7. So that contrariwise. On the other hand: on the contrary. That is, instead of continuing the punishment. Since the punishment was sufficient, and has answered all the purpose of bearing your testimony against the offence, and of bringing him to repentance, you ought again to admit him to your communion. 1 Ye ought rather to forgive him. Rather than continue the pain and disgrace of excommunication. It follows from this, (1.) That the proper time for restoring an offender is only when the punishment has answered the purpose for which it was designed; i. e. has shown the just abhorrence of the church against the sin, and has reformed the offender; and, (2.) That when that is done the church ought to forgive the offending brother, and admit him again to their fellowsbip. When it can be ascertained that the punishment has been effectual in reforming him, may depend somewhat on the nature of the offence. In this case, it was sufficiently shown by his putting away his wife, and by the manifestations of sorrow. So in other cases, it may be shown by a man's abandoning a course of sin, and reforming his life. If he has been unjust, by his repairing the evil; if he has been pursuing an unlawful business, by abandoning it; if he has pursued a course of vice, by his forsaking it, and by giving satisfactory evidences of sorrow and of reformation, for a period sufficiently long to show his sincerity. The time which will be required in each case, must depend, of course, somewhat on the nature of the offence, the previous character of the individual, the temptations to which he may be exposed, and the disgrace which he may have brought on his Christian calling.
a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
It is to be observed, also, that then his restoration is to be regarded as an act of forgiveness, a favour (%*,>i<rA<rd-*tt i. e. x^Z^i favour, grace) on the part of the church. It is not a matter of justice, or of claim on his part, for having once dishonoured his calling, he has forfeited his right to a good standing among Christians; but it is a matter of favour, and he should be willing to humble himself before the church, and make suitable acknowledgment for his offences, ^ And comfort him. There is every reason to think that this man became a sincere penitent. If so, he must have been deeply pained at the remembrance of his sin, and the dishonour which he had brought on his profession, as well as at the consequences in which he had been involved. In this deep distress, Paul tells them that they ought to comfort him. They should receive him kindly, as God receives to his favour a penitent sinner. They should not cast out his name as evil; they should not reproach him for his sins; they should not harrow up his recollection of the offence by often referring to it; they should be willing to bury it in lasting forgetfulnesss, and treat him now as a brother. It is a duty of a church to treat with kindness a true penitent, and receive him to their affectionate embrace. The offence should be forgiven and forgotten. The consolations of the gospel, adapted to the condition of penitents, should be freely administered; and all should be done that can be, to make the offender, when penitent, happy and useful in the community. *|[ Lest perhaps such a one. Still forbearing to mention his name; still showing towards him the utmost tenderness and delicacy. <{ Should be swallowed up, &c. Should be overcome with grief; and should be rendered incapable of usefulness by his excessive sorrow. This is a strong expression, denoting intensity of grief. We speak of a man's being drowned in sorrow; or overwhelmed with grief, of
8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.
9 For to this end also did I
grief preying upon him. The figure here is probably taken from deep waters, or from a whirlpool which seems to swallow up any thing that comes within reach. Excessive grief or calamity, in the Scriptures, is often compared to such waters. See Ps. cxxiv. 2 — 5. u If it had not been the Lord who was on our side when men rose up against us, then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us; then the waters had overwhelmed us,the stream had gone over our soul; then the proud waters had gone over our soul." See Ps. Ixix. 1. " Save me, O God, for the waters are come into my soul." Paul apprehended that by excessive grief, the offending brother would be destroyed. His life would waste away under the effect of his excommunication and disgrace, and the remembrance of his offence would prey upon him, and sink him to the grave.
8. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. The word here rendered confirm (xwgwo-au) occurs in the New Testament only here and in Gal. hi. 15. It means to give authority, to establish as valid, to confirm; and here means that they should give strong expressions and assurances of their love to him; that they should pursue such a course as would leave no room for doubt in regard to it. Tindal has well rendered it, "Wherefore I exhort you that love may have strength over him." Paul referred, doubtless, here to some public act of the church by which the sentence of excommunication might be removed, and by which the offender might have a public assurance of their favour.
9. For to this end did I write. The apostle did not say that this was the only purpose of his writing, to induce them to excommunicate the offender. He does not say that he wished in an
write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient 0 in all things.
arbitrary manner to test their willingness to obey him, or to induce them to do a thing in itself wrong, in order to try their obedience. But the meaning is this: This was the main reason why he wrote to them, rather than to come personally among them. The thing ought to have been done; the offender ought to be punished; and Paul says that he adopted the method of writing to them, rather than of coming among them in person, in order to give them an opportunity to show whether they were disposed to be obedient. And the sense is, 1 You may now forgive him. He has not only been sufficiently punished, and he has not only evinced suitable penitence, but also another object which I had in view has been accomplished. I desired to see whether you were, as a church, disposed to be obedient. That object, also, has been accomplished. And now, since every thing aimed at in the case of discipline has been secured, you may forgive him, and should, without hesitation, again receive him to the bosom of the church.'
10. To whom ye forgive any thing. The sense here is, ' I have confidence in you as a Christian society, and such confidence, that if you forgive an offence in one of your members, I shall approve the act, and shall also be ready to forgive.' He refers, doubtless, to this particular case; but he makes his remark general. It is implied here, I think, that the Corinthians were disposed to forgive the offending brother; and Paul here assures them that they had his hearty assent to this, and that if they did forgive him, he was ready to join them in the act, and to forgive him also. t For if I forgave any thing. If I forgive any thing; if I remit any of the punishments which have been inflicted by my authority. % For your sakes. It is not on account of the offendei alone; it is in order to promote the hap-
thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the * person of Christ;
piness and purity of the church. \ In the person of Christ. Locke paraphrases this, "By the authority, and in the name of Christ." Doddridge, " As in the person of Christ, and by the high authority with which he has been pleased to invest me." Tindal, " In the room of Christ." The word rendered person (Marg. sight, 7rgia-oe^rcv, from ■rreJK and Zj-\.~), means properly the part towards, at, and around the eye. — Robinson. Then it means the face, visage, countenance; then the presence, person, &c. Here it probably means, in the presence of Christ; with his eye upon me, and conscious that I am acting before him, and must give account to him. It implies, undoubtedly, that Paul acted by his authority, and felt that he was doing that which Christ would approve. 11. Lest Satan. The devil. The name Satan denotes an adversary, an accuser, an enemy. It is the usual proper name which is given to the devil, the great adversary of God and man. 1 Should get an advantage of us. The literal translation of the Greek would be, ' That we may not be defrauded by Satan' (c Iv* /u» irAKvsn-aS-w^usv Ctto tov <ru.ra.va.). The verb here used denotes to have more than another,- then to gain, to take advantage of one, to defraud. And the idea is, that they should at once readmit the penitent offender to their communion, lest if they did not do it, Satan would take advantage of it to do injury to him and them. It is a reason given by Paul why they should lose no time in restoring him to the church. What the advantage was which Satan might gain, Paul does not specify. It might be this: That under pretence of duty, and seeking the purity of the church, Satan would tempt them to harsh measures; to needless severity of discipline; to an unkind and unforgiving spirit; and thus, at the same time, in-
11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
jure the cause of religion, and ruin him who had been the subject of discipline. If For we are not ignorant of his devices. We know his plans, his thoughts, his cunning, his skill. We are not ignorant of the great number of stratagems which he is constantly using to injure us, and to destroy the souls of men. He is full of wiles; and Paul had had abundant occasion to be acquainted with the means which he had used to defeat his plans and to destroy the church. The church, at all times, has been subjected to the influence of those wiles, as well as individual Christians. And the church, therefore, as well as individual Christians, should be constantly on its guard against those snares. Even the best and purest efforts of the church are often perverted, as in the case of administering discipline, to the worst results; and by the imprudence and want of wisdom; by the rashness or overheated zeal; by the pretensions to great purity and love of truth; and by a harsh, severe, and censorious spirit, Satan often takes advantage of the church, and advances his own dark and mischievous designs.
12. Furthermore. But (ih). This particle is properly adversative; but frequently denotes transition, and serves to introduce something else, whether opposite to what precedes, or simply ewtinuative or explanatory. Here, it is designed to continue or explain the statement before made of his deep affection for the church, and his interest in its affairs. He therefore tells them tha when he came to Troas, and was favoured there with great success, and was engaged in a manner most likely of all others to interest his feelings and to give him joy, yet he was deeply distressed because he had not heard, as he expected, from them; but so deep waa his anxiety that he left Troas and wenJ
came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a tt door was opened unto me of the Lord,
into Macedonia. % When I came to Troas. This was a city of Phrygia, or Mysia, on the Hellespont, between Troy on the north, and Assos on the south. See Note on Acts xvi. 8. It was on the regular route from Ephesus to Macedonia. Paul took that route because on his journey to Macedonia he had resolved, for the reasons above stated, not to go to Corinth, ^ To preach Christ's gospel. Greek. ' For (si?) the gospel of Christ;' that is, on account of his gospel; or to promote it. Why he selected Troas, or the region of the Troad (Note, Acts xvi. 8), as the field of his labours, he does not say. It is probable that he was waiting there to hear from Corinth by Titus, and while there he resolved not to be idle, but to make known as much as possible the gospel, ^ And a door was opened unto me. See Note, 1 Cor. xvi. 9. There was an opportunity of doing good, and the people were disposed to hear the gospel. This was a work in which Paul delighted to engage, and in which he usually found his highest comfort. It was of all things the most adapted to promote his happiness.
13. I had no rest in my spirit. I was disappointed, sad, deeply anxious. Though the work in which I was engaged was that which usually gives me my highest joy, yet such was my anxiety to learn the state of things in Corinth, and the success of my letter, and to see Titus, whom I was expecting, that I had comparatively no peace, and no comfort. % But taking my leave of them. Though so many considerations urged me to stay; though there was such a promising field of labour, yet such was my anxiety to hear from you, that I left them. % I went from thence into Macedonia. See Note, Acts xvi. 9. I went over where I expected to find Titus, and to learn the state of your
because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.
