Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Corinthians 11:19
For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
19. heresies ] Sects, Tyndale. Rotten (i.e. factions), Luther. This word is variously translated in our version. In the Acts (Act 5:17, Act 15:5, Act 24:5, Act 28:22) it is usually translated sect. But in Act 24:14 and in Gal 5:20. so and 2Pe 2:1, it is rendered, as here, by the word heresy. It signifies the deliberate choice of a doctrine or line of conduct, as opposed to receiving it on authority. St Paul must be understood as saying that not only will there be dissension and division among Christians, but that some of them will go their own way in spite of the instructions both in doctrine and practice delivered to them by Christ’s Apostles. So St Chrysostom and many other Greek Fathers. Cf. Act 20:29; 1Ti 4:1; 2Ti 3:1-5; 2Pe 2:1; Judges 18; also ch. 1Co 14:38.
that they which are approved may be made manifest among you ] The Greek is not simply so that, but in order that, as though God had permitted these evils to arise in order to test the faith and patience of Christian men. Cf. St Jas 1:3; 1Pe 1:6-7.
approved ] Probati, Vulgate; , he who has stood the trial. It is the opposite of , reprobate, rejected; see ch. 1Co 9:17. , a noun derived from this word, is translated trial in the passages cited in the last note. Cf. St Jas 1:12, where the words when he is tried should rather be rendered having become approved ( ), and 2Co 13:7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For there must be – It is necessary ( dei); it is to he expected; there are reasons why there should be. What these reasons are he states in the close of the verse; compare Mat 18:7; 2Pe 2:1; 2Pe 2:2. The meaning is, not that divisions are inseparable from the nature of the Christian religion, not that it is the design and wish of the Author of Christianity that they should exist, and not that they are physically impossible, for then they could not be the subject of blame; but that such is human nature, such are the corrupt passions of men, the propensity to ambition and strifes, that they are to be expected, and they serve the purpose of showing who are, and who are not, the true friends of God.
Heresies – Margin, Sects. Greek Haireseis see the note at Act 24:14. The words heresy and heresies occur only in these places, and in Gal 5:20; 2Pe 2:1. The Greek word occurs also in Act 5:17 (translated sect); Act 15:5; Act 24:5; Act 26:5; Act 28:22, in all which places it denotes, and is translated, sect. We now attach to the word usually the idea of a fundamental error in religion, or some doctrine the holding of which will exclude from salvation. But there is no evidence that the word is used in this signification in the New Testament. The only place where it can be supposed to be so used, unless this is one, is in Gal 5:20, where, however, the word contentions or divisions, would be quite as much in accordance with the connection. That the word here does not denote error in doctrine, but schism, division, or sects, as it is translated in the margin, is evident from two considerations:
(1) It is the proper philological meaning of the word, and its established and common signification in the Bible.
(2) It is the sense which the connection here demands. The apostle had made no reference to error of doctrine, but is discoursing solely of irregularity in conduct; and the first thing which he mentions, is, that there were schisms, divisions, strifes. The idea that the word here refers to doctrines would by no means suit the connection, and would indeed make nonsense. It would then read, I hear that there are divisions or parties among you, and this I cannot commend you for. For it must he expected that there would be fundamental errors of doctrine in the church. But Paul did not reason in this manner. The sense is, There are divisions among you. It is to be expected: there are causes for it; and it cannot he avoided that there should be, in the present state of human nature, divisions and sects formed in the church; and this is to be expected in order that those who are true Christians should be separated from those who are not. The foundation of this necessity is not in the Christian religion itself, for that is pure, and contemplates and requires union; but the existence of sects, and denominations, and contentious may be traced to the following causes:
(1) The love of power and popularity. Religion may be made the means of power; and they who have the control of the consciences of people, and of their religious feelings and opinions, can control them altogether.
(2) Showing more respect to a religious teacher than to Christ; see Notes on 1Co 1:12.
(3) The multiplication of tests, and the enlargement of creeds and confessions of faith. The consequence is, that every new doctrine that is incorporated into a creed gives occasion for those to separate who cannot accord with it.
