been offered by the heathen in sacrifice; for parts of the animal were not burnt on the altar, but sold in the market for food. The former had no such scruples, but regarded the flesh of animals which had been offered in sacrifice as suitable to be eaten as any. The Gentile Christians were the more numerous at Rome, and inclined to look with contempt on the Jewish Christians who made such nice distinctions in regard to meats. On the other hand, the Jewish Christians were troubled at what they felt to be lax conduct of the Gentile Christians in eating flesh which had been offered to idols. Paul, in this chapter, alludes to these differences. He says that the man who has scruples about such matters should be treated kindly by the Christian community, and that no harsh judgment should be passed on his opinions. He that eats all kinds of food should not despise him that abstains from some kinds; and he that abstains from some kinds should not condemn him that eats all kinds. One is just as conscientious as the other. More than this, we are not called to give account to each other, but we shall all be called to give account to God. "Let us not then," he says, "pass judgment on one another any more, but let us determine that we will not put any hinderance, or occasion of sin, in our brother's way."

14. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus. "In the Lord Jesus" is a better rendering. He means that as a Christian he is fully convinced that no distinction need be made in regard to meats. As a Jew and a Pharisee he had doubtless been as scrupulous as anybody about the use of Gentile food, but the Gospel had given him new light. "As strengthening the determination not to put any occasion of sin in a brother's way, the apostle avows his own clear conviction, which he was fully persuaded was according to the mind of Christ, that no article of food is unclean in itself, or capable of defiling the soul. Yet, if a person honestly regard it as unclean, that is, forbidden and unlawful, to him it is unclean, and it would be wrong for him to use it, because by so doing he would violate his conscience and thus contract guilt; consequently we ought to avoid occasions of leading him thus to sin." - Ripley.

15. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. "And if for meat thou grievest thy brother, thou hast ceased to walk by the rule of love." - Conybeare. 16. Let not then your good be evil spoken of. "Let not then the blessing which ye enjoy be evil spoken of."- Noyes. "Do not so use your Christian liberty as to give occasion for railing and unkind remarks from your brethren, so as to produce contention and strife, and thus give rise to evil reports among the wicked about the tendency of the Christian religion, as if it were adapted to promote controversy." - Barnes.

17. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink. The apostle means that Christianity does not consist in nice distinctions in regard to food, but in a holy life. "The category of non-essentials might be much enlarged, and we might truly say, The kingdom of God does not only not consist in meat and drink, but it standeth not in creeds, in ceremonials, in names, in dogmas, in human rules, in ecclesiastical authority, about which there have

been such endless contentions, and which, by one or another party, have been set up as pillars of the church. But the apostle seizes upon the spiritual points as the vital ones, and enumerates three — righteousness, peace, and spiritual joy—as comprehending the leading features of the new and glorious kingdom. . . . Not that such enumeration by any means exhausts the whole subject, but we may suppose that the apostle uses the most pregnant words, and instinctively selected each one as the representative of a salient point in the Christian style of character." — Livermore.

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19, 20. "Let us then strive to promote peace and the edification of each other. Do not for the sake of food undo the work of God; all things are clean; but that which is pure is evil for that man who eateth so as to be an occasion for sin." -Noyes.

21. It is good neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine. "The very important principle is here introduced, that we should give up even innocent gratifications in themselves, for the sake of helping our brother more effectually in his work of reformation and self-improvement. One of the specifications is no longer applicable, that of eating flesh; but the other, — the drinking of wine, or any spirituous liquors,-though for different reasons than those which existed in the time of Paul, still stands as good as ever. . . . The ancient Christian was to abstain from wine, lest its use should scandalize his weaker brother, who looked upon it as a horrible profanation to drink what might have been procured to be used as a libation in the idol-worship. The modern Christian is, by the same rule of tender solicitude for his brother's virtue and sobriety, to abstain from the same article, if by such an act he can save a soul from death, and hide a multitude of sins."

22. Hast thou faith, have it to thyself before God. By "faith" is here meant confidence that there is no occasion for the nice distinction made by Jewish Christians in regard to food and drink. As though the apostle had said, God knows your confidence that the fullest liberty as to what you may eat and drink is yours. Be content with that, and do not make a display of your liberty to the offence or injury of any of your brethren. - Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. That is, happy is he who is addicted to no habit which his conscience condemns.

23. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat; because he eateth not of faith. "But he that doubteth is condemned if he eat, because he doeth it not from faith." -Noyes. The apostle has just said that he who has a clear conscience in all he does is happy. He now says that he who does a thing doubting whether it be right, is condemned. - For whatsoever is not of faith is sin. "Not only eating against one's conscience, or without an approving conscience, is deserving of condemnation, but anything else done in like manner is sinful. No man should indulge in any demeanor or conduct, when the lawfulness of it is to him a matter of doubt."

