--,i will know1 not the speech of them that are puffed up1 but the power4 ,not to speak of the fifth and sixth chapters1 words like these justify us in supposing that the ,first ,epistle may be1 and in all probability is1 meant4#ac ,putting these details aside1 as of mainly historical interest1 let us look rather at the spirit of this passage4 ,it reveals1 more clearly perhaps than any passage in the ,new ,testament1 the essential qualification of the ,christian minister--a heart pledged to his brethren in the love of ,christ4 ,that is the only possible basis of an authority which can plead its own and its ,master's cause against the aberrations of spiritual liberty1 and there is always both room and need for it in the ,church4 ,certainly it is the hardest of all authorities to win1 and the costliest to maintain1 and therefore substitutes for it are innumerable4 ,the poorest are those that are merely official1 where a minister appeals to his standing as a member of a separate order1 and expects men to reverence that4 ,if this was once possible in ,christendom1 if it is still possible where men secretly wish to shunt their spiritual responsibilities upon others1 it is not possible where emancipation has been grasped either in an anarchic or in a ,christian spirit4 ,let the great idea of liberty1 and of all that is cognate with liberty1 once dawn upon their souls1 and men will never sink again to the recognition of anything as an authority that does not attest itself in a purely spiritual way4 ,orders will mean nothing to them but an arrogant unreality1 which in the name of all that is free and ,christian they are bound to contemn4 ,it will be the same1 too1 with any authority which has merely an intellectual basis4 ,a professional education1 even in theology1 gives no man authority to meddle with another in his character as a ,christian4 ,the ,university and the ,divinity ,schools can confer no competence here4 ,nothing that distinguishes a man from his fellows1 nothing in virtue of which he takes a place of superiority apart3 on the contrary1 that love only which makes him entirely one with them in ,jesus ,christ1 can ever entitle him to interpose4 ,if their joy is his joy2 if to grieve them1 even for their good1 is his grief2 if the cloud and sunshine of their lives cast their darkness and their light immediately upon him2 if he shrinks from the faintest approach to self-assertion1 yet would sacrifice anything to perfect their joy in the ,lord1--then he is in the true apostolical succession2 and whatever authority may rightly be exercised1 where the freedom of the spirit is the law1 may rightly be exercised by him4 ,what is required of ,christian workers in every degree--of ministers and teachers1 of parents and friends1 of all ,christian people with the cause of ,christ at heart--is a greater expenditure of soul on their work4 ,here is a whole paragraph of ,st4 ,paul1 made up almost entirely of grief and joy2 what depth of feeling lies behind it6 ,if this is alien to us in our work for ,christ1 we need not wonder that our work does not tell4 ,and if this is true generally1 it is especially true when the work we have to do is that of rebuking sin4 ,there are few things which try men1 and show what spirit they are of1 more searchingly than this4 ,we like to be on ,god's side1 and to show our zeal for ,him1 and we are far too ready to put all our bad passions at ,his service4 ,but these are a gift which ,he declines4 ,our wrath does not work ,his righteousness--a lesson that even good men1 of a kind1 are very slow to learn4 ,to denounce sin1 and to declaim about it1 is the easiest and cheapest thing in the world3 one could not do less where sin is concerned1 unless he did nothing at all4 ,yet how common denunciation is4 ,it seems almost to be taken for granted as the natural and praiseworthy mode of dealing with evil4 ,people assail the faults of the community1 or even of their brethren in the ,church1 with violence1 with temper1 with the tone1 often1 of injured innocence4 ,they think that when they do so they are doing ,god service2 but surely we should have learned by this time that nothing could be so unlike ,god1 so unfaithful and preposterous as a testimony for ,him4 ,god ,himself overcomes evil with good2 ,christ vanquishes the sin of the world by taking the burden of it on ,himself2 and if we wish to have part in the same work1 there is only the same method open to us4 ,depend upon it1 we shall not make others weep for that for which we have not wept2 we shall not make that touch the hearts of others which has not first touched our own4 ,that is the law which ,god has established in the world2 ,he submitted to it ,himself in the person of ,his ,son1 and ,he requires us to submit to it4 ,paul was certainly a very fiery man2 he could explode1 or flame up1 with far more effect than most people2 yet it was not there that his great strength lay4 ,it was in the passionate tenderness that checked that vehement temper1 and made the once haughty spirit say what he says here3 ,out of much affliction and anguish of heart1 ,i wrote unto you with many tears1 not that you might be grieved1 but that you might know the love which ,i have more abundantly toward you4 ,in words like these the very spirit speaks which is ,god's power to subdue and save the sinful4 ,it is worth dwelling upon this1 because it is so fundamental1 and yet so slowly learned4 ,even ,christian ministers1 who ought to know the mind of ,christ1 almost universally1 at least in the beginning of their work1 when they preach about evil1 lapse into the scolding tone4 ,it is of no use whatever in the pulpit1 and of just as little in the ,sunday-school class1 in the home1 or in any relation in which we seek to exercise moral authority4 ,the one basis for that authority is love2 and the characteristic of love in the presence of evil is not that it becomes angry1 or insolent1 or disdainful1 but that it takes the burden and the shame of the evil to itself4 ,the hard1 proud heart is impotent2 the mere official is impotent1 whether he call himself priest or pastor2 all hope and help lie in those who have learned of the ,lamb of ,god who bore the sin of the world4 ,it is soul-travail like ,his1 attesting love like ,his2 that wins all the victories in which ,he can rejoice4 ,,footnotes3 #ab ,the ,r4,v4 forbare to come has the same vagueness as 1 which may mean 7#a7 ,i came not as yet--so ,a4,v42 or 7#b7 ,i came not again2 or 7#c7 ,i came no more4 #ac ,to suppose the reference to be to an epistle carried by ,titus and now lost1 is to suppose what is incapable of proof or disproof4 ,to take as epistolary aorist1 and translate ,i write1 is grammatically1 but only grammatically1 possible4 ,the supposed reference to chaps1 x4 i-xiii4 #aj as a separate epistle is noticed in the ,introduction4 ,,vi ,,church ,,discipline ,but if any hath caused sorrow1 he hath caused sorrow1 not to me1 but in part 7that ,i press not too heavily7 to you all4 ,sufficient to such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the many2 so that contrariwise ye should rather forgive him and comfort him1 lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with his overmuch sorrow4 ,wherefore ,i beseech you to confirm your love toward him4 ,for to this end also did ,i write1 that ,i might know the proof of you1 whether ye are obedient in all things4 ,but to whom ye forgive anything1 ,i forgive also3 for what ,i also have forgiven1 if ,i have forgiven anything1 for your sakes have ,i forgiven it in the person of ,christ2 that no advantage may be gained over us by ,satan3 for we are not ignorant of his devices4--#b ,,cor4 ii4 #e-aa 7,r4,v474 ,the foregoing paragraph of the ,epistle has said a great deal about sorrow1 the sorrow felt by ,st4 ,paul on the one hand1 and the sorrow he was reluctant to cause the ,corinthians on the other4 ,in the passage before us reference is evidently made to the person who was ultimately responsible for all this trouble4 ,if much in it is indefinite to us1 and only leaves a doubtful impression1 it was clear enough for those to whom it was originally addressed2 and that very indefiniteness has its lesson4 ,there are some things to which it is sufficient1 and more than sufficient1 to allude2 least said is best said4 ,and even when plain-speaking has been indispensable1 a stage arrives at which there is no more to be gained by it2 if the subject must be referred to1 the utmost generality of reference is best4 ,here the ,apostle discusses the case of a person who had done something extremely bad2 but with the sinner's repentance assured1 it is both characteristic and worthy of him that neither here nor in chap4 vii4 does he mention the name either of offender or offence4 ,it is perhaps too much to expect students of his writings1 who wish to trace out in detail all the events of his life1 and to give the utmost possible definiteness to all its situations1 to be content with this obscurity2 but students of his spirit--,christian people reading the ,bible for practical profit--do not need to perplex themselves as to this penitent man's identity4 ,he may have been the person mentioned in #a ,cor4 v4 who had married his stepmother2 he may have been some one who had been guilty of a personal insult to the ,apostle3 the main point is that he was a sinner whom the discipline of the ,church had saved4#ad ,the ,apostle had been expressing himself about his sorrow with great vehemence1 and he is careful in his very first words to make it plain that the offence which had caused such sorrow was no personal matter4 ,it concerned the ,church as well as him4 ,if any one hath caused sorrow1 he hath not caused sorrow to me1 but in part to you all4 ,to say more than this would be to exaggerate 774#ae ,the ,church1 in point of fact1 had not been moved either as universally or as profoundly as it should have been by the offence of this wicked man4 ,the penalty imposed upon him1 whatever it may have been1 had not been imposed by a unanimous vote1 but only by a majority2 there were some who sympathised with him1 and would have been less severe4#af ,still1 it had brought conviction of his sin to the offender2 he could not brazen it out against such consenting condemnation as there was2 he was overwhelmed with penitential grief4 ,this is why the ,apostle says1 ,sufficient to such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority4 ,it has served the purpose of all disciplinary treatment2 and having done so1 must now be superseded by an opposite line of action4 ,contrariwise ye should rather forgive him and comfort him1 lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with his overmuch sorrow4 ,in ,st4 ,paul's sentence such a one comes last1 with the emphasis of compassion upon it4 ,he had been such a one1 to begin with1 as it was a pain and a shame even to think about2 he is such a one1 now1 as the angels in heaven are rejoicing over2 such a one as the ,apostle1 having the spirit of ,him who received sinners1 regards with profoundest pity and yearning2 such a one as the ,church ought to meet with pardoning and restoring love1 lest grief sink into despair1 and the sinner cut himself off from hope4 ,to prevent such a deplorable result1 the ,corinthians are by some formal action 73 cf4 ,gal4 iii4 #ae7 to forgive him1 and receive him again as a brother2 and in their forgiveness and welcome he is to find the pledge of the great love of ,god4 ,this whole passage is of interest from the light which it throws upon the discipline of the ,church2 or1 to use less technical and more correct language1 the ,christian treatment of the erring4 ,it shows us1 for one thing1 the aim of all discipline3 it is1 in the last resort1 the restoration of the fallen4 ,the ,church has1 of course1 an interest of its own to guard2 it is bound to protest against all that is inconsistent with its character2 it is bound to expel scandals4 ,but the ,church's protest1 its condemnation1 its excommunication even1 are not ends in themselves2 they are means to that which is really an end in itself1 a priceless good which justifies every extreme of moral severity1 the winning again of the sinner through repentance4 ,the judgment of the ,church is the instrument of ,god's love1 and the moment it is accepted in the sinful soul it begins to work as a redemptive force4 ,the humiliation it inflicts is that which ,god exalts2 the sorrow1 that which ,he comforts4 ,but when a scandal comes to light in a ,christian congregation--when one of its members is discovered in a fault gross1 palpable1 and offensive--what is the significance of that movement of feeling which inevitably takes place8 ,in how many has it the character of goodness and of severity1 of condemnation and of compassion1 of love and fear1 of pity and shame1 the only character that has any virtue in it to tell for the sinner's recovery8 ,if you ask nine people out of ten what a scandal is1 they will tell you it is something which makes talk2 and the talk in nine cases out of ten will be malignant1 affected1 more interesting to the talkers than any story of virtue or piety--scandal itself1 in short1 far more truly than its theme4 ,does anybody imagine that gossip is one of the forces that waken conscience1 and work for the redemption of our fallen brethren8 ,if this is all we can do1 in the name of all that is ,christian let us keep silence4 ,every word spoken about a brother's sin1 that is not prompted by a ,christian conscience1 that does not vibrate with the love of a ,christian heart1 is itself a sin against the mercy and the judgment of ,christ4 ,we see here not only the end of ,church discipline1 but the force of which it disposes for the attainment of its end4 ,that force is neither more nor less than the conscience of the ,christian people who constitute the ,church3 discipline is1 in principle1 the reaction of that force against all immorality4 ,in special cases1 forms may be necessary for its exercise1 and in the forms in which it is exercised variations may be found expedient1 according to time1 place1 or degree of moral progress2 the congregation as a body1 or a representative committee of it1 or its ordained ministers1 may be its most suitable executors2 but that on which all alike have to depend for making their proceedings effective to any ,christian intent is the vigour of ,christian conscience1 and the intensity of ,christian love1 in the community as a whole4 ,where these are wanting1 or exist only in an insignificant degree1 disciplinary proceedings are reduced to a mere form2 they are legal1 not evangelical2 and to be legal in such matters is not only hypocritical1 but insolent4 ,instead of rendering a real ,christian service to offenders1 which by awakening conscience will lead to penitence and restoration1 discipline under such conditions is equally cruel and unjust4 ,it is plain also1 from the nature of the force which it employs1 that discipline is a function of the ,church which is in incessant exercise1 and is not called into action only on special occasions4 ,to limit it to what are technically known as cases of discipline--the formal treatment of offenders by a ,church court1 or by any person or persons acting in an official character--is to ignore its real nature1 and to give its exercise in these cases a significance to which it has no claim4 ,the offences against the ,christian standard which can be legally impeached even in ,church courts are not one in ten thousand of those against which the ,christian conscience ought energetically to protest2 and it is the vigour with which the ceaseless reaction against evil in every shape is instinctively maintained which measures the effectiveness of all formal proceedings1 and makes them means of grace to the guilty4 ,the officials of a ,church may deal in their official place with offences against soberness1 purity1 or honesty2 they are bound to deal with them1 whether they like it or not2 but their success will depend upon the completeness with which they1 and those whom they represent1 have renounced not only the vices which they are judging1 but all that is out of keeping with the mind and spirit of ,christ4 ,the drunkard1 the sensualist1 the thief1 know perfectly well that drunkenness1 sensuality1 and theft are not the only sins which mar the soul4 ,they know that there are other vices1 just as real if not so glaring1 which are equally fatal to the life of ,christ in man1 and as completely disqualify men for acting in ,christ's name4 ,they are conscious that it is not a bona fide transaction when their sins are impeached by men whose consciences endure with equanimity the reign of meanness1 duplicity1 pride1 hypocrisy1 self-complacency4 ,they are aware that ,god is not present where these are dominant1 and that ,god's power to judge and save can never come through such channels4 ,hence the exercise of discipline in these legal forms is often resented1 and often ineffective2 and instead of complaining about what is obviously inevitable1 the one thing at which all should aim who wish to protect the ,church from scandals is to cultivate the common conscience1 and bring it to such a degree of purity and vigour1 that its spontaneous resentment of evil will enable the ,church practically to dispense with legal forms4 ,this ,christian community at ,corinth had a thousand faults2 in many points we are tempted to find in it rather a warning than an example2 but ,i think we may take this as a signal proof that it was really sound at heart3 its condemnation of this guilty man fell upon his conscience as the sentence of ,god1 and brought him in tears to the feet of ,christ4 ,no legal proceedings could have done that3 nothing could have done it but a real and passionate sympathy with the holiness and the love of ,christ4 ,such sympathy is the one subduing1 reconciling1 redeeming power in our hands2 and ,paul might well rejoice1 after all his affliction and anguish of heart1 when he found it so unmistakably at work in ,corinth4 ,not so much formal as instinctive1 though not shrinking on occasion from formal proceedings2 not malignant1 yet closing itself inexorably against evil2 not indulgent to badness1 but with goodness like ,christ's1 waiting to be gracious1--this ,christian virtue really holds the keys of the kingdom of heaven1 and opens and shuts with the authority of ,christ ,himself4 ,we need it in all our ,churches to-day1 as much as it was needed in ,corinth2 we need it that special acts of discipline may be effective2 we need it still more that they may be unnecessary4 ,pray for it as for a gift that comprehends every other--the power to represent ,christ1 and work ,his work1 in the recovery and restoration of the fallen4 ,in vv4 #i-aa1 the same subject is continued1 but with a slightly different aspect exposed4 ,paul had obviously taken the initiative in this matter1 though the bulk of the ,church1 at his prompting1 had acted in a right spirit4 ,their conduct was in harmony with his motive in writing to them1#ag which had really been to make proof of their obedience in all points4 ,but he has already disclaimed either the right or the wish to lord it over them in their liberty as believers2 and here1 again1 he represents himself rather as following them in their treatment of the offender1 than as pointing out the way4 ,now to whom ye forgive anything1 ,i also forgive--so great is my confidence in you3 for what ,i also have forgiven1 if ,i have forgiven anything1 for your sakes have ,i forgiven it in the presence of ,christ4 ,when he says if ,i have forgiven anything1 he does not mean that his forgiveness is dubious1 or in suspense2 what he does is to deprecate the thought that his forgiveness is the main thing1 or that he had been the person principally offended4 ,when he says for your sakes have ,i forgiven it1 the words are explained by what follows3 to have refused his forgiveness in the circumstances would have been to perpetuate a state of matters which could only have injured the ,church4 ,when he adds that his forgiveness is bestowed in the presence of ,christ1 he gives the assurance that it is no complaisance or formality1 but a real acceptance of the offender to peace and friendship again4#ah ,and we should not overlook the fact that in this association of ,christ1 of the ,corinthians1 and of himself1 in the work of forgiveness and restoration1 ,paul is really encompassing a desponding soul with all the grace of earth and heaven4 ,surely he will not let his grief become despair1 when all around him and above him there is a present and convincing witness that1 though ,god is intolerant of sin1 ,he is the refuge of the penitent4 ,the gracious and conciliatory tone of these verses seems to me worthy of special admiration2 and ,i can only express my astonishment that to some they have appeared insincere1 a vain attempt to cover a defeat with the semblance of victory1 a surrender to the opposition at ,corinth1 the painfulness of which is ill-disguised by the pretence of agreement with them4 ,the exposition just given renders the refutation of such a view unnecessary4 ,we ought rather to regard with reverence and affection the man who knew how to combine1 so strikingly1 unflinching principle and the deepest tenderness and consideration for others2 we ought to propose his modesty1 his sensitiveness to the feelings even of opponents1 his sympathy with those who had no sympathy with him1 as examples for our imitation4 ,paul had been deeply moved by what had taken place at ,corinth1 possibly he had been deeply injured2 but even so his personal interest is kept in the background2 for the obedient loyalty which he wishes to prove is not so much his interest as theirs to whom he writes4 ,he cares only for others4 ,he cares for the poor soul who has forfeited his place in the community2 he cares for the good name of the ,church2 he cares for the honour of ,jesus ,christ2 and he exerts all his power with these interests in view4 ,if it needs rigour1 he can be rigorous2 if it needs passion1 he can be passionate2 if it needs consideration1 graciousness1 a conciliatory temper1 a willingness to keep out of sight1 he can be depended upon for all these virtues4 ,if they were only affected1 ,paul would deserve the praise of a great diplomatist2 but it is far easier to believe them real1 and see in them the signs of a great minister of ,christ4 ,the last verse puts the aim of his proceedings in another light3 all this1 he says1 ,i do1 that no advantage may be gained over us by ,satan3 for we are not ignorant of his devices4 ,the important words in the last clause are of the same root2 it is as if ,paul had said3 ,satan is very knowing1 and is always on the alert to get the better of us2 but we are not without knowledge of his knowing ways4 ,it was the ,apostle's acquaintance with the wiles of the devil which made him eager to see the restoration of the penitent sinner duly carried through4 ,this implies one or two practical truths1 with which1 by way of application1 this exposition may close4 7#a7 ,a scandal in the ,church gives the devil an opportunity4 ,when one who has named the name of ,jesus1 and vowed loyal obedience to ,him1 falls into open sin1 it is a chance offered to the enemy which he is not slow to improve4 ,he uses it to discredit the very name of ,christ3 to turn that which ought to be to the world the symbol of the purest goodness into a synonym of hypocrisy4 ,christ has committed ,his honour1 if not ,his character1 to our keeping2 and every lapse into vice gives ,satan an advantage over ,him4 7#b7 ,the devil finds his gain in the incompetence of the ,church to deal with evil in the ,spirit of ,christ4 ,it is a fine thing for him if he can drive the convicted sinner to despair1 and persuade him that there is no more forgiveness with ,god4 ,it is a fine thing if he can prompt those who love little1 because they know little of ,god's love1 to show themselves rigid1 implacable1 irreconcilable1 even to the penitent4 ,if he can deform the likeness of ,christ into a morose ,pharisaism1 what an incalculable gain it is6 ,if the disciples of ,him who received sinners look askance on those who have lapsed1 and chill the hope of restoration with cold suspicion and reserve1 there will be joy over it1 not in heaven1 but in hell4 ,and not only this1 but the opposite is a device of the devil1 of which we ought not to be ignorant4 ,there is hardly a sin that some one has not an interest in extenuating4 ,even the incestuous person in ,corinth had his defenders3 there were some who were puffed up1 and gloried in what he had done as an assertion of ,christian liberty4 ,the devil takes advantage of the scandals that occur in the ,church to bribe and debauch men's consciences2 indulgent words are spoken1 which are not the voice of ,christ's awful mercy1 but of a miserable self-pity2 the strongest and holiest thing in the world1 the redeeming love of ,god1 is adulterated and even confounded with the weakest and basest thing1 the bad man's immoral forgiveness of himself4 ,and not to mention anything else under this head1 could any one imagine what would please and suit the devil better than the absolutely unfeeling but extremely interesting gossip which resounds over every exposure of sin8 7#c7 ,but1 lastly1 the devil finds his advantage in the dissensions of ,christians4 ,what an opportunity he would have had in ,corinth1 had strained relations continued between the ,apostle and the ,church6 ,what opportunities he has everywhere1 when tempers are on edge1 and every movement means friction1 and every proposal rouses suspicion6 ,the last prayer ,christ prayed for ,his ,church was that they might all be one3 to be one in ,him is the final security against the devices of ,satan4 ,what a frightful commentary the history of the ,church is on this prayer6 ,what frightful illustrations it furnishes of the devil's gain out of the saints' quarrels6 ,there are plenty of subjects1 of course1 even in ,church life1 on which we may naturally and legitimately differ2 but we ought to know better than to let the differences enter into our souls4 ,at bottom1 we should be all one2 it is giving ourselves away to the enemy1 if we do not1 at all costs1 keep the unity of the ,spirit in the bond of peace4 ,,footnotes3 #ad ,on the identity of the person referred to1 see ,introduction1 p4 #b f4 #ae ,this meaning of 1 taken as intransitive1 is rather vague1 but ,i believe substantially correct4 ,if the word is to be taken as virtually transitive1 the object must be the partisans of the offender4 ,it would bear hardly on them1 to assume that they had been grieved by what ,paul considered an offence4 ,they had not been grieved4 ,that is why he excludes them from by 4 #af ,this suits with either idea as to the identity of the man4 7#a7 ,if he were the incestuous person of #a ,cor4 v41 the minority would consist of those who abused the ,christian idea of liberty1 and were puffed up 7#a ,cor4 v4 #b7 over this sin as an illustration of it4 7#b7 ,if he were one who had personally insulted ,paul1 the minority would probably consist of the ,judaistic opponents of the ,apostle4 #ag ,this is the force of the before in ver4 #i4 #ah ,in spite of the ,vulgate1 which has in persona ,christi2 of ,luther1 who gives an ,christi ,statt2 and of the ,english versions1 ,authorised and ,revised1 which both give in the person of ,christ 7though the ,r4,v4 puts presence in the margin71 there seems no room to doubt that in the presence of ,christ is the true meaning4 ,the same words in chap4 iv1 #f are admittedly different in import2 and in the only passages where occurs with a genitive1 it means in presence of4 ,these are ,prov4 viii4 #cj1 where is 2 and ,sir4 xxxii4 #f1 where ,thou shalt not appear before the ,lord empty is 4 4 ,,vii ,,christ',s ,,captive ,now when ,i came to ,troas for the ,gospel of ,christ1 and when a door was opened unto me in the ,lord1 ,i had no relief for my spirit1 because ,i found not ,titus my brother3 but taking my leave of them1 ,i went forth into ,macedonia4 ,but thanks be unto ,god1 which always leadeth us in triumph in ,christ1 and maketh manifest through us the savour of ,his knowledge in every place4 ,for we are a sweet savour of ,christ unto ,god1 in them that are being saved1 and in them that are perishing2 to the one a savour from death unto death2 to the other a savour from life unto life4 ,and who is sufficient for these things8 ,for we are not as the many1 corrupting the ,word of ,god3 but as of sincerity1 but as of ,god1 in the sight of ,god1 speak we in ,christ4--#b ,,cor4 ii4 #ab-ag 7,r4,v474 ,in this passage the ,apostle returns from what is virtually1 if not formally1 a digression1 to the narrative which begins in chap4 i4 #h f41 and is continued in i4 #ae f4 ,at the same time he makes a transition to a new subject1 really though not very explicitly connected with what goes before--namely1 his independent and divinely granted authority as an apostle4 ,in the last verses of chap1 ii41 and in chap4 iii4 #a-d1 this is treated generally1 but with reference in particular to the success of his ministry4 ,he then goes on to contrast the older and the ,christian dispensation1 and the character of their respective ministries1 and terminates the section with a noble statement of the spirit and principles with which he fulfilled his apostolic calling 7chap4 iv4 #a-f74 ,before leaving ,ephesus1 ,paul had apparently made an appointment to meet ,titus1 on his return from ,corinth1 at ,troas4 ,he went thither himself to preach the ,gospel1 and found an excellent opportunity for doing so2 but the non-arrival of his brother kept him in such a state of unrest#ai that he was unable to make that use of it which he would otherwise have done4 ,this seems a singular confession1 but there is no reason to suppose that it was made with a bad conscience4 ,paul was probably grieved that he had not the heart to go in at the door which had been opened to him in the ,lord1 but he did not feel guilty4 ,it was not selfishness which made him turn away1 but the anxiety of a true pastor about other souls which ,god had committed to his care4 ,i had no relief for my spirit1 he says2 and the spirit1 in his language1 even though it be a constituent of man's nature1 is that in him which is akin to the divine1 and receptive of it4 ,that very element in the ,apostle1 in virtue of which he could act for ,god at all1 was already preoccupied1 and though the people were there1 ready to be evangelised1 it was beyond his power to evangelise them4 ,his spirit was absorbed and possessed by hopes and fears and prayers for the ,corinthians2 and as the human spirit1 even when in contact with the divine1 is finite1 and only capable of so much and no more1 he was obliged to let slip an occasion which he would otherwise have gladly seized4 ,he probably felt with all missionaries that it is as important to secure as to win converts2 and if the ,corinthians were capable of reflection1 they might reflect with shame on the loss which their sin had entailed on the people of ,troas4 ,the disorders of their wilful community had engrossed the ,apostle's spirit1 and robbed their fellow-men across the sea of an apostolic ministry4 ,they could not but feel how genuine was the ,apostle's love1 when he had made such a sacrifice to it2 but such a sacrifice ought never to have been required4 ,when ,paul could bear the suspense no longer1 he said good-bye to the people of ,troas1 crossed the ,thracian ,sea1 and advanced into ,macedonia to meet ,titus4 ,he did meet him1 and heard from him a full report of the state of matters at ,corinth 7chap4 vii4 #e ff472 but here he does not take time to say so4 ,he breaks out into a jubilant thanksgiving1 occasioned primarily no doubt by the joyful tidings he had just received1 but widening characteristically1 and instantaneously1 to cover all his apostolic work4 ,it is as though he felt ,god's goodness to him to be all of a piece1 and could not be sensitive to it in any particular instance without having the consciousness rise within him that he lived and moved and had his being in it4 ,now to ,god be thanks1 who always leadeth us in triumph in ,christ4 ,the peculiar and difficult word in this thanksgiving is 4 ,the sense which first strikes one as suitable is that which is given in the ,authorised ,version3 ,god which always causeth us to triumph4 ,practically ,paul had been engaged in a conflict with the ,corinthians1 and for a time it had seemed not improbable that he might be beaten2 but ,god had caused him to triumph in ,christ--that is1 acting in ,christ's interests1 in matters in which ,christ's name and honour were at stake1 the victory 7as always7 had remained with him2 and for this he thanks ,god4 ,this interpretation is still maintained by so excellent a scholar as ,schmiedel1 and the use of in this transitive sense is defended by the analogy of in ,matt4 xxviii4 #ai4 ,but appropriate as this interpretation is1 there is one apparently fatal objection to it4 ,there is no doubt that is here used transitively1 but we have not to guess1 by analogy1 what it must mean when so used2 there are other examples which fix this unambiguously4 ,one is found elsewhere in ,st4 ,paul himself 7,col4 ii4 #ae71 where indubitably means having triumphed over them4 ,in accordance with this1 which is only one out of many instances1#bj the ,revisers have displaced the old rendering here1 and substituted for it1 ,thanks be to ,god1 which always leadeth us in triumph4 ,the triumph here is ,god's1 not the ,apostle's2 ,paul is not the soldier who wins the battle1 and shouts for victory1 as he marches in the triumphal procession2 he is the captive who is led in the ,conqueror's train1 and in whom men see the trophy of the ,conqueror's power4 ,when he says that ,god always leads him in triumph in ,christ1 the meaning is not perfectly obvious4 ,he may intend to define1 as it were1 the area over which ,god's victory extends4 ,in everything which is covered by the name and authority of ,christ1 ,god triumphantly asserts ,his power over the ,apostle4 ,or1 again1 the words may signify that it is through ,christ that ,god's victorious power is put forth4 ,these two meanings1 of course1 are not inconsistent2 and practically they coincide4 ,it cannot be denied1 ,i think1 if this is taken quite rigorously1 that there is a certain air of irrelevance about it4 ,it does not seem to be to the purpose of the passage to say that ,god always triumphs over ,paul and those for whom ,he speaks1 or even that ,he always leads them in triumph4 ,it is this feeling1 indeed1 which mainly influences those who keep to the rendering of the ,authorised ,version1 and regard ,paul as the victor4 ,but the meaning of is not really open to doubt1 and the semblance of irrelevance disappears if we remember that we are dealing with a figure1 and a figure which the ,apostle himself does not press4 ,of course in an ordinary triumph1 such as the triumph of ,claudius over ,caractacus1 of which ,st4 ,paul may easily have heard1 the captives had no share in the victory2 it was not only a victory over them1 but a victory against them4 ,but when ,god wins a victory over man1 and leads his captive in triumph1 the captive too has an interest in what happens2 it is the beginning of all triumphs1 in any true sense1 for him4 ,if we apply this to the case before us1 we shall see that the true meaning is not irrelevant4 ,paul had once been the enemy of ,god in ,christ2 he had fought against ,him in his own soul1 and in the ,church which he persecuted and wasted4 ,the battle had been long and strong2 but not far from ,damascus it had terminated in a decisive victory for ,god4 ,there the mighty man fell1 and the weapons of his warfare perished4 ,his pride1 his self-righteousness1 his sense of superiority to others and of competence to attain to the righteousness of ,god1 collapsed for ever1 and he rose from the earth to be the slave of ,jesus ,christ4 ,that was the beginning of ,god's triumph over him2 from that hour ,god led him in triumph in ,christ4 ,but it was the beginning also of all that made the ,apostle's life itself a triumph1 not a career of hopeless internal strife1 such as it had been1 but of unbroken ,christian victory4 ,this1 indeed1 is not involved in the mere word 1 but it is the real thing which was present to the ,apostle's mind when he used the word4 ,when we recognise this1 we see that the charge of irrelevance does not really apply2 while nothing could be more characteristic of the ,apostle than to hide himself and his success in this way behind ,god's triumph over him and through him4 ,further1 the true meaning of the word1 and the true connexion of ideas just explained1 remind us that the only triumphs we can ever have1 deserving the name1 must begin with ,god's triumph over us4 ,this is the one possible source of joy untroubled4 ,we may be as selfish as we please1 and as successful in our selfishness2 we may distance all our rivals in the race for the world's prizes2 we may appropriate and engross pleasure1 wealth1 knowledge1 influence2 and after all there will be one thing we must do without--the power and the happiness of thanking ,god4 ,no one will ever be able to thank ,god because he has succeeded in pleasing himself1 be the mode of his self-pleasing as respectable as you will2 and he who has not thanked ,god with a whole heart1 without misgiving and without reserve1 does not know what joy is4 ,such thanksgiving and its joy have one condition3 they rise up spontaneously in the soul when it allows ,god to triumph over it4 ,when ,god appears to us in ,jesus ,christ1 when in the omnipotence of ,his love and purity and truth ,he makes war upon our pride and falsehood and lusts1 and prevails against them1 and brings us low1 then we are admitted to the secret of this apparently perplexing passage2 we know how natural it is to cry1 ,thanks be unto ,god who in ,his victory over us giveth us the victory6 ,thanks be to ,him who always leadeth us in triumph6 ,it is out of an experience like this that ,paul speaks2 it is the key to his whole life1 and it has been illustrated anew by what has just happened at ,corinth4 ,but to return to the ,epistle4 ,god is described by the ,apostle not only as triumphing over them 7i4e41 himself and his colleagues7 in ,christ1 but as making manifest through them the savour of ,his knowledge in every place4 ,it has been questioned whether ,his knowledge is the knowledge of ,god or of ,christ4 ,grammatically1 the question can hardly be answered2 but1 as we see from chap4 iv4 #f1 the two things which it proposes to distinguish are really one2 what is manifested in the apostolic ministry is the knowledge of ,god as ,he is revealed in ,christ4 ,but why does ,paul use the expression the savour of ,his knowledge8 ,it was suggested probably by the figure of the triumph1 which was present to his mind in all the detail of its circumstances4 ,incense smoked on every altar as the victor passed through the streets of ,rome2 the fragrant steam floated over the procession1 a silent proclamation of victory and joy4 ,but ,paul would not have appropriated this feature of the triumph1 and applied it to his ministry1 unless he had felt that there was a real point of comparison1 that the knowledge of ,christ which he diffused among men1 wherever he went1 was in very truth a fragrant thing4#ba ,true1 he was not a free man2 he had been subdued by ,god1 and made the slave of ,jesus ,christ2 as the ,lord of glory went forth conquering and to conquer1 over ,syria and ,asia and ,macedonia and ,greece1 ,he led him as a captive in the triumphal march of ,his grace2 he was the trophy of ,christ's victory2 every one who saw him saw that necessity was laid upon ,him2 but what a gracious necessity it was6 ,the love of ,christ constraineth us4 ,the captives who were dragged in chains behind a ,roman chariot also made manifest the knowledge of their conqueror2 they declared to all the spectators his power and his pitilessness2 there was nothing in that knowledge to suggest the idea of a fragrance like incense4 ,but as ,paul moved through the world1 all who had eyes to see saw in him not only the power but the sweetness of ,god's redeeming love4 ,the mighty ,victor made manifest through ,him1 not only ,his might1 but ,his charm1 not only ,his greatness1 but ,his grace4 ,it was a good thing1 men felt1 to be subdued and led in triumph like ,paul2 it was to move in an atmosphere perfumed by the love of ,christ1 as the air around the ,roman triumph was perfumed with incense4 ,the ,apostle is so sensible of this that he weaves it into his sentence as an indispensable part of his thought2 it is not merely the knowledge of ,god which is made manifest through him as he is led in triumph1 but that knowledge as a fragrant1 gracious thing1 speaking to every one of victory and goodness and joy4 ,the very word savour1 in connexion with the knowledge of ,god in ,christ1 is full of meaning4 ,it has its most direct application1 of course1 to preaching4 ,when we proclaim the ,gospel1 do we always succeed in manifesting it as a savour8 ,or is not the savour--the sweetness1 the winsomeness1 the charm and attractiveness of it--the very thing that is most easily left out8 ,do we not catch it sometimes in the words of others1 and wonder that it eludes our own8 ,we miss what is most characteristic in the knowledge of ,god if we miss this4 ,we leave out that very element in the ,evangel which makes it evangelic1 and gives it its power to subdue and enchain the souls of men4 ,but it is not to preachers only that the word savour speaks2 it is of the widest possible application4 ,whereever ,christ is leading a single soul in triumph1 the fragrance of the ,gospel should go forth2 rather1 it does go forth1 in proportion as ,his triumph is complete4 ,there is sure to be that in the life which will reveal the graciousness as well as the omnipotence of the ,saviour4 ,and it is this virtue which ,god uses as ,his main witness1 as ,his chief instrument1 to evangelise the world4 ,in every relation of life it should tell4 ,nothing is so insuppressible1 nothing so pervasive1 as a fragrance4 ,the lowliest life which ,christ is really leading in triumph will speak infallibly and persuasively for ,him4 ,in a ,christian brother or sister1 brothers and sisters will find a new strength and tenderness1 something that goes deeper than natural affection1 and can stand severer shocks2 they will catch the fragrance which declares that the ,lord in ,his triumphant grace is there4 ,and so in all situations1 or1 as the ,apostle has it1 in every place4 ,and if we are conscious that we fall in this matter1 and that the fragrance of the knowledge of ,christ is something to which our life gives no testimony1 let us be sure that the explanation of it is to be found in self-will4 ,there is something in us which has not yet made complete surrender to ,him1 and not till ,he leads us unresistingly in triumph will the sweet savour go forth4 ,at this point the ,apostle's thought is arrested by the issues of his ministry1 though he carries the figure of the fragrance1 with a little pressure1 through to the end4 ,in ,god's sight1 he says1 or so far as ,god is concerned1 we are a sweet savour of ,christ1 a perfume redolent of ,christ1 in which ,he cannot but take pleasure4 ,in other words1 ,christ proclaimed in the ,gospel1 and the ministries and lives which proclaim ,him1 are always a joy to ,god4 ,they are a joy to ,him1 whatever men may think of them1 alike in them that are being saved and in them that are perishing4 ,to those who are being saved1 they are a savour from life to life2 to those who are perishing1 a savour from death to death4 ,here1 as everywhere1 ,st4 ,paul contemplates these exclusive opposites as the sole issues of man's life1 and of the ,gospel ministry4 ,he makes no attempt to subordinate one to the other1 no suggestion that the way of death may ultimately lead to life1 much less that it must do so4 ,the whole solemnity of the situation1 which is faced in the cry ,and who is sufficient for these things8 depends on the finality of the contrast between life and death4 ,these are the goals set before men1 and those who are being saved and those who are perishing are respectively on their way to one or the other4 ,who is sufficient for the calling of the ,gospel ministry1 when such are the alternatives involved in it8 ,who is sufficient1 in love1 in wisdom1 in humility1 in awful earnestness1 for the duties of a calling the issues of which are life or death for ever8 ,there is considerable difficulty in the sixteenth verse1 partly dogmatic1 partly textual4 ,commentators so opposite in their bias as ,chrysostom and ,calvin have pondered and remarked upon the opposite effects here ascribed to the ,gospel4 ,it is easy to find analogies to these in nature4 ,the same heat which hardens clay melts iron4 ,the same sunlight which gladdens the healthy eye tortures that which is diseased4 ,the same honey which is sweet to the sound palate is nauseous to the sick2 and so on4 ,but such analogies do not explain anything1 and one can hardly see what is meant by calling them illustrations4 ,it remains finally inexplicable that the ,gospel1 which appeals to some with winning irresistible power1 subduing and leading them in triumph1 should excite in others a passion of antipathy which nothing else could provoke4 ,this remains inexplicable1 because it is irrational4 ,nothing that can be pointed to in the universe is the least like a bad heart closing itself against the love of ,christ1 like a bad man's will stiffening into absolute rigidity against the will of ,god4 ,the preaching of the ,gospel may be the occasion of such awful results1 but it is not their cause4 ,the ,god whom it proclaims is the ,god of grace2 it is never ,his will that any should perish--always that all should be saved4 ,but ,he can save only by subduing2 ,his grace must exercise a sovereign power in us1 which through righteousness will lead to life everlasting 7,rom4 v4 #ba74 ,and when this exercise of power is resisted1 when we match our self-will against the gracious saving will of ,god1 our pride1 our passions1 our mere sloth1 against the soul-constraining love of ,christ2 when we prevail in the war which ,god's mercy wages with our wickedness1--then the ,gospel itself may be said to have ministered to our ruin2 it was ordained to life1 and we have made it a sentence of death4 ,yet even so1 it is the joy and glory of ,god2 it is a sweet savour to ,him1 fragrant of ,christ and ,his love4 ,the textual difficulty is in the words 1 and 4 ,these words are rendered in the ,revised ,version from death to death1 and from life to life4 ,the ,authorised ,version1 following the ,textus ,receptus1 which omits in both clauses1 renders a savour of death unto death1 and of life unto life4 ,in spite of the inferior ,,ms4 support1 the ,textus ,receptus is preferred by many modern scholars--e4g41 ,heinrici1 ,schmiedel1 and ,hofmann4 ,they find it impossible to give any precise interpretation to the better attested reading1 and an examination of any exposition which accepts it goes far to justify them4 ,thus ,professor ,beet comments3 ,from death for death 7comp4 ,rom4 i4 #ag73 a scent proceeding from1 and thus revealing the presence of1 death2 and1 like malaria from a putrefying corpse1 causing death4 ,paul's labours among some men revealed the eternal death which day by day cast an ever-deepening shadow upon them this answers to 2 and by arousing in them increased opposition to ,god1 promoted the spiritual mortification which had already begun this answers to 4 ,surely it is safe to say that nobody in ,corinth could ever have guessed this from the words4 ,yet this is a favourable specimen of the interpretations given4 ,if it were possible to take 1 and 1 as ,baur took in ,rom4 i4 #ag1 that would be the simplest way out of the difficulty1 and quite satisfactory4 ,what the ,apostle said would then be this3 that the ,gospel which he preached1 ever good as it was to ,god1 had the most opposite characters and effects among men1--in some it was death from beginning to end1 absolutely and unmitigatedly deadly in its nature and workings2 in others1 again1 it was life from beginning to end--life was the uniform sign of its presence1 and its invariable issue4 ,this also is the meaning which we get by omitting 3 the genitives and are then adjectival1--a vital fragrance1 with life as its element and end2 a fatal fragrance1 the end of which is death4 ,this has the advantage of being the meaning which occurs to an ordinary reader2 and if the critically approved text1 with the repeated 1 cannot bear this interpretation1 ,i think there is a fair case for defending the received text on exegetical grounds4 ,certainly nothing but the broad impression of the received text will ever enter the general mind4 ,the question that rises to the ,apostle's lips as he confronts the solemn situation created by the ,gospel is not directly answered4 ,who is sufficient for these things8 ,who8 ,i say4 ,for we are not as the many1#bb who corrupt the ,word of ,god3 but as of sincerity1 but as of ,god1 in the sight of ,god1 we speak in ,christ4 ,paul is conscious as he writes that his awful sense of responsibility as a preacher of the ,gospel is not shared by all who exercise the same vocation4 ,to be the bearer and the representative of a power with issues so tremendous ought surely to annihilate every thought of self2 to let personal interest intrude is to declare oneself faithless and unworthy4 ,we are startled to hear from ,paul's lips what at first sight seems to be a charge of just such base self-seeking laid against the majority of preachers4 ,we are not as the many1 corrupting the ,word of ,god4 ,the expressive word rendered here corrupting has the idea of self-interest1 and especially of petty gain1 at its basis4 ,it means literally to sell in small quantities1 to retail for profit4 ,but it was specially applied to tavern-keeping1 and extended to cover all the devices by which the wine-sellers in ancient times deceived their customers4 ,then it was used figuratively1 as here2 and ,lucian1 e4g41 speaks of philosophers as selling the sciences1 and in most cases 7 3 a curious parallel to ,st4 ,paul71 like tavern keepers1 blending1 adulterating1 and giving bad measure4 ,it is plain that there are two separable ideas here4 ,one is that of men qualifying the ,gospel1 infiltrating their own ideas into the ,word of ,god1 tempering its severity1 or perhaps its goodness1 veiling its inexorableness1 dealing in compromise4 ,the other is that all such proceedings are faithless and dishonest1 because some private interest underlies them4 ,it need not be avarice1 though it is as likely to be this as anything else4 ,a man corrupts the ,word of ,god1 makes it the stock-in-trade of a paltry business of his own1 in many other ways than by subordinating it to the need of a livelihood4 ,when he exercises his calling as a minister for the gratification of his vanity1 he does so4 ,when he preaches not that awful message in which life and death are bound up1 but himself1 his cleverness1 his learning1 his humour1 his fine voice even or fine gestures1 he does so4 ,he makes the ,word minister to him1 instead of being a minister of the ,word2 and that is the essence of the sin4 ,it is the same if ambition be his motive1 if he preaches to win disciples to himself1 to gain an ascendency over souls1 to become the head of a party which will bear the impress of his mind4 ,there was something of this at ,corinth2 and not only there1 but wherever it is found1 such a spirit and such interests will change the character of the ,gospel4 ,it will not be preserved in that integrity1 in that simple1 uncompromising1 absolute character which it has as revealed in ,christ4 ,have another interest in it than that of ,god1 and that interest will inevitably colour it4 ,you will make it what it was not1 and the virtue will depart from it4 ,in contrast with all such dishonest ministers1 the ,apostle represents himself and his friends speaking as of sincerity4 ,they have no mixture of motives in their work as evangelists2 they have indeed no independent motives at all3 ,god is leading them in triumph1 and proclaiming ,his grace through them4 ,it is ,he who prompts every word 7 74 ,yet their responsibility and their freedom are intact4 ,they feel themselves in ,his presence as they speak1 and in that presence they speak in ,christ4 ,in ,christ is the ,apostle's mark4 ,not in himself apart from ,christ1 where any mixture of motives1 any process of adulteration1 would have been possible1 but only in that union with ,christ which was the very life of his life1 did he carry on his evangelistic work4 ,this was his final security1 and it is still the only security1 that the ,gospel can have fair play in the world4 ,,footnotes3 #ai ,the perfect seems at first sight out of place1 but it is more expressive than the aorist4 ,it suggests the continuous expectation of relief which was always anew disappointed4 #bj ,see ,grimm's ,lexicon s4v41 or ,lightfoot on ,col4 ii4 #ae4 #ba ,in 1 is gen4 of apposition3 the and the are one4 #bb ,the many 7 7 seems to be the true reading4 ,the rest 7 7 would be stronger still in its condemnation4 ,but probably ,paul is not thinking of the ,church in general1 but of the teachers as a body who crossed and thwarted him in his chosen field4 ,the transition which is immediately made to the case of his opponents 71 iii4 #a71 and to the comparison of the old and new covenants1 suggests that his ,judaistic adversaries in ,corinth 7see chap4 xi47 are in view4 ,,viii ,,living ,,epistles ,are we beginning again to commend ourselves8 or need we1 as do some1 epistles of commendation to you or from you8 ,ye are our epistle1 written in our hearts1 known and read of all men2 being made manifest that ye are an epistle of ,christ1 ministered by us1 written not with ink1 but with the ,spirit of the living ,god2 not in tables of stone1 but in tables that are hearts of flesh4--#b ,,cor4 iii4 #a-c 7,r4,v474 ,are we beginning again to commend ourselves8 ,paul does not mean by these words to admit that he had been commending himself before3 he means that he has been accused already of doing so1 and that there are those at ,corinth who1 when they hear such passages of this letter as that which has just preceded1 will be ready to repeat the accusation4 ,in the ,first ,epistle he had found it necessary to vindicate his apostolic authority1 and especially his interest in the ,corinthian ,church as its spiritual father 7#a ,cor4 ix4 #a-bg1 iv4 #f-ba71 and obviously his enemies at ,corinth had tried to turn these personal passages against him4 ,they did so on the principle ,qui s'excuse s'accuse4 ,he is commending himself1 they said1 and self-commendation is an argument which discredits1 instead of supporting1 a cause4 ,the ,apostle had heard of these malicious speeches1 and in this ,epistle makes repeated reference to them 7see chaps1 v4 #ab1 x4 #ah1 xiii4 #f74 ,he entirely agreed with his opponents that self-praise was no honour4 ,not he who commendeth himself is approved1 but he whom the ,lord commendeth4 ,but he denied point-blank that he was commending himself4 ,in distinguishing as he had done in chap4 ii4 #ad-ag between himself and his colleagues1 who spoke the ,word as of sincerity1 as of ,god1 in the sight of ,god1 and the many who corrupted it1 nothing was further from his mind than to plead his cause1 as a suspected person1 with the ,corinthians4 ,only malignity could suppose any such thing1 and the indignant question with which the chapter opens tacitly accuses his adversaries of this hateful vice4 ,it is pitiful to see a great and generous spirit like ,paul compelled thus to stand upon guard1 and watch against the possible misconstruction of every lightest word4 ,what needless pain it inflicts upon him1 what needless humiliation6 ,how it checks all effusion of feeling1 and robs what should be brotherly intercourse of everything that can make it free and glad6 ,further on in the ,epistle there will be abundant opportunity of speaking on this subject at greater length2 but it is proper to remark here that a minister's character is the whole capital he has for carrying on his business1 and that nothing can be more cruel and wicked than to cast suspicion on it without cause4 ,in most other callings a man may go on1 no matter what his character1 provided his balance at the bank is on the right side2 but an evangelist or a pastor who has lost his character has lost everything4 ,it is humiliating to be subject to suspicion1 painful to be silent under it1 degrading to speak4 ,at a later stage ,paul was compelled to go further than he goes here2 but let the indignant emotion of this abrupt question remind us that candour is to be met with candour1 and that the suspicious temper which would fain malign the good eats like a canker the very heart of those who cherish it4 ,from the serious tone the ,apostle passes suddenly to the ironical4 ,or need we1 as do some1 epistles of commendation to you or from you8 ,the some of this verse are probably the same as the many of chap4 ii4 #ag4 ,persons had come to ,corinth in the character of ,christian teachers1 bringing with them recommendatory letters which secured their standing when they arrived4 ,an example of what is meant can be seen in ,acts xvii4 #bg4 ,there we are told that when ,apollos1 who had been working in ,ephesus1 was minded to pass over into ,achaia1 the ,ephesian brethren encouraged him1 and wrote to the disciples to receive him--that is1 they gave him an epistle of commendation1 which secured him recognition and welcome in ,corinth4 ,a similar case is found in ,rom4 xvi4 #a1 where the ,apostle uses the very word which we have here3 ,i commend unto you ,phbe our sister1 who is a servant of the ,church that is at ,cenchre3 that ye receive her in the ,lord1 worthily of the saints1 and that ye assist her in whatsoever matter she may have need of you3 for she herself also hath been a succourer of many1 and of mine own self4 ,this was ,phbe's introduction1 or epistle of commendation1 to the ,church of ,rome4 ,the ,corinthians were evidently in the habit both of receiving such letters from other ,churches1 and of granting them on their own account2 and ,paul asks them ironically if they think he ought to bring one1 or when he leaves them to apply for one4 ,is that the relation which ought to obtain between him and them8 ,the some1 to whom he refers1 had no doubt come from ,jerusalem3 it is they who are referred to in chap4 xi4 #bb ff4 ,but it does not follow that their recommendatory letters had been signed by ,peter1 ,james1 and ,john2 and just as little that those letters justified them in their hostility to ,paul4 ,no doubt there were many--many myriads1 the ,book of ,acts says--at ,jerusalem1 whose conception of the ,gospel was very different from his1 and who were glad to counteract him whenever they could2 but there were many also1 including the three who seemed to be pillars1 who had a thoroughly good understanding with him1 and who had no responsibility for the some and their doings4 ,the epistles which the some brought were plainly such as the ,corinthians themselves could grant1 and it is a complete misinterpretation to suppose that they were a commission granted by the ,twelve for the persecution of ,paul4 ,the giving of recommendatory letters is a subject of considerable practical interest4 ,when they are merely formal1 as in our certificates of ,church membership1 they come to mean very little4 ,it is an unhappy state of affairs perhaps1 but no one would take a certificate of ,church membership by itself as a satisfactory recommendation4 ,and when we go past the merely formal1 difficult questions arise4 ,many people have an estimate of their own character and competence1 in which it is impossible for others to share1 and yet they apply without misgiving to their friends1 and especially to their minister or their employer1 to grant them epistles of commendation4 ,we are bound to be generous in these things1 but we are bound also to be honest4 ,the rule which ought to guide us1 especially in all that belongs to the ,church and its work1 is the interest of the cause1 and not of the worker4 ,to flatter is to do a wrong1 not only to the person flattered1 but to the cause in which you are trying to employ him4 ,there is no more ludicrous reading in the world than a bundle of certificates1 or testimonials1 as they are called4 ,as a rule1 they certify nothing but the total absence of judgment and conscience in the people who have granted them4 ,if you do not know whether a person is qualified for any given situation or not1 you do not need to say anything about it4 ,if you know he is not1 and he asks you to say that he is1 no personal consideration must keep you from kindly but firmly declining4 ,i am not preaching suspicion1 or reserve1 or anything ungenerous1 but justice and truth4 ,it is wicked to betray a great interest by bespeaking it for incompetent hands2 it is cruel to put any one into a place for which he is unfit4 ,where you are confident that the man and the work will be well matched1 be as generous as you please2 but never forget that the work is to be considered in the first place1 and the man only in the second4 ,paul has been serious1 and ironical1 in the first verse2 in ver4 #b he becomes serious again1 and remains so4 ,you1 he says1 answering his ironical question1 you are our epistle4 ,epistle1 of course1 is to be taken in the sense of the preceding verse4 ,you are the commendatory letter which ,i show1 when ,i am asked for my credentials4 ,but to whom does he show it8 ,in the first instance1 to the captious ,corinthians themselves4 ,the tone of chap4 ix4 in the ,first ,epistle is struck here again3 ,wherever ,i may need recommendations1 it is certainly not at ,corinth4 ,if ,i be not an apostle to others1 yet doubtless ,i am to you3 the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the ,lord4 ,had they been a ,christian community when he first visited them1 they might have asked who he was2 but they owed their ,christianity to him2 he was their father in ,christ2 to put him to the question in this superior1 suspicious style was unnatural1 unfilial ingratitude4 ,they themselves were the living evidence of the very thing which they threw doubt upon--the apostleship of ,paul4 ,this bold utterance may well excite misgivings in those who preach constantly1 yet see no result of their work4 ,it is common to disparage success1 the success of visible acknowledged conversions1 of bad men openly renouncing badness1 bearing witness against themselves1 and embracing a new life4 ,it is common to glorify the ministry which works on1 patient and uncomplaining1 in one monotonous round1 ever sowing1 but never reaping1 ever casting the net1 but never drawing in the fish1 ever marking time1 but never advancing4 ,paul frankly and repeatedly appeals to his success in evangelistic work as the final and sufficient proof that ,god had called him1 and had given him authority as an apostle2 and search as we will1 we shall not find any test so good and unequivocal as this success4 ,paul had seen the ,lord2 he was qualified to be a witness of the ,resurrection2 but these1 at the very most1 were his own affair1 till the witness he bore had proved its power in the hearts and consciences of others4 ,how to provide1 to train1 and to test the men who are to be the ministers of the ,christian ,church is a matter of the very utmost consequence1 to which sufficient attention has not yet been given4 ,congregations which choose their own pastor are often compelled to take a man quite untried1 and to judge him more or less on superficial grounds4 ,they can easily find out whether he is a competent scholar2 they can see for themselves what are his gifts of speech1 his virtues or defects of manner2 they can get such an impression as sensible people always get1 by seeing and hearing a man1 of the general earnestness or lack of earnestness in his character4 ,but often they feel that more is wanted4 ,it is not exactly more in the way of character2 the members of a ,church have no right to expect that their minister will be a truer ,christian than they themselves are4 ,a special inquisition into his conversion1 or his religious experience1 is mere hypocrisy2 if the ,church is not sufficiently in earnest to guard herself against insincere members1 she must take the risk of insincere ministers4 ,what is wanted is what the ,apostle indicates here--that intimation of ,god's concurrence which is given through success in evangelistic work4 ,no other intimation of ,god's concurrence is infallible--no call by a congregation1 no ordination by a presbytery or by a bishop4 ,theological education is easily provided1 and easily tested2 but it will not be so easy to introduce the reforms which are needed in this direction4 ,great masses of ,christian people1 however1 are becoming alive to the necessity for them2 and when the pressure is more strongly felt1 the way for action will be discovered4 ,only those who can appeal to what they have done in the ,gospel can be known to have the qualifications of ,gospel ministers2 and in due time the fact will be frankly recognised4 ,the conversion and new life of the ,corinthians were ,paul's certificate as an apostle4 ,they were a certificate known1 he says1 and read by all men4 ,often there is a certain awkwardness in the presenting of credentials4 ,it embarrasses a man when he has to put his hand into his breast pocket1 and take out his character1 and submit it for inspection4 ,paul was saved this embarrassment4 ,there was a fine unsought publicity about his testimonials4 ,everybody knew what the ,corinthians had been1 everybody knew what they were2 and the man to whom the change was due needed no other recommendation to a ,christian society4 ,whoever looked at them saw plainly that they were an epistle of ,christ2 the mind of ,christ could be read upon them1 and it had been written by the intervention of ,paul's hand4 ,this is an interesting though a well-worn conception of the ,christian character4 ,every life has a meaning1 we say2 every face is a record2 but the text goes further4 ,the life of the ,christian is an epistle2 it has not only a meaning1 but an address2 it is a message from ,christ to the world4 ,is ,christ's message to men legible on our lives8 ,when those who are without look at us1 do they see the hand of ,christ quite unmistakably8 ,does it ever occur to anybody that there is something in our life which is not of the world1 but which is a message to the world from ,christ8 ,did you ever1 startled by the unusual brightness of a true ,christian's life1 ask as it were involuntarily1 ,whose image and superscription is this8 and feel as you asked it that these features1 these characters1 could only have been traced by one hand1 and that they proclaimed to all the grace and power of ,jesus ,christ8 ,christ wishes so to write upon us that men may see what ,he does for man4 ,he wishes to engrave ,his image on our nature1 that all spectators may feel that it has a message for them1 and may crave the same favour4 ,a congregation which is not in its very existence and in all its works and ways a legible epistle1 an unmistakable message from ,christ to man1 does not answer to this ,new ,testament ideal4 ,paul claims no part here but that of ,christ's instrument4 ,the ,lord1 so to speak1 dictated the letter1 and he wrote it4 ,the contents of it were prescribed by ,christ1 and through the ,apostle's ministry became visible and legible in the ,corinthians4 ,more important is it to notice with what the writing was done3 not with ink1 says ,st4 ,paul1 but with the ,spirit of the living ,god4 ,at first sight this contrast seems formal and fantastic2 nobody1 we think1 could ever dream of making either of these things do the work of the other1 so that it seems perfectly gratuitous in ,paul to say1 not with ink1 but with the ,spirit4 ,yet ink is sometimes made to bear a great deal of responsibility4 ,the characters of the 7some7 in ver4 i1 were only written in ink2 they had nothing1 ,paul implies1 to recommend them but these documents in black and white4 ,that was hardly sufficient to guarantee their authority1 or their competence as ministers in the ,christian dispensation4 ,but do not ,churches yet accept their ministers with the same inadequate testimonials8 ,a distinguished career at the ,university1 or in the ,divinity ,schools1 proves that a man can write with ink1 under favourable circumstances2 it does not prove more than that2 it does not prove that he will be spiritually effective1 and everything else is irrelevant4 ,i do not say this to disparage the professional training of ministers2 on the contrary1 the standard of training ought to be higher than it is in all the ,churches3 ,i only wish to insist that nothing which can be represented in ink1 no learning1 no literary gifts1 no critical acquaintance with the ,scriptures even1 can write upon human nature the ,epistle of ,christ4 ,to do that needs the ,spirit of the living ,god4 ,we feel1 the moment we come upon those words1 that the ,apostle is anticipating2 he has in view already the contrast he is going to develop between the old dispensation and the new1 and the irresistible inward power by which the new is characterised4 ,others might boast of qualifications to preach which could be certified in due documentary form1 but he carried in him wherever he went a power which was its own witness1 and which overruled and dispensed with every other4 ,let all of us who teach or preach concentrate our interest here4 ,it is in the ,spirit of the living ,god1 not in any acquirements of our own1 still less in any recommendations of others1 that our serviceableness as ministers of ,christ lies4 ,we cannot write ,his epistle without it4 ,we cannot see1 let us be as diligent and indefatigable in our work as we please1 the image of ,christ gradually come out in those to whom we minister4 ,parents1 teachers1 preachers1 this is the one thing needful for us all4 ,tarry1 said ,jesus to the first evangelists1 tarry in the city of ,jerusalem1 until ye be endued with power from on high2 it is of no use to begin without that4 ,this idea of the epistle has taken such a hold of the ,apostle's mind1 and he finds it