(4) The passions of people – their pride, and ambition, and bigotry, and unenlightened zeal. Christ evidently meant that his church should be one; and that all who were his true followers should be admitted to her communion, and acknowledged everywhere as his own friends. And the time may yet come when this union shall be restored to his long distracted church, and that while there may be an honest difference of opinion maintained and allowed, still the bonds of Christian love shall secure union of heart in all who love the Lord Jesus, and union of effort in the grand enterprise in which all can unite – that of making war upon sin, and securing the conversion of the whole world to God.
That they which are approved – That they who are approved of God, or who are his true friends, and who are disposed to abide by his laws.
May be made manifest – May be known; recognized; seen. The effect of divisions and separations would be to show who were the friends of order, and peace, and truth. It seems to have been assumed by Paul, that they who made divisions could not be regarded as the friends of order and truth; or that their course could not be approved by God. The effect of these divisions would be to show who they were. So in all divisions, and all splitting into factions, where the great truths of Christianity are held, and where the corruption of the mass does not require separation, such divisions show who are the restless, ambitious, and dissatisfied spirits; who they are that are indisposed to follow the things that make for peace, and the laws of Christ enjoining union; and who they are who are gentle and peaceful, and disposed to pursue the way of truth, and love, and order, without contentions and strifes. This is the effect of schisms in the church; and the whole strain of the argument of Paul is to reprove and condemn such schisms, and to hold up the authors of them to reproof and condemnation; see Rom 16:17, Mark them which cause divisions, and avoid them.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 19. There must be also heresies] . Not a common consent of the members of the Church, either in the doctrines of the Gospel, or in the ceremonies of the Christian religion. Their difference in religious opinion led to a difference in their religious practice, and thus the Church of God, that should have been one body, was split into sects and parties. The divisions and the heresies sprung out of each other. I have spoken largely on the word heresy in Ac 5:17, to which place I beg leave to refer the reader.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
There must be; it is not simply and absolutely necessary that there should be such divisions amongst you, (they are caused from the free acts of mens corrupt wills), but yet these things do not fall out by chance, but through the providence of God, who hath so immutably ordered and decreed, to suffer Satan to show his malice, and men to discover the lusts and corruptions of their own hearts.
Heresies: though heresy be a term that, by ecclesiastical usage, is restrained to signify perverse opinions in matter of doctrine, as to which men are stubborn and tenacious; yet it is manifest, that the word is not natively so to be restrained, neither can it reasonably be here so interpreted, but signifies the same thing with schisms and divisions before mentioned: for though (as will appear from 1Co 15:1-58) there were corrupt opinions amongst them in matters of doctrine, yet it is unreasonable to understand the apostle here, as speaking with reference to them, these words being brought as a reason why he was inclined to believe that there were such schisms or divisions amongst them, because there must be heresies.
That they which are approved may be made manifest among you: God hath his wise end in suffering breaches and divisions, that such as are true and sincere Christians, opposing themselves to such violations of charity, might appear to you to be true and sincere, and to have the love of God dwelling, working, and prevailing in them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. heresiesNot merely”schisms” or “divisions” (1Co11:18), which are “recent dissensions of thecongregation through differences of opinion” [AUGUSTINE,Con. Crescon. Don. 2.7, quoted by TRENCH,Greek Synonyms of the New Testament], but also “heresies,”that is, “schisms which have now become inveterate“;”Sects” [CAMPBELL,vol. 2, pp. 126, 127]: so Act 5:17;Act 15:5 translate the sameGreek. At present there were dissensions at the love-feasts;but Paul, remembering Jesus’ words (Mat 18:7;Mat 24:10; Mat 24:12;Luk 17:1) foresees “theremust be (come) also” matured separations, and establishedparties in secession, as separatists. The “must be” arisesfrom sin in professors necessarily bearing its natural fruits: theseare overruled by God to the probation of character of both the godlyand the ungodly, and to the discipline of the former for glory.”Heresies” had not yet its technical senseecclesiastically, referring to doctrinal errors: it means confirmedschisms. ST.AUGUSTINE’S rule is agolden rule as regards questions of heresy and catholicity: “Indoubtful questions, liberty; in essentials, unity; in all things,charity.”
