suade" others to flee from the wrath to come. We should plead with them; we should entreat them; we should weep over them; we should pray for them, that they may be saved from going up to meet the awful wrath of God. If our friends are unprepared to meet God; if they are living in impenitence and sin; and if we have any influence over others in any way, we should exert it all to induce them to come to Christ, and to save themselves from the awful terrors of that day. Paul deemed no self-denial and no sacrifice too great, if he might persuade them to come to God, and to save their souls. And who that has any just views of the awful terrors of the day of judgment; of the woes of an eternal hell, and of the glories of an eternal heaven, can deem that labour too great which shall be the means of saving immortal souls? Not to frighten them should we labour, not to alarm them merely should we plead with them; but we should endeavour by all means to persuade them to come to the Redeemer. We should not use tones of harshness and denunciation; we should not speak of hell as if we would rejoice to execute the sentence; but we should speak with tenderness, earnestness, and with tears, (comp. Acts xx. 31,) that we may induce our friends and fellow-sinners to be reconciled to God. 19. We should not deem it strange or remarkable if we are charged with being deranged for being active and zealous on the subject of religion. (Ver. 13.) There will always be enough, both in the church and out of it, to charge us with over-heated zeal; with want of prudence; or with decided mental alienation. But we are not to forget that Paul was accused of being mad; and even the Redeemer was thought to be beside himself. "It is sufficient for the disciple that he be as his Master, and the servant as his Lord;" and if the Redeemer was charged with derangement on account of his peculiar views and his zeal, we should not suppose that any strange thing had happened to us if we are accused in like manner. 20. The gospel should be offered to all men. (Ver. 14.) If Christ died for all, then salvation is provided for all; and then it should be offered to all freely and fully. It should be done without any mental reservation, for God has no such mental reservation; without any hesitation or misgiving; without any statements that would break the force or weaken the power of such an offer on the consciences of men. If they reject it, they should be left to see that they reject that which is in good faith offered to them, and that for this they must give an account to God. Every man who preaches the gospel should feel that he is not only permitted, but required to preach the gospel "to every creature:" nor should he embrace any opinion whatever which will in form or in fact cramp him or restrain him in thus offering salvation to all mankind. The fact that Christ died for all, and that all may be saved, should be a fixed and standing point in all systems of theology, and should be allowed to shape every other opinion, and to shed its influence over every other view of truth. 21. All men by nature are dead in sins. (Ver. 14.) They are insensible to their own good, to the appeals of God, to the glories of heaven, and to the terrors of hell. They do not act for eternity; they are without concern in regard to their everlasting destiny. They are as insensible to all these things, until aroused by the Spirit of God, as a dead man in his grave is to surrounding objects. And there is nothing that ever did arouse such a man, or ever could, but the same power that made the world, and the same voice that raised Lazarus from his grave. This melancholy fact strikes us every where; and we should '; be deeply humbled that it is our condition by nature, and should mourn that it is the condition of our fellow-men every where. 22. We should form our estimate of objects and of their respective value and importance, by other considerations than those which are derived from their temporal nature. (Ver. 16.) It should not be simply according to the flesh. It should | not be as they estimate them who are living for this world. It should not be by their rank, their splendour, or their fashion. It should be by their ¦ reference to eternity, and their bearing on the state of things there. 23. It should be with us a very serious inquiry, whether our views of Christ are such as they have who are living after the flesh, or such only as the unrenewed mind takes. (Ver. 16.) The carnal mind has no just views of the Redeemer. To every impenitent sinner he is “a root out of a dry ground." There is no beauty in him. And to every hypocrite, and every deceived professor of religion, there is really no beauty seen in him. There is no spontaneous, elevated, glowing attachment to him. It is all forced and unnatural. But to the true Christian there is a beauty seen in his character that is not seen in any other; and the whole soul loves him, and embraces him. His character is seen to be most pure and lovely; his benevolence boundless; his ability and wil- | lingness to save, infinite. The renewed soul desires no other Saviour; and rejoices that he is just what he is-rejoices in his humiliation as well as his exaltation; in his poverty as well as his glory; rejoices in the privilege of being saved by him who was spit upon, and mocked, and crucified, as well as by him who is at the right hand of God. One thing is certain, unless we have just views of Christ we can never be saved. 