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GOLDEN TEXT: And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. -1 COR. xii. 26.

1. To what does the apostle Paul compare people?

To different members of the human body.

2. What are some of the members of the human body?

3. Will you mention some of the ways in which these members help one another?

4. What does Paul say of the dependence of the members on one another?

"The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you."

5. Will you repeat the Golden Text?

6. Has not your whole body been uncomfortable because one part suffered?

7. What effect would it have on those of other occupations if there were no farmers; no mechanics; no traders; no miners; no seamen; no teachers?

8. If all crops were to fail, who would suffer besides farmers?

9. If all commerce were to stop, who would suffer besides seamen ?

10. What feelings ought we to cherish towards others, since we are so dependent on them, and our welfare is so closely connected with theirs?

1. When, where, and by whom was the First Epistle to the Corinthians written?

2. When did Paul first visit Corinth?

3. What was the state of the Corinthian church at the time this epistle was written?

4. What "gifts" had its members? 1 Cor. xii. 4-11. 5. Why is it difficult to learn the nature of these gifts? 6. From what source does Paul say they all were derived? 7. Why is he so particular to teach that they were from God? 8. To what does he compare the church of Christ? 12. 9. What does he say of the body? 14.

10. What if any member should say it did not belong to the body? 15, 16.

11. What if any one of us should say we did not belong to the human race, and had no duties to our fellow-men?

12. Can you relate Æsop's fable of the stomach and members? 13. What does the apostle ask in verse 17?

14. What kind of a world would this be if everybody followed one occupation, - farming, for instance?

15. What is one member of the body unable to say to another? 21.

16. Does not nearly every occupation conduce in some way to your happiness ?

17. Does a high degree of civilization render us more or less dependent on one another?

18. What does Paul say of the more feeble and less honorable members of the body? 22, 23.

19. Are not the occupations which we consider less honorable as necessary to the world's welfare as any?

20. What does Paul say further of the relation of the members to one another? 26.

21. Since we are mutually dependent, what ought to be our feelings and conduct towards one another?

INTRODUCTION. The First Epistle to the Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul during his three years' residence at Ephesus. The probable date is A.D. 57. He had spent a year and a half at Corinth during his second missionary journey, about A.D. 52, and at that time planted the Corinthian church. This church, although rent by rival factions, and disgraced by the immoral conduct of some of its members, enjoyed an abundance of what are called "spiritual gifts." These were a source of pride and contention. Some claimed that one gift was the greatest and some another. This led the apostle to speak of these gifts at considerable length in this epistle (xii.-xiv.). In Ch. xii. he teaches two important truths: first, all these gifts were from God, due to his Spirit; and secondly, that they were bestowed, not for the glory of those who possessed them, but for the good of all. Under this second head he illustrates by a beautiful analogy the dependence of the members of the Corinthian church on one another. But mutual dependence was not confined to them; it is universal.

NOTES. 1 Cor. xii. 4. Now there are diversities of gifts. There are different endowments. Such as are mentioned in verses 8-10. But the same Spirit. The Spirit of God is the source of all these various gifts. 5. Differences of administrations. "Diversities of ministrations." Revised Version. But the same Lord. "Whatever special service be assigned to any one . . all are responsible to the same master, even to the Lord Jesus."- Paige.

6. Diversities of operations. sion. But it is the same God.

"Diversities of workings." - Revised Ver"All these operations are produced by the same God. They should not, therefore, be undervalued or despised; nor should any one be unduly elated, or pride himself on what has been conferred by God alone." - Barnes.

7.

"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the good of others."-Noyes. "For the profit of all." - Conybeare. "The idea is that these gifts were bestowed not only for individual but for general benefit; not only for the advantage of the recipient, but to make him useful to others." - Paige.

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8-10. Nine "gifts" of the Corinthian Christians are mentioned in these verses: the "word of wisdom," the "word of knowledge," "faith," the "gift of healing," "miracles," "prophecy," "discerning of spirits," the 'gift of tongues," the "interpretation of tongues." A part of them it would be impossible to define in a satisfactory way. Doubtless some possessed more than one of these gifts. It is evident that they were not confined to the Corinthian church, although manifested there to a greater extent than anywhere else. The subject is one of great difficulty, because in its nature obscure, because most of the gifts mentioned have little resemblance to anything with which we are familiar, and because the allusions to them in the New Testament are incidental and fragmentary. That Christians in the apostolic age possessed what are called "spiritual gifts"