that . . . approved may bemade manifestthrough the disapproved (reprobates)becoming manifested (Luk 2:35;1Jn 2:19).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For there must be also heresies among you…. This is a reason why he was ready to believe there might be something of truth in the report he had received of the divisions among them; for if there were heresies, false doctrines, and bad principles, among them, such as were subversive of the fundamentals of Christianity, as the denial of the resurrection of the dead, c. it was no wonder that there were schisms and factions among them, since heresies generally issue in them. These, the apostle says, “must be” because God has decreed they shall, whose counsel is immutable, and his purpose unalterable; and since this always was the case, that there were false prophets under the former dispensation, it must be expected that false teachers will arise in the churches now, bringing in damnable heresies; and since Satan is always busy to sow the tares of false doctrine; and human nature, being both weak and wicked, is so susceptible thereof, and so easily imposed upon and deceived, it cannot be thought that it should be otherwise; which, by the goodness and wisdom of God, are overruled to a very good purpose:
that they which are approved: who sincerely believe in Christ, are sound in the faith, and have a well grounded experience of it; who have themselves tried things that differ, and approve of them that are excellent, and have been tried by others, and found to be sincere, upright, and faithful, and are approved of God and good men:
may be made manifest among you; by their steadfastness in the faith, their zealous attachment to it, earnest contention for it, and warm and honest vindication of it; and by the departure of those from them who oppose it, and go on the side of error and heresy; by which means it is known who are the sincere followers of the Lamb, in doctrine, discipline, and conversation, and who not.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Must be ( ). Since moral conditions are so bad among you (cf. chapters 1 to 6). Cf. Mt 18:7.
Heresies (). The schisms naturally become
factions or
parties . Cf. strifes () in 1:11. See on Ac 15:5 for , a choosing, taking sides, holding views of one party, heresy (our word). “Heresy is theoretical schism, schism practical heresy.” Cf. Titus 3:10; 2Pet 2:1. In Paul only here and Ga 5:20.
That (). God’s purpose in these factions makes
the proved ones ( ) become
manifest (). “These are a magnet attracting unsound and unsettled minds” (Findlay). It has always been so. Instance so-called Christian Science, Russellism, New Thought, etc., today.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Heresies [] . See on 2Pe 2:1. In Paul only here and Gal 5:20. Better, parties or factions, as the result of the divisions.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “For there must be also heresies among you.” (dei gar kai haireseis en humin) “For indeed there seem to be sects among you.” The term heresy or sect refers to a major error in doctrinal teaching or practice. A plurality of persons who adamantly embrace and espouse, support or advocate, an erroneous moral or doctrinal concept is termed a sect, or heretical group.
2) “That they which are approved.” (hina [kai] hoi dokimoi) “in order that also the ones approved.” (The members who are standing for truth and right in the midst of these conditions).
3) “May be made manifest among you.” (phaneroi genontai en humin) “May become manifest (or recognized) among you.” Some were right and some were wrong among the divided Corinth church over the purpose and motive of the observance of the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. This was Paul’s premise. Some were loyal and some were disloyal in the manner of the Supper of the Lord.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
19. For there must be also heresies He had previously spoken of divisions (1Co 11:18.) Now he uses the term heresies, with the view of amplifying the more, as we may infer, too, from the word also, for it is added for the sake of amplification. ( προς αὔξησιν.) It is well known in what sense the ancients used those two terms, (648) and what distinction they made between Heretics and Schismatics. (649) Heresy they made to consist in disagreement as to doctrine, and schism, on the contrary, in alienation of affection, as when any one withdrew from the Church from envy, or from dislike of the pastors, or from ill nature. It is true, that the Church cannot but be torn asunder by false doctrine, and thus heresy is the root and origin of schism, and it is also true that envy or pride is the mother of almost all heresies, but at the same time it is of advantage to distinguish in this way between these two terms.