14 Now thanks be unto God,
affairs. This is one of the few instances in which Paul left an inviting field of labour, and where there was a prospect of signal success, to go to another place. It is adduced here to show the deep interest which he had in the church at Corinth, and his anxiety to learn what was their condition. It shows that there may be cases where it is proper for ministers to leave a field of great and inviting usefulness, to go to another field, and to engage in another part of the great vineyard.
14. Now thanks be unto God, Sec. There seem to have been several sources of Paul's joy on this occasion. The principal was, his constant and uniform success in endeavouring to advance the interests of the kingdom of the Redeemer. But in particular he rejoiced, (1.) Because Titus had come to him there, and had removed his distress. Comp. ver. 13. (2.) Because he learned from him that his efforts in regard to the church at Corinth had been successful, and that they had hearkened to his counsels in his first letter; and, (3.) Because he was favoured with signal success in Macedonia. His being compelled, therefore, to remove from Troas and to go to Macedonia had been to him ultimately the cause of great joy and consolation. These instances of success Paul regarded as occasions of gratitude to God. f Which always causeth us. Whatever may be our efforts, and wherever we are. Whether it is in endeavouring to remove the errors and evils existing in a particular church, or whether it be in preaching the gospel in places where it has been unknown, still success crowns our efforts, and we have the constant evidence of divine approbation. This waa Paul's consolation in the midst of his many trials; and it proves that, whatever may be the external circumstance*
• which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh
of a minister, whether poverty, want, persecution, or distress, he will have abundant occasion to give thanks to God if his efforts as a minister are crowned with success. % To triumph in Christ. To triumph through the aid of Christ, or in promoting the cause of Christ. Paul had no joy which was not connected with Christ, and he had / no success which he did not trace to him. The word which is here render* ed triumph (d-£u./xfiajzvrt from Gyctu- @iua>) occurs in no other place in the New Testament, except in Col. ii. 15. It is there rendered " triumphing over them in it." that is, triumphing over the principalities and powers which he had spoiled, or plundered; and it there means that Christ led them in triumph after the manner of a conqueror. The word is here used in a causative sense — the sense of the Hebrew Hiphil conjugation. It properly refers to a triumph; or a triumphal procession. Originally the word B-^isL/u^zc meant a hymn which was sung in honour of Bacchus; then the tumultuous and noisy procession which constituted the worship of the god of wine; and then any procession of a similar kind. — Passow. It was particularly applied among both the Greeks and the Romans to a public and solemn honour conferred on a victorious general on a return from a successful war in which he was allowed a magnificent entrance into the capital. In these triumphs, the victorious commander was usually preceded or attended by the spoils of war; by the most valuable and magnificent articles which he had captured; and by the princes, nobles, generals, or people whom he had subduedr The victor was drawn in a magnificent chariot, usually by two white horses. Other animals were sometimes used. " When Pompey triumphed over Africa, his chariot was drawn by elephants; that of Mark Antony by lions; that of Heliogabalus
manifest the savour b of his knowledge by us in every place.
by tigers; and that of Aurelius by deer." — Clark. The people of Corinth were not unacquainted with the nature of a triumph. About one hundred and forty-seven years before Christ, Lucius Mummius, the Roman consul, had conquered all Achaia, and had destroyed Corinth, Thebes, and Colchis, and by order of the Roman senate was favoured with a triumph, and was surnamed Achaious. Tindal renders this place, " Thanks be unto God which always giveth us the victory in Christ." Paul refers here to a victory which he had, and a triumph with which he was favoured by the Redeemer. It was a victory over the enemies of the gospel; it was success in advancing the interests of the kingdom of Christ; and he rejoiced in that victory, and in that success, with more solid and substantial joy than a Roman victor ever felt on returning from his conquests over nations, even when attended with the richest spoils of victory, and by humbled princes and kings in chains, and when the assembled thousands shouted Io triumphe! % And maketh manifest. Makes known; spreads abroad — as a pleasant fragrance is diffused through the air. ^ The savour (zcr/uh). The smell; the fragrance. The word in the New Testament is used to denote a pleasant or fragrant odour, as of incense, or aromatics. John xii. 3. See Eph. v. 2. Phil. iv. 18. There is an allusion here doubtless to the fact that in the triumphal processions fragrant odours were diffused around; flowers, diffusing a grateful smell, were scattered in the way; and on the altars of the gods incense was burned during the procession, and sacrifices offered, and the whole city was filled with the smoke of sacrifices, and with perfumes. So Paul speaks of knowledge — the knowledge of Christ. In his triumphings, the knowledge of the Redeemer was diffused abroad, like the odours which were diffused in the
15 For we are unto God a | a that are saved, and in them that sweet savour of Christ, in them perish:
triumphal march of the conqueror. And that odour or savour was acceptable to God — as the fragrance of aromatics and of incense was pleasant in the triumphal procession of the returning victor. The phrase " makes manifest the savour of his knowledge," therefore, means, that the knowledge of Christ was diffused everywhere by Paul, as the grateful smell of aromatics was diffused all around the triumphing warrior and victor. The effect of Paul's conquests everywhere was to diffuse the knowledge of the Saviour — and this was acceptable and pleasant to God — though there might be many who would not avail themselves of it, and would perish. See ver. 15.
15. For we are unto God. We who are his ministers, and who thus triumph. It is implied here that Paul felt that ministers were labouring for God, and felt assured that their labours would be acceptable to him. — The object of Paul in the statement, in this and in the following verses, is undoubtedly to meet the charges of his detractors and enemies, lie says, therefore, that whatever was the result of his labours in regard to the future salvation of men; yet, that his well-meant endeavours, and labours, and self-denials in preaching the gospel, were acceptable to God. The measure of God's approbation in the case was not his success, but his fidelity, his zeal, his self-denial, whatever might be the reception of the gospel among those who heard it. f A sweet savour. Like the smell of pleasant incense, or of grateful aromatics, such as were burned in the triumphal processions of returning conquerors. The meaning is, that their labours were acceptable to God; he was pleased with them, and would bestow on them the smiles and proofs of his approbation. The word here rendered " sweet savour" («W/*) occurs only in this place, and in Eph. v. 2. Phil. iv. 18; and is applied to persons or things well-pleasing to God. It 4* properly means good odour, or fragrance, and in the Septuagint it is frequently applied to the incense that was burnt in the public worship of God and to sacrifices in general. Gen. viii. 21. Ex xxix. 18. 25. 41. Lev. i. 9. 13. 17; ii 2. 9. 12; iii. 5. 16; iv. 31, &c. &c. Here it means that the services of Paul and the other ministers of religion were as grateful to God as sweet incense, or acceptable sacrifices, f Of Christ. That is, we are Christ's sweet savour to God: we are that which he has appointed, and which he has devoted and consecrated to God; we are the offering, so to speak, which he is continually making to God. % In them that are saved. In regard to them who believe the gospel through our ministry and who are saved. Our labour in carrying the gospel to them, and in bringing them to the knowledge of the truth, is acceptable to God. Their salvation is an object of his highest desire, and he is gratified with our fidelity, and with our success. This reason why their work was acceptable to God is more fully stated in the following verse, where it is said that in reference to them they were the " savour of life unto life." The word "saved" here refers to all who become Christians, and who enter heaven; and as the salvation of men is an objecf of such desire to God, it cannot but be that all who bear the gospel to men art engaged in an acceptable service, and that all their efforts will be pleasing to him, and approved in his sight. In regard to this part of Paul's statement there can be no difficulty. 1 Andin them that perish. In reference to them who reject the gospel, and who are finally lost. — It is implied here, ( 1.) That some would reject the gospel and perishwith whatever fidelity and self-denial the ministers of religion might labour. (2.) That though this would be the result, yet the labours of the ministers of religion would be acceptable to God. This is a fearful and awful declaration, and nas been thought by many to be attended with difficulty. A few remarks may present the true sense of the passage, and remove the difficulty from it. (1.) It is not affirmed or implied here that the destruction of those who would reject the gospel, and who would perish, was desired by God or would be pleasing to him. This is nowhere affirmed or implied in the Bible. (2.) It is affirmed only that the labours of the ministers of religion in endeavouring to save them would be acceptable and pleasing to God. Their labours would be in order to save them, not to destroy them. Their desire was to bring all to heaven — and this was acceptable to God. Whatever might be the result, whether successful or not, yet God would be pleased with selfdenial, and toil, and prayer that was honestly and zealously put forth to save others from death. They would be approved by God in proportion to the amount of labour, zeal, and fidelity which they evinced. (3.) It would be by no fault of faithful ministers that men would perish. Their efforts would be to save them, and those efforts would be pleasing to God. (4.) It would be by no fault of the gospel that men would perish. The regular and proper tendency of the gospel is to save, not to destroy men; as the tendency of medicine is to heal them, of food to support the body, of air to give vitality, of light to give pleasure to the eye, &c. It is provided for all, and is adapted to all. There is a sufficiency in the gospel for all men, and in its nature it is as really fitted to save one as another. Whafrever may be the manner in which it is received, it is always in itself the same pure and glorious system; full of benevolence and mercy. The bitterest enemy of the gospel cannot point to one of its provisions that is adapted or designed to make men miserable, and to destroy them. All its provisions are adapted to salvation; all its arrangements are those of benevolence; all the powers and influences which it originates, are those which are fitted to save, not to destroy men. The gospel is what it is in itself — a pure, holy, and benevolent system, and is answerable only for effects which a pure, holy, and benevolent system is fitted to produce. To use the beautiful language of Theodoret, as quoted by Bloomfield, "We indeed bear the sweet odour of Christ's gospel to all,- but all who participate in it do not experience its salutiferous effects. Thus to diseased eyes even the light of heaven is noxious; yet the sun does not bring the injury. And to those in a fever, honey is bitter; yet it is sweet nevertheless. Vultures too, it is said, fly from sweet odours of myrrh; yet myrrh is myrrh though the vultures avoid it. Thus, if some be saved, though others perish, the gospel retains its own virtue, and we the preachers of it remain just as we are; and the gospel retains its odorous and salutiferous properties, though some may disbelieve and abuse it, and perish." Yet, (5.) It is implied that the gospel would be the occasion of heavier condemnation to some, and that they would sink into deeper ruin in consequence of its being preached to them. This is implied in the expression in ver. 16. "to the one we are a savour of death unto death." In the explanation of this, we may observe, (a) That those who perish would have perished at any rate. All were under condemnation whether the gospel had come to them or not. None will perish in consequence of the gospel's having been sent to them who would not have perished had it been unknown. Men do not perish because the gospel is sent to them, but for their own sins.
