1 Corinthians 1

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

The apostle introduces his epistle with a most affectionate and suitable salutation, in which he congratulates the Corinthians on the rich variety of gifts and graces which God had bestowed upon them; and animates their hope of his continued favour in the Lord Jesus Christ, even till the day of his final appearance. 1 Cor. I. 1—9.

1 CORINTHIANS I. 1.

PAUL called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, through the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother;

PAUL, who was in so peculiar a manner called [to be] an apostleᵃ of Jesus Christ, not undertaking that office of himself, but invested with it by the most express declaration of the will of God, signified at the time of that miraculous interposition of which you have so often heard; and Sosthenes,ᵇ so well known unto you, whom I esteem as a dear brother; concur in

ᵃ Called [to be] an apostle.] There is great propriety in every clause of the salutation prefixed to this epistle; and particularly in this, as there were those in the church of Corinth who affected to call the authority of his mission into question.

ᵇ Sosthenes.] This was a Corinthian

minister who attended Paul in his travels; Compare Acts xviii. 17 It was both humility and prudence in the apostle, thus to join his name with his own, in an epistle in which it was necessary to deal so plainly with them, and to remonstrate against so many irregularities.

VOL. 4.

Paul, inscribing this epistle to the orinth

riting this epistle, To the church of God, which is in the rich, populous, and learned city of Corinth, whose chief glory it is that they, (if they are what their Christian profession speaks them to be,) are sanctified in vital union with Christ Jesus, as well as called with an external vocation, by which they are separated from the rest of the world [as] the saints of God. And when we express our affectionate regard to you, and our good wishes for your edification and comfort, we extend them to all that in every placeᵈ invoke the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,ᵉ whom we, and all true Christians, join in acknowledging and adoring as their [Lord] and ours. May you experimentally know more of the privileges and blessings of his gospel; and for that purpose, [may] grace and peace [be] with you, that abundance of Divine influence, which may establish your peace and multiply your prosperity; even from God, the original fountain of all blessings, whom we are now taught to look upon as our reconciled and gracious Father, and [from] Jesus Christ our Lord, that anointed and exalted Saviour, by whom we receive the adoption, and through whose hands all its blessings are communicated to us.

I cannot address you, my dear brethren, without assuring you in the first place, that I always give humble thanks to my God on your account, whenever I mention you before him in prayer, as I frequently do, for the abundant grace of God given unto you in Christ Jesus; by virtue of which you have been received into the Christian church, and are made ornaments to it.

ᶜ Sanctified in Christ Jesus.] I cannot agree with Mr. Locke, in concluding, that this must signify only an external separation of the true religion, as the Jews were externally a holy people, 1 Pet. ii. 8, 9, 10. It seems rather to intimate the persuasion, which he had, that notwithstanding some lamented irregularities among them, which he was faithfully solicitous to reform, they were in the general, a body of sincere Christians, and the exceptions comparatively few.

ᵈ To all that in every place, &c.] Nothing could better suit the candid and catholic s hi h Paul was so much

concerned to promote in this epistle, than this declaration of his good wishes for every true Christian upon earth, whether Jew or Gentile, learned or unlearned, Greek or Barbarian. To limit it, as Gotius, L’Enfant, and some others would do, to the Christians in Achaia, is to spoil all the strength and beauty of the sentiment.

ᵉ Invoke the name, &c.] This strong implies, that it might well be taken for granted, that every true Christian would often pray to Christ, as well as address the Father in his name.

lates them, that they came behind in no gift.