But let us see in what sense Paul employs them. I have already expressed my disapprobation of those who explain heresy as meaning the setting up of a separate table, inasmuch as the rich did not partake of their Supper along with the poor; for he had it in view to point out something more hateful. But without mentioning the opinions of others, I take schism and heresy here in the way of less and greater. Schisms, then, are either secret grudges — when we do not see that agreement which ought to subsist among the pious — when inclinations at variance with each other are at work — when every one is mightily pleased with his own way, and finds fault with everything that is done by others. Heresies are when the evil proceeds to such a pitch that open hostility is discovered, and persons deliberately divide themselves into opposite parties. Hence, in order that believers might not feel discouraged on seeing the Corinthians torn with divisions, the Apostle turns round this occasion of offense in an opposite direction, intimating that the Lord does rather by such trials make proof of his people’s constancy. A lovely consolation! “So far, says he, should we be from being troubled, or cast down, when we do not see complete unity in the Church, but on the contrary some threatenings of separation from want of proper agreement, that even if sects should start up, (650) we ought to remain firm and constant. For in this way hypocrites are detected — in this way, on the other hand, the sincerity of believers is tried. For as this gives occasion for discovering the fickleness of those who were not rooted in the Lord’s Word, and the wickedness of those who had assumed the appearance of good men, so the good afford a more signal manifestation of their constancy and sincerity.”
But observe what Paul says — there must be, for he intimates by this expression, that this state of matters does not happen by chance, but by the sure providence of God, because he has it in view to try his people, as gold in the furnace, and if it is agreeable to the mind of God, it is, consequently, expedient. At the same time, however, we must not enter into thorny disputes, or rather into labyrinths as to a fatal necessity. We know that there never will be a time when there will not be many reprobates. We know that they are governed by the spirit of Satan, and are effectually drawn away to what is evil. We know that Satan, in his activity, leaves no stone unturned with the view of breaking up the unity of the Church. From this — not from fate — comes that necessity of which Paul makes mention. (651) We know, also, that the Lord, by his admirable wisdom, turns Satan’s deadly machinations so as to promote the salvation of believers. (652) Hence comes that design of which he speaks — that the good may shine forth more conspicuously; for we ought not to ascribe this advantage to heresies, which, being evil, can produce nothing but what is evil, but to God, who, by his infinite goodness, changes the nature of things, so that those things are salutary to the elect, which Satan had contrived for their ruin. As to Chrysostom’s contending that the particle that ( ἴνα) denotes not the cause, but the event, it is of no great moment. For the cause is the secret counsel of God, (653) by which things that are evil are overruled in such a manner, as to have a good issue. We know, in fine, that the wicked are impelled by Satan in such a manner, that they both act and are acted upon with the consent of their wills. (654) Hence they are without excuse.
(648) “ Schisme et Heresie;” — “Schism and Heresy.”
(649) “ Voyez l’Institution;” — “See my Institutes,” (volume 3.)
(650) “ De tous costez;” — “On all sides.”
(651) “ De la vient ceste necessite de laquelle S. Paul fait mention, et non pas de ce Fatum que les Stoiques ont imagine, que l’on nomme communeement Destinee. Voyez l’ Institution;” — “From this comes that necessity of which St. Paul makes mention, and not from that Fate of which the Stoics have dreamed, and which is commonly called destiny. See the Institutes.” (Volume 1, p. 241.)
(652) “ Conuertit au profit et salut des fideles les machinations de Satan horribles et pernicieuses;” — “Turns the horrible and pernicious machinations of Satan to the advantage and salvation of believers.”
(653) “ Car a parlet proprement, la cause de ceci depend du secret conseil de Dieu;” — “For, properly speaking, the cause of this depends on the secret counsel of God.”