(b) It is in fact by their own fault that men reject the gospel, and that they are lost They are voluntary in this; and, whatever is their final destiny, they are not under compulsion. The gospel compels no one against his will either to go to heaven, or to hell.
(c) Men under the gospel sin against greater light than they do without it They have more to answer for. It increases their responsibility. If, therefore, they reject it, and go down to eternal death, they go from higher privileges; and they go, of course, to meet
16 To ■ the one we are the savour of death unto death; and
a more aggravated condemnation. For condemnation will always be in exact proportion to guilt; and guilt is in proportion to abused light and privileges. (d) The preaching of the gospel, and the offers of life, are often the occasion ol the deeper guilt of the sinner. Often he becomes enraged. He gives vent to the deep malignity of his soul. He opposes the gospel with malice and infuriated anger. His eye kindles with indignation, and his lip curls with pride and scorn. He is profane and blasphemous; and the offering of the gospel to him is the occasion of exciting deep and malignant passions against God, against the Saviour, against the ministers of religion. Against the gospel, men often manifest the same malignity and scorn which they did against the Saviour himself. Yet this is not the fault of the gospel, nor of the ministers of religion. It is the fault of sinners themselves; and while there can be no doubt that such a rejection of the gospel will produce their deeper condemnation, and that it is a savour of death unto death unto them; still the gospel is good and benevolent, and still God will be pleased with those who faithfully offer its provisions, and who urge it on the attention of men.
1 6. To the one. To those who perish. % We are the savour of death unto death. We are the occasion of deepening their condemnation, and of sinking them lower into ruin. The expression here used means literally, ' to the one class we bear a death-conveying odour leading to their death' — a savour, a smell which, under the circumstances, is destructive to life, and which leads to death. Mr. Locke renders this, "To the one my preaching is of ill savour, unacceptable and offensive, by their rejecting whereof they draw death on themselves." Grateful as their labours were to God, and acceptable as would to the other the savour of life unto life. And who b is sufficient for these things?
be their efforts, whatever might be the results, yet Paul could not be ignorant that the gospel would in fact be the means of greater condemnation to many. See Notes on ver. 15. It was indeed by their own fault; yet wherever the gospel was preached, it would to many have this result. It is probable that the language here used is borrowed from similar expressions which were common among the Jews. Thus in.Debar im Rabba, sec. 1, fol. 248, it is said, "As the bee brings home honey to the owner, but stings others, so it is with the words of the law." " They (the words of the law) are a savour of life to Israel, but a savour of death to the people of this world." Thus in Taarieth, fol. 7, 1, "Whoever gives attention to the law on account of the law itself, to him it becomes an aromatic of life (o^n dd), but to him who does not attend to the law on account of the law itself, to him it becomes an aromatic of death (did cd)" — the idea of which is, that as medicines skilfully applied will heal, but if unskilfully applied will aggravate a disease, so it is with the words of the law. Again, " The word of the law which proceeds out of the mouth of God is an odour of life to the Israelites, but an odour of death to the Gentiles." See Rosenmuller, and Bloomfield. The sense of the passage is plain, that the gospel, by the wilful rejection of it, becomes the means of the increased guilt and condemnation of many of those who hear it. 1 And to the other. To those who embrace it, and are saved. 1 The savour of life. An odour, or fragrance producing life, or tending to life. It is a living, or life-giving savour. It is in itself grateful and pleasant, t Unto life. Tending to life; or adapted to produce life. The word life here, as often elsewhere, is used to denote salvation. It is ( 1.) Life in opposition to the death in sin in which
17 For we are not as many, which corrupt * the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as
all are by nature; (2.) In opposition to death in the grave — as it leads to a glorious resurrection; (3.) In opposition to eternal death; to the second dying, as it leads to life and peace and joy in heaven. See the words "life" and "death" explained in the Notes on Rom. vi. 23. The gospel is " the savour of life unto life," because, (1.) It is its nature and tendency to produce life and salvation. It is adapted to that; and is designed to that end. (2.) Be-, cause it actually results in the life and salvation of those who embrace it. It is the immediate and direct cause of their salvation; of their recovery from sin; of their glorious resurrection; of their eternal life in heaven. ^ And who is sufficient for these things? For the arduous and responsible work of the ministry; for a work whose influence must be felt either in the eternal salvation, or the eternal ruin of the soul. Who is worthy of so important •a charge? Who can undertake it without trembling? Who can engage in it without feeling that he is in himself unfit for it, and that he needs constant divine grace? This is an exclamation which any one may well make in view of the responsibilities of the work of the ministry. And we may remark, (1.) If Paul felt this, assuredly others should feel it also. If, with all the divine assistance which he had; all the proofs of the peculiar presence of God, and all the mighty miraculous powers conferred on him, Paul had such a sense of unfitness for this great work, then a consciousness of unfitness, and a deep sense of responsibility, may well rest on all others. (2.) It was this sense of the responsibility of the ministry which contributed much to Paul's success. It was a conviction that the results of his work must be seen in the joys of heaven, or the woes of hell, that led him to look to God for aid, and to of God, in the sight a of God, speak we 2 in Christ.
devote himself so entirely to his great work. Men will not feel much concern unless they have a deep sense of the magnitude and responsibility of their work. Men who feel as they should about the ministry will look to God for aid, and will feel that he alone can sustain them in their arduous duties.
17. For we are not as many. This refers doubtless to the false teachers at Corinth; and to all who mingled human philosophy or tradition with the pure word of truth. Paul's design in the statement in this verse seems to be to affirm that he had such a deep sense of the responsibility of the ministerial office, and of its necessary influence on the eternal destiny of man, that it led him to preach the simple gospel, the pure word of God. He did not dare to dilute it with any human mixture. He did not dare to preach philosophy, or human wisdom. He did not dare to mingle with it the crude conceptions of man. He sought to exhibit the simple truth as it was in Jesus; and so deep was his sense of the responsibility of the office, and so great was his desire on the subject, that he had been enabled to do it, and to triumph always in Christ. So that, although he was conscious that he was in himself unfit for these things, yet by the grace of God he had been able always to exhibit the simple truth, and his labours had been crowned with constant and signal success. 1[ Which corrupt the word of God. Margin, "deal deceitfully with." The word here used (x.a.7nt\svcvri;) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and does not occur in the Septuagint. The word is derived from kutthko;, which signifies properly a huckster, or a retailer of wine, a petty chapman; a man who buys up articles for the purpose of selling them again. It also means sometimes a vintner, or an innkeeper The proper idea is that of a small dealei and especially in wine. Such persons were notorious, as they are now, for diluting their wines with water (comp. Sept. in Isa. i. 22); and for compounding wines of other substances than the juice of the grape for purposes of gain. Wine, of all substances in trade, perhaps, affords the greatest facilities for such dishonest tricks; and accordingly the dealers in that article have generally been most distinguished for fraudulent practices and corrupt and diluted mixtures. Hence the word comes to denote to adulterate; to corrupt, &c. It is here applied to those who adulterated or corrupted the pure word of God in any way, and for any purpose. It probably has particular reference to those who did it either by Judaizing opinions, or by the mixtures of a false and deceitful philosophy. The latter mode would be likely to prevail among the subtle and philosophizing Greeks. It is in such ways that the gospel has been usually corrupted. (1.) It is done by attempting to attach a philosophical explanation to the facts of revelation, and making the theory as important as the fact. (2.) By attempting to explain away the offensive points of revelation by the aid of philosophy. (3.) By attempting to make the facts of Scripture accord with the prevalent notions of philosophy, and by applying a mode of interpretation to the Bible which would fritter away its meaning, and make it mean any thing or nothing at pleasure. In these, and in various other ways, men have corrupted the; word of God; and of all the evils which Christianity has ever sustained in this world, the worst have been those which it has received from philosophy, and from those teachers who have corrupted the word of God. The fires of persecution it could meet, and still be pure; the utmost efforts of princes, and monarchs, and of Satan to destroy it, it has outlived, and has shone purely and brightly amidst all these efforts; but, when corrupted by philosophy, and by " science falsely so called," it has been dimmed in its lustre, paralyzed in its aims, and shorn of its power, and has ceased to be mighty in pulling down the strong holds of Satan's kingdom. Accordingly, the enemy of God has ceased to excite persecution, and now aims in various ways to corrupt the gospel by the admixture of philosophy, and of human opinions. Tindal renders this passage, " For we are not as many are which choppe and chaunge with the word of God" — an idea which is important and beautiful — but this is one of the few instances in which he mistook the sense of the original text. In general, the accuracy of his translation and his acquaintance with the true sense of the Greek text are very remarkable. 1 But as of sincerity. Sincerely; actuated by unmingled honesty and simplicity of aim. See Note on ch. i, 12. f As of God. As influenced by him; as under his control and direction; as having been sent by him; as acting by his command. See Note, ch. i. 12. 1 In the sight of God. As if we felt that his eye was always on us. Nothing is better fitted to make a man' sincere and honest, than this. *f Speak we in Christ. In the name, and in the service of Christ. We dejer our message with a deep consciousness that the eye of the all-seeing God is on us; that we can conceal nothing from him; and that we must soon give up our account to him.
