37. If any man think himself to be a prophet. Note, ver. 1. If any man claim to be divinely endowed. Macknight renders it, " be really a prophet.'* But the more correct meaning here is, doubtless, ' If any man profess to be a prophet; or is reputed to be a prophet.* Bloomjield. The proper meaning of the word Sok'm is to seem to one's self; to be of opinion, to suppose, believe, &c.; and the reference here is to one who should regard himself, or who should believe and profess to be thus endowed. 1 Or spiritual. Regarding himself as under the extraordinary influence of the Spirit. ^ Let him aC' knoickdge, &c. He will show that he is truly under the influence of the Holy Spirit, by acknowledging m}' authority, and by yielding obedience to the commands which I utter in the name and by the authority of the Lord. All would to be a prophet, or spiritual, let hiin ackiiowletige that the things tliai I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
38 But if any be ignorant, let him be ignorant.
probably be disposed to acknowledge the right of Paul to speak to them; all would regard him as an apostle; and all would show that God had influenced their hearts, if they listened to his commands, and obeyed his injunctions. I do not speak by my own authority, or in my own name, says Paul. I speak in the name of the Lord; and to obey the commands of the Lord is a proof of being influenced by his Spirit. 'I'rue religion everj'where, and the most ardent and enthusiastic zeal that is prompted by true religion, will show their genuineness and purity by a sacred and constant regard for the commands of the Lord. And that zeal which disregards those commands, and which tramples down the authority of the Scriptures and the peace and order of the church, gives demonstration that it is not genuine. It is false zeal, and, however ardent, will not ultimately do good to the cause.
38. But if any he ignorant, &c. If any one affects to be ignorant of my authority, or whether I have a right to command. If he affects to doubt whether I am inspired, and whether what I utter is in accordance with the will of God. \ Let Jam be ignorant. At his own peril, let him remain so, and abide the consequences. I shall not take any further trouble to debate with him. I have stated my authority. I have delivered the commands of God. And now, if he disregards them, and still doubts whether all this is said by divine authority, let him abide the consequences of rejecting the law of'God. I have given full proof of my divine commission. I have nothing more to sny on that head. And now, if he diooses to remain in ignorance or increduhiy, the fault is his own, and he iimst answer for it to God.
39 Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.
40 Let " all things be done decently and in order.
39. Covet to prophesy. Note, ver. 1. This is the summing up of all that he had said. It was dedruble that a man should wish to be able to speak, under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, in such a manner as to edify the church, t -A^d forbid not, &c. Do not suppose that the power of speaking foreign languages is useless, or is to be despised, or that it is to be prohibited. In its own place it is a valuable endowment; and on proper occasions the talent should be exercised. See in ver. 22.
40. Let all things be done decently and in order. Let all tilings be done in an appropriate and becoming manner; decorously, as becomes the worship of God. Let all be done in order^ regularly, without contusion, discord, tumult. The word used here {kxto. Ta|/v) is properly a military term, and denotes tlie order and regularity with v/hich an army is drawn up. This is a general rule, which was to guide them. It vias simple, and easily applied. There might be a thousand questions started about the modes and forms of worship, and the customs in the churches, and much difficulty might occur in many of these questions; but here was a simple and plain rule, which might be easily applied. Their good sen?e would tell them what became the worship of God; and their pious feelings would restrain them from excesses and disorders. This rule is t^till applicable, and is safe in guiding us in many things in regard to the worshif) of God. There are many things which cannot be subjected to rule, or exactly prescribed; there are many things which may and must be left to pious feeling, to good sense, and to the views of Christians themselves, about what will promote their edification and the conversion of sinners. The rule in such questions is plain. Let all be done decorous!}/, as becomes the worship of the great and holy God; let all be without contusion, noise, and disorder.
( 1.) That public worship should be in a language understood by the people; the language which they commonly employ. Nothing can be clearer than the sentiments of Paul on this. The whole strain of the chapter is to demonstrate this, in opposition to making use of a foreign and unintelligible language in any part of public worship. Paul specifies in the course of the discussion every part of public worship; public preaching (ver. 2, 3. 5. 13. 19); prayer (ver. 14, 15); singing (ver. 15); and insists that all should be in a language that should be understood by the people. It would almost seem that he had anticipated the sentiments and practice of the Roman Catholic denomination. It is remarkable that a practice should have grown up, and have been defended, in a church professedly Christian, so directly in opposition to the explicit meaning of the New Testament. Perhaps there is not even in the Roman Catholic denomination, a more striking instance of a custom or doctrine in direct contradiction to the Bible. If any thing is plain and obvious, it is that worship, in order to be edifying, should be in a language that is understood by the people. Nor can that service be acceptable to God which is not understood by those who offer it; which conveys no idea to their minds, and which cannot, therefore, be the homage of the heart. Assuredly, God does not require the offering of unmeaning words. Yet, this has been a grand device of the great enemy of man. It has contributed to keep the people in ignorance and superstition; it has prevented the mass of the people from seeing how utterly unlike the New Testament are the sentiments of the napists; and it has, in connexion with the kindred doctrine that the Scripture should be withheld from the people, contributed to perpetuate that dark system, and to bind the human mind in chains. Well do the Roman Catholics know, that if the Bible were given to the people, and public worship coudui: ted in a language which they could understand, the system would soon fall. It could not live in the midst of light. It is a system which lives and thrives only in darkness.
(2.) Preaching should be simple and intelligible. There is a great deal of preaching which might as v/ell be in a foreign tongue as in the language which is actually employed. It is dry, abstruse, metaphysical, remote from the common manner of expression, and the common habits of thought among men. It may be suited to schools of philosophy, but it cannot be suited to the pulpit. The preaching of the Lord Jesus was simple, and intelligible even to a child. And nothing can be a greater error, than for the ministers of the gospel to adopt a dry and metaphysical manner of preaching. The most successful preachers have been those who have been most remarkable for their simplicity and clearness. Nor is simplicity and intelligibleness of manner inconsistent with bright thought and profound sentiments. A diamond is the most pure of ail minerals; a river may be deep, and yet its water so pure that the bottom may be seen at a great depth; and glass in the window is most valuable the clearer and purer it is, when it is itself least seen, and when it gives no obstruction to the light. If the purpose is that the glass may be itself an ornament, it may be well to stain it; if to give light, it should be pure. A very shallow stream may be very muddy; and because the bottom cannot be seen, it is no evidence that it is deep. So it is with style. If the purpose is to convey thought, to enlighten and save the soul, the style should be plain, simple, pure. If it be to bewilder and confound, or to be admired as unintelligible, or perhaps as profound, then an abstruse and metaphysical, or a flowery manner may be adopted in the pulpit.
ful talent more than that which is splendid and showy, ver. 3. The whole scope of this chapter goes to demonstrate that we shop-ld more highly prize and desire that talent which may be useful to the church, or which may be useful in convincing unbelievers (ver. 24, 25), than that which merely dazzles, or excites admiration. Ministers of the gospel who preach as they should do, engage in their work to win souls to Christ, not to induce them to admire eloquence; they come to teach men to adore the great and dreadful God, i;ot to be loud in their praises of a mortal man. (4.) Ministers of the gospel should not aim to be admired. They should seek to be useful. Their aim should not be to excite admiration of their acute and profound talent for reasoning; of their clear and striking power of observation; of their graceful manner; of their glowing and fervid eloquence; of the beauty of their words, or the eloquence of their well-turned periods. They should seek to build up the people of God in holy faith, and so to present truth as that it shall make a deep impression on mankind. No work is BO important, and so serious in its nature and results, as the ministry of the gospel; and in no work on earth should there be more seriousness, simplicity, exactness, and correctness of statement, and invincible and unvarying adherence to simple and unvarnished truth. Of all places, the pulpit is the last, in which to seek to excite admiration, or where to display profound learning, or the powers of an abstract and subtle argumentation, /or the sake of securing a reputation. Cowper has drawn the character of what a minister of the gospel should be, in the well-known and most beautiful passage in the " Task."
Would I dedcribe a prpacher, such as Paul Were he on earlh, would hear, approve, and
pel which I preached unto you, which *' also ye have received, and wherein " ye stand:
His masier-slrokps, and draw from his design. I wOuld express iiim simple, grave, sincere; In docirine uncorrupl; in language plain; And plain in manner; deccni, solemn, chaste. And natural in gesture; mi.ch impress'd Himself, as conscious of his awful charge, And anxious mainly thai the flock he feed* May feel it loo; affectionate in look, And tender in address, as well becomes A messenger of grace to guilty men.
He slablishes the strong, restores the weak, Reclaims the wanderer, binds the broken heart, And. arm'd himself in panoply complete Of heavenly temper, furnishes with arms, Bright as his own, and trains, by every rule Of holy discipline, to glorious war. The sacramental host of God's elect.
This important and deeply interests ing chapter, I have spoken of as the third part of the epistle. See the Introduction. It is more important than any other portion of the epistle, as it contains a connected, and laboured, and unanswerable argument for the main truth of Christianity, and, consequently, of Christianity itself; and it is more.interesting to us as mortal beings, and dA having an instinctive dread of death, than any other portion of the epistle. It has always, therefore, been regarded with deep interest by expositors, and it is worthy of the deepest attention of all. If the argument in this chapter is solid, then Christianity is true; and if true, then this chapter unfolds to us the most elevated and glorious prospect which can be exhibited to dying, yet immortal man.
