CHAP. XII.] YE WERE GENTILES. 197 CHAP. XII. a NOW 37. OW concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, Ich. xiv. 1, would not have you ignorant. b b cho vi. 11. Ephes. ii. 11, 1 Thess. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away 12. C unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. i. 9. Tit. iii. c Ps. cxv. 5. 2. "Ye know that ye were Gentiles." So F., G. (Greek), many Cursives, d, e, Syriac, Copt.; but, A., B., C., D., E., L., P., fifty Cursives, f, g, Vulg., Sah., Arm., Æth., read, "when ye were Gentiles ye were carried away." 1. "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you," &c. Comparing the wording of this with that of chap. vii. 1, and viii. 1 (the same form Tepi dè к. 7. λ. occurring in all three places), we should gather that they had put a question to him respecting spiritual gifts, and, from the way in which he answers it, we should gather that they had asked him about the comparative greatness of some of these gifts. Some had boasted that the gifts which they possessed were greater than those which others had received. They had apparently despised those which were not outwardly striking, in comparison with such a gift as that of tongues, which from chap. xiv., it appears that some had used for vain-glorious display, and ranked above others, such as prophesying, which were far more edifying to the Church. He takes the opportunity thus offered him of instructing them in the whole subject of the work of the Spirit in the Mystical Body. And first of all he tells them that that profession of faith in Christ, which they all had in common, and without which they could have received no other grace or gift of the Spirit, was "by the Spirit." 2. "Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb," &c. He contrasts their former with their present state. They had all of them a little before this been Gentiles, not only worshippers of false Gods, but borne away unto them as men are borne to execution. There is supposed to be a reference to the irresistible force with which some seem impelled. Thus Chrysostom, "In the idol temples, if any were at any time possessed by an unclean spirit, and began to divine, even as one dragged away, I GIVE YOU TO UNDERSTAND. [I. COR. d 3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus || accursed: and that no man can say Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. that 3. "Calleth Jesus accursed." "Calleth Jesus Lord;" so D., E., F., G., K., L., P., most Cursives, d, e, g, Sah.; but N, A., B., C., 6, 17, 46, 109, Cop., Arm., Eth., read, "Jesus is accursed." "Jesus is Lord." so was he drawn by that spirit in chains, knowing nothing of the things which he utters." 66 3. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God," &c. What can the Apostle mean by this? Who in the Christian assemblies would call Jesus accursed? And some commentators have referred to the followers of Cerinthus, who separated between the man Jesus and the Christ within Him, and held that the one was accursed because suffered to hang on the tree, whilst the Christ, or Word once dwelling within Him, had left Him and ascended to heaven. But the most natural way of understanding it is by supposing that St. Paul does not in the least refer to utterances in Church, but to the Jews and heathen, particularly the former. God had promised (Haggai ii. 5) that His Spirit should remain among them, and yet the unconverted among them cursed the All Holy Name. This showed on the face of it that they had none of the Spirit of God, but, on the contrary, the confession of the Christians that Jesus was the Lord, could only have been brought about by the power of the Holy Ghost. Their conversion from heathenism to the faith of Christ was as great a miracle in the spiritual world, as any performed by the Name of Jesus in the outward and visible world, such as the healing of diseases, and the speaking with tongues. I think, however, we must take this statement in the broadest way possible. We must not narrow it by explaining "No man can truly say, can devoutly say, can savingly say—that Jesus is the Lord"; but no man can at all profess that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Spirit of God. I believe it means that what we call the outward profession of Christianity was certainly in that day a work of the Spirit, and may not the continuance of men in the outward profession of the faith in this day be a gift—a work of the Spirit? It surely is a good thing not to it as CHAP. XII.] f DIVERSITIES OF GIFTS. g 199 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the Rom. xii. same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of || administrations, but the same Lord. &c. Hebr. ii. 4. 1 Pet. iv. 10. 8 Ephes. iv. 4. h Rom. xii. 6, Ephes. 7, 8. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it iv. 11. is the same God i which worketh all in all. || Or, ministeries. i Ephes. i. 23. deny that Jesus is the Son of God. Considering the vast numbers who hold Him to have been a mere man, it is something to hold the mere acknowledgment of His being the Son of God. It may lead, if well handled by the preacher or teacher, to the realization of all saving truth. 4. "Now there are diversities of gifts [charismata] but the same Spirit." No matter what the 'difference in the gifts themselves they are all gifts of the One Spirit; the gifts which have to do with the healing of the body, and those which have to do with the edification of the soul or spirit, proceed from the One Holy Spirit. 