V. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit] Therefore they are not the fruits of free-will, but so far forth as our will is made free by grace. He saith not, the works of the Spirit, as before the works of the flesh, but the fruits of the Spirit, to teach us, that good works are not only the effects of God’s Spirit, but also that they are acceptable and pleasing unto him, like most sweet and wholesome fruits (Matt. 3:8; John 15:8).

V. 23 against such there is no law] Such may be either referred to the fruits of the Spirit, or to the persons who bring forth such fruit, against men so qualified there is no law to condemn them: for the law of God, which is so severe and terrible to all men that are in the state of sin, is not so for all that unto the children of God, that do not maliciously set themselves against it, neither are they liable to the malediction thereof, they submitting themselves willingly to the same, as a gentle mistress of their actions, and guide of their life and conversation.

English Annotations (1645)

first apostles] The first and uppermost place is given to the Apostles, for that they were called unto that Office immediately by Christ without any intermediate human authority (Gal. 1:1); they had manifold preheminencies (sic) above other Doctors and Pastors, they could not error in matter of doctrine, their Commission was general to preach to all Nations; they were endued with special power to work miracles, and punish the disobedient in an extraordinary manner.

secondarily prophets] Those who by a special and extraordinary gift interpreted prophetical Scriptures to edification, exhortation, and consolation (1 Cor. 14:3). Or those who foretold infallibly things to come, as Agabus (Acts 21:10), and the daughters of Philip the Evangelist (Acts 21:9). If it be objected that the Law and Prophets were but until John; the answer is easy, that Christ there speaketh of such Prophets who foretold his coming in the flesh.

thirdly teachers] That is, those which were ordinarily and orderly called to expound the Scriptures for the edification of the Church, and to maintain the truth against false teachers (Eph. 4:11).

after that miracles] As we call those Justices which are to execute justice, so the Apostle calleth here miracles those who had power to work miracles, both in curing diseases that were simply incurable by natural means, and in inflicting miraculously fearful punishments upon those who opposed the truth and lied to the Holy Spirit, as Paul inflicted upon Elymas the Sorcerer, and Peter upon Anania and Saphira.

then the gifts of healing] The gift of healing may be distinguished from the gifts of miracles mentioned before in this, that those who had the gift of healing only could do no other miracles, but the other of whom the Apostle spake before, wrought many other miracles, and the not only cured incurable diseases, but raised also the dead, whereas these only cured diseases, and for the most part such as were ordinary, yet they cured them not by ordinary means or medicines, but only with a word or a touch, or the like.

helps] Assistants to the principal officers of the Church, as Deacons, who took care of the poor sick strangers and orphans, and widows, etc.

diversities of tongues] Or, kinds. Because the Corinthians were proud of this gift, to take down their crest, and abate their conceit of themselves, in regard of this gift of the Spirit, it seemeth that he nameth it in the last place, t being as the used the matter of least use in the church.

English Annotations (1645)

It is difficult to overstate the importance of the Abrahamic covenant. In this historical administration of the eternal covenant of grace, both the substance of God’s redemption and the method by which He will accomplish that redemption gain a clarity that they had not possessed before. The Abrahamic covenant does not constitute a new direction in God’s redemptive activity, to be certain, but it does represent a massive step forward in the revelation of how that redemptive activity would proceed.

STEPHEN G. MYERS, GOD TO US – COVENANT THEOLOGY IN SCRIPTURE, 229.

The grim reality of Genesis 6 is that the rebellion precipitating creation-wide judgment involves all humanity. Judgment looms for everyone—except for one man. Amid the spiraling wickedness of humanity and God’s solemn intention to bring judgment on that wickedness, Genesis 6:8 declares, “But Noah found grace [חֵן; khen] in the eyes of the LORD.” In a humanity of pervasive wickedness, Noah found grace. This seemingly obvious context is critical to a right understanding of the Noahic covenant. In Genesis 3:15, God had promised that He would sovereignly intervene and turn the enmity in the hearts of some men and women. Rather than being at enmity with Him, God would make certain people to be at enmity with the serpent. God has fulfilled that promise with Noah.

STEPHEN G. MYERS, GOD TO US – COVENANT THEOLOGY IN SCRIPTURE, 193.

Finally, the promise of Genesis 3:15 has implications for Christians’ personal lives of holiness and sanctification because in that verse the gracious enmity between God’s people and sin is seen to be one of the greatest gifts God has given to His people. Often, this is counterintuitive. For a Christian, having to struggle with sin often is seen to be bad. But Genesis 3:15 makes clear that there ought to be enmity between God’s people and sin. If there is no enmity, it is not because there is no sin around the individual or in the individual. There is no enmity because there is no enmity. And if there is no enmity, there is little evidence of a gracious work in the heart of that individual. When a woman’s enmity against sin appears to diminish and her struggle with sin abates and she seems to be at peace, it is precisely then that there is cause for grave concern. God’s people from Eden to the consummation are marked by, and torn by, enmity against the evil one and all of his ways.

STEPHEN G. MYERS, GOD TO US – COVENANT THEOLOGY IN SCRIPTURE, 187.

“When a preacher avoids concrete ethical applications in his sermons,” comments John Frame, “he is not preaching the full counsel of God, and he is not adequately edifying his people.”

John Carrick, The Imperative of Preaching, 138.

The analogy of Scripture should be reflected not merely in our hermeneutics, but also in our homiletics. . . . This balance between the explication and the application of the Word of God is, we believe, irrefutably established by the analogy of Scripture and powerfully confirmed by the history of Reformed preaching.

John Carrick, The Imperative of Preaching, 144.

Sin is not simply the rejection of God’s law; it is the rejection of the God who holds out that law as the condition of fellowship with Him.

STEPHEN G. MYERS, GOD TO US – COVENANT THEOLOGY IN SCRIPTURE, 182.

Scholasticism was not something practiced only by “rigid” Reformed theologians; Lutheran and Roman Catholic authors also made ample use of this theological method after the Reformation. In that respect, scholasticism was an ecumenical enterprise. Secondly, scholasticism was not used only in the seventeenth century. The entire Western church had done scholastic theology since the eleventh century. A scholastic approach was also applied in other academic disciplines. The term “scholasticism” thus should not so much be associated with content but with method, an academic form of argumentation and disputation.

Willem J. van Asselt, Introduction to Reformed Scholasticism, 14.

The Scriptures declare that there is a government jure Divino in the visible church of Christ now under the New Testament. This is evident from 1 Corinthians 12:28: “God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers . . . helps, governments,” in which place these things are plain.

Jus Divinum Regiminis Ecclesiastici, 54.