silent on their scandalous conduct in conniving at a gross moral offence committed by one of their members, an offence so gross as even to scandalize the loose morals of Corinth, and ignoring the fact that factions, jealousies, back-biting, tumults were rife amongst them.

It was then with this letter before him, and his heart burning with indignation, and yet overflowing with affection, at these terrible disorders and scandalous immoralities, that we may imagine S. Paul in his Ephesian lodgings dictating, perhaps to his companion Sosthenes, the famous letter known as the First Epistle to the Corinthians.

All that I can hope to do, in dealing with this long and deeply interesting Epistle, will be to give you a general idea of the whole, and to dwell upon some of its most important parts.

1 Cor. i. 1: Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, unto the Church of God which is at Corinth, even them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints. . . . Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything ye were enriched in Him, in all utterance and all knowledge, so that ye come behind in no gift, waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a strange beginning, is it not, to a letter addressed to a Church so torn with faction, so disgraced with vice, as we have seen the Church of Corinth to have been? Yet so it is. S. Paul addresses them as sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints. He thanks God for their possession of the only gifts which even his charity can attribute to them, the gift of utterance and the gift of knowledge; he even says that in no gift do they come behind.

How can we explain this? The Epistle is written to all; not to some.

It was because S. Paul considered their baptismal incorporation into Christ a fact and a reality. He speaks of them as they were in God's purpose, as what God intended them to be. He does not tell them that they are not real Christians, and bid them become so. He does not tell them, baptized, though falling Christians, to be born again; but he accepts their position as Christians, and then with alternate stern rebuke and loving appeal endeavours to win them to peace and holiness.

After this opening the Apostle proceeds to deal with their factions and party spirit.

Ch. i. 10: Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you. For it hath been signified unto me concerning you, my brethren, that there are contentions among you. Now this I mean, that each one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

Ch. iii. 1: And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal ... for whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, are ye not carnal, and walk after the manner of men? For when one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not men? What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? Ministers through whom ye believed. I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. Wherefore let no one

glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's. Let a man so account of us as of ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

Of the various parties into which the Corinthian Church was divided, the most important was the party which called themselves after the name of the eloquent Apollos.

They seem to have laid great stress upon the mysterious side of the Truth; they talked a great deal about the hidden wisdom of God, hidden from the many, revealed to the chosen few; they dwelt much upon the action of the Divine Word upon the soul of

man.

Now, how did S. Paul deal with these people? Did he tell them that there was no mystery about religion; that there was no hidden wisdom; that there was no Divine Word or Voice that spoke to the hearts and consciences of men? Far from it. He speaks of proclaiming to them "the mystery" of God, of speaking God's wisdom "in a mystery." He declares that he speaks wisdom among the perfect, among the initiated.

S.

In what, then, did his teaching differ from theirs? Why, in this. They spoke of a mystic voice speaking only to a few elect spirits; voice sounding in the ears of all. hidden wisdom; and so did he. wisdom of which S. Paul spoke which was hidden from the wise and prudent, and was revealed unto babes.

Paul spoke of a They spoke of a But the hidden was the wisdom

God had spoken to men from the Cross of Christ, the WORD of God was not a metaphysical abstraction, but an Incarnate Word, a living Word, nay, a dying Word; revealing in that death the essential character of God, His essential love and holiness, as well as His essential power and wisdom. But let us hear the Apostle speak for himself.

Ch. i. 17: For Christ sent me . . . to preach the Gospel: not in wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ

should be made void. For the word of the Cross is to them that are perishing foolishness; but unto us which are being saved it is the power of God. For. we preach Christ crucified, unto Jews a stumbling-block, and unto Gentiles foolishness; but unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. . . .

Ch. ii. 1: And I, brethren, when I came unto you came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the mystery of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. Howbeit we speak wisdom among the perfect, (even) God's wisdom in a mystery, even the wisdom that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds to our glory, and revealed it unto us through the Spirit.

The chapters that follow the passages which we have already read are taken up with keen but loving rebukes of the Corinthians for their immorality and unbrotherliness. Then follow answers to the questions which they had put to the Apostle in their letter. This brings us to the 10th chapter.

It is plain that what S. Paul had in his mind when he thought of the Corinthians, was that he was writing to people who had a great notion of their calling as Christians, of their blessings and privileges, but who were slipping into practical idolatry, and into the gross immorality with which idolatry was mostly accompanied. Theirs was just the case of the Israelites, who, having been delivered out of Egypt, redeemed from bondage, brought very near to God, made a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, were yet provoking God by their murmurings, their idolatries, their impurity, loathing the bread of angels, and hankering after the flesh-pots of Egypt, so that God sware in His wrath that they should not enter into His rest.

So the Apostle reminds them of this sad history, as a wholesome warning against similar conduct.

You will notice in the passage that we are about to read, that the emphasis is upon the word all. All were partakers in the redemption, all sharers in privilege, all, or nearly all, overthrown in the wilderness.

ness.

Ch. x. 1: For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant, how that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud, and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink : for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them; and the rock was Christ. Howbeit with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderNow these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt the Lord, as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them murmured, and perished by the destroyer. Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.