24. The new birth is a great and most important change. (Ver. 17.) It is not in name or in profession merely, but it is a deep and radical change of the heart. It is so great that it may be said of each one that he is a new creation of God; and in relation to each one, that old things are passed away and all things are become new. How important it is that we examine our hearts and see whether this change has taken place, or whether we are still living without God and without hope. It is indispensable that we be born again. (John iii.) If we are not born again, and if we are not new creatures in Christ, we must perish for ever. No matter what our wealth, talent, learning, accomplishment, reputation or morality, unless we have been so changed that it may be said, and that we can say, "old things are passed away, and all things are be come new," we must perish for ever. There is no power in the universe that can save a man who is not born again. 25. The gospel ministry is a most responsible and important work. (Ver. 18, 19.) There is no other office of the same importance; there is no situation in which man can be placed more solemn than that of making known the terms on which God is willing to bestow favour on apostate man. 26. How amazing is the divine condescension, that God should have ever proposed such a plan of reconciliation. (Ver. 20, 21.) That he should not only have been willing to be reconciled, but that he should have sought, and have been so anxious for it as to be willing to send his own Son to die to secure it! It was pure, rich, infinite benevolence. God was not to be benefited by it. He was infinitely blessed and happy even though man should have been lost. He was pure, and just, and holy, and it was not necessary to resort to this in order to vindicate his own character. He had done man no wrong; and if man had perished in his sins, the throne of God would have been pure and spotless. It was love; mere love. It was pure, holy, disinterested, infinite benevolence. It was worthy of a God; and it has a claim to the deepest gratitude of man. Let us then, in view of this whole chapter, seek to be reconciled to God. Let us lay aside all our opposition to him. Let us embrace his plans. Let us be willing to submit to him, and to become his eternal friends. Let us seek that heaven to which he would raise us; and though our earthly house of this tabernacle must be dissolved, let us be prepared, as we may be, for that eternal habitation which he has fitted up for all who love him in the heavens. This chapter, closely connected in sense with the preceding, is designed as an address to the Corinthian Christians, exhorting them to act worthily of their calling, and of their situation under such a ministry as they had enjoyed. In the previous chapters, Paul had discoursed at length of the design and of the labours of the ministry. The main drift of all this was to show them the nature of reconciliation, and the obligation to turn to God, and to live to him. idea is pursued in this chapter; and in view of the labours and self-denials of the ministry, Paul urges on the Corinthian Christians the duty of coming out from the world, and of separating themselves entirely from all evil. The chapter may be conveniently contemplated in the following parts: This L. Paul states that he and his associates were fellow-labourers with God; and he exhorts the Corinthians not to receive the grace of God in vain. To induce them to make a wise improvement of the privileges which they enjoyed, he quotes a passage from Isaiah, and applies it as meaning that it was then an acceptable time, and that they might avail themselves of mercy. (Ver. 1, 2.) II. He enumerates the labours and self-denials of the ministry. He refers to their sincerity, zeal, and honesty of life. He shows how much they had been willing to endure, in order to convey the gospel to others, and how much they had in fact endured, and how much they had benefited others. He speaks of their afflictions in a most tender and beautiful manner, and of the happy results which had followed from their self-denying labours. (Ver. 3-10.) The design of this is, evidently, to remind them of what their religion had cost, and to appeal to them, in view of all this, to lead holy and pure lives. III. Paul expresses his ardent attachment for them, and says that if they were straitened; if they did not live as they should do, it was not because he and his fellow-labourers had not loved them, and sought their welfare, but from a defect in themselves. (Ver. 