Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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1 Corinthians
Book: 1 Corinthians
Chapter: 1
Overview:
A
Salutation and thanksgiving.
(1-9) Exhortation to brotherly
Love, and reproof for divisions.
(10-16) The doctrine of a
crucified
Saviour, as advancing the
Glory of
God,
(17-25) and
humbling the
Creature before him.
(26-31)
1-9 All Christians are
By Baptism dedicated and devoted to
Christ, and are under strict obligations to be holy. But in the
true
Church of
God are all who are sanctified in
Christ Jesus,
called to be saints, and who
Call upon him as
God manifest in
the
Flesh, for all the blessings of
Salvation; who acknowledge
and obey him as their
Lord, and as
Lord of all; it includes
No
other persons. Christians are distinguished from the profane and
atheists, that they dare not live without
Prayer; and they are
distinguished from Jews and pagans, that they
Call On the name
of
Christ. Observe how often in these verses the
Apostle repeats
the words, Our
Lord Jesus Christ. He feared not to make too
frequent or too honourable mention of him. To all who called
upon
Christ, the
Apostle gave his usual
Salutation, desiring, in
their behalf, the pardoning
Mercy, sanctifying
Grace, and
comforting peace of
God, through
Jesus Christ. Sinners can have
No peace with
God, nor any from him, but through
Christ. He
gives thanks for their
Conversion to the
Faith of
Christ; that
Grace was given them
By Jesus Christ. They had been enriched
By
him with all
Spiritual Gifts. He speaks of utterance and
knowledge. And where
God has given these two
Gifts, he has given
great power for usefulness. These were
Gifts of the
Holy Ghost,
By which
God bore
Witness to the apostles. Those that wait for
the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, will be kept
By him to the
End; and those that are
So, will be blameless in the
Day of
Christ, made
So By rich and free
Grace. How glorious are the
hopes of such a privilege; to be kept
By the power of
Christ,
from the power of our corruptions and
Satan's temptations!
10-16 In the great things of religion be of one mind; and where
there is not unity of sentiment, still let there be union of
Affection. Agreement in the greater things should extinguish
divisions about the lesser. There will be perfect union in
Heaven, and the nearer we approach it
On Earth, the nearer we
come to
Perfection.
Paul and
Apollos both were
Faithful
ministers of
Jesus Christ, and helpers of their
Faith and joy;
but those disposed to be contentious, broke into parties.
So
liable are the best things to be corrupted, and the
Gospel and
its institutions made
Engines of discord and contention.
Satan
has always endeavoured to stir up strife among Christians, as
one of his chief devices against the
Gospel. The
Apostle left it
to other ministers to baptize, while he preached the
Gospel, as
a more useful work.
17-25 Paul had been bred up in Jewish learning; but the
Plain
preaching of a crucified
Jesus, was more powerful than all the
oratory and philosophy of the
Heathen world. This is the sum and
substance of the
Gospel.
Christ crucified is the foundation of
all our hopes, the
Fountain of all our joys. And
By his
Death we
live. The preaching of
Salvation for lost sinners
By the
sufferings and
Death of the
Son of God, if explained and
faithfully applied, appears foolishness to those in the way to
Destruction. The sensual, the covetous, the proud, and
ambitious, alike see that the
Gospel opposes their favourite
pursuits. But those who receive the
Gospel, and are enlightened
By the
Spirit of
God, see more of
God's
Wisdom and power in the
doctrine of
Christ crucified, than in all his other
Works.
God
left a great part of the world to follow the dictates of
Man's
boasted reason, and the event has shown that human
Wisdom is
folly, and is unable to find or retain the knowledge of
God as
the Creator. It pleased him,
By the foolishness of preaching, to
save them that believe.
By the foolishness of preaching; not
By
what could justly be called foolish preaching. But the thing
preached was foolishness to worldly-
Wise men. The
Gospel ever
was, and ever will be, foolishness to all in the
Road to
Destruction. The message of
Christ, plainly delivered, ever has
been a sure touchstone
By which men may learn what
Road they are
travelling. But the despised doctrine of
Salvation By Faith in a
crucified
Saviour,
God in human nature, purchasing the
Church
with his own
Blood, to save multitudes, even all that believe,
from ignorance, delusion, and vice, has been blessed in every
Age. And the weakest instruments
God uses, are stronger in their
effects, than the strongest men can use. Not that there is
foolishness or weakness in
God, but what men consider as such,
overcomes all their admired
Wisdom and strength.
26-31 God did not choose philosophers, nor orators, nor
statesmen, nor men of wealth, and power, and interest in the
world, to publish the
Gospel of
Grace and peace. He best
Judges
what men and what measures serve the purposes of his
Glory.
Though not many noble are usually called
By Divine
Grace, there
have been some such in every
Age, who have not been ashamed of
the
Gospel of
Christ; and persons of every rank stand in need of
pardoning
Grace. Often, a humble
Christian, though
Poor as to
this world, has more true knowledge of the
Gospel, than those
who have made the
Letter of
Scripture the study of their lives,
but who have studied it rather as the
Witness of men, than as
the
Word of God. And even young children have gained such
knowledge of Divine
Truth as to silence infidels. The reason is,
they are taught of
God; the design is, that
No Flesh should
Glory in his presence. That distinction, in which alone they
might
Glory, was not of themselves. It was
By the sovereign
choice and regenerating
Grace of
God, that they were in
Jesus
Christ By Faith. He is made of
God to us
Wisdom,
Righteousness,
Sanctification, and
Redemption; all we need, or can desire. And
he is made
Wisdom to us, that
By his
Word and
Spirit, and from
his
Fulness and treasures of
Wisdom and knowledge, we may
receive all that will make us
Wise unto
Salvation, and fit for
every service to which we are called. We are guilty, liable to
just
Punishment; and he is made
Righteousness, our great
Atonement and
Sacrifice. We are depraved and corrupt, and he is
made
Sanctification, that he may in the
End be made complete
Redemption; may free the soul from the being of
Sin, and loose
the body from the bonds of the
Grave. And this is, that all
Flesh, according to the
Prophecy By Jeremiah, Jer 9:23-24, may
Glory in the special favour, all-sufficient
Grace, and precious
Salvation of
Jehovah.