14 If any Man's Work abide which he hat built thereupon, he hall receive a Reward,

14.

241

for their Works fhall be tried, and they treated accordingly. Kind it is (b). It shall stand a fevere Exami- Sect. 4. nation, which will as foon expofe the Vanity of many Things, which fome admired Preachers 1 Cor. III. value themselves upon, and for which they are extolled by their Hearers, as the Flame of fome mighty Burning fhews the Difference between the Stability of a ftraw Roof, and a marble Wall. And then if any Man's Superftructure abide the Teft, and be approved, he will not only have the Comfort of it in his own Mind, which is an immediate and permanent Satisfaction; but he shall also receive a glorious Reward from Chrift, the great Head of the Church, and Proprietor of the Building, in Comparison of which the Applaufes of Men, or any Thing they can bestow, deserve not to be mentioned by the Name of a Reward. But if any Man's Work 15 be then burnt up; if, on that Trial it he found like the combustible and, mean Materials, which I reprefented by the Wood, the Hay, and the Stubble; the Confequence is, that he will fuftain a proportionable Lofs (c). He will find he has been spending his Time and Strength to little Purpose, and has loft a great Deal of that Reward which he might, through Divine Grace, have secured, had he applied himself with Vigor and Zeal to the proper Labours of a Gofpelminifter. Yet, if he be upon the whole a good Man, who bath built upon Chrift as the Foundation, and, on the Terms of the Gospel, committed his Soul to him, he shall himself be faved, and find Mercy of the Lord; tho' in Comparison with that more abundant Entrance into his King

15 If any Man's Work fhall be burnt he shall fuffer

Lofs: But he himself fhall

be

dom

(b) The Day fhall prove every Man's Work.] It is fo very unnatural, with Dr. Whitby, to interpret this of the Time of the Destruction of Jerufalem, or of any approaching Perfecutions of the Chriftian Church, that one cannot but wonder, that Criticks of Character should have adopted fuch a Sense.

(c) Suffer a proportionable Lofs.] I cannot but fear, that an Application to fuch Niceties of unprofitable Learning, as thofe, in which fome, who have the Charge of Souls, fpend almost the Whole of their Time, to the Neglect of the Vitals of Chriftianity, will be found in this Day, loft Labour. Tho' fuch as employ themselves chiefly to inculcate in their Preachings, Doctrines, Ceremonies or Forms of human Invention, come nearer the Cafe immediately referred to here.-L' Enfant refers this Lofs to the Reproach and Shame, which fuch fhall fuffer before the Tribunal of Chrift.

VOL. IV.

Hh

(d) Thro'

242 Sect. 6.

1 Cor. III.

15.

16

Chriftians are the Temple of GOD:

Fire.

dom which others will have, it may be faid, that be faved; yet fo, as by
he is faved with extreme Difficulty, and as a Man
whofe Houfe is in Flames while he is in it, and
who is therefore forced with great Terror to ef
cape thro' the Fire (d), fuftaining the Lofs of
every Thing, but his Life.

your

Again, before I difmifs this Topick of
being the Building of GOD, let me lead you into
fome farther Reflections, and afk you ferioufly,
Know ye not that you are the Temple of GOD (e)?
that the whole Body of Chriftian Converts is de-
dicated to his peculiar Service, and honoured by
his moft gracious Prefence, as the Spirit of GOD
dwelleth in you, and you thereby appear to be
17 confecrated to himself? Now if any one de-
file, or deftroy the Temple of GOD, it may well
be apprehended, that GOD, ever jealous of his
own Honour, will deftroy him. And you may
affure yourselves from this View, that whatever
Preaching, or whatever Conduct, tends to di-
minish its Purity and Glory, will be very feverely
refented by him; even much more than the Vi-
olation of the Place, (great as that Impiety

iii. 2.

and

16 Know ye not that ye

are the Temple of GOD, and that the Spirit of GoD dwelleth in you?

