The Book of 1st Corinthians:
My Notes on Chapters 11-16
My Notes on Chapters 11-16
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Author: Christopher J. E. Johnson Published: June 25, 2020 Updated: June 24, 2023 |
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Contents: Introduction Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 |
Introduction
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
-Matthew 28:19-20
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
-1 John 2:27
If you would like more information on these topics, I recommend the following resources here at creationliberty.com:
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The first epistle (letter) of Corinthians was not the first letter ever sent from Paul to Corinth, as we can see from his mention in chapter five of another letter he had previously sent to them. Whether that letter (or other letters) made it to Corinth, or whether the church had ignored them, is unknown. However, what is known is that Paul had done a lot of work in Corinth, teaching the Word of God and uniting the church together, but after he left the city to do other work, false teachers entered the church, and through the use of fair and charismatic speeches, deceived the simple, and split them up into various denominations.
In the first epistle to the Corinthians, we will learn more about discerning the Word of God from the traditions of men, and how religious traditions combined with respecting and trusting in persons creates leaven that destroys the church from within. Paul will go into details about how the church should operate, judging in righteousness, rebuking sin, removing unrepentant sinners and false teachers from the church, and looking to the Lord Jesus Christ in all things, holding fast faith in His doctrine and commandments, despite the fact that those who feign to be of Christ will hate us and speak evil of us for doing what is right.
Chapter 11
[v1] Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
In the previous chapter, Paul exhorted the Christians in Corinth to do all things for the glory of God, including what they eat, what they drink, and their mannerisms. Therefore, being called, gifted, and directly guided by the Holy Spirit, he urged Christians to follow his example, meaning that they should discipline themselves in both what goes into their mouths (1Co 10:27-28), and what comes out of their mouths (Mat 7:18-23), that we would prove ourselves to have the same mind as Christ. (Phil 2:5-8)[v2] Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.
This letter to Corinth has been filled with much rebuke for many wrongdoings they had committed, and it is understandable that the early church would need much reproof and correction, being in its infant stages. On the surface, this appears to have some shift in tone, by which Paul is praising them for doing good, but this verse is written in a conditional manner which indicates praise (i.e. commendation, applause, or gratitude) for those who kept the commandments and ordinances Paul delivered by the guidance of the Holy Ghost, or for those who would, in the future, correct their habits by turning from sin and obeying the Word of God.[v3] But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
The previous verse seems to be meant as a preface for this verse, meaning that Paul was trying to prepare their hearts to hear the next rebuke, which is why he begins this sentence with "but" (or "however"), indicating that there were those who did not act according to the instructions that they were given. This rebuke indicates that there were Christians that were not properly submitting to the authority of God in all they said and did.Paul then reminds them that the head of all mankind, which includes men, women, and children, is Christ, which would be the divine nature of Christ, which is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, being three separate entities, but one God at the same time. The head of the woman is man because man was created first, and then woman was created from man for the purpose of being a helper and companion to a man in marriage. Paul finishes this verse by reminding Corinth that, although Christ is God, the Father is the head of Christ in the sense of His life on earth as a man, by which Christ humbled Himself under authority to be the Savior of all mankind (1Ti 2:3-7), which is one of the many great reasons that He deserving of all glory and praise.
[v4] Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
Many Christians today are unaware of pagan religious traditions, and because of that, many do not understand that the ritual to have a head covering in a religious sense was started by pagans, and during the time Paul was writing this to the Corinthian church, there were many heathen that practiced head covering rituals in honor of their gods and goddeses during certain times of worship. This is still performed by pagans today (depending on their gods or type of witchcraft), and has also been adopted by various false religions, such as Catholics or Mennonites for example.Understanding this context, Paul is referring to any man who prays or prophesies (i.e. teaches or interprets the Word of God) in public (i.e. either public meaning open preaching, or public in the sense of the gathering of the church), and that is because the heathen would use such head coverings as an outward display; therefore, a public head covering for men communicates the wrong message. The message of Christ is boldness in faith, and liberty with a cleansed spirit, which means that a man who lives according to Christ's commandments should have nothing to hide, but if he does hide his head by a covering, then he dishonors his "head," not in the sense of his skull, but his head authority, which means he dishonors Christ.
[v5] But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
The difference between men and women on this subject is that God gave men authority of leadership and teaching in the church, whereas women were not given the same authority, and Paul writes more about that in chapter 14. (1Co 14:34-35, 1Ti 2:12) This is not to say that women are given no authority for public leadership (like a judge) or teaching (in a school classroom), but in this sense, it is when a woman joins in public prayers and prophesying, which includes the worship of songs, the work of study, and charity of fellowship, she should have a covering over her head.(Read "Hair Length in the Bible" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
This covering could be done in a variety of ways depending on the society one lives in, and in Jewish society, it was known far and wide that the women were not allowed to go about their daily tasks in public without a covering over their heads, so therefore, if a Christian woman were working in ministry to reach the Jewish people with the Gospel, and it is accepted in their society that they should have a head covering, she should wear one, lest she offend them. However, as Paul pointed out, for women to not have a covering of authority over her head (even one that is natural from long hair), it was the same as if she was shaven bald, and in nearly all societies around the world (with the exception of a medical condition), a woman that is shaven bald is naturally seen to be shameful and rebellious. (1Sa 15:23)
[v6] For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
Paul proposes a test for the women who are rebellious to God's authority (and the authority He gave to men) by refusing to have long hair or cover their heads; he challenges them to go ahead and shave themselves bald, and walk around their daily activities that way. A woman who has not had her conscience seared (1Ti 4:2) will naturally dread the thought of shaving her head out of shame and fear, which is God's gift of conscience to understand that she is called to be under the authority of God and men, and therefore, it provides sufficient evidence for a woman (or young girl of age) to (at minimum) have her hair long enough to cover her head.[v7] For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
Man is the creation of God, and therefore is also the glory of God, meaning that man is God's splendor in like manner that a blooming flower is the splendor of a gardener, or a finished room is the splendor of a carpenter. Therefore, the glory (or splendor) of God's handiwork is mankind, both man and woman, but the difference between men and women is that man was created first to be the image and glory of God. Woman was created to be the image and glory of man, and therefore, knowing that fleshly beauty is vain in the eyes of God (Pro 31:30), it is man which should have his head uncovered in prayers, songs, and prophesying.[v8] For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
That is, the man was created first (Gen 2:7), and the woman was created second (Gen 2:21-22), so he would not be alone. (Gen 2:18)[v9] Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
The woman was created to be a help meet (Gen 2:18-20) for men, which is a creature designed for companionship, care, and assistance.[v10] For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
In Jewish society, it is commonly believed that angels are in attendance during the study, worship, and fellowship of the those who pray in the temple, and such a thing only makes sense for us who are of Christ, since God is in attendance where two or more are gathered together (Mat 18:20), and thus, it would stand to reason the angels would also be in attendance for such meetings, since they are the servants, soldiers, and messengers of God. (Col 2:18, in which the Jews were being rebuked for worshiping angels instead of God and Christ) This means that when a woman covers her head, she is respecting the authority of God's angels over her, since they are also witnesses to us Christians, demonstrating our submission to God the Father's authority over us. Since all nourishment in the body comes from the head (Col 2:19), the analogy is that all spiritual things come from the Head, which is Christ (Col 1:18), and therefore, because of the angels brought to the public meetings of worship and fellowship, women should display their submission to the authority over them, which is not only Christ, but men as well, because it is Christ who created woman (Col 1:16) to be under the authority of man.[v11] Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
This note is added to emphasize that, in the spirit, there is no male or female, because all are one in Christ. (Gal 3:28) Therefore, men should not be lifted up in pride to be oppressive to the woman, nor should the woman be lifted up in pride to take advantage of the man, but both roles exist for specific purposes, and therefore, not only should man and woman live according to the roles that God gave them, but they should also outwardly display that inward obedience, which is presented by covering or uncovering of one's head.[v12] For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
Again, this is a statement to humble both men and women. The woman was created from the man, but all men are birthed into this world by women. Therefore, both men and women should be reminded that they were both created by God with a specific function and separate authority that should be mutually loved and respected.[v13] Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
That is, Paul requests the Corinthians to judge the matter, after reading the evidence that he presented, from nature of society, the nature of God's creation, and the operation of divine spirits, concerning the authority of God over men and women, that they would reason within themselves and draw a conclusion that his explanation is sound. The answer is obviously, no, it is not comely (i.e. proper, decent, or suitable) for a woman to shave her head and enter into worship without a covering.[v14] Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
Perhaps there were some societies around the world that accepted men to have long hair, but among the Corinthians, both Hebrew and Greek, Jew and Gentile, understood by the nature of society that it was shameful for men to have long hair. Even in most societies today, men having long hair is a shame because it is a feminine thing to do (i.e. effeminate, 1Co 6:9), and men who do so are subject to much ridicule among their peers because their consciences bear witness (Rom 2:15) to the fact that men who have long hair are in rebellion against God's authority over them.[v15] But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
God gave women their hair as a glory, or splendor, to her, and knowing that it is a gift of God, it is a rebellious thing for a woman to willingly throw away that gift. I understand that some women may have medical conditions that may force them into baldness or short hair, or that someone may have cut their hair without their knowing, and under those circumstances, a woman can use a cloth for head covering, but in most cases, God gave women their long hair for that covering, and therefore, her long hair honors both men and Christ at the same time, while God also made it a public display of beauty at the same time.[v16] But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
That is, if any man refuses to hear this doctrine and understand it, growing his hair long in contention and rebellion, or if any woman refuses to hear this doctrine and understand it, cutting her hair short in contention and rebellion (and refusing to cover her head), we have no such custom (i.e. tradition) of contention and rebellion in the church. Paul was pointing out that the apostles did not teach them any such mannerism, nor have the churches of God taught them to do such things, and yet, many churchgoers today still refuse to hear the doctrine about their hair length because they care nothing for the authority of God over them.(Read "Hair Length in the Bible" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v17] Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.
Meaning that, though the Corinthian Christians were dedicated to assemble together (Heb 10:25), Paul could not praise all of them for this because (as he is about to explain) they were not all assembling for the purpose of instruction, correction, understanding, and edification, but rather, they were assembling together to indulge in the luxuries they were afforded by the charity of some, and grew in heresy, creating contentions and divisions upon false doctrines. (Rom 16:17-18)[v18] For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
That is, when they assemble together for the purpose of the worship and fellowship of the church, which is not to say that they did not meet in their homes together for religious purposes, but this is distinguished from their normal, day-to-day home living, as Paul refers to their houses in verse 22. Whether they met in their homes or in another location, the assemblies were being corrupted because of the divisions, which Paul mentioned in the first chapter (1Co 1:12), meaning they would split into groups within the church, having one preach Paul, one preach Apollos, and another preach Peter separately from one another, but all should have preached Christ in unity.[v19] For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
Paul says "must be also" because he had to base everything off of what he heard or read was going on, since he could not see it for himself. It stands to reason that if all in the church come together under the same mind, and all speak the same things (which Paul has already established is how the church should operate 1Co 1:10), but there are divisions among them, then there has to be heresies floating around the church. If there were not heresies, then there would be no need for the division, which provides further evidence that the testimonies (at least, some of them) he heard and read about the Corinthian church were true.Paul also pointed out that the evidences he presented in this letter would help make manifest (i.e. reveal) who is approved of God, meaning that those who followed the truth in honesty and service to Christ will be known by the outward evidence, specifically, by the doctrine that Paul is delivering to them. For example, those who obeyed the doctrine of hair and head covering would provide some evidence that they were faithful and sincere followers of Christ, but all the doctrines need to be analyzed to see if a man follows all, and not just one. Certainly, a man can be newly born again in Christ and not follow all the instructions because he does not know or understand them, but those who have been educated and raised up in those doctrines, and still do not follow them, nor do they show repentance (i.e. godly sorrow) of their error, provide evidence that they are insincere and unfaithful to Christ.
[v20] When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.
This indicates there were many in the church of Corinth who did not take the Lord's supper seriously. The taking of bread and wine together was performed by Jesus after the passover feast (Luke 22:13-16), and therefore, it was not to be done as a meal, but as a solemn moment of remembrance of Christ and consideration of His sacrifice and doctrine. Yet, the Corinthians had a problem with those who were coming to the assembly with the intent of eating and drinking, which means that, not only did they not take the matter seriously, but they were likely performing the tradition casually as part of a feast.[v21] For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
Once the meal was prepared, some would sit down to eat on their own before everyone else was ready, and those people would have their fill before others got an opportunity. This could have been for many reasons, including that those who were rich were eating before those who were poor, and because they were first, ate far more than their share, leaving the others who were more in need without access to much, if any. It seems that the term 'drunken' in this verse does not indicate intoxication, but rather, a fullness of drink, and this is indicated by the fact that, nowhere in the letters to Corinth does Paul rebuke them for being drunken in terms of intoxication, which alludes to there not being a problem with drunkness on alcohol, so the phrase "one is hungry, and another is drunken," meaning that, whereas one brother simply wanted to satisfy his hunger at the dinner table, another not only had his fill, but moreso, enjoying the abundance without considering his neighbor.[v22] What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
The first question indicates that those who were indulging in this gluttony were not the owners of the building in which they were meeting, or that they were meeting in a public place apart from their homes. If the greedy wanted to indulge themselves in a meal, they should do so in their own houses, but not in the assembly of the church.The second question indicates that those who indulged themselves were wealthier, having ready access to such abundance, and were taking a position of priority over the poor and needy. Those who knew they were providing the wealth behind the meal thought themselves at liberty to take the firstfruits of their donations, not considering the poor brethren first. This is one version of respecting persons, in which a man believes that his position, title, wealth, degree, or rank gives him precedence over others who do not have the same. (Jms 2:1-9)
(Read "Respecting Persons Is Sin" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Paul finally poses a question about praise, which would be in reference to the praise he would have given those who kept the ordinances which he delivered to them, as he wrote in verse two. Yet, Paul cannot praise these actions because they are sin, and not only were the wealthier men doing this, there was guilt among the elders as well because they did not rebuke their actions.
