1 Corinthians 4:19

1Co 4:19. Ἐλεύσομαι, I will come) Paul writes to the churches everywhere about his coming to them, and thus keeps them in the discharge of their duty.—ἐὰν ὁ Κύριος θελήσῃ, if the Lord will) He wisely adds this condition. Afterwards some things occurred to prevent his immediately going to them.—γνώσομαι, will take cognizance) A word used in courts of law. Here, and at 1Co 4:21, the man, who was such an outcast abroad in the world, shows his paternal authority, see 1Co 4:9-10.—οὐ τὸν λόγον, not the speech) big, but empty.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_4:19. Ἐλεύσομαι δέ] the contrast emphatically put first: come, however, I will.

ταχέως] Comp Php_2:24; 2Ti_4:9. As to how long he thought of still remaining in Ephesus, see 1Co_16:8.

Ὁ ΚΎΡΙΟς] to be understood not of Christ, but of God. See the critical remarks on Rom_15:32. Comp Rom_1:10; Jam_4:15.

ΓΝΏΣΟΜΑΙ] what and how the boasters speak (τὸν λόγον), Paul will, on his approaching visit, leave wholly without notice; but as regards the amount of energy put forth by them in producing results for the kingdom of God, of that he will take knowledge.

τὴν δύναμ.] namely, their power of working for the advancement of the βασιλ. τ. Θεοῦ, 1Co_4:20. To explain it as referring to the power of miracles (Chrysostom, Theophylact; not Grotius), or to the power of their virtues (Theodoret, Pelagius, Justin), is contrary to the context. Comp what Paul says of himself in 1Th_1:5. This practically effective might, which has for its primary condition the true power of the Spirit (of which de Wette understands it; we may recall Paul himself, Luther, etc.), was what the boasters seemed to have, but they let the matter rest at words, which were altogether lacking in the strength to effect anything. How wholly otherwise it was with Paul himself! Comp 1Co_2:4; 2Co_6:7.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_4:19

But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.

In opposition to this boasting of his opponents, Paul declares his purpose soon to visit Corinth, if the Lord (i.e. Christ) will. Comp. 1Co_16:7 and Act_16:7. This is a recognition both of the providential and spiritual government of Christ. It supposes the external circumstances, and the inward state of the apostle, his purposes and convictions of duty, to be determined by the providence and Spirit of Christ. Thus constantly did Paul live in communion with Christ as his God, submitting to him and trusting to him at all times.

And will know not the speech but the power of those who are puffed up. That is, not what they can say, but what they can do. By power (δύναμις) some understand miraculous power, which does not suit the context. Others confine it to spiritual power, that is, the power derived from the Spirit. The word is sometimes used for the essential power, or true nature and efficacy of a thing. And this sense best suits the antithesis between speech and power. Paul meant to put to the test, not what these men could say, but what they really were and did; that is, their true character and efficiency. Comp. 1Th_1:5; 2Ti_3:5. Having the form of godliness, but denying the power (δύναμιν) thereof, i.e. its real nature and efficacy.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By words, he meaneth their painted and colored kind of eloquence, against which he setteth the virtue of the Spirit.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

ALFORD translates, "But come I will"; an emphatical negation of their supposition (Co1 4:18).

shortly--after Pentecost (Co1 16:8).

if the Lord will--a wise proviso (Jam 4:15). He does not seem to have been able to go as soon as he intended.

and will know--take cognizance of.

but the power--I care not for their high-sounding "speech," "but" what I desire to know is "their power," whether they be really powerful in the Spirit, or not. The predominant feature of Grecian character, a love for power of discourse, rather than that of godliness, showed itself at Corinth.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 19. But I will come to you shortly] God being my helper, I fully purpose to visit you; and then I shall put those proud men to the proof, not of their speech - eloquence, or pretensions to great knowledge and influence, but of their power - the authority they profess to have from God, and the evidences of that authority in the works they have performed. See the Introduction, sect. xi.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

19. But I will come shortly. “They are in a mistake,” says he, “in raising their crests during my absence, as though this were to be of long duration, for they shall in a short time perceive how vain their confidence has been.” He has it not, however, so much in view to terrify them, as though he would on his arrival thunder forth against them, but rather presses and bears down upon their consciences, for, however they might disguise it, they were aware that he was furnished with divine influence.

The clause, if the Lord will, intimates, that we ought not to promise anything to others as to the future, or to determine with ourselves, without adding this limitation in so far as the Lord will permit Hence James with good reason derides the rashness of mankind (James 4:15) in planning what they are to do ten years afterwards, while they have not security for living even a single hour. We are not, it is true, bound by a constant necessity to the use of such forms of expression, but it is the better way to accustom ourselves carefully to them, that we may exercise our minds from time to time in this consideration — that all our plans must be in subjection to the will of God.