so suggestive whichever way he turns it1 that he really tries to say too much about it in one sentence4 ,the crowding of his ideas is confusing4 ,one learned critic enumerates three points in which the figure becomes inconsistent with itself1 and another can only defend the ,apostle by saying that this figurative letter might well have qualities which would be self-contradictory in a real one4 ,this kind of criticism smells a little of ink1 and the only real difficulty in the sentence has never misled any one who read it with sympathy4 ,it is this--that ,st4 ,paul speaks of the letter as written in two different places4 ,ye are our epistle1 he says at the beginning1 written in our hearts2 but at the end he says1 written not on tables of stone1 but on tables that are hearts of flesh--meaning evidently on the hearts of the ,corinthians4 ,of course this last is the sense which coheres with the figure4 ,paul's ministry wrote the ,epistle of ,christ upon the ,corinthians1 or1 if we prefer it1 wrought such a change in their hearts that they became an epistle of ,christ1 an epistle to which he appealed in proof of his apostolic calling4 ,in expressing himself as he does about this1 he is again anticipating the coming contrast of ,law and ,gospel4 ,nobody would think of writing a letter on tables of stone1 and he only says not on stone tables because he has in his mind the difference between the ,mosaic and the ,christian dispensation4 ,it is quite out of place to refer to ,ezek4 xi4 #ai1 xxxvi4 #bf1 and to drag in the contrast between hard and tender hearts4 ,what ,paul means is that the ,epistle of ,christ is not written on dead matter1 but on human nature1 and that too at its finest and deepest4 ,when we remember the sense of depth and inwardness which attaches to the heart in ,scripture1 it is not forcing the words to find in them the suggestion that the ,gospel works no merely outward change4 ,it is not written on the surface1 but in the soul4 ,the ,spirit of the living ,god finds access for itself to the secret places of the human spirit2 the most hidden recesses of our nature are open to it1 and the very heart is made new4 ,to be able to write there for ,christ1 to point not to anything dead1 but to living men and women1 not to anything superficial1 but to a change that has reached the very core of man's being1 and works its way out from thence1 is the testimonial which guarantees the evangelist2 it is the divine attestation that he is in the true apostolical succession4#bc ,what1 then1 does ,paul mean by the other clause1 ye are our epistle1 written on our hearts8 ,i do not think we can get much more than an emotional certainty about this expression4 ,when a man has been an intensely interested spectator1 still more an intensely interested actor1 in any great affair1 he might say afterwards that the whole thing and all its circumstances were engraved upon his heart4 ,i imagine that is what ,st4 ,paul means here4 ,the conversion of the ,corinthians made them an epistle of ,christ2 in making them believers through ,st4 ,paul's ministry1 ,christ wrote on their hearts what was really an epistle to the world2 and the whole transaction1 in which ,paul's feelings had been deeply engaged1 stood written on his heart for ever4 ,interpretations that go beyond this do not seem to me to be justified by the words4 ,thus ,heinrici and ,meyer say1 ,we have in our own consciousness the certainty of being recommended to you by yourselves and to others by you2 and they elucidate this by saying1 ,the ,apostle's own good consciousness was1 as it were1 the tablet on which this living epistle of the ,corinthians stood1 and that had to be left unassailed even by the most malevolent4 ,a sense so pragmatical and pedantic1 even if one can grasp it at all1 is surely out of place1 and many readers will fail to discover it in the text4 ,what the words do convey is the warm love of the ,apostle1 who had exercised his ministry among the ,corinthians with all the passion of his nature1 and who still bore on his ardent heart the fresh impression of his work and its results4 ,amid all these details let us take care not to lose the one great lesson of the passage4 ,christian people owe a testimony to ,christ4 ,his name has been pronounced over them1 and all who look at them ought to see ,his nature4 ,we should discern in the heart and in the behaviour of ,christians the handwriting1 let us say the characters1 not of avarice1 of suspicion1 of envy1 of lust1 of falsehood1 of pride1 but of ,christ4 ,it is to us ,he has committed ,himself2 we are the certification to men of what ,he does for man2 ,his character is in our care4 ,the true epistles of ,christ to the world are not those which are expounded in pulpits2 they are not even the gospels in which ,christ ,himself lives and moves before us2 they are living men and women1 on the tables of whose hearts the ,spirit of the living ,god1 ministered by a true evangelist1 has engraved the likeness of ,christ ,himself4 ,it is not the written ,word on which ,christianity ultimately depends2 it is not the sacraments1 nor so-called necessary institutions3 it is this inward1 spiritual1 ,divine writing which is the guarantee of all else4 ,,footnote3 #bc ,the true reading of the last words in ver4 #c is doubtful4 ,the ,received ,text has 4 ,this is as old as ,irenus and ,origen1 and is found in many versions4 ,almost all ,,mss4 give the reading which is translated in the ,revised ,version3 71 ,a1 ,b1 ,c1 ,d1 etc472 and this is adopted by most of the purely critical editors4 ,some1 however1 and many exegetes1 suspect a primitive error1 affecting all ,,mss4 and versions4 ,schmiedel would omit or 1 as a marginal note1 suggested by ,prov4 vii4 #c1 ,jer4 xvii4 #a2 ,westcott and ,hort1 on the other hand1 think that may be a primitive interpolation4 ,no certainty is possible2 but considering ,old ,testament usage1 one would expect ,paul to write almost unconsciously4 ,,ix ,,the ,,two ,,covenants ,and such confidence have we through ,christ to ,god-ward3 not that we are sufficient of ourselves1 to account anything as from ourselves2 but our sufficiency is from ,god2 who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant2 not of the letter1 but of the spirit3 for the letter killeth1 but the spirit giveth life4 ,but if the ministration of death1 written1 and engraven on stones1 came with glory1 so that the children of ,israel could not look stedfastly upon the face of ,moses for the glory of his face2 which glory was passing away3 how shall not rather the ministration of the spirit be with glory8 ,for if the ministration of condemnation is glory1 much rather doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory4 ,for verily that which hath been made glorious hath not been made glorious in this respect1 by reason of the glory that surpasseth4 ,for if that which passeth away was with glory1 much more that which remaineth is in glory4--#b ,,cor4 iii4 #d-aa 7,r4,v474 ,the confidence referred to in the opening of this passage is that which underlies the triumphant sentences at the end of the second chapter4 ,the tone of those sentences was open to misinterpretation1 and ,paul guards himself against this on two sides4 ,to begin with1 his motive in so expressing himself was quite pure3 he had no thought of commending himself to the ,corinthians4 ,and1 again1 the ground of his confidence was not in himself4 ,the courage which he had to speak as he did he had through ,jesus ,christ1 and that1 too1 in relation to ,god4 ,it was virtually confidence in ,god1 and therefore inspired by ,god4 ,it is this last aspect of his confidence which is expanded in the fifth verse3 not that we are sufficient of ourselves1 to account anything as from ourselves2 but our sufficiency is from ,god4 ,this vehement disclaimer of any self-sufficiency has naturally been taken in the widest sense1 and theologians from ,augustine downward have found in it one of the most decisive proofs of the inability of man for any spiritual good accompanying salvation4 ,no one1 we may be sure1 would have ascribed salvation1 and all spiritual good accompanying it1 entirely to ,god with more hearty sincerity than the ,apostle2 but it does seem better here to give his words a narrower and more relevant interpretation4 ,the sufficiency to account anything1 of which he speaks1 must have a definite meaning for the context2 and this meaning is suggested by the words of chap4 ii4 #ad-ag4 ,paul would never have dared1 he tells us--indeed1 he would never have been able--on his own motion1 and out of his own resources1 either to form conclusions1 or to express them1 on the subjects there in view4 ,it is not for any man at random to say what the true ,gospel is1 what are its issues1 what the responsibilities of its hearers or preachers1 what is the spirit requisite in the evangelist1 or what are the methods legitimate for him4 ,the ,gospel is ,god's concern1 and only those who have been capacitated by ,him are entitled to speak as ,paul has spoken4 ,if this is a narrower sense than that which is expounded so vigorously by ,calvin1 it is more pertinent1 and some will find it quite as pungent4 ,of all things that are done hastily and inconsiderately1 by people calling themselves ,christian1 the criticism of evangelists is one of the most conspicuous4 ,at his own prompting1 out of his own wise head1 any man almost will both make up his mind and speak his mind about any preacher with no sense of responsibility whatever4 ,paul certainly did form opinions about preachers1 opinions which were anything but flattering2 but he did it through ,jesus ,christ and in relation to ,god2 he did it because1 as he writes1 ,god had made him sufficient1 i4e4 had given him capacity to be1 and the capacity of1 a true evangelist1 so that he knew both what the ,gospel was1 and how it ought to be proclaimed4 ,it would silence much incompetent1 because self-sufficient1 criticism1 if no one thought anything who had not this qualification4 ,the qualification having been mentioned1 the ,apostle proceeds1 as usual1 to enlarge upon it4 ,our sufficiency is of ,god2 who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant2 not of letter1 but of spirit3 for the letter killeth1 but the spirit giveth life4 ,at the first glance1 we see no reason why his thought should take this direction1 and it can only be because those whom he is opposing1 and with whom he has contrasted himself in chap4 ii4 #ag1 are in some sense representatives of the old covenant1 ministers of the letter in spite of their claim to be evangelists1 and appealing not to a competency which came from ,god1 but to one which rested on the flesh4 ,they based their title to preach on certain advantages of birth1 or on having known ,jesus when ,he lived in the world1 or perhaps on certification by others who had known ,him2 at all events1 not on that spiritual competence which ,paul's ministry at ,corinth had shown him to possess4 ,that this was really the case will be seen more fully at a later stage 7especially in chaps4 x4 ff474 ,with the words ministers of a new covenant we enter upon one of the great passages in ,st4 ,paul's writings1 and are allowed to see one of the inspiring and governing ideas in his mind4 ,covenant1 even to people familiar with the ,bible1 is beginning to be a remote and technical term2 it needs to be translated or explained4 ,if no more than another word is to be used1 perhaps dispensation or constitution would suggest something4 ,god's covenant with ,israel was the whole constitution under which ,god was the ,god of ,israel1 and ,israel the people of ,god4 ,the new covenant of which ,paul speaks necessarily implies an old one2 and the old one is this covenant with ,israel4 ,it was a national covenant1 and for that1 among other reasons1 it was represented and embodied in legal forms4 ,there was a legal constitution under which the nation lived1 and according to which all ,god's dealings with it1 and all its dealings with ,god1 were regulated4 ,without entering more deeply1 in the meantime1 into the nature of this constitution1 or the religious experiences which were possible to those who lived under it1 it is sufficient to notice that the best spirits in the nation became conscious of its inadequacy1 and eventually of its failure4 ,jeremiah1 who lived through the long agony of his country's dissolution1 and saw the final collapse of the ancient order1 felt this failure most deeply1 and was consoled by the vision of a brighter future4 ,that future rested for him on a more intimate relation of ,god to ,his people1 on a constitution1 as we may fairly paraphrase his words1 less legal and more spiritual4 ,behold1 the days come1 saith the ,lord1 that ,i will make a new covenant with the house of ,israel1 and with the house of ,judah3 not according to the covenant that ,i made with their fathers in the day that ,i took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of ,egypt2 which ,my covenant they brake1 although ,i was an husband unto them1 saith the ,lord4 ,but this is the covenant that ,i will make with the house of ,israel after those days1 saith the ,lord2 ,i will put my law in their inward parts1 and in their heart will ,i write it2 and ,i will be their ,god1 and they shall be ,my people3 and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour1 and every man his brother1 saying1 ,know the ,lord3 for they shall all know ,me1 from the least of them unto the greatest of them1 saith the ,lord3 for ,i will forgive their iniquity1 and their sin will ,i remember no more4 ,this wonderful passage1 so profound1 so spiritual1 so evangelical1 is the utmost reach of prophecy2 it is a sort of stepping-stone between the ,old ,testament and the ,new4 ,jeremiah has cried to ,god out of the depths1 and ,god has heard his cry1 and raised him to a spiritual height from which his eye ranges over the land of promise1 and rests with yearning on all its grandest features4 ,we do not know whether many of his contemporaries or successors were able to climb the mount which offered this glorious prospect2 but we know that the promise remained a promise--a rainbow light across the dark cloud of national disaster--till ,christ claimed its fulfilment as ,his work4 ,it was ,his to make good all that the prophets had spoken2 and when in the last hours of ,his life ,he said to ,his disciples1 ,this is ,my blood of the covenant1#bd which is shed for many1 for the remission of sins1 it was exactly as if ,he had laid ,his hand on that passage of ,jeremiah1 and said1 ,this day is this scripture fulfilled before your eyes4 ,by the death of ,jesus a new spiritual order was established2 it rested on the forgiveness of sins1 it made ,god accessible to all1 it made obedience an instinct and a joy2 all the intercourse of ,god and man was carried on upon a new footing1 under a new constitution2 to use the words of the prophet and the apostle1 ,god made a new covenant with ,his people4 ,among the ,christians of the first age1 no one so thoroughly appreciated the newness of ,christianity1 or was so immensely impressed by it1 as ,st4 ,paul4 ,the difference between the earlier dispensation and the later1 between the religion of ,moses' disciples and the religion of believers in ,jesus ,christ1 was one that could hardly be exaggerated2 he himself had been a zealot of the old1 he was now a zealot of the new2 and the gulf between his former and his present self was one that no geometry could measure4 ,he had lived1 after the straitest sect of the old religion1 a ,pharisee2 touching the righteousness which is in the law he could call himself blameless2 he had tasted the whole bitterness of the legalism1 the formality1 the bondage1 in which the old covenant entangled those who were devoted to it in his days4 ,it is with this in his memory that he here sets the old and the new in unrelieved opposition to each other4 ,his feeling is like that of a man who has just been liberated from prison1 and whose whole mind is possessed and filled up with the single sensation that it is one thing to be chained1 and another thing to be free4 ,in the passage before us1 this is all the ,apostle has in view4 ,he speaks as if the old covenant and the new had nothing in common1 as if the new1 to borrow ,baur's expression1 had merely a negative relation to the old1 as if it could only be contrasted with it1 and not compared to it1 or illustrated by it4 ,and with this restricted view he characterises the old dispensation as one of letter1 and the new as one of spirit4#be ,speaking out of his own experience1 which was not solitary1 but typical1 he could truly speak thus4 ,the essence of the old1 to a ,pharisee born and bred1 was its documentary1 statutory character3 the law1 written in letters1 on stone tablets or parchment sheets1 simply confronted men with its uninspiring imperative2 it had never yet given any one a good conscience or enabled him to attain to the righteousness of ,god4 ,the essence of the new1 on the other hand1 was spirit2 the ,christian was one in whom1 through ,christ1 the ,holy ,spirit of ,god dwelt1 putting the righteousness of ,god within his reach1 enabling him to perfect holiness in ,god's fear4 ,the contrast is made absolute1 pro tem4 ,there is no spirit in the old at all2 there is no letter in the new4 ,this last assertion was more natural then than now2 for at the time when ,paul wrote this ,epistle1 there was no ,new ,testament of our ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ consigned in documents and collected for the use of the ,church4 ,the ,gospel existed in the world1 not at all in books1 but only in men2 all the epistles were living epistles2 there was literally no letter1 but only spirit4 ,this1 doubtless1 is the explanation of the blank antithesis of the old covenant and the new in the passage before us4 ,but it is obvious1 when we think of it1 that this antithesis does not exhaust the relations of the two4 ,it is not the whole truth about the earlier dispensation to say that1 while the new is spiritual1 it is not4 ,the religion of the ,old ,testament was not mere legalism2 if it had been1 the ,old ,testament would be for us an unprofitable and almost an unintelligible book4 ,that religion had its spiritual side1 as all but utterly corrupt religions always have2 ,god administered ,his grace to ,his people through it1 and in psalms and prophecies we have records of their experiences1 which are not legal1 but spiritual1 and priceless even to ,christian men4 ,nor would ,paul1 under other circumstances1 have refused to admit this2 on the contrary1 it is a prominent element in his teaching4 ,he knows that the old bears in its bosom the promise of the new1 a sum of promises that has been confirmed and made good in ,jesus ,christ 7chap4 i4 #bj74 ,he knows that the righteousness of ,god1 which is proclaimed in the ,gospel1 is witnessed to by the law and the prophets 7,rom4 iii4 #ba74 ,he knows that the law1 even1 is spiritual 7,rom4 vii4 #ad74 ,he knows that the righteousness of faith was a secret revealed to ,david 7,rom4 iv4 #f f474 ,he would probably have agreed with ,stephen that the oracles received and delivered by ,moses in the wilderness were living oracles2 and his profound mind would have thrilled to hear that great word of ,jesus1 ,i am not come to destroy1 but to fulfil4 ,had he lived to a time like ours1 when the ,gospel also has been embodied in a book1 instead of using letter and spirit as mutually exclusive1 he would have admitted1 as we do1 that both ideas apply1 in some sense1 to both dispensations1 and that it is possible to take the old and the new alike either in the letter or in the spirit4 ,nevertheless1 he would have been entitled to say that1 if they were to be characterised in their differences1 they must be characterised as he has done it3 the mark of the old1 as opposed to the new1 is literalism1 or legalism2 the mark of the new1 as opposed to the old1 is spirituality1 or freedom4 ,they differ as law differs from life1 as compulsion from inspiration4 ,taken thus1 no one can have any difficulty in agreeing with him4 ,but the ,apostle does not rest in generalities3 he goes on to a more particular comparison of the old and the new dispensations1 and especially to a demonstration that the new is the more glorious4 ,he starts with a statement of their working1 as dependent on their nature just described4 ,one is letter2 the other1 spirit4 ,well1 the letter kills1 but the spirit gives life4 ,a sentence so pregnant as this1 and so capable of various applications1 must have been very perplexing to the ,corinthians1 had they not been fairly acquainted beforehand with the ,apostle's form of doctrine 7,rom4 vi4 #ag74 ,it condenses in itself a whole cycle of his characteristic thoughts4 ,all that he says in the ,epistles to the ,romans and the ,galatians about the working of the law1 in its relation to the flesh1 is represented in the letter killeth4 ,the power of the law to create the consciousness of sin and to intensify it2 to stimulate transgression1 and so make sin exceeding sinful1 and shut men up in despair2 to pass sentence upon the guilty1 the hopeless sentence of death1--all this is involved in the words4 ,the fulness of meaning is as ample in the spirit giveth life4 ,the ,spirit of ,christ1 given to those who receive ,christ in the ,gospel1 is an infinite power and an infinite promise4 ,it includes the reversal of all that the letter has wrought4 ,the sentence of death is reversed2 the impotence to good is counteracted and overcome2 the soul looks out to1 and anticipates1 not the blackness of darkness for ever1 but the everlasting glory of ,christ4#bf ,when the ,apostle has written these two little sentences--when he has supplied letter and spirit with the predicates kill and make alive1 in the sense which they bear in the ,christian revelation--he has gone as far as the mind of man can go in stating an effective contrast4 ,but he works it out with reference to some special points in which the superiority of the new to the old is to be observed4 7#a7 ,in the first place1 the ministry of the old was a ministry of death4 ,even as such it had a glory1 or splendour1 of its own4 ,the face of ,moses1 its great minister1 shone after he had been in the presence of ,god2 and though that brightness was passing away even as men caught sight of it 7 is partic4 impf471 it was so resplendent as to dazzle the beholders4 ,but the ministry of the new is a ministry of spirit3 and who would not argue a fortiori that it should appear in glory greater still8 ,both the 7rather71 and the future 771 in ver4 #h1 are logical4 ,paul speaks1 to use ,bengel's expression1 looking forward as it were from the ,old ,testament into the ,new4 ,he does not say in what the glory of the new consists4 ,he does not say that it is veiled at present1 and will be manifested when ,christ comes to transfigure ,his own4 ,even the use of hope in ver4 #ab does not prove this4 ,he leaves it quite indefinite2 and arguing from the nature of the two ministries1 which has just been explained1 simply concludes that in glory the new must far transcend the old4 7#b7 ,in vv4 #i and #aj he puts a new point upon this4 ,death and life are here replaced by condemnation and righteousness4 ,it is through condemnation that man becomes the prey of death2 and the grace which reigns in him to eternal life reigns through righteousness 7,rom4 v4 #ba74 ,the contrast of these two words is very significant for ,paul's conception of the ,gospel3 it shows how essential to his idea of righteousness1 how fundamental in it1 is the thought of acquittal or acceptance with ,god4 ,men are bad men1 sinful men1 under ,god's condemnation2 and he cannot conceive a ,gospel at all which does not announce1 at the very outset1 the removal of that condemnation1 and a declaration in the sinner's favour4 ,perhaps there are other ways of conceiving men1 and other aspects in which ,god can come to them as their ,saviour2 but the ,pauline ,gospel has proved itself1 and will always prove itself anew1 the ,gospel for the sinful1 who know the misery of condemnation and despair4 ,mere pardon1 as it has been called1 may be a meagre conception1 but it is that without which no other ,christian conception can exist for a moment4 ,that which lies at the bottom of the new covenant1 and supports all its magnificent promises and hopes1 is this3 ,i will forgive their iniquities1 and ,i will remember their sins no more4 ,if we could imagine this taken away1 what were left8 ,of course the righteousness which the ,gospel proclaims is more than pardon2 it is not exhausted when we say it is the opposite of condemnation2 but unless we feel that the very nerve of it lies in the removal of condemnation1 we shall never understand the ,new ,testament tone in speaking of it4 ,it is this which explains the joyous rebound of the ,apostle's spirit whenever he encounters the subject2 he remembers the black cloud1 and now there is clear shining2 he was under sentence then1 but now he is justified by faith1 and has peace with ,god4 ,he cannot exaggerate the contrast1 nor the greater glory of the new state4 ,granting that the ministry of condemnation had its glory--that the revelation of law had an austere majesty of its own--does not the ministry of righteousness1 the ,gospel which annulled the condemnation and restored man to peace with ,god1 overflow with glory8 ,when he thinks of it1 he is tempted to withdraw the concession he has made4 ,we may call the old dispensation and its ministry glorious if we like2 they are glorious when they stand alone2 but when comparison is made with the new1#bg they are not glorious at all4 ,the stars are bright till the moon rises2 the moon herself reigns in heaven till her splendour pales before the sun2 but when the sun shines in his strength1 there is no other glory in the sky4 ,all the glories of the old covenant have vanished for ,paul in the light which shines from the ,cross and from the ,throne of ,christ4 7#c7 ,a final superiority belongs to the new dispensation and its ministry as compared with the old--the superiority of permanence to transiency4 ,if that which passeth away was with glory1 much more that which remaineth is in glory4 ,the verbs here are supplied by the translators1 but one may question whether the contrast of past and present was so definite in the ,apostle's mind4 ,i think not1 and the reference to ,moses' face does not prove that it was4 ,all through these comparisons ,st4 ,paul expresses himself with the utmost generality2 logical and ideal1 not temporal1 relations1 dominate his thoughts4 ,the law was given in glory 7 1 ver4 #g7--there is no dispute about that2 but what the eleventh verse makes prominent is that while glory is the attendant or accompaniment of the transient1 it is the element of the permanent4 ,the law is indeed of ,god2 it has a function in the economy of ,god2 it is at the very lowest a negative preparation for the ,gospel2 it shuts men up to the acceptance of ,god's mercy4 ,in this respect the glory on ,moses' face represents the real greatness which belongs to the law as a power used by ,god in the working out of ,his loving purpose4 ,but at the best the law only shuts men up to ,christ1 and then its work is done4 ,the true greatness of ,god is revealed1 and with it ,his true glory1 once for all1 in the ,gospel4 ,there is nothing beyond the righteousness of ,god1 manifested in ,christ ,jesus1 for the acceptance of faith4 ,that is ,god's last word to the world3 it has absorbed in it even the glory of the law2 and it is bright for ever with a glory above all other4 ,it is ,god's chief end to reveal this glory in the ,gospel1 and to make men partakers of it2 it has been so always1 is so still1 and ever shall be2 and in the consciousness that he has seen and been saved by the eternal love of ,god1 and is now a minister of it1 the ,apostle claims this finality of the new covenant as its crowning glory4 ,the law1 like the lower gifts of the ,christian life1 passes away2 but the new covenant abides1 for it is the revelation of love--that love which is the being and the glory of ,god ,himself4 ,these qualities of the ,christian dispensation1 which constitute its newness1 are too readily lost sight of4 ,it is hard to appreciate and to live up to them1 and hence they are always lapsing out of view1 and requiring to be rediscovered4 ,in the first age of ,christianity there were many myriads of ,jews1 the ,book of ,acts tells us1 who had very little sense of the newness of the ,gospel2 they were exceedingly zealous for the law1 even for the letter of all its ritual prescriptions3 ,paul and his spiritual conception of ,christianity were their bugbear4 ,in the first half of the second century the religion even of the ,gentile ,churches had already become more legal than evangelical2 there was wanting any sufficient apprehension of the spirituality1 the freedom1 and the newness of ,christianity as opposed to ,judaism2 and though the reaction of ,marcion1 who denied that there was any connexion whatever between the ,old ,testament and the ,new1 went to a false and perverse extreme1 it was the natural1 and in its motives the legitimate1 protest of spirit and life against letter and law4 ,the ,reformation in the sixteenth century was essentially a movement of similar character3 it was the rediscovery of the ,pauline ,gospel1 or of the ,gospel in those characteristics of it which made ,paul's heart leap for joy--its justifying righteousness1 its spirituality1 its liberty4 ,in a ,protestant scholasticism this glorious ,gospel has again been lost oftener than once2 it is lost when a learned ministry deals with the ,new ,testament writings as the scribes dealt with the ,old2 it is lost also--for extremes meet--when an unlearned piety swears by verbal1 even by literal1 inspiration1 and takes up to mere documents an attitude which in principle is fatal to ,christianity4 ,it is in the life of the ,church--especially in that life which communicates itself1 and makes the ,christian community what the ,jewish never was1 essential a missionary community--that the safeguard of all these high characteristics lies4 ,a ,church devoted to learning1 or to the maintenance of a social or political position1 or even merely to the cultivation of a type of character among its own members1 may easily cease to be spiritual1 and lapse into legal religion3 a ,church actively engaged propagating itself never can4 ,it is not with the letter one can hopefully address unbelieving men2 it is only with the power of the ,holy ,spirit at work in the heart2 and where the ,spirit is1 there is liberty4 ,none are so sound on the essentials of the faith as men with the truly missionary spirit2 but at the same time none are so completely emancipated1 and that by the self-same ,spirit1 from all that is not itself spiritual4 ,,footnotes3 #bd ,the true reading in ,matt4 xxvi4 #bh omits new1 but the reference is unmistakable4 #be ,grammatically1 it is probable that and in ver4 #f depend1 not on 1 but on 2 but the sense is all one4 #bf ,the contrast of letter and spirit has1 as is well known1 been taken in various ways4 ,that which is given above undoubtedly represents ,st4 ,paul's mind1 and may be called the historical interpretation4 ,an interpretation so common in early times that it might fairly be called the patristic1 would explain the words as meaning that the literal sense of the ,scriptures1 especially of the ,old ,testament1 is fatally misleading1 and that we must find what that literal sense represents to the laws of allegory1 if we would make it a word of life 7cf4 in ,rev4 xi4 #h1 the great city1 which spiritually is called ,sodom and ,egypt1 where also our ,lord was crucified74 ,there is another interpretation still1 which may be called the literary or practical one4 ,according to this1 the ,apostle means that the spiritual life1 whether of intelligence or conscience1 is strangled by literalism2 we must regard not words as such1 but the spirit and purpose of their author1 if we are to have life and progress4 ,this is perfectly true1 but perfectly irrelevant1 and is a good example of the free-and-easy way in which the ,bible is quoted by those who do not study it4 #bg ,chrysostom explains by 1 and this is substantially right4 ,but ,i think the words merely anticipate 4 ,x ,,the ,,transfiguring ,,spirit ,having therefore such a hope1 we use great boldness of speech1 and are not as ,moses1 who put a veil upon his face1 that the children of ,israel should not look stedfastly on the end of that which was passing away3 but their minds were hardened3 for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remaineth unlifted2 which veil is done away in ,christ4 ,but unto this day1 whensoever ,moses is read1 a veil lieth upon their heart4 ,but whensoever it shall turn to the ,lord1 the veil is taken away4 ,now the ,lord is the ,spirit3 and where the ,spirit of the ,lord is1 there is liberty4 ,but we all1 with unveiled face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the ,lord1 are transformed into the same image from glory to glory1 even as from the ,lord the ,spirit4--#b ,,cor4 iii4 #ab-ah 7,r4,v474 ,the hope which here explains the ,apostle's freedom of speech is to all intents and purposes the same as the confidence in ver4 #d4bh ,it is much easier to suppose that the word is thus used1 with a certain latitude1 as it might be in ,english1 than to force upon it a reference to the glory to be revealed when ,christ comes again1 and to give the same future reference to glory all through this passage4 ,the new covenant is present1 and present in its glory2 and though it has a future1 with which the ,apostle's hope is bound up1 it is not in view of its future only1 it is because of what it is even now1 that he is so grandly confident1 and uses such boldness of speech4 ,it is quite fair to infer from chap4 iv4 #c--;if our ,gospel is veiled1 it is veiled in those that are perishing--that ,paul's opponents at ,corinth had charged him with behaviour of another kind4 ,they had accused him of making a mystery of his ,gospel--preaching it in such a fashion that no one could really see it1 or understand what he meant4 ,if there is any charge which the true preacher will feel keenly1 and resent vehemently1 it is this4 ,it is his first duty to deliver his message with a plainness that defies misunderstanding4 ,he is sent to all men on an errand of life or death2 and to leave any man wondering1 after the message has been delivered1 what it is about1 is the worst sort of treachery4 ,it belies the ,gospel1 and ,god who is its author4 ,it may be due to pride1 or to a misguided intention to commend the ,gospel to the wisdom or the prejudices of men2 but it is never anything else than a fatal mistake4 ,paul not only resents the charge2 he feels it so acutely that he finds an ingenious way of retorting it4 ,we1 he says1 the ministers of the new covenant1 we who preach life1 righteousness1 and everlasting glory1 have nothing to hide2 we wish every one to know everything about the dispensation which we serve4 ,it is the representatives of the old who are really open to the charge of using concealment2 the first and the greatest of them all1 ,moses himself1 put a veil on his face1 that#bi the children of ,israel should not look stedfastly on the end of that which was passing away4 ,the glory on his face was a fading glory1 because it was the glory of a temporary dispensation2 but he did not wish the ,israelites to see clearly that it was destined to disappear2 so he veiled his face1 and left them to think the law a permanent divine institution4 ,perhaps the best thing to do with this singular interpretation is not to take it too seriously4 ,even sober expositors like ,chrysostom and ,calvin have thought it necessary to argue gravely that the ,apostle is not accusing the law1 or saying anything insulting of ,moses2 while ,schmiedel1 on the other hand1 insists that a grave moral charge is made against ,moses1 and that ,paul most unjustly uses the ,old ,testament1 in its own despite1 to prove its own transitoriness4 ,i believe it would be far truer to say that the character of ,moses never crossed ,paul's mind in the whole passage1 for better or worse2 he only remembered1 as he smarted under the accusation of veiling his ,gospel of the new covenant1 a certain transaction under the old covenant in which a veil did figure--a transaction which a ,rabbinical interpretation1 whimsical indeed to us1 but provoking if not convincing to his adversaries1 enabled him to turn against them4 ,as for proving the transitoriness of the ,old ,testament by a forced and illegitimate argument1 that transitoriness was abundantly established to ,paul1 as it is to us1 on real grounds2 nothing whatever depends on what is here said of ,moses and the veil4 ,it is not necessary1 if we take this view1 to go into the historical interpretation of the passage in ,exod4 xxxiv4 #bi-ce4 ,the comparison of the ,apostle with the ,old ,testament writer has been made more difficult for the ,english reader by the serious error in the ,authorised ,version of ,exod4 xxxiv4 #cc4 ,instead of till ,moses had done speaking with them1 we ought to read1 as in the ,revised ,version1 when ,moses had done speaking4 ,this exactly reverses the meaning4 ,moses spoke to the people with face bare and radiant2 the glory was to be visible at least in his official intercourse with them1 or whenever he spoke for ,god4 ,at other times he wore the veil1 putting it off1 however1 when he went into the tabernacle--that is1 whenever he spoke with ,god4 ,in all divine relations1 then1 we should naturally infer1 there was to be the open and shining face2 in other words1 so far as he acted as mediator of the old covenant1 ,moses really acted in the spirit of ,paul4 ,it would therefore have been unjust in the ,apostle to charge him with hiding anything1 if the charge had really meant more than this--that ,paul saw in his use of the veil a symbol of the fact that the children of ,israel did not see that the old covenant was transitory1 and that its glory was to be lost in that of the new4 ,no one can deny that this was the fact1 and no one therefore need be exercised if ,paul pictured it in the manner of his own time and race1 and not in the manner of ours4 ,to suppose that he means to charge ,moses with a deliberate act of dishonesty is to suppose what no sensible person will ever credit2 and we may return1 without more ado1 to the painful situation which he contemplates4 ,their minds were hardened4 ,this is stated historically1 and seems to refer in the first instance to those who watched ,moses put on the veil1 and became insensible1 as he did so1 to the nature of the old covenant4 ,but it is applicable to the ,jewish race at all periods of their history2 they never discovered the secret which ,moses hid from their forefathers beneath the veil4 ,the only result that followed the labours even of great prophets like ,isaiah had been the deepening of the darkness2 having eyes the people saw not1 having ears they heard not2 their heart was fat and heavy1 so that they did not apprehend the ways of ,god nor turn to ,him4 ,all around him the ,apostle saw the melancholy evidence that there had been no change for the better4 ,until this day the same veil remains1 when the ,old ,testament is read1#cj not taken away2 for it is only undone in ,christ1 and of ,christ they will know nothing4 ,he repeats the sad statement1 varying it slightly to indicate that the responsibility for a condition so blind and dreary rests not with the old covenant itself1 but with those who live under it4 ,until this day1 ,i say1 whensoever ,moses is read1 a veil lies upon their heart4 ,this witness1 we must acknowledge1 is almost as true in the nineteenth century as in the first4 ,the ,jews still exist as a race and a sect1 acknowledging the ,old ,testament as a revelation from ,god1 basing their religion upon it1 keeping their ancient law so far as circumstances enable them to keep it1 not convinced that as a religious constitution it has been superseded by a new one4 ,many of them1 indeed1 have abandoned it without becoming ,christians4 ,but in so doing they have become secularists2 they have not appreciated the old covenant to the full1 and then outgrown it2 they have been led for various reasons to deny that there ever was anything divine in it1 and have renounced together its discipline and its hopes4 ,only where the knowledge of the ,christ has been received is the veil which lies upon their hearts taken away2 they can then appreciate both all the virtues of the ancient dispensation and all its defects2 they can glorify ,god for what it was and for what it shut them up to2 they can see that in all its parts it had a reference to something lying beyond itself--to a new thing that ,god would do for ,his people2 and in welcoming the new covenant1 and its ,mediator ,jesus ,christ1 they can feel that they are not making void1 but establishing1 the law4 ,this is their hope1 and to this the ,apostle looks in ver4 #af3 ,but whensoever it shall turn to the ,lord1 the veil is taken away4 ,the ,greek expression of this passage is so closely modelled on that of ,exod4 xxxiv4 #cd1 that ,westcott and ,hort print it as a quotation4 ,moses evidently is still in the ,apostle's mind4 ,the veiling of his face symbolised the nation's blindness2 the nation's hope is to be seen in that action in which ,moses was unveiled4 ,he uncovered his face when he turned from the people to speak to ,god4 ,even so1 says the ,apostle1 when they turn to the ,lord1 the veil of which we have been speaking is taken away1#ca and they see clearly4#cb ,one can hardly avoid feeling in this a reminiscence of the ,apostle's own conversion4 ,he is thinking not only of the unveiling of ,moses1 but of the scales which fell from his own eyes when he was baptised in the name of ,jesus1 and was filled with the ,holy ,ghost1 and saw the old covenant and its glory lost and fulfilled in the new4 ,he knew how stupendous was the change involved here2 it meant a revolution in the whole constitution of the ,jews' spiritual world as vast as that which was wrought in the natural world when the sun supplanted the earth as the centre of our system4 ,but the gain was corresponding4 ,the soul was delivered from an impasse4 ,under the old covenant1 as bitter experience had shown him1 the religious life had come to a dead-lock2 the conscience was confronted with a torturing1 and in its very nature insoluble1 problem3 man1 burdened and enslaved by sin1 was required to attain to a righteousness which should please ,god4 ,the contradictions of this position were solved1 its mystery was abolished1 when the soul turned to the ,lord1 and appropriated by faith the righteousness and life of ,god in him4 ,the old covenant found its place1 an intelligible and worthy though subordinate place1 in the grand programme of redemption2 the strife between the soul and ,god1 between the soul and the conditions of existence1 ceased2 life opened out again2 there was a large room to move in1 an inspiring power within2 in one word1 there was spiritual life and liberty1 and ,christ was the author of it all4 ,this is the force of the seventeenth verse3 ,now the ,lord is the ,spirit3 and where the ,spirit of the ,lord is1 there is liberty4 ,the ,lord1 of course1 is ,christ1 and the ,spirit is that of which ,paul has already spoken in the sixth verse4 ,it is the ,holy ,spirit1 the ,lord and ,giver of life under the new covenant4 ,he who turns to ,christ receives this ,spirit2 it is through it that ,christ dwells in ,his people2 what are called fruits of the ,spirit are traits of ,christ's own character which the ,spirit produces in the saints2 practically1 therefore1 the two may be identified1 and hence the expression the ,lord is the ,spirit1 though startling at first sight1 is not improper1 and ought not to mislead4#cc ,it is a mistake to connect it with such passages as ,rom4 i4 #d1 and to draw inferences from it as to ,paul's conception of the person of ,christ4 ,he does not say the ,lord is spirit1 but the ,lord is the ,spirit2 what is in view is not the person of ,christ so much as ,his power4 ,to identify the ,lord and the ,spirit without qualification1 in the face of the benediction in chap4 xiii4 #ad1 is out of the question4 ,the truth of the passage is the same as that of ,rom4 viii4 #i ff43 ,if any man have not the ,spirit of ,christ1 he is none of ,his4 ,and if ,christ is in you1 etc4 ,here1 so far as the practical experience of ,christians goes1 no distinction is made between the ,spirit of ,christ and ,christ ,himself2 ,christ dwells in ,christians through ,his ,spirit4 ,the very same truth1 as is well known1 pervades the chapters in the ,fourth ,gospel in which ,christ consoles ,his disciples for ,his departure from this world2 ,he will not leave them orphans--,he will come to them1 and remain with them in the other ,comforter4 ,to turn to ,christ1 the ,apostle wishes to assert with the utmost emphasis1 is not to do a thing which has no virtue and no consequences2 it is to turn to one who has received of the ,father the gift of the ,holy ,ghost1 and who immediately sets up the new spiritual life1 which is nothing less than ,his own life1 by that ,spirit1 in the believing soul4 ,and summing up in one word the grand characteristic and distinction of the new covenant1 as realised by this indwelling of ,christ through ,his ,spirit1 he concludes3 ,and where the ,spirit of the ,lord is1 there is liberty4 ,in the interpretation of the last word1 we must have respect to the context2 liberty has its meaning in contrast with that state to which the old covenant had reduced those who adhered to it4 ,it means freedom from the law2 freedom1 fundamentally1 from its condemnation1 thanks to the gift of righteousness in ,christ2 freedom1 also1 from its letter1 as something simply without us and over against us4 ,no written word1 as such1 can ever be pleaded against the voice of the ,spirit within4 ,even the words we call in an eminent sense inspired1 words of the ,spirit1 are subject to this law3 they do not put a limit to the liberty of the spiritual man4 ,he can overrule the letter of them when the literal interpretation or application would contravene the spirit which is common both to them and him4 ,this principle is capable of being abused1 no doubt1 and by bad men and fanatics has been abused2 but its worst abuses can hardly have done more harm than the pedantic word-worship which has often lost the soul even of the ,new ,testament1 and read the words of the ,lord and ,his ,apostles with a veil upon its face through which nothing could be seen4 ,there is such a thing as an unspiritual scrupulosity in dealing with the ,new ,testament1 now that we have it in documentary form1 just as there used to be in dealing with the ,old2 and we ought to remind ourselves continually that the documentary form is an accident1 not an essential1 of the new covenant4 ,that covenant existed1 and men lived under it and enjoyed its blessings1 before it had any written documents at all2 and we shall not appreciate its characteristics1 and especially this one of its spiritual freedom1 unless we put ourselves occasionally1 in imagination1 in their place4 ,it is far easier to make ,paul mean too little than too much2 and the liberty of the ,spirit in which he exults here covers1 we may be sure1 not only liberty from condemnation1 and liberty from the unspiritual yoke of the ritual law1 but liberty from all that is in its nature statutory1 liberty to organise the new life1 and to legislate for it1 from within4 ,the bearing of this passage on the religious blindness of the ,jews ought not to hide from us its permanent application4 ,the religious insensibility of his countrymen will cease1 ,paul says2 their religious perplexities will be solved1 when they turn to ,christ4 ,this is the beginning of all intelligence1 of all freedom1 of all hope1 in things spiritual4 ,much of the religious doubt and confusion of our own times is due to the preoccupation of men's minds with religion at points from which ,christ is invisible4 ,but it is ,he who is the key to all human experiences as well as to the ,old ,testament2 it is ,he who answers the questions of the world as well as the questions of the ,jews2 it is ,he who takes our feet out of the net1 opens the gate of righteousness before us1 and gives us spiritual freedom4 ,it is like finding a pearl of great price when the soul discovers this1 and to point it out to others is to do them a priceless service4 ,disregard everything else in the meantime1 if you are bewildered1 baffled1 in bonds which you cannot break2 turn to ,jesus ,christ1 as ,moses turned to ,god1 with face uncovered2 put down prejudice1 preconceptions1 pride1 the disposition to make demands2 only look stedfastly till you see what ,he is1 and all that perplexes you will pass away1 or appear in a new light1 and serve a new and spiritual purpose4 ,something like this larger application of his words passed1 we may suppose1 before the ,apostle's mind when he wrote the eighteenth verse4 ,in the grandeur of the truth which rises upon him he forgets his controversy and becomes a poet4 ,we breathe the ampler ether1 the diviner air1 as we read3 ,but we all1 with unveiled face beholding as in a glass the glory of the ,lord1 are transformed into the same image from glory to glory1 even as from the ,lord the ,spirit4 ,i have kept here for the rendering of the ,authorised ,version1 which in the ,revised has been relegated to the margin1 and replaced by reflecting as a mirror4 ,there do not seem to be sufficient grounds for the change1 and the old translation is defended in ,grimm's ,lexicon1 in ,winer's ,grammar1 and by ,meyer1 ,heinrici1 and ,beet4 ,the active voice of the verb means to exhibit in a mirror2 and the middle1 to mirror oneself--i4e41 to look at oneself in a mirror4 ,this1 at least1 is the sense of most of the examples of the middle which are found in ,greek writers2 but as it is quite inapplicable here1 the question of interpretation becomes rather difficult4 ,it is1 however1 in accordance with analogy to say that if the active means to show in a mirror1 the middle means to get shown to one in a mirror1 or1 as the ,authorised ,version puts it1 to behold in a mirror4 ,i cannot make out that any analogy favours the new rendering1 reflecting as a mirror2 and the authority of ,chrysostom1 which would otherwise be considerable on this side1 is lessened by the fact that he seems never to have raised the question1 and in point of fact combines both renderings4#cd ,his illustration of the polished silver lying in the sunshine1 and sending back the rays which strike it1 is in favour of the change2 but when he writes1 ,we not only look upon the glory of ,god1 but also catch thence a kind of radiance1 he may fairly be claimed for the other side4 ,there are two reasons also which seem to me to have great weight in favour of the old rendering3 first1 the expression with unveiled face1 which1 as ,meyer remarks1 is naturally of a piece with beholding2 and1 second1 an unequivocal example of the middle voice of in the sense of seeing1 while no unequivocal example can be produced for reflecting4 ,this example is found in ,philo i4 #ajg 7,leg4 ,alleg41 iii4 #cc71 where ,moses prays to ,god3 ,show not ,thyself to me through heaven or earth1 or water or air1 or anything at all that comes into being2 nor let me see ,thy form mirrored in any other thing than in ,thee1 even in ,god 7 74 ,this seems to me decisive1 and there is the less reason to reject it on other than linguistic grounds1 when we consider that the idea of reflecting1 if it is given up in 1 is conserved in 4 ,the transformation has the reflection of ,christ's glory for its effect1 not for its cause2 but the reflection1 eventually1 is there4 ,assuming1 then1 that beholding as in a glass is the right interpretation of this hard word1 let us go on to what the ,apostle says4 ,we all probably means all ,christians1 and not only all ,christian teachers4 ,if there is a comparison implied1 it is between the two dispensations1 and the experiences open to those who lived under them1 not between the mediator of the old and the heralds of the new4 ,under the old covenant one only saw the glory2 now the beatific vision is open to all4 ,we all behold it with unveiled face4 ,there is nothing on ,christ's part that leads to disguise1 and nothing on ours that comes between us and ,him4 ,the darkness is past1 the true light already shines1 and ,christian souls cannot look on it too fixedly1 or drink it in to excess4 ,but what is meant by the glory of the ,lord on which we gaze with face unveiled8 ,it will not be questioned1 by those who are at home in ,st4 ,paul's thoughts1 that the ,lord means the exalted ,saviour1 and that the glory must be something which belongs to ,him4 ,indeed1 if we remember that in the ,first ,epistle1 chap4 ii4 #h1 ,he is characteristically described by the ,apostle as the ,lord of glory1 we shall not feel it too much to say that the glory is everything which belongs to ,him4 ,there is not any aspect of the exalted ,christ1 there is not any representation of ,him in the ,gospel1 there is not any function which ,he exercises1 that does not come under this head4 ,in ,his temple everything saith ,glory6 ,there is a glory even in the mode of ,his existence3 ,st4 ,paul's conception of ,him is dominated always by that appearance on the way to ,damascus1 when he saw the ,christ through a light above the brightness of the sun4 ,it is ,his glory that ,he shares the ,father's throne1#ce that ,he is head of the ,church1 possessor and bestower of all the fulness of divine grace1 the coming ,judge of the world1 conqueror of every hostile power1 intercessor for ,his own1 and1 in short1 bearer of all the majesty which belongs to ,his kingly office4 ,the essential thing in all this--essential to the understanding of the ,apostle1 and to the existence of the apostolic ,gospel of the glory of ,christ 7chap4 iv4 #d7--;is that the glory in question is the glory of a ,living ,person4 ,when ,paul thinks of it1 he does not look back1 he looks up2 he does not remember1 he beholds in a glass2 the glory of the ,lord has no meaning for him apart from the present exaltation of the ,risen ,christ4 ,the ,lord reigneth2 ,he is apparelled with majesty--that is the anthem of ,his praise4 ,i have insisted on this1 because1 in a certain reaction from what was perhaps an exaggerated ,paulinism1 there is a tendency to misapply even the most characteristic and vital passages in ,st4 ,paul's ,gospel1 and pre-eminently to misapply passages like this4 ,nothing could be more misleading than to substitute here for the glory of the exalted ,christ as mirrored in the apostolic ,gospel that moral beauty which was seen in ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,of course ,i do not mean to deny that the moral loveliness of ,jesus is glorious2 nor do ,i question that in the contemplation of it in the pages of our ,gospels--subject to one grand condition--a transforming power is exercised through it2 but ,i do deny that any such thing was in the mind of ,st4 ,paul4 ,the subject of the ,apostle's ,gospel was not ,jesus the carpenter of ,nazareth1 but ,christ the ,lord of glory2 men1 as he understood the matter1 were saved1 not by dwelling on the wonderful words and deeds of ,one who had lived some time ago1 and reviving these in their imagination1 but by receiving the almighty1 emancipating1 quickening ,spirit of ,one who lived and reigned for evermore4 ,the transformation here spoken of is not the work of a powerful imagination1 which can make the figure in the pages of the ,gospels live again1 and suffuse the soul with feeling as it gazes upon it2 preach this as gospel who will1 it was never preached by an apostle of ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is the work of the ,spirit1 and the ,spirit is given1 not to the memory or imagination which can vivify the past1 but to the faith which sees ,christ upon ,his throne4 ,and it is subject to the condition of faith in the living ,christ that contemplation of ,jesus in the ,gospels changes us into the same image4 ,there can be no doubt that at the present time many are falling back upon this contemplation in a despairing rather than a believing mood2 what they seek and find in it is rather a poetic consolation than religious inspiration2 their faith in the living ,christ is gone1 or is so uncertain as to be practically of no saving power1 and they have recourse to the memory of what ,jesus was as at least something to cling to4 ,we thought that it had been ,he which should have delivered ,israel4 ,but surely it is as clear as day that in religion--in the matter of redemption--we must deal1 not with the dead1 but with the living4 ,paul may have known less or more of the contents of our first three ,gospels2 he may have valued them more or less adequately2 but just because he had been saved by ,christ1 and was preaching ,christ as a ,saviour1 the centre of his thoughts and affections was not ,galilee1 but the heavenlies4 ,there the ,lord of glory reigned2 and from that world ,he sent the ,spirit which changed ,his people into ,his image4 ,and so it must always be1 if ,christianity is to be a living religion4 ,leave out this1 and not only is the ,pauline ,gospel lost1 but everything is lost which could be called ,gospel in the ,new ,testament4 ,the ,lord of glory1 ,paul teaches here1 is the pattern and prophecy of a glory to be revealed in us2 and as we contemplate ,him in the mirror of the ,gospel1#cf we are gradually transformed into the same image1 even as by the ,lord the ,spirit4 ,the transformation1 these last words again teach1 is not accomplished by beholding1 but while we behold2 it does not depend on the vividness with which we can imagine the past1 but on the present power of ,christ working in us4 ,the result is such as befits the operation of such a power4 ,we are changed into the image of ,him from whom it proceeds4 ,we are made like ,himself4 ,it may seem far more natural to say that the believer is made like ,jesus of ,nazareth1 than that he is made like the ,lord of glory2 but that does not entitle us to shift the centre of gravity in the ,apostle's teaching1 and it only tempts us to ignore one of the most prominent and enviable characteristics of the ,new ,testament religious life4 ,christ is on ,his throne1 and ,his people are exalted and victorious in ,him4 ,when we forget ,christ's exaltation in our study of ,his earthly life--when we are so preoccupied1 it may even be so fascinated1 with what ,he was1 that we forget what ,he is--when1 in other words1 a pious historical imagination takes the place of a living religious faith--that victorious consciousness is lost1 and in a most essential point the image of the ,lord is not reproduced in the believer4 ,this is why the ,pauline point of view--if indeed it is to be called ,pauline1 and not simply ,christian--is essential4 ,christianity is a religion1 not merely a history1 though it should be the history told by ,matthew1 ,mark1 and ,luke2 and the chance of having the history itself appreciated for religion is that ,he who is its subject shall be contemplated1 not in the dim distance of the past1 but in the glory of ,his heavenly reign1 and that ,he shall be recognised1 not merely as one who lived a perfect life in ,his own generation1 but as the ,giver of life eternal by ,his ,spirit to all who turn to ,him4 ,the ,church will always be justified1 while recognising that ,christianity is a historical religion1 in giving prominence1 not to its historicity1 but to what makes it a religion at all--namely1 the present exaltation of ,christ4 ,this involves everything1 and determines1 as ,st4 ,paul tells us here1 the very form and spirit of her own life4 ,,footnotes3 #bh ,in the ,,lxx4 is often used as the rendering of confidere4 #bi ,attempts have been made to render otherwise3 e4g41 has been taken as in ,matt4 xix4 #h1 which would give the meaning1 considering that the children of ,israel did not look on1 etc4 ,moses would thus veil himself in view of the fact that they did not see3 the veil would be the symbol of the judicial blindness which was henceforth to fall on them4 #cj ,i cannot suppose that 4 means anything different from 4 ,it conveys no sense1 that ,i can see1 to say that there are two veils1 one upon the reading1 and another upon the heart4 ,yet many take it so4 #ca ,the present1 where we might expect the future1 conveys the certainty and decisiveness of the result4 #cb ,the subject of the verb 7turn7 is not in point of grammar very clear4 ,it may be ,israel1 or the heart on which a veil lies1 or any one1 taken indefinitely4 ,practically1 the application is limited to those who live under the old covenant1 and yet have its nature hidden from them4 ,hence it is fair to render1 as ,i have done1 when they turn to the ,lord4 #cc ,the peculiarity of the passage has given occasion to conjectures1 of which by far the most ingenious is ,baljon's3 1 1 1 3 ,where the ,lord is1 the ,spirit is2 and where the ,spirit of the ,lord is1 there is liberty4 #cd ,hom4 vii4 on #b ,cor41 p4 #dhf1 ,e43 1 4 #ce ,so ,meyer1 from whom the particulars in this sentence are taken4 #cf ,the idea of the mirror is not to be omitted1 as of no consequence4 ,it is essential to the figure3 we see not yet face to face4 ,,xi ,,the ,,gospel ,,defined ,therefore seeing we have this ministry1 even as we obtained mercy1 we faint not3 but we have renounced the hidden things of shame1 not walking in craftiness1 nor handling the ,word of ,god deceitfully2 but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of ,god4 ,but and if our ,gospel is veiled1 it is veiled in them that are perishing3 in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving1 that the light of the ,gospel of the glory of ,christ1 who is the image of ,god1 should not dawn upon them4 ,for we preach not ourselves1 but ,christ ,jesus as ,lord1 and ourselves as your servants for ,jesus' sake4 ,seeing it is ,god1 that said1 ,light shall shine out of darkness1 who shined in our hearts1 to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of ,god in the face of ,jesus ,christ4--#b ,,cor4 iv4 #a-f 7,r4,v474 ,in this paragraph ,paul resumes for the last time the line of thought on which he had set out at chap4 iii4 #d1 and again at chap4 iii4 #ab4 ,twice he has allowed himself to be carried away into digressions1 not less interesting than his argument2 but now he proceeds without further interruption4 ,his subject is the ,new ,testament ministry1 and his own conduct as a minister4 ,seeing we have this ministry1 he writes1 even as we obtained mercy1 we faint not4 ,the whole tone of the passage is to be triumphant2 above the common joy of the ,new ,testament it rises1 at the close 7ver4 #af ff471 into a kind of solemn rapture2 and it is characteristic of the ,apostle that before he abandons himself to the swelling tide of exultation1 he guards it all with the words1 even as we obtained mercy4 ,there was nothing so deep down in ,paul's soul1 nothing so constantly present to his thoughts1 as this great experience4 ,no flood of emotion1 no pressure of trial1 no necessity of conflict1 ever drove him from his moorings here4 ,the mercy of ,god underlay his whole being2 it kept him humble even when he boasted2 even when engaged in defending his character against false accusations--a peculiarly trying situation--it kept him truly ,christian in spirit4 ,the words may be connected equally well1 so far as either meaning or grammar is concerned1 with what precedes1 or with what follows4 ,it was a signal proof of ,god's mercy that ,he had entrusted ,paul with the ministry of the ,gospel2 and it was only what we should expect1 when one who had obtained such mercy turned out a good soldier of ,jesus ,christ1 able to endure hardship and not faint4 ,those to whom little is forgiven1 ,jesus ,himself tells us1 love little2 it is not in them for ,jesus' sake to bear all things1 believe all things1 hope all things1 endure all things4 ,they faint easily1 and are overborne by petty trials1 because they have not in them that fountain of brave patience--a deep abiding sense of what they owe to ,christ1 and can never1 by any length or ardour of service1 repay4 ,it accuses us1 not so much of human weakness1 as of ingratitude1 and insensibility to the mercy of ,god1 when we faint in the exercise of our ministry4 ,we faint not1 says ,paul3 we show no weakness4 ,on the contrary1 we have renounced the hidden things of shame1 not walking in craftiness1 nor handling the ,word of ,god deceitfully4 ,the contrast marked by is very instructive3 it shows1 in the things which ,paul had renounced1 whither weakness leads4 ,it betrays men4 ,it compels them to have recourse to arts which shame bids them conceal2 they become diplomatists and strategists1 rather than heralds2 they manipulate their message2 they adapt it to the spirit of the time1 or the prejudices of their auditors2 they make liberal use of the principle of accommodation4 ,when these arts are looked at closely1 they come to this3 the minister has contrived to put something of his own between his hearers and the ,gospel2 the message has really not been declared4 ,his intention1 of course1 with all this artifice1 is to recommend himself to men2 but the method is radically vicious4 ,the ,apostle shows us a more excellent way4 ,we have renounced1 he says1 all these weak ingenuities2 and by manifestation of the truth commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of ,god4#cg ,this is probably the simplest and most complete directory for the preaching of the ,gospel4 ,the preacher is to make the truth manifest4 ,it is implied in what has just been said1 that one great hindrance to its manifestation may easily be its treatment by the preacher himself4 ,if he wishes to do anything else at the same time1 the manifestation will not take effect4 ,if he wishes1 in the very act of preaching1 to conciliate a class1 or an interest2 to create an opinion in favour of his own learning1 ability1 or eloquence2 to enlist sympathy for a cause or an institution which is only accidentally connected with the ,gospel1--the truth will not be seen1 and it will not tell4 ,the truth1 we are further taught here1 makes its appeal to the conscience2 it is there that ,god's witness in its favour resides4 ,now1 the conscience is the moral nature of man1 or the moral element in his nature2 it is this1 therefore1 which the preacher has to address4 ,does not this involve a certain directness and simplicity of method1 a certain plainness and urgency also1 which it is far easier to miss than to find8 ,conscience is not the abstract logical faculty in man1 and the preacher's business is therefore not to prove1 but to proclaim1 the ,gospel4 ,all he has to do is to let it be seen1 and the more nakedly visible it is the better4 ,his object is not to frame an irrefragable argument1 but to produce an irresistible impression4 ,there is no such thing as an argument to which it is impossible for a wilful man to make objections2 at least there is no such thing in the sphere of ,christian truth4 ,even if there were1 men would object to it on that very ground4 ,they would say that1 in matters of this description1 when logic went too far1 it amounted to moral intimidation1 and that in the interests of liberty they were entitled to protest against it4 ,practically1 this is what ,voltaire said of ,pascal4#ch ,but there is such a thing as an irresistible impression1--an impression made upon the moral nature against which it is vain to attempt any protest2 an impression1 which subdues and holds the soul for ever4 ,when the truth is manifested1 and men see it1 this is the effect to be looked for2 this1 consequently1 is the preacher's aim4 ,in the sight of ,god--that is1 acting with absolute sincerity--,paul trusted to this simple method to recommend himself to men4 ,he brought no letters of introduction from others2 he had no artifices of his own2 he held up the truth in its unadorned integrity till it told upon the conscience of his hearers2 and after that1 he needed no other witness4 ,the same conversions which accredited the power of the message accredited the character of him who bore it4 ,to this line of argument there is a very obvious reply4 ,what1 it may be asked1 of those on whom the manifestation of the truth produces no effect8 ,what of those who in spite of all this plain appeal to conscience neither see nor feel anything8 ,it is sadly obvious that this is no mere supposition2 the ,gospel remains a secret1 an impotent ineffective secret1 to many who hear it again and again4 ,paul faces the difficulty without flinching1 though the answer is appalling4 ,if our ,gospel is veiled 7and the melancholy fact cannot be denied71 it is veiled in the case of the perishing4 ,the fact that it remains hidden from some men is their condemnation2 it marks them out as persons on the way to destruction4 ,the ,apostle proceeds to explain himself further4 ,as far as the rationale can be given of what is finally irrational1 he interprets the moral situation for us4 ,the perishing people in question are unbelievers1 whose thoughts1 or minds1 the god of this world has blinded4#ci ,the intention of this blinding is conveyed in the last words of ver4 #d3 that the illumination which proceeds from the ,gospel1 the ,gospel of the glory of ,christ1 who is the image of ,god1 may not dawn upon them4 ,let these solemn words appeal to our hearts and consciences1 before we attempt to criticise them4 ,let us have a due impression of the stupendous facts to which they refer1 before we raise difficulties about them1 or say rashly that the expression is disproportioned to the truth4 ,to ,st4 ,paul the ,gospel was a very great thing4 ,a light issued from it so dazzling1 so overwhelming1 in its splendour and illuminative power1 that it might well appear incredible that men should not see it4 ,the powers counteracting it1 the world-rulers of this darkness1 must surely1 to judge by their success1 have an immense influence4 ,even more than an immense influence1 they must have an immense malignity4 ,for what a blessedness it meant for men1 that that light should dawn upon them6 ,what a deprivation and loss1 that its brightness should