162 26 For q Ex. xix. 5. Deu. x. 14. 1. 12. ver. 28. r Luke x. 7. THE EARTH IS THE LORD's. [I. COR. the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof. 27 If any of them that believe not bid you to a г Ps. xxiv. 1. & feast, and ye be disposed to go; * whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. s ch. viii. 10, 12. 28 But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that 28. "This is offered in sacrifice to idols." So C., D., E., F., G., K., L., P, all Cursives, Goth., Vulg., Cop., Arm.; but N, A., B., H., Sah., read simply, "offered in sacrifce,” ἱερόθυτον, instead of εἰδωλόθυτον. to an idol or not. "He doth not even suffer them to question, i.e., to search and enquire whether it be an idol sacrifice, or no such thing: but simply to eat everything which comes from the market, not even acquainting oneself with so much as this, what it is that is set before us. So that he that eateth, if in ignorance, may be rid of anxiety." (Chrysostom.) 26. "For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." Therefore all food as His creation is good; and He hath removed the restrictions which were imposed in the Old Dispensation on certain meats, permitting all to be eaten indifferently. "Meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth" (1 Tim. iv. 3). 27. "If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed," &c. The invitation might be to a relative or to a friend: and St. Paul had laid down considerable liberty in the matter of intercourse with such in v. 9, 10. If they went they enjoyed the same liberty in partaking of what was set before them, as they did when they bought in the shambles. 28. "But if any man say unto thee, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols," &c. If the man who said this to him were an heathen, then by eating he seemed to regard the idol as a real Divinity, with whom he desired to be in communion, and so the heathen man is confirmed in his idolatry; whereas if the Christian abstained he would see that the Christian abhorred anything approaching to honouring an idol. If, however, the neighbour sitting by him, were a weak Christian, he would be emboldened to act contrary to his conscience, as is laid down in ch. viii. 10, 11; and so having formally received such information the true Christian is bound to abstain. CHAP. X.] FOR CONSCIENCE SAKE. t 163 shewed it, and for conscience sake; for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof: 29 Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for "why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience? 30 For if I by || grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks? Χ t Deu. x. 14. Ps. xxiv. 1. ver. 26. u Ro. xiv. 13. Or, thanks- giving. 1 Tim. iv, 3, 4. 28. "For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." Omitted by N, A., B., C., D., E., G., H*., P., twelve Cursives, Ital., Vulg., Syr., Sah., Copt., Arm.; but retained in H**., K., L., and most Cursives. "For the earth is the Lord's," &c. The principal MSS. omit this clause, and most critics regard it as a mistake of the copyist, who probably was deceived by the word "conscience" (συνείδησιν) a little above, and carelessly copied the sentence which followed it. 29. "Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other." His last words had been (eat not) "for conscience sake;" but lest he should seem by the mention of conscience to be undoing what he had laid down respecting Christian liberty, he explains: “Conscience, not thine own, but of the other." "Thine own conscience is free, it ought not to be tormented by any scruples; yet it is well for thee to abstain, for if thou indulgest, thy liberty is judged and condemned by another man's conscience." There have been most contrary interpretations given of this verse. I think Chrysostom's by far the best: "And what he means is this. God hath made me free, and above all reach of injury, but the Gentile knoweth not how to judge of this high morality of mine, nor to see into the liberality of my Master, but will condemn and say to himself, Christianity is a fable; they abstain from the idols, they shun demons, and yet cleave to the things offered to them. Great is their gluttony. And what then? it may be said. What harm is it to us if he judge us unfairly? But how much better to give him no room to judge at all." 30. "For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of," &c. The argument seems to be something of this sort: I by the grace of God, in freeing me from the bondage of the law, and making all things lawful to me, am able to partake of these meats without defiling my own conscience; but there is a further consideration: by partaking I may wound the consciences of others, and cause my 164 y Col. iii. 17. 1 Pet. iv. 11. Rom. xiv. 13. ch. viii. 13. 2 Cor. vi. 3. a Acts xx. 28. b Rom. xv. 2. DO ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD. [I. COR 31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Z 32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to a the church of God: 33 Even as I please all men in all things, not liberty in partaking to be spoken against as verging upon idolatry or giving countenance to it. Why should this be? "What! that for which a believer gives thanks, the other converts into a ground of defamation against him. What sort of religion is that? the heathen would say who were witnesses of both actions." (Godet.) 