[v23] For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
Paul received these instructions from the Lord Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, and therefore, these things should be kept as they were instructed. Paul repeats this instruction for their discipline and edification, beginning with the explanation that, on the night Jesus was betrayed by Judas, and taken to be crucified, His last action with His disciples was to take bread for a rite. (i.e. a spiritual custom that was to be performed)[v24] And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
After Jesus had given thanks to God for the bread, he broke it by taking pieces of it, and distributing those piecies unto His disciples for consumption. (Luke 22:19) This is a representation of the body of Christ that was sacrificed for us, which is not to be said that it was the literal body of Christ, as some false religions teach, nor does it provide any remission of sins or regeneration of spirit, but rather, it is a symbol of Christ's sacrifice, a symbol of his broken and wounded body, just as the Hebrews phrase Ha Lachma Anya, which means "the bread of affliction" is broken and shared in the Passover feast, not as literal affliction, but as a representation of the affliction of the Hebrews in the land of Egypt, which is done in remembrance, not as a ritual to provide salvation from captivity. (i.e. It would be ridiculous to say that if a slave broke the bread in a religious ritual, he would be freed, just as it is ridiculous to say that drinking grape juice out of a cup would set a man free from his sin.)[v25] After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
Likewise, this is not the literal blood of Christ as some false religions teach, which itself would be an offense and contradiction since blood was not supposed to be consumed. (Gen 9:4, Lev 17:11, Acts 15:29) The cup containing the fruit of the vine (Mat 26:29) was a representation of the blood of Christ shed for the new testament, or new covenant (also called the blood of the everlasting covenant, Heb 13:20), just as the blood of oxen was shed for the blood of the covenent in the old testament, or old covenant. (Exd 24:8)[v26] For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
That is, for as often as this ordinance is performed. This is not referring to just any meal or other celebratory feast. The Lord's supper is a rite performed for the purpose of expressing thanks and declaring the blessings that come from Christ's shed blood on the cross, and though there is no restriction or frequency given on how often or where this should be done, when it is done, it is symbolic of Christ's death until He returns for His saints, and in the context of Paul's reason for this explanation, all should be treated equally under this ordinance, not preferring one over another in respect of persons in sin, because (as Paul pointed out in the last chapter) all are nourished by the same spiritual bread, and all are made alive through the same spiritual drink, which is Christ. (1Co 10:4)[v27] Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
Because the bread and cup is symbolic of Christ's broken body and shed blood on the cross, to treat the Lord's supper as a common occurence, or to take it without the seriousness by which it should be considered, is to treat Christ's death as a common occurence without seriousness. Those who do not approach the Lord's supper with the a solemn mind and heart also do not approach Christ's sacrifice with a solemn mind and heart, which means that, outwardly, they might portray themselves to be followers of Jesus Christ, but inwardly, they do not have a repentant heart, and therefore, because they partake in an ordinance that is supposed to express the blessings and thankfulness of Christ's sacrifice in a careless manner, they also prove that they are careless when it comes to his sacrifice (Mat 22:8-14), seeing it of little or no value, and so whereas those who are the saints of God take great care of the Lord's supper to honor Christ's death, those who are careless with the Lord's supper are as guilty as those who nailed Him to the cross.[v28] But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
That is, we all should judge ourselves, our minds and hearts, that we honor Christ in all things, especially when it comes to the ordinances that He has established. If a man's mind and heart are repentant and genuinely grateful, he should have no fear to take the bread and cup of Christ together with the brethren, but should do so solemnly, that is, with seriousness of heart, and not as a standard meal.[v29] For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
To those who partake of the Lord's supper for show, woe to them because, even though this does not speak of eternal damnation, as the sins of many can be forgiven by Christ if they seek Him out with a repentant heart, but rather, they condemn themselves, meaning that they declare their own guilt before God, and make themselves subject to God's punishment because, in the pride of their hearts, they did not take into consideration the difference between the Lord's supper and a common meal.[v30] For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
There are many elders and preachers in church buildings today who perform the Lord's supper openly with any person who wants to walk into their doors, but this is dangerous both for them and for the visitors because, at the discretion of God's judgment, many who partake of the Lord's supper unworthily may be stricken with disease for their transgressions, or they may sleep, meaning that they will die, according to His will. Of course, the leaders of these institutions cannot be held responsible for what others do, as everyone needs to judge themselves, but having attended church buildings for many years as a young man, I can say confidently that these warnings are almost never taught to congregations.[v31] For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
Which is a proverb of itself, in that if we would judge ourselves righteously (John 7:24), examining ourselves first and foremost (2Co 13:5), laying open our hearts and minds before God, being honest in all things, and acting accordingly to those self-judgments, then we would not have to be judged by God or men, knowing that we humble ourselves in His presence, and tremble at His Word. (Isa 66:2)[v32] But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Knowing that when God judges His children, specifically when he chastens them (because judgment itself is not chastening; it is the discernment between good and evil) for the purpose of disciplining a child, it is for their good, in likeness to the loving nature of a father to chasten his son for the son's benefit. (Rev 3:19) The will of God is that they all come to repentance (2Pe 3:9), so they will not set a bad example for others, that when the world is condemned for their wickedness, a Christian would not be among them, so they would not hinder the preaching of the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ by their actions.(Read "Unbiblical Cop-Outs: 'Don't Judge Me!'" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v33] Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
Those of us who are brethren in Christ ought to wait for one another in the context of the Lord's supper. If there is a meal to be had and the Lord's supper is taken afterwards, wait for everyone to be present and to finish with the meal, then let the ordinance proceed with solemnity (i.e. seriousness) with which it should be taken. If there is no separate meal, then wait for all those who are to be expected before continuing the ordinance, so that as many as possible will take the Lord's supper together in union. In other words, let us all consider the things of others over ourselves, and let us not consider ourselves better than the others. (Phl 2:3-4)[v34] And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.
The purpose of the assembly of Christians is for the worship of God, in study and prayers, but many were treating it more as a simple feast of merriment. In a sense, there were those in the church in Corinth who treated it more like a country club than a church, and this problem still persists all over the world today. If individual Christians in the church know there are going to be problems that will cause bitterness and contention, then they should prepare ahead of time, eating at home, so there will not be any concerns when assembling together.We who are of Christ should heed this warning so we are not brought into condemnation, that we would not suffer the rebuke and chastening of God upon His children. If the children discipline themselves, the parents have no need to interfere. Paul encourages them to consider these matters in the minds and hearts, judging themselves righteously, and any other details that were questioned, he would address those during his next visit.
Chapter 12
[v1] Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
Paul is speaking of a gift given from the Holy Spirit to men, and based on many false religious cults around the world, this is a sensitive subject that needs to be address with care, which is why Paul also added that he did not want to leave them ignorant (i.e. without knowledge and understanding) of the truth about this matter.[v2] Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
First, Paul reminds the Corinthians of what Jesus has saved them out of, or in other words, it was needful to be reminded about the pit from whence they were digged. (Isa 51:1) This would be in correlation with the previous chapter in which he told them they needed to judge themselves. We who are Gentiles (i.e. not Jews) were carried away unto idols (and many who were Jews also did the same, but went about it in a different way, in an attempt to fuse the Word of God with pagan ideology), in that we were given over to them, taking pleasures from the idolatry in our hearts (Eze 14:4-8), and led to trust in the deception of our hearts. (Jer 17:9, Pro 28:26)[v3] Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
Paul is telling us these things to increase our understanding, and to make known the truth of God. Those who do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ would look at Christ's suffering on the day of his death and call Him accursed, meaning that they believe he was worthy of His own death (or at the very least, have an apathetic, uncaring attitude towards it), because they do not understand why He suffered it. This is not to say that every man who calls Jesus "blessed" or "holy" automatically means he is speaking by the Spirit of God, but rather, a man who would claim to be of God and call Jesus accursed cannot have the Spirit of God in him.Likewise, those who do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ would not say that Jesus is the Lord (i.e. God) because they deny Him. And likewise, this is not to say that every man who calls Jesus "Lord," or confesses that He is God, automatically has the Holy Ghost, as Jesus pointed out in His teachings (Mat 7:21-23, John 8:31-45), but rather, a man who refuses to confess such things cannot have the Holy Ghost in him.
Part of the reason Paul is pointing this out is because a denial of any part of the Word of God would be a denial of Christ. For example, in John 5:46-47, Jesus pointed out to the Jews that they did not even believe the writings of Moses as they should have believed, and then goes on to tell them that if they did not believe what Moses wrote, they could not believe on Jesus Christ either, which means that once a man has knowledge of the doctrine of Christ, but he denies that doctrine, it is the same that a man would call Jesus accursed and deny His divine nature, which is why, after the doctrine of something as simple as the length of one's hair, Paul wrote that we do not have contention in the church over such matters (1Co 11:16), and that those who are in contention are in denial against Christ, being no better than those who are led away unto dumb idols.
[v4] Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
This is referring to those gifts which are given by the Spirit through grace, and Paul will go on to mention some of these soon. As we saw in the last chapter, there was a problem with the sin of respecting persons among the Corinthian church, and since that was the case, it stands to reason that some had lifted themselves up in pride because of their gifts, lording over others, and/or some in the church were lifting up on a high pedestal those who had more desirable or popular gifts; thus, the church needed to be reminded that they all came from the same broken and lost state, and that they had all been saved and educated by the same Spirit.[v5] And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
These administrations would be the duties of apostles (which many know by the Catholic term 'missionaries'), prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. (Eph 4:11-12) Though there are differences between these, and though some carry more authority in the church than others, and though the Holy Spirit has given some the gifts and understanding to serve in those administrations, all of us serve the same Lord.[v6] And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
The diversities of operations has to do with all the functions of the church, which are common among all Christians, and therefore, less extraordinary than spiritual gifts and administrations. Such things might include charitable works of patience, alms, faith, and edification, just to name a few. (Gal 5:22-23) Though these things are more common and less impressive, they are duties of the church, and they come from the same God who we all serve.[v7] But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
Not the manifestation of the Holy Spirit Himself, but rather, a manifestation in terms of evidence, which is provided in the sight of men to prove the Holy Spirit resides within a man. This is not to say that every man in the world receives the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but every man who has a regenerated spirit in Christ receives the Holy Spirit, and those gifts, administrations, and operations are not given so that he would lift himself up in his own pride; rather, those things are given to him that he might bring the fruit of those gifts to world, for the service of the church, the poor, the needy, and his neighbors, that men might be humbled before the sacrifice and mercy of Jesus Christ, and that He would be glorified.[v8] For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
The word of wisdom being spoken of here is the gift of the wisdom of God, but not in the manner which is common. There is a common gift of wisdom, because all those who are regenerated in Christ must have knowledge, wisdom, and understanding given to them, and there is also the gift in which God has said He would freely give all those who ask of Him for wisdom. (Jms 1:5) The word of wisdom is that which is wisdom in the Word of God, whereby God gives not only knowledge and understanding of His Word, but also gives a man the wisdom to explain these things to others, being able to teach and practically apply those doctrines so that all may share in understanding.The word of knowledge is not to be take in the sense of basic knowledge, which is given to all Christians to some degree, but rather, it is knowledge of a special kind, which is prophetic from the Spirit of God, and Paul refers to this in the next chapter. (1Co 13:2) This word of knowledge is given to those individuals, meaning that God speaks unto them His Word to deliver unto the people, and God also gives them the interpretation of those things to explain to the hearers. (This is not to be confused with "speaking in tongues," which Paul will cover in chapter 14.)
[v9] To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
This is not in the common understanding of faith, in that Christ authors faith in all those who are His servants (Heb 12:2), but rather, this is the faith that the exhibition of understanding and practical confidence in God's Word, which leads them (most often) into a teaching or pastoral service, in that they preach the faith of Christ boldly to all who will hear. Some may want to argue that this is referring to the gift of faith to work miracles, but Paul mentions that specifically later, which means this is speaking of the gift which leads one to preach and to contend for the faith in the face of opposition.The gifts of healing are not in the common sense by which a man who was sick would visit a physician (Jer 8:22), but rather, this is the special gift which causes miracles of healing, which was more well-known in the days of Paul, as he was one of those who was given that gift by the Holy Spirit. (Acts 28:8-9)
[v10] To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
The working of miracles is not necessarily classified the same as the gift of healing because whereas healing would have been to cure the sick of disease or poisons, the working of miracles would be a step beyond to causing the blind to see (John 9:24-25), the lame to walk (Acts 3:6), or the raising of the dead. (Acts 9:39-41) The prophesying would be those who were given gifts to preach the interpretation of God's Word, perhaps not in the sense of the word of knowledge because God would have to directly give his word to that man, but in the sense of interpretation and education into the prophecies in the Old and New Testaments, which is the general use of the term 'prophecy'.The discerning of spirits is a God-given ability of wisdom to discern the intents and purposes of the hearts of men, seeing the difference between the pure and genuine heart versus the lying and hypocritical heart, which is to be taken in the miraculous sense, as opposed to the more common sense in which we exercise our discernment to strengthen our spiritual observation. (Heb 5:14) For example, Paul and Silas encountered a young woman who professed them to be servants of God who would show everyone the way of salvation, which was true, but he discerned the evil spirit of divination that resided within her. (Acts 16:16-18)
Concerning tongues, again, this is to be taken in the miraculous sense, in which a man filled with the Holy Ghost can speak all manner of spoken and written languages around the world which he has never learned or understood, and likewise, the interpretation of tongues is one who can understand various spoken and written languages around the world which he has never learned or understood before. This is the true speaking in tongues, which is opposed to the vulgar false doctrine commonly labled as "speaking in tongues" that is widely practiced by various religious cults, which should be more accurately labeled "gibberish" that is of the devil.