For ever adored be his holy name, that in all things ye are enriched in him, with a variety of gifts and graces, and particularly, that ye are made copious in all utterance, and ready [in] all knowledge of spiritual and Divine things; As the testimony which I bore to the gospel of Christ, when I abode so long at Corinth, was confirmed among you by such various communications of the Spirit, in consequence of which you became living witnesses of it to all who knew you. So that you are deficient in no gift; which can render you useful in the church, while you are waiting for the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, in connection with which, I hope, you will always consider this extraordinary furniture for his service, and improve it so, as to advance your preparation for that day: Still keeping up an humble dependence on him, who, if you faithfully apply to him for the continued communication of his almighty aid, will confirm you to the end; [so that] when so many others shall be condemned, [ye may be] presented blameless and irreproachable, in the great day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Fear not, my brethren, but this blessed day will come, and bring with it those glories which we have so long been taught to expect. Fear not, but Divine grace will still be effectual to bear you through all difficulties in your way to it: for God [is] faithful, by whom you were called into the communion and society of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, that you may participate of the blessings he hath purchased; the grand promises of whose kingdom, ye know, refer to that illustrious day of which I have been speaking. Be therefore courageous and cheerful in the assured expectation of it.

That ye are enriched, &c.] These respectful congratulations, and acknowledgments of the things in which they did really excel, had a most happy tendency to soften their minds; and to dispose them the better, to receive the plain reproofs he was going to give them, and which, in their circumstances, faithful love extorted from him.

Confirmed among you] As they could not but know they had received these gifts by the hand of Paul, this expression

suggests a rational and tender argument, to reduce them to their former affection to him as their spiritual father.

h [That ye may be] blameless, &c] I think it would make a very low sense of this, to explain it, as some have done, that they would be preserved, if blameless, the apostle plainly intends to encourage their hope in that grace which might enable them so to persevere, that they might be found blameless.

Reflections on the obligations of the Christian calling.

IMPROVEMENT.

sct. Let us remember, that we also are sanctified in Christ, and saints by our calling. Though we are not enriched with such extraordinary endowments as those which were bestowed upon this primitive Corinthian church, yet we call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; and let it be considered as a band of love to all those who join with us to acknowledge him under the character of their Lord and their Saviour. Let it engage us to pray, that the same grace and peace may be with them from God our Father, and from Christ Jesus our common Lord, which we wish for ourselves. 4,&c. Let our hearts be ever open to such noble sentiments of Christian love; not envying the gifts or endowments of others, but rather rejoicing in them, blessing God for them, and praying that they may be largely increased; that so the testimony of Christ may be confirmed, by the flourishing state of religion among his followers; than which no confirmation will probably carry a stronger and more affecting conviction into the hearts of those who observe it. 7 To quicken us to this, let us be continually waiting for the revelation of Jesus Christ; thinking seriously, how certainly, and how quickly, he will be revealed from heaven, to bring us, and all our brethren, to an account for the improvement we make of the various favours he hath conferred upon us; of which, surely to be called into the fellowship of Christ, and the participation of spiritual blessings by him, is to be reckoned among the chief. Let us rejoice in the fidelity of those promises which encourage us to hope, that he whose grace hath called us to a participation of the gospel, will confirm us blameless, even until the day of Christ: and, as we have such prospects of present support and comfort, and of final and complete salvation from him, let us, like this blessed apostle, take a pleasure in sounding forth his name, and in keeping up a most affectionate remembrance of him, even of Jesus Christ our Lord and our Saviour, in our own minds, and in those of our Christian brethren.

horts the Corinthians against schisms.

1 Corinthians 1:10-16

ses his great concern on account of the factions in orinth, of which he had been informed; and exthem, as to the unreasonableness of setting up ters as heads of parties, when they were under agements to unite in Christ, as their common ster. 1 Cor. I. 10—16.

1 CORINTHIANS I. 10.

I NOW hasten to the great things, which I sect. have in view in this address to you: and I ii. must first of all beseech, as well as exhort you, my brethren, by the venerable and endearing 1 Cor. i. 10 name of our Lord Jesus Christ, as you desire either to secure his favour, or to advance his cause and interest in the world, that ye all endeavour so far as possible to speak the same thing, that is, that you do not unnecessarily and unkindly contradict each other, but rather maintain a peaceful unanimous temper; [that] there may be no schisms among you, nor mutual alienation of affection; but [that] ye be all knit together in the same mind, and in the same sentiment; waving unnecessary controversies, debating those which are necessary with temper and candour, and delighting to speak most concerning those great and excellent things in which as Christians you cannot but be agreed, and which, if duly considered, will cement your hearts to each other in the strictest and most tender bonds.