(654) “ Ce qu’ils font, et ce que Satan lear fait faire, ils le font volontairement, et non point par force;” — “What they do, and what Satan makes them do, they do voluntarily, and not from force.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19) For there must be also heresies.Better, For there must be also sects. There have been many attempts to explain where lies the difference between the divisions of the former verse and the sects of this verse. From all that we know of the Apostolic Church it is clear that neither of these words can mean sects separated from the Church, but parties in the Church. Christ had foretold (Mat. 18:7) that stumbling-blocks, or scandals, must arise in the Church, and it is possible that our Lord on some occasion spoke of these as sects (Justin Martyr attributes the use of this very word to our Lord); and St. Paul, possibly, uses the word here because it was the one traditionally reported as having been used by Christ in some of His unrecorded utterances. Christ has foretold that in the divine economy of permission such divisions will arise. They are allowed because this is a state of continual judgment; and the existence of such offences will be Gods means of manifesting those who are void of offence, and those who are not.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. Must be Not from God’s purpose, but from man’s perverseness. See note on Luk 17:1. See also Mat 24:6; Mat 26:54.
Heresies among you See note on last verse. Heresies is derived from a verb signifying to choose, and refers to the wilfulness of Church partisanship. It now includes false doctrine, as being adopted rather by the perverse will of the heretic than by any good reason. Church factionists, as Grotius remarks, often concoct some special dogma in order to give permanence to their faction.
Approved The divinely approved, upon test and trial. When commotion and secession prevail, the true sons of peace reveal themselves in calmness and firmness. In doctrines, also, error, by reaction, draws out investigation and defence on the side of truth, and renders its evidences more clear and the doctrine itself more defined. The creeds of the Church have thence arisen. They are attempts by the Church to state her doctrines in defence against disputers and gainsayers.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘For there must be (‘it is necessary for there to be’) also factions among you, that those who are approved (‘have stood the test’) may be made manifest among you.’
He now gives a further reason why he ‘partly believes it’, and that is the necessity of it. This necessity arises either because he knows them well and views the Corinthians as being such that it is inevitable, or possibly because he knew that Jesus Himself had forecast that there would be factions and divisions, even within households, because of His name (Mat 10:34-37; Mat 24:9-13). And the divine result of these would be that those who were truly His would by them be revealed.
So while on the one hand he finds it difficult to believe that the church of Jesus Christ could behave in this way (‘I partly believe it’), on the other he is sadly aware that this is not only possible but is forecast as something that is eventually coming. Thus he senses, knowing their propensities, that it may well be that the Corinthians are already caught up in it. There is a guarded warning here for them. Let them beware lest these factions demonstrate that they are not really of the truth.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Co 11:19. There must be also heresies There must be even heresies. Hence it seems evident, that heresy is spoken of as something worse than the schisms or divisions mentioned 1Co 11:18 but whether it be an evil entirely of a different kind, or only of a higher degree, is not so clear from this passage. The word ‘ may probably here signify a party of people separated from their brethren, and forming what is called a distinct denomination; whereas there may be a schism without separation, if the people assembling together have uncharitable contentionswith each other; which was the case with these schismatical Corinthians. See Doddridge
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
Ver. 19. There must be heresies ] Therefore much more schisms, which also, for the most part, do degenerate into heresies; as an old serpent into a dragon. In the time of Pope Clement V, Frederick, king of Sicily, was so offended at the evil govermnent of the Church, that he began to question the truth of the Christian religion. But Arnoldus de Villanova confirmed and settled him by this and such like places of Scripture, “Offences must come, there must be heresies,” &c., God having so decreed and foretold it. It behoves that there be heresies in the Church; as it is necessary there should be poison and venomous creatures in the world, because out of them God will work medicines.
May be made manifest ] As they are now, if ever, in these shedding and discriminating times. So in the Palatinate they fell to Popery, as fast as leaves in autumn.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
19. ] , in the divine appointment, the which follows expressing God’s purpose thereby. Our Lord had said , Mat 18:7 : and Justin Martyr, Tryph. 35, p. 132, quotes among His sayings prophetic of division in the church, . . From the pointed manner in which is said, I should be inclined to think that the Apostle tacitly referred to the same saying of our Lord : for there must be (not only dissensions, but) even heresies (not in the ecclesiastical or doctrinal sense, as Pelag., Est., Calv., Beza, see reff., but indicating a further and more matured separation, where not only is there present dissension, as in the Agap, but a deliberate choice and maintenance of party distinction. It does not appear, in spite of all that has been written in Germany on the supposed parties of ch. 1Co 1:10 , that such separations had yet taken place among the Corinthians. Nor even in Clement’s Epistle, forty years after this, do we find any allusion to such, but only, as here, to a general spirit of dissension and variance, see chaps, 3 and 14, pp. 213, 257. Chrys. would refer . only to the Agap : , , p. 242, and so Theophyl., c [51] But this hardly justifies the climax, .) among you, that the approved [also] (i.e. as well as the other party, who would become manifest by their very conduct) may be made manifest among you ; viz. through a better and nobler spirit being shewn by them, than by the contentious and separatists.