And I will know not the speech By speech you must understand that prating in which the false apostles delighted themselves, for they excelled in a kind of dexterity and gracefulness of speech, while they were destitute of the zeal and efficacy of the Spirit. By the term power, he means that spiritual efficacy, with which those are endowed who dispense the word of the Lord with earnestness. The meaning, therefore, is: “I shall see whether they have so much occasion for being puffed up; and I shall not judge of them by their mere outward talkativeness, in which they place the sum-total of their glory, and on the ground of which they claim for themselves every honor. If they wish to have any honor from me, they must bring forward that power which distinguishes the true servants of Christ from the merely pretended: otherwise I shall despise them, with all their show. It is to no purpose, therefore, that they confide in their eloquence, for I shall reckon it nothing better than smoke.”

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

19. if the Lord will] See Jas_4:13-15, who “justly derides that rashness among men, in that they plan what they shall do ten years hence, when they are not certain that they shall live another hour.” Calvin in loc. The Roman Catholic commentator, Estius, makes a similar observation.

not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power] The power that is derived from Christ, which He Himself possessed to influence the heart of man. Such seems to be the more usual meaning of the word δύναμις in St Paul’s Epistles. Cf. Rom_1:16; 1Co_2:4, &c. It includes, no doubt, the power of working miracles, for with one or two exceptions, the miracles of the gospel were manifestations of Christ’s power to deliver humanity from the dominion of evil and its consequences.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But I will come to you shortly,.... This he said as threatening them, but not by way of prophecy; for it is not certain that he ever did come to them after this; but by way of promise, as it was then the real intention, inclination, and resolution of his mind, though with this condition,

if the Lord will; which is rightly put, and what the apostle had a continual regard unto, in all things he was concerned; see Rom 1:10 and though it is not absolutely necessary that this should be expressed by us always in so many words; though should it, as the sentence is short and full, there would be no impropriety in it; yet this should always be the sense of our minds and conduct in all the affairs of life; see Jam 4:13

and will know not the speech of them that are puffed up, but the power; meaning chiefly the false teachers; and that his concern would be, not so much to observe their masterly language, the eloquence of their speech, the quaintness of their expressions, the cadency of their words, how nicely they were put together, and how fitly pronounced; but what life there was in their ministry, what power went forth with their words, and how effectual their preaching was to the, conversion of sinners, and the edifying of the church of God.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.

Ver. 19. Not the speech of them which are puffed up] Dicta factis deficientibus, erubescunt. Malo autem miserandum quam erubescendum, saith Tertullian, either add practice, or leave profession for shame.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But I will come - It is from no fear of them that I am kept away; and to convince them of this I will come to them speedily.

If the Lord will - If the Lord permit; if by his providence he allows me to go. Paul regarded the entering on a journey as dependent on the will of God; and felt that God had all in his hand. No purpose should be formed without a reference to his will; no plan without feeling that he can easily frustrate it and disappoint us; see Jam 4:15.

And will know - I will examine; I will put to the test; I will fully understand,

Not the speech ... - Not their vain and empty boasting; not their confident assertions, and their self-complacent views.

But the power - Their real power. I will put their power to the proof: I will see whether they are able to effect what they affirm; whether they have more real power than I have. I will enter fully into the work of discipline, and will ascertain whether they have such authority in the church, such a power of party and of combination, that they can resist me, and oppose my administration of the discipline which the church needs. “A passage,” says Bloomfield, “which cannot, in nerve and rigor, or dignity and composed confidence, be easily paralleled, even in Demosthenes himself.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

But I will come to you shortly: Paul intended in his journey to Rome to pass through Macedonia and Achaia, but he knew that God could hinder him, and therefore he adds, if the Lord will: neither did Paul go to them so soon as he intended, but had time before he went to write another Epistle, as we shall afterwards find. All Christians are bound, when they promise or resolve upon any journeys, to understand, if God will, and to have in their thoughts the power of God to hinder them, and to speak with submission to his pleasure, who counteth their steps and telleth their wanderings, and ordereth their steps; though they be not strictly bound at all times to use this form of speech.

And will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power: and when I come, then I shall understand these teachers of yours, who so vilify me; I shall not regard so much their fine words and philosophical reasonings, as what there is of spiritual life and power in them; either in their doctrine or life, how conducive it is to the ends of the gospel, and how consonant to the truth of the gospel, what good they do amongst you, what manner of lives they live: these are the things that my eyes shall be upon, and which I shall regard.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

19. I will come—Emphatic will, if not defiant.

Lord will—A reverent proviso qualifying the defiance. See Jas_4:15.

Will know—By direct issue and full experiment.

Not the speech of them—Which is all we have thus far had.

Power—Their efficiency in refuting my gospel and impeaching my apostolic authority to preach it.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I will come to you shortly. (Php_2:24; 2Ti_4:9 He came soon after writing the Second Epistle. At this time he was preparing to leave Ephesus; (1Co_16:8) his actual departure was precipitated by the tumult. (Act_20:1, Act_20:2) If the Lord will. The apostolic use of the phrase was something more than a mere form. (Rom_15:32; Heb_6:3; Jam_4:15) it expressed a real and humble spirit of dependence. Not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. He will use his gift of spiritual discernment to discover whether the haughty self assertion and sounding phraseology of these inflated partisans would not collapse when confronted with real authority. The "speech" was there in abundance; but was there anything genuine, any real spiritual force, behind it?