I urge this with the greater earnestness, be- 11 cause it hath been certified to me, my brethren, concerning you, by those of Chloe’s [family, c] that there are some contentions among you, which by no means become the relation wherein you stand to each other, and the regard which you profess to the gospel of Christ.

a By the venerable and endearing name of our Lord Jesus Christ.] This is beautifully and properly opposed to the various human names under which they were so ready to list themselves.

b In the same mind, and in the same sentiment.] It was morally impossible, considering the diversity of their educations and capacities, that they should all agree in opinion; nor could he intend that, because he does not urge any argument to reduce them to such an agreement, nor so much as declare, what that one opinion

was in which he would have them agree. The words must therefore express that peaceful and unanimous temper which Christians of different opinions may and ought to maintain towards each other; which will do a much greater honour to the gospel, and to human nature, than the most perfect uniformity that can be imagined.

c Those of Chloe’s [family.] Grotius supposes Fortunatus and Achaicus, (mentioned chap. xvi. 17.) to have been her sons.

He expostulates with them concerning their con

Now this I say and mean by the preceding charge, that, if my information be right, there are among you various parties, which avowedly set themselves up, as under different heads, though you are not yet come to an open separation; so that every one of you lists himself under one or another of those dividing names which are so unhappily used among you on this occasion. One, for instance, says, I am for Paul, admiring the plainness and purity of his doctrine; and a second, I am for Apollos, charmed with the eloquence and beauty of his address; and a third, I am for Cephas, the apostle of the circumcision, who may be well called a foundation stone in the church, as he maintains so strict a regard to the Mosaic ceremonies, and the peculiar privileges of God’s ancient people; while a fourth says, I am for Christ,ᵈ whose superior name, and strict observation of the Mosaic law in his own person, unanswerably testify its perpetual obligation; however any of his ministers may regard, or neglect it.

Give me leave now to ask, is Christ divided into as many parties as you are split into, so that each has a distinct Saviour? or is he become only the head of one party of his followers, that his name should thus be appropriated by way of distinction, as if it were to exclude all the rest of his disciples from any relation to him? And on the other hand, (not to introduce the name of my honoured and beloved brethren upon this invidious occasion,) was this Paul, whom some of you so much extol, crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul; that you should thus affect to wear it as a mark of distinction? Since there have been these unhappy divisions in your society, and my name, among others, has been made use of to such a purpose; I thank God, that it so happened in

ᵈ I am for Christ.] They might, perhaps, be displeased with Peter, for his condescension to the uncircumcised at Antioch, (Gal. ii. 12,) which happened long before the date of this epistle; and might also, as L’Enfant intimates, have valued themselves on having heard Christ preach in his own person, during the time of his ministration on earth.

ᵉ Was Paul crucified for you?] As if he had said, Are your obligations to me equal, or comparable to those you are under to our common Master, to him who died for us upon the cross? He mentions himself, as it was least invidious to do it; though the application was equally just as to every other instance. Compare chap. iii. 6.

s that he had given no occasion for their actions.

the course of his Providence, that I baptized none of you, except Crispus, once the ruler of the synagogue, and my worthy friend, the hospitable Gaius: Lest any should have a pretence to say, though ever so falsely, that I made the waters of baptism, waters of strife; and had baptized into my own name, or in a view of particular and personal attachment to myself, to the injury of my brethren, or of the Church in general. I remember, that I baptized also the family of Stephanas, the first fruits of Achaia; and I know not whether I baptized any other. And indeed, it might very naturally happen, that I should baptize only these few; for Christ sent me not so much to baptize; which was an office that others of a much inferior rank in the ministry might as well perform; but to preach the gospel, and thereby to bring persons to that faith which would entitle them to this appropriate ordinance of Christianity. And I bless God with all my heart, that I have been enabled to do it with such simplicity, fidelity, and success.

