“If God had not set His heart upon you, we never could have been as successful among you as we were.”
Our gospel came not unto you. — Or rather, the glad tidings which we brought did not prove among you, in its action upon you.
In word only. — Comp. 1 Corinthians 2:4; 1 Corinthians 4:20. “It did not consist merely of so much eloquent instruction, but also we found we were speaking with a conscious power — indeed with all the force of the Holy Ghost — and with an overmastering conviction that we were right and should prevail.” That by the “power,” “assurance,” etc., are meant the preachers’ own, and not the people’s, is proved by the next clause, “as ye know.”
In the Holy Ghost. — The Greek here omits the definite article. In such cases attention is not so much called to the Blessed Person Himself, as to the exalted, inspired enthusiasm with which He fills us. The union of the divine and human spirit is so close (see 1 Corinthians 6:17) that it is often hard in the New Testament to distinguish which is meant.
As ye know sums up with an appeal to their memory: “In fact, you recollect what God made us like among you.”
For your sake gives not their own purpose, but God’s, carrying on the thought of the “election.”