(Read "Speaking in Tongues vs Charismatic Gibberish" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v11] But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
No matter what gifts a Christian has been given, whether ordinary or extraordinary, we all work together for the same Spirit, we all serve the same God, and all gifts are divided and distributed according to His will. This is not to say that we are united with those who feign the gifts of the Spirit of God, who hold up the Bible for a pretense while denying the doctrines of Scripture, but rather, this is for the church specifically, to all those who have been born again in Christ, and God gives to every one of his children specific gifts to do specific work, which is why our fellowship together is so important.[v12] For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
This is a general analogy, comparing the workings of the body of Christ (i.e. the church as a whole) to the workings of the body of a man. From a man's eyes to his feet, from his ears to his hands, all parts work the various functions of the body for its preservation, and to serve the purpose of the mind, so also does the church, from the greatest to the least, operate for the service of Christ and the preservation of His church.(Read "The Church is Not a Building" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v13] For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
This is not referring to water baptism, but the baptism of the Holy Ghost, which is spiritual. (Mat 3:11) Paul is emphasizing that no one person in the church is better than the other, that many come from a variety of backgrounds to serve the same Lord, for all are needed to do various tasks and carry various responsibilities. Some were born Jewish and were later saved, others were born Gentile and were later saved, and therefore, both will have unique understanding, and God will grant them specific gifts according to the will He has for them. Some were saved as free men, whereas others were saved while in bondage (and if the opportunity presents itself to exit that bondage by legal and moral means, then they should do so, 1Co 7:20-23), but as Paul pointed out in the last chapter on the Lord's supper, all are drinking from the same spiritual drink, meaning that we all receive blessings of grace, faith, hope, patience, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom from the same source.[v14] For the body is not one member, but many.
The head of the body is one (Eph 5:23, Col 1:18), but the body is many members working together to serve the head.[v15] If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
The foot is a member of the body that is much lower, carrying a lot of weight, but very little consideration is given to the foot unless there is a serious problem, whereas the hand is much more often viewed and considered, and much more immediate care and use is given to the hand. The foot may believe that it is base (i.e. worthless) and of low value, and the hand might believe it is mighty and of high value, but both are vital parts that must work together in unison because the foot would suffer without the hand, and the hand would suffer without the foot; both are members of the body, and so it is not wrong to desire the spiritual gifts of God (1Co 14:1), but we should be content with the things we have (Heb 13:5), and do the best job we can with what we were given. (Col 3:23, Ecc 9:10)[v16] And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
The eye takes in visual information, whereas the ear takes in audible information. Although the eye is most often seen and appreciated for its beauty, and though it is often used and thought about for seeing the world around us, the ear often receives less consideration until there is a serious problem. Though the eye allows us to read, without the hearing of the ear, how will we perceive the dangers of leaven and false doctrines taught from the mouth? Therefore, the ear cannot believe it is not part of the body because it does not have the same function as the eye, because both the eye and ear must work together for the greatest efficiency of the mind.[v17] If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
If all that existed for the body were eyes, then how would we hear? Or smell? Or taste? Or touch? How would we run? How would we speak? The eyes require the neck to turn the head to see, and the neck requires the shoulders to rest upon. Therefore, there would be no way to complete a job without all the parts working together to serve the head.[v18] But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
It was according to the good will and pleasure of God that each of us were given the gifts we have, and that we would serve our function in the body. If we pray for the will of God as we should (Mat 6:10), then we should be pleased to know that God is pleased when we are content with the gifts and duties He has given to us.[v19] And if they were all one member, where were the body?
If only one type of member existed, only one job could be done, and even then, that job would be done poorly. There is no body of Christ without the various members of the body.[v20] But now are they many members, yet but one body.
Meaning that, though we come from many backgrounds, many stations in life, and given many various gifts, we are one body, which is the church, and not just the church in a particular location, but the church as a whole, spread out around the world.[v21] And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
Paul has already addressed the problem of the lesser members of the body believing they were not useful because they were not as honored, but now he is addressing those who would consider the less honorable members to be useless. What good is the eye if there is no hand to manipulate the things it sees? Or what good is the mouth if it cannot walk to where it needs to speak? For example, the work I do as an evangelist, a teacher, and a scribe (i.e. one who writes and documents, Mat 13:52) cannot be fully accomplished with efficiency unless there are other members of our church working together with me; much less could be accomplished if I were alone, and so everyone is important to the work that is done.[v22] Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
Those in the church who are more feeble, the ones who are weak in the faith, who need to learn patience and wisdom, and rely on the discernemnt of the elder in the church for their protection, are necessary members of the body of Christ, which is in correlation to the first chapter in which Paul emphasizes that it is not the strong, mighty, and wise men of this world which God uses for His purposes, but the weak, worthless, and foolish that God saves and lifts up, so that no flesh would have glory in His presence. (1Co 1:26-29) Since that is the case, this means that those who are more feeble are more likely to be chosen by God and granted the gifts of the Spirit, that they may teach and oversee the church as humble servants that will give glory to Jesus Christ.[v23] And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
Though the feet often go unnoticed, a man will take care to wear proper shoes for the purpose at hand, to protect the feet, and therefore, he honors his feet (i.e. he does good unto his feet) by the coverings he gives to his feet, which is more than he does for his eyes or ears. The "uncomely" parts would be those of a private or sexual nature, which would be an offense or embarrassment when uncovered, but when they are covered, they become more comely and acceptable; likewise, a Christian who may have done many offenses and evils in their life will still be hated by the world even after Christ has brought them to repentance of their sins, but by grace, we cover the sins (Pro 10:12) of the contrite spirit (i.e. not those who are unrepentant of sin, 1Ti 5:20, but those who have godly sorrow of their wrongdoing, Psa 34:18 have their sins covered), that they become more presentable to Christ, a greater testimony of grace to the world, and a more efficient member of the body.[v24] For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:
That is, the parts that do not bring shame have no need to be covered, but whether they are comely or uncomely, they are all still members of the body, bringing together both the greater gifts with the lesser, the higher station with the lower, the free with the slaves, and the wealthy with the poor; all into one temepered body.[v25] That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
As Paul pointed out at the beginning of the letter, there was to be no division of denomination among the church, and the word "schism" means a division or separation. There should be no heirarchy or special privileges, but rather, all should have consideration one for another, that we would humbly consider others better than ourselves. (Phl 2:3)[v26] And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
If one member suffers, we all bear some of the grief and concern of their situation, just as if the foot is wounded, the ear, eye, and hand all focus their attention on the foot. If the foot is doing well, the whole body improves, and therefore, if one member of the church is blessed in some manner, the entire church is collectively blessed.[v27] Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
Meaning that, those people who have been born again in Jesus Christ, are defined as "the body of Christ." There are many false religious institutions that teach people to "go to church," and even though the church should assemble together as one (Heb 10:25), the church is not a building made with hands (1Co 3:9, 2Co 6:16, 1Pe 2:5, 1Pe 4:17); the church is the collective body of believers, and because it is impossible to "go to oneself," it means that whenever or wherever two or more are gathered in the name of Christ, He will be there with them. (Mat 18:20)(Read "The Church is Not a Building" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v28] And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
Paul is presenting the order of importance for positions in the church, meaning that these are foundational to the formation and function of the church, that is, the body of the children of God. The first are the apostles (which are now commonly described by many who have adopted the word 'missionary' from the Catholic church), which is a person who is commissioned to an important duty or business, and an apostle in the New Testament are men who work in groups of at least two, traveling to foreign lands to preach the Gospel of Jesus, do charitable works, and start up a church in an area where the church is not established, which lays the foundation for what follows.The second position are prophets, which is meant in the miraculous sense, being given the Word of God directly from the angels, and interpreting those messages to the church. The reason this position is set high is because we would not have a Bible without prophets, and we need the Bible for communication with the Lord. This is information directly from God, and should be taken seriously, whether seriously in that they are true prophets (i.e. men whose prophecies are always correct because they come from God), or if they are false prophets (i.e. men whose predictions are only mostly correct, or sometimes correct, or even one who is vague in his communications so they cannot be proven false), that we would have discernment give heed only to the true prophets, and sanctify ourselves away from the false prophets. (Deut 13:1-5)
(For examples of false prophets, see my series of free-to-read books called "False Prophet Profiles.")
The third position are the teachers, which many people often refer to as "pastors," and some are, but they can also be bishops (i.e. elders), evangelists and scribes as well. (Apostles and prophets also serve this function, which is one way we can check them against the Scriptures to verify if they are true or false. Acts 17:11) Such men are given the understanding and wisdom of God to explain the Scripture, not by special revelation, which was given to prophets (even though they are still technically prophets because they take the Word of God in Scripture and interpret it to the people), but by ordinary, non-miraculous gifts, to feed the flock of God with the understanding and proper interpretations of Christ's doctrines. (1Pe 5:2)
These first three gifts were foundational to the church, while the other gifts varied depending on the people and location, and between all of them, some may have one, others may have many, but all were servants of Christ. Some were given the gifts of healing, which refers to miraculous healings that were sometimes performed with the anointing of oils (Jms 5:14), some were given gift of helps, which were more common ministers to help with daily tasks such as the deacons who helped to feed the widows, some were given the gift of governing, which are those who would have the wisdom and understanding to oversee matters and provide counsel and advice (to which, pastors and elders often fulfill that role, but others in the church may be seen to have such gifts), and some were given the diversity of tongues, meaning that they were given the miraculous ability to speak or understanding the languages of men they had never heard or understood before.
[v29] Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
Not everyone can be an apostle, and they will not be because the majority must perform other duties in the church. Not everyone can be a prophet because if all were prophets, there would be no one to perform the duties of the apostles or the teachers. Not everyone can be a teacher otherwise there would be no students, and the purpose of a teacher is to fast track a student to learn things quickly and effeciently, so they can can increase in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in other areas of study in greater capacity. Not all could be workers of miracles in those days (i.e. in the day of the early church when the Holy Spirit was giving the power of the gift of miracles), because many other duties had to be done to support those who had those gifts.[v30] Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
Not everyone can have the gift of healing, which is meant as a miraculous gift as opposed to the ordinary gift that might be given to a physician. (Such gifts of miraculous healing, as far as I am aware, do not exist today in the church because the Lord has not given it to our generations.) Not everyone could have the miraculous gift of languages back in the day in which Holy Spirit was giving that gift to men; not all could could speak them, nor could all understand them for interpretation, and not only was it not given to all, but the duties of the church could not all be fulfilled if all did one thing.[v31] But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
The church in Corinth coveted (i.e. desired earnesly) the best gifts of the Holy Spirit for the same reason we today might covet them. Many of us have imagined to ourselves how much good we could do for others if we could heal them, or how many might be saved if we demonstrated the awesome power of God by raising the dead, but Jesus taught us that a wicked and adulterous people seek after the signs of miracles instead of seeking righteousness by faith (Mat 16:4), and if we look closely in the first four books of the New Testament, Jesus specifically told those he healed not to tell anyone what He had done for them (Mark 7:36), which means that Jesus found no spiritual profit in the testimony of miracles, otherwise He would have told them to go tell everyone.In chapter 14, Paul will emphasize this again by teaching that the desire for spiritual gifts for the purpose of doing charity unto the people is a good thing. However, the most important thing is prophesying (1Co 14:1), in the sense of teaching and interpretation of the Word of God unto the people, or in other words, the teaching the wisdom and understanding of God's Word is far more important than miracles.
Chapter 13
[v1] Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
This verse is often misused by those who utter demonic gibberish in what they call "speaking in tongues" because they twist this into a justification that they speak in the tongue or language of angels. (2Pe 3:16) However, this is to be contextually understood that the tongue of angels reveals the deep things of God (as Paul goes on to say in the next verse), things difficult to be understood, and therefore a tongue would be a language which is understood by the hearer, which the angels did speak, and prophetically imparted understanding to men.(Read "Speaking in Tongues vs Charismatic Gibberish" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
To have the miraculous ability to speak with the power of the Holy Spirit to all languages of men was a gift that many in the church of Corinth desired, but only some were given that gift. Paul was teaching them that they ought to desire something greater than the gift of tongues, which was charity, in which a man would make selfless sacrifices (i.e. love) on behalf of his brethren and neighbors, and that to have the greatest gifts of God without a charitable heart was vain.
There are many who wanted these gifts for their own pleasure and self-glorification, and knowing this, Paul compared them to cymbals, or other metal percussion instruments that might be made of brass, but were hollow on the the inside. Most instruments make a continuous, beautiful sound that are constantly guided by the user's hands, and others have the user's breath constantly flowing through them, but when a percussive instrument is struck, it makes a great sound that can be heard far and wide, but it quickly disappears, leaving nothing but an empty shell; polished on the outside, but filled with nothing on the inside. (Mat 23:27)
[v2] And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
A man could have the miraculous gift of receiving the Word of God from angels, or the ordinary gift interpreting the Scripture, and God could grant him all wisdom and understanding of the spiritual matters, having knowledge beyond any other man, and yet, without charity, all these gifts are useless because they are self-serving, and he will lead many astray. To put it another way, the concept of charity is the end of the law and prophets (Mat 7:12), and so to have all knowledge of the law and prophets, but not fulfill the end thereof, it is vanity because it does not show by example the concept of grace.The word 'faith' in this context is not used in the sense of the saving faith by which we are granted grace by the Lord Jesus Christ, but rather, it is a faith in the sense of believing things that are true, a deep trust in the Lord God to perform difficult tasks (or rather, those tasks which we perceive to be difficult) on our behalf. (Mat 17:20) This is not to be taken in the sense that the mountains would literally be moved once a person has acheived enough belief that they could, but rather, things that would seemingly be impossible for men is possible with God through trust in Him, and yet, without a charitable reason for the good of mankind and the glory of God, moving a mountain would be vain.
[v3] And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
For example, there are Catholics who have taken a "vow of poverty," which means they give up all ownership of any property to give to the poor and needy, and yet, with their belief in false doctrines and corrupt traditions of men, they have no salvation, so whereas we may see it as a noble thing to give unto the poor and needy, there was not a true heart of charity because they followed the tradtions of men in order to put on an outward appearance of "goodness" and feigned "holiness" while the inside was unclean. Having uncleanness inwardly means that the uncleanness will spread to others, and so in selfishness (not charity), in which they want to appear to have charitable characteristics, men will do such vain things in order to help justify themselves before God and men (Luke 16:15), rather than relying on the Lord Jesus Christ, meaning that not only do they not enter heaven, but they make others doubly the children of hell (Mat 23:15) because they lead them into darkness for the sake of polishing their appearance before men.(Read Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Likewise, pagans of various false religions have given their bodies to be burned. For example, a Buddhist monk in Czechoslovakia set himself on fire and burned himself to death in 1968, but that act only served to glorify himself because the Czechs made a celebration of him that they still honor to this day, and thus, there was not true charity involved in the burning of his body, and because he was not under the saving grace of Christ, it profited him nothing, and led others astray from the truth of God's Word.
