1Cor 4:19, Jam 4:15 | Barnes | STEP | Verse 19. 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 . And will know . I will examine; I will put to the test; I will fully understand. Not the speech , etc. 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 rigour, or dignity and composed confidence, be easily paralleled, even in Demosthenes himself." (a) "if the Lord" (&) "will" "permit" (b) "but the power"

1 Corinthians 4:19

Verse 19. 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 Jas 4:15.

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

Not the speech, etc. 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 rigour, or dignity and composed confidence, be easily paralleled, even in Demosthenes himself."

(a) "if the Lord" Jas 4:15 (&) "will" "permit" (b) "but the power" Gal 2:6

James 4:15

Verse 15. For that ye ought to say. Instead of what you do say, "we will go into such a city," you ought rather to recognise your absolute dependence on God, and feel that life and success are subject to his will. The meaning is not that we ought always to be saying that in so many words, for this might become a mere ostentatious form, offensive by constant unmeaning repetition; but we are, in the proper way, to recognise our dependence on him, and to form all our plans with reference to his will.

If the Lord will, etc. This is proper, because we are wholly dependent on him for life, and as dependent on him for success, he alone can keep us, and he only can make our plans prosperous. In a thousand ways he can thwart our best-laid schemes, for all things are under his control. We need not travel far in life to see how completely all that we have is in the hands of God, or to learn how easily he can frustrate us if he pleases. There is nothing on which the success of our plans depends over which we have absolute control; there is nothing, therefore, on which we can base the assurance of success but his favour.