St. Paul seems here to al

would to the spiritually-minded"; lude to some supposed deficiency in his preaching by which he was thought to be inferior to the other ministers of the Corinthian Church, and, if we attend to the connexion, we shall perceive that this imputed defect was that it wanted a shew of human wisdom. To this the worldly-minded notions of the Judaising and philosophising teachers might seem to have a superior claim. Under these circumstances an ordinary writer would have been induced to enter at once into a contrast of his own preaching with that of the other teachers, and to point out its superiority. But St. Paul acting under divine direction proceeded by a quite different method, and has treated the matter with great judgment. He entirely avoids setting himself in opposition to them, and it is only at this verse that the reader perceives (and that indirectly) that a contrast is intended to be instituted. It is even here merely insinuated, not openly expressed, and in fact is to be inferred only by attending closely to the course and aim of his argument. In truth, the first mention of the topic (at ch. 1. 17.), is so contrived as to appear to come from him merely as a necessary explanation flowing from his previous remark, that his peculiar mission was not to baptise but to preach, without any hint of any opposition being intended to any other preachers. But when we connect his observations about the gospel's not being a deduction of reason, and the subsequent account of his own mode of preaching with what he says of himself in this verse, we then perceive that all that previous part of the Epistle is in fact a covert defence of his own and his associates' preaching against that of the other ministers of the Corinthian Church.

III. "Persons chiefly influenced in your views of things by present bodily considerations", σagxxOI5•This word from its derivation applies, in its general sense, to the bodily part of our constitution, and so is opposed to πνευματικος. Like ψυχικός in ch. r. 14, it relates in this place to the mode of thinking, and has the same meaning with it, but in a lower degree. exclusively with a view to this life, caguixos is one who, while he ad

xixos is one who reasons

mits into his reasoning future considerations, blends with them an undue regard to considerations arising from our present mode of existence. Fuxxos is properly applicable to one who rejects revelation, as is evident from ch. 11. 14; σagninos to one who, while he receives it, has an imperfect notion of its spiritual nature. In this latter state were the Corinthians, the proof of which St. Paul gives in v. 4. (see note on that verse). The term is applied to them not so much in the way of rebuke as of argument, to shew their unfitness for any higher degree of instruction. This is clear from St. Paul's using only exhortation to draw them from their attachment to particular teachers (see ch. 1. 10.). It is true that he presses the point on them with much earnestness. This he does on account of its injurious tendency; but yet, as it was not a matter designedly in opposition to Christianity, it would have been unsuitable to meet it with the severity of reproof. In truth, the term capxixos may, from human infirmity, be applied in some respect to every Christian, though to different persons in very different degrees. A spiritual disposition of mind is only gradually to be attained by much reflection and continued efforts to raise our thoughts and desires towards heavenly things. As we acquire it, our religious convictions will be gradually strengthened.

V. 2. "I have instructed you in the Christian doctrines under views drawn from this life, and not under spiritual ones, just as we feed infants with milk, and not with meat difficult of digestion"; γαλα μας εποτισα, και ου βρωμα. -The metaphorical expressions of milk and solid food may fitly be applied to denote respectively the simple and the complex, or the obvious and abstruser parts of any course of instruction. The particular meaning will be determined by the point in hand. In the present case, the Apostle is contrasting a worldly and a spiritual view of religion; in which sense therefore these figures are to be here taken. They are employed in a similar manner in Heb. ch. v. 1214. (στερεας τροφής being a periphrase for Bewuaros), as I think will appear on due examination. With regard to the mode in which he here states that