be obscured6 ,paul's whole sense of the might and malignity of the powers of darkness is condensed in the title which he here gives to their head--the god of this world4 ,it is literally of this age1 the period of time which extends to ,christ's coming again4 ,the dominion of evil is not unlimited1 in duration2 but while it lasts it is awful in its intensity and range4 ,it does not seem an extravagance to the ,apostle to describe ,satan as the god of the present on2 and if it seems extravagant to us1 we may remind ourselves that our ,saviour also twice speaks of him as the prince of this world4 ,who but ,christ ,himself1 or a soul like ,st4 ,paul in complete sympathy with the mind and work of ,christ1 is capable of seeing and feeling the incalculable mass of the forces which are at work in the world to defeat the ,gospel8 ,what sleepy conscience1 what moral mediocrity1 itself purblind1 only dimly conscious of the height of the ,christian calling1 and vexed by no aspirations toward it1 has any right to say that it is too much to call ,satan the god of this world8 ,such sleepy consciences have no idea of the omnipresence1 the steady persistent pressure1 the sleepless malignity1 of the evil forces which beset man's life4 ,they have no idea of the extent to which these forces frustrate the love of ,god in the ,gospel1 and rob men of their inheritance in ,christ4 ,to ask why men should be exposed to such forces is another1 and here an irrelevant1 question4 ,what ,st4 ,paul saw1 and what becomes apparent to every one in proportion as his interest in evangelising becomes intense1 is that evil has a power and dominion in the world1 which are betrayed1 by their counteracting of the ,gospel1 to be purely malignant--in other words1 ,satanic--and the dimensions of which no description can exaggerate4 ,call such powers ,satan1 or what you please1 but do not imagine that they are inconsiderable4 ,during this age they reign2 they have virtually taken what should be ,god's place in the world4 ,it is the necessary complement of this assertion of the malign dominion of evil1 when ,st4 ,paul tells us that it is exercised in the case of unbelievers4 ,it is their minds which the god of this world has blinded4 ,we need not try to investigate more narrowly the relations of these two aspects of the facts4 ,we need not say that the dominion of evil produces unbelief1 though this is true 7,john iii4 #ah1 #ai72 or that unbelief gives ,satan his opportunity2 or even that unbelief and the blindness here referred to are reciprocally cause and effect of each other4 ,the moral interests involved are protected by the fact that blindness is only predicated in the case in which the ,gospel has been rejected by individual unbelief2 and the mere individualism1 which is the source of so many heresies1 doctrinal and practical1 is excluded by the recognition of spiritual forces as operative among men which are far more wide-reaching than any individual knows4 ,nor ought we to overlook the suggestion of pity1 and even of hope1 for the perishing1 in the contrast between their darkness and the illumination which the ,gospel of the glory of ,christ lights up4 ,the perishing are not the lost2 the unbelievers may yet believe3 in our deepest darkness1 we know the direction of the light 7,beet74 ,final unbelief would mean final ruin2 but we are not entitled to make sense the measure of spiritual things1 and to argue that because we see men blind and unbelieving now they are bound for ever to remain so4 ,in preaching the ,gospel we must preach with hope that the light is stronger than the darkness1 and able1 even at the deepest1 to drive it away4 ,only1 when we see1 as we sometimes will1 how dense and impenetrable the darkness is1 we cannot but cry with the ,apostle1 ,who is sufficient for these things8 ,this passage is one of those in which the subject of the ,gospel is distinctly enunciated3 it is the ,gospel of the glory of ,christ1 who is the image of ,god4 ,the glory of ,christ1 or1 which is the same thing1 ,christ in ,his glory1 is the sum and substance of it1 that which gives it both its contents and its character4 ,paul's conception of the ,gospel is inspired and controlled from beginning to end by the appearance of the ,lord which resulted in his conversion4 ,in the ,first ,epistle to the ,corinthians 7i4 #ah1 #bc71 and in the ,epistle to the ,galatians 7vi4 #ad71 he seems to find what is essential and distinguishing in the ,cross rather than the ,throne2 but this is probably due to the fact that the significance of the ,cross had been virtually denied by those for whom ,his words are meant4 ,the ,christ whom he preached had died1 and died1 as the next chapter will make very prominent1 to reconcile the world to ,god2 but ,paul preached ,him as he had seen ,him on that ever-memorable day2 with all the virtue of ,his atoning death in it1 the ,gospel was yet the ,gospel of ,his glory4 ,it is in the combination of these two that the supreme power of the ,gospel lies4 ,in the distaste for the supernatural which has prevailed so widely1 many have tried to ignore this1 and to get out of the ,cross alone an inspiration which it cannot yield if severed from the ,throne4 ,had the story of ,jesus ended with the words suffered under ,pontius ,pilate1 was crucified1 dead1 and buried1 it is very certain that these words would never have formed part of a ,creed--there would never have been such a thing as the ,christian religion4 ,but when these words are combined with what follows--,he rose again from the dead on the third day1 ,he ascended into heaven1 and sitteth at the right hand of ,god the ,father--we have the basis which religion requires2 we have a living ,lord1 in whom all the redemptive virtue of a sinless life and death is treasured up1 and who is able to save to the uttermost all that trust ,him4 ,it is not the emotions excited by the spectacle of the ,passion1 any more than the admiration evoked by the contemplation of ,christ's life1 that save2 it is the ,lord of glory1 who lived that life of love1 and in love endured that agony1 and who is now enthroned at ,god's right hand4 ,the life and death in one sense form part of ,his glory1 in another they are a foil to it2 ,he could not have been our ,saviour but for them2 ,he would not be our ,saviour unless ,he had triumphed over them1 and entered into a glory beyond4 ,when the ,apostle speaks of ,christ as the image of ,god1 we must not let extraneous associations with this title deflect us from the true line of his thought4 ,it is still the ,exalted ,one of whom he is speaking3 there is no other ,christ for him4 ,in that face which flashed upon him by ,damascus twenty years before1 he had seen1 and always saw1 all that man could see of the invisible ,god4 ,it represented for him1 and for all to whom he preached1 the ,sovereignty and the ,redeeming ,love of ,god1 as completely as man could understand them4 ,it evoked those ascriptions of praise which a ,jew was accustomed to offer to ,god alone4 ,it inspired doxologies4 ,when it passed before the inward eye of the ,apostle1 he worshipped3 to ,him1 he said1 be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever4 ,whether the pre-incarnate ,son was also the image of ,god1 and whether the same title is applicable to ,jesus of ,nazareth1 are separate questions4 ,if they are raised1 they must be answered in the affirmative1 with the necessary qualifications2 but they are quite irrelevant here4 ,much misunderstanding of the ,pauline ,gospel would have been prevented if men could have remembered that what was only of secondary importance to them1 and even of doubtful certainty--namely1 the exaltation of ,christ--was itself the foundation of the ,apostle's ,christianity1 the one indubitable fact from which his whole knowledge of ,christ1 and his whole conception of the ,gospel1 set forth4 ,christ on the throne was1 if one may say so1 a more immediate certainty to ,paul1 than ,jesus on the banks of the lake1 or even ,jesus on the cross4 ,it may not be natural or easy for us to start thus2 but if we do not make the effort1 we shall involuntarily dislocate and distort the whole system of his thoughts4 ,in the fourth verse the stress is logically1 if not grammatically1 on ,christ4 ,the ,gospel of the glory of ,christ1 ,i say4 ,for we preach not ourselves1 but ,christ ,jesus as ,lord1 and ourselves as your servants for ,jesus' sake4 ,perhaps ambition had been laid to ,paul's charge2 the necessity of being first is one of the last infirmities of noble minds4 ,but the ,gospel is too magnificent to have any room for thoughts of self4 ,a proud man may make a nation1 or even a ,church1 the instrument or the arena of his pride2 he may find in it the field of his ambition1 and make it subservient to his own exaltation4 ,but the defence which ,paul has offered of his truthfulness in chap4 i4 is as capable of application here4 ,no one whom ,christ has seized1 subdued1 and made wholly ,his own for ever1 can practise the arts of self-advancement in ,christ's service4 ,the two are mutually exclusive4 ,paul preaches ,christ ,jesus as ,lord--the absolute character in which he knows ,him2 as for himself1 he is every man's servant for ,jesus' sake4 ,he obtained mercy1 that he might be found faithful in service3 the very name of ,jesus kills pride in his heart1 and makes him ready to minister even to the unthankful and evil4 ,this is the force of the for with which the sixth verse begins4 ,it is as if he had written1 ,with our experience1 no other course is possible to us2 for it is ,god1 who said1 ,light shall shine out of darkness1 who shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of ,god in the face of ,jesus ,christ4 ,but the connexion here is of little importance in comparison with the grandeur of the contents4 ,in this verse we have the first glimpse of the ,pauline doctrine1 explicitly stated in the next chapter--that if any man be in ,christ1 he is a new creature4 ,the ,apostle finds the only adequate parallel to his own conversion in that grand creative act in which ,god brought light1 by a word1 out of the darkness of chaos4 ,it is not forcing the figure unduly1 nor losing its poetic virtue1 to think of gloom and disorder as the condition of the soul on which the ,sun of ,righteousness has not risen4 ,neither is it putting any strain upon it to make it suggest that only the creative word of ,god can dispel the darkness1 and give the beauty of life and order to what was waste and void4 ,there is one point1 indeed1 in which the miracle of grace is more wonderful than that of creation4 ,god only commanded the light to shine out of darkness when time began2 but ,he shone ,himself in the ,apostle's heart3 ,ipse lux nostra 7,bengel74 ,he shone to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of ,god in the face of ,jesus ,christ4 ,in that light which ,god flashed into his heart1 he saw the face of ,jesus ,christ1 and knew that the glory which shone there was the glory of ,god4 ,what these words mean has already been explained4 ,in the face of ,jesus ,christ1 the ,lord of ,glory1 ,paul saw ,god's ,redeeming ,love upon the throne of the universe2 it had descended deeper than sin and death2 it was exalted now above all heavens2 it filled all things4 ,that sight he carried with him everywhere2 it was his salvation and his ,gospel1 the inspiration of his inmost life1 and the motive of all his labours4 ,one who owed all this to ,christ was not likely to make ,christ's service the theatre of his own ambitions2 he could not do anything but take the servant's place1 and proclaim ,jesus ,christ as ,lord4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is a difficulty in the last half of ver4 #f3 it is not clear what precisely meant by 444 ,by some the passage is rendered3 ,god shined in our hearts1 that ,he might bring into the light 7for us to see it7 the knowledge of ,his glory1 etc4 ,this is certainly legitimate1 and strikes me as the most natural interpretation4 ,it would answer then to what ,paul says in ,gal4 i4 #ae f41 referring to the same event3 ,it pleased ,god to reveal ,his ,son in me4 ,but others think all this is covered by the words ,god shined in our hearts1 and they take 4441 as a description of the apostolic vocation3 ,god shined in our hearts1 that we might bring into the light 7for others to see7 the knowledge of ,his glory1 etc4 ,the words would then answer to what follows in ,gal4 i4 #af3 ,god revealed ,his ,son in me1 that ,i might preach ,him among the heathen4 ,this construction is possible1 but ,i think forced4 ,in ,paul's experience his conversion and vocation were indissolubly connected2 but 4441 can only mean one1 and the conversion is the likelier4 ,,footnotes3 #cg ,expositors seem to be agreed that in this passage there is a reference1 more or less definite and particular1 to the ,judaising opponents of ,st4 ,paul at ,corinth4 ,this may be admitted1 but is not to be forced4 ,it is forced1 e4g41 by ,schmiedel1 who habitually reads ,st4 ,paul as if 7#a7 he had been expressly accused of everything which he says he does not do1 and 7#b7 as if he deliberately retorted on his opponents every charge he denied4 ,press this as he does1 and whole passages of the ,epistles become a series of covert insinuations--a kind of calumnious conundrums--instead of frank and bona fide statements of ,christian principle4 ,the result condemns the process4 #ch ,il voulut se servir de la supriorit de ce gnie1 comme les rois de leur puissance2 il crut tout soumettre1 et tout abaisser par la force4 #ci ,grammarians differ much as to the relation of 7which believe not7 to 7in whom74 ,i have no doubt they are the same4 ,the natural way for the ,apostle to express himself would have been3 it is veiled in them that are perishing1 whose minds the god of this world blinded4 ,but he wished to include the moral aspect of the case1 the side of the personal responsibility of the perishing1 as of equal significance with the agency of ,satan2 and this is what he does by adding 4 ,hence1 though the expression is capable of being grammatically tortured into something different 7the perishing becoming only a part of the unbelieving--so ,meyer71 it is1 by its sheer grammatical awkwardness1 exempted from liability to such rigorous treatment1 and brought under the rules1 not of grammar1 but of common sense4 ,,xii ,,the ,,victory ,,of ,,faith ,but we have this treasure in earthen vessels1 that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of ,god1 and not from ourselves2 we are pressed on every side1 yet not straitened2 perplexed1 yet not unto despair2 pursued1 yet not forsaken2 smitten down1 yet not destroyed2 always bearing about in the body the dying of ,jesus1 that the life also of ,jesus may be manifested in our body4 ,for we which live are alway delivered unto death for ,jesus' sake1 that the life also of ,jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh4 ,so then death worketh in us1 but life in you4 ,but having the same spirit of faith1 according to that which is written1 ,i believed1 and therefore did ,i speak2 we also believe1 and therefore also we speak2 knowing that ,he which raised up the ,lord ,jesus shall raise up us also with ,jesus1 and shall present us with you4 ,for all things are for your sakes1 that the grace1 being multiplied through the many1 may cause the thanksgiving to abound unto the glory of ,god4 ,wherefore we faint not2 but though our outward man is decaying1 yet our inward man is renewed day by day4 ,for our light affliction1 which is for the moment1 worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory2 while we look not at the things which are seen1 but at the things which are not seen3 for the things which are seen are temporal2 but the things which are not seen are eternal4--#b ,,cor4 iv4 #g-ah 7,r4,v474 ,in the opening verses of this chapter ,paul has magnified his office1 and his equipment for it4 ,he has risen to a great height1 poetic and spiritual1 in speaking of the ,lord of glory1 and of the light which shines from ,his face for the illumining and redemption of men4 ,the disproportion between his own nature and powers1 and the high calling to which he has been called1 flashes across his mind4 ,it is quite possible that this disproportion1 viewed with a malignant eye1 had been made matter of reproach by his adversaries4 ,who1 they may have said1 is this man1 who soars to such heights1 and makes such extraordinary claims8 ,the part does not suit him2 he is quite unequal to it2 his bodily presence is weak1 and his speech contemptible4 ,it is possible1 further1 though ,i hardly think it probable1 that the very sufferings ,paul endured in his apostolic work were cast in his teeth by ,jewish teachers at ,corinth2 they were read by these spiteful interpreters as signs of ,god's wrath1 the judgment of the ,almighty on a wanton subverter of ,his law4 ,but surely it is not too much to suppose that ,paul could sometimes think unchallenged4 ,a soul as great and as sensitive as his might well be struck by the contrast which pervades this passage without requiring to have it suggested by the malice of his foes4 ,the interpretation which he puts upon the contrast is not merely a happy artifice 7so ,calvin71 and still less a tour de force2 it is a profound truth1 a favourite1 if one may say so1 in the ,new ,testament1 and of universal application4 ,we have this treasure1 he writes--the treasure of the knowledge of the glory of ,god in the face of ,jesus ,christ1 including the apostolic vocation to diffuse that knowledge--we have this treasure in earthen vessels1 that the exceeding greatness of the power which it exercises1 and which is exhibited in sustaining us in our function may be seen to be ,god's1 and not from us4 ,earthen vessels are fragile1 and what the word immediately suggests is no doubt bodily weakness1 and especially mortality2 but the nature of some of the trials referred to in vv4 #h and #i 71 ' 7 shows that it would be a mistake to confine the meaning to the body4 ,the earthen vessel which holds the priceless treasure of the knowledge of ,god--the lamp of frail ware in which the light of ,christ's glory shines for the illumination of the world--is human nature as it is2 man's body in its weakness1 and liability to death2 his mind with its limitations and confusions2 his moral nature with its distortions and misconceptions1 and its insight not yet half restored4 ,it was not merely in his physique that ,paul felt the disparity between himself and his calling to preach the ,gospel of the glory of ,christ2 it was in his whole being4 ,but instead of finding in this disparity reason to doubt his vocation1 he saw in it an illustration of a great law of ,god4 ,it served to protect the truth that salvation is of the ,lord4 ,no one who saw the exceeding greatness of the power which the ,gospel exercised--not only in sustaining its preachers under persecution1 but in transforming human nature1 and making bad men good--no one who saw this1 and looked at a preacher like ,paul1 could dream that the explanation lay in him4 ,not in an ugly little ,jew1 without presence1 without eloquence1 without the means to bribe or to compel1 could the source of such courage1 the cause of such transformations1 be found2 it must be sought1 not in him1 but in ,god4 ,god hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise2 and ,god hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty2 and base things of the world1 and things which are despised1 hath ,god chosen1 yea1 and things which are not1 to bring to nought things which are4 ,and the end of it all is that he which glorieth should glory in the ,lord4 ,this verse is never without its application2 and though the contempt of the world did not suggest it to ,st4 ,paul1 it may naturally enough recall it to us4 ,one would sometimes think1 from the tone of current literature1 that no person with gifts above contempt is any longer identified with the ,gospel4 ,clever men1 we are told1 do not become preachers now--still less do they go to church4 ,they find it impossible to have real or sincere intellectual intercourse with ,christian ministers4 ,perhaps this is not so alarming as the clever people think4 ,there always have been men in the world so clever that ,god could make no use of them2 they could never do ,his work1 because they were so lost in admiration of their own4 ,but ,god's work never depended on them1 and it does not depend on them now4 ,it depends on those who1 when they see ,jesus ,christ1 become unconscious1 once and for ever1 of all that they have been used to call their wisdom and their strength--on those who are but earthen vessels in which another's jewel is kept1 lamps of clay in which another's light shines4 ,the kingdom of ,god has not changed its administration since the first century2 its supreme law is still the glory of ,god1 and not the glory of the clever men2 and we may be quite sure it will not change4 ,god will always have his work done by instruments who are willing to have it clear that the exceeding greatness of the power is ,his1 and not theirs4 ,the eighth and ninth verses illustrate the contrast between ,paul's weakness and ,god's power4 ,in the series of participles which the ,apostle uses1 the earthen vessel is represented by the first in each pair1 the divine power by the second4 ,we are pressed on every side1 but not straitened--i4e41 not brought into a narrow place from which there is no escape4 ,we are perplexed1 but not unto despair1 or1 preserving the relation between the words of the original1 put to it1 but not utterly put out4 ,this distinctly suggests inward rather than merely bodily trials1 or at least the inward aspect of these3 constantly at a loss1 the ,apostle nevertheless constantly finds the solution of his problems4 ,pursued1 but not abandoned--i4e41 not left in the enemy's hands4 ,smitten down1 but not destroyed3 even when trouble has done its worst1 when the persecuted man has been overtaken and struck to the ground1 the blow is not fatal1 and he rises again4 ,all these partial contrasts of human weakness and ,divine power are condensed and concentrated in the tenth verse in one great contrast1 the two sides of which are presented in their divinely intended relation to each other3 always bearing about in the body the dying of ,jesus1 that the life also of ,jesus may be manifested in our body4 ,and this again1 with its mystical poetic aspect1 especially in the first clause1 is reaffirmed and rendered into prose in ver4 #aa3 ,for we1 alive as we are1 are ever being delivered unto death for ,jesus' sake1 that the life also of ,jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh4 ,paul does not say that he bears about in his body the death of ,jesus 771 but his dying 71 mortificatio71 the process which produces death4 ,the sufferings which come upon him daily in his work for ,jesus are gradually killing him2 the pains1 the perils1 the spiritual pressure1 the excitement of danger and the excitement of deliverance1 are wearing out his strength1 and soon he must die4 ,in the very same way ,jesus ,himself had spent ,his strength and died1 and in that life of weakness and suffering which was always bringing him nearer the grave1 ,paul felt himself in intimate sympathetic communion with his ,master3 it was the dying of ,jesus that he carried about in his body4 ,but that was not all4 ,in spite of the dying1 he was not dead4 ,perpetually in peril1 he had a perpetual series of escapes2 perpetually at his wits end1 his way perpetually opened before him4 ,what was the explanation of that8 ,it was the life of ,jesus manifesting itself in his body4 ,the life of ,jesus can only mean the life which ,jesus lives now at ,god's right hand2 and these repeated escapes of the ,apostle1 these restorations of his courage1 are manifestations of that life2 they are1 so to speak1 a series of resurrections4 ,paul's communion with ,jesus is not only in ,his dying1 but in ,his rising again2 he has the evidence of the ,resurrection1 because he has its power1 present with him1 in these constant deliverances and renewals4 ,nay1 the very purpose of his sufferings and perils is to provide occasion for the manifestation of this resurrection life4 ,unless he were exposed to death1 ,god could not deliver him from it2 unless he were pressed in the spirit1 ,god could not give him relief2 there could be no setting off of the exceeding greatness of ,his power in contrast with the exceeding frailty of the earthen vessel4 ,the use of body and of mortal flesh in these verses has been appealed to in support of an interpretation which would limit the meaning to what is merely physical3 ,i am in daily danger of death1 ,god daily delivers me from it1 and thus the life of ,jesus is manifested in me4 ,this is of course included in the interpretation given above2 but ,i cannot suppose it is all the ,apostle meant4 ,the truth is1 there is no such thing in the passage1 or indeed in human life1 as a merely physical experience4 ,to be delivered to death for ,jesus' sake is an experience which is at once and indissolubly physical and spiritual2 it could not be1 unless the soul had its part1 and that the chief part1 in it4 ,to be delivered from such death is also an experience as much spiritual as physical4 ,and in both aspects1 and not least in the first1 is the life of ,jesus manifested4 ,nor can ,i see that it is in the least degree unnatural for one who feels this to speak of that life as being manifested in his body1 or in his mortal flesh2 it is a way which all men understand of describing the human nature1 which is the scene of the manifestation1 as a frail and powerless thing4 ,the moral of the passage is similar to that of chap4 i4 #c-aa4 ,suffering1 for the ,christian1 is not an accident2 it is a divine appointment and a divine opportunity4 ,to wear life out in the service of ,jesus is to open it to the entrance of ,jesus' life2 it is to receive1 in all its alleviations1 in all its renewals1 in all its deliverances1 a witness to ,his resurrection4 ,perhaps it is only by accepting this service1 with the daily dying it demands1 that that witness can be given to us2 and the life of ,jesus on ,his throne may become inapprehensible and unreal in proportion as we decline to bear about in our bodies ,his dying4 ,all who have commented on this passage have noticed the iteration of the name of ,jesus4 ,singulariter sensit ,paulus dulcedinem ejus4 ,schmiedel explains the repetition as partly accidental1 and partly indicative of the fact that ,christ's death is here regarded as a purely human occurrence1 and not as a redemptive deed of the ,messiah4 ,this points in the right direction1 though it may fairly be doubted whether ,paul would have drawn this distinction1 or could even have been made to understand it4 ,the analytic tendency of the modern mind often disintegrates what depends for its virtue on being kept whole and entire1 and this seems to me a case in point4 ,the use of the name ,jesus rather indicates that1 in recalling the actual events of his own career1 ,paul saw them run continually parallel to events in the career of ,another2 they were one in kind with that painful series of incidents which ended in the death of the historical ,saviour4 ,people have often sought in the ,epistles of ,paul for traces of a knowledge of ,christ like that which is conserved in the first three ,gospels2 in this expression1 1 and in the repetition of the historical proper name1 there is an indirect but quite convincing proof that the general character of ,christ's life was known to the ,apostle4 ,and though he does not dwell on ,christ's sympathy with the fulness and power of the writer to the ,hebrews1 it is evident from this passage that he was in sympathetic fellowship with ,one who had suffered as he suffered1 and that even to name ,his human name was consolation4 ,in ver4 #ab an abrupt conclusion is drawn from all that precedes3 ,so then death worketh in us1 but life in you4 ,ironice dictum1 is ,calvin's comment1 and the words are at least intelligible if so taken4 ,the stinging passage beginning at chap4 iv4 #h of the ,first ,epistle is ironical in precisely this sense--,we are fools for ,christ's sake1 but ye are wise in ,christ2 we are weak1 but ye are strong2 ye have glory1 but we have dishonour3 this is as it were a variation on the theme death worketh in us1 but life in you4 ,still1 the irony does not seem in place here3 ,paul writes in all seriousness that the sufferings which he endures as a preacher of the ,gospel1 and which eventually bring death to him--which are the approaches of death1 or death itself at work--are the means by which life1 in the most unqualified sense1 comes to be at work in the ,corinthians4 ,if the death and life which are in view wherever the ,gospel appears are to be distributed among them1 the death is his1 and the life theirs2 the dying of ,jesus is borne about by the ,evangelist1 while those who accept the message he brings at this cost are made partakers in ,jesus' life4 ,not indeed that the contrast can be thus absolute3 the thirteenth verse corrects this hasty inference4 ,if death alone were at work in ,st4 ,paul1 it would frustrate his vocation2 he would not be able to preach at all4 ,but he is able to preach4 ,in spite of all the discouragement which his sufferings might beget1 his faith remains vigorous2 he is conscious of possessing that same confidence toward ,god which animated the ancient ,psalmist to sing1 ,i believed1 therefore ,i spoke4 ,we also1 he says1 believe1 and therefore also we speak4 ,what he believes1 and what prompts his utterance1 we read in the thirteenth verse3 ,we speak2 knowing that ,he who raised ,jesus shall raise us also like#dj ,jesus1 and shall present us with you4 ,with you1 ,i say3 for the whole thing is for your sakes1 that the grace1 having become abundant1 may by means of many#da cause the thanksgiving to abound to the glory of ,god4 ,what an interesting illustration this is of the communion of the saints6 ,paul recognises a spiritual kinsman in the writer of the ,psalm2#db faith in ,god1 the power which faith confers1 the obligations which faith imposes1 are the same in all ages4 ,he recognises spiritual kinsmen in the ,corinthians also4 ,all his sufferings have their interest in view1 and it is part of his joy1 as he looks on to the future1 that when ,god raises him from the dead1 as ,he raised ,his own ,son1 ,he will present him along with them4 ,their unity will not be dissolved by death4 ,the word here rendered present has often a technical sense in ,paul's ,epistles2 it is almost appropriated to the presenting of men before the judgment-seat of ,christ4 ,good scholars insist on that meaning here2 but even with the proviso that acceptance in the judgment is taken for granted1 ,i cannot feel that it is quite congruous4 ,there is such a thing as presentation to a sovereign as well as to a judge--the presenting of the bride to the bridegroom on the wedding day as well as of the criminal to the justice--and it is the great and glad occasion which answers to the feeling in the ,apostle's mind4 ,the communion of the saints1 in virtue of which his sufferings bring blessing to the ,corinthians1 has its issue in the joyful union of all before the throne4 ,as ,paul thinks of that1 he sees an end in the ,gospel lying beyond the blessing it brings to men4 ,that end is ,god's glory4 ,the more he toils and suffers1 the more ,god's grace is made known and received2 and the more it is received1 the more does it cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of ,god4 ,two practical reflections present themselves here1 nearly related to each other4 ,the first is that faith naturally speaks2 the second1 that grace merits thanksgiving4 ,put the two into one1 and we may say that grace received by faith merits articulate thanksgiving4 ,much modern faith is inarticulate1 and it is far too soothing to be true if we say1 ,better so4 ,of course the utterance of faith is not prescribed to it2 to be of any value it must be spontaneous4 ,not all the believing are to be teachers and preachers1 but all are to be confessors4 ,every one who has faith has a witness to bear to ,god4 ,every one who has accepted ,god's grace by faith has a thankful acknowledgment of it to make1 and at some time or other to make in words4 ,it is not the faculty of speech that is wanting where this is not done2 it is courage and gratitude2 it is the same ,spirit of faith which prompted the ,psalmist and ,st4 ,paul4 ,it is true that hypocrites sometimes speak1 and that testimonies and thanksgivings are apt to be discredited on their account2 but bad money would never be put in circulation unless good money was indisputably valuable4 ,it is not the dumb1 but the confessing ,christian1 not the taciturn1 but the outspokenly thankful1 who glorifies ,god1 and helps on the ,gospel4 ,calvin is properly severe on our pseudo-nicodemi1 who make a merit of their silence1 and boast that they have never by a syllable betrayed their faith4 ,faith is betrayed in another and more serious sense when it is kept secret4 ,but to return to the ,apostle1 who himself1 at ver4 #af1 returns to the beginning of the chapter1 and resumes the of ver4 #a3 ,wherefore we faint not4 ,wherefore means ,with all that has been said in view2 not only the glorious future in which ,paul and his disciples are to be raised and presented together to ,christ1 but his daily experience of the life of ,jesus manifested in his mortal flesh4 ,this kept him brave and strong4 ,we faint not2 but though our outward man is decaying1 yet our inward man is renewed day by day4 ,the outward man covers the same area as our body1 or our mortal flesh4 ,it is human nature as it is constituted in this world--a weak1 fragile1 perishable thing4 ,paul could not mistake1 and did not hide from himself1 the effect which his apostolic work had upon him4 ,he saw it was killing him4 ,he was old long before the time4 ,he was a sorely broken man at an age when many are in the fulness of their strength4 ,the earthen vessel was visibly crumbling4 ,still1 that was not the whole of his experience4 ,the inward man is renewed day by day4 ,the meaning of these words must be fixed mainly by the opposition in which they stand to 7we faint not74 ,the same word 77 is used of the renewal of the soul in the ,creator's image 7,col4 iii4 #aj7--;i4e41 of the work of sanctification2 but the opposition in question proves that this is not contemplated here4 ,we must rather think of the daily supply of spiritual power for apostolic service--of the new strength and joy which were given to ,st4 ,paul every morning1 in spite of the toils and sufferings which every day exhausted him4 ,of course we can say of all people1 bad as well as good1 ,the outward man is decaying4 ,time tires the stoutest runner1 crumbles the compactest wall4 ,but we cannot say of all1 ,the inward man is renewed day by day4 ,that is not the compensation of every one2 it is the compensation of those whose outward man has decayed in ,jesus' service1 who have been worn out in labours for ,his sake4 ,it is they1 and they only1 who have a life within which is independent of outward conditions1 which sufferings and deaths cannot crush1 and which never grows old4 ,the decay of the outward man in the godless is a melancholy spectacle1 for it is the decay of everything2 in the ,christian it does not touch that life which is hid with ,christ in ,god1 and which is in the soul itself a well of water springing up to life eternal4 ,but who shall speak of the two great verses in which the ,apostle1 leaving controversy out of sight1 solemnly weighs against each other time and eternity1 the seen and the unseen1 and claims his inheritance beyond8 ,our light affliction1 which is for the moment1 worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory2 while we look not at the things which are seen1 but at the things which are not seen3 for the things which are seen are temporal2 but the things which are not seen are eternal4 ,one can imagine that he was dictating quick and eagerly as he began the sentence2 he crowds and hurries and precipitates the grand contrasts of which his mind is full4 ,affliction in any case is outweighed by glory1 but the affliction in question is a light matter1 the glory a great weight3 the light affliction is but momentary--it ends with death at the latest1 it may end in the coming of ,jesus to anticipate death2 the weight of glory is eternal2 and as if this were not enough1 the light affliction which is but for a moment works out for us the weight of glory which endures for ever1 in excess and to excess1 in a way above conception1 to a degree above conception3 it works out for us the things which eye hath not seen1 nor ear heard1 nor man's heart conceived1 all that ,god has prepared for them that love ,him 7#a ,cor4 ii4 #i74 ,if ,paul spoke fast and with beating heart as he crowded all this into two brief lines1 we can well believe that the pressure was relaxed1 and that the pen moved more steadily and slowly over the contemplative words that follow3 while we look not to the things which are seen1 but to the things which are not seen3 for the things which are seen are temporal1 but the things which are not seen are eternal4 ,this sentence is sometimes translated conditionally3 provided we look1 etc4 ,this is legitimate1 but unnecessary4 ,the ,apostle is speaking1 in the first instance1 of himself1 and the looking is taken for granted4 ,the look is not merely equivalent to vision2 it means that the unseen is the goal of him who looks4 ,the eye is to be directed to it1 not as an indifferent object1 but as a mark to aim at1 an end to attain4 ,this observation goes some way to limit the application of the whole passage4 ,the contrast of things seen and things unseen is sometimes taken in a latitude which deprives it of much of its force3 psychology and metaphysics are dragged in to define and to confuse the ,apostle's thought4 ,but everything here is practical4 ,the things seen are to all intents and purposes that tempest-tossed life of which ,st4 ,paul has been speaking1 that daily dying1 that pressure1 perplexity1 persecution1 and downcasting1 which are for the present his lot4 ,to these he does not look3 in comparison with that to which he does look1 these are a light and momentary affliction which is not worth a thought4 ,similarly1 the things unseen are not everything1 indefinitely1 which is invisible2 to all intents and purposes they are the glory of ,christ4 ,it is on this the ,apostle's eye is fixed1 this which is his goal4 ,the stormy life1 even when most is made of its storms1 passes2 but ,christ's glory can never pass4 ,it is infinite1 inconceivable1 eternal4 ,there is an inheritance in it for all who keep their eyes upon it1 and1 sustained by a hope so high1 bear the daily death of a life like ,paul's as a light and momentary affliction4 ,the connexion between the two is so close that the one is said to work for us the other4 ,by divine appointment they are united2 fellowship with ,jesus is fellowship all through--in the daily dying1 which soon has done its worst1 and then in the endless life4 ,we may say1 if we please1 that the glory is the reward of the suffering2 it would be truer to say that it was its compensation1 truer still that it was its fruit4 ,there is a vital connexion between them1 but no one can imagine he is reading ,paul's thought who should find here the idea that the trivial service of man can make ,god his debtor for so vast a sum4 ,the excellency of the power which raises the earthen vessel to this height of faith1 hope1 and inspiration is itself ,god's1 and ,god's alone4 ,distrust of the supernatural1 insistence on the present and the practical1 and the pride of a self-styled common sense1 have done much to rob modern ,christianity of this vast horizon1 to blind it to this heavenly vision4 ,but wherever the life of ,jesus is being manifested in mortal flesh--wherever in ,his service and for ,his sake men and women die daily1 wearing out nature1 but with spirit ceaselessly renewed--there the unseen becomes real again4 ,such people know that what they do is not for one dead1 but for ,one who lives2 they know that the daily inspirations they receive1 the hopes1 the deliverances1 are wrought in them1 not by themselves1 but by ,one who has all power in heaven and on earth4 ,the things that are unseen and eternal stand out as what they are in relation to lives like these2 to other lives1 they have no relation at all4 ,a worldly and selfish career does not work out an exceeding and eternal weight of glory1 and therefore to the worldly and selfish man heaven is for ever an unpractical1 incredible thing4 ,but it not only comes out in its brightness1 it comes out as a mighty inspiration and support1 to every one who bears about in his body the dying of ,jesus2 as he fastens his eye upon it1 he takes heart anew1 and in spite of daily dying faints not4 ,,footnotes3 #dj is the true reading3 sameness of kind is meant1 not of time4 #da is construed in the ,r4,v4 with 7so ,meyer73 ,de ,wette takes it as above2 in the ,a4,v4 the is made to govern 4 ,there is no grammatical decision certain here4 #db ,the ,hebrew ,psalm cxvi4 #aj is at this precise point practically unintelligible1 but that does not justify any one in saying that the fine thought of the ,apostle is utterly foreign to the original text4 ,the open confession of ,god1 as a duty of faith1 pervades the psalm from this point to the end 7the verses beginning make a psalm by themselves in the ,,lxx474 ,,xiii ,,the ,,christian ,,hope ,for we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved1 we have a building from ,god1 a house not made with hands1 eternal1 in the heavens4 ,for verily in this we groan1 longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven3 if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked4 ,for indeed we that are in this tabernacle do groan1 being burdened2 not for that we would be unclothed1 but that we would be clothed upon1 that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life4 ,now ,he that wrought us for this very thing is ,god1 who gave unto us the earnest of the ,spirit4 ,being therefore always of good courage1 and knowing that1 whilst we are at home in the body1 we are absent from the ,lord 7for we walk by faith1 not by sight72 we are of good courage1 ,i say1 and are willing rather to be absent from the body1 and to be at home with the ,lord4 ,wherefore also we make it our aim1 whether at home or absent1 to be well-pleasing unto ,him4 ,for we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of ,christ2 that each one may receive the things done in the body1 according to what he hath done1 whether it be good or bad4--#b ,,cor4 v4 #a-aj 7,r4,v474 ,that outlook on the future1 which at the close of chap4 iv4 is presented in the most general terms1 is here carried out by the ,apostle into more definite detail4 ,the passage is one of the most difficult in his writings1 and has received the most various interpretations2 yet the first impression it leaves on a simple reader is probably as near the truth as the subtlest ingenuity of exegesis4 ,it is indeed to such first impressions that one often returns when the mind has ceased to sway this way and that under the impact of conflicting arguments4 ,the ,apostle has been speaking about his life as a daily dying1 and in the first verse of this chapter he looks at the possibility that this dying may be consummated in death4 ,it is only a possibility1 for to the end of his life it was always conceivable that ,christ might come1 and forestall the last enemy4 ,still1 it is a possibility2 the earthly house of our tabernacle may be dissolved2 the tent in which we live may be taken down4 ,with what hope does the ,apostle confront such a contingency8 ,if this befall us1 he says1 we have a building from ,god1 a house not made with hands1 eternal1 in the heavens4 ,every word here points the contrast between this new house and the old one1 and points it in favour of the new4 ,the old was a tent2 the new is a building3 the old1 though not literally made with hands1 had many of the qualities and defects of manufactured articles2 the new is ,god's work and ,god's gift3 the old was perishable2 the new is eternal4 ,when ,paul says we have this house in the heavens1 it is plain that it is not heaven itself2 it is a new body which replaces and surpasses the old4 ,it is in the heavens in the sense that it is ,god's gift2 it is something which ,he has for us where ,he is1 and which we shall wear there4 ,we have it means it is ours2 any more precise definition must be justified on grounds extraneous to the text4 ,the second verse brings us to one of the ambiguities of the passage4 ,for verily1 our ,r4,v4 reads1 in this we groan1 longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven4 ,the meaning which the ,english reader finds in the words in this we groan is in all probability in our present body we groan4 ,this is also the meaning defended by ,meyer1 and by many scholars4 ,but it cannot be denied that does not naturally refer to 4 ,if it means in this body1 it must be attached specially to 1 and is only a subordinate word in the clause4 ,elsewhere in the ,new ,testament means on this account1 or for this reason 7see #a ,cor4 iv4 #d2 ,john xvi4 #cj3 71 and ,i prefer to take it in this sense here3 ,for this cause--i4e41 because we are the heirs of such a hope--we groan1 longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven4 ,if ,paul had no hope1 he would not sigh for the future2 but the very longing which pressed the sighs from his bosom became itself a witness to the glory which awaited him4 ,the same argument1 it has often been pointed out1 is found in ,rom4 viii4 #ai ff4 ,the earnest expectation of the creation1 waiting for the manifestation of the sons of ,god1 is evidence that this manifestation will in due time take place4 ,the spiritual instincts are prophetic4 ,they have not been implanted in the soul by ,god only to be disappointed4 ,it is of the longing hope of immortality--that very hope which is in question here--that ,jesus says3 ,if it were not so1 ,i would have told you4 ,the third verse states the great gain which lies in the fulfilment of this hope3 ,since1 of course1 being clothed with this new body1 we shall not be found naked i4e41 without any body4 ,i cannot think1 especially looking on to ver4 #d1 that these two verses 7#b and #c7 mean anything else than that ,paul longs for ,christ to come before death4 ,if ,christ comes first1 the ,apostle will receive the new body by the transformation1 instead of the putting off1 of the old2 he will1 so to speak1 put it on above the old 2 he will be spared the shuddering fear of dying2 he will not know what it is to have the old tent taken down1 and to be left houseless and naked4 ,we do not need to investigate the opinions of the ,hebrews or the ,greeks about the condition of souls in ,hades in order to understand these words2 the conception1 figurative as it is1 carries its own meaning and impression to every one4 ,it is reiterated1 rather than proved1 in the fourth verse3#dc ,for we who are in the tabernacle groan also1 being burdened1 in that our will is not to be unclothed1 but to be clothed upon1 that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life4 ,it is natural to take 7being burdened7 as referring to the weight of care and suffering by which men are oppressed while in the body2 but here also1 as in the similar case of ver4 #b1 the proper reference of the word is forward4 ,what oppresses ,paul1 and makes him sigh1 is the intensity of his desire to escape being unclothed1 his immense longing to see ,jesus come1 and1 instead of passing through the terrific experience of death1 to have the corruptible put on incorruption1 and the mortal put on immortality1 without that trial4 ,this seems plain enough1 but we must remember that the confidence which ,paul has been expressing in the first verse is meant to meet the very case in which this desire is not gratified1 the case in which death has to be encountered1 and the tabernacle taken down4 ,if this should befall us1 he says1 we have another body awaiting us1 far better than that which we leave1 and hence we are confident4 ,the confidence which this hope inspires would naturally1 we think1 be most perfect1 if in the very act of dissolution the new body were assumed2 if death were the initial stage in the transformation scene in which an that is mortal is swallowed up by life2 if it were1 not the ushering of the ,christian into a condition of nakedness1 which1 temporary though it be1 is a mere blank to the mind and imagination1 but his admission to celestial life2 if to be absent from the body were immediately1 and in the fullest sense of the words1 the same thing as to be at home with the ,lord4 ,this is1 in point of fact1 the sense in which the passage is understood by a good many scholars1 and those who read it so find in it a decisive turning-point in the ,apostle's teaching on the last things4 ,in the ,first ,epistle to the ,thessalonians1 they say1 and indeed in the ,first to the ,corinthians also1 ,paul's eschatology was still essentially ,jewish4 ,the ,christian dead are 1 or 7those that sleep72 nothing definite is said of their condition2 only it is implied that they do not get the incorruptible body till ,jesus comes again and raises them from the dead4 ,in other words1 those who die before the ,parousia have the soul-chilling prospect of an unknown term of nakedness4 ,here this terror is dispelled by the new revelation made to the ,apostle1 or the new insight to which he has attained3 there is no longer any such interval between death and glory2 the heavenly body is assumed at once2 the state called 7being asleep7 vanishes from the future4 ,sabatier and ,schmiedel1 who adopt this view1 draw extreme consequences from it4 ,it marks an advance1 according to ,schmiedel1 of the highest importance4 ,the religious postulate of an uninterrupted communion of life with ,christ1 violated by the conception of a 1 or falling asleep1 is satisfied2 ,christ's descent from heaven1 and a simultaneous resurrection and judgment1 become superfluous2 judgment is transferred to the moment of death1 or rather to the process of development during life on earth2 and1 finally1 the place of eternal blessedness passes from earth 7the ,jewish and early ,christian opinion1 probably shared by ,paul1 as he gives no indication of the contrary7 to heaven4 ,all this1 it is further pointed out1 is an approximation1 more or less close1 to the ,greek doctrine of the immortality of the soul1 and may even have been excogitated in part under its influence2 and it is at the same time a half-way house between the ,pharisaic eschatology of ,first ,thessalonians and the perfected ,christian doctrine of a passage like ,john v4 #bd3 ,verily1 verily1 ,i say unto you1 ,he that heareth ,my word1 and believeth ,him that sent ,me1 hath eternal life1 and cometh not into judgment1 but hath passed out of death into life4 ,there is no objection to be made in principle to the idea that the ,apostle's outlook on the future was subject to modification--that he was capable of attaining1 or even did attain1 a deeper insight1 with experience1 into the connexion between that which is and that which is to come4 ,but it is surely somewhat against the above estimate of the alleged change here that ,paul himself seems to have been quite unconscious of it4 ,he was not a man whose mind wrought at unawares1 and who passed unwittingly from one standpoint to another4 ,he was nothing if not reflective4 ,according to ,sabatier and ,schmiedel1 he had made a revolutionary change in his opinions--a change so vast that on account of it ,sabatier reckons this ,epistle1 and especially this passage1 the most important in all his writings for the comprehension of his theological development2 and yet1 side by side with the new revolutionary ideas1 uttered literally in the same breath with them1 we find the old standing undisturbed4 ,the simultaneous resurrection and judgment1 according to ,schmiedel1 should be impossible now2 but in chap4 iv4 #ad the resurrection appears precisely as in ,thessalonians and in chap4 v4 #aj the judgment1 precisely as in all his ,epistles from the first to the last4 ,as for the inconsistency between going to be at home with the ,lord and the ,lord's coming1 it also recurs in later years3 ,paul writes to the ,philippians that he has a desire to depart and to be with ,christ2 and in the same letter1 that the ,lord is at hand1 and that we wait for the ,saviour from heaven4 ,probably the misleading idea in the study of the whole subject has been the assumption that the --the dead in ,christ--were in some dismal1 dreary condition which could fairly be described as nakedness4 ,there is not a word in the ,new ,testament which favours this idea4 ,where we see men die in faith1 we see something quite different4 ,to-day shalt thou be with ,me in ,paradise4 ,lord ,jesus1 receive my spirit4 ,i saw the souls of them which had been slain for the ,word of ,god 444 and there was given them1 to each one1 a white robe4 ,when ,paul speaks of those who have fallen asleep1 in ,first ,thessalonians1 it is with the express intention of showing that those who survive to the ,parousia have no advantage over them4 ,jesus ,christ died for us1 he writes 7#a ,thess4 v4 #aj71 that1 whether we wake or sleep1 we may live together with ,him4 ,and he uses one most expressive word in a similar connexion 7#a ,thess4 iv4 #ad73 ,them also that sleep in ,jesus will ,god bring with ,him4 ,suave verbum1 says ,bengel3 dicitur de viventibus4 ,may we not say with equal cogency1 not only de viventibus1 but de viventibus cum ,iesu8 ,those who are asleep are with ,him2 they are in blessedness with ,him2 what their mode of existence is it may be impossible for us to conceive1 but it is certainly not a thing to shrink from with horror4 ,the taking down of the old tent in which we live here is a thing from which one cannot but shrink1 and that is why ,paul would rather have ,christ come1 and be saved the pain and fear of dying4 ,with death in view he mentions the new body as the ground of his confidence1 because it is the final realisation of the ,christian hope1 the crown of redemption 7,rom4 viii4 #bc74 ,but he does not mean to say that1 unless the new body were granted in the very instant of dying1 death would usher him into an appalling void1 and separate him from ,christ4 ,this assumption1 on which the interpretation of ,sabatier and ,schmiedel rests1 is entirely groundless1 and therefore that interpretation1 in spite of a superficial plausibility1 is to be decidedly rejected4 ,it is to be rejected all the more when we are invited to see the occasion which produced ,paul's supposed change of opinion in the danger which he had lately incurred in ,asia 7chap4 i4 #h-aj74 ,paul1 we are to imagine1 who had always been confident that he would live to see the ,parousia1 had come to very close quarters with death1 and this experience constrained him to seek in his religion a hope and consolation more adequate to the terribleness of death than any he had yet conceived4 ,hence the mighty advance explained above4 ,but is it not absurd to say that a man1 whose life was constantly in peril1 had never thought of death till this time8 ,can any one seriously believe that1 as ,sabatier puts it1 the image of death1 with which the ,apostle had not hitherto concerned himself1 here enters for the first time within the scope of his doctrine8 ,can any one who knows the kind of man ,paul was deliberately suggest that fear and self-pity conferred on him an enlargement of spiritual vision which no sympathy for bereaved disciples1 and no sense of fellowship with those who had fallen asleep in ,jesus1 availed to bestow8 ,believe this who will1 it seems utterly incredible to me4 ,the passage says nothing inconsistent with ,thessalonians1 or ,first ,corinthians1 or ,philippians1 or ,second ,timothy1 about the last things3 it expresses in a special situation the constant ,christian faith and hope--the redemption of the body2 that is the possession of the believer 2 it is ours2 and the ,apostle is not concerned to fix the moment of time at which hope becomes sight4 ,come what will1 he says1 come death itself1 this is ours2 and because it is ours1 though we dread the possible necessity of having to strip off the old body1 and would fain escape it1 we do not allow it to dismay us4 ,the ,apostle cannot look to the end of the ,christian hope without referring to its condition and guarantee4 ,he that wrought us for this very thing is ,god1 who gave us the earnest of the ,spirit4 ,the future is never considered in the ,new ,testament in a speculative fashion2 nothing could be less like an apostle than to discuss the immortality of the soul4 ,the question of life beyond death is for ,paul not a metaphysical but a ,christian question2 the pledge of anything worth the name of life is not the inherent constitution of human nature1 but the possession of the ,divine ,spirit4 ,without the ,spirit1 ,paul could have had no such certainty1 no such triumphant hope1 as he had2 without the ,spirit there can be no such certainty yet4 ,hence it is idle to criticise the ,christian hope on purely speculative grounds1 and as idle to try on such grounds to establish it4 ,that hope is of a piece with the experience which comes when the ,spirit of ,him who raised up ,christ from the dead dwells in us1 and apart from this experience it cannot even be understood4 ,but to say that there is no eternal life except in ,christ is not to accept what is called conditional immortality2 it is only to accept conditional glory4 ,the fifth verse marks a pause3 in the three which follow ,paul describes the mood in which1 possessed of the ,christian hope1 he confronts all the conditions of the present and the alternatives of the future4 ,we are of good courage at all times1 he says4 ,we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from home as far as the ,lord is concerned--at a distance from ,him4 ,this does not mean that fellowship is broken1 or that the soul is separated from the love of ,christ2 it only means that earth is not heaven1 and that ,paul is painfully conscious of the fact4 ,this is what is proved by ver4 #g3 ,we are absent from the ,lord1 our true home1 for in this world we are walking through the realm of faith1 not through that of actual appearance4#dd ,there is a world1 a mode of existence1 to which ,paul looks forward1 which is one of actual appearance2 he will be in ,christ's presence there1 and see ,him face to face 7#a ,cor4 xiii4 #ab74 ,but the world through which his course lies meanwhile is not that world of immediate presence and manifestation2 on the contrary1 it is a world of faith1 which realises that future world of manifestation only by a strong spiritual conviction2 it is through a faith-land that ,paul's journey leads him4 ,all along the way his faith keeps him in good heart2 nay1 when he thinks of all that it ensures1 of all that is guaranteed by the ,spirit1 he is willing rather to be absent from the body1 and to be at home with the ,lord4 ,for1 ah6 the ,master is so fair1 ,his smile so sweet on banished men1 ,that they who meet it unaware ,can never turn to earth again2 ,and they who see ,him risen afar1 ,at ,god's right hand to welcome them1 ,forgetful stand of home and land1 ,desiring fair ,jerusalem4 ,if he had to make his choice1 it would incline this way1 rather than the other2 but it is not his to make a choice1 and so he does not express himself unconditionally4 ,the whole tone of the passage anticipates that of ,phil4 i4 #ba ff43 ,for to me to live is ,christ1 and to die is gain4 ,but if to live in the flesh1--if this is the fruit of my work1 then what ,i shall choose ,i wot not4 ,but ,i am in a strait betwixt the two1 having the desire to depart and to be with ,christ2 for it is very far better3 yet to abide in the flesh is more needful for your sake4 ,nothing could be less like the ,apostle than a monkish1 unmanly wish to die4 ,he exulted in his calling4 ,it was a joy to him above all joys to speak to men of the love of ,god in ,jesus ,christ4 ,but nothing1 on the other hand1 could be less like him than to lose sight of the future in the present1 and to forget amid the service of men the glory which is to be revealed4 ,he stood between two worlds2 he felt the whole attraction of both2 in the earnest of the ,spirit he knew that he had an inheritance there as well as here4 ,it is this consciousness of the dimensions of life that makes him so immensely interesting2 he never wrote a dull word2 his soul was stirred incessantly by impulses from earth and from heaven1 swept by breezes from the dark and troubled sea of man's life1 touched by inspirations from the radiant heights where ,christ dwelt4 ,we do not need to be afraid of the reproach of other worldliness if we seek to live in this same spirit2 the reproach is as false as it is threadbare4 ,it would be an incalculable gain if we could recover the primitive hope in something like its primitive strength4 ,it would not make us false to our duties in the world1 but it would give us the victory over the world4 ,in bringing this subject to a close1 the ,apostle strikes a graver note4 ,a certain moral1 as well as a certain emotional temper1 is evoked by the ,christian hope4 ,it fills men with courage1 and with spiritual yearnings2 it braces them also to moral earnestness and vigour4 ,wherefore also we make it our aim--literally1 we are ambitious1 the only lawful ambition--whether at home or absent1 to be well-pleasing unto ,him4 ,modes of being are not of so much consequence4 ,it may agree with a man's feelings better to live till ,christ comes1 or to die before ,he comes1 and go at once to be with ,him2 but the main thing is1 in whatever mode of being1 to be accepted in ,his sight4 ,for we must all be manifested before the judgment-seat of ,christ1 that each one may receive the things done in the body1 according to what he hath done1 whether it be good or bad4 ,the ,christian hope is not clouded by the judgment-seat of ,christ2 it is sustained at the holy height which befits it4 ,we are forbidden to count upon it lightly4 ,every man1 we are reminded1 that hath this hope set on ,him purifieth himself even as ,he is pure4 ,it is not necessary for us to seek a formal reconciliation of this verse with ,paul's teaching that the faithful are accepted in ,christ ,jesus2 we can feel that both must be true4 ,and if the doctrine of justification freely1 by ,god's grace1 is that which has to be preached to sinful men1 the doctrine of exact retribution1 taught in this passage1 has its main interest and importance for ,christians4 ,it is ,christians only who are in view here1 and the law of requital is so exact that every one is said to get back1 to carry on for himself1 the very things done in the body4 ,in this world1 we have not seen the last of anything4 ,we shall all be manifested before the judgment-seat of ,christ2 all that we have hidden shall be revealed4 ,the books are shut now1 but they will be opened then4 ,the things we have done in the body will come back to us1 whether good or bad4 ,every pious thought1 and every thought of sin2 every secret prayer1 and every secret curse2 every unknown deed of charity1 and every hidden deed of selfishness3 we will see them all again1 and though we have not remembered them for years1 and perhaps have forgotten them altogether1 we shall have to acknowledge that they are our own1 and take them to ourselves4 ,is not that a solemn thing to stand at the end of life8 ,is it not a true thing8 ,even those who can say with the ,apostle1 ,being justified by faith1 we have peace with ,god through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and rejoice in hope of ,his glory1 know how true it is4 ,nay1 they most of all know1 for they understand better than others the holiness of ,god1 and they are especially addressed here4 ,the moral consciousness is not maintained in its vigour and integrity if this doctrine of retribution disappears2 and if we are called by a passage like this to encourage ourselves in the ,lord1 and in the hope which ,he has revealed1 we are warned also that evil cannot dwell with ,god1 and that ,he will by no means clear the guilty4 ,,footnotes3 #dc ,the true rendering here is that in the margin of the ,r4,v4 #dd ,this translation is ,schmiedel's4 ,for the use of cf4 ,rev4 xxi4 #bd3 4 ,it cannot mean by faith1 in the sense of according to faith1 or as faith directs4 ,nor can it be proved that ever means sight4 ,,xiv ,,the ,,measure ,,of ,,christ',s ,,love ,knowing therefore the fear of the ,lord1 we persuade men1 but we are made manifest unto ,god2 and ,i hope that we are made manliest also in your consciences4 ,we are not again commending ourselves unto you1 but speak as giving you occasion of glorying on our behalf1 that ye may have wherewith to answer them that glory in appearance and not in heart4 ,for whether we are beside ourselves1 it is unto ,god2 or whether we are of sober mind1 it is unto you4 ,for the love of ,christ constraineth us2 because we thus judge1 that ,one died for all1 therefore all died2 and ,he died for all1 that they which live should no longer live unto themselves1 but unto ,him who for their sakes died and rose again4--#b ,,cor4 v4 #aa-ae 7,r4,v474 ,the ,christian hope of immortality is elevated and solemnised by the thought of the judgment-seat of ,christ4 ,this is no strange thought to ,st4 ,paul2 many a time he has set himself in imagination in that great presence1 and let the awe of it descend upon his heart4 ,this is what he means when he writes1 ,knowing the fear of the ,lord4 ,like the pastors addressed in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 he exercises his office as one who must render an account4 ,in this spirit1 he says1 he persuades men4 ,a motive so high1 and so stern in its purifying power1 no minister of ,christ can afford to dispense with4 ,we need something to suppress self-seeking1 to keep conscience vigorous1 to preserve the message of reconciliation itself from degenerating into good-natured indifference1 to prohibit immoral compromises and superficial healing of the soul's hurts4 ,let us familiarise our minds1 by meditation1 with the fear due to ,christ the judge1 and a new element of power will enter into our service1 making it at once more urgent and more wholesome than it could otherwise be4 ,the meaning of the words we persuade men is not at once clear4 ,interpreters generally find in them a combination of two ideas--we try to win men for the ,gospel1 and we try to convince them of our own purity of motive in our evangelistic work4 ,the word is suitable enough to express either idea2 and though it is straining it to make it carry both1 the first is suggested by the general tenor of the passage1 and the second seems to be demanded by what follows4 ,we try to convince men of our disinterestedness1 but we do not need to try to convince ,god2 we have been manifested to ,him already2#de and we trust also that we have been manifested in your consciences4 ,paul was well aware of the hostility with which he was regarded by some of the ,corinthians1 but he is confident that1 when his appeal is tried in the proper court1 decision must be given in his favour1 and he hopes that this has really been done at ,corinth4 ,often we do not give people in his position the benefit of a fair trial4 ,it is not in our consciences they are arraigned--i4e41 in ,god's sight1 and according to ,god's law--but at the bar of our prejudices1 our likes and dislikes1 sometimes even our whims and caprices4 ,it is not their character which is taken into account1 but something quite irrelevant to character4 ,paul did not care for such estimates as these4 ,it was nothing to him whether his appearance made a favourable impression on those who heard him--whether they liked his voice1 his gestures1 his manners1 or even his message4 ,what he did care for was to be able to appeal to their consciences1 as he could appeal to ,god1 to whom all things were naked and opened1 that in the discharge of his functions as an evangelist he had been absolutely simple and sincere4 ,in speaking thus1 he has no intention of again recommending himself4 ,rather1 as he says with a touch of irony1 it is for their convenience he writes2 he is giving them occasion to boast on his behalf1 that when they encounter people who boast in face and not in heart they may not be speechless1 but may have something to say for themselves--and for him4 ,it is easy to read between the lines here4 ,the ,corinthians had persons among them--,jewish and ,judaising teachers evidently--who boasted in face2 in other words1 who prided themselves on outward and visible distinctions1 though as ,paul asserts1 they had nothing within to be proud of4 ,there are suggestions of these distinctions elsewhere1 and we can imagine the claims men made1 the airs they gave themselves1 or at least the recognition they consented to accept1 on the ground of them4 ,their eloquence1 their knowledge of the ,scriptures1 their ,jewish descent1 their acquaintance with the ,twelve1 above all acquaintance with ,jesus ,himself--these were their credentials1 and of these their followers made much4 ,perhaps even on their own ground ,paul could have met and routed most of them1 but meanwhile he leaves them in undisturbed possession of their advantages1 such as they are4 ,he only sums up these advantages in the disparaging word face1 or appearance2 they are all on the outside2 they amount to a fair show in the flesh1 but no more4 ,he would not like if his disciples could make no better boast of their master1 and all the high things he has written1 from chap4 ii4 #ad on to chap4 v4 #aj1 especially his vindication of the absolute purity of his motives1 furnish them1 if they choose to take it so1 with grounds of counter-boasting1 far deeper and more spiritual than those of his adversaries4 ,for he boasts1 not in appearance1 but in heart4 ,the ironical tone in this is unmistakable1 yet it is not merely ironical4 ,from the beginning of ,christianity to this day1 ,churches have gathered round men1 and made their boast in them4 ,too often it has been a boast in face1 and not in heart--in