11, 12.) IV. As a reward for all that he had done and suffered for them, he now asked only that they should live as became Christians. (Ver. 13-18.) He sought not silver, or gold, or apparel. He had not laboured as he had done, with any view to a temporal reward. And he now asked simply that they should come out from the world, and be dissociated from every thing that was evil. He demanded that they should be separate from all idolatry, and idolatrous practices, assures them that there can be no union between light and darkness; righteousness and unrighteousness; Christ and Belial; that there can be no agreement between the temple of God and idols; reminds them of the fact that they are the temple of God; and encourages them to do this by the assurance that God would be their God, and that they should be his adopted sons and daughters. The chapter is one of great beauty; and the argument for a holy life among Christians is one that is exceedingly forcible and tender. We then, as workers together with him.-On the meaning of this expression, see Note, 1 Cor. iii. 9. The Greek here is (ovvoyouvrec) “working together," and may mean either that the apostles and ministers to whom Paul refers were joint labourers in entreating them not to receive the grace of God in vain; or it may mean that they co-operated with God, or were engaged with him in endeavouring to secure the reconciliation of the world to himself. Tindal renders it, "we as helpers." Doddridge, "we then as the joint labourers of God." Most expositors have concurred in this interpretation. The word properly means, to work together, to co-operate in producing any result. Macknight supposes that the word here is in the vocative, and is an address to the fellow-labourers of Paul, entreating them not to receive the grace of God in vain. In this opinion he is probably alone, and has manifestly departed from the scope and design of the passage. Probably the most obvious meaning is that of our translators, who regard it as teaching that Paul was a joint worker with God in securing the salvation of men. That ye receive not the grace of God in vain.-The "grace of God" here means evidently the gracious offer of reconciliation and pardon. And the sense is, "We entreat you not to neglect or slight this offer of pardon, so as to lose the benefit of it, and be lost. It is offered freely and fully. It may be partaken of by all, and all may be saved. But it may also be slighted, and all the benefits of it will then be lost." The sense is, that it was possible that this offer might be made to them, they might hear of a Saviour, be told of the plan of reconciliation, and have the offers of mercy pressed on their attention and acceptance, and yet all be in vain. They might notwithstanding all this be lost; for, simply to hear of the plan of salvation or the offers of mercy, will no more save a sinner than to hear of medicine will save the sick. It must be embraced and applied, or it will be in vain. It is true that Paul probably addressed this to those who were professors of religion; and the sense is, that they should use all possible care and anxiety lest these offers should have been made in vain. They should examine their own hearts; they should inquire into their own condition; they should guard against self-deception. The same persons (chap. v. 20) Paul had exhorted also to be reconciled to God; and the idea is, that he would earnestly entreat even professors of religion to give all diligence to secure an interest in the saving mercy of the gospel, and to guard against the possibility of being self-deceived and ruined. с VER. 2. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the ac At of Christ, God is willing to show mercy to cepted time; behold, now is the day of salva- cepted time, &c.-The meaning of this passage tion.) c Isa. xlix. 8. For he saith.-See Isa. xlix. 8. In that passage the declaration refers to the Messiah, and the design is there to show that God would be favourable to him; that he would hear him when he prayed, and would make him the medium of establishing a covenant with his own people, and of spreading the true religion around the earth. See my note on that place. Paul quotes the passage here not as affirming that he used it in exactly the sense, or with reference to the same design for which it was originally spoken, but as expressing the idea which he wished to convey, or in accordance with the general principle implied in its use in Isaiah. The general idea there, or the principle involved was, that under the Messiah God would be willing to hear; that is, that he would be disposed to show mercy to the Jew and to the Gentile. This is the main idea of the passage as used by Paul. Under the Messiah, it is said by Isaiah, God would be willing to show mercy. That would be an acceptable time. That time, says Paul, has arrived. The Messiah has come, and now God is willing to pardon and save. And the doctrine in this verse is, that under the Messiah, or in the time The gene