5. "And there are differences of administration, but the same Lord." Administrations, ministrations or ministries ("Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering," Rom. xii. 7) are here referred to the Lord Jesus, Who is the Head of all ministry in the Church, for under Him and by His appointment all ministries are exercised. 6. "And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God," &c. Operations are the "effects, results and outward manifestations of the in-working power" (Ellicott), not simply synonymous with the gifts, or with the ministries or ministrations, but the practical and powerful effect of them. Thus the Holy Spirit gives a man a gift of grace, Christ employs that man as His minister in some department of His Church, but God makes the gift exercised by the minister powerful and effectual; as the Apostle says (iii. 7), "Neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase." So that the action of the three Persons of the Ever-Blessed Trinity are inseparably combined in every work of the Church. The gift or ability by which a Christian does any work, is of the Spirit; the ministration or working is under the Lord as the Head of the Church; the effectual working for good is through the power of the Father: thus 200 k Rom. xii. 6, 7, 8. ch. xiv. 26. Ephes. iv. 7. 1 Pet. iv. 10, 11. 1 ch. ii. 6, 7. TO ONE IS GIVEN BY THE SPIRIT. [I. COR 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit 'the word 8. "By the Spirit; " lit. " through the Spirit" (dià). even Christ said, “The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (John xiv. 10). 7. "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal." The manifestation of the Spirit is not so much the manifestation that the man has the Spirit, but that the Spirit manifests certain things (wisdom, knowledge, &c.) through him. "To every man.” "To each one," Revisers. Without laying undue stress upon this "each" or as referring to all absolutely, there is no doubt but that the Apostle meant that the gifts were very generally diffused. The gift implied in being able to confess the Lord Jesus, was, of course, common to all (Titus iii. 6), and teaches us that the Spirit was poured forth, not sparingly, but abundantly. "every "To profit withal," i.e., for the edification and strengthening of the whole Church, not for each man's particular glory or advantage. 8. "For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom." There are nine gifts of the Spirit here enumerated, and expositors from the time of Tertullian to the present, have attempted (I am constrained to say with what appears to me very indifferent success) to classify them or group them together. Some have made three, some four, and another no less than five divisions among the nine; the last one makes prophecy, as teaching power, one, and discerning of spirits, as critical power, another. Then they have been said to have been arranged by the Apostle in the order of their importance, the "word of wisdom" being the most important, and the interpretation of tongues the least. But can this be so? for surely the word of knowledge is not above faith, taking faith to be here a more than ordinarily vivid realization of unseen things; and, then, can the working of miracles be put before prophecy, seeing that the Apostle says "desire... rather that ye may prophesy"? I scarcely think then that such a classification was in the Apostle's mind. 8. "For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge," &c. The reader will notice that CHAP. XII.] THE WORD OF KNOWLEDGE. 201 of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; "Knowledge by the same Spirit;""according to the same Spirit" (xaτà). the two gifts here mentioned are not wisdom and knowledge, but the outward expression of these gifts-the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge. It is most discouraging to think that the expositors, nearly every one, take a different view of what wisdom and knowledge are respectively. Godet, for instance, in a single page repudiates the meanings given by Neander, Bengel, Hofmann, Heinrici and Edwards. The Apostle evidently considers wisdom as the highest state of mind, when he says, "We speak wisdom among them that are perfect," (ii. 6), and St. James seems to include in it all good moral qualities when he writes, "The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy (James iii. 17). But, above all, Christ is called "The wisdom of God." The wisdom then here must be the representation of His Mind, and the word of wisdom of His teaching. Now, what is the characteristic of the Lord's teaching? It is pre-eminently moral. It appears to me that He never reveals any truth for a merely intellectual purpose-always for a practical one. He reveals the Mystery of His own Sonship, to show that the Father loves Him, and in giving Him shows His Love to all mankind. And because of this they should love Him and keep His commandments. Such then is the word of wisdom. But what is the word of knowledge? St. Paul evidently, in this very Epistle, treats it as in a sphere below wisdom, when he says, "We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth" (viii. 1). Knowledge is our cognitive faculty, apprehending a multitude of truths, either made known to us in the Scripture, or given to us through the revelations made by God to those inspired by Him, and the word of knowledge is the right way of expressing these truths, putting them in their right order, and bringing them down, as far as they can be, to the level of the human intellect—in fact, teaching. Godet seems to illustrate the difference well: "We see in gnosis, a notion of effort, investigation, dis |