(d) Thro' the Fire.] To be as a Brand plucked out of the Burning, is well known, as a proverbial Expreffion, to fignify a narrow Efcape from extreme Danger. Compare Zech. Amos iv. II. and efpecially Ifai. xxxiii. II, 12. to which fome have thought the Apofile here alludes. Aia Tugos, (Jude 23.) is put for paffing thro' the Fire, as di udalos, (1 Pet. iii. 20.) fignifies to be faved from the Water by paffing thro' it, as the Ark did. The learned Elfner, who urges and illuftrates thefe Inftances, fhews that the most approved Heathen Writers ufe the Phrafe in this Senfe, (Obferv. Vol. ii. pag. 78.) Many Divines have well fhewn, how far this Text is from giving any Support to a popifh Purgatory. And tho' Mr Fleming follows many of the ancient Fathers, in explaining it of fome Terror, or Pain, which Chiftians of very imperfect Character may be expofed to, when they rife, (as he supposes they will,) amidst the Flames of the laft Conflagration; (Flem. First Refur. pag. 44.) the Text will admit fo fair a Senfe on the Interpretation here given, that I cannot perfuade myself from hence, without farther Evidence, that Numbers of holy Souls, who have long been glorified in Heaven, will be reunited to their Bodies, which are to be raised in Glory, to be in the first Moments of that Union terrified and tormented; tho' it fhould be but for ever fo fhort a Time. That the Pagans, as well as fome of the Fathers, had a Notion of fome fuch Purgatory, Elfner has fhewn in the Paflage cited above.

(e) You are the Temple of GOD.] Elfner hath many fine Paffages here, from Philo, Plato, and other Writers, in which they reprefent a virtuous Mind as the Temple of GOD, and in which Heathens fpeak in the higheft and ftrongeft Terms, of the Obligations Men are under, to keep these his Temples inviolate and unpolluted. And if, as Mr. Locke fuppofes, Paul's chief Oppofer was a Jew, the vaft Veneration he would of Course have for the Temple at Jerufalem, would add great Weight to this Argument with Refpect to him, and his Followers.

(f) Royal

نہ

243 Sect. 6.

17.

If any Man deftroy his Temple, GOD will deftroy him. GOD destroy: For the Tem- and Provocation was,) where he fo long caufed ple of God is holy, which his Name to dwell upon Mount Zion. For the Temple ye are. Temple of GOD, confidered as fuch, is undoubt- 1 Cor. III. edly boly and awful. Much more then must that be fo, which he hath erected by his Grace in the Breafts of intelligent Creatures, and fanctified to himself, as the everlasting Refidence of his peculiar Complacency. (Compare Ifai. lvii. 15. Chap. lxvi. 1, 2.) Now ye are this [Temple ;] each of you, if a true Chriftian, is fuch a facred Shrine, and the whole Chriftian Church the compleat and magnificent Building. It therefore becomes every Member of it, to be very careful how he behaves, and what he teaches among you; left he should commit an Evil, of the Enormity of which he may not be immediately

aware.vi

I know there are thofe among you, whofe Pride 18
and Self-conceit may lead them to defpife this
Admonition, efpecially as coming from me; but
let no Man deceive himfelf with vain Speculations
of his own Worth and Abilities. If any one of
you feem to be wife in this World, if he value him-
felf upon what is commonly called Wisdom
among Jews or Gentiles, let him become a Fool,
that he may be wife indeed. Let him humbly ac-
knowledge his own natural Ignorance and Folly,
and embrace that Gospel, which the Wisdom of
the World proudly and vainly derides as Foolish-
ness, if he defire to approve himself really and
substantially wife, and to reap at last, the Ho-
nours and Rewards of those who are truly fo in
the Sight of God. For all the boafted Wisdom 19
of this World is Foolishness with GOD, who with
one Glance fees thro' all its Vanity; as it is written,
(Job. v. 13.) He entangleth the Wife in their own
crafty Artifice, often ruining them by thofe De-
figns, which they had formed with the utmost
Efforts of human Policy, and were most intent
And again, it is faid elfe- 20
upon executing.
where, (Pfal. xciv. 11.) The Lord knoweth the
Thoughts of the Wife, that they are vain. He
fees, how they enfnare themselves in their own

244

Sect. 6.

Cor. III.

21.