gifts1 accomplishments1 and distinctions1 which may have given an outward splendour to the individual1 but which were entirely irrelevant to the possession of the ,christian spirit4 ,often even the imperfections of the natural man have been gloried in1 simply because they were his2 and the ,lutheran and ,calvinistic ,churches1 for example1 owe some of their most distinctive features to an exaggerated appreciation of those very characteristics of ,luther and ,calvin which had no ,christian value4 ,the same thing is seen every day1 on a smaller scale1 in congregations4 ,people are proud of their minister1 not for what he is in heart1 but because he is more learned1 more eloquent1 more naturally capable1 than other preachers in the same town4 ,it is a pity when ministers themselves1 like the ,judaists in ,corinth1 are content to have it so4 ,the true evangelist or pastor will choose rather1 with ,st4 ,paul1 to be taken for what he is as a ,christian1 and for nothing else2 and if he must be spoken about1 he will be spoken of in this character1 and in no other4 ,nay1 if it really comes to glorying in face1 he will glory in his weaknesses and incapacities2 he will magnify the very earthenness of the earthen vessel1 the very coarseness of the clay1 as a foil to the power and life of ,christ which dwell in it4 ,the connexion of ver4 #ac with what precedes is very obscure4 ,perhaps as fair a paraphrase as any would run thus3 ,and well may you boast of our complete sincerity2 for whether we are beside ourselves1 it is to ,god2 or whether we are of sober mind1 it is unto you2 that is1 in no case is self-interest the motive or rule of our conduct4 ,connexion apart1 there is a further difficulty about 4 ,the ,revised ,version renders it whether we are beside ourselves1 but in the margin gives were for are4 ,it makes a very great difference which tense we accept4 ,if the proper meaning is given by are1 the application must be to some constant characteristic of the ,apostle s ministry4 ,his enthusiasm1 his absolute superiority to common selfish considerations such as are ordinarily supreme in human life1 his resolute assertion of truths lying beyond the reach of sense1 the unearthly flame which burned unceasingly in his bosom1 and never more brightly than when he wrote the fourth and fifth chapters of the ,second ,epistle to the ,corinthians--all these constitute the temper which is described as being beside oneself1 a kind of sacred madness4 ,it was in this sense that the accusation of being beside himself was brought on a memorable occasion against ,jesus 7,mark iii4 #ba1 74 ,the disciple and the ,master alike seemed to those who did not understand them to be in an overstrained1 too highly wrought condition of spirit2 in the ardour of their devotion they allowed themselves to be carried beyond all natural limits1 and it was not improper to speak of applying some kindly restraint4 ,at first sight this interpretation seems very appropriate1 and ,i do not think that the tense of is decisive against it4#df ,those who think it is point to the change to the present tense in the next clause1 1 and allege that this would have no motive unless were a true past4 ,but this may be doubted4 ,on the one hand1 in ,mark iii4 #ba can hardly mean anything but ,he is beside ,himself--i4e41 it is virtually a present2 on the other1 the grammatical present would not unambiguously convey the idea of madness1 and would therefore be inappropriate here4 ,but assuming that the change of tense has the effect of making a real past1 and that the proper rendering is whether we were beside ourselves1 what is the application then8 ,we must suppose that some definite occasion is before the ,apostle and his readers1 on which he had been in an ecstasy 7cf4 1 ,acts xi4 #e2 ' 1 ,acts ,x4 #aj71 and that his opponents availed themselves of this experience1 in which he had passed1 for a time1 out of his own control1 to whisper the malicious accusation that he had once not been quite right in his mind1 and that this explained much4 ,the ,apostle1 we should have to assume1 admits the fact alleged1 but protests against the inference drawn from it1 and the use made of the inference4 ,i was beside myself1 he says2 but it was an experience which had nothing to do with my ministry2 it was between ,god and my solitary self2 and to drag it into my relations with you is a mere impertinence4 ,that the ecstasis in question was his vision of ,jesus on the way to ,damascus1 and that his adversaries sought to discredit that1 and the apostleship of ,paul as grounded on that1 is one of the extravagances of an irresponsible criticism4 ,of all experiences that ever befell him1 his conversion is the very one which was not solely his own affair and ,god's1 but the affair of the whole ,church2 and whereas he speaks of his ecstasies and visions with evident reluctance and embarrassment1 as in chap4 xii4 #a ff41 or refuses to speak of them at all1 as here 7assuming this interpretation to be the true one71 he makes his conversion and the appearance of the ,lord the very foundation of his preaching1 and treats of both with the utmost frankness4 ,it must be something quite different from this--something analogous perhaps to me speaking with tongues1 in which the understanding was unfruitful1 but for which ,paul was distinguished 7#a ,cor4 xiv4 #ad-ah7--that is intended here4 ,such rapt conditions are certainly open to misinterpretation2 and as their spiritual value is merely personal1 ,paul declines to discuss any allusion to them1 as if it affected his relation to the ,corinthians4 ,the strongest point in favour of this interpretation seems to me not the tense of 1 but the use of 3 it is unto ,god4 ,if the meaning were the one first suggested1 and the madness were the holy enthusiasm of the ,evangelist1 that would be distinctly a thing which did concern the ,corinthians1 and it would not be natural to withdraw it from their censure as ,god's affair4 ,nevertheless1 one can conceive ,paul saying that he was answerable for his extravagances1 not to them1 but to his ,master2 and that his sober-mindedness1 at all events1 had their interests in view4 ,on a survey of the whole case1 and especially with ,mark iii4 #ba1 and the ,new ,testament use of the verb before us1 ,i incline to think that the text of the ,revised ,version is to be preferred to the margin4 ,the being beside himself with which ,paul was charged will not1 then1 be an isolated incident in his career--an incident which ,jewish teachers1 remembering the ecstasies of ,peter and ,john1 could hardly object to--but the spiritual tension in which he habitually lived and wrought4 ,the language1 so far as ,i can judge1 admits of this interpretation1 and it brings the ,apostle's experience into line1 not only with that of his ,master1 but with that of many who have succeeded him4 ,but how great and rare is the self-conquest of the man who can say that in his enthusiasm and his sobriety alike--when he is beside himself1 and when his spirit is wholly subject to him--the one thing which never intrudes1 or troubles his singleness of mind1 is the thought of his own private ends4 ,in the verses which follow1 ,paul lets us into the secret of this unselfishness1 this freedom from by-ends and ambition3 ,for the love of ,christ constraineth us2 because we thus judge1 that ,one died for all1 therefore all of them died4 ,constraineth is one of the most expressive words in the ,new ,testament2 the love of ,christ has hold of the ,apostle on both sides1 as it were1 and urges him on in a course which he cannot avoid4 ,it has him in its grasp1 and he has no choice1 under its irresistible constraint1 but to be what he is1 and to do what he does1 whether men think him in his mind or out of his mind4 ,that the love of ,christ means ,christ's love to us1 and not our love to ,him1 is shown by the fact that ,paul goes on at once to describe in what it consists4 ,it constrains us1 he says1 because we have come to this mind about it3 ,one died for all2 so then all died4 ,here1 we may say1 is the content of ,christ's love1 the essence of it1 that which gives it its soul-subduing and constraining power3 ,he loved us1 and gave ,himself for us2 ,he died for all1 and in that death of ,his all died4 ,it may seem a hazardous thing to give a definition of love1 and especially to shut up within the boundaries of a human conception that love of ,christ which passes knowledge4 ,but the intelligence must get hold somehow even of things inconceivably great1 and the ,new ,testament writers1 with all their diversity of spiritual gifts1 are at one as to what is essential here4 ,they all find ,christ's love concentrated and focussed in ,his death4 ,they all find it there inasmuch as that death was a death for us4 ,perhaps ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,john penetrated further1 intellectually1 than any of the others into the mystery of this for2 but if we cannot give it a natural interpretation1 and an interpretation in which an absolutely irresistible constraint is hidden for heart and will1 we do not know what the ,apostles meant when they spoke of ,christ's love4 ,there has been much discussion about the for in this place4 ,it is 1 not 1 and many render it simply on our behalf1 or for our advantage4 ,that ,christ did die for our advantage is not to be questioned4 ,neither is it to be questioned that this is a fair rendering of 4 ,but what does raise question is whether this interpretation of the for supplies sufficient ground for the immediate inference of the ,apostle so then all died4 ,is it logical to say1 ,one died for the benefit of all3 hence all died8 ,from that premiss is not the only legitimate conclusion hence all remained alive8 ,plainly1 if ,paul's conclusion is to be drawn1 the for must reach deeper than this mere suggestion of our advantage3 if we all died1 in that ,christ died for us1 there must be a sense in which that death of ,his is ours2 ,he must be identified with us in it3 there1 on the cross1 while we stand and gaze at ,him1 ,he is not simply a person doing us a service2 ,he is a person doing us a service by filling our place and dying our death4 ,it is out of this deeper relation that all services1 benefits1 and advantages flow2 and that deeper sense of for1 to which ,christ in ,his death is at once the representative and the substitute of man1 is essential to do justice to the ,apostle's thought4 ,without the ideas involved in these words we cannot conceive1 as he conceived it1 the love of ,christ4 ,we cannot understand how that force1 which exercised such absolute authority over his whole life1 appealed to his intelligence4 ,we do not mean what he meant even when we use his words2 we gain currency1 under cover of them1 for ideas utterly inadequate to the spiritual depth of his4 ,if this were an exposition of ,st4 ,paul's theology1 and not of the ,second ,epistle to the ,corinthians1 ,i should be bound to consider the connexion between that outward death of ,christ in which the death of all is involved1 and the appropriation of that death to themselves by individual men4 ,but the ,apostle does not directly raise this question here2 he only adds in the fifteenth verse a statement of the purpose for which ,christ died1 and in doing so suggests that the connecting link is to be sought1 in part at least1 in the feeling of gratitude4 ,he died for all1 that they which live should no longer live unto themselves1 but unto ,him who died for them and rose again4 ,in dying our death ,christ has done something for us so immense in love that we ought to be ,his1 and only ,his1 for ever4 ,to make us ,his is the very object of ,his death4 ,before we know ,him we are naturally selfish2 we are an end to ourselves1 in the bad sense2 we are our own4 ,even the sacrifices which men make for their families1 their country1 or their order1 are but qualifications of selfishness2 it is not eradicated and exterminated till we see and feel what is meant by this--that ,christ died our death4 ,the life we have after we have apprehended this can never be our own2 nay1 we ourselves are not our own2 we are bought with a price2 life has been given a ransom for us1 and our life is due to him who died for us and rose again4 ,i believe the ,authorised ,version is right in this rendering1 and that it is a mistake to say1 who for our sakes died and rose again4 ,the ,resurrection has certainly significance in the work of ,christ1 but not in precisely the same way as ,his death2 and ,paul mentions it here1 not to define its significance1 but simply because he could not think of living except for ,one who was ,himself alive4 ,one point deserves especial emphasis here--the universality of the expressions4 ,paul has been speaking of himself1 and of the constraint which the love of ,christ1 as he apprehends it1 exercises upon him4 ,but he no sooner begins to define his thought of ,christ's love than he passes over from the first person to the third4 ,the love of ,christ was not to be limited2 what it is to the ,apostle it is to the world3 ,he died for all1 and so all died4 ,whatever blessing ,christ's death contained1 it contains for all4 ,whatever doom it exhausts and removes1 it exhausts and removes for all4 ,whatever power it breaks1 it breaks for all4 ,whatever ideal it creates1 whatever obligation it imposes1 it creates and imposes for all4 ,there is not a soul in the world which is excluded from an interest in that knowledge-surpassing love which made our death its own4 ,there is not one which ought not to feel that omnipotent constraint which enchained and swayed the strong1 proud spirit of ,paul4 ,there is not one which ought not to be pouring out its life for ,him who died in its place1 and rose to receive its service4 ,,footnotes3 #de ,the of the last judgment1 ver4 #aj1 has as good as taken place--for ,god4 #df ,according to ,winer in ,mark iii4 #ba has the present sense insanity2 and so it might be with here4 ,the verb occurs fifteen times in the ,new ,testament1 and except in these two passages has always the sense of being amazed or astonished beyond measure4 ,,xv ,,the ,,new ,,world ,wherefore we henceforth know no man after the flesh3 even though we have known ,christ after the flesh1 yet now we know ,him so no more4 ,wherefore if any man is in ,christ1 he is a new creature or1 there is a new creation3 the old things are passed away2 behold1 they are become new4--#b ,,cor4 v4 #af1 #ag 7,r4,v474 ,the inferences which are here drawn depend upon what has just been said of ,christ's death for all and the death of all in that death of ,his4 ,in that death1 as inclusive of ours1 the old life died1 and with it died all its distinctions4 ,all that men were1 apart from ,christ1 all that constituted the appearance 71 ver4 #ab7 of their life1 all that marked them off from each other as such and such outwardly1 ceased to have significance the moment ,christ's death was understood as ,paul here understands it4 ,he dates his inference with 7henceforth74 ,this does not mean from the time at which he writes1 but from the time at which he saw that ,one had died for all1 and so all died4 ,here1 as in other places1 he divides his life into now and then1 the ,christian and the pre-,christian stage 7,rom4 v4 #i2 ,eph4 ii4 #aa-ac74 ,the transition from one to the other was revolutionary1 and one of its most startling results is that which he here describes4 ,then1 the distinctions between men1 the appearances in which they boasted1 had been important in his eyes2 now1 they have ceased to be1 ,he#dg never asks whether a man is ,jew or ,greek1 rich or poor1 bond or free1 learned or unlearned2 these are classifications after the flesh1 and have died in ,christ's death for all4 ,to recognise them any longer1 to admit the legitimacy of claims based upon them--such claims as his opponents in ,corinth seem to have been putting forth--would be to make ,christ's death1 in a sense1 of no effect4 ,it would be to deny that when ,he died for all1 all died in ,him2 it would be to reanimate distinctions that should have been annihilated in ,his death4 ,to this rule of knowing no one after the flesh ,paul can admit no exception4 ,not even ,christ is excepted4 ,even though we have known ,christ after the flesh1 yet now we know ,him so no more4 ,this is a difficult saying1 and has been very variously interpreted4 ,the ,english reader inevitably supposes that ,paul had known ,christ after the flesh1 but had outgrown that kind of knowledge2 and that he is intimating these two facts4 ,but it is quite possible to take the words#dh as purely hypothetical3 ,supposing us to have known even ,christ after the flesh--a case which in point of fact was never ours--yet now we know ,him so no more4 ,grammar does not favour this last rendering1 though it does not preclude it2 and however the matter may be settled1 the bare supposition1 as much as the fact1 requires us to give a definite meaning to the words about knowing ,christ after the flesh1 and ceasing so to know ,him4 ,some have inferred from them that when ,paul became a ,christian1 and for some time after1 his conception of ,christ had resembled that of the persons whom he is here controverting3 his ,christ had been to all intents and purposes a ,jewish ,messiah1 and he had only been able by degrees to overcome1 though he had at last overcome1 the narrowness and nationalism of his early years as a disciple4 ,to know ,christ after the flesh would be to know ,him in the character of a deliverer of the ,jews3 ,his ,jewish descent1 ,his circumcision1 ,his observance of the ,temple worship1 ,his limitation of ,his ministry to the ,holy ,land1 would be matters of great significance2 and ,jewish descent might naturally be supposed to establish a prerogative in relation to the ,messiah for ,jews as opposed to ,gentiles4 ,probably there were ,christians whose original conception of the ,saviour was of this kind1 and it is a fair enough description to say that this amounts only to a knowing of ,christ after the flesh2 but ,paul can hardly have been one of them4 ,his ,christian knowledge of ,christ dates from his vision of the ,risen ,lord on the way to ,damascus1 and in that appearance there was no room for anything that could be called flesh4 ,it was an appearance of the ,lord of ,glory4 ,it determined all ,paul's thoughts thenceforth4 ,nothing is more remarkable in his ,epistles than the strong sense that what he calls his ,gospel is one1 unchanged1 and unchangeable4 ,it is not ,yes and ,no4 ,neither man nor angel may modify it by preaching another ,jesus than he preaches4 ,he is quite unconscious of any such transformation of his ,christology as is indicated above2 and in the absence of any trace elsewhere of a change so important1 it is impossible to read it into the verse before us4 ,another interpretation of the words would make knowing ,christ after the flesh refer to a knowledge at first hand of the facts and outward conditions of ,christ's life in this world3 a knowledge which ,paul had in his early ,christian days valued highly1 but for which he no longer cared4 ,there were numbers of men alive then who had known ,christ in this sense4 ,they had seen and heard ,him in ,galilee and ,jerusalem2 they had much to tell about ,him which would no doubt be very interesting to believers2 and more than likely some of them emphasised this distinction of theirs1 and were disposed to be pretentious on the strength of it4 ,whether ,paul had ever known ,christ in this sense1 it is impossible to say4 ,but it is certain that to such knowledge he would have assigned no ,christian importance whatever4 ,and in doing so1 he would have been following the example of ,christ ,himself4 ,then shall ye begin to say1 ,we have eaten and drunk in ,thy presence1 and ,thou hast taught in our streets4 ,and ,he shall say1 ,i tell you1 ,i know you not whence ye are4 ,but it is impossible to suppose that this is a matter on which ,paul as a ,christian had ever needed to change his mind4 ,it is an interpretation in part akin to this which makes ,st4 ,paul here decry all knowledge of the historical ,christ in comparison with the understanding of ,his death and resurrection4 ,to know ,christ after the flesh is in this case to know ,him as ,he is represented in ,matthew1 ,mark1 and ,luke2 and ,paul is supposed to say that1 though narratives like these once had an interest and value for him1 they really have it no longer3 they are not essential to his ,gospel1 which is constituted by the death and resurrection alone4 ,these great events and their consequences are all he is concerned with2 to know ,christ after the ,evangelists is merely to know ,him after the flesh2 and flesh1 even ,his flesh1 ought to have no significance since ,his death4 ,it is a little difficult to take this quite seriously1 though it has a serious side4 ,st4 ,paul1 no doubt1 makes very few references to incidents in the life of our ,lord1 or even to words which ,he spoke4#di ,but he is not singular in this4 ,the ,epistles of ,peter and ,john are historically as barren as his4 ,they do not add a word to the ,gospel story2 there is no new incident1 no new trait in the picture of ,jesus1 no new oracle4 ,indeed1 the only genuine addition to the record is that one made by ,paul himself--the word of the ,lord ,jesus1 how ,he said1 ,it is more blessed to give than to receive4 ,the truth seems to be that it is not natural for an apostle1 nor for any inspired man1 to fall back on quotations1 like a preacher gravelled for lack of matter1 or conscious of wanting authority4 ,paul and his colleagues in apostleship had ,christ living in them1 and recognised the spirit by which they spoke as the spirit of their ,master4 ,so far as this was the case1 it was certainly a matter of indifference to them whether they were acquainted with this or that incident in ,his life1 with this or that syllable that ,he spoke on such and such an occasion4 ,one casual occurrence1 one scene in ,christ's sufferings1 one discourse which ,he delivered1 would inevitably be known with more exact and literal precision to one person than to another2 and there is no difficulty in believing that the casual advantage which any individual might thus possess was regarded by ,st4 ,paul as a thing of no ,christian consequence4 ,similar differences exist still1 and in principle are to be disregarded4 ,but it is another thing to say that all knowledge of the historical ,christ is irrelevant to ,christianity1 and yet another to father such an opinion on ,st4 ,paul4 ,the attempt to do so is due in part1 ,i believe1 to a misinterpretation of 4 ,paul has been read as if what he disclaimed and decried were knowledge of ,christ 4 ,but the two things are quite distinct4 ,christ lived in the flesh2 but the life that ,he lived in the flesh ,he lived after the spirit1 and when its spiritual import is regarded1 it is safe to say that no one ever knew ,christ as ,he was in the flesh--the ,christ of ,matthew1 ,mark1 and ,luke--better than ,paul4 ,no one had been initiated into ,christ's character1 as that character is revealed in the story of the ,evangelists1 more fully than he4 ,no one ever knew the mind1 the temper1 the new moral ideal of ,christianity1 better than ,paul1 and there is no ultimate source for this knowledge but the historical ,christ4 ,paul could not in his work as an evangelist preach salvation through the death and resurrection of an unknown person2 the story which was the common property of the ,church1 and with which her catechists everywhere indoctrinated the new disciples1 must have been as familiar to him1 in substance1 as it is to us2 and his evident knowledge and appreciation of the character embodied in it forbids us to think of this acquaintance with ,christ as what he means by knowing ,him after the flesh4 ,he might have had the ,gospel narratives by heart1 and counted them inestimably precious1 and yet have spoken exactly as he speaks here4 ,nevertheless1 this interpretation1 though mistaken1 has a certain truth in it4 ,there is a historical knowledge of ,christ which is a mere irrelevance to ,christianity1 and it has sometimes a stress laid upon it by its possessors which tempts one to speak of it in ,st4 ,paul's scornful tone4 ,many so-called ,lives of ,christ abound in it4 ,they aim at a historical realism which1 to speak the plain truth1 has simply no religious value4 ,knowledge of localities1 customs1 costumes1 and so forth1 is interesting enough2 but if it should be ever so full and ever so exact1 it is not the knowledge of ,jesus ,christ in any sense which makes a ,gospel4 ,it is quite possible1 nay it is more than possible1 that such knowledge may come between the soul and the ,lord4 ,it was so when ,jesus lived4 ,there were people who knew so well what ,he was like that they were blind to what ,he was4 ,in ,st4 ,paul's phrase we may say that they knew ,him after the flesh1 and it kept them from knowing ,him truly4 ,they asked1 ,is not this the carpenter8 as if that were a piece of undeniable insight2 and they were not conscious that only men blind to what ,he really was could ever have asked a question so absurd4 ,it was not the carpenter who spoke with authority in the synagogues1 and cast out devils1 and brought in the kingdom2 it was the ,son of ,man1 the ,son of ,god2 and whether ,paul meant it so or not1 we may use his language in this passage to express the conviction1 that one may really know ,christ1 to whom the whole outward aspect of ,his life1 represented by the carpenter of ,nazareth1 is indifferent2 nay1 that one cannot know ,him in any real sense until these external things are indifferent4 ,or to put the same thing in other words1 we may say that the knowledge of ,christ which constitutes the ,christian is not the knowledge of what ,he was1 but of what he is2 and if we know what ,he is1 then all that is merely outward in the history may pass away4 ,but if none of these interpretations answers exactly to the ,apostle's thought1 where are we to seek the meaning of his words8 ,all these1 it will be observed1 assume that ,paul knew ,christ after the flesh1 subsequent to his conversion2 that he shared1 as a ,christian1 views about ,christ which he is now combating4 ,as these interpretations1 however1 are untenable1 we must assume that the time when he thus knew ,christ was before his conversion4 ,he could look back to days when his ,messianic conceptions were carnal2 when the ,christ was to be identified1 for him1 by tokens in the domain of appearance1 or flesh2 when ,he was to be a national1 perhaps merely a political deliverer1 and the ,saviour of the ,jews in a sense which gave them an advantage over the ,gentiles4 ,but these days were gone for ever4 ,henceforth--from the very instant that the truth flashed on him1 ,one died for all1 and so all died--they belonged to a past which could never be revived or recalled4 ,one died for all3 that means that ,christ is ,universal ,redeemer4 ,that same ,one rose again3 that means ,he is ,universal ,lord4 ,he has done the same infinite service for all1 ,he makes the same infinite claim upon all2 there are no prerogatives for any race1 for any caste1 for any individual men1 in relation to ,him4 ,in presence of ,his cross1 there is no difference3 in ,his death1 and in our death in ,him1 all carnal distinctions die2 henceforth we know no man after the flesh4 ,even kinship to ,jesus after the flesh does not base any prerogative in the kingdom of ,god2 even to have eaten and drunk in ,his presence1 and listened to ,his living voice1 confers no distinction there2 ,he has not done more for ,his brethren and ,his companions than ,he has done for us all4 ,and not only the carnal distinctions of men have vanished away2 the carnal ,jewish conception of ,christ has vanished with them4 ,the seventeenth verse seems a new inference from the same ground as the fifteenth4 ,indeed1 it connects so naturally with ver4 #ae that one critic has suggested that ver4 #af is spurious1 and another that it was a later insertion by the ,apostle4 ,perhaps we may assume that ,st4 ,paul1 who had no fear of such critics before his eyes1 was capable of setting his sentences down just as they occurred to him1 and did not mind an occasional awkwardness4 ,when he writes ,wherefore if any man is in ,christ1 he is a new creature1 he is indeed drawing an inference from ver4 #ae1 but he is at the same time generalising and carrying on the thought of ver4 #af4 ,the idea of the new creature occurs in other places in his writings 7e4g41 ,eph4 ii4 #aj2 ,gal4 vi4 #ae71 but both here and in ,gal4 vi4 #ae ,i prefer the rendering in the margin of the ,revised ,version--,if any man is in ,christ1 there is a new creation3 the things passed away 7when he died in ,christ72#ej behold1 they have become new4 ,we may say1 if we please1 that it is the new creature which makes the new creation2 the change in the soul which revolutionises the world4 ,still1 it is this universal change which the ,apostle1 apparently1 wishes to describe2 and in the sudden note of triumph with which he concludes--,behold6 all is become new--we feel1 as it were1 one throb of that glad surprise with which he had looked out on the world after ,god had reconciled him to ,himself by ,his ,son4 ,the past was dead to him1 as dead as ,christ on ,his cross2 all its ideas1 all its hopes1 all its ambitions1 were dead2 in ,christ1 he was another man in another universe4 ,this is the first passage in #b ,corinthians in which this ,pauline formula for a ,christian--a man in ,christ--is used4#ea ,it denotes the most intimate possible union1 a union in which the believer's faith identifies him with ,jesus in ,his death and resurrection1 so that he can say1 ,i live no longer1 but ,christ liveth in me4 ,it is the ,apostle's profoundest word1 not on the ,gospel1 but on the appropriation of the ,gospel2 not on ,christ1 but on the ,christian religion4#eb ,it is mystical1 as every true word must be which speaks of the relation of the soul to the ,saviour2 but it is intelligible to every one who knows what it is to trust and to love1 and through trust and love to lose self in another whose life is greater and better than his own4 ,and when we have seen1 even for a moment1 what it is to live in self or in the world1 and what to live in ,christ1 we can easily believe that this union is equivalent to a re-creating and transfiguring of all things4 ,it is impossible to point to all the applications of this truth3 all things is too wide a text4 ,every reader knows the things which bulked most largely in his life before he knew ,christ1 and it is easy for him to tell the difference due to being in the ,lord4 ,in a sense the new creation is in process as long as we live2 it is ideally that faith in ,christ means death in ,his death2 ideally that with faith the old passes and the new is there2 the actual putting away of the old1 the actual production of the new1 are the daily task of faith as it unites the soul to ,christ4 ,we are in ,him the moment faith touches ,him1 but we have to grow up into ,him in all things4 ,only as we do so does the world change all around us1 till the promise is fulfilled of new heavens and a new earth4 ,but there is one application of these words1 directly suggested by the context1 which we ought not to overlook3 ,i mean their application to men1 and the old ways of estimating men4 ,those who are in ,christ have died to the whole order of life in which men are judged after the flesh4 ,perhaps the ,christian ,church has almost as much need as any other society to lay this to heart4 ,we are still too ready to put stress upon distinctions which are quite in place in the world1 but are without ground in ,christ4 ,even in a ,christian congregation there is a recognition of wealth1 of learning1 of social position1 in some countries of race1 which is not ,christian4 ,i do not say these distinctions are not real1 but they are meaningless in relation to ,christ1 and ought not to be made4 ,to make them narrows and impoverishes the soul4 ,if we associate only with people of a certain station1 and because of their station1 all our thoughts and feelings are limited to a very small area of human life2 but if distinctions of station1 of intelligence1 of manners1 are lost in the common relation to ,christ1 then life is open to us in all its length and breadth2 all things are ours1 because we are ,his4 ,to be guided by worldly distinctions is to know only a few people1 and to know them by what is superficial in their nature2 but to see that such distinctions died in ,christ's death1 and to look at men in relation to ,him who is ,redeemer and ,lord of all1 is to know all our brethren1 and to know them not on the surface1 but to the heart4 ,people lament everywhere the want of a truly social and brotherly feeling in the ,church1 and try all sorts of well-meant devices to stimulate it1 but nothing short of this goes to the root of the matter4 ,the social1 in this universal sense1 is dependent upon the religious4 ,those who have died in ,christ to the world in which these separative distinctions reign will have no difficulty in recognising each other as one in ,him4 ,society is transfigured for each of us when this union is accomplished2 the old things have passed1 and all has become new4 ,,footnotes3 #dg ,the we in the first clause of ver4 #af is emphatic4 #dh ,as ,heinrici does4 #di ,see the excellent section on ,paul and the ,historical ,christ in ,sabatier's ,the ,apostle ,paul 7,english ,translation1 pp4 #gf-he74 #ej ,observe the aorist 4 #ea ,chap4 ii4 #ad1 #ag1 and chap4 iii4 #ad1 are more limited4 #eb ,perhaps the use of here may be determined by the wish to express tacitly his opposition to those who claimed to be in a special sense 4 ,paul's formula really asserts a much more intimate relation to ,christ than theirs4 ,,xvi ,,reconciliation ,but all things are of ,god1 who reconciled us to ,himself through ,christ1 and gave unto us the ministry of reconciliation2 to wit1 that ,god was in ,christ reconciling the world unto ,himself1 not reckoning unto them their trespasses1 and having committed unto us the word of reconciliation4 ,we are ambassadors therefore on behalf of ,christ1 as though ,god were intreating by us3 we beseech you on behalf of ,christ1 be ye reconciled to ,god4 ,him who knew no sin ,he made to be sin on our behalf2 that we might become the righteousness of ,god in ,him4--#b ,,cor4 v4 #ah-ba 7,r4,v474 ,est hic insignis locus1 si quis alius est in toto ,paulo3 proinde diligenter excutere singulas particulas convenit4--,,calvin4 ,if any man be in ,christ1 ,paul has said1 there is a new creation2 he is another man and lives in another world4 ,but the new creation has the same ,author as the original one3 it is all of ,god1 who reconciled us to ,himself by ,jesus ,christ1 and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation4 ,it is plain from these last words that us does not mean ,christians in general1 but in the first instance ,paul himself4 ,he is a typical example of what it is to be in ,christ2 he understands what his own words mean--the old things passed away2 behold1 they have become new2 he understands also how this stupendous change has been brought about4 ,it is due to ,god1 he says1 who reconciled us to ,himself through ,christ4 ,the great interest of this passage is its bearing upon the ,christian doctrine of reconciliation1 and before we go further it is necessary to explain precisely what this word means4 ,it presupposes a state of estrangement4 ,now1 a state of estrangement may be of two kinds3 the feeling of alienation and hostility may exist upon one side only1 or it may exist upon both4 ,what1 then1 is the character of that state of estrangement which subsists between ,god and man independently of the ,gospel1 and which the ,gospel1 as a ministry of reconciliation1 is designed to overcome8 ,is it one-sided1 or two-sided8 ,is there something to be put away in man only1 or something to be put away in ,god as well1 before reconciliation is effected8 ,these questions have been answered very confidently in different ways4 ,many1 especially in modern times1 assert with passionate eagerness that the estrangement is merely one-sided4 ,man is alienated from ,god by sin1 fear1 and unbelief1 and ,god reconciles him to ,himself when ,he prevails with him to lay aside these evil dispositions1 and trust ,him as his ,father and his ,friend4 ,all things are of ,god1 who reconciled us to ,himself through ,christ1 would mean in this case1 ,all things are of ,god1 who has won our friendship through ,his ,son4 ,that this describes in part the effect of the ,gospel1 no one will deny4 ,it is one of its blessed results that fear and distrust of ,god are taken away1 and that we learn to trust and love ,him4 ,nevertheless1 this is not what the ,new ,testament means by reconciliation1 though it is one of its fruits4 ,to ,st4 ,paul the estrangement which the ,christian reconciliation has to overcome is indubitably two-sided2 there is something in ,god as well as something in man which has to be dealt with before there can be peace4 ,nay1 the something on ,god's side is so incomparably more serious that in comparison with it the something on man's side simply passes out of view4 ,it is ,god's earnest dealing with the obstacle on ,his own side to peace with man which prevails on man to believe in the seriousness of ,his love1 and to lay aside distrust4 ,it is ,god's earnest dealing with the obstacle on ,his own side which constitutes the reconciliation2 the story of it is the word of reconciliation2 when men receive it1 they receive 7,rom4 v4 #aj7 the reconciliation4 ,reconciliation in the ,new ,testament sense is not something which we accomplish when we lay aside our enmity to ,god2 it is something which ,god accomplished when in the death of ,christ ,he put away everything that on ,his side meant estrangement1 so that ,he might come and preach peace4 ,to deny this is to take ,st4 ,paul's ,gospel away root and branch4 ,he always conceives the ,gospel as the revelation of ,god's wisdom and love in view of a certain state of affairs as subsisting between ,god and man4 ,now1 what is the really serious element in this situation8 ,what is it that makes a ,gospel necessary8 ,what is it that the wisdom and love of ,god undertake to deal with1 and do deal with1 in that marvellous way which constitutes the ,gospel8 ,is it man's distrust of ,god8 is it man's dislike1 fear1 antipathy1 spiritual alienation8 ,not if we accept the ,apostle's teaching4 ,the serious thing which makes the ,gospel necessary1 and the putting away of which constitutes the ,gospel1 is ,god's condemnation of the world and its sin2 it is ,god's wrath1 revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men 7,rom4 i4 #af-ah74 ,the putting away of this is reconciliation3 the preaching of this reconciliation is the preaching of the ,gospel4 ,much impatience has been shown in the criticism of this conception4 ,clever men have exhibited their talent and courage by calling it heathenish2 and others have undertaken to apologise for ,st4 ,paul by describing this objection as modern4 ,i cannot understand how any one should feel entitled either to flout the ,apostle on this matter1 or to take him under his patronage4 ,if any one ever had the sense to distinguish between what is real and unreal in regard to ,god1 between what is true and false spiritually1 it was he2 even with ,ritschl on one side and ,schmiedel on the other he is not dwarfed1 and may be permitted to speak for himself4 ,the wrath of ,god1 the condemnation of ,god resting on the sinful world1 are not1 whatever speculative theologians may think1 unreal things3 neither do they belong only to ancient times4 ,they are the most real things of which human nature has any knowledge till it receives the reconciliation4 ,they are as real as a bad conscience2 as real as misery1 impotence1 and despair4 ,and it is the glory of the ,gospel1 as ,st4 ,paul understood it1 that it deals with them as real4 ,it does not tell men that they are illusions1 and that only their own groundless fear and distrust have ever stood between them and ,god4 ,it tells them that ,god has dealt seriously with these serious things for their removal1 that awful as they are ,he has put them away by an awful demonstration of ,his love2 it tells them that ,god has made peace at an infinite cost1 and that the priceless peace is now freely offered to them4 ,when ,st4 ,paul says that ,god has given him the ministry of reconciliation1 he means that he is a preacher of this peace4 ,he ministers reconciliation to the world4 ,his work has no doubt a hortatory side1 as we shall see1 but that side is secondary4 ,it is not the main part of his vocation to tell men to make their peace with ,god1 but to tell them that ,god has made peace with the world4 ,at bottom1 the ,gospel is not good advice1 but good news4 ,all the good advice it gives is summed up in this--,receive the good news4 ,but if the good news be taken away2 if we cannot say1 ,god has made peace1 ,god has dealt seriously with ,his condemnation of sin1 so that it no longer stands in the way of your return to ,him2 if we cannot say1 ,here is the reconciliation1 receive it1--then for man's actual state we have no ,gospel at all4 ,in the nineteenth verse ,st4 ,paul explains more fully the way in which he is looking at the subject3#ec to wit1 that ,god was in ,christ reconciling the world to ,himself1 not reckoning unto them their trespasses1 and having committed unto us the word of reconciliation4 ,the ,english ,authorised ,version puts a comma at ,christ3 ,god was in ,christ1 reconciling the world to ,himself4 ,it is safe to say that ,god was in ,christ is a sentence which neither ,st4 ,paul nor any other ,new ,testament writer could have conceived2 the was and the reconciling must be taken together1 and in ,christ is practically equivalent to through ,christ in the previous verse--,god was by means of ,christ reconciling the world to ,himself4 ,reconciling1 of course1 must be taken in the sense already explained4 ,the sentence does not mean that ,god was trying to convert men1 or to prevail with them to lay aside their enmity1 but that ,he was disposing of everything that on ,his part made peace impossible4 ,when ,christ's work was done1 the reconciliation of the world was accomplished4 ,when men were called to receive it1 they were called to a relation to ,god2 not in which they would no more be against ,him--though that is included--but in which they would no more have ,him against them 7,hofmann74 ,there would be no condemnation thenceforth to those who were in ,christ ,jesus4 ,the connexion of the words not reckoning unto them their trespasses1 and having committed unto us the word of reconciliation1 is rather difficult4 ,the last clause certainly refers to something which took place after the work of reconciliation had been wrought2 ,paul was commissioned to tell the story of it4 ,it seems most probable that the other is co-ordinate with this1 so that both are in a sense the evidence for the main proposition4 ,it is as if he had said3 ,god was by means of ,christ establishing friendly relations between the world and ,himself1 as appears from this1 that ,he does not reckon their trespasses unto them1#ed and has made us preachers of ,his grace4 ,the very universality of the expression--reconciling a world to ,himself--is consistent only with an objective reconciliation4 ,it cannot mean that ,god was overcoming the world's enmity 7though that is the ulterior object7 it means that ,god was putting away ,his own condemnation and wrath4 ,when this was done1 ,he could send1 and did send1 men to declare that it was done2 and among these men1 none had a profounder appreciation of what ,god had wrought1 and what he himself had to declare as ,god's glad tidings1 than the ,apostle ,paul4 ,this is the point we reach in ver4 #bj3 ,we are ambassadors therefore on behalf of ,christ1 as though ,god were intreating you by us2 we beseech you1 on behalf of ,christ1 be ye reconciled to ,god4 ,the ,apostle has just told us that all is of ,god1 but all is at the same time in ,christ1 or through ,christ4 ,hence it is on ,christ's behalf he comes forward2 it is the furtherance of ,christ's interests he has at heart4 ,nay1 it is that same interest which is at the heart of the ,father1 who desires now to glorify the ,son2 so that when ,paul appeals to men on ,christ's behalf it is as though ,god ,himself entreated them4 ,most expositors notice the amazing contrast between 7we are ambassadors7 and 7we beseech you74 ,the ambassador1 as a rule1 stands upon his dignity2 he maintains the greatness of the person whom he represents4 ,but ,paul in this lowly passionate entreaty is not false to his ,master2 he is preaching the ,gospel in the spirit of the ,gospel2 he shows that he has really learned of ,christ2 the very conception of the ambassador descending to entreaty is1 as ,calvin says1 an incomparable commendation of the grace of ,christ4 ,one can imagine how ,saul the ,pharisee would have spoken on ,god's behalf2 with what rigour1 what austerity1 what unbending1 uncompromising assurance4 ,but old things have passed away2 behold1 they have become new4 ,this single verse illumines1 as by a lightning flash1 the new world into which the ,gospel has translated ,paul1 the new man it has made of him4 ,the fire that burned in ,christ's heart has caught hold in his2 his soul is tremulous with passion2 he is conscious of the grandeur of his calling1 yet there is nothing that he would not do to win men for his message4 ,it would go to his heart like a sword if he had to take up the old lament1 ,who hath believed our report8 ,in his dignity as ,christ's ambassador and as the mouthpiece of ,god1 in his humility1 in his passionate earnestness1 in the urgency and directness of his appeal1 ,st4 ,paul is the supreme type and example of the ,christian minister4 ,in the passage before us he presents the appeal of the ,gospel in its simplest form3 wherever he stands before men on ,christ's behalf his prayer is1 ,be ye reconciled unto ,god4 ,and once more we must insist on the apostolic import of these words4 ,it is the misleading nuance of reconcile in ,english that makes so many take them as if they meant1 ,lay aside your enmity to ,god2 cease to regard ,him with distrust1 hatred1 and fear2 in other words1 ,show yourselves ,his friends4 ,in ,st4 ,paul's lips they cannot possibly mean anything but1 ,accept ,his offered friendship2 enter into that peace which ,he has made for the world through the death of ,his ,son2 believe that ,he has at infinite cost put away all that on ,his part stood between you and peace2 receive the reconciliation4 ,the ,received ,text and the ,authorised ,version attach the twenty-first verse to this exhortation by 7for73 ,for ,him who knew no sin ,he made to be sin on our behalf4 ,the for is spurious1 and though it is not inept the sentence gains greatly in impressiveness by its omission4 ,the ,apostle does not point out the connexion for us3 in simply declaring the manner in which ,god reconciled the world to ,himself--the process by which1 the cost at which1 ,he made peace--he leaves us to feel how vast is the boon which is offered to us in the ,gospel1 how tremendous the responsibility of rejecting it4 ,to refuse the reconciliation is to contemn the death in which the ,sinless ,one was made sin on our behalf4 ,this wonderful sentence is the inspired commentary on the statement of ver4 #ae--,one died for all4 ,it takes us into the very heart of the ,apostolic ,gospel4 ,just because it does so1 it has always been felt to be of critical importance1 alike by those who welcome and by those who reject it2 it condenses and concentrates in itself the attraction of ,christ and the offence of ,christ4 ,it is a counsel of despair to evade it4 ,it is not the puzzle of the ,new ,testament1 but the ultimate solution of all puzzles2 it is not an irrational quantity that has to be eliminated or explained away1 but the key-stone of the whole system of apostolic thought4 ,it is not a blank obscurity in revelation1 a spot of impenetrable blackness2 it is the focus in which the reconciling love of ,god burns with the purest and intensest flame2 it is the fountain light of all day1 the master light of all seeing1 in the ,christian revelation4 ,let us look at it more closely4 ,god1 we must observe in the first place1 is the subject4 ,all is of him in the work of reconciliation1 and this above all1 that ,he made the ,sinless ,one to be sin4 ,i have read a book on the ,atonement which quoted this sentence three times1 or rather misquoted it1 never once recognising that an action of ,god is involved4 ,but without this1 there is no coherence in the ,apostle's thoughts at all4 ,without this1 there would be no explanation of reconciliation as ,god's work4 ,god reconciled the world to ,himself--made peace into which the world might enter--in making ,christ sin on its behalf4 ,what precisely this means we shall inquire further on2 but it is essential to remember1 whatever it mean1 that ,god is the doer of it4 ,observe next the description of ,christ--,him that knew no sin4 ,the ,greek negative 771 as ,schmiedel remarks1 implies that this is regarded as the verdict of some one else than the writer4 ,it was ,christ's own verdict upon ,himself4 ,he whose words search our very hearts1 and bring to light unsuspected seeds of badness1 never ,himself betrays the faintest consciousness of guilt4 ,he challenges ,his enemies directly3 ,which of you convinceth ,me of sin8 ,it is the verdict of all sincere human souls1 as uttered by the soldier who watched ,his cross--,truly this was a righteous man4 ,it is the verdict even of the great enemy who assailed ,him again and again1 and found nothing in ,him1 and whose agents recognised ,him as the ,holy ,one of ,god4 ,above all1 it is the verdict of ,god4 ,he was the beloved ,son1 in whom the ,father was well pleased4 ,for three-and-thirty years1 in daily contact with the world and its sins1 ,christ lived and yet knew no sin4 ,to ,his will and conscience it was a foreign thing4 ,what infinite worth that sinless life possessed in ,god's sight6 ,when ,he looked down to earth it was the one absolutely precious thing4 ,filled full of righteousness1 absolutely well-pleasing in ,his eyes1 it was worth more to ,god than all the world beside4 ,now1 ,god reconciled the world to ,himself--,he made a peace which could be proclaimed and offered to the world--when1 all sinless as ,christ was1 ,he made ,him to be sin on our behalf4 ,what does this mean8 ,not1 exactly1 that ,he made ,him a sin-offering on our behalf4 ,the expression for a sin-offering is distinct 7 71 and the parallelism with in the next clause forbids that reference here4 ,the sin-offering of the ,old ,testament can at most have pointed towards and dimly suggested so tremendous an utterance as this2 and the profoundest word of the ,new ,testament cannot be adequately interpreted by anything in the ,old4 ,when ,st4 ,paul says1 ,him that knew no sin ,god made sin1 he must mean that in ,christ on ,his cross1 by divine appointment1 the extremest opposites met and became one--incarnate righteousness and the sin of the world4 ,the sin is laid by ,god on the ,sinless ,one2 its doom is laid on ,him2 ,his death is the execution of the divine sentence upon it4 ,when ,he dies1 ,he has put away sin2 it no longer stands1 as it once stood1 between ,god and the world4 ,on the contrary1 ,god has made peace by this great transaction2 ,he has wrought out reconciliation2 and its ministers can go everywhere with this awful appeal3 ,receive the reconciliation2 ,him who knew no sin ,god hath made sin on our behalf1 and there is henceforth no condemnation to them that are in ,christ4 ,no one who has felt the power of this appeal will be very anxious to defend the ,apostolic ,gospel from the charges which are sometimes made against it4 ,when he is told that it is impossible for the doom of sin to fall on the ,sinless ,one1 and that even if it were conceivable it would be frightfully immoral1 he is not disquieted4 ,he recognises in the moral contradictions of this text the surest sign that the secret of the ,atonement is revealed in it3 he feels that ,god's work of reconciliation necessarily involves such an identification of sinlessness and sin4 ,he knows that there is an appalling side to sin1 and he is ready to believe that there is an appalling side to redemption also--a side the most distant sight of which makes the proudest heart quail1 and stops every mouth before ,god4 ,he knows that the salvation which he needs must be one in which ,god's mercy comes through1 and not over1 ,his judgment2 and this is the redemption which is in ,christ ,jesus4 ,but without becoming controversial on a subject on which more than on any other the temper of controversy is unseemly1 reference may be made to the commonest form of objection to the apostolic doctrine1 in the sincere hope that some one who has stumbled at that doctrine may see it more truly4 ,the objection ,i refer to discredits propitiation in the alleged interest of the love of ,god4 ,we do not need1 the objectors say1 to propitiate an angry ,god4 ,this is a piece of heathenism1 of which a ,christian ought to be ashamed4 ,it is a libel on the ,god and ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 whose name is love1 and who waits to be gracious4 ,what are we to say to such words1 which are uttered as boldly as if there were no possible reply1 or rather as if the ,apostles had never written1 or had been narrow-minded unreceptive souls1 who had not only failed to understand their ,master1 but had taught with amazing perversity the very opposite of what ,he taught on the most essential of all points--the nature of ,god and ,his relation to sinful men8 ,we must say this4 ,it is quite true that we have not to propitiate an offended ,god3 the very fact upon which the ,gospel proceeds is that we cannot do any such thing4 ,but it is not true that no propitiation is needed4 ,as truly as guilt is a real thing1 as truly as ,god's condemnation of sin is a real thing1 a propitiation is needed4 ,and it is here1 ,i think1 that those who make the objection referred to part company1 not only with ,st4 ,paul1 but with all the ,apostles4 ,god is love1 they say1 and therefore ,he does not require a propitiation4 ,god is love1 say the ,apostles1 and therefore ,he provides a propitiation4 ,which of these doctrines appeals best to the conscience8 ,which of them gives reality1 and contents1 and substance1 to the love of ,god8 ,is it not the apostolic doctrine8 ,does not the other cut out and cast away that very thing which made the soul of ,god's love to ,paul and ,john8 ,herein is love1 not that we loved ,god1 but that ,he loved us1 and sent ,his ,son to be the propitiation for our sins4 ,god commendeth ,his love toward us1 in that1 while we were yet sinners1 ,christ died for us4444 ,him that knew no sin ,he made to be sin on our behalf4 ,that is how they spoke in the beginning of the ,gospel1 and so let us speak4 ,nobody has any right to borrow the words ,god is love from an apostle1 and then to put them in circulation after carefully emptying them of their apostolic import4 ,still less has any one a right to use them as an argument against the very thing in which the ,apostles placed their meaning4 ,but this is what they do who appeal to love against propitiation4 ,to take the condemnation out of the ,cross is to take the nerve out of the ,gospel2 it will cease to hold men's hearts with its original power when the reconciliation which is preached through it contains the mercy1 but not the judgment of ,god4 ,its whole virtue1 its consistency with ,god's character1 its aptness to man's need1 its real dimensions as a revelation of love1 depend ultimately on this1 that mercy comes to us in it through judgment4 ,in the last words of the passage the ,apostle tells us the object of this great interposition of ,god3 ,he made ,christ to be sin on our behalf1 that we might become the righteousness of ,god in ,him4 ,our condemnation is made ,his2 it is accepted1 exhausted1 annihilated1 on ,his cross2 and when we receive the reconciliation--when we humble ourselves to be forgiven and restored at this infinite cost--there is no longer condemnation for us3 we are justified by our faith1 and have peace with ,god through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,this is what is meant by becoming the righteousness of ,god in ,him4 ,it is not1 as the very next sentence suggests1 all that is included in the ,christian salvation1 but it is all that the words themselves contain4 ,in ,him has all promise in it1 as well as the present possession of reconciliation1 with which the ,christian life begins2 but it is this present possession1 and not the promise involved in it1 which ,st4 ,paul describes as the righteousness of ,god4 ,in ,christ1 that ,christ who died for us1 and in ,him in virtue of that death which by exhausting condemnation put away sin1 we are accepted in ,god's sight4 ,,footnotes3 #ec ,this seems to be the force of 3 it is a violent supposition that it means since1 or for1 and that is a marginal interpretation of it which has crept into the text4 #ed ,this makes a true present1 not an imperfect participle4 ,it quite dislocates the sentence if it is co-ordinated with 1 and not with 4 ,,xvii ,,the ,,signs ,,of ,,an ,,apostle ,and working together with ,him we intreat also that ye receive not the grace of ,god in vain 7for ,he saith1 ,at an acceptable time ,i hearkened unto thee1 ,and in a day of salvation did ,i succour thee3 behold1 now is the acceptable time2 behold1 now is the day of salvation73 giving no occasion of stumbling in anything1 that our ministration be not blamed2 but in everything commending ourselves1 as ministers of ,god1 in much patience1 in afflictions1 in necessities1 in distresses1 in stripes1 in imprisonments1 in tumults1 in labours1 in watchings1 in fastings2 in pureness1 in knowledge1 in long-suffering1 in kindness1 in the ,holy ,ghost1 in love unfeigned1 in the word of truth1 in the power of ,god2 by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left1 by glory and dishonour1 by evil report and good report2 as deceivers1 and yet true2 as unknown1 and yet well known2 as dying1 and behold1 we live2 as chastened1 and not killed2 as sorrowful1 yet alway rejoicing2 as poor1 yet making many rich2 as having nothing1 and yet possessing all things4 ,our mouth is open unto you1 ,o ,corinthians1 our heart is enlarged4 ,ye are not straitened in us1 but ye are straitened in your own affections4 ,now for a recompense in like kind 7,i speak as unto my children71 be ye also enlarged4--#b ,,cor4 vi4 #a-ac 7,r4,v474 ,the ministry of the ,gospel is a ministry of reconciliation2 the preacher of the ,gospel is primarily an evangelist4 ,he has to proclaim that wonderful grace of ,god which made peace between heaven and earth through the blood of the ,cross1 and he has to urge men to receive it4 ,until this is done1 there is nothing else that he can do4 ,but when sinful men have welcomed the glad tidings1 when they have consented to accept the peace bought for them with so great a price1 when they have endured to be forgiven and restored to ,god's favour1 not for what they are1 nor for what they are going to be1 but solely for what ,christ did for them on the cross1 then a new situation is created1 and the minister of the ,gospel has a new task4 ,it is to that situation ,st4 ,paul addresses himself here4 ,recognising the ,corinthians as people reconciled to ,god by the death of ,his ,son1 he entreats them not to receive the grace of ,god in vain4 ,he does so1 according to our ,bibles1 as a fellow-worker with ,god4 ,this is probably right1 though some would take the word as in chap4 i4 #bd1 and make it mean as fellow-workers with you4 ,but it is more natural1 when we look to what precedes1 to think that ,st4 ,paul is here identifying himself with ,god's interest in the world1 and that he speaks out of the proud consciousness of doing so4 ,all is of ,god1 in the great work of redemption2 but ,god does not disdain the sympathetic co-operation of men whose hearts ,he has touched4 ,but what is meant by receiving the grace of ,god in vain1 or to no purpose8 ,that might be done in an infinite variety of ways1 and in reading the words for edification we naturally grasp at any clue suggested by our circumstances4 ,an expositor is bound to seek his clue rather in the circumstances of the ,corinthians2 and if we have regard to the general tenor of this ,epistle1 and especially to such a passage as chap4 xi4 #d1 we shall find the true interpretation without difficulty4 ,paul has explained his ,gospel--his proclamation of ,jesus as ,universal ,redeemer in virtue of ,his dying the sinner's death1 and as ,universal ,lord in virtue of ,his resurrection from the dead--so explicitly1 because he fears lest through the influence of some false teacher the minds of the ,corinthians should be corrupted from the simplicity that is toward ,christ4 ,it would be receiving the grace of ,god in vain1 if1 after receiving those truths concerning ,christ which he had taught them1 they were to give up his ,gospel for another in which these truths had no place4 ,this is what he dreads and deprecates1 both in ,corinth and ,galatia3 the precipitate removal from the grace of ,christ to another ,gospel which is no ,gospel at all1 but a subversion of the truth4 ,this is what he means by receiving the grace of ,god in vain4 ,there are some minds to which this will not be impressive1 some to which it will only be provoking4 ,it will seem irrelevant and pithless to those who take for granted the finality of the distinction between religion and theology1 or between the theory1 as it is called1 and the fact of the ,atonement4 ,but for ,st4 ,paul1 as for all sufficiently earnest and vigorous minds1 there is a point at which these distinctions disappear4 ,a certain theory is seen to be essential to the fact1 a certain theology to be the constitutive force in the religion4 ,the death of ,christ was what it was to him only because it was capable of a certain interpretation3 his theory of it1 if we choose to put it so1 gave it its power over him4 ,the love of ,christ constrained him because he thus judged--i4e41 because he construed it to his intelligence in a way which showed it to be irresistible4 ,if these interpretations and constructions are rejected1 it must not be in the name of fact as opposed to theory1 but in the name of other interpretations more adequate and constraining4 ,a fact of which there is absolutely no theory is a fact which is without relation to anything in the universe--a mere irrelevance in man's mind--a blank incredibility--a rock in the sky4 ,paul's theory about ,christ's death for sin was not to him an excrescence on the ,gospel1 or a superfluous appendage to it3 it was itself the ,gospel2 it was the thing in which the very soul of ,god's redeeming love was brought to light2 it was the condition under which the love of ,christ became to him a constraining power2 to receive it and then reject it was to receive the grace of ,god in vain4 ,this does not preclude us from the edifying application of these words which a modern reader almost instinctively makes4 ,peace with ,god is the first and deepest need of the sinful soul1 but it is not the sum-total of salvation4 ,it would1 indeed1 be received in vain1 if the soul did not on the basis of it proceed to build up the new life in new purity and power4 ,the failure to do this is1 unhappily1 only too common4 ,there is no mechanical guarantee for the fruits of the ,spirit2 no assurance1 such as would make this appeal unnecessary1 that every man who has received the word of reconciliation will also walk in newness of life4 ,but if an evangelical profession1 and an immoral life1 are the ugliest combination of which human nature is capable1 the force of this appeal ought to be felt by the weakest and the worst4 ,the ,son of ,god loved me1 and gave ,himself for me3 can any of us hide that word in his heart1 and live on as if it meant nothing at all8 ,paul emphasises his appeal to the ,corinthians by a striking quotation from an ancient prophet 7,isa4 xlix4 #h73 ,at an acceptable time did ,i hearken unto thee1 ,and in a day of salvation did ,i succour thee2 and he points it by the joyful exclamation3 ,behold1 now is the acceptable time2 behold1 now is the day of salvation4 ,the passage in ,isaiah refers to the servant of ,jehovah1 and some scholars would insist that even in the quotation a primary application must be made to ,christ4 ,the ambassadors of the ,gospel represent ,his interest 7chap4 v4 #bj72 this verse is1 as it were1 the answer to ,his prayer3 ,father1 the hour is come3 glorify ,thy ,son4 ,in answering the ,son1 the ,father introduces the era of grace for all who are1 or shall be1 ,christ's3 behold1 now is the time in which ,god shows us favour2 now is the day on which ,he saves us4 ,this is rather scholastic than apostolic1 and it is far more probable that ,st4 ,paul borrows the prophet's words1 as he often does1 because they suit him1 without thinking of their original application4 ,what is striking in the passage1 and characteristic both of the writer and of the ,new ,testament1 is the union of urgency and triumph in the tone4 ,now does certainly mean now or never2 but more prominently still it means in a time so favoured as this3 in a time so graced with opportunity4 ,the best illustration of it is the saying of ,jesus to the ,apostles3 ,blessed are your eyes1 for they see2 and your ears1 for they hear4 ,for verily ,i say unto you1 ,that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see1 and have not seen them2 and to hear those things which ye hear1 and have not heard them4 ,now1 that we live under the reign of grace2 now1 when ,god's redeeming love1 omnipotent to save1 shines on us from the ,cross2 now1 that the last days have come1 and the ,judge is at the door1 let us with all seriousness1 and all joy1 work out our own salvation1 lest we make the grace of ,god of no effect4 ,st4 ,paul is as careful himself as he would have the ,corinthians to be4 ,he does not wish them to receive the ,gospel in vain1 and he takes pains that it shall not be frustrated through any fault of his3 working together with ,god we intreat you 444 giving no occasion of stumbling in anything1 that our ministration be not blamed4 ,it is almost implied in a sentence like this that there are people who will be glad of an excuse not to listen to the ,gospel1 or not to take it seriously1 and that they will look for such an excuse in the conduct of its ministers4 ,anything in the minister to which objection can be raised will be used as a shield against the ,gospel4 ,it does not matter that in nine cases out of ten this plea for declining the grace of ,god is impudent hypocrisy2 it is one which the non-,christian should never have4 ,if it is not the chief end of the evangelist to give no occasion of stumbling1 it is one of his chief rules4 ,this is a matter on which ,jesus lays great stress4 ,the severest words ,he ever spoke were spoken against those whose conduct made faith hard and unbelief easy4 ,of course they were spoken to all1 but they have special application to those who are so directly identified with the ,gospel as its ministers4 ,it is to them men naturally look for the proof of what grace does4 ,if its reception has been in vain in them2 if they have not learned the spirit of their message2 if their pride1 or indolence1 or avarice1 or ill-nature1 provoke the anger or contempt of those to whom they preach1--then their ministration is blamed1 and the shadow of that censure falls upon their message4 ,the grace of ,god which has to be proclaimed through human lips1 and to attest itself by its power over human lives1 might seem to be put in this way to too great hazard in the world2 but it has ,god behind it1 or rather it is itself ,god at work in ,his ministers as their humility and fidelity allow ,him2 and in spite of the occasions of stumbling for which there is no excuse1 ,god is always able to make grace prevail4 ,through the faults of its ministers1 nay1 sometimes even with those faults as a foil1 men see how good and how strong that grace is4 ,it is not easy to comment on the glowing passage 7vv4 #d-aj7 in which ,st4 ,paul expands this sober habit of giving no occasion of stumbling in anything into a description of his apostolic ministry4 ,logically1 its value is obvious enough4 ,he means the ,corinthians to feel that if they turn away from the ,gospel which he has preached to them they are passing censure lightly on a life of unparalleled devotion and power4 ,he commends himself to them1 as ,god's servants ought always to do1#ee by the life which he leads in the exercise of his ministry2 and to reject his ,gospel is to condemn his life as worthless or misspent4 ,will they venture to do that when they are reminded of what it is1 and when they feel that it is all this for them8 ,no right-minded man will1 without provocation1 speak about himself1 but ,paul is doubly protected4 ,he is challenged1 by the threatened desertion from the ,gospel of some1 at least1 of the ,corinthians2 and it is not so much of himself he speaks1 as of the ministers of ,christ2 not so much on his own behalf1 as on behalf of the ,gospel4 ,the fountains of the great deep are broken up within him as he thinks of what is at issue2 he is in all straits1 as he begins1 and can speak only in unconnected words1 one at a time2 but before he stops he has won his liberty1 and pours out his soul without restraint4 ,it is needless to comment on each of the eight-and-twenty separate phrases in which ,st4 ,paul characterises his life as a minister of the ,gospel4 ,but there are what might be called breathing-places1 if not logical pauses1 in the outburst of feeling1 and these1 as it happens1 coincide with the introduction of new aspects of his work4 7#a7 ,at first he depicts exclusively1 and in single words1 its passive side4 ,christ had shown him at his conversion how great things he must suffer for ,his name's sake 7,acts ix4 #af71 and here is his own confirmation of the ,lord's word3 he has ministered in much patience--in afflictions1 in necessities1 in distresses2 in stripes1 in imprisonments1 in tumults--where