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28 And bafe things of the world, and things which are defpifed, hath God chofen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are :

29 That no flesh should glory in his prefence.

30 But of him are ye in
Christ Jefus, who of God is
made unto us wisdom, and

righteoufnels, and fancifica-
tion, and redemption:

3r That, according as it

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29 Όπως μη καυχήσηται πασα σαρξ ενώπιον αυτ8.

30 Εξ αυτε δε ύμεις εξε εν Χρισῳ Ιησέ, ὃς εγενήθη ἡμιν σοφια απο Θε8, δικαιοσυνη τε και ἁγιασμος και απολύτρωσις

31 ἵνα, καθώς γεγραπfem. gr zu is written, He that glorieth, ται Ὁ καυχωμεν, εν Κυ9:23

let him glory in the Lord.

σε

ριῳ καυχάσθω.

tion of the people, the interefts of the priefts, the vanity of the phi" lofophers, the pride of the rulers, the malice of the Jews, the learne ing of the Greeks, and the power of Rome!" But the weaker the inftruments who converted the world, the greater was the display of the power of God by which they acted. See 2 Cor. iv. 7. notes.

Ver. 28. Thole who are not, are dead perfons. Matth. ii. 18. Rachel weeping for her children, because they are not; because they are dead. Now in the eastern phrafe, dead ones are thofe who, in comparison of others, are to the purposes for which they are chofen, as unfit as if they were dead.

Ver. 30. -1. Wifdom from God, is that fcheme of religion, which the wisdom of God hath contrived for the falvation of the world. See chap. ii. 6 note 1. chap. xii. 8. note 1.

2. Righteoufnefs alfo; that is, the author of the righteousness of faith. For it is on his account, that God counts men's faith for righteoufnefs.

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28 And perfons of low birth in the world, and defpifed perfons, God hath chofen to call you, and perfons who, in the opinion of the scribes and philofophers, were no perfons, perfons utterly unfit for the work, that he might bring to nought the boafting of those who thought themfelves the only perfons proper for such an undertaking:

29 That no man might boast in his prefence, either as having contrived the gofpel, or as having by his own power brought any one to receive

it.

30 It is owing to God, therefore, and not to the ability of us preachers, that ye are believers in Chrift Jefus,

who is become to us the author of the gofpel, which is wisdom from God, a wifdom better than any scheme of philofophy; the author of righteoufnefs alfo, and fanctification, and redemption, bleffings not to be obtained by philofophy.

31 So that, as it is written, he who boafteth, on account of his being a chriftian, let him boaft, not in the preachers who converted him, but in the Lord who hath brought him into his church.

3. And fandlification: Not an external and relative, but a real internal fanctification. See Ephef. iv. 24.

4. And redemption; namely, from death the punishment of fin, by a glorious refurrection. This is called, The redemption of our body, Rom. viii. 23.

CHAP.

CHAP. II.

View and Illustration of the Reasonings in this Chapter.

ECAUSE the learned Greeks had objected to the gospel, the

B foulignes (as they were of its

and the weakness of its preachers, the apostle made answer in the foregoing chapter, that by these foolish doctrines and weak preachers, a reformation had been wrought in the minds and manners of multitudes, which the boafted philofophy of the Greeks, and the eloquence of their orators, had not been able to accomplish. But this being a matter of great importance, and the faction having upbraided Paul in particular, with his want of eloquence, he now proceeded in this chapter, to tell the Corinthians, that Chrift having fent him to preach, not with the wisdom of speech, (See chap. i. 17.) he acted agreeably to his commiffion, when he came to them, not with the excellency of Speech, or of wisdom, declaring the teftimony of God, ver. 1.By thus difclaiming the Grecian philofophy and rhetoric, and by calling the gospel the teftimony of God, the apoftle infinuated, that the credibility of the gofpel depended neither on its conformity to the philofophy of the Greeks, nor on the eloquence of its preachers, but on the atteftation of God, who confirmed it by miracles. And therefore, however ridiculous it might appear in their eyes, he determined to make known nothing among the Corinthians, either in his private conversations, or in his public discourses, but Jesus Christ, and bim crucified for the fins of men, ver. 2.-At the fame time, knowing the opinion which the learned Greeks would form of that doctrine in particular, as well as that his difcourfes were neither compofed nor pronounced according to the rules of the Grecian rhetoric, his firft addreffes to them were in weakness, and in fear, and with much trembling, ver. 3.-Yet they were accompanied with the powerful demonftration of the Spirit, who enabled him to prove the things which he preached, by miracles, ver. 4.—that the faith of mankind might be founded, not in the wifdom of men, that method of reasoning and fpeaking, which human wisdom dictates as beft calculated to perfuade, but in the power of God, ver. 5.