IMPROVEMENT.

WHILE we live in the midst of so much darkness, and continue obnoxious to so many prejudices and errors, it will be absolutely impossible for us, so to speak the same thing, and so perfectly to be joined in the same mind and judgment, as that there should be no diversity of opinion, or expression. But let us bour to obey the apostle’s pathetic exhortation, so far as the

I Lest any should say, I baptized into my own name.] If any should object, that others might do it for him; it may be answered, that Paul’s attendants, (who seem to have been Timothy and Silas, Acts xviii. 5; 2 Cor i 19,) were persons of an established character, so as to be above such suspicion; that baptism was probably administered too openly to allow of this; and that the apostle herein does as it were, appeal to the baptized persons themselves, challenging any one of them all to say, that the ordinance was administered to him in Paul’s name.

I know not whether I have baptized any other.] This expression of uncertainty as to such a fact, is by no means inconsistent with inspiration, in that view and notion of it which I have endeavoured to state and vindicate in my discourse on that subject,

annexed to the third volume of this work I can by no means think, with Bishop Burnet, that the reason, why Paul baptized a few, was, because baptism was delayed till some considerable time after conversion to Christianity, and that the apostle did not stay so long in a place as to do it; (Burnet on the Articles, Art. xxvii. p. 304, Edit. 1699;) for it does not appear to me that baptism, in these earliest and pure ages, was long delayed; and it is certain, that this cause could not take place here, as Paul continued at Corinth eighteen months. I rather think the office was generally assigned to inferiors, as requiring no extraordinary abilities, and as being attended with some trouble and inconvenience, especially where immersion was used, as I suppose it often, though no constan, was.

Reflections on our obligations to avoid a party spirit.

imperfection of this mortal state may admit. Let us be entreated in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that venerable, that endeared, that sacred name, that there be no schism among us, no mutual hatred or animosity, no uncharitable contentions, no severe censures of each other. And as we desire that there may not, let us take care, that we do not impose upon our brethren indifferent things as necessary; and thereby drive them into a separation for conscience sake; and tempt them, at the same time, by our ill usage, to that bitterness of resentment, which would make them, what the mere separation would not, transgressors of this precept; and us partakers of their sins.

On the other hand, let none of us be disposed to dispute merely for the sake of disputing, nor unnecessarily oppose the judgment or taste of our brethren, out of an affectation of singularity, or a spirit of contention. But let us rather labour, so far as with a safe conscience we can, to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And while we do this, if our brethren will exact such submissions from us, as they are not warranted by God to require, and as we cannot in conscience pay, let us follow conscience whithersoever it leads us; taking all necessary care, that it be rightly guided; and if in that circumstance our brethren will cast us out, and say, Let the Lord be glorified; and if to the rest of their unkindness, they will add the farther injury of branding us with the odious names of schismatics, or of heretics; let it be a light thing to us, to be judged of man’s judgment. Let us not render railing for railing, nor injury for injury, but rather, by our meekness, endeavour to overcome their severity; and wait for that happy time, when more of the spirit of knowledge and of charity, shall dispose them to throw down those middle walls of partition, by which the temple of God is straitened and defaced, and the convenience, the symmetry, and grandeur of its original plan, so lamentably spoiled. Above all, let us wait that day, when the secrets of all hearts shall be made manifest; and that world, where they, who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, shall retain no remembrance of the controversies that once divided them; unless it be to balance the alienations of time with the endearments of eternity.

