PART II. Ch. VII. Ch. XVI. OBSERVATIONS IN REPLY TO THE REFERENCES MADE TO HIM BY SEC. 1. Ch. VII. On the subject of marriage. SEC. 2. Ch. VIII.-Ch. XI. 1. Respecting eating things which have been offered in sacrifice to idols. SEC. 3. Ch. XI. 2-34.- -On their observance of the posi- SEC. 4. Ch. XII.-Ch. XV.- Concerning supernatural Spi- ERRATA. PARAPHRASE. Ch. 1. 18-31. to be marked as a parenthesis. Ch. 11. 11. after the words "convinced that" insert it. Ch. xv. 46. for "excellences" read excellencies. THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE ΤΟ THE CORINTHIANS. CHAPTER I. 1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's: 3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. PARAPHRASE. 1 Paul an Apostle, called by Jesus Christ, through the will of God manifestly revealed, and Sosthenes, 2 our Christian brother, send to the persons composing the Church of God at Corinth, who are consecrated to his service in the profession of faith in Christ Jesus, and thereby solemnly called to lead holy lives; and also to all persons who in their worship invoke the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and our's, in every place in which they may be, this greeting; favour and peace of mind 3 B 4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 4 5 6 to you Christ. PARAPHRASE. from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus I thank my God, always, on your behalf, for his favour bestowed on you in your Christian profession, in that you have continued to be enriched therein with all its spiritual gifts, with all those of speech and those of revealed knowledge, in the same manner as the testimony given by me respecting Christ was at first confirmed among you ; so that as a church waiting for the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, you are not destitute of any gift which may conduce to the support of your faith in him: and God, having thus hitherto afforded you a confirmation of this testimony, will continue, to the end of your Christian profession, to afford you such a confirmation of it, as is calculated to secure you an acquittal in the day in which our Lord Jesus Christ will judge the world. ' Of this you will not doubt, when you reflect that God, by whose influence on your minds you have been called to a participation with his Son Jesus 8 9 10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 10 PARAPHRASE. Christ our Lord in the blessings accruing to his human nature, is a being who, our reason teaches us, is in every respect to be depended upon; and therefore, having made you this offer, he will not fail to afford you the means of attaining it. But I beseech you, Brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which you are distinguished as united together, that you all would in your religious profession uphold it exclusively, and that there may not be among you any divisions on this point, but that you may be with regard to it, compacted together in the same inclination, and "the same opinion. It is not without reason that I thus exhort you, for it is evident to me from the information which I have received concerning you, my brethren, from some of the family of Chloe, that there are among you contentions leading to a 12 difference in this respect. And on that authority I say this, that each of you professes to hold his faith as the follower of a particular teacher; and so one says, I am the follower of Paul, and another, I of Apollos, and another, I of Peter, and another, 13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; 15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. 16 And I baptized also the houshold of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel; not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 1 PARAPHRASE. 18 I of Christ. Now to shew you how unreasonable this is, I ask you, in the revelation of the Gospel, has Christ been personally separated from his doctrine, so that you could profess it otherwise than as emanating exclusively from him? and what teacher can set up such a claim of equality with him on the ground of what that teacher has done for you, or you have bound yourselves to? as to myself, has Paul been crucified for you? or has your baptism been founded on a confession of 14 faith in Paul? I thank God that I have been enabled to keep to my resolution, and have baptized none of note among you except Crispus and Gaius? 15 and I have so restricted myself, in order that no one may justly say that I have baptized with a view 10 to making myself the head of a party. And I have baptized also the family of Stephanas, but besides these I know not whether I have baptized any other 17 of you. Nor indeed was it my proper duty to be so occupied, for Christ did not specially commission me to baptize, but to publish the joyful offer of salvation. You will observe he did not commission 16 |