1 Corinthians 1:7

So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(7) So that ye come.—Not exactly as in the English, “so that ye come behind” (or, are wanting) “in no gift,” but “the result being that ye come behind others in no gift.” You have as fully as any others those spiritual gifts which sustain you and enable you to wait for the revelation (i.e., the second visible appearance, which the early Church expected would soon occur) of our Lord Jesus Christ, not with fear, or with impatience, but with a calm trustfulness (Luke 17:30; Titus 2:13).

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:1-9 All Christians are by baptism dedicated and devoted to Christ, and are under strict obligations to be holy. But in the true church of God are all who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, and who call upon him as God manifest in the flesh, for all the blessings of salvation; who acknowledge and obey him as their Lord, and as Lord of all; it includes no other persons. Christians are distinguished from the profane and atheists, that they dare not live without prayer; and they are distinguished from Jews and pagans, that they call on the name of Christ. Observe how often in these verses the apostle repeats the words, Our Lord Jesus Christ. He feared not to make too frequent or too honourable mention of him. To all who called upon Christ, the apostle gave his usual salutation, desiring, in their behalf, the pardoning mercy, sanctifying grace, and comforting peace of God, through Jesus Christ. Sinners can have no peace with God, nor any from him, but through Christ. He gives thanks for their conversion to the faith of Christ; that grace was given them by Jesus Christ. They had been enriched by him with all spiritual gifts. He speaks of utterance and knowledge. And where God has given these two gifts, he has given great power for usefulness. These were gifts of the Holy Ghost, by which God bore witness to the apostles. Those that wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, will be kept by him to the end; and those that are so, will be blameless in the day of Christ, made so by rich and free grace. How glorious are the hopes of such a privilege; to be kept by the power of Christ, from the power of our corruptions and Satan's temptations!

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

So that - God has so abundantly endowed you with his favors.

Ye come behind - ὑστερεῖσθαι hustereisthai. You are not missing, or deficient. The word is usually applied to destitution, want, or poverty; and the declaration here is synonymous with what he had said, 1 Corinthians 1:5, that they abounded in everything.

In no gift - In no favor, or gracious endowment. The word used here χάρισμα charisma, does not refer necessarily to extraordinary and miraculous endowments, but includes also all the kindnesses of God toward them in producing peace of mind, constancy, humility, etc. And the apostle meant evidently to say that they possessed, in rich abundance, all those endowments which were bestowed on Christians.

Waiting for - Expecting, or looking for this coming with glad and anxious desire. This was, certainly, one of the endowments to which he referred, to wit, that they had grace given them earnestly to desire, and to wait for the second appearing of the Lord Jesus. An earnest wish to see him, and a confident expectation and firm belief that he will return, is an evidence of a high state of piety. It demands strong faith, and it will do much to elevate the feelings above the world, and to keep the mind in a state of peace.

The coming ... - Greek The revelation - τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν tēn apokalupsin - the manifestation of the Son of God. That is, waiting for his return to judge the world, and for his approbation of his people on that Day. The earnest expectation of the Lord Jesus became one of the marks of early Christian piety. This return was promised by the Saviour to his anxious disciples, when he was about to leave them; John 14:3. The promise was renewed when he ascended to heaven; Acts 1:11. It became the settled hope and expectation of Christians that he would return; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 3:12; Hebrews 9:28. And with the earnest prayer that be would quickly come, John closes the volume of inspiration; Revelation 22:20-21.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

7. ye come behind—are inferior to other Christians elsewhere [Grotius].

in no gift—not that all had all gifts, but different persons among them had different gifts (1Co 12:4, &c.).

waiting for … coming of … Christ—The crowning proof of their "coming behind in no gift." Faith, hope, and love, are all exercised herein (compare 2Ti 4:8; Tit 2:13). "Leaving to others their MEMENTO MORI (remember death), do thou earnestly cherish this joyous expectation of the Lord's coming" [Bengel]. The Greek verb implies, "to expect constantly, not only for a certain time, but even to the end till the expected event happens" (Ro 8:19, [Tittmann, Greek Synonyms of the New Testament]).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Not that every one of them was filled with all the gifts of the blessed Spirit; but one excelled in one gift, another excelled in another, as the apostle expounds himself, 1 Corinthians 12:7,8; neither doth the apostle assert them perfect in their gifts, but saith that they came behind-hand, or were defective, in no gift; but were all waiting for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to judgment, of which he mindeth them, to encourage them to go on as they had began.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

