Verse 5. He therefore that ministereth, etc. This verse contains substantially a repetition of the argument in ver.2. The argument is, that the gift of the Holy Spirit to them was not imparted in consequence of the observance of the law of Moses, but in connexion with the preaching of the gospel. By the word "he," in this place, Clarke, Doddridge, Bloomfield, Chandler, Locke, and many others, suppose that the apostle means himself. Bloomfield says that it is the common opinion of" all the ancient commentators." But this seems to me a strange opinion. The obvious reference, it seems to me, is to God, who had furnished or imparted to them the remarkable influences of the Holy Spirit; and this had been done in connexion with the preaching of the gospel, and not by the observance of the law. If, however, it refers to Paul, it means that he had been made the agent or instrument in imparting to them those remarkable endowments, and that this had been done by one who had not enforced the necessity of obeying the law of Moses, but who had preached to them the simple gospel.