There were, probably, two.-easons why the apostle introduced here thig discussion about the resurrection. Firsts it was desirable to introduce a condensed and connected statement of the main argument for the truth of Christianity. The Corinthians had been perplexed with subtle questions, and torn by sects and parties, and it was possible that in their zeal for sect and party, they would lose their hold on this great and vital argument for the truth of re» ligion itself. It might be further apprehended, that the enemies of the gospel, from seeiiig the divisions and strifes which existed there, would take advantage of these contentions, and say that a religion which produced mch fruits could fiot be from God. It was important, therefore, that they should have access to an argument plam, clear, and unanswerable, for the truth of Christianity; and thatlhus the evil effects of their divisions and strifes might be counteracted. Secondly. It is evident from ver. 12, that the important doctrine of the resurrection of the dead had been denied at Corinth, and that this error had obtained a footing in the church Itself. On what grounds, or by what portion or party it was denied, is unknown. It may have been that the influence of some Sadducean teacher may have led to the rejection of the doctrine; or it may have been the effect of philosophy. From Acts xvii. 32, we know that among some of the Greeks, the doctrine of the resurrection waa regarded as ridiculous; and from 2 I'im. ii. 18, we learn that it was held by some that the resurrection was passed already, and consequently that there was nothing but a spiritual resurrection. To counteract these errors, and to put the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead on a firm foundation, and thus to furnish a demonstration of the truth of Christianity, was the design of this chapter.
The chapter may be regarded as divided into four parts, and four questions in regard to the resurrection are solved. 1. Whether there is an/ resurrection of the dead 1 ver. 1 — 34. 2. With what body will the dead rise ] ver. 35 — 51. 3. What will become of those who shall be alive when the Lord Jesus shall come to judge the world? ver. 51 — 5i. 4. What are the practical bearings of this doctrine 1 ver. 55 — 58.
I. The dead will be raised, ver. 1 — 34. This Paul proves by the following arguments, and illustrates in the tbllowing manner.
(2.) By showing the absurdity of the contrary doctrine, ver. 12 — 34.
(a) If the dead do not rise, it would follow that Christ has not ri&en. ver. 13.
(Z») If Christ is not risen, he is preached in vain, and faith is reposed in him for naught, ver. 14.
(c) It would follow that the apostles would be false witnesses and wicked men; whereas, the Corinthians had abundant reason to know the contrary,
{d) The faith of the Corinthians must be vain if he was not risen, and they must regard themselves as still unpardoned sinners, since all their hope of pardon must arise from the fact that his work was accepted, and that he was raised up. ver. 16, 17.
(c) If Christ was not risen, then all their pious friends who had believed in him must be regarded as lost. ver. 18.
(e) It would follow that believers in Christ would be in a more miserable condition than any others, if there was no resurrection, ver. 19.
(/) Baptism for the resurrection of the dead would be absurd and in vain, unless the dead arose; it would be vain to be baptized with the belief, and on the ground of the belief that Christ rose, and on the ground of the hope that they would rise. ver. 29.
(g) It would be in vain that the apostles and others had suffered so many toils and persecutions, unless the dead should rise. ver. 30—32.
In the course of this part of his argument (ver. 20 — 28) Paul introduces an illustration of the doctrine, or a statement of an important fact in regard to it, thus separating the argument in ver 19 from the next, which occurs in ver 29. Such interruptions of a train of thinking are not uncommon in the writings of Paul, and indicate the fulness and richness of his conceptions, when ' some striking thought occurs, or plausible objection is to be met, and when he suspends liis argument in order to state it. This interjected portion consists of the following items. (1.) A triumphant and joyful assurance that Christ had in fact risen; as if his mind was full, and he was impatient of the delay caused by the necessity of slow argumentation, ver. 19, 20. (2.) He illus- <;-a/e6 the doctrine, or shows that it isreafsonable that the certainty of the resurrection should be demonstrated by one in human nature, since death had been introduced by man. ver. 21,22. This is an argument from a^ia/oo-.y, drawn from the obvious propriety of the doctrine that man shou Id be raised up in a manner somewhat similar to the mode in which he had been involved in ruin. (3.) He states the order in which all this should be done, ver. 2.3 — 28. It is possible that some may have held that the resurrection must have been already passed, since it depended so entirely and so closely on the resurrection of Christ. Comp. 2 Tim. ii. 18. Paul, therefore, meets this objection; and shows that it must take place in a regular order; that Christ rose first, and that they who were his friends should rise at his coming. He then states what would take place at that time, when the work of redemption should have been consummated by the resurrection of the dead, and the entire recovery of all the redeemed to God, and the subjection of every foe.
(2.) By a reference to the fact that there are different kinds of flesh, ver. 39.
(3.) By a reference to the fact that there are celestial bodies and earthly bodies, ver. 40.
(4.) By the fact that there is a difference between the sun, and moon, and stars, ver. 41.
(5.) By a direct statement, for which the mind is prepared by these illustrations, of the important changes which the body of man must undergo, and of the nature of that body which he will have in heaven, ver. 42 — 50. It is,
III. What will become of those who shall be alive when the Lord Jesus shall return to raise the dead?
Ans. They shall be changed instantly, and fitted for heaven, and made like the glorified saints that shall be raised from the dead. ver. 51 — 54.
(1.) The doctrine is glorious and triumphant; it overcame all the evils of sin, and should fill the mind with joy. ver. 55 — 57.
(2.) It should lead Christians to diligence, and firmness of faith, and patience, since their labour was not to be in vain. ver. 58.
1. Moreover. But (Ja). In addition to what I have said; or in that which I am now about to say, I make known the main and leading truth of the gospel. The particle Jj is " strictly adversative, but more frequently denotes transition and conversion, and serves to introduce something else., whether opposite to what precedes, or simply continuative or explanatory." — Robinson. Here it serves to introduce another topic that was not properly a continuation of what he had said, but which pertained to the same general subject, and which was deemed of great importance. \ 1 dectare unto you (rva-^/^a-). This word properly means to make known, to declare, to reveal (Luke ii. 15. Rom. ix. 22, 23); then to tell, narrate, inform (Eph.vi.21. Col.iv.7. 9); and also to put in mind of, to impress, to confirm. See Note, ch. xii. 3. Here it does not mean that he was communicating to them any new truth, but he wished to remind them of it; to state the arguments for it, and to impress it deeply on their memories. There is an abruptness in our translation which does not exist
2 By which also ye are saved, if "ye keep ^ in memory ''what
in the original. Bloomfield. \ The gospel. Note, Mark i. 1. The word here means the glad announcement, or the good news about the coming of the Messiah, his hte, and sufferings, and death, and especially his resurrection. The main subject to which Paul refers in this chapter is the resurrection; but he includes in the word gospel, here, the doctrine that he died for sins, and was buried, as well as the doctrine of his resurrection. See ver. 3, 4. \ Which I preached unto you. Paul founded the church at Corinth. Acts xviii. 1, seq. It was proper that he should remind them of what he had taught them at first; of the great elementary truths on which the church had been established, but from which their minds had been diverted by the other subjects that had been introduced as matters of debate | and strife. It was fair to presume that ■ they would regard with respect the doctrines which the founder of their church had first proclaimed, if they were reminded of them; and Paul, therefore, calls their attention to the great and vital truths by which they had been converted, and by which the church had thus far prospered. It is well, often, to remind Christians of the truths which were preached to them when they were converted, and which were instrumental in their conversion. When they have gone off from these doctrines, when they have given their minds to speculation and philosophy, it has a good effect to remind them that they were converted by the simple truths, that Christ died, and was buried, and rose again from the dead. The argument of Paul here is, that they owed all the piety and comfort which they had to these doctrines; and that, therefore, they should still adhere to them as the foundation of all tneir hopes. ^ Which also ye have received. Which you embraced; which you all admitted as true; which were the means of your conversion. I would remind >ou, that, however that truth may now
I preached unto you, unless ' ye have believed in vain
be denied by you, it was once received by you, and you professed to believe m the fact that Christ rose from the dead, and that the saints would rise, f And wherein ye stand. By which your church was founded, and by which all your piety and hope has been produced, and which is at the foundation of all your religion. You were built up by this, and by this only can you stand as a Christian church. This doctrine was vital and fundamental. This demonstrates that the doctrines that Christ died " for sins," and rose from the dead, are fundamental truths of Christianity, They enter into its very nature; and without them there can be no true religion.
2. By ivhich also ye are saved. On which your salvation depends; the belief of which is indispensable to your salvation. See Note on Mark xvi. 16. The apostle thus shows the importance of the doctrine. In every respect it demanded their attention. It was that which was first preached among ihem; that which they had solemnly professed; that by which they had been built up; and that which was connected with their salvation. It does not mean simply that by this they were brought into a salvable state (Clarke, Macknight, Whitby, Bloomfield, &c.), but it means that their hopes of eternal life rested on this; and by this they were then in fact saved from the condemnation of sin, and were in the possession of the hope of eternal life. ^ If ye keep in memory. Margin, as in the Greek, if ye hold fast. The idea is, that they were saved by this, or would be, if they faithfully retained or held the doctrine as he delivered it; if they observed it, and still believed it, notwithstanding all the efforts of their enemies, and all the arts of false teaching to wrest it from them. There is a doubt delicately suggested here, whether they did in fact still adhere tc his doctrine, or whether they had not alandoned it in part for the opposite
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according "to the Scriptures;
^ Unless ye have believed in vain. You will be saved by it, if you adhere to it, unless it shall turn out that it was vain to believe, and that the doctrine was false. That it was not false, he proceeds to demonstrate. Unless all your trials, discouragements, and hopes were to no purpose, and all have been the result of imposture; and unless all your profession is false and hollow, you will be saved by this great doctrine which I first preached to you.