So that ye come behind in no gift,.... Ordinary or extraordinary; a detail of the gifts which were bestowed on them is made in 1 Corinthians 12:8; by which it appears that they were not inferior in gifts to any of the churches:

waiting for the coming; or "the revelation"

of our Lord Jesus Christ; who will appear a second time, come in great glory, will raise the dead, and judge both quick and dead; when gifts will cease and be of no more use, and when they must all be accounted for; and therefore, till that time comes, should be diligently made use of, and improved to the interest and service of Christ; who will surely come again, and call his servants and churches to an account for the talents he has intrusted them with; and whose coming is to be believed, loved, looked, and hoped for by all, that love him in sincerity and truth.

Geneva Study Bible

So that ye come behind in no gift; {10} waiting for the {f} coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

(10) He says along the way that there is no reason why they should be so pleased in those gifts which they had received, seeing that those were nothing in comparison of those which are to be looked for.

(f) He speaks of the last coming of Christ.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

1 Corinthians 1:7. Result of τὸ μαρτ. τ. Χ. ἐβεβ. ἐν ὑμῖν, consequently parallel to ἐν παντὶ ἐπλουτ. ἐν αὐτᾷ. The negative expression μὴ ὑστερεῖσθαι ἐν is conceived quite after the analogy of the positive πλουτίζ. ἐν (see on 1 Corinthians 1:5), so that ἐν denotes that, in which one is behind (defectively constituted). Hence: so that ye in no gift of grace are behind (i.e. less rich than other churches). Comp Plat. Pol. vi. p. 484 D: μηδʼ ἐν ἄλλῳ μηδενὶ μέρει ἀρετῆς ὑστηροῦντας. Sir 51:24. The sense would be different, if the words were μηδενὸς χαρίσματος (so that no gift of grace is lacking to you). See Romans 3:22; Luke 22:35; John 2:3. Ruhnk. a[124] Tim. p. 51. Lobeck, a[125] Phryn. p. 237; a[126] Soph. Aj. 782. Χάρισμα is here to be taken (with Calvin and others, including Rosenmüller, Pott, de Wette, Maier) in the wider sense of the spiritual blessings of Christianity generally, in so far as believers are made partakers of them by the divine grace through the πνεῦμα ἅγιον (Romans 1:11; 1 Corinthians 7:7); not, with most of the older expositors, as well as Billroth, Rückert, Olshausen, Hofmann, in the narrower sense of the extraordinary gifts (chap. 12 ff.). The proof of this is, first, that the immediately following ἀπεκδεχομ. κ.τ.λ[127] makes the ΜῊ ὙΣΤΕΡΕῖΣΘΑΙ ἘΝ ΜΗΔΕΝῚ ΧΑΡΊΣΜΑΤΙ appear as an ethical endowment; second, that the significant retrospective reference of the ἀνεγκλήτους in 1 Corinthians 1:8 does not suit the ΧΑΡΊΣΜΑΤΑ in the narrower sense, but does suit all the more strikingly the moral character of the Christian gifts of the Spirit in general. The form of expression in the singular here stands as little in the way of this view (in opposition to Hofmann) as at Romans 1:11, and is, in fact, necessitated by the negative form of the discourse. Rückert, indeed, objects: “that Paul could not at all mean here those purely moral blessings, seeing that the Corinthians did not possess them.” The apostle, however, is not speaking of every individual, but of the church taken as a whole (comp already Chrysostom and Theophylact); and, moreover, expresses himself with much caution in a negative way, so that he only needs to answer for the presence of a sufficienter praeditum esse to stand comparison with other churches.