In the mean while, let us avoid, as much as possible, a party spirit; and not be fond of listing ourselves under the name of this, or that man, how wise, how good, how great soever. For surely if the names of Peter, and Paul, were in this view to be declined, much more are those, which, in these latter days, have so unhappily crumbled the Christian and Protestant interest, and have given such sad occasion to our enemies to reproach us. Christ is not divided; nor were Luther, or Calvin, or even Peter, or Paul, crucified for us; nor were we baptized into any of their names.

St. Paul had not preached the gospel with the wisdom of words; 201

Happy shall that disciple of our compassionate Lord be, whom he shall most eminently own in healing the breaches which the artifices of the tempter, too often abetted by the infirmities of Christ’s faithful servants, have already made in the Church, and which the great enemy is continually endeavouring to multiply, and to widen! Happy he, who, reverencing and loving his Master’s image wherever he sees it, shall teach others to do so too! And who, being himself an example of yielding, so far as he conscientiously can, and of not taking upon him to censure others, where he cannot yield to them, shall do his part towards cementing, in the bonds of holy love, all the children of God, and the members of Christ! How unsuccessful soever his efforts may be, amidst that angry and contentious, that ignorant and bigotted crowd, who miscal themselves Christians; or by whatever suspicious and reproachful names his moderation may be stigmatized; his Divine Master will neither fail to consider it in its true view, nor to honour it with proportionable tokens of his acceptance and favour. Love is the first and greatest of his commands; and after all the clamour that has been made about notions and forms, he who practises and teaches love best, shall be greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

1 Corinthians 1:17

The apostle, knowing that a fond regard to eloquence and philosophy, to which some of their teachers made high pretensions, was one great occasion of their divisions, sets himself to shew how little stress was to be laid upon them; which he illustrates by the choice which God hath made of gospel preachers quite destitute of those accomplishments. 1 Cor. I. 17, to the end.

Cor. I. 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 CORINTHIANS I. 17. JUST now told you that Christ did not send me to baptize, as my principal business, but rather to preach the gospel; and now I must add, that in the commission which I had the honour to receive from him, he did not instruct me to preach it with those philosophical niceties of expression, or laboured rhetoric, which many are so ready to esteem as the wisdom of words; lest if I had attended to these little things, the cross of Christ should have been deprived of its just honours, and so have been

Baptize, but to preach.] As I knew not division; I hope the reader will excuse it, how to avoid the repetition of this clause, and a few other instances of this kind, without prolonging the former section beyond due bounds, or making an improper which will occur.

VOL. 4.

lest the cross of Christ should have been of non enervated, and rendered vain. For this must have been the natural consequence, when men saw one who pretended to know so much, and to have received such extraordinary discoveries of the gospel, and of Christ crucified as its great foundation, seeming not so much to trust to the grand important facts he averred, as to artificial reasonings, or ornaments of speech, in his manner of representing them to the world. I might well be cautious on this head; for the doctrine of the cross is indeed folly, with respect to the judgment of them that are perishing; to wretched creatures, who are in the way to be for ever undone. They, in that fatal madness, which leads them to speedy ruin, think it a ridiculous and mean thing, to expect salvation from one who seemed unable to save himself; and glory from one who expired in ignominy. But to us who are saved from the contagion of so wicked an age, and are in the way to everlasting salvation, it is a most illustrious display of the power of God, to the noblest purposes our minds can conceive. For it is written, and the words are remarkably applicable to this great event, (Isa. xxix. 14,) I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and abolish the sagacity of the prudent; thus hath God, by this dispensation, poured confusion on human wit and learning, eloquence and philosophy: So that, in allusion to other words of the same prophet, we may say, (Isa. xxxiii. 18,) Where b Should have been enervated, and rendered vain.] If the doctrine of the crucifixion of the Son of God for the sins of men be indeed true, it is undoubtedly a truth of the highest importance, and it might reasonably be expected, that a person who had been instructed in it by such extraordinary methods, should appear to lay the main stress of his preaching upon it. The design of this wonderful dispensation might therefore have been in a great measure frustrated, if it had been the care of the first preachers of it, and particularly of Paul, to study a vain parade of words, and to set off their discourses with those glittering ornaments which the Grecian orators so often sought, and which the Corinthians were so ready to affect. But amidst all the beautiful sim licity which a deep conviction of the gospel tended to produce; there was room left for the most manly and noble kind of eloquence; which therefore the Christian preacher should labour to make habitual to him, and of which this apostle himself is a most illustrious example. c In allusion to other words of the same prophet we may say.] I think it would be a very unnecessary labour, to endeavour to prove that these words are an exact translation of the passage referred to; or to shew that passage to be a prophecy o the success of the gospel. The context in Isa. xxxiii. refers to the deliverance o Judea from Sennacherib; and the 18th verse describes the Jews as reviewing and meditating on the terror into which they had been thrown; and then crying out in