1. In this chapter, and in the management of the whole case to which Paul here refers, we have an instance of his tenderness in administering discipline. This tenderness was manifested in many ways. (1.) He did nothing to wound the feelings of the offending party. (2.) He did nothing in the way of punishment which a stern sense of duty did not demand. (3.) He did it all with many tears. He wept at the necessity of administering discipline at all. He wept over the remissness of the church. He wept over the fall of the offending brother. (4.) He did not mention even the name of the offender. He did not blazon his fault* abroad; nor has he left any clue by which it can be known; nor did he take any measures which were fitted to pain, unnecessarily, the feelings of his friends. If all discipline in the church were conducted in this manner, it would probably always be effectual and successful, ver. 1 — 10.
5*. We ought cordially to receive and forgive an offending brother, as soon as he gives evidence of repentance. We should harbour no malice against him; and if, by repentance, he has put away his sins, we should hasten to forgive him. This we should do as individuals, and as churches. God cheerfully forgives us, and receives us into favour on our repentance; and we should hail the privilege of treating all our offending brethren in the same manner, ver. 7,8.
3. Churches should be careful that Satan should not get an advantage over them. ver. 11. In every way possible he will attempt it; and perhaps in few modes is it more often done than in administering discipline. In such a case, Satan gains an advantage over a church in the following ways. (1.) In inducing it to neglect discipline. This occurs often because an offender is rich, or talented, or is connected with influential families; because there is a fear of driving off such families from the church; because the individual is of elevated rank, and the church suffers him to remain in her bosom. The laws of the church, like other laws, are often like cobwebs: Great flies break through, and the smaller ones are caught. The consequence is, that Satan gains an immense advantage. Rich and influential offenders remain in the church; discipline is relaxed; the cause of Christ is scandalized; and the church at large feels the influence, and the work of God declines. (2.) Satan gains an advantage in discipline, sometimes, by too great severity of discipline. If he cannot induce a church to relax altogether, and to suffer offenders to remain, then he excites them to improper and needless severity. He drives them on to harsh discipline for small offences. He excites a spirit of persecution. He enkindles a false zeal on account of the Shibboleth of doctrine. He excites a spirit of party, and causes the church to mistake it for zeal for truth. He excites a spirit of persecution against some of the best men in the church, on account of pretended errors in doctrine, and kindles the flames of intestine war; and breaks the church up into parties and fragments. Or he urges on the church, even in cases where discipline is proper, to needless and inappropriate severity; drives the offender from its bosom; breaks his spirit; and prevents ever-onward his usefulness, his return, and his happiness. One of the chief arts of Satan has been to cause the church, in cases of discipline to use severity instead of kindness,- to excite a spirit of persecution instead of love. Almost all the evils which grow out of attempts at discipline might have been prevented by a spirit of love. (3.) Satan gains an advantage in cases of discipline, when the church is unwilling to re-admit to fellowship an offending but a penitent member. His spirit is broken; his usefulness is destroyed. The world usually takes sides with him against the church, and the cause of religion bleeds.
4. Individual Christicms, as well as churches, should be careful that Satan does not get an advantage over them. ver. 1 1. Among the ways in which he does this are the following: (1.) By inducing them to conform to the world. This is done under the plea that religion is not gloomy, and morose, and ascetic. Thence he often leads professors into all the gayeties, and amusements, and follies of which the world partake. Satan gains an immense advantage to his cause when this is done — for all the influence of the professed Christian is with him (2.) By producing laxness of opinion in regard to doctrine. Christ intends that his cause shall advance by the influence of truth; and that his church shal be the witness of the truth. The cause of Satan advances by error and falsehood; and when professed Christians embrace falsehood, or are indifferent to truth, their whole influence is on the side of Satan, and his advantage is immense when they become the advocates of error. (3.) By producing among Christians despondency, melancholy, and despair. Some of the best men are often thus afflicted and thrown into darkness, as Job was. Job xxiii. 8 — 9. Indeed, it is commonly the best members of a church that have doubts in this manner, and that fall into temptation, and that are left to the buffetings of Satan. Your gay, and worldly, and fashionable Christians have usually no such troubles — except when they lie on a bed of death. They are not in the way of Satan. They do not oppose him, and he will not trouble them. It is your humble, praying, self-denying Christians that he dreads and hates; and it is these that he is suffered to tempt, and to make sad, and to fill with gloom and doubt. And when this is done, it is an immense advantage to his cause. It produces the impression that religion is nothing but gloom and melancholy, and the people of the world are easily led to hate and avoid it. Christians, therefore, should be cheerful, and benevolent, and happy — as they may be — lest Satan should get an advantage over them. (4.) By fanaticism. For when Satan finds that he can get no advantage over Christians by inducing them to do nothing, or to do any thing positively wrong or immoral, he drives them on with over-heated and ill-timed zeal; he makes them unreasonably strenuous for some single opinion or measure; he disposes them to oppose and persecute all who do not fall into their views, and feel as they feel. (5.) By contentions and strifes. Satan often gets an advantage in that way. No matter what the cause may be, whether it be for doctrines, or for any other cause, yet the very fact that there are contentions among the professed followers of " the Prince of peace" does injury, and gives Satan an advantage. No small part of his efforts, therefore, have been to excite contentions among Christians, an effort in which he has been, and is still, eminently successful.
5. Satan gets an advantage over sinners, and they should be on their guard. He does it, (I.) By producing a sense of security in their present condition; and by leading them to indifference in regard to their eternal condition. In this he is eminently successful; and when this is gained, all is gained that his cause demands. It is impossible to conceive of greater success in any thing than Satan has in producing a state of indifference to the subject of religion among men. (2.) By inducing them to defer attention to religion to some future time. This is an advantage, because, (a) It accomplishes all he wishes at present; (b) Because it is usually successful altogether. It is usually the same thing as resolving not to attend to religion at all. (3.) By producing false views of religion. He represents it at one time as gloomy, sad, and melancholy; at another, as so easy, that it may be obtained whenever they please; at another, by persuading them that their sins are so great that they cannot be forgiven. One great object of Satan is to blind the minds of sinners to the true nature of religion; and in this he is usually successful. (4.) He deludes the aged by telling them it is too late; and the young by telling them that now is the time for mirth and pleasure, and that religion may be attended to at some future period of life. (5.) He gains an advantage by plunging the sinner deeper and deeper in sin; inducing him to listen to the voice of temptation; by making him the companion of the wicked; and by deluding him with the promises of pleasure, honour, and gain in this world until it is too late, and he dies.
6.« Ministers of the gospel may have occasion to triumph in the success of their work. Paul always met with success of some kind; always had some cause of triumph. In all his trials, he had occasion of rejoicing, and always was assured that he was pursuing that course which would lead him ultimately to triumph, ver. 14.
7. The gospel may be so preached as to be successful, ver. 14. In the hands of Paul it was successful. So it was with the other apostles. So it was with Luther, Knox, Calvin. So it was with Whitefield, Edwards, Wesley, and Payson. If ministers are not successful, it is not the fault of the gospel. It is adapted to do good, and to save men; and it may be so preached as to accomplish those great ends. If all ministers were as self-denying, and laborious, and prayerful as were these men, the gospel would be as successful now as it has ever been.
8. Much of the work of the ministry is pleasant and delightful. It is the savour of life unto life. ver. 15, 16. There is no joy on earth of a higher and purer character than that which the ministers of the gospel have in the success of their work. There is no work more pleasant than that of imparting the consolations of religion to the sick, and the afflicted; than that of directing inquiring sinners to the Lamb of God; no joy on earth so pure and elevated as that which a pastor has in a revival ot religion. In the evidence that God accepts his labours, and that to many his message is a savour of life unto life, there is a joy which no other pursuit can furnish; a joy, even on earth, which is more than a compensation for all the toils, self-denials, and trials of the ministry.
9. In view of the happy and saving results of the work of the ministry, we see the importance of the work. Those results are to be seen in heaven. They are to enter into the eternal destiny of the righteous. They are to be seen in the felicity and holiness of those who shall be redeemed from death. The very happiness of heaven, therefore, is dependent on the fidelity and success of the ministry. This work stretches beyond the grave. It reaches into eternity. It is to be seen in heaven. Other plans and labours of men terminate at death. But the work of the ministry reaches in its results into the skies; and is to be seen ever onward in eternity. Well might the apostle ask, " Who is sufficient for these things V
10. The ministers of the gospel will be accepted of God, if faithful, whatever may be the result of their labours;
whether seen in the salvation, or the augmented condemnation of those who hear them. ver. 15. They are a sweet savour to God. Their acceptance with him depends not on the measure of their success; but on their fidelity. If men reject the gospel, and make it the occasion of their greater condemnation, the fault is not that of ministers, but is their own. If men are faithful, God accepts their efforts; and even if many reject the message and perish, still a faithful ministry will not be to blame. That such results should follow from their ministry, indeed, increases their respon sibility, and makes their office more awful, but it will not render them less acceptable in their labours in the sight of God.
11. We are to anticipate that the ministry will be the means of the deeper condemnation of many who hear the gospel, ver. 16. The gospel is to them a savour of death unto death. We are to expect that many will reject and despise the message, and sink into deeper pin, and condemnation, and wo. We are not to be disappointed, therefore, when we see such effects follow, and when the sinner sinks into a deeper hell from under the ministry of the gospel. It always has been the case, and we have reason to suppose it always will be. And painful as is the fact, yet ministers must make up their minds to witness this deeply painful result of their work.
