-
Corinthians, Letters to theAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
making it necessary for him to defend his apostolic position; really, it was not for himself, but “it was for God,” that is, to save the congregation that belonged to God, that Paul spoke very strongly in his letter, and ‘boasted’ of his credentials as an apostle.—2 Cor. 5:12, 13; 10:7-12; 11:16-20, 30-33; 12:11-13.
OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
I. Paul’s attestation of sincerity and love for the Corinthians (1:1–7:16)
A. Reason for not visiting a second time until now (1:15-24)
B. His concern for their welfare (2:1-13)
1. Admonishes forgiveness of man previously rebuked, so that they will not become harsh and unforgiving toward repentant ones
2. Paul’s unrest in spirit because of not finding Titus at Troas
C. Paul and his associates no peddlers of God’s word, but adequately qualified ministers of the new covenant (2:14–7:16)
1. Corinthians are letter of recommendation written on hearts (3:1-3)
2. Paul and associates have freeness of speech from Jehovah the Spirit and reflect his glory (3:4–4:6)
3. Although enduring much, as earthen vessels, they continue doing everything possible to carry out commission as “ambassadors substituting for Christ” (4:7–6:10)
4. With widened hearts they appeal to the Corinthians to “widen out” in their affections (6:11–7:4)
a. Paul and associates have set proper example in love
b. Corinthians should respond by separateness from unbelievers and from every uncleanness
5. Paul’s great comfort at report of response to first letter—their sadness, repentance, righting of the wrong (7:5-16)
II. Exhortation to help distressed brothers in Judea (8:1–9:15)
A. Macedonians set a good example (8:1-9)
B. Paul appreciates Corinthians’ readiness on this point; sends Titus and other faithful brothers to assist in the arrangements (8:10-24)
C. Give from the heart; Jehovah the Supplier will multiply the products of such righteousness (9:1-10)
D. Their generosity will result in mutual love and thanks and glory to God on part of those assisted (9:11-15)
III. Argument against troublesome false apostles (10:1–12:21)
A. Paul will use spiritual weapons against them to bring every thought of the Corinthians in obedience to the Christ (10:1-6)
B. Answer to opposers as to Paul’s being “weak,” ‘in territory belonging to them,’ “inferior,” “unskilled in speech,” “unreasonable,” and their claim that he proved he is not an apostle like they are when he humbled himself by doing some secular work for support (10:7–12:21)
1. False apostles really ministers of Satan (11:12-15)
2. They take what the brothers have, exalt selves over them, ‘strike them in the face,’ and boast unreasonably over fleshly connections (11:16-20)
3. Paul equal in genealogy, superior in marks of persecution for Christ, in care for the congregations, visions and signs of apostleship (11:21–12:21)
a. Vision of paradise
b. Portents and powerful works
C. Coming second time after previous attempt (13:1-14)
1. Hopes to find them in better spirit; if necessary he will take strong action
2. Prays for their well-being; explains that he wrote in this strong way to restore them, bring unity
LIGHT SHED ON SCRIPTURES PREVIOUSLY WRITTEN
Paul fortified his arguments by use of the Hebrew Scriptures in his inspired letters to the Corinthians. When exposing the foolishness of worldly wisdom as displayed by the false apostles he proved the importance of getting the superior wisdom of God by pointing out what the psalmist had said to a generation centuries before, that “the thoughts of men . . . are as an exhalation” (Ps. 94:11; 1 Cor. 3:20), and by asking what Isaiah had asked the rebellious Jews: “Who has taken the proportions of the spirit of Jehovah, and who . . . can make him know anything?” (Isa. 40:13; 1 Cor. 2:16) Paul proved that the Christian minister has a right to receive material aid by showing that Deuteronomy 25:4, “You must not muzzle a bull while it is threshing,” really was written primarily for the ministers’ sakes. (1 Cor. 9:9, 10) He demonstrated that God had long ago promised a resurrection, by calling on the statements at Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14, about swallowing up death. (1 Cor. 15:54, 55) Additionally, he shed much light on the Lord’s evening meal by his detailed discussion of Jesus’ words spoken at the time He established the observance.—Luke 22:19, 20; 1 Cor. 11:23-34.
Paul demonstrated what God’s attitude had always been as to spiritual cleanness by quoting from or alluding to Deuteronomy 17:7; Leviticus 26:11, 12; Isaiah 43:6; 52:11 and Hosea 1:10. (1 Cor. 5:13; 2 Cor. 6:14-18) He showed that the matter of material giving had not been overlooked by God’s servants in the past and that the generous Christian is viewed favorably by Jehovah. (Ps. 112:9; 2 Cor. 9:9) And he indicated that the principle in the Law of establishing every matter at the mouth of two or three witnesses applies in the Christian congregation. (Deut. 19:15; 2 Cor. 13:1) These and other references to scriptures written beforehand illustrate these texts and clarify their application for us.—See the book “All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial,” pp. 208-216.
-
-
CormorantAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
CORMORANT
(Cor’mo·rant) [Heb., sha·lakhʹ, plunger].
This bird appears only in the list of unclean birds under the Mosaic law, a list that prohibits the eating of birds most of which basically are birds of prey and carrion eaters, although there appear to be exceptions, such as the hoopoe and the swan. (Lev. 11:17; Deut. 14:17) The verb from which the name is drawn means “to throw, fling or cast”; thus the Egyptian fishers at the Nile are de-scribed as “casting [from Heb., sha·lakhʹ] fishhooks” into the river. (Isa. 19:8) The translators of the Greek Septuagint understood the bird to be the ka·ta·raʹktes, the Greek name of a bird that dives into the water and swims in pursuit of fish, while the Latin Vulgate uses mergulus (the “diver”) to indicate the bird. It, therefore seems evident that some fish-eating, diving bird is represented by the Hebrew term, and most translations consider the cormorant to be the most likely type, since it is quite common in Palestine, particularly along the Mediterranean coast and also in certain inland
-