Sermon Tone Analysis

Having to defend yourself when you are serving Jesus is foolish!

The reasons for indulging him are three: first, Paul’s divine jealousy for the Corinthians’ purity; second, their willingness to put up with an aberrant message; and third, because he is in no way inferior to his rivals.

Belleville

This is a personal attack Paul is dealing with.

All through this section Paul has to adopt methods which are completely distasteful to him.

He has to stress his own authority, to boast about himself and to keep comparing himself with those who are seeking to seduce the Corinthian Church; and he does not like it.

He apologizes every time he has to speak in such a way, for he was not a man to stand on his dignity.

It was said of a great man, “He never remembered his dignity until others forgot it.”

But Paul knew that it was not really his dignity and honour that were at stake, but the dignity and the honour of Jesus Christ.

Barclay

Paul is being sarcastic still.

“You bear with others...bear a little with me now...”

You cut others some slack, how about cut me some slack now...

This is paternal jealousy!!!

The motive of Paul’s critics in citing what they had done was self-glorification, but Paul’s was the welfare of his readers.

This is the first of three reasons that Paul gave for the Corinthians to bear with him (v.

1).

He wanted them to be completely loyal to Christ.

Constable

Paul is crazy passionate about the purity of God’s people, about their faithfulness to Jesus.

Murray J. Harris astutely observes, “Human jealousy is a vice, but to share divine jealousy is a virtue.”

Jealousy is recorded in the Decalogue: “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,” as a command to the Israelites that idolatry is not tolerated (; ).

God’s zeal for his people results in blessings when they obey and curses when they disobey ()...He guards them like a father who watches protectively over his daughter before she is given in marriage to her future husband.

“I gave you in marriage to one man, to Christ, to present you as a pure virgin to him.”

Every word in this illustration is filled with meaning and has been chosen carefully.

Paul presents himself as a parent who has sought and found a suitable husband for his marriageable daughter.

He is responsible for the spiritual purity of the Corinthian congregation, which he wants to present to Christ.

The Old Testament depicts the betrothal of Israel as bride and God as bridegroom (e.g., ; ; ).

Also, the New Testament often mentions the spiritual relationship of the bride, which is the church, and the bridegroom, who is Christ (; ; ; ; ; ).

Notice that Paul says “I gave you in marriage,” a translation of the Greek word hērmosamēn.

The basic meaning of this verb is “to fit together” (we have the derivative harmony) and, next, “to join or give in marriage, betroth.”

The church in Corinth is engaged to be married, while Paul serves as friend of the bridegroom and guardian of the bride.

He wants the bride to be faithful to her future husband.

The phrase to one man illustrates divinely intended monogamy in which one man and one woman pledge faithfulness to one another.

The man is Christ and the woman the Corinthian church.

Christ’s loyalty to the church is faultless and need not be mentioned; but the fidelity of the Corinthians demands Paul’s protective care and watchfulness.

In the oriental culture of that day, an engagement was equivalent to marriage without consummation.

The betrothal period lasted for one year, during which bride and bridegroom prepared for the wedding ceremony.

From the day of her betrothal, the woman legally was the wife of her future husband but she remained a virgin until the wedding day.

In addition, the engagement might not be broken.

If this happened, it was considered a divorce.

Only death might end an engagement.

Unfaithfulness of either party was regarded as adultery and had to be disciplined accordingly.

The bride had to remain a virgin to be presented to her husband.

So Paul exerts himself to keep the church pure from doctrine contrary to the gospel as he strives to present her to Christ.

The last part of this verse augurs a bright future in which Christ as bridegroom and the church as bride will be together in full communion.

To borrow a thought, God’s people see “only a shadow of the good things that are coming” (see ). Nonetheless, while on earth the church must be ready to appear before Christ without wrinkle or blemish in holiness and purity ().

Kistemaker

Be loyal to God---God’s jealousy for His holy name and for His people is a major Old Testament theme.