12. The ministry is a deeply and awfully responsible work. ver. 16. It is connected with the everlasting happiness, or the deep and eternal condemnation of all those who hear the gospel. Every sermon that is preached is making an impression that will never be obliterated, and producing an effect that will never terminate. Its effects will never all be seen until the day of judgment, and in the awful solemnities of the eternal world. Well might Paul ask, " Who is sufficient for these things V
13. It is a solemn thing to hear the gospel. If it is solemn for a minister to dispense it, it is not less solemn to hear it It is connected with the eter nal welfare of those who hear. And thoughtless as are multitudes who hear it, yet it is deeply to affect them hereafter. If they ever embrace it, they will owe their eternal salvation to it; if they continue to neglect it, it will sink them deep and forever in the world of wo. Every individual, therefore, who hears the gospel dispensed, no matter by whom, should remember that he is listening to God's solemn message to men; and that it will and must exert a deep influence on his eternal doom.
14. A people should pray much for a minister. Paul often entreated the churches to which he wrote to pray for him. If Paul needed the prayers of Christians, assuredly Christians now do. Prayer for a minister is demanded because, (1.) He has the same infirmities, conflicts, and temptations which other Christians have. (2.) He has those which are peculiar, and which grow out of the very nature of his office; for the warfare of Satan is earned on mainly with the leaders of the army of God. (3.) He is engaged in a great and most responsible work — the greatest work ever committed to mortal man. (4.) His success will be generally in proportion as a people pray for him. The welfare of a people, therefore, is identified with their praying for their minister. He will preach better, and they will hear better, just in proportion as they pray for him. His preaching will be dull, dry, heavy; will be without unction, spirituality and life, unless they pray for him; and their hearing will be dull, lifeless, and uninterested, unless they pray for him. No people will hear the gospel to much advantage who do not feel anxiety enough about it to pray for their minister.
15. The interview between a minister and his people in the day of judgment will be a very solemn one. Then the effect of his ministry will be seen. Then it will be known to whom it was a savour of life unto life, and to whom it was a savour of death unto death. Then the eternal destiny of all will be settled. Then the faithful minister will be attended to heaven by all to whom his ministry has been a savour of life unto life; and then he will part forever with all whom he so often warned and entreated in vain. In distant worlds — worlds forever separated — shall be experienced the result of his labours. O! how solemn must be the scene when he must give up his account for the manner in which he has preached; and they, for the manner in which they attended on his ministry!
16. Let all ministers, then, be careful that they do not corrupt the word of God. ver. 17. Let them preach it in simplicity and in truth. Let them not preach philosophy, or metaphysics, or their own fancy, or the tradition of men, or the teaching of the schools, but the simple truth as it is in Jesus. Let them preach as sent by God; as in the sight of God; as commissioned by Christ to deliver a simple, plain, pure message to mankind, whether they will hear or forbear. Their success will be in proportion to the simplicity and purity of the gospel which they present; their peace and joy in death and in heaven will be just as they sha.ll have evidence then that in simplicity and sincerity they have endeavoured to present everywhere, and to all, the pure and simple gospel of Jesus Christ. As ministers, therefore, desire acceptance with God and success in the work, let them preach the pure gospel; not adulterating it with foreign admixtures; not endeavouring to change it so as to be palatable to the carnal mind; not substituting philosophy for the gospel, and not withholding any thing in the gospel because men do not love it; and let the people of God everywhere sustain the ministry by their prayers, and aid them in their work by daily commending them to the God of grace. So shall they be able to perform the solemn functions of their office to divine acceptance; and so shall ministers and people find the gospel to be " a savour of lifo unto life."
O we begin again to commend ° ourselves? or need
This chapter is closely connected in its design with the preceding. Paul had said in that chapter (ver. 14), that he had always occasion to triumph in the success which he had, and that God always blessed his labours; and especially had spoken, in the close of the previous chapter (ver. 17), of his sincerity as contrasted with the conduct of some who corrupted the word of God. This might appear to some as if he designed to commend himself to them, or that he had said this for the purpose of securing their favour. It is probable also, that the false teachers at Corinth had been introduced there by letters of recommendation, perhaps from Judea. In reply to this, Paul intimates (ver. 1) that this was not his design; (ver. 2) that he had no need of letters of recommendation to them, since (ver. 2, 3) they were his commendatory epistle; they were themselves the best evidence of his zeal, fidelity, and success in his labours. He could appeal to them as the best proof that he was qualified for the apostolic office. His success among them, he says (ver. 4), was a ground of his trusting in God, an evidence of his acceptance. Yet, as if he should seem to rely on his own strength, and to boast of what he had done, he says (ver. 5) that his success was not owing to any strength which he had, or to any skill of his own, but entirely to the aid which he had received from God. It was God, he says (ver. 6), who had qualified him to preach, and had given him grace to be an able minister of the New Testament.
It is not improbable that the false teachers, being of Jewish origin, in Corinth, had commended the laws and institutions of Moses as being of superior clearness, and even as excelling the gospel of Cferist. Paul takes occasion, therefore (ver. 7 — 11), to show that the laws and institutions of Moses were far we, as some others, epistles h of commendation to you, or let- inferior in this respect to the gospel. His was a ministration of death (ver. 7); though glorious it was to be done away (ver. 7); the ministration of the Spirit was therefore to be presumed to be far more glorious (ver. 8); the one was a ministration to condemnation, the other of righteousness (ver. 9); the one had comparatively no glory, being so much surpassed by the other (ver. 10); and the former was to be done away, while the latter was to remain, and was therefore far more glorious, ver. 1 1.
This statement of the important difference between the laws of Moses and the gospel, is further illustrated by showing the effect which the institutions of Moses had had on the Jews themselves, ver. 12 — 15. That effect was to blind them. Moses had put a veil over his face (ver. 13), and the effect had been that the nation was blinded in reading the Old Testament, and had no just views of the true meaning of their own Scriptures, ver. 14, 15.
Yet, Paul says, that that veil should be taken away. ver. 16 — 18. It was the intention of God that it should be removed. When that people should turn again to the Lord, it should be taken away. ver. 16. It was done where the Spirit of the Lord was. ver. 17. It was done in fact in regard to all true Christians, ver. 18. They were permitted to behold the glory of the Lord as in a glass, and they were changed into the same image. The same subject is continued in ch. iv., where Paul illustrates the effect of this clear revelation of the gospel, as compared with the institutions of Moses, on the Christian ministry.
1. Do we begin again. This is designed evidently to meet an objection. He had been speaking of his triumph in the ministry (ch. ii. 14), and of his sincerity and honesty, as contrasted with the conduct of many who corrupt ed the word of God. ch. ii. 17. It might be objected that he was magnify ing himself in these statements, and designed to commend himself in this manner to the Corinthians. To this he replies in the following verses, f To commend ourselves? To recommend ourselves; do we speak this in our own praise, in order to obtain your favour. T Or need we, as some others. Probably some who had brought letters of recommendation to them from Judea. The false teachers at Corinth had been originally introduced there by commendatory letters from abroad. These were letters of introduction, and were common among the Greeks, the Romans, and the Jews, as they are now. They were usually given to persons who were about to travel, as there were no inns, and as travellers were dependent on the hospitality of those among whom they travelled, f Of commendation from you. To other churches. It is implied here by Paul, that he sought no such letters; that he travelled without them; and that he depended on his zeal, and self-denial, and success to make him known, and to give him the affections of those to whom he ministered — a much better recommendation than mere introductory letters. Such letters were, however, sometimes given by Christians, and are by no means improper. Acts xviii. 27. Yet, they do not appear to have been sought or used by the apostles generally. They depended on their miraculous endowments, and on the attending grace of God to make them known.
2. Ye are our epistle. Comp. 1 Cor. ix. 2. This is a most beautiful and happy turn given to the whole subject. The sense is plain. It is, that the conversion of the Corinthians, under the faithful labours of the apostle, was a better testimonial of his character and fidelity than any letters could be. To! see the force of this, it must be remem-! bered, (1.) That Corinth was an exceedingly dissolute and abandoned place ' (see the Introduction to the first epistle); ' (2.) That a large number of them had j been converted, and a church organized; (3.) That their conversion, and the organization of a church in suck a city were events that would be known abroad; and, (4.) That it had been ac complished entirely under the labour oj Paul and his companions. To their knowledge of him, therefore, and to his success there, he could confidently ap„ peal as a testimonial of his character. The characteristics of this commendatory epistle, he proceeds immediately to state. The general sense is, that they were the letter of recommendation which God had given to him; and that their conversion under his ministry was the public testimonial of his character which all might see and read. "J Written in our hearts. A few MSS. and versions read thus, "your hearts;" and Doddridge has adopted this reading, and supposes that it means that the change produced not only in their external conduct, but in their inward temper, was so great, that all must see that it was an unanswerable attestation to his ministry. But there is not sufficient authority for changing the text; nor is it necessary. The sense is, probably, that this letter was, as it were, written on his heart. It was not merely that Paul had a ten der affection for them, as Clarke sup poses; nor was it that he regarded them as " a copy of the letter of recommendation from Christ written in his heart," according to the fanciful conceit of Macknight; but Paul's idea seems to have been this. He is speaking of the testimonial which he had from God. That testimonial consisted in the conversion of the Corinthians. This he says was written on his heart. It was not a cold letter of introduction, but it was such as, while it left him no room to doubt that God had sent him, also affected his feelings, and was engraven on his soul. It was to him, therefore, far more valuable than any mere letter of commendation or of introduction could be. It was a direct testimonial from God to his own heart of his ap-
ten in our hearts, known and read of all men:
probation, and of his having appointed him to the apostolic office. All the difficulty, therefore, which has been felt by commentators in this passage, may be obviated by supposing that Paul here speaks of this testimonial or epistle as addressed to himself, and as satisfactory to him. In the other characteristics which he enumerates, he speaks of it, as fitted to be a letter commendatory of himself to others. T Known and read of all men. Corinth was a large, splendid, and dissipated city. Their conversion, therefore, would be known afar. All men would hear of it; and their reformation, their subsequent life under the instruction of Paul, and the attestation which God had given among them to his labours, was a sufficient testimonial to the world at large, that God had called him to the apostolic office.
3. Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared. You are made manifest as the epistle of Christ; or you, being made manifest, are the epistle, &c. They had been made manifest to be such by their conversion. The sense is, it is plain, or evident, that ye are the epistle of Christ. 1 To be the epistle of Christ. That which Christ has sent to be our testimonial. He has given this letter of recommendation. He has converted you by our ministry, and that is the best evidence which we can have that we have been sent by him, and that our labour is accepted by him. Your conversion is his work, and it is his public attestation to our fidelity in his cause. If Ministered by us. The idea here is, that Christ had employed their ministry in accomplishing this. They were Christ's letter, but it had been prepared by the instrumentality of the apostles. It had not been prepared by him independently of their labours, but in connexion with, and as the result of those labours. Christ, in writing this epistle, I so to speak, has used our aid; or em- j
festly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit
ployed us as amanuenses, f Written not with ink. Paul continues and varies the image in regard to this " epistle," so that he may make the testimony borne to his fidelity and success more striking and emphatic. He says, therefore, that it was not written as letters of introduction are, with ink — by traces drawn on a lifeless substance, and in lines that easily fade, or that may become easily illegible, or that can be read only by a few, or that may be soon destroyed. ^ But with the Spirit of the living God. In strong contrast thus with letters written with ink. By the Spirit of God moving on the heart, and producing that variety of graces which constitute so striking and so beautiful an evidence of your conversion. If written by the Spirit of the living God, it was far more valuable, and precious, and permanent than any record which could be made by ink. Every trace of the Spirit's influences on the heart was an undoubted proof that God had sent the apostles; and was a proof which they would much more sensibly and tenderly feel than they could any letter of recommendation written in ink. ^ Not in tables of stone. It is generally admitted that Paul here refers to the evidences of the divine mission of Moses which was given by the law engraven on tablets of stone. Comp. ver. 7. Probably those who were false teachers among the Corinthians were Jews, and had insisted much on the divine origin and permanency of the Mosaic institutions. The law had been engraven on stone by the hand of God himself; and had thus the strongest proofs of divine origin, and the divine attestation to its pure and holy nature. To this fact the friends of the law, and the advocates for the permanency of the Jewish institutions, would appeal. Paul says, on the other hand, that the testimonials of the divine favour through him were not on tablets of stone.
of the living God; not in tables of stone, a but h in fleshly tables of the heart.
They were frail, and easily broken. There was no life in them (comp. ver. 6 and 7); and valuable and important as they were, yet they could not be compared with the testimonials which God had given to those who successfully preached the gospel, f But in jletUy tables of the heart. In truths engraven on the heart. This testimonial was of more value than an inscription on stone, because, (1.) No hand but that of God could reach the heart, and inscribe these truths there. (2.) Because it would be attended with a life-giving and living influence. It was not a mere dead letter. (3.) Because it would be permanent. Stones, even where laws were engraven by the finger of God, would moulder and decay, and the inscription made there would be destroyed. But not so with that which was made on the heart. It would live forever. It would abide in other worlds. It would send its influence into all the relations of life; into all future scenes in this world; and that influence would be seen and felt in the world that shall never end. By all these considerations, therefore, the testimonials which Paul had of the divine approbation were more valuable than any mere letters of introduction, or human commendation could have been; and more valuable even than the attestation which was given to the divine mission of Moses himself.
4. And such trust have we. Such confidence have we that we are appointed by God, and that he accepts our work. Such evidence have we in the success of our labours; such irrefragable proof that God blesses us; that we have trust, or confidence that we are sent by God, and are owned by him in our ministry. His confidence did not rest on letters of introduction from men, but in the evidence of the divine presence, and the divine acceptance of his work. ^ Through Christ. By the agency of 5*
4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
Christ. Paul had no success whicr be did not trace to him; he had no joy of which he was not the source; he had no confidence, or trust in God of which Christ was not the author; he had no hope of success in his ministry which did not depend on him. % To Godward. Toward God; in regard to God (?rgc$ rov Qiov). Our confidence relates to God. It is confidence that he has appointed us, and sent us forth; and confidence that he will still continue to own and to bless us.
5. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves. This is evidently designed to guard against the appearance of boasting, or of self-confidence. He had spoken of his confidence; of his triumph; of his success; of his undoubted evidence that God had sent him. He here says, that he did not mean to be understood as affirming that any of his success came from himself, or that he was able by his own strength to accomplish the great things which had been effected by his ministry. He well knew that he had no such self-sufficiency; and he would not insinuate, in the slightest manner, that he believed himself to be invested with any such power. Comp. Note on John xv. 5. f To think any thing (KciyitrxxrS-ni n). The word here used means properly to reason, think, consider; and then to reckon, count to, or impute to any one. It is the word which is commonly rendered impute. See it explained more fully in the Note on Rom. iv. 5. Robinsor. (Lexicon) renders it in this place, " tf reason out, to think out, to find out \ry thinking." Doddridge renders it, " to reckon upon any thing as from ourselves." Whitby renders it, " to reason;" as if the apostle had said, We are unable by any reasoning of our own to bring men to conversion. Macknight gives a similar sense. Locke renders it, " Not as if I were sufficient of myself, of a ourselves to think any thing, as of ourselves, but b our sufficiency is of God;
6 Who also hath made us able a ministers of the New *
to reckon upon any thing as from myself;" and explains it to mean that Paul was not sufficient of himself by any strength of natural parts to attain the knowledge of the gospel truths which he preached. The word may be rendered here, to reckon, reason, think, &c; but it should be confined to the immediate subject under consideration. It does not refer to thinking in general; or to the power of thought on any, and on all subjects — however true it may be in itself — but to the preaching the gospel. And the expression may be regarded as referring to the following points, which are immediately under discussion. (1.) Paul did not feel that he was sufficient of himself to have reasoned or thought out the truths of the gospel. They were communicated by God. (2.) He had no power by reasoning to convince or convert sinners. That was all of God. (3.) He had no right to reckon on success by any strength of his own. All success was to be traced to God. It is, however, also true, that all our powers of thinking and reasoning are from God; and that we have no ability to think clearly, to reason calmly, closely, and correctly, unless he shall preside over our minds and give us clearness of thought. How easy is it for God to disarrange all our faculties, and produce insanity! How easy to suffer our minds to become unsettled, bewildered, and distracted with a multiplicity of thoughts! How easy to cause every thing to appear cloudy, and dark, and misty! How easy to affect our bodies with weakness, languor, disease, and through them to destroy all power of close and consecutive thought! No one who considers on how many things the power of close thinking depends, can doubt that all our sufficiency in this is from God; and that we owe to him every clear idea on the subjects of common life, and on scientific subjects, no less certainly than we do in the.
truths of religion. Comp. the case of Bezaleel and Aholiab in common arts. Ex. xxxi. 1 — 6, and Job xxxii. 8.
6. W7io also hath made us able ministers, &c. This translation does not quite meet the force of the original. It would seem to imply that Paul regarded himself and his fellow-labourers as men of talents, and of signal ability; and that he was inclined to boast of it. But this is not the meaning. It refers properly to his sense of the responsibility and difficulty of the work of the ministry; and to the fact that he did not esteem himself to be sufficient for this work in his own strength (ch. ii. 16; iii. 5); and he here says that God had made him sufficient: not able, talented, learned, but sufficient (iitdvcixrtv »/uuc); he has supplied our deficiency; he has rendered us competent, or fit; — if a word ma}r be coined after the manner of the Greek here, 'he has sufficienced us for this work.' There is no assertion, therefore, here, that they were men of talents, or peculiar ability, but only that God had qualified them for their work, and made them by his grace sufficient to meet the toils and responsibilities of this arduous office. ^ Of the New Testament. Of the new covenant (Note, Matt. xxv. 28), in contradistinction from the old covenant, which was established through Moses. They were appointed to go forth and make the provisions of that new covenant known to a dying uorld. T Not of the letter Not of the literal, or verbal meaning, in contradistinction from the Spirit. See Notes on Rom. ii. 27, 29; vii. 6. This is said, doubtless, in opposition to the Jews, and Jewish teachers. They insisted much on the letter of the law, but entered little into its real meaning. They did not seek out the true spiritual sense of the Old Testament; and hence they rested on the mere literal observance of the rites and ceremonies of religion, without understanding their true
Testament; not of the letter, ° but of the spirit: for the b letter killeth, but c the spirit * giveth life.
nature and design. Their service, though in many respects conformed to the letter of the law, yet became cold, formal, and hypocritical; abounding in mere ceremonies, and where the heart had little to do. Hence there was little pure spiritual worship offered to God; and hence also they rejected the Messiah whom the old covenant prefigured, and was designed to set forth. t For the letter killeth. Comp. Notes on Rom. iv. 15; vii. 9, 10. The mere letter of the law of Moses. The effect of it was merely to produce condemnation; to produce a sense of guilt, and danger, and not to produce pardon, relief, and joy. The law denounced death; condemned sin in all forms; and the effect of it was to produce a sense of guilt and condemnation. 1 But the spirit giveth life. The spirit, in contradistinction from the mere literal interpretation of the Scriptures. The Spirit, that is, Christ, says Locke. Comp. ver. 17. The spirit here means, says Bloomfield, that new spiritual system, the gospel. The spirit of God speaking in us, says Doddridge. The spirit here seems to refer to the New Testament, or the new dispensation in contradistinction from the old. That was characterized mainly by its strictness of law, and by its burdensome rites, and by the severe tone of its denunciation for sin. It did not in itself provide a way of pardon and peace. Law condemns; it does not speak of forgiveness. On the contrary, the gospel, a spiritual system, is designed to impart life and comfort to the soul. It speaks peace. It comes not to condemn, but to save. It discloses a way of mercy, and it invites all to partake and live. It is called " spirit," probably because its consolations are imparted and secured by the Spirit of
7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of
God — the source of all true life to the soul. It is the dispensation of the Spirit; and it demands a spiritual service — a service that is free, and elevated, and tending eminently to purify the heart, and to save the soul. See Note on ver. 17.
