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SECT. IX.

CHAP. XII. 1.-XIV. 40.

CONTENTS.

THE corinthians seem to have inquired of St. Paul, "What order of precedency and preference men were "to have, in their assemblies, in regard of their spi"ritual gifts?" Nay, if we may guess by his answer, the question they seem more particularly to have proposed, was," Whether those, who had the gift of tongues, ought not to take place, and speak first, and "be first heard in their meetings?" Concerning this, there seems to have been some strife, maligning, and disorder among them, as may be collected from ch. xii. 21-25, and xiii. 4, 5, and xiv. 40.

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To this St. Paul answers in these three chapters, as followeth

1. That they had all been heathen idolaters, and so being deniers of Christ, were in that state none of them spiritual but that now, being christians, and owning Jesus to be the Lord (which could not be done without the Spirit of God), they were all TVEUμATIXO, spiritual, and so there was no reason for one to undervalue another, as if he were not spiritual, as well as himself, chap. xii. 1-3.

2. That though there be diversity of gifts, yet they are all by the same Spirit, from the same Lord, and the same God, working them all in every one, according to his good pleasure. So that, in this respect also, there is no difference or precedency; no occasion for any one's being puffed up, or affecting priority, upon account of his gifts, chap. xii. 4—11.

3. That the diversity of gifts is for the use and benefit of the church, which is Christ's body, wherein the members (as in the natural body) of meaner functions are as much parts, and as necessary in their use to the good of the whole, and therefore to be honoured, as much as any other. The union they have, as members in the

same body, makes them all equally share in one another's good and evil, gives them a mutual esteem and concern one for another, and leaves no room for contests or divisions amongst them, about their gifts, or the honour and place due to them, upon that account, chap. xii. 12-31.

4. That though gifts have their excellency and use, and those, who have them, may be zealous in the use of them; yet the true and sure way for a man to get an excellency and preference above others, is the enlarging himself in charity, and excelling in that, without which a christian, with all his spiritual gifts, is nothing, chap. xiii. 1-13.

5. In the comparison of spiritual gifts, he gives those the precedency, which edify most; and, in particular, prefers prophesying to tongues, chap. xiv. 1-40.

SECT. IX. No. 1.

CHAP. XII. 1-3.

TEXT.

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.

PARAPHRASE.

1 As to spiritual men, or men assisted and acted by the Spirit*, I shall inform you; for I would not have 2 you be ignorant. You yourselves know, that you

1 *

"" Πνευματικῶν, spiritual." We are warranted, by a like use of the word, in several places of St. Paul's epistles, as chap. ii. 15, and xiv. 37, of this epistle; and Gal. vi. 1, to take it here in the masculine gender, standing for persons, and not gifts. And the context obliges us to understand it so. For if we will have it stand for gifts, and not persons, the sense and coherence of these three first verses will be very hard to be made out. Besides, there is evidence enough, in several parts of it, that the subject of St. Paul's discourse here, is avaμatixoì, persons endowed with spiritual gifts, contending for precedency, in consideration of their gifts. See ver. 13, &c. of this chapter; and to what purpose, else, says he, chap. xiv. 5, greater is he that prophesieth, than he that speaketh with tongues?

TEXT.

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, that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

PARAPHRASE.

were heathens, engaged in the worship of stocks and stones, dumb, senseless idols, by those, who were then 3 your leaders. Whereupon let me tell you, that no one, who opposes Jesus Christ, or his religion, has the Spirit of God *. And whoever is brought to own Jesus to be the Messiah, the Lord †, does it by the Holy Ghost. And therefore, upon account of having the Spirit, you can none of you lay any claim to superiority; or have any pretence to slight any of your brethren, as not having the Spirit of God, as well as you. For all, that own our Lord Jesus Christ, and believe in him, do it by the Spirit of God, i. e. can do it upon no other ground, but revelation, coming from the Spirit of God.

NOTES.

3* This is spoken against the jews, who pretended to the Holy Ghost, and yet spoke against Jesus Christ, and denied that the Holy Ghost was ever given to the gentiles: vid. Acts x. 45. Whether their judaizing false apostle were at all glanced at in this, may be considered,

+ Lord. What is meant by Lord, see note, chap. viii. 5.

