1 Corinthians 16

Notes

Ver. 1. As to the charitable collection desired of you for the Christians in Judea, who, through persecution and the public calamities of their nation, have been reduced to great poverty, I give you the same directions which I gave to the Christian brethren of Galatia, whose ready compliance therewith will, I hope, excite you to benevolence, who are much their superiors in temporal wealth, as well as in spiritual gifts. 2. Upon every first day of the week, when you, as other Christians, assemble for public worship in commemoration of our Saviour's resurrection, let every one of you, according to his income, or the success of his business, lay by him a certain proportion, and put it into the common stock for the poor, that when I come to visit you, and receive it, everything may be ready. 3. And whomsoever of your brethren ye think most proper, prudent, compassionate, and faithful, I will readily concur at their being appointed to carry it to our brethren in Judea: 4. And if it be thought of any advantage to that benevolent and pious design for me to accompany them, I shall readily grant them all the assistance and encouragement I am capable of. 5. Now, if the Lord will, I am determined to visit you whenever I have finished this tour through Macedonia, which I intend to begin as soon as I can have finished my present work at Ephesus. 6. And I hope that, after I have continued among you a considerable time, for our mutual edification and comfort, some of you will kindly and respectfully accompany me to some other place. 7. For such is my ardent affection towards you, and concern for your welfare, that I cannot think of paying you only a transient visit, but wish and expect, through the loving care of the Lord, to continue some time to assist you in your spiritual affairs. 8. But I find it needful for me to stay here at Ephesus till I shall have but just enough time to go up to Jerusalem at the feast of Pentecost, which I purpose to attend, that I may make known what I have preached, and with what success, to the multitudes of Jews and proselytes who assemble there on such occasions. 9. For here at Ephesus the Lord has given me a great opportunity of boldly and successfully preaching the gospel; and I am called to make a resolute stand against the subtle and furious enemies of my person and ministrations. 10. Meanwhile, if Timothy, my dearly beloved and faithful fellow-labourer, whom I have sent to you, arrive safe, see that ye receive him and treat him in a friendly, peaceable, and orderly manner, and let him not be discouraged or insulted by any of your factious preachers; for he comes to you upon the same important business, and with the same temper and sincere affection for you, as I wish to come. 11. Let none of you think or behave disrespectfully towards him, or slight what he delivers to you in the name and authority of Jesus Christ, because of his youth or bodily infirmities, but use him kindly: and when he returns to me, which I long for, I expect that you will furnish him for his journey, and some of you attend him for his protection. 12. I entreated our dear and eloquent brother Apollos, whom some of you admire, to come to you with the bearers of this letter, in hopes of his exerting himself to extinguish your party divisions; but being afraid that his presence might rather encourage the party which is zealous for him, or be interpreted as an attempt to ingratiate himself, he absolutely refused to come just now, but intends to see you whenever it may appear more seasonable. 13. And to conclude my directions at this time, I beseech you to keep a watchful eye upon all those that would, either by craft or terror, seduce you from the truth or holiness of the gospel: watch over your own deceitful and inconstant spirits; watch unto prayer and every other duty; stand fast in the knowledge, faith, love, profession, and practice of the important truths which have been preached unto you, living by faith on them, and appearing zealous in their defence. Notwithstanding all opposition or danger, prudently, boldly, and resolutely cleave to the truths and ways of the Lord, resisting sin, and every temptation thereto, and performing duty like men ripened in judgment, strong in grace, and firmly established in Christ. 14. And see that whatever ye do in the maintenance or practice of the truths of Christ, be done with meekness and love, for promoting the peace, holiness, and edification of others, as well as your own. 15. And I earnestly beg that you will show a particular respect to the family of Stephanas, which were the first converts to Christ in your country, and a pledge and earnest of the great multitudes which have since been converted, and which have all along behaved themselves as the sincere disciples and faithful servants of the Lord Jesus, and have, in an orderly manner, devoted themselves to assist and supply his ministers or poor members. 16. Instead of being carried away by new upstarts, take your direction or pattern in a respectful manner from such as have already signalized themselves in faithfulness to Christ and his church, or in the laborious spread of the gospel. 17, 18. I am extremely glad that ye sent me your letter by such prudent and worthy brethren, who gave me a more clear and comfortable account of your church affairs than your letter did, and who, to your honour, by their Christian behaviour, as well as by their candid and charitable representations, exceedingly quieted and refreshed my spirit. I hope that ye will show to such valuable, faithful, and affectionate brethren the highest regard. 19-21. The Christians here, in Lesser Asia, particularly Aquila and Priscilla, and their pious family, along with me, send you their Christian good wishes of all temporal or spiritual prosperity: and see that ye, in every pure, tender, and affectionate manner, express your regard one to another. 22. Meanwhile remember, that if ye, or any of your new preachers, persist in enmity to the person, offices, grace, doctrine, and commands of our dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, or obstinately apostatize from your profession of faith in and love to him, ye not only deserve to be esteemed as execrable and abominable by the church, and cast out from their fellowship, but shall be monuments of God's distinguished and just displeasure, both here, and hereafter. 23. But to prevent this, may the free favour of Jesus Christ, our common Lord and Saviour, be extended to and continually abide with you, in all its abundant manifestations and blessed fruits, for your present establishment and edification in faith, comfort, and holiness, and for your eternal salvation! 24. And notwithstanding my severity in reproving you, which indeed ought rather to be considered as a kindness, my best wishes, and most ardent affection, attend you all in Christ, and for his sake, and on account of your relation to him and the privileges ye have received from him.