ral sentiment of this passage may be thus expressed. (1.) Under the gospel it is an acceptable time, a day of mercy, a time when God is willing to show mercy to men. (2.) There may be special seasons which may be peculiarly called the acceptable, or accepted time. (a) When the gospel is pressed on the attention by the faithful preaching of his servants, or by the urgent entreaties of friends; (b) when it is brought to our attention by any striking dispensation of Providence; (c) When the Spirit of God strives with us, and brings us to deep reflection, or to conviction for sin; (d) In a revival of religion, when many are pressing into the kingdom-it is at all such seasons an accepted time, a day of salvation, a day which we should improve. It is "now" such a season, because, (1.) The time of mercy will pass by, and God will not be willing to pardon the sinner who goes unprepared to eternity. (2.) Because we cannot calculate on the future. We have no assurance, no evidence that we shall live another day, or hour. (3.) It is taught here that the time will come when it will not be an accepted time. Now is the accepted time; at some future period it will not be. If men grieve away the Holy Spirit; if they continue to reject the gospel; if they go unprepared to eternity, no mercy can be found. God does not design to pardon beyond the grave. He has made no provisions for forgiveness there; and they who are not pardoned in this life, must be unpardoned for ever. VER. 3. Giving no 'offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: d 1 Cor. x. 32. brings a reproach upon the sacred calling itself, and prevents the usefulness of many others. Ministers do not stand alone. And though no one can be responsible for the errors and failings of others, yet no one can avoid suffering in regard to his usefulness by the sins of others. Not only, therefore, from a regard to his personal usefulness should every minister be circumspect in his walk, but from respect to the usefulness of all others who sustain the office of the ministry, and from respect to the success of religion all over the world. Paul made it one of the principles of his conduct so to act that no man should have cause to speak_reproachfully of the ministry on his account. In order to this, he felt it to be necessary not only to claim and assert honour for the ministry, but to lead such a life as should deserve the respect of men. If a man wishes to secure respect for his calling, it must be by living in the manner which that calling demands, and then respect and honour will follow as a matter of See Calvin. course. But in all things.-In every respect. In all that we do. In every way, both by words and deeds. How this was done, Paul proceeds to state in the following verses. Approving ourselves as the ministers of God.-Marg. "Commending." Tindal renders it, " In all things let us behave ourselves as the ministers of God." idea is, that Paul and his fellow-labourers endea The Giving no offence in any thing.—We the minis-voured to live as became the ministers of God, and ters of God. (Ver. 1.) The word rendered "offence" means, properly, stumbling; then offence, or cause of offence, a falling into sin. The meaning here is, "giving no occasion for contemning or rejecting the gospel ;" and the idea of Paul is, that he and his fellow-apostles so laboured as that no one who saw or knew them should have occasion to reproach the ministry, or the religion which they preached; but so that in their pure and self-denying lives, the strongest argument should be seen for embracing it. Comp. Matt. x. 16. 1 Cor. viii. 13; x. 32, 33. Notes, Phil. ii. 15. 1 Thess. ii. 10; v. 22. How they conducted so as to give no offence, he states in the following verses. That the ministry be not blamed.-The phrase, "the ministry," refers here not merely to the ministry of Paul, that is, it does not mean merely that he would be subject to blame and reproach, but that the ministry itself which the Lord Jesus had established would be blamed, or would be reproached by the improper conduct of any one who was engaged in that work. The idea is, that the misconduct of one minister of the gospel would bring a reproach upon the profession itself, and would prevent the usefulness and success of others, just as the misconduct of a physician exposes the profession to reproach, or the bad conduct of a lawyer reflects itself in some degree on the entire profession. And it is so every where. The errors, follies, misconduct, or bad example of one minister of the gospel so as to commend the ministry to the confidence and affection of men. They endeavoured to live as was appropriate to those who were the ministers of God, and so that the world would be disposed to do honour to the ministry. In much patience. In the patient endurance of afflictions of all kinds. Some of his trials he proceeds to enumerate. The idea is, that a minister of God, in order to do good and to commend his ministry, should set an example of patience. He preaches