3. For I delivered unto you. Note, ch. xi. 23. ^ First of all. Among the first doctrines which I preached. As the leading and primary doctrines of Christianity. *| That which I also received. Which had been communicated to me. Not doctrines of which I was the author, or which were to be regarded as my own. Paul here refers to the fact that he had received these doctrines from the Lord Jesus by inspiration. Comp. Note, ch. X. 23. Gal. i. 2. This is one instance in which he claims to be under the divine guidance, and to have received his doctrines from God. ^ How that Christ died for our sins. The Messiah, the Lord Jesus, died as an expiatory offering on account of our sins. They caused his death; for them he shed his blood; to make expiation for them, and to wipe them away, he expired on the cross. This passage is full proof that Christ did not die merely as a martyr, but that his death was to make atonement for sin. That he died as an atoning sacrifice, or as a vicarious offering, is here declared by Paul to be among Xhe first things that he taught; and the grand fundamental truth on which the church at Corinth had been founded, and by which it had been established, and by which they would be saved. It follows that there can be no true church,
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according * to the ScrijDtures;
5 And that he was seen of " Cephas, then of the twelve.
and no well-founded hope of salvation, where the doctrine is not held that Christ died for sin. ^ According to the Scriptures. The writings of the Old Testament. Note, John v. 39. It is, of course, not certain to what parts of the Old Testament Paul here refers. He teaches simply that the doctrine is contained there that the Messiah would die for sin; and, in his preaching, he doubtless adduced and dwelt upon the particular places. Some of the places where this is taught are the folJowing • Ps. XX. Isa. liii. Dan. ix. 26. Zech. xii. 10. Comp. Luke xxiv. 26. 46. See also Hengstenberg's Christolog) of the 0. T. vol. i. pp. 187. 216, trans lated by Keith.
4. And that he was buried. That is evidently according to the Scriptures See Isa. liii. 9. f And that he rose again the third day, &c. That is, that he should rise from the dead was foretold in the Scriptures. It is not of necessity implied that it was predicted that he should rise on the third day, but that he should rise from the dead. See the argument for this stated in the discourse of Peter, in Acts ii. 24 — 32. The particular passage which is there urged in proof of his resurrection is derived from Psalm xvi.
5. And that he ivas seni of Cephas. Peter. Note, John i. 42. The resurrection of Christ was a fact to be proved, like all other facts, by competent and credible witnesses. Paul, therefore, appeals to the witnesses who had attested, or who yet lived to attest, the truth of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and shows that it was not possible that so many witnesses should have been deceived. As this was not the first time in which the evidence had been stated to them, and as his purpo.se
6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at
was merely to remind them of what they had heard and beheved, he does not adduce all the witnesses to the event, but refers only to the more important ones. He does not, therefore, mention the woman to whom the Saviour first appeared, nor does he refer to all the times when the Lord Jesus manifested himself to his disciples. But he does not refer to them in general merely, but mentions names, and refers to persons who were then alive, who could attest the truth of the resurrection. It may be observed, also, that Paul observes probably the exact order in which the Lord Jesus appeared to the disciples, though he does not mention all the instances. For an account of the persons to whom the Lord Jesus appeared after his resurrection, and the order in which it was done, see Notes on the Gospels, vol. i. pp. 312 — 314. ^ Then of the twelve. The apostles; still called " the twelve," though Judas was not one of them. It was common to call the apostles " the twelve." Jesus appeared to the apostles at one time in the absence of Thomas (John xx. 19. 24); and also to them when Thomas was present. John xx. 24 — 29. Probably Paul here refers to the latter occasion, when all the surviving apostles were present.
6. Above Jive hundred brethren at once. More than five hundred Christians or followers of Jesus at one time. This was probably in Galilee, where the Lord Jesus had spent the greater part of his public ministry, and where he had made most disciples. The place, however, is not designated, and, of course, cannot be known. It is remarkable that this fact is omitted by all the evangelists; but why they should have omitted so remarkable a proof of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, is unknown. There is a slight circumstance hinted at in Matt, xxviii. 10, which may throw some light on this passage. After hki resurrection, Jesus said to the wo- men who were at the sepulchre, " Go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me." And in ver. 16 it is said, "The eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them." Jesus had spent most of his public life in Galilee. He had made most of his disciples there. It was proper, therefore, that those disciples, who would, of course, hear of his death, should have some public confirmation of the fact that he had risen. It is very probable, also, that the eleven who went down into Galilee after he rose would apprize the brethren there of what had been said to them, that Jesus would meet them on a certain mountain; and it is morally certain that they who had followed him in so great numbers in Galilee would be drawn together by the report that the Lord Jesus, who had been put to death, was about to be seen there again alive. Such is human nature, and such was the attachment of these disciples to the Lord Jesus, that it is morally certain a large concourse would assemble on the slightest rumour that such an occurrence was to happen. Nothing more would be necessary anywhere to draw a concourse of people than a rumour that one who was dead would appear again; and in this instance, where they ardently loved him, and when, perhaps, many believed that he would rise, they would naturally assemble in great numbers to see him once more. One thing is proved by this, that the Lord Jesus had many more disciples than is generally supposed. If there were five hundred who could be assembled at once in a single part of the land where he had preached, there is every reason to suppose that there were many more in other parts of Judea. t The greater part remain unto this present. Are now alive, and can be appealed to, in proof that they saw him. What more conclusive argument for the truth of his resurrection
7 Afier that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
could there be than that five hundred persons had seen him, who had been intimately acquainted with him in his life, and who had become his followers 1 If the testimony of five hundred could not avail to prove his resurrection, no number of witnesses could. And if five hundred men could thus be deceived, any number could; and it would be impossible to substantiate any simple matter of fact by the testimony of eyewitnesses, f But some are fallen asleep. Have died. This is the usual expression employed in the Scriptures to describe the death of saints. It denotes, ( 1.) The calmness and peace with which they die, like sinking into a gentle sleep; (2.) The hope of a resurrection, as we sink to sleep with the expectation of again awaking. See Note, John xi. 11. iCor. xi. 30.
7. After that, he tvas seen of James. This appearance is not recorded by the evangelists. It is mentioned in the fragment of the apocryphal gospel according to the Hebrews, which is, however, of no authority. It is probable that the Lord Jesus appeared often to the disciples, as he was forty days on earth after his resurrection, and the evangelists have only mentioned the more prominent instances, and enough to substantiate the fact of his resurrection. This James, the fathers say, was James the Less, the brother or cousingerman of the Lord Jesus. The other James was dead (see Acts xii. 1) when this epistle was written. This James, the author of the epistle that bears his name, was stationed in Jerusalem. When Paul went there, after his return from Arabia, he had an interview with James (see Gal. i. 19, '* But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother"), and it is highly probable that Paul would state to him the vision which he had of the Lord Jesus on his way to Damascus, and that James
8 And last "of all, he was seen of me also, as of ^one born out of due time.
also would state to Paul the fact that he had seen him after he rose. This may be the reason why Paul here mentions the fact, because he had it from the lips of James himself. ^ Then of all the apostles. By all the apostles. Perhaps the occasion at the sea of Galilee, recorded in John xxi. 14. Or it is possible that he frequently met the apostles assembled together, and that Paul means to say, that during the forty days after his resurrection he was often seen by them. 8. And last of all. After all the other times in which he appeared to men; after he had ascended to heaven. This passage proves that the apostle Paul saw the same Lord Jesus, the same body which had been seen by the others, or else his assertion would be no proof that he was risen from the dead. It was not a fancy, therefore, that he had seen him; it was not the work of imagination; it was not even a revelation that he had risen; it was a real vision of the ascended Redeemer. t He was seen of me also. On the way to Damascus. See Acts ix. 3 — 6. 17. t As of one horn out of due time. Marg. Or, an abortive. Our translation, to most readers, probably, would not convey the real meaning of this place. The expression, " as of one born out of due time," would seem to imply that Paul meant to say that there was some unfitness as to the time when he saw the Lord Jesus; or that it was too late to have as clear and satisfactory a view of him as those had who saw him before his ascension. But this is by no means the idea in the passage. The word here used (ixr^oi/u*) properly means an abortion, one born prematurely. It is found nowhere else ia the New Testament; and here it means, as the following verse shows, one that was exceedingly unworthy; that was not worth regard; that was unfit to be employed in the service of the Lord
9 For I am the least " of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
Jesus; that had the same relation to that which was worthy of the apostolic office which an abortion has to a living child. The word occurs (in the Septuagint) in Job iii. 16. Eccl. vi. 3, as the translation of ^si, nephel, an abortion, or untimely birth. The expression seems to be proverbial, and to denote any thing that is vile, offensive, loathsome, unworthy. See Num. xii. 11. The word, I think, has no reference to the mode of training of the apostle, as if he had not had the same opportunity as the others had, and was, therefore, compared with their advantages, like an untimely child compared with one that had come to maturity before its birth, as Bloomfield supposes; nor does it refer to his diminutive stature, as Wetstein supposes; but it means that he felt himself vile, guilty, unworthy, abominable as a persecutor, and as unworthy to be an apostle. The verse following shows that this is the sense in which the word is used.
9. For. A reason for the appellation which he had given to himself in ver. 8. t / am the least of the apostles. Not on account of any defect in his commission, or any want of quaUfication to bear witness in what he saw, but on account of the great crime of his life, the fact that he had been a persecutor. Paul could never forget that; as a man who has been profane and a scoffer, when he becomes converted, can never forget the deep guilt of his former life. The effect will be to produce humility, and a deep sense of unworthiness, ever onward, t Am not meet to he called an apostle. Am not fit to be regarded as a follower of the Lord Jesus, and as appointed to defend his cause, and to bear his name among the Gentiles. Paul had a deep sense of his unworthiness; and the memory of his former life cencied ever to keep him humble. Such 36*
JO But by the grace of God 1 am what I am: and his grace which ivas bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured
should be, and such will be, the effect of the remembrance of a life of sin on those who become converted to the gospel, and especially if they are intrusted with the high office of the ministry, and occupy a station of importance in the church of God. f Because J persecuted the church of God. See Acts ix. It is evident, however, that deeply as Paul might feel his unworthiness, and his unfitness to be called an apostle, yet that this did not render him an incompetent icitness of what he had seen. He was unworthy; but he had no doubt that he had seen the Lord Jesus; and amidst all the expressions of his deep sense of his unfitness for his office, he never once intimates the slightest doubt that he had seen the Saviour. He felt himself fully qualified to testify to that; and with unwavering firmness he did testify to it to the end of life. A man may be deeply sensible that he is unworthy of an elevated station or office, and yet not the less qualified to be a witness. Humility does not disqualify a man to give testimony, but rather furnishes an additional qualification. There is no man to whom we listen more attentively, or whose words we more readily believe, than the modest and humble man, — the man who has had abundant opportunities to observe that of which he testifies, and yet who is deeply humble. Such a man was the apostle Paul; and he evidently felt that, much as he felt his unworthiness, and ready as he was to confess it, yet his testimony on the subject of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus ought to have, and would have, great weight in the church at Corinth. Comp. Note on Acts ix. 19.