the enmity of men was conspicuous2 in labours1 in watchings1 in fastings--freely exacted by his own devotion4 ,these nine words are all1 in a manner1 subordinated to much patience2 his brave endurance was abundantly shown in every variety of pain and distress4 7#b7 ,at ver4 #f he makes a new start1 and now it is not the passive and physical aspect of his work that is in view1 but the active and spiritual4 ,all that weight of suffering did not extinguish in him the virtues of the new life1 or the special gifts of the ,christian minister4 ,he wrought1 he reminds them1 in purity1 in knowledge1 in long-suffering1 in kindness1 in the ,holy ,spirit1 in love unfeigned1 in the word of truth1 in the power of ,god4 ,the precise import of some of these expressions may be doubtful1 but this is of less consequence than the general tenor of the whole1 which is unmistakable4 ,probably some of the terms1 strictly taken1 would cross each other4 ,thus the ,holy ,spirit and the power of ,god1 if we compare such passages as #a ,cor4 ii4 #d1 #a ,thess4 i4 #e1 are very nearly akin4 ,the same remark would apply to knowledge1 and to the word of truth1 if the latter refers1 as ,i cannot but think it does1#ef to the ,gospel4 ,purity is naturally taken in the widest sense1 and undissembled love is peculiarly appropriate when we think of the feelings with which some of the ,corinthians regarded ,paul4 ,but the main thing to notice is how the much endurance1 which1 to a superficial observer1 is the most conspicuous characteristic of the ,apostle's ministry1 is balanced by a great manifestation of spiritual force from within4 ,of all men in the world he was the weakest to look at1 the most battered1 burdened1 and depressed1 yet no one else had in him such a fountain as he of the most powerful and gracious life4 ,and then 7#c7 after another pause1 marked this time by a slight change in the construction 7from to 71 he goes on to enlarge upon the whole conditions under which his ministry is fulfilled1 and especially on the extraordinary contrasts which are reconciled in it4 ,we commend ourselves in our work he says1 by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and the left1 by glory and dishonour1 by evil report and good report3 as deceivers1 and yet true2 as unknown1 and yet coming to be well known2 as dying1 and behold1 we live2 as chastened1 and not killed2 as sorrowing1 yet ever rejoicing2 as poor1 yet making many rich2 as having nothing1 and yet possessing all things4 ,here again it is not the details that are important1 but the whole1 and yet the details require notice4 ,the armour of righteousness is that which righteousness supplies1 or it may even be that which righteousness is3 ,paul's character equips him right and left2 it is both spear and shield1 and makes him competent either for attack or defence4 ,without righteousness1 in this sense of integrity1 he could not commend himself in his work as a minister of ,god4#eg ,but not only does his real character commend him2 his reputation does the same service1 however various that reputation may be4 ,through honour and dishonour1 through evil report and good report--through the truth that is told about him1 and through the lies--through the esteem of his friends1 the malignity of his enemies1 the contempt of strangers--the same man comes out1 in the same character1 devoted always in the same spirit to the same calling4 ,it is indeed his very devotion which produces these opposite estimates1 and hence1 inconsistent as they are1 they agree in recommending him as a servant of ,god4 ,some said ,he is beside himself1 and others would have plucked out their eyes for his sake1 yet both these extremely opposite attitudes were produced by the very same thing--the passionate earnestness with which he served ,christ in the ,gospel4 ,there are good scholars who think that the clauses beginning as deceivers1 and true1 are the ,apostle's own commentary on through evil report and good report2 in other words1 that in these clauses he is giving samples of the way in which he was spoken of1 to his honour or dishonour1 and glorying that honour and dishonour alike only guaranteed more thoroughly his claim to be a minister of ,god4 ,this might suit the first two pairs of contrasts 7as deceivers1 and true2 as unknown1 and gaining recognition71 but it does not suit the next 7as dying1 and behold we live71 in which1 as in those that follow1 the ,apostle is not repeating what was said by others1 but speaking for himself1 and stating truth equally on both sides of the account4 ,after the first pair1 there is no dishonour1 or evil report1 in any of the states which he contrasts with each other3 though opposites1 they have each their truth1 and the power and beauty of the passage1 and of the life which it describes1 lie simply in this1 that both are true1 and that through all such contrasts ,st4 ,paul can prove himself the same loyal minister of the reconciliation4 ,each pair of opposites might furnish by itself a subject for discourse1 but what we are rather concerned with is the impression produced by the whole4 ,in their variety they give us a vivid idea of the range of ,st4 ,paul's experiences2 in the regularity with which he puts the higher last1 and in the climax with which he concludes1 they show the victorious spirit with which he confronted all that various life4 ,an ordinary ,christian--an ordinary minister of the ,gospel--may well feel1 as he reads1 that his own life is by comparison empty and commonplace4 ,there is not that terrible pressure on him from without2 there is not that irrepressible fountain of grace within2 there is not that triumphant spirit which can subdue all the world contains--honour and dishonour1 evil report and good report--and make it pay tribute to the ,gospel1 and to himself as a ,gospel minister4 ,yet the world has still all possible experiences ready for those who give themselves to the service of ,god with the wholeheartedness of ,paul3 it will show them its best and its worst2 its reverence1 affection1 and praise2 its hatred1 its indifference1 its scorn4 ,and it is in the facing of all such experiences by ,god's ministers that the ministry receives its highest attestation3 they are enabled to turn all to profit2 in ignominy and in honour alike they are made more than conquerors through ,him who loved them4 ,st4 ,paul's plea rises involuntarily into a pan2 he begins1 as we saw1 with the embarrassed tone of a man who wishes to persuade others that he has taken sincere pains not to frustrate his work by faults he could have avoided--giving no occasion of stumbling in anything1 that the ministry be not blamed2 but he is carried higher and higher1 as the tide of feeling rises within him1 till it sets him beyond the reach of blame or praise--at ,christ's right hand1 where all things are his4 ,here is a signal fulfilment of that word of the ,lord3 ,i am come that they might have life1 and might have it more abundantly4 ,who could have it more abundantly1 more triumphantly strong through all its vicissitudes1 than the man who dictated these lines8 ,the passage closes with an appeal in which ,paul descends from this supreme height to the most direct and affectionate address4 ,he names his readers by name3 ,our mouth is open unto you1 ,o ,corinthians2#eh our heart is enlarged4 ,he means that he has treated them with the utmost frankness and cordiality4 ,with strangers we use reserve2 we do not let ourselves go1 nor indulge in any effusion of heart4 ,but he has not made strangers of them2 he has relieved his overcharged heart before them1 and he has established a new claim on their confidence in doing so4 ,ye are not straitened in us1 he writes2 that is1 ,the awkwardness and constraint of which you are conscious in your relations with me are not due to anything on my side2 my heart has been made wide1 and you have plenty of room in it4 ,but you are straitened in your own affections4 ,it is your hearts that are narrow3 cramped and confined with unworthy suspicions1 and with the feeling that you have done me a wrong which you are not quite prepared to rectify4 ,overcome these ungenerous thoughts at once4 ,give me a recompense in kind for my treatment of you4 ,i have opened my heart wide1 to you and for you2 open your hearts as freely1 to me and for me4 ,i am your father in ,christ1 and ,i have a right to this from my children4 ,when we take this passage as a whole1 in its original bearings1 one thing is plain3 that want of love and confidence between the minister of the ,gospel and those to whom he ministers has great power to frustrate the grace of ,god4 ,there may have been a real revival under the minister's preaching--a real reception of the grace which he proclaims--but all will be in vain if mutual confidence fails4 ,if he gives occasion of stumbling in something1 and the ministry is blamed2 or if malice and falsehood sow the seeds of dissension between him and his brethren1 the grand condition of an effective ministry is gone4 ,beloved1 let us love one another1 if we do not wish the virtue of the ,cross to be of no effect in us4 ,,footnotes3 #ee ,observe that it is 1 not 4 #ef ,some1 because of the want of the article1 make it equivalent to veracity4 #eg ,beet1 however1 takes it in the technical sense3 justification by faith is the preacher's sword and shield4 #eh ,rara et prsentissima appellatio 7,bengel74 ,,xviii ,,new ,,testament ,,puritanism ,be not unequally yoked with unbelievers3 for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity8 or what communion hath light with darkness8 ,and what concord hath ,christ with ,belial8 or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever8 ,and what agreement hath a temple of ,god with idols8 for we are a temple of the living ,god2 even as ,god said1 ,i will dwell in them1 and walk in them2 and ,i will be their ,god1 and they shall be ,my people4 ,wherefore ,come ye out from among them1 and be ye separate1 saith the ,lord1 ,and touch no unclean thing2 ,and ,i will receive you1 ,and will be to you a ,father1 ,and ye shall be to ,me sons and daughters1 saith the ,lord ,almighty4 ,having therefore these promises1 beloved1 let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit1 perfecting holiness in the fear of ,god4--#b ,,cor4 vi4 #ad-vii4 #a 7,r4,v474 ,this is one of the most peculiar passages in the ,new ,testament4 ,even a careless reader must feel that there is something abrupt and unexpected in it2 it jolts the mind as a stone on the road does a carriage wheel4 ,paul has been begging the ,corinthians to treat him with the same love and confidence which he has always shown to them1 and he urges this claim upon them up to ver4 #ac4 ,then comes this passage about the relation of ,christians to the world4 ,then again1 at chap4 vii4 #b--,open your hearts to us2 we wronged no man1 we corrupted no man1 we took advantage of no man--he returns to the old subject without the least mark of transition4 ,if everything were omitted from chap4 vi4 #ad to chap4 vii4 #a inclusive1 the continuity both of thought and feeling would be much more striking4 ,this consideration alone has induced many scholars to believe that these verses do not occupy their original place4 ,the ingenious suggestion has been made that they are a fragment of the letter to which the ,apostle refers in the ,first ,epistle 7chap4 v4 #i73 the sentiment1 and to some extent even the words1 favour this conjecture4 ,but as there is no external authority for any conjecture whatever1 and no variation in the text1 such suggestions can never become conclusive4 ,it is always possible that1 on reading over his letter1 the ,apostle himself may have inserted a paragraph breaking to some extent the closeness of the original connexion4 ,if there is nothing in the contents of the section inconsistent with his mind1 the breach of continuity is not enough to discredit it4 ,some1 however1 have gone further than this4 ,they have pointed to the strange formul of quotation--as ,god said1 saith the ,lord1 saith the ,lord ,almighty--as unlike ,paul4 ,even the main idea of the passage--touch not any unclean thing--is asserted to be at variance with his principles4 ,a narrow ,jewish ,christian might1 it is said1 have expressed this shrinking from what is unclean1 in the sense of being associated with idolatry1 but not the great ,apostle of liberty4 ,at all events he would have taken care1 in giving such an advice under special circumstances1 to safeguard the principle of freedom4 ,and1 finally1 an argument is drawn from language4 ,the only point at which it is even plausible is that which touches upon the use of the terms flesh and spirit in chap4 vii4 #a4 ,schmiedel1 who has an admirable excursus on the whole question1 decides that this1 and this only1 is certainly un-,pauline4 ,it is certainly unusual in ,paul1 but ,i do not think we can say more4 ,the rigour and vigour with which ,paul's use of these terms is investigated seems to me largely misplaced4 ,they did undoubtedly tend to become technical in his mind1 but words so universally and so vaguely used could never become simply technical4 ,if any contemporary of ,paul could have written1 ,let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit1 then ,paul himself could have written it4 ,language offers the same latitudes and liberties to everybody1 and one could not imagine a subject which tempted less to technicality than the one urged in these verses4 ,whatever the explanation of their apparently irrelevant insertion here1 ,i can see nothing in them alien to ,paul4 ,puritanism is certainly more akin to the ,old ,testament than to the ,new1 and that may explain the instinctiveness with which the writer seems to turn to the law and the prophets1 and the abundance of his quotations2 but though all things are lawful to the ,christian1 ,puritanism has a place in the ,new ,testament too4 ,there is no conception of holiness into which the idea of separation does not enter2 and though the balance of elements may vary in the ,new ,testament as compared with the ,old1 none can be wanting4 ,from this point of view we can best examine the meaning and application of the passage4 ,if a connexion is craved1 the best1 ,i think1 is that furnished by a combination of ,calvin and ,meyer4 ,quasi recuperata auctoritate1 says ,calvin1 liberius jam eos objurgat3 this supplies a link of feeling between vv4 #ac and #ad4 ,a link of thought is supplied if we consider with ,meyer that inattention to the rule of life here laid down was a notable cause of receiving the grace of ,god in vain 7ver4 #a74ei ,let us notice 7#a7 the moral demand of the passage2 7#b7 the assumption on which it rests2 7#c7 the ,divine promise which inspires its observance4 7#a7 ,the moral demand is first put in the negative form3 ,be not unequally yoked with unbelievers4 ,the peculiar word 7unequally yoked7 has a cognate form in ,lev4 xix4 #ai1 in the law which forbids the breeding of hybrid animals4 ,god has established a good physical order in the world1 and it is not to be confounded and disfigured by the mixing of species4 ,it is that law 7or perhaps another form of it in ,deut4 xxii4 #aj1 forbidding an ,israelite to plough with an ox and an ass under the same yoke7 that is applied in an ethical sense in this passage4 ,there is a wholesome moral order in the world also1 and it is not to be confused by the association of its different kinds4 ,the common application of this text to the marriage of ,christians and non-,christians is legitimate1 but too narrow4 ,the text prohibits every kind of union in which the separate character and interest of the ,christian lose anything of their distinctiveness and integrity4 ,this is brought out more strongly in the free quotation from ,isa4 lii4 #aa in ver4 #ag3 ,come out from among them1 and be separate1 saith the ,lord1 and touch not anything unclean4 ,these words were originally addressed to the priests who1 on the redemption of ,israel from ,babylon1 were to carry the sacred temple vessels back to ,jerusalem4 ,but we must remember that1 though they are ,old ,testament words1 they are quoted by a ,new ,testament writer1 who inevitably puts his own meaning into them4 ,the unclean thing which no ,christian is to touch is not to be taken in a precise ,levitical sense2 it covers1 and ,i have no doubt was intended by the writer to cover1 all that it suggests to any simple ,christian mind now4 ,we are to have no compromising connexion with anything in the world which is alien to ,god4 ,let us be as loving and conciliatory as we please1 but as long as the world is what it is1 the ,christian life can only maintain itself in it in an attitude of protest4 ,there always will be things and people to whom the ,christian has to say ,no6 ,but the moral demand of the passage is put in a more positive form in the last verse3 ,let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit1 perfecting holiness in the fear of ,god4 ,that is the ideal of the ,christian life4 ,there is something to be overcome and put away2 there is something to be wrought out and completed2 there is a spiritual element or atmosphere--the fear of ,god--in which alone these tasks can be accomplished4 ,the fear of ,god is an ,old ,testament name for true religion1 and even under the ,new ,testament it holds its place4 ,the ,seraphim still veil their faces while they cry ,holy1 holy1 holy is the ,lord of ,hosts1 and still we must feel that great awe descend upon our hearts if we would be partakers of ,his holiness4 ,it is this which withers up sin to the root1 and enables us to cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit4 ,st4 ,paul includes himself in his exhortation here3 it is one duty1 one ideal1 which is set before all4 ,the prompt decisive side of it is represented in 7let us cleanse3 observe the aorist72 its patient laborious side in 7carrying holiness to completion74 ,almost everybody in a ,christian ,church makes a beginning with this task3 we cleanse ourselves from obvious and superficial defilements2 but how few carry the work on into the spirit1 how few carry it on ceaselessly towards perfection4 ,as year after year rolls by1 as the various experiences of his come to us with their lessons and their discipline from ,god1 as we see the lives of others1 here sinking ever deeper and deeper into the corruptions of the world1 there rising daily nearer and nearer to the perfect holiness which is their goal1 does not this demand assert its power over us8 ,is it not a great thing1 a worthy thing1 that we should set ourselves to purge away from our whole nature1 outward and inward1 whatever cannot abide the holy eye of ,god2 and that we should regard ,christian holiness1 not as a subject for casual thoughts once a week1 but as the task to be taken up anew1 with unwearying diligence1 every day we live8 ,let us be in earnest with this1 for surely ,god is in earnest4 7#b7 ,observe now the assumption on which the demand not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers is based4 ,it is that there are two ethical or spiritual interests in the world1 and that these are fundamentally inconsistent with each other4 ,this implies that in choosing the one1 the other has to be rejected4 ,but it implies more3 it implies that at bottom there are only two kinds of people in the world--those who identify themselves with the one of these interests1 and those who identify themselves with the other4 ,now1 as long as this is kept in an abstract form people do not quarrel with it4 ,they have no objection to admit that good and evil are the only spiritual forces in the world1 and that they are mutually exclusive4 ,but many will not admit that there are only two kinds of persons in the world1 answering to these two forces4 ,they would rather say there is only one kind of persons1 in whom these forces are with infinite varieties and modifications combined4 ,this seems more tolerant1 more humane1 more capable of explaining the amazing mixtures and inconsistencies we see in human lives4 ,but it is not more true4 ,it is a more penetrating insight which judges that every man--despite his range of neutrality--would in the last resort choose his side2 would1 in short1 in a crisis of the proper kind1 prove finally that he was not good and bad1 but good or bad4 ,we cannot pretend to judge others1 but sometimes men judge themselves1 and always ,god can judge4 ,and there is an instinct in those who are perfecting holiness in the fear of ,god which tells them1 without in the least making them ,pharisaical1 not only what things1 but what persons--not only what ideas and practices1 but what individual characters--are not to be made friends of4 ,it is no pride1 or scorn1 or censoriousness1 which speaks thus1 but the voice of all ,christian experience4 ,it is recognised at once where the young are concerned3 people are careful of the friends their children make1 and a schoolmaster will dismiss inexorably1 not only a bad habit1 but a bad boy1 from the school4 ,it ought to be recognised just as easily in maturity as in childhood3 there are men and women1 as well as boys and girls1 who distinctly represent evil1 and whose society is to be declined4 ,to protest against them1 to repel them1 to resent their life and conduct as morally offensive1 is a ,christian duty2 it is the first step towards evangelising them4 ,it is worth noticing in the passage before us how the ,apostle1 starting from abstract ideas1 descends1 as he becomes more urgent1 into personal relations4 ,what fellowship have righteousness and lawlessness8 ,none4 ,what communion has light with darkness8 ,none4 ,what concord has ,christ with ,belial8 ,here the persons come in who are the heads1 or representatives1 of the opposing moral interests1 and it is only now that we feel the completeness of the antagonism4 ,the interest of holiness is gathered up in ,christ2 the interest of evil in the great adversary2 and they have nothing in common4 ,and so with the believer and the unbeliever4 ,of course there is ground on which they can meet3 the same sun shines on them1 the same soil supports them1 they breathe the same air4 ,but in all that is indicated by those two names--believer and unbeliever--they stand quite apart2 and the distinction thus indicated reaches deeper than any bond of union4 ,it is not denied that the unbeliever may have much that is admirable about him2 but for the believer the one supremely important thing in the world is that which the unbeliever denies1 and therefore the more he is in earnest the less can he afford the unbeliever's friendship4 ,we need all the help we can get to fight the good fight of faith1 and to perfect holiness in the fear of ,god2 and a friend whose silence numbs faith1 or whose words trouble it1 is a friend no earnest ,christian dare keep4 ,words like these would not seem so hard if the common faith of ,christians were felt to be a real bond of union among them1 and if the recoil from the unbelieving world were seen to be the action of the whole ,christian society1 the instinct of self-preservation in the new ,christian life4 ,but1 at whatever risk of seeming harsh1 it must be repeated that there has never been a state of affairs in the world in which the commandment had no meaning1 ,come out from among them1 and be ye separate2 nor an obedience to this commandment which did not involve separation from persons as well as from principles4 7#c7 ,but what bulks most largely in the passage is the series of divine promises which are to inspire and sustain obedience4 ,the separations which an earnest ,christian life requires are not without their compensation2 to leave the world is to be welcomed by ,god4 ,it is probable that the pernicious association which the writer had immediately in view was association with the heathen in their worship1 or at least in their sacrificial feasts4 ,at all events it is the inconsistency of this with the worship of the true ,god that forms the climax of his expostulation--,what agreement hath a temple of ,god with idols8 and it is to this1 again1 that the encouraging promises are attached4 ,we1 says the ,apostle1 are a temple of the living ,god4 ,this carries with it all that he has claimed3 for a temple means a house in which ,god dwells1 and ,god can only dwell in a holy place4 ,pagans and ,jews alike recognised the sanctity of their temples3 nothing was guarded more jealously2 nothing1 if violated1 was more promptly and terribly avenged4 ,paul had seen the day when he gave his vote to shed the blood of a man who had spoken disrespectfully of the ,temple at ,jerusalem1 and the day was coming when he himself was to run the risk of his life on the mere suspicion that he had taken a pagan into the holy place4 ,he expects ,christians to be as much in earnest as ,jews to keep the sanctity of ,god's house inviolate2 and now1 he says1 that house are we3 it is ourselves we have to keep unspotted from the world4 ,we are ,god's temple in accordance with the central promise of the old covenant3 as ,god said1 ,i will dwell in them and walk in them1 and ,i will be their ,god1 and they shall be ,my people4 ,the original of this is ,lev4 xxvi4 #aa1 #ab4 ,the ,apostle1 as has been observed already1 takes the ,old ,testament words in a ,new ,testament sense3 as they stand here in ,second ,corinthians they mean something much more intimate and profound than in their old place in ,leviticus4 ,but even there1 he tells us1 they are a promise to us4 ,what ,god speaks1 ,he speaks to ,his people1 and speaks once for all4 ,and if the divine presence in the camp of ,israel--a presence represented by the ,ark and its tent--was to consecrate that nation to ,jehovah1 and inspire them with zeal to keep the camp clean1 that nothing might offend the eyes of ,his glory1 how much more ought those whom ,god has visited in ,his ,son1 those in whom ,he dwells through ,his ,spirit1 to cleanse themselves from every defilement1 and make their souls fit for ,his habitation8 ,after repeating the charge to come out and be separate1 the writer heaps up new promises1 in which the letter and the spirit of various ,old ,testament passages are freely combined4#fj ,the principal one seems to be #b ,sam4 vii41 which contains the promises originally made to ,solomon4 ,at ver4 #ad of that chapter we have the idea of the paternal and filial relation1 and at ver4 #h the speaker is described in the ,,lxx41 as here1 as the ,lord ,almighty4 ,but passages like ,jer4 xxxi4 #a1 #i1 also doubtless floated through the writer's mind1 and it is the substance1 not the form1 which is the main thing4 ,the very freedom with which they are reproduced shows us how thoroughly the writer is at home1 and how confident he is that he is making the right and natural application of these ancient promises4 ,separate yourselves1 for you are ,god's temple3 separate yourselves1 and you will be sons and daughters of the ,lord ,almighty1 and ,he will be your ,father4 ,hc una ratio instar mille esse debet4 ,the friendship of the world1 as ,james reminds us1 is enmity with ,god2 it is the consoling side of the same truth that separation from the world means friendship with ,god4 ,it does not mean solitude1 but a more blessed society2 not renunciation of love1 but admission to the only love which satisfies the soul1 because that for which the soul was made4 ,the ,puritanism of the ,new ,testament is no harsh1 repellent thing1 which eradicates the affections1 and makes life bleak and barren2 it is the condition under which the heart is opened to the love of ,god1 and filled with all comfort and joy in obedience4 ,with ,him on our side--with the promise of ,his indwelling ,spirit to sanctify us1 of ,his fatherly kindness to enrich and protect us--shall we not obey the exhortation to come out and be separate1 to cleanse ourselves from all that defiles1 to perfect holiness in ,his fear8 ,,footnotes3 #ei ,an ingenious defence of the place of these verses has been made by ,godet in his ,introduction to ,st4 ,paul's ,epistles4 ,at chap4 vi4 #aj the ,apostle suddenly stops1 amazed1 as it were1 at himself and at what the ,spirit has just dictated to him4 ,his heart swells1 and he longs to embrace the thankless ,church to which he writes4 ,what can be the cause of its ingratitude8 ,it is this4 ,he has inexorably exacted from them a sacrifice claimed by their ,christian profession--abstinence from banquets1 etc41 in idol temples 7#a ,cor4 x474 ,but he has had no choice2 the promises ,god makes to ,his sons and daughters are made on condition of such separation4 ,hence the entreaty in vii4 #b f41 ,make room for me in your hearts3 ,i have not deserved ill of any one by what ,i have done4--,introduction1 p4 #cha4 #fj ,so freely that ,ewald thinks the words from onward are a quotation from some unknown source3 as1 e4g41 ,eph4 v4 #ad4 ,,xix ,,repentance ,,unto ,,life ,open your hearts to us3 we wronged no man1 we corrupted no man1 we took advantage of no man4 ,i say it not to condemn you3 for ,i have said before1 that ye are in our hearts to die together and live together4 ,great is my boldness of speech toward you1 great is my glorying on your behalf3 ,i am filled with comfort1 ,i overflow with joy in an our affliction4 ,for even when we were come into ,macedonia1 our flesh had no relief1 but we were afflicted on every side2 without were fightings1 within were fears4 ,nevertheless ,he that comforteth the lowly1 even ,god1 comforted us by the coming of ,titus2 and not by his coming only1 but also by the comfort wherewith he was comforted in you1 while he told us your longing1 your mourning1 your zeal for me2 so that ,i rejoiced yet more4 ,for though ,i made you sorry with my epistle1 ,i do not regret it1 though ,i did regret2 for ,i see that that epistle made you sorry1 though but for a season4 ,now ,i rejoice1 not that ye were made sorry1 but that ye were made sorry unto repentance3 for ye were made sorry after a godly sort1 that ye might suffer loss by us in nothing4 ,for godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation1 a repentance which bringeth no regret3 but the sorrow of the world worketh death4 ,for behold1 this selfsame thing1 that ye were made sorry after a godly sort1 what earnest care it wrought in you1 yea1 what clearing of yourselves1 yea1 what indignation1 yea1 what fear1 yea1 what longing1 yea1 what zeal1 yea1 what avenging6 ,in everything ye approved yourselves to be pure in the matter4 ,so although ,i wrote unto you1 ,i wrote not for his cause that did the wrong1 nor for his cause that suffered the wrong1 but that your earnest care for us might be made manifest unto you in the sight of ,god4 ,therefore we have been comforted3 and in our comfort we joyed the more exceedingly for the joy of ,titus1 because his spirit hath been refreshed by you all4 ,for if in anything ,i have gloried to him on your behalf1 ,i was not put to shame2 but as we spake all things to you in truth1 so our glorying also1 which ,i made before ,titus1 was found to be truth4 ,and his inward affection is more abundantly toward you1 whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all1 how with fear and trembling ye received him4 ,i rejoice that in everything ,i am of good courage concerning you4--#b ,,cor4 vii4 #b-af 7,r4,v474 ,in this fine passage ,st4 ,paul completes1 as far as it lay upon his side to do so1 his reconciliation with the ,corinthians4 ,it concludes the first great division of his ,second ,epistle1 and henceforth we hear no more of the sinner censured so severely in the ,first 7chap4 v471#fa or of the troubles which arose in the ,church over the disciplinary treatment of his sin4 ,the end of a quarrel between friends is like the passing away of a storm2 the elements are meant to be at peace with each other1 and nature never looks so lovely as in the clear shining after rain4 ,the effusion of feeling in this passage1 so affectionate and unreserved2 the sense that the storm-clouds have no more than left the sky1 yet that fair weather has begun1 make it conspicuously beautiful even in the writings of ,st4 ,paul4 ,he begins by resuming the appeal interrupted at chap4 vi4 #ac4 ,he has charged the ,corinthians with being straitened in their own affections3 distrust and calumny have narrowed their souls1 nay1 shut them against him altogether4 ,receive us1 he exclaims here--i4e41 open your hearts to us4 ,you have no cause to be reserved3 we wronged no man1 ruined no man1 took advantage of no man4 ,such charges had doubtless been made against him4 ,the point of the last is clear from chap4 xii4 #af-ah3 he had been accused of making money out of his apostolic work among them4 ,the other words are less precise1 especially the one rendered corrupted 771 which should perhaps be rather explained1 as in #a ,cor4 iii4 #ag1 destroyed4 ,paul has not wronged or ruined any one in ,corinth4 ,of course1 his ,gospel made serious demands upon people3 it insisted on readiness to make sacrifices1 and on actual sacrifice besides2 it proceeded with extreme severity against sinners like the incestuous man2 it entailed obligations1 as we shall presently hear1 to help the poor even of distant lands2 and then1 as still1 such claims might easily be resented as ruinous or unjust4 ,st4 ,paul simply denies the charge4 ,he does not retort it2 it is not his object to condemn those whom he loves so utterly4 ,he has told them already that they are in his heart to die together and to live together 7vi4 #aa72 and when this is so1 there is no place for recrimination or bandying of reproaches4 ,he is full of confidence in them2#fb he can freely make his boast of them4 ,he has had affliction enough1 but over it all he has been filled with consolation2 even as he writes1 his joy overflows 7observe the present3 74 ,that word--ye are in our hearts to die together and to live together--is the key to all that follows4 ,it has suffered much at the hands of grammarians1 for whom it has undeniable perplexities2 but vehement emotion may be permitted to be in some degree inarticulate1 and we can always feel1 even if we cannot demonstrate1 what it means4 ,your image in my heart accompanies me in death and life1#fc is as nearly as possible what the ,apostle says2 and if the order of the words is unusual--for life would naturally stand first--that may be due to the fact1 so largely represented in chap4 iv41 that his life was a series of deadly perils1 and of ever-renewed deliverances from them1 a daily dying and a daily resurrection1 through all the vicissitudes of which the ,corinthians never lost their place in his heart4 ,more artificial interpretations only obscure the intensity of that love which united the ,apostle to his converts4 ,it is levelled here1 unconsciously no doubt1 but all the more impressively1 with the love which ,god in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord bears to ,his redeemed4 ,i am persuaded1 ,st4 ,paul writes to the ,romans1 that neither death nor life can separate us from that4 ,you may be assured1 he writes here to the ,corinthians1 that neither death nor life can separate you from my love4 ,the reference of death and life is of course different1 but the strength of conviction and of emotion is the same in both cases4 ,st4 ,paul's heart is pledged irrevocably and irreversibly to the ,church4 ,in the deep feeling that he is theirs1 he has an assurance that they also are his4 ,the love with which he loves them is bound to prevail2 nay1 it has prevailed1 and he can hardly find words to express his joy4 ,en qualiter affectos esse omnes ,pastores conveniat 7,calvin74 ,the next three verses carry us back to chap4 ii4 #ab ff41 and resume the story which was interrupted there at ver4 #ad4 ,the sudden thanksgiving of that passage--so eager and impetuous that it left the writer no time to tell what he was thankful for--is explained here4 ,titus1 whom he had expected to see in ,troas1 arrived at length1 probably at ,philippi1 and brought with him the most cheering news4 ,paul was sadly in need of it4 ,his flesh had no rest3 the use of the perfect 77 almost conveys the feeling that he began to write whenever he got the news1 so that up to this moment the strain had continued4 ,the fights without were probably assaults upon himself1 or the ,churches1 of the nature of persecution2 the fears within1 his anxieties about the state of morals1 or of ,gospel truth1 in the ,christian communities4 ,outworn and depressed1 burdened both in body and mind 7cf4 the expressions in ii4 #ac and vii4 #e71 he was suddenly lifted on high by the arrival and the news of ,titus4 ,here again1 as in ii4 #ad1 he ascribes all to ,god4 ,it was ,he whose very nature it is to comfort the lowly who so graciously comforted him4 ,titus apparently had gone himself with a sad and apprehensive heart to ,corinth2 he had been away longer than he had anticipated1 and in the interval ,st4 ,paul's anxiety had risen to anguish2 but in ,corinth his reception had been unexpectedly favourable1 and when he returned he was able to console his master with a consolation which had already gladdened his own heart4 ,paul was not only comforted1 his sorrow was turned into joy1 as he listened to ,titus telling of the longing of the ,corinthians to see him1 of their mourning over the pain they had given him by their tolerance for such irregularities as that of the incestuous man or the unknown insulter of the ,apostle1 and of their eagerness to satisfy him and maintain his authority4 ,the word your 77 in ver4 #g has a certain emphasis which suggests a contrast4 ,before ,titus went to ,corinth1 it was ,paul who had been anxious to see them1 who had mourned over their immoral laxity1 who had been passionately interested in vindicating the character of the ,church he had founded2 now it is they who are full of longing to see him1 of grief1 and of moral earnestness2 and it is this which explains his joy4 ,the conflict between the powers of good in one great and passionate soul1 and the powers of evil in a lax and fickle community1 has ended in favour of the good2 ,paul's vehemence has prevailed against ,corinthian indifference1 and made it vehement also in all good affections1 and he rejoices now in the joy of his ,lord4 ,then comes the most delicate part of this reconciliation 7vv4 #h-ab74 ,it is a good rule in making up disputes to let bygones be bygones1 as far as possible2 there may be a little spark hidden here and there under what seem dead ashes1 and there is no gain in raking up the ashes1 and giving the spark a chance to blaze again4 ,but this is a good rule only because we are bad men1 and because reconciliation is seldom allowed to have its perfect work4 ,we feel1 and say1 after we have quarrelled with a person and been reconciled1 that it can never be the same again4 ,but this ought not to be so2 and if we were perfect in love1 or ardent in love at all1 it would not be so4 ,if we were in one another's hearts1 to die together and to live together1 we should retrace the past together in the very act of being reconciled2 and all its misunderstandings and bitterness and badness1 instead of lying hidden in us as matter of recrimination for some other day when we are tempted1 would add to the sincerity1 the tenderness1 and the spirituality of our love4 ,the ,apostle sets us an example here1 of the rarest and most difficult virtue1 when he goes back upon the story of his relations with the ,corinthians1 and makes the bitter stock yield sweet and wholesome fruit4#fd ,the whole result is in his mind when he writes1 ,although ,i made you sorry with the letter1 ,i do not regret it4 ,the letter is1 on the simplest hypothesis1 the ,first ,epistle2 and though no one would willingly speak to his friends as ,paul in some parts of that ,epistle speaks to the ,corinthians1 he cannot pretend that he wishes it unwritten4 ,although ,i did regret it1 he goes on1 now ,i rejoice4 ,he regretted it1 we must understand1 before ,titus came back from ,corinth4 ,in that melancholy interval1 all he saw was that the letter made them sorry2 it was bound to do so1 even if it should only be temporarily2 but his heart smote him for making them sorry at all4 ,it vexed him to vex them4 ,no doubt this is the plain truth he is telling them1 and it is hard to see why it should have been regarded as inconsistent with his apostolic inspiration4 ,he did not cease to have a living soul because he was inspired2 and if in his despondency it crossed his mind to say1 ,that letter will only grieve them1 he must have said in the same instant1 ,i wish ,i had never written it4 ,but both impulses were momentary only2 he has heard now the whole effect of his letter1 and rejoices that he wrote it4 ,not1 of course1 that they were made sorry--no one could rejoice for that--but that they were made sorry to repentance4 ,for ye were made sorry according to ,god1 that in nothing ye might suffer loss on our part4 ,for sorrow according to ,god worketh repentance unto salvation1 a repentance which bringeth no regret4 ,but the sorrow of the world worketh death4 ,most people define repentance as a kind of sorrow1 but this is not exactly ,st4 ,paul's view here4 ,there is a kind of sorrow1 he intimates1 which issues in repentance1 but repentance itself is not so much an emotional as a spiritual change4 ,the sorrow which ends in it is a blessed experience2 the sorrow which does not end in it is the most tragical waste of which human nature is capable4 ,the ,corinthians1 we are told1 were made sorry1 or grieved1 according to ,god4 ,their sorrow had respect to ,him3 when the ,apostle's letter pricked their hearts1 they became conscious of that which they had forgotten--,god's relation to them1 and ,his judgment on their conduct4 ,it is this element which makes any sorrow godly1 and without this1 sorrow does not look towards repentance at all4 ,all sins sooner or later bring the sense of loss with them2 but the sense of loss is not repentance4 ,it is not repentance when we discover that our sin has found us out1 and has put the things we most coveted beyond our reach4 ,it is not repentance when the man who has sown his wild oats is compelled in bitterness of soul to reap what he has sown4 ,it is not a sorrow according to ,god when our sin is summed up for us in the pain it inflicts upon ourselves--in our own loss1 our own defeat1 our own humiliation1 our own exposure1 our own unavailing regret4 ,these are not healing1 but embittering4 ,the sorrow according to ,god is that in which the sinner is conscious of his sin in relation to the ,holy ,one1 and feels that its inmost soul of pain and guilt is this1 that he has fallen away from the grace and friendship of ,god4 ,he has wounded a love to which he is dearer than he is to himself3 to know this is really to grieve1 and that not with a self-consuming1 but with a healing1 hopeful sorrow4 ,it was such a sorrow to which ,paul's letter gave rise at ,corinth3 it is such a sorrow which issues in repentance1 that complete change of spiritual attitude which ends in salvation1 and need never be regretted4 ,anything else--the sorrow1 e4g41 which is bounded by the selfish interests of the sinner1 and is not due to his sinful act1 but only to its painful consequences--is the sorrow of the world4 ,it is such as men feel in that realm of life in which no account is taken of ,god2 it is such as weakens and breaks the spirit1 or embitters and hardens it1 turning it now to defiance and now to despair1 but never to ,god1 and penitent hope in ,him4 ,it is in this way that it works death4 ,if death is to be defined at all1 it must be by contrast with salvation3 the grief which has not ,god as its rule can only exhaust the soul1 wither up its faculties1 blight its hopes1 extinguish and deaden all4 ,st4 ,paul can point to the experience of the ,corinthians themselves as furnishing a demonstration of these truths4 ,consider your own godly sorrow1 he seems to say1 and what blessed fruits it bore4 ,what earnest care it wrought in you6 how eager became your interest in a situation to which you had once been sinfully indifferent6 ,but earnest care is not all4 ,on the contrary 771 ,paul expands it into a whole series of acts or dispositions1 all of which are inspired by that sorrow according to ,god4 ,when they thought of the infamy which sin had brought upon the ,church1 they were eager to clear themselves of complicity in it 771 and angry with themselves that they had ever allowed such a thing to be 772 when they thought of the ,apostle1 they feared lest he should come to them with a rod 771 and yet their hearts went out in longing desires to see him 772 when they thought of the man whose sin was at the bottom of all this trouble1 they were full of moral earnestness1 which made lax dealing with him impossible 771 and compelled them to punish his offence 774 ,in every way they made it evident that1 in spite of early appearances1 they were really pure in the matter4 ,they were not1 after all1 making themselves partakers1 by condoning it1 of the bad man's offence4 ,a popular criticism disparages repentance1 and especially the sorrow which leads to repentance1 as a mere waste of moral force4 ,we have nothing to throw away1 the severely practical moralist tells us1 in sighs and tears and feelings3 let us be up and doing1 to rectify the wrongs for which we are responsible2 that is the only repentance which is worth the name4 ,this passage1 and the experience which it depicts1 are the answer to such precipitate criticism4 ,the descent into our own hearts1 the painful self-scrutiny and self-condemnation1 the sorrowing according to ,god1 are not waste of moral force4 ,rather are they the only possible way to accumulate moral force2 they apply to the soul the pressure under which it manifests those potent virtues which ,st4 ,paul here ascribes to the ,corinthians4 ,all sorrow1 indeed1 as he is careful to tell us1 is not repentance2 but he who has no sorrow for his sin has not the force in him to produce earnest care1 fear1 longing1 zeal1 avenging4 ,the fruit1 of course1 is that for which the tree is cultivated2 but who would magnify the fruit by disparaging the sap8 ,that is what they do who decry godly sorrow to exalt practical amendment4 ,with this reference to the effect of his letter upon them1 the ,apostle virtually completes his reconciliation to the ,corinthians4 ,he chooses to consider the effect of his letter as the purpose for which it was written1 and this enables him to dismiss what had been a very painful subject with a turn as felicitous as it is affectionate4 ,so then1 though ,i did write to you1 it was not for his sake who did the wrong the sinner of #a ,cor4 v41 nor for his who had it done to him his father#fe2 but that you yourselves might become conscious of your earnest care of our interests in the sight of ,god4 ,awkward as some of the situations had been1 all that remained1 so far as the ,apostle and the ,corinthians were concerned1 was this3 they knew better than before how deeply they were attached to him1 and how much they would do for his sake4 ,he chooses1 as ,i have said1 to regard this last result of his writing as the purpose for which he wrote2 and when he ends the twelfth verse with the words1 ,for this cause1 we have been comforted1#ff it is as if he said1 ,i have got what ,i wanted now1 and am content4 ,but content is far too weak a word4 ,paul had heard all this good news from ,titus1 and the comfort which it gave him was exalted into abounding joy when he saw how the visit to ,corinth had gladdened and refreshed the spirit of his friend4 ,evidently ,titus had accepted ,paul's commission with misgivings3 possibly ,timothy1 who had been earlier enlisted for the same service 7#a ,cor4 xvi4 #aj71 had found his courage fail him1 and withdrawn4 ,at all events1 ,paul had spoken encouragingly to ,titus of the ,corinthians before he started2 as he puts it in ver4 #ad1 he had boasted somewhat to him on their account2 and he is delighted that their reception of ,titus has shown that his confidence was justified4 ,he cannot refrain here from a passing allusion to the charges of prevarication discussed in the first chapter2 he not only tells the truth about them 7as ,titus has seen71 but he has always told the truth to them4 ,these verses present the character of ,paul in an admirable light3 not only his sympathy with ,titus1 but his attitude to the ,corinthians1 is beautifully ,christian4 ,what in most cases of estrangement makes reconciliation hard is that the estranged have allowed themselves to speak of each other to outsiders in a way that cannot be forgotten or got over4 ,but even when the tension between ,paul and the ,corinthians was at its height1 he boasted of them to ,titus4 ,his love to them was so real that nothing could blind him to their good qualities4 ,he could say severe things to them1 but he would never disparage or malign them to other people2 and if we wish friendships to last1 and to stand the strains to which all human ties are occasionally subject1 we must never forget this rule4 ,boast somewhat1 even of the man who has wronged you1 if you possibly can4 ,if you have ever loved him1 you certainly can1 and it makes reconciliation easy4 ,the last results of the painful friction between ,paul and the ,corinthians were peculiarly happy4 ,the ,apostle's confidence in them was completely restored1 and they had completely won the heart of ,titus4 ,his affections are more abundantly toward you1 as he remembers the obedience of you all1 how with fear and trembling ye received him4 ,fear and trembling is an expression which ,st4 ,paul uses elsewhere1 and which is liable to be misunderstood4 ,it does not suggest panic1 but an anxious scrupulous desire not to be wanting to one's duty1 or to do less than one ought to do4 ,work out your salvation with fear and trembling1 for it is ,god that worketh in you1 does not mean ,do it in a constant state of agitation or alarm1 but ,work on with this resource behind you1 in the same spirit with which a young man of character would work1 who was starting in business on capital advanced by a friend4 ,he would proceed1 or ought to proceed1 with fear and trembling1 not of the sort which paralyse intelligence and energy1 but of the sort which peremptorily preclude slackness or failure in duty4 ,this is the meaning here also4 ,the ,corinthians were not frightened for ,paul's deputy1 but they welcomed him with an anxious conscientious desire to do the very utmost that duty and love could require4 ,this1 says ,calvin1 is the true way to receive ministers of ,christ3 and it is this only which will gladden a true minister's heart4 ,sometimes1 with the most innocent intention1 the whole situation is changed1 and the minister1 though received with the utmost courtesy and kindness1 is not received with fear and trembling at all4 ,partly through his own fault1 and partly through the fault of others1 he ceases to be the representative of anything that inspires reverence1 or excites to conscientious earnestness of conduct4 ,if1 under these circumstances1 he continues to be kindly treated1 he is apt to end in being1 not the pastor1 but the pet lamb of his flock4 ,in apostolic times there was no danger of this1 but modern ministers and modern congregations have sometimes thrown away all the possibilities of good in their mutual relations by disregarding it4 ,the affection which they ought to have to each other is ,christian1 not merely natural2 controlled by spiritual ideas and purposes1 and not a matter of ordinary good feeling2 and where this is forgotten1 all is lost4 ,,footnotes3 #fa ,but see on chap4 ii4 #e-aa4 #fb ,this is1 ,i think1 the only possible meaning of 4 #fc ,so ,schmiedel4 #fd ,it is difficult to fix either the text or the punctuation in ver4 #h1 and agreement among critics is quite hopeless4 ,practically they are at one in omitting the of the ,received ,text after 3 and ,schmiedel agrees with ,lachmann and ,westcott and ,hort that the original reading was probably 4 ,the ,r4,v4 has the same punctuation as the ,a4,v41 which probably means that the ,revisers could not get a sufficient majority to change it1 not that it is quite satisfactory as it stands4 ,it certainly seems better to connect with what follows 7 7 than with what precedes2 but the sense is not affected4 #fe ,but see on chap4 ii4 #e-aa4 #ff ,this is the true text4 ,instead of in ver4 #ac all critical editions read 41 and make these words begin a new paragraph4 ,,xx ,,the ,,grace ,,of ,,liberality ,moreover1 brethren1 we make known to you the grace of ,god which hath been given in the ,churches of ,macedonia2 how that in much proof of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality4 ,for according to their power1 ,i bear witness1 yea and beyond their power1 they gave of their own accord1 beseeching us with much intreaty in regard of this grace and the fellowship in the ministering to the saints3 and this1 not as we had hoped1 but first they gave their own selves to the ,lord1 and to us by the will of ,god4 ,insomuch that we exhorted ,titus1 that as he had made a beginning before1 so he would also complete in you this grace also4 ,but as ye abound in everything1 in faith1 and utterance1 and knowledge1 and in all earnestness1 and in your love to us1 see that ye abound in this grace also4 ,i speak not by the way of commandment1 but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity also of your love4 ,for ye know the grace of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 that1 though ,he was rich1 yet for your sakes ,he became poor1 that ye through ,his poverty might become rich4 ,and herein ,i give my judgment3 for this is expedient for you1 who were the first to make a beginning a year ago1 not only to do1 but also to will4 ,but now complete the doing also2 that as there was the readiness to will1 so there may be the completion also out of your ability4 ,for if the readiness is there1 it is acceptable according as a man hath1 not according as he hath not4 ,for ,i say not this1 that others may be eased1 and ye distressed3 but by equality2 your abundance being a supply at this present time for their want1 that their abundance also may become a supply for your want2 that there may be equality3 as it is written1 ,he that gathered much had nothing over2 and he that gathered little had no lack4--#b ,,cor4 viii4 #a-ae 7,r4,v474 ,with the eighth chapter begins the second of the three great divisions of this ,epistle4 ,it is concerned exclusively with the collection which the ,apostle was raising in all the ,gentile ,christian communities for the poor of the ,mother ,church at ,jerusalem4 ,this collection had great importance in his eyes1 for various reasons3 it was the fulfilment of his undertaking1 to the original ,apostles1 to remember the poor 7,gal4 ii4 #aj72 and it was a testimony to the saints in ,palestine of the love of the ,gentile brethren in ,christ4 ,the fact that ,paul interested himself so much in this collection1 destined as it was for ,jerusalem1 proves that he distinguished broadly between the primitive ,church and its authorities on the one hand1 and the ,jewish emissaries whom he treats so unsparingly in chaps4 x4 and xi4 on the other4 ,money is usually a delicate topic to handle in the ,church1 and we may count ourselves happy in having two chapters from the pen of ,st4 ,paul in which he treats at large of a collection4 ,we see the mind of ,christ applied in them to a subject which is always with us1 and sometimes embarrassing2 and if there are traces here and there that embarrassment was felt even by the ,apostle1 they only show more clearly the wonderful wealth of thought and feeling which he could bring to bear on an ungrateful theme4 ,consider only the variety of lights in which he puts it1 and all of them ideal4 ,money1 as such1 has no character1 and so he never mentions it4 ,but he calls the thing which he wants a grace 771 a service 771 a communion in service 771 a munificence 771 a blessing 771 a manifestation of love4 ,the whole resources of ,christian imagination are spent in transfiguring1 and lifting into a spiritual atmosphere1 a subject on which even ,christian men are apt to be materialistic4 ,we do not need to be hypocritical when we speak about money in the ,church2 but both the charity and the business of the ,church must be transacted as ,christian1 and not as secular1 affairs4 ,paul introduces the new topic with his usual felicity4 ,he has got through some rough water in the first seven chapters1 but ends with expressions of joy and satisfaction4 ,when he goes on in the eighth chapter1 it is in the same cheerful key4 ,it is as though he said to the ,corinthians3 ,you have made me very happy1 and now ,i must tell you what a happy experience ,i have had in ,macedonia4 ,the grace of ,god has been poured out on the ,churches1 and they have given with incredible liberality to the collection for the ,jewish poor4 ,it so moved me that ,i begged ,titus1 who had already made some arrangements in connexion with this matter among you1 to return and complete the work4 ,speaking broadly1 the ,apostle invites the ,corinthians to look at the subject through three media3 7#a7 the example of the ,macedonians2 7#b7 the example of the ,lord2 and 7#c7 the laws by which ,god estimates liberality4 7#a7 ,the liberality of the ,macedonians is described as the grace of ,god given in the ,churches4 ,this is the aspect of it which conditions every other2 it is not the native growth of the soul1 but a divine gift for which ,god is to be thanked4 ,praise ,him when hearts are opened1 and generosity shown2 for it is ,his work4 ,in ,macedonia this grace was set off by the circumstances of the people4 ,their ,christian character was put to the severe proof of a great affliction 7see #a ,thess4 ii4 #ad f472 they were themselves in deep poverty2 but their joy abounded nevertheless 7#a ,thess4 i4 #f71 and joy and poverty together poured out a rich stream of liberality4#fg ,this may sound paradoxical1 but paradox is normal here4 ,strange to say1 it is not those to whom the ,gospel comes easily1 and on whom it imposes little1 who are most generous in its cause4 ,on the contrary1 it is those who have suffered for it1 those who have lost by it1 who are as a rule most open-handed4 ,comfort makes men selfish1 even though they are ,christian2 but if they are ,christian1 affliction1 even to the spoiling of their goods1 teaches them generosity4 ,the first generation of ,methodists in ,england--the men who in #ahdc fought the good fight of the faith in ,scotland--illustrate this law2 in much proof of affliction1 it might be said of them also1 the abundance of their joy1 and their deep poverty1 abounded unto the riches of their liberality4 ,paul was almost embarrassed with the liberality of the ,macedonians4 ,when he looked at their poverty1 he did not hope for much 7ver4 #e74 ,he would not have felt justified in urging people who were themselves in such distress to do much for the relief of others4 ,but they did not need urging3 it was they who urged him4 ,the ,apostle's sentence breaks down as he tries to convey an adequate impression of their eagerness 7ver4 #d71 and he has to leave off and begin again 7ver4 #e74 ,to their power1 he bears witness1 yes and beyond their power1 they gave of their own accord4 ,they importuned him to bestow on them also the favour of sharing in this service to the saints4 ,and when their request was granted1 it was no paltry contribution that they made2 they gave themselves to the ,lord1 to begin with1 and to the ,apostle1 as ,his agent in the transaction1 by the will of ,god4 ,the last words resume1 in effect1 those with which ,st4 ,paul introduced this topic3 it was ,god's doing1 the working of ,his will on their wills1 that the ,macedonians behaved as they did4 ,i cannot think the ,english version is right in the rendering3 ,and this1 not as we had hoped1 but first they gave their own selves to the ,lord4 ,this inevitably suggests that afterwards they gave something else--viz41 their subscriptions4 ,but this is a false contrast1 and gives the word first 77 a false emphasis1 which it has not in the original4 ,what ,st4 ,paul says is virtually this3 ,we expected little from people so poor1 but by ,god's will they literally put themselves at the service of the ,lord1 in the first instance1 and of us as ,his administrators4 ,they said to us1 to our amazement and joy1 ',we are ,christ's1 and yours after ,him1 to command in this matter4' ,this is one of the finest and most inspiring experiences that a ,christian minister can have1 and1 ,god be thanked1 it is none of the rarest4 ,many a man besides ,paul has been startled and ashamed by the liberality of those from whom he would not have ventured to beg4 ,many a man has been importuned to take what he could not have dared to ask4 ,it is a mistake to refuse such generosity1 to decline it as too much2 it gladdens ,god1 and revives the heart of man4 ,it is a mistake to deprive the poorest of the opportunity of offering this sacrifice of praise2 it is the poorest in whom it has most munificence1 and to whom it brings the deepest joy4 ,rather ought we to open our hearts to the impression of it1 as to the working of ,god's grace1 and rouse our own selfishness to do something not less worthy of ,christ's love4 ,this was the application which ,st4 ,paul made of the generosity of the ,macedonians4 ,under the impression of it he exhorted ,titus1 who on a previous occasion#fh had made some preliminary arrangements about the matter in ,corinth1 to return thither and complete the work4 ,he had other things also to complete1 but this grace was to be specially included 7 74 ,perhaps one may see a gentle irony in the tone of ver4 #g4 ,enough of argument1 the ,apostle says3#fi let ,christians distinguished as you are in every respect--in faith and eloquence and knowledge and all sorts of zeal1 and in the love that comes from you and abides in us--see that they are distinguished in this grace also4 ,it is a real character that is suggested here by way of contrast1 but not exactly a lovely one3 the man who abounds in spiritual interests1 who is fervent1 prayerful1 affectionate1 able to speak in the ,church1 but unable to part with money4 7#b7 ,this brings the ,apostle to his second point1 the example of the ,lord4 ,i do not speak by way of commandment1 he says1 in urging you to be liberal2 ,i am only taking occasion1 through the earnestness of others1 to put the sincerity of your love to the proof4 ,if you truly love the brethren you will not grudge to help them in their distress4 ,the ,macedonians1 of course1 are no law for you2 and though it was from them ,i started1 ,i do not need to urge their example2 'for ye know the grace of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 that1 though ,he was rich1 yet for your sakes ,he became poor1 that ye through ,his poverty might become rich4' ,this is the one pattern that stands for ever before the eyes of ,christian men1 the fountain of an inspiration as strong and pure to-day as when ,paul wrote these words4 ,read simply1 and by one who has the ,christian creed in his mind1 the words do not appear ambiguous4 ,christ was rich1 they tell us2 ,he became poor for our sakes1 and by ,his poverty we become rich4 ,if a commentary is needed1 it is surely to be sought in the parallel passage ,phil4 ii4 #e ff4 ,the rich ,christ is the pre-existent ,one1 in the form of ,god1 in the glory which ,he had with the ,father before the world was2 ,he became poor when ,he became man4 ,the poor men are those whose lot ,christ came to share1 and in consequence of that self-impoverishment of ,his they become heirs of a kingdom4 ,it is not necessary1 indeed it is utterly misleading1 to ask curiously how ,christ became poor1 or what kind of experience it was for ,him when ,he exchanged heaven for earth1 and the form of ,god for the form of a servant4 ,as ,mr4 ,gore has well said1 it is not the metaphysics of the ,incarnation that ,st4 ,paul is concerned with1 either here or in ,philippians1 but its ethics4 ,we may never have a scientific key to it1 but we have a moral key4 ,if we do not comprehend its method1 at least we comprehend its motive1 and it is in its motive that the inspiration of it lies4 ,we know the grace of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 and it comes home to our hearts when the ,apostle says1 ,let that mind--that moral temper--be in you which was also in ,him4 ,ordinary charity is but the crumbs from the rich man's table2 but if we catch ,christ's spirit1 it will carry us far beyond that4 ,he was rich1 and gave up all for our sakes2 it is no less than poverty on ,his part which enriches us4 ,the older theologians1 especially of the ,lutheran ,church1 read this great text differently1 and their opinion is not yet quite extinct4 ,they referred 1 not to ,christ's entrance on the incarnate state1 but to ,his existence in it2#gj they puzzled themselves to conceive of ,him as rich and poor at the same time2 and they quite took the point from ,st4 ,paul's exhortation by making describe a combination1 instead of an interchange1 of states4 ,it is a counsel of despair when a recent commentator 7,heinrici71 sympathising with this view1 but yielding to the comparison of ,phil4 ii4 #e ff41 tries to unite the two interpretations1 and to make cover both the coming to earth from heaven and the life in poverty on earth4 ,no word can mean two different things at the same time3 and in this daring attempt we may fairly see a final surrender of the orthodox ,lutheran interpretation4 ,some strange criticisms have been passed on this appeal to the ,incarnation as a motive to liberality4 ,it shows1 ,schmiedel says1 ,paul's contempt for the knowledge of ,christ after the flesh1 when the ,incarnation is all he can adduce as a pattern for such a simply human thing as a charitable gift4 ,the same contempt1 then1 we must presume1 is shown in ,philippians1 when the same great pattern is held up to inspire ,christians with lowly thoughts of themselves1 and with consideration for others4 ,it is shown1 perhaps1 again at the close of that magnificent chapter--the fifteenth in ,first ,corinthians--where all the glory to be revealed when ,christ transfigures ,his people is made a reason for the sober virtues of stedfastness and patience4 ,the truth is rather that ,paul knew from experience that the supreme motives are needed on the most ordinary occasions4 ,he never appeals to incidents1 not because he does not know them1 or because he despises them1 but because it is far more potent and effectual to appeal to ,christ4 ,his mind gravitates to the ,incarnation1 or the ,cross1 or the ,heavenly ,throne1 because the power and virtue of the ,redeemer are concentrated there4 ,the spirit that wrought redemption1 and that changes men into the image of the ,lord--the spirit without which no ,christian disposition1 not even the most simply human1 can be produced--is felt there1 if one may say so1 in gathered intensity2 and it is not the want of a concrete vision of ,jesus such as ,peter and ,john had1 nor a scholastic insensibility to such living and love-compelling details as our first three ,gospels furnish1 that makes ,paul have recourse thither2 it is the instinct of the evangelist and pastor who knows that the hope of souls is to live in the presence of the very highest things4 ,of course ,paul believed in the pre-existence and in the ,incarnation4 ,the writer quoted above does not1 and naturally the appeal of the text is artificial and unimpressive to him4 ,but may we not ask1 in view of the simplicity1 the unaffectedness1 and the urgency with which ,st4 ,paul uses this appeal both here and in ,philippians1 whether his faith in the pre-existence can have had no more than the precarious speculative foundation which is given to it by so many who reconstruct his theology8 ,christ1 the perfect reconciler1 must be the perfect revealer of ,god2 ,god's purpose--that for which ,he made all things--must be seen in ,him2 but that for which ,god made all things must have existed 7in the mind of ,god7 before all things2 therefore ,christ is 7ideally7 from everlasting4 ,this is the substance of many explanations of how ,st4 ,paul came by his ,christology2 but if this had been all1 could ,st4 ,paul by any possibility have appealed thus navely to the ,incarnation as a fact1 and a fact which was one of the mainsprings of ,christian morality8 7#c7 ,the ,apostle pauses for a moment to urge his plea in the interest of the ,corinthians themselves4 ,he is not commanding1 but giving his judgment3 this1 he says1 is profitable for you1 who began#ga a year ago1 not only to do1 but also to will4#gb ,but now complete the doing also4 ,every one knows this situation1 and its evils4 ,a good work which has been set on foot with interest and spontaneity enough1 but which has begun to drag1 and is in danger of coming to nothing1 is very demoralising4 ,it enfeebles the conscience1 and spoils the temper4 ,it develops irresolution and incapacity1 and it stands perpetually in the way of anything else that has to be done4 ,many a bright idea stumbles over it1 and can get no further4 ,it is not only worldly wisdom1 but divine wisdom1 which says3 ,whatsoever thy hand findeth to do1 do it with thy might4 ,if it is the giving of money1 the building of a church1 the insuring of a life1 complete the doing4 ,to be always thinking about it1 and always in an ineffective way busy about it1 is not profitable for you4 ,it is in this connexion that the ,apostle lays down the laws of ,christian liberality4 ,in these verses 7#aa to #ae7 there are three4 7a7 ,first1 there must be readiness1 or1 as the ,authorised ,version puts it1 a willing mind4 ,what is given must be given freely2 it must be a gracious offering1 not a tax4 ,this is fundamental4 ,the law of the ,old ,testament is re-enacted in the ,new3 ,of every man whose heart maketh him willing shall ye take the ,lord's offering4 ,what we spend in piety and charity is not tribute paid to a tyrant1 but the response of gratitude to our ,redeemer3 and if it has not this character ,he does not want it4 ,if there be first a willing mind1 the rest is easy2 if not1 there is no need to go on4 7b7 ,the second law is1 according as a man has4 ,readiness is the acceptable thing1 not this or that proof of it4 ,if we cannot give much1 then a ready mind makes even a little acceptable4 ,only let us remember this1 that readiness always gives all that is in its power4 ,the readiness