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bless; being persecuted, we bear it; being evil-spoken of, we exhort: we are made as the vilest of the world, as 14 the off-scouring of all things, until now. I write not

these things to shame you; but I admonish you as my 15 beloved sons. For if ye have ten thousand guides in Christ,

yet ye have not many fathers: for I am your father* 16 in Christ Jesus, by preaching to you the gospel. Where17 fore I exhort you, be ye imitators of me. For this cause

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I have sent unto you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, as I teach every where in every church. But some have been puffed up, as though I would not 19 come to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord be willing; and I will know, not the speech of 20 those that are puffed up, but their power. For the kingdom of God is not in speech, but in power.

21 WHAT will ye? that I come to you with a rod, or in CH-love, and in the spirit of meekness? Fornication is cer

V.

tainly heard of among you, and such fornication as is not even among the gentiles, that one should have his 2 father's wife. And are ye puffed up? and have ye not

rather mourned? so that he who hath committed this 3 deed might be taken away from among you. For I truly, [as] absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged, as though I were present, him who hath so done 4 this; that, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, (when ye are gathered together, and my spirit with the power 5 of our Lord Jesus Christ,) ye deliver such an one to Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit 6 may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glo

*I begat you, N.

† is not named, R. T. The Primate inserts the word committed, but this does not seem necessary, either to the sense or the construction.

‡ when ye and I, who am with you in spirit, are gathered together, etc. W.

q. d. Disown him as a christian brother. Expel him from the community of believers. Let him be regarded as a heathen: no longer a subject of Christ, but a vassal of Satan. The world is considered as divided into two great empires; one under

rying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven 7 leaveneth the whole lump? Take away thoroughly the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, inasmuch as ye are unleavened*: for our passover† hath been slain [for 8 us,] even Christ. Let us therefore keep our feast, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of wickedness and maliciousness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9 I write unto you in this epistle‡, not to keep com10 pany with fornicators: [yet] not wholly with the forni

cators, or covetous, or oppressors, or idolaters, of this 11 world for then indeed ye must go out of the world:

but I now write unto you, not to keep company with him, if any that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, 12 or an oppressor; not even to eat with such an one. For what have I to do to judge those [also] that are without? 13 Should not ye judge those that are within? and will not God judge those that are without? Put away [therefore] from among yourselves that wicked person.

CH. VI. DARETH any of you, having a matter against another, to be judged before the unrighteous, and not before the 2 saints? Know ye not that the saints will judge the world††?

the government of Christ, the other under the tyranny of Satan. When a heathen became a believer, he was translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdora of God's dear son. When a believer for misbehaviour was dismissed from the christian community, he was said to be delivered over to Satan. This was done "for the destruction of the flesh," that is, for the correction of his vices, that he might be made sensible of his fault, and brought to repentance. Col. i. 13; 1 Tim. i. 20. *Or, that as ye are now a new lump, ye may be unleavened.

Or, our paschal lamb,

I wrote to you in that letter, W.

Or, how doth it concern me to judge. N. m.

Or, No: but judge ye those that are within: (and those that are without God will judge :) and put away, etc. See MSS. N. m.

†† The saints will judge the world, and, ver. 3, we shall judge angels. “This,” says Dr. Priestley, "is figurative language; as is the representation of Christ sitting and judging all nations. What it is that is really to be understood by this we cannot at present know. It will, no doubt, be sufficiently verified, though, perhaps, in a manner of which we cannot at this time have any proper conception. And whatever powers and prerogatives are given to Christ, will be shared by him with his disciples; according

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but if the world will be judged by you, are ye unworthy 3 to judge the smallest causes? Know ye not that we shall

judge angels? how much more things which belong to 4 this life? If then ye have judgements of causes belong

ing to this life, rather set those to judge who are of no 5 account in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not even one wise man among you, who can 6 decide between his brethren? but is brother brought into judgement with brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 Now therefore it is certainly a defect among you, that ye have suits one with another. Why do ye not rather 8 suffer wrong? why are ye not rather defrauded? whereas ye wrong, and defraud; and that your brethren.

