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ciples upon which the spiritual man's belief is founded, ver. 15. -For what animal man hath understood and approved the gracious purposes of the Lord Christ, respecting the salvation of the world? or what animal man is able to instruct the spiritual man? But, added he, we apostles have the gracious purposes of Christ made known to us by the Spirit, so that we are able both to know them, and to communicate them to the world, ver. 16.

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sophy: and valued their teachers in proportion to the skill which they shewed, in setting off their opinions by the beauty and harmony of their language. No wonder therefore, if the apostle, knowing the humour of the Greeks, explained the doctrines of the gospel to the Corinthian philosophers, rhetoricians, and people, with fear and much trembling.

Ver. 4.-1, Persuasive words. The word us is not found any where else in this sense. But Salmasius, Comment. de lingua Hellenist. p. 86. observes, that it is justified by the analogy of the Greek language, in which qud☞ signifies, qui parcus est; and μμ&, qui imitatur; consequently LI☞, qui persuadet, a person or thing that persuades.

2. Demonstration of the Spirit. Whitby and Locke, following Origen, by the demonstration of the Spirit, understand the evidence arising from the

wisdom, but in demonstra- αλλ' εν αποδείξει πνευματος tion of the Spirit, and of και δυναμεως

power:

5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of

men, but in the power of God.

6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought.

7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery,

5 ἵνα ἡ πιςις ἱμων μη η εν σοφια ανθρώπων, αλλ' εν δυναμει Θεου.

6 Σοφιαν δε λαλουμεν εν τοις τελείοις σοφιαν δε ου του αιώνος τούτου, ουδε των αρχοντων του αιώνος τούτου, των καταργουμένων

7 Αλλα λαλουμεν σοφίαν Θεου εν μυςηρίω την αποκε

Jewish scriptures, which were dictated by the Spirit of God; and in which the coming of the Christ, his preaching, &c. are clearly foretold. But as the Gentiles neither knew the Jewish scriptures, nor acknowledged their divine authority, previous to their conversion, nor could read them in the original when shewn to them, I do not see how the apostle could use the prophecies contained in them, as arguments for converting the Gentiles. Their only use was to confirm the Gentiles after they were converted. And therefore I am of opinion, that the Spirit here, as in many other passages, signifies the gifts of the Spirit, accompanied with his ordinary influences on the hearts of mankind.

3. And of power. The word Juvauu, power, is often used in scripture, to express the power of working miracles, Acts x. 38. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost, and, Suvaus, with power.

Ver. 6-1. We speak wisdom. What the apostle here calls wisdom, is the doctrine concerning the person and offices of Christ, treated of in his epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians; the justification of sinners by faith counted to them for righteousness, explained in his epistle to the Romans; the rejec tion and resumption of the Jews, foretold in the same epistle; the coming and destruction of the man of sin, foretold 2 Thess. ii. ; the priesthood, sacrifice, and intercession of Christ, explained in his epistle to the Hebrews; and the resurrection of the dead, foretold in this epistle: in short, the whole doctrines of the gospel taken complexly, which are called, chap. xii. 8. The word of wisdom, and chap. i. 39.`wisdom from God.

2. Among the perfect. The fully initiated into the heathen mysteries, were named Tex, Perfect, because these mysteries in their whole extent were discovered to them. The apostle, Heb. vi. 1. calls the deep doctrines of the gospel, Perfection, and here sirnames the persons who had these doctrines discovered to them, perfect men, because in the following verse be terms the gospel a mystery. In other passages however he uses the word Texuoi, Per

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tual for moving the passions, but I established my mission, by the gifts of the Spirit imparted to you, and by miracles wrought in your presence.

5 That your belief of the gospel might not stand in philosophical arguments eloquently expressed, but in the power of God: in the miracles, which God enabled me to perform, for proving the gospel.

6 However, both in private and in public, we speak what is known to be wisdom, among the thoroughly instructed. But it is not the wisdom of the gods of this world; it is none of their mysteries; neither is it the wisdom, or religion, of the rulers of this world, who, with their false religions, are to be abolished.

7 For, among the fully instructed, we speak a scheme of religion form

fect, to denote persons fully instructed in the doctrines of the gospel, where no allusion to the heathen mysteries is intended. See Philip. iii. 15.

3. But not the wisdom of this world. As the apostle in the beginning of the verse, gives the name of wisdom to that scheme of religion which he taught by inspiration, the wisdom of this world, if nothing more had been added, might have meant the false religions practised by the heathen rulers and people jointly. But seeing he adds, neither the wisdom of the rulers of this world, it is plain that the wisdom of this world, was something different from the wisdom, or religions, established by the heathen rulers. I therefore suppose the wisdom of this world, means the wisdom of the gods of this world; or the mysteries which the heathen priests feigned to have received from their gods by inspiration, and which, properly speaking, constituted a secret religion which they communicated only to the initiated. Whereas the wisdom of the rulers of this world, means the public and popular religion, invented by the heathen law-givers, and supported by the heathen magistrates.