7. But if the ministration of death. In the previous verses, Paul had referred incidentally to the institutions of Moses, and to the superiority of the gospel. He had said that the former were engraven on stones, but the latter on the heart (ver. 3); that the letter of the former tended to death, but the latter to life (ver. 6). This sentiment he proceeds further to illustrate, by showing in what the superior glory of the gospel consisted. The design of the whole is, to illustrate the nature, and to show the importance of the ministerial office; and the manner in which the duties of that office were to be performed. That the phrase " ministration of death" refers to the Mosaic institutions, the connexion sufficiently indicates, ver. 13 — 15. The word "ministration" (StmtovU) means, properly, ministry; the office of ministering in divine things. It is usually applied to the officers of the church in the New Testament. Acts i. 17. 25. Rom. xi. 13. 1 Cor. xii. 5. The word here, however, seems to refer to the whole arrangement under the Mosaic economy, by which his laws were promulgated, and perpetuated. The expression " a ministration— written and engraven on stone," is somewhat harsh; but the sense evidently is, the ministration of a covenant, or of laws written on stones. The word "ministration" there refers to the arrangement, office, &c. by which the knowledge of these laws was maintained; the ministering under a system like that of the Jewish; or, more strictly, the act and occasion on which Moses himself ministered, or promulgated that system to the Jews, and when the glory of the work was irradiated even from his countenance. And the purpose of the apostle is to show that the ministry of the gospel is more glorious than even the ministry of Moses, when he was admitted near to God on the holy mount; and when such a glory attended his receiving and promulgating the law. It is called the " ministration of death," because it tended to condemnation; it did not speak of pardon; it was fitted only to deepen the sense of sin, and to produce alarm and dread. See Note on ver. 6. 1 Written and engraven in stones. The ten commandments — the substance of all the Mosaic institutes, and the principal laws of his economy— were written, or engraven on tables of stone. ^ Was glorious. Was attended with magnificence and splendour. The glory here referred to, consisted in the circumstance of sublimity and grandeur in which the law of Moses was given. It was, (1.) The glory of God as he was manifested on Mount Sinai, as the Lawgiver and Ruler of the people. (2.) The glory of the attending circumstances, of thunder, fire, &c. in which God appeared. The law was given in these circumstances. Its giving — called here the "ministration" — was amidst such displays of the glory of God. It was, (3.) A high honour and glory for Moses to be permitted to approach so near to God; to commune with him; and to receive at his hand the law for his people, and for the world. These were circumstances of imposing majesty and grandeur, which, however, Paul says were eclipsed and surpassed by the ministry of the gospel. ^ So that the children of Israel, &c. In Ex. xxxiv. 29, 30, it is said, that " When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down countenance; which glory was to be done away; from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone, while He talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him." The word rendered " stedfastly behold" (ar&/i<rcu), means" to gaze intently upon; to look steadily, or constantly, or fixedly. See Note on Acts i. 10. There was a dazzling splendour, an irradiation; a diffusion of light, such that they could not look intently and steadily upon it — as we cannot look steadily at the sun. How this was produced, is not known. It cannot be accounted for from natural causes, and was doubtless designed to be to the Israelites an attestation that Moses had been with God, and was commissioned by him. They would see, (1.) That it was unnatural, such as no known cause could produce; and, (2.) Not improbably they would recognise a resemblance to the manner in which God usually appeared— the glory of the Shechinah in which he so frequently manifested himself to them. It would be to them, therefore, a demonstration that Moses had been with God. ^ Which glory was to be done away. The splendour of that scene was transitory. It did not last. It was soon destroyed (t«v x.i.rdLgyw/ji.ivw}. It was not adapted or designed long to continue. This does not mean, as Doddridge supposes, " soon to be abolished in death;" or, as others, " ceasing with youth;" but it means, that the shining or the splendour was transitory; it was soon to cease; it was not designed to be permanent. Neither the wonderful scenes accompanying the giving of the law on Sinai, nor the shining on the countenance of Moses, was designed to abide. The thunders of Sinai would cease to roll; the lightnings to play; the visible manifestations of the presence of God would all be gone; and the supernatural illumination of the face of Moses also would soon cease — perhaps,
8 How shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glo-
ss Macknight, Bloomfield, and others suppose, as a prefiguration of the abrogation of the glory of the whole system of the Levitical law. Paul certainly means to say, that the glory of Moses, and of his dispensation, was a fading glory; but that the glory of the gospel would be permanent, and increasing forever.
8. How shall not the ministration of the Spirit. This is an argument from the less to the greater. Several things in it are worthy of notice. (1.) The proper contrast to the " ministration of death" (ver. 7), would have been ' ministration of life.' But Paul chose rather to call it the • ministration of the Spirit;' as the source of life; or as conferring higher dignity on the gospel than to have called it simply the ministration of life. (2.) By the " Spirit" here is manifestly meant the Holy Spirit; and the whole phrase denotes the gospel, or the preaching of the gospel, by which eminently the Holy Spirit is imparted. (3.) It is the high honour of the gospel ministry, that it is the means by which the Holy Spirit is imparted to men. It is designed to secure the salvation of men by his agency; and it is through the ministry that the Holy Spirit is imparted, the heart renewed, and the soul saved. Th,e work of the ministry is, therefore, the most important and honourable in which man can engage, t Be rather glorious. (1.) Because that of Moses tended to death; this to life. (2.) Because that was engraven on stone; this is engraved on the heart. (3.) Because that was the mere giving of a law j this is connected with the renovating influences of the Holy Spirit. (4.) Because that was soon to pass away. All the magnificence of the scene was soon to vanish. But this is to remain. Its influence and effect are to be everlasting. It is to stretch into eternity; and its main glory is to be witnessed in
9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration
souls renewed and saved; and amidst the splendours of heaven. " The work of the Spirit of God on the heart of a rational being, is much more important than any dead characters which can be engraved on insensible stones." — Doddridge.
9. For if the ministration of condemnation. Of Moses in giving the law, the effect of which is to produce condemnation.— Law condemns the guilty; it does not save them. It denounces punishment; it contains no provisions of pardon. To pardon is to depart from the law; and must be done under the operation of another system — since a law which contains a provision for the pardon of offenders, and permits them to escape, would be a burlesque in legislation. The tendency of the Mosaic institutions, therefore, was to produce a sense of condemnation. And so it will be found by all who attempt to be justified by the law. It will tend to, and result in, their condemnation. t Be glory. Be glorious; or be glory itself. — It was glorious as a manifestation of the holiness and justice of God; and glorious in the attending circumstances. No event in our world has been more magnificent in the circumstances of external majesty and splen dour than the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, f The ministration of righteousness. The gospel; the promulgation of the plan of mercy. It is called " the ministration of righteousness," in contradistinction from the law of Moses, which was a " ministration of condemnation." The word " righteousness," however, does not exactly express the force of the original word. That word is tauuo&fac, and it stands directly opposed to the word xa/r*- jc£/3-8&>?, condemnation. It should be rendered 'the ministration of justification /' the plan by which God justifies men. See Note, Rom, i. 17. The law of Moses condemns; the gospel is the
10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in
plan by which man is justified. And if that which condemns could be glorious, much more must that be by which men can be justified, acquitted, and saved. The superior glory of the gospel, therefore, consists in the fact that it is a scheme to justify and save lost sinners. And this glory consists, (1.) In the fad that it can be done when all law condemns. (2.) In the showing forth of the divine character while it is done, as just, and merciful, and benevolent in doing it — blending all his great and glorious attributes together — while the law disclosed only one of his attributes — his justice. (3.) In the manner in which it is done. It is by the incarnation of the Son of God — a far more glorious manifestation of deity than was made on Mount Sinai. It is by the toils, and sufferings, and death of him who made the atonement, and by the circumstances of awful and imposing grandeur which attended his death, when the sun was darkened, and the rocks were rent — far more grand and awful scenes than occurred when the law was given. It is by the resurrection, and ascension of the Redeemer — scenes far more sublime than all the external glories of Sinai when the law was given. (4.) In the effects, or results. The one condemns; the other justifies and saves. The effect of the one is seen in the convictions of conscience, in alarm, in a sense of guilt, in the conscious desert of condemnation, and in the apprehension of eternal punishment. The other is seen in sins forgiven; in peace of conscience; in the joy of pardon; in the hope of heaven; in comfort and triumph on the bed of death, and amidst the glories of heaven. 1<0, For even that which was made glorious {to StS-.^ntr/jLivtv). That was splendid, excellent, or glorious. This refers doubtless, to the laws and institutions of Moses, especially to the »ri-
this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
1 1 For if a that which is done
mary giving of the law. Paul does not deny that it had an honour and majesty such, in some respects, as the Jews claimed for it. It was glorious in the manner in which it was given; it was glorious in the purity of the law itself; and it was glorious, or splendid in the magnificent and imposing ritual in which the worship of God was celebrated. But all this was surpassed in the brighter glory of the gospel, t Had no glory. Gr. Was not glorious, or splendid {chit Stfo^sLcrrsu). Had comparatively no glory, or splendour. Its glory was all eclipsed. It was like the splendour of the moon and stars compared with the bright light of the sun. 1 By reason of the glory that excelleth. In the gospel; in the incarnation, life, sufferings, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus; in the pardon of sin; in the peace and joy of the believer; and in the glories of the heavenly world to which the gospel elevates dying men.
