Exo 20:5, 1Cor 16:22, 2Cor 11:2 | JFB | e4.org | 4, 5. Thou shalt not make . . . any graven image . . . thou shalt not bow down thyself to them —that is, "make in order to bow." Under the auspices of Moses himself, figures of cherubim, brazen serpents, oxen, and many other things in the earth beneath, were made and never condemned. The mere making was no sin—it was the making with the intent to give idolatrous worship.

‏ Exodus 20:5

4, 5. Thou shalt not make . . . any graven image . . . thou shalt not bow down thyself to them—that is, "make in order to bow." Under the auspices of Moses himself, figures of cherubim, brazen serpents, oxen, and many other things in the earth beneath, were made and never condemned. The mere making was no sin—it was the making with the intent to give idolatrous worship.

‏ 1 Corinthians 16:22

22. A solemn closing warning added in his own hand as in Eph 6:24; Col 4:18.

the Lord—who ought to be "loved" above Paul, Apollos, and all other teachers. Love to one another is to be in connection with love to Him above all. IGNATIUS [Epistle to the Romans, 7] writes of Christ, "My love, has been crucified" (compare So 2:7).

Jesus Christ—omitted in the oldest manuscripts.

let him be Anathema—accursed with that curse which the Jews who call Jesus "accursed" (1Co 12:3) are bringing righteously on their own heads [BENGEL]. So far from "saluting" him, I bid him be accursed.

Maranatha—Syriac for, "the Lord cometh." A motto or watchword to urge them to preparedness for the Lord's coming; as in Php 4:5, "The Lord is at hand."

‏ 2 Corinthians 11:2

2. For I am jealous—The justification of his self-commendations lies in his zealous care lest they should fall from Christ, to whom he, as "the friend of the Bridegroom" (Joh 3:29), has espoused them; in order to lead them back from the false apostles to Christ, he is obliged to boast as an apostle of Christ, in a way which, but for the motive, would be "folly."

godly jealousy—literally, "jealousy of God" (compare 2Co 1:12, "godly sincerity," literally, "sincerity of God"). "If I am immoderate, I am immoderate to God" [BENGEL]. A jealousy which has God's honor at heart (1Ki 19:10).

I . . . espoused you—Paul uses a Greek term applied properly to the bridegroom, just as he ascribes to himself "jealousy," a feeling properly belonging to the husband; so entirely does he identify himself with Christ.

present you as a chaste virgin to Christ—at His coming, when the heavenly marriage shall take place (Mt 25:6; Re 19:7, 9). What Paul here says he desires to do, namely, "present" the Church as "a chaste virgin" to Christ, Christ Himself is said to do in the fuller sense. Whatever ministers do effectively, is really done by Christ (Eph 5:27-32). The espousals are going on now. He does not say "chaste virgins"; for not individual members, but the whole body of believers conjointly constitute the Bride.