of the poor widow in the ,temple could only give two mites1 but two mites were all her living2 the readiness of the ,macedonians was in the depths of poverty1 but they gave themselves to the ,lord4 ,the widow's mites are an illustrious example of sacrifice1 and this word of the ,apostle contains a moving appeal for generosity2 yet the two together have been profaned times innumerable to cloak the meanest selfishness4 7c7 ,the third law is reciprocity4 ,paul does not write that the ,jews may be relieved and the ,corinthians burdened1 but on the principle of equality3 at this crisis the superfluity of the ,corinthians is to make up what is wanting to the ,jews1 and at some other the situation will be exactly reversed4 ,brotherhood cannot be one-sided2 it must be mutual1 and in the interchange of services equality is the result4 ,this1 as the quotation hints1 answers to ,god's design in regard to worldly goods1 as that design is indicated in the story of the manna3 ,he that gathered much had no more than his neighbours1 and he that gathered little had no less4 ,to be selfish is not an infallible way of getting more than your share2 you may cheat your neighbour by that policy1 but you will not get the better of ,god4 ,in all probability men are far more nearly on an equality1 in respect of what their worldly possessions yield1 than the rich in their pride1 or the poor in their envious discontent1 would readily believe2 but where inequality is patent and painful--a glaring violation of the divine intention here suggested--there is a call for charity to redress the balance4 ,those who give to the poor are co-operating with ,god1 and the more a community is ,christianised1 the more will that state be realised in which each has what he needs4 ,,footnotes3 #fg is literally simplicity or singleness of heart1 the disposition which1 when it gives1 does so without arrire-pense3 in point of fact this is identical with the liberal or generous disposition4 ,cf4 chap4 ix4 #aa1 #ac2 ,rom4 xii4 #h2 ,james i4 #e4 #fh ,previous to his recent visit8 ,so ,schmiedel4 ,or simply formerly8 #fi ,this1 according to ,hermann 7quoted by ,meyer71 is often the force of 1 which is certainly a surprising word here4 #gj ,translating it1 of course1 was poor1 or lived poor3 which is not impossible in itself4 #ga ,the in seems to mean before the ,macedonians4 #gb ,the order of do and will is peculiar and has not been clearly explained4 ,,xxi ,,the ,,fruits ,,of ,,liberality ,but thanks be to ,god1 which putteth the same earnest care for you into the heart of ,titus4 ,for indeed he accepted our exhortation2 but being himself very earnest1 he went forth unto you of his own accord4 ,and we have sent together with him the brother whose praise in the ,gospel is spread through all the ,churches2 and not only so1 but who was also appointed by the ,churches to travel with us in the matter of this grace1 which is ministered by us to the glory of the ,lord1 and to show our readiness3 avoiding this1 that any man should blame us in the matter of this bounty which is ministered by us3 for we take thought for things honourable1 not only in the sight of the ,lord but also in the sight of men4 ,and we have sent with them our brother1 whom we have many times proved earnest in many things1 but now much more earnest by reason of the great confidence which he hath in you4 ,whether any inquire about ,titus1 he is my partner1 and my fellow-worker to you-ward2 or our brethren1 they are the messengers of the ,churches1 they are the glory of ,christ4 ,show ye therefore unto them in the face of the ,churches the proof of your love1 and of our glorying on your behalf4 ,for as touching the ministering to the saints1 it is superfluous for me to write to you3 for ,i know your readiness1 of which ,i glory on your behalf to them of ,macedonia1 that ,achaia hath been prepared for a year past2 and your zeal hath stirred up very many of them4 ,but ,i have sent the brethren1 that our glorying on your behalf may not be made void in this respect2 that1 even as ,i said1 ye may be prepared3 lest by any means1 if there come with me any of ,macedonia1 and find you unprepared1 we 7that we say not1 ye7 should be put to shame in this confidence4 ,i thought it necessary therefore to intreat the brethren1 that they would go before unto you1 and make up beforehand your afore-promised bounty1 that the same might be ready1 as a matter of bounty1 and not of extortion4 ,but this ,i say1 ,he that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly2 and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully4 ,let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart2 not grudgingly1 or of necessity3 for ,god loveth a cheerful giver4 ,and ,god is able to make all grace abound unto you2 that ye1 having always all sufficiency in everything1 may abound unto every good work3 as it is written1 ,he hath scattered abroad1 he hath given to the poor2 ,his righteousness abideth for ever4 ,and ,he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food1 shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing1 and increase the fruits of your righteousness3 ye being enriched in everything unto all liberality1 which worketh through us thanksgiving to ,god4 ,for the ministration of this service not only filleth up the measure of the wants of the saints1 but aboundeth also through many thanksgivings unto ,god2 seeing that through the proving of you by this ministration they glorify ,god for the obedience of your confession unto the ,gospel of ,christ1 and for the liberality of your contribution unto them and unto all2 while they themselves also1 with supplication on your behalf1 long after you by reason of the exceeding grace of ,god in you4 ,thanks be to ,god for ,his unspeakable gift4--#b ,,cor4 viii4 #af-;ix4 #ae 7,r4,v474 ,this long passage has a good many difficulties of detail1 for the grammarian and the textual critic4 ,where it seems necessary1 these will be referred to in the notes2 but as the large meaning of the writer is hardly affected by them1 they need not interrupt the course of exposition4 ,it falls into three parts1 which are clearly marked as such in the ,revised ,version3 7#a7 ,chap4 viii4 #af-bd1 commending to the ,corinthians the three brethren who were to precede ,paul and prepare the collection2 7#b7 ,chap4 ix4 #a-e1 appealing to the motives of emulation and shame to reinforce love in the matter2 and 7#c7 ,chap4 ix4 #f-ae1 urging liberality1 and enlarging on the blessed fruits it yields4 ,the first of these divisions begins1 and the last ends1 with an exclamatory ascription of thanks to ,god4 7#a7 ,chap4 viii4 #af-bd4 ,of the three men who acted as commissioners in this delicate undertaking1 only one1 ,titus1 is known to us by name4 ,he had just returned from ,corinth2 he knew all the critical points in the situation2 and no doubt the ,apostle was glad to have such a man at the head of the little party4 ,he was thankful to ,god that on the occasion of that previous visit the ,corinthians had completely won the heart of ,titus1 and that his loyal fellow-worker needed no compulsion to return4 ,he was leaving#gc ,paul of his own accord1 full of earnest care for his ,achaian friends4 ,along with him went a second--the brother whose praise in the ,gospel was through all the ,churches4 ,it is useless to ask who the brother was4 ,a very early opinion1 alluded to by ,origen1 and represented apparently in the traditional subscription to this ,epistle1 identified him with ,luke4 ,probably the ground for this identification was the idea that his praise in the ,gospel referred to ,luke's work as an evangelist4 ,but this cannot be3 first1 because ,luke's ,gospel cannot have been written so early2 and1 secondly1 because the ,gospel at this date does not mean a written thing at all4 ,this man's praise in the ,gospel must mean the credit he had acquired by his services to the ,christian faith2 it might be by some bold confession1 or by activity as an evangelist1 or by notable hospitality to missionaries1 or by such helpful ministries as the one he was now engaged in4 ,the real point of interest for us in the expression is the glimpse it gives us of the unity of the ,church1 and the unimpeded circulation of one life through all its members4 ,its early divisions1 theological and racial1 have been sufficiently emphasised2 it is well worth while to observe the unity of the spirit4 ,it was this1 eventually1 which gave the ,church its power in the decline of the ,empire4 ,it was the only institution which extended over the area of civilisation with a common spirit1 common sympathies1 and a common standard of praise4 ,it was a compliment to the ,corinthians to include in this embassy one whose good name was honoured wherever men met in the name of ,jesus4 ,this brother was at the same time a deputy in a special sense4 ,he had been elected by the ,churches who were contributing to the collection1 that he might accompany the ,apostle when it was taken to ,jerusalem4 ,this1 in itself1 is natural enough1 and it would not call for comment but for the remark to which the ,apostle proceeds--avoiding this1 that any man should blame us in the matter of this bounty which is ministered by us to the glory of the ,lord1 and to show our#gd readiness3 for we take thought for things honourable1 not only in the sight of the ,lord1 but also in the sight of men4 ,there was evidently an unpleasant side to this transaction4 ,paul's interest in the collection1 his enemies had plainly said 7chap4 xii4 #ag1 #ah71 was not quite disinterested4 ,he was capable of putting his own hand into the bag4 ,what ought a ,christian man to do in such a case8 ,we shall see in a later chapter how keenly ,paul felt this unworthy imputation1 and with what generous passion he resented it2 but here he betrays no indignation2 he joins with the ,churches who are making the collection in so ordering matters as to preclude suspicion4 ,wherever the money is concerned1 his responsibility is to be shared with another4 ,it is a pity that ,christ should not be glorified1 and the ,apostle's zeal to help the poor saints made known1 without the accompaniment of these base suspicions and precautionary measures2 but in all things human1 evil will mingle with good1 and the humble course is best1 which does not only what ,god knows to be honourable1 but what men must see to be so too4 ,in handling money especially1 it is best to err on the safe side4 ,if most men are too readily suspected by others1 it only answers to the fact that most men are too ready to trust themselves4 ,we have an infinite faith in our own honesty2 and when auditors are appointed to examine their books1 the inexperienced are apt to think it needless1 and even impertinent4 ,if they were wise1 they would welcome it as a protection against suspicion and even against themselves4 ,many a man has ruined himself--not to speak of those who trusted him--by too blind a belief in his own integrity4 ,the third brother who accompanied ,titus seems to have been more closely associated with ,paul than the second4 ,he had proved him often1 in many things1 and found him uniformly earnest2 and at this juncture the confidence he had in the ,corinthians made him more earnest than ever4 ,paul extols the three in the highest terms before he sends them off2 if anybody in ,corinth wishes to know what they are1 he is proud to tell4 ,titus is his partner in the apostolic calling1 and has shared his work among them2 the other brethren are deputies 7apostles7 of ,churches1 a glory of ,christ4 ,what an idealist ,paul was6 ,what an appreciation of ,christian character he had when he described these nameless believers as reflections of the splendour of ,christ6 ,to common eyes they might be commonplace men2 but when ,paul looked at them he saw the dawning of that brightness in which the ,lord appeared to him by the way4 ,contact with the grimy side of human nature did not blind him to this radiance2 rather did this glory of ,christ in men's souls strengthen him to believe all things1 to hope all things1 to endure all things4 ,in showing before these honoured messengers the proof of their love1 and of his boasting on their behalf1 the ,corinthians will show it1#ge he says1 before the face of the ,churches4 ,it will be officially reported throughout ,christendom4 7#b7 ,chap4 ix4 #a-e4 ,this section strikes one at first as greatly wanting in connexion with what precedes4 ,it looks like a new beginning1 an independent writing on the same or a similar subject4 ,this has led some scholars to argue that either chap4 viii4 or chap4 ix4 belongs to a different occasion1 and that only resemblance in subject has led to one of them being erroneously inserted here beside the other4 ,this1 in the absence of any external indication1 is an extremely violent supposition2 and closer examination goes to dissipate that first impression4 ,the statements1 e4g41 in vv4 #c-e would be quite unintelligible if we had not chap4 viii4 #af-bd to explain them2 and instead of saying there is no connexion between ix4 #a and what precedes1 we should rather say that the connexion is somewhat involved and circuitous--as will happen when one is handling a topic of unusual difficulty4 ,it is to be explained thus4 ,the ,apostle feels that he has said a good deal now about the collection1 and that there is a danger in being too urgent4 ,he uses what he has just said about the reception of the brethren as a stepping-stone to another view of the subject1 more flattering to the ,corinthians1 to begin with1 and less importunate4 ,maintain your character before them1 he says in effect2 for as for the ministering to the saints1 it is superfluous for me to be writing to you as ,i do4#gf ,instead of finding it necessary to urge their duty upon them1 he has been able to hold up their readiness as an example to the ,macedonians4 ,achaia has been prepared for a year past1 he said to his fond disciples in ,thessalonica and ,philippi2 and the zeal of the ,achaians1 or rivalry of them1 roused the majority of the ,macedonians4 ,this is one way of looking at what happened2 another1 and surely ,paul would have been the first to say a more profound1 is that of chap4 viii4 #a--the grace of ,god was given in the ,churches of ,macedonia4 ,but the grace of ,god takes occasions1 and uses means2 and here its opportunity and its instrument for working in ,macedonia was the ready generosity of the ,corinthians4 ,it has wrought1 indeed1 so effectively that the tables are turned1 and now it is the liberality of ,macedonia which is to provoke ,corinth4 ,paul is sending on these brethren beforehand1 lest1 if any of the ,macedonians should accompany him when he starts for ,corinth himself1 they should find matters not so flourishing as he had led them to believe4 ,that would put me to shame1 he says to the ,corinthians1 not to speak of you4 ,i have been very confident in speaking of you as ,i have done in ,macedonia3 do keep up my credit and your own4 ,let this blessing1 which you are going to bestow on the poor1 be ready as a blessing--i4e41 as something which one gives willingly1 and as liberally as he can2 and not as a matter of avarice1#gg in which one gives reluctantly1 keeping as much as he can4 ,the legitimacy of such motives as are appealed to in this paragraph will always be more or less questioned among ,christian men1 but as long as human nature is what it is they will always be appealed to4 7,chrys474 ,a great man of action like ,st4 ,paul will of course find his temptations along this line4 ,he is so eager to get men to act1 and the inertness of human nature is so great1 that it is hard to decline anything which will set it in motion4 ,it is not the highest motive1 certainly1 when the forwardness of one stimulates another2 but in a good cause1 it is better than none4 ,a good cause1 too1 has a wonderful power of its own when men begin to attend to it2 it asserts itself1 and takes possession of souls on its own account4 ,rivalry becomes generous then1 even if it remains2 it is a race in love that is being run1 and all who run obtain the prize4 ,competitions for prizes which only one can gain have a great deal in them that is selfish and bad2 but rivalry in the service of others--rivalry in unselfishness--will not easily degenerate in this direction4 ,paul does not need to be excused because he stimulates the ,macedonians by the promptitude of the ,corinthians--though he had his misgivings about this last--and the ,corinthians by the liberality of the ,macedonians4 ,the real motive in both cases was the grace of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 who1 though ,he was rich1 yet for our sakes became poor4 ,it is this which underlies everything in the ,christian heart1 and nothing can do harm which works as its auxiliary4 7#c7 ,chap4 ix4 #f-ae4 ,in the third and last section the ,apostle resumes his direct and urgent tone4 ,i do not need to write to you1 he seems to say1 but one thing ,i cannot but set down3 ,he that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly2 and he that soweth bountifully#gh shall reap also bountifully4 ,that is the law of ,god1 and the nature of things1 whether men regard or disregard it4 ,charity is in a real sense an investment1 not a casting away of money2 it is not fruitless1 but bears fruit in the measure in which it is sown4 ,of course it cannot be enforced--that would be to deny its very nature4 ,each is to give what he has purposed in his heart1 where he is free and true3 he is not to give out of grief1 mourning over what he gives and regretting he could not keep it2 neither is he to give out of necessity1 because his position1 or the usages of his society1 or the comments of his neighbours1 put a practical compulsion upon him4 ,god loves a cheerful giver4 ,money is nothing to ,him but as an index to the soul2 unless the soul gives it1 and gives itself with it1 ,he takes no account4 ,but ,he does take account of true charity1 and because ,he does1 the charitable may be of good cheer3 ,he will not allow them to be without the means of manifesting a spirit so grateful to ,him4 ,if we really wish to be generous1 ,he will not withhold from us the power of being so4 ,this is what the ,apostle says in ver4 #h3 ,god is able to make all grace abound toward you1 that ye1 having always all sufficiency in everything1 may abound unto every good work4 ,there is1 indeed1 another way of rendering 7sufficiency74 ,some take it subjectively1 not objectively1 and make it mean1 not sufficiency1 but contentment4 ,but though a contented spirit disposes people wonderfully to be generous1 and the discontented1 who have never enough for themselves1 can never1 of course1 spare anything for anybody else1 this meaning is decidedly to be rejected4 ,the sufficiency1 as ver4 #aj also shows1 is outward3 we shall always1 if we are charitable1 have by ,god's grace the means of being more so4 ,he is able to bless us abundantly1 that we may be able for every good work4 ,observe the purpose of ,god's blessing4 ,this is the import of the quotation from the #aabth ,psalm1 in which we have the portrait of the good man3 ,he hath dispersed--what uncalculating liberality there is in the very word--he hath given to the poor3 his righteousness abideth for ever4 ,the approximation1 in the ,jewish morals of later times1 of the ideas of righteousness and almsgiving1 has led some to limit in this passage 7as in ,matt4 vi4 #a7 to the latter sense4 ,this is extremely improbable--,i think impossible4 ,in the ,psalm1 both in ver4 #c and ver4 #aj 7,,lxx471 the expression his righteousness abideth for ever reflects ,god's verdict on the character as a whole4 ,the character there described1 and here referred to by the relevant trait of generosity1 is one which need fear no chances of the future4 ,he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply the seed sown by the generous ,corinthians 7that they may ever be in a position to be generous71 and will cause also the fruits of their righteousness to grow4 ,their righteousness1 as it figures in this last phrase1 is of course represented1 for the time being1 by their generosity2 and the poetic expression fruits of righteousness1 which is borrowed from ,hosea1 designates the results which that generosity produces4 ,it is not only an investment which guarantees to them the generous care of ,god for their own welfare2 it is a seed which bears another and more spiritual harvest4 ,with some expansion of heart on this the ,apostle concludes4 7a7 ,it yields a rich harvest of thanksgiving to ,god4 ,this is expressed in ver4 #ab1 and is the principal point4 ,it is something to fill up further the measure of a brother's needs by a timely gift1 but how much more it is to change the tune of his spirit1 and whereas we found him cheerless or weak in faith1 to leave him gratefully praising ,god4 ,true thankfulness to the ,heavenly ,father is an atmosphere in which all virtues flourish3 and those whose charity bears fruit in this grateful spirit are benefactors of mankind to an extent which no money can estimate4 ,it is probably forcing the ,apostle's language to insist that 1 as a name for the collection1 has any priestly or sacrificial reference2#gi but unfeigned charity is in its very nature a sacrifice of praise to ,god--the answer of our love to ,his2 and it has its best effect when it evokes the thanksgivings to ,god of those who receive it4 ,wherever love is1 ,he must be first and last4 7b7 ,the charity of the ,corinthians bore another spiritual fruit3 in consequence of it the saints at ,jerusalem were won to recognise more unreservedly the ,christian standing of the ,gentile brethren4 ,this is what we read in ver4 #ac4 ,taking occasion from the proof of what you are1 which this ministration of yours has given them1 they glorify ,god for the obedience of your confession unto the ,gospel of ,christ1 and for the liberality of your contribution unto them and unto all4 ,the verbal combinations possible here give free scope to the ingenuity and the caprice of grammarians2 but the kind of thing meant remains plain4 ,once the ,christians of ,jerusalem had had their doubts about the ,corinthians1 and the other pagans who were said to have received the ,gospel2 they had heard marvellous reports about them certainly1 but it remained to be seen on what these reports rested4 ,they would not commit themselves hastily to any compromising relation to such outsiders4 ,now all their doubts have been swept away2 the ,gentiles have actually come to the relief of their poverty1 and there is no mistaking what that means4 ,the language of love is intelligible everywhere1 and there is only ,one who teaches it in such relations as are involved here--,jesus ,christ4 ,yes1 once they had their doubts of you2 but now they will praise ,god that you have obediently confessed the ,gospel1 and frankly owned a fellowship with them and with all4 ,the last words mean1 in effect1 that the ,corinthians had liberally shared what they had with them and with all2 but the terms are so chosen as to obliterate1 as far as possible1 all but the highest associations4 ,this1 then1 is another fruit of charity3 it widens the thoughts--it often improves the theology--of those who receive it4 ,all goodness1 men feel instinctively1 is of ,god2 and they cannot condemn as godless1 or even as beyond the covenant1 those through whom goodness comes to them4 7c7 ,finally1 among the fruits of charity is to be reckoned the direct response of brotherly love1 expressed especially in intercessory prayer1 and in a longing to see those on whom ,god's grace rests so abundantly4 ,an unknown and distant benefactor is sometimes better than one near at hand4 ,he is regarded simply in his character as a benefactor2 we know nothing of him that can possibly discount his kindness2 our mind is compelled to rest upon his virtues and remember them gratefully before ,god4 ,one of the meanest experiences of human nature that we can have--and it is not an imaginary one--is to see people paying the debt of gratitude1 or at least mitigating the sense of obligation1 by thinking over the deficiencies in their benefactor's character4 ,he is better off than we are2 it is nothing to him2 and if he is kind to the poor1 he has need to be4 ,it will take a lot of charity to cover all he would like to hide4 ,this revolting spirit is the extreme opposite of the intercessory prayer and brotherly yearning which ,st4 ,paul sees in his mind's eye among the saints at ,jerusalem4 ,perhaps he saw almost more than was really to be seen4 ,the union of hearts he aimed at was never more than imperfectly attained4 ,but to have aimed at it was a great and generous action1 and to have brought so many ,gentile ,churches to co-operate to this end was a magnificent service to the kingdom of ,god4 ,these fruits are not as yet actually borne1 but to the ,apostle's loving anticipation they are as good as real4 ,they are the fruits of the righteousness of the ,corinthians1 the harvest that ,god has caused to grow out of their liberality4 ,from the very beginning there have been two opinions as to what ,st4 ,paul means by the exclamation with which he closes--,thanks be unto ,god for ,his unspeakable gift4 ,on the one hand1 it is read as if it were a part of what precedes1 the unspeakable gift of ,god being the numberless blessings that charity yields1 by ,god's goodness1 both to those who give and to those who receive it4 ,paul in this case would be thinking1 when he wrote1 of the joy with which the ,gentiles gave1 and of the gratitude1 the willing recognition1 and the brotherly prayers and longing1 with which the ,jews received1 help in the hour of need4 ,these would be the unspeakable gift4 ,on the other hand1 the sentence is read as if it stood apart1 not the continuation of what immediately precedes1 but the overflow of the ,apostle's heart in view of the whole situation4 ,it becomes possible1 then1 to regard ,god's unspeakable gift as the gift of redemption in ,his ,son--the great1 original1 unsearchable gift1 in which everything else is included1 and especially all such manifestations of brotherly love as have just been in view4 ,sound feeling1 ,i think1 unequivocally supports the last interpretation4 ,the very word unspeakable is one of a class that ,paul reserves for this particular object2 the wisdom and love of ,god as displayed in man's salvation are unspeakable1 unsearchable1 passing knowledge2 but nothing else is4 ,it is to this his mind goes back1 instinctively1 as he contemplates what has flowed from it in the particular case before us2 but it is the great divine gift1 and not its fruits in men's lives1 however rich and various1 that it passes the power of words to characterise4 ,it is for it1 and not for its results in ,jew or ,gentile1 that the ,apostle so devoutly thanks ,god4 ,,footnotes3 #gc 3 the aorists all through this passage are virtually epistolary-- he is going2 ,i am sending with him4 #gd ,our 771 not your 771 is the true reading4 ,the precise sense is doubtful4 ,it may be as the ,r4,v4 gives it1 though this completely upsets the balance of the clauses and 4 ,the meaning should rather be3 which is ministered by us1 that the ,lord may be glorified1 and that we may be made of good heart2 only ,paul's spirits seem a small thing side by side with the ,lord's glory4 ,there is something to say for the conjecture that the before should be 1 even though this could only be connected with 3 elected as we earnestly desired4 #ge ,the ,t4,r4 has here1 and so ,westcott and ,hort read in text1 with 1 ,c1 ,d99991 etc4 ,most editors read with ,b1 ,d991 ,e1 ,f1 ,g1 etc41 4 ,the imperative certainly seems to be a change made to facilitate the construction4 ,reading the participle1 we must supply 1 and put a comma after 3 in showing it to them1 you will show it before the ,churches4 ,this is the same kind of ellipsis as in ver4 #bc4 #gf ,this is the force of 4 #gg ,the ,r4,v4 renders extortion--the being those who get the money2 but it seems to me more natural to render avarice1 in which case both and apply to the ,corinthians4 #gh ' 3 so that blessings are associated therewith 7,winer73 the full hand in sowing makes a full hand in reaping4 #gi 3 for the general sense of service1 especially charitable service1 quite apart from priestly associations1 see ,phil4 ii4 #be1 #cj3 and ,grimm's ,lexicon4 ,,xxii ,,war ,now ,i ,paul myself intreat you by the meekness and gentleness of ,christ1 ,i who in your presence am lowly among you1 but being absent am of good courage toward you3 yea1 ,i beseech you1 that ,i may not when present show courage with the confidence wherewith ,i count to be bold against some1 which count of us as if we walked according to the flesh4 ,for though we walk in the flesh1 we do not war according to the flesh 7for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh1 but mighty before ,god to the casting down of strong holds72 casting down imaginations1 and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of ,god1 and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of ,christ2 and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience1 when your obedience shall be fulfilled4--#b ,,cor4 x4 #a-f 7,r4,v474 ,the last four chapters of the ,second ,epistle to the ,corinthians stand as manifestly apart as the two about the collection4 ,a great deal too much has been made of this undeniable fact4 ,if a man has a long letter to write1 in which he wishes to speak of a variety of subjects1 we may expect variations of tone1 and more or less looseness of connexion4 ,if he has something on his mind which it is difficult to speak about1 but which cannot be suppressed1 we may expect him to keep it to the end1 and to introduce it1 perhaps1 with awkward emphasis4 ,the scholars who have argued1 on the ground of the extreme difference of tone1 and want of connexion1 that chaps4 x4-xiii4 of this ,epistle were originally a separate letter1 either earlier 7,weisse7 or later 7,semler7 than the first seven chapters1 seem to have overlooked these obvious considerations4#hj ,if ,paul stopped dictating for the day at the end of chap4 ix4--if he even stopped a few moments in doubt how to proceed to the critical subject he had still to handle--the want of connexion is sufficiently explained2 the tone in which he writes1 when we consider the subject1 needs no justification4 ,the mission of ,titus had resulted very satisfactorily1 so far as one special incident was concerned--the treatment of a guilty person by the ,church2 the tension of feeling over that case had passed by4 ,but in the general situation of affairs at ,corinth there was much to make the ,apostle anxious and angry4 ,there were ,judaists at work1 impugning his authority and corrupting his ,gospel2 there was at least a minority of the ,church under their influence2 there were large numbers living1 apparently1 in the grossest sins 7chap4 xii4 #bj f472 there was something1 we cannot but think1 approaching spiritual anarchy4 ,the one resource the ,apostle has with which to encounter this situation--his one standing ground alike against the ,church and those who were corrupting it--is his apostolic authority2 and to the vindication of this he first addresses himself4 ,this1 ,i believe1 explains the peculiar emphasis with which he begins3 ,now ,i myself1 ,i ,paul intreat you4 is not only the grammatical subject of the sentence1 but if one may say so1 the subject under consideration2 it is the very person whose authority is in dispute who puts himself forward deliberately in this authoritative way4 ,the 7now7 is merely transitional2 the writer moves on1 without indicating any connexion1 to another matter4 ,in the long sentence which makes up the first and second verses1 everything comes out at once--the ,apostle's indignation1 in that extreme personal emphasis2 his restraint of it1 in the appeal to the meekness and gentleness of ,christ2 his resentment at the misconstruction of his conduct by enemies1 who called him a coward at hand1 and a brave man only at a safe distance2 and his resolve1 if the painful necessity is not spared him1 to come with a rod and not spare4 ,it is as if all this had been dammed up in his heart for long1 and to say a single word was to say everything4 ,the appeal to the meekness and gentleness of ,christ is peculiarly affecting in such a connexion2 it is intended to move the ,corinthians1 but what we feel is how it has moved ,paul4 ,it may be needful1 on occasion1 to assert oneself1 or at least one's authority2 but it is difficult to do it without sin4 ,it is an exhilarating sensation to human nature to be in the right1 and when we enjoy it we are apt to enlist our temper in the divine service1 forgetting that the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of ,god4 ,paul felt this danger1 and in the very sentence in which he puts himself and his dignity forward with uncompromising firmness1 he recalls to his own and his readers' hearts the characteristic temper of the ,lord4 ,how far ,he was1 under the most hateful provocation1 from violence and passion6 ,how far from that sinful self-assertion1 which cannot consider the case and claims of others6 ,it is when we are in the right that we must watch our temper1 and1 instead of letting anger carry us away1 make our appeal for the right by the meekness and gentleness of ,jesus4 ,this1 when right is won1 makes it twice blessed4 ,the words1 who in your presence am lowly among you1 but being absent am of good courage toward you1 are one of the sneers current in ,corinth at ,paul's expense4 ,when he was there1 his enemies said1 face to face with them1 he was humble enough2#ha it was only when he left them he became so brave4 ,this mean slander must have stung the proud soul of the ,apostle--the mere quotation of it shows this2 but the meekness and gentleness of ,christ have entered into him1 and instead of resenting it he continues in a still milder tone4 ,he descends from urging or entreating 77 to beseeching 774 ,the thought of ,christ has told already on his heart and on his pen4 ,he begs them so to order their conduct that he may be spared the pain of demonstrating the falsehood of that charge4 ,he counts on taking daring action against some at ,corinth who count of him as though he walked after the flesh2 but they can make this face-to-face hardihood needless1 and in the name1 not of his own cowardice1 but of his ,lord's meekness and considerateness1 he appeals to them to do so4 4 ,the charge of walking after the flesh is one that needs interpretation4 ,in a general way it means that ,paul was a worldly1 and not a spiritual1 man2 and that the key to his character and conduct--even in his relations with ,churches--was to be sought in his private and personal interests4 ,what this would mean in any particular case would depend upon the circumstances4 ,it might mean that he was actuated by avarice1 and1 in spite of pretences to be disinterested1 was ruled at bottom by the idea of what would pay2 or it might mean--and in this place probably does mean--that he had an undue regard for the opinion of others1 and acted with feeble inconsistency in his efforts to please them4 ,a man of whom either of these things could be truly said would be without spiritual authority1 and it was to discredit the ,apostle in the ,church that the vague and damaging charge was made4 ,he certainly shows no want of courage in meeting it4 ,that he walks in the flesh1 he cannot deny4 ,he is a human being1 wearing the weak nature1 and all its maladies are incident to him4 ,as far as that nature goes1 it is as possible that he1 as that any man1 should be ruled by its love of ease or popularity2 or1 on the other hand1 should be overcome by timidity1 and shrink from difficult duties4 ,but he denies that this is his case4 ,he spends his life in this nature1 with all its capacity for unworthy conduct2 but in his ,christian warfare he is not ruled by it--he has conquered it1 and it has no power over him at all4 ,i was with you1 he wrote in the ,first ,epistle1 with weakness and fear and much trembling2 but my speech and my preaching were 444 with demonstration of the ,spirit and of power4 ,this is practically what he says here1 and what must be said by every man who undertakes to do anything for ,god4 ,no one can be half so well aware as he1 if he is sincere at all1 of the immense contrast between the nature in which he lives and the service to which he is called4 ,none of his enemies can know so well as he the utter earthenness of the vessel in which the heavenly treasure is deposited4 ,but the very meaning of a divine call is that a man is made master of this weakness1 and through whatever pain and self-repression can disregard it for his work's sake4 ,with some men timidity is the great trial3 for them1 it is the flesh4 ,they are afraid to declare the whole counsel of ,god2 or they are afraid of some class1 or of some particular person3 they are brave with a pen perhaps1 or in a pulpit1 or surrounded by sympathising spectators2 but it is not in them to be brave alone1 and to find in the ,spirit a courage and authority which overbear the weakness of the flesh4 ,from all such timidity1 as an influence affecting his apostolic work1 ,paul can pronounce himself free4 ,like ,jeremiah 7,jer4 i4 #f-h7 and ,ezekiel 7,ezek4 ii4 #f-h71 he is naturally capable1 but spiritually incapable of it4 ,he is full of might by the ,spirit of the ,lord3 and when he takes the field in the ,lord's service1 the flesh is as though it were not4 ,since the expression refers to the whole of the ,apostle's life1 it seems natural to take as referring to the whole of his ministry1 and not solely to his present campaign against the ,corinthians4 ,it is of his apostolic labours in general--of course including that which lay immediately before him--that he says3 ,the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh1 but mighty before ,god#hb to the casting down of strong holds4 ,nobody but an evangelist could have written this sentence4 ,paul knew from experience that men fortify themselves against ,god3 they try to find impregnable positions in which they may defy ,him1 and live their own life4 ,human nature1 when ,god is announced to speak1 instinctively puts itself on its guard2 and you cannot pass that guard1 as ,paul was well aware1 with weapons furnished by the flesh4 ,the weapons need to be divinely strong2 mighty in ,god's sight1 for ,god's service1 with ,god's own might4 ,there is an answer in this to many of the questions that are being asked at present about methods of evangelising2 where the divinely powerful weapons are found1 such questions give no trouble4 ,no man who has ever had a direct and unmistakable blessing on his work as an evangelist has ever enlisted the flesh in ,god's service4 ,no such man has ever seen1 or said1 that learning1 eloquence1 or art in the preacher2 or bribes of any sort to the hearer2 or approaches to the strong holds1 constructed of amusements1 lectures1 concerts1 and so forth1 were of the very slightest value4 ,he who knows anything about the matter knows that it is a life-and-death interest which is at stake when the soul comes face to face with the claims and the mercy of ,god2 and that the preacher who has not the hardihood to represent it as such will not be listened to1 and should not be4 ,paul was armed with this tremendous sense of what the ,gospel was--the immensity of grace in it1 the awfulness of judgment2 and it was this which gave him his power1 and lifted him above the arts1 the wisdom1 and the timidity of the flesh4 ,a man will hold his own against anything but this4 ,he will parley with any weapon flesh can fashion or wield2 this is the only one to which he surrenders4 ,perhaps in the fifth verse1 which is an expansion of the casting down of strong holds1 a special reference to the ,corinthians begins to be felt3 at all events they might easily apply it to themselves4 ,casting down imaginations1 the ,apostle says1 and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of ,god4 ,imaginations is probably a fair enough rendering of 1 though the margin has reasonings1 and the same word in ,rom4 ii4 #ae is rendered thoughts4 ,to what it applies is not very obvious4 ,men do certainly fortify themselves against the ,gospel in their thoughts4 ,the proud wisdom of the ,greek was familiar to the ,apostle1 and even the obvious fact that it had not brought the world salvation was not sufficient to lower its pride4 ,the expression has sometimes been censured as justifying the sacrificium intellectus1 or as taking away freedom of thought in religion4 ,to think of ,paul censuring the free exercise of intelligence in religion is too absurd2 but there is no doubt that1 with his firm hold of the great facts on which the ,christian faith depends1 he would have dealt very summarily with theories1 ancient or modern1 which serve no purpose but to fortify men against the pressure of these facts4 ,he would not have taken excessive pains to put himself in the speculator's place1 and see the world as he sees it1 with the most stupendous realities left out2 he would not have flattered with any affected admiration that most self-complacent of mortals--the wise of this world4 ,he would have struck straight at the heart and conscience with the spiritual weapons of the ,gospel2 he would have spoken of sin and judgment1 of reconciliation and life in ,christ1 till these great realities had asserted their greatness in the mind1 and in doing so had shattered the proud intellectual structures which had been reared in ignorance or contempt of them4 ,thoughts and imaginations must yield to things1 and make room for them3 it was on this principle ,paul wrought4 ,and to thoughts or imaginations he adds every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of ,god4 ,the emphasis is on every2 the ,apostle generalises the opposition which he has to encounter4 ,it may not be so much in the thoughts of men1 as in their tempers1 that they fortify themselves4 ,pride1 which by the instinct of self-preservation sees at once to the heart of the ,gospel1 and closes itself against it2 which hates equally the thought of absolute indebtedness to ,god and the thought of standing on the same level with others in ,god's sight1--this pride raises in every part of our nature its protest against the great surrender4 ,it is implied in the whole structure of this passage that the knowledge of ,god against which every high thing in man rises defiantly is a humbling knowledge4 ,in other words1 it is not speculative merely1 but has an ethical significance1 which the human heart is conscious of even at a distance1 and makes ready to acknowledge or to resist4 ,no high thing lifts itself up in us against a mere theorem--a doctrine of ,god which is as a doctrine in algebra2 it is the practical import of knowing ,god which excites the rebellion of the soul4 ,no doubt1 for the ,apostle1 the knowledge of ,god was synonymous with the ,gospel3 it was the knowledge of ,his glory in the face of ,jesus ,christ2 it was concentrated in the ,cross and the ,throne of ,his ,son1 in the ,atonement and the ,sovereignty of ,christ4 ,the ,apostle had to beat down all the barriers by which men closed their minds against this supreme revelation2 he had to win for these stupendous facts a place in the consciousness of humanity answering to their grandeur4 ,their greatness made him great3 he was lifted up on them2 and though he walked in the flesh1 in weakness and fear and much trembling1 he could confront undaunted the pride and the wisdom of the world1 and compel them to acknowledge his ,lord4 ,this meaning is brought out more precisely in the words with which he continues--bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of ,christ4 ,if we suppose a special reference here to the ,corinthians1 it will be natural to take 7thought7 in a practical sense--as1 e4g41 in chap4 ii4 #aa1 where it is rendered devices4 ,the ,corinthians had notions of their own1 apparently1 about how a ,church should be regulated--wild1 undisciplined1 disorderly notions2 and in the absence of the ,apostle they were experimenting with them freely4 ,it is part of his work to catch these runaway thoughts1 and make them obedient to ,christ again4 ,it seems1 however1 much more natural to allow the wider reference of to the whole of ,paul's apostolic work2 and then also will be taken in a less restricted sense4 ,men's minds1 and all that goes on in their minds 7 covers both3 see chaps1 ii4 #aa1 iii4 #ad1 iv4 #d71 are by nature lawless3 they are without the sense of responsibility to guard and consecrate the sense of freedom4 ,when the ,gospel makes them captive1 this lawless liberty comes to an end4 ,the mind1 in all its operations1 comes under law to ,christ3 in its every thought it is obedient to ,him4 ,the supremacy which ,christ claims and exercises is over the whole nature3 the ,christian man feels that nothing--not even a thought--lies beyond the range in which obedience is due to ,him4 ,this practical conviction will not paralyse thinking in the very least1 but it will extinguish many useless and bad thoughts1 and give their due value to all4 ,the ,apostle descends unmistakably from the general to the particular in ver4 #f3 ,being in readiness to avenge all disobedience1 when your obedience is fulfilled4 ,apparently what he contemplates in ,corinth is a disobedience which in part at least will refuse to surrender to ,christ4 ,there is a spirit abroad there1 in the ,judaists especially1 and in those whom they have influenced1 which will not bend1 and must be broken4 ,how ,paul means to take vengeance on it1 he does not say4 ,he is confident himself that the divinely powerful weapons which he wields will enable him to master it1 and that is enough4 ,whatever the shape the disobedience may assume1--hostility to the ,gospel of ,paul1 as subversive of the law2 hostility to his apostolic claims1 as unequal to those of the ,twelve2 hostility to the practical authority he asserted in ,churches of his founding1 and to the moral ideals he established there1--whatever the face which opposition may present1 he declares himself ready to humble it4 ,one limitation only he imposes on himself--he will do this1 when the obedience of the ,corinthians is fulfilled4 ,he expressly distinguishes the ,church as a whole from those who represent or constitute the disobedient party4 ,there have been misunderstandings between the ,church and himself2 but as chaps4 i4 to vii4 show1 these have been so far overcome3 the body of the ,church has reconciled itself to its founder2 it has returned1 so to speak1 to its allegiance to ,paul1 and has busied itself in carrying out his will4 ,when this process1 at present only in course1 is completed1 his way will be clear4 ,he will be able to act with severity and decision against those who have troubled the ,church1 without running any risk of hurting the ,church itself4 ,this leads again to the reflection that1 with all his high consciousness of spiritual power1 with all his sense of personal wrong1 the most remarkable characteristic of ,paul is love4 ,he waits to the last moment before he resorts to severer measures2 and he begs those who may suffer from them1 begs them by the meekness and gentleness of ,christ1 to spare him such pain4 ,,footnotes3 #hj ,on ,hausrath's view that this was a letter between our ,ep4 ,i4 and ,ep4 ,,ii4 see the ,introduction4 #ha ,this is the only place in the ,new ,testament where 7lowly7 is used in a bad 7contemptuous7 sense3 in ,christian lips it is a term of praise 7,matt4 xi4 #bi72 the speakers here had not learned its ,christian meaning4 #hb ,the dative in is the same as in ,jonah iii4 #c1 ,acts vii4 #bj4 ,a vague rendering like divinely powerful is probably nearest the meaning4 ,,xxiii ,,comparisons ,ye look at the things that are before your face4 ,if any man trusteth in himself that he is ,christ's1 let him consider this again with himself1 that1 even as he is ,christ's1 so also are we4 ,for though ,i should glory somewhat abundantly concerning our authority 7which the ,lord gave for building you up1 and not for casting you down71 ,i shall not be put to shame3 that ,i may not seem as if ,i would terrify you by my letters4 ,for1 ,his letters1 they say1 are weighty and strong2 but his bodily presence is weak1 and his speech of no account4 ,let such a one reckon this1 that1 what we are in word by letters when we are absent1 such are we also in deed when we are present4 ,for we are not bold to number or compare ourselves with certain of them that commend themselves3 but they themselves1 measuring themselves by themselves1 and comparing themselves with themselves1 are without understanding4 ,but we will not glory beyond our measure1 but according to the measure of the province which ,god apportioned to us as a measure1 to reach even unto you4 ,for we stretch not ourselves overmuch1 as though we reached not unto you3 for we came even as far as unto you in the ,gospel of ,christ3 not glorying beyond our measure1 that is1 in other men's labours2 but having hope that1 as your faith groweth1 we shall be magnified in you according to our province unto further abundance1 so as to preach the ,gospel even unto the parts beyond you1 and not to glory in another's province in regard of things ready to our hand4 ,but he that glorieth1 let him glory in the ,lord4 ,for not he that commendeth himself is approved1 but whom the ,lord commendeth4--#b ,,cor4 x4 #g-ah 7,r4,v474 ,this passage abounds with grammatical and textual difficulties1 but the general import and the purpose of it are plain4 ,the self-assertion of 7ver4 #a7 receives its first interpretation and expansion here3 we see what it is that ,paul claims1 and we begin to see the nature of the opposition against which his claim has to be made good4 ,leaving questions of grammatical construction aside1 vv4 #g and #h define the situation2 and it is convenient to take them as if they stood alone4 ,there was a person in ,corinth--more than one indeed1 but one in particular1 as the in ver4 #g and the singular #hc in ver4 #aj suggest--who claimed to be ,christ's1 or of ,christ1 in a sense which disparaged and was meant to disparage ,paul4 ,if we use the plural1 to include them all1 we must not suppose that they are identical with the party in the ,church who are censured in the ,first ,epistle for saying1 ,i am of ,christ1 just as others said1 ,i am of ,paul1 ,i am of ,apollos1 ,i am of ,cephas4 ,that party may have been dependent upon them1 but the individuals here referred to are taxed with an exclusiveness and arrogance1 and in the close of the chapter with a wanton trespassing on ,paul's province1 which show that they were not native to the ,church1 but intruders into it4 ,they were confident that they were ,christ's in a sense which discredited ,paul's apostleship1 and entitled them1 so to speak1 to legitimate a ,church which his labours had called into being4 ,everything compels us to recognise in them ,jewish ,christians1 who had been connected with ,christ in a way in which ,paul had not2 who had known ,him in the flesh1 or had brought recommendatory letters from the ,mother ,church at ,jerusalem2 and who1 on the strength of these accidents1 gave themselves airs of superiority in ,pauline ,churches1 and corrupted the simplicity of the ,pauline ,gospel4 ,the first words in ver4 #g-- --are no doubt directed to this situation1 but they have been very variously rendered4 ,our ,authorised ,version has1 ,do ye look on things after the outward appearance8 ,that is1 ,are you really imposed upon by the pretensions of these men1 by their national and carnal distinctions1 as if these had anything to do with the ,gospel8 ,this is a good ,pauline idea1 but it is doubtful whether can yield it4 ,the natural sense of these words is1 ,what is before your face4 ,the ,revised ,version accordingly renders1 ,ye look at the things that are before your face3 meaning1 apparently1 ,you allow yourselves to be carried away by whatever is nearest to you--at present1 by these interloping ,jews1 and the claims they flaunt before your eyes4 ,it seems to me more natural1 with many good scholars1 to take 1 in spite of its unemphatic position1 as imperative3 ,look at the things which are before your faces6 ,the most obvious and palpable facts discredit these ,judaists and accredit me4 ,a claim to be ,christ's is not to be made out priori by any carnal prerogatives1 or any human recommendations2 it is only made out by this--that ,christ ,himself attests it by giving him who makes it success as an evangelist4 ,look at what confronts you6 ,there is not a single ,christian thing you see which is not ,christ's own testimony that ,i am ,his2 unless you are senseless and blind1 my position and authority as an apostle can never be impugned among you4 ,the argument is thus the same as that which he uses in chap4 iii4 #a-c1 and in the ,first ,epistle1 chap4 ix4 #b4 ,at first ,paul asserts only a bare equivalence to his ,jewish opponent3 ,let him consider this with himself1 that1 even as he is ,christ's1 so also are we4 ,the historical1 outward connexion with ,christ1 whatever it may have been1 amounted in this relation to exactly nothing at all4 ,not what ,christ was1 but what ,he is1 is the life and reality of the ,christian religion4 ,not an accidental acquaintance with ,him as ,he lived in ,galilee or ,jerusalem1 but a spiritual fellowship with ,him as ,he reigns in the heavenly places1 makes a ,christian4 ,not a letter written by human hands--though they should be the hands of ,peter or ,james or ,john--legitimates a man in the apostolic career2 but only the sovereign voice which says1 ,he is a chosen vessel unto ,me1 to bear ,my ,name4 ,neither as ,christian nor as apostle can one establish a monopoly by making his appeal to the flesh4 ,the application of this ,christian truth has constantly to be made anew1 for human nature loves a monopoly2 it does not seem really to have a thing1 unless its possession of it is exclusive4 ,we are all too ready to unchurch1 or unchristianise1 others2 to say1 ,we are ,christ's1 with an emphasis which means that others are not4 ,churches with a strong organisation are especially tempted to this unchristian narrowness and pride4 ,their members think almost instinctively of other ,christians as outsiders and inferiors2 they would like to take them in1 to reordain their ministers1 to reform their constitution1 to give validity to their sacraments--in one word1 to legitimate them as ,christians and as ,christian societies4 ,all this is mere unintelligence and arrogance4 ,legitimacy is a convenient and respectable political fiction2 but to make the constitution of any ,christian body1 which has developed under the pressure of historical exigences1 the law for the legitimation of ,christian life1 ministry1 and worship everywhere1 is to deny the essential character of the ,christian religion4 ,it is to play toward men whom ,christ has legitimated by ,his ,spirit1 and by ,his blessing on their work1 precisely the part which the ,judaisers played toward ,paul2 and to compromise with it is to betray ,christ1 and to renounce the freedom of the ,spirit4 ,but the ,apostle does not stop short with claiming a bare equality with his rivals4 ,for though#hd ,i should boast somewhat more abundantly concerning our authority 444 ,i shall not be put to shame--i4e41 ,the facts ,i have invited you to look at will bear me out4 ,the key to this passage is to be found in #a ,cor4 xv4 #ae1 where he boasts that1 though the least of the apostles1 and not worthy to be called an apostle1 he had1 through the grace of ,god given to him1 laboured more abundantly than all the rest4 ,if it came to comparison1 then1 of the attestation which ,christ gave to their several labours1 and so to their authority1 by success in evangelising1 it would not be ,paul who would have to hide his head4 ,but he does not choose to boast any more of his authority at this point4 ,he has no desire to clothe himself in terrors2 on the contrary1 he wishes to avoid#he the very appearance of scaring them out of their wits by his letters 7for compare ,mark ix4 #f2 ,heb4 xii4 #ba74 ,his authority has been given him1 not for the pulling down1 but for the building up1 of the ,church2 it is not lordly 7chap4 i4 #bd71 but ministerial2 and he would wish1 not only to show it in kindly service1 but also in a kindly aspect4 ,not for casting down1 in ver4 #h1 is no contradiction of mighty for casting down in ver4 #d3 the object in the two cases is quite different4 ,many things in man must be cast down--many high thoughts1 much pride1 much wilfulness1 much presumption and sufficiency--but the casting down of these is the building up of souls4 ,at this point comes what is logically a parenthesis1 and we hear in it the criticisms passed at ,corinth on ,paul1 and his own reply to them4 ,his letters1 they say 7or1 he says71 are weighty and strong2 but his bodily presence weak1 and his speech of no account4 ,the last part of this criticism has been much misunderstood2 it is really of moral import1 but has been read in a physical sense4 ,it does not say anything at all about the ,apostle's physique1 or about his eloquence or want of eloquence2 it tells us that 7according to these critics71 when he was actually present at ,corinth1 he was somehow or other ineffective2 and when he spoke there1 people simply disregarded him4 ,an uncertain tradition no doubt represents ,paul as an infirm and meagre person1 and it is easy to believe that to ,greeks he must sometimes have seemed embarrassed and incoherent in speech to the last degree 7what1 for instance1 could have seemed more formless to a ,greek than vv4 #ab-ah of this chapter873 nevertheless1 it is nothing like this which is in view here4 ,the criticism is not of his physique1 nor of his style1 but of his personality--what is described is not his appearance nor his eloquence1 but the effect which the man produced when he went to ,corinth and spoke4 ,it was nothing4 ,as a man1 bodily present1 he could get nothing done3 he talked1 and nobody listened4 ,it is implied that this criticism is false2 and ,paul bids any one who makes it consider that what he is in word by letters when he is absent1 that he will also be in deed when he is present4 ,the double rle of potent pamphleteer and ineffective pastor is not for him4 ,the kind of criticism which was here passed on ,st4 ,paul is one to which every preacher is obnoxious4 ,an epistle is1 so to speak1 the man's words without the man2 and such is human weakness1 that they are often stronger than the man speaking in bodily presence1 that is1 than the man and his words together4 ,the character of the speaker1 as it were1 discounts all he says2 and when he is there1 and delivers his message in person1 the message itself suffers an immense depreciation4 ,this ought not so to be1 and with a man who cultivates sincerity will not so be4 ,he will be1 himself1 as good as his words2 his effectiveness will be the same whether he writes or speaks4 ,nothing ultimately counts in the work of a ,christian minister but what he can say and do and get done when in direct contact1 with living men4 ,in many cases the modern sermon really answers to the epistle as it is referred to in this sarcastic comment2 in the pulpit1 people say1 the minister is impressive and memorable2 but in the ordinary intercourse of life1 and even in the pastoral relation1 where he has to meet people on an equal footing1 his power quite disappears4 ,he is an ineffective person1 and his words have no weight4 ,where this is true1 there is something very far wrong2 and though it was not true in the case of ,paul1 there are cases in which it is4 ,to bring the pastoral up to the level of the pulpit work--the care of individual souls and characters to the intensity and earnestness of study and preaching--would be the saving of many a minister and many a congregation4#hf ,but to return to the text4 ,the ,apostle is disinclined to pursue this line further3 in defending himself against these obscure detractors1 he can hardly avoid the appearance of self-commendation1 which of all things he abhors4 ,an acute observer has remarked that when war lasts long the opposing combatants borrow each other's weapons and tactics3 and it was this uninviting weapon that the policy of his opponents laid to the ,apostle's hand4 ,with ironical recognition of their hardihood1 he declines it3 ,we are not bold--have not the courage--to number ourselves among1 or compare ourselves with1 certain of them that commend themselves--i4e41 the ,judaists who had introduced themselves to the ,church4 ,far be it from me1 says the ,apostle grimly1 to claim a place among1 or near1 such a distinguished company4 ,but he is too much in earnest to prolong the ironical strain1 and in the verses which follow1 from #ab to #af1 he states in good set terms the differences between himself and them4 7#a7 ,they measure themselves by themselves1 and compare themselves among themselves1 and in so doing are without understanding4#hg ,they constitute a religious coterie1 a sort of clique or ring in the ,church1 ignoring all but themselves1 making themselves the only standard of what is ,christian1 and betraying1 by that very proceeding1 their want of sense4 ,there is a fine liberality about this sharp saying1 and it is as necessary now as in the first century4 ,men coalesce1 within the limits of the ,christian community1 from affinities of various kinds--sympathy for a type or an aspect of doctrine1 or liking for a form of polity2 and as it is easy1 so is it common1 for those who have united like to like1 to set up their own associations and preferences as the only law and model for all4 ,they take the air of superior persons1 and the penalty of the superior person is to be unintelligent4 ,they are without understanding4 ,the standard of the coterie--be it evangelical1 high church1 broad church1 or what you please--is not the standard of ,god2 and to measure all things by it is not only sinful but stupid4 ,in contrast to this ,judaistic clique1 who saw no ,christianity except under their own colours1 ,paul's standard is to be found in the actual working of ,god through the ,gospel4 ,he would have said with ,ignatius1 only with a deeper insight into every word1 ,where ,jesus ,christ is1 there is the ,catholic ,church4 7#b7 ,another point of difference is this3 ,paul works independently as an evangelist2 it has always been his rule to break new ground4 ,god has assigned him a province to labour in1 large enough to gratify the highest ambition2 he is not going beyond it1 nor exaggerating his authority1 when he asserts his apostolic dignity in ,corinth2 the ,corinthians know as well as he that he came all the way to them1 and was the first to come1 ministering the ,gospel of ,christ4 ,nay1 it is only the weakness of their faith that keeps him from going farther3 and he has hope that as their faith grows it will set him free to carry the ,gospel beyond them to ,italy and ,spain2 this would be the crown of his greatness as an evangelist1 and it depends on them 7 7 whether he is to win it2 in any case1 the winning of it would be in harmony with his vocation1 the carrying of it out in glorious fulness 7 72 for1 like ,john ,wesley1 he could say the whole world was his parish4 ,if he boasts at all1 it is not immeasurably2 it is on the basis of the gift and calling of ,god1 within the limits of what ,god has wrought by him and by no other2 he never intrudes into another's province and boasts of what he finds done to his hand4 ,but this was what the ,jews did4 ,they did not propagate the ,gospel with apostolic enthusiasm among the heathen2 they waited till ,paul had done the hard preliminary work1 and formed ,christian congregations everywhere1 and then they slunk into them--in ,galatia1 in ,macedonia1 in ,achaia--talking as if these ,churches were their work1 disparaging their real father in ,christ1 and claiming to complete and legitimate--which meant1 in effect1 to subvert---his work4 ,no wonder ,paul was scornful1 and did not venture to put himself in a line with such heroes4 ,two feelings are compounded all through this passage3 an intense sympathy with the purpose of ,god that the ,gospel should be preached to every creature--,paul's very soul melts into that2 and an intense scorn for the spirit that sneaks and poaches on another's ground1 and is more anxious that some men should be good sectarians than that all men should be good disciples4 ,this evil spirit ,paul loathes1 just as ,christ loathed it2 the temper of these verses is that in which the ,master cried1 ,woe unto you1 scribes and ,pharisees1 hypocrites6 for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte2 and when he is become so1 ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves4 ,of course the evil spirit must always be disguised1 both from others and from itself3 the proselytiser assumes the garb of the evangelist2 but the proselytiser turned evangelist is the purest example in the world of ,satan disguised as an angel of light4 ,the show is divine1 but the reality is diabolical4 ,it does not matter what the special sectarianism is3 the proselytising of a hierarchical ,church1 and the proselytising of the ,plymouth ,brethren1 are alike dishonourable and alike condemned4 ,and the safeguard of the soul against this base spirit is an interest like ,paul's in the ,christianising of those who do not know ,christ at all4 ,why should ,churches compete8 why should their agencies overlap8 why should they steal from each other's folds8 why should they be anxious to seal all believers with their private seal1 when the whole world lies in wickedness8 ,that field is large enough for all the efforts of all evangelists1 and till it has been sown with the good seed from end to end there can be nothing but reprobation for those who trespass on the province of others1 and boast that they have made their own what they certainly did not make ,christ's4 ,at the close1 to borrow ,bengel's expression1 ,paul sounds a retreat4 ,he has liberated his mind about his adversaries--always a more or less dangerous process2 and after the excitement and self-assertion are over1 he composes it again in the presence of ,god4 ,he checks himself1 we feel1 with that ,old ,testament word1 ,now he that glorieth1 let him glory in the ,lord4 ,i have always broken new ground2 ,i have come as far as you1 and wish to go farther1 evangelising2 ,i never have boasted of another man's labours as if they were mine1 or claimed the credit of what he had done2 but all this is mine only as ,god's gift4 ,it is ,his grace bestowed on me1 and not in vain4 ,i would not boast except in ,him2 for not he who commends himself is approved1 but only he whom the ,lord commends4 ,no character which is only self-certificated can stand the test3 no claim to apostolic dignity and authority can be maintained which the ,lord does not attest by granting apostolic success4 ,,note ,,on ,,vv4 #ab ,,and #ac4--;,in some ,,mss4 7,d991 ,f1 ,g1 #aji1 ,it41 and some ,latins7 the last two words of ver4 #ab and the first two of ver4 #ac 7 7 are omitted4 ,most editors of the text 7,tischdf4 vii41 ,tregelles1 ,westcott and ,hort7 seem to think the omission accidental2 among exegetes1 the fact that it yields an easy and natural1 though of course a quite different1 sense1 has caused some hesitation4 ,thus ,bengel1 and recently ,schmiedel1 reject the words4 ,the latter renders the whole passage3 ,we do not venture to put ourselves on a level1 or to compare ourselves1 with certain of those who commend themselves2 but in measuring ourselves by ourselves1 and comparing ourselves with ourselves1 we shall not boast beyond measure1 but according to the measure of the rule1 etc4 ,this is no doubt intelligible and appropriate enough1 and certainly one's first impression is that ' in ver4 #ab ought to refer to ,paul2 but as the meaning yielded by the passage with the four words included is equally appropriate1 and their insertion immeasurably harder to understand than their omission1 it seems preferable to let them stand1 in the sense explained above4 ,they are found 7with the variation of for in 997 in 99991 ,b1 minusc4 ,theodoret3 in ,e1 ,k1 ,l1 ,p1 the form is 4 ,apparently it is only by an accident that their omission leaves good sense4 ,,footnotes3 #hc ,this is the reading adopted by ,westcott and ,hort with most ,,mss4 except ,b4 #hd ,the difficult in is most easily explained by the ellipse of a corresponding 3 of several reasons he might adduce1 ,paul adduces only one 7,schmiedel74 #he ,the ninth verse1 444 is most naturally taken with what precedes1 and most simply explained by supplying something like1 but ,i say no more about it1 i4e4 about my authority1 that ,i may not seem1 etc4 ,to say more would look like trying to frighten them4 ,others make it protasis to ver4 #aa1 ver4 #aj being then a parenthesis4 #hf ,the following sentence from a letter of ,h4 ,e4 ,m4 7a sister of ,james ,mozley's7 is an interesting illustration of this truth3 ,i consider ,mr4 ,rickards as the type and model of a country parish and domestic priest4 ,all his powers and energies are expended on and exerted for teaching1 preaching1 and talking4 ,bodily presence is his vocation3 unlike some1 writers and others1 he must be seen to be felt2 and unlike others again1 writers and others1 the more he is seen1 the more he is felt4 #hg ,see note1 p4 #caa4 ,,xxiv ,,godly ,,jealousy ,would that ye could bear with me in a little foolishness3 nay indeed bear with me4 ,for ,i am jealous over you with a godly jealousy3 for ,i espoused you to one husband1 that ,i might present you as a pure virgin to ,christ4 ,but ,i fear1 lest by any means1 as the serpent beguiled ,eve in his craftiness1 your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward ,christ4 ,for if he that cometh preacheth another ,jesus1 whom we did not preach1 or if ye receive a different spirit1 which ye did not receive1 or a different gospel1 which ye did not accept1 ye do well to bear with him4 ,for ,i reckon that ,i am not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles4 ,but though ,i be rude in speech1 yet am ,i not in knowledge2 nay1 in everything we have made it manifest among all men to you-ward4--#b ,,cor4 xi4 #a-f 7,r4,v474 ,all through the tenth chapter there is a conflict in the ,apostle's mind4 ,he is repeatedly1 as