(See Bob Perkins, "Self Immolation: A brief history of the incomprehensible act," Patch, Apr 17, 2020, retrieved June 15, 2020, [patch.com/california/malibu/self-immolation-brief-history-incomprehensible-act])
[v4] Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
Those with filled with the charity of Christ have patience that suffers a lot of affliction, in that a person is temperate in passions, being slow to anger, and is ready to forgive at the first sign of repentance. (Luke 17:3-4) A charitable man does not envy others, meaning that he has joy for those who have been blessed with good things, nor does he boast (i.e. vaunt) of himself, puffing himself up to make himself look good on the outside, and the Bible teaches us that men do such things to be oppressive to the poor and needy (Psa 12:5), which is the opposite of charity.[v5] Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
A charitable man does not behave in an indecent manner in the sense that they will not do and say things that are purposefully offensive unto others. Perhaps in anger against the corrupt doctrine of a false teacher, a Christian man might have many choice words, that may be said in truth, but holds them back with wisdom (Mat 10:16, Jms 1:26) and charity, remembering that Christ commanded us to do good, even unto our enemy (Mat 5:44), keeping in mind that we were once lost and corrupt, and we were saved by Christ.Because of these things, we remember that what we say and do is for the benefit of Christ and our neighbor (Mat 7:12), and therefore, we discipline ourselves to think on the things of others as well ourselves (Phl 2:4), being long suffering as our Heavenly Father is long suffering. (2Pe 3:9) Evil thoughts might cross the minds of corrupt people in the world, and they may speak malicious things from their lips (either in our presence or behind our backs), but we should reject any such evil thought, and bring our minds into submission to the charitable mind of Christ. (2Co 10:5, 1Pe 3:9)
[v6] Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
That is, a charitable man does not take pleasure in evils or wrongdoing, neither his own nor anyone else's. So often, churchgoers allow themselves to be overtaken with passions and ignore charity; for example, Peter was overtaken with passion to defend the Lord Jesus Christ against those who would take Him, and so he cut off the ear of Malchus, one of the high priest's servants, but Jesus rebuked Peter, and healed the wound of the man who was to take Him bound to His death. (Luke 22:49-51) Though the Lord might have been pleased with Peter's passion, He was not pleased with Peter's lack of charitable consideration for his neighbor, and so Christ did not rejoice at Peter's actions, but Christ did rejoice at the humility of a woman who humbled herself and acknolwedged truth (2Ti 2:25) of her broken state (Psa 34:18) by confessing that she was not worthy to sit at the table of the Lord (Mat 15:21-28), and she pleaded for the mercy of Jesus, not for her sake, but selflessly to save her daughter.[v7] Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
The phrase "all things" is mistakenly taken by many people to mean everything in all existence, whether philosophies or inventions, which is not the contextual sense in which this is meant. Charity bears all things that are commanded of Christians to bear, which in accordance with the fulfillment of the law and prophets, treating others the way we would want to be treated (Mat 7:12), especially when engaging believers who are weak in the faith (Rom 14:1), having the charity and understanding to cover their sins (Pro 10:12); not that we cover sins in the sense that we allow sin, but that we cover sins by privately rebuking the sin, and if the weak brother come to repentance, we forgive the sin (Luke 17:3) without publicizing it to anyone, which means we will have to bear their iniquities against us while they learn and grow in the understanding of Christ, just as He bore our iniquities. (Isa 53:11)This is not meant that we should believe all things in the sense of every false religious idea or fable, but we believe all things that we are commanded to believe according to the Word of God, and to believe all things that are charitable to our neighbor. If we are told something positive about our neighbor, if we are charitable, our tendency is to believe that good report, even if it is about someone who is our enemy; however, it should also be said that ignoring evidence about someone we might favor, out of a desire to believe a good report, is no longer a charitable act, rather, it then becomes a matter of trusting in lies, which deceives ourselves and our neighbor, and has no profit. (Jer 7:8) Thus, we believe all things that are charitable and honorable according to the Word of God despite our personal feelings because putting aside feelings to acknowledge the truth is a charitable act.
This is not meant that we should hope in all things that are wrong or evil, but we hope all things that are to be hoped for according to God's Word. If we are charitable, we hope for blessings in the households of others, even good things for false preachers and other enemies we might have (Mat 5:45), that they might come to repentance (2Ti 2:24-26), and we hope for the many promises of God, both in this world and in His Kingdom. (John 14:2) Likewise, we do not endure all things that exist (e.g. we would not endure criminals to come into our homes and harm our families), but we endure the many griefs and vexations that we experience from religious persecution and tribulation that we receive from the world, for the sake of Jesus Christ and the furtherance of the Gospel.
[v8] Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
That is, the philosophy of charity never fails when applied to a situation, which is not to say that men who desire to be charitable cannot fail. Men certainly do fail, especially when sin prevails in a man's heart, and sadly, the charity of many Christians has failed when pride and/or malice takes over (Phl 4:8), but a humble and repentant heart remembers the broken state from which Christ saved us (Isa 51:1), and seeks the best for the other person (Phl 2:4), rather than looking to himself only.Prophecies shall fail, not in the sense that this is speaking of false prophets, nor should it be said that the prophecies of God are not true and certain (Tts 1:2), nor should it be said that the Word of God is not settled forever in heaven (Mat 24:35), but rather, prophecies fail meaning that they are exhausted. Once a prophecy has been foretold, and it comes to pass, the thing that came to pass is done, and the prophecy is no longer needed, but whereas prophecies extinguish once their time has come, charity is always needed, and will never cease.
Tongues, which are the various spoken languages of men, will eventually cease because, when Christ returns, the Lord will have no need for the world's many languages, and we will return to one language, which was the way it was designed from the beginning of creation. (Gen 10:5) In that day, there will be no need for the gift of knowledge given to those who teach because, through Christ, knowledge will be made perfect for all, as Paul goes on to describe in the next few verses.
[v9] For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
Paul is referring to prophesying in the common sense, which is to interpret the Word of God for the people from the Scriptures. That which is taught by those who were given the gifts of wisdom and understanding to teach is only taught in part, meaning that I, as a teacher, cannot know all things, and can only preach from what I know, which is only partial knowledge. However, this applies also to the prophets of God in the Old Testament as well, who only prophesied in part, meaning that they all received pieces of the events that would occur, and even then, the details of those events were not fully known until all had come to pass as foretold.[v10] But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
Once a prophecy has been fulfilled, there is no need to rely on the prophecy any longer. For example, after Christ came to this world, we still study the prophecies to understand God's Word as discipline for our correction and instruction in the ways of righteousness (1Co 10:11), to help us understand the mind and will of the Lord, but we no longer need to rely on those prophecies because the Son of God who was prophesied has already come and established His church. Likewise, when the knowledge of God is made perfect (i.e. complete, as it is intended to be), we will no longer have need to be educated because all will have the fullness of the knowledge we need in its entirety.[v11] When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
The things we learn as children are deep and puzzling when we are children, but as adults, they are very simple and common parts of life that we do instinctively, through muscle memory, without having to actively think about them. For example, a child struggles to understand the alphabet of the English language when he is young, but when he is old, he can read, write, and speak fluently without having to consider the individual letters because the alphabet is common knowledge. Children only understand such knowledge in part, and therefore, when we become adults, the childish things become common knowledge, and we have no need to be educated by teachers on the basics.[v12] For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
A glass is meant in the manner of any device in which we look through to see something beyond our eye's capability, like a spyglass for example, which is a small, handheld telescope. A sailor may look through a spyglass to see more clearly other ships, or what is coming on the horizon, which only reveals a small circular window of enhanced vision, but only to a certain degree, and if used in a dark or dimly lit time of the day, it is very hard to see.Likewise, our knowledge and understanding is limited to the scope we are given, but once Christ returns and translates us into His Kingdom (Col 1:13), what we viewed in that small, dimly lit scope, will be seen in full view and light, face to face. We must keep in mind that we only see things in part, but in the reign of Christ, these things shall be known in perfection, even as we are known, either in the sense that we understand a man more clearly face to face, or that we shall know Christ in the same way that He knows us.
[v13] And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
This is not to say that faith (and hope, which is a derivative of faith) is unimportant, for without faith in Jesus Christ, a man cannot be saved (Eph 2:8-9), but faith and hope are personal, meaning that such things benefit the faithful man alone, whereas charity benefits others. Faith and hope will be fulfilled in the day of our death, or the day in which Christ returns, and thus, when that day comes, faith and hope will no longer be needed, but charity remains for eternity, which is why we receive reward for our charitable works. (Luke 6:35) Charity is the fulfillment of the law and prophets (Mat 7:12), and though Christ authors our faith (Heb 12:2), and by that, we receive His salvation as a free gift (Rom 5:15), reward (in the positive context) is a benefit received in return for a good deed. God hands out reward for charity, not forcing any of His children to do a set standard of charitable works for their salvation, but rather, He loves the cheerful giver (2Co 9:7), and grants them good things for their ministry (i.e. service) unto the poor and needy. (Mat 6:1-4)Chapter 14
[v1] Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
Paul continues the thought from the last chapter that we should seek to be charitable to our neighbors, and also adds in a comment about spiritual gifts, that they would not take his words to mean that their desire for the spiritual things of God was wrong in any sense. However, more important than raising the dead, miraculous healings, or speaking in tongues, is prophesying, which is not in the miraculous sense of foretelling future events, but in the ordinary measure in which a man studies to gain understanding of Scripture, by which God grants wisdom to share that understanding, either through teaching, or by prayers and songs (as Paul will point out later).[v2] For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
Corinth was a city near Athens, Greece, and so in a primarily Greek-speaking city, some may have wanted to speak in the Hebrew tongue, believing it to be a more holy language, and though they may have given sincere praise to God in a tongue that was unknown to everyone else, it was not beneficial for the church. (This is similar to today's Hebrew-roots cultists who insist that saying "Yeshua" instead of "Jesus" will give them special spiritual powers or benefits.) Though a man may speak the truth of the Gospel, it is only for himself, giving no charity to others because in an unknown tongue, it is useless to the hearers, and as Paul will soon point out, they see such a man as a mad barbarian, speaking unintelligable nonsense. Evidence of this is seen in the deception of the Catholic Church, by which they speak in a dead language (i.e. Latin), so that none would benefit, or the deception of the Charismatics and Pentecostals, who speak nonsensical, demonic gibberish to fool the masses into thinking they have the gifts of God.(Read Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism & "Speaking in Tongues vs Charismatic Gibberish" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v3] But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
Proper Biblical prophesying needs to be done in a language that is understood by the majority of the hearers, in a language that is common to the people, by which they would be edified (i.e. built up so they would grow in knowledge and understanding), exhorted (i.e. learning to be more graceful and charitable in the service of Christ), and comforted (i.e. to relieve the mind and heart of the afflictions and grief of this world).[v4] He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
Paul is putting "speaking in an unknown language" in opposition to "prophesying," and that is because a man that would speak in a language that was not common to the locals would only edify (or build up) himself, since he is the only one who understands what he is saying, but those that prophesy speak to the church, and not to himself, which would require him to speak a common tongue that all are familiar with, and thus, those who speak in a unique language do no good for the church.This verse also debunks the corrupt Charismatic/Pentecostal practice of their so-called "speaking in tongues," which refers to them blabbering a bunch of gibberish and calling it a "heavenly langauge." Many people in those false religions will admit that those who "speak in tongues" do not understand what they themselves are saying, and that the interpreters are the only ones who can understand, but if the speaker cannot understand his own speech, then there is no way he can edify himself, which means that the only way this verse can be interpreted is by applying it to the known tongues of men. Furthermore, if a man claims he can both speak his gibberish and interpret it himself, then he should be speaking in the common tongue from the start, which was the entire purpose of speaking in tongues when the Holy Spirit came to the church on the Day of Pentecost, so men of all languages could understand the Gospel. (Acts 2:4-8)
(Read "Speaking in Tongues vs Charismatic Gibberish" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v5] I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
That is, Paul would be pleased if everyone was given the gift of tongues by the Holy Spirit, so all could speak and hear without restraint, but it is better that we bring the wisdom and interpretation of God's Word to the church because the understanding of Scripture is of more importance than even something so great as raising the dead; in that, the miraculous gift of raising the dead is not a permenant solution to death, but the doctrine of Christ is the way to eternal life. (John 5:24, John 14:6) The only way a man's unknown language would be acceptable is if he has an interpreter translating everything he says into a language that all can understand.[v6] Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?
So, unless the church receives the information, what is the purpose of speaking a different language? The obvious conclusion is that there would be no purpose. Paul offers a hypothetical situation in which he would come to them speaking in various languages, and he is asking the Corinthians these questions to reason within themselves, that if they did not receive the revelations of the miraculous gifts of prophesying future events, or the knowledge and wisdom of the doctrine of Christ by these various gifts, by clear communication in a language known by the majority present at the time, it would do no good for the church as a whole, and therefore, it is no better than trying to put on a show to impress and create a false appearance.[v7] And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?
The words of Jesus Christ bring eternal life to those who hear and understand (Mat 13:13, Mat 13:23), but the sound of musical instruments, although pleasant to the hearer, does not give life, which makes them of far less importance than the words of knowledge in Scripture. The reason Paul is speaking of instruments is that, knowing they are of lesser importance, the Corinthians would reason within themselves that even instruments must provide a distinction of sound that is understood, being harmonous with other instruments, and distinguishable to the hearers, otherwise, the sound is terrible and causes the hearers confusion, irritation, and offense.[v8] For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
Music communicates a message, and sadly, many Christians do not understand the importance of that message, which is why the existance of something like "Christian" heavy metal music is nonsensical. It is a contradiction to preach the message of grace and peace in Christ while head-banging to destructive music intended to communicate violence and death. Understanding the message of music is important, and in Paul's example, the bold sound of a trumpet on a battlefield must be clear and confident (Jer 4:5), otherwise, the soldiers will not receive a clear and confident message, which will leave the army confused, irritated, and offended.(Read Christian Music: For the Love of Money here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v9] So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.