ἀπεκδεχομ. Κ.Τ.Λ[129]] is a significant accompanying definition to what has gone before: as persons, who are not in any wise afraid of the revelation of Christ (1 Peter 1:7; Colossians 3:3 f.) and wish it away, but who are waiting for it. This waiting and that afflux of grace stand in a mutual relation of action and reaction. Bengel says rightly: “Character Christiani veri vel falsi, revelationem Christi vel expectare vel horrere.” The fact that there were among the Corinthians deniers of the resurrection (and consequently of the Parousia in its full idea)—which, we may add, might naturally enough cause this hope to become all the more vividly prominent in the case of the rest—does not take away from the truth of the words, which hold good of the church a potiori. Just as little can they (contrary to the winning tone of the whole preamble) have it as their design to terrify with the thought of the day of judgment (Chrysostom), or to censure the doubters (Grotius, Rückert), or even to make ironical reference to the fancied perfection of the Corinthians (Mosheim). The participial clause, which needed neither ὡς nor the article, is not merely a temporal definition—consequently “for the time” of the waiting (Hofmann)—any more than at Titus 2:13; Romans 8:23; Judges 1:21.

ἀπεκδ.] denotes the persevering expectation. See on Romans 8:19; Fritzsche in Fritzschior. Opusc. p. 150 ff. The word does not indicate the element of longing (de Wette). See Romans 8:25; 1 Peter 3:20. For the subject-matter, comp Php 3:20; Titus 2:13; 2 Timothy 4:8; Luke 12:36.

[124] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.

[125] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.

[126] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.

[127] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

[129] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

Expositor's Greek Testament

1 Corinthians 1:7 describes the result of the firm establishment of the Gospel: ὥστε ὑμᾶς μὴ ὑστερεῖσθαι κ.τ.λ. (ὥστε with inf[87] of contemplated result: see Bn[88] §§ 369 ff.), “causing you not to feel behindhand in any gift of grace”; the mid[89] ὑστερεῖσθαι implies subjective reflexion, the consciousness of inferiority (Ev[90]): similarly in Romans 3:23, “find themselves short of the glory of God” (Sanday and Headl.); and in Luke 15:14, “he began to feel his destitution”. The pr[91] inf[92] and ptp[93] of the vbs. bear no ref[94] to the time of writing; their time is given by the governing ἐβεβαιώθη: the strong assurance with which the Cor[95] embraced the Gospel was followed by a shower of spiritual energies, of which they had a lively sense. A χάρισμα (see parls.) is χάρις in some concrete result (see Cr[96] s. v.),—a specific endowment of (God’s) grace, whether the fundamental charism, embracing all others, of salvation in Christ (Romans 5:16), or, e.g., the special and individual charism of continence (1 Corinthians 7:7). No church excelled the Cor[97] in the variety of its endowments and the satisfaction felt in them. Chaps. 12–14 enumerate and discuss the chief Cor[98] χαρίσματα, setting ἀγάπη in their midst; ethical qualities are included under this term, 1 Corinthians 1:8 f.—ἀπεκδεχομένους τ. ἀποκάλυψιν κ.τ.λ. “while you eagerly awaited (or eagerly awaiting, as you did) the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”. The vb[99] is one of P.’s characteristic intensive compounds (see parls.). The anarthrous pr[100] ptp[101] implies a continuous state conditioning that of the foregoing clause: the unstinted plenty of Divine gifts continued while the recipients fixed their thought upon the day of Christ; 1 Corinthians 15:12; 1 Corinthians 15:33 f. show that this expectation had been in many instances relaxed. Romans 8 and Colossians 3 (also 1 John 2:28 to 1 John 3:3) illustrate the bearing of faith in the παρουσία on Christian character; cf. Matthew 25, Luke 12:32 ff., etc. It is an ἀποκάλυψις, an “unveiling” of Christ that the Cor[102] looked for; since although they are “in Christ,” still he is hidden (Colossians 3:3 f.); His presence is a mystery (Colossians 1:27, Ephesians 5:32). “Παρουσία denotes the fact of Christ’s (future) presence, ἑπιφάνεια its visibility” and splendour, “ἀποκάλυψις its inner meaning” (Ed[103]); φανέρωσις (it might be added: Colossians 3:4) its open display. The Cor[104] were richly blessed with present good, while expecting a good far exceeding it: “a tacit warning against fancied satisfaction in the present” (Gd[105]: cf. 1 Corinthians 4:8).