[51] cumenius of Tricca in Thrace, Cent y . XI.?
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Co 11:19 . Paul is prepared to believe what he thus hears; these divisions were inevitable: “For indeed parties must needs exist among you”. affirms a necessity lying in the moral conditions of the case (see note on , 1Co 11:7 ). (see parls., and note on 1Co 1:11 ; from , to choose ) is more specific than , implying mental tendency in philosophy a school, Richtung , then a sect or party formed on a basis of opinion : see Cr [1693] , s.v .; also Trench, Syn . 4; “Heresy is theoretical schism, schism practical heresy”. These words designate, as yet, parties within the Church; in Tit 3:10 , 2Pe 2:1 , they verge toward their ecclesiastical use. Now there is a true purpose of God fulfilled in these unhappy divisions; they serve to sift the loyal from the disloyal. “in order that also the approved may become manifest among you”. These are a magnet attracting unsound and unsettled minds, and leaving genuine believers to stand out “approved” by their constancy; see 2Th 2:11 f., where the same thought is differently applied; also Rom 5:4 , , 1Pe 1:7 ; alsoTert [1694] , De Prscr. Hret ., 4, “ut fides habendo tentationem habeat etiam probationem”. For , accepted on proof , see parls., esp. 1Co 9:27 ; those approved with God thus “become manifest” to men; “l’effet est de manifester au grand jour les membres de l’glise srieux et de bon aloi” (Gd [1695] ). “Dominus talibus experimentis probat constantiam suorum. Pulchra consolatio!” (Cv [1696] ).
[1693] Cremer’s Biblico-Theological Lexicon of N.T. Greek (Eng. Trans.).
[1694]ert. Tertullian.
[1695] F. Godet’s Commentaire sur la prem. p. aux Corinthiens (Eng. Trans.).
[1696] Calvin’s In Nov. Testamentum Commentarii .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
also heresies = heresies also.
heresies = sects. See Act 5:17.
that = in order that. Greek. hina.
approved. Greek. dokimos. See Rom 14:18.
be made = become. This is the reason why divisions are permitted, but is no justification of them. Compare 1Jn 2:19.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
19.] , in the divine appointment, the which follows expressing Gods purpose thereby. Our Lord had said , Mat 18:7 :-and Justin Martyr, Tryph. 35, p. 132, quotes among His sayings prophetic of division in the church, . . From the pointed manner in which is said, I should be inclined to think that the Apostle tacitly referred to the same saying of our Lord: for there must be (not only dissensions, but) even heresies (not in the ecclesiastical or doctrinal sense,-as Pelag., Est., Calv., Beza,-see reff., but indicating a further and more matured separation, where not only is there present dissension, as in the Agap, but a deliberate choice and maintenance of party distinction. It does not appear, in spite of all that has been written in Germany on the supposed parties of ch. 1Co 1:10, that such separations had yet taken place among the Corinthians. Nor even in Clements Epistle, forty years after this, do we find any allusion to such, but only, as here, to a general spirit of dissension and variance, see chaps, 3 and 14, pp. 213, 257. Chrys. would refer . only to the Agap: , , p. 242,-and so Theophyl., c[51] But this hardly justifies the climax, .) among you, that the approved [also] (i.e. as well as the other party, who would become manifest by their very conduct) may be made manifest among you; viz. through a better and nobler spirit being shewn by them, than by the contentious and separatists.
[51] cumenius of Tricca in Thrace, Centy. XI.?