In God said, “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” reveals that one of God’s names is “Jealous.”

describes the Lord as “a consuming fire, a jealous God” (cf. ; ; ; ), while and 21 reveal that His holy jealousy is provoked when His people worship idols (cf.

; ).

In God declares, “I shall be jealous for My holy name.”

Like David, who wrote in , “Zeal for [God’s] house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach [Him] have fallen on me” (cf.

), Paul felt pain when God was dishonored.

That pain produced a “daily pressure on [him] of concern for all the churches” (), particularly for those believers who were weak and led into sin (11:29).

He was especially concerned that the Corinthians offer God the loyal, loving obedience in which He rejoices and of which He is worthy (cf.

; ; , , ; ; ; ; ; ; ).

Be loyal to Jesus---When Paul preached the gospel to them, he betrothed the Corinthians to one husband.

At salvation, they pledged their loyalty to Christ, and Paul wanted to make sure they remained faithful.

As their spiritual father (), Paul was determined to present them as a pure virgin to Christ.

Having been engaged to Him at salvation, the Corinthians (like all church-age believers) will be presented to Christ at the Rapture (cf. ) and have their marriage supper during the millennial kingdom ().

Paul’s overriding concern was that the church remain pure for her Bridegroom (cf. ).

MacArthur

We may define the purity of the church as follows: The purity of the church is its degree of freedom from wrong doctrine and conduct, and its degree of conformity to God’s revealed will for the church...The unity of the church is its degree of freedom from divisions among true Christians.

Factors that make a church “more pure” include:

1. Biblical doctrine (or right preaching of the Word)

2. Proper use of the sacraments (or ordinances)

3. Right use of church discipline

4. Genuine worship

5. Effective prayer

6. Effective witness

7. Effective fellowship

8. Biblical church government

9. Spiritual power in ministry

10.

Personal holiness of life among members

11.

Care for the poor

12. Love for Christ  

 Christ’s goal for the church is “that he might sanctify her having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing that she might be holy and without blemish” ().

Paul’s ministry was one of “warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ” ().

Moreover, Paul told Titus that elders must “be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to confute those who contradict it” (), and he said that false teachers “must be silenced” ().

Jude urged Christians to “contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” ().

Proper use of the sacraments is commanded in , and right use of church discipline to protect the purity of the church is required in , .

Of course, if we are to work for the purity of the church, especially of the local church of which we are a part, we must recognize that this is a process, and that any church of which we are a part will be somewhat impure in various areas.

There were no perfect churches at the time of the New Testament and there will be no perfect churches until Christ returns.

This means that Christians have no obligation to seek the purest church they can find and stay there, and then leave it if an even purer church comes to their attention.

Rather, they should find a true church in which they can have effective ministry and in which they will experience Christian growth as well, and then should stay there and minister, continually working for the purity of that church.

God will often bless their prayers and faithful witness and the church will gradually grow in many areas of purity.

Grudem

He begins by using a vivid picture from Jewish marriage customs.

The idea of Israel as the bride of God is common in the Old Testament.

“Your Maker,” said Isaiah, “is your husband.”

().

“As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”

().

So it was natural for Paul to use the metaphor of marriage and to think of the Corinthian Church as the bride of Christ.

At a Jewish wedding there were two people called the friends of the bridegroom, one representing the bridegroom and one the bride.

They had many duties.

They acted as liaisons between the bride and the bridegroom; they carried the invitations to the guests; but they had one particular responsibility, that of guaranteeing the chastity of the bride.

That is what is in Paul’s thought here.

In the marriage of Jesus Christ and the Corinthian Church he is the friend of the bridegroom.

It is his responsibility to guarantee the chastity of the bride, and he will do all he can to keep the Corinthian Church pure and a fit bride for Jesus Christ.

Barclay

with a godly jealousy Not resentment or envy, but intense devotion—like the devotion God had for His own people ().

Paul planted the church in Corinth, but they rebelled against him; Paul considers it his responsibility to bring them back to genuine faith through his godly jealousy (zeloō in Greek).