this as a duty to others; and if, when he is poor, persecuted, oppressed, calumniated, or imprisoned, he should murmur, or be insubmissive, the consequence would be that he would do little good by all his preaching. And no one can doubt, that God often places his ministers in circumstances of peculiar trial, among other reasons, in order that they may illustrate their own precepts by their example, and show to their people with what temper and spirit they may and ought to suffer. Ministers often do a great deal more good by their example in suffering than they do in their preaching. It is easy to preach to others; it is not so easy to manifest just the right spirit in time of persecution and trial. Men, too, can resist preaching, but they cannot resist the effect and power of a good example in times of suffering. In regard to the manner in which Paul says that the ministry may commend itself, it may be observed, that he groups several things together; or mentions several classes of influences or means. In this and the next verse, he refers VER. 5. In stripes, & in imprisonments, in tu- h Or, in tossings to and fro. he voluntarily submitted as acts of devotion, but VER. 6. By pureness, by knowledge, by long- By pureness.-Paul having, in the previous In stripes. In this verse, Paul proceeds to spe- verses, grouped together some of the sufferings cifications of what he had been called to endure. which he endured, and by which he had endeaIn the previous verse, he had spoken of his afflic- voured to commend and extend the true religion, tions in general terms. In this expression, he proceeds here to group together certain other inrefers to the fact that he and his fellow-labourers fluences by which he had sought the same object. were scourged in synagogues and cities as if they The substance of what he here says is, that it had been the worst of men. In 2 Cor. xi. 23- had not only been done by sufferings and trials, 25, Paul says that he had been scourged five but by a holy life, and by entire consecration to times by the Jews, and had been thrice beaten the great cause to which he had devoted himself. with rods. See the Notes on that place. In im- He begins by stating that it was by pureness, prisonments.—As at Philippi. (Acts xvi. 24, seq.) that is, by integrity, sanctity, a holy and pure It was no uncommon thing for the early preachers life. All preaching and all labours would have of Christianity to be imprisoned. In tumults.-- been in vain without this; and Paul well knew. Marg. "tossing to and fro." The Greek word that if he succeeded in the ministry, he must be (akarαoraoia,) denotes properly instability, a good man. The same is true in all other prothence disorder, tumult, commotion. Here it fessions. One of the essential requisites of an means that in the various tumults and commotions orator, according to Quintilian, is, that he must which were produced by the preaching of the be a good man; and no man may expect ultigospel, Paul endeavoured to act as became a min- mately to succeed in any calling of life unless he ister of God. Such tumults were excited at Cois pure. But however this may be in other callrinth, (Acts xviii. 6 ;) at Philippi, (Acts xvi. 19, ings, no one will doubt it in regard to the minis20;) at Lystra aud Derbe, (Acts xiv. 19;) at try of the gospel. By knowledge.-Interpreters Ephesus, (Acts xix.) and in various other places. have differed much in the interpretation of this. The idea is, that if the ministers of religion are Rosenmüller and Schleusner understand by it assailed by a lawless mob, they are to endeavour prudence. Grotius interprets it as meaning a to show the spirit of Christ there, and to evince knowledge of the law. Doddridge supposes that it all patience, and to do good even in such a scene. refers to a solicitude to improve in the knowledge Patience and the Christian spirit may often do of those truths which they were called to commore good in such scenes than much preaching municate to others. Probably the idea is a very would do elsewhere. In labours.-Referring, simple one. Paul is showing how he endeavoured probably, to the labours of the ministry, and its to commend the gospel to others. (Ver. 4.) He incessant duties, and perhaps also to the labours says, therefore, that one way was by communiwhich they performed for their own support, as cating knowledge, true knowledge. He proit is well known that Paul, and probably also the claimed that which was true, and which was real other apostles, laboured often to support them-knowledge, in opposition to the false science of selves. In watchings.--In wakefulness, or want of sleep. He probably refers to the fact that in these arduous duties, and in his travels, and in anxious cares for the churches, and for the advancement of religion, he was often deprived of his ordinary rest. He refers to this again in chap. xi. 27. In fastings.-Referring probably not only to the somewhat frequent fasts to which the Greeks, and in opposition to those who would |