Reflections.—Charitable relief of our poor brethren is a duty of great importance: and ministers ought to encourage and promote it, and see that the liberality of churches under their care be duly applied. And in proportion as God succeeds our temporal affairs, we should join in it, and even beforehand provide for it; yea, all ought cordially, and from love to Christ, to vie with one another in it according to their ability. And as a part of worship, collections for the poor should attend our public devotions.—Ministers ought to go or stay wherever Christ in his providence calls them; and to rejoice in great opportunities of preaching the gospel, whatever opposition from adversaries attend them. Devoid of jealousy or envy, highly should they honour one another, and readily receive such as appear faithful and heartily devoted to the service of Christ. Inexpressible need have real Christians to be always watchful and steadfast in the faith, profession, and practice of the gospel. And it is delightful when in all their conduct they appear closely united in cordial affection one to another, and when the gracious influences of Christ qualify them for every necessary duty. But, alas, dreadful is the end which awaits those who, under the gospel dispensation, continue enemies to our gracious Redeemer! And most terrible to such is his blessed coming.

Concluding Remarks on the First Epistle to the Corinthians.

It is impossible to read the foregoing epistle without remarking how early self-will and heathenish customs began to deform the Christian ritual, and error to infect the apostolic creed.

The invasion of the ritual may be seen most remarkably in the case of the Lord's supper, ch. 11. 17; in which case a heathenish custom had expelled the holy ordinance of the Lord, and obliterated the instructions of Paul as to its origin, order, and intention. The Corinthians, like some other Greek cities, had been accustomed, during their heathen state, to celebrate frequent public festivals; to which every family brought their own provisions, and in which the will or taste of individuals was the only check upon indulgence. At these feasts, it would appear, the poorer citizens were originally provided for by the rich. But, as luxury soon begets selfishness, and selfishness soon extinguishes charity, it also appears that while the custom of feasting was continued, the provision for the poor began to be neglected. Accordingly, it is recorded of Socrates, that when, at a public feast at Athens, he saw the rich citizens feasting, and the poor neglected, he distributed among them all the provisions he had brought for himself and his friends, and reproved his fellow-citizens for their inhospitality. The custom of the Corinthians seems to have been exactly similar; and to the same level they appear to have reduced the Lord's supper:— "Every one took before others (not the Lord's, but) his own supper: and one was hungry, another was drunken." To this downward tendency there is no competent restraint beyond a strict adherence to apostolic example and simplicity. The moment human will and national or local customs are permitted, in the smallest degree, to encroach upon and model Christian ordinances, that moment a principle is admitted that, while it pretends merely to accommodate itself to prejudice, and render Christianity more acceptable, must, in the end, overwhelm it in superstitious rites or heathen principles and practices.

The infection of the apostolic creed may be seen in the fifteenth chapter: whence it appears that the plainest and most palpable of all Christian doctrines, the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the final resurrection of his saints, was cast aside by the authority of a vain philosophy. And yet few things can appear more unlikely than that any doubt should arise concerning this doctrine. Nothing could be more conclusively attested as a fact—nothing could appear more necessary as an evidence of life and immortality—nothing more analogous to the annual resurrections (as they may justly be called) which an observant philosophy must have witnessed through so many departments of nature. Yet some among the Corinthians utterly denied the resurrection of the dead—a heresy the existence of which would be scarcely credible were it not attested upon apostolic authority. Its origin, however, is easily accounted for.—Some of the systems of heathen philosophy had pronounced material substance to be essentially evil, and incapable, by any process, of being rendered good; and relying upon this dogma of philosophy, they rejected the authority of the Word of God, which foretold the resurrection of Christ, and the testimony of apostles, who had witnessed it. This fact stands forth as a beacon light to all who study the Scriptures. How near was the Corinthian church to making total shipwreck of the faith! And why? The admission of one single unsupported dogma in opposition to a fact implies such a surrender of sound judgment as breaks down the walls of truth, and opens the way for the introduction of any and every error. Christianity lays its foundations in facts, not in dogmas. These facts can never be historically gainsayed or rationally disproved—upon these facts, as precious stones, it builds its temple of doctrine; and rejects 'the wood, hay, and stubble' of a fanciful and arbitrary philosophy. Not that philosophy is to be underrated, despised, or rejected. On the contrary, philosophy rightly defined is, in all its departments, the handmaid of Christianity. But philosophy, the love of wisdom, is not the love of one department of knowledge, but of all departments; it does not seek its lights from one source of evidence and truth, but from all sources; above all, it does not set up human dogmas in opposition to divinely-attested facts; and, in depths which it cannot fathom, and in heights to which it cannot soar, it thankfully acknowledges the aid of that 'wisdom which cometh down from above,' which has God for its author and salvation for its end. C.