[87] infinitive mood.

[88] E. Burton’s Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in the N.T. (1894).

[89] middle voice.

[90] T. S. Evans in Speaker’s Commentary.

[91] present tense.

[92] infinitive mood.

[93] participle

[94] reference.

[95] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[96] Cremer’s Biblico-Theological Lexicon of N.T. Greek (Eng. Trans.).

[97] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[98] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[99] verb

[100] present tense.

[101] participle

[102] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[103] T. C. Edwards’ Commentary on the First Ep. to the Corinthians.2

[104] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[105] F. Godet’s Commentaire sur la prem. Ép. aux Corinthiens (Eng. Trans.).

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

7. come behind] should rather be translated fall short. No comparison with other Churches seems to have been intended.

the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ] The word in the original and in the margin of the English version is revelation. But this is not always equivalent to coming. The ‘revelation of Jesus Christ’ unquestionably means (1) the Last Day in such passages as 2 Thessalonians 1:7 and 1 Peter 1:7, and the same is the case with St Luke 17:30. But on the other hand, in passages such as 2 Corinthians 12:1; Galatians 1:12; Galatians 1:16; Galatians 2:2, it means (2) the fuller revelation of the mysteries of God’s kingdom; while in Revelation 1:1, it signifies (3) the unfolding of things to come. The second of these three meanings would seem most appropriate here. The testimony of Christ, confirmed originally by the inward witness of the Spirit, receives additional confirmation by the gradual unfolding of things Divine, until the believer, fully grounded in the faith, stands without reproach before Christ at His coming.

Bengel's Gnomen

1 Corinthians 1:7. Ὥστε ὑμᾶς μὴ ὑστερεῖσθαι, So that ye are not behind) This clause depends on ye are enriched by antithesis.—ἀπεκδεχομένους, expecting, [waiting for]) The character of the true or false Christian is either to expect or dread the revelation of Christ. [Leaving to others their MEMENTO MORI, do thou urge this joyful expectation.—V. g.].

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 7. - So that ye come behind in no gift. The "gifts" are here the charismata, graces, such as powers of healing, etc., which were the result of the outpouring of the Spirit. The sequel shows that they were rather outward than inward; they were splendid endowments rather than spiritual fruits. Yet even these were not wholly wanting, as we see from 2 Corinthians 8:7. The Greek may also mean "causing you not to be conscious of inferiority." Waiting; expecting, not fearing it, This was the constant attitude of the early Christians (Romans 8:19-25; Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 9:20; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Colossians 3:4; Titus 2:13). Love for Christ's manifestation was a Christian characteristic (2 Timothy 4:8). The revelation. Three words are used to express the second advent: apokalypsis (as here and in 2 Thessalonians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:7, 13); parousia (as in Matthew 24:3, 27, etc.; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; James 5:7, 8, etc.); and epiphaneia, in the pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 1:10; 2 Timothy 4:1-8; Titus 2:13). St. Paul, however, only uses parousia six times in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and once in 1 Corinthians 15:23. All Christians alike expected the return of Christ very soon, and possibly in their own lifetime (1 Thessalonians 1:9, 10, etc.; 1 Corinthians 15:51; James 5:8, 9; 1 Peter 4:7; 1 John 2:18; Revelation 22:20, etc.). Their expectation was founded on the great eschatological discourse of our Lord (Matthew 24:29, 30, 34), and on his express promise that that generation should not pass away before his predictions were fulfilled. They were fulfilled in the fall of Jerusalem and the close of the old dispensation, though they await a stilt more universal fulfilment. 1 Corinthians 1:7

Vincent's Word Studies

Come behind (ὑστερεῖσθαι)

See on Luke 15:14, and compare Romans 3:23. Contrast with were enriched.

Gift (χαρίσματι)

See on Romans 1:11. Its prevailing sense in this epistle is that of special spiritual endowments, such as tongues, prophecy, etc. Here of spiritual blessings generally.

Waiting (ἀπεκδεχομένους)

See on Romans 8:19. Denoting assiduous waiting. Dr. Thayer compares the phrase wait it out (ἐκ).

Revelation (ἀποκάλυψιν)

See on Revelation 1:1.