Just as the instrument's sound must be certain, so must preaching, praying, and singing be certain, otherwise, no one will understand anything. If no one can understand, then speaking is vanity because it does not serve the purpose that God created it to serve, and the sound is carried away, vanishing like dust in the wind. Thus, just as a musician plays his song with the instrument he has confidence in from his training, so we ought to speak and write the doctrines of God's Word in the language with which we are trained and confident.[v10] There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.
That is, their voices meaning the speech of their words (Acts 14:11), or their languages, of which there are estimated to be over 6,000 languages in the world today, which also have many dialects among them. All of these languages have signification, which means they have a method by which they communicate meaning, those methods must be practiced and utilized in order to transfer information accurately.[v11] Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.
The barbarian reference concerns a foreigner who lives in the wild, having little to no education or cultural upbringing. Such people might speak some dialect or heavily accented language, but it is unknown what they are saying, and their speech sounds like nothing more than the grunts and babblings of a mad man in the ears of the locals. The locals see the barbarian to be strange and unintelligable, as the barbarian sees the locals to be strange and unintelligable, and so without proper communication, interaction between them is useless, and no knowledge can be transfered.[v12] Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
The Corinthian Christians had a great zeal (i.e. passion) to have the spiritual gifts of God, but Paul encouraged them to develop as much zeal for edifying the church, whether they had many or few gifts, or whether they had greater or lesser gifts.[v13] Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
If a Greek-speaking Corinthian was given the gift to speak the Hebrew language, he should pray that God would give him the gift to interpret the Hebrew language into a common tongue (e.g. Greek), so the church would be edified.[v14] For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
For example, certain prayers of the Jews might be spoken traditionally, which they insisted to be done strickly in the Hebrew language, and so if a man with a gift to understand Hebrew would pray in this manner, he edifies himself by the knowledge, and has the understanding of what he is saying, but that understanding bears no fruit because others cannot understand.[v15] What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
The question "What is it then?" is a question posed from the reader's perspective, looking to understand what should be done, or in other words, one might ask, "What is it that we ought to say and teach?" We should pray with the spirit, which is the inward man, praying from the heart those things with are genuine in the sight of God, who judges the heart (Pro 21:2), but if we pray with our voice publicly, we should pray with understanding, not only with the understanding in the knowledge of God, but contextually, this is meant with a coherent language, that all might share in that understanding. Likewise, when we sing hymns and psalms unto the Lord, we should sing with our understanding, meaning that not only should the words be in accordance with the Word of God, but that they should be sung in a coherent language that all can understand.[v16] Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?
When the church hears the Word of God being preached, or prayed, or sung, the Spirit of God blesses them with understanding according to His will, but if no one understands, then there is no communication (i.e. delivery) of that information. If the information is not conveyed to everyone, then all cannot say "Amen" (i.e. "truly") in agreement of one mind (Phl 2:2) in good conscience because, without understanding what is being spoken or sung, we are in danger of taking false doctrine and claiming it is "truth." (Ecc 5:2)[v17] For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.
This is not to say that Paul was accusing them of falsely giving thanks, for they did well in giving thanks unto God, but again, the church is not edified because no one understands what is being said. Once again, this verse verifies that the language being spoken was a language known unto men, and known to the person speaking it (whether by miraculous gift or by training); it cannot be referring to a so-called "heavenly" language of the gibberish cults because they confess that they do not understand what they are saying, which means it is not them who are praying, which also means they are not giving thanks because they cannot know what they say.[v18] I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:
Paul is reminding them that this is not a rebuke against speaking in tongues, nor is it a degredation of the value of speaking in various languages as the gift of the spirit dictates; for Paul himself was given the gift as well, and much moreso because he spoke in more languages than those who had the spiritual gift of tongues in Corinth. Such a gift was necessary for Paul because he had to speak various languages as he traveled throughout Europe and Asia preaching to the Gentiles.[v19] Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.
Paul could preach in vanity for hours if the people near him could not understand his speech. Therefore, it is better than a man speak only a few words in language that can be understood, bringing edification to the church, rather than to preach for hours without any edification at all.[v20] Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.
Children are unrefined in their understanding, and are in need of much education. When they are young, they are in need of milk because they cannot yet digest more solid food, but over time, they grow into the meat, and likewise, young Christians must begin with the milk of the Word of God, and over time, they grow into the meat. (Heb 5:12-14) Thus, Paul taught us that we need to be full-grown adults in our understanding, which is the essence of perfection (Mat 5:48), not in the sense of flawlessness, but in the sense of becoming that which a thing was intended to be, like a pony to a horse, or a sapling to a tree, and that tree produces the fruit of mercy, a Christ gave us example. (Luke 6:36)(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Perfection" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
On the other hand, children have good qualities, and one of those is humility, knowing that they know very little, and that they can provide nothing, they are submissive to learning and growing in understanding. The grief and sharp anger a prideful man exhibits when he is corrected (Pro 15:10) is something we Christians ought not to carry in our hearts (Eph 4:25-27), but rather, we need to humble ourselves as a little child (Mat 18:4), and in meekness (2Ti 2:24-25), judging ourselves in righteous judgment (1Co 11:31, John 7:24), as we judge all things in righteous judgment. (1Co 2:15)
[v21] In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.
Paul is referring to the prophecy of Isaiah 28:11, and it should be noted this is addressing the Jews specifically, not the whole world, which demonstrates that gibberish-speaking cults (e.g. Apostolics, Pentecostals, Charismatics, etc) who use this verse as a justification for their gibberish are twisting God's Word to their own ends. (2Pe 3:16) Even when God was speaking to the Jews in their own language, the majority would not hear His Word (Mark 4:12), and since the Hebrews would not hear in their own tongue, Christ brought His doctrine to the world, to be preached by the Gentiles who would hear and understand, and therefore, the time came where the Jews would hear the Gospel preached to them in a language that was not their own, the language they considered to be holy, which was intended to humble them, but for most, their pride was still too great to hear the truth.[v22] Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.
This is more evidence against the false religious institutions that call their gibberish "speaking in tongues," believing in error that they have the miraculous gift of speaking in tonuges that is described in Scripture, and they use their so-called "speaking in tongues" to preach to alleged "believers" in their church buildings, which is not its purpose. The actual gift of speaking in tongues (i.e. speaking various known languages, whether common or miraculous) was given to preach to those who are unbelievers. The gift of tongues was a sign for the world, specifically for the Jews, that they might come to repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing, 2Co 7:9-10, 2Pe 3:9), and this is one of the reasons why these gifts no longer exist within the church, namely because they were a sign to establish the church, and once the church was established (Acts 14:1-3), the signs were no longer needed because it is a wicked generation that seeks after signs and miracles (Mat 16:4), rather than grace through faith in Christ, by which we are blessed in believing without having seen such miracles. (John 20:29)Prophesying is used in the sense of teaching the doctrine and wisdom of God, which is meant for the church, not for the world. This is because the world has not yet come to repentance and faith, and without the Spirit of God, they cannot understand (1Co 2:13-14), which makes it pointless to prophesy unto them because they need to hear the law to bring them unto Christ. (Gal 3:21-24)
[v23] If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?
That is, if the church comes together in one place, which could be in a variety of places, such as meeting publicly on a street side to preach, in a temple with the Jews when they would gather for study on the Sabbath Day, in someone's home for study, etc. It should be noted that the "church" in this passage is distinctly separated from the "place" in which they meet, demonstrating once again that the church is not a building. (1Co 3:9)(Read The Church is Not a Building" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
When the church comes together in a public place, and all are speaking at the same time, especially if all are speaking in various languages, it creates confusion, which Paul will mention again in verse 33. So when new Christians or unbelievers hear the church speaking various languages, and some speaking over one another in various languages, it creates chaos by which people will think they are "mad" (i.e. intellectually disorder, crazy, excited with violent and unreasonable passions), being uncapable of expressing themselves with normal intellect, which will turn them away from hearing the preaching of the Gospel of Christ.
(Read "Speaking in Tongues vs Charismatic Gibberish" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v24] But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
If all prophesy by taking turns, one at a time, with each speaking in his proper order, so that all may hear clearly to gain understanding, then the unbelieving (i.e. one who does not have salvation in Christ) or unlearned (i.e. a new Christian) can be convinced of the truth by analyzing the consistency of the doctrine being taught. It allows all to judge (i.e. to compare facts and discern what is true or false) the words that are being preached/prophesied, and when the truth is established, then all are judged of their errors, having their evils ways condemned, and gaining conviction from the Spirit of God to change their practices to conform to the truth.(Read "Unbiblical Cop-outs: 'Don't Judge Me!'" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v25] And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
This is not to say that the secrets of a man's heart is made manifest to the entire church, nor that he is required to confess his every deed to the congregation, but rather, the secrets of his heart are made known to himself, revealing the corruption within, and some may fall down on their faces in tears of godly sorrow (i.e. repentance) in that moment, or he may take those words home to consider them, and over time, as he weighs himself against the Word of God, he might end up praying in secret (Mat 6:6), and hopefully, will fall down before the Lord and confess the truth. (Rom 10:10) However, without proper order, no understanding is passed on to anyone, and thus, everything must be done in a civil manner, with charity to consider that the reason we speak is for the passing of knowledge and understanding to those in need of it.(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Charity" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v26] How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
The phrase "how is it" is meant in the sense of what should be done under such circumstances, to explain the proper conduct of the church. When we, as the church, meet together, wherever it may be, we should consider the gifts of all. This is not to say that everyone individually had a psalm, doctrine, tongue, revelation, or interpretation, but rather, these are some of the gifts that were previously mentioned, and so as a whole, some had these individual gifts, that when combined together, everyone had them collectively.One may have a gift of composition of song, another may have a gift to perform it, another may have a gift of wisdom and knowledge to deduce the doctrines of God's Word, another may have a gift to speak various languages, another may have a gift to interpret those languages into a common tongue, another may have a gift to understand prophetic writings in the Old Testament, another may have a gift to teach the complex things of Scripture in a simplistic manner for all to understand. All these gifts should not be used in any selfish manner, to lift up oneself in glory and pride, but rather, they should be used in humility in service of the church, that the saints would gain understanding and instruction unto righteousness and charity in all things.
[v27] If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
For example, if a few men were given the gift of tongues that they could speak the Hebrew language, then they should speak one at a time to avoid confusion, and their speech in that foreign tongue should be kept to a minimum, meaning that two or three at most should have their turn to speak in that language as a limitation to save time. (Remember that men are limited in the amount of information they can take in all at once, and they may lose their ability to retain attention after a time.) Furthermore, there should always be one to interpret a foreign language, so that all who do not understand the language can have understanding.[v28] But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
If there is no one to interpret the language being spoken, then the man speaking another language should keep silent when the church is assembled together, speaking to himself in his own heart and mind, praying to God in silence, and listening with others to learn from the speaker.[v29] Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
That is, those who were preaching the Word of God with the gifts of teaching, should speak two or three, which is not to say that one cannot (or should not) speak alone if there is only one to teach, but if there are two or three present, one can speak while the other two judge if the doctrine being taught is truth from the Word of God, or false words being spoken by the flesh. Those who were speaking in tongues (i.e. various langauges) were given the limiter in verse 27 of "at the most," but the teachers were not given a limitation, so that under the circumstance, each would have equal opportunity to preach as they were directed by the Holy Ghost, but should still be charitable to remember that everyone can only take in so much information at a time, and to give other teachers the chance they need to speak.[v30] If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
That is, if a Christian is teaching something, let him finish his explanation, and if there is error, let it be revealed in proper turn, so none are speaking over another. Even in the circumstance that something wrong is being taught, patience should be given so that, in hearing both doctrines, the correction will help others to learn more thoroughly during the explanation of the truth. In another example, knowledge of a doctrine might be revealed to one who is teaching, and the other may have a better, more direct, or more simplistic way of explaining the doctrine, but he should hold his peace and keep silence until there is a turn to speak, and this is one of the reasons why Paul did not command a limitation to two or three, knowing that if something needed to be clarified or corrected, the prophets would be at liberty to do so.[v31] For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
This is encouraging one speaker at a time in solemn assemblies, as opposed to how some false religious organizations operate today, in which many are all speaking or praying over one another. Such a blizzard of voices causes discomfort, uncertainty, and confusion, and so the church runs the risk of being deceived, and driving away potential converts to Christ, unless they operate in order.[v32] And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
Which is meant in the sense of the doctrine which a prophet teaches, and that should be subject to judgment by the other prophets, and by the church collectively. We are not commanded to automatically believe every spirit (1Jo 4:1-3), or every doctrine (Mat 16:6-12), and since spiritual doctrines originally come from spirits in the first place, that means everyone who teaches (i.e. prophesies) in the name of Jesus Christ should be open to having his doctrine analyzed and critiqued (to judge the spirits who gave them those doctrines), which requires a lot of patience, and can be a very taxing job, which is also why those who labor in the Word of God in such a way are worthy of double honor (i.e. that good would be done unto them, 1Ti 5:17).[v33] For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
Which is not meant in the manner of confounding the languages, as God did at the tower of Babel (Gen 11:7), nor is it meant that God never confounds the enemies of Him and His children (1Co 1:27, Psa 35:26), but in this context, the Lord Jesus Christ does not send the Holy Spirit to make people scream gibberish like mad men and convulse on the floor as if they were having seizures, nor did he create men to speak over one another to create a chaotic storm of voices so no one could understand anything that was being said. This purpose of the doctrines are to pass knowledge and understanding to edify the children of God. God is the author of peace, in the sense of unity and harmony among the church, teaching and guiding us to be of one mind and one accord (Phl 2:2), which ought to be done throughout all churches that are filled with the true saints of Christ.[v34] Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
This is an ordinance that was given to correct the practice of allowing women to be in teaching authority over the church, which God did not call them to do. This is not to say that women cannot speak in the general assembly of the church because women can sing, give testimony, speak of experiences, discuss Scripture, etc; but rather, women are not to have teaching or ruling authority over the church, and for women to take on the position of a teacher, preacher, elder, or pastor during a solemn assembly of the church, they are in rebellion against Christ's authority (1Sa 15:23), as Paul explained in chapter 11. (1Co 11:3) The law being referred to here is from the beginning, after the sins of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:16, in which God directly commanded the woman to be in obedience under the ruling authority of her husband.(Read "Can Women Be Pastors?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v35] And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
It is a commendable thing that women desire to learn the doctrines of God and have a good understanding of them, but if they would have understanding, they should not interrupt the preaching of the Word that is for the edification of the church. If they would have a pressing question that would help them in their understanding, they should talk to their husbands about it in private. If she has no husband, talk to a man in the family, like a father or brother. If no father or brother is there for her, then she can talk to one of the men in the church, but these things should be done in private, outside of the assembly meant for study and worship, since women who speak in the sense of teaching or instruction over the church bring shame unto themselves and the church as a whole, because they were commanded to submission, and by speaking over or in authority above the men, they actually speak above the authority of Christ and His commandments, demonstrating a spirit of rebellion among the church. (1Sa 15:23)[v36] What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?