4. Neither of the rulers of this world. These, according to Estius, are evil spirits, the authors of magic, divination, and idolatry, who were to be destroyed by Christ, with the whole body of their wisdom or error.—Because the rulers of this world are said, ver. 8. to have crucified the Lord of glory, Locke, by the wisdom of the rulers of this world, understood the wisdom of the Jewish rulers; meaning, I suppose, the tradition of the elders, and that corrupt form of religion which they had introduced, called, Gal. i. 14. judaism. For that, as well as heathenism, might be called, The wisdom of the rulers, &c. See however the preceding note.

even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory.

8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

9 But as it is written,

κρυμμενην, ἣν προώρισεν Θεος προ των αιώνων εις δοξαν ήμων·

8 Ἡν ουδεις των αρχοντων του αιώνος τούτου εγνωκεν ει γαρ εγνωσαν, ουκ αν τον Κυ

ριον της δόξης εςαυρωσαν.

9 Αλλα καθώς γεγραπται·

Eye hath not seen, nor ear Ἃ οφθαλμος ουκ ειδε, και

heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them

that love him.

A

ους ουκ ηκουσε, και επι καρ διαν ανθρωπου ουκ ανεβη, ἁ ἡτοιμασεν ὁ Θεος τοις αγαπω

σιν αυτον

Ver. 7.-1. Which was hidden in a mystery. The doctrines of the gospel, called the wisdom of God, lay long hidden in the types and figures of the law of Moses, and in the Old Testament prophecies. These, therefore, constituted the mystery, of which the apostle speaks; and in which he says, the wisdom of God was kept hidden during the Mosaic dispensation.-To recommend the gospel to the Greeks, and to wean them from those vain mysteries of which they were so passionately fond, the apostle here, and in various other passages, (see Ephes. i. 9. note.) dignified the gospel with the appellation of a mystery, not only because it had hitherto been kept secret, Rom. xvi. 25. Ephes. iii. 9. Col. i. 26. but because the discoveries which it contains, (see ver. 6. note 1.) were unspeakably more important than the discoveries made in any of the heathen mysteries, and were far more certain, being wisdom from the true God. See Pref. to the Ephes. sect. iii.

2. To our glory; that is, according to Whitby, to be the means of the future glory and happiness of the saints. But I prefer the interpretation in the commentary, because St. Paul's design is to shew, that none but the apostles enjoyed the glory of revealing the doctrines of the gospel in an infallible manner; and that the false teacher, and all others who set themselves in opposition to the apostles, were imposters not to be gloried in.

Ver. 8.-1. None of the rulers of this world knew. Locke observes, that in the writings of the New Testament, any r☞, this world, commonly signifies the state of mankind before the publication of the gospel, as contradistinguished to the evangelical state or constitution, which is commonly called, av μxxar, the world to come.-By taking notice that none of the rulers of this world, and particularly none of the Jewish chief priests and elders, knew the gospel to be from God, the apostle shewed the Corinthians, what little reason they had to value the false teacher, on account of the knowledge he derived from his Jewish instructers.

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ed by the wisdom of the true God, which was long hidden in a mystery, but which God predetermined before the Mosaic dispensation began, should be explained by us apostles, to our great honour.

8 Which wisdom neither Pilate, nor Herod, nor Caiaphas, nor the elders of the Jews, knew to be the wisdom of God: For if they had known it to be his, they would not have crucified Jesus, the Author of all the glorious things displayed in the gospel mystery.

9 The ignorance of the rulers, was occasioned by the things contained in the mystery of God's wisdom, being above human comprehension, (see ver. 6. note 1.) For as it is written, Those blessings, eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, and into the heart of man have not entered, which God hath prepared for

them who love him.

2. Would not have crucified the Lord of glory. The divine person who appeared to the patriarchs, was called by the Jews, the God of glory, and the King of glory, because when he appeared he was commonly surrounded with fire or light. Psal. xxiv. 10. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory.-Acts vii. 2. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham.-The apostle gave the appellation of the Lord of glory, to Jesus, for the important reason mentioned in the commentary, and because the glory in which he appeared during his incarnation, was the glory of the only begotten of the Father; the glory of a character absolutely perfect.

Ver. 9.-1. 'A opdanu, Those things eye hath not seen. As the relative (a) is found twice in this sentence, I think the first stands for the demonstrative pronoun ταυτα, See Ess. iv. 67. and I have so translated it. Clem. Alex. Strom. 5. hath here Anna xxpvccoμer, But we preach; which I take to be an explication rather than a various reading.—The meaning of the prophet's words, as applied by the apostle, is, that those blessings which God hath prepared for them who love him, and which in the gospel he hath discovered and promised to bestow on them, are so great, that nothing like them have ever been beheld by men, or reported to them. Nay, the mind of man, by its own powers, is not able to form the most distant idea of them.

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