SECT. IX. N°. 2.

CHAP. XII, 4-11.

CONTENTS.

ANOTHER Consideration, which St. Paul offers, against any contention for superiority, or pretence to precedency, upon account of any spiritual gift, is, that those distinct gifts are all of one and the same Spirit, by the same Lord; wrought in every one, by God alone, and all for the profit of the church.

TEXT.

4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

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 of wisdom; to another, the word of knowledge by the same Spirit:

*

PARAPHRASE.

4 Be not mistaken, by the diversity of gifts; for, though there be diversity of gifts among christians, yet there is no diversity of spirits, they all come from one and 5 the same Spirit. Though there be diversities of offices in the church, yet all the officers have but one 6 Lord. And though there be various influxes, whereby christians are enabled to do extraordinary things†, yet it is the same God, that works all these extra7 ordinary gifts, in every one that has them. But the way, or gift, wherein every one, who has the Spirit, is to show it, is given him, not for his private advantage, or honour §, but for the good and advantage of 8 the church. For instance; to one is given, by the spirit, the word of wisdom ||, or the revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in the full latitude of it: such as was given to the apostles: to another, by the same spirit, the knowledge of the true sense and true meaning of the holy scriptures of the Old Testament,

NOTES.

5 These different offices are reckoned up, ver. 28, &c.

6

What these veрyńμata were, see ver. 8-11.

They were very properly called veрyńμara-" in workings;" because they were above all human power: men, of themselves, could do nothing of them at all; but it was God, as the apostle tells us here, who, in these extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost, did all that was done; it was the effect of his immediate operation, as St. Paul assures us, in that parallel place, Phil. ii. 13. In which chapter, ver. 3 and 14, we find that the philippians stood a little in need of the same advice, which St. Paul so at large presses here upon the corinthians.

7 § Vid. Rom. xii. 3—8.

8 opía. The doctrine of the gospel is, more than once, in the beginning of this epistle, called "the wisdom of God."

Tois is used, by St. Paul, for such a knowledge of the law and the prophets.

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TEXT.

9 To another, faith by the same Spirit; to another, the gifts of healing, by the same Spirit;

10 To another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, discerning of spirits; to another, divers kinds of tongues; to another, the interpretation of tongues.

11 But all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally, as he will.

PARAPHRASE.

for the explaining and confirmation of the gospel : 9 To another, by the same Spirit, is given an undoubting persuasion, and stedfast confidence, of performing what he is going about; to another, the gift of 10 curing diseases, by the same Spirit; To another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy†; to another, the discerning by what spirit men did any extraordinary operation; to another, diversity of languages; to another, the interpretation of lan11 guages. All which gifts are wrought in believers, by one and the same Spirit, distributing to every one, in particular, as he thinks fit.

NOTES.

9. In this sense is, "faith," is sometimes taken in the New Testament, particularly chap. xiii. 2. It is difficult, I confess, to define the precise meaning of each word, which the apostle uses in the 8th, 9th, and 10th verses here. But if the order, which St. Paul observes, in enumerating by 1st, 2d, 3d, the three first officers set down, ver. 28, viz. "first apostles; secondly, prophets; "thirdly, teachers," have any relation, or may give any light to these three gifts, which are set down in the first place here, viz. "Wisdom, Knowledge, "and Faith," we may then properly understand, by copía, "wisdom," the whole doctrine of the gospel, as communicated to the apostles: by yvos, "knowledge," the gift of understanding the mystical sense of the law and the prophets; and by wisis, "faith," the assurance and confidence, in delivering, and confirming, the doctrine of the gospel, which became didaσxáñus, “ doctors, or teachers." This, at least, I think, may be presumed, that since copía and yσs have λoyos joined to them, and it is said, "the word of wisdom, and "the word of knowledge;" wisdom and knowledge here signify such gifts of the mind as are to be employed in preaching.

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10"Prophecy" comprehends these three things, prediction, singing by the dictate of the Spirit, and understanding and explaining the mysterious, hidden sense of scripture, by an immediate illumination and motion of the Spirit, as we have already shown. And that the prophesying, here spoken of, was by immediate revelation, vid. chap, xiv. 29—31.

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