10. But hy the grace of God I am luhat I am. By the favour or mercy of God. What I have is to be traced to him, and not to any native tendency more abundantly than they all:! I or they, so we preach, and so yet not I, ° but the grace of God j ye believed, which was with me. 12 Now if Clirist be preached
11 Therefore whether 2/ ivere tliat he rose from the dead, how
to goodness, or any native inclination to his service, or to any merit of my own. All my hopes of heaven; all my zeal; all my success; all my piety; all my apostolic endowments, are to be traced to him. Nothing is more common in the writings of Paul, than a disposition to trace all that he had to the mere mercy and grace of God. And nothing is a more certain indication of true piety than such a disposition. The reason why Paul here introduces the subject seems to be this. He had incidentally, and undesignedly, introduced a comparison in one respect between himself and the other apostles. He had not had the advantages which I they had. Most of all, he was overwhelmed witli the recollection that he had been a persecutor. He felt, therefore, that there was a peculiar obligation resting on him to make up by diligence for the want of their advantages of an early personal conversation with the Lord Jesus, and to express his gratitude that so great a sinner had been made an apostle. He, therefore, says, that he had not been idle. He had been enabled, by the grace of God, to labour more than all the rest, and he had thus shown that he had not been in.«nsible of his obligations. 1 But I laboured more abundantlif, &c. I wa.s more diligent in preaching; I encountered more perils; I have exerted myself more. The records of his life, compared with the records of the other apostles, fully show this, t Yet not I. I do not attribute it to myself. I would not boast of it. The fact is plain, and undeniable, that I liave so laboured. But I would not attribute it to myself. I would not be proud or vain. I would remember my former state; would n;- member that I was a persecutor; would remember that all my disposition to labour,^ and all my ability, and all my success, are to be traced to the mere favour and mercy of God. So every man who has just views feels who has been favoured with success in the ministry. If a man has been successful as a preacher; if he has been self-denying, laborious, and the instrument of good, he cannot be insensible to the fact, and it would be foolish affectation to pretend ignorance of it. But he may feel that it is all owing to the mere mercy of God; and the effect will be to produce humility and gratitude, not pride and self-complacency.
1 1. Therefore, whether it were 7 or they. I or the other apostles. It is comparatively immaterial by whom it was done. The establishment of the truth is the great matter; and the question by whom it is done is one of secondary importance. 1! So we preach. So we all preach. We all defend the same great doctrines; we all insist on the fact that the Lord Jesus died and rose; and this doctrine you all have believed. This doctrine is confirmed by o//who preach; and this enters into the faith ofa// who believe. The design of Paul is to affirm that the doctrines which he here refers to were great, undeniable, and fundamental doctrines of Christianity; that they were proclaimed by all the ministers of the gospel, and believed by all Christians. They were, therefore, immensely important to all; and they must enter cssentidlly into the hopes of all.
12. Now if Christ, &c. Paul, having (ver. 1—11) stated the direct evidence for the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, proceeds here to demonstrate that the dead would rise, by showing how it followed from the fact that the Lord Jesus had risen, and by showing what consequences would follow from denying it. The whole argument is based on the fact that the Lord Jesus had risen. If that was admitted, he shows that it
• say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
must follow that his people would also rise, ^ Be preached. The word preached here seems to include the idea of so preaching as to be believed; or so as to demonstrate that he did rise. If this Was the doctrine on which the church was based, that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, how could the resurrection of the dead be denied ] ^ How say. How can any say; how can it he maintained 1 ^ Some among you. See the introduction to the chapter. Who these were is unknown. They may have been some of the philosophic Greeks, who spurned the doctrine of the resurrection (see Acts xvii. 32); or they may have been some followers of Sadducean teachers; or it may be that the Gnostic philosophy had corrupted them. It is most probable, I think, that the denial of the resurrection was the result of reasoning after the manner of the Greeks, and the effect of the introduction of philosophy into the church. This has been the fruitful source of most of the errors which have been introduced into the church. % That there is no resurrection of the dead. That the dead cannot rise. How can it be held that there can be no resurrection, while yet it is admitted that Christ rose 1 The argument here is twofold. (1.) That Christ rose was one instance of a fact which demonstrated that there had been a resurrection, and of course that it was possible. (2.) That such was the connexion between Christ and his people that the admission of this fact involved also the doctrine that all his people would also rise. This argument Paul states at length in the following verses. It was probably held by them that the resurrection was impossible. To all this, Paul answers in accordance with the principles of inductive philosophy as now understood, by demonstrating a fact, and showing that such an event liad occurred, and that consequently all
13 But if* there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen.
the difficulties were met. Facts are unanswerable demonstrations; and when a f\ict is established, all the obstacles and difficulties in the way must be admitted to be overcome. So philosophers now reason; and Paul, in accordance with these just principles, laboured simply to establish the fact that one had been raised, and thus met at once all the objections which could be urged against the doctrine. It would have been most in accordance with the philosophy of the Greeks to have gone into a metaphysical discussion to show that it was not impossible or absurd, and this might have been done. It was most in accordance with the principles of true philosophy, however, to establish the fact at once, and to argue from, ^ that, and thus to meet all the difficulties at once. The doctrine of the resurrection, therefore, does not rest on a metaphysical subtilty; it does not depend on human reasoning; it does not depend on analogy; it rests just as the sciences of astronomy, chemistry, anatomy, botany, and natural philosophy do, on well ascertained facts,- and it is now a well understood principle of all true science that no difficulty, no obstacle, no metaphysical subtilty; no embarrassment about being able to see HOW it is, is to be allowed to destroy the conviction in the mind which the facts are fitted to produce.
13. But if there be no resurrection of the dead. If the whole subject ia held to be impossible and absurd, then it must follow that Christ is not risen, since there were the same difficulties in the way of raising him up which will cxistjn any case. He was dead; and was buried. He had lain in the grave three days. His human soul had left the body. His frame had become cold and stiff. The blood had ceased to circulate, and the lungs to heave. In his case there was the same difficulty
14 And if* Christ be not risen, then is our preaciiiiig vain, and voiir faith is also vain.
in raising him up to life that there is in any other; and if it is held to be impossible and absurd that the dead should rise, then it must follow that Christ has not been raised. This is the first consequence which Paul states as resulting fiom the denial of this doctrine, and this is inevitable. Paul thus shows them that the denial of the doctrine, or the maintaining the general proposition ' that the dead would not rise,' led also to the denial of the fact that the Lord Jesus had risen, and consequently to the denial of Christianity altogether, and the annihilation of all their hopes. There was, moreover, such a close connexion between Christ and his people, that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus made their resurrection certain. See 1 Thess. iv. 14. See Note, John xiv. 19. 14. And if Christ is nut risen, then is our preaching vain. Another consequence which must follow if it be held that there was no resurrection, and consequently that Christ was. not risen. It would be vain and useless to preach. The substance of their preaching was that Christ was raised up; and all their preaching was based on that. If that were not true, the whole system was false, and Christianity was an imposition. The word vain here seems to include the idea of useless, idle, false. It would be false to aflirm that the Christian system was from heaven; it would be useless to proclaim such a system, as it could save no one. 1 And your faith is also vain. It is useless to believe. It can be of no advantage. If Christ was not raised, he was an impostor, since he repeatedly declared that he would rise (Matt. xvi. 21; xviii. 22, 23. Luke ix. 22), and since the whole of his religion depended on that. The system could not be true unless Christ had been raised, as he said he would be; and to believe a false system could be of no use to any man. The argument
15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he
here is one addressed to all their feelings, their hopes, and their belief. It is drawn from all their convictions that the system was true. Were they, could they be prepared to admit a doctrine which involved the consequence that all the evidences which they had that the apostles preached the truth were delusive, and that all the evidences of the truth of Christianity which had affected their minds and won their hearts were false and deceptive 1 If they were not prepared for this, then it followed that they should not abandon or doubt the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead.
15. Yea, and we are found. We are; or we shall be proved to he. It will follow, if the Lord Jesus was not raised up, that we have been false witnesses. T Of God. Respecting God. It will be found that we have affirmed that which is not true of God; or have said that he has done that which he has not done. Nothing could be regarded as a greater crime than this, whatever might be the immediate subject under consideration. To bear fiilse witness of a man, or to say that a man has done what he has not done, is regarded as a grievous crime. How much more so to bear false testimony of God! f Because we have testified of God. Or rather against God (xotu t'.w 3-.-cy). Our evidence has been against him. We have aliirined that which is not true; and this is against God. It is implied here that it would be a crime to testify that God had raised up the Lord Jesus if he had not done it; or that it would be affirming that of God which would be against his character, or which it would be improper for him to do. This would be so, (I.) Because it would be wrong to hc-AT any false witness of God, or to affirm that he had done what he had not done; (2.) Because if the Lord Jesus had not been raised up, it
raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
would prove that he was an impostor, since he had declared that he would be raised up; and to affirm of God that he had raised up an impostor would be against him, and would be highly dishonourable to him. ^ If the dead rise not. If there is, and can be no resurrection. If this general proposition is true that there can be no resurrection, then it will apply to Christ as well as any others, and must pro\;e that he did not rise. The argument in this verse is this. (1.) If it was denied that Christ was raised, it would prove that all the apostles were false witnesses of the worst character; false witnesses against God. (2.) This the apostle seems to have presumed they could not believe. They had had too many evidences that they spoke the truth; they had seen their uniform respect /or God, and desire to bear witness of him and in his favour; they had had too conclusive evidence that they were inspired by him, and had the power of working miracles; they were too fully convinced of their honesty, truth, and piety, ever to believe that they could be false witnesses against God. They had had ample opportunity to know vvhether God did raise up the Lord Jesus; and they were witnesses who had no inducement to bear a false witness in the case.