hath made the wisdom of this world foolish ;

[is] the celebrated sage, whose wise counsel and penetrating genius have been held in greatest esteem ? Where the learned scribe ? Where the ostentatious disputer of this world,⁴ who hath been most admired for the subtilty of his reasoning, and accuracy of his distinctions ? As God of old delivered his people, in spite of all the proud preparations and insolent boastings of the Assyrians, not by their own counsels or arms, but by his almighty power ; so doth he now conduct his grand design for the immortal happiness of his chosen. Look upon the dispensation of the gospel as now administered, and say, hath not God made the wisdom of this world appear to be foolish, and vain, when the highest results of it are compared with those great effects which he knows how to produce without it, and even in opposition to it all. For it is indeed so : since in the wisdom of God, in the midst of the most stupendous displays of the Divine wisdom with which they were always surrounded, the world, by all the improvements of its boasted wisdom, knew not the living and true God, but ran into the wildest and most absurd sentiments that can be imagined concerning the Deity ; (some of them absolutely denying it, and others representing it under the most monstrous notions and forms;) when this I say was generally the case, it pleased God, by that which they have impiously ridiculed as the most egregious folly of preaching,

a noble exultation over all the baffled schemes of the enemy ; Where is the scribe, that mustered the forces ? Where the receiver, or pay master, who distributed money or stores among them ? Where the engineer, that counted the towers, to determine where the attack might most conveniently be made ? In a bold and beautiful allusion to, and imitation of these words, though with very different ideas, the apostle proceeds, in the animated clause that follows, to triumph over the oppositions of human science in its various forms, when levelled against God’s victorious gospel.

⁴ Sage, scribe, disputer.] Notwithstanding all the learned pains which Dr. Fuller, in his Miscellanies, (Lib. III. cap. 7,) or Godwin, in his Hebrew Antiquities, (Lib. II. cap. 6,) have taken to prove, that these three words refer to three orders of learned men among the Jews, the nat-

ural philosopher, and the literal, and the allegorical interpreter of scripture ; I rather think the apostle meant to include persons most eminent for their learning and sagacity, whether among Jews or Gentiles. The sages of the latter, and scribes of the former, are well known ; and the disputer of the age may include such a both, as, proud of their natural sagacity, were fond of engaging in controversies, and fancied they could confute every adversary. If, as Mr. Locke supposes, the chief leader of the faction against St. Paul, (whom that learned and ingenious writer stiles the false apostle,) called himself a scribe, there will be a peculiar propriety in the use of the word here ; but without that supposition, it might easily be understood by the Corinthians, who had so considerable a synagogue of Jews among them.

By the preaching of salvation through Christ

by preaching, which is indeed destitute of all the wisdom of which they boast, to save multitudes: and those, not such as are the most artful cavillers, or the most sagacious reasoners; but those that with honest simplicity and plainness of heart, believe what is credibly testified to them, and taught by a superior authority.