That is, the question of "What?" should be taken to mean, "What shall you say and believe, Corinth?" Should the Corinthian Christians believe that the Word of God comes from them alone? Of course, such a thought would be foolish, knowing that the Word of God came from many prophets before the worldwide flood, before Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, before Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, before Paul, Peter, and John, and that all the Gentile nations receive the benefits of the Word of God which came out of Israel.Should the Corinthian Christians believe that the Word of God was given only unto Corinth? Of course not, and it would be silly to think in such a way. The Word of God and the gifts of the Holy Ghost were spread out around the world, including many countries around Greece, and many cities and towns around Corinth, but none of those cities and regions had a custom of women speaking in authority over the men in their solemn assemblies, so why should Corinth believe that they are an exception to the commandments?
[v37] If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
That is, if anyone who is spiritual in the truth of the Word of God, and has been given the gift teaching the doctrines of Scripture, or anyone who believes himself to be a teacher of these things (even if he is not), let both true saints and the false teachers (who might be among them), and all the church, understand that the things Paul has written to Corinth are the commandments of God delivered to us by the Holy Spirit, and these are ordinances to be obeyed in the church for our edification, that blessings of God's approval might rain down upon us from Heaven.Though some of the things Paul wrote here are difficult to be understood (2Pe 3:16), other things he wrote in this epistle are easy to understand. The parts that are easy to understand may be violated by those who are unlearned and unstable, but it is part of a snare God created in His Word to trap those who preach His Word falsely, that we might be able to more clearly identify those who would lead us astray from His doctrine. (Isa 28:13)
[v38] But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.
If any man rises up in contention, or if any man ignores these things (after open discussion with the church concerning the doctrines), desiring to be without knowledge of these commandments by his own will, then we should treat him as an ignorant man who does not have the knowledge of God, who does not have the Holy Spirit within him so that his eyes would be opened. If he chooses the path of ignorance, then we should leave him alone that he may walk the path of ignorance by his own free will (Mat 15:14), not forcing any doctrine on him that he does not want to hear. This is not done out of contention in any sense, but in protection of the church, that we might keep the unity of the Spirit in the church, and for the sake of the ignorant man, to demonstrate to him that he is at odds with the rest of the church in his beliefs and/or practices because we must remember that at the heart of every doctrine is a spirit, and if that spirit is evil, there is sin at the heart of that doctrine, from which the church needs to be set apart from him. (1Co 5:9-13)[v39] Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.
Paul repeats the encouragement he gave at the start of this chapter, which is that they ought to desire the spiritual gifts of God for the charitable works of the church to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, but that they should first and foremost covet the gift of prophesying, which is to have the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of God to teach the truth of His Word to the people because, after charity (which is the fulfillment of all the law and prophets), it is the most important work.[v40] Let all things be done decently and in order.
In that, whatever things we do in the solemn assembly in the church, we should ask ourselves if such things are decent in our mannerism, word, and dress, that we do not needlessly offend our neighbors. (i.e. The world will often be offended by the gospel of repentance and remission of sins, Luke 24:47, but they should not be offended by our manner.) We should also ask ourselves if what we do is ordered, which provides peaceful and clear communication to all the saints in the church, for their edification and growth.Chapter 15
[v1] Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
Paul is about to address the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to clarify any errors or false doctrines that might have been taught in the church, which is presumably based on the letters of report he had received of what was happening in Corinth. He reminds them that he preached these things while he was among them, and that while he was with them, they accepted that doctrine as truth, whereby those that obey the truth stand on that doctrine to this day.[v2] By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
Paul is not saying that they are only saved if they keep those things in memory, although they are the first principles of the Gospel of Christ, but rather, the Corinthian Christians have memory of the things Paul taught them, and it is the foundation of the doctrine by which they were saved if they believed it when he preached it to them; unless, he adds, they believed it without a repentant heart, and therefore, they became bad ground, in which the good seed of faith did not grow in their hearts. (Mat 13:18-23)[v3] For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
The doctrine which Paul preached is the same which was given to him by the Lord Jesus Christ, namely, that Christ suffered and died on the cross at Calvary (Luke 23:33) to make full payment for our sins (1Pe 3:18), as was prophesied from the beginning. (Gen 3:15, Isa 53)[v4] And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
The Lord Jesus Christ (i.e. His body in the flesh) was buried in a tomb after He was killed (Mat 27:57-61), as He foretold (Mat 12:40), and He rose again from the dead the third day (Mat 28:1-7), as He also foretold. (John 2:19-21)[v5] And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
That is, Christ was seen by Peter (who was also called Cephas, as Paul indicated in the first chapter, 1Co 1:12), which was mentioned in Luke 24:33-34.[v6] After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
This is in reference to Christ's appearance to the disciples in Galilee (Mat 26:32), and though some had died, most of those who saw Christ were still alive to testify of it, since this letter was written only two or three decades after the event took place.[v7] After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
This is not referring to James, the son of Zebedee (the brother of John), because he had already been killed by Herod many years prior to the writing of this letter (Acts 12:2), but rather, this was in reference to James, the son of Alphaeus. This is the only other known instance in Scripture of James, the son of Alphaeus, who was listed as one of the twelve disciples of Christ (Luke 6:13-16) who had witnessed Christ alive. After James saw Him, then all of the apostles witnessed Christ alive.[v8] And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
It is not certain from Scripture at which point Paul first saw Christ, as it could have been in the heavenly vision on the road to Damascus (Acts 26:19-20), or when he was caught up to the third heaven where the Godhead lives with the saints (2Co 12:2). When Paul says he was "born out of due time," he was referring to his spiritual birth, as a baby born in an untimely manner (Job 3:16, Psa 58:8), or what is commonly called a "still birth," in the sense that Paul had not seen the light of Christ alongside the apostles during Christ's ministry in Israel.[v9] For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
Paul had obviously said this many times, as he wrote the same thing to Ephesus (Eph 3:8), that he was far lesser than the least of all the saints, which is said to emphasize the great mercy of Christ upon him. This is not to say that Paul was not worthy to be called an apostle because when the Lord Jesus Christ calls a man to ministry, they are given worthiness by His grace (e.g. I am not worthy to be called a teacher of the Gospel for my many wicked deeds, but by the power and infinite grace of God, I am given such favor), and so Paul is pointing out that, by his own merit, he is not worthy to be called an apostle because of his past deeds, in which he bound Christian men and women from various cities and brought them to their deaths in Jerusalem, and even courteously held the coats of the men who stoned Stephen to death (Acts 22:20), who was a faithful saint beloved by many for his charity and boldness.[v10] But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Meaning that, by grace alone, Paul was given wisdom, understanding, and gifts, and he used them for the sake of Christ and the church as much as possible, that Christ's grace would not be in vain. This was not a boast, but a statement of fact, that Paul volunteered to go out and do works, traveling and preaching so much, there was no single apostle who matched the abundance of the charity and teaching he had done; it was a simple fact that was undisputed among the church (otherwise, he would not have stated such a thing), and Paul emphasizes that it was not to his credit that he had done this much work, but to the credit of God's grace.[v11] Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
Whether it was those who had been given the privilege of seeing Christ first, or those who came last, all are preaching the same message, and thus, by the preaching of those who were given understanding, it resulted in the church of Corinth believing that Christ had died, was buried, and rose from the dead.[v12] Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
Paul and the other apostles preached that Christ rose from the dead, some in Corinth were teaching that there was no resurrection of the dead, which could have been for many reasons, but it seems likely that there were some converts who came from the Sadducees, who were a sect well-known for denying the existence of spirits and the miracle of resurrection.[v13] But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
That is, if the general concept of the resurrection of the dead is false, then it would stand to reason that Christ's resurrection would also be false, which is not to say that Christ's resurrection is false, but rather, Paul is reasoning with the Corinthian Christians that denying the resurrection of the dead is an automatic denial of Christ, and so it is a contradiction for someone to claim to be a Christian if they do not believe in the resurrection of the dead.[v14] And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
These are very helpful verses to combat the philosophies of false religions today, like Jehovah's Witnesses for example, because they teach that Christ was not resurrected from the dead, and since they do not believe Christ arose from the dead, then all their door-to-door preaching is useless. It also means their faith is vain because they have put their hope into a lie, and have not been given a love of the truth (2Th 2:10) by the Holy Ghost.(Read "Corruptions of Christianity: Jehovah's Witness" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v15] Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
Paul is not claiming that Christ was not raised from the dead, but this is part of the argument that he is making, meaning that this is the logical conclusion if the arguments of the unbelievers was true. Paul is explaining that, if Christ was not resurrected from the dead, then he, along with all the other apostles, would be liars because they would be false witnesses, and their doctrine should not be believed. (Pro 14:5, Rom 13:9)[v16] For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
It seems this is repeated for emphasis, which is not to say that Paul has not already made the point, but that he wants the church to understand the importance of this doctrine; that the entire crux of our faith rests on the fact that Christ was resurrected from the dead.[v17] And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
The logic follows that if Christ was not raised from the dead, and if our faith was vain, then we would still be lost to sin. This means that we would not be regenerated by the Holy Spirit (Tts 3:5), which is what the practice of baptism is supposed to represent, and there would be no remission of sins in Christ because He would not be on the right hand of the Father making intercession for the saints. (Rom 8:34)[v18] Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
This would also mean that those who have died with their faith and hope in Jesus Christ would be lost to their sin, and there would be no justification for their souls on the Day of Judgment. The Sadducees also believed there was no soul of a man, and if there is no soul, then there is no afterlife, and if there is no afterlife, there is no reason or purpose to the things of this life either, and therefore, there is no hope because all will perish.[v19] If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
That is, if the hope we have in Christ only exists in this life, and the life to come does not exist, neither the result of our hope, which is the grace of salvation, eternal life (John 3:14-16), and reward for our works (1Co 3:8), then we who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ would be the most miserable of all the people in the world, having to suffer the persecutions, afflictions, and tribulations of this world (2Th 1:4, Heb 11:25), while taking no pleasure in the lusts of the flesh, and being a primary target of Satan's evils, without hope of anything to come.[v20] But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
That is, we know that Christ is risen from the dead, and that the testimony of His apostles is certain, being faithful to the things we cannot see, not blindly, but based on the evidence of His Word (Gal 3:24), which rightly discerns the thoughts and intents of our hearts. (Heb 4:12-13) Those who slept are those who were the children of God that were repentant of their sins and faithful to Him before the death and resurrection of Christ, and the "firstfruits" (Deut 26:2) that Paul is referring to is Christ, being the best and most valuable of the harvest, which were presented by the Hebrews as an offering unto God. Though the resurrection of the dead happened in the Old Testament (2Ki 4:32-37), and even during Christ's ministry (John 11:43-45), Christ raised Himself from the dead by His own power as God (John 2:19-21), and so He was the firstfruit of the many He would bring into His Kingdom after preparing a place for them (John 14:2-3); all of His faithful throughout the last 6,000 years of history from the beginning of the creation to now.[v21] For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
The first sin was committed by Eve, then by Adam immediately afterward (Gen 3:6), and because man is the head of the woman, and woman was created from man, Adam is credited for the first sin. Without sin, there would be no death, and so by sin, death entered into the world (Rom 5:12). If there was no death, there would be no need for resurrection, but because death now exists, resurrection is necessary for redemption.These verses also disprove another heresy that has been proposed by churchgoers who are also evolutionists (i.e. Christianity and Evolutionism cannot coexist in harmony because they are polar opposites), in which they teach that millions of years of evolution took place before Adam and Eve were created because they believe that is where fossils came from. The fossils came from the worldwide flood in the days of Noah, not from millions of years of evolution. By teaching that there was death before Adam and Eve sinned, churchgoers who try to compromise with their evolution doctrine must believe that death existed BEFORE sin (instead of sin before death), which would make death the fault of God, and therefore, according to their false teaching, they would have to say "by God came death," which is blasphemous in the sense that it blames God for creating the evils of this world, and attempts to make mankind innocent of sin.
