Verse 16

It is a happy thing when our prayers are givings of thanks; we realize then the certainty of our privileges. If we think of the wretchedness of the saints, we are overwhelmed by it; but if we think of what Christ is for the saints, we give thanks; we realize what God will do and does, for them and in them. God cannot be unfaithful to the love we have for all the saints (1 Cor. 1:4). Paul could handle the sword of the Spirit; he would not have known how to deal with the Corinthians, if he had not begun by taking notice of the good which grace had wrought in them. How different is the Christian's way of acting, thinking, and judging, from the way of the world! There is not an expression more remarkable than that which Paul makes use of in this verse, in speaking to the Corinthians; Paul was determined to act according to the Spirit of God. It is not that God can make' light of sin and not judge it; no, He will judge it severely in the saints, if there is evil among them; but it is important for the church to handle it as God handles it.