For whereas the Jews demand a sign from heaven to introduce a Messiah, who shall establish a temporal kingdom, victorious over all their enemies; and the Greeks seek a depth of wisdom and philosophy, or the ornaments of eloquence, and charms of address; We nevertheless, conscious of our high commission, and faithful to our important trust, without regarding at all the unreasonable and petulent demands of either, go on plainly to preach Christ crucified; to the Jews indeed a stumbling block, being most directly contrary to all their secular expectations; and foolishness in the abstract to the Greeks, who treat it as a low and idle tale, hardly worth the least degree of notice: But to those who are by Divine grace effectually called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, amidst all the dishonours of his cross, is known and acknowledged as the power of God, and the wisdom of God; to the converted Jews his mission is confirmed by miraculous evidence, and the accomplishment of prophecies, far more important

• The Jews demand a sign, &c.] When we consider how many miracles were continually wrought by, and upon the first preachers and converts of Christianity, this may seem an astonishing demand; but from a memorable passage in Josephus, in which he speaks of an impostor promising his followers to shew them a sign of their being set at liberty from the Roman yoke, compared with their requiring from Christ, amidst the full torrent of his miracles, a sign from heaven; I am led to conclude, that the sense given in the paraphrase is the genuine interpretation of this much controverted passage. See the paraphrase and note on Mat. xii. 1, 38, Vol. I. p. 326; and Mat. xvi. 1, p. 457.

• To the Jews indeed a stumbling block.] It is well known, that nothing exposed Christianity more to the contempt of the

Jews than the doctrine of the cross; they therefore called Christ in derision, חלו, Tolvi, the man that was hanged, that is, on the cross; and Christians, עכרי חלו, Abde tolvi, the disciples of the crucified malefactor; and by a paranomasia, or malignant playing on the word, they called, ורבנן, אן נלך ונהג. Aven gelon, a revelation of vanity. See Leigh’s Critica Sacra in loc.

• To the Greeks foolishness.] It is well known how profanely Lucian insults the Christians, on worshipping a crucified impostor; and many of the fathers speak of the same reproach. Archbishop Tillotson appears to have given credit to the charge brought against the Jesuits, who to avoid the like offence of the Chinese, denied that Christ was crucified, and represented it, as an invention of the Jews to asperse Christianity. Tillotson’s Works, Vol. II. p. 284.

ised, is the power of God to them who are called ; 205

than any event which their carnal brethren expect; and the believing Gentile finds it infinitely fuller of Divine wisdom and goodness to a lost world, than any system of philosophy that was ever invented. And well may they thus judge, because what the world profanely censures as a folly, most unworthy of God, is, and, in its effects appears to be, incomparably wiser than all the projects which the wit of men can devise; and what it impiously insults, as the weakness of Christian teachers, which it charges them with falsely ascribing to God, being really his own work, will be found to be stronger than all the efforts which men can make, either to reform the world any other way, or to obstruct the prevalency and success of this: and this is the necessary consequence of its being indeed Divine.

And for the farther illustration of this thought, let me call you to behold, and seriously to contemplate, your calling, brethren; consider the state of your fellow Christians in general, and even of those who are employed as ministers of the gospel, and you will perceive [there are] not many wise according to the flesh, according to those maxims which a sensual world governs itself by, in its principles of secular policy; there are not many mighty heroes renowned for their martial courage, there are not many of noble birth and illustrious rank among men to be found on their list. But God hath chosen those that are reputed the foolish things of the world, that he may shame the wise men of whom it is most ready to boast; and the weak things of the world, who pretend to no extraordinary strength or valour, hath God chosen, that he may, by their heroic patience under the severest sufferings, shame its mighty things, which have never been able, with all

h The folly of God, &c.] As it is absolutely impossible that there should be either folly or weakness in God, so it is certain, that the world did not in general believe there was; and consequently these strong phrases must be used in a very peculiar sense, and must mean that scheme, which was really his, though the world,

for want of understanding it, represented it as weakness and folly unworthy of God.

i Your calling.] L’Enfant renders it, those among you, who are called; which, with many other passages in this version, retains the sense, but departs from the exactness of St. Paul’s expression.