\(i> For if the dead rise not, &c. This is a repetition of what is said in ver. 13. It is repeated here, evidently, because of its importance. It was a great and momentous truth which would bear repetition, that if there was no resurrection, as some held, then it would follow that the Lord Jesus was not raised up.
1^.- Your faith is vain. ver. 14. The meaning of this passage here is, that their faith was vain, because, if Christ was not raised up, they were yet unpardoned sinners. The pardon of sin was connected with the belief of the
16 For if the dead rise not» then is not Christ raised:
17 And if Christ be not raised,
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and, if he was not raised, they were still in a state of sin. ^ Ye are yet in your sins. Your sins are yet unpardoned. They can be forgiven only by faith in him, and by the efficacy of his blood. But if he was not raised, he was an impostor; and, of course, all your hopes of pardon by him, and through him, must be vain. The argument in this verse consists in an appeal to their Christian experience and their hopes. It may be thus expressed: (1.) You have reason to believe that your sins are forgiven. You cherish that belief on evidence that is satisfactory to you. But if Christ is not raised, that cannot be true. He was an impostor, and sins cannot be forgiven by him. As you are not, and cannot be prepared to admit that your sins are not forgiven, you cannot admit a doctrine which involves that. (2.) You have evidence that you are not under the dominion of sin. You have repented of it; have forsaken it; and are leading a holy life. You know that, and cannot be induced to doubt this fact. But all that is to be traced to the doctrine that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. It is only by believing that, and the doctrines which are connected with it, that the power of sin in the heart has been destroyed. And as you cannot doubt that under the influence of that truth you have been enabled to break off from your sins, so you cannot admit ^ doctrine which would involve it as a consequence that you are yet under the condemnation and the dominion of sin. You must believe, therefore, that the Lord Jesus rose; and that, if he rose, others will also. This argument is good also now, just so far as there is evidence that, through the belief of a risen Saviour, the dominion of sin has been broken; and every Christian is, therefore, in an important sense, a witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, — a living proof that a system
18 Then they also which are
which can work so great changes, and produce such evidence that sins are forgiven as are furnished in the conversion of sinners, must be from God; and, of course, that the work of the Lord Jesus was accepted, and that he was raised up from the dead.
18. IVien they also, <fec. This verse contains a statement of another consequence which must follow from the denial of the resurrection — that all Christians who had died had failed of salvation, and were destroyed, t W/iick are fallen asleep in Chrint. "Which have died as Christians. Note, ver. 6. 1 Thess. iv. 15. 1 Are perished. Are destroyed; are not saved. They hoped to have been saved by the merits of the I^ord Jesus; they trusted to a risen Saviour, and fixed all their hopes of heaven there; but if he did not rise, of course the whole system was delusion, and they have failed of heaven, and been destroyed. Their 'bodies lie in the grave, and return to their native dust without the prospect of a resurrection, and their souls are destroyed. The argument here is mainly an appeal to their feelings: ' Can you believe it possible that the good men who have believed in the Lord Jesus are destroyed? Can you believe that your best friends, your kindred, and your fellow Christians who have died, have gone down to perdition ] Can you believe that they will sink to wo with the impenitent, and the polluted, and abandoned 1 If you cannot, then it must follow that they are saved. And then it will follow that you catwot embrace a doctrine which involves this consequence.' And this argument is a sound one still. There are multitudes who are made good men by the gospel. They are holy, huml)le, self-denying, and prayerful friends of God. They have become tuck by the belief of the death and returrection of tlie Lord Jesus. Can it
19 If in this life only we
be believed that they will be destroyed? That they will perish with the profane, and licentious, and unprincipled ] That they will go down to dwell with the polluted and the wicked ■? " Shall not the judge of all the earth do right!" Gen. viii. 25. if it cannot be so believed, then they will be saved; and if saved, it follows that the system is true which saves them, and, of course, that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. We may remark here, that a denial of the truth of Christianity involves the belief that its friends will perish with others; that all their hopes are vain; and that their expectations are delusive. He, therefore, who becomes an infidel believes that his pious friends — his sainted father, his holy mother, his lovely Christian sister or child, is deluded and deceived; that they will sink down to the grave to rise no more; that their hopes of heaven will all vanish, and that they will be destroyed with the profane, the impure, and the sensual. And if infidelity demands this faith of its votaries, it is a system which strikes at the very happiness of social life, and at all our convictions of what is true and right. It is a system that is withering and blighting to the best hopes of men. Can it be believed that God will destroy those who are living to his honour; who are pure in heart, and lovely in life, and who have been made such by the Christian religion? If it cannot, then every man knows that Christianity is not false, and that infidelity
19. If in this life only tve have hope in Christ. If our hope in Christ shall not be followed by the resurrection of the dead and future glory, and if all our hopes shall be disappointed. ^ We are, &c. Doddridge, Mackiiight, Grotius, and some others, suppose that this refers to the apostles only, and that the sense is, that if there was no resurrec- tion, they, of all men, would be most to be pitied, since they had exposed themselves to such a variety of dangers and trials, in which nothing could sustain them but the hope of immortality. If th'^^y failed in that, they failed in every thing. They were regarded as the most vile of the human family; they suffered more from persecution, poverty, and perils than other men; and if, after all, they were to be deprived of all their hopes, and disappointed in their expectation of the resurrection, their condition would be more deplorable than that of any other men. But there is no good reason for supposing that the word " we," here, is to be limited to the apostles. For, (1.) Paul had not mentioned the apostles particularly in the previous verses; and, (2.) The argument demands that it should be understood of all Christians, and the declaration is as true, substantially, of all Christians as it was of the apostles. ^ Of all men most miserable. More to be pitied or commiserated than any other class of men. The word here used (iAmvoTi^c') means, properly, more deserving of pity, more pitiable. It mar/ mean sometimes, more wretched, or unhappy; but this is not necessarily its meaning, nor is it its meaning here. It refers rather to their condition and hopes than to their personal feeling; and does not mean that Christians are unhappy, or that their religion does not produce comfort, but that their condition would be most deplorable; they would be more deserving of pity than any other class of men. This would be, (1.) Because no other men had so elevated hopes, and, of course, no others could experience so great disappointment. (2.) They were subjected to more trials than any other class of men. They were persecuted and reviled, and subjected to toil, and privation, and want, on account of their religion; and if, after all, they were to be disappointed, their condition was truly deplorable. (5.) They do not indulge in the pleasures of this life; they do not give j themselves, as others do, to the enjoyments of this world. They voluntarily I subject themselves to trial arid self-denial; and if they are not admitted to eternal life, they are not only disappointed in this, but they are cut off from the sources of happiness which their fellow men enjoy in this world. — Calvin. (4.) On the whole, therefore, there would be disappointed hopes, and trials, and poverty, and want, and all for naught; and no condition could be conceived to be more deplorable than where a man was looking for eternal life, and for it subjecting himself to a life of want, and poverty, and persecution, and tears, and should be finally disappointed. This passage, therefore, does not mean that virtue and piety are not attended with happiness; it does not mean that, even if there were no future state, a nian would not be more happy if he walked in the paths of virtue than if he lived a life of sin; it does not mean that the Christian has no happiness in religion itself — in the love of God, and in prayer, and praise, and in purity of life. In all this he has enjoyment; and even if there were no heaven, a life of virtue and piety would be more happy than a life of sin. But it means that the condition of the Christian would be more deplorable than that of other men; he would be more to be pitied. All his high hopes would be disappointed. Other men have no such hopes to be dashed to the ground; and, of course, no other men would be such objects of pity and compassion. The argument in this verse is derived from the high hopes of the Christian. ' Could they believe that all their hopes were to be frustrated ] Could they subject themselves to all these trials and privations, without believing that they would rise from the dead 1 Were they prepared, by the denial of the doctrine of the resurrection, to put themselves in the condition of the most miserable and wretched of the human family — to arf-
20 But now is * Christ risen from the dead, and become the
m. But now is Christ risen, &c. This language is the bursting forth of a full heart and of overpowering conviction. It would seem as if Paul were impatient of the slow process of argument; weary of meeting objections, and of stating the consequences of a denial of the doctrine; and longing to give utterance to what he knew, that Christ was risen from the dead. That was a point on which he was certain. He had seen him after he was risen; and he could no more doubt this fact than he could any other which he had witnessed with his own eyes. He makes, therefore, this strong affirmation; and in doing it, he at the same time affirms that the dead will also rise, since he had shown (ver. 12 — 18) that all the objection to the doctrine of the resurrection was removed by the fact that Christ had risen, and had shown that his resurrection involved the certainty that his people also would rise, j There is peculiar force in the word i " now" in this verse. The meaning I may be thus expressed: ' I have showed the consequences which would follow from the supposition that Christ was not raised up. I have shown how it would destroy all our hopes, plunge us into grief, annihilate our faith, make our preaching vain, and involve us in the belief that our pious friends have perished, and that we are yet in our sins. I have shown how it would produce the deepest disappointment and misery. But all this was mere supposition. There is no reason to apprehend any such consequences, or to be thus alarmed. Christ IS risen. Of that there is no doubt. That is not to be called in question. It is established by irrefragable testimony; and consequcnilif our hopes are not vain, our faith is not Useless, our pious friends have not perished, and we shall not be disappointed.' ^ And become the first-fruits.