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Co 11:19. , also heresies) Schisms and heresies are here applied to one thing; nor is the also intended to make a distinction; but this is its meaning: not only many good things, not merely small stumbling-blocks, 1Co 8:9, are found among you, but there must be also heresies, or different opinions and schisms, which generally arise out of them. Now there is at once both necessity for these and it is profitable to the godly, where men less approved are mixed up with them. A schism is a mutual separation; heresy is the separation of one party from the unity of the Church, in regard either to faith, or worship.- , those approved) Therefore there were at least some such persons among them. A conciliatory () mode of expression; for what he really meant to say, was, that those less approved should be openly manifested.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Co 11:19
1Co 11:19
For there must be also factions among you,-It is a part of the policy of God in governing the world to test those serving him, and to that end he allows evil men to come into their midst.
that they that are approved may be made manifest among you.-The church of God, like the Jewish nation, will continually fall away from steadfastness in the faith. Those who cannot be faithful to God under temptations to disobey him are not worthy of his kingdom. So God allows evil men to come among his people who would lead away from God and his order, to try and test who among them are faithful and true to him. Paul said to the elders of the Ephesian church: Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. (Act 20:28-30). This was permitted to prove and to show who could stand firm and steadfast under temptations to turn away from God.
God tests them on the points of fidelity to him in faith and doctrine as well as love of the world, lusts of the flesh, and pleasures of life. One who cannot resist these and give them up for the Lord is rejected by him as unworthy to be his disciple; so every one who cannot stand fast for the truth despite the divisions and the popular currents that sweep through the churches to carry them away from their steadfastness is unworthy of Christ. These are Gods tests to purify the churches. He desires only true and tried and faithful subjects in his kingdom. Those who cannot stand the test must be purged out. So divisions come to every church to make manifest those who are approved. It is God bringing the churches to judgment in this world, that those who are approved and true may be made manifest. All we have to do is to stand true and firm to God and his word, and leave the results with him.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
there: Mat 18:7, Luk 17:1, Act 20:30, 1Ti 4:1, 1Ti 4:2, 2Pe 2:1, 2Pe 2:2
heresies: or, sects, Act 5:17, Act 15:5, Act 24:5, Act 24:14, Act 26:5, Act 28:22, Gal 5:20, Tit 3:10,*Gr.
which: Deu 13:3, Luk 2:35, 2Co 13:5-7,*Gr: 1Jo 2:19
Reciprocal: Jdg 3:4 – to prove Eze 13:23 – for I Mat 12:44 – he findeth Mat 13:47 – and gathered Rom 16:10 – approved 2Co 10:18 – approved 2Co 13:7 – approved 1Ti 1:19 – concerning 2Ti 2:18 – overthrow 2Pe 2:14 – beguiling
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Verse 19. Must is from DEI, which Thayer defines, “it is necessary,” and explains it to mean at this place, “necessity in reference to what is required to attain some end.” Robinson’s definition and explanation give virtually the same thought as Thayer’s. It is clear the word means that heresies are necessary for a certain purpose, and that is stated to be, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. This agrees with the conclusion expressed in the preceding paragraph, namely, that a part only of the congregation was guilty of the divisions among them, the faithful ones being “approved” by their opposition to the heresies. But this necessity for heresies should not encourage anyone to promote evil doctrines, for Jesus pronounces a woe on those who cause offences, even though He had just declared that it was impossible for them not to come (Luk 17:1).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1Co 11:19. For there most be also heresies among you. The word signifies, first, a taking or choice; then, the thing chosen, and (in matters of judgment) an opinion or set of opinions: here it is used in a bad sense, as in Gal 5:20, for opinions tending to rend the Church.
