Notes for WM 184:
I am
currently preaching through Matthew on Sunday pm; the 1689 confession on Sunday
pm; and teaching through 1 Cor on Wednesday evenings.
Last week we
were looking at 1 Cor 3:18-23 and spent some time discussing 1 Cor 3:23: “And
ye are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.”
We discussed
how an Arian (follower of Arius, the fourth century heretical teacher from Alexandria
might have misused this passage).
Arius taught
that Son of God was an exalted creature incarnate in Jesus, but that he was
subordinate to the Father.
The
controversy over Arian’s teaching is what prompted the Council of Nicaea and
the Nicene Creed that was affirmed in it.
What other
passages would the Arians have appealed to?
1 Cor 11:3;
John 14:26; Mark 13:32; 1 Cor 15:28.
See the
letter of Arius to Eusebius of Nicomedia:
Orthodox
responses to heterodox interpretations of 1 Cor 3:23:
When Paul
says “And ye are Christ’s and Christ is God’s,” he could have been thinking of
Christ’s work as the incarnate mediator. Cf. John 1:18: “No man has seen God at
any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath
declared him.”
Other key passage:
On the
incarnation: Phil 2:5-11 (esp. vv. 5-6);
On Paul’s
declaration that Jesus is Lord: Phil 2:11; Rom 10:9; 1 Cor 12:3; cf. 1 Tim
3:16.
The Gospel
declarations that Jesus is equal in essence with God: Mark 2:5-7; John 10:30;
John 20:28.
We need “all
the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).
See Calvin’s
commentary on 1 Cor 3:23:
Calvin is
keenly aware of how this passage might be misused.
He likely is
looking back to the Arians, and perhaps also looking around at his own day and
the revival of Arianism, or Unitarianism, in some circles. And he, no doubt,
was also looking forward to dangers that might arise on the horizon.
Conclusion:
Study of 1
Cor 3:23 demonstrates the need for care in rightly dividing the Word of God (2
Tim 2:15).
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