3

struct him? › But we have fruct the fpiritual man? But wi apcftles have the mind of Christ, and are able to inftruct him.

the mind of Christ.

this question, mult afford great fatisfaction to all the faithful. No natural man, ko infidel, hath been, or ever will be able to confute the gofpel; or to fhew a better method of inftructing, reforming, and faving mankind, than that which God hath chofen, and made known by revelation.

other to a perion who is here called Apollos figuratively, to avoid giving offence, chap. iv. 6. but who, in all probability, was, the falfe teacher; that this teacher boafted of Peter, by whom he was converted and baptized, as an apostle fuperior to Paul; that he and his followers being the difciples of Peter, pretended that they were much better inftructed than the difciples of Paul; and that they claimed to themfelves fuperior authority and respect on that account.-But in thus afcribing to one apostle, more honour than to another, and in attaching themfelves more to one than to another, the Corinthians were much to blame. For none of their teachers were mafters. They were all but fervants employed by Christ to convert men. And their fuccefs in the work depended, not on themselves, but on the gifts which Chrift had bellowed on each of them, and the bleffing with which he accompanied their labours, ver. 5.-Farther, he told them, that in converting the world, the minifters of Christ had different parts affigned them. He had planted, and Apollos had watered, but God made what they had planted and watered to grow, ver. 6.So that the whole depended on the co-operation and blefling of God, ver. 7.-But though the minifters of Christ had different parts allotted to them, he affured them they were all one, in refpect of the end for which they laboured; and that each fhall be rewarded according to the fincerity and diligence with which he hath laboured, ver. S.-The apostles, therefore, and the other minifters of the word, were joint labourers employed by God; and the people were God's field, which they were to cultivate, and God's building, which they were to rear, ver. 9. The building of which the apostle speaks, is the Chriftian church, called ver. 16. and in other paffages, The temple of God; because the Chriftian church, confifting of all who profefs to believe in Chrift, was formed for preferving the knowledge and worship of God in the world, and to be an habitation

habitation of the Spirit of God, by the graces and virtues, which were to be exercised in it.

Having mentioned God's building or temple, the apostle told the Corinthians, that as a fkilful architect, he had laid the foundation of that temple in a proper manner at Corinth; and that the false teacher had only builded thereon. But he defired every one to take heed to the materials with which he builded, that they be fuitable to the foundation, ver. 10.-Because other foundation of the temple of God, neither apostle nor inferior teacher, could lay, than that which he had laid: namely that Jefus is the Chrift, ver. 11.—If therefore, any teacher built on that foundation fincere converts, metaphorically reprefented by gold, filver, and valuable ftones; or if he built hypocritical profeffors thereon, reprefented by wood, hay, Stubble, he told them the fire of perfecution, which was ready to fall on the temple or church of God, would discover the nature of every teacher's work, ver. 12, 13.-If any teacher's converts remained stedfast in the day of perfecution, through the pains he had taken in inftructing them, he fhould be rewarded, ver. 14-But if any teacher's converts apoftatized, they should perifh, but the teacher himself would be faved with difficulty; provided in making fuch converts, he had preached the gofpel fincerely, ver. 15-And, that the Corinthians might understand what the building was, of which he fpake, he told them, they themselves, as a church, were the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelt in them, as a church, ver. 16.—If therefore any teacher wilfully fpoils the temple of God, by building wicked men into it, that is,

OLD TRANSLATION. CHAP. III. I And I,

brethren, could not fpeak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Chrift.

GREEK TEXT.

1 Και εγω, αδελφοι, εκ ηδυνήθην λαλησαι ὑμῖν ὡς πνευματικοις, αλλ' ώς σαρ κικοις, ὡς νηπίοις εν Χρισώ.

Ver. 1. As to fleshly men. In the preceding chapter, ver. 14. the apoftle had faid, Tuxin avdewa, an animal man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; meaning by an animal man an infidel, who makes his own reafon and imagination, the measure of truth. Here he calls the Corinthians after their converfion, capxixo, fleshly men, which, as different from animal men, means perfons of a weak capacity. For notwithstanding they believed the gofpel to be a revelation from God, they were so much under the influence of their former principles and

prejudices,

is, if by knowingly mifreprefenting the doctrines and precepts of the gospel, and by flattering wicked men in their fins, he allures them to enter into the Chriftian church, as the false teacher at Corinth had done, him will God deftroy: for the temple of God ought to be compofed of holy perfons, ver. 17. -And although the teacher, who thus builds wicked men into the church, may think himself wife in fo doing, he but deceives himfelf; and to become truly wife, it behoves him to follow the courfe which the world efteems foolish: He must preach the gofpel fincerely, whatever inconveniencies it may occafion to himself, or to others, ver. 18.-For the wisdom of the world is folly in the fight of God; according to what is written, He catcheth the wife, &c. ver. 19, 20. The work of the false teacher, in building the temple of God at Corinth, being of the fort here defcribed and condemned, this paffage was a fevere rebuke, both to him and to his adherents. Wherefore to lead them to apply it to themselves, the apostle exhorted them, not to boast in any teacher, as if he belonged to them in particular. Alk the teachers, and all the bleffings of the gofpel, belong to believers in general; and believers belong all to Christ as his difciples; which is a real ground of boafting, because Christ belongs to God as his difciple or fervant, ver. 21, 22, 23Having therefore Chrift for their common mafter who was commiffioned and instructed by God, and being all equally entitled to the benefit of the labours of the minitters of Christ, and to the privileges of the gofpel, it was wrong to contend with one another, either about their teachers, or their pri vileges.

prejudices, that they were not yet capable of comprehending fpiritual things properly; neither had they conquered their evil paffions, as ap peared from their ftrifes and divifions.

Ver. 2.

Ver. 2. 1. Milk I gave you. In the original it is Milk I gave you to drink. But as the apaftle adds, and not meat, the genius of the English language does not admit of a literal tranflation, unless the latter claufe is fupplied in this manner, and not meat to eat. To fupport the apotle's phrafeology, Beža produces the οινον και σιτον έδοντες, of Homer. See alfo Luke i. 64. in the Greek, where Zacharia's tongue is faid to have been opened as well as his mouth.

2. We were not then able. Ούπω fignifies not then, John iii. 24. vii. 30. Ver. 3. Walk after the manner of men. As the apoftle in the following verfe, mentions their ftrifes on account of their teachers, their envyings and Arifes fpoken of in this verse, muit be those which arofe on account of their spiritual gifts.

Ver. 7. So that neither the planter is any thing. This is faid after the manner of the eafterns, who reprefent things comparatively small, as nothing. See Eff. iv. 26.