(Read "The Earth's Age Affects Salvation Doctrine" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v22] For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
All of mankind is the lineage of Adam, which makes each of us being very distant brothers, sisters, and cousins of one another, and therefore, we share in the sin inherited, but when we are born again in Christ, we are born into a spiritual lineage and priesthood of faith (Heb 8:6-12), by which we enter into His family. (2Co 6:17-18) This is not to say that all mankind will be saved, but Christ will make alive all those who believe with a heart of repentance. (Luke 13:3, Rom 10:9)[v23] But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
That is, every man who is saved by Christ will be resurrected in the order that God has ordained, which is Christ first, and then the saints, the second fruits, who are the wheat harvest that is brought in alongside the tares (i.e. unrepentant and unbelievers) at the end of the world (Mat 13:37-43), of which no man knows the day or hour in which it will happen (Mat 24:36), but Christ did tell us the season in which He would return (Mat 24:32-33), and after 2,000 years, the saints are still here, so we still do not know how long remains because the signs of His coming have not yet appeared.(Read "The Beginner's Guide to Christian Rapture" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v24] Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
This is not to be understood as the end of all things that exist, but the end of the known world, as it exists with earthly kingdoms and governments, the wrath of God pouring out unto the unrepentant and unbelieving (Rev 8-9), the enemies of Christ being made His footstool (Acts 2:34-35), and the thousand-year reign of Christ in which He will rule along with His saints. (Rev 20:6)[v25] For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
It is prophesied that Christ will reign, even though many wicked and many antichrists (1Jo 2:18) will make war against the Lamb of God; however, it is inevitable because He will reign as the King of Kings. (Rev 17:14)[v26] The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
This is not to say that the wicked and unbelieving are not always be subject to death. Indeed, they are, because everlasting fire and punishment will always be with them (Mat 25:41, Mat 25:46), which means death and destruction are their lot, but rather, this is meant that the saints are only subject to death once, and the second death will have no power over them. (Rev 20:6)[v27] For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
Paul is referring to Psalm 8:6. This is not to say that God the Father is put under the Son, because the Father is greater in authority than the Son. (John 14:28) Though Jesus is God, being equal with God (Phl 2:6), He is also a separate entity from the Father at the same time, humbling Himself to the position of the Son, and therefore, God the Father is not to be included in "all things" that are put under Christ.(Read "The Godhead vs The Trinity" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v28] And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
All things, which are principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and the saints as well; all things are created by Him and for Him (Col 1:16), but whereas the Father makes all things subject to the Son, the Son subjects Himself to the Father, so that when the reign of Christ comes, God will be "all in all," meaning that all Three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, will rule and provide all things for all the saints, without the need for physical necessities, or indirect mediations; that the Holy Godhead, as Three and One, directly gives all things to the saints, and the saints will be in the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.[v29] Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
After concluding the end of all things, which will be the resurrection of the dead in Christ unto eternal life in the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Paul contrasts this with the argument of those who are preaching a message against the resurrection of the dead. For example, the Sadducees practiced baptism according to the Old Testament law, and those who would have come out of their sect to supposedly believe on Christ would continue the practice of baptism taught to them by the apostles, but on what basis? How would that make sense? Paul's question is not saying that we are baptized for the dead, but rather, they believe there is no resurrection of the dead, and since baptism is a representation of being dead (going into water) and restored unto life (coming out of water), what is the point of baptizing at all if there is no resurrection of the dead?[v30] And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
Many Christians were in peril and affliction, having their lives threatened, as Paul experienced many times. Why would the apostles and the church risk their lives over nothing? If there was no resurrection of the dead, then what little life we have in this world would be the most precious thing to ever exist, and we could hope for no better (which would cause the greatest vexation of grief in old age), but because there is resurrection of the dead, and that we saints of God are guaranteed resurrection unto eternal life, then we take no thought for our lives (Luke 12:22), willingly giving our lives for the sake of Christ, and we focus on serving Him daily.[v31] I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
The word 'protest' in this context would be an affirmation or proof of a matter, in that, they rejoiced in the same faith of Jesus Christ, and His promise of eternal life, or in other words, Paul was willing to sacrifice his own life for this belief shared between himself and the saints of Christ, and encouraging the saints that their conversion unto Christ and regeneration of their spirits was added proof that He was doing works pleasing unto the Lord. This does not mean that Paul was being physically killed every day, but that every day, he was ready to die for the sake of Christ if need be, and that his faith was great on this matter because he had sound reasoning from the Word of God.[v32] If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.
The beasts of Ephesus would be the brute beasts of Asia, which Peter described in detail (2Pe 2:10-15), not in the sense of physical combat, but in debate. The men who lead these people are self-serving government authorities and/or greedy religious leaders that will perish in their own corruption, doing evil while calling the good works of Christ's servants "evil" in hypocrisy. (Isa 5:20) Paul had preached the truth, and the brute beasts warred against him, but if there is no resurrection of the dead, what is the point of contending for the faith? (Jude 1:3) If there is no resurrection of the dead, and we all perish no matter what, then there would be no reason to live any differently than an atheist, who, in his foolishness, says there is no God (Psa 14:1), and therefore, they live according to a philosophy that they should live only to pleasure themselves in this world by whatever sinful and lustful thing they can do to appease their senses, and care not for any consequences to come after this life.[v33] Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
Communication, in general, is the concept of delivering something, meaning that I am communicating the interpretations of God's Word to you in my writing, or when we give alms to the poor, we are communicating their needs to them. (Col 3:8, Eph 4:29, 1Ti 6:17-18) Thus, what is communicated (i.e. delivered) unto the people, if it be evil, will corrupt the good manners of the people which are developed in them by the conscience God placed in their hearts. (Rom 2:14-15)This is a warning to the church not to be deceived by men who teach such false doctrines because what a man believes determines how he behaves. If a man teaches that there is no resurrection of the dead, then by believing that doctrine and philosophy (i.e. way of thinking), the man will begin to live according to that doctrine and philosophy, and the end of that philosophy is "let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die" (as stated in the previous verse); therefore, the man who teaches that corrupt doctrine will one day live and act in the same manner as the beasts of Ephesus, which is why it is so important that we Christians purge out the leaven. (Mat 16:6-12, Gal 5:9, 1Co 5:7)
[v34] Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
Paul was calling upon the Corinthian church to open their eyes to the wicked deeds going on within the church, and to depart from sin, which is not to say that they would all live flawlessly, that they would be sinless, but that they should not live a sinful course of life, allowing or suffering sin without rebuke and repentance, seeking always to live perfectly (i.e. as intended, with humility and longsuffering in charity) in the sight of God. (Deut 18:13, Mat 5:48)(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Charity" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v35] But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
These questions are posed by such men who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and they are challenging those who do believe. By asking the question "how," they expect us to know the exact process by which God raises the dead, which is a miracle beyond the scope of our understanding, or in other words, it is a foolish question. (2Ti 2:23) They also might ask what body they receive if they are raised from the dead, which is meant from the earthly perspective that the bodies have decomposed over hundreds or thousands of years, but that is an incorrect question based on the presupposition that God has no power, or exercises no power, over the dust of the earth, which is also foolish, knowing that the same God originally created man from the dust of the ground. (Gen 2:7)[v36] Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
Thus, Paul exposes their foolishness, and answers the fool according to his folly, so that men who would ask such foolish questions would not think themselves to be wise in their own arrogance. (Pro 26:5) That which is sown are seeds, which, upon being buried into the ground, rot away and die (not in the sense of life as we are alive in the flesh because plants do not have blood, Lev 17:11), and after that corruption/decay of the seed, the plant is made alive, grows, and bears fruit. (John 12:24-25) The argument is that, since God does this in trillions upon trillions of instances all over the world on a daily basis with something so insignificant as a plant, why would it be beyond His power or interest to do a similar thing with His children, who He holds in high value?[v37] And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
The seed that goes into the ground grows into perfection (i.e. that which it is intended to be), but the farmer does not take the fullness of the fruit and return it to the ground. For example, an apricot is not returned to the ground as a whole, but the hull is cracked open, and the seed within is returned to the ground, which represents a "bare" seed, or a naked seed, just as we are born naked into the world and return naked into the ground. Whereas a plant may have wilted, the seed falls back into the ground, and through that wilting and putrifaction of the plant, a new plant arises, and though it has the same body, it is expected to have different qualties and excellent features.[v38] But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
The Lord God gives the body to the plant, not the sun, nor the rain, nor the farmer who tills the field. God gives every blade of grass its own body out of His good pleasure, sovereign will, and infinite knowledge, according to its kind (Gen 1:11), which is fit for the purpose He designed it. If God were to give another body to those who were resurrected, then it would be classified as a "creation," and not a resurrection, which means it stands to reason that we will be raised from the dead in our own bodies, and the saints will be given a spiritual body as angels (Mark 12:25), not in the manner of substance, but of functionality, as Paul will describe in more detail in later verses. Another way to look at this is to consider the resurrection of Christ, since we will be raised as He was raised, having a spiritual body, and yet, recognizable by those who saw Him in the flesh.[v39] All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
This is not to point out that there are differences between kinds of creatures, because that is something which little children clearly understand, but rather, it is meant in the sense that not all kinds of creatures are equal, and that each are created with different purposes to fulfill different roles.[v40] There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
The celestial bodies refers to the sun, moon, and stars, while the terrestrial bodies refers to those things on the earth, whether the earth itself, plants, animals, or mankind. The glory (or the splendor and magnificence) of a blade of grass is certainly not comparible to the glory of the sun, and the idea is that we have a terrestrial body now, but the saints of God will receive a spiritual body that will be more glorious than the fleshly body, which is a simplistic way to give us a concept of the glory which is to come after Christ's return.[v41] There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
The sun, moon, and stars all have their magnificence, but the sun far outshines the moon, and the moon far outshines the stars. Paul is pointing out the differences between them to make the next point.[v42] So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
Just as there are differences in celestial bodies, there will also be differences in the glorified bodies of the saints in the reign of Christ, but all who repent and believe will be raised alive. Just as the seed breaks down in corruption, and is raised up without corruption, so shall the saints of God, having the same body, but different than what it was.[v43] It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
Christ, as the only sinless man, was beaten, bruised, and pierced in His crucifixion, but after His death, He was raised in glory. We were sown into this world as sinful, shameful, and unclean, but by the grace of Christ, we will be raised into glory. We were sown in weakness, not just as babies who have no means to live on their own, requiring everything to be done for them, but also weak in that we are foolish, ignorant, subject to injury, starvation, and disease; yet, when we are translated into the Kingdom of God (Col 1:13), we will be raised in His power, having a clear understanding, and no longer subject to the weaknesses of the flesh.[v44] It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
Again, we have a natural body at this present time, which requires constant supplies of food, water, oxygen, clothing, and shelter to survive, and no matter how much work we put into supplying for the natural body, it is slowly corrupted, meaning that it will eventually deteriorate and die, returning to the dust of the ground from which it came. (Gen 3:19, Ecc 3:19-21) However, we who are of Christ will be raised into a spiritual body, which is not to say that it was be entirely spiritual, just as when Jesus was raised from the dead and visited His disciples, they could see and touch Him as any other person (John 20:27), but rather, we will live as the spirits (i.e. the angels) live, without need of food, water, oxygen, clothing, or shelter, and we will never corrupt or die. Therefore, as Christ was born into this world, died, and rose from the dead to eternal life, so we are born into this world, and through repentance and faith, when we die, we will rise from the dead to eternal life. (John 10:27-30)[v45] And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
That is, it is written in Genesis 2:7 that God breathed the breath of life into Adam to make him a living soul, which is the immortal substance by which we (i.e. the sons and daughters of Adam) animate our fleshly bodies. The last Adam, who is Jesus Christ, humbled Himself to the form of a man, being born into this world through a woman (Mat 1:23), but when He was raised from the dead, His fleshly body was made a quickening spirit, or one that brings life, by which the Spirit of God becomes the sustenance of the flesh and bones for eternal life.[v46] Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
Adam was given a natural body at first, as was Christ given a natural body at first, but after death, the spiritual body is raised incorruptible.[v47] The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
That is, Adam is created of earth, which is part of the reason why a repentant man in Scripture is said to repent in dust and ashes. (Gen 18:27) This is a reminder of our vile and corrupt state, knowing that our bodies are nothing but the dust of the ground, in which we humble ourselves before the Living God. The second man is Christ, and though He had an earthly body as we do, He is not created in sense that mankind is created, because He is the creator of all (Col 1:16), having power and authority over all things that were created in heaven and earth.[v48] As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
Because Adam was earthy, so we have earthy bodies, which come from the earth, and return to the earth. Those who are faithful in the day Christ returns shall have heavenly bodies as Christ has, and thus, that which is sown in the spiritual shall return to the heavenly origin of the spiritual substance from which he was created.[v49] And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
The image spoken of in this verse is not the image of God referred to in Genesis 1:26, but rather, the image of corruption, of those features of age, frailty, and illness which make us subject to death, but in heaven, we will bear another image of features which makes us subject to eternal life.[v50] Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
That is, in order to be translated into the Kingdom of God (Col 1:13), our bodies must be regenerated unto the Spirit of God, a heavenly body that draws all sustenance from the Holy Spirit. That which is corrupt cannot inherit the things that are incorrupt, or rather, something that is unclean cannot inherit that which is clean because when the clean touches the unclean it then becomes unclean, and so purification of the Spirit and righteousness of Christ (Rom 4:22-24) is required for one to inherit the Kingdom of God. (Luke 18:17)[v51] Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
That is, this is one of the mysteries of Scripture, which must have been revealed unto Paul prophetically by the Holy Ghost (or shown unto him when he was caught up to the third heaven, 2Co 12:2) because such a thing is not able to be reasoned by the natural study and discernment of men, which is not to say that we cannot understand the concept after it was written in the Word of God, but no man could come to these conclusions without special revelation. "We shall not all sleep," which is not referring to the special exceptions of Enoch and Elijah, who were taken to heaven by God before they died, but rather, this is referring to those who will live in the latter days, and will still be alive at the moment of Christ's return, having their bodies translated without having to be raised from the dead.[v52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
The twinkling of an eye is the brief blink of the eye, which happens so quickly, we often do not notice it, which is how quickly Jesus said the moment would take place, as fast as a bolt of lightning. (Luke 17:24) The last trump is one of the signs of Christ's return (1Th 4:16), and upon His coming, our bodies shall be raised from the dead and changed into the incorruptible bodies by His quickening spirit.[v53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
To reassert this point, that those who believe there is no resurrection of the dead believe in false doctrine, Paul emphasizes that mortality and corruption must be changed to immortality and incorruption, otherwise, no one can enter the Kingdom of God.[v54] So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
It is Isaiah 25:8 that says, "He will swallow up death in victory," and that "the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces," which would indicate the end of all suffering and pain for the saints, and in order to end all pain and suffering, death must be defeated, which is why Paul wrote earlier in this chapter that the last enemy that will be destroyed is death. (1Co 15:26)[v55] O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
Death will have no more power over the saints, which means that there will be no more destruction and corruption of death, and that also means the stinging pain of death will be no more. This seems to be somewhat taken from Hosea 13:14, that "repentance [i.e. grief and sorrow] shall be hid from mine eyes," that the tears of grief and sorrow will no longer plague the countenance of those who have been translated into Christ's Kingdom.[v56] The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
Not that sin is defined as the sting of death, but that the ultimate end of sin is the sting of death, meaning that the removal of death must also have the removal of sin, because, as Paul wrote earlier in this chapter that death came by man through sin. (1Co 15:21-22). So the sting of pain comes from death, and death comes from sin, which means the foundation of the sting comes from sin, meaning that one cannot exist without the other, so both must be removed at the same time.This is not to say that the law endorses or encourages sin of any kind, nor is it to say that the law is sin, as Paul had written to the Roman church that the law is most definitely not sin of any kind (Rom 7:7), but rather, the law is the moral force upon which sin is conceived because without good, there is no evil, and therefore, once sin is destroyed, there will be no more need for the law either, and all the saints will live in accordance to the charitable fulfillment of the law, in perfection, as we were originally intended to be, in peace and harmony with one another.