it were1 on the verge of doing something1 from which he as often draws back4 ,he does not like to boast--he does not like to speak of himself at all--but the tactics of his enemies1 and the faithlessness of the ,corinthians1 are making it inevitable4 ,in chap4 xi4 he takes the plunge4 ,he adopts the policy of his adversaries1 and proceeds to enlarge on his services to the ,church2 but with magnificent irony1 he first assumes the mask of a fool4 ,it is not the genuine ,paul who figures here2 it is ,paul playing a part to which he has been compelled against his will1 acting in a character which is as remote as possible from his own4 ,it is the character native and proper to the other side2 and when ,paul1 with due deprecation1 assumes it for the nonce1 he not only preserves his modesty and his self-respect1 but lets his opponents see what he thinks of them4 ,he plays the fool for the occasion1 and of set purpose2 they do it always1 and without knowing it1 like men to the manner born4 ,but it is the ,corinthians who are directly addressed4 ,would that ye could bear with me in a little foolishness3 nay indeed bear with me4 ,in the last clause1 may be either imperative 7as the ,revised ,version gives it in the text71 or indicative 7as in the margin3 but indeed ye do bear with me74 ,the use of rather favours the last2 and it would be quite in keeping with the extremely ironical tone of the passage to render it so4 ,even in the ,first ,epistle1 ,paul had reflected on the self-conceit of the ,corinthians3 ,we are fools for ,christ's sake1 but ye are wise in ,christ4 ,that self-conceit led them to think lightly of him1 but not just to cast him off2 they still tolerated him as a feeble sort of person3 ,ye do indeed bear with me4 ,but whichever alternative be preferred1 the irony passes swiftly into the dead earnest of the second verse3 ,for ,i am jealous over you with a godly jealousy3 for ,i espoused you to one husband1 that ,i might present you as a pure virgin to ,christ4 ,this is the ground on which ,paul claims their forbearance1 even when he indulges in a little folly4 ,if he is guilty of what seems to them extravagance1 it is the extravagance of jealousy--i4e41 of love tormented by fear4 ,nor is it any selfish jealousy1 of which he ought to be ashamed4 ,he is not anxious about his private or personal interests in the ,church4 ,he is not humiliated and provoked because his former pupils have come to their spiritual majority1 and asserted their independence of their master4 ,these are common dangers and common sins2 and every minister needs to be on his guard against them4 ,paul's jealousy over the ,corinthians was a jealousy of ,god2 ,god had put it into his heart1 and what it had in view was ,god's interest in them4 ,it distressed him to think1 not that his personal influence at ,corinth was on the wane1 but that the work which ,god had done in their souls was in danger of being frustrated1 the inheritance ,he had acquired in them of being lost4 ,nothing but ,god's interest had been in the ,apostle's mind from the beginning4 ,i betrothed you1 he says1 to one husband--the emphasis lies on one--that ,i might present you as a pure virgin to ,christ4#hh ,it is the ,church collectively which is represented by the pure virgin1 and it ought to be observed that this is the constant use in ,scripture1 alike in the ,old ,testament and the ,new4 ,it is ,israel as a whole which is married to the ,lord2 it is the ,christian ,church as a whole 7or a ,church collectively1 as here7 which is the ,bride1 the ,lamb's wife4 ,to individualise the figure1 and speak of ,christ as the ,bridegroom of the soul1 is not ,scriptural1 and almost always misleads4 ,it introduces the language and the associations of natural affection into a region where they are entirely out of place2 we have no terms of endearment here1 and should have none1 but high thoughts of the simplicity1 the purity1 and the glory of the ,church4 ,glory is especially suggested by the idea of presenting the ,church to ,christ4 ,the presentation takes place when ,christ comes again to be glorified in ,his saints2 that great day shines unceasingly in the ,apostle's heart1 and all he does is done in its light4 ,the infinite issues of fidelity and infidelity to the ,lord1 as that day makes them manifest1 are ever present to his spirit2 and it is this which gives such divine intensity to his feelings wherever the conduct of ,christians is concerned4 ,he sees everything1 not as dull eyes see it now1 but as ,christ in ,his glory will show it then4 ,and it takes nothing less than this to keep the soul absolutely pure and loyal to the ,lord4 ,the ,apostle explains in the third verse the nature of his alarm4 ,i fear1 he says1 lest by any means1 as the serpent beguiled ,eve in his craftiness1 your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity#hi which is toward ,christ4 ,the whole figure is very expressive4 ,simplicity means singleness of mind2 the heart of the pure virgin is undivided2 she ought not to have1 and will not have1 a thought for any but the one man to whom she is betrothed4 ,purity again is1 as it were1 one species of simplicity2 it is simplicity as shown in the keeping of the whole nature unspotted for the ,lord4 ,what ,paul dreads is the spiritual seduction of the ,church1 the winning away of her heart from absolute loyalty to ,christ4 ,the serpent beguiled ,eve by his craftiness2 he took advantage of her unsuspecting innocence to wile her away from her simple belief in ,god and obedience to ,him4 ,when she took into her mind the suspicions he raised1 her simplicity was gone1 and her purity followed4 ,the serpent's agents--the servants of ,satan1 as ,paul calls them in ver4 #ae--;are at work in ,corinth2 and he fears that their craftiness may seduce the ,church from its first simple loyalty to ,christ4 ,it is natural for us to take and in a purely ethical sense1 but it is by no means certain that this is all that is meant2 indeed1 if be a gloss1 as seems not improbable1 may well have a different application4 ,the simplicity which is toward ,christ1 from which he fears lest by any means their minds or thoughts be corrupted1 will rather be their whole-hearted acceptance of ,christ as ,paul conceived of ,him and preached ,him1 their unreserved1 unquestioning surrender to that form of doctrine 7 1 ,rom4 vi4 #ag7 to which they had been delivered4 ,this1 of course1 in ,paul's mind1 involved the other--there is no separation of doctrine and practice for him2 but it makes a theological rather than an ethical interest the predominant one2 and this interpretation1 it seems to me1 coheres best with what follows1 and with the whole preoccupation of the ,apostle in this passage4 ,the people whose influence he feared were not unbelievers1 nor were they immoral2 they professed to be ,christians1 and indeed better ,christians than ,paul2 but their whole conception of the ,gospel was at variance with his2 if they made way at ,corinth1 his work would be undone4 ,the ,gospel which he preached would no longer have that unsuspicious acceptance2 the ,christ whom he proclaimed would no longer have that unwavering loyalty2 instead of simplicity and purity1 the heart of the pure virgin would be possessed by misgivings1 hesitations1 perhaps by out-right infidelity2 his hope of presenting her to ,christ on the great day would be gone4 ,this is what we are led to by ver4 #d1 one of the most vexed passages in the ,new ,testament4 ,the text of the last word is uncertain3 some read the imperfect 2 others1 including our ,revisers1 the present 4 ,the last is the better attested1 and suits best the connexion of thought4 ,the interpretations may be divided into two classes4 ,first1 there are those which assume that the suppositions made in this verse are not true4 ,this is evidently the intention in our ,authorised ,version4 ,it renders1 ,for if he that cometh preacheth another ,jesus1 whom we have not preached1 or if ye receive another spirit1 which ye have not received1 or another gospel1 which ye have not accepted1 ye might well bear with him4 ,but--we must interpolate--nothing of this sort has really taken place2 for ,paul counts himself not a whit inferior to the very chiefest ,apostles4 ,no one--not even ,peter or ,james or ,john--could have imparted anything to the ,corinthians which ,paul had failed to impart2 and hence their spiritual seduction1 no matter how or by whom accomplished1 was perfectly unreasonable and gratuitous4 ,this interpretation1 with variations in detail which need not be pursued1 is represented by many of the best expositors1 from ,chrysostom to ,meyer4 ,if1 says ,chrysostom in his paraphrase1 if we had omitted anything that should have been said1 and they had made up the omission1 we do not forbid you to attend to them4 ,but if everything has been perfectly done on our part1 and no blank left1 how did they the ,apostle's adversaries get hold of you8 ,this is the broad result of many discussions2 and it is usual--though not invariable--for those who read the passage thus to take in a complimentary1 not a contemptuous1 sense1 and to refer it1 as ,chrysostom expressly does1 to the three pillars of the primitive ,church4 ,the objections to this interpretation are obvious enough4 ,there is first the grammatical objection1 that a hypothetical sentence1 with the present indicative in the protasis 7 444 1 444 71 and the present indicative in the apodosis 771 can by no plausibility of argument be made to mean1 ,if the interloper were preaching another ,jesus 444 you would be right to bear with him4 ,even if the imperfect is the true reading1 which is improbable1 this translation is unjustified4#ij ,but there is a logical as well as a grammatical objection4 ,the use of 7for7 surely implies that in the sentence which it introduces we are to find the reason for what precedes4 ,paul is afraid1 he has told us1 lest the ,church should be seduced from the one husband to whom he has betrothed her4 ,but he can never mean to explain a real fear by making a number of imaginary suppositions2 and so we must find in the hypothetical clauses here the real grounds of his alarm4 ,people had come to ,corinth-- is no doubt collective1 and characterises the troublers of the ,church as intruders1 not native to it1 but separable from it--doing all the things here supposed4 ,paul has espoused the ,church to ,one ,husband2 they preach another ,jesus4 ,not1 of course1 a distinct ,person1 but certainly a distinct conception of the same ,person4 ,paul's ,christ was the ,son of ,god1 the ,lord of ,glory1 ,he who by ,his death on the cross became ,universal ,redeemer1 and by ,his ascension ,universal ,lord--the end of the law1 the giver of the ,spirit2 it would be another ,jesus if the intruders preached only the ,son of ,david1 or the ,carpenter of ,nazareth1 or the ,king of ,israel4 ,according to the conception of ,christ1 too1 would be the spirit which accompanied this preaching1 the characteristic temper and power of the religion it proclaimed4 ,the spirit ministered by ,paul in his apostolic work was one of power1 and love1 and1 above all things1 liberty2 it emancipated the soul from weakness1 from scruples1 from moral inability1 from slavery to sin and law2 but the spirit generated by the ,judaising ministry1 the characteristic temper of the religion it proclaimed1 was servile and cowardly4 ,it was a spirit of bondage tending always to fear 7,rom4 viii4 #ae74 ,their whole gospel--to give their preaching a name it did not deserve 7,gal4 i4 #f-i7--was something entirely unlike ,paul's both in its ideas and in its spiritual fruits4 ,unlike--yes1 and immeasurably inferior1 and yet in spite of this the ,corinthians put up with it well enough4 ,this is the plain fact 77 which the ,apostle plainly states4 ,he had to plead for their toleration1 but they had no difficulty in tolerating men who by a spurious gospel1 an unspiritual conception of ,christ1 and an unworthy incapacity for understanding freedom1 were undermining his work1 and seducing their souls4 ,no wonder he was jealous1 and angry1 and scornful1 when he saw the true ,christian religion1 which has all time and all nations for its inheritance1 in danger of being degraded into a narrow ,jewish sectarianism2 the kingdom of the ,spirit lost in a society in which race gave a prerogative1 and carnal ordinances were revived2 and1 worse still1 ,christ the ,son of ,god1 the ,universal ,reconciler1 known only after the flesh1 and appropriated to a race1 instead of being exalted as ,lord of all1 in whom there is no room for ,greek or ,jew1 barbarian or ,scythian1 bond or free4 ,the ,corinthians bore with this nobly 772 but he who had begotten them in the true ,gospel had to beg them to bear with him4 ,there is only one difficulty in this interpretation1 and that is not a serious one3 it is the connexion of ver4 #e with what precedes4 ,those who connect it immediately with ver4 #d are obliged to supply something3 for example1 ,but you ought not to bear with them1 for ,i consider that ,i am in nothing behind the very chiefest apostles4 ,i have no doubt at all that --the superlative apostles--are not ,peter1 ,james1 and ,john1 but the teachers aimed at in ver4 #d1 the of ver4 #ac2 it is with them1 and not with the ,twelve or the eminent ,three1 that ,paul is comparing himself4#ia ,but even so1 ,i agree with ,weizscker that the connexion for the in ver4 #e must be sought further back--as far back1 indeed1 as ver4 #a4 ,you bear well enough with them1 and so you may well bear with me1 as ,i beg you to do2 for ,i consider1 etc4 ,this is effective enough1 and brings us back again to the main subject4 ,if there is a point in which ,paul is willing to his inferiority to these superlative apostles1 it is the non-essential one of utterance4 ,he grants that he is rude in speech--not rhetorically gifted or trained--a plain1 blunt man who speaks right on4 ,but he is not rude in knowledge3 in every respect he has made that manifest1 among all men1 toward them4 ,the last clause is hardly intelligible1 and the text is insecure4#ib ,the reading is that of all the critical editors2 the object may either be indefinite 7his competence in point of knowledge71 or1 more precisely1 itself1 supplied from the previous clause4 ,in no point whatever1 under no circumstances1 has ,paul ever failed to exhibit to the ,corinthians the whole truth of ,god in the ,gospel4 ,this it is which makes him scornful even when he thinks of the men whom the ,corinthians are preferring to himself4 ,when we look from the details of this passage to its scope1 some reflections are suggested1 which have their application still4 7#a7 ,our conception of the ,person of ,christ determines our conception of the whole ,christian religion4 ,what we have to proclaim to men as gospel--what we have to offer to them as the characteristic temper and virtue of the life which the ,gospel originates--depends on the answer we give to ,jesus' own question1 ,whom say ye that ,i am8 ,a ,christ who is simply human cannot be to men what a ,christ is who is truly divine4 ,the ,gospel identified with ,him cannot be the same2 the spirit of the society which gathers round ,him cannot be the same4 ,it is futile to ask whether such a gospel and such a spirit can fairly be called ,christian2 they are in point of fact quite other things from the ,gospel and the ,spirit which are historically associated with the name4 ,it is plain from this passage that the ,apostle attached the utmost importance to his conceptions of the ,person and ,work of the ,lord3 ought not this to give pause to those who evacuate his theology of many of its distinctive ideas--especially that of the ,pre-existence of ,christ--on the plea that they are merely theologoumena of an individual ,christian1 and that to discard them leaves the ,gospel unaffected8 ,certainly this was not what he thought4 ,another ,jesus meant another spirit1 another gospel--to use modern words1 another religion and another religious consciousness2 and any other1 the ,apostle was perfectly sure1 came short of the grandeur of the truth4 ,the spirit of the passage is the same with that in ,gal4 i4 #f ff41 where he erects the ,gospel he has preached as the standard of absolute religious truth4 ,though we1 or an angel from heaven1 should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you1 let him be anathema4 ,as we have said before1 so say ,i now again1 ,if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received1 let him be anathema4 7#b7 ,the simplicity that is toward ,christ--the simple acceptance of the truth about ,him1 and undivided loyalty of heart to ,him--may be corrupted by influences originating within1 as well as without1 the ,church4 ,the infidelity which is subtlest1 and most to be dreaded1 is not the gross materialism or atheism which will not so much as hear the name of ,god or ,christ2 but that which uses all sacred names1 speaking readily of ,jesus1 the ,spirit1 and the ,gospel1 but meaning something else1 and something less1 than these words meant in apostolic lips4 ,this it was which alarmed the jealous love of ,paul2 this it is1 in its insidious influence1 which constitutes one of the most real perils of ,christianity at the present time4 ,the ,jew in the first century1 who reduced the ,person and ,work of ,christ to the scale of his national prejudices1 and the theologian in the nineteenth1 who discounts apostolic ideas when they do not suit the presuppositions of his philosophy1 are open to the same suspicion1 if they do not fall under the same condemnation4 ,true thoughts about ,christ--in spite of all the smart sayings about theological subtleties which have nothing to do with piety--are essential to the very existence of the ,christian religion4 7#c7 ,there is no comparison between the ,gospel of ,god in ,jesus ,christ ,his ,son and any other religion4 ,the science of comparative religion is interesting as a science2 but a ,christian may be excused for finding the religious use of it tiresome4 ,there is nothing true in any of the religions which is not already in his possession4 ,he never finds a moral idea1 a law of the spiritual life1 a word of ,god1 in any of them1 to which he cannot immediately offer a parallel1 far more simple and penetrating1 from the revelation of ,christ4 ,he has no interest in disparaging the light by which millions of his fellow-creatures have walked1 generation after generation1 in the mysterious providence of ,god2 but he sees no reason for pretending that that light--which ,scripture calls darkness and the shadow of death--can bear comparison with the radiance in which he lives4 ,if1 he might say1 misapplying the fourth verse--if they brought us another saviour1 another spirit1 another gospel1 we might be religiously interested in them2 but1 as it is1 we have everything already1 and they1 in comparison1 have nothing4 ,the same remark applies to theosophy1 spiritualism1 and other gospels4 ,it will be time to take them seriously when they utter one wise or true word on ,god or the soul which is not an echo of something in the old familiar ,scriptures4 ,,footnotes3 #hh ,woods1 trees1 meadows1 and hills are my witnesses that ,i drew on a fair match betwixt ,christ and ,anwoth4--,s4 ,,rutherford4 #hi ,the words are bracketed by ,westcott and ,hort4 ,they are very strongly attested 7by 1 ,b1 ,f1 gr41 ,g1 etc472 but as they are found in some authorities before1 instead of after1 1 it is not improbable that they may be a gloss on these last words1 suggested by in ver4 #b1 and incorporated in the text4 ,they rather blur than emphasise the thought4 #ij ,it is worth appending two ingenious notes on this4 ,bengel1 who holds that the suppositions are untrue1 says3 ,ponit conditionem1 ex parte rei1 impossibilem2 ideo dicit in imperfecto toleraretis3 sed pro conatu pseudo-apostolorum1 non modo possibilem1 sed plane prsentem2 ideo dicit in prsenti1 prdicat4 ,schmiedel1 who holds that the suppositions are true1 explains the impft4 by saying that ,paul resolved1 while dictating1 to add the apodosis in the historical tense to the timeless protasis1 because the fact which it described actually lay before him4 ,they were tolerating the other teachers3 that is why ,paul says 4 ,he happily compares ,plato1 ,apol41 #cc ,a43 444 444 v 4 ,still1 he prefers the present4 #ia ,it is gratuitous to drag in a reference to the first ,apostles1 and then to suppose the ,corinthians drawing the inference--if he is not inferior to them1 still less is he inferior to our new teachers4 ,such an inference depends on a traditional conception of apostleship which the ,corinthians were not likely to share1 and it is equally unnecessary and improbable4 #ib ,probably either or 1 the latter of which is omitted in some authorities1 is a gloss4 ,,xxv ,,foolish ,,boasting ,or did ,i commit a sin in abasing myself that ye might be exalted1 because ,i preached to you the ,gospel of ,god for nought8 ,i robbed other ,churches1 taking wages of them that ,i might minister unto you2 and when ,i was present with you and was in want1 ,i was not a burden on any man2 for the brethren1 when they came from ,macedonia1 supplied the measure of my want2 and in everything ,i kept myself from being burdensome unto you1 and so will ,i keep myself4 ,as the truth of ,christ is in me1 no man shall stop me of this glorying in the regions of ,achaia4 ,wherefore8 because ,i love you not8 ,god knoweth4 ,but what ,i do1 that ,i will do1 that ,i may cut off occasion from them which desire an occasion2 that wherein they glory1 they may be found even as we4 ,for such men are false apostles1 deceitful workers1 fashioning themselves into apostles of ,christ4 ,and no marvel2 for even ,satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light4 ,it is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness2 whose end shall be according to their works4 ,i say again1 ,let no man think me foolish2 but if ye do1 yet as foolish receive me1 that ,i also may glory a little4 ,that which ,i speak1 ,i speak not after the ,lord1 but as in foolishness1 in this confidence of glorying4 ,seeing that many glory after the flesh1 ,i will glory also4 ,for ye bear with the foolish gladly1 being wise yourselves4 ,for ye bear with a man1 if he bringeth you into bondage1 if he devoureth you1 if he taketh you captive1 if he exalteth himself1 if he smiteth you on the face4 ,i speak by way of disparagement1 as though we had been weak4 ,yet whereinsoever any is bold 7,i speak in foolishness71 ,i am bold also4 ,are they ,hebrews8 so am ,i4 ,are they ,israelites8 so am ,i4 ,are they the seed of ,abraham8 so am ,i4 ,are they ministers of ,christ8 7,i speak as one beside himself7 ,i more2 in labours more abundantly1 in prisons more abundantly1 in stripes above measure1 in deaths oft4 ,of the ,jews five times received ,i forty stripes save one4 ,thrice was ,i beaten with rods1 once was ,i stoned1 thrice ,i suffered shipwreck1 a night and a day have ,i been in the deep2 in journeyings often1 in perils of rivers1 in perils of robbers1 in perils from my countrymen1 in perils from the ,gentiles1 in perils in the city1 in perils in the wilderness1 in perils in the sea1 in perils among false brethren2 in labour and travail1 in watchings often1 in hunger and thirst1 in fastings often1 in cold and nakedness4 ,beside those things that are without1 there is that which presseth upon me daily1 anxiety for all the ,churches4 ,who is weak1 and ,i am not weak8 who is made to stumble1 and ,i burn not8--#b ,,cor4 xi4 #g-bi 7,r4,v474 ,the connexion of ver4 #g with what precedes is not at once clear4 ,the ,apostle has expressed his conviction that he is in nothing inferior to the superlative apostles so greatly honoured by the ,corinthians4 ,why1 then1 is he so differently treated8 ,a rudeness in speech he is willing to concede1 but that can hardly be the explanation1 considering his fulness of knowledge4 ,then another idea strikes him1 and he puts it1 interrogatively1 as an alternative4 ,can it be that he did wrong--humbling himself that they might be exalted--in preaching to them the ,gospel of ,god for nought1 i4e4 in declining to accept support from them while he evangelised in ,corinth8 ,do they appreciate the interlopers more highly than ,paul1 because they exact a price for their gospel1 while he preached his for nothing8 ,this1 of course1 is bitterly ironical2 but it is not gratuitous4 ,the background of fact which prompted the ,apostle's question was no doubt this--that his adversaries had misinterpreted his conduct4 ,a true apostle1 they said1 has a right to be maintained by the ,church2 the ,lord ,himself has ordained that they who preach the ,gospel should live by the ,gospel2 but he claims no maintenance1 and by that very fact betrays a bad conscience4 ,he dare not make the claim which every true apostle makes without the least misgiving4 ,it would be hard to imagine anything more malignant in its wickedness than this4 ,paul's refusal to claim support from those to whom he preached is one of the most purely and characteristically ,christian of all his actions4 ,he felt himself1 by the grace of ,christ1 a debtor to all men2 he owed them the ,gospel2 it was as if he were defrauding them if he did not tell them of the love of ,god in ,his ,son4 ,he felt himself in immense sympathy with the spirit of the ,gospel2 it was the free gift of ,god to the world1 and as far as it depended on him its absolute freeness would not be obscured by the merest suspicion of a price to be paid4 ,he knew that in foregoing his maintenance he was resigning a right secured to him by ,christ 7#a ,cor4 ix4 #ad71 humbling himself1 as he puts it here1 that others might be spiritually exalted2 but he had the joy of preaching the ,gospel in the spirit of the ,gospel--of entering1 in ,christ's service1 into the self-sacrificing joy of his ,lord2 and he valued this above all earthly reward4 ,to accuse such a man1 on such grounds1 of having a bad conscience1 and of being afraid to live by his work1 because he knew it was not what it pretended to be1 was to sound the depths of baseness4 ,it gave ,paul in some measure the ,master's experience1 when the ,pharisees said1 ,he casteth out devils by ,beelzebub1 the prince of the devils4 ,it is really the prince of the devils1 the accuser of the brethren1 who speaks in all such malignant insinuations2 it is the most diabolical thing any one can do--the nearest approach to sinning against the ,holy ,ghost--when he sets himself to find out bad motives for good actions4 ,as we shall see further on1 ,paul's enemies made more specific charges3 they hinted that he made his own out of the ,corinthians indirectly1 and that he could indemnify himself1 for this abstinence1 from the collection 7chaps4 xii4 #af-ah1 chap4 viii4 and ix474 ,perhaps this is why he describes his actual conduct at ,corinth in such vigorous language 7vv4 #g-aa71 before saying anything at all of his motives4 ,i preached to you the ,gospel of ,god1 he says1 for nothing4 ,he calls it the ,gospel of ,god with intentional fulness and solemnity2 the genuine ,gospel1 he means--not another1 which is no gospel at all1 but a subversion of the truth4 ,he robbed other ,churches1 and took wages from them1 in order to minister to the ,corinthians4 ,there is a mingling of ideas in the strong words here used4 ,the ,english reader thinks of ,paul's doing less than justice to other ,churches that he might do more than justice to the ,corinthians2 but though this is true1 it is not all4 ,both robbed 77 and wages 771 as ,bengel has pointed out1 are military words1 and it is difficult to resist the impression that ,paul used them as such2 he did not come to ,corinth to be dependent on any one1 but in the course of a triumphant progress1 in which he devoted the spoils of his earlier victories for ,christ to a new campaign in ,achaia4#ic ,nay1 even when he was with them and was in want 7what a ray of light that one word lets into his circumstances671 he did not throw himself like a benumbing weight on any one2 what his own labours failed to supply1 the brethren 7perhaps ,silas and ,timothy7 made good when they came from ,macedonia4 ,this has been his practice1 and will continue to be so4 ,he swears by the truth of ,christ that is in him1 that no man shall ever stop his mouth1 so far as boasting of this independence is concerned1 in the regions of ,achaia4 ,why8 ,his tender heart dismisses the one painful supposition which could possibly arise4 ,because ,i love you not8 ,god knoweth4 ,love is wounded when its proffered gifts are rejected with scorn1 and when their rejection means that it is rejected2 but that was not the situation here4 ,paul can appeal to ,him who knows the heart in proof of the sincerity with which he loves the ,corinthians4 ,his fixed purpose to be indebted to no one in ,achaia has another object in view4 ,what that is he explains in the twelfth verse4 ,strange to say1 this verse1 like ver4 #d1 has received two precisely opposite interpretations4 7#a7 ,some start with the idea that ,paul's adversaries at ,corinth were persons who took no support from the ,church1 and boasted of their disinterestedness in this respect4 ,the occasion which they desired was an occasion of any sort for disparaging and discrediting ,paul2 and they felt they would have such an occasion if ,paul accepted support from the ,church1 and so put himself in a position of inferiority to them4 ,but ,paul persists in his self-denying policy1 with the object of depriving them of the opportunity they seek1 and at the same time of proving them--in this very point of disinterestedness--to be in exactly the same position as himself4 ,but surely1 throughout both ,epistles1 a contrast is implied1 in this very point1 between ,paul and his opponents3 the tacit assumption is always that his line of conduct is singular1 and is not to be made a rule4 ,and in the face of ver4 #bj it is too much to assume that it was the rule of his ,judaising opponents in ,corinth4 7#b7 ,others start with the idea1 which seems to me indubitably right1 that these opponents did accept support from the ,church4 ,but even on this assumption opinions diverge4 7a7 ,some argue that ,paul pursued his policy of abstinence partly to deprive them of any opportunity of disparaging him1 and partly to compel them to adopt it themselves 7that they may be found even as we74#id ,i can hardly imagine this being taken seriously4 ,why should ,paul have wanted to lift these preachers of a false gospel to a level with himself in point of generosity8 ,to coerce them into a reluctant self-denial could be no possible object to him either of wish or hope4 ,hence there seems only 7b7 the other alternative open1 which makes the last clause--that wherein they boast1 they may be found even as we--depend1 not upon what ,i do1 that ,i will do1 but upon them that desire occasion4#ie ,what the adversaries desired was1 not occasion to disparage ,paul in general1 but occasion of being on an equality with him in the matter in which they gloried--viz41 their apostolic claims4 ,they felt the advantage which ,paul's disinterestedness gave him with the ,corinthians2 they had not themselves the generosity needed to imitate it2 it was not enough to assail it with covert slanders 7chap4 xii4 #af-ah71 or to say that he was afraid to claim an apostle's due2 it would have been all they wanted had he resigned it4 ,then they could have said that in that in which they boasted--apostolic dignity--they were precisely on a level with him4 ,but not to mention the spiritual motives for his conduct1 which have been already explained1 and were independent of all relation to his opponents1 ,paul was too capable a strategist to surrender such a position to the enemy4 ,it would never be by action of his that he and they found themselves on the same ground4 ,at the very mention of such an equality his heart rises within him4 ,found even as we6 ,why1 such men are false apostles1 deceitful workers1 fashioning themselves into apostles of ,christ4 ,here1 at last1 the irony is cast aside1 and ,paul calls a spade a spade4 ,the conception of apostleship in the ,new ,testament is not that dogmatic traditional one1 which limits the name to the ,twelve1 or to the ,twelve and the ,apostle of the ,gentiles2 as we see from passages like chap4 viii4 #bc1 ,acts xiv4 #d1 #ad1 it had a much larger application4 ,what ,paul means when he calls his opponents false apostles is not that persons in their position could have no right to the name2 but that persons with their character1 their aims1 and their methods1 would only deceive others when they used it4 ,it ought to cover something quite different from what it actually did cover in them4 ,he explains himself further when he calls them deceitful workers4 ,that they were active he does not deny2 but the true end of their activity was not declared4 ,as far as the word itself goes1 the deceit which they used may have been intended to cloak either their personal or their proselytising views4 ,after what we have read in chap4 x4 #ab-ah1 the latter seems preferable4 ,the ,judaising preachers had shown their hand in ,galatia1 demanding openly that ,paul's converts should be circumcised1 and keep the law of ,moses as a whole2 but their experience there had made them cautious1 and when they came to ,corinth they proceeded more diplomatically4 ,they tried to sap the ,pauline ,gospel1 partly by preaching another ,jesus1 partly by calling in question the legitimacy of ,paul's vocation4 ,they said nothing openly of what was the inevitable and intended issue of all this--the bringing of spiritual ,gentile ,christendom under the old ,jewish yoke4 ,but it is this which goes to the ,apostle's soul2 he can be nothing but irreconcilably hostile to men who have assumed the guise of apostles of ,christ1 in order that they may with greater security subvert ,christ's characteristic work4 ,paul dwells on the deceitfulness of their conduct as its most offensive feature2 yet he does not wonder at it1 for even ,satan1 he says1 fashions himself into an angel of light4 ,it is no great thing1 then1 if his servants also fashion themselves as servants of righteousness4 ,we can only tell in a general way what ,paul meant when he spoke of ,satan1 the prince of darkness1 transfiguring himself so as to appear a heavenly angel4 ,he may have had some ,jewish legend in his mind1 some story of a famous temptation1 unknown to us1 or he may only have intended to represent to the imagination1 with the utmost possible vividness1 one of the familiar laws in our moral experience1 a law which was strikingly illustrated by the conduct of his adversaries at ,corinth4 ,evil1 we all know1 could never tempt us if we saw it simply as it is2 disguise is essential to its power2 it appeals to man through ideas and hopes which he cannot but regard as good4 ,so it was in the very first temptation4 ,an act which in its essential character was neither more nor less than one of direct disobedience to ,god was represented by the tempter1 not in that character1 but as the means by which man was to obtain possession of a tree good for food 7sensual satisfaction71 and pleasant to the eyes 7sthetic satisfaction71 and desirable to make one wise 7intellectual satisfaction74 ,all these satisfactions1 which in themselves are undeniably good1 were the cloak under which the tempter hid his true features4 ,he was a murderer from the beginning1 and entered ,eden to ruin man1 but he presented himself as one offering to man a vast enlargement of life and joy4 ,this is the nature of all temptations2 to disguise himself1 to look as like a good angel as he can1 is the first necessity1 and therefore the first invention1 of the devil4 ,and all who do his work1 the ,apostle says1 naturally imitate his devices4 ,the soul of man is born for good1 and will not listen at all to any voice which does not profess at least to speak for good3 this is why the devil is a liar from the beginning1 and the father of lies4 ,lying in word and deed is the one weapon with which he can assail the simplicity of man4 ,but how does this apply to the ,judaisers in ,corinth8 ,to ,paul1 we must understand1 they were men affecting to serve ,christ1 but really impelled by personal1 or at the utmost by partisan1 feelings4 ,their true object was to win an ascendency for themselves1 or for their party1 in the ,church2 but they made their way into it as evangelists and apostles4 ,nominally1 they were ministers of ,christ2 really1 they ministered to their own vanity1 and to the bigotry and prejudices of their race4 ,they professed to be furthering the cause of righteousness1#if but in sober truth the only cause which was the better for them was that of their own private importance2 the result of their ministry was1 not that bad men became good1 but that they themselves felt entitled to give themselves airs4 ,over against all this unreality ,paul remembers the righteous judgment of ,god4 ,whose end1 he concludes abruptly1 shall be according to their works4 ,the most serious aspect of such a situation as this is seen when we consider that men may fill it unconsciously3 they may devote themselves to a cause which looks like the cause of ,christ1 or the cause of righteousness2 and at bottom it may not be ,christ or righteousness at all which is the animating principle in their hearts4 ,it is some hidden regard to themselves1 or to a party with which they are identified4 ,even when they labour1 and possibly suffer1 it is this1 and not loyalty to ,christ1 which sustains them4 ,it may be in defence of orthodoxy1 or in furtherance of liberalism1 that a man puts himself forward in the ,church1 and in either case he will figure to those who agree with him as a servant of righteousness2 but equally in either case the secret spring of his action may be pride1 the desire to assert a superiority1 to consolidate a party which is his larger self1 to secure an area in which he may rule4 ,he may spend energy and talent on the work2 but if this is the ultimate motive of it1 it is the work of the devil1 and not of ,god4 ,even if the doctrine he defends is the true one--even if the policy he maintains is the right one--the services he may accidentally render are far outweighed by the domestication in the ,church of a spirit so alien to the ,lord's4 ,it is diabolical1 not divine2 the ,gospel is profaned by contact with it2 the ,church is prostituted when it serves as an arena for its exercise2 when it comes forward in the interest of righteousness1 it is ,satan fashioning himself into an angel of light4 ,at this point ,paul returns to the idea which has been in his mind since chap4 x4 #g--the idea of boasting1 or rather glorying4 ,he does not like the thing itself1 and just as little does he like the mask of a fool1 under which he is to play the part3 he is conscious that neither suits him4 ,hence he clears the ground once more1 before he commits himself4 ,again1 ,i say1 let no man think that ,i am foolish2 but if that favour cannot be granted1 then even as a foolish person receive me1 that ,i also may boast a little4 ,there is a fine satirical reflection in the also4 ,if he does make a fool of himself by boasting1 he is only doing what the others do1 whom the ,corinthians receive with open arms4 ,but it strikes his conscience suddenly that there is a higher rule for the conduct of a ,christian man than the example of his rivals1 or the patience of his friends4 ,the tenderness of ,paul's spirit comes out in the next words3 ,what ,i speak1 ,i speak not after the ,lord1 but as in foolishness1 in this confidence of glorying4 ,the ,lord never boasted2 nothing could be conceived less like ,him1 less after ,his mind2 and ,paul will have it distinctly understood that ,his character is not compromised by any extravagance of which ,his servant may here make himself guilty4 ,as a rule1 the ,apostle did speak after the ,lord2 his habitual consciousness was that of one who had the mind of ,christ1 and who felt that ,christ's character was1 in a sense1 in his keeping4 ,that ought to be the rule for all ,christians2 we should never find ourselves in situations in which the ,christian character1 with all its responsibilities1 affecting both ourselves and ,him1 cannot be maintained4 ,with ,christ and ,his interests removed from the scene1 ,paul at length feels himself free to measure himself against his rivals4 ,since many glory after the flesh1 ,i also will glory4 ,the flesh means everything except the spirit4 ,where ,christ and the ,gospel are concerned1 it is1 according to ,paul1 an absolute irrelevance1 a thing to be simply left out of account2 but since they persist in dragging it in1 he will meet them on their own ground4 ,what that is1 first comes out clearly in ver4 #bb3 but the ,apostle delays again to urge his plea for tolerance4 ,ye suffer the foolish gladly1 being wise yourselves4 ,it answers best to the vehemence of the whole passage to take the first clause here--,ye suffer the foolish gladly--as grim earnest1 the reference being to the other boasters1 ,paul's rivals2 and only the second clause ironically4 ,then ver4 #bj would give the proof of this3 ,ye bear with the foolish gladly 444 for ye bear with a man if he enslaves you1 if he devours you1 if he takes you captive1 if he exalts himself over you1 if he strikes you on the face4 ,we must suppose that this strong language describes the overbearing and violent behaviour of the ,judaists in ,corinth4 ,we do not need to take it literally1 but neither may we suppose that ,paul spoke at random3 he is virtually contrasting his own conduct and that of the people in question1 and the nature of the contrast must be on the whole correctly indicated4 ,he himself had been accused of weakness2 and he frankly admits that1 if comparison has to be made with a line of action like this1 the accusation is just4 ,i speak by way of disparagement1 as though we had been weak4 ,this rendering of the ,revised ,version fairly conveys the meaning4 ,it might be expressed in a paraphrase1 as follows3 ,in saying what ,i have said of the behaviour of my rivals1 ,i have been speaking to my own disparagement1 the idea involved#ig being that ,i 7notice the emphatic 7 have been weak4 ,weak1 no doubt1 ,i was1 if violent action like theirs is the true measure of strength3 nevertheless1 whereinsoever any is bold 7,i speak in foolishness71 ,i am bold also4 ,on whatever ground they claim to exercise such extraordinary powers1 that ground ,i can maintain as well as they4 ,here1 finally1 the boasting does begin4 ,are they ,hebrews8 so am ,i4 ,are they ,israelites8 so am ,i4 ,are they the seed of ,abraham8 so am ,i4 ,this is the sum and substance of what is meant by their glorying after the flesh3 they prided themselves on their birth1 and claimed authority on the strength of it4 ,they may have appealed1 not only to the election of ,israel as the ,old ,testament represents it1 but to words of ,jesus1 like ,salvation is of the ,jews4 ,the three names for what is in reality one thing convey the impression of the immense importance which was assigned to it4 ,hebrews seems the least significant2 it is merely the national name1 with whatever historical glories attached to it in ,hebrew minds4 ,israelites is a sacred name2 it is identified with the prerogatives of the theocratic people3 ,paul himself1 when his heart swells with patriotic emotion1 begins the enumeration of the privileges belonging to his kinsmen after the flesh--they1 who are ,israelites4 ,seed of ,abraham1 again1 is for the ,apostle1 and probably for these rivals of his1 equivalent to heirs of the promises2 it describes the ,jewish people as more directly and immediately interested--nay1 as alone directly and immediately interested--in the salvation of ,god4 ,no one could read ,rom4 ix4 #d f4 without feeling that pride of race--pride in his people1 and in their special relation to ,god and special place in the history of redemption--was among the strongest passions in the ,apostle's heart2 and we can understand the indignation and scorn with which he regarded men who tracked him over ,asia and ,europe1 assailed his authority1 and sought to undermine his work1 on the ground that he was faithless to the lawful prerogatives of ,israel4 ,there was not an ,israelite in the world prouder of his birth1 with a more magnificent sense of his country's glories1 than the ,apostle of the ,gentiles3 and it provoked him beyond endurance to see the things in which he gloried debased1 as they were debased1 by his rivals--made the symbols of a paltry vanity which he despised1 made barriers to the universal love of ,god by which all the families of the earth were to be blessed4 ,driven to extremity1 he could only outlaw such opponents from the ,christian community1 and transfer the prerogatives of ,israel to the ,church4 ,we1 he taught his ,gentile converts to say--we are the circumcision1 who worship by the ,spirit of ,god1 and rejoice in ,christ ,jesus1 and have no confidence in the flesh 7,phil4 iii4 #c74 ,here he does not linger long over what is merely external4 ,it is a deeper question that he asks in ver4 #bc1 ,are they ministers of ,christ8 and he feels like a man beside himself1 clean out of his senses 77--so unsuitable is the subject for boasting--as he answers1 ,i more4 ,many interpret this as if it meant1 ,i am more than a servant of ,christ1 and then ask wonderingly1 ,what more8 but surely the natural meaning is1 ,i am a servant too1 in a higher degree4 ,the proof of this is given in that tale of sufferings which bursts irrepressibly from the ,apostle's heart1 and sweeps us in its course like a torrent4 ,if he thought of his rivals when he began1 and was instituting a serious comparison when he wrote in labours more abundantly than they1 they must soon have escaped from his mind4 ,it is his own life as a minister of ,christ on which he dwells2 and after the first words1 if a comparison is to be made1 he leaves the making of it to others4 ,but comparison1 in fact1 was out of the question3 the sufferings of the ,apostle in doing service to ,christ were unparalleled and alone4 ,the few lines which he devotes to them are the most vivid light we have on the apostolic age and the apostolic career4 ,they show how fragmentary1 or at all events how select1 is the narrative in the ,book of ,acts4 ,thus of the incidents mentioned in ver4 #be we learn but little from ,st4 ,luke4 ,of the five times nine-and-thirty stripes1 he mentions none2 of the three beatings with rods1 only one2 of the three shipwrecks1 none 7for ,acts xxvii4 is later71 and nothing of the twenty-four hours in the deep4 ,it is not necessary to comment on details1 but one cannot resist the impression of triumph with which ,paul recounts the perils he had faced2 so many they were1 so various1 and so terrible1 yet in the ,lord's service he has come safely through them all4 ,it is a commentary from his own hand on his own word--as dying1 and1 behold1 we live6 ,in the retrospect all these perils show1 not only that he is a true servant of ,christ1 entering into the fellowship of his ,master's sufferings to bring blessing to men1 but that he is owned by ,christ as such3 the ,lord has delivered him from deaths so great2 yes1 and will deliver him2 and his hope is set on ,him for every deliverance he may need 7chap4 i4 #aj74 ,but1 after all1 these perils are but outward1 and the very enumeration of them shows that they are things of the past4 ,in all their kinds and degrees--violence1 privation1 exposure1 fear--they are a historical testimony to the devotion with which ,paul has served ,christ4 ,he bore in his body the marks which they had left1 and to him they were the marks of ,jesus2 they identified him as ,christ's slave4 ,but not to mention incidental matters1#ih there is another testimony to his ministry which is ever with him--a burden as crushing as these bodily sufferings1 and far more constant in its pressure3 that which cometh upon me daily1 anxiety for all the ,churches4 ,short of this1 anything of which man can boast may be1 at least in a qualified sense1 after the flesh2 but in this identification of himself with ,christ's cause in the world--this bearing of others' burdens on his spirit--there is that fulfilment of ,christ's law which alone and finally legitimates a ,christian ministry4 ,nor was it merely in an official sense that ,paul was interested in the affairs of the ,church4 ,when the ,church is once planted in the world1 it has a side which is of the world1 a side which may be administered without a very heavy expenditure of ,christian feeling3 this1 it is safe to say1 is simply out of sight4 ,paul's anxiety for the ,churches is defined in all its scope and intensity in the passionate words of the twenty-ninth verse3 ,who is weak1 and ,i am not weak8 ,who is made to stumble1 and ,i burn not8 ,his love individualised ,christian people1 and made him one with them4 ,there was no trembling timorous soul1 no scrupulous conscience1 in all the communities he had founded1 whose timidity and weakness did not put a limit to his strength3 he condescended to their intelligence1 feeding them with milk1 and not with meat2 he measured his liberty1 not in principle but in practice1 by their bondage2 his heart thrilled with their fears2 in the fulness of his ,christ-like strength he lived a hundred feeble lives4 ,and when spiritual harm came to one of them--when the very least was made to stumble1 and was caught in the snare of falsehood or sin--the pain in his heart was like burning fire4 ,the sorrow that pierced the soul of ,christ pierced his soul also2 the indignation that glowed in the ,master's breast1 as ,he pronounced woe on the man by whom occasions of stumbling come1 glowed again in him4 ,this is the fire that ,christ came to cast on the earth1 and that ,he longed to see kindled--this prompt intense sympathy with all that is of ,god in men's souls1 this readiness to be weak with the weak1 this pain and indignation when the selfishness or pride of men leads the weak astray1 and imperils the work for which ,christ died4 ,and this is indeed the ,apostle's last line of defence4 ,nowhere could boasting be less in place than when a man speaks of the lessons he has learned at the ,cross3 yet these only give him a title to glory as a minister of ,christ4 ,if glorying here is inadmissible1 it is because glorying in every sense is folly4 ,,footnotes3 #ic ,this 7observe the aorist 7 implies that he brought some money with him from ,macedonia to ,corinth4 #id ,that is1 the two are co-ordinate4 #ie ,that is1 the are not co-ordinate1 but the second is subordinate to 4 #if ,there has been some discussion as to the precise force of 7righteousness7 in this place4 ,it seems to me most natural to take it1 without suspicion1 in a perfectly simple sense3 a minister of righteousness is the truly good character which these bad men affect4 ,to suppose a covert sneer at their legalism1 or that they had pointed to such matters as are discussed in #a ,cor4 v41 viii41 and x41 as indicating the need of a gospel which would pay more attention to righteousness than ,paul's1 is surely too clever4 #ig ,this is the force of the 3 it leaves it open whether the idea has reality answering to it or not4 #ih ,this1 which is the second alternative given in the margin of the ,revised ,version1 seems to me the true meaning of 4 ,,xxvi ,,strength ,,and ,,weakness ,if ,i must needs glory1 ,i will glory of the things that concern my weakness4 ,the ,god and ,father of the ,lord ,jesus1 ,he who is blessed for evermore1 knoweth that ,i lie not4 ,in ,damascus the governor under ,aretas the king guarded the city of the ,damascenes1 in order to take me3 and through a window was ,i let down in a basket by the wall1 and escaped his hands4 ,i must needs glory1 though it is not expedient2 but ,i will come to visions and revelations of the ,lord4 ,i know a man in ,christ1 fourteen years ago 7whether in the body1 ,i know not2 or whether out of the body1 ,i know not2 ,god knoweth71 such a one caught up even to the third heaven4 ,and ,i know such a man 7whether in the body1 or apart from the body1 ,i know not2 ,god knoweth71 how that he was caught up into ,paradise1 and heard unspeakable words1 which it is not lawful for a man to utter4 ,on behalf of such a one will ,i glory3 but on mine own behalf ,i will not glory1 save in my weaknesses4 ,for if ,i should desire to glory1 ,i shall not be foolish2 for ,i shall speak the truth3 but ,i forbear1 lest any man should account of me above that which he seeth me to be1 or heareth from me4 ,and by reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations--wherefore1 that ,i should not be exalted overmuch1 there was given to me a thorn in the flesh1 a messenger of ,satan to buffet me1 that ,i should not be exalted overmuch4 ,concerning this thing ,i besought the ,lord thrice1 that it might depart from me4 ,and ,he hath said unto me1 ,my grace is sufficient for thee3 for ,my power is made perfect in weakness4 ,most gladly therefore will ,i rather glory in my weaknesses1 that the strength of ,christ may rest upon me4 ,wherefore ,i take pleasure in weaknesses1 in injuries1 in necessities1 in persecutions1 in distresses1 for ,christ's sake3 for when ,i am weak1 then am ,i strong4--#b ,,cor4 xi4 #cj-xii4 #aj 7,r4,v474 ,the difficulties of exposition in this passage are partly connected with its form1 partly with its substance3 it will be convenient to dispose of the formal side first4 ,the thirtieth verse of the eleventh chapter--,if ,i must needs glory1 ,i will glory of the things that concern my weakness--seems to serve two purposes4 ,on the one hand1 it is a natural and effective climax to all that precedes2 it defines the principle on which ,paul has acted in the glorying of vv4 #bc-bi4 ,it is not of exploits that he is proud1 but of perils and sufferings2 not of what he has achieved1 but of what he has endured1 for ,christ's sake2 in a word1 not of strength1 but of weakness4 ,on the other hand1 this same thirtieth verse indubitably points forward2 it defines the principle on which ,paul will always act where boasting is in view2 and it is expressly resumed in chap4 xii41 ver4 #e and ver4 #i4 ,for this reason1 it seems better to treat it as a text than as a peroration2 it is the key to the interpretation of what follows1 put into our hands by the ,apostle himself4 ,in the full consciousness of its dangers and inconveniences1 he means to go a little further in this foolish boasting2 but he takes security1 as far as possible1 against its moral perils1 by choosing as the ground of boasting things which in the common judgment of men would only bring him shame4 ,at this point we are startled by a sudden appeal to ,god1 the solemnity and fulness of which strike us1 on a first reading1 as almost painfully gratuitous4 ,the ,god and ,father of the ,lord ,jesus1 ,he who is blessed for ever1 knoweth that ,i lie not4 ,what is the explanation of this extraordinary earnestness8 ,there is a similar passage in ,gal4 i4 #ai--,now touching the things which ,i write unto you1 behold1 before ,god1 ,i lie not--where ,lightfoot says the strength of the ,apostle's language is to be explained by the unscrupulous calumnies cast upon him by his enemies4 ,this may be the clue to his vehemence here2 and in point of fact it falls in with by far the most ingenious explanation that has been given of the two subjects introduced in this paragraph4 ,the explanation ,i refer to is that of ,heinrici4 ,he supposes that ,paul's escape from ,damascus1 and his visions and revelations1 had been turned to account against him by his rivals4 ,they had used the escape to accuse him of ignominious cowardice3 the indignity of it is obvious enough4 ,his visions and revelations were as capable of misconstruction3 it was easy to call them mere illusions1 signs of a disordered brain2 it was not too much for malice to hint that his call to apostleship rested on nothing better than one of these ecstatic hallucinations4 ,it is because things so dear to him are attacked--his reputation for personal courage1 which is the mainstay of all the virtues2 his actual vision of ,christ1 and divinely authorised mission--that he makes the vehement appeal that startles us at first4 ,he calls ,god to witness that in regard to both these subjects he is going to tell the exact truth3 the truth will be his sufficient defence4 ,ingenious as it is1 ,i do not think this theory can be maintained4 ,there is no hint in the passage that ,paul is defending himself2 he is glorying1 and glorying in the things that concern his weakness4 ,it seems more probable that1 when he dictated the strong words of ver4 #ca1 the outline of all he was going to say was in his mind2 and as the main part of it--all about the visions and revelations--was absolutely uncontrollable by any witness but his own1 he felt moved to attest it thus in advance4 ,the names and attributes of ,god fall in well with this4 ,as the visions and revelations were specially connected with ,christ1 and were counted by the ,apostle among the things for which he had the deepest reason to praise ,god1 it is but the reflection of this state of mind when he appeals to the ,god and ,father of the ,lord ,jesus1 ,he who is blessed for evermore4 ,this is not a random adjuration1 but an appeal which takes shape involuntarily in a grateful and pious heart1 on which the memory of a signal grace and honour still rests4 ,of course the verses about ,damascus stand rather out of relation to it4 ,but it is a violence which nothing can justify to strike them out of the text on this ground1 and along with them part or the whole of ver4 #a in chap4 xii4#ii ,for many reasons unknown to us the danger in ,damascus1 and the escape from it1 may have had a peculiar interest for the ,apostle2 hc persequutio1 says ,calvin1 erat quasi primum tirocinium ,pauli2 it was his matriculation in the school of persecution4 ,he may have intended1 as ,meyer thinks1 to make it the beginning of a new catalogue of sufferings for ,christ's sake1 all of which were to be covered by the appeal to ,god1 and have abruptly repented1 and gone off on another subject2 but whether or not1 to expunge the lines is pure wilfulness4 ,the ,apostle glories in what he endured at ,damascus--in the imminent peril and in the undignified escape alike--as in things belonging to his weakness4 ,another might choose to hide such things1 but they are precisely what he tells4 ,in ,christ's service scorn is glory1 ignominy is honour2 and it is the mark of loyalty when men rejoice that they are counted worthy to suffer shame for the ,name4#ajj ,when we go on to chap4 xii41 and the second of the two subjects with which boasting is to be associated1 we meet in the first verse with serious textual difficulties4 ,our ,authorised ,version gives the rendering3 ,it is not expedient for me doubtless to glory4 ,i will come to visions and revelations of the ,lord4 ,this follows the ,textus ,receptus3 4441 only omitting the 7for ,i will come74 ,the ,,mss4 are almost chaotic1 but the most authoritative editors--,tregelles1 ,tischendorf in his last edition1 and ,westcott and ,hort--agree in reading #aja 444 ,this is the text which our ,revisers render3 ,i must needs glory1 though it is not expedient2 but ,i will come to visions and revelations of the ,lord4 ,practically1 the difference is not so great after all4 ,according to the best authorities1 ,paul repeats that he is being forced to speak as he does2 the consciousness of the disadvantages attendant on this course does not leave him1 it is rather deepened1 as he approaches the highest and most sacred of all subjects--visions and revelations he has received from ,christ4 ,of these two words1 revelations is the wider in import3 visions were only one of the ways in which revelations could be made4 ,paul1 of course1 is not going to boast directly of the visions and revelations themselves4 ,all through the experiences to which he alludes under this name he was to himself as a third person2 he was purely passive2 and to claim credit1 to glory as if he had done or originated anything1 would be transparently absurd4 ,but there are things of his weakness associated with1 if not dependent on1 these high experiences2 and it is in them1 after due explanation1 that he purposes to exult4 ,he begins abruptly4 ,i know a man in ,christ1 fourteen years ago 7whether in the body1 ,i know not2 or whether out of the body1 ,i know not2 ,god knoweth71 such a one caught up even to the third heaven4 ,a man in ,christ means a ,christian man1 a man in his character as a ,christian4 ,to ,st4 ,paul's consciousness the wonderful experience he is about to describe was not natural1 still less pathological1 but unequivocally religious4 ,it did not befall him as a man simply1 still less as an epileptic patient2 it was an unmistakably ,christian experience4 ,he only existed for himself1 during it1 as a man in ,christ4 ,i know such a man1 he says1 fourteen years ago caught up even to the third heaven4 ,the date of this rapture 7the same word is used in ,acts viii4 #ci2 #a ,thess4 iv4 #ag2 ,rev4 xii4 #e3 all significant examples7 would be about ,a4,d4 #dd4 ,this forbids us to connect it in any way with ,paul's conversion1 which must have been twenty years earlier than this letter2 and indeed there is no reason for identifying it with anything else we know of the ,apostle4 ,at the date in question1 as far as can be made out from the ,book of ,acts1 he must have been in ,tarsus or in ,antioch4 ,the rapture itself is described as perfectly incomprehensible4 ,he may have been carried up bodily to the heavenly places2 his spirit may have been carried up1 while his body remained unconscious upon earth3 he can express no opinion about this2 the truth is only known to ,god4 ,it is idle to exploit a passage like this in the interest of apostolic psychology2 ,paul is only taking elaborate pains to tell us that of the mode of his rapture he was absolutely ignorant4 ,it is fairer to infer that the event was unique in his experience1 and that when it happened he was alone2 had such things recurred1 or had there been spectators1 he could not have been in doubt as to whether he was caught up in the body or out of the body4 ,the mere fact that the date is given individualises the event in his life2 and it is going beyond the facts altogether to generalise it1 and take it as the type of such an experience as accompanied his conversion1 or of the visions in ,acts xvi4 #i1 xxii4 #ag f41 xviii4 #i4 ,it was one1 solitary1 incomparable experience1 including in it a complex of visions and revelations granted by ,christ3 it was this1 at all events1 to the ,apostle2 and if we do not believe what he tells us about it1 we can have no knowledge of it at all4 ,caught up even to the third heaven4 ,the ,jews usually counted seven heavens2 sometimes1 perhaps because of the dual form of the ,hebrew word for heaven1 two2 but the distinctions between the various heavens were as fanciful as the numbers were arbitrary4 ,it adds nothing1 even to the imagination1 to speak of an aerial1 a sidereal1 and a spiritual heaven1 and to suppose that these are meant by ,paul2 we can only think vaguely of the man in ,christ rising through one celestial region after another till he came even to the third4 ,the word chosen to define the distance 77 suggests that an impression of vast spaces traversed remained on the ,apostle's mind2 and that the third heaven1 on which his sentence pauses1 and which is a resting-place for his memory1 was also a station1 so to speak1 in his rapture4 ,this is the only supposition which does justice to the resumption in ver4 #c of the deliberate and circumstantial language of ver4 #b4 ,and ,i know such a man--whether in the body or apart from the body 7,i know not7 ,god knoweth--how that he was caught up into ,paradise1 and heard unspeakable words that it is not lawful for a man to utter4 ,this is a resumption1 not a repetition4 ,paul is not elaborately telling the same story over again1 but he is carrying it on1 with the same full circumstance1 the same grave asseveration1 from the point at which he halted4 ,the rapture had a second stage1 under the same incomprehensible conditions1 and in it the ,christian man passed out and up from the third heaven into ,paradise4 ,many of the ,jews believed in a ,paradise beneath the earth1 the abode of the souls of the good while they awaited their perfecting at the ,resurrection 7cf4 ,luke xvi4 #bc ff41 xxiii4 #dc72 but obviously this cannot be the idea here4 ,we must think rather of what the ,apocalypse calls the ,paradise of ,god 7ii4 #g71 where the tree of life grows1 and where those who overcome have their reward4 ,it is an abode of unimaginable blessedness1 far above all heavens1 to use the ,apostle's own words elsewhere 7,eph4 iv4 #aj74 ,what visions he had1 or what revelations1 during that pause in the third heaven1 ,paul does not say2 and at this supreme point of his rapture1 in ,paradise1 the words he heard were words unspeakable1 which it is not lawful for man to utter4 ,mortal ears might hear1 but mortal lips might not repeat1 sounds so mysterious and divine3 it was not for man 7 is qualitative7 to utter them4 ,but why1 we may ask1 if this rapture has its meaning and value solely for the ,apostle1 should he refer to it here at all8 ,why should he make such solemn statements about an experience1 the historical conditions of which1 as he is careful to assure us1 are incomprehensible1 while its spiritual content is a secret8 ,is not such an experience literally nothing to us8 ,no1 unless ,paul himself is nothing2 for this experience was evidently a great thing to him4 ,it was the most sacred privilege and honour he had ever known2 it was among his strongest sources of inspiration2 it had a powerful tendency to generate spiritual pride2 and it had its accompaniment1 and its counter-weight1 in his sharpest trial4 ,the world knows little of its greatest men2 perhaps we very rarely know what are the great things in the lives even of the people who are round about us4 ,paul had kept silence about this sublime experience for fourteen years1 and no man had ever guessed it2 it had been a secret between the ,lord and ,his disciple2 and they only1 who were in the secret1 could rightly interpret all that depended upon it4 ,there is a kind of profanity in forcing the heart to show itself too far1 in compelling a man to speak about1 even though he does not divulge1 the things that it is not lawful to utter4 ,the ,corinthians had put this profane compulsion on the ,apostle2 but though he yields to it1 it is in a way which keeps clear of the profanity4 ,he tells what he dare tell in the third person1 and then goes on3 ,on behalf of such a one will ,i glory1 but on behalf of myself will ,i not glory1 save in my infirmities4 ,removere debemus ego a rebus magnis 7,bengel73 there are things too great to allow the intrusion of self4 ,paul does not choose to identify the poor ,apostle whom the ,corinthians and their misleading teachers used so badly with the man in ,christ who had such inconceivable honour put on him by the ,lord2 if he does boast on behalf of such a one1 and magnify his sublime experiences1 at all events he does not transfer his prerogatives to himself2 he does not say1 ,i am that incomparably honoured man2 reverence in me a special favourite of ,christ4 ,on the contrary1 where his own interest has to be forwarded1 he will glory in nothing but his weaknesses4 ,the one thing about which he is anxious is that men should not think too highly of him1 nor go in their appreciation beyond what their experience of him as a man and a teacher justifies 7ver4 #f74 ,he might1 indeed1 boast1 reasonably enough2 for the truth would suffice1 without any foolish exaggeration2 but he forbears1 for the reason just stated4 ,we are familiar with the danger of thinking too highly of ourselves2 it is as real a danger1 though probably a less considered one1 to be too highly thought of by others4 ,paul dreaded it2 so does every wise man4 ,to be highly thought of1 where the character is sincere and unpretentious1 may be a protection1 and even an inspiration2 but to have a reputation1 morally1 that one does not deserve--to be counted good in respects in which one is really bad--is to have a frightful difficulty added to penitence and amendment4 ,it puts one in a radically false position2 it generates and fosters hypocrisy2 it explains a vast mass of spiritual ineffectiveness4 ,the man who is insincere enough to be puffed up by it is not far from judgment4 ,but to return to the text4 ,paul wishes to be humble2 he is content that men should take him as they find him1 infirmities and all4 ,he has that about him1 too1 and not unconnected with these high experiences1 the very purpose of which is to keep him humble4 ,if the text is correct1#ajb he expresses himself with some embarrassment4 ,and by reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations--wherefore1 that ,i should not be exalted overmuch1 there was given to me a thorn in the flesh1 a messenger of ,satan to buffet me1 that ,i should not be exalted overmuch4 ,the repetition of the last word shows where the emphasis lies3 ,paul has a deep and constant sense of the danger of spiritual pride1 and he knows that he would fall into it unless a strong counter-pressure were kept up upon him4 ,i do not feel called on to add another to the numberless disquisitions on ,paul's thorn in the flesh4 ,the resources of imagination having been exhausted1 people are returning to the obvious4 ,the thorn in the flesh#ajc was something painful1 which affected the ,apostle's body2 it was something in its nature purely physical1 not a solicitation to any kind of sin1 such as sensuality or pride1 else he would not have ceased to pray for its removal2 it was something terribly humbling1 if not humiliating--an affection which might well have excited the contempt and loathing of those who beheld it 7,gal4 iv4 #ad1 which probably refers to this subject72 it had begun after1 if not in consequence of1 the rapture just described1 and stood in a spiritual1 if not a physical1 relation to it2 it was1 if not chronic or periodic1 at least recurrent2 the ,apostle knew that it would never leave him4 ,what known malady1 incident to human nature1 fulfils all these conditions1 it is not possible with perfect certainty to say4 ,a considerable mass of competent opinion supports