Chriftians belong to Chrift, and all Things are theirs
Subtleties, and when they think themfelves moft
fagacious, are only amufed with their own So-
phiftry and Deceit.

of

glory in Men: For all Things are yours:

21 Therefore let no Man

ог

22 Whether Paul, World, or Life, or Death, Apollos, or Cephas, or the or Things prefent, or Things to come; all are yours;

Wherefore upon the whole, (that I may return
to the Point from whence I fet out,) confidering
all I have faid, and efpecially confidering in what
View the great GOD regards thefe Things, which
we are fo ready to value ourselves upon; let none
glory in Men, or divide themselves into Parties,
out of Attachment to this or that Teacher.
For all Things are yours, and we in particular,
are to be regarded, not as your Lords and Com-
manders, that you fhould lift under our Banners
22 but rather as your Servants. I except not my-
felf, or the most honoured among my Brethren;
whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, be in Quef-
tion, we are all equally yours, to ferve you to
the utmost of our Abilities, in the Advancement
your best Interefts. Yea, I may go farther,
and fay, whether we fpeak of the World, GOD
will give you so much of it, as fhall be for your
real Good; and indeed he fupports its whole
Frame in a great Measure for your Sakes: Or if
we furvey Life in all its various Conditions, or
Death, and all its folemn Harbingers and Atten-
dants, GoD will make the one, or the other, in
different Views advantageous to you, and will
adjust the Circumftances of both with the kindeft
Regard to your Happiness. Things prefent, or
future, the Comforts and Priviledges of this
Life on the one Hand, or its Afflictions and
Troubles on the other, and at Length, the
boundless Felicity of the eternal State, where
Affliction and Trouble fhall be no more known;
all are, thro' the Divine Grace, yours. Remem-
ber this, and let the Thought raise your Minds
above these little Things, which now occafion
fuch Contention between you; and be united
in Love, as GOD hath united you in Priviledges
and Hopes. And bear in Mind too, as the
Counterpart of this happy Detail, that ye [are] and Chriftis GOD's.
Chrift's, his Property, his Subjects, his People;

23

and let that engage you to attend to his Royal

Law

23 And ye are Chrift's

Reflections on the Treafures and Hopes of Chriftians,

Law of Charity (f), by which you may be pecu-
liarly known to be his. And as Chrift [is] GOD's,
and refers all his Services as Mediator, to his Fa-
ther's Glory, it will moft effectually promote that
great End of his Appearance, that you should
learn fuch a Subjection of Soul to him, and im-
bibe thofe candid and generous Sentiments, which
I am labouring to produce, and cherish in your
Minds.

IMPROVEMENT.

WITH what Delight may the Chriftian furvey this grand Inven

245 Sect. 6.

1 Cor. III.

23.

tory, and, conscious that he is Chrift's, call all Things his own! Ver. 21,-23. With what Pleasure survey the various Gifts and Graces of Minifters, and confider them as given by GOD for his Edification! With what Complacency look round on Things prefent, and forward on Things to come, in this Connection, and call the World his own; and count not only Life, but Death amongst his Treasures! Both, in their different Aspects, are fubfervient to the happy Purpose of glorifying GOD: And furely, when by Death we may do it more effectually, Death fhould be more welcome than Life. And welcome it must indeed be to every Believer, as the appointed Means of tranfmitting him to the Sight and Enjoyment of GOD, and the Poffeffion of better Bleffings, than Paul, or Apollos, could ever describe, or any Thing prefent, or any Thing to come in this World, could ever afford.

Let these sublime Views elevate the Chriftian above those Occasions of Contention, which, for Want of ascending to fuch noble Contemplations, are often the Source of innumerable Evils. And let us add to them, that other Confideration, that we are the Temples of the Holy Ver.16, 17. Ghoft; if Chriftians indeed, we are inhabited by GOD, even by his Spirit. Let this engage us to take the strictest Care, neither to defile ourselves, nor to injure our Brethren; left, in either View, it fhould be resented and punished by the holy GoD, as a facrilegious Profanation.

Let us not overvalue the Wisdom of this World, fince it is little regarded Ver. 19. by God; nor be greatly concerned, if Fools account our Wisdom, Fol

ly,

(f) Royal Law of Charity.] Nothing could have a greater Efficacy to put an End to the Contentions fo prevalent among the Chriftians at Corinth, than this Confideration of thefe high Priviledges and Hopes, which were common to them all; as it would tend to sweeten their Spirits, and infpire them with honourable and affectionate Sentiments with Refpect to their Brethren.

2