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However, left the things which are faid in the preceding chapter, concerning the foolishness of the doctrines of the gospel, and in this chapter concerning its having no relation to any of the schemes of the Greek philofophy, might have led the Corinthians to think meanly of it; the apoftle told them, that in the gospel, he and his brethren made known a scheme of doc

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trine, which they who were perfectly inftructed, knew to be real wifdom. Only it was not the wisdom of this world; it was none of the mysteries of the idol gods worshipped by the heathens, nor any of the religions eftablished by the heathen rulers, who are all to be made nought, ver. 6.-What they preached, was the wifdem of the true God; a scheme of religion contrived by the true God, and made known in a real mystery.-The apoftle called the gospel a mystery, not because it contains doctrines abfolutely unintelligible, but becaufe being of divine original, and containing the most important difcoveries, it was better entitled to the honourable appellation of a mystery, than any of those which were so named. This excellent fcheme of doctrine hitherto kept fecret, God determined, before the Jewish difpenfation began, to publifh to the world by the apoftles of his Son, to their great honour; fo that they are myftagogues of a mystery more excellent than the Eleufinian, or any other heathen myftery, ver. 7.-Yet when it was published, none of the rulers of this world knew it to be the wifdom of God; for if they had known it to be fo, they would not have crucified the Lord, or author of all the glorious things discovered in the mystery of God's wisdom, ver. 8.--This ignorance of the rulers, the apoftle obferved, was occafioned by the greatness of the things contained in the mystery of God's wisdom. They were what human reafon could neither difcover, nor fully comprehend; agreeably to Ifaiah's defcription of them; eye hath not feen, &c. ver. 9.These things, however, God hath revealed to us apoftles, by his Spirit for the fpirit of God who infpires us, fearcheth all things, even the deep counfels of God. So that we are well qualified to difcover thefe counfels to the world, ver. 10, 11.-. Farther, he told them, that the apoftles had not received the inspiration of evil fpirits, by which the heathen priefteffes, and prophets, and myftagogues were guided, but the infpiration that cometh from God, that they might know and publish the glorious things, (see ver. 9.) which are freely beftowed by the true God, on them who believe, ver. 12.-Which things, faid he, we apoftles effectually make known to the world, not in language taught by human rhetoric, but in words dictated by the Spirit of God; explaining spiritual things, in fpiritual words, ver. 13. Nevertheless, the animal man, the man who is guided by his animal paffions and notions, does not receive the things revealed by the Spirit; because they appear to him foolishness; neither can he understand them, because they must be examined spiritually, that is, they must be examined by the light which divine revelation, and not reafon, affords, ver. 14.-But the Spiritual man, the man who is not guided by his animal paffions, and who acknowledges the authority of revelation, and is aflifted by the VOL. II. D

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Spirit

Spirit of God, is able to examine and receive the things revealed by the Spirit. Yet he himself is examined and judged by no animal man: because no animal man can understand the principles upon which the spiritual man's belief is founded, ver. 15. For what animal man hath understood and approved the gra

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Ver. 1.-1. Excellency of speech. The apoftle means, that nice choice and arrangement of words, that artificial rounding and difpofition of periods, thofe rhetorical connections, tranfitions, and figures, and thofe ftudied tones and geftures, in which, according to the Greeks, the perfection of eloquence confifted.

2. The teftimony of God; that is, the things concerning Chrift, which God ordered the apoftles to teftify; or the things which God himself attefted by the miracles which he enabled the apoftles to perform. See Eff. iv. 25. In either fenfe, the expreffion implies that the evidence of the doctrines of the gospel, is not founded on proofs drawn from human reafon, but on the authority of God, who hath revealed them by his Spirit, and confirmed them by miracles.

Ver. 2. I determined, devas, to make known. See Eff. iv, 7. Locke's paraphrafe of the paffage, agrees with this tranflation, "I refolved to own, or fhew, no other knowledge among you." In like manner Whitby, "I determined not to discover any thing.'

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Ver. 3. In weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. The Greeks could endure no fcheme of doctrine that was not conformable to their philofophy and valued their teachers in proportion to the fkill which

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