that he who glorieth, might glory in the land

their boasted fierceness, to equal that meek fortitude with which we trace the footsteps of the Lamb of God : And ignoble things of the world hath God chosen, and things most commonly and scornfully set at noughtᵏ among men ; yea, and things which are not¹ in the least regarded, but overlooked as if they had no being, and were below contempt itself, hath God chosen, that he may abolish and annihilate things that are in the highest esteem, and make the most illustrious figure among the children of men ; That his great end of humbling us might be more effectually secured, and that no flesh might boast of any advantages or distinctions in his presence. For on the whole, all we have that is worth mentioning, we receive from Christ ; and we receive it from him as the gift of God, since it is of him, and his free mercy and grace, that ye are called to share in the blessings given by Christ Jesus his Son. He exhibits this blessed Saviour to us, and disposes our hearts to accept of him, who, amidst our ignorance and folly, is made of God unto us a source of wisdom ; and through him, guilty as we are, we receive righteousness ; polluted as we are, we obtain sanctification ; and enslaved as we naturally are to the power of our lusts, and the dominion of Satan, we obtain by him complete redemption.ᵐ So that we may now indeed boast of our happy change, in whatever point of light it be considered ; but it is a boast not of insolent presumption, but humble gratitude ; as it is written, (Jer. ix. 23, 24 ; Isa. lxv. 16,) “ He that boasteth, let him boast in the Lord, and in this, that he knoweth me who exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness on the earth.”

ings set at nought.] Agreeable to the Danish missionaries tell us, that of the Malabarian converts were the of the people ; the poets and wits, lued themselves upon their genius, g, and politeness, despising the and doing their utmost to oppose gress. See Nieuchamp’s excellent of this important mission. ings which are not.] Dr. Whitby

shews here, how well supreme contempt in the Gentiles. Comp. Isa. xl. 17.

ᵐ Wisdom, righteous would render the world Christ Jesus, who is wisdom, ye are righteous and redemption, that is fixed, sanctified, and re

Reflections on the wisdom of God being despised by the world.

IMPROVEMENT.

MAY Divine grace form the taste of ministers, and their hearers, more to this doctrine of Christ crucified! May he every where be preached; and that be accounted the truest wisdom of words by which his cross may become most efficacious. There cannot be surely a more evident demonstration of folly, or a more dreadful token of approaching ruin, than despising the wisdom of God, and the power of God. If we are ever shaken by that contempt for the gospel, which so many are continually ready in our age to express, let us recollect what glorious effects it hath produced; whilst, in the midst of such illustrations of the wisdom of God, the world by all its wisdom knew not its Maker; how many believers have been saved, how many by believing are daily brought into the way of salvation? In this view let us triumphantly say, Where is the wise, the scribe, the disputer of this world? what has wisdom, learning, disputation done, in comparison of what the plain and simple doctrine of a crucified Saviour has wrought, and is continually working? Let us earnestly pray, that God would, by the power of his grace, disperse the prejudices of men; that the Jews may not so demand a sign, as that Christ crucified should be a stumbling block to them, nor the most learned of the Gentiles so seek after science, as that the wisdom of God should seem foolishness to them; but that both may join in feeling, and owning, how Divinely wise, and how Divinely powerful, the dispensation of the gospel is.

Let us not be offended with our calling, though so few of the wise, the mighty, and the noble, partake of its benefits. If God hath chosen the weak things, they shall confound the mighty; and the foolish, they shall shame the wise. Never shall we find ourselves truly happy, till we come to feel that we are naturally foolish and guilty, polluted and enslaved; and that our wisdom and righteousness, our sanctification and redemption, are in Christ, who is made unto us of God all this, and indeed all in all. Then shall we know, and not till then, what true glory means, even when we can abase ourselves to the dust in his presence, and have learned only to glory in the Lord.

He had preached in the demonstration of the