that they which are approved (of God) may be made manifest among youby contrast with the others.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Vv. 19. When a Church is forming, or when in a Church already established a revival takes place, there is a sort of fascination exercised over a great number of individuals who adopt the gospel preaching, or the new ideas, less from a serious and personal moral need than from a spirit of opposition or innovation, or from a proneness to imitation. Hence, at the end of a certain time, the necessity for a process of purifying; this is carried out by a separation due to the fermentation which follows from the contact of the heterogeneous elements within the same mass. The effect of this action is to show in clear light those members of the Church who are serious and genuine, and to separate them definitely from those who have believed only superficially and temporarily. This experience, made over and over again since then by the Church, is that which the apostle foresaw as an inevitable phase in the development of the flock at Corinth. The , there must, is a heightening of the , the existence as matter of fact (1Co 11:18); see on 1Co 7:26. The apostle thinks that the fact is, because he knows that it must be. He knows even that there is something graver to be expected. For the , even, which follows the , it must be that, intimates a second gradation strengthening the first. This new gradation bears, as is proved by the position of the , on the substantive , in its relation to the , divisions, of 1Co 11:18. Indeed, it is wholly in vain that Meyer seeks to identify these two terms. No doubt the word may have a very softened sense, in respect of its etymological signification: choice, preference (from ). But in the New Testament it has always a very forcible meaning; so Gal 5:20, where it is placed after , dissensions, and that evidently as a gradation above this already strong enough term; so also Act 5:17; Act 15:5, where it denotes the opposite parties of the Sadducees and Pharisees among the Jewish people; finally, Act 24:5 and Act 27:28, where the Christian community is designated by this term as a special party in the midst of this same people. In all these cases the external division evidently rests on internal opposition, on profound and trenchant doctrinal differences. And it is also in this sense that the word ought to be taken here, as has been recognised by Calvin, Beza, Rckert, Edwards. The context also imperatively demands this forcible meaning. To the simple divisions which arise from personal preferences or aversions, Paul foresees that there will succeed divisions of a far more profound nature, founded on opposite conceptions of Christian truth. He believes what is told him of the first, because he even expects the second. There will arise among them false doctrines, heresies, according to the meaning which the Greek term has taken in later ecclesiastical language, and thence will follow much graver disruptions than the present divisions. The resemble simple rents in a piece of cloth; but the are rendings which remove the fragment and break the unity of the piece. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians shows in how brief a period this anticipation of the apostle was realized.
The , which is read in B D after , that, and which could only be rendered by also, gives no precise meaning, and should be rejected.
Of the two , among you, the first is omitted by D F G, the second by C. They ought to be preserved, both of them. The first applies to the Corinthians the consequence from the moral necessity affirmed in this first proposition; the second puts to them, as it were, a question: How many will there be found in your Church of these ?
The are those who at such crises prove their Christian character by a wisdom and maturity of judgment which mark them in the eyes of all with the seal of Divine approbation; comp. 1Co 9:27. It is with a view to the manifestation of such genuine Christians, that the whole crisis has been permitted (, that). The apostle passes to the second subject of rebuke:
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
For there must be [Luk 17:1; Mat 18:7; Mat 10:11] also factions among you, that they that are approved may be made manifest among you. [A carnal spirit tends to division (1Co 3:1-4; 1Jo 2:18-19). The divisive spirit in the perverse and carnal, manifests, by contrast, the loving, united spirit of the obedient and spiritual, which is approved. “Approved” is the cognate opposite of “rejected” found at 1Co 9:27 . The word “division” used in the verse above was a milder term than “factions” found here. The former represented parties separated by present or at least very recent dissensions, while the latter described matured separations and looked toward permanent organizations. If the former might be regarded as a war of secession, the latter would describe that condition when the war was practically ended, and the two parties were almost ready to establish themselves as separate, independent and rival governments. But factions did not thus mature in Paul’s time, nor does Clement’s epistle written forty years later indicate that they had matured in his time. No doubt, this epistle of Paul’s had much to do in checking their development.]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
11:19 {16} For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are {f} approved may be made manifest among you.
(16) Although schisms and heresies proceed from the devil, and are evil, yet they come not by chance, nor without cause, and they turn to the profit of the elect.
(f) Whom experience has taught to be of sound religion and godliness.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Divisions or factions (Gr. haireseis) of this type have a positive side. They clarify whom God approves as faithful and trustworthy and who are not (cf. Mat 10:34-37; Mat 18:7; Mat 24:9-13). God’s approval (Gr. dokimoi) contrasts with what Paul had written earlier about being disapproved (disqualified, adokimos; 1Co 9:27) by God.