1 1. For if that which is done away, &c. The splendour that attended the giving of the law; the bright shining of the face of Moses; and the ritual institutions of his religion. It was to be done away. It was never designed to be permanent. Every thing in it had a transient existence, and was so designed. Yet it was attended, P^ul admits, with much that was magnificent and splendid. He had, in the previous verses, stated several important differences between the law and the gospel. He here states another. The law he calls (to x.a.ra.gy,v[jLiv<.v) the thing which was to be made to cease, to be put an end to; to be done away with; to be abolished. It had no permanency; and it was designed to have none. Ita glory, therefore, great as in many respects it might be, could not be compared with that which was to be permanent— as the light of the stars fades away at the rising sun. It is implied
away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
here, that it was originally designed that the Mosaic institutions should not be permanent; that they should be mere shadows and types of better things; and that when the things which they adumbrated should appear, the shadows would vanish of course. This idea is one which prevails everywhere in the New Testament, and which the sacred writers are often at great pains to demonstrate, f Was glorious. Gr. By glory (Jtaiofys). That is, it was attended by glory; it was introduced by glory, it was encompassed with glory when it was established. The idea here is, not that it was glorious in itself, but that it was accompanied with splendour and majesty. Tf That which remaineth. The gospel (to fxivw). The thing that is to remain; that is permanent, abiding, perpetual; that has no principle of decay, and whose characteristic it is, that it is everlasting. The gospel is permanent, or abiding, (1.) Because it is designed to remain immutable through the remotest ages. It is not to be superseded by any new economy, or institution. It is the dispensation under which the affairs of the world are to be wound up, and under which the world is to close. See Note, 1 Cor. xv. 51. (2.) Its effects on the heart are permanent. It is complete in itself. It is not to be succeeded by any other system, and it looks to no other system in order to complete or perfect its operations on the soul. (3.) Its effects are to abide forever. They will exist in heaven. They are to be seen in the soul that shall be recovered from sin, and that shall be glorious in the bosom of God forever and ever. The Mosaic system — glorious as it was — shall be remembered as introducing the gospel; the gospel shall be remembered as directly fitting for heaven. Its most great and glorious results shall be seen in the permanent and eternal joys of heaven. The gospel contemplates a great, per- manent, and eternal good, adapted to all ages, all climes, all people, and all worlds. It is, therefore, so much more glorious than the limited, temporary, and partial good of the Mosaic system, that that may be said in comparison to have had no glory.
12. Seeing then that we have such hope. Hope properly is a compound emotion, made up of a desire for an object, and an expectation of obtaining it. If there is no desire for it; or if the object is not pleasant and agreeable, there is no hope, though there may be expectation — as in the expectation of the pestilence, of famine, or sickness, or death. If there is no expectation of it, but a strong desire, there is no hope, as in cases where there is a strong desire of wealth, or fame, or pleasure; or where a man is condemned for murder, and has a strong desire but no prospect of pardon; or where a man is shipwrecked, and has a strong desire, but no expectation of again seeing his family and friends. In such cases, despondency or despair are the results. It is the union of the two feelings in proper proportions which constitutes hope. There has been considerable variety of views among expositors in regard to the proper meaning of the word in this place. Mr. Locke supposes that Paul here means the honourable employment of an apostle and minister of the gospel, or the glory belonging to the ministry in the gospel; and that his calling it " hope" instead of " glory" which the connexion would seem to demand, is the language of modesty. Rosenmuller understands it of the hope of the perpetual continuance of the gospel dispensation. Macknight renders it " persuasion," and explains it as meaning the full persuasion or assurance that the gospel excels the law in the manner ot its introduction ^ its permanency, &c A few remarks may, perhaps, make it clear, (l.) It refers primarily to Paui, and the other ministers of the gospel.
such hope, we use great ' plainness of speech:
It is not properly the Christian hope as such to which he refers, but it is that which the ministers of the gospel had. (2.) It refers to all that he had said before about the superiority of the gospel to the law; and is designed to express the result of all that on his mind, and on the minds of his fellow-labourers. (3.) It refers to theprospect, confidence, persuasion, anticipation which he had as the effect of what he had just said. It is the prospect of eternal life; the clear expectation of acceptance, and the anticipation of heaven, based on the fact that this was a ministry of the Spirit (ver. 8); that it was a ministry showing the way of justification (ver. 9); and that it was never to be done away, but to abide forever, ver. 11. On all these this strong hope was founded; and in view of these, Paul expressed himself clearly, not enigmatically; and not in types and figures, as Moses did. Every thing about the gospel was clear and plain; and this led to the confident expectation and assurance of heaven. The word hope, therefore, in this place will express the effect on the mind of Paul in regard to the work of the ministry, produced by the group of considerations which he had suggested, showing that the gospel was superior to the law; and that it was the ground of more clear and certain confidence and hope than any thing which the law could furnish. ^ We use. We employ; we are accustomed to. He refers to the manner in which he preached the gospel. 1 Great plainness of speech. Marg. boldness. We use the word "plainness" as applied to speech chiefly in two senses, (1.) To denote boldness, faithfulness, candour; in opposition to trimming, timidity, and unfaithfulness; and, (2.) To denote clearness, intelligibleness, and simplicity, in opposition to obscurity, mist, and highly-wrought and laboured forms of expression. The connexion here shows that the latter is the sense
13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the
in which the phrase here is to be understood. See ver. 13. It denotes openness, simplicity, freedom from the obscurity which arises from enigmatical, and parabolical, and typical modes of speaking. This stands in opposition to figure, metaphor, and allegory — to an affected and laboured concealment of the idea in the manner which was common among the Jewish doctors and heathen philosophers, where their meaning was carefully concealed from the vulgar, and from all except the iniliated. It stands opposed also to the necessary obscurity arising from typical institutions like those of Moses. And the doctrine of the passage is, that such is the clearness and fulness of the Christian revelation, arising from the fact, that it is the last economy, and that it does not look to the future, that its ministers may and should use clear and intelligible language. They should not use language abounding in metaphoi and allegory. They should not usi unusual terms. They should not draw their words and illustrations from sci ence. They should not use mere technical language. They should not attempt to vail, or cloak their meaning. They should not seek a refined and overwrought style. They should use expressions which other men use; and express themselves as far as possible in the language of common life. What is preaching worth that is not understood ] Why should a man talk at all unless he is intelligible] Who was ever more plain and simple in his words and illustrations than the Lord Jesus 1 13. And not as Moses. Our conduct is not like that of Moses. We make no attempt to conceal any thing in regard to the nature, design, and duration of the gospel. We leave nothing designedly in mystery. If Which put a vail over his face. That is, when he came down from Mount Sinai, and when his face shone. Ex. xxxiv. 33. "And till Moses had done speaking children of Israel could not with them, he put a vail on his face." This vail he put off when he went to speak with God, but put on again when he delivered his commands to the people. What was the design of this, Moses has not himself declared. The statement which he makes in Exodus would lead us to suppose that it was on account of the exceeding brightness and dazzling splendour which shone around him, and which made it difficult to look intently upon him; and that this was in part the reason, even Paul himself seems to intimate in ver. 7. He, however, in this verse intimates that there was another design, which was that he might be, as Doddridge expresses it, "a kind of type and figure of his own dispensation." ^ That the children of Israel. Mr. Locke understands this of the apostles, and supposes that it means, " We do not vail the light, so that the obscurity of what we deliver should hinder the children of Israel from seeing in the law which was to be done away, Christ who is the end of the law." But this interpretation is forced and unnatural. The phrase rendered "that" (7x^3? to) evidently connects what is affirmed here <vith the statement about Moses; and shows that the apostle means to say that Moses put the vail on his face in wder that the children of Israel should not be able to see to the end of his institutions. That Moses had such a design, and that the putting on of the vail was emblematic of the nature of \hs institutions, Paul here distinctly affirms. No one can prove that this was not his design; and in a land and time when types, and emblems, and allegorical modes of speech were much used, it is highly probable that Moses meant to intirftite that the end and full purpose of his institutions were designedly concealed. If Could not steadfastly look. Could not gaze intently upon (anviT&i). See Note on ver. 7. They could not clearly discern it; there was obscurity arising from the fact of the designed concealment. He did not intend that they should clearly see the full purport, and design of the institutions which he established, f To the end (ik ro t£\o?). Unto the end, purpose, design, or ultimate result of the law which he established. A great many different interpretations have been proposed of this. The meaning seems to me to be this: There was a glory and splendour in that which the institutions of Moses typified, which the children of Israel were not permitted then to behold. There was a splendour and lustre in the face of Moses, which they could not gaze upon, and therefore he put a vail over it to diminish its intense brightness. In like manner there was a glory and splendour in the ultimate design and scope of his institutions, in that to which they referred, which they were not then able, i. e. prepared to look on, and the exceeding brightness of which he of design concealed. This was done by obscure types and figures, that resembled a vail thrown over a dazzling and splendid object. The word " end," then, I suppose, does not refer to termination, or close, but to the design, scope, or purpose of the Mosaic institutions; to that which they were intended to introduce and adumbrate. That end was the Messiah, and the glory of his institutions. See Note on Rom. x. " Christ is the end of the law." And the meaning of Paul, I take to be, is, that there was a splendour and a glory in the gospel which the Mosaic institutions were designed to typify, which was so great that the children of Israel were not fully prepared to see it, and that he designedly threw over that glory the vail of obscure types and figures; as he threw over his face a vail that partially concealed its splendour. Thus interpreted there is a consistency in the entire passage, and very great beauty. Paul, in the following verses, proceeds