the idea that it must have been liability to epileptic seizures4#ajd ,such an infirmity ,paul might have suffered under in common with men so great as ,julius ,csar and the first ,napoleon1 as ,mahomet1 ,king ,alfred1 and ,peter the ,great4 ,but it does not quite satisfy the conditions4 ,epileptic attacks1 if they occur with any frequency at all1 invariably cause mental deterioration4 ,now1 ,paul distinctly suggests that the thorn was a very steady companion2 and as his mind1 in spite of it1 grew year after year in the apprehension of the ,christian revelation1 so that his last thoughts are always his largest and best1 the epileptic hypothesis has its difficulties like every other4 ,is it likely that a man who suffered pretty constantly from nervous convulsions of this kind wrote the ,second ,epistle to the ,corinthians after fourteen years of them1 or the ,epistles to the ,romans1 ,philippians1 ,colossians1 and ,ephesians later still8 ,there is1 of course1 no religious interest in affirming or denying any physical explanation of the matter whatever2 but with our present data ,i do not think a certain explanation is within our reach4 ,the ,apostle himself is not interested in it as a physical affection4 ,he speaks of it because of its spiritual significance1 and because of the wonderful spiritual experiences he has had in connexion with it4 ,it was given him1 he says3 but by whom8 ,when we think of the purpose--to save him from spiritual pride--we instinctively answer1 ,god4 ,and that1 it can hardly be doubted1 would have been the ,apostle's own answer4 ,yet he does not hesitate to call it in the same breath a messenger of ,satan4 ,the name is dictated by the inborn1 ineradicable shrinking of the soul from pain2 that agonising1 humiliating1 annihilating thing1 we feel at the bottom of our hearts1 is not really of ,god1 even when it does ,his work4 ,in ,his perfect world pain shall be no more4 ,it does not need science1 but experience1 to put these things together1 and to understand at once the evil and the good of suffering4 ,paul1 at first1 like all men1 found the evil overpowering4 ,the pain1 the weakness1 the degradation of his malady1 were intolerable4 ,he could not understand that only a pressure so pitiless and humbling could preserve him from spiritual pride and a spiritual fall4 ,we are all slow to learn anything like this4 ,we think we can take warning1 that a word will be enough1 that at most the memory of a single pang will suffice to keep us safe4 ,but pains remain with us1 and the pressure is continuous and unrelieved1 because the need of constraint and of discipline is ceaseless4 ,the crooked branch will not bend in a new curve if it is only tied to it for half an hour4 ,the sinful bias in our natures--to pride1 to sensuality1 to falsehood1 or whatever else---will not be cured by one sharp lesson4 ,the commonest experience in human life is that the man whom sickness and pain have humbled for the moment1 the very moment their constraint is lifted1 resumes his old habit4 ,he does not think so1 but it is really the thorn that has been keeping him right2 and when its sharpness is blunted1 the edge is taken from his conscience too4 ,paul besought the ,lord1 that is ,christ1 thrice1 that this thing might depart from him4 ,the ,lord1 we may be sure1 had full sympathy with that prayer4 ,he ,himself had had ,his agony1 and prayed the ,father thrice that if it were possible the cup of pain might pass from ,him4 ,he prayed1 indeed1 in express submission to the ,father's will2 the voice of nature was not allowed in ,him to urge an unconditional peremptory request4 ,perhaps in ,paul on this occasion--certainly often in most men--it is nature1 the flesh and not the spirit1 which prompts the prayer4 ,but ,god is all the while guarding the spirit's interest as the higher1 and this explains the many real answers to prayer which seem to be refusals4 ,a refusal is an answer1 if it is so given that ,god and the soul thenceforth understand one another4 ,it was thus that ,paul was answered by ,christ3 ,he hath said to me1 ,my grace is sufficient for thee3 for ,my strength is made perfect in weakness4 ,the first point to notice in this answer is the tense of the verb3 ,he hath said4 ,the ,a4,v4 with ,he said misses the point4 ,the sentence is present as well as past2 it is ,christ's continuous1 as well as final1 answer to ,paul's prayer4 ,the ,apostle has been made to understand that the thorn must remain in his flesh1 but along with this he has received the assurance of an abiding love and help from the ,lord4 ,we remember1 even by contrast1 the stern answer made to ,moses when he prayed that he might be permitted to cross ,jordan and see the goodly land--,let it suffice thee3 speak no more unto ,me of this matter4 ,paul also could no more ask for the removal of the thorn3 it was the ,lord's will that he should submit to it for high spiritual ends1 and to pray against it would now have been a kind of impiety4 ,but it is no longer an unrelieved pain and humiliation2 the ,apostle is supported under it by that grace of ,christ which finds in the need and abjectness of men the opportunity of showing in all perfection its own condescending strength4 ,the collocation of grace and strength in the ninth verse is characteristic of the ,new ,testament1 and very significant4 ,there are many to whom grace is a holy word with no particular meaning2 the grace of ,god1 or the grace of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 is only a vague benignity1 which may fairly enough be spoken of as a smile4 ,but grace1 in the ,new ,testament1 is force3 it is a heavenly strength bestowed on men for timely succour2 it finds its opportunity in our extremity2 when our weakness makes us incapable of doing anything1 it gets full scope to work4 ,this is the meaning of the last words--strength is made perfect in weakness4 ,the truth is quite general2 it is an application of it to the case in hand if we translate as in the ,a4,v4 7with some ,,mss473 ,my strength is made perfect in thy weakness4 ,it is enough1 the ,lord tells ,paul1 that he has this heavenly strength unceasingly bestowed upon him2 the weakness which he has found so hard to bear--that distressing malady which humbled him and took his vigour away--is but the foil to it3 it serves to magnify it1 and to set it off2 with that ,paul should be content4 ,and he is content4 ,that answer to his thrice-repeated prayer works a revolution in his heart2 he looks at all that had troubled him--at all that he had deprecated--with new eyes4 ,most gladly therefore will ,i rather glory in my infirmities--that is1 glory rather than bemoan them or pray for their removal--that the power of ,christ may spread its tabernacle over me4 ,this compensation far outweighed the trial4 ,he has ceased to speak now of the visions and revelations1 perhaps he has ceased already to think of them2 he is conscious only of the weakness and suffering from which he is never to escape1 and of the grace of ,christ which hovers over him1 and out of weakness and suffering makes him strong4 ,his very infirmities redound to the glory of the ,lord1 and so he chooses them1 rather than his rapture into ,paradise1 as matter for boasting4 ,for this cause ,i am well content1 on ,christ's behalf1#aje in infirmities1 in insults1 in necessities1 in persecutions and distresses2 for when ,i am weak1 then am ,i strong4 ,with this noble word ,paul concludes his enforced glorying4 ,he was not happy in it2 it was not like him2 and it is a triumph of the ,spirit of ,christ in him that he gives it such a noble turn1 and comes out of it so well4 ,there is a tinge of irony in the first passage 7chap4 xi4 #ba7 in which he speaks of weakness1 and fears that in comparison with his high-handed rivals at ,corinth he will only have this to boast about2 but as he enters into his real experience1 and tells us what he had borne for ,christ1 and what he had learned in pain and prayer about the laws of the spiritual life1 all irony passes away2 the pure heroic heart opens before us to its depths4 ,the practical lessons of the last paragraphs are as obvious as they are important4 ,that the greatest spiritual experiences are incommunicable2 that even the best men are in danger of elation and pride2 that the tendency of these sins is immensely strong1 and can only be restrained by constant pressure2 that pain1 though one day to be abolished1 is a means of discipline actually used by ,god2 that it may be a plain duty to accept some suffering1 or sickness1 even a humbling and distressing one1 as ,god's will for our good1 and not to pray more for its removal2 that ,god's grace is given to those who so accept ,his will1 as a real reinforcement of their strength1 nay1 as a substitute1 and far more1 for the strength which they have not2 that weakness1 therefore1 and helplessness1 as foils to the present help of ,god1 may actually be occasions of glorying to the ,christian1--all these1 and many more1 are gathered up in this passionate ,apologia of ,paul4 ,,footnotes3 #ii ,this is done by a number of critics1 including ,holsten and ,schmiedel4 #ajj ,godet gives the incident a peculiar turn1 more ingenious than convincing4 ,no doubt the list ,i have given is one of mere infirmities4 ,i might well boast of things apparently more glorious--as when the whole of that great city1 ,damascus1 was raised against me1 and ,i could only escape secretly4--,introduction au ,nouv4 ,test41 p4 #cic4 #aja ,in their margin ,westcott and ,hort read 4 #ajb ,the editors vary greatly in punctuation1 especially as they do or do not insert before the first 4 ,westcott and ,hort suspect some primitive error4 #ajc ,for the meaning thorn1 not stake or cross1 see ,ezek4 xxviii4 #bd2 ,hosea ii4 #h 7#f72 ,num4 xxxiii4 #ee4 #ajd ,i should lay no stress here on what some so much insist upon--the use of in ,gal4 iv4 #ad1 and the fact that morbus despui suctus is a name for epilepsy3 does not mean despuere1 and after it is necessarily metaphorical4 #aje ,construe with 4 ,,xxvii ,,not ,,yours1 ,,but ,,you ,i am become foolish3 ye compelled me2 for ,i ought to have been commended of you3 for in nothing was ,i behind the very chiefest apostles1 though ,i am nothing4 ,truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience1 by signs and wonders and mighty works4 ,for what is there wherein ye were made inferior to the rest of the ,churches1 except it be that ,i myself was not a burden to you8 forgive me this wrong4 ,behold1 this is the third time ,i am ready to come to you2 and ,i will not be a burden to you3 for ,i seek not yours1 but you3 for the children ought not to lay up for the parents1 but the parents for the children4 ,and ,i will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls4 ,if ,i love you more abundantly1 am ,i loved the less8 ,but be it so1 ,i did not myself burden you2 but1 being crafty1 ,i caught you with guile4 ,did ,i take advantage of you by any one of them whom ,i have sent unto you8 ,i exhorted ,titus1 and ,i sent the brother with him4 ,did ,titus take any advantage of you8 walked we not by the same ,spirit8 walked we not in the same steps8 ,ye think all this time that we are excusing ourselves unto you4 ,in the sight of ,god speak we in ,christ4 ,but all things1 beloved1 are for your edifying4 ,for ,i fear1 lest by any means1 when ,i come1 ,i should find you not such as ,i would1 and should myself be found of you such as ye would not2 lest by any means there should be strife1 jealousy1 wraths1 factions1 backbitings1 whisperings1 swellings1 tumults2 lest when ,i come again1 my ,god should humble me before you1 and ,i should mourn for many of them that have sinned heretofore1 and repented not of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they committed4--#b ,,cor4 xii4 #aa-ba 7,r4,v474 ,expositors differ widely in characterising the three or four brief paragraphs into which this passage may be divided3 7#a7 vv4 #aa-ac2 7#b7 vv4 #ad1 #ae1 and vv4 #af-ah2 7#c7 vv4 #ai-ba4 ,what is clear is1 that we feel in it the ground-swell of the storm that has raged through the last two chapters1 and that it is not till the beginning of chap4 xiii4 that the ,apostle finally escapes from this1 and takes up an authoritative and decisive attitude to the ,corinthians4 ,when he does reach ,corinth1 it will not be to explain and justify his own conduct1 either against rivals or those whom rivals have misled1 but to take prompt and vigorous action against disorders in the life of the ,church4 7#a7 ,a review of what he has just written leads to a burst of indignant remonstrance4 ,i have become foolish4 ,the emphasis is on the verb1 not on the adjective2 it is the painful fact that the eleventh chapter of ,second ,corinthians is a thing that no wise man would have written if he had been left to himself and his wisdom4 ,paul1 who was a wise man1 felt this1 and it stung him4 ,he resented the compulsion which was put upon him by the ingratitude and faithlessness of the ,corinthians4 ,the situation ought to have been exactly reversed4 ,when he was defamed by strangers1 then they1 who knew him1 instead of hearkening to the calumniators1 ought to have stood up in his defence4 ,but they basely left him to defend himself1 to plead his own cause1 to become a fool by glorying4 ,this kind of compulsion should never be put upon a good man1 especially a man to whom1 under ,god1 we ourselves have been deeply indebted4 ,the services he has rendered constitute a claim on our loyalty1 and it is a duty of affection to guard his character against disparagement and malice4 ,paul1 in his deep consciousness of being wronged1 presses home the charge against the ,corinthians4 ,they had every reason1 he tells them1 to act as his advocates4 ,when he was among them1 he was in nothing inferior to the superlative ,apostles--this is his last flout at the ,judaist interlopers--nothing though he was4 ,the signs that prove a man to be an apostle were wrought among them 7the passive expression keeps his agency in the background7 in all patience1 by signs and wonders and mighty deeds4 ,their suspicions of him1 their willingness to listen to insinuations against him1 after such an experience1 were unpardonable4 ,he can only think of one sign of the apostle which was not wrought among them by his means1 of one point in which he had made them inferior to the other ,churches3 he had not burdened them with his support4 ,they were the spoilt children of the apostolic family2 and he begs them1 with bitter irony1 to forgive him this wrong4 ,if they had only been converted by a man who stood upon his rights6#ajf ,the signs of an apostle are frequently referred to in ,paul's ,epistles1 and are of various kinds4 ,by far the most important1 and the most frequently insisted on1 is success in evangelistic work4 ,he who converts men and founds ,churches has the supreme and final attestation of apostleship1 as ,paul conceives it4 ,it is to this he appeals in #a ,cor4 ix4 #b2 #b ,cor4 iii4 #a-c4 ,in the passage before us ,calvin makes patience a sign--primum signum nominat patientiam4 ,patience is certainly a characteristic ,christian virtue1 and it is magnificently exercised in the apostolic life2 but it is not peculiarly apostolic4 ,patience in the passage before us1 every kind of patience1 rather brings before our minds the conditions under which ,paul did his apostolic work4 ,discouragements of every description1 bad health1 suspicion1 dislike1 contempt1 moral apathy and moral licence--the weight of all these pressed upon him heavily1 but he bore up under them1 and did not suffer them to break his spirit or to arrest his labours4 ,his endurance was a match for them all1 and the power of ,christ that was in him broke forth in spite of them in apostolic signs4 ,there were conversions1 in the first place2 but there were also what he calls here signs in a narrower sense1 and wonders1 and mighty deeds4 ,this is an express claim1 like that made in ,acts xv4 #ab1 ,rom4 xv4 #ai1 to have wrought what we call miracles4 ,the three words represent miracles under three different aspects3 they are signs 771 as addressed to man's intelligence1 and conveying a spiritual meaning2 they are wonders 771 as giving a shock to feeling1 and moving nature in those depths which sleep through common experience2 and they are mighty works or powers 771 as arguing in him who works them a more than human efficiency4 ,but no doubt the main character they bore in the ,apostle's mind was that of 1 or gifts of grace1 which ,god ministered to the ,church by ,his ,spirit4 ,it is natural for an unbeliever to misunderstand even ,new ,testament miracles1 because he wishes to conceive them1 as it were1 in vacuo1 or in relation to the laws of nature2 in the ,new ,testament itself they are conceived in relation to the ,holy ,ghost4 ,even ,jesus is said in the ,gospels to have cast out devils by the ,spirit of ,god2 and when ,paul wrought signs and wonders and powers1 it was in carrying out his apostolic work graced by the same ,spirit4 ,what things he had done in ,corinth we have no means of knowing1 but the ,corinthians knew2 and they knew that these things had no arbitrary or accidental character1 but were the tokens of a ,christian and an apostle4 7#b7 ,in the second paragraph ,paul turns abruptly 71 behold67 from the past to the future4 ,this is the third time ,i am ready to come to you1 and ,i will not burden you4 ,the first clause has the same ambiguity in ,greek as in ,english2 it is impossible to tell from the words alone whether he had been already twice1 or only once1 in ,corinth4 ,other considerations decide1 ,i think1 that he had been twice2 but of course these cannot affect the construction of this verse3 for the third time he is in a state of readiness--this is all the words will yield4 ,but when he makes the new visit1 whether it be his third or only his second1 one thing he has decided3 he will act on the same principle as before1 and decline to be a burden to them4 ,he does not speak of it boastfully now1 as in chap4 xi4 #aj1 for his adversaries have passed out of view1 but in one of the most movingly tender passages in the whole ,bible4 ,i will not lie on you like a benumbing weight1 for ,i seek1 not yours1 but you4 ,it is not his own interest which brings him to ,corinth again1 but theirs2 it is not avarice which impels him1 but love4 ,in a sense1 indeed1 love makes the greater claim of the two2 it is far more to demand the heart than to ask for money4 ,yet the greater claim is the less selfish1 indeed is the purely unselfish one2 for it can only be really made by one who gives all that he demands4 ,paul's own heart was pledged to the ,corinthians2 and when he said ,i seek you1 he did not mean that he sought to make a party of them1 or a faction1 in the interest of his own ambition1 but that the one thing he cared for was the good of their souls4 ,nor in saying so does he claim to be doing anything unusual or extraordinary4 ,it is only what becomes him as their father in ,christ 7#a ,cor4 iv4 #ae74 ,i seek you2 for the children ought not to lay up for the parents1 but the parents for the children4 ,filial duty1 of course1 is not denied here2 ,paul is simply bringing himself as the spiritual father of the ,corinthians under the general rule of nature that love descends rather than ascends4 ,if this seems a hard saying to a child's heart1 it is at least true that it descends before it ascends4 ,it all begins from ,god3 in a family1 it all begins from the parents4 ,the primary duty of love is parental care2 and nothing is more unnatural1 though at a certain level it is common enough1 than the desire of parents to make money out of their children as quickly and as plentifully as possible1 without considering the ulterior interests of the children themselves4 ,this kind of selfishness is very transparent1 and is very naturally avenged by ingratitude1 and the ,apostle for his part renounces it4 ,i1 he exclaims1 with all the emphasis in his power--,i have more than a natural father's love for you4 ,i will with all gladness spend1 yes1 and be spent to the uttermost1 for your souls6 ,i will give what ,i have1 yes1 and all that ,i am1 that you may be profited4 ,and then he checks that rush of affection1 and dams up the overflowing passion of his heart in the abrupt poignant question3 ,if ,i love you more abundantly1 am ,i loved less8#ajg ,this is not the first passage in the ,epistle1 nor1 near as we are to the end1 is it the last1 in which ,paul shows us the true spirit of the ,christian pastor4 ,not yours1 but you1 is the motto of every minister who has learned of ,christ2 and the noble words of ver4 #ae1 ,i will very gladly spend and be spent to the last for your souls1 recall more nearly than any other words in ,scripture the law by which our ,lord ,himself lived--not to be ministered unto1 but to minister1 and to give life a ransom for many4 ,here1 surely1 is a sign of apostleship--an unmistakable mark of the man who is specially called to continue ,christ's work4 ,that work cannot be done at all except in the spirit of ,him who inaugurated it1 and though love like ,paul's1 and love like ,christ's1 may be mocked and trampled on1 it is the only power which has the right to speak in ,christ's name4 ,the joy of sacrifice thrills through the ,apostle's words1 and it is joy in the ,holy ,ghost2 it is a fellowship with ,christ in the very life of ,his life that lifts ,paul1 for the moment1 to the heavenly places4 ,this is the spirit in which wrong is to be met1 and suspicion1 calumny1 and contempt2 it is in this1 if at all1 that we can be more than conquerors4 ,nature says1 ,stand upon your rights2 vindicate your position2 insist on having all that you conceive to be your due2 but love says1 ,spend and be spent1 and spare not till all is gone2 life itself is not too much to give that love may triumph over wrong4 ,it is not possible to write long as ,paul writes in these two verses 7#ad and #ae74 ,the tension is too great both for him and for his readers4 ,with --,but be it so--he descends from this height4 ,he writes in the first person1 but he is plainly repeating what he assumes others will say4 ,very well1 then1 let that pass1 is the answer of his enemies to his friends when that passionate protestation is read4 ,he did not himself prove burdensome to us1 but being crafty he brought us into his net by guile4 ,he exploited the ,church in his own interest by means of his agents4 ,this charge the ,apostle meets with a downright denial2 he can appeal to the knowledge which the ,corinthians themselves possess of the manner in which his agents have conducted themselves4 ,he had no doubt had occasion1 far oftener than we know1 to communicate with so important and so restless a ,church2 and he challenges the ,corinthians to say that a single one of those whom he had sent had taken advantage of them4 ,he instances--perhaps as the last of his deputies1 who had but just returned from ,corinth when he wrote this letter2 perhaps as the one on whom scandal had chosen to fasten--his partner and fellow-labourer toward them1 ,titus2 and he refers to an unknown brother who had accompanied him4 ,they cannot mean to say 77 that ,titus took advantage of them8 ,walked we not in the same ,spirit8 ,a modern reader naturally makes spirit subjective1 and takes it as equivalent to the same moral temper or principle2 an early ,christian reader would more probably think of the ,holy ,spirit as that which ruled in ,paul and ,titus alike4 ,in any case the same ,spirit led to the same conduct2 they walked in the same self-denying path1 and scrupulously abstained from burdening the ,corinthians for their support4 7#c7 ,we feel the meanness of all this1 and are glad when the ,apostle finally turns his back on it4 ,it is an indignity to be compelled even to allude to such things4 ,and the worst is1 that no care a man can take will prevent people from misunderstanding his indignant protest1 and from assuming that he is really on his trial before them1 and not improbably compromised4 ,paul's mind is made up to leave the ,corinthians no excuse for such misunderstanding and presumption4 ,in ver4 #ai he reads their ignoble thought3 ,ye have long#ajh been thinking--i4e41 all through the last two chapters1 and1 indeed1 more or less all through the ,epistle2 see chap4 iii4 #a--that we are making our defence at your bar4 ,far from it3 at ,god's bar we speak in ,christ4 ,he will not endure1 with his visit to ,corinth close at hand1 that there should be any misapprehension as to their relations4 ,his responsibility as a ,christian man is not to them1 but to ,god2 ,he is the ,master to whom he stands or falls2 it is ,he alone to whom he has to vindicate his life4 ,the ,corinthians had been seating themselves in imagination on the tribunal1 and they are summarily set on the floor4 ,but ,paul does not wish to be rude or unkind4 ,you are not my judges1 certainly1 he seems to say1 but all ,i have said and done1 beloved1 all ,i say and do1 is for your building up in ,christian life4 ,my heart is with you in it all1 and ,i sincerely intend your good4 ,we cannot sufficiently admire the combination in the ,apostle1 or rather the swift alternation1 of all those intellectual and emotional qualities that balance each other in a strong living character4 ,he can be at once trenchant and tender2 inexorable in the maintenance of a principle1 and infinitely sympathetic and considerate in his treatment of persons4 ,we see all his qualities illustrated here4 ,their edification is the governing thought on which the last verses of the chapter turn1 and on which eventually the whole ,epistle rests 7see chap4 xiii4 #aj74 ,it is because he is interested in their edification that he thinks with misgiving of the journey in prospect4 ,i fear lest by any means when ,i come ,i find you not such as ,i would1 and on my part be found of you not such as ye would4 ,what these two fears imply is unfolded in due order in the remainder of the letter4 ,the ,corinthians1 such as ,paul would not have them1 are depicted in vv4 #bj and #ba2 ,paul1 in a character in which the ,corinthians would prefer not to see him1 comes forward in chap1 xiii41 vv4 #a-aj4 ,it is with the first only of these two fears1 the bad condition of the ,corinthian ,church1 that we are here concerned4 ,this first fear has two grounds4 ,the first is the prevalence of sins which may perhaps be summarised as sins of self-will4 ,strife1 jealousy1 passions1 factions and low factious arts1 backbitings1 whisperings1 swellings1 tumults3 such is the catalogue4 ,it illustrates what has been well described as the carnality of religious contention4 ,almost all the sins here enumerated are directly connected with the existence of parties and party feeling in the ,church4 ,they are of a kind which has disgraced the ,church all through its history1 and the exceeding sinfulness of which is not yet recognised by the great mass of professing ,christians4 ,people do not consider that the ,church1 as a visible society1 more or less naturalised in the world1 is as capable as any other society of offering a career to ambition1 or of furnishing a theatre for the talents and the energies of self-seeking men2 and they have a vague idea that the wilfulness1 the intriguing and factious arts1 the jealousy and conceit of men1 are better things when put to the service of the ,church than when employed in mere selfishness4 ,but they are not4 ,they are the very same1 and they are peculiarly odious when enlisted in ,his service who was meek and lowly in heart1 and who gave ,himself for men4 ,paul's first list of sins is only too life-like1 and the fear grounded on it is one which many a modern minister can share4 ,the second list is made up of what might be called1 in contrast with sins of self-will1 sins of self-indulgence--uncleanness1 fornication1 and lasciviousness that they wrought4 ,both together make up what the ,apostle calls the works of the flesh4 ,both together are the direct opposite of those fruits of the spirit in which the true life of the ,church consists4 ,paul writes as if he were more alarmed about the sins of the latter class4 ,he puts 7lest7 instead of 7lest by any means3 ver4 #bj71 marking thus the climax1 and something like the certainty1#aji of his sad apprehension4 ,i fear1 he says1 lest when ,i come again my ,god should humble me before you--or1 perhaps in connexion with you4 ,nothing could more bow down a true and loving heart like ,paul's than to see a ,church that he had regarded as the seal of his apostleship--a congregation of men washed1 sanctified1 and justified--wallowing again in the mire of sensual sins4 ,he had been proud of them1 had boasted of them1 had given thanks to ,god on their behalf3 how it must have crushed him to think that his labour on them had come to this6 ,yet he writes instinctively my ,god4 ,this humiliation does not come to him without his ,father2 there is a divine dispensation in it1 as far as he is concerned1 and he submits to it as such4 ,he dare not think of it as a personal insult2 he dare not think of the sinners as if they had offended against him4 ,he fears he will have to mourn over numbers of those who have before sinned1 and who will not have repented#aaj of these sensualities before he reaches ,corinth4 ,in chap4 v4 #b of the ,first ,epistle he sums up his condemnation of the moral laxity of the ,church in the presence of such evils in the words3 ,ye did not mourn4 ,he himself will not be able to avoid mourning3 his heart grows heavy within him as he thinks of what he must see before long4 ,this1 again1 is the spirit of the true pastor4 ,selfish anger has nothing healing in it1 nor has wounded pride2 it is not for any man1 however good or devoted1 to feel that he is entitled to resent it1 as a personal wrong1 when men fall into sin4 ,he is not entitled to resent it1 no matter how much he may have spent1 or how freely he may have spent himself1 upon them2 but he is bound to bewail it4 ,he is bound to recognise in it1 so far as he himself is free from responsibility1 a dispensation of ,god intended to make him humble2 and in all humility and love he is bound to plead with the lapsed1 not his own cause1 but ,god's4 ,this is the spirit in which ,paul confronts the sad duties awaiting him at ,corinth1 and in this again we see the signs of the apostle4 ,the two catalogues of sins with which this chapter closes remind us1 by way of contrast1 of the two characteristic graces of ,christianity3 self-will or party spirit1 in all its forms1 is opposed to brotherly love1 and self-indulgence1 in all its forms1 to personal purity4 ,there is much in this ,epistle which would be called by some people theological and transcendent2 but no one knew better than ,paul that1 though ,christianity must be capable of an intellectual construction1 it is not an intellectual system in essence1 but a new moral life4 ,he was deeply concerned1 as we have repeatedly seen1 that the ,corinthians should think right thoughts about ,christ and the ,gospel2 but he was more than concerned1 he was filled with grief1 fear1 and shame1 when he thought of the vices of temper and of sensuality that prevailed among them4 ,these went to the root of ,christianity1 and if they could not be destroyed it must perish4 ,let us turn our eyes from them to the purity and love that they obscure1 and lift up our hearts to these as the best things to which ,god has called us in the fellowship of ,his ,son4 ,,footnotes3 #ajf in ver4 #ac has a peculiar emphasis1 not easily explained4 ,it cannot mean ,i did not1 though my assistants did1 for this is denied in ver4 #ah4 ,neither can it mean ,i did not1 though the ,judaists did1 for whatever is opposed to must nevertheless be conceived here as belonging to the same category1 which the ,judaists did not4 ,possibly it only separates the person expressly from his works1 just recited1 and has the same sort of value as in ,rom4 ix4 #c1 where it emphasises the person as opposed to the heart and conscience4 #ajg ,this is the reading of our ,revisers1 and of ,westcott and ,hort's text4 ,in their margin they read3 ,i will very gladly spend1 etc41 if loving you instead of more abundantly ,i am loved the less4 ,this reading and punctuation are adopted by a number of scholars1 but explained in two ways3--7#a7 ,as in the ,authorised ,version1 though the more abundantly1 etc4 ,but 7if71 which is the true reading 7not 71 cannot be translated though4 7#b7 ,by others it is rendered1 ,i will very gladly spend1 etc41 if the more abundantly ,i love you the less ,i am loved3 that is1 if things have come to such a pass between us that the natural relations are utterly inverted1 ,i will make any sacrifice to restore them to a better footing4 ,this is insipid and flat to the last degree3 textual and psychological considerations combine to support the ,revisers text4 #ajh is the true reading1 not 4 ,westcott and ,hort retain the interrogation4 #aji ,this is also suggested by the reading 1 which ,tischendorf adopts in ver4 #ba1 with ,b1 ,d1 ,e1 ,f1 etc4 1 ,a1 ,k1 followed by ,westcott and ,hort1 have 4 #aaj ,it is more natural to construe 444 with than with 4 ,,xxviii ,,conclusion ,this is the third time ,i am coming to you4 ,at the mouth of two witnesses or three shall every word be established4 ,i have said beforehand1 and ,i do say beforehand1 as when ,i was present the second time1 so now1 being absent1 to them that have sinned heretofore1 and to all the rest1 that1 if ,i come again1 ,i will not spare2 seeing that ye seek a proof of ,christ that speaketh in me2 who to you-ward is not weak1 but is powerful in you3 for ,he was crucified through weakness1 yet ,he liveth through the power of ,god4 ,for we also are weak in ,him1 but we shall live with ,him through the power of ,god toward you4 ,try your own selves1 whether ye be in the faith2 prove your own selves4 ,or know ye not as to your own selves1 that ,jesus ,christ is in you8 unless indeed ye be reprobate4 ,but ,i hope that ye shall know that we are not reprobate4 ,now we pray to ,god that ye do no evil2 not that we may appear approved1 but that ye may do that which is honourable1 though we be as reprobate4 ,for we can do nothing against the truth1 but for the truth4 ,for we rejoice1 when we are weak1 and ye are strong3 this we also pray for1 even your perfecting4 ,for this cause ,i write these things while absent1 that ,i may not when present deal sharply1 according to the authority which the ,lord gave me for building up1 and not for casting down4 ,finally1 brethren1 farewell4 ,be perfected2 be comforted2 be of the same mind2 live in peace3 and the ,god of love and peace shall be with you4 ,salute one another with a holy kiss4 ,all the saints salute you4 ,the grace of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and the love of ,god1 and the communion of the ,holy ,ghost1 be with you all4--#b ,,cor4 xiii4 7,r4,v474 ,the first part of this chapter is in close connexion with what precedes2 it is1 so to speak1 the explanation of ,st4 ,paul's fear 7xii4 #bj7 that when he came to ,corinth he would be found of the ,corinthians not such as they would4 ,he expresses himself with great severity2 and the abruptness of the first three sentences1 which are not linked to each other by any conjunctions1 contributes to the general sense of rigour4 ,this is the third time ,i am coming to you is a resumption of chap4 xii4 #ad1 ,this is the third time ,i am ready to come to you1 and labours under the same ambiguity2 it is perhaps more natural to suppose that ,paul had actually been twice in ,corinth 7and there are independent reasons for this opinion71 but the words here used are quite consistent with the idea that this was the third time he had definitely purposed and tried to visit them1 whether his purpose had been carried out or not4 ,when he arrives1 he will proceed at once to hold a judicial investigation into the condition of the ,church1 and will carry it through with legal stringency4 ,at the mouth of two and 7where available7 three witnesses shall every question be brought to decision4 ,this principle of the ,jewish law 7,deut4 xix4 #ae71 to which reference is made in other ,new ,testament passages connected with ,church discipline 7,matt4 xviii4 #af2 #a ,tim4 v4 #ai71 is announced as that on which he will act4 ,there will be no informality and no injustice1 but neither will there be any more forbearance4 ,all cases requiring disciplinary treatment will be brought to an issue at once1 and the decision will be given rigorously as the matter of fact1 attested by evidence1 requires4#aaa ,he feels justified in proceeding thus after the reiterated warnings he has given them4 ,to these reference is made in the solemn words of ver4 #b4 ,english readers can see1 by comparing the ,revised ,version with the ,authorised1 the difficulties of translation which still divide scholars4 ,the words which the ,authorised ,version renders as if ,i were present 7 7 are rendered by the ,revisers as when ,i was present4 ,all scholars connect this ambiguous clause with 3 the second time4 ,hence there are two main ways in which the whole passage can be rendered4 ,the one is that which stands in the ,revised ,version1 and which is defended by scholars like ,meyer1 ,lightfoot1#aab and ,schmiedel3 it is in effect this--,i have already forewarned1 and do now forewarn1 as ,i did on the occasion of my second visit1 so also now in my absence1 those who have sinned heretofore1 and all the rest1 that if ,i come again ,i will not spare4 ,this is certainly rather cumbrous2 but assuming that chap4 ii4 #a gives strong ground for believing in a second visit already paid to ,corinth--a visit in which ,paul had been grieved and humbled by disorders in the ,church1 but had not been in a position to do more than warn against their continuance--it seems the only available interpretation4 ,those who evade the force of chap4 ii4 #a render here in the line of the ,authorised ,version3 ,i have forewarned viz41 in the first letter1 e4g4 iv4 #ba1 and do now forewarn1 as though ,i were present the second time1 although ,i am now absent1 those who have sinned1 etc4 ,so ,heinrici4 ,this1 on grammatical grounds1 seems quite legitimate2 but the contrast between presence and absence1 which is real and effective in the other rendering1 is here quite inept4 ,we can understand a man saying1 ,i tell you in my absence1 just as ,i did when ,i was with you that second time3 but who would ever say1 ,i tell you as if ,i were present with you a second time1 although in point of fact ,i am absent8 ,the absence here comes in with a grotesque effect1 and there seems hardly room to doubt that the rendering in our ,revised ,version is correct4 ,paul had1 when he visited ,corinth a second time1 warned those who had sinned before that visit2 he now warns them again1 and all others with them who anticipated his coming with an evil conscience1 that the hour of decision is at hand4 ,it is not easy to say what he means by the threat not to spare4 ,many point to judgments like that on ,ananias and ,sapphira1 or on ,elymas the sorcerer2 others to the delivering of the incestuous person to ,satan1 for the destruction of the flesh2 the supposition being that ,paul came to ,corinth armed with a supernatural power of inflicting physical sufferings on the disobedient4 ,this uncanny idea has really no support in the ,new ,testament1 in spite of the passages quoted2 and probably what his words aim at is an exercise of spiritual authority which might go so far as totally to exclude an offender from the ,christian community4 ,the third verse is to be taken closely with the second3 ,i will not spare1 since ye seek a proof of ,christ that speaketh in me1 who to you-ward is not weak1 but is powerful in you4 ,the friction between the ,corinthians and the ,apostle involved a higher interest than his4 ,in putting ,paul to the proof1 they were really putting to the proof the ,christ who spoke in him4 ,in challenging ,paul to come and exert his authority1 in defying him to come with a rod1 in presuming on what they called his weakness1 they were really challenging ,christ4 ,the description of ,christ in the last clause--who towards you is not weak1 but is powerful in you1 or among you--must be interpreted by the context4 ,it can hardly mean that in their conversion1 and in their experience as ,christian people1 they had evidence that ,christ was not weak1 but strong3 such a reference1 though supported by ,calvin1 is surely beside the mark4 ,the meaning must rather be that for the purpose in hand--the restoration of order and discipline in the ,corinthian ,church--the ,christ who spoke in ,paul was not weak1 but mighty4 ,certainly any one who looked at ,christ in ,himself might see proofs1 in abundance1 of weakness2 going directly to the crowning one1 ,he was crucified1 the ,apostle says1 in virtue of weakness4 ,sin was so much stronger than ,he1 in the days of ,his flesh1 that it did what it liked with ,him4 ,sin mocked ,him1 buffeted ,him1 scourged ,him1 spit upon ,him1 nailed ,him to the tree--so utter was ,his weakness1 so complete the triumph of sin over ,him4 ,but that is not the whole story3 ,he liveth in virtue of the power of ,god4 ,he has been raised from the dead by the glory of the ,father2 sin cannot touch ,him any more3 ,he has all power in heaven and on earth1 and all things are under ,his feet4 ,this double relation of ,christ to sin is exemplified in ,his ,apostle4 ,for we also are weak in ,him2 but we shall live with ,him1 in virtue of ,god's power1 toward you4 ,the sin of the ,corinthians had had its victory over ,paul on the occasion of his second visit2 ,god had humbled him then1 even as ,christ was humbled on the cross2 he had seen the evil1 but it had been too strong for him2 in spite of his warnings1 it had rolled over his head4 ,that weakness1 as the ,corinthians called it1 remained2 to them he was still as weak as ever--hence the present 3 but to the ,apostle it was no discreditable thing2 it was a weakness in ,christ1 or perhaps1 as some authorities read1 with ,christ4 ,in being overpowered by sin for the moment1 he entered into the fellowship of his ,lord's sufferings2 he drank out of the cup his ,master drank upon the cross4 ,but the cross does not represent ,christ's whole attitude to sin1 nor does that incapacity to deal with the turbulence1 disloyalty1 and immorality of the ,corinthians represent the whole attitude of the ,apostle to these disorders4 ,paul is not only crucified with ,christ1 he has been made to sit with ,him in the heavenly places2 and when he comes to ,corinth this time1 it will not be in the weakness of ,christ1 but in the victorious strength of ,his new life4 ,he will come clothed with power from on high to execute the ,lord's sentence on the disobedient4 ,this passage has great practical interest4 ,there are many whose whole conception of the ,christian attitude toward evil is summed up in the words3 ,he was crucified through weakness4 ,they seem to think that the whole function of love in presence of evil1 its whole experience1 its whole method and all its resources1 are comprehended in bearing what evil chooses1 or is able1 to inflict4 ,there are even bad people1 like the ,corinthians1 who imagine that this exhausts the ,christian ideal1 and that they are wronged if they are not allowed by ,christians to do what they like to them with impunity4 ,and if it is not so easy to act on this principle in our dealings with one another--though there are people mean enough to try it--there are plenty of hypocrites who presume on it in their dealings with ,god4 ,he was crucified through weakness1 they say in their hearts2 the cross exhausts ,his relation to sin2 that infinite patience can never pass over to severity4 ,but the assumption is false3 the cross does not exhaust ,christ's relation to sin2 ,he passed from the cross to the throne1 and when ,he comes again it is as ,judge4 ,it is the sin of sins to presume upon the cross2 it is a mistake that cannot be remedied to persist in that presumption to the end4 ,when ,christ comes again1 ,he will not spare4 ,the two things go together in ,him3 the infinite patience of the cross1 the inexorable righteousness of the throne4 ,the same two things go together in men3 the depth with which they feel evil1 the completeness with which they suffer it to work its will against them1 and the power with which they vindicate the good4 ,it is the worst blindness1 as well as the basest guilt1 which1 because it has seen the one1 refuses to believe in the other4 ,the ,corinthians1 by their rebellious spirit1 were putting ,paul to the proof2 in ver4 #e he reminds them sharply that it is their own standing as ,christians which is in question1 and not his4 ,try yourselves1 he says1 with abrupt emphasis1 not me2 try yourselves1 if ye are in the faith2 put yourselves to the proof2 or know ye not as to your own selves1 that ,jesus ,christ is in you8--unless1 indeed1 ye be reprobate4 ,the meaning here is hardly open to doubt3#aac the ,apostle urges his readers individually to examine their ,christian standing4 ,let each1 he virtually says1 put himself to the proof1 and see whether he is in the faith4 ,there is1 indeed1 a difficulty in the clause1 ,or know ye not as to your own selves1 that ,jesus ,christ is in you8--unless1 indeed1 ye be reprobate4 ,this may be read either as a test1 put into their hands to direct them in their self-scrutiny2 or as an appeal to them after--or even before--the scrutiny has been made4 ,the manner in which the alternative is introduced--unless1 indeed1 ye are reprobates--a manner plainly suggesting that the alternative in question is not to be assumed1 is in favour of taking it in the sense of an appeal4 ,after all1 they are a ,christian ,church with ,christ among them1 and they cannot but know it4 ,paul1 again1 on his side cannot think that they are reprobate1 and he hopes they will recognise that he is not1 but on the contrary a genuine ,apostle1 attested by ,god1 and to be acknowledged and obeyed by the ,church4 ,very often that temper which judges others1 and calls legitimate spiritual authority in question1 is due1 as in part it was among the ,corinthians1 to inward misgivings4 ,it is when people ought to be putting themselves to the proof1 and are with cause afraid to begin1 that they are most ready to challenge others4 ,it was a kind of self-defence--the self-defence of a bad conscience--when the ,corinthians required ,paul to demonstrate his apostolic claims before he meddled with their affairs4 ,it was a plea1 the sole purpose of which was to enable them to live on as they were1 immoral and impenitent4 ,it is properly retorted when he says1 ,try yourselves if ye are in the faith2 it is in every sense of the word an impertinence to drag in anybody else4 ,in both cases ,paul hopes the result of the trial will be satisfactory4 ,he would not like to think the ,corinthians 7reprobate71 and no more would he like them to regard him in that light4 ,still1 the two things are not on exactly the same footing in his mind2 their character is much dearer to him than his own reputation1 provided they are what they ought to be1 he does not care what is thought of himself4 ,this is the general sense of vv4 #g to #i1 and except in ver4 #h the details are clear enough4 ,he prays to ,god that the ,corinthians may do no evil4 ,his object in this is not that he himself may appear approved2 indeed1 if his prayer is granted1 he will have no opportunity of exercising the disciplinary authority of which he has said so much4 ,it will be open to any one then to say that he is 1 reprobate1 a person to be rejected because he has not demonstrated his claim to apostolic authority by apostolic action4 ,but as long as they act well1 which is the real object of his prayer1 he does not care1 though he has to pass as 4 ,he can bear evil report as well as good report1 and rejoice to fulfil his vocation under the one condition as well as the other4 ,this is only one aspect of that sacrifice of self to the interest of the flock which is indispensable in the good shepherd4 ,as compared with any single member of his congregation1 a minister may be more in the eye of the world1 more still in the eye of the ,church2 and it is natural for him to think that some self-assertion1 some recognition and reputation1 are due to his position4 ,it is a mistake3 no man who understands the position at all will dream of asserting his own importance against that of the community4 ,the ,church1 the congregation even1 no matter how much it may be indebted to him1 no matter if it owes to him1 as the ,corinthian ,church to ,paul1 its very existence in ,christ1 is always greater than he2 it will outlive him2 and1 however tender he may naturally be of his own position and reputation1 if the ,church prosper in ,christian character1 he must be as willing to let these dear possessions go1 and to count them worthless1 as to part with money or any material thing4 ,the real difficulty here lies in the eighth verse1 where the ,apostle explains1 apparently1 why he acts on the principle just stated4 ,i pray this prayer for you1 he seems to say1 and ,i am content to pass as a reprobate1 while you do that which is honourable2 for ,i can do nothing against the truth1 but for the truth4 ,what is the connexion of ideas alluded to by this for8 ,some of the commentators give up the question in despair2 others only remind one of the ,french pastor who said to some one who preached on ,romans3 ,saint ,paul est dj fort difficile et 444 vous veniez aprs4 ,as far as one can make out1 he seems to say3 ,i act on this principle because it is the one which furthers the truth1 and therefore is obligatory upon me2 ,i am not able to act on one which would injure or prejudice the truth4 ,the truth1 in this interpretation1 would be synonymous1 as it often is in the ,new ,testament1 with the ,gospel4 ,paul is incapable of acting in a way that would check the ,gospel1 and its influence over men2 he has no choice but to act in its interest2 and therefore he is content to let the ,corinthians think what they please of him1 provided his prayer is answered1 and they do no evil1 but rather that which is good before ,god4 ,for this is what the ,gospel requires4 ,content1 indeed1 is not a strong enough word4 ,we rejoice1 he says in ver4 #i1 when we are weak1 and you are strong3 this we also pray for1 even your perfecting4 ,perfecting is perhaps as good a word as can be got for 3 it denotes the putting right of all that is defective or amiss4 ,it is in favour of this interpretation of the eighth verse that the reason seems at first out of proportion to the conclusion4 ,with an idealist like ,paul it is always so4 ,he appeals to the loftiest motives to influence the lowliest actions1--to faith in the ,incarnation1 as a motive to generosity--to faith in the ,resurrection ,life1 as a motive to patient continuance in well-doing--to faith in the heavenly citizenship of believers1 as a motive to separation from the licentious4 ,in the same way he appeals here to a universal moral rule to explain his conduct in a particular case4 ,his principle everywhere is1 not to act in prejudice of 77 the ,gospel1 but in furtherance of it 772 he has strength available for this last purpose1 but none at all for the former4 ,it is the rule on which every minister of ,christ should always act2 and if the line of conduct which it pointed out sometimes led men to disregard their own reputation1 provided the ,gospel was having free course1 the very strangeness of such a result might turn to the furtherance of the truth4 ,it is by-ends that explain nine-tenths of spiritual inefficiency2 singleness of mind like this would save us our perplexities and our failures alike4 ,it is because he has an interest like this in the ,corinthians that ,paul writes as he has done while absent from ,corinth4 ,he does not wish1 when he comes among them1 to proceed with severity4 ,the power the ,lord gave him would entitle him to do so2 yet he remembers that this power was given him1 as he has remarked already 7x4 #h71 for building up1 and not for casting down4 ,even casting down with a view to building up on a better basis was a less natural1 if sometimes a necessary1 exercise of it2 and he hopes that the severity of his words will lead1 even before his coming1 to such voluntary action on the part of the ,church as will spare him severity in deed4 ,this is practically the end of the letter1 and the mind involuntarily goes back to the beginning4 ,we see now the three great divisions of it plainly before our eyes4 ,in the first seven chapters ,paul writes under the general impression of the good news ,titus has brought from ,corinth4 ,it has made him glad1 and he writes gladly4 ,the one case that he had been concerned about has been disposed of in a way that he can consider satisfactory2 the ,church1 in the majority of its members1 has acted well in the matter4 ,the eighth and ninth chapters are a digression3 they are concerned solely with the collection for the poor at ,jerusalem1 and ,paul inserts them where they stand perhaps because the transition was easy from his joy over the change at ,corinth to his joy over the liberality of the ,macedonians4 ,in chaps1 x4 #a-xiii4 #aj he evidently writes in a very different strain4 ,the ,church1 as a whole1 has returned to its allegiance1 especially on the moral question at issue2 but there are ,jewish interlopers in it1 subverting the ,gospel1 and reconverting ,paul's converts to their own illiberal faith2 and there are also1 as it would appear1 numbers of sensual people who have not yet renounced the vilest sins4 ,it is these two sets of persons who are in view in the last four chapters2 and it is the utter inconsistency of ,judaic nationalism on the one hand1 and ,corinthian licence on the other1 with the spiritual ,gospel of the ,son of ,god1 that explains the seventy of his tone4 ,the truth is at stake--the truth for which he has suffered all that he recounts in chap4 xi4--and no vehemence is too passionate for the occasion4 ,yet love controls it all1 and he speaks severely that he may not have to act severely2 he writes these things that1 if possible1 he may be spared the pain of saying them4 ,and then the letter1 like almost every letter1 hastens in disconnected sentences to its close4 ,finally1 brethren1 farewell4 ,he cannot but address them affectionately at parting2 when the heart recovers from the heat of indignation1 its unchanging love speaks again as before4 ,some would render rejoice1 instead of farewell2 to ,paul's readers1 no doubt1 it had a friendly sound1 but rejoice is far too strong4 ,in all the imperatives that follow there is a reminiscence of their faults as well as a desire for their good3 be perfected1 be comforted1 be of the same mind1 live in peace4 ,there was much among them to rectify1 much that was inevitably disheartening to overcome1 much dissension to compose1 much friction to allay2 but as he prays them to face these duties he can assure them that the ,god of love and peace will be with them4 ,god can be characterised by love and peace2 they are ,his essential attributes1 and ,he is an inexhaustible source of them1 so that all who make peace and love their aim can count confidently to be helped by ,him4 ,it is1 as it were1 the first step of obedience to these precepts--the first condition of obtaining the presence of ,god which has just been promised--when the ,apostle writes1 ,greet one another with a holy kiss4 ,the kiss was the symbol of ,christian brotherhood2 in exchanging it ,christians recognised each other as members of one family4 ,to do this even in form1 to do it with solemnity in a public assembly of the whole ,church1 was to commit themselves to the obligations of peace and love which had been so set at naught in their religious contentions4 ,it is a generous encouragement to them to recognise each other as children of ,god when he adds that all the ,christians about him recognise them in that character4 ,all the saints salute you4 ,they do so because they are ,christians and because you are2 acknowledge each other1 as you are all acknowledged from without4 ,the letter is closed1 like all that the ,apostle wrote1 with a brief prayer4 ,the grace of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and the love of ,god1 and the communion of the ,holy ,spirit1 be with you all4 ,of all such prayers it is the fullest in expression1 and this has gained for it pre-eminently the name of the apostolic benediction4 ,it would be too much to say that the doctrine of the ,trinity1 as it has been defined in the creeds1 is explicitly to be found here2 there is no statement at all in this place of the relations of ,christ1 ,god1 and the ,holy ,spirit4 ,still1 it is on passages like this that the ,trinitarian doctrine of ,god is based2 or rather it is in passages like this that we see it beginning to take shape3 it is based on the historical fact of the revelation of ,god in ,christ1 and on the experience of the new divine life which the ,church possesses through the ,spirit4 ,it is extraordinary to find men with the ,new ,testament in their hands giving explanations1 speculative or popular1 of this doctrine1 which stand in no relation either to the historical ,christ or to the experience of the ,church4 ,but these things hang together2 and whatever the worth may be of a ,trinitarian doctrine which is not essentially dependent on the ,person of ,christ and on the life of ,his ,church1 it is certainly not ,christian4 ,the historical original of the doctrine1 and the impulse of experience under which ,paul wrote1 are suggested even by the order of the words4 ,a speculative theologian may try to deduce the ,triune nature of ,god from the borrowed assumption that ,god is love1 or knowledge1 or spirit2 but the ,apostle has only come to know ,god as love through the grace of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is this which reveals ,god's love and assures us of it2 it is this by which ,god commends ,his own love to us4 ,no man cometh unto the ,father but by ,me1 ,jesus said2 and this truth1 pre-announced by the ,lord1 is certified here by the very order in which the ,apostle instinctively puts the sacred names4 ,the communion of the ,holy ,spirit stands last2 it is in this that the grace of the ,lord ,jesus and the love of ,god become the realised possessions of ,christian men4 ,the precise force of the communion is open to doubt4 ,if we take the genitive in the same sense as it bears in the previous clauses1 the word will mean the fellowship or unity of feeling which is produced by the ,spirit4 ,this is a good sense1 but not the only one3 what ,paul wishes may rather be the joint participation of them all in the ,spirit1 and in the gifts which it confers4 ,but practically the two meanings coincide1 and our minds rest on the comprehensiveness of the blessing invoked on a ,church so mixed1 and in many of its members so unworthy4 ,surely the grace of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and the love of ,god1 and the communion of the ,holy ,ghost were with the man who rises so easily1 so unconstrainedly1 after all the tempest and passion of this letter1 to such a height of love and peace4 ,heaven is open over his head2 he is conscious1 as he writes1 of the immensities of that love whose breadth and length and depth and height pass knowledge4 ,in the ,son who revealed it--in ,god who is its eternal source--in the ,spirit through whom it lives in men--he is conscious of that love and of its workings2 and he prays that in all its aspects1 and in all its virtues1 it may be with them all4 ,printed by ,hazell1 ,watson1 ,viney1 ,ld41 ,london and ,aylesbury4 ,,footnotes3 #aaa ,although it is supported by commentators like ,chrysostom and ,calvin1 it is difficult to treat otherwise than as a whim the idea that ,paul's two or three visits to ,corinth make him equal to the two or three witnesses required by the law4 ,so also ,godet1 who counts the three thus3 7#a7 a warning by word of mouth during his second visit2 7#b7 this letter2 7#c7 his actual arrival for the third time4 #aab ,see ,biblical ,essays1 p4 #bgd4 #aac ,another interpretation is worth mentioning4 ,try yourselves1 ,i say2 put yourselves to the proof2 do not leave it for me to do when ,i come4 ,why1 do you not recognise as to your own selves that ,jesus ,christ is among you1 so that you have spiritual competence to proceed in correcting the disorders of the ,church8--unless1 indeed1 ye are reprobates3 which is an impossible supposition4 ,but certainly suggests that in the implied contrast ,paul is object1 not subject4 ,,works ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,,principal ,,fairbairn1 ,d4,d4 ,fifth ,edition4 #hvo1 cloth1 #abs4 ,,christ ,,in ,,modern ,,theology4 ,by ,a4 ,m4 ,,fairbairn1 ,d4,d4 ,principal of ,mansfield ,college1 ,oxford4 ,his work is1 without doubt1 one of the most valuable and comprehensive contributions to theology that has been made during this generation4--,the ,spectator4 ,a more vivid summary of ,church history has never been given4 ,with its swift characterisation of schools and politics1 with its subtle tracings of the development of various tendencies through the influence of their environment1 of reaction1 and of polemic2 with its contrasts of different systems1 philosophies1 and races2 with its portraits of men2 with its sense of progress and revolt1--this part of ,dr4 ,fairbairn's book is no mere annal1 but drama1 vivid and full of motion1 representative of the volume and sweep of ,christianity through the centuries4--,speaker4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,religion ,,in ,,history ,,and ,,in ,,modern ,,life3 ,together with an ,essay on the ,church and the ,working ,classes4 ,,contents3 ,what is ,religion8--,the ,place and ,significance of the ,old ,testament in ,religion--,the ,place and ,significance of the ,new ,testament in ,religion--,the ,christian ,religion in the ,first ,fifteen ,centuries of its ,existence--,the ,christian ,religion in ,modern ,europe--,the ,christian ,religion in ,modern ,life4 ,fourth ,edition4 #hvo1 cloth1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,city ,,of ,,god3 ,a ,series of ,discussions in ,religion4 ,we find in the discourses which form this volume much able statement and much vigorous thought1 and an admirable comprehension of the great questions which are being discussed in our day with eagerness and bated breath4--,scotsman4 ,seventh ,edition4 ,demy #hvo1 #is4 ,,studies ,,in ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,christ4 ,there is ample room for ,professor ,fairbairn's thoughtful and brilliant sketches4 ,dr4 ,fairbairn's is not the base rhetoric often employed to hide want of thought or poverty of thought1 but the noble rhetoric which is alive with thought and imagination to its utmost and finest extremities4--,expositor4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,e4,c4 ,,professor ,w4 ,m4 ,,ramsay',s ,,new ,,work4 ,second ,edition4 ,with ,maps and ,illustrations1 #hvo1 cloth1 #bas4 ,,the ,,church ,,in ,,the ,,roman ,,empire ,,before ,a4,d4 #agj4 ,by ,w4 ,m4 ,,ramsay1 ,m4,a41 ,professor of ,humanity in the ,university of ,aberdeen4 ,the whole volume is full of freshness and originality4444 ,i lay down his book with warm and sincere admiration4 ,he has succeeded in investing a number of critical discussions with extraordinary vividness and reality4 ,he has done so because he writes always 'with his eye upon the object1' and that an object seen in the light of knowledge which1 in its own special sphere 7the geography of ,asia ,minor and ,roman administration71 is unrivalled4--,prof4 ,w4 ,,sanday1 in the ,expositor4 ,this volume is the most important contribution to the study of early ,church history which has been published in this country since the great work of ,bishop ,lightfoot on the ,apostolic fathers4 ,it is1 too1 unless our memory fails us1 without a rival in any foreign country4--,guardian4 ,,works ,,by ,,dr4 ,,james ,,stalker4 ,twenty-,third ,thousand4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #es4 ,,imago ,,christi3 ,the ,example of ,jesus ,christ4 ,an immortal book4--,mr4 ,spurgeon4 ,the execution is full of ingenuity1 and the book can be recommended as a devout and thoughtful commentary on practical ,christian life in many phases4 ,mr4 ,stalker has broad sympathies and a watchful eye1 and speaks in a tone that will commend itself to all his readers4--,saturday ,review4 ,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author4 ,seventh ,thousand4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #es4 ,,the ,,preacher ,,and ,,his ,,models3 ,the ,yale ,lectures on ,preaching1 #ahia4 ,dr4 ,stalker sets ,isaiah and ,paul before the preacher as models for his imitation1 and descants on this and kindred parts of ministerial work with much force and earnestness1 and at the same time with careful sobriety4 ,he happily avails himself of a considerable personal experience and a wide range of reading1 and treats his subject in an interesting as well as stimulating manner4 ,the volume is one of great excellence1 and will be very helpful to the class for whose benefit it has been published4--,scotsman4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,e4,c4 ,,the ,,theological ,,educator4 ,a ,valuable ,series of ,text-,books4 ,edited by ,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,fcap4 #hvo1 cloth1 #bs4 #f;d4 each volume4 ,,three ,,new ,,volumes4 ,,christianity ,,and ,,evolution4 ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,j4 ,,iverach1 ,d4,d4 ,shortly4 ,,the ,,theology ,,of ,,the ,,new ,,testament4 ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,adeney1 ,m4,a4 ,,the ,,theology ,,of ,,the ,,old ,,testament4 ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,bennett1 ,m4,a4 ,shortly4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,outlines ,,of ,,christian ,,doctrine4 ,by the ,rev4 ,h4 ,c4 ,g4 ,,moule1 ,m4,a41 ,principal of ,ridley ,hall1 ,cambridge4 ,tenth ,thousand4 ,a ,,manual ,,of ,,church ,,history4 ,by the ,rev4 ,a4 ,c4 ,,jennings1 ,m4,a4 ,two ,volumes4 ,vol4 ,i4--,,from ,,the ,,first ,,to ,,the ,,tenth ,,century4 ,vol4 ,,ii4--,,from ,,the ,,eleventh ,,to ,,the ,,nineteenth ,,century4 ,a ,,manual ,,of ,,christian ,,evidences4 ,by the ,rev4 ,c4 ,a4 ,,row1 ,m4,a41 ,prebendary of ,st4 ,paul's4 ,seventh ,thousand4 ,,an ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,new ,,testament4 ,by the ,rev ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,twelfth ,thousand4 ,,an ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,textual ,,criticism ,,of ,,the ,,new ,,testament4 ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,b4 ,b4 ,,warfield1 ,d4,d4 ,fifth ,thousand4 ,,the ,,exposition ,,of ,,the ,,apostles' ,,creed4 ,by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,e4 ,,yonge1 ,m4,a41 late ,fellow of ,king's ,college1 ,cambridge4 ,a ,,hebrew ,,grammar4 ,by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,lowe1 ,m4,a41 ,joint ,author of ,a ,commentary on the ,psalms1 etc41 etc4 ,second ,thousand4 ,a ,,manual ,,of ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,common ,,prayer4 ,by the ,rev4 ,c4 ,,hole1 ,b4,a41 ,king's ,college1 ,london4 ,third ,thousand4 ,,an ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,old ,,testament4 ,by the ,rev4 ,c4 ,h4 ,h4 ,,wright1 ,d4,d4 ,third ,edition4 ,,the ,,writers ,,of ,,the ,,new ,,testament2 ,,their ,,style ,,and ,,characteristics4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,william ,,henry ,,simcox1 ,m4,a4 ,,the ,,language ,,of ,,the ,,new ,,testament4 ,by the ,,same ,,author4 ,second ,edition4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,e4,c4 ,,rev4 ,,dr4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll',s ,,new ,,work4 ,second ,edition4 ,handsomely printed and bound1 gilt top1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,key ,,of ,,the ,,grave3 ,a ,book for the ,bereaved4 ,by ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,dr4 ,robertson ,nicoll has produced an unique1 exquisite1 and most edifying book4 ,we are much impressed by the delicate and profound spiritual insight manifested on every page of this beautiful little volume4 ,many a familiar passage in the ,bible shines with a new1 unexpected1 and immortal light4 ,it is difficult to know what to quote from a volume so full of delightful and memorable passages4 ,it is pre-eminently a book to put into the hands of the refined1 sensitive1 scholarly1 and devout when they feel the awful pressure of the greatest bereavement4--,methodist ,times4 ,,works ,,by ,,rev4 ,,prof4 ,a4 ,b4 ,,bruce1 ,d4,d4 ,third ,edition4 #hvo1 cloth1 #abs4 ,,the ,,miraculous ,,element ,,in ,,the ,,gospels4 ,it displays minute acquaintance with the modern literature of the subject1 and all forms of attack to which ,christian belief in the supernatural has been subjected4 ,the defence is able all round2 and the closing chapters--in which the miracle implied in the character of ,jesus is dwelt on1 and where the defence is for a moment changed into attack--are full of spirit and fire4--,methodist ,recorder4 ,fourth ,edition4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #fs4 ,,the ,,chief ,,end ,,of ,,revelation4 ,dr4 ,bruce has given us a contribution of very great value4 ,like everything else that has come from his pen1 this series of lectures has the conspicuous excellence of boldness1 vigour1 breadth1 and moral elevation4--,professor ,salmond4 ,fifth ,edition4 #hvo1 cloth1 #abs4 ,,the ,,parabolic ,,teaching ,,of ,,christ3 ,a ,systematic and ,critical ,study of the ,parables of our ,lord4 ,professor ,bruce brings to his task the learning and the liberal and finely sympathetic spirit which are the best gifts of an expositor of ,scripture4 ,his treatment of his subject is vigorous and original4--,spectator4 ,fourth ,edition4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,galilean ,,gospel4 ,the product of a rich1 imaginative mind1 marked by scholarly analysis1 subtle insight1 and the suggestiveness of an original and unconventional thinker4--,glasgow ,herald4 ,we heartily commend this little volume4--,spectator4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,e4,c4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been fixed throughout4 ,inconsistent hyphenation left as in the original text4