he had originally delivered the Christian doctrines to the Corinthians, it may be observed that it is in this way that they are taught throughout the scriptures. In the preaching of the gospel no endeavour was made to gain to its side human reason as exercised on present things. It was offered solely as a divine revelation; and its spiritual truths were set forth partly under sensible images, and partly under intellectual notions conformable to our present mixed constitution of body and mind. Now it is certain the former could not in any respect adequately represent spiritual things. Being only types of them they could but shadow them out. And as to the latter, though they describe these spiritual truths in a degree sufficient to enable us to form distinct notions of the different doctrines and of their mutual relation, yet the admixture which there must in that case be of material ideas renders our conceptions of them imperfect. Hence the view of them under these representations conveys to us an inadequate knowledge of them, and so far an imperfect conviction of their truth. But it was not designed that it should be otherwise; since the divine intention was that, however imperfectly we might apprehend the doctrines, they should be received by us on the authority of the divine power which accompanied their delivery (see ch. 11. 5.). Nothing however hinders that we should endeavour to acquire as complete notions of them as we can. But since to do this requires a qualification which belongs only to an advanced stage of our religious profession (see ch. 11. 6. n. 11.) they must, in the first instance, be received by us on divine authority, and any difficulty we may have in understanding the several doctrines, and reconciling them together, must be resolved into the good pleasure of God. Certainly, this seems to be the way in which, according to the divine intention, it was designed that they should, in the first instance, be received by us. After which, we shall be better fitted to take spiritual views of them, which it is the business of each Christian to do for himself; but which can be well done by those only whose minds have been properly disciplined by habits of sober and deep reflection, so as to enable them to divest the scriptural expressions of their obvious and ordinary sense, and

to apply them spiritually. And therefore, when St. Paul tells the Corinthins (as he does in v. 1) that, from their want of the requisite turn of mind, he could not give them spiritual views of the Gospel-he is to be understood to say this as an explanation of the reason of his not having supplied them with such views of the subject as would have effectually convinced them of its reasonableness (compare ch. 11. 6. 14, 15), and to leave it to themselves to make a proper use of the hint. But what he says of them may be said of mankind generally. And it would appear, therefore, that it is from this circumstance of the impossibility of explaining spiritual subjects in an abstruse way to minds not duly prepared to receive them, that they are not so treated of in the Scriptures. But yet it is only by so considering them, that we can acquire any clear or appropriate notion of them (see ch. 11. 15. n. 1.).

III. "That your conduct is that of men acting chiefly with a regard to the present constitution of our nature?” xaтa AvogшπоV TEGIπατείτε.. -The word avgwToy here has reference specially to the present state of existence; and the clause, which literally rendered, is, "you walk as man," means, you act as men in their present condition, without any knowledge of a future one, would. The former clause cu oagniXO EσTE relates to the sentiments, and this to the practice.

V. 4. "For as long as one says, I am the follower of Paul, and another, I of Apollos, can it be otherwise than that you are chiefly influenced in your views of things by present bodily considerations?". This verse is to be taken in connection with the preceding, whence it will be seen that what St. Paul here condemns is not merely the classing of themselves as the followers of different teachers, but the contentious zeal with which they did it (see more on this subject in the latter part of the note to v. 12). It is observable that St. Paul here represents the opposition as between himself and Apollos, though, as his preceding remarks are evidently directed against the Judaising and philosophising Christians, and

Apollos may be supposed to have preached the Gospel in the same way as himself (see ch. 1v. 6. n. 11.); it would seem more natural to have done it as between Paul and Peter, or between Paul and Christ. But this mode of treating the subject has the double advantage of not opposing himself directly to the other teachers, and of inculcating the lesson that, in any case, the personal preference of one teacher to the injury of another is improper.

η

η

V. 5. I. "But a minister of Christ," aλx' n dianovol.- The construction of aλx' will be best understood by considering the previous question and the implied answer, whereby the sentence would run thus, "Who is Paul, and who is Apollos?" men only, differing indeed from other men, but in no other respect than that of being ministers, &c.

II. “And that, in the exact measure in which God has given life and efficacy to each one's disposition to believe?" xai inaotw ŵs ó Κύριος εδωκεν.. There is in the original an ellipsis of επιστεύσατε

and TσTEVEY understood from the preceding clause, and therefore, this clause expressed at length, is thus, και επιστεύσατε ὡς ὁ Κύριος εδωκεν ἑκάστῳ πιστευειν.

V. 7. "Anything but the secondary means," EOTITI: anything essential.

-is

V. 8. "Persons of one and the same description," v Elol:: where a general term expressive of thing, or instrument, is understood; literally, are one instrument in the hand of God for the same purpose.

V.9. 1. “The faith of each of you being the seeds set therein.” That it is of their faith that St. Paul is here speaking, ap5.

pears from v.

11. "A building belonging not to us but to God."- -The