19, &c.); of nnnn, oblation, offering, lifting up; of that which is lifted up or waved as the first sheaf of the harvest, &c. Ex. XXV. 2, 3; xxxv. 5. Num. v. 9; xviii. 8, &c. The first-fruits, or the first sheaf of ripe grain, was required to be offered to the Lord, and was waved before him by the priest, as expressing the sense of gratitude by the husbandman, and his recognition of the fact that God had a right to all that he had. Lev. xxiii. 10 — 14. The word, therefore, comes to have two senses, or to involve two ideas: (1.) That which is first, the beginning, or that which has the priority of time; and, (2.) That which is a part and portion of the whole which is to follow, and which is the earnest or pledge of that; as the first sheaf of ripe grain was not only the first in order of time, but was the earnest or pledge of the entire harvect which was soon to succeed. In allusion to this, Paul uses the word here. It was not merely or mainly that Christ was the first in order of time ^hat rose from the dead, for Lazarus and the widow's son had been raised before him; but it was that he was chief in regard to the dignity, value, and importance of his rising; he was connected with all that should rise, as the first sheaf of the harvest was with the crop, he was apart of the mighty harvest of the resurrection, and his rising was a porf'on of that great rising, as the sheaf wan a portion of the harvest itself; and ho
21 For* since by man came doath, * by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
was so connected with thera all, and their rising so depended on his, that his resurrection was a demonstration that they would ris-e. It may also be implied here, as Grotius and Schoettgen have remarked, that he is the first of those who were raised so as not to die again; and that, therefore, those raised by Elisha and by the Saviour himself do not come into the account. They all died again; but the Saviour will not die, nor will those whom he will raise up in the resurrection die any more. He is, therefore, the first of those that thus rise, and a portion of that great host whicTi shall be raised to die no more. May there not be another idea \ The first sheaf of the barvest was consecrated to God, and then all the harvest was regarded as consecrated to him. May it not be implied that, by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, all those of whom he speaks are regarded as sacred tc God, and as consecrated and accepted by the resurrection and acceptance of him vpho was the first-fruits] % Of them that slept. Of the pious dead. Note,
21. For since hy man came death. By Adam, or by means of his transgression. See ver. 22. The sense is, evidently, that in consequence of the sin of Adam all men die, or are subjected to temporal death. Or, in other words, man would not have died had it not been for the crime of the first man. See Note on Rom, v. 12. This passage may be regarded as proof that death would not have entered the world had it not been for transgression; or, in other words, if man had not sinned, he would have remained immortal on the earth, or would have been translated to heaven, as Enoch and Elijah were, without seeing death. The apostle here, by " man," undoubtedly refers to Adam; but the particular and specific idea which he intends to insist on ig, that, as death %7
22 For as in Adam all die. even so in Christ shall ail be made alive.
came by human nature, or by a human being, by a man, so it was important and proper that immortality, or freedom from death, should come in the same way, by one who was a man. Man introduced death; man also would recover from death. The evil was introduced by one man; the recovery would be by another. ^ By man came also. By the Lord Je^is, the Son of God in human nature. The resurrection came by him, because he first rose — first of those who should not again die; because he proclaimed the doctrine, and placed it on a firm foundation; and because by his power the dead will be raised up. Thus he came to counteract the evils of the fail, and to restore man to more than his primeval dignity and honour. The resurrection through Christ will be with the assurance that all who are raised up by him shall never die again.
first-fruits * of them that slept.
23. For as in Adam (\v tw 'AS:t/u). By Adam; by the act, or by means of Adam; as a consequence of his act. His deed was the procuring cause, or the reason, why all are subjected to temporal death. See Gen. iii. 19. It does not mean that all men became actually dead when he sinned, for they had not then an existence; but it must mean that the death of all can be traced to him as the procuring cause, and that his act made it certain that all that came into the world would be mortal. The sentence which went forth against him (Gen. iii. 19) went forth against all; affected all; involved all in the certainty of death; as the sentence that was passed on the serpent (Gen. iii. 14) made it certain that all serpents would be " cursed above all cattle," and be prone upon the earth; the sentence that was passed upon the woman (Gen. ui. 16) made it certain that all woman would be subjected to the same condition of suffering to which Eve was subjected; and the sentence that was passed on man (Gen. iii. 17")
that, he should cultivate the ground in I sorrow all the days of his life, that it ' should bring forth thistles and thorns to | him (ver. 18), that he should eat bread in the sweat of his brow (ver. 19), made it certain that this would be the condition of all men as well as of Adam. It was a blow at the head of the human! faoiily, and they were subjected to the j same train of evils as he was himself, i In like manner they were subjected to j death. It was done in Adam, or by | Adam, in the same way as it was in him, i or by him, that they were sulijccted to toil, and to the necessity of procuring | food by the sweat of the brow. See Notes, Rom. v. 12—19. See ver. 47, 48. t All die. All mankind are subjected to temporal death; or are mortal. This passage has been often adduced to prove that all mankind became sinful in Adam, or in virtue of a covenant transaction with him; and th;it they are subjected to spiritual death as a punishment for his sins. But, whatever may be the truth on that subject, it is clear that ihis passage does not relate to it, and should not be adduced as a proof text. For, (1.) The words die and dielh obviously end usually refer to temporal death; and they should be so understood, unless there is something in the connexion which requires us to understand them in a figurative and m.etaphorical sense. But there is, evidently, no such necessity here. (2.) The context requires us to understand this as relating to temporal death. There is not here, as there is in Rom. v., any intimation that men became sinners in consequence of the transgression of Adam, nor does the course of the apostle's argument require him to make any statement on that subject. His argument has reference to the subject of temporal death, and the resurrection of the dead; and not to the question in what way men became sinners. (3.) The whoie of this argument relates to the resurrection of the dead. That is the main, the leading, the exclusive point. He is demonstrating that the dead would rise. He is showing how this would be done. It became, therefore, important for him U> show in what way men were subjected to temporal death. His argument, therefore, requires him to make a statement on that point, and that only; and to show that the resurrection by Christ was adapted to meet and overcome the evils of the death to which men were subjected by the sin of the first man. In Rom. v. the design of Paul is to prove that the effects of the work of Christ were more than sufficient to meet aii. the evils introduced by the sin of Adam. This leads him to an examination there of the question in what way men became sinners. Here the design is to show that the work of Christ is adapted to overcome the evils of the sin of Adam in one specijic matter — the matter under discttsswn, i. e. on the point of the resurrection; and his argument therefore requires him to show on/r/ that temporal death, or mortality, was introduced by the first man, and that this has been counteracted by the second; and to this s|)ecific point the interpretation of this passage should be confined. Nothing is more important in interpreting the Bible than to ascertain the specific point in the argument of a writer to be defended or illustrated, and then to confine the interpretation to that. I'he argument of the apostle here is ample to prove that all men are subjected to temporal death bj the sin of Adam; and that this evil is counteracted fully by the resurrection of Christ, and the resurrection through him. And to this point the passage should be limited. (4.) If this passage means, that in Adam, or by him, all men became sinners, then the correspondent declaration " all shall be made alive" must mean that all men shall become righteous, or that all shall be saved. This would be the natural and obvious interpretation; since the words " bo made alive" must have reference to tho words " all die," and must affirm tho correlative and opposite fact. If tho j)hrasc "all die" there means all become sinners, then the phrase " all be made alive" must mean all shall be made holy, or he recovered from their spiritual death; and thus an obvious argument is furnished for (he doctrino of universal s*lvation, which it is difficult, if not impossible, to meet. It is not a sufficient answer to this to say, that the word " ill." in the latter part of the sentence, means all the elect, or all the righteous; for its most natural and obvious meanina is, that it is coextensive with the word "all" in the former part of the verse. And although it has been held by many who suppose that the passage refers only to the resurrection of the dead, that it means that all the righteous shall be raised up, or all who are given to Christ, yet that interpretation is not the obvious one, nor is it yet sufficiently clear to make it the basis of an argument, or to meet the strong argument which the advocate of universal salvation will derive from the former interpretation of the passage. It is true literally that all the dead will rise; it is yiot true literally that all who became mortal, or became sinners by means of Adam, will be saved. And it must be held as a great principle that this passage is not to be so interpreted as to teach the doctrine of the salvation of all men. At least, this may be adopted as a principle in the argument with those who adduce it to prove that all men became sinners by the transgression of Adam, This passage, therefore, should not be adduced in proof of the doctrine of imputation, or as relating to the question how men became sinners, but should be limited to the subject that was immediately under discussion in the argument of the apostle. That object was, to shotv that the doctrine of the resun-ection by Christ ivas such as to meet the obvious doctrine that men became mortal by Adam,- or that the one was adapted to counteract the other. ^ Even so (ot-?*). In this manner; referring not merely to the certainty of the event, but to the mode or manner. As the death of all was occasioned by the sin of one, even so, in like manner, the resurrection of all shall be produced by one. His resurrection shall meet and counteract the evils introduced by the other, so far as the subject under discussion is concerned; that is, so far M relates to temporal death, t In
Christ. By Christ; in virtue of him; or as the result of his death and resurrection. Many commentators have supposed that the word " all" here refers only to believers, meaning all who were united to Christ, or all who were his friends; all included in a covenant with him; as the word " all" in the former member of the sentence means all who were included in the covenant with Adam; that is, all mankind. But to this view there are manifest objections, (I.) It is not the obvious sense; it is not that which will occur to the great mass of men who interpret the Scriptures on the principles of common sense; it is an interpretation which is to be made out by reasoning and by theology — always a suspicious circumstance in interpreting the Bible. (2.) It is not necessary. All the wicked will be raised up from the dead, as well as all the righteous. Dan. xii. 2. John v. 28, 29. (3.) The form of the passage requires us to understand the word "all" in the same sense in both men»- bers, unless there be some indispensable necessity for limiting the one or the other. (4.) The argument of the apostle requires this. For his object is to show that the effect of the sin of Adam, by introducing temporal death, will be counteracted by Christ in raising up all who die; which would not be shown if the apostle meant to say that only a part of those who had died in consequence of the sin of Adam would be raised up. The argument would then be inconclusive. But now it is complete if it be shown that all shall be raised up, whatever may become of them afterwards. The sceptre of death shall be broken, and his dominion destroyed, by the fact that all shall be raised up from the dead, t Be made alive. Be raised from the dead; be made alive, in a sense contradistinguished from that in which he here says they were subjected to death by Adam. If it should be held that that means that all were made sinners by him, then this means, as has been observed, that all shall be made righteous, and the doctrine of universal salvation has an unanswerable ar^»
23 But* every man in his own order; Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's, at his coming.
24 Then comet h the end,
ment; if it means, as it obviously does, that all wcie subjected to temporal death by him, then it means that all shall be raised from the dead by Christ.