[v57] But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
All praise, glory, and honor should be given to God our Father through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom, without His infinite mercy and great kindness, we would have no hope of victory.[v58] Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
By the mercy of Christ, and by the divine support of the Holy Ghost, we are given knowledge, wisdom, understanding (Psa 111:7-10), blessings, faith (Heb 12:2), hope (Rom 15:4), and many other things, by which He gives us all we need to do the work we are called to do (Mat 6:25-34), and therefore, we should stand firmly on the Word of God and trust in Him for all that He tells us, knowing that the work we do is not useless in any sense because God will cause all things to work together for good. (Rom 8:28)Chapter 16
[v1] Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
The following instructions were given to the Galatian Christians, and Paul expected the Corinthian Christians to do the same. The particular collection concerned gathering money from all those who chose to give to help alleviate the suffering and need of other Christians in various locations.[v2] Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
This is taken by many to mean that a collection was to be taken every week, but that is not the sense which this is meant. There was a scheduled time that Paul was coming to visit Corinth (as he indicates in the next epistle, namely, 2nd Corinthians), and he was giving them instruction to collect the money prior to his arrival based on how many blessings of prosperity God had given to each individual Christian.The idea behind this is twofold; the first being that Paul and the other apostles, who were given gifts of miracles, were specifically instructed not to carry personal wealth, nor to take any payment for their services (Mat 10:8-10), and knowing that when he would visit, Paul would receive a lot of offers from those he helped, offers that he would have to turn down, it was best that they did collections before he arrived, rather than afterward. The second reason is to encourage and teach purity in giving, because God favors the cheerful giver (2Co 9:7), not the man who gives because he thinks he has to give by religious tradition (for example, how many churchgoers today get scammed through the false doctrines of storehouse tithing), and so by having them give before his arrival, Paul is eliminating the pressure to give, as well as eliminating any problems that may arise from those giving more than they are able through emotional reactions to Paul's spiritual gifts, rather than simply giving according to their own prosperity as God has blessed them.
(Read "Tithe is Not a Christian Requirement" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v3] And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.
Again, since Paul was not permitted to carry personal wealth when he traveled, other Christians in the church would volunteer (with approval from the elders) to deliver the money, so it could be distributed to Paul or others who were tasked in the church at Jerusalem. And again, this was not money demanded by ritual, but liberal giving, that all in the church were free to give or not give as they chose, knowing that the alms they gave in secret would be rewarded openly by God. (Mat 6:4)[v4] And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me.
Either those elected to the task would be sent to distribute the money to the poor and needy in the church, or if he was asked to come, and guided by the Holy Spirit to a necessary duty, he would travel with those who carried the money.[v5] Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia: for I do pass through Macedonia.
Paul is reassuring those in the church that he would be returning to visit Corinth, which would be a relief to those who wanted to see him, but a detriment to those who did not want him to return, as Paul pointed out in this letter that there were some prideful men who were deceiving the church from within. (1Co 4:18-19, Acts 20:29-31) Paul was writing this letter from Ephesus (as he indicates in verse eight), needing to travel through Macedonia (west of Ephesus) to handle various business, and would eventually travel south to reach Corinth. Paul would end up writing the second epistle to Corinth from Macedonia. (2Co 2:12-13)[v6] And it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go.
By the phrase "winter with you," it is meant that he would stay the winter season with them, which was the space of three months, and is also recorded by Luke in Acts 20:1-3. After his stay in Corinth, some in the church may have chosen to journey a distance with Paul to help provide for him the things he needed.[v7] For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit.
This is to say that Paul would not simply stop in for a night and move on the next day, as an ordinary traveler or merchant might do, but (God willing) he would stay with them for a time to help them and teach them.[v8] But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.
The Day of Pentecost was a celebration that took place fifty days after the Passover feast. This is not any celebration that Christians are obligated to observe, but it was a Jewish observation, which often gave Paul a chance to preach publicly, and so he remained in Ephesus to take advantage of that opportunity. Due to Paul's love for his fellow Jewish people, he most often desired to be in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, not to observe it, but to preach the Gospel of Christ unto them (Acts 20:16), but this year, was working in Greece and he could not make the trip.[v9] For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.
The great door is describing the huge opportunity he had to preach to the people of Ephesus because it was a very large city, and that God had opened this door to him, that the Holy Spirit would open the ears of the hearers, but where there is the work of God, there are also many adversaries, or enemies who hate the truth, who follow after their father, Satan (John 8:44-45), and would see the truth silenced by killing the messenger.[v10] Now if Timotheus come, see that he may be with you without fear: for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do.
That is, it was not known what thing God would have in store for Timotheus on his journey, but if he indeed made it to Corinth, as Paul indicated in chapter four that he had sent Timotheus (1Co 4:17), then they should house him, providing safety against adversaries, as there were many enemies in Corinth, both without and some potentially within the church (based on the evidence of things written in this epistle), because even though Timotheus did not hold the office of an apostle like Paul did, he still did the same work, and should be honored (i.e. having good done unto him) in the same manner.[v11] Let no man therefore despise him: but conduct him forth in peace, that he may come unto me: for I look for him with the brethren.
Timotheus was young, but he should not be despised for his youth (1Ti 4:12), as some of those elder in the church may be lifted up in the pride of their hearts, and refuse to judge righteous judgement. (John 7:24) When it would come time for him to depart, Paul is instructing the church that they should treat Timotheus with the same charity that would be imparted to an apostle, being worthy of double honor (i.e. twice the good done unto him, 1Ti 5:17, not because he held a rank or title, but because he sacrificed much for the work of the Gospel of Christ), even having some travel with him for company, safety, and to help provide for his needs.[v12] As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren: but his will was not at all to come at this time; but he will come when he shall have convenient time.
Apollos was well-known by the church in Corinth, which is why Paul used him in the example during his preaching against the unbiblical practice of denominations. (1Co 3:6) However, for whatever reason, the Holy Spirit had given Apollos purpose to another task, and so whereas Apollos seemed to be Paul's first choice to come to Macedonia with him, he instead chose Timotheus and Erastus. (Acts 19:22)[v13] Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
This exhortation to watch is not meant in the sense of watching for the signs of Christ's coming, which is something the church always has in the back of their minds, nor is this meant to watch for the coming of the ministers of Christ, but to watch themselves and the church, both examining themselves whether they are sound in the faith (2Co 13:5), and to watch for the signs of false teachers and leaven in the church. (1Co 5:7) Part of standing firm in the faith of Christ is to be watchful of such things, that we would be efficient servants to protect the church and uphold the standards of God's Word, and therefore, we should "quit like men," which means to carry out the duties that we ought to perform as an adult male would do (1Co 14:20), having a good understanding, being strong in the faith (Rom 4:20), focusing on the tasks at hand, being vigilant and reliable against the works of darkness (1Pe 5:8), as men are often expected to do (Mat 24:43), and such a commandment is concerning spiritual matters, which means that both men and women in the church should be vigilant in the spirit to keep a watchful eye. (Gal 3:28)[v14] Let all your things be done with charity.
For this is the fulfillment of all the law and prophets (Mat 7:12), and as Paul stated in chapter 13 (1Co 13:7), charity is forbearing one another in patience (Col 3:12-15), considering others first before oneself (Phl 2:4), and is the greatest of spiritual attributes, for it is the result of faith and hope. (1Co 13:13)(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Charity" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v15] I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)
Paul is beseeching Christians, which is an exhortation of pleading and encouragement for what he will say in the next verse, but he gives an example to help preface his point. The house of Stephanas, which Paul mentioned in the first chapter (1Co 1:16), which is a home where some of the church assembled together, were the first converts unto Christ in the region of Achais (which included Epaenetus, a friend of Paul's mentioned in Romans 16:5), and they gave themselves over to the work of ministry without having to be instructed or disciplined, which is not to say that they were not taught by the apostles, but that there was no need for oversight because they took up the duties of charity and offices in the church willingly with great devotion.[v16] That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth.
Not necessarily the church in Stephanas' house in particular, but as an example, that all those who would dedicate themselves to the study of the Word of God, to learn the works of charity and offices in the church, and to perform those duties with gladness of heart (Acts 2:46), should be heard and assisted as much as possible, that the church as a whole would come to their aid and receive their doctrine cheerfully, not in the sense that they automatically believe everything that is said, but that they willingly listen, and search the Scriptures to verify the truth of those things (2Ti 2:15, Acts 17:11), seeing the truth of the Word demonstrated by their charitable actions, and follow their good example.[v17] I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied.
Paul just mentioned the house of Stephanas, but it is possible that Fortunatus and Achaicus may have been part of the church that met in the house of Chloe (1Co 1:11), because there were contentions in Corinth against the house of Chloe. It is not clearly specified what all the contentions were, but we can determine that some of the divisions were over the unbiblical denominations, having division due to some in Corinth who did not like Paul and introduced doctrines apart from his instruction. These houses/churches, being dedicated to help all those who taught the truth of the Word of God, whether Paul, Peter, or Apollos (1Co 1:10-17), were supplying the needs that Corinth was not supplying, which likely was not money, considering how much abundance they had, and considering the fact that Paul did not request money from anyone for his personal needs (2Co 11:7-9), but rather, it seems more likely that Paul was speaking of travel and visitation, by which someone would come to him for physical aid to help with the hands-on work that needed to be done, which Corinth did not supply in abundance upon request, but Paul boasted of the great help he received from the servants of Christ in Achaia. (2Co 11:10)[v18] For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.
By coming to Paul's aid, it was a joy and pleasure to him, which if they are to Paul, they would do the same unto all the church as needed, which makes them just as much a refreshing to Corinth as to Paul, and so they should be treated as such, acknowledging their good works and highly esteeming them within the church for the sake of the work they do. (1Th 5:12-13)[v19] The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
Paul reminds Corinth that the churches throughout other regions kept them in rememberance in their prayers, and specifically Aquila and his wife Priscilla, who were close friends of Paul, along with the church who met in their home. This would have been during the time in which Claudius Caesar banished all Jews from Rome, and so Aquila moved from Rome to Ephesus, assisting Paul in organizing the church there, along with the help of his wife, who was very active in ministry with her husband, and showed great respect and love towards the church in Corinth.[v20] All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.
That is, all the brethren in Ephesus who had known of Corinth, or mentioned those who worshiped in Corinth by name. The "holy kiss" is not meant in the literal, physical sense, that all must kiss one another with the lips, but in the metaphorical sense, as an allusion to the kiss a beloved family member might give to another when meeting again after an extended time. This is meant in the sense that we should portray an attitude that is becoming of those who love as a family, wishing all goodness, joy, and blessings, both physical and spiritual, to one another with sincerity, specifically identifying it as "holy," which is to distinguish such desires from those which might be deceitful (i.e. having an outward appearance only, not genuine, as when Judas kissed Jesus to deliver Him into the hands of His enemies, Mat 26:49, or when Joab kissed Amasa in order to get close enough to kill him, 2Sa 20:9-10) or lustful (i.e. having selfish or sinful desire, 1Co 7:1-2) inwardly, that we would put away the old man full of sinful deeds (Eph 4:22), and serve one another in love. (Gal 5:13)[v21] The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand.
This letter was dictated by Paul and written by another who helped him with the writing since, as Paul will point out in his second epistle, he was slowly losing his eye sight (2Co 12:7-9), but in this section, Paul wrote it with his own hand, so it would be recognized to be his hand writing, and no one would think this letter was a counterfeit intended to deceive.[v22] If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.
Or in simple terms, "Anathema Marantha" would be one who is accursed to damnation and destruction. In general, it would be "to cut off from the coming of the Lord," in that when the Lord Jesus Christ returns, they would be separated away from the sheep and counted among the goats (Mat 24:33) and tares (Mat 13:40), that they would suffer the eternal damnation of hell and the lake of fire (Rev 20:15), for all that is Christ portrays humility, mercy, kindness, longsuffering, and charity, and therefore, if a man hate Christ, he also hates these things, which would prevent him from ever being saved.(Read "Hell is Real And Many People Are Going There" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v23] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
That is, may the graces of Christ in every sense, for physical and spiritual things, fall upon the church in great abundance, most especially for those who obey the doctrines taught in this epistle, since these things come from the Holy Ghost, and by obedience, we demonstrate our love for the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 14:15, 1Jo 5:2)[v24] My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Meaning that, Paul's genuine care, without respect to persons (Jms 2:1), which extends to the greater and the lesser, the richer and the poorer, and that his love for them, both in favor and in selfless sacrifice for the Christians in Corinth, would be accepted by them, knowing that Paul did not instruct them for his own benefit, but for their benefits, that they might please God in all manners, in both speech and action, just as Christ has taught us. "Amen" is added as a declaration that all things written in this letter are the truth according to the Lord Jesus Christ.