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I will know - He here shows his fatherly authority Not the big, empty speech of these vain boasters, but how much of the power of God attends them.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

19. “I will come unto you quickly, if the Lord will, and I will not know the word of those who are puffed up, but the dynamite:

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But I will come to you shortly [as he did], if the Lord will [ Jam_4:15 ]; and I will know, not the word of them that are puffed up, but the power . [I will test not their rhetorical ability, but their power, whether they can stand against that which I possess as an apostle.]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

19. I will come to you shortly. If God permitted, he would soon follow (1 Cor. 16:7, 8), and would put to the test those puffed up. Not the speech, … but the power. He will confront these vain boasters, and see what power is behind their swelling words.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

I will come to you

"I will visit you"

What do you want?

Paul was making a last appeal to the Corinthians, as he has been rebuking them for the errors they had made. AT: "Tell me what you want to happen now" (See: Rhetorical Question)

Shall I come to you with a rod or with love and in a spirit of gentleness

Paul is offering the Corinthians two opposing attitudes he could use when approaching them. AT: "If you want, I can come to punish you, or I can come to show you how much I love you by being gentle with you" (See: Rhetorical Question)

of gentleness

"of kindness" or "of tenderness"

translationWords

will of God

arrogant

power

kingdom of God

rod

love

spirit

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

19. ἐὰν ὁ κύριος θελήσῃ. See Jas 4:13-15, who ‘justly derides that rashness among men, in that they plan what they shall do ten years hence, when they are not certain that they shall live another hour.’ Calvin in loc. The Roman Catholic commentator, Estius, makes a similar observation.

ἀλλὰ τὴν δύναμιν. The power that is derived from Christ, which He Himself possessed to influence the heart of man for good. Such seems to be the more usual meaning of the word δύναμις in St Paul’s Epistles. Cf. Rom 1:16; 1Co 2:4, &c. It includes, no doubt, the power of working miracles. But these, after all, are but particular cases of the general principle above enunciated, for with one or two exceptions, the miracles of the Gospel were manifestations of Christ’s power to deliver humanity from the dominion of evil and its consequences.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19.] ἐλεύσομαι is prefixed, for emphasis, being the matter in doubt: as we say, ‘Come I will.’

ταχέως] How soon, see ch. 16:8.

γνώσομαι] I will inform myself of—not the words of those who are puffed up (those I care not for), but their power: whether they are really mighty in the Spirit, or not. This general reference of δύν. must be kept, and not narrowed, as Chrys., Theophyl., to [the] power of working miracles: or “quantum apud vos sua scientia et doctrina quam jactant profecerint,” Est.; or virtuous lives (Theodoret, al.), or energy in the work of the gospel (Meyer): he leaves it general and indefinite.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. ἐλεύσομαι δὲ ταχέως. He intends remaining at Ephesus till Pentecost (16:8). His plans, and changes of plan, and the charges made against him about his proposed visit, are discussed in 2Co 1:15, 2Co 1:16, 2Co 1:23.

ἐὰν ὁ Κύριος θελήσῃ. A solemn touch; cf. 16:7; Jas 4:15. It is impossible, and not very important, to decide whether ὁ Κύριος means our Lord or the Father. Our Lord has just been mentioned; on the other hand, in connexion with θέλειν or θέλημα, God is commonly meant. We have a similar doubt 1Th 3:12.

γνώσομαι οὐ τ. λόγον … ἀλλὰ τ. δύναμιν. ‘Their words I shall ignore; they proceed from persons whose heads are turned with conceit; but their power I shall put to the proof.’ This, as Godet remarks, is the language of a judge who is about to conduct a trial. ‘The power’ certainly does not mean that of working miracles (Chrys.); but rather that of winning men over to a Christian life. In 2:4, 5 we had the antithesis between λόγος and δύναμις in a different form.

For τῶν πεφυσιωμένων, L has τὸν πεφυσιόμενον: some cursives and Origen support the reading, but no editors adopt it. Before these words F inserts αὐτῶν.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vv. 19, 20. “But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will; and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. 20. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.”

The δέ is again adversative: “But this malicious forecast will be falsified.” The γνώσομαι, I will know, is the language of a judge proceeding to make an examination. This term has already a threatening solemnity; it gives a forewarning of the judgment about to follow (1Co 4:21).

Paul contrasts the word, here the fine discourses, the eloquent tirades, the profound deductions, which called forth the plaudits of the hearers, with the power; by which he designates the effectual virtue of the Divine Spirit which brings back souls to themselves, makes them contrite, leads them to Christ, and begets them to a new life. Paul will find out whether, with this abundance of talk which makes itself heard in the assemblies (chap. 14), there is found or there is lacking the creative breath of the Spirit. He is at home in this field; he will not be deceived like those poor dupes who have been misled at Corinth.

Them that are puffed up: all those self-inflated creatures, under whose eyes scandals are passing which they cannot or will not repress, who have only an insipid Christianity, and to whom applies the figure of salt without savour. Chap. 5, 1Co 4:2 in particular will show clearly what was already in the apostle’s mind.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.