23. But every man. Every one, including Christ as well as others. ^ -^^ his own order. In his proper order, rank, place, time. The word tuyuA usually relates to military order or array; to the arrangement of a cohort, or band of troops; to their being properly ma-shallcd with the officers at the head, and every man in his proper place in the ranks. Here it means that there was a proper order to be observed in the resurrection of the dead. And the design of the apostle is, probably, to counteract the idea that the resurrection was passed already, or that there was no future resurrection to be expected. The order which is here referred to is, doubtless, mainly that oi time; meaning that Christ would bo first, and then that the others would follow. But it also means that Christ would be first, because it VidiS proper that he should be first. • He was first in rank, in dignity, and in honour; he was the leader of all others, and their resurrection depended on his. And as it was proper that a leader or cjmmander should have the first place on a march, or in an enterprise involving peril or glory, so it was proper that Christ should be first in the resurrection, and that the others should follow on in due order and time. ^ Christ the Jirst-frnits. Christ first in time, and the pledge that they should rise. See note on vcr. 20. t Afterward. After he has risen. Not before, because their resurrection depended on him. ^ They that are Christ's. They who are Christians. The apostle, though in ver. 22 he had stated the truth that nil the dead would rise, yet here only mentions Christians, because to them when he shall have delivered up the kingdom * to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all author ity and power.
only would the doctrine be of any consolation, and because it was to them particularly that this whole argument was directed. ^ At his coniivg. When he shall come to judge the world, and to receive his people to himself. This proves that the dead will not lie raised until Christ shall reappear. He shall come for that purpose; and he shall assemble all the dead, and shall take his people to himself. See Matt. xxv. And this declaration fully met the opinion of those who held that the resurrection was past already. See 2 Tim. ii, 18.
24. Tlien cometh the end. Then is the end; or then is the consummation. It docs not mean that the end, or consummation, is io follow that event; but that this will be the ending, the winding up, the cojisummation of the alTairs under the mediatorial reign of Christ. The word end (rixcc) denotes properly a limit, termination, completion of any thing. The proper and obvious meaning of the word here is, that then shall be the end or completion of the work of redemption. That shall have been done which was intended to be done by the incarnation and the work of the atonement; the race shall be redeemed; the friends of God shall be com pletely recovered; and the admini.;lration of the aftairs of the universe shall be conducted as they were before the incarnation of the Kedeemer. Some understand the word " end'' here, however, as a metaphor, meaning ' the hist, or the rest of the dead;' but this is a forced and improbable interpretation. The word end here may refer to the end of human affairs, or the end of the kingdoms of this world, or it may refer to the end of the mediatorial kingdom of the Redeemer; the consummation of his peculiar reign and work resulting in the surrender of the kingdom to the
Father. The connexion demands the last interpretation, though this involves also the former. ^ When he shall have delivered up (tt^^uSo)'). This word means properly to give near, with, or to any one; to give over, to dehver up. — Robinson. It is applied to the act of delivering up persons to the powrer or authority of others, as, e.g. to magistrates for trial and condemnation (Matt. v. 25. Mark xv. 1. Luke xx. 20); to lietors, or soldiers, for punishment (Matt, xviii. 24); or to one's enemies. Matt, xxvi. 15. It is applied also to persons or things delivered over or surrendered, to do or suffer any thing. Acts xv. 26. 1 Cor. xiii. 3. Eph. iv. 19. It is also applied to persons or things delivered over to the care, charge, or supervision of any one, in the sense of giving up, intrusting, committing. Matt. xi. 27; XXV. 14. Luke iv. 6. 10. 22. Here the obvious sense is that of surrendering, giving back, delivering up, rendering up that which had been received, implying that an important trust had been received, which was now to be rendered back. And according to this interpretation, it means, (1.) That the Lord Jesus had received or been intrusted with an important power or office as mediator. Comp. Note, Matt, xviii. 18. (2.) That he had executed the purpose implied in that trust or commission; and, (3.) That he was now rendering back to God that office or authority which he had received at his hands. As the work had been accomplished which had been contemplated in his design; as there would be no farther necessity for mediation when redemption should have been made, and his church recovered from sin and brought to glory; there would be no further need of that joecifliar arrangement which had been implied in the work of redemption, and, of course, all the intrustment of power involved in that would be again restored to the hands of God. The idea, says Grotius, is, that he would deliver up the kingdom as the governors of provinces render again or deliver up their commission and authority to the Caesars who appointed them There 27* is no absurdity in this view. For if the world was to be redeemed, it was necessary that the Redeemer should be intrusted with power sufficient for his work. When that work was done, and there was no further need of that peculiar exercise of power, then it would be proper that it should be restored, or that the government of God should be administered as it was before the work of redemption was undertaken; that the Divinity, or the Godhead, as such, should preside over the destinies of the universe. Of course, it will not follow that the Second Person of the Trinity will surrender all power, or cease to i exercise government. It will be that j power only which he had as Mediator; I and whatever part in the administration I of the government of the universe he i shared as Divine before the incarnation, I he will still share, with the additional \ glory and honour of having redeemed a world by his death. ^ The kingdom. This word means properly dominion, reign, the exercise of kingly power. In the New Testament it means commonly the reign of the Messiah, or the dominion which God would exercise through the Messiah; the reign of God over men by the laws and institutions of the Messiah. See Note, Matt. iii. 2. Here it means, I think, evidently, dominion in general. It cannot denote the peculiar administration over the world involved in the work of mediation, for that will be ended; but it means that the empire, the sovereignty, shall have been delivered up to God. His enemies shall have been subdued. His power shall have been asserted. The authority of God shall have been established, and the kingdom, or the dominion, shall be in the hands of God himself; and he shall reign, not in the peculiar form which existed in the work of mediation, but absolutely, and as he did over I obedient minds before the incarnation. U To God. To God as God; to the Divinity. The Mediator shall have given up the peculiar power and rule! as Mediator, and it shall be exercised by God as God. t Even the Father. And (ku) the Father. The word Father, as applied to God in the Scriptures, is used in two senses — to designate the Fallier, the first person of the Trinity as distinguished from the Son; and in a broader, wider sense, to denote God as sustaining the relation of a Father to his creatures; as the Father of all. Instances of this use are too numerous to be here particularly referred to. It is in this latter sense, perhaps, that the word is used here — not to denote that liie second person of the Trinity is to surrender all power into the hands of the first, or that he is to cease to exercise dominion and control; but that the power is to be yielded into the hands of God as God, i. e. as the universal Father, as the Divinity, without being exercised in any peculiar and special manner by the different persons of the Godhead, as had been done in the work of redemption. At the close of the work of redemption this peculiar arrangement would cease; and God, as the universal Father and Ruler of all, would exercise the government of the world. See, however, Note on ver. 28. H When he shall have put down. When he shall have abolished, or brought to naught, all that opposed the reign of God. ^ All rule, &c. All those mighty powers that opposed God and resisted ids reign. The words here used do not seem intended to denote the several departments or forms of opposition, but to be general terms, meaning that whatever opposed God should be subdued. They include, of course, the kingdoms of this world; the sins, pride, and cor ruption of the human heart; the powers of darkness — the spiritual dominions that oppose God on earth and in hell; and death and the grave. All shall be completely subdued, and cease to interpose any obstacles to the advancement of his kingdom and to his universal reign. A monarch reigns when all his enemies are subdued or destroyed; or when they are prevented from opposing i bis will, even though all should not vohintarily submit to his will. 'I'he following remarks of Prof. Bush present a ' plausibhj and ingenious view of this, difficult passage, and they are, therefore, subjoined here. " If the opinion of the eminent critic, Storr, may be admitted, that the kingdom here said to be delivered up to the Father is not the kingdom of Christ, but the rule and dominion of all adverse powers — an opinion rendered very probable by the following words: ' when he shall liave put down (Gr. done away, abolished) all rule, and all authority and power,' — and ver. 25, * till he hath put all enemies under his feet' — then is the passage of identical imf>ort with Rev. xi. 15, referring to precisely the same period: 'And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, Tho kingdoms of the world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.' It is, therefore, we conceive, but a peculiar mode of denoting the transfer^ the making over of the kingdoms of this world from their former despotic and antichristian rulers to the sovereignty of Jesus Christ, the appointed heir and head of all things, whose kingdom is to be everlasting. If this interpretation be correct, we are prepared to advance a step farther, and suggest that the phrase, lie shall have delivered up (Greek, ttu^uJu."), be understood as an instance of the idiom in which the verb is used without any personal nominative, but has reference to the purpost of God as expressed in the Scriptures; so that the passage may be read, * Then cometh the end (/. e. not the close, the final winding up, but the perfect developement, expansion, completion, consummation of the divine plans in regard to this world), when the prophetic announcements of the Scriptures require the delivering up (/. e. the making over) of all adverse dominion into the hands of the Messiah, to whose supremacy wo arc taught to expect that every thing will finally be niatk subject.'' — ///«*- trations of Scripture. A more extended examination of this difiicult passage may be seen in Storr's Opiiscula, vol. i, pp.'274 — 282. See also Biblical Repository, vol. iii. pp. 748 — 755.
25 For he** must reign, till be lialh put all enemies under his feet.
25. For he must reign. It is fit, o'- proper (cTs?), that he should reign till this is accomplished. It is proper that the mediatorial kingdom should continue till this jjreat work is elLected. 'i'he word " must" here refers to the propriety of this continuance of his reign, and to the fact that this was contemplated and predicted as the work which he would accomplish. He came to subdue all his enemies. See Ps. ii. 6—10; or Ps. ex. 1, "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool." Paul, doubtless, had this passage in his eye as affirming the necessity that he should reign until all his foes should be subdued. That this refers to the Messiah is abundantly clear from Matt. xxii. 44, 45.