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Know ye not that injurious men will not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor impure abusers of them10 selves*, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor

revilers, nor oppressors, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you but ye have been washed, but ye have been sanctified, but ye have been justified, by the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of our God.

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All things are lawful to me, but all things are not expedient all things are lawful to me, but I will not be 13 brought under the power of any thing. Meats are for

The glory which thou

to his prayer before his death, in which he says, John xvii. 22,
gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, as we are one." See Dr.
Priestley's Notes on Scripture. It is plain from this text, that whatever is meant by the
phrase, "judging the world," that it is an office to which human beings may be made
competent. To say that this expression means one thing when applied to Christ, and
another when used of the saints, is gratuitous and unfounded. Perhaps the expression
"to judge the world," may not imply any personal act, either on the part of Christ,
or of christians in general. It may possibly signify nothing more, than that the final
state of mankind shall be determined agreeably to the declarations of the gospel, which
was first promulgated by Christ; to which declarations, all the professed disciples of
Christ in succeeding ages, however they may have differed upon other points, have
borne their unanimous testimony. In the same manner the ancient prophets are said
to have done that, which they were only commissioned to foretel. See Jer. i. 10.
* So Wakefield. "nor pathicks, nor abusers of themselves with mankind." N.

the belly, and the belly is for meats: yet God will destroy both it and them. But the body is not for fornication, 14 but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body and God hath both raised up the Lord, and will raise up us also 15 by his power. Know ye not that your bodies are members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? By no means. 16 Know ye not that he who is joined to an harlot, is one body? (for two," saith the scripture, "shall be one 17 flesh.") But he that is joined to the Lord, is one spirit. 18 Flee fornication. Most sins which a man committeth, are without the body; but he who committeth fornica19 tion, sinneth against his own body. Know ye not that your body is the temple of the holy spirit which is in you, 20 which ye have from God? Nor are ye your own for have been bought with a price: glorify therefore God with your body*.

ye

CH. VII. Now concerning the things about which ye have

:

written to me: It is good for a man not to touch a wo2 man. Nevertheless, because of avoiding fornications, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have 3 her own husband. Let the husband render to the wife the debt of marriage † ; and in like manner the wife also 4 to the husband. The wife hath not power over her own body, but the husband and in like manner the husband also hath not power over his own body, but the wife. 5 Defraud ye not one another; unless perhaps partly, with consent, for a time, that ye may have leisure for prayer‡, and may come together again; that Satan tempt you not 6 because of your incontinence. But I speak this by way 7 of permission; not by way of commandment. For I would that all men were even as I myself am. But every man hath his proper gift from God; one according to this manner, and another according to that.

* and with your spirit, which are God's. R. T.

† due benevolence. R. T.

for fasting and prayer, R. T.

8 Now I say to widowers and to widows, It is good for 9 them if they remain even as I. But, if they have not

continence, let them marry for it is better to marry 10 than to burn. And to the married I command, yet not I

only but the Lord, that the wife depart not from her hus11 band (but if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband :) and that the husband do not put away his wife.

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But to the rest, I speak, not the Lord: If any brother have an unbelieving wife, and she choose to dwell with 13 him, let him not put her away. And if a woman have

an unbelieving husband, and he choose to dwell with her, 14 let her not put him away. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband. Otherwise, your children 15 are† unclean; but now they are holy. But if the unbelieving person depart, let such depart. The brother or the sister is not enslaved in such cases. However, God 16 hath called us to peace. For how knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O husband, whether thou shalt save thy wife?

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However, according as God hath distributed to every one, according as the Lord hath called every one, so let such walk. And thus I appoint in all the churches. 18 Hath any man been called, being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Hath any man been called in uncircumcision? let him not become circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing;

but the keeping of the commandments of God is every 20 thing. Let every one remain in that calling wherein he 21 was called. Wast thou called being a servant? care not 22 for it but if thou canst be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the free

his-her, N. Some expositors would place the 16th verse immediately after the 13th. Mr. Wakefield places it after the 14th.

would be, N.

‡ A brother or a sister, N.

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