31. "Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." Here St. Paul gives the only safe rule to carry them through these entanglements and difficulties, and doubtful cases of conscience, unharmed-consciously and of set purpose do all, even the meanest daily actions, to the glory of God. Constantly dedicate yourselves afresh to Him, constantly commit your daily life to Him. The Apostle gives a parallel rule in Coloss. iii. 17: "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto God and the Father by him." You will then experience the truth of the promise, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and is safe." (Prov. xviii. 10.) 32. "Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the," &c. All these three classes would be offended in different ways by the same thing: by your unduly using your liberty in the matter of partaking of meats offered to idols, the Jews. would be offended because they would think you were conformed to, or at least made light of, idolatrous worship; the Gentiles, seeing you do that which implied a partaking of their sacrifices, would think that you considered idolatry no serious matter, and would say among themselves, Why should I renounce idolatry, seeing that these Christians make no scruple of partaking of what they know is consecrated to idols? and the Church of God, in the persons of the weak brethren, would be emboldened to eat against their consciences, and so sin against God. 33. "Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit," &c. This is a repetition in terser language of what he CHAP. XI.] THE PROFIT OF THE MANY. 165 seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. had said in ch. ix. 19, "For though I be free from all men ....I am made all things to all men that I might by all means save some." "Many" ought to be translated "the many," the greater number, in fact, all. In asking the Corinthians to make these sacrifices, he only asks them to do what he himself did: he had first shown them by his own example how they ought to do the will of God, and then he concludes all this matter of partaking in the idolothuta with the words: CHAP. XI. Eye followers of me, even as I also am of a ch. iv. 16. BE BR Christ. Eph. v. 1. Phil. iii. 17. 1 Thess. i. 6. 2 Now I praise you, brethren, 'that ye re- 2 Thess. iii. 9. b ch. iv. 17. 1. "Be ye followers of me as I also am of Christ." This ought to have been put at the end of chap. x. It is the same as what he had inculcated in Rom. xv. 2, "Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself,” &c. One writes, "We do not find in St. Paul's Epistles the notice of Christ's earthly life being a pattern or ideal, after which men ought to fashion their lives. His mind is absorbed in the greatness of the self denial manifested by the Son of God in taking upon Him the form of a Servant, and humbling Himself by His obedience unto the death of the Cross." (Edwards.) Not wholly true this, for St. Paul in the next Epistle beseeches these very Corinthians “by the meekness and gentleness of Christ." He could not have done this unless he had instructed his converts in the lessons of the daily life of Christ. 2. "Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things," &c. The Apostle now enters upon a subject connected with reverence in worship, and that due subordination and order 166 YE KEEP THE ORDINANCES. C [I. COR. member me in all things, and keep the || ordinances, as L delivered them to you. ech. vii. 17. Or, tradi tions, 2 Thess. ii. 15. & iii. 6. which should be manifested throughout the conduct of all the members of such an institution as the Church, which is not to be regarded as a heap of stones, however precious, thrown together accidentally, but not united, each one being separate from its neighbour stones; but on the contrary, the whole is intimately connected with the order of the universe, each member being united to Christ as his Head, and Christ being under the Father as the First Person in the Godhead. He has to blame them for tolerating that which contradicts the principle of this order or subordination; but, before blaming them, as a wise teacher he praises them. "I praise you that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances," &c. No doubt this means that they followed the regulations which he had laid down respecting a large number of what we should deem secondary matters. The ordinances or traditions or paradoseis are the laws and rules respecting public worship and private conduct which he delivered to them to observe. He did not preach the Gospel to them, and then say, I have done my part, now you are at liberty to follow your own fancy, and to make what ecclesiastical regulations you think will suit you best. Nothing of the sort. We find that he uses such expressions as “as I teach everywhere in every church, so ordain I in all churches," "stand fast and hold the tradition which ye have been taught, whether by word or our epistle" (1 Cor. iv. 17; vii. 17; 2 Thess ii. 15). 99 66 It may be asked why have these ordinances or traditions not been preserved and come down to us? To which we answer, we do not know whether these traditions, many of them, at least, have not come down to us. In all human probability they form part of that body of Church observance which we find everywhere recognized in the very early fathers, and prevailing in all parts of the Catholic Church.' Anyhow, the ship of the Church from the first 1 Such, for instance, as the reverent use of the Cross; the remarkable features common to all the typical Liturgies; Infant Baptism; the early rather than the late celebration of the Eucharist. |