26. The last cnemi/ that shall be destroyed is death. The other foes of God should be subdued before the final resurrection. The enmity of the human heart sho\ild be subdued by the triumphs of the gospel. The sceptre of Satan should be hroken and wrested from him. The fahe eystems of religion that had tyranni?*^?! over men should be destroyed. The g'^hpel should have spread everywhere, uiid the world be converted to God. And nothing should remain but to sv^ lue or destroy death, and that vvou'd be by the resurrection. It would be, { I.) Because the resurrection would be p triumph over death, showing that there was one of greater power, and that the sceptre would be wrested from the hands of death. (2.) Because death would cease to reign. No more would ever die. All that should be raised up would live for ever; and the effects of sin and rebellion in this world would be thus for ever ended, and the kingdom of God restored. Death is here personified as a tyrant, exercising, despotic power over the human race; and he is to be subdued.
26 The last enemy that shah be destroyed* is death.
27. For he hath put. Godi has put by promise, purpose, or decree. ^ All things under his feci. Re has made all things subject to him; or has appointed him to le head over all things. Comp. Matt, xxviii. 18. John xvii, 2. Eph. i. 20—22. It is evident that Paul here refers to some promise or prediction respecting the Messiah, though he does not expressly quote any passage, or make it certain to what he refers. The luords " hath put all things under his feet" are found in Ps. viii. 6, as applicable to man, and as designed to show the dignity and dominion of man. WHfether the psalm has any reference to the Messiah, has been made a question. Those who are disposed to see an examination of this question, may find it in Stuart on the Hebrews, on ch. ii. 6 — 8; and in Excursus ix. of the same work, pp. 568—570. Ed. 1833. In the passage before us, it is not necessary to suppose that Paul meant to say that the psalm had a particular reference to the Messiah. All that is implied is, that it was the intention of God to subdue all things to him; this was the general strain of the prophecies in regard to him; this was the purpose of God; and this idea is accurately expressed in the words of the psalm; or these words will convey the general sense of the prophetic writings in regard to the Messiah. It may be true, also, that although the passage in Ps. viii. has no immediate and direct reference to the Messiah, yet it includes him as one who possessed human nature. The psalm may be understood as affirming that all things were subjected to human nature; i. e. human nature had dominion and control over all. But this was more particularly and eminently true of the Messiah than of any other man. In all other cases, great as was the dignity of man, yet his control over "all things" was limited and partial. In the Messiah it was under his feet. But when he j excepted which did put all things time, when this shall be accomplished This implies that the time has not ye arrived, and that his dominion is now exercised, and that he is carrying for ward his plans for the subjugation of al) things to God. ^ Shalt be subdued unto him. Shall be brouglit under subjection When all his enemies shall be overcome and destroyed; or when the hearts of the redeemed shall be entirely subject to God. When God's kingdom shall be fully established over the universe. It shall then be seen that he is Lord of all. In the previous verses he had spoken of the promise that all things should be subjected to God; in this, he speaks of its being actually done, t Then ahull the Son also himself be subject, &c. It has been proposed to render this, ''even then shall the Son," &c.; implying that he had been all along subject to God; had acted under his authority; and that this subjection would continue even then in a sense similar to that in which it had existed; and that Christ would then continue to exercise a delegated authority over his people and kingdom. See an article " on the duration of Christ's kingdom," by Prof. Mills, in Bib. Rep. vol. iii. p. 748, seq. But to this interpretation there are objections. (1.) It is not the obvious interpretation. (2.) It does not seem to comport with the design and scope of the passage, which most evidently refers to some change, or rendering back of the authority of the Me-^siah; or to some resumption of authority by the Divinity, or by God as God, in a diflerent sense from what existed under the Messiah. (3.) Such a statement would be unnecessary and vain. Who could reasonably doubt that the Son would be as much subject to God when all things had been subdued to him as he was before 1 (4.) It is not necessary to suppose this in order to reciMicile the passage with what is said of the perpetuity of Christ's kingdom and his eterr»aJ to be complete and entire. His dominion, therefore, was a complete fulfilment, i. 6. filling up (iT^ii^afAu.) of the words in the psalm. Under him alone was there to be an entire accomplishrjent of what is there said; and as that psalm was to be fulfilled, as it was to be true that it might be said of man that all things were subject to him, it was to be fulfilled mainly in the person of the Messiah, whose human nature was to be exalted above all things. Comp. Heb. ii. 6 — 9. ^ But when he saith. When God says, or when it is said; when that promise is made resjJfecting the Messiah, t It is matiifest. It must be so; it must be so understood and interpreted. ^ That he is excepted, &c. That God is excepted; that it caimot mean that the appointing power is to be subject to him. Paul may have made this remark for several reasons. Perhaps, (1.) To avoid tUe possibility ot cavil, or misconstruction of the phrase, " all things," as if it meant that God would be included, and would be subdued to him; as among the heathen, Jupiter is tabled to have expelled his father Saturn from his throne and from heaven. (2.) It might be to prevent the supposition, from what Paul had said of the extent of the Son's dominion, that lie was in any respect superior to the Father. It is implied by this exception here, that when the necessity for the peculiar mediatorial kingdom of the Son should cease, there would be a resuming of the authority and dominion of the Father, in the manner in which it subsisted before the incarnation. (3.) The expression may also be regarded as intensive or emphatic; as denoting, in the nriost absolute sense, that there was nothing in the universe, but God, which was not subject to him. God was the onli/ exception; and his dominion, therefore, was absolute over all other eings and things. 28. And when, &c. In this future
be subdued" unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject
reign. That he would reign; that his kingdom would be perpetual, and that it would be unending, was indeed clearly predicted. See 2 Sam. vii. 16. Ps. x\v. 6, Isa. ix. 6, 7. Dan. ii. 44; vii. 14. Luke i. 22, 23. Heb. i. 8. But these predictions may be all accomplished on the supposition that the peculiar mediatorial kingdom of the Messiah shall be given up to God, and that he shall be subject to him. For, (a) His kingdom will be perpetual, in contradistinction from the kingdoms of this world. They are fluctuating, changing, short in their duration. His shall not cease, and shall continue to the end of time. (b) His kingdom shall be perpetual because those who are brought under the laws of God by him shall remain subject to those laws for ever. The sceptre never shall be broken, and the kingdom shall abide to all eternity. (c) Christ, the Son of God, in his divine nature, as God, shall never cease to reign. As Mediator, he may resign his commission and his peculiar oftice, having made an atonement, having recovered his people, having protected and guided them to heaven. Yet as one with the Father; as the " Father of the everlasting age" (Isa. ix. 6), he shall not cease to reign. The functions of a peculiar office may have been discharged, and delegated power laid down, and that which appropriately belongs to him in virtue of his own nature and relations may be resumed and executed for ever; and it shall still be true that the reign of the Son of God, in union, or in oneness with the Father, shall continue for ever. (5.) The interpretation which affirms that the Son shall then be subject to the Father in the sense of laying down his delegated authority, and ceasing to exercise his mediatorial reign, has been the common interpretation of all times. This remark is of value only, because, in the interpretation of plain words, it unto him ' that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
is not probable that men of all classes and ranks in ditferent ages would err. t The Sun also himself. The term " Son of God" is applied to the Lord Jesus with reference to his human nature, his incarnation by the Holy Ghost, and his resurrection from the dead. See Note on Rom. i. 4. It refers, I apprehend, to that in this place. It does nt)t mean that the second person in the Trinity, as such, should be subject to the lirst; but it means the Incarnate Son, the Mediator, — the man that was born and that was raised from the dead, and to whom this wide dominion had been given, — should resign that dominion, and that the government should be reassumed by the Divinity as God. As man, he shall cease to exercise any distinct dominion. This does not mean, evidently, that the union of the divine and human nature will be dissolved; nor that important purposes may not be answered by that continued union forever; nor that the divine perfections may not shine forth in some glorious way through the man Christ Jesus; but that ike purpose of government shall no longer be exercised in that way; the mediatorial kingdom, as such, shall no longer be continued, and power shall be exercised by God as God. The redeemed will still adore their Redeemer as their incarnate God, and dwell upon the remembrance of his work and upon his perfections (Rev. i. 5, 6; v. 12; xi. 15); but not as exercising the peculiar power which he now has, and which was needful to effect their redemption. t That God may he all in all. That God may be supreme; that the Divinity, the Godhead, may rule; and that it may be seen that he is the Sovereign over all the universe. By the word " God" (j Gsic), Whitby and Hammond, I think correctly, understand the Godhead, the Divine Nature, the Divinity, consisting of tJie three persons,
29. Else what shall they do, &c. The apostle here resumes the argument for the resurrection which was interrupted at ver. 19. He goes on to state further consequences which must follow from the denial of this doctrine, end ihence infers that the doctrine must be true. There is, perhaps, no passage of the New Testament in respect to which there has been a greater variety of interpretation than this; and the views of expositors now by no means harmonize in regard to its meaning. It is possible that Paul may here refer to some practice or custom which existed in his time respecting baptism, the knowledge of which is now lost. The various opinions which have been entertairied in regard to this passage, together with an examination of them, may be seen in Pool's Synopsis, Rosenmiiller, and Bloomfield. It may be not useless just to refer to some of them, that the perplexity of commentators may be seen. (1.) It has been held by some that by " the dead" here is meant the Messiah who was put to death, the plural being used for the singular, meaning "the dead one." (2.) By others, that the word baptized here is taken in the sense of washing, cleansing, purifying, as in Matt. viii. 4. Hcb. ix. 10, and that the sense is, that the dead were carefully washed and purified when buried, with the hope of the resurrection, and, as it were, preparatory to that, (b.) By others, that to be baptized for the dead means to be baptized as dead, being baptized into Christ, and buried with him in baptism, and that by their immersion they were regarded as dead. (4.) By others, that the apostle refers to a custom of vicarious baptism, or being baptized for those who were dead, referring to the practice of having some person baptized in the place of one who had died without